Disclaimer- same as before.
a/n- thanks to dx/dt for reviwing, the dark dragon does have something to do with the plot.
------
Chapter 2
---
Jake froze rooted to the ground his mouth agape, as the dark shape plummeted towards him.
It was seconds from collision when something hard and heavy tackled Jake from the side and sent him flying, leaving the dragon to scrape it's talons on the sidewalk.
Jake rolled in the air and hit the ground jarring his shoulder, he heard a voice shout something behind him as he skidded to a stop, leaning up on his palms he looked to the sky as the unknown dragon swooped around for another pass.
"Keep moving!" the same voice from before ordered him, as his arm was taken in a vice like grip and he was hauled to his feet. "Run!" he saw only a sweep of black and gold hair before he was up and running.
Jake numbly allowed himself to be pulled along, still in a state of shock, his savior kept up the breakneck speed, dodging around piles of rubble and debris and ducking around obstacles. Jake heard the dragon shriek from above him again and forced his legs to pick up the pace.
Jake and his new companion didn't stop running even when he craned his neck to the sky and found it empty, "where are we going!?" Jake shouted as he was forcefully pulled in to a back alley.
No reply came and Jake was forced to watch as the woman who had saved him pushed aside a dumpster and lifted up one of the sewer openings hidden beneath it. "Oh I ain't goin' in there!" Jake exclaimed seconds before he was grabbed by the collar and pulled into its depths.
Splash!
Jake cringed as he sneakers sunk into the contaminated water below him, it was dark and murky, and the only light came from the entrance above them, and that too disappeared when the grate moved itself magically back into position.
Squinting into the dark Jake could make out a blurry shadow in front of him, which was standing in the center of a wide tunnel with curved sides, Jake shuffled his feet cringing again as more water flowed over his socks.
The figure in front of him did something with its hands before a few metal rasps were herd and a lighter flickered to life. The small flame illuminated the area sending flickering shadows over the woman's face, and revealing three claw like scars that cut across the edge of her jaw.
The flame wavered from all the moisture in the air and she moved it closer to her body to protect the only light in the musty tunnel, the moment he got a good look at her face something began to itch at the back of his mind, like a memory that he just couldn't reach.
The woman raised her lighter higher revealing the low ceiling above her head along with the gold colored lining to her black hair. "What were you doing out there!?" she snapped suddenly making Jake jump and the back of his mind to twitch again.
"Err…err I was-I was," Jake spluttered unsure how to explain what was going on. The woman raised an eyebrow at his blubbering and tilted her head to the left. "you were always that articulate." She said dryly.
Jake opened his mouth to reply when a horrible shriek sounded from outside making the very walls around them seem to quiver, and the water at their feet ripple. The unknown woman looked to the ceiling suspiciously before nodding decisively and grabbing Jake by the arm once again.
"Hey whoa!" he exclaimed in protest, as he was tugged deeper into the dark and dreary sewer, the dark water splashing around his heels.
----
Jake winced as the fabric of his shorts ripped when it scrapped against the uneven rock as the two made their way through a series of seemingly unused tunnels. "How much further?" Jake panted straining his arms as he pushed himself up the next opening.
The woman in front of him glanced back the flame reflecting in her black eyes. "not far," she said. "But it has to be relatively hard to find."
"What does?" Jake asked as they came to a bend that led to another smaller opening.
"Our stronghold, its one of the only safe places for people to hide these days." She answered neutrally.
Jake couldn't help but get the feeling she was purposely being evasive. "Hide from who, and why?" he questioned desperate for some answers.
She didn't reply but stopped directly in front of him causing Jake to bump into her shoulder. She ignored him and faced the stone wall in front of her before reaching out a hand to brush its surface; she squinted in the dim light and held the flame closer to the wall.
Jake followed her gaze and searched for something out of the ordinary; he paused for a second…and couldn't find anything. "What?" he asked moving himself closer to the side.
"It's the entrance." she answered. "step back." Jake did as he was told and she raised her closed fist to the wall and knocked three times.
Nothing happened and Jake began to shift nervously when the sound of rock grating rock sounded in the tunnel and a sudden voice broke the tension. "Identify yourselves!" it barked.
Jake jumped, but the woman just straightened and said, "It's me Devlon, Kara was right; I found him standing in the middle of the street."
Jake looked at her surprised, "you know Kara!" he exclaimed hopeful.
She barley glanced at him before the seemingly solid wall in front of them slid back with a harsh grating sound to reveal a lit room behind it, leaning against the threshold was a small gnome with a miniature yet dangerous crossbow resting in his hands. "Were you followed?" he asked smugly as if he already knew the answer.
The woman glared at who was obviously Devlon. "Do you think if I was, I'd be here." she snapped. Devlon shrugged and turned away but not before Jake caught sight of his smirk.
"Come on Jake." she said ducking her head so she could slip into the room Jake followed suit, and the moment he crossed into the light the sound of fevered murmuring met his ears.
Jake waited a moment for his eyes to adjust before he took in his surroundings, he was in a large round room with a low hanging ceiling and no furnishings, the floor was dirt and the walls were rough rock just like the tunnels, what surprised him he most was the amount of people that were huddled in small groups around the room all staring at him with a mixture of expressions—fear, weariness and suspicion.
Slowly he started to realize why; their clothes were old and crinkled many covered in layers of dirt, they were more thin then usual and every single one—even the children—had the same hollow look in their eyes.
Women were huddled with their children in blankets with men sitting protectively in front of them, the scary thing was that they weren't just humans either, he could see a family of fairies to his left, with three nymphs looking utterly frightened on the other side of the room.
'No wonder why,' Jake thought. 'there's not exactly any room for a forest in here.'
"As you can see," the woman from before, who was standing behind him said, "you're not the only one who needs to go into hiding." Jake swung around, aghast, ready to demand an explanation when in the bright light of the cavern he finally got a good look at his rescuers face, the twitch in his mind clicked into place and Jake felt his jaw swing loose as he looked at the woman in front of him.
It didn't make any sense, for she was indeed a woman, taller then him, older then him, but the last time he had seen her she was a sweet, 2ft tall little girl, always with a smile on her face.
He just stared dumbstruck, it was Haley.
------
End chap 2
---
Flames welcome.
