Chapter XII
Jake landed on the docks, three ships were docked however one called to him with its aura; a sort of darkness that a being could actually feel emanating off of the ship.
He returned to human form as he stepped onto it cautious, "Dark Hunter show yourself." The young dragon surveyed the ship, but could make out nothing in the gloom.
He grunted as his eyes narrowed, "Eye of the Dragon," his vision enhanced, as his eyes were able to see through the darkness as if it were daylight, yet he could not see anything, "Hmm,"
"Alright Dragon, I'll show myself," he heard a voice from above him, the dragon glanced up almost too late as a figure came down on him.
Jake leapt aside, almost being leapt upon. The Dark Hunter rolled into a combat position facing him, "Hello there dragon. And how are we feeling tonight?"
Jake growled still in human form, "Where's Rose,"
The Dark Hunter laughed, "Aw that's sweet dragon, but I'm afraid that I can't have a hideous monster like you with a pretty girl like Rose now can I,"
Jake narrowed his eyes, "What do you want with her?"
"I just want to keep her away from beasts like yourself," replied the Dark Hunter, he spat on the ground, "disgusting, filthy dragon," he sneered from beneath the mask, "alright dragon, I'll make this as painful and as long as possible so you can suffer as I did,"
Jake frowned, "Can't you just give me back my girlfriend and we talk about this like rational human beings?"
The Dark Hunter laughed, "I don't think so," he leapt forward drawing a sword, "time to die dragon,"
Jake took a few steps back, "Dragon Up!" his body ripped into the figure of the American Dragon, "That's it Hunter, you're going down!" he leapt at the masked figure and grabbed at the sword that the man was wielding shattering it in his claws.
The Dark Hunter took a few steps back out of Jake's range, surprise showed in his eyes, "Unbelievable," he muttered, "You shouldn't have been able to have destroyed that, phaw-no bother," he pulled at his belt and a whip-like weapon coiled itself around his hand, "come on dragon, let's see how you enjoy my electro-whip," the whip launched itself at Jake and the dragon leapt out of the way.
Jake laughed, "You'll have to do better than tha-," his words were cut short as he felt something jerk his left leg, turning to look he realized that the whip had curled itself around his ankle.
"Alright, time for a thousand volts of electricity, how about that?" said the Dark Hunter with a soft laugh, he touched a button on the whip the whip sparked as one thousand volts of electricity was pumped into it.
Jake screamed in pain as the electricity coursed through his body, the agony that his entire body was being put through. He managed to breath a small blast of fire at the whip freeing him; the dragon now drained from the current that was only moments ago ripping through his body landed a few feet away behind some large crates. The ship was a cargo ship probably transporting goods to some far away land.
"Aw, you broke my whip," Jake heard the Dark Hunter say laughingly, "come out, come out wherever you are dragon. Let's play,"
Jake managed a rather un-dragon-like whimper as he reverted to human form in an attempt to heal his dragon wounds. The young man again entered dragon form, not with a hundred percent recovery but a percent that did not have his head pounding like a thousand volts were being poured into his skull.
The dragon stood atop a crate and swooped down on the Dark Hunter, "Here I am," he managed with a weak voice. Jake threw his weight against the hunter catching him off guard.
Jake had the Dark Hunter pinned to the deck, one of his claws around the man's neck squeezing ever so tightly to remind him that he could at any moment crush his windpipes and leave him for dead, "Where's Rose?" he asked forcefully.
For the first time the dragon saw a twinge of fear in the hunter's eyes, but that fear was soon replaced with arrogance, "I won't tell you dragon, you'd have to kill me,"
Jake lifted him from the deck ever so slightly and slammed him into it again, not at all gently, "Tell me now or so help me not even Morfid could give you as much pain as I will," this seemed to scare the Dark Hunter who nodded.
"Alright," he said with a conceding sigh, "let me just get my map, you'll never find her on your own," he stretched to reach his belt.
Jake allowed him and only too late remembered-Jake was thrown back with such force that the crate that he crashed into was blown into splinters. Consciousness dipped as the American Dragon felt himself floating, he blinked, seeing the ship in front of him, the Dark Hunter crouching low in the railing, "Never let your guard down dragon. Adios this will be our last encounter!" he laughed as he leapt off the ship.
Jake's vision blurred as he tried to fight the darkness that was closing in as a cold began to seep into his scales and his skin, there was nothing there anymore nothing but a fading light in the darkness that was closing in.
XX
Rose awoke to see the figure of the Dark Hunter standing in front of her, "Adren?" she asked softly.
Adren shook his head, "That name has no meaning to me anymore, I am the Dark Hunter and no one else." His mask was off revealing his handsome face, a face that Rose had never forgotten.
"Your boyfriend is dead," he said matter-of-factly.
Rose blinked, "What," she managed with disbelief.
"I finished him on a dock an hour ago, if the blast from my concussion grenade didn't kill him he'll be unconscious…under water. I don't really think that dragons can breath underwater, and I don't think unconscious ones can get to the surface," he said with nonchalance.
Anger began to blaze in Rose's eyes, "You beast!" she screamed at him fighting against her restraints.
Adren Karr looked surprised, "You call me a beast? How could you love that monster?"
"That monster was a better man than you'll ever be," returned Rose with a sneer.
Adren shook his head ruefully, "Ah, so it was true. Huntsgirl did fall in love with a miserable dragon," he sneered at her, "my sweet Rose went and got herself with a dragon, I should never have helped you escape the Huntsclan, I would have never allowed you to if I realized that you were so serious about this dragon boy," he muttered a curse.
"Leave me you beast!" screamed Rose with rage and misery.
Adren looked taken aback, he blinked twice to clear his head, "Unbelievable," he muttered as he left the room.
Rose allowed herself to go limp, "Jake…" she managed with a soft sigh, more of a hopeless whisper, "Jake…" she managed again with a moan; tears weren't something that Rose was ever use to. She had rarely cried in her life. However this would be one of the rare times as tears began to roll down her cheek, slowly at first then in torrents as the floodgates of tear ducks were opened. The blonde sobbed and cried miserably in the dark, knowing that she would have no savior, no rescuer. The American Dragon was dead. Her love was dead. Her desire to survive was gone. Rose no longer had hope. And without hope, how can a human survive?
XX
Jake Ross2: I won't be updating until September. Sorry to all readers of this fic. Thanks for all the reviews so far! It's really encouraging me! I'll update as soon as I can. But until then review and enjoy!
