"The Experiment"
Chapter 13
Inferno came at me with a roar. I dodged around him, and ran up his back, looking to grab hold of the back of his neck. He swung around, however, and caught me with his arm, throwing me down to the grass. I rolled back to my feet.
The Dragon spread his wings, whipping the air around us into a whirlwind. He could have taken to the air, but he didn't. He wanted to play with me first. In the Arena we had been evenly matched, but out here in the open, he had all of the advantages. He could wait me out. All I had to do was make one mistake, miss one of his attacks, and it was all over. I had to take him out as quickly as I could. It was my only chance.
I Roared, countering his blast of wind with a blast of my own. The whirlwind became a cyclone, howling as it whipped up the grass and leaves around us. For a moment, the cloud of leaves and dust cut off my view of him. I darted forward, through the raging wind, and leaped towards the Dragon's throat.
He saw me coming and staggered back, but I blasted him with Lightning, the blue energy enveloping his neck and shoulders. He swatted at me with a claw, but I ducked under it, and slammed my horns into his ribs. He roared in pain, as I pierced his scaled hide, but before I could shock him again, he recovered. He reached out for me, and I ducked behind him to avoid his grasp.
Inferno tried to turn, to keep me in front of him, but I leaped up onto his back. I sank my fangs into the shoulder of his wing, ripping at the membrane with my claws. He screamed again, this time more of a screech than a roar, and began to beat his wings. I was thrown off, and barely dodged a strike by his tail.
The Dragon balled his hand into a fist, and the red lightning began to gather around his arm and shoulder again. I had never seen a Dragon from my continent use the attack, but I remembered Inferno's use of it in our last battle. I began to concentrate my own energy, gathering it between my horns, but then holding it. The sparks began to dance along my fur, making it stand on end.
He swung at me, and I leaped aside. Even so, the force of his blow threw me into the fence, the energy field around him so powerful that it had hit me indirectly. I turned in midair, bouncing off the fence to strike him in the head. I caught him perfectly, right under the chin, and he was thrown backwards. I turned a back flip and delivered the full force of my lightning into his chest, through my claws.
Inferno was on his back, and I leaped at him, but he again swatted me aside. I crashed into one of the stables, shattering the wall. By the time I could shake the debris off, Inferno was lumbering along behind the row of buildings, his wings fully extended. I raced after him, but it was too late. With a massive down sweep of his wings, the Dragon rose into the air.
He wheeled about, his massive bulk turning with frightening speed, and then he swooped down on me. In the air, a Dragon was a creature of remarkable agility, its size and power matched by unbelievable speed, and grace, for something so huge. I ducked into the cover between the two stables, avoiding Inferno's claws by only inches. I could hear his laughter, as he passed. He knew that I wouldn't last long, on the ground. But I had no intention of staying on the ground.
As Inferno circled for another pass, I leaped on top of the stable. I was able to clear the side of the building easily, landing effortlessly on the roof. I gathered another charge as Inferno started towards me. Now I had the advantage, as Inferno wouldn't dare damage one of Curtis's buildings.
Or so I thought. As the Dragon neared, he opened his mouth, and roared forth a blast of flame. I only barely reacted in time, leaping to one side, the fire coming so close that I could feel it singe my fur. I ran to one side, and then leaped onto another stable. The one I had left had caught fire, the roof burning.
"Inferno!" I yelled. "Are you crazy?!"
"If it's what it takes to get rid of you," Inferno said, "I will burn this whole ranch down!"
For a moment, I considered trying to put the fire out. But Inferno was coming around for another pass, and surely he would be looking for such an opening. At least no monsters were in the stables at this time. My jaw clenched, I turned to face the Dragon, ready for his next attack.
As he came at me, I Roared, and Inferno's own flame was whipped back in his face. He swung his head aside, and the flame blast lit the stable next to me on fire. Inferno shook his head as his attack ended, swiping at his charred face with his hand. Although they could withstand fire pretty well, with their thick hides, Dragons were no more immune to it than any monster. So hopefully he would think twice before trying that again.
But as I prepared for the next attack, some of the ranch hands arrived on the scene. Several of them opened fire, immediately, with their crossbows. I dodged the tranquilizer darts easily, leaping back and forth on the roof, but I couldn't dodge their attack and Inferno's too. I backed up towards the center of the roof, where the humans couldn't see me.
But they had cut off my escape route. They were waiting to shoot at me if I jumped to another roof. As Inferno came at me, I steeled myself. I would have to jump over the Dragon, or onto him, to escape his attack. But as he neared, one of the ranchers shot Inferno with an arrow.
"HOW DARE YOU!!!" The dragon roared, indignantly. He breathed a gout of flame on the humans, and they scattered. The handler who had fired ran up to Brom, who was approaching.
"What do you think you're doing?!" Brom yelled. He seemed as indignant as Inferno.
"They... they are destroying the ranch!" The handler said. He sounded a little frightened, whether of Brom or of Inferno I could not be sure.
"Then shoot the Grey Wolf!" Brom answered, pointing at me.
"We can't hit him! He dodges!"
I chuckled. Inferno was coming around for another pass, though, and I had no time to waste on the humans and their power struggles. As the Dragon slashed at me, I leaped onto his arm. I flipped myself up onto his back, and then sank my teeth into his spine. The scales were thick here, though, and Inferno had spikes that prevented me from getting too good a grip.
I was able to hold on long enough, however, to dig in my claws, and deliver a full charge of Lightning directly into his shoulders. His muscles jerked, and the Dragon tumbled in midair, momentarily losing control of his wings. Then he righted himself, and shook me off. I plummeted to the ground, but landed on my feet in front of the stables.
I had landed right in the middle of the handlers. A hail of crossbow bolts came at me, but before I could even try to duck or run, a pair of arms wrapped around my middle. Suddenly, I was being pulled sideways, and up. Before I could realize that it was Sandy who had grabbed me, she had swooped up to the roof of a stable, and set us down there.
"Sandy! You have to get out of here!"
She shook her head. "This is my fight, as much as yours."
"No! Inferno is too strong! He'll kill you!"
"You can't fly," she said. "I can. There's no time to argue." Inferno was swooping down on us. Sandy extended her wings, and leaped into the air.
A shower of crossbow bolts came at her, as she rose to meet Inferno. I Roared, the blast throwing the bolts off and to the side. "Fire at her again," I yelled to the handlers, "and the next Roar will be at you."
"This is your fault, Grey Wolf!" Brom answered. "Anything that happens to this stable will be your doing!"
"Don't threaten me, human!" I snarled, lightning flickering in front of my eyes. "I couldn't care less about Curtis or his rules!"
Brom, apparently, thought that I was charging up my Lightning to attack. His eyes grew wide, and he backed away from me, his arms up to protect his head. "Your argument is with Inferno, Gray Wolf, not me!" I could hear the terror in his voice. "I'm just trying to protect the ranch!"
I stared at him a moment. "You are a coward. No wonder Inferno is able to control you." I turned away from him, more interested in how Sandy was doing.
Sandy and Inferno wheeled overhead, chasing each other, each trying to get behind the other and attack from the rear. The Dragon was far too skilled to fall for that, though. Sandy was more agile in the air, and flitted this way and that, firing the occasional Ray at Inferno to keep him from getting too close to her. When Inferno managed to slip past her defense and charge at her, Sandy countered with a Flame at point blank range. I had taught her that move.
Inferno backed away, gliding as he put more distance between them. He swooped and dodged, as Sandy tried to catch him, eventually back winging to a halt, right in front of one of the stables. It was an opening, a huge opening, so obvious that I knew Inferno was doing it on purpose. He was trying to lure Sandy into hitting the stable.
"Sandy! Watch out!" But it was too late. She fired a blast of Flame from her outstretched hand, and Inferno dove out of the way. The fire swept over the stable, setting it alight.
I ran to catch up with them, leaping from roof to roof. The distraction had caught Sandy off guard, and Inferno had circled around behind her. She tried to escape him by weaving back and forth in the air, but Inferno stayed with her, breathing his fire at her again and again. She dodged over, around, and under the flames, but Inferno was closing in on her, and she could not dodge him for long.
Sandy folded her wings, twisting in the air as she changed course, and then swooped downward. Inferno shot past her but turned as well, catching back up to her. The little Pixie circled the buildings, looking for a shelter, and noticed the doors of the Lab standing wide open. She dove towards them, hoping to lose the Dragon's massive bulk in the confines of the Lab.
"Sandy, no!!!" I yelled. Sandy saw an escape route, but Inferno was right behind her, and gathering a massive blast of file, and I knew what the heat would do to the chemicals of the Lab and Freezer. I leaped from the roof, racing to the doorway, but Sandy shot through the doors, followed by Inferno, and a roar of heat and flame.
The Lab exploded, flames shooting out of it in all directions. Inferno was knocked backwards, and rolled across the ground in front of the building. For a moment, I feared the worst, but then from a side door, Sandy burst out into the open. She was then overtaken by the blast, and tossed all the way into the wall of a stable, even though it was several feet away.
I ran into the building. Sandy had smashed through the wall, a stall, the door to the stall, and had finally hit the ground in the middle of the stable. She staggered to her feet, one hand to her head, bleeding oily black blood from a wound in her side. I glanced back at a sound behind me, and noticed Inferno charging into the stable after us. I ran to Sandy's side.
"Quick! Back out the way you came!" I nudged her as she stumbled to the stall and out through the smashed wall. She stopped a moment, in shock, as she saw the burning wreckage that had been the Lab. It was still standing, barely, but most of the wall that she had been blown through was gone, leaving only the blackened, and still burning supports.
"Frank..." Sandy muttered.
"Come on!" I prodded. I grabbed her by the arm, pulling her back towards the back of the building. At that moment, however, Brom appeared from in front of the stable. He drew a bead on Sandy with his crossbow, and the bolt struck her in the arm. Sandy screamed, putting her other hand to the wound, but then her voice faded away, and she collapsed. As I stared at her, stunned, Inferno crashed through the wall.
The red lightning flickered up and down Inferno's arm as he drew back for the kill. I knew what it felt like to be hit by that attack, and I knew there was no way Sandy could survive it. I threw myself into the path of the blow, and it hit me, smashing me hard into the ground. I could feel bones cracking, and dizziness as the pain swept over me. But somehow, I managed to keep from passing out.
I turned, leaping straight for the Dragon's throat. My teeth sank into the relatively tender flesh, and Inferno bugled, startled. It was a choked, straining noise. I sank my fangs in deeper, deeper, as the Dragon tried to pull me off of him, his claws ripping into my hide. But he was weakening, fighting for air.
I dug in even deeper. Inferno couldn't stop me, now. As my fangs closed even tighter, I felt them hit bone. I ground against the vertebrae, letting my teeth slip in between them.
It was about to do to Crimson, when Sandy stopped me. But then I was angry, mad with bloodlust, unable to control myself. Now, strangely, I was calm. I just jerked my head to one side, and twisted.
I felt a crack. Inferno went rigid. There was a long second of silence. Then the Dragon fell to the ground with a crash. I released him, and looked back at Sandy. She stirred, blinked her eyes, and opened them. With a quiet, breathy moan, she put her hand on her arm. Grimacing, she pulled the crossbow bolt out.
"Are you all right?"
"My... Henger half... is releasing an antitoxin against the tranquilizer. I'll be all right in a minute."
Sandy looked past me. I turned to see what she was looking at, and noticed Brom, still standing there by the corner of the stable. He dropped his crossbow, and turned and ran. The monsters and the other handlers seemed to be gone, so there was only Sandy and I.
The fire had spread, and seemed like the whole ranch was on fire. The Lab was still burning, and it exploded again. The other wall of the Lab blew out, the one near the Freezer machinery.
Sandy's eyes widened as she remembered, and then she stood up. "Frank! Was he in there?"
"I don't know." I tried to remember where I had seen him last. He usually was in the Lab this time of day.
"We've got to go see! We've got to get him out!"
She took off running for the Lab. I quickly followed.
