Running Blind

The very first week of the school year at Jade Mountain Academy was beyond stressful. As it was their first time being teachers and counselors, the Dragonets of Destiny had a hard time with all the students that went there, especially for one NightWing. Dragonets kept running up and down the halls; a clumsy student ran into one of the book shelves and knocked down all of the books and scrolls in the library; the food for the lunch meal wasn't delivered on time, and arrived three hours late. Not only that, but he forgot to do some paperwork the other night, and he spent all day getting it done, but with all the commotion that happened that day, it seemed like eternity.

That night, Starflight sat with his hands to his temples with the papers down on his desk. He hadn't even gotten halfway done with it, and was extremely stressed out. He couldn't focus, he kept thinking: Get it done, get it done. But anxiety was taking over. Starflight knew he had to clear his mind somehow, and he knew it was hours after curfew, but not even stress could help him sleep.

His friend, Fatespeaker, came in and asked: "What's wrong? You look tired."

"It's been a long few days," Starflight replied.

"How about you take a break?"

"I can't. I need to finish this."

She looked at all the papers. "You're already stressed out as it is. How about you come take a walk with me?"

"We could, but we need to make it back in time so I can get this done by tomorrow."

"You can finish it tomorrow. Come on, you need a break."

Reluctantly, Starflight stood up, and followed his friend outside. She guided him during flight, and in only a few minutes, they landed in a nearby forest, and began their walk.

The air was cool here; the grass was soft on his feet, and produced a calming silence - the perfect ambience to soothe his nerves. He made sure to stay close to Fatespeaker so he wouldn't get lost, so he trudged slowly behind.

"Feeling better now?" Fatespeaker asked.

"Yeah," he replied. "Uh, what is this forest?"

"Just a forest, nothing too suspicious."

She held his hand and led him to another part of the area. When Starflight felt the ground, he noticed they were at a small field of flowers.

"Thanks for taking me out here," he said with a smile.

"Of course. I'm going to go look for something to give you."

"Oh, uh, okay."

He heard her leave. Starflight could already feel his senses calming down, and all of his stress being forgotten. The peace and quiet he needed for a long time, finally here, and was already beginning to love every second of it. The absence, the silence, the coolness, everything about the forest was calming, and now had confidence to finish all the paperwork that needed to be done.

Then . . . all of that tranquility was instantly replaced with fear when a loud, blood curdling scream filled the air. Starflight's senses went to panic when he realized that scream belonged to Fatespeaker. The thought of something horrible happening to his friend made him more fearful.

"Fatespeaker?" He called out, but there was no answer.

He had to find her, they had to get out of here. Starflight walked cautiously through the forest, holding his hands out to make sure he wouldn't run into something, calling out his friend's name over and over again.

I should have known this would happen, Starflight thought, anxiously. I should have stayed and finished the paper work. How could I be so stupid?

He knew now was not the time to be sorry for himself, but couldn't shake the thought that he was the idiot that let themselves be in danger. Starflight kept stepping on rocks and twigs, and whoever else was out there would know where the sounds were coming from, and find him, and kill him. He tried to make as little noise as possible, but every twig he stepped on seemed like it echoed throughout the entire forest, but trudged on, praying that Fatespeaker would be alright.

Deep in the forest, all shadows loomed in this one little area. A long trail of flat dirt, along with droplets of blood staining the ground. Fatespeaker's eyes would never be opened again as her corpse was dragged along the hard ground. They reached the place that smelled of decay and dread, and her body was thrown into the pile where other corpses lay. Her arm was lifted up, and all her claws were cut off with such ease that pounds of blood flew out. It feasted upon the limbs with satisfaction, and savored every moment. The smell, the taste, the sensation of a good meal was strong in its senses. It breathed heavily, and its throat felt better.

It raised its head to the sky, and screamed.

As the NightWing walked, he could soon smell something rotting, like animals who had been dead for a long time. He tried to avoid it, but wherever he went, the stench seemed to be getting stronger. Eventually, Starflight tripped and landed on something wet and slimy. He tried to feel what it was, but immediately wished he hadn't. What he was feeling was organs, entrails leading to a ripped up corpse of an animal, and Starflight realized he had fallen in some kind of den full of these bodies. He felt the blood around him, and kept stepping on more insides.

Starflight then felt something hard, but it didn't take him long to realize that it was scales; his fear and sadness grew. He felt a head and face - the face of a NightWing. He didn't need to be reminded who this was, his face was already filled with sorrow. He carefully lifted the corpse, and hugged it tightly, already feeling the blood fall on his arms and legs.

There was breathing. Heavy, angry breathing. It sounded a few feet behind him, and his face hardened. He wanted to fight, he wanted to kill whoever killed his friend, but Starflight knew he couldn't - there was no way he could fight something while blind. The breathing grew louder, more intense, and aggrieved. Then, whoever this was let out a scream. Not a dragon roar, only a scream of rage and frustration.

With no hesitation, Starflight ran off, his pursuer following after, screaming. The NightWing held his hands out in front of him to make sure he didn't run into anything, but kept running into trees and bushes. He tripped over a rock, hitting the ground hard. The hobo grabbed him, and wrapped something incredibly large and sharp like scissors around his hand. Starflight screamed in pain as the blades crushed his wrist. He felt blood flow when a surge of pain ran through his body and something fell to the ground. Starflight picked himself up and continued running, just as the hobo lashed the blades at his back.

Starflight ran for dear life, and ignored the pain in his wrist, and back, and did not slow down when he kept encountering trees. When he thought he was far away enough, he found a bush, and hid himself in it. He stayed as silent as possible while he heard the hobo running in, shuffling around, then running off.

After a few seconds, Starflight emerged from the bush, listened to the temporary silence, then ran off. He jumped at every small sound, thinking that the hobo would be right there, but it was never the pursuer. A few more minutes of trying to navigate his way out of the forest, then he heard something in the distance. He walked towards it, and when the sound got louder, Starflight realized it was a river. If he could get the hobo to find him, he could throw him in the water, then all he had to do next was get out of the woods, and warn his friends about what happened.

Starflight heard heavy footsteps stop a few feet away from him, followed by heavy breathing. He then heard two large pieces of metal scraping against each other. After a few seconds, a scream, then a charge.

The hobo ran right into him, and Starflight felt the blades come around his neck, and he pushed the dragon off. It swung the blades, and at the last second the NightWing backed off, then pushed it again. He heard it fall, then get back up. Starflight heard shuffling, and couldn't fully comprehend what the hobo was doing. But before he could react, he felt two blades drive through his stomach, followed by a scream from both him, and the hobo.

Its breath was hot on his face as Starflight kneed the dragon in the stomach, but it did not flinch. He heard the water rushing to his right, so he turned that way, and with the little strength he could muster, the NightWing shoved the hobo hard, and heard it screaming, then a loud splash. Its screams became distant, and Starflight took slow, deep breaths, then silence came. He stood up weakly, and walked off.

As he tried to navigate himself around the forest, he ran into a tree, and realized there was something on it: A piece of paper. Starflight grabbed it, and continued walking, and was about morning when he reached Jade Mountain Academy. But due to his condition, the NightWing collapsed, and fainted.

Starflight woke up, panting.

"It's alright," said Clay's voice.

He calmed himself, and laid back down on the bed. "Where am I?"

"The infirmary. Starflight, what happened? Where did you go? Where's Fatespeaker?"

The sadness returned to the dragon's face. "We were just going for a walk in the woods, but someone attacked us. . . . It killed Fatespeaker."

Clay just stood there. " . . . S-Starflight . . . I'm so sorry. . . . You're in critical condition, but I think you'll be alright."

Starflight lay there in silence, then suddenly sat up. "The paper!"

"What?"

"I found a piece of paper in the woods. Where is it?"

There was a moment of silence. " . . . It's, uh . . . right here. But Starflight, I read it, and it's . . . disturbing." Clay handed him the paper.

Starflight had learned how to read books with his hand. He moved it around the paper, all the while his tension growing with every sentence. It read:

To whom whoever finds this,

A strange dragon came to me one day. He knew I was a scientist, and he told me he had a rare disease that affects his personality, and appearance. For three years I have done all I can to help this dragon, but every month that went by something bad happened, and the disease got worse.

His scales had started to rot, decay, fall apart, and split open. His eyes became completely white, and he had trouble seeing, so I gave him my special goggles. I came in, and saw that he had sewn two large shears onto his right hand. When I asked him why he did this, he told me his claws fell off, so he had to use blades instead. His aggression became worse everyday, and would lash out at every little thing. One morning he was gone, and I haven't seen him in at least a year.

Please, if you have any information on his whereabouts, let me know as soon as possible. His picture is at the top of this paper. He is a very dangerous, highly hostile dragon that needs immediate help.

Sincerely,

Mastermind