Tristan

We were on our way to the facility, after waiting for the dragon's squad to reach it, when I heard Commander Knight's voice in my ear.

"Damn lizard says you are to turn around and flee as fast as you can. They got the breeders and the eggs out, but the facility was waiting for us. We are getting out now!"

I was turning to Garret to see if he heard too, but he was already ordering Ward to turn around the other car.
I felt sudden worry, and Garret seemed to follow my thoughts.

"Mitchell? Report the facility." He said to his radio.

"All still, nothing happens I can see Commander's car... Holy shit!"

My stomach clenched like never before in any battle. Fear and worry were trained, shouted and, if need be, beaten out of soldiers of St George already in the Academy. You couldn't match with a cunning, sneaky, immortal if you were distracted by worry or suppressed by fear. But I was afraid now. I didn't know how I would live on with the rogues if all that was left of Madison was a charred husk...

"A swarm of hostiles has surrounded the facility and is closing on the Commander. Fifty at least! All hatchlings. " Came Mitchell's report confirmed my worst fears.

"We cannot take on fifty dragons with twenty men, out in the open." Lieutenant Ward spoke grumpily to the radio from the other van as Garret ordered a stop.

We looked at each other. Oh! Wouldn't it be nice to get rid of Jason Knight and whatever trouble he was planning? But it wasn't St George way and it was even less of our way... And Madison was with him! Silly, proud and utterly irritating Madison was in danger. Again.

"Mitchell! We are going to intercept them, keep me updated on their movements."

Garret said but there was no answer. He just ordered Joseph to drive back towards the facility.

Madison

Phew, this was easy... Riley and Mist just glitched in and out with the eggs and the dragonels. I could see disoriented guards looking around the room, but apart from this small strike force of three Gilas and three humans, there didn't seem to be any serious threats underway.

I watched the inside of the facility on the screen of my laptop, when Josh and Bill removed the camouflage net from the van and got ready to drive away.
My dad made a three point turning and we sped through the desert as numerous grey bodies rose to the sky in front of the car and behind, quickly converging on us and forming a loose ring.

Vessels!

After a couple minutes of frantic communication between my parents and Garret, the view of the inside of the facility disappeared from my screen and so did the other's voices on the radio...

"They are jamming all communication." I said unnecessarily as my dad sped through the desert at full speed, from where I sat between him and mom, I could see a muscle twitching in his clenched jaw.
I reached for my gun. Not that it could do much against a shifted dragon, even if I could aim...
Suddenly I remembered Lieutenant St Anthony insisting on me getting better. Well he was going to say, I told you so. I only hoped it wouldn't be over my dead body.

In the back, Josh, Bill and Paul opened windows and aimed their riffles at the nearest vessels in front of us, that were getting close very fast. I cringed when they started shooting, the noise was overwhelming in the car. Mom embraced me and I buried my face in her shoulder for a moment. Then I looked back.
Boys were shouting to each other pointing out their next target. They got three vessels down before they reached us. My dad sped on through the edge of the ring that was slightly thinned out in front of the car.
It seemed that we could pull it off, we could get away.

Thump! A vessel landed on the roof, its talons making visible marks. The car swerved, as the vessel beat its wings trying to make it topple. Josh grabbed the gun from his belt, stuck it out through the window, pointed above the roof and emptied the cartridge shooting blindly. As he pulled his arm in jaws closed, where his hand has been seconds ago.

"That was stupid." Bill commented through gritted teeth.
The vessel hung on, but we were still driving.
Then the second joined it and the third.
A shot sounded, and one vessel fell off. Then the second and the third.
Around us vessels were dropping to the ground, I looked up to see a speck on the horizon to our right...

"St Anthony." Josh said.

"And Ward." Dad added looking to the horizon slightly to the left from our course, where another van must have been.
Guys resumed shooting the vessels with their M4s, keeping them distracted as rounds from sniper riffles slowly but surely took one by one down, sending them tumbling down and causing clouds of dust to rise in the wake of their falls.

This lasted only a couple of minutes though. Then the vessels converged on us effortlessly and dropped onto the roof and the windshield obscuring the way. The car swerved but dad kept on pushing forward if slower, there was nothing here for miles we could hit and if we stopped...
The vessels spewed fire at the car and the heat was getting uncomfortable very fast, I was already sweating in my fireproof armour of a soldier of St George and sweat trickled down mom's face...

Then a vessel shot by Josh threw itself in front of the vehicle, too close to drive around and my dad hit the breaks as we all were propelled forward my seat belt almost crushing my chest. Bill's riffle shot through the roof and Josh yelled at him.
Then dad hit reverse and we were jostled again. Mom cursed like I've never heard her do. The car reeled and sped in another direction in a desperate attempt to outrun airborne pursuers.
Four vessels grabbed onto the van at the same time and all but lifted it from the ground. Josh yelled for others to roll up the windows and hide in the back, where there was more metal and less glass between them and the vessels.

I looked at my father's pale face and horrible truth was dawning on me, the others were too far away to help in time, they kept on shooting, but the vessels were too many to effectively hold off from afar...

Dad let go of the steering wheel to cover mom's hand where it clutched my shoulder.
The tender look in his eyes was the most terrifying thing I've ever seen. Dad have given up.

I was going to die here. A wave of regrets swelled in my chest. This was going to be my life. School, St George bases, failed attempts to steal the Order's fortune, pining for Josh and a tumble with Garret. No, no, no, no! All I could think about was no.

The car shook and started to dent from vessels burning and beating it. Windshield cracked, hit by a hind leg of a grey dragon clone and I felt warmth on my bottom, as my bleeder gave up too.

My body shook violently, and mom was talking to me, but I couldn't hear her through the roar of blood in my ears.

Suddenly a battle cry sounded from above and we were abruptly dropped to the ground, dad scrambled to start the car, his face again a rigid mask. It worked and he now tried to gain speed. Josh and Bill resumed shooting the vessels within their vicinity and suddenly it seemed that we were getting away. I looked back.

Four dragons, white, blue, metallic grey and a black one was now harassing the vessels, that divided to pursue us and fight them. But their numbers were seriously depleted, and I started to hope we were going to win...

Garret

Joseph stopped the car approximately thousand yards from where the van with Commander Knight, Madison and their crew sped through the desert in a cloud of dust.
Tristan jumped onto the roof and methodically shot vessels down one by one. Two thousand yards from us on the other side of Knight's route Lieutenant Ward was doing the same. It turned out he was very good at it; experience and discipline must have been great teachers even if you were a sadistic jerk.

Such uncharacteristic for me angry thoughts occurred more and more often. The fact that Ember was responsible for all this, the monster she's apparently become, all this was finally getting to me. Some part of me wished, that one of the vessels would tear me apart and stop my misery. I've never felt like this before, I didn't care about anything anymore. I didn't care to live to wage a war against Ember, even if I could. I couldn't concentrate on current situation, because I didn't care if we lived or died.

Vessels gripped Knight's van and Tristan cursed.

The car was now held still and vessels around it blew fire in an attempt to bake the humans inside. I was about to exit the car to give Tristan heads up, we needed to get closer to help, when four familiar bodies appeared in the sky over Knight's van. Tristan has already reloaded his sniper riffle and shot another vessel down. Situation was under control and I started to glide back into state of indifference, when I heard Tristan's

"Watch out from above!" and almost immediately felt the impact and was showered by glass of the windshield. I turned to see a huge gleaming foreleg covered in opalescent green scales with black talons. It crushed the hood and two of the talons stuck in through the windshield. One of them have pierced Joseph's armour and was buried deep in his stomach. I was unscathed though. I still sat turned towards the exit, so the other talon pierced the seat inches from my armoured thigh. I looked at Joseph who stared blankly ahead an expression of disbelief on his face. His lips moved soundlessly; blood bobbled from his wound with each heartbeat. He was dying.

"Out through the back! Stay together, seek cover!" I shouted to the men in the back as I jumped out of the car finally shedding my stupor.

Joseph was dying and it was my fault, my sloppy leadership was the reason that the dragon took us by surprise.

Huge green adult stood over the van and breathed fire into the hole he had made in the windshield, poor Joseph. I pitied his last moments but there was nothing we could do for him. Except for maybe shooting him in the head, but I wouldn't do that. I was tired of killing, especially my own men.

The adult had black wings and horns. I looked around for options and noticed with relief, that Tristan was under the car rolling away and the others fled through the back doors. They found together and within seconds were circling the dragon a bit further away than me from where it stood, shooting at it.

A shadow fell over me.
I looked up and saw them, a swarm of vessels, fifty or more swept over our heads obscuring the sun to descend upon Knight and Ward in the distance. They must have been hiding in the skies waiting for their turn to join the fray, or maybe they rushed to here from afar and couldn't keep up with the larger adult?

The adult turned its horned head toward me seemingly ignoring steady stream of rounds that ricocheted from its breastplate.

"Garret Xavier Sebastian, the cause of all that mess, we meet at last." It said in deep commanding voice surprising me, I halted my retreat towards my men, not wanting to draw its attention to them, if it was focused on me.

"This is the last trouble you ever cause me." It hissed and blew fire at me.

I rose one arm to cover my face and took a couple of steps backwards, when another impact shook the ground.
The fire has barely licked my fireproof armour when it stopped abruptly. I looked up to see the green adult pinned to the ground by a familiar black shape.

The dragon thrashed violently and called.

"Vessels! Kill her!"

His voice was rasp from being choked, but they must have had some free channels in their jamming signal, because the vessels harassing Knight's and Ward's squads rose as one and sped towards where Stealth pinned the adult to the ground by his neck. She clenched her jaws around his nape and shook her head again and again in an attempt of breaking his neck.

I didn't wait for them to reach her, I ran towards my men and shouted before I reached them.

"To the others!"

Ward and Knight were driving towards us with four small shiny bodies leading overhead, but that wasn't a smart move now. We were overmatched, we needed to get out.
I run towards Knight's van, because it was closer as Riley and the other dragons met us sooner than fourth part of the way.

As soon as Riley could hear us, I shouted to him.

"Tell the others to stop! We need to get out now, before they remember about us! Take the men here first!

Riley landed in front of me digging his claws in to break.

"Anything else?" He asked angrily.

"Nettle! Fly back and tell Commander jackass and Lieutenant pain in the ass to flee!" He shouted and Nettle turned mid-air and sped towards the other vans. Then Riley turned sideways to give me access to his back.

"No! I'm needed here." I said.

"I'll stay with you." Tristan stepped closer.
Three of the four remaining soldiers stepped forward and somewhat clumsily mounted Riley, Kain and Mist

The three dragons leaped up and disappeared immediately. They were getting better at it, it seemed, once Riley needed to fly for some time before he could glitch.

The three of us barely resumed our retreat as Nettle returned and after casting a fleeting doubtful look at me, the last of the soldiers in our group mounted her and disappeared.

Just then Riley and the three others were back.

"Knight's group now!" I shouted to them looking back

Stealth's body was now covered in vessels clawing and tearing at her scaly body. She couldn't withstand such attack for long. But I remembered Tristan reporting her killing off forty-five vessels all by herself in less than an hour without getting a scratch. Anyways there was nothing we could do against so many enemies in our current state.

I kept running towards, where Knight's van now stopped to parley with Riley.
Nettle appeared right over it and joined the others. Soon four dragons rose again and disappeared. We were still three hundred yards or so away when they appeared again.
But they didn't rise again before me and Tristan reached them.

Running in a desert with full dragon slayer armour on was exhausting and we both panted. As we joined Riley and Kain facing Madison and her father beside the empty van. Madison stood with her arms crossed and Commander Knight's face was very red.

"What's going on?!" I demanded.

"Madison won't go." Said Mist and I swear her tone was rolling eyes and sighing deeply.

"There's no time for this. Let's get rolling. Riley, Mist help Ward's squad now!"
I said getting into driver's seat as Tristan walked around the van to passenger's seat. Madison hurried to sit in the back of battered van. Knight climbed up after her.
Beside me I heard Tristan twisted in his sit to admonish Madison for disobeying orders and putting her life in even more danger. He ignored murderous looks from her dad, who quickly looked away though.

Madison

I sat as fad away as possible from Tristan and Garret listened to his angry words with burning face. I'd rather die, than tell why I was reluctant to mount Riley in my wet pants. It probably wouldn't make any sense to him anyway.
I almost wished to die here, so I wouldn't have to face the issue in front of soldiers and dragons.

"Dragons are coming." Dad said suddenly, sounding alarmed.

Tristan and I twisted to look back. I gasped seeing a swarm of grey bodies no further away than a hundred yards behind us. In the distance Stealth rose to follow them and the other adult fled, pumping his wings laboriously, he clearly was seriously wounded.
We reached Lieutenant Ward's car, now empty and sped past it.
Riley and the other dragons appeared again.

"Fuck!" Tristan cursed.

We were just four of us, three soldiers and me, and four small dragons against more than fifty vessels.

"What do we do, Commander?" My dad mocked from the back.

"We stop. Madison and Commander get on Kain and Nettle we will cover you! That's an order!" Garret barked and hit the breaks.

Dad grabbed my hand, opened the doors and jumped out before the car stopped completely.
Four dragons landed beside us immediately and he pulled me towards Kain. Tristan and Garret jumped out too and immediately started shooting approaching vessels.

I secretly dreamed about riding a dragon ever since Tristan told me about his flights. But now I only felt terrified and mortified, I stumbled and fell. I heard riffle rounds. When I got up, vessels were practically upon us.

"I got her." Mist shouted to my dad from where she crouched beside me.

"Come Madison." She said to me and it was strange to hear her voice from the pale dragon's mouth, but it got me moving.

I climbed her narrow back clumsily and tried to find good balance. It was very unlike riding a horse, I sat in front of her wings not on her sacrum and honestly didn't know what to do. I trembled uncontrollable and held on to her smooth neck.

A vessel slept toward me and I almost fell as Mist turned to meet it head on, raking with her talons and snapping with her jaws.
Miraculously I managed to cling to her neck and we rose, Mist snapped away talons and snouts reaching for me and evading most of gusts of fire. Around us everything was a blur of vessels, riffle rounds, flapping wings and fire.
Mist climbed up twisting and turning more and more desperately.

Then two of three vessels harassing her got snatched by black mouth and talons. Mist flapped her wings one more time and everything got blurry. I felt vertigo as if we were barrelling downwards and then it all stopped as abruptly as it started and were circling in cool air on a cloudy afternoon. I looked around feeling dizzy as a metallic grey dragon popped up in the air beside us carrying my dad.

Kain dove immediately and Mist followed him, though descending in large circles.
We landed in a large park, where Lieutenant Ward and fifteen other soldiers waited. Dad was already off Kain and mom ran towards me.

"What took you so long?" She asked dad over her shoulder pale with either worry or sudden relief.

I slumped on Mist's back painfully embarrassed with my state after sudden change of scenery. Beyond Kain's spread wings were huge lawn with broad gravel paths and in the distance groups of people enjoyed their afternoon lounging on spread blankets or directly on the ground.

Mom touched my arm.

"Are you okay sweetheart?"

I tried to speak but my voice didn't work. I cleared my throat and said.

"I'm fine mom." But my voice was barely a whisper.

I didn't feel like moving right now and Mist didn't say anything. I remembered how she fought to keep me safe during our escape and decided that there might be only few things more terrifying than an angry dragon, but also few things felt as safe as sitting on Mist's back. As if suddenly nothing could hurt me. Vessels, dad's remarks, boy's rejections, having peed my pants in front if everyone all these things were powerless against riding a real dragon. I smiled.

Riley and Nettle landed beside us, Garret astride the blue dragon, jumped off immediately looking like a thunderstorm. Turned to Nettle who seemed to cower.

"Where's the last soldier?" Kain asked.

"He didn't want to come, I couldn't get to him, there were vessels everywhere..." Nettle said and it was strange to hear a dragon in her true form sound so defensive and desperate.

"That's fine Nettle, you're not a fighter the soldier gets what he deserves." Kain said reassuringly.

"What kind of bullshit is that Kain?!" Garret spat angrily from where he stood beside Riley.

"Nettle is a kid, she's not trained fighter." Kain said innocent, acting dumb.

"Oh, I have nothing against Nettle, it's your tone I don't like." Garret retort was completely not like him, anger shone in his narrowed eyes, his hands were fisted, and he seemed ready to attack the dragon in front of him.

"You don't like my tone St George? And what are you going to do about it?" Kain taunted.

"Stop being an ass Kain!" Riley cut them off.

"Your guy Tristan wouldn't come; he actually ran towards fucking Viper. I saw it!" He turned to Garret, who tore his eyes away from Kain with visible effort

"I know!" Garret spat. "Please, go back for him."

Riley looked at Garret for a short while with clenched jaw. In the end he sighed.

"I'll make a fly over. But don't expect me to brave tens of vessels or send my hatchlings to retrieve a jackass who's clearly lost his fucking mind." He said.

Garret nodded looking pained and stood watching, when Riley shifted and disappeared.
Further away the soldiers were peeling off their armour staying in black pants and shirts, that would have been inconspicuous if they weren't all wearing the same. Alexander, a young guy in Lieutenant Ward's squad got his armour ripped on his shoulder and had a bad burn. Mom was called and as always, when a soldier was wounded, she turned away and rushed to aid him, forgetting all about my existence.

"Mist?" I whispered and cowered when slender neck in front of me twisted and I came eye to eye with the white dragon.

"I... have peed my pants." I said not knowing what else to do, feeling that no matter what I did, humiliation was inevitable.

For a moment she just watched me with her pale blue eyes, and then Nettle joined us carrying a cargo bag.

"Jump off to the other side, I'll shield you from the others. Don't think about the people here, they cannot see us." Mist said and I made to dismount but my legs wouldn't move.
Nettle came around and touched my arm.

"Come now, this leg." She said tapping my thigh and somehow it moved, seemingly without my involvement. I fell heavily to the ground my legs felt stiff and foreign.
Then they both shifted, Nettle spread her wings and everything around us disappeared. I cried out in terror.

"Don't freak out." Mist said. "Nettle can manipulate time and space batter than any other of us, this way no one can see or disturb us."

"Wes have bought these clothes for… breeders, but there was no need, take a pick. It's been washed." Nettle said.

I was still shaking.

"May I?" Mist asked indicating my jacket and I nodded.

With her help I got rid of my wet clothes that were now very cold. She looked through the bag. Thankfully Wes was very reasonable. There were black cotton briefs, leggings and a t-shirt with a pink dragon on it. I let Mist help me get dressed and completed the look with black polka dot flared mini skirt and a black hoodie.
Mist threw my wet clothes to the ground and Nettle burned them. I started laughing when in a blink of an eye I stood in the park again.

"...you!" My dad yelled at Garret and stopped seeing me.

"Where have you been?!" Mom exclaimed from where she kneeled beside Alexander.

"She needed to change clothes." Mist said and put an arm around my shoulders.

It felt comforting, even though I didn't know her and honestly, envied her polished look and seemingly intimate relationship she had to Riley, Kain and even Garret.

Nettle shifted and took the rest if the clothes back to Wes, who stood loaded with other bags beside Garret looking very uncertain. She dropped the bag of second-hand clothes, ethically sourced and washed by Wes family, and reached to one of the paper bags in his hands.
She then came back and handed me a 'Pret-a-manger' sandwich and bottled smoothie.

"Eat." She whispered smiling friendly.

Wes spread a chequered blanket and placed the rest of the bags on it.

"Welcome to London." He said with crooked smile.

Seeing cold stares from most of the exhausted soldiers, he quickly added "We will be on our way as soon as Riley is back, and you are presentable." He said that to Garret but looked at Alexander being bandaged by my mom. Apparently, Wes also had a first aid kit with him...