Sorry to hear you are freezing Vin, I suppose this is why I like Spring and Autumn the most – not too hot, and not too cold. They are the Goldilocks seasons; just right. I just finished up a productive week off work with lots of housework done, garden cleaned up, chapters written and yearly medical checkups complete. So now I'm all ready to take on 2020.

Hope you all like the latest one.

Chapter 28

The pseudo war continued outside the wall of the mountain tunnel compound, with very little progress on either side. The townsfolk continued to throw rocks at the invaders as they block the path of the Bull Ant. For their part, Blues friends had no desire to run down these people and so a general stalemate had been reached. If any of Gran's defenders should come too close, an overhead swoop from one of the dragons followed by a fireball soon made them think twice. Marion Green and her snipers rifle were still hidden on the side hill but she had cease firing soon after the battle had started. Her only task had been to set off the small flash bombs Blue had set the night before, but now there were so many people milling around in the open area, she did not want to risk setting any more off as they could still manage to badly hurt someone at such a close range.

Reed Branson decided too much time had passed since Blue had gone in with his squad of four dragons and it may be time to change tactics. To this end, he left his team behind the front wooden shield of the bull Ant, climbed up the rear steps and made his way to the front of the top deck where Professor Adisa had been watching the proceedings through a hastily installed periscope. From this safe position he had a very good view over the top of the shield and across the open area.

"I don't think things are going as well as we'd hoped" Reed declared.

"Hmm... yes I believe you are right" the Professor replied as he continued to scan the area.

"So what do we do? We can't abandon the kids, we can't get around that mob, we can't drive forward, we can't drive back, we can't..."

"Why not?" Adisa asked.

"Huh... why not what?"

"Why not go back?"

"WHAT! AND LEAVE ABBY, BLUE AND CALLA?"

"Calm yourself Captain, I was not suggesting anything of the sort. From up here I have noticed something very interesting" Professor Adisa noted "For all their bluster and bravado, these people appear to have no desire to actually win this fight; they don't want to overpower us and take us prisoner, they just want to drive us off. See how they are herding us from the front and not trying to flank the Bull Ant and surround us. I have noticed also that the firearms a few of them carry are used very little and not in a lethal manor. This could suggest that they have not had much training and even less ammunition, but I believe the reason is because they merely want to make us think twice about attempting another frontal assault."

"Well... okay but we can't let them send us packing with our tails between our legs" Reed said desperately.

"No but we can let them think they have" Linton smiled as he tapped the side of his nose.

Reed smiled at the elderly Jamaican man; he should have known the Professor would have a plan.

"If we slowly retreat, stopping occasionally to make it appear as if we have not yet given up entirely, then the mob outside should continue to try and scare us off."

"Giving Blue more time" Reed nodded in agreement.

"But wait, there's more" Linton winked.

Having been told the Professors plan, Branson returned to his team still sheltering behind the Bull Ant's nose shield.

"Take these and follow me" he told them.

"Umm... a chainsaw?" Emerson looked puzzled at what he'd been given, and hoped it was not for personal defence.

Reed led the team to the back of the Bull Ant and then further down the road. Taking a similar route to Blues flight path, the stealthy group moved up the side hill and into the forest, arching slowly around the angry defenders and making their way closer to the mountain compound. As soon as they were out of sight, Professor Adisa told the Bull Ant's driver to begin their measured retreat.

'

'

Abigail and her dragon escort moved cautiously through the tunnel system towards the entrance, making occasional use of empty rooms and side passages, to avoid being noticed by the few people still moving throughout the underground passages. For the most part this tactic worked very well, until one man noticed the young girl through the corner of his eye as he passed the side tunnel Abigail had hidden in.

"Hey; what are you doing out of your room?" he demanded to know as he grabbed Abigail's wrist.

If only he had bothered to look up, the unfortunate man would have seen one small but very strong Terrible Terror, who did not like to see a good friend of Blue being handled in such a rough manor; especially when she was caring for another dragon in her jacket at the time. Before the man could even pull Abigail out into the main tunnel, the roaring dragon dropped down from the roof of the tunnel, landed heavily on his head, and bit his nose.

The man immediately released his grip and jumped back. As if being assaulted by one creature, he had previously believed to be nothing more than a myth, was not bad enough, a second dragon then leapt out of the afore mentioned jacket, knocked the man over onto his back and started to beat its wings in his face. Unable to stop himself from screaming and finding it difficult to move, the man eventually manage to roll over, pull himself up onto his feet, and fearfully retreat back the way he had come.

"Good job Knucklehead" Abigail smiled as she rewarded her protector by tenderly rubbing his chin.

Rollo in the meantime had simply returned to his comfortable hammock inside Blue's jacket and gone back to sleep.

"Why you lazy little beggar" Abigail exclaimed "You must have gotten over your knock to the head a long time ago, but you just like to be carried.

She patted the purring dragon on the head as she cradled him in her arms.

"Well... I suppose it is good to have you hiding as a concealed weapon" she smiled as she resumed her journey.

'

'

Daisy and Firefly were doing a marvellous job of tracking down the scent Blue had given them, but even so they appeared to be having very little success. Several times they had led Blue into a dead end before finding the right direction once again. At first Blue had assumed these were simple mistakes but he soon realised there was a pattern to their errors. He soon worked out that Calla was purposely leaving a scent trail on the wrong path before doubling back and going off in a different direction.

By repeatedly doing this she had managed to leave a very confusing trail but she had no hope of keeping the dragons off her path forever. Eventually they found her hiding back in the same cell she had fled from when Blue had first arrived, but this time the door had been barricaded from the inside using the bunk bed. The determined young man was sure he could move the obstruction by using nothing more than brute force, and managed to open the door a good inch with just a few hard knocks from his shoulder.

"GO AWAY!" Calla's voice sounded very upset.

"But... what do you mean? I thought you wanted to get out of here" Blue exclaimed.

"I've err... changed my mind; I've decided to stay here."

"Oh come on, you've got to be joking" Blue worriedly laughed.

"I wouldn't joke about this... things have changed."

Blue could not believe what he was hearing; he rubbed his forehead in a desperate attempt to force himself to be brilliant, but he only ended up more frustrated.

"You said... you said you were relying on me to get help... well I did and now it's time to go home to Sumatra."

"Sumatra is your home, not mine... this is my home now" Calla countered "I did what I promised, I kept your sister safe, so take her and go."

"... ... ...no" Blue said softly "Something is wrong here and I'm not going until I find out what it is. Calla we've been friends for a long time now, we've been through so much together and... and I've... I've fallen in love with you... so... if you stay... I'm staying too."

"WHAT GIVES YOU THE RIGHT TO DECIDE THIS?" she screamed at the door "I... didn't ask you to fall in love with me... I didn't ask you to kiss me. I... I don't love you and I don't want to be with you so... just leave me alone."

Blue took a deep breath as he wondered what to do next. He had never considered leaving Calla behind and was not prepared to contemplate the idea now.

"Do you remember what I said to you before I left?"

He waited for a short time but she gave no answer.

"I said I couldn't imagine my life anymore without you in it."

"You'll get over it" she said coldly.

"I doubt that very much" Blue replied.

Blue sighed as a tear rolled down his cheek. He wasn't sure how long the Bull Ant's crew could keep Gran's forces distracted but at the same time, he appeared to be getting nowhere so he decided to take a different tack. Taking a step back, he braced himself before throwing all his weight into the door. Of course he failed to open it but there was now a considerable gap there.

"I TOLD YOU TO GO AWAY" Calla cried out again.

Kneeling down, Blue called the small green dragon to his side.

"Daisy... go to Calla and protect her."

The dragon recognised the order to protect and so she followed Blue's pointed finger and wriggled her way through the door and into the cell where she found the scent they had been following sitting on the bed.

"WhaAAA! WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?" the frightened girl screamed.

"Calm down Calla, its only Daisy; she's a dragon... a Terrible Terror to be exact and she'll take care of you."

"A... dragon? You mean to say... you found them?"

"Yes... they are the reason I was able to return so soon. A few of these on your side greatly increases the number of people you can take on in a fight. Get to know her; bond with her and I can guarantee you won't regret it. These little guys are strong, smart and extremely loyal."

"Oh my... she's amazing" Calla admitted.

"I'm sure there are more of them out there...bigger ones too. Do you really want to miss out on being one of the first people to ride a dragon in the modern age?"

There was a moment of near silence although Blue at first could clearly hear Calla talking to the Daisy as if she were the cutest of infants, but all soon fell quiet.

"Nice try..." Calla finally said "but it's time for you to go... and you should take your flying lizard with you."

"I'd feel better if you kept Daisy with you" Blue pleaded "She'll take care of you just like you took care of Abby."

"But... what would I feed her?"

"She likes fish and chicken, but she is also quite capable of catching wild game; we've found the dragons are also willing to share what they have."

"I can just imagine what Phyllis would say when she finds out about Daisy" she laughed for the first time.

Leaning forward, Calla put out her hand and was surprised at how friendly the dragon was towards her.

"Who's Phyllis?" Blue asked.

"Oh that's Gran's real name; we found it out during the trial."

"The WHAT?"

"Calm down Blue; we were found not guilty on the most serious charge... oh... you probably don't know... Nancy... is dead. She was killed in a rock fall after the meteorite exploded."

"And they blame you for it?" Blue gasped.

"As I said, there was a trial, but we were declared not guilty... and that certainly put a bug up Phyllis's butt." Calla laughed again as she continued to pet her new dragon.

Another awkward silence followed until Calla decided it was time to bring this conversation to an end.

"So... are you leaving now?"

"If you insist" Blue relented.

"Oh I insist... I really do."

"Alright then... I'll go... as soon as you come out and say goodbye."

"Forget it; goodbye" Calla snorted.

"Oh you don't get a choice on this" Blue did some insisting of his own.

"But... I don't want you to see..."

"Don't want me to see what?"

Calla was quiet for a few seconds before she took a deep breath to steady her nerves.

"Alright then... so be it!"

Blue soon heard the sound of the bed being dragged away from the door, which opened a few seconds later. Calla stepped out into the light with her hooded head bent low and a green dragon at her feet. Blue could hear her erratic, shallow, heavy breathing until she at last filled her lungs, lifted her head and threw back her hood.

Blue audibly gasped and instantly wished he hadn't. Her face was just as he remembered it; but on her left side, a horrid burn scar covered the area behind her left eye, all the way to the back just above her ear and down to her shoulder. Hair no longer grew on that side of her head and she had not yet succeeded in growing the hair above her ear long enough to hide the obtrusive scar.

"Oh Calla... what happened?"

"Let's just say... there was an accident and leave it at that; now... goodbye" she looked down as she held out her hand for Blue to shake.

Instead of giving Calla the desired farewell, Blue took her hand in both of his and moved a little closer to her.

"Does it hurt much?" he asked.

"Of course it does but... not as much as it used to" Calla admitted.

"And this is why you want to stay here?" he asked.

"I err... I didn't want you to see me like this."

"Well... I've seen you now... so let's go home."

"NO!" Calla declared, tearing her hand back "YOU DON'T HAVE TO DO THIS; YOU DON'T... have to pretend... pretend you still like me."

"Firstly, I'm not pretending anything and secondly, not only do I still like you, I still love you."

"Don't be ridiculous... who could love... this?" she gestured to her face.

"I find it very easy" Blue admitted "because it's the face of a brave, smart and beautiful young lady who makes my heart beat faster every time I think of her."

"You... you..."

Blue never did find out what Calla was about to say because she suddenly collapsed into an emotional heap on the floor of the tunnel. Kneeling down, Blue put his arms around Calla and held her to his chest, while two small dragons slowly approached and rested their chins on her lap.

'

'

Poor Boo Cat. I sometimes see her looking at the boxes of cat food I bought before Christmas with a look that says "Why can't I have it all now?"

Sorry puss.