Chapter 54
Blue and Calla leapt onto their dragons and did their best to follow the frightened man along the ground while keeping their distance, but Windstorm and Speedy kept trying to race him, so in the end they decided to take to the air and watch from the sky to see where he went. The man ran through the forest park surrounding the race track before following a road looping around to the east and across an abandoned freeway flyover. After about a kilometre, he finally tired and slowed down as he approached what appeared to be an airport. Blue and Calla came into land on a grassed area on the north western side and saw the man disappear around the side of a large building.
"Hold the dragons here; I'm going to see what he's up to" Blue said as he dropped to the ground.
"Be careful" Calla suggested.
"I'll scream if I need you" Blue replied as he ran to the corner of the building.
He looked around the corner and watched as the man continued across an apron between several aircraft hangers and office blocks. As he neared the hanger, he started shouting again, brining three people outside to see what all the fuss was about.
"I'm going to talk to them" Blue called back to Calla.
He walked briskly across the centre of the apron, trying to look innocent, a task made difficult by the light of the quarter moon. The people didn't notice him at first, but Blue could hear them arguing.
"Qu'est-ce que ti cries a propos de toi idiot?" the only man to come out said angrily.
"Je viens de metre les enfants au lit" one of the women added.
"Enorme lizard, monstres, retour a l'hippodrome!" the frightened man responded.
"I suppose now is the time to introduce myself" Blue mumbled under his breath "ERR... HELLO?"
All four looked at Blue with surprise.
"Et qui etes-vous?" the first woman demanded.
"I'm sorry, but I'm afraid I don't know much French" Blue admitted.
"Ah, you are the English person."
"Not really, I'm from the other side of the world actually."
"Well what are you doing here, and what rubbish have you been telling Chance?"
"Je dis la verite, je les ai vu" Chance insisted.
"Tais-toi Chance" the woman snapped "so then... who are you?"
"My name is Blue Dias, and I'm here with three of my friends. We're only staying the night over at the park and will be leaving in the morning. I'm sorry to have caused you trouble."
"Are you trying to tell me you are some kind of travelling lizard salesman?" the woman sneered.
"Lizard sales... err no I'm not."
"Then what is this fool going on about?"
Blue was tempted to let the people think Chances ravings were just some hallucination, but he didn't feel right leaving the man subject to future ridicule.
"Please don't blame him, we just surprised him... let me show you."
Three of the people looked at each other with confusion, while Chance backed up a little in fear, for none of them were sure what this young stranger would do next. They watched as Blue walked back the way he had come and called out to someone.
"Calla, bring Speedy and Windstorm."
"Are you sure?" a cute head came around the corner and replied.
"No... but do it anyway."
It was difficult to see from a distance, but the people of Lyon could definitely see something large approaching them; then they noticed it was two somethings.
"Oh merde" the first woman gasped as she too took a step back.
"C'est ce que j'ai dit" Chance admitted.
As they neared, Blue could see Calla had remounted Windstorm and kept the Nadder well controlled, but Speedy got a little over excited yet again and bounded over to his rider.
"Okay buddy, take it easy" Blue laughed as he held the dragon steady "Don't worry, they may be big, but they're not dangerous, as you can tell by the fourteen year old girl riding on her Nadder."
"Nadder? I have never heard of such a beast" the second man openly admitted.
"Okay this may be hard to believe..." Blue brought Speedy a little closer "but um... these really are dragons."
Everyone in the group except for Chance laughed; not loudly, nut with clear derision.
"Oh... so they can fly... and breath fire?" the second woman chuckled.
"Hey Buddy, can you give us a little light please" Blue asked Speedy.
The dragon opened his mouth, revealing a bright blue light at the back of his throat, illuminating the outstretched broad wings of Windstorm.
"Yes and yes" Blue responded to the surprised quartet "Look I'm sorry we upset Chance, but we really just needed a place to rest overnight before we continue on in the morning."
The group was silent for a moment as they took in what they had just seen. Two of them took another step back, but the first woman just stood and thought. From her seat on Windstorm's back, Calla could see another figure peeking around the corner of the building behind the four French people.
"Would you like a closer look?" Blue asked "I can bring him to you, or..."
"Are you sure he is safe?" the lady asked.
"Quite sure" Blue smiled and led the dragon forward a little while comforting him "It's okay Speedy, they just want to say hello."
Chance and the woman tried their best to wait for the dragon and let him sniff at them, but the other two continued their slow retreat.
"Just pet him lightly the same way you would a cat, dog or horse" Blue suggested.
"Peau rugueuse."
"Chance says his skin is rough" the woman translated.
"I'd call it scaly" Blue smiled.
"Perhaps it is time for the introductions" the lady said "You know Chance of course, I am Mallory and these cowards behind us are Andre and Eloise."
"Qui appelez-vous un lache?" Andre protested.
"As I said before, my name is Blue, the girl on the Nadder is Calla, and these are two of our dragons; Speedy and Windstorm."
"Two of them? How many do you have?" Mallory asked, wide eyed.
"Three more large ones and five little ones" Blue admitted.
An audible gasp came from the boy half hiding around the corner. As soon as she heard it, Mallory ordered the young man to go inside; which he reluctantly did. Now reasonably satisfied of the dragon's good intentions, Chance took the opportunity to speak to his far away friends."
"Andre, Eloise, viens et vois."
They distant two looked nervously at each other but eventually they did take a step forward. They quickly stopped though when something lit up the sky behind Blue and Calla.
"Que'st-ce que c-est que ca?" Eloise gasped.
"Blue... that was a Nightmare flame" Calla said nervously.
"When you're right, you're right; sorry everyone, we've got to go" Blue apologised as he leapt onto Speedy's back.
"Wait, we'll come too" Mallory called but the Dragon Riders would not stop for anything or anyone.
"I'll stay with the children, you go" Eloise offered as the other three ran off.
It was long run back to the Hippodrome, but a very short trip by dragon. What Calla and Blue witnessed when they got back certainly filled them with fear and dread. Surrounding the race track was a ring road lined with trees on both sides. A large mob of people had amassed behind the trees and were currently engaged in semi-battle with the Dragon Riders who had taken cover behind the stable buildings.
Haley and Abigail had tried to take to the air, but some of the people carried firearms, while a few more possessed crossbows. Sending out the occasional fireball was the best they could manage, but it had kept the enemy at bay. Blue desperately scanned the area, trying to come up with a plan that would extract their friends from danger without killing any of the citizens of Lyon, or excessively injuring them. Fortunately or he and Calla, nobody had noticed the soaring dragons above them because of all the action and noise going on down below.
Blue considered attacking the attackers head on, but he knew it was too risky; people may be killed and one of the dragons could be felled by a crossbow bolt. He looked at the possibility of shooting at the trees they hid behind, but exploding wood can do horrible things to soft flesh. Eventually Blue realised he was running low on options, so he decided to take drastic actions.
"Go for the truck" he called to Calla.
"What? We need that truck" she protested.
"Not as much as we need to save the girls and the dragons" Blue insisted "Hit it under the centre, on the ground between the axles."
"You're the boss" Calla shrugged as she banked her dragon around.
As a Dragon Rider, Calla had already gained a lot of experience since her time on the Faroe Islands; so she knew all she had to do was to line up and dive in.
"Windstorm; FIRE" she ordered.
The sound of the incoming dragon and the light of its fireball certainly drew a lot of attention, but of course it was far too late for anyone to react as the ball of burning lightning exploded underneath the truck, lifting it into the air. Before it had reached the apex of its assent, the rear of the truck was hit twice in quick succession by the Night Fury's plasma blast, flipping it forward onto its nose before momentum kept the truck going, and it continued to tumble forward onto its roof.
With the remains of its engine oil and diesel fuel leaking down over the wreck, it only took one last shot to the now exposed transmission, to set the old vehicle alight. The Dragon Riders unconventional attack certainly had the desired effect as the people taking cover behind the trees had witnessed firsthand how outgunned they were, thanks to the burning truck only a few meters from their noses.
As Blue and Calla brought their dragons back down to the ground, they witnessed the clandestine attackers beating a very hasty retreat. With the gunfire silenced after the explosion, Abigail and Haley sensed the coast was clear and came out from their cover, with the dragons following close behind.
"Thank goodness you saw our signal" Haley sighed.
"Yeah we were worried they may have surrounded us and... Blue; look out!"
Abigail suddenly noticed three people approaching from the road gate and feared this may be the start of a new assault.
"HEY... BACK OFF IF YOU KNOW WHAT'S GOOD FOR YOU!" Blue barked at the dark figures.
"Monsieur Blue, it is me Mallory I have come with Chance and Andre."
"Oh... sorry... I thought... don't worry Abby, they're friends" Blue apologised, while trying to calm down.
"What happened here?" Mallory asked.
"Well... my guess is some people must have seen us flying in over the city, and assumed the arrival of flying monsters was a bit of a problem they needed to deal with" Blue answered.
"Oh cher... how many did you have to kill before they ran away?" Andre asked.
"None I think, but we did have to destroy this truck for them to get the message" Blue replied.
"Such a shame too" Calla shook her head "we really needed that truck."
"What for? It was just an old wreck" Mallory shrugged.
"It was what was inside though" Blue explained "Calla's dragon is the only one with a saddle and that truck had saddles, bridles, harnesses, stirrups... everything we needed."
"Wait a moment, let me get this straight" Mallory noted "Rather than hurt or kill any of the people attacking you, you scared them off by destroying the one thing you really needed?"
"Of course" Abigail shrugged "We're not here to cause mass death and destruction."
Mallory turned to Chance and translated what had happened and what the Dragon Riders had done. When he heard the story, Chance marched forward, grabbed Blue by the shoulders and kissed him on both cheeks.'
"Merci Monsieur Blue, merci beaucoup" Chance stated.
"Err... you're welcome?" Blue responded while the other Dragon Riders tried to hide their laughter.
"You see Blue, the people who attacked you are our friends, our neighbours and maybe even relatives" Mallory explained "So the fact that you went to such lengths to avoid hurting any of them has greatly impressed us. On the way here, we heard the sound of gunfire, so you would have been justified in defending yourselves, but you found another way and we are very grateful."
"It is not safe for you here anymore" Andre noted "ze braver ones may re-group and try to ambush you in the night. You will come back to the airport with us and we will hide your dragons in the hanger."
Haley step close to Blue and whispered in his ear.
"Who are these people... and do you think we can trust them?"
"Mallory, Chance, Andre" Blue pointed to each in turn "and I assume Eloise is back at the hanger?"
"Oui; there are children and we did not want to leave them alone" Andre told them.
"Understandable, but with they be okay with the dragons?" Calla asked.
"Oh you won't be in the same section as the children" Mallory shook her head.
"Well it looks like everything is set for the night. Okay then riders, let's pack up" Blue suggested.
While the Dragon Riders sorted and re-packed their gear, Chance, Mallory and Andre walked back to the airport and opened a hanger door at the far end of the building. Upon their arrival, the Dragon Riders found the concrete floor was uncomfortable but at least nobody else in Lyon knew they were there and when the hanger door was shut, they actually felt quite safe. The dragons soon settled down with their riders inside what they thought was an odd square cave, while Blue and Speedy spent a little time with their lone Gronckle, who sometimes felt a little left out.
"You may not realise it, but I'm really impressed by you" Blue admitted as he petted the dragon "Abigail told me you stuck close to the others and provided some very useful cover fire when they were forced to retreat behind the stables. Now I see why Toothless chose you to come with us."
The bulbous dragon rolled on its back, begging to have its tummy rubbed while basking in the attention he was given. While Blue obliged the dragon's request, another rider approached with a question."
"So what are we going to do in the morning?" Haley asked.
"Pack up early and leave I guess" Blue responded "Hopefully we'll find an isolated river or lake south of here where the dragons can feed. I wouldn't want to make them wait until we reach the southern coast."
"Yeah... I suppose there is little else we can do" Haley nodded "You know Blue, I'm beginning to see a pattern developing; everywhere we go we manage to make a few friends and a lot of enemies."
"Not in Scotland; there we only met one boy and I would not call him an enemy" Blue remaindered her.
"Yeah... Aaron was a good kid. Do you think we should have made him a Dragon Rider? He could have had the Gronckle."
"You can't be serious" Blue glared at her "We can't just ask anyone to join us without really knowing them, so I don't think we'll pick up another member in the near future."
"I suppose you're right" Haley shrugged and wandered back to where Boris lay softly snoring.
Blue curled up in is bed roll with the Gronkle and Speedy just before Andre turned out the lights, and he soon drifted off to sleep still wondering what else could go wrong as they continued across the globe.
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While everything is still shut down here in Australia, the number of new Covid-19 cases is low here and dropping every day. But the news reports I've been seeing paint a different picture overseas, especially in Italy, Spain and the US. Naturally this means every time I watch the news, I find myself thinking of Vin, Draco and the elusive Florida Guest. Still hoping you are all fine, both in health and with all the financial problems caused by the various shut downs. It makes me glad the story is finished because instead of taking a week or two to write a new chapter before posting, I only need a few days to re-write before the next one goes up.
Not sure yet, but I think I have an idea for a new Ruff & Tuff detective story so I'll get to work on that soon so you'll have something else to read (if you want).
See ya soon, Marty. (PS: sorry about all the French in the next few chapters, none of it is vital dialog though)