Chapter 1: Escape Plan
Amaya opened her eyes to the dirty steel cage she and Luna had been forced to live in for years. Razor fluttered down from the ceiling, a half-rotten apple gripped in her claw.
Amaya smiled and shifted to a sitting position to eat before she went back to work picking the lock.
Her brother stirred in the cage across from her before slowly sitting up.
"Shh…" she whispered to him as her claw finally hit the right spot. She grabbed the lock before it could fall to the floor, and then slowly pushed the door open.
She carefully slid to the floor, setting the lock aside as Luna joined her. Then she crossed to Kevin's cage and broke the lock as quietly as possible.
"Is she still okay?" he murmured quietly as he and his dragon, Runath, slid to the floor beside her.
Amaya turned to glance at the other occupied cage then she walked over to it and broke the lock. "Holly? Varneth?"
Dragon and human eyes flashed in the darkness of the cage as the door slowly creaked open.
"We have to find the others, King will lose today" Amaya smiled and turned to pick the lock on the door while Kevin helped Holly and the green dragon.
After a few moments the door fell outward on sagging hinges to reveal the main lab and a couple dozen cages.
Ten pairs of eyes turned to watch the three as they slowly moved between the cages and broke locks. Kids crawled out of cages, some with dragons and some without, while the two sea-people swam to the top of their now open tanks.
"Is this everyone?" Amaya whispered as the group gathered around the two tanks.
One boy, the youngest of the group besides the baby, shook his head while the one called Saber replied "They have a stable out front, a few more dragons there."
Those without dragons glanced eagerly at each other then turned towards the front.
Amaya glanced at Kevin then slipped out of the group "Those without dragons follow quietly. Kevin, Derin, go find the fuel tanks."
The stables were dirtier than the death cages and only six stalls were occupied. Two dragons, a wolf-dragon, a horse-dragon, a griffin and a strange boy watched the group enter.
Amaya left the group to pick and free their own partners while she carefully opened the boy's stall. "Don't hurt me now; we're all going to be free." She broke the first shackle and slowly moved to the others.
The strange boy watched her the whole time without moving a muscle but when the last shackle broke, he dratted across to the griffin and freed it.
Amaya smiled and turned to herd the group out but a sharp popping sound stopped her. She cocked her head to listen as another pop sounded then a blaze flared across her vision before she knew no more.
"It's not working" Kevin growled, glancing this way and that as they searched for the fuel tanks "Where are the scientists anyway?"
Derin shrugged, rubbing Saberith's head as they continued down the hall "You're the one with the fire lizard."
Kevin shook his head and stopped as his fire lizard Strike appeared in front of them "What is it?"
Before the little creature could answer, King stepped out of the room at the end of the hall and turned to smile at them.
Kevin backed up a pace as Strike settled on his shoulder, anger and fear both keeping him silent while he felt Derin shivered behind him.
"Taking a tour are we? Shouldn't you be dead by now?" King took a step towards them and both boys backed up.
"Skittish are we?" King's smile widened as he reached to grab them.
Derin whipped around and was on Saberith's back in an instant. The orange bird-dragon didn't need any urging and shot off down the hall.
Kevin ducked into the nearest room with Runath and Strike, finally thinking of something to say "You don't know everything old man."
He locked the door with a swift jerk of his wrist and turned to find himself in the control room. Runath nudged his arm and padded over to a large tank that read flammable in bold letters.
Kevin nodded and climbed onto the dragon's back Go for it, we don't have time. A fire blossomed from the dragon's mouth and hit the tank with a sharp pop. The second hit ignited and a fire ball exploded as Runath leapt into the numbing cold of between.