They sprinted down the hallway, the world in a dizzying circle. The roaring continued; the dragon never seemed to run out of air. They were turning into another hallway when Sunny shouted, "There!"
She pointed toward a swinging door, and they ran down a set of damp stairs. Down, down, and down they went until the stairs faced a lone dark entryway. The noise had ceased and Clay's ears ached.
"This is it." His voice echoed down the ominous hallway. As they crept along, water dripped from the ceiling into stagnant puddles. Eventually the hallway opened into a huge circular room, dark except for a few flickering ceiling lights. Strange machines stood sentinel along the walls, silent as the grave. One wall was complete glass, and Clay gasped as he gazed down.
The once-white tiles glistened red. Bodies in lab coats lay with missing limbs and gaping holes. Bloody footprints lead through a broken door into darkness. "Those are definitely dragon tracks," Tsunami stated. "Though not from any species I know."
Sunny started to turn green as her eyes filled with tears; Clay turned her away. "Thanks." she whispered. He gave her a squeeze. A shadow moved in the corner of his vision, and he pushed Sunny out of the way as it pinned him to the floor.
He struggled to breath as massive paws seeked to see him splattered. Saliva flecked with blood flew at the rumbling growl it gave. His eyes roved over bulging shoulders, a thick neck, to the angry green eyes set deep into the skull. He knew those eyes, had gazed into them before.
Jewel's eyes.
Clay couldn't move as it lowered its muzzle to sniff him. Over its shoulder gnarled wings reached to a tail as thick as a tree trunk, swiping cat-like back and forth. Clay forced himself to speak. "Jewel?"
It snarled, no recognition in its...Jewels, eyes. It opened its maw, a dark abyss lined with spears that inched closer and closer to his neck…
Clay sucked in a welcome gulp of air as the dragon staggered to the floor by Tsunami's kick. "Clay, get up!" She yanked him to his feet and shoved him away from the wrathful shadow. "Run!"
Clay obeyed without question. Their feet pounding on the floor and their hearts spasming in were not loud enough to deafen the sound of pursuit. Tsunami's panting echoed in his ear as he risked a glance behind.
He wished he hadn't. The darkness, deep and never-ending, was not deep or dark enough to hid the dim silhouette. He could smell its putrid breath, hear its claws as it shoved things out of its way, shredding metal like butter.
What had Jason done?
Suddenly a burst of gunfire ricocheted around the room. The dragon roared with pain as a lucky bullet found its mark.
"Stop this at once!" Jason appeared as if from thin air, a monstrous gun strapped at the hip. Surprisingly the dragon stayed as Jason strode forward ignoring the dirty teenagers behind him "There's no need to act this way." Clay could see lines of red racing through his white coat. "I didn't create you to act like this." A low growl shook the floor. Clay's heart lept to his throat, but Jason seemed unperturbed.
"I am your master, and you will obey me! Do you understand?" The dragon eyed him disdainfully, and to Clay's horror crept forward a step.
Clay could almost smell Jason's fear. "Do you hear me?" He jumped as Jason squeezed the trigger. The dragon hesitated as the bullets kicked up a cloud of dust near its claws, and took another step.
Jason took a step back and fumbled in his pocket. "I sacrificed everything for this; my life, my money, even my daughter, whose blood runs through your veins." Clay barely registered his words before a glittering object in Jason's hand drew his attention.
Jason thrust the ring at the dragon like a weapon, as if a band of gold would stop a five-ton beast with teeth and claws. "I am your god, and you will bow before me!"
And with a burst of surprising speed the dragon's claws split him in two.
As Jason's chest crumpled to the floor the ring bounced to a stop in a growing pool of blood. If he ran, he might be able to grab it. It was so close. He looked up at the eyes filled with hunger. He turned his head, meeting his friend's frightened stares. "Go!" he yelled as he rolled away from the claws that pierced the floor.
He made sure his friends obeyed his order, then sprinted toward the ring. He ducked as
the dragon's tail barely missed his head, slipping on Jason's blood. He stooped for the ring…
And felt the warm metal bite into his hand as he turned to run. Instead he found himself face to face with the hunter.
He couldn't move. He stared into those oh-so-familiar eyes, and Jason's words came back
to him. Tears flooded his vision. Through a watery hace he saw the dragon's confusion. "Jewel? Are you in there?" Nothing. Clay took a deep breath and stepped over the top half of Jason's body. The dragon growled in warning. "Jewel, it's me. It's Clay."
He stretched out his hand, and the dragon stood like a block of ice as he placed in on its warm, blood-soaked snout. When he was sure he wasn't about to be eaten he looked into eyes filled with recognition. "Jewel, can you understand me?" And through his hand he felt the faintest of tremors, and he jumped as a voice invaded his mind.
"Clay." It was Jewel. His tears began to fall, his heart threatened to burst with joy.
"Oh, Jewel. What did he do to you?"
Silence. Then, "I don't know how, but he transfered my soul into this body." Clay eyed the fangs, furled wings, the blood between her claws.
"Why do I smell blood?"Clay started at her alarm. Before he could stop her she glanced over his shoulder, searching… until her eyes found the body of her father.
She shrieked her grief, and Clay let her, even as his skull pounded with pain. "What have I done!? I'm a monster!"
"No, Jewel." Clay said in a soothing voice. "It wasn't you." She shrieked again, but this time from pain. Her body shuddered beneath his hand.
He was instantly on guard. "Jewel, what's wrong?"
"I don't have much time. I managed to take the beast by surprise, but it won't be long before it recovers and I am no longer...myself." Her eyes raced to his clenched fist. "I see you have the ring. Good. Take it and your friends and run."
"I'm not leaving you to this." he refuted. "There's got to be some way to-"
Even as he said this she shook her bulky head. "I am only a little of what I once was. Even if you could somehow return me to my body, I wouldn't be the Jewel you know."
"I don't care!" Jewel screamed again, violently shuddering.
"Clay." Her voice was fading. "I once told you I had no friends. That was a lie. You and the other are my friends, and I am so happy that I can die knowing someone will miss me when…"
"You're not going to die!" A river of ice flowed through his body.
Her voice was so faint he had to strain to hear it. "I love you, Clay. Now run." And felt his mind become his once more.
"Jewel?" He watched as light filled the dragon's eyes, a wall of hunger and hate. He jerked back as teeth flashed an inch from his hand. Jewel was gone.