Chapter 13
Dinah was on the way to deliver a letter for mum as she walked down a street of moderate, detached houses. When she reflected on the following events later on, she was thankful that the houses were detached; as if they had been connected there could have been more casualties. As she turned out of the gate where she had delivered the letter, she was nearly knocked off her feet by an almost deafening blast at the end of the road. Regaining her balance, she immediately ran towards the source of the blast. As she reached the last house on the street, cautiously peering over the top of a wall, she saw where the blast had come from. An explosion had completely ripped it apart; there was nothing recognisable as a house at all, merely piles of rubble. She was snapped out her examination of the house by the horrifying sound of two gunshots.
Spinning around, she instantly saw the results of the gunshots. Two people were lying on the ground, obviously dead. A cry of horror changed her focus once again, as something sped up the road to the house. When it stopped, she was able to make out the creature more clearly. Most of it looked like a human girl, but there were various features that showed it was clearly not human. To begin with, it had claws on its hands and bare feet, and it had been running on all four limbs as it sped down the road. The feature which marked it the most clearly as non-human were its eyes. The only creature Dinah could compare the eyes to was a cat, yet these eyes were far too wild to be attributed to such a domesticated creature. The man who had not yet fired anything shouted something to the creature, and gestured towards a girl being restrained by the two men who had gunned down the people on the ground. Clearly the girl was important to the creature, as she started to desperately run towards the men. Dinah's eyes widened in horror as she realised that the desperate attempt to save the girl would be too late, the creature had left it too late before she started running.
Once more, a gunshot echoed around the ruins of the house. However, the creature did not stop. Rather, her eyes narrowed in rage, and Dinah suddenly knew that the people who had been murdered must be the creature's family. Nothing else could produce such a reaction and this much utter fury. She closed her eyes as the creature leapt at the men, knowing what she was about to do, and deep down, agreeing with her actions. There was one last gunshot, then nothing. Carefully, she opened her eyes, wincing at the sight that greeted her. The creature had struck down both the men in revenge for what they had done, and was clearly preparing herself to go after the third. However, before she had a chance to do anything, a dark cloud suddenly obscured him, and he had gone when the cloud disappeared.
By now, other people had come to see what was going on, and Dinah was alarmed and angry to see the hostile glares delivered towards the creature from those who had seen what she had done to the men. It was a terrible attitude to express, especially towards someone who had lost everything in a few short moments. Despite her fearsome appearance, Dinah doubted the creature would cause harm to anyone, unless severely provoked.
The creature had clearly become aware of the hostile attitude, and kept her head down, obviously too afraid to meet the faces of anyone else. Desperately she studied a photograph she had picked up, with had landed almost intact after the explosion. Dinah was startled by the sound of a car approaching, which stopped close to the ruins. When she saw who was getting out she gasped, and retreated slightly so she could not be seen as easily. The Headmaster had got out of the car, and was now approaching the creature. Even though he did not speak her name, Dinah now knew who she was. The realisation struck her like a physical punch. She was looking at Red Dragon, and she had not been exaggerating in her message when she said that she had been permanently changed.
Dinah winced as the Headmaster reached for the photograph. Judging by how tightly Red Dragon was holding it, she obviously was greatly attached to the photo, and if the Headmaster continued to reach for the photograph, the situation would not end well. She was soon proved correct, as Red Dragon slashed his arm, holding the photo protectively against her, hissing something to the Headmaster. Dinah was too far away to hear what she said, but it was clear that her words made the Headmaster pause. After a few moments he moved his hands away from her and crouched down, clearly deciding that it would be too dangerous to go after the photograph again, and that he must make himself look as non-threatening as possible. It seemed to be working, as Red Dragon seemed to relax slightly. He asked her something, and she abruptly dropped her head, slumping forwards, with her head resting against the Headmaster. Dinah was very surprised when the Headmaster did not attempt to push her away. Instead, he actually kept her close, resting an arm across her shoulders. Dinah at last reasoned that any attempt to push her away would end up with Red Dragon attacking him again, something he was clearly keen to avoid.
At last, he stood up, bringing Red Dragon up with him. It was unclear if she had been injured, or was merely exhausted by what she had gone through, but as Red Dragon and the Headmaster began to walk back to his car, she leaned heavily on him. Once again, the Headmaster allowed her to remain close. As the Headmaster opened the back door of his car, he leaned into it to give instructions to his driver. As he did so, Dinah gave a sigh of relief, glad that he was leaving. Instantly it was obvious that Red Dragon had heard her, as her head snapped up from where it had been resting against the Headmaster's shoulder, and for the first time, their eyes met. Dinah was utterly paralysed by the complete desolation that was reflected there, and Red Dragon gave her the faintest of nods. Their shared gaze was broken as the Headmaster helped her into the back of the car, following her a moment later and shutting the door. As the car moved off, Dinah's mind began humming with everything she had just experienced, and she started to run back home. SPLAT had to be notified about what she had just seen.
Red Dragon had been utterly silent on the way back to the laboratory, making no attempt to explain what had happened. In fact the Headmaster had not demanded such a thing from her, fearing that any attempt to make her say anything would once again cause a violent reaction. He reasoned that she would explain when she was ready, and he would not risk his person in order to receive the explanation any earlier. As they reached the laboratory, the Headmaster helped her from the car, just as he had helped her get into it back at her house. Somehow, the events of the last hour had created a paralysing effect on her movements. Also, she seemed barely aware of anything that was happening around her, she merely stared blankly. Guiding her into the building, he moved to the first white-coats he came across. Hoisting her off her feet, he handed her to one of the white-coats and proceeded to give them the orders they were waiting for.
"Examine her for any injuries. If she has none, put her to bed and remain on guard. If she has any at all, deal with them and keep her in the medical room. Whatever you do with her, stay with her at all times. She is not to be left alone"
Once the white-coats had received their orders, they moved off down the corridor carrying Red Dragon with them. The Headmaster himself was headed for the medical room, as he had to deal with the wounds made by Red dragon's claws. He hoped these wounds would not affect the movement of his arm, as this could cause delays he would not endure.
Since the white-coats had not found any injuries, they had followed the Headmaster's orders and Red Dragon was now back in her bed. She was still attempting to adjust herself to a life without her family. She had not gone back to her family at any time after the accident, so she had no idea what their reactions would have been once they learned the full extent of how much she had changed. She hoped that they would have still accepted her, yet after the hostile reception she had just encountered, she doubted if they would have done so. Even though she felt utterly drained, she feared the nightmares that would grip her when she slept. This made her determined to stay awake, and she manoeuvred her pillow so that she could sit up comfortably, knowing that lying down would make it easier for her to fall asleep. The white-coat standing next to her gave her a disapproving look, but said nothing.
This was how the Headmaster found her when he had finished attending to his arm. He frowned and gestured for the white-coat to leave her room. When the man had gone, the Headmaster brought a chair close to her bed and fixed her with a serious look as he sat down.
"I will address your attempts to avoid the sleep you clearly need in a moment. However, first I believe we should discuss the terms of a trade that would benefit both of us. As you have doubtless worked out by now, my plans will be greatly strengthened if you co-operate with me and assist me by using your new abilities when they are needed. I am aware that my laboratory is the only place that you have designated as 'safe', from both the organisation that were responsible for today's events, and those who would seek to harm you because of your non-human DNA."
Here the Headmaster paused, to make sure that he had captured her full attention. He had no wish to explain things to her more than once. Once he had ensured that she was focussed entirely on what he was saying, the Headmaster continued.
"If you co-operate with me and follow my orders, I will provide you with what you need, and this room will be yours permanently. I will also assist you in managing the 'outbursts' of aggression you exhibit when you lose control, as well as research to determine what this creature actually is. However, there are rules you will be required to follow"
At this last pronouncement, Red Dragon hissed, wary of what rules the Headmaster would require her to follow, as well as becoming anxious about what the consequences might be should she break his rules. The Headmaster paid her reaction no heed, merely waiting until she was calm enough to listen to him.
"You are to follow my orders, and you are to inform me immediately if you are close to experiencing an 'outburst' so that you will not be able to injure yourself or cause any damage. Break these rules and you will be confined to your room for a period and you will not be allowed to leave it unless I allow you to do so. The last rules, and the most important, are as follows: You are not to interfere in any way with my plans, you are not to go into areas where you are forbidden and you are not to deliberately place yourself in harms way. If you break any of the last three rules that I have mentioned, the consequences will be more severe, as you will be spanked. Do you understand this, and do you agree to the terms I have mentioned?"
Red Dragon released a muffled squeak, eyes wide, as the Headmaster finished outlining the rules and consequences. While she had no problems in following those rules, she was unsure which punishment would be worse when she had to face them. Although it was not her intention to break those rules, her new DNA had altered her personality, creating an impulsive streak. This meant that she no longer gave much thought to her actions, as she had already demonstrated today, she was well aware that she should have gone to her house with reinforcements. The first punishment she considered to be the most torturous, as she hated being confined to one place. This, she reflected, must have been why the Headmaster chose that particular punishment, he was well aware how much she longed to explore. The second punishment was something she was keen to never experience from him. She knew that he would not be moved by any pleas for mercy during the spanking, a technique that had sometimes worked on her Dad. She knew that he would not stop the punishment until he himself judged that it was enough, and she was certain that it would very painful, as she doubted that he would hold back.
As she reflected on what he had offered, and what he required from her, Red Dragon believed that the trade was fair, and she would still accept the terms he had outlined, even though she was wary of the consequences he had summarized. The Headmaster had not arranged his trade so that only he would benefit from it, but he had also provided her with incentives. She concluded that he did not want to risk her becoming violent by being overly restrictive and not offering her any assistance. Finally, she nodded decisively to herself and answered the Headmaster's question.
"I understand what you have just outlined, and I agree to the terms"
While she had become slightly animated while the Headmaster outlined the terms, her voice when she answered was still slightly vague, and she now appeared to be lapsing back into her stupefied state. Before she could do so completely, the Headmaster immediately addressed her refusal to sleep.
"While I do not understand why you refuse to sleep, even though you need it, I have a way that will make you sleep immediately. This method has worked before, so I know it will be effective"
While the Headmaster had been saying this he had removed his dark glasses. Red Dragon knew what he intended to do, but had no intention of fighting it. When he had placed her into a hypnotic sleep last time, she had not experienced any dreams at all and hoped that this pattern would continue. As the Headmaster's crooning voice washed over her, and the familiar drowsiness began to manifest itself, she hoped to have revenge on the man who had escaped her, as well as his organisation. Only then could she obtain real closure from today's horrific events.