Chapter 4 – Jakkin the Texan Dragon

It took two days for Cynder, Draco, and Darky to reach America. Soon afterwards, they reached a remote area in the state of Texas. It felt quite warm after enduring the cold weather of Norway. Wiping a sweat off her brow, Cynder scanned the surroundings, noticed a sign indicating the nearest town.

"Perhaps we could find some dragons up ahead," she said as she followed the trail. "Come on, guys!"

Draco followed still with Darky on his back. The town consisted of hillbilly type locales in rural style clothing. Cynder sees a bunch of truckers having a conversation with each other and drinking beer.

"Well, howdy, pardners!" greeted one of the truckers, a tall anthropomorphic horse. "What y'all been doin' in this part of town?"

"Uh, hi," said Cynder slowly. "My friends and I are wondering if you know any dragons we could meet here, like Charizards, for example?"

"Charries?" replied an alligator. "There ain't been many of them fire-breathing yokels here in recent times!"

"So you're saying that there are no dragons here in Grandview?" asked Draco.

"'Fraid not, buckaroo," said the horse. "Of course, if y'all want a ride to Dallas, I can take ya there in a jiffy."

"That would be fine," said Cynder anxiously. "We're just going to head on back."

"Well, seeya boys later," called a bear. "Y'all come back now, ya hear?"

An hour has passed, and the dragons felt exhausted. They decided to rest at a nearby farm.

"Man, I feel tired," sweated Draco. "Wonder where we can the find the next town for a drink."

"Not sure," replied Cynder wearily. "But it looks like it will take another half hour to get there, and even I'm too tired to fly."

The wind whistled as the three dragons relaxed at the fence. All they could do is look around the rural scenery. Then suddenly, a sign at the opposite side started to shake. Draco wondered what was going on. Just then, rapid light strobes flashed out of nowhere. The three dragons covered their as lightning sound crackled loudly followed by smoke that billowed everywhere.

"What is going on?" gasped Draco.

"I don't know!" choked Cynder.

As the three dragons opened their eyes, the smoke cleared away, revealing a large truck. Coming out of the truck was a Charizard just like Draco, but there were some noticeable differences. Firstly, the Charizard was much taller. Second, he was a slightly deep orange red. Last, but not least, he had different looking eyes. The mysterious Charizard looked up at the sky. "Ah, so good to be back home," he smiled. Just then, he sensed a presence. He turned around and saw Cynder, Draco, and Darky. Believing them to be trespassing on his property, he pulled out a pair of swords, and lunged straight at them.

"Stop right there!" shouted Cynder as she put herself in front of Draco and Darky and stared directly into the Charizard's eyes.

"What are you doing trespassing on my farm?" asked the Charizard crossly. "Who are you, friends or foes?"

"My name is Cynder," replied the Twilight Storm indignantly. "And for your information, you should see me as a friend, because my friends here and I are looking for some dragons."

"And may I ask why are you searching for dragons?" asked the Charizard.

"Because we were hoping you might be interested in joining us and make a team," replied Draco. "You didn't tell us your name, by the name."

"My name is Jakkin," said the Charizard proudly. "I am the roughest, toughest dimension-travelling dragon in all of Texas!"

"Wow," gasped Darky in admiration. "You sound so cool!"

"Um, it is a great honour to meet another Charizard like you!" exclaimed Draco as he reached out his right paw. "Please come with us."

"Don't push your luck with me!" grunted Jakkin disdainfully. "I ain't joining you!"

"But why not?" asked Draco. "I've always believed that all Charizards should look out for each other and help each other when it is needed, and I'm sure you and I could be best buds, right?"

"Don't count on it, dude," Jakkin huffed. "I've got better things to do than waste my time with you guys."

Jakkin hopped on his truck and drove off to the farm. Cynder, Draco, and Darky could just look on with nothing to say.

"Well this stinks," groaned Draco in disappointment. "I thought he'd make an excellent teammate, but I wonder what's with that Charizard, he looks quite unusual."

"I think it is useless to mope about it now, Draco," said Cynder. "Maybe this guy just isn't the right type to be a member."

"Me sure there are many more Charizards out there we could find," said Darky. "Who knows? Maybe we should try a place a little less hot, maybe someplace fresh."

"You know, Darky may have a point," said Cynder. "Maybe heading northwest will suffice."

"You're right," said Draco with new resolve. "So let's get on with this journey!"

Darky climbed up on Draco's back while he and Cynder spread their wings and flew up following the path to the northwest.