Mutants Misplaced

Chapter 24

Search

The sun had set behind the horizon, and while part of the sky was still lit up by the last rays of the day, it was dark enough for the mutants and vampires to search after their missing comrades without putting a strain on the night-dwellers.

Leo and Donnie had been successful in their search for Raph's tracks, and followed them north, into the forest. They could only guess how far ahead Raph and Mona might be, but so long as they could follow their tracks, they would find them eventually.

As the light continued to fade and evening got colder as it turned into night, Sephie found that not only didn't the cold bother her, but she actually felt strengthened by it. Her senses felt sharper than ever, especially her vision. If being a vampire didn't have such severe drawbacks, she could actually get used to her newfound powers. At least she didn't have to worry about turning into dust in sunlight.

"Still looks like he was in a hurry when he passed by here." said Donnie. "He hasn't made any attempt to cover his tracks whatsoever."

"That makes our job all the easier." said Leo. "But it's almost too dark to continue. We need some light, so we don't miss anything."

"Here, allow me." said Devina. With a flick of her hand, a small but bright ball of light appeared above it and floated upwards, stopping a foot above her head. "I hope that's enough."

"More than enough. Thank you."

While continuing the search, Tyroth noticed that Mikey looked rather depressed.

"Are you okay, Mikey?" he asked.

"Yeah..." Mikey responded weakly.

"That was hardly convincing. Something's bothering you. Is it about Mona and Raph?"

"I'm worried about them, especially Mona. She's the best big sister I've ever had, and I don't want to loose her. She's always been there for me when my brothers, or even sensei, don't have the time for me, you know, playing video games, skating in the sewers."

"I see. Well, what about Raph then? Ain't you just as worried about him?"

"Well... I think I can squeeze him in somewhere."

"Figures." Tyroth chuckled. "Don't worry, we'll find her and make sure that she's save."

"Thanks, big T!" Mikey said with a smile. "By the way, does that include Raph?"

"Maybe... I'll see if we can squeeze him in somewhere in that plan as well." said Tyroth with a mischievous grin, forcing Mikey to stifle a laugh.

Several miles ahead, Raph and Mona were retracing Raph's steps, trying to find their way back to their friends. They could have waited for them somewhere, but they had no guaranty that the others would come that way.

"Are you sure that this was the way you came?" Mona asked. She didn't like walking around in the dark, at least not in Skyrim, who knew what lurked in the shadows. Her senses were at high alert and she constantly scanned her surroundings.

"Not entirely, I didn't pay much attention when I ran, but it was in a fairly straight line so the old house should be this way."

Mona walked up closer to her lover.

"Raph, I got a feeling that someone, or something, is watching us." she whispered.

"Now that you mention it, so do I, babe." Raph whispered back. "But I haven't seen anything, and it's too quiet."

"I don't like this. Something isn't right."

Pushing aside a tree branch, Raph let his eyes search the increasingly thin forest for movement. Far away, he could see a faint light that slowly came closer. He narrowed his eyes to try and see if he could make out anything else, but the light just went out without warning. He was just about to say something to Mona, when he caught sight of something above them. Looking through the treetops, he saw something big circling in the sky.

"I think I just found Tyroth." said Raph in a low voice and pointing upwards. "I hope."

Nearby, Devina had extinguished her magic light and everyone hid under the trees, not saying a word, silently praying that they hadn't been discovered. For the time, at least they were downwind, but the moment that changed, they would be in a lot of trouble. Seeing that the flyer circled overhead, they stealthy attempted to double back and find a safer way.

High above, the flyer had noticed the light just before it went out, but didn't think much of it, as he had followed another scent to the woods below. A scent that he had thought that he would never sense again, and yet, here it was. Circling around and smelling the scent again, there was no mistaking it, it was the same scent. It was them, those who wounded him.

They wouldn't escape him again, not this time, he would make sure that only the ashes would remain, even if he had to burn the entire area to the ground.

Not wanting to give his pray any chance of evading his attack, he planned to attack the area with flames, taking them by surprise. All he needed to know was exactly where they were.

"Laas Yah Nir." he said in a nearly silent voice. For a fraction of a second, his vision faded to black, and when it returned, he could see two bright red forms underneath the treetop. Knowing where his pray hid, he dived towards them, drawing a deep breath and unleashing a great torrent of flames against his targets.

The fire burnt the foliage and branches of the trees and scorched the tree trunks and ground underneath. Only Raph's reflexes enabled him to throw himself out of the flames way, pulling Mona with him. Mona was so surprised that she couldn't help screaming, as it all happened so fast.

"Look! It's attacking something." whispered Mikey and pointed at the dragon, as it breathed its bright flames into the woods.

"I wonder what poor soul it attacked." said Devina. "I heard a faint scream, it sounded like a woman."

"I don't want to leave anyone at the mercy of such a beast." Tyroth snarled, his instinct to protect crying for him to do something.

"We can't do anything, a dragon is too powerful for us to fight." said Donnie.

"He's right, they were once revered as gods and will all right." said Devina.

"Come on, we have to find another way if we are to catch up to Raph and Mona." said Leo.

But as they were about to continue walking, Sephie didn't move, she simply looked at the raging dragon, almost mortified.

"What's wrong, honey?" Tyroth asked.

"I heard the scream as well, my senses are sharper than before, and I think... I think I recognized the voice."

"You recognized it? Are you sure?" asked Leo.

"I could be wrong, but... No. I'm sure, it's Mona! She's the one being attacked!"

"What?!"

"No! Big Sis! We have to help her!" Mikey cried out, terrified that he might lose his sister.

"Yeah, but how? We can't fight a dragon." said Leo, desperately trying to think of a plan.

"You try to get to her, I'll deal with the dragon!" said Tyroth as he took flight and steered towards the great beast.

"Tyroth, wait!" Sephie called out, but he didn't listen.

"Is he insane?! He doesn't know just how strong a dragon can be!" said Devina.

"Actually, he knows better than any of us. He's fought one before." said Donnie.

Devina wanted to ask more about that, but Leo cut in.

"We'll talk more about this later, now we have to hurry. If it is Mona, Raph have to be nearby, and we must help them. Tyroth is buying us the time we need, let's not waste it."

Meanwhile, Raph and Mona tried to avoid the flames as best they could, the trees blocked some of the fire, but it didn't protect them from the smoke of the burning woods. They were running back the way that the came, hoping to find some form of shelter that could help, or at least shake off the dragon, but it seamed as if it had radar. They couldn't hide anywhere.

Running as fast as they could, they had received several cuts and scratches from branches and bark, and it didn't get any better when Raph tripped on a root. Falling to the hard ground, he cried out in pain.

"Raph!" Mona cried out and hurried to get him back on his feet, but despite her help, he couldn't stand on his leg, he grunted in pain and almost fell over again.

"Damn! I think it's broken!" he said. Looking at Mona, he said the next thing with a heavy heart. "Mona, leave me here and save yourself."

"What?! No! I won't abandon you! We'll make it through this!"

"I'll only slow you down, I want you to live and be happy."

Mona was about to argue against him again, when they both heard a dark laughter booming above them.

*You can not escape me, mortals. Feel the wrath of my fire!* the dragon roared in his own language. But before he could inhale for his fire-breath, another roar echoed across the night sky. Looking at the source of the roar, he saw a smaller red dragon that he recognized right away.

*You!? So, you live as well. But I will not allow you to escape again!*

Deciding to leave the mutant couple for the time being, the large dragon flew towards the smaller one.

*This night, you shall fall to Lokdrogyol!*

"Shut up and fight!" Tyroth roared back.

And another cliffhanger, damn I'm mean, hope that you can hold out a little longer, 'cause I'm gonna pour everything I got into the next chapter, just for you guys. Sure hope that you'll be looking forward to it, I most certainly do.