"Charlotte," Sarah whispered, "Charlotte, you need to go."
Sarah took Charlotte's hands and pulled her to her feet. There was no point in being stealthy, no point in pretending that she hadn't seen them and they her. The soldiers were pouring in from the pier to the west of the park and the boat docks to the east, effectively blocking off two of the three paths to safety.
"Charlotte, Charlotte, go!" Sarah said, pushing at Charlotte, trying to force her to leave.
"No!" Charlotte pushed back and swatted Sarah's hand away. "They're going to kill you!"
"No, they're not," Sarah said and the prickling burn that had started in her spine roared up her back as she let it take her, let it control a part of her that she tried to control in her every waking moment.
It was a flurry of movement that followed.
Sarah pushed Charlotte away as her skin burned and the dragon moved its head across her belly. Soldiers formed a ring and cut off all escape routes and Augustine walked out from the center of them. But Sarah hadn't noticed, the scorching pain had forced her to close her eyes as it burned into her pupils. The dragon was ripping at her skin, tearing at her belly to get out and as Sarah finally let it Charlotte screamed.
Sarah opened her eyes and through a haze of green watched as Charlotte was dragged away from her. The dragon dug its claws into Sarah's flesh and pulled itself from her, dragging its scaled body out till ten foot wings unfurled and it bared its teeth at the soldiers surrounding them. As its horned tail fell from Sarah's back and left six-inch gouges in the grass, the pain dissipated, leaving in its wake a sense of calm.
"Its very impressive," Augustine called out, "very impressive."
The dragon wrapped its body around Sarah, a shield of bone, muscle and scales, an impenetrable wall. It dipped its knee down, to help Sarah on, but instead she rested a hand on its back, felt the heat of its body against her fingers and she shook her head. She wasn't going to run, she wasn't going to be a coward and leave Charlotte with those people. She would die before allowing anything to happen to her.
The dragon snapped its jaw and let out a deep, rumbling snarl, a warning and Augustine smiled. The soldiers behind her broke rank and made a path for … for what?
They were men, but the only thing to be seen of them, to identify them by, was their eyes. The rest of their bodies were encased in thick armor, painted grey and yellow with D.U.P stamped in black across their chests. And surrounding them, moving as though in orbit, were massive rocks. Each almost the size of a human head, the rocks circled the men in continuous movements, followed them as they walked into the clearing and there was no fear in the men, no signs of trepidation at the sight of a massive dragon standing before them.
"But let's not cause any more of a scene," Augustine said, "I can help you, Sarah. I can help you have control. I can help you let go of Eric and show you your real potential."
The dragon let out a shattering screech at the mention of Eric and Sarah's ears were burning with rage. She wanted to hurt the woman. She wanted to make her feel the pain she felt when Eric had her. She wanted the woman to suffer.
The dragon opened its jaws and its chest burned as flame gathered in the back of its throat. Sarah covered her head as the dragon moved its massive body in front of her and let out a shoot of emerald flames. The fire hit the armored soldiers and ricocheted into a pillar that reached up to the sky. The fire had hit a wall of stones, a group of large rocks that withstood the blast. Behind those rocks, the soldiers opened fire and bullets collided into the dragon's scaled belly.
Unprepared, Sarah felt the bullets rip through the giant lizards abdomen and she cried out as jets of steam billowed out from the bullet holes. The dragon roared and let out another jet of flame. It was deflected and another hail of bullets found their mark. One slipped through the beast's wing and dug itself into Sarah's shoulder. She bellowed in pain and her dragon fell to its knees.
"Stop fighting Sarah," Augustine yelled, as the spray of bullets died away, "I don't want to hurt you."
But Sarah was hurt; severe pain radiated from the bullet wound and she was starting to see spots. She dug at the hole in her shoulder, desperate to get the bullet out, when her dragon gave in to defeat and began to dissipate. Dimly, Sarah felt the ink begin to seep back into her skin and soon there was no evidence of the dragon left, save for several small clouds of green smoke that lingered in the air.
Sarah fell into the grass, the bullet held firmly in her hand and soldiers surrounded her body. Augustine knelt down beside her. Cool fingers found the pulse in Sarah's wrist and when she looked up into the older woman's eyes, horror took away Sarah's last bit of strength.
She fell into unconscious staring into eyes filled with desire and hunger, a hunger that Sarah had seen in only one other person in her life.
He smiled when she talked about her family, about her job and school and her ambitions. He asked questions when she paused and laughed when she made a joke, but every emotion, every shimmer of life save that of hunger never reached his eyes. And Sarah was too enamored to notice, too confused and caught in her own mind to see the way he truly looked at her.
Had she seen it, had she just looked at him she would have seen it instantly. But instead, she allowed herself a moment of vulnerability and Eric took it.
"There's something weird about him," Charlotte said over a mug of tea, eyeing Sarah carefully.
"No, there isn't," Sarah retorted, feeling an itch of irritation start in her jaw.
"I just don't understand why you keep seeing him, do you like him?"
"Charlotte," Sarah said carefully, "for the thousandth time, it's not like that."
"You don't see the way he looks at you, Sarah, like you're a piece of meat. He waits for you to get to work, Christ he waits for you after work! He makes up countless excuses to see you and you give in to them every. Single. Time."
Charlotte crossed her arms over her chest and a lingering silence feel between her and Sarah. The arguments were always the same, Charlotte demanding that Sarah stop seeing Eric and Sarah agreeing, only to meet with him again a week later.
"You're fucking pathetic," Sarah snarled, "you're jealous of my friendship with him and I'm sick of it. Stop making me feel so goddamn guilty because you can't get over the fact that I have more than you in my life."
Three days later, Sarah found herself at work late. It had been a particularly difficult day and her argument with Charlotte still lingered heavily in her mind. As Sarah closed up and headed for her car, a sudden prickle of caution forced the hairs on the back of her neck to stand on end. She had a horrible feeling in the pit of her stomach as a hand closed tight over her mouth.
Sarah was pulled back and as she kicked her legs out a prick of pain found her shoulder. She bit her attackers palm and, with a grunt, Sarah was released. She fell to the cold concrete as her vision started to blur at the corners and her bones felt as though they were made of concrete. She opened her mouth to scream, to call for help, but the only sound that came out was a small whimper, a pathetic noise that barely stood above a whisper.
Hands pulled at her shoulders and rolled her onto her back. She stared up blearily at a nearby streetlamp and the clouded sky beyond. Then his face swam into view. As he tucked his hands beneath her body and pulled her against him, he looked down at her and Sarah saw the hunger and feverish desire.
The last thing Sarah remembered, before whatever he had given her put her out, was the last thing Charlotte had said to her and what she had said back. Sarah closed her eyes to the look of pain on her girlfriends face and the realization that she may never see her again.