Anada

Soaring

I soared high above the treetops. I never looked back at the lair of my only enemy. I stayed focused on increasing the distance between us.

A dense forest was below me. Drake's hide-out had been in the middle of nowhere.

I could also smell salt on the wind. That meant I wasn't far from the ocean.

I still had no idea where I was, but I knew one thing. I was exhausted. It soon became hard to flap my wings.

The three days I had been captive had taken a toll on me. I slowly decended and landed in the forest.

I folded my wings and walked around the woods for a while. Birds were happily singing. The smell of moist dirt, animals, and warm pine needles filled the summer air. The leaves in the trees softly blew in the warm breeze. The forest was filled with green and brown colors.

I sat on a rock and curled my tail around myself. This was the most calm place I had been in a long time. I hadn't been alone like this since... before I met the team.

I softly sighed. Where were they now?

I looked down at my talons. They had returned to their normal jet black hue.

Dr.Vindu has that bomb. I could still stop it if I go to that bridge before it blows.

I didn't know why they wanted to do such a thing. What was there to gain from it? It didn't matter why they wanted to do it, but it mattered more that innocent lives were at risk.

That's what I'm going to do! I'm going to foil their plan once more!

I decided to rest first though. I couldn't do anything until I do that. I easily found a safe place under a large bush, and went to sleep hoping no one would find me.

I woke up in the dark night.

How long did I sleep? It was only the early afternoon when I layed down.

I ignored the fact that I had overslept and decided to find something to eat. My stomach was growling.

I slowly walked alone in the dark forest. I could clearly see where I was going just in case there are any predators out looking for food too. Then I hear running water and find a stream full of fish. They're a little hard to catch compared to the ones in the ocean. I snap at them rather than scooping them up in my mouth.

I fill my stomach with just enough fish, but not too much or it would make it hard to fly.

I needed to figure out where I was exactly. I then found a clearing where I flapped my wings and climbed high into the dark sky. The air lifted my wings and I gained a higher altitude.

It's easy to lose yourself and forget about the world when you fly. The winds blows by your face and the ground is nothing more than a distant memory.

I caught a glimpse of light, and I looked down to see a normal sized town not too far away. Then I saw the dark ocean glittering in the moonlight. It had been a long time since I had seen the beautiful ocean. I slowly landed on a quiet road outside the town. Then I started walking toward the town I had seen. I happened to be barefoot, because shoes were the only piece of clothing that did not disappear as I shifted.

Ten minutes later, I entered the town. There was a sign that said, Welcome to Blue Current, Georgia.

A thought hit me. It had never occur to me before that I might be thousands of miles away from my friends. They were still on the west coast and I'm on the east coast.

Will, I ever find them?

I instead decided to focus on the present. Since I know where I'm at now, I can head to Salt Tide City. It should be south of here, and only three hours away.

I continued to walked through the dark silent town. Daylight would soon be coming. I wouldn't be able to fly then. I don't have to fly, because I can easily swim to Salt Tide City.

I walked out onto the beach. Salty wind blew across the sandy dunes filled with sea oats. It was low tide, and there was a large area of beach to walk on.

The sand under my feet was cool and moist. I cherished its familiar feeling as I walked down to the ocean.

I stepped into the cold ocean, and waded into the salty water. I got deeper and deeper until I was able to dive under the waves. I breathed in a lung full of the ocean water. It was chilly, but I ignored the low temperature.

Then I shifted. I stretched open my greenish blue wings as if I was soaring underwater. I was finally back in my natural habit, but knew it wouldn't be for long.

I started swimming south. I knew where all these cities and town were, because it was only a month ago when I had been swimming through these same waters. The town where I had met Elias and the team was north of Blue Current.

I made to Salt Tide City three hours later. The sun had risen, and it was probably some time around eight o'clock.

There was a river that went around the city. I swam up the river until I found a safe place to climb out and shift.

Then I walked into the city. It was fairly large, but it wasn't a major city either. There was mostly just a bunch of tourists, but there were many locals too.

I walked around for an hour or two. It was still early, and not very many people were out. I sat down on a bench to think about why Drake would want to destroy a bridge. When I was in the river, I had swam under a bridge. The city was partly surrounded my the river, and the other part of the city was surrounded by swamp and marsh. That bridge was the only way to enter and exit the city by vehicle.

The city would be cripled if the bridge was destroyed, but the people could still come and go by way of ferry.

A group of adult's gathered around another bench that was thirty feet away from me. They had a radio with them. I immediately knew that they were on vacation by the way they acted and dressed.

I could easily hear the radio because of my special dragon hearing. I didn't pay attention to what was happening on the radio until I heard something about bad weather.

There was a news reporter on the radio saying, "The tropical depression has increased strength, and is now a hurricane. It will be a very strong storm, and will cause much damage. The hurricane is headed toward the coast of Florida, Georgia, and lower South Carolina. Anyone living in these areas should evacuate very soon."

The group of adults around the radio became serious by the weather report.

I then put the pieces of the puzzle together. Drake had somehow known about the storm. He was going to destroy the bridge right as the city started to evacuate. Then the people will be stuck here as the hurricane comes in. The weather will probably harm any of the boats docked along the river, and then there won't be any way to leave the city after the hurricane leaves.

I stood from the bench, and knew there couldn't be much time left until the storm would arrive.

I started running toward the bridge where the bomb had probably already been set.