A Changed World - Book I | The Howling Winds

Chapter 13: The Way of the Dragon

A crowd was gathered around the recently blown up building that John and Skye left behind, hundreds of people murmuring their concerns for their leader... who was in said building when it blew to pieces.

"Everyone, please step back!" One soldier yelled, trying to alleviate the crowd.

"But Artimas was in there!" The voice of a woman cried.

The crowd gradually got larger and louder... but everyone was immediately silenced when an armoured fist suddenly punched free of the rubble, before the hand slammed down onto it in a prying manner.

Everyone watched with disbelief as the extremely heavy pile of rubble began moving, as if... someone was forcing themselves out. The first thing to confirm who it was... was the glowing red eyes, bright with rage.

Artimas grunted, his bones cracking and crackling as he stood to his full height, his armour covered with dents, dust and scratches.

As soon as the crowd saw their leader, they all slowly lowered to their knees, kneeling before the man who survived something that... no other man could.

Artimas's bones cracked some more before he noticed his people kneeling before him. Still filled with rage, he spoke, "The furs have played their game... and now, we shall end it. We will kill them all!" He yelled, rage being the defining feature in his gruff voice.

Surprised by their leader's rage, everyone in the crowd nodded their heads, some cheering out loud with agreement.

"Now, march with me, and end this war with the beasts." Artimas demanded before kicking his legs free from the rubble, before leading the way towards the massive metal gate, his people following while most got into vehicles.

Soon, a massive, thousands strong convoy was headed straight for the Aviary... to begin the slaughter in the dead of night.

-

After a while of flying, Skye and John finally arrived to an area of pure wilderness in Canada, far from the city of Montreal. Skye slowly lowered John to the snowy ground, allowing him down gently while she landed gracefully behind him.

"The hell is this place?" John asked, his head on a swivel as he tried to see passed the many trees.

"Shh!" Skye suddenly shushed, quickly moving a hand to cover John's mouth. "We're in dragon territory now, we must announce ourselves peacefully and quietly." She whispered, slowly moving her hand away.

John slowly nodded his head with understanding. "I guess they're further in?" He whispered, slowly beginning to move through the snowy forest while being careful with his steps.

Skye sighed and shook her head, not even making a sound each time her feet touched the snow. "This is the dragon forest, John. They probably already know that we're here." She whispered in response, showing a hint of nervousness.

John stopped in his tracks and slowly turned around to Skye. "If that's true, then why are we wasting our time sneaking around?" He asked, taking a step closer to her. "Look, we don't have a lot of time, Skye... we either need to get help from these dragons, or get back home to fight with our people."

Skye seemed concerned, shaking her head. "John, I... I haven't seen any dragon in years, they may have changed, I do not know." She expressed her concern.

Seconds passed, and John shrugged as he made his decision. "Only one way to find out." He said, before turning back around. "Hey Dragons! Come out, we need to talk!" He yelled at the top of his lungs, completely giving away their position.

Skye shook her head with disapproval, crossing her arms. "I hope you know what you're doing." She muttered.

With a chuckle, John slowly turned to face Skye again. "Just gotta have some fai-."