Anada (Book #3)

Distracted

A loud explosion was heard off in the distance. The ground vibrated underneath me. I abruptly swung my head upward o see that there was a thick black column of smoke rising in the sky.
I guess this is what Leon meant when he said 'it' wasn't over yet.
I growl in Leon's face, "This fight was just a distraction, wasn't it?"
"You're pathetic, Anada Stone." He randomly insults.
"You weren't going to just reveal the shifters. You were going to use them as a weapon too." I state clearly.
"Oh, how clever. She has figured out my plan... after it has happened." He says smugly.
My blood runs ice cold at his words. Had I been too late to stop him?
A new voice speaks behind me, "I'll watch him. You go stop what he's started."
I turn around to see the red dragon picking himself up off the snowy ground. Only moments ago he was trying to kill me because he had been under the strong control of the staff.
He steps closer and continues, "Go! There's no time to lose. You must stop this... whatever this is..."
I glance down at Elias who still lay unconscious in the snow. Seeing him in that condition tore me to complete shreds.
What do I do? Take care of Elias or save whatever crisis is going on in D.C.?
Both.
I hurriedly open the passenger door of the Mustang. Then I manage to place Elias in the seat. My left shoulder still bled profusely and continually sent sharp pains throughout my entire body, but my right arm was strong enough to get Elias in the car. A second later I slide across the dented hood and start the car with the keys I found in Elias's coat pocket.
Of course, the windshield had been shot out. Glass shards covered the dashboard and black leather seats. The bullet itself had gone straight through the driver's seat. A small hole had been left in the seat.
I drove out of the alley while regretting many things. It was my fault that Elias what hurt, Leon had outsmarted me, and I hadn't even asked the red dragon what his name was.
My vision blurred as the wound in my left shoulder continued to bleed. The deathly cold wind that blew through the glass-less front windshield didn't help either. Any normal human couldn't be doing this with a bullet wound. I... well I was a dragon. Somehow that helped me out.
D.C. was in a complete panic. Cars were cutting each other off, and a few vehicles were driving on the wrong side of the road. Whatever had happened had placed fear into the citizens.
It was that exact moment when I realized that I hadn't even shifted back to a human. I'm not sure who saw me. But if you just happened to be standing on the sidewalk at that time you would've seen a damaged black car with a shattered windshield and a dragon driving it very recklessly.
I knew that one day in the distant future I'd being laughing at this crazy moment.
But right now, I don't care to shift back to a human. There's no time. The black column of smoke that I saw earlier was still billowing up into the overcast sky.
"Anada..." Elias begins to mumble in the passenger seat.
"I'm getting you help. Okay, Elias? Stay with me. Just hang in there." I tell him worriedly as I swerve away from a run-away pickup truck.
Except, that certain truck wasn't just anyone's truck. It was Mr.Liam's. The driver obviously sees me attempt to dodge him and roles down the window. I'm slightly surprised to see that it is Connor who is driving.
"Hey, where've you been?" He shouts from the truck.
"Where have you been? What happened?" I yell back, but the bullet wound sends a sudden surge of pain through me.
My vision blackens abruptly. Then suddenly it clears and I find Connor pulling Elias out of the passenger seat. He obviously saw the poor condition that my dearest friend was in. I know he'll get Elias medical care.
"Please help him, Connor." I beg earnestly as a tear slid down my scaled face.
Connor lays Elias across the seat in the cab of his truck. He doesn't have time to say anything to me. The tires of his truck squeal as they spin on the melting snow. Seconds later he's speeding down the crowded road as if he's being chased.
I slam my scaly dragon foot down on the gas. The Mustang thrusts forward violently at I zoom toward the building cloud of smoke. The untamed Arctic wind filled the inside of the car. It chilled me to the bone, and for a millisecond I wished that I was somewhere far from here.
Minutes later I arrive at the fiery scene. Orange licking flames covered a building in an inferno. According to the blackened sign in the parking lot, it had once been a museum. I relaxed when I read a small sign saying that it had been closed due to a financial situation. At least it was a sign that no one had been inside during the explosion. Thankfully, there were no tragedies.
Fire engines were parked in front of the burning building. Water was being sprayed from long hoses attached to the huge red trucks. Bright lights flashed brightly, causing the scene to be more dramatic.
How did he do this? Why did Leon destroy a closed museum?
Then I suddenly realized that Leon had set this fire up as another distraction. A cold feeling dropped inside me once again as I tried to figure out what Leon was attempting to do.
Leon was trying to reveal the shifters at first, but that wasn't his only motive. He was likely going to use them as weapons, but for what exactly?
Then it hit me. I was in the middle Washington, D.C. The capital of the United States. The country's control center which was guarded constantly. The main headquarters of command.
The perfect place to use shifters as a living weapon against the capital of the United States of America.
I then know that somewhere else in the city there was currently something bad happening. There has to be. It's why Leon had distracted me... twice.