The Tenth Dragon: Death Of A Youngling

Chapter 2: Flash Flood

When Jesse woke up, he was back in his garage.  It was pitch black and almost completely silent.  The bass amp was humming softly at him until he rolled over and turned it off.  He put his bass on it’s stand and stumbled inside.  Trying to be quiet, he staggered into the bathroom and fell against the sink.  The door closed behind him, had he shut it?  The faucet was on and the water was washing blood off his hands.  Where was the blood from?  Suddenly he remembered bashing his head on the ground.  He gingerly reached up and touched the back of his head.  To his surprise, there was no blood, no pain, no bump, no sign that he had even hit his head.

“What’s going on?" he asked himself as he looked himself  over in the mirror.  He was drenched in sweat and glistened in the light of the bathroom.

Looking himself over, Jesse couldn’t help but smile at how amazing his tattoos looked on him right now.  They were vibrant and detailed and looked like new.  Both of his arms were completely covered in ink, no blank skin between his hands and mostly up to his neck from both arms.  He had a tattoo of a choker with a dragon medallion around his neck, with the medallion sitting on right about his collar bone.  Among his other various tattoos, his favorite was still the purple butterfly on the back of his neck.  He had gotten it because of a Rydar, it was the first thing she had drawn in one of his journals.   As he studied his skin, he realized there was still a silver glow to it.  He reached down and ran his hand over his skin, but it didn’t feel any different.  Besides the sweat, it felt like his normal skin.

There was a knock on the door and Jesse looked up in time to see Rydar opening the door.  She was full dressed for work and looked worried.

“You okay baby?  You didn’t come to bed.”

“Sorry, I fell asleep on the couch.”

“Well do you still want to take me to work?”

“Of course.  Just let me change first.”

“Hurry or I’ll be late.”

Jesse hurried out of the bathroom and took off into their room.  He changed his clothes then walked back out to her.  Together they walked down to their car and left.  Jesse was lucky to have the day off, so he was able to drive her and drop her off.  It would give him an opportunity to sit at home and think about the crazy dream he had last night.

Jesse  was excited to drop Rydar off today.  He had a surprise gift for her that, Clarissa had helped him find.

“Okay my love, I’ll see you when I get off.” said Rydar as they pulled up to her parking lot.

“Wait babe,” Jesse caught Rydar’s arm before she could step out of the car, “I have something for you.”

He reached into the center console and pulled out a small box.  Rydar gasped as she took it from his hand.  Opening the box she pulled out the pair earrings that lay inside.  Then a third one that matched the pair.

“Why are their three of them?”

“Because they are special baby.  You wear the pair, and this one is for me.”

Jesse took the third one and placed it in his left ear.  The only one that he had pierced.

“Legend has it that these ear rings will bond our hearts.  We will be everywhere with each other as long as we wear these.”

Jesse was quoting what Clarissa had told him when she helped him pick them out.

She put the earrings on and kissed him passionately.

“Thank you baby, I love them.  I have to go or I’m going to be late.

Jesse pulled her back in for another kiss.  As they pulled back he noticed a silver glow fading into her lips.  Part of himself was being pulled away with her as well.  It looked as though Rydar was having the same feeling.  She hesitated for a long minute before finally turning and taking off into her work.  Jesse watched her disappear inside, then turned on the car and left.