CHAPTER 19

We were somewhere over Ohio and that was about the only thing I was sure of after being in the air for the last three hours. Renfro was taking the plane in a shortening spiral, supposedly around the central point of Big Base, but all I saw when I looked out the window was darkness and maybe the odd cloud.

A flash of lightning.

I tapped my forehead against the glass. A question kept running through my mind: What the fuck was I thinking?

“Quit it, you’ll get grease on the glass,” Brannigan said beside me. He looked out the window. “This motherfucker better hurry up.”

The back of Jet 1 was just a big cavity, bare except for the cushionless, metal seats lining the side of the cabin. It was more military grade than first class commercial. Neon orange steel. Our power suits were soft enough in the backside, but it was the seat’s damn angle that made you fidget. You couldn’t get comfortable.

“Fuel is getting low,” Renfro said. “We need to decide if we’re doing this, with or without Guillermo’s brainchild.”

“Why’d you have to say that in the weirdest way possible?” Brannigan asked.

“We’re doing it one way or another,” Tamerica said.

“I know, I know,” Renfro said. He kept one hand on the plane controls and rubbed at his eyes. “I’m just saying, we need to know when we should move in. You know, like a now or never time marker.”

“How much longer can we keep flying?” Afu asked. The seatbelt across his chest looked so tiny.

“Maybe another hour,” Renfro said. “Maybe. We’re going to have to ditch it at this point.”

Everyone looked away from each other and listened to the air flowing outside the plane.

“I’m sure they’ll call us any minute,” I said.

“Hell, I didn’t even see if Lot made it out of there,” said Brannigan. “The Hydra could have snagged him and we’re waiting around up here for nothing.”

“That’s not funny,” I said.

The old man bobbed his head slowly. “It wasn’t a joke.”

“The point remains,” Renfro said. “How much longer?”

Tamerica tapped her armored fingers against her suit’s knee. “Ten more minutes. Then we jump. Sink or swim.”

Renfro and Afu nodded. I did as well, but I felt horrible. Once again the odd man out, the young punk who knew nothing. I thought I’d come up with a good idea. Maybe it could have been. The way it was looking, I would never know for sure.

What was I thinking?

Brannigan cleared his throat. “And if Contreras is right and those dragon-riding bastards are in the sky trying to pick us off?”

“Then we shoot and slice our way down,” Tamerica said.

Brannigan frowned and looked at me. I shrugged. What else could we do?

Yolanda, according to what they’d all been telling me, knew every single piece of equipment a smoke eater or propellerhead would use. She’d designed most of it. Besides that, she had extensive medical knowledge, due to having a doctor mother who kept old textbooks in the house, and being a little girl with insomnia who was determined to read them. She was the one who created Ieiunium Curate, which healed thousands of people, and… subsequently caused everyone who’d received the dragon blood to burst into flames if the Phoenix was near.

Well, if what she’d seen down there in Big Base was enough for her to think a mass medical procedure was happening in the morning, I wasn’t going to argue. We all knew the Nusies would eventually do something to Captain Jendal and the other captive smoke eaters. Something permanent.

There was no other choice. It would have really sucked to get eaten or shot in the face with a laser attempting to rescue these people, but I was convinced I’d feel worse if we kicked rocks without even trying.

Another flash of lightning outside the window.

For a second, I thought I saw a dragon gliding out in the clouds next to the jet. It had been made entirely out of electricity. Appearing in one instant and gone in the next. It had to be an illusion. If an electro scaly had really been there – I tried to convince myself – I would have seen it even after the lightning subsided. Besides, there was no such thing.

I turned from the window feeling sick. “Are we really going to jump through storm clouds?”

“A real smoke eater wouldn’t say that.” Brannigan slapped the back of his armored fingers against my suit.

I opened my mouth to agree. But then Tamerica’s holoreader rang.

Lot’s holographic head appeared. “If I got my numbers right, they should be flying with you now.”

“You always get your numbers right.” Tamerica turned to her pilot. “Renfro, do you see them.”

“Yeah, I see them now,” Renfro said.

“What?” I unbuckled my belt and wide-legged it to the cockpit. “They’re really here?”

“You’re not supposed to unbuckle,” Afu said.

“Oh, shove it,” Brannigan said. “It’s the apocalypse. Who gives a shit?”

I leaned in behind Renfro’s seat, searching the dark through the window. I was looking for them, but then I remembered Renfro was the only one who had any chance of seeing anything. “Where?”

Renfro pointed toward the left. “I got ’em, kid. They’re just over there. Looks like your plan might work after all.”

“Yeah, well,” Brannigan said, trying not to look disappointed, “showing up isn’t even half the battle. Let’s see if they stick to the plan.”

A bolt of lightning lit up the sky ahead of us. The flash reflected off a metal dragon with shiny jet wings. It was flying exactly where Renfro had pointed out to me. Riding on top of the dragon was a stocky droid, whose face was painted with a big, red smile.

“Happy now?” Renfro asked.

I clapped my hands against the back of Renfro’s chair. I laughed in two big ha ha’s that sounded a little too triumphant. “That’s exactly right, man.”

“How’d you program them so fast?” Tamerica asked Lot. “Did you connect them?”

“Wasn’t time for that.” He shook his enormous green glowing head. “He just… agreed to do it.”

“You asked that droid?” Brannigan said.

“Yeah,” Lot’s eyelids drooped. “Carl said I should request his help nicely.”

“All right, they’re diving,” Renfro said. He squinted, hiding most of his red eyes. “Hey, uh, Tamerica, did… did your daddy give that droid a laser rifle?”

“What? Why do you say that?” Tamerica sat forward, staring out into the dark sky. “Oh shit.”

I imagined Happy raising that rifle as Mecha Scaly pulled them toward the ground, disappearing beneath the thunderclouds. I wondered if we would see the laser shots and fire commingling below. It would be the best way to know where to jump.

“Hello, fellow warriors.” Happy’s depressing voice crackled through our helmets.

“Oh for fuck’s sake.” Brannigan struggled with his seat belt, stumbling into a clumsy walk after escaping it. He moved to the back of the plane.

Afu watched him the whole way. “You know that’s where we’re jumping from, right Chief?”

“Yeah.”

“And you want to be first?”

“I need the wind blowing into my face at a hundred miles an hour. It’s the only way to drown out that droid’s voice!”

“Chief got brave since we saw him last,” Afu said, toward the cockpit. “He wants to jump.”

“He should,” Tamerica said. “He had to escape the Phoenix the same way.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Brannigan said. “I’ve always been brave.”

“Don’t let him fool you, Guillermo,” Renfro said, “he was more nervous than you are on his first jump.”

“Yeah,” Afu said, “New Mexico. Thought he was going to have a heart attack right there mid fall.”

I looked at Brannigan. “I believe it.”

The others cracked laughs.

Brannigan looked away but he was trying to hide a smile. “I’m the one standing here ready to go while the rest of you are comfy in your seats talking a lot of shit.”

“All right, all right.” Tamerica unbuckled and got up.

Afu followed behind her and I caboosed the line toward the hatch.

Through the radio, Happy said, “I will begin engaging the enemies. See you soon. Huzzah.”

“Oh, sweet Jesus hurry up!” Brannigan yelled toward Renfro.

The pilot laughed and pulled a lever. The hatch began to lower. Air rushed in and filled my ears, pushed at my face. Thin lines of tears leaked out without my permission. I looked out to what I was about to jump into. It looked like a pool of pure nothingness. I didn’t see any dragons flying around down there.

“Gilly, listen to me,” Tamerica pointed two fingers from me to her eyes. “You have a device on the back of your power suit. When you’re clear of the jet, stretch out like you’re lying face down.”

You mean, like I’m about to hit the earth face-first, I thought.

“You don’t have to do anything but point with your head,” Afu said.

“And you’ll be following behind me,” said Tamerica. “Stay close, but don’t get kicked in the face.”

“Then I guess that means I’m first?” Brannigan said.

“You’re not too old to miss the mark are you?” Tamerica smirked.

Brannigan stepped up to the edge of the hatch. The wind was blowing so hard, I was sure it would reach in and take him. He put his back to the sky. “I really hope this is the last time I have to do shit like this.”

He spread his arms, reminding me of the crucifixion, and fell backward. Tamerica stepped up next and turned to make sure I was right behind her. My stomach felt like it had wandered back to buckle itself into a seat, but both it and me didn’t have a choice in the matter.

Tamerica jumped out as if she was cannonballing into a pool.

Happy’s voice broke in. There was screaming and the sound of laser fire behind the droid’s words. “Hostiles are returning fire. We took them by surprise. Three dragons have come down from the sky. There are soldiers riding them.”

I turned to Afu behind me. He made a circle with his lips.

“I told you guys,” I said.

“We should hurry after them yeah?”

“Yeah,” I said.

Afu grabbed me in a big bear hug. I started screaming before he launched into the clouds. I couldn’t see anything. It was like we’d fallen into an endless well. Afu had to shout into my ear. “Stop screaming. This is a covert mission. Remember?”

I slammed my gums shut. Afu pushed me away gently and what little I could see of him disappeared. The thrusters in my suit kicked in. I began to hover. The air didn’t rush against my ears as loudly and I didn’t feel like I’d been thrown into a washing machine.

Once I broke through the clouds – which surprisingly felt nothing like cotton balls – I could see Big Base below me.

Lasers of different colors zipped all over the ground. Some flew toward the sky, but only one got close enough to make me flinch. Mecha Scaly was buzzing over soldiers and spider tanks. The Nusies tried to lead it with their shots, but the metal dragon was too fast for them – and apparently much smarter.

Happy was firing his laser like a professional killer, switching the rifle to different hands, spinning his torso around to pop off a difficult shot. All with that damned red smile that seemed to brighten against the glow of Mecha Scaly’s flames. Brannigan had been right to be wary. Thank god the droid was on our side.

I spotted Tamerica’s suit, flashing green and red lights on the back of her shoulders. I pointed my head toward her to follow. As I did, dragons, real ones, were being ridden to crawl along the side of the base’s outer wall, or circling the muddy ground around the outer perimeter. The Lung dragon, and I assumed Reynolds, was zipping through the air after Mecha Scaly. The Lung’s enormous wings flapped strenuously as it tried to keep up. When it got close enough, the Lung breathed a cone of fire that grazed the droid dragon’s tail.

Brannigan landed on the center of the roof, hovering just before to silence his boots. He caught Tamerica by the forearms and helped her do the same then they turned to watch me. I had been so focused on pointing my body flat like Tamerica had told me to, I didn’t remember to pull up to land.

Tamerica caught me by the ankle and lowered me to the roof. The thrusters shut off and she helped me to my feet.

“Thanks,” I whispered.

Tamerica nodded and turned when Afu fell hard onto the roof. “I swear.”

“What?” Afu whispered.

“Nothing.” Tamerica shook her head as she pulled out the holoreader and followed the digital map to a particular spot. “You and Brannigan make a cut right here.”

The two men bent over and began sawing into the roof with their laser swords.

“What about me?” I asked. “What do I do?”

“You keep look out.”

Another boring job. I huffed and watched the battle below. Things were catching fire and a glow of orange rose up, but I didn’t want to look over the edge. Instead I looked up, where I saw Jet-1 making a pass.

“Y’all make it?” Renfro’s voice came through my helmet.

“We’re good,” Tamerica said. “Get above cover. You’re too low.”

“Had to at least see what was happening down–”

Happy’s voice cut in. “There is a new development. Doors have opened and dragons are coming out. They all have riders. My initial count is ten of them. Will report more.”

Everyone on the roof stopped and looked at each other.

“Did that droid just say ten?” Brannigan asked.

“Ten more,” I said.

“Don’t stop.” Tamerica whispered, swishing her finger toward the nearly finished hole in the roof.

Brannigan and Afu hunkered down and moved a little faster, if sloppier. Chunks of burnt metal curled up like snakes escaping hell.

After a few short gasps, I forced myself to take a full breath and moved toward the edge of the roof. I slowed to a creep when I saw a neon spotlight coating a Nusie lying just outside the base gate. A look of horror on his face: eyes huge and sunken, lips wide and wormy. The blood had misted his face. His torso was bloody. Arterial blood, Reynolds used to point out. Contents under pressure. The soldier had been bitten or blown in half at the belly button.

I couldn’t see Happy’s rifle doing so much damage. Besides, there were no scorch marks. Even if Mecha Scaly hadn’t been going damn near Mach 1 without landing, I didn’t see the droid dragon biting someone in half.

I took a step closer to the edge.

The ground shook just under me. A snarl rippled through the air and drew a twinge up my back. A dark shape shot into the air to my right. Then another on the left. And another. Happy had mentioned doors. They must have been right under me. I found myself counting each fleeing dragon and got to nine.

I waited. Took a step. Maybe Happy had counted wrong. It didn’t seem possible a walking calculator could foul that up, but–

A dragon rose above the edge in front of me. I squatted and hid. The scaly faced out, so I got a good look at the dragon’s rider. Calhoun rode atop a tactical black saddle that had plenty of pockets and straps to hold everything a modern soldier could ask for. Calhoun was not wanting in killing devices. All his saddle was missing was a cup holder. The red Fafnir looked from left to right as Calhoun shifted his own head in the same motion. It looked like he was controlling the scaly with his mind. With a scratchy roar, the Fafnir leapt into the air and was soon spiraling alongside the other dragons.

They were circling just below Jet-1.

“Chris.” Tamerica didn’t try to whisper this time.

“I’ll see you all in a bit.”

“No, you’ve got company. Dragons right under the jet. You need to eject.”

“Shit.”

A continuous yellow beam shot from the underside of Jet-1’s nose, toward a dragon with a very long, spiky tail. The laser made it a short, spiky tail. The scaly shrieked and dove into the side of Jet-1. Renfro tried to follow with the laser, but he wasn’t fast enough. The other dragons, led by their riders, followed. It looked like a pack of airborne piranha making a kill.

“Get out of there!” Tamerica screamed.

“I’m on my way,” Renfro’s voice sounded so calm.

We all saw the fire build before it left any throats. It was hard to miss in the dark. Like an expected chain reaction, the scalies all breathed fire as one. Some didn’t even stop chewing at the side of the plane while they did.

There was no way Renfro could have made it out.

The plane exploded.

I heard screaming. I thought it was Tamerica, but she stumbled in front of me to watch the bits of flaming jet fall from the sky. She said nothing. Afu beat a fist against his chest and wailed something I didn’t understand while the light from the explosion highlighted the streaming tears on his cheeks.

The dragons scattered when the plane blew, but none of them sustained injuries. All ten of them were flying just fine. A couple of the smaller ones attacked any random pieces of airplane they came across as they dropped back down.

“We need to get inside before they see us,” Brannigan said.

Tamerica rushed over to the hole they’d been cutting. She stomped on it and caused the metal to drop through. I turned back and watched the sky. I was trying to see if Renfro had gotten out, just in the nick of time. That was a smoke eater’s thing.

But there was no sign of him.

Tamerica grabbed my arm and led me to the hole. She didn’t have to push me.

I jumped right in.