Chapter 44

Sarah sat on the sandy shore, her bare feet in front of her as she dug her toes into the warm sand. Waves crashed in some meters in front of her, beyond which she could see the blue and white scaled shape of Stanley as he leaped in and out of the surf.

The dragon surged in towards the shore, using a breaking wave for added momentum, then charged up the sloping sand. He skidded to a four legged stop right in front of her, sending a small shower of fine sand over her legs.

“Stop mucking about!” she scolded the playful Steam Dragon, who hunkered down and regarded her with his big pale blue eyes. She shook the sand off her legs and pants that she had rolled up to her knees.

“Why are you so grumpy today, Sarah Evermore?” Stanley asked her. She knew he was in a funny mood because he used her full name. It reminded her of when her mom or dad yelled out her full name, middle one included, which usually meant she was about to be grounded for something.

“Just thinking about some stuff” she answered him.

“Boy stuff?” wondered Stanley and grinned at her with his many, many teeth. Sarah picked up a sea shell and tossed it at the impudent Dracoris, but it missed and landed with a faint tink on the flying harness that Stanley normally wore.

“Hey, you know you are naked right now!” Sarah suddenly exclaimed. “And this isn’t a nudist beach. You might get arrested by the Guard!”

“I know you are trying to avoid the question” Stanley replied inside of her head. “Anyway, I am dressed. Look, I have my wristband on!” He proudly held up the tracking device that Achmed had made, as if such a small covering on his forearm counted as clothing.

Sarah’s phone made farting sounds, her latest ring tone of choice.

“Hang on, I need to get this” she told Stanley, grateful for the interruption. She rummaged in her pants pocket and looked at the caller ID. It was Eric, not someone she was ready to talk to right at the moment. With a sigh she slid the phone back into her pocket.

“Who was it?” Stanley asked, leaning his head in real close, puffs of steam coming out of his nostrils and gently drifting over her head.

“Nobody important, nosy snout!” she told him impatiently and pushed him away. Her phone farted again, a long drawn out one with plenty of wet bubbles, indicating she had been sent a message.

“It might be urgent” suggested Stanley but Sarah waved him off.

“Nah, not on a Saturday” she assured the dragon. “Nothing ever happens on a Saturday during school holidays!”

It was at that point the black Helijet roared over the sand dunes from the west, firing an air to ground missile at them both.

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The lightning fast reflexes of the Steam Dragon saved them, with Stanley grabbing Sarah around the waist and leaping into the air. A massive blast sent a shockwave out from the detonation point, right where the pair had been sitting.

Sand and water was flung in a giant arc, shredding the flight harness that Sarah used to ride the Dracoris. Hot air pushed Stanley and Sarah into a tumble, the earth and sky spinning wildly in their vision until the dragon was able to stabilise their flight.

“Go up!” Sarah told Stanley from her perch in his arms. She was looking over his shoulder at the big aircraft as it banked over the water then came towards them once more. Stanley gained height rapidly and Sarah thought they were safe until the Helijet angled its nose and accelerated upwards as well.

A small gun turret on the nose of the aircraft tracked in their direction and opened fire, sending bullets zipping past them. Stanley rolled to his left and downwards, diving out of the line of fire. Powered by two big jet engines, the Helijet rocketed past and overhead, leaving the pair of Dracoris behind.

“What is going on, Sarah?” Stanley demanded. “Why are they shooting at us?”

“I don’t know Stanley, but we should be safe now” she answered. “Together in the air, they won’t be able to see us or track us”

Just to prove her wrong, the aircraft turned in another wide arc and started to descend, lining itself up on the slow flying pair.

Stanley sniffed the warm morning air, scenting for something.

“I detect no presence of the Emissary or his creations” Stanley announced. “No other beings on this world should be able to sense us”

The Helijet dove and another missile launched from one of the short stubby wings at its sides. It shot towards them on a cone of fire and Sarah yelped as Stanley rose straight up, trying to avoid the incoming attack.

He was barely ten meters above the deadly weapon when it exploded mid air. Flames and stinging metal balls filled the air, peppering the thick skinned dragon. His scales stopped the shrapnel from penetrating but it still caused him immense pain.

Stanley screamed in agony and fell from the sky, Sarah screaming too as they fell towards the scrub covered dunes below. She had been lucky that the dragon’s big body had shielded her from the deadly explosion but now it seemed like she was going to be smashed on the ground anyway!

“Stanley!” she yelled as the air rushed past. “We are falling!”

As they fell his grip loosened on her, his body wracked by obvious pain. Sarah was in free fall, lifting past his long snouted head. Mid-air she hooked her right hand onto a long horn and managed to swing herself onto his black scaled back. She hooked her left hand around his other horn and wrenched them upwards, like she was flying a plane that was about to crash.

Whether he heard her cries or felt her desperate efforts to make him lift upwards, he slowed their wild descent then shot upwards once more. Sarah was driven down onto the hard spines that ran along his back, folded flat for now but still incredibly painful to ride on.

“Oww!” she squealed. “Now I remember why we made that flying harness!”

In the distance the black aircraft was turning, seeking them out once more.

“What shall we do, Sarah?” her dragon asked, his mental voice still reflecting the pain he was in.

“Is your Vapora loaded?” she asked him.

“Of course” he said, his voice gaining strength. “I ate a whole barrel of Black Rock for breakfast”

“A whole barrel!” she exclaimed. “No wonder you are getting so fat!”

“I am not!” he declared indignantly. “Miss Carmody says I am just big boned!”

“Well Okay, Big Boned, let’s show these guys what happens when you mess with the Dracoris!” she exulted. The Helijet was closer now and they saw double flashes, one from each wing tip. “Let’s destroy those missiles first, then knock this hunk of junk out of the sky!”

“Hell yeah!” agreed Stanley and raced forwards, drawing air and water into his internal gut boiler. Sarah felt his flanks grow hotter and hotter, moments before he unleashed a massive gout of superheated steam.

The missiles streaked in and met the oncoming blast of Vapora, detonating instantly. Pieces of missile were thrown backwards by the force of the steam breath and the Helijet was forced to swerve sideways to avoid the flying debris.

Stanley swung to follow the aircraft and they passed close enough to see two helmeted pilots in command. They had big visors covering their faces and their heads seemed to track the Dracoris in unison.

“Stanley, I think I know how they are targeting us” Sarah announced as they flew closer to the machine. “It’s the tracker on your arm! They must have decoded the signal somehow to follow you”

The Dracoris examined the wristband for a moment, then slid one long claw under the band. It parted easily and he let it fall to the sandy beach below.

“I kind of liked that wristband” he sniffed. The effect was immediately obvious as the Helijet started to descend, following the rapidly falling tracker until it hit the dunes with a small puff of sand.

“Right, do you think you can disable their engines?” Sarah asked. The Helijet was now hovering over the fallen wristband and gunfire erupted from its nose. Sand and scrubby bushes were thrown up into the air as it poured hundreds of machine gun bullets into the defenceless ground.

“Watch me” he said with an audible smirk and dove downwards. The pilots must have realised they had been duped and the Helijet was starting to rise up again, yet it was too late.

Stanley came in from behind, ducking under the whirling main rotor and latching onto the left side engine pod. He wrenched hard and the whole engine was torn off the main body. With a casual flick he threw it away, then for good measure reached forwards and ripped off the stubby wing on the same side.

While Sarah yelled fiercely from his back, he kicked off from the aircraft and they watched it spiral away, trailing smoke and fuel. The pilot was either very good or very lucky, managing to keep enough control to crash land the Helijet on the wet sand without exploding.

Sarah and Stanley watched until they could see the two crew stumble from the wreckage, collapsing onto the sand.

“Do we want to try and find out who sent them?” Stanley asked.

“They probably have guns, so if we go down there we may have to hurt them” Sarah decided. “I think Eric knows what is going on, so let’s head back to Pan City”

“Okay” agreed Stanley and he set off for their home. Behind them a trail of smoke rose into the air, marking the site of their victory.