Chapter 2 (part 4)

Meanwhile, Supreany was losing strength. She was not built to carry more than her own body weight. Off in the not-too-far distance, she could see a small forest. 'If I can make it there, we'll be all right.' She gritted her teeth and drew strength she didn't know she had. Coming almost over the top of it, she tightened her grip on Orckle and shot head-first into the trees.

Getting caught up in the branches, they were separated as they each came to a harsh landing on the forest floor. The dragons' shrieks and hisses rustled the leaves, but soon the sounds subsided as Orckle climbed to his feet. Squinting his eyes, he searched the brush for Supreany. She was lying on the forest floor, slowly pushing herself up into a sitting position. Orckle quickly went to her and as he drew closer, he realized that her left wing was wounded and bleeding pretty badly. Muffled groans of pain could be heard. He immediately examined it.

"Don't try to move it. I'll be right back."

He disappeared into the forest and within a few moments had returned. Supreany's wing throbbed with pain. She could feel the warm crimson liquid gradually flowing down her wing. He took out a spare cloth from within his garments and began to gently wipe off the excess blood. He then took the plants he had gathered and began mashing them together to create a green, slimy substance. With a steady hand, he applied it to her wound.

Looking deep into Orckle's face it occurred to Supreany that Orckle was not human. She had always taken for granted that he was. His coal-black skin was unlike anything she'd ever seen, and his eyes were a dark violet. No matter what race he was she was glad that he was not her enemy.

Feeling her eyes boring into him, he glanced up briefly then refocused onto her wing. "Something peculiar?"

"No. I just noticed that you have the most unique color of eyes."

He said nothing in response.

"Say, Orckle, do you have any family? You know, mother, father… siblings of any sort?"

He paused. Dead silence overshadowed them. He took a deep breath. "No, they all died many years ago. I am the last of my family."

She suddenly wished she hadn't asked. A slight sad smile came upon her face. He could see that she was trying to be cheerful. Sitting there, he wondered for a moment if she'd ever had a family, if she knew what that meant. No, he could read in her eyes, she hadn't. Or perhaps she had and was too young to remember it.

"Well, you're all patched up, but I don't think you'll be able to use it for some time."

"Yeah, I think you're right, thanks."

"Not a problem. I'm curious. Were you born like that?"

"What, with wings? Yup, I've been able to fly since I was eight. I just try not to do it very often. It kinda freaks people out."

"I'm sure. Well, shall we see our way out of this forest and head for Sophiapolis?"

"That's good with me; I'm not a big fan of dark creepy forests."

He looked at her confused. Though it was cloudy, it was still rather bright. And there weren't very many dark parts among the trees.

She smiled really wide. "Well, okay, it's not very dark, but if we waited till sundown to get out of here it would be. Just thinking ahead, that's all." Standing up, she braced herself and, with unsettling popping and cracking, the wings shrank into her back. "Wow, that hurt more than usual."

It was late afternoon when they made their way to the edge of the forest. The sun was shining brightly, with not a great deal of clouds to block it. Supreany looked up as if to welcome its rays. 'Well, we're out of there … what the …'

"Orckle," her voice was unsteady, "what's that?" Her finger pointed to the sky. A bright object that resembled a fireball seemed to be coming right at them.

"I'm not sure, my dear, but we'd better get clear."

They both took off in a mad sprint. Taking cover behind a large boluder, they felt the object hit the ground, creating a small quake that knocked them to the ground. After they gained their bearings, they lifted themselves, their heads creeping from behind the rock. They were taken by surprise and wonder. They had heard of rocks falling from the sky, but they had never seen a rock like this. It was large and very smooth and shiny, and it was blue, silver, and black.

Supreany leaned over to Orckle. "Shall we?"

Just as they were coming out to inspect the object, something on the ground next to it moved. They proceeded with caution. As they inched closer, it became apparent that it was a man.

He sat up slowly moaning. "I can't believe I survived that."

"Hellooo," Supreany greeted. The man practically jumped out of his skin as he turned swiftly to see her right behind him and Orckle to the left of her. "Are you okay?"

He looked at them somewhat stunned and confused. He was dressed rather oddly, having on a bright, shiny, red shirt and a bandana to match it, that wrapped around his forehead to the base of his skull, framing his spiky red hair. His somewhat loose-fitting pants were an equally flashy brown. Upon his feet were metallic brown boots and to top it off he had a somewhat duller long brown leather coat.

"Are you all right?" she repeated.

"Yes. If you don't mind my asking, what planet is this?"

Orckle and Supreany looked at one another with one of those *did he just ask that?* kind of looks.

"Please, just tell me what you call this world."

"Hodesh Adoma," Orckle answered.

He looked away and mumbled to himself before looking back at them. "So, you guys don't know anything about the Universal Government?"

Supreany cocked an eyebrow. "The Uni-what."

"The Universal Government."

"Sorry, I have no idea what you're talking about."

Suddenly, the man leapt to his feet in a small celebration of his own. "That's great!" He grabbed Supreany by the hand, a joyful smile on his face. "My name's Blaizen Ageno."

"Supreany. And this is Orckle." The *why are you touching me?* look suddenly sank in and he quickly let go of her hand.

"Sorry, I just got a little excited, so … um, if you can point me to the nearest city, I'd be very grateful."

There was a brief moment of silence, the two staring at him and him staring back.

Orckle tugged Supreany down to him. "Maybe we should take him with us. I'm not sure this guy has all his candles lit."

'Did he just call me crazy?'

"Maybe you're right …" Supreany whispered back. Standing straight, her tone raised from a whisper. "We've got a better idea. We're going to take you with us to Sophiapolis. It's not exactly safe out here for just one person."

'They DO think I'm crazy, but what choice do I have…' "That sounds good to me. I'll just get a few things out of my ship real quick and then we can go."

Supreany's eyes drifted back and forth. "What ship? There is no coast or river in sight."

Blaizen pointed at the large rock. "My spaceship." He walked up to it and opened it up. After scrambling around in it for a few moments, he came back with a bag of some sort. "Okay, I'm ready."

Turning, they began to set out for Sophiapolis. As they did, a terribly loud scraping sound came from behind. They peeked over their shoulders to see a small dragon upon the spaceship, a young but still intimidating dragon's shriek coming from it as it jumped to the ground.

Blaizen's eyes widened. "What is that?"

Supreany took off in a dash. "Run!"

They found themselves running for the only haven, the forest. Suddenly, their path was cut off as it landed right in front of them.

"Enough of this." Orckle held out his hands toward the dragon. Light exploded from them as lightning came crackling out of his palms, striking the beast. It shrieked and hissed in pain before it collapsed to the ground. The smell of scorched flesh filled the air.

Turning to face the others with their dropped jaws, he said in a relatively calm voice, "It made me mad." At which point he turned and walked away.

After a moment, Supreany pulled her dagger and began to approach the dead beast.

"What are you doing?" Blaizen asked.

"Well, where I come from you don't just leave food lying around. Get over here and help me with this."