2034 (Continued)

Chapter 2: Strangers

Libra figured out how to communicate with her dragon without speaking, telepathy she thought. The strange thing was the rock glowed whenever she reached out to her, what was this rock? She didn’t know, even as she contacted Aquai to push the boat so the trip would be shorter for them, it glowed an eerie dark green and white in her pocket. She made this dress before she left the raided safe house, and she absolutely loved the fabric and how she made it. Taurus sucked in a breath of alarm and said, “We are nearing a boat, cover yourself. It might be someone other than Capricorn and Gemni.” She grabbed a blanket and covered her whole body, holding her breath when she heard Taurus say,

“Pardon, what are you doing out at this time of night?” He made his voice lower.

“Delivering flour,” Came the answer, “Why are you here?”

“Fruit, to the bay over there.” Taurus said, pointing to the quickly appearing island. The dark figure leaned into the boat, curious. “Fruit?” The stranger asked.

“Yes, more of mangoes though. They are my favorite.” Taurus replied, trying to get a better view of his face. “Taurus?” The voice grew softer.

“Capricorn? Gemni?” Taurus asked curiously.

“Taurus! I’ve never been so relieved to see you guys!” Gemni threw the blanket off of herself, hugging Libra who did the same. Capricorn and Taurus fist bumped, relieved to see each other.

“So, how far again?” Gemni asked.

“We load up here and start off to the next island. It’s a half an hour away.” Taurus stated. He planned where they would go; he said there was a safe house there with low surveillance. Libra doubted there was a safe house there; in fact, it might as well be the heart of the government! She didn’t know. Her dragon touched her mind with hers, thinking what she was thinking.

:So, do you want me to check it out? You felt distressed, so I wanted to help.:

:Sure Aquai, but don’t get caught. And be careful!: Libra called after Aquai as she zoomed off in the air. “Hey, Libra. Talking to your partner?” Capricorn asked.

“Yeah, you?”

“Not yet.” He said. She turned towards Taurus and nodded. They were closer to land, and they needed every bit of their little team of eight to outwit and outrun intelligent people connected with the government. The government had very strong links with smart people, eight was always better than one. They docked cautiously, nothing that there was nobody near the bay. Maybe if they walked further inland, they would find shops and vendors surrounded by people. Taurus tied the boats to the posts holding the docks up and walked into the abandoned city. Everyone contacted their dragons, telling them to stay close and aware of traps. Gemni knew something was wrong, she just knew it. She hoped it wasn’t another Government owned island that was used to catch people for slaves or experiments. As they walked, she saw a few people come out of a bar and she saw something out of the corner of her eye and heard Scorpio, her dragon, shout telepathically, :Watch out!: something knocked her to the cobblestone before she could even blink. She struggled to her feet, only to be knocked down again.

:Calm down! It’s us! Your dragons!: In that moment, she realized everyone was on the ground with their invisiblized dragons on top of them, guarding them from something. :What’s going on? Why are you guys on us?: Gemni noted she could hear the conversation between all the dragons and companions. Huh, another power was granted! The dragons got off of them and hovered. :Fire blast. Would have roasted you to ashes if it weren’t for our fireproof skin!: And there was that too. Indivisibility and fireproof skin. She loved bragging about it too, along with her gift of setting herself on fire and surviving. So annoying, but so helpful at the same time.

:Why would a fire blast be set off in the middle of a town?: As they got up, they saw dozens of people milling about. Some were staring at the strangers. Taurus looked where the source of fire came from, and saw a welder with a burned tool in front of him. “Are you okay?” The welder asked, helping them up, distraught.

“Yes, we’re fine, thanks.” Capricorn said; oh thank heavens the dragons were invisible and transparent to anyone who looked their way! All they would feel was a gust of wind if they took to the skies. A boy shoved Libra, shouting “What are you doing? Standing in the middle of the sidewalk! Watch where you’re going!” She turned angrily to retort something back at him, but he was gone. Libra had a sudden thought and checked her pockets, her right pocket still had her money in it and the left pocket- oh no! He stole the rock! She tapped Taurus on the shoulder and said, “Taurus, he stole my stone! I’m going after him! Meet you at the dock in ten minutes!” Then she took off after him, she would catch up to him because she ran a lot on Jadeblade, in fact, she ran the whole island in one day. No doubt she would catch him. Taurus saw her sprint after the thief, full speed. He couldn’t help thinking, was her rock that important to her?

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Libra raced into the town square, she saw a pair of newlyweds walk past him he bumped between their clasped hands, turning and stealing anything that was in their pockets.

“Oops! Sorry! Clumsy person coming through!” Then he took off to the next corner, happy to score someone so rich. Libra barely managed to restrain herself from punching him in the throat, grabbing her stone and running. She followed him stiffly, telling herself to pipe down. He opened a burlap sack and sat on the ground, inspecting what he stole.

“Ouuhh, let’s see, a gold watch, coins-” He bit one, excited. “Gold coins! Expensive jewelry and- and,” He twisted and turned something, trying to get a better view. “A rock?!” He incredulously peered at it. “Yes, my rock, thank you very much!” Libra jumped out of her hiding spot, cornering him in the alley that he oh-so-wisely chose, that just happened to have a dead end. He stared at her with big brown eyes and tanned skin, his hair was red. She smiled, knowing what would happen next. She turned a full 360 searching for any hidden cameras before looking back at him, walking slowly towards him, and the dead end. 

Continued from chapter 1, The Rendezous.
FOR NARNIA!
-Izzy