We Fight Dragons (Volume 1, Chapter 13) 'Out of the fire...'
‘MUM!’
Mels saw Jam cry in horror, and run towards the burning shed, blind to any danger in his instinct to save his mother. The Dragon used its tail again, and it sent Jam flying through the air, crashing into the rusted tractor. His body hit the ground limply, broken.
Jam’s father was torn between helping his son and saving his wife. The man who had driven up grabbed him, and shook him by the shoulders. ‘Get hold of yourself! I’ll keep Jamie alive. You need to get Freya out of there!’
The newcomer rushed over to where Jam’s unmoving body was, and drew forth a burnished copper amulet that hung on a leather cord around his neck. Mels thought it looked like he was praying in short bursts of breaths, while he held one hand on Jam’s chest.
Now that he as on his own Mr Wood was forced into a tactical battle, dodging the Dragon as he tried to reach the door to the shed, while the flames steadily grew.
‘This is no good,’ cried the man who was tending to Jamie. ‘The banishment is taking too long!’ He sounded desperate, but he stayed focused on keeping Jam alive.
The next few minutes were a nightmare. The Dragon teased Mr Wood, letting him get close to the burning door several times, before chasing him away with swipes of its razor-sharp claws. It was playing a sadistic game of cat-and-mouse, using Freya as the bait.
A sudden gust of wind distracted the monster, causing it to look skywards, and it was alarmed to see a black tornado stretching down from the sky towards it.
‘Noooo!’ the Dragon screeched angrily. As the whirlwind began to take hold, the beast dug it’s claws into the ground to avoid being dragged upwards. However, the force of the whirlwind was growing with every second.
For just a moment, Mr Wood had something to hope for. There might still be time to save his wife.
That was when the Dragon glared at him and grinned an evil grin. It used all of its coiled muscle to whip it’s tail into the burning shed, smashing it to splinters, and scattering burning wood and straw in all directions, leaving nothing but clean-scraped earth where the shed had once been.
The attack left the Dragon unbalanced, and the whirlwind was finally able to overcome its grip on the ground. The deadly serpent was hauled into the sky, laughing hysterically like an angry, evil clown at the carnage and devastation that it was leaving behind as it was dragged away.
A moment later and the roar of the tornado was receding, moving eastward at a tremendous rate. The only other sound to be heard was the cry of Mr Wood as he fell to the ground weeping.
The man who was keeping Jam alive bowed his head, fighting to stay focused on his vital work and not succumb to the horror of what just happened.
The whole scene was desolate, and inconsolably sad.
Then two figures emerged tentatively from the wheat field beside the orchard, surrounded by swirling smoke and glowing embers. One figure was taller and slightly limping, being led by the other figure who was smaller.
‘David!’ The taller figure called out. ‘It’s okay. I’m alive. We’re alive.’
Mr Wood looked up and saw his wife hobbling towards him, being guided by Mels. He couldn’t believe what he was seeing. ‘Freya!’
‘She saved me,’ said Mrs Wood, nodding towards Mels. ‘While you fought the Dragon, she climbed through the back window and untied me. Then we hid in the wheat field until it was safe to come out.’
The couple embraced each other, momentarily oblivious of all else until the other man called out to them. ‘Freya! Jamie needs you. Be quick now!’ Mrs Wood ran over to Jam, who still had not moved. She took his hand and soothed his forehead, and spoke to him gently and lovingly.
Mels came over, compelled to watch. She thought it was the strangest ‘first aid’ that she had ever seen, yet within moments Jam’s chest was beginning to rise and fall steadily again, and his eyes moved about under their eyelids. It was strange, yet she also felt that somehow it made sense.
‘Thank you, Amelia,’ said Mr Wood. ‘For… everything.’
‘I didn’t do all that much,’ Mels smiled sheepishly. ‘I didn’t fight a… what did you call it? A Dragon?’
‘That’s what we call them. But it’s a long story.’
‘What happened to it?’
‘It was banished.’
‘So is it dead?’ Normally, the thought of even squishing a bug made Mels queasy. But not right now. Now she actually hoped that it was dead.
‘Unfortunately not. It was banished to another land. It could return, but the journey would be risky for it.’
‘So, you just made it someone else’s problem?’ Mels said with irritation. The idea made her cross and she was unable to hide it.
‘It’s not like that. The banishing ritual sends it into the wilderness, away from civilisation. The one thing that we didn’t want to do was to fight a Dragon that knows where we live, and who our families are. As you have seen, Dragons are not afraid to attack us through the one’s we love.’
Mels looked at Jam’s rapidly recovering body and thought about it. ‘I think I get it. So, what’s next? What about… me?’
When Jam was soon able to walk again, Mels kept saying that it was unbelievable. She playfully poked him in the arms and chest just to be sure it wasn’t a trick. Jam reacted by laughing and feigning to be mortally wounded after each poke. He showed her a thin white scar, which spanned his left ribcage, but that was all that remained of the injury from when the Dragon had flung him against the tractor.
Freya helped Mels to collect her stashed backbacks, and when she offered Mels a lift home she was glad when the young girl she said yes, because they really needed to talk.
Later, on the drive to the city Freya said, ‘You’re quite a bit different from your friend Zarah.’
‘Zar is okay. I understand why she’s a bit of a cow sometimes.’
Freya was surprised. ‘You think she’s a bit of a cow, but you still hang out with her?’
‘I think she’ll grow out of it,’ Mels declared. ‘And when she does, she will remember that I was her friend.’
Freya nodded. ‘Yes, she might. But, she might also remember that you have known her at her worst, and resent you for that.’
Mels chewed the idea over. ‘Maybe.’ Mels realised that this could also happen. ‘I’ll take that chance.’
‘You have a wise soul, Amelia. And you are incredibly brave. I thought I was dead until you untied me. Even then we both could have been burned alive. You risked your life to save a virtual stranger.’
‘I think you would have done the same for me,’ said Mels, looking to Freya for assurance. ‘In fact, I sure that you would have!’
Freya nodded in silent agreement. ‘So, while we are driving to your parent’s place, what can you tell me about them? Do they know that their daughter is so heroic?’
Mels blushed automatically, which Freya approved of. ‘My parents are pretty cool, you know, for old people.’
‘How old are they?’
‘Your age. Um… damn… I think I wasn’t supposed to say that.’
Freya laughed, appreciating the girl’s honesty. ’Hah! Amelia, you are supposed to say what you believe, or you will never find out if it is right.’
Mels nodded thoughtfully, before announcing, ‘You can call me ‘Mels’. All my friends do.’
‘Thanks, Mels. I appreciate that. Hey… I like your hair. It’s nice and long. I haven’t worn my hair that long since I was your age.’
Mels smiled. She could tell that it was a test, but she didn’t mind. ‘Thanks. I bet you used to look good with long hair.’ Then she realised how that might sound. ‘Not that… you aren’t… your hair looks great… I didn’t mean… oh no!’
The pair looked at each other nervously for a moment, then burst out laughing.
.