Dragon Seekers

Chapter 11

"Do you know how long he's been out there for?"

"How should I know?"

"Ashley!"

"I don't know. I just see the kid running away from a magma troll. I don't know how he got out there or why in the first place."

"Poor thing has been burned badly."

"Hey! He's coming around."

Jamie felt like his eyelids were made of lead again as he attempted to open them. His vision caused his eyes to sting when he made a poor attempt to take in his surroundings. He closed them again, desperate fo the pain to stop. He was laying on something soft. A bed? His hands, feet and head felt numb. At least they weren't painful, giving Jamie relief.

There were two people in the room with him, that he was sure of. He didn't recognise the voices. Why would he anyway? He was in a molten wasteland goodness knows how long ago. He didn't know if any humans could live in such an environment. Apparently, they can here. Wherever here is.

Jamie finally felt like he was ready to open up his eyes again. When he did, two dark skinned faces were looking down on him. Both of them seemed to be related, as they both had striking similarities. Both had dark red hair that was short. Their eyes were the same shade of brown. The woman that leaned over Jamie seemed to be the same age as Jasmine. Her hair was a bob cut, just reaching her chin. Her fringe was held back by a headband. She was wearing a white blouse with short sleeves and black trousers and a golden bracelet on her wrist. The boy that was with her stood a little further away. His dark red hair was shorter than the woman's and was much messier. He looked to be about Jamie's age. He wore black trousers, a black leather jacket, a black leather jacket with a high collar and a red shirt. He also wore fingerless gloves. Both strangers were obviously mother and son.

"Hey there, dear. It's okay. You're safe now," the woman smiled kindly, brushing Jamie's hair from his sweat dampened forehead. Jamie felt a sense of overwhelming relief as he saw that smile, given what he had been through. "What's your name?"

"Jamie...where-" Jamie spoke up, his voice all raspy. He was cut off when he suddenly started coughing harshly. His lungs felt like they were on fire as his body flinched violently from his hacking.

"Ashley, could you bring over a water crystal? He's still dehydrated." The woman asked as she turned over to her son. Ashley nodded before disappearing into another room, the sound of his footsteps fading away. Jamie stopped coughing after what felt like forever. His entire body felt drained and sore just from that. He laid as still as he could as he got his breath back.

"Who are you?" he asked, looking back up at the woman.

"My name is Ember. And-" the woman started as Ashley came back into the room.

"Name's Ashley, but you can call me Ash," he said quickly, cutting Ember off. Jamie noticed something bright and blue in Ash's hands. It looked like a gemstone that was cut into a diamond shape. Ember gently plucked it from Ash and lowered the corner of the crystal to Jamie's lips.

"Take slow sips, dear," she spoke softly. Jamie stared at the crystal confusingly. Sips? The crystal touched Jamie's lips and he was slightly taken aback when water suddenly, but slowly, started to fill up in his mouth. Cool, fresh, refreshing water. Ignoring Ember's advice, he drank it greedily.

"Hey! Didn't you hear Mum? Slow down," Ash scolded.

"Ashley! He's fine," Ember scolded back. Ash shrugged, but silently sat down in a chair. Jamie ignored it as he continued to drink the water until it stopped flowing into his mouth. Ember smiled again as she took the crystal away from Jamie's mouth. The colour had changed from blue to a murky grey, losing its shine. "Feeling better?"

"Yes. Thank you," Jamie sighed. He felt like he got some feeling back in his body. He started sitting up, but winced loudly as he felt pain shoot through his body from his hands.

"Would you calm down? Your hands were burnt quite a bit when I saved you," Ash spoke up, pointing at Jamie's hands. He was right. When Jamie looked down, the palms of his hands were covered in bandages. His feet were also bandaged up. He suddenly felt guilty. These people, who didn't even know him, were helping him. They had no obligation to. Why would they help someone like him?

"Ashley, stay with him please. I'm going to find him something to eat. Do you have any preferences, dear?" Ember asked, standing up from where she sat beside Jamie. Jamie shook his head mutely. Ember stroked his head a little before leaving the room. Jamie could feel Ash staring at him, studying him. It made him feel uncomfortable. He tried to shake it off as he glanced along the room hat he was in. It was a small bedroom with a hardwood, polished floor. A small chest, bedside table, a couple of chairs and the bed he lay on were the only furniture in the room. A window had the red curtains drawn, but a bright light was shining through it. Lanterns hanging from the wall, lighting up the room.

"So what were you doing out there? You've got to be crazy to be out there without proper foot protection or-" Ash started suddenly.

"You said that you saved me?" Jamie asked, feeling like he can speak again.

"Yeah. So?" Ash sighed, a little bothered about being interrupted. Jamie would've spoken, but he didn't have a chance. "What? You think I shouldn't know how it fight?"

"N-no! I am surprised that a kid my age can fight like that, but I wanted to say thank you," Jamie stuttered, feeling scared by Ash's tone of voice. It reminded him of Carl when he was getting close to beating Jamie. Thankfully, Ash relaxed, seeming content with what Jamie had said.

"You're welcome, I guess," he said, clearly looking a little smug. Jamie didn't know how he should add to that. Students at school often ignored him because he was so quiet. He actually felt honoured that someone his age wanted to speak to him. "When you live out here as long as I have, you need to know how to fight. Just do me a favour?"

"What's that?" Jamie asked, suddenly tensing up again.

"Relax, will you? Anyway, don't bring up the topic of fighting with my mum. She's a bit...touchy when it comes to that," said Ash, looking quite unnerved. He got up and suddenly started to imitate Ember. "'Ashley, you shouldn't be fighting in the first place! You should help out more around the house, like a proper young lady'." Jamie couldn't hold back his laughter as Ash said that. It felt uplifting to laugh properly for the first time in what felt like forever. Ash joined in, his laughter overpowering Jamie's in volume. It felt great to laugh with someone his age for once. Is this what it felt like to have a friend? Sure, he just met Ash, but he really feels like he would be friends with this boy.

"Wait a second." Jamie suddenly exclaimed. Ash stopped laughing, confused as to why the laughing stopped. Jamie looked Ash up and down quickly. He heard what Ash said, but he needed to be sure. "You're a girl?"

"Yep! Surprised eh?" Ash laughed again like it was no big deal. She laughed it off as if it were a joke. Jamie felt a little embarrassed as he honestly believed that Ash was a boy. But it was what Ash said next that took him even more off guard. "By the way, where's your dragon?"