Clear Skies

Chapter 2: Stranger in the Mirror

Light left my blinking vision struggling to adjust. Ringing in my ears gradually dispersed. The sky above carried the gray haze of smog, and the alley around me was dusty and pocked with debris. I struggled to a standing position and fell against the crumbling stone building to my right.

Where was I? The dread sinking my spirits said something terrible just happened. My head ached. I couldn't remember what that something was. Actually, I couldn't recall anything.

A commotion of yelling bounced down the alley. A guy sprinted past the opening. I pushed myself off the wall and stumbled forward, kicking a shard of shattered green stone aside.

I hugged the corner and peeked out at him. He stood tall and met my eyes; his were a bright hazel. He looked like he was in his teen years, maybe around my age. Er, if only I could remember what age that was.

"Hey! Stop, you!" Those were the voices I had heard earlier. A pair of men in uniform chased the guy. "Sector Security orders you to stand down!"

Two against one didn't strike me as fair. I slid between him and his pursuers. Instinct guided me into activating the disk on my arm. I slapped the top card onto one of the scythe-shaped card zones. A white dragon five times my size burst to life.

"Leave him alone!" I shouted. Luckily, I hadn't picked any words that would show the chattering of my teeth. The large dragon between me and the two men hadn't casted away the terror gripping me.

Their laughter worsened my nerves. The leftmost fellow nudged his friend. "Dumb Satellite trash seriously thinks a hologram can bail her out. I'll handle this."

He pushed up his sleeves and walked forward. The man's helmet dinked against dragon scales. He grabbed the top of his headgear and backed off a step. "What the-"

Oh, I remembered this part. I commanded, "White Lightning."

Sparks danced among the dragon's fangs. The monster's head lurched back, the hairs on the back of my neck lifted, and the dragon fired a blinding blast. I rubbed at my eyes until they could adjust.

Tiny granite pieces splattered around an empty chunk of pavement, where the men had posted up. They'd landed on their backs twenty feet from the impact. Steam drifted up from their clothes and from scorch marks on the ground.

"D-demon!" the leftmost Security screamed. The pair scrambled to their feet, tossed back fearful glances, and fled. I released the breath I'd been holding and placed a hand on my dragon. His brilliant, blue eyes had slit pupils like a lizard's. The white scales, though tough as metal, were warm to the touch. The upturning of the dragon's eye suggested a smile, so I returned the gesture. When I returned the card to the deck, the dragon disappeared.

"Ha, you're pretty tough!"

Oh, yeah. The guy. The one I took the leap for in the first place. Totally forgot about him. Focusing on his face had me realizing his lavender headband was tied under his bangs, so they fell in his face. Weird. He grinned as he gave me the head-to-toe. "Got a name?"

"Um, not really," I answered.

"Whaaat? How can you not have a name?"

"I don't remember. I don't remember anything, actually. Where am I?"

He slapped the knee of his jeans amidst his laughter. Catching my blank stare, he broke off. "You weren't joking?"

"...Would it really be that funny?"