No Longer Freedom

16. Boy in white.

Tom's POV

"Isn't it weird to see any types of animals, when every living thing around KOTLO is gone, except humans?" Tord noted as he pointed at a flying squirrel gliding between the trees. It had already been 5 days since the drowning incident but he... He just acted like nothing happened. I could have died, the hell. However, Tord seemed to keep a distance from me. Though, I didn't mind. Having him close to me...It just confused me. He radiated mixed signals like a wild cat. Sometimes the kitty scratched me, so my blood would decorate its fur but sometimes it would lick the blood away from my palm.

Brushing off my train of thought, I agreed. "I've noticed the same thing everywhere I go... It won't take many days to notice that every breathing thing around you is suddenly gone. Last time when I was here, other dragons disappeared in a few days"

Staring at the squirrel in pure silence, Tord asked. "How so?" Tord leaned against a massive fruit tree. "I don't know, It has always been like that so it's normal for me." I sighed. The pressuring silence fell on top of our heads yet again. We just looked at the squirrel in silence until Tord opened his filthy mouth. "How long were you in my area before I found you?" "Maybe a day or two." I spat and crossed my arms. The memory of him chasing me in the tunnel was embarrassing . Usually I was the hunter but when the tables had turned it made me want to vomit. I felt so weak and small, back then, that it made me want to lose those memories.

"Mhhm..." Tord hummed as he glared at me. His glowing bloody red eyes pierced through me like a scorpion sting, making me freeze. "How unfortunate." He took a step towards me. "What a consequenc-" A powerful roar interrupted Tord's sentence. It was another dragon?! There's no way I wouldn't recognize that type of sound.

I turned my head towards the sound, excited to see another dragon. And there it was. A flower looking slender beast. It had six limbs in total. Two legs and two arms but then it had another pair of arm looking limbs but they were connected to its green leaf looking wings.

Around its neck and head it had a mane that mimicked a huge pink flower with a lot of layers. In its back and stomach it had multiple thorns in different sizes. It seemed to use protective coloration to blend in with the massive plants. What was odd was that it didn't really seem to have scales. Instead it had skin like humans but it was green and much thicker. I could see its eye catching ribs through its skin, showing its hunger.

I heard how Tord gasped next to me as he pointed at the massive creature. "LOOK! YOUR FRIEND! CAN YOU ASK IT TO CHANGE TO A HUMANOID LIKE YOU!?" He covered his mouth as he placed the other one on my shoulder.

I decided to do as he wished, although this man had no idea how many times I had tried to speak with other dragons but the result was always the same. "Hemme? Mim din Tom." I introduced myself to the amaryllis dragon. It only stared at me with its pale white eyes. Scared, it took a few steps away like the other ones I had talked to. It looked like it would just see a ghost while it started whining. Then, suddenly its leaves started to turn brown and the pink petals began to peel off. It started to...wither? Straight in front of my eyes. "What did you do?!" Tord spat as he dashed towards the rotting dragon. "The same I always do..." I sighed.

With its last strength, the dragon spread its cracking wings so the wind could take care of it like mother nature did to the other plants. Gliding towards the ocean it looked at the sky, whining and begging but nobody could give it any mercy. I was sorry for it's destiny but I knew it was not my fault. It was just bad luck that I had. Some dragons just flee and others might die on me. "Was I really that scary?" I whined and buried my culpable face to my palms. "So my theory was right...?" Tord whispered.

Should have guessed that he planned something. How could I be so dumb, once again? "What theory?!" Anger, no... berserk rushed in my blood vessels, causing me to clench my hand into fist. Nails sinking to my soft palm, I raised my chin. Hot blood dripped to the ground as I pointed at my enemy. "I'm done!" My sour voice envenomed the air around us.