The Last Dragon Rider

Chapter One

In the past there were thousands. Ever since the war, that destroyed nearly everything, they have been a dying breed. Dragon Riders are what they were called. They were hunted down and killed, and I may be the last one alive. A survivor of a dying lineage. Of course, I would like to believe that isn't the case but the probability is slim. There's nothing that bands people together like fear.

My name is Scarlet Haven, I'm 18 and average, except I'm a dragon rider. My mother is a chef and a singer. My father works closely with the society. The society is our government, they make the laws, are our law enforcement, and is responsible for all the deaths of dragon riders and countless dragons. While my father wouldn't want to admit it there are more than enough sketchy society officers. The system was corrupted to say the least. They've manipulated everyone into believing a lie of what dragon and dragons riders are like. Hunters were sent out to kill dragons that came too close to the city or to hunt down any suspicion of another dragon rider. The threat to their perfect society must be contained. Riders aren't just born into the society, they must at least 1 ancestor that was a rider. With one person they can create a lineage of riders. One person in my family maybe it was a grandparent or someone who lived 300 years ago but because of them I'm a rider. An unwanted "gift".

For so many long years I've hidden my gift. At the time I didn't consider it a gift at all. I avoided dragons at all cost possible and was miserable for it. From the moment I was born I was different, I knew there was something wrong with me. There was the gaping hole in my heart that nothing could fill. My awkwardness was a "phase" and I would soon slide right into the routine of the Society. Needless to say that never happened. It wasn't until my 10th birthday did I get the mark of a dragon rider. I had just was put to bed by my parents. I could feel the tingling on my neck, I got out of bed. My 10 year old self saw an image of fire in the mirror and was terrified. I wore a scarf almost 24/7 for the next 2 months. My hands would tremble when I passed society officers, my heart would race when riders were on tv, and worry clouded my mind, always. Those feelings went away but the flame didn't. The mark was a small flame and every rider had one, it was how the society found out about us. At first, the mark is small barely a wisp on the base of your neck. Slowly over time, the flame would grow. Mines became the size of my fist and the pigmentation of my skin was lighter and darker in some places to make an image of a flame. No matter how hard you tried you couldn't cover it up. Makeup vanished when it made contact with it. I grew my hair out and used that to cover the mark, scarves were also handy. Summer was unbearable to say the least. It wasn't the easiest but when your life is on the line you have to make do with what you got.

We start school at age 4 and end when we are 18. I would be graduating soon. As soon as possible they wanted us in school learning about the world and all its "truths". I was an oddball, no friends really, alone. Every day was a long walk home, I lived near the edge of town and near the forest. My father is a well-respected man in the society. We could have lived near the center of town but my dad grew up here and it was also where he had met my mother. He decided to stay here, something about it being peaceful made him stay.

The school bell rung abruptly signaling the end of the day and stirring me out of my daydream. I slide my notebook into in my messenger bag. I got out of that classroom as fast as I could, I didn't have any reason to stay. I walked past the other rows of desks and out the classroom door. I quickly made my way to the front of the school, I pushed open the doors and a gust of wind met my face.It wasn't supposed to be windy I checked for wind conditions all the time. I panicked when my hair was blown backward exposing a part of my mark. My heart stopped for a moment and my hand flew to cover the mark. Of course, I knew that you wouldn't be able to see it unless you were standing next to me but the thought it being exposed shook me. No one was out of the building yet and no would see but my heart was still beating rapidly. I let out a breath, fear doesn't control you I say in my head. I collected myself and continued walking home.

My house was so far away from the center of the society, where the school is, I passed by many neighborhoods on my way home. There were many local shops and marketplaces that always drew large crowds. I passed by one of my favorite cafes and stopped by to get a quick snack.

"Ms. Haven, the usual?" Carri, the cashier, says greeting me. I nod and hand him some cash. I sit down at my corner table and get out some work. Carri brings my tea and shortbread pastry. I finish my drink and food then pack up, head home.

My house was a small one story home with fading gray paint. The bushes at the front of the house were overgrown and vines from other greenery were creeping it's way up to several window sills. When I came through the door the TV was on and my father was home, which was weird since he normally didn't come back till late at night. He sat hunched over, only now did I see his unshaven face and tired eyes. He must have been working really late for the past days. It wasn't uncommon the amount of work but why was he home now? I plopped down on the couch and set my bad in my lap. I could hear my mother in the kitchen, down the hall, cooking. My father's eyes were glued to the TV.

"Congratulations to Aaron Alaric on killing his third dragon!" The news reporter said. In the background was Aaron standing on a stage, streamers and confetti rained down. Now I knew why my dad was home early, anytime a dragon was killed they get the day off to celebrate. It's sickening, I blame it on the dragon rider thing, but even if it wasn't I would still be disgusted by what they were doing. In the past year, 16 dragons were killed and 3 killed by Aaron. He is the son of our President William Alaric. Aaron was maybe 2 years older than me. Someone my age was doing terrible things.

"Would you like to say a few words?" The reporter asks handing Aaron the microphone

"I want to say thank you for all of this," he says gesturing to the back round. "It is my honor to serve my father and my people by ridding the world of dragons." He smiled, disgusting I think. I stand up and turn away from the tv containing my anger best I can. I walk to my room and shut the door behind me. They broadcast every time a dragon is killed, every single time. I hate it, in school, we are taught that Dragons are heartless creatures, they kill anything that moved. Personally, I don't believe it, I want to, but I couldn't, my gut told me they are wrong. When a dragon died... I felt the same ache in my chest. Almost as if I had known every dragon personally before their passing Their death is always painful to me and I never can explain why. I just felt that dragons were nothing like how they described. Call it instinct I guess.

I set my bag down at my desk and move to sit on my bed. My mind cluttered with thoughts and mixed emotions. After a few moments of consideration, I got up and went back into the living room.

"I'm going for a walk," I said as I passed my father still focused on the TV.

"Dinner will be ready in an hour," I hear my mom call out from the kitchen as I'm leaving.

I close the door behind me and head towards the tree line. Sometimes I wondered if my parents were riders would they think differently too or is the society's influence just that great? Was it just me? I have an hour to get to my spot, I start to run towards the trees.

I sit down at the roots of this huge tree, it's my place. It's a little less than half a mile away from my house. No one bothers to come into jungle except for hunters, so I don't have to worry about surprise visitor. It was the only place where I could move my hair back and relax. No worries that someone would see my mark. People think the jungle is full of dragons and most are too afraid to even come close. The tree has tons of branches and vines that hang down from the leaves. The jungle top is dense with leaves, sunlight barely makes it to the ground in some places. I curl up and hug my knees, I sit there for a few moments pondering in my own thoughts. I sit with my head in my hands. The weather was very humid in the jungle and areas close to it. When almost an hour had passed I figure I should head back. Something moved in the trees, I could hear the rustling. I move my hair to cover my mark before quicky standing up. I trip over a root and roll my ankle then fall to the ground. Great. I scramble to get up as the trees seem to move. I press my back against the trunk. Again something moved in the tree line, I feel my heart beating in my ears. That thing is coming my way, and it seemed huge and very fast. The jungle goes still and curiosity or stupidity made me leave my tree and take a step closer to the tree line. I stand at the edge of the brush, I take a step closer and run into something hard, scaly, and warm. My hand rested on top of something sharp and pointy. I look down to see it was a tooth or fang, bigger than my hand. Big red and orange reptilian eyes open and stare at me. The creature nudges me back allowing it to come into the dim light. I could now clearly see a fully grown dragon.