The Silver Dragon (Unpublished, unedited version)

Chapter 17: An Example

The silver dragoness was chained, again. The chains strapped her wings, tail, head, neck and muzzle tightly. There was no chance she could move, or even attempt to move. Cameras were zoomed in on her, the humans behind them not taking any chances. They were still somewhat confused as to how she had escaped. They had seen the security footage of the dragons walking through the base, but it still didn't explain how they managed to get passed the guards. They had walked right passed them.

Silver's form began to move and a small groan escaped her, as she was welcomed into the conscious realm once again. It didn't take her long to realise that chains wound around her body and a low growl escape through her throat. The collar beeped and a small electric shock passed through her. Not enough to hurt but enough to warn. She resisted the urge to growl again.

The cage she was in was much like the one she had first arrived in. There were large grey walls and a small metal door, and what she could see of the roof looked the same. This time however cameras were spread all through the walls, seeming to get her from every angle. It was like they didn't want her to get even a small way out. Not that she could anyway; she was chained to the floor.

She waited there for what seemed like hours, her mind replaying what had happened in the hanger. They had seen them! How could they have been so careless? A simple mistake had ended their nearly successful mission, and she had ended up in this mess. She wasn't looking forward to the punishment that was sure to come. Something told her it would involve a substantial amount of electricity.

The metal door suddenly creaked open, causing her heart to leap with surprise. A human walked in, followed by two others. One of the humans she recognised as the man whom she had first seen in this place. He had the same blue suit and the same eye enlarging glasses. There was also a woman in similar attire, although instead of a suit she war a deep blue business dress and a dark scowl on her face.

The last man however looked strangely calm. He had a scar on one side of his face and a black suit. His hard eyes bore into her uncomfortably, studying the dragoness in front of him. He didn't say anything, simply crossed his arms and glared at her. Silver shifted slightly, as much as her bonds could allow, and met the gaze of the man. An advantage of being a dragon was no matter how intense another species' gaze was the dragon would always win. Unfortunately this man was an exception, and Silver broke eye contact first.

"Silver," said the man, simply stating her name.

She looked at him again, not being able to speak because of her tightly bound muzzle.

"It has come to my concern that you and a friend of yours broke into our main hanger in an attempt to escape. Unfortunately your friend managed to escape. We have patrols searching for him right now. But I would like to know why. There was no way for you to get out, you still had your collar on. It has a tracking mechanism on it you know, something that tells us exactly where you are at all times, so why?"

She nearly sighed in relief. Zepos had escaped! At least something good had come forth from the mission. It also gave her hope of escape. She knew the electric dragon would not stop until she was freed. The bounds around her muzzle loosened slightly, allowing her to speak.

"What do you mean why? I was trying to escape," she snorted.

"Don't lie to me dragon. You're not stupid enough to try and escape with your collar on. So tell me, why? There were three other places you could go besides the exit. The barracks, the common room and the main control room. In process of elimination, I suspect you were heading towards the control room. But why? The collars are password protected, and there is no way to unlock them."