The Devil Spawn

Chapter 1

"Ciara! Can you run to the store and grab some milk? I'm baking muffins." My mom calls from downstairs. I sigh and pause my hologram. Its my favorite show ever! Its called The Time Machine. "Sure." I answer. "Thanks Honey" my mom answers. I slide off the chair in my room and walk down the stairs. I slide on my hover shoes and float out the door.

I'm 14 now, so I can finally wear hover shoes. I still get the excited feeling when I put them on even though I got them a month ago.

I live in the center of town, but my backyard is on the border of a state park.

I float onto the street where hovercars zip past and portals open and close constantly. I have to be 25 years old to be able to open portals myself. I can't wait! I see bumper stickers on some hovercars that say "Go DE!" and "Dragons = Gone"

The DE are the Dragon Exterminators: the men the government hired to find and kill all dragons.

As I float down the street, I twirl my hair around my fingers. My hair is down to my waist and is jet black and very shiny, even when it's dirty. My eyes are jade green.

When I get to the supermarket, I see that the windows are covered by pictures of a storm cloud gray dragon with the caption IF SPOTTED, CALL 1800-DRAGON HUNT. When I see it, I feel a strange twinge of remembrance, but I shrug it off. I've seen these kinds of dragons before.

I walk into the store and head for the dairy isle. I grab a carton of low-fat milk and head for the register. A robot stands there, scanning the products of the people in front of me. The two men are deep in conversation.

"Have you heard? The DE are now looking for a storm dragon!" A man with a long beard says. "Yeah. those ones are rare. They're going to be looking for while. Those slimy lizards hide well." the bearded man's companion says. "I hope they find the creature soon." The first man says, as he grabs his bag of groceries.

The two men leave and I hand the milk carton to the robot. I pay, and head back home.

"Here." I hand my mom the milk and go back to my room.

I flop onto my chair and flip on my Holo. I play The Time Machine. I watch for a couple minutes, but it gets interrupted by an update on the Dragon hunt. Under a caption stating REPORT TO OFFICIALS IF FOUND, was a picture of the storm dragon that I saw at the super market. Again, I feel like I should know this dragon but I don't. But as I start to remember, the picture goes away and my show resumes.

When the episode ends, the hologram goes back to showing the gray dragon again, this time with the caption DANGEROUS. This time I see a scale marking behind it's left ear.

I remember. I remember chasing the rabbit into the woods. I remember getting lost and sobbing on the rotten log. I remember feeling it's cool scales against my leg. I remember seeing it when it lit its scales up with lightening. I remember it leading me home again.

"Surge!" I cry, and leap up from my couch. I'm in a panic; I don't know what to do. Everything I've been told about dragons is wrong! Everything is wrong!

"How could I have forgotten?!! How could I have believed them?!!" I scream. My skin starts to burn where his scales touched it. Tears leak out of my eyes as I apologize. "I'm sorry Surge. I'm so sorry. Mom told me I had imagined you, and i believed her. I'm sorry!"

Just then Mom bursts into my room and rushes over to me. She pulls me into a hug as she says "What's wrong baby? Why are you crying?" I push her away and scream "You lied to me! Everyone lied to me!" "Wha-?" Mom starts, but I interrupt. "Go away!" She backs out of my room with a bewildered look on her face, but I don't care. I'm too angry.

As soon as she's gone, I start packing a small hiking backpack with some food and clothes, my vision a red haze of fury. After a second thought I grab my lucky rock from my nightstand. I had found the rock the night I had gotten lost. The night I met Surge, the storm dragon.

I take a quick glance around my room and turn to leave. I sneak past Mom who's on the couch hologramming my aunt, no doubt telling her about me. I don't bother to leave her a note about where I'm going. I don't bring my hover shoes because every pair has a tracking device on them, so the government can keep tabs on the citizens. I quietly open the front door and step out. I run across the backyard to the woods. I owe it to him to help him. He helped me when he didn't have to. Now it's my turn to help him. I plunge into its depths, determined to find and save Surge, the dragonet that saved me that fateful night a decade ago.