Dragon Scars

Chapter 14

Knock. Knock.

Riley woke with a start. A flood of memories from the night before washed over her.

"Riley? Are you awake?" The voice belonged to Ariana.

"Yeah, just a second," Riley called back quietly. She pushed away her covers, and the flashlight she had used crashed to the floor.

"Riley? Are you alright?" Ariana asked, concerned.

"I'm fine. Just a second. I'll be right there."

Riley reached down to pick up the flashlight and dropped it back into the drawer where she had found it, before running to the door to the door to open it.

Ariana pushed through the door before it was fully open.

"I need to talk to you," she said, walking toward the bed and sitting down.

Riley shut the door and took a seat next to Ariana.

"What's wrong?"

Ariana lowered her voice to a whisper. "I think I'm being watched. I mean, I could be wrong, but I've just got this feeling. Like, before I went to sleep, I heard someone outside my door."

"Maybe someone just walked past."

"No, it wasn't like that. I heard someone walk up to my door and stop. They didn't keep going. I listened for it. I really did. Eventually, I fell asleep, but I woke up again about an hour ago. Someone was at my door again. I didn't hear them walk up, so I don't know how long they were there. I know they were though, because they were messing with my lock on the door. I just about freaked out, but instead I got up and went to the door. I have no idea what I was thinking! After I got to the door, I just asked who was there. The jiggling at the lock stopped and whoever was there ran away. I could have opened the door to see who it was, but I was too scared! I came here right after they left. I didn't know who else to talk to!" Ariana choked on sobs as she covered her face with her hands.

"It's okay, Ariana. They're gone now," Riley replied, keeping what had happened to her, a secret for the time being.

"How do you know? They could come back! And even if they don't come back, I still won't be able to stop thinking about what they were trying to do! Were they trying to kidnap me? Were they trying to kill me? I need help! I don't know what to do. I could tell Jen, but I'm afraid she will think I'm weak and will bump me down a level in training. I'm scared, Riley! Was it another training test? It is impossible to know anymore! My mind has stopped working as quickly as it used to! My reflexes are slower. I think Dragon Scars is affecting me. I know I'm rising in the ranks, along with you, Eric, Cory, and a bunch of other people, but I just don't know what's going on anymore!"

"Breathe," Riley commanded in a soothing tone. Ariana took a deep breath of air and let it out. She repeated the process several times before she had calmed down.

"What do I do?" Ariana asked with pleading eyes.

"For now, let's just try to get your mind off of it. What do you want to talk about?"

"I don't know," Ariana replied, taking some time to think, "I've got it! What happened to you and Eric after Cory and I left the infirmary? We came back later and you guys were gone."

Riley blushed, "Well, we decided to go out for pizza."

"Aww, that's so cute! Are you guys like, dating now?" Ariana asked excitedly.

"I don't know," Riley answered quietly, her cheeks getting brighter by the minute.

"Well, do you like him?" Ariana nudged Riley in the arm.

"I guess. I mean, he's really nice."

"Of course! Do you think he's cute? It kinda runs in the family!" Ariana joked, tossing her hair over her shoulder before bursting out in laughter.

"It is a bonus that he is related to you!"

Riley and Ariana laughed together for several minutes, talking about all sorts of stuff.

"You mean you actually kissed a frog?" Riley questioned in digust.

"I thought he could be my Prince Charming! Are you trying to tell me that you never even thought of kissing a frog as a kid?"

"I thought of it, but I never could get myself to do it. My friend Jack and I would always try to catch frogs next to the lake at my parents' cabin though. Each night, I would open the jar and let them all go. The next morning, I denied it and claimed they found their own way out. He never believed me, but I never admitted it."

"Ha! If he knew it was you, why didn't you just tell him?"

"Knowing him, he would have camped out to make sure I didn't let them go. He camped out anyway, but if I told him, he would have emptied them into my sleeping bag or something. He would never do it if I told him I didn't because he wouldn't be one hundred percent sure. Something like that anyway. It's complicated. It's been a couple years since I've seen him now. When his parents got divorced, his dad got custody. He took Jack with him to North Carolina for some job of his. Jack was my best friend at the time and he moved all the way from Nebraska to North Carolina of all places. Yeah, Jack might have been annoying at times, but he was the best person to hang out with, and I really miss him."

"Geez, Riley! Are you trying to make me cry?" Ariana joked.

"Sorry, I'm just still trying to wrap my head around the fact that I'll never see my family again. It's one tragedy after the other. First, my best friend moves away and then I lose my family too."

"You get used to it eventually. I mean, look at me. I'm just fine. Things will get better, Riley."

"It's gotta be easy for you! Your brother is here. You aren't alone!" Riley shouted, harsher than she intended to.

"Riley! Everyone started out where you are. Everyone was alone. Even I was alone before my brother got here. You just have to deal with it. I can be your family now. Eric and Cory too! We all care for each other, and it's the closest we've got."

"Sorry, Ariana. I didn't mean to get all angry with you. It's just that I've never really been away from my parents for this long. It may not seem long to everyone else, but to me, it feels like a lifetime right now." Riley lowered her gaze as she spoke. Her eyes rested on the door handle. A screw was missing.

"What's wrong?" Ariana asked, tracing Riley's line of sight.

"It wasn't missing before," Riley thought to herself.

"Riley! Are you okay? What are you staring at?" Ariana waved her hand in front of Riley's face.

"Nothing," she replied, quickly shifting her gaze away from the door.

"Don't lie to me."

"I'm not lying. I was just staring of into space," Riley lied.

Ariana looked skeptical, but did not continue further questioning. Instead, she glanced toward the clock on the nightstand.

"It's six o'clock. I should probably get back to my room before someone catches us." Ariana stood and made her way to the door.

"Ariana?"

"Yeah?" she said, turning back to face Riley.

"Thank you."

"For what?"

"For being someone I can talk to about home."

A small smile swept across Ariana's face.

"You're welcome, Riley. You can talk to me whenever you need to. I'll be right with you."

Riley stood up to hug her.

"Now hurry before we get caught!" Riley joked, shoving Ariana gently out of the room.

"See ya later, Riley," she laughed before leaving Riley's room and quickly moving down the halls to her own.

"See ya," Riley replied quietly to no one as she closed the door.