Dragon in Hiding (Book Two in the Dragon Insurgent Series)

Chapter 3: Final Farewell

Final Farewell

Mr. Sumter was very quick in moving my family once they had been put under by a knock-out gas vented into their respective containment units. It took less than half an hour to move them out of the complex and into a nearby forest. The natural scenery would hopefully confuse my father enough to let me explain before he made up his mind on what to do. They were set down in the center of and open field, close together, but not so close as to be cumbersome when they awoke. As we waited for the drug to wear off, I ran over the plan in my head so many times I couldn't forget it. It was another hour before my father started to stir. I ran up to him, shifting my form until I was once again a dragon.

He opened his eyes to see me sitting next to him, watching for his total recovery. He seemed to not recognize me at first, but I wrote that off as the drug still muddling his mind. Finally, his eyes flashed in recognition and he shakily raised his head. "Aaron?" he said in Dragon, "Is that you my son?"

"It is father," I said in an equally quiet voice, "I have come to set you free."

Father looked around him, and for the first time noticed the gathered humans surrounding him. He let a small laugh escape his throat, "Not much of a rescue, we're still surrounded and I am too weak to fight."

"There is no need to fight father," I said, switching to Human, "these humans have learned from their mistakes and set you free." I looked back at the Sumter family, "Some have become close friends, and I would have never rescued you without their help."

At this moment mother began to stir as well, prompting a quick glance from father. "You will need to tell all of this to them as well, they were put under far greater strain than I was. They will not forgive as easily as I will, your mother especially."

I nodded and walked over to where my mother was stirring, and I stood at a respectful distance as she opened her eyes, once again not recognizing me for a few moments. As soon as she did, however, she was on her feet in a flash and had entwined her neck with mine, murmuring indecipherable nonsense to herself. I stepped back, and I quickly put myself between the humans and my mother, hoping she would not have the strength to attack, the same as father.

She noted my movement with a curious eye, and then saw why I had moved. She growled deep in her throat and took a threatening step forward. I stood my ground, knowing I had to protect my friends if she attacked. She was in a near-fury, and I could see she was one step away from attacking. I stepped toward her, and I placed a calming paw on her shoulder. She snapped a glare at me, but seeing how I was not angry or threatening to the humans, calmed down enough for me to try and reason with her.

"I know you have been through terrible times," I said in a soothing voice, "but killing these people will not change that." I looked once again to the Sumter family, seeing brave faces all around. "These people only wished to understand us, and feared your husband's wrath. So they kept you under sedation so they could learn from you. They had no intentions of harming you, just to understand you."

A slightly confused look passed her eyes, "Then why are we out in the open and not in some cell?" she took a look around, "This is either a very realistic fake, or we are in a wild forest."

"That is because you are in a wild forest." I said, "Once I explained that you had minds and feelings to the humans, they released you immediately. They wish to apologize for any wrongdoing, and risked their lives so you could hear it."

Mr. Sumter took this as his queue to speak, and stepped forward. "I feel that I am the one who must apologize most of all. I was the one who had you constantly sedated, so it is my fault that we could never learn your true intelligence." He hung his head in shame, "If I must be killed to pay for my actions, then so be it. I only wish to rectify the damage I have inflicted upon you." He knelt there before my mother, fully aware she could kill him at any time, but the killing blow never came. He looked up to see my mother watching his family, not him. She had a sad look in her eyes as she watched Josiah and Alicia wait for their father's death.