Chimera: A Fablehaven Fanfiction

Chapter 5

Bracken shifted away from the sharp claw that was digging into his chest. He had already asked Raxtus to move his claw once, and that resulted in him losing grip and Bracken falling helplessly to the ground. Of course Raxtus had caught him, but it was a risk that he didn't want to take again.
Raxtus noticed Bracken squirming and called out, "Should I move my claws?"
"No, no, not again, please." Bracken replied hastily. The last fall had scared him half to death, and he was still recovering.
Raxtus frowned. "Should we stop?"
"The more time we spend in the air, the closer we get to Kendra." Bracken replied squirming away from the claw once more.
"Well..." Raxtus began. "Technically, you don't know that. You don't even know where she is!"
"True," Bracken admitted. "But I know where she might be."
"You do?"
"Or should I say you do?" Bracken asked glimpsing up.
Raxtus looked down at Bracken, obviously confused. "I can't say I do. Why would you think so?"
Bracken smiled. "How about we do take a break?"
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The next morning, Bracken awoke to the smell of burning wood, and remembered the camp he and Raxtus had set up. As he stretched, he noticed Raxtus staring at him.
"What? Do I have twigs in my hair?" Bracken threw his hands up and ran them through his hair thoroughly.
Raxtus chuckled. "No, I've been waiting for you to wake up. Why do you think I know where Kendra is?"
Bracken shifted uncomfortably. "Ok. I saw dragon footprints in the woods after we took flight last night."
Raxtus looked down. "You think I took Kendra?"
"No, but I think you may know a dragon who could be involved."
Raxtus nodded. "Actually, there is one dragon..."
A rawr interrupted Raxtus mid-sentence. It was a higher pitched sound, but still kind of intimidating. Whatever it was sounded furious. The funny think was...the rawr sounded like...Raxtus...but how...
"That's weird..." Bracken said walking to the edge of a cliff where the sound seemed to echo out of. The rocks of a cave started to budge, and Bracken saw a white pearly dragon nose breaking through the gaps. "Wait...but if that's Raxtus...then who..." Bracken whirled around to see Raxtus...or whoever it was grinning sharply. Then all the white scales seemed to expand and fold in on themselves. Bracken shielded his eyes from the light, and heard an explosion. When he dared to look back, a dragon with light blue scales, a thin slithering body, and long spines going all the way down her back stood in front of him. "Who are you!?" Bracken exclaimed glancing back at the cliff.
"Well, how rude of me." Said the dragon grinning. "My name is Chimera, and I'm your captor."
Captor... Bracken thought. Then it hit him. How stupid could he be? Injured head to toe hardly able to walk, and thought he could come out to the wild to rescue the woman he loves when there are obviously evil beings on the loose! Anything that happened next had to be bad...unless Raxtus could get out of the cave and save him...yes, it was the only option he could think of. Immediately Bracken hustled toward the cliff hoping Raxtus had escaped the cave. He heard Chimera laughing behind him while she progressed slowly forward. One foot crossed over the other, and Bracken tripped on a rock landing face first. Then he heard Chimera behind him, "This is who I'm here to capture? He can't even stand up straight!" Bracken ignored the remarks and bounced painfully back to his feet. Dashing forward as fast as he could, he reached the edge of the cliff, and without thinking, jumped.
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Kendra stood in her capsule attempting to relax her knees. She had been standing for days, and knew that because Navarog had placed a clock right in front of her face. It was torture, but nothing like the "machine". She hadn't socialized in what seemed like forever, and Navarog doesn't count because technically he's a dragon. Was she going to die here? Sure she had food, but how long could she make it before she went insane? She leaned her head against the clock (since it was directly where her head was), and attempted to fall asleep for once.
"Don't fall asleep." A voice said. Kendra screamed, and quickly turned to see the figure in the capsule next to her. It was a badly beaten boy with brown hair who looked around 16. His face was covered in bruises and cuts. It seemed like his nose was also bent the wrong way. He smiled. "Oh sorry, did I scare you? I didn't mean to...I just..."
"No your fine." Kendra replied laughing uncomfortably. "I just haven't talked to anyone in a while."
The boy laughed. "I've been there. It's nice to have a neighbor." He looked down, and sniffed, his eyes filling with tears.
"Sorry, I should be more considerate. Its probably been longer for you." Kendra said with empathy.
The boy wiped his red eyes on his sleeve. "A few years, but I'll survive."
"Years?!" Kendra exclaimed. Looking down at his knees, she could see they were dark purple from standing so long. "Oh my goodness, I'm...I don't know what to say!" Kendra hid her face to avoid crying while biting back a sob. How could he have been here so long?
"You're fine. I remember how scared I was when I first came here. But who knows? Maybe Navarog will let me out some day." He shrugged.
Kendra sniffed. "Hopefully." She said smiling.
The boy suddenly jerked his head back and squinted at Kendra, his eyes lighting up. "You're Kendra Sorensen!" Kendra froze. How could she know this boy? He continued. "But how did you end up here? It's been so long! I can't believe..." the boy kept ranting on about how long it had been and burst into tears of joy.
Kendra smiled awkwardly. "Sorry, I don't recognize you. Umm...have we met before?"
The boy beamed. "Don't you remember? It's me! Gavin! We used to be so close!"