Heart of the Rainforest

Chapter 16 - Jailbreak

The three dragons were soundless as they crept along the floor, woven of branches, lianas, and leaves. The bars of the cells were made of tough, tightly braided vines stretched from the floor to the ceiling. This place would be practically useless for keeping a RainWing, so it was used for prisoners of war. 

It wasn't a very complicated plan. Equo would keep watch while Tiki and Banggai broke their friends out, and then they would all go to the desert together, since none of them were welcome in the rainforest anymore.

The thought of never being able to come back home covered Tiki's heart in sticky, heavy, dark spiderwebs and filled her with a sinking, deep sadness, but she would have Equo and her friends, so that was all that mattered.

Lionfish was kept in a separate cell from Mamba and Adder, as the RainWing captors held each tribe separately. There was several other dragons imprisoned here, some of them reaching their talons through gaps in the bars and begging to be let out, but Tiki ignored them. They didn't have time to let all the prisoners out, as much as she wished she could.

As Tiki crept through the long corridor towards her friends, she felt sharp talons squeezing her heart, and felt herself unable to breathe. It was dark and claustrophobic and reminded her too much of the SkyWing experimental prisons she was trapped in for a year. She felt so, so horrible that she hadn't come for them earlier. It must be torture being in here.

"You came!" Mamba's voice whispered as Tiki's scales shimmered into view. Her face beamed through the bars, terribly happy but also a little scared, hiding underneath. Behind her, Adder's eyes were wide, and she couldn't help but see the awful dread on his face. They didn't look as terrified as Tiki would have been, but that made sense. They were so brave and resilient and amazing and everything she wasn't.

"Of course we did! We weren't going to forget you!" Equo flashed a dim greeting to Lionfish, who returned the same words in their secret SeaWing language.

"No time for reunions, we have to go fast." Banggai reminded her. They stepped towards Lionfish's cell, and Tiki stayed with the SandWings. Here goes.

Both RainWings dropped their jaws wide open and spat black venom on the thick vines that made the dragons inside jump back. As expected, the venom reacted with the vines, and instantly began sizzling and eating away at the bars. It was slow, as the vines were tough and woody, but before long, the RainWing venom had burned a hole big enough for the imprisoned dragons to escape through. Banggai kept their scales camouflaged, watching for guards as Tiki and Equo covered their friends' very visible scales. 

As soon as they were out the door, all five dragons dropped down to the forest floor, navigating around stray branches and huge spiderwebs. They couldn't risk being seen by guards. 

Tiki guided the way to the area they had been hiding in before, where the greenery was thick and there was lots of hiding places. As soon as they reached it, Equo and Tiki collapsed in the crook between the two tree roots they had settled in before. Banggai went to retrieve both theirs and Tiki's birds, while Adder, Lionfish, and Mamba arranged their own spots to rest.

A while later, while Mamba was napping and Lionfish was sharpening weapons, Equo got up and convinced Tiki to go exploring with her. Tiki didn't think it was the best idea, as they were supposed to be hiding, but Equo almost always had accurate gut feelings, and would know if something were to go awry. 

As the two dragons walked further into the busy rainforest floor, the sounds around them became so big. Birds screeched and jaguars roared and so many insects buzzed in their ears. Tiki flinched and automatically camouflaged herself whenever there was a noise too loud and too close. Equo kept going like there was nothing around her.

But Tiki heard a noise that reached her ears and immediately shoved Equo into the bushes, her scales going invisible against the rainforest background. 

It was voices. Dragon voices. Distant and faint, but there. There was lots of them, talking and arguing with the crackling of a fire in the background.

"But she said-"

"-and that's it! They all just up and-"

"Oh, come on, that's-"

"-Really?"

"-Give that back, lizard!"

"See? That's where it all-"

"-wait until you see their faces!"

"-all going to be sorry! Just think of all-"

"The smoke and the flames, it's going to be-"

"Amazing!"

Equo, with all her phosophores dark and her dark scales nearly impossible to see in the shadowy rainforest floor, crept up next to Tiki. Her eyes were terrified. It was strange to see her, of all dragons, so scared. It made Tiki want to curl up and hide under a pile of leaves and never be seen again.

Together the two of them crawled towards where the group of dragons was, closer and closer, Tiki's scales shifting with her surroundings. Before long, they could see the amassed dragons.

It was maybe fifty SandWings, each one wearing a scuffed metal breastplate and helmet. There was a spear for each one, and in the middle of their group was a small fire burning on a pile of dead leaves and twigs.

Tiki and Equo locked eyes.

"Smoke." Tiki whispered.

"Fire." Equo whispered back.

The two of them bolted back in the direction they came.