Dragon Seekers

Chapter 8

"What are you doing in here?" Carl asked accusingly. Jamie stumbled back a little as the man stepped towards him. He couldn't bring himself to answer. His mind was panicking so much that he couldn't make up an excuse. It was impossible to calm down. As he started stuttering, Carl seemed to become more enraged. His eyes suddenly landed on the dragon statue.

"What's that? You stealing from me or something?" He demanded, getting closer to Jamie. The boy concealed his treasure behind his back, feebly trying to protect it. "Give it to me! It's mine!"

"NO!" Jamie suddenly yelled, authority in his voice. His voice echoed throughout the house. Jamie was just as surprised as Carl, the man's eyes looked like they were going to pop out of their sockets. Despite his shock, Jamie couldn't stop himself from continuing to yell. "You don't belong here! You never did! Nothing in this house belongs to you! Mum and are aren't your slaves! I bet those dog tags are fakes! So why don't you just leave?!" The house was dead quiet when Jamie finished his rant. He felt like the world had finally been lifted off of his shoulders. This was the first time that he thought back against his abuser. This was the first time that he felt powerful for once. For the first time, he felt free.

That moment was short lived. It was like a freight train had hit Jamie. Carl had body slammed him, sending him into the wall. He banged his head into the wall so hard that he was questioning why he hadn't blacked out.

"How dare you..." Carl sneered, foaming at the mouth. He held Jamie high in the air by the collar of his shirt. "HOW DARE YOU SPEAK TO ME THAT WAY?! I am the man of the house! This is my base! Things are run my way as I see fit! You're just a waste on the Earth! I wish you had never been born!"

"This coming from a coward! I'm not the one who's scared of you! You're scared of us!" Jamie argued, once again feeling powerful. He didn't know where this newfound courage came from, but he'll use it to his full advantage. Carl looked shocked again, but only for a moment. He pulled Jamie in and immediately slammed him into the wall again. There was a slight ringing in Jamie's ears as his head harshly collided with the wall. All of his sudden bravery had abandoned him. Almost all of his body had gone limp. Only his hand where he guarded his treasure seemed to respond to his brain to keep holding on.

"Who do you think you are?! DO I LOOK SCARED TO YOU?! DO I?!" Carl roared, his voice shaking the house. Jamie couldn't respond to that. He had no time to. Before he would have any, Jasmine suddenly charged towards Carl. The boy had never seen her look enraged before. Her braid trailed behind her as she suddenly leapt on the drunk's back. The shock of the sudden attack was enough to make Carl drop Jamie. The boy crashed to the ground in surprise, becoming thing more than a heap on the floor. Dazed, he watched as the struggle continued. Carl thrashed as much as he could to shake Jasmine off of his back. Jasmine kept her arms and legs wrapped around him like an octopus, never relenting in her hold of him. Even her hair seemed to attack Carl, as it went back and forth like a whip.

"Run Jamie! Get as far into the woods as you can!" Jasmine shouted, her voice overpowering Carl's demands to get off of him.

"Mum?" Jamie whimpered. He didn't want to run. He couldn't just leave her behind.

"I'll be right behind you! I promise!" Jasmine yelled not sounding out of breath. Her voice had a lot of authority in it, something Jamie had never heard from her before. It shocked him so much that his body was suddenly no longer his own. He couldn't rememberer running out of the bedroom and down the stairs. He doesn't remember putting on his trainers. He doesn't remember the fight fading out from his ears. He doesn't even remember running out of the house.

By time Jamie felt like he had full control of his body again, he was deep in the woods. Deeper than he thought he had ever been in. It felt like unfamiliar ground to him. He felt unnerved by it. It was almost like he was on another planet at this revelation. Jamie looked around in a panic. Not because he was lost, but because Jasmine wasn't here. His chest felt incredibly tight at this. He struggled to breathe as he felt like his head was reeling as he strained his ears to listen out for her voice or her footfalls coming towards him. He didn't hear Carl's thunderous voice or heaving spring either. He was completely alone. The woods suddenly felt like an alien planet to him. It was no longer is safe space. It was terribly haunting to think that.

Jamie felt like an uneasy feeling crawl through his skin. He wasn't sure what it was, but he had this feeling. A feeling that urged him to keep going. He didn't know if it was to take him further away or back home, but he felt like he could trust it. Exhausted, thirsty and weak at the knees, Jamie pushed himself to keep walking forward. It was almost like he was being pulled by an invisible string. He found himself walking towards a tree. The tree seemed old, like the oak trees that he had loved so much. It was curved in an arch shape and the top of the tree seemed to disappear into the earth. It was certainly a strange sight.

Jamie couldn't stop looking at the arch. It was quite magical to him. Maybe he can make this his new safe space. It felt right for it to be. Jamie pondered why it felt like that when he noticed a change in the air. The sun had gone, hidden by a cloak of dark clouds. Jamie couldn't suppress a shudder. Please don't let this be another thunder storm. As Jamie repeated that silent plea in his head, a harsh wind swept from behind him, almost pulling him into the arch.

Something vibrated harshly in his hand. Jamie looked down in surprise at the dragon statue that he held. In his panic, he actually forgot that he still had it. The wind became stronger, almost sweeping Jamie off of his feet. Suddenly, this place didn't feel safe anymore. Jamie tried to run away, but the wind was stronger.

"H-help! HELP!" the boy cried out, terrified about the situation. No one heard him. Who would? The wind suddenly knocked Jamie off of his feet. It made him feel weightless as he was thrown effortlessly towards the arch. He landed with a hard thud. He hit his head so hard that he passed out from the shock. Just a split second before he passed out, he thought that he heard Jasmine's voice:

"Stay safe, Jamie,"