Page 36 of Surge of Fire

Evander

The momentthe Phoenix Institute sent their most recent seismology numbers, I was put into a helicopter to check it out. The thing is, there have been many earthquakes over the years, but nothing followed the patterns we’ve been looking for… until now.

This is it. It’s finally happening. I only hope that I won’t be too late.

The pilot next to me turns a little and speaks over the loud sound, “There was another earthquake just a few minutes ago. This one was even stronger than the last one, and it fits the pattern exactly… at least, theendof the last pattern.”

Adrenaline pumps through me. “We need to get therenow. Quicker. Do you understand me?”

He nods. “I’ll do my best, Captain.”

The man needs to do better than his best. If the scientists are right and I don’t get there fast enough to capture the specimen, people could get hurt. Worse than that, the public could learn about what we’ve been doing, and shit will rain down on us.The program will be closed, and the government will try to take over. And having worked in the military, I know things always go wrong when they get involved.

“Captain Pierce, Evander, Sir, you’re going to want to hear the chatter on the radio.”

I switch it on, and instantly know we’re in trouble.

“There’s a giant lizard in the sky.”

“There was an earthquake, people are trapped.”

“Part of the road is down.”

“The fucking thing breathes fire. It’s a goddamn dragon.”

I grab my phone and dial the scientists. They pick up without a ring, though I have to shout over the noise of the blades. “A dragon has been spotted.”

There’s silence, and then a voice says, “We’re sending backup. Until then, keep an eye on the situation. And be careful.” They hang up, and I slide my phone into the side pocket of my bag, a feeling of foreboding spreading over me.

A motion catches my eye, and my heart leaps into my throat. “To the right!” I shout.

A green dragon darts out from the clouds and nearly collides with us. I brace for impact, another shout of warning in the back of my throat, but the helicopter manages to maneuver in time to avoid the creature before it disappears behind us.

My heart beats loudly in my ears. It was green, powerful, and magnificent.Just like the drawings.

I’ve never been like the scientists, who had absolute faith that the creatures really had existed in the past. There was no evidence of where they’d gone. Or, to be frank, evidence that they had ever even existed. Without that evidence, I wasn’t about to blindly accept everything the scientists were saying, including that they believed that the dragons hadn’t really died, but were slumbering, in a state of hibernation, waiting to awaken.

I’d simply found the whole concept of dragons fascinating. I’d found the fact that the exact readings they’d predicted would come from dragons waking under the earth were being recorded at the Phoenix Institute. But until this moment, I didn’t really believe it would happen. I was intrigued, and I liked being involved in this research. But now? Everything had changed.

“Green lizard in the sky.”

“A red dragon went down.”

I stiffen.Are there two of them? Or are the locals just confused?

My stomach flipped.God help us if there’s two of them.

I need to stop. I need to think back to everything I’d heard the scientists discuss about what dragons were like when they were alive. Some of the beasts were intelligent, while others were mindless killers. They could heal at incredible rates, fight like mad, and dominated the skies. Some of the scientists even believed that in the days of dinosaurs, the dragons' favorite pastime was plucking the pterodactyls from the sky and devouring them in the air.

Oh, shit.

“We need to land!” I yell to the pilot.

Dragons are territorial. They won’t want to share their sky with us. The scientists had describedin detailhow the dragons would tear apart winged dinosaurs. There is no way in hell I’m going to experience that first-hand.

“No safe place,” the pilot says, with a shake of his head, completely unaware of the danger we’re currently in.

“The road!” I point. “Land it!”

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