Page 17 of A Savior for the Arrogant Dragon

“Well, he could have warned me,” he said, shaking his head. “I have no idea what I’m going to do, I don’t even know if I can get home.”

“You’re welcome to stay here as long as you need to,” Max said, appearing in the doorway. “You might have to……”

Max’s words trailed off, the cups he was holding slipped out of his grip and crashed to the floor, spraying coffee all over everything. “What is wrong with you?” he asked, jumping to his feet. “Max, are you okay?”

His friend backed away from him, a look of fright on his face, “Ummm……I don’t know,” he said, blinking his eyes. “I can’t be seeing what I think I am, it’s not possible.”

He started to walk over to Max, but tripped over his own feet, nearly tumbling to the floor, and when he looked down, he realized that his legs looked weird. “What the heck?” he stammered, a wave of dizziness flowing over him. “What’s wrong with me?”

They stood staring at each other for a few seconds, then Max shook his head, “This can’t be happening,not again,” he said, then looked nervously around him. “I have to call Mateo.”

“Max, you’re starting to scare me,” he said, running his fingers through his hair, noticing that it felt weird. “What’s going on?”

“I’m sorry, Simon, I don’t know,” Max said, backing away from him. “If it wasn’t for your voice, and your eyes, I wouldn’t believe……. maybe you should go look in the mirror.”

“Max, this isn’t funny,” he said, starting to get angry. “Didn’t you hear me? My dad just cut me off.”

“That might not be the worst of your problems,” Max said. “You really should go look in the mirror.”

“Fine, but I’m not cleaning up that mess,” he said, pointing to the spilled coffee. “I really wanted that, by the way, and this really isn’t funny.”

He stomped to the bathroom, slammed the door behind him, used the facilities, and then started to wash his hands, but he froze when he looked into the mirror and realized that it wasn’t his face looking back at him. Sure, that Max was playing a very elaborate prank on him, he washed his hands, then dried them on the towel, wondering when his friend would come around the corner laughing. But he could hear Max in the other room on the phone with someone, and his heart began to pound.

Stepping back from the mirror, he tilted his head to one side then the other, then reached up and touched his face, panic beginning to make it hard to breathe. “Please tell me this is a joke,” he yelled at Max. “Come in here right now and fix this, I’m not laughing.”

Max appeared in the hallway, all the color drained from his face, “It’s not a joke, Simon, and I don’t know how to fix it,” he said. “But Mateo is on his way. He’ll know what to do, he knows this island better than anyone.”

“What does this have to do with the island?” he demanded. “And who the hell is Mateo?”

“Just calm down, I’m sure we’ll find a way to fix this,” Max said, leading him out of the bathroom. “Sit down, and I’ll get you some coffee. Mateo will know what to do.”

***Kira***

Kira and Mary Beth splashed their way down the trail to the village, not minding the warm rain as much as they expected. They arrived at the coffee shop dripping wet but laughing. “Well, look what the cat dragged in,” Cindy said from behind the counter. “I wasn’t sure if I’d see you today. Most of the guests are staying in their cabins this morning.”

“We’re celebrating some good news,” Mary Beth explained. “And we thought we’d start with something decadent to eat. What have you got?”

“Oh, that’s exciting,” Cindy said, flashing them both a big smile. “How about a couple of caramel cream puffs? I made them fresh this morning.”

“Sounds great, we’ll take two,” Kira said, her mouth already watering. “And since we’re splurging, I’ll have my usual, but instead of the fat-free milk, use half and half.”

“Oh, Kira, are you sure?” Mary Beth asked, rolling her eyes. “Don’t get too out of control.”

She nudged her friend, “Hush you,” she said. “I’m eating a cream puff too, and we haven’t even had breakfast.”

“Throw some fruit on that plate, too, Cindy,” Mary Beth said. “Kira is worried about her diet.”

After they’d polished off the cream puffs and a huge plate of fruit, they said goodbye to Cindy and stepped back out into the rain. “Well, now what?” Kira asked. “It looks deserted out there. Maybe we should go back to the cabin.”

Max said something about a communityroom, or something like that. There’s supposed to be a television and some movies in there,” Mary Beth said. “Let’s see if we can find it, I wouldn’t mind watching a movie.”

“Sure, why not,” she said, shrugging her shoulders. “If we’re going to be stuck inside, we might as well be entertained.”

It took them a couple of tries, but they finally managed to find the trail to the squat building tucked away in the trees, but all its windows were dark. “It doesn’t look like anyone is here,” she said. “It’s awfully dark.”

“Let’s try the door, maybe it’s unlocked,” Mary Beth said, giving it a tug. “Darn, it’s locked. Now we’ll have to find the key.”

They stood watching it rain for a few minutes, not sure who to talk to about the key; then Mary Beth pointed into the trees, “Hey look, there’s Max’s cabin. I didn’t realize we were so close,” she said. “Let’s go ask him for the key, I’m sure he has one.”

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