Page 114 of The Divide that Binds Us

“This is cute, I’m sending this to D-bag, pronto!”he gushes.

“D...bag?Are you referring to Derrick?Like, Derrick-bag?”Lynn asks.

Eric scoffs.“No, like a dirtbag, because he is one.”

Roon wraps up his heartfelt speech, but I catch someone in a black hoodie with their hood up while keeping their head down.Their hands are hidden in their pockets, but the devious smirk is there, something is going to happen.

“Where’s King Remington?Where’s Mildred?”I should try to grab Alice now.These people might be here undercover to arrest her while Mildred waits at a different location.I still need answers; they can’t take her yet.

“I hope everyone has tea ready!Let the riders mount their companions!”Roon announces.The five participants stroll over to the docks while holding their dragon’s leash.The young adult ones are five times taller than me, and who knows how much wider.Each rider takes off the leash and climb their dragon’s back to settle into the strapped leather.My throat squeezes and vibrates but it’s not the nerves of riding one of them.

Sweat builds on my forehead as I try to focus on my breathing, but the uneasiness is bubbling in my stomach.I think...I need to do something.

Wyatt gestures his hands with such grace, conjuring up a wall of water in the ocean ten feet from the docks, while Roon counts down, waving a mini Garnet flag.“Three.Two.One!RIDE!”

The dragons jet off, each diving through the wall of water Wyatt made that falls apart and splashes back in the ocean once they’ve all passed it.The audience applause, cheer, and whistle as the riders zip around the perimeter of the island.Wyatt watches with occasional hand movements to create water snakes to chase the dragons.People disperse and check out the vendors or take pictures in front of the fountain.

Alice and her group drift to far corners of Central Square, surveying the area and concentrating on everyone in attendance.I give Eric and Lynn and look before melting into the crowd, weaving through to get closer to Alice standing by a fruit stand.A sparkly pink dragon with jagged yellow razor teeth returns to the dock which warrants applause as the creature wiggles off droplets of water and turns around to take off again.Wyatt smiles and makes a sweeping gesture with his arms, moving his whole body in sync to his own rhythm.The ocean waves dance angrily over each other until it builds a tsunami, ready for combat with the one dragon as the target.

As I sift through the crowd, the stationed Guards slowly move with their gripped guns.It’s the moment I catch a Guard talking to a hooded person that I realize the danger is coming fast.Something sends Rachel weaving through from her inspected area toward Alice in a hurry.I pick up my pace and excuse myself through more bodies, but she seems so far away.

I reach my arm out, hoping it’ll guide me right through the last wave of bystanders standing in my way.Just a few more people to get through.

“Alice!”

She turns in my direction when a gunshot fires and a delayed uproar of screams fill the cheery relief from moments ago.I’m knocked down by a fallen group of people who didn’t stand a chance against the sudden stampede.Sobs, shrieks, and shouts saturate Central Square into this horrific energy as more shots are fired, but I can’t see where or who with everyone trampling me stuck under five other people.

My body tenses.I need to move.I shift into lightning and bolt briefly into the sky in one giant arc and plant myself where Lynn is left standing.

“Where’s Eric?”I shout.

“He went in looking for you!”Lynn replies.

The dragons return to the dock, so I bolt in the sky and hover for a moment to get a better view of what’s occurring.Everyone running in multiple directions isn’t helping.People falling over, knocking carts out of the way, and pushing their way to the bridge is most of what’s happening.The view of the five dragons mounted bravely on their docks catches my attention when a swarm of Guards aiming at them emerges from the crowd in a uniformed horizontal line.

Wyatt points to the line and curls his finger back, causing a heaping flood of water to rise over Central Square and knock the Guards off their feet.

I find Alice in the chaos, kneeling over people in her purple bubble and waving her glowing hand on their wounds, before moving on to the next person.She goes through several people when a Guard creeps up behind her.

I fall to my feet next to Lynn covering her ears.She needs to get back before someone knocks her over.

Roon has disappeared and is nowhere to be found.Wyatt finds a few more Guards in his path and simply waves his hand at them, encasing them in a column of water before moving on to help people get to their feet.Alice swings her dagger at a Guard until she slashes her face and kicks her rifle out of her hands.Billie is in snake mode, waiting to make eye contact with other Guards and looking down when a bystander runs by.It looks tricky.

The five dragons roar with their owners and take flight, hovering above the fountain.They spread their butterfly-designed wings out, so the tips touch each other.Once the last dragon is connected, a barrier column forms under them, around the center section of Central Square where the fountain is and where several dozen innocent people cower toward.Corrupt Guards fire at the barrier, and then at the dragons but everyone is protected while others who didn’t make it in are shrieking and running away entirely by taking the bridge.

I grab Lynn’s hand and bolt us over the stampede that’s squeezing onto the bridge and a few blocks away from Central Square.We hide in an alley as the mangled screams and shooting continue.Lynn pants heavily with a tremble, her eyes widen in distress and mouth quivering to form words.

“The...th-the twins,” she gasps.

“I’ll text Derrick to ping your location and I’ll find Eric.Everything will be okay,” I reassure her, but I can’t hide my own tremors.“Just stay here.”

I send a distress signal to Derrick and share the exact location before sprinting out of the alley and right into a growing crowd of panicked people.It’s going to be impossible to find Eric in this.Everyone is running in multiple directions, falling, and trampling on top of each other.The sky hasn’t changed, so the dragons must be okay.

I bolt back to the beginning of the bridge over the canal and find a lizard form of Eric hissing and scaring people from trying to go back to Central Square.The five dragons soar through the sky with their owners, doing their best to guide the moving crowds to safety.Eric shifts back to human and hugs me briefly.

“Lynn is okay?”he asks.

“Yes, c’mon!”I grab his hand and bolt him to the alley.Thankfully, Derrick is there holding onto her and lights up like a firework when he sees us.The twins embrace, with Lynn sandwiched between them.She wraps her arms around their waists with a few tears trickling from the corners of her eyes.

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