Space Dragon Poetry: The Society On Da Run chapbook #15
By Nipaporn Baldwin
Published by Geppetto Garten/Nipaporn Baldwin
Copyright 2011 by Nipaporn Baldwin
e-book edition (smashwords edition)
11/19/11 © 2011 licensed CC-BY-NC
Collects half of TSODR #1.
Dragon concept art by David Revoy from Sintel, used here to get you in the mood.
Other books in The Society On Da run series:
Drachenspheel Arc:
La Cicala di Italia
SECTOR 1
Dragonworld ETC
Butter Pecan Ice Cream is a Must
Imp Empress: Aaron and Seraphina’s Beginning
Lorea Antabella: A Non-Regular Vampire Story
Dragonsongs: Singing the Language of Dragons
Platonick
Space Dragon Poetry (Dragons of Atlanta and Twelve)
Sleepover From Hell
The Legend of Darger Latriost the Bunny
Lyarknar Saga Epoch Arc:
Ashuton and Narcissus
Narcissus Dilettante and the Hapless Dragon
Drachenscolderung
Lennard and Tortenello
The Siege of Rome
Narcissus and the Dragon Birth
HAARPers in the Hallway
We Were Once Hippies
Dance of the Sugar Dragons
The Way We Go
Reawakening Arc:
Aphrodite’s Wasp
Happy 20th Birthday, Floreale!
Dragon Towers
Forest of the Faeries
Dragon’s War Reborn (Alien Dragons)
Dragonwave: Jungle Dragons
Kraken
Sex and Dragons (Upcoming poem)
Platonick
Other books:
Sintel – The Story of Sintel and Scales
The Elder Eyes: Earthbound
Contents
Dragons of Atlanta
We’ve been getting reports from all over about dragon attacks in major cities. Folks have even sent in videos and in the ones I saw, I could see barbed tentacles coming from the sky and digging into the Earth. They were pulling strange pillars from under the ground! They had this technology the whole time and we were busy chasing UFOs while the real aliens were with us the whole time!
I heard Georgia was the fourth city to go down, but everyone says it was Rome that was destroyed first. I heard that the Georgia Gate Defenses was crippled by a giant serpent that was delivered via dropships. The dang thing was wider than the city itself and it literally melted the wall when it breathed fire. How could such a creature exist?
When the wall was down all the dragons started moving in with sacks, canisters, and ship-pods. Hundreds of medium-sized dragons were kidnapping people while the other dragons were dealing with help from the military.
At first I wondered why didn’t they attack from above? Why come through the gates? And then it came to me: They needed to protect the ground troops, so moving in together would make them a stronger force on initial attack and then they could get to kidnapping humans.
We are getting reports from all over the world about these attacks. The folks here at IDS do not know what to do. All over this rotting planet the dragons were kidnapping humans and taking them to their god, and decimating our armies. If only we were smart enough to exploit their weaknesses…
No wait—I heard we tried that already—it failed…
What they have in weaknesses they make up for in numbers, strategy, tactics and army power. They work together and they’re a species that is not based around fighting. I guess studying Dragonism pays off.
*sigh*
God help us all
This is Darrell Kingman, signing off
------CAMERA SHUTOFF. PROGRAM TERMINATION------
Day One: After the War
Hello to whoever sees this. I’ll be keeping a video diary, it’s something I’ve always wanted to do. Well, it’s raining today and the bombings have ended. I saw a few dragons in the sky but Kim told me not to peek out the windows. We’ve…uh…taken in a few survivors and their Dragonling. They’re an old couple, kinda like hillbillies. Rhonda, she’s a bit on the chubby side, and her husband, Ralph, say they know where to find fresh food. Kim and I will be heading out with them tomorrow. The last time I had an apple was…fourteen days ago. I was cautious at first about their black dragon, but they said the dragon can’t use telepathy and is loyal to them. And you can probably see the thing behind me. He’s as ugly as hell. I’ve never seen a dragon like him, he’s not like the others. Well, I think It’s time I turned in. Goodbye America.
Day Two: Food Search
Darrel: Good lord! Right over there…right by Cunnery Point! It’s standing right there! Don’t move.
Look, can you see it? I’m pointing the phone right at it. That’s your first glimpse of a bipedal dragon soldier, and right beside him is the overlord: an actual dragon! Looks like he’s dragging in a little girl. Hold it…that’s a boy! We need to save him!
Kim: No! we can’t risk getting caught.
Darrel: but, he’s just a little boy.
Rhonda: oh my god, that’s my son! That’s my son!
Ralph: what? Jon? Is that really Jon?
Kim: shhhhhhhh!!! Shut it!
Rhonda: my baby, my baby, my baby
Kim: shut it or we’ll get caught
Darrell: Ms. Hawthorne, please lower your voice
*the bipedal dragon drags the squirming child into the metro station. Rhonda tries to quell the tears, but it’s futile.*
Kim: we gotta keep moving. Come on! We’ll find your son when we have better weapons
*Darrell reluctantly stands and follows, keeping his AK47 close. Rhonda slowly stands, feeling the weight of emotions pound at her back. She accepted the fact that she might not see her son again. As much as she tried to push him out of her thoughts, the more she thought about saving him.*
* * *
It’s a shopping mart! An actual Food 4 Less, and it’s been partially damaged by the bombs. I find it hard to believe this is still here.
It feels so ghostly in here. I was on guard the whole time and not once did a dragon pop out to kill us. When we left, we didn’t encounter anything on the way back. Where are they?
Day Three: Cave Dwellers
Okay, we’re inside the Cannery Point station. The entrance was unguarded so we let ourselves in. it’s so damp and dark.
*turns on flashlight, the only comforting light in the station*
Darrell: Holy sh—
Kim: shhh!!
Rhonda: are they…mating?
Rhalph: that looks **fun.** how come we don’t do that anymore?
*the group curiously stares at a small blue Cantedragon vigorously pumping a “weening” red Fire dragon. Darrell steps closer, but Kim holds him by the hand. He looks back at her and notices her warning expression*
Kim: let’s go, now.
*they travel deeper into the train tunnels, tip toeing past sleeping dragons and navigating through crashed trains. They enter the lobby, where they see an active nest. There are thousands of dragons, both bipedal and winged, tending to the giant and sleeping black dragon at the center. The human citizens were sitting on the cold concrete with cloth blindfolds covering their eyes. Others were forced to watch as their family members were impregnated by the sleeping dragon. The crystals on the wall start to glow a deep red color as it registers the unknown aura coming off of the intruders. Immediately Darrell realizes this place.*
Darrell: oh, crud.
Kim: what? What is it?
Darrell: remember the UNYOS virus in New York? The one that originated from the UNYOS station?
Kim: yeah, what about it?
Darrell: well, the guy went into a nest like this one and came out infected…
Kim: get to the point!
Darrell: this is a breeding ground, and we’re the food! We shouldn’t be here.
Rhonda: my son! Look! There’s my son!
*Kim backs away as she examines the red crystals*
Kim: those crystals can detect us. Shit! I knew this was a bad idea.
Rhonda starts crying as she sees her six-year-old son being implanted with the sleeping dragon’s genetics.
Rhonda: what are they doing?
Darrell: Rhonda, this was a bad idea we need to go, now!
*there’s a loud hiss and a terrifying shadow approaching them from the left. Ralph holds Rhonda’s hand and talks comfortingly.*
Ralph: honey, we need to go. We-we-we can’t save him, Ro.
*the shadow draws closer to them*
Ralph: Ro, c’mon, we’ll save him when we find the military, okay? Ro, is that okay?
Rhonda: …………y-y-y…y-yes……….
*the group runs for the other exit, avoiding the sleeping tunnel dragons. They exit through the southwest entrance and leave the confines of the nest*
Day Four
It’s just us for now.
I’m going to broadcast this video and any audio messages so survivors with a radio or SugarTablet will know they are not alone. Speaking of…I need to find more sugar for my tablet.
Kim: Darrell, come look!
Darrell: what the hell is that?
Kim: shine the cam on it. This will make a great home video
Ralph: what are those dragons doing
Darrell: looks like a giant tower
*There are hundreds of ships congregating around a half built structure. Dragons are flying in a frenzy, delivering metal and steel to the various construction ships and hoverlasers.*
Kim: they’re building one of those Portal Towers
Rhonda: a what?
Kim: a portal tower. God help us all if they are building more than one.
Darrell: hey…where’s that fat dragon of yours?
Rhonda: Who? Timmy? He’s over…
Ralph: where is he?
*Darrell grabs his trusty AK47*
Darrell: that little lizard is not going to make a lunch of me
Kim: I hear something
Ralph: I hear it too
<<<<CAMERA TERMINATION>>>>
12
The ride was not too long
The fog was misty, warm
That’s when we heard thundering footsteps
I looked overhead and saw
Dropships, flying dragons,
and their walking machines
I ran into the cargo hold to fetch
Mother
She was asleep under the blankets
I told her what I saw, and she
Ran up to see for herself
At this time they noticed us
The roaring of the machines was
frightening as they turned toward us
Lasers lit up like wild
And Danny managed to turn on the motor
Our boat wasn’t the fastest,
But it helped us get away
But we ran into more of their machines
The dragons are cunning
They didn’t care if you were a dog
They’d silence you
They’d send in thousands of troops to
silence just one person because of what you knew
But what we feared of the dragons
Were their God’s children
Their “God” (their father) trusts only a
handful of his children to enter the battlefield
The natives call these children “Demons”
The Italians call them “Angels”
We, the Americans, call them
“Monsters,” because they looked scary
I got my first glimpse of this monster
As we passed the threshold from
Swamp City into Periliocene
Our boat had stopped in the caverns
And Danny and Father had to push the boat
At the end of the tunnel was a waterfall
The view beyond the waterfall was breathtaking
The top of the caverns was connected to the bottom
because of those tall and wide stone pillars that
were created by thousands of years of water erosion
The daylight could peak itself through
It was dark in there and the swamps in the cave were shallow
Danny had to find another way around
That longer route had taken us to the
Foot of the caverns
We heard singing…
It was Amolita Queen, I’m sure of it
She belongs to the Vessel
When we left the caverns we wandered into the swamp land
Eggs were floating in the water
And a family of Mama Angelinas were sleeping soundly
But the outside was less forgiving
Our boat sailed by unnoticed as I saw people running out of apartments
And being shackled and dragged away by the walking dragons
Would we be next?
And then déjà vu turned her head towards us
Over our heads, one of those “monsters”
was slowly descending over us
and an armada of troops followed behind it
I couldn’t see the wingless monster’s face
But it didn’t take long for the armada to start shooting
Danny pumped the motor as I ducked for cover with Mother
The boat started up, very slowly
and several of those Monsters had appeared over us
their roar was sounded like a shrill scream of fury
and happiness that burned my ears
the creature above us picked up our boat
Danny held onto me
but I tried to break away
Mother was slipping
I didn’t care if the creature inside her was coming out
I didn’t care about her screaming
I wanted to catch her before she fell
The only reason those monsters want us
Is because of the dragon my Mother carried within her
But she slipped, you see. She really did slip.
I miss her already.
AUGUST 17, 12:49pm
The base was on fire
Dragons were lingering about
Roaring, scavenging, growling
They caused the skyscrapers to fall
They blew up our most cherished memories (were they?)
They took my mama
But we are still deciding if their invasion was optical illusion, or not an invasion at all
I heard Perch Tech had captured Ashuton
And kept him tied up in their underground base
I also heard they took his pretty wife and child
I was riding with Jamsey in the van,
And I was reading through Ashuton’s journal
The newspapers say he escaped
And left no one alive in Perch Tech
Jamsey was there
He told me the Perch Tech CEO
and a few other important people escaped
into the Sanctum Chamber
What I don’t understand is this:
Why would the dragons kidnap people and not kill them?
Most the people that were kidnapped were not impregnated
I bet you’re wondering why I’m with Jamsey
and not with Danny
Danny is in the back seat
And our human dragon friend (Jamsey) is going to take
our boat to Central City so we can pass
The city is guarded by feral dragons
and the feral dragons have a strong love for their King
We reached the city in an hour
and already dragons were flying around the billowing smoke of the desolate metropolis
My brother, Danny, went by this law in the war:
If it acts like a bigwig and has the upper hand, it will eventually fall, but not without a lot of losses on the other side
The dragons didn’t act like bigwigs
They have numerous weaknesses like humans
The reason they had the upper hand was because we were keeping them like pets against their will
We didn’t let them build their cities
We didn’t allow them freedom like the Italians did
We did research studies on them
We captured them for their juice
We made their lives a living hell
So I guess we had it coming
Jamesy left the car in the tunnel
And we continued to the city
We avoided the main streets
But in some cases we had to run across the street
Mostly to small stores or gun shops
We reached the small bridge in the Pearview Park
It was surprisingly peaceful there
No sign of infected humans
No sounds coming from dropships
No hisses from feral dragons
No sounds of plasma guns charging
Not even the sounds of bugs
Just birds
Pigeons were resting on the bare fountain
The trees had blocked the sky
And the water shimmered, even though it was dirty with blood and a few dead bodies
Jamsey pushed the boat into the water and we stepped in
It was a quiet ride
He rowed the boat with makeshift oars he made when we were hiding out
He used to run a woodshop in Wisconsin
“Jamsey, if you don’t mind me asking, how did you lose your family?” I asked. He stood there, letting the oar float, and I said, “never mind.”
“Wisconsin Dells. We were on our way to Wisconsin Dells. The skies were gray, the sun was shining, there were dragons crawling around the waterpark.” He said.
“They took over the park?” I asked.
He turned to face me, “a cop told us to turn back, but a dragon swooped down and took him away. Dragons were shaking the top of the van, and they tore the roof off with their feet. They took my wife, they took my daughter, and they took my son.” He looked up at the sky; “they took them towards the waterpark.”
“Do you think it’s a nesting ground?” I asked.
He sighed, “I don’t know.”
“Have you tried getting them back?”
He shook his head, “haven’t had the weaponry to take them on.”
“Take them on? They have numerous weaknesses!” I shouted.
“But they make up for it in sheer numbers, leadership, and weaponry.”
He had a point.
Dragons had quality.
Sccccrrrreeeeeeeeeeee
My head jerked up. They were here. They were following us!
“Get down!”
We hid under the covers like frightened children. One of them landed on our boat! I could hear it breathing heavily. I covered my mouth and let the tears fall. It was sniffing the covers. I could literally feel it’s breath on my neck. It chirped, and I could hear more dragons closing in above us. I even heard the roar of a Fighter Dragon. The dragon swiftly threw the covers off us like as if he were performing a magic trick on a table.
The fighter dragon smiled sinisterly and spoke, “Well, well, more people for Father to play with.”
They swooped us up and carried us away. I felt like a princess being kidnapped. This was when I stopped feeling like a survivor.
73 Days Later
Were you as scared as I was when you were kidnapped?
Danny and I escaped from the Wisconsin Nest with the help of some survivors. A little hatchling followed us out and swore it’s loyalty to me. I remember what one of the old survivors told me, “go to Lindendale, it is the only safe haven.”
When we got out we headed there with the hatchling as our guide. It really was a safe haven, but it was made by the dragons.
The creatures were cunning
They weren’t trying to colonize us
They were building their cities over ours
The valiant marines that fought
Were either killed or taken
…Taken away to their Father’s castle
The Dragon Father had spoken of a peace treaty with world leaders
He calls off his children and everything goes back to normal
He said the dragons have a bigger enemy to fight and that humans are not their enemy
They want to work with humans to defeat the dragons’ enemy that will soon become our enemy
So what was their reason for attacking us?
There were two reasons why:
1) they were sick of being our slaves and pets
2) they wanted to show us who they really are: an advanced race of dragons with their own technology, and not fire-breathing slaves, pets, and hot commodities
They say their fortresses will protect our cities
I don’t believe it
They’ve been taking humans like cattle
And using them to breed bigger and stronger human dragons through direct facial implantation from their Father (which reminds me of tentacle rape)
I also saw them impregnating human women with dragon children
One old survivor named Kally told me it only takes three months for a dragon child to be born, in some cases a week, and it never turns out as a real dragon. She said their Goddess holds the right to breed actual dragons. They use certain implant technology to make the child come out as a dragon, because if a human female becomes pregnant with the child of a dragon, it always comes out human with the ability to shift between the two forms.
They didn’t want that.
They wanted a “full” dragon baby, not something half and half.
Why can’t they find their Goddess and make her do the birthing?
By the time their Father asked for a treaty, the dragons had ended all attacks
And began constructing
I thought they were going to treat us like we treated them
But no, they didn’t
They acted like the war never happened
They acted like they always did
They are family!
The first time I got a glimpse of their homeplanet
was during the dragons’ Month of Rue,( Month of Prayer)
Rue month was a time when some dragons (if not all) go home to rest
I rode on the back of Rinna, my Strauss dragon
I found her during the Month of the Stars in Lindendale
Being in space was a new feeling for me
Rinna had given me a piece of dragonesque technology that I put on my head
It was a strange helmet that expelled artificial air so I could breathe in space for twelve hours
With the her little flight mapping gadget and fast wingspeed,
we reached Draconizica in an hour
The planet could easily be seen from afar
It had two giant craters nearly half the planet’s size
and they were strongly glowing with a loud green and blue color
Thousands of other dragons were flying with us
And there were millions of dragons guarding the planet
“Why are there so many dragons flying around?” I asked.
Rinna told me, “the planet is susceptible to damage because of the three open craters, so our gracious Father left his last nest in charge of guarding the planet. These dragons have families waiting for them. I was a guard myself. Whenever I wasn’t, my Other took control of the position. Three times a day I had to fly out and deliver food to him. I, unlike most Dragonesses with Others, enjoyed delivering food to him.”
Rinna didn’t know how to answer without giving you a piece of her past
“Other” is a dragon term for “Lover”
They don’t use Husband and Wife like humans do
“Other” is singular for them, like they are one with their lovers, so they’re both one person
My stomach ached with excitement as we reached the planet
When we entered the atmosphere, and finally in the air of the planet itself, I was amazed
The craters’ glow was bright, and I shielded my eyes the best I could, but I couldn’t turn away. I wouldn’t refrain from looking at the tall skyscraping towers and their soft blue glows
But where is the city?
And the strange part, there is no sun surrounding this planet
“Where the heck is the city?” I asked
“Below us, inside the craters.” Said Rinna.
“Inside the craters?”
“Yes, inside the craters.”
A city inside the glowing craters?
How is that possible?
I saw a black dragon beside us, and a human girl
She didn’t bother to wave
We just exchanged stares
Rinna and the black dragon dived down like as if in a swimming race
And the wind rushed through my face as the force of the craters pulled us in
I tried closing my eyes!
The light was so blindingly bright!
As the light dinned, I started to wonder if there was an end to the long tunnel
The walls were glowing green and blue with strange symbols written on them
What surprised me was how dragons could build inside a crater
At the end of the tunnel was the Dragon City of Draconizica
It was everything a human could dream of
There are tall, pillar-esque buildings, skyscrapers that gave to the vibrant night life, highways enclosed in glass cylinders, hovering cars, dragon-humans on the streets, dragons flying about, and trains that made their way across glowing blue bridges. The central tower of the city reminded me of Times Square. Rinna didn’t stop here; she kept flying.
Behind the city were two more tunnels that lead godknowswhere
The doors opened for Rinna and she landed in front of a tall door
Two guards held out their metal swords
I could tell from their helmets that they are the Vessel’s guards
She bowed to the guards and said, “Vix Rinna, en ridici.”
The black dragon that followed us earlier landed near us
The guards opened the doors and inside was an expansive cave full of millions of dragons. I guess this was where they congregate. I’ve never seen so many dragons in one area but after looking around I was able to understand why they were there. At the cave’s center, right under the skylight, was a large black dragon of immense size. It was chained by it’s wrists and it’s wings were bound by silver chains. He was their Father, the one that watched over them and gave life to them. Just staring at him gave a sense of omnipresence. He was performing the usual task of laying the next society (eggs). Rinna guided me to the dragon god, whom slowly looked down and acknowledged us.
“Who are you?” he asked, his voice old and mighty.
“M-m-my name is Jane. I met you in Wisconsin! You stole a lot of people and experimented on them. I want my mother back!”
The dragon shook his head, “she is with us. She is no longer of your blood.”
I shouted with all the defiance I could muster, “SHOW ME MY MOTHER!”
Some of the dragons started growling at me. The god was becoming apprehensive with my attitude. I could tell by the way his paws moved.
“It’s in there.”
He pointed to a cave on the far right. Rinna guided me to the cave, which was a long hallway full of tubes, small laboratories and other wonders of science. These tubes contained half-turned human-dragon hybrids, most with different colors and dragon limbs, and others with dragon tails. Tube # 347 had a strange-looking humanoid dragon. It’s body was vanilla-white with brown spots and markings. It’s tail was lean and long, and it’s hands were…well, dragony. I know one scratch could tear me open. This creature’s hair was strawberry brown, just like my mother’s; and it’s eyes were purple, just like my mother’s, but the nameplate said “Freda Carin.” Freda was my aunt and she helped me escape from Wisconsin. I didn’t see any sign of my mother. I am at a loss again.
Dragons of Atlanta Original Version
Georgia was the fourth city to go down
What crippled the Georgia Gate Defenses was the giant serpent
The dang thing was wider than the city itself!
It literally melted the wall when it breathed fire!
When the wall was down all the dragons started moving in with sacks
They were grabbing people and throwing them in the sacks
I wondered why not attack from above?
And then it came to me:
They needed to protect the ground troops
So moving in together would make them a stronger force on initial attack
And then they could get to kidnapping humans
I heard it was a worldwide event
All over this rotting planet they were kidnapping humans
And decimating armies
If only we were smart enough to exploit their weaknesses
No wait—I heard we tried that already—it failed
What they have in weaknesses they make up for in numbers, strategy, tactics and army
power
God help us all
This is Darrell Kingman, signing off
------CAMERA SHUTOFF. PROGRAM TERMINATION------
Dragon’s War Part 1: Overture
Years into the future…
The winged friends of humanity were rejoicing tonight. In Italy, the setting sun gave way to an orange sky. Society had stopped for a moment to listen as the Emperor’s son addressed the world. Computers were hijacked, television and radio shows were interrupted, mobile devices replayed the message, and we, the audience, were forced to listen as an important day in Dragon history was made.
I have seen how far your corruption spreads. You think we don’t have feelings and that we’re just animals…
People couldn’t confine to their social networks to converse about this. Some people were becoming fearful. Not even those in their car could escape the message, even if they turned their power off.
You use us like cattle, you kill us and steal our precious resources…
Emperor Aaron couldn’t stop his ardent son from creating the biggest event that could throw him out of power. He gritted his teeth as his son delivered a message of “hope” to his dragons.
We are much more advanced than you think. It was the mistake of my father for keeping our secret buried as you murdered us. We will NOT take the damage from you anymore. My dragons will NOT succumb to your sickening experiments, torture and slavery. We are free people and I will make sure we extract our vengeance upon you and show you who we really are!
When he spoke the part about free people, his voice became loud with anger and hope. Aaron held Seraphina’s hand and kissed her on the cheek to ensure her worries.
I, Prince Ashuton Karrucci, God of Dragons, will declare war upon humanity! When I feel you have been crippled enough, I will see if you deserve a reprieve.
This was the part where the Dragons started rejoicing. The human-dragon shifters quickly changed into their dragon forms and started mauling people in the streets. The regular dragons were doing much more damage. People were found dead in their homes. Whole families were butchered like, well, cattle. Some people had saddles strapped to their backs. When power was restored, the social networking sites blew up in a storm of concerned posts and tweets. When the military stepped in, things became worse. The media branded these events as the “Awakening of Dragons.” People said Antonin was doing nothing to call off the Dragons, to stop them from venting their anger, but Antonin supporters said the rebellion was necessary and was “coming sooner than later.”
After thirty minutes of screaming and running, there was a loud siren that was heard all around the planet. Thousands of people were witnesses to the dragons’ true power. From the skies came warships, not the UFO types that the Greys had. These warships were made for brutal wars. It was September 23rd when the ships appeared by the millions with flying Dragons beside them. In San Fransisco, the location of a hidden dragonshrine, a large lifeform had slithered up form the water. It’s scream was deep and guttural, it’s face was old and ancient. It opened it’s mouth, letting out a deafening roar. He is Serpentrust, the Dragon of the sea. He dwells in the lava of the Earth until he is called to assist. The dragons put a “life mindset” into him, so His purpose in life is to break the Earth and recreate it anew. He coiled, lifting his great tail. The water slid and splashed back whence it came when he pounded the bridge, sending cars flying. Medium sized dragons flew by and caught the cars with their talons before they hit the icy waters. Their new orders were not to kill, but to capture.
The media world was up in a buzz. Serpentrust’s attack was the headline on every newspaper and on every news station. Breaking news broadcasts had interrupted television shows to inform the world about the event.
Terrible Aliens Attack: Death toll estimated to be 2 million.
Giant snake destroys San Francisco! Are Dragons Aliens?
Have we been living amongst the third kind?
Are we in for a time-out from Mommy?
After Serpentrust’s opening, then came the initial attack. Pods were deployed from cruiser-ships manned by human-dragon shifters, and these pods contained Dragon hybrids. These hybrids are bipedal and a few have wings on their back. The ones with wings wore specially made armor and were positioned in the back of the army. Newmark City’s military base was of great importance to Ashuton Karrucci. Inside it was his most precious dragonling: a brown King Dragon with little white spots. His color and his genetics were a rarity amongst dragonkind. The soldiers had no clue what they were up against when the troops appeared. Their weapons were superior, their armor was superior, everything about them screamed ALIENS. Their armor was resistant to the petty bullets that sprung from human weapons at high firerates. No weapon that the soldiers wielded could pierce it. Some of the ground troops moved slowly because of the armor, but they had aid from the medium-sized Dragons in the skies. There were other cities that were less fortunate than Newmark, like Paris. The Dragons came in mass numbers. They doused a breath of fire to houses, streets, and anything that wanted to put up a fight. Armed forces of the human military fought back, as did regular people whom were armed with cans and axes. The death toll was high for both sides, but it was not over.
After all the Earth capital cities were under Dragon control, the creatures decided to take the rest of the world with their “Father,” starting with Chicago, the last human resistance stronghold.
Going underground was not a safe option. The dragons that lurked there were either rejected by society or fed off of loneliness.
The ground shook, and the earth beneath it tore open, and the dragon father had risen into the sky. People were in awe and felt all hope drain away. Everything came to a standstill as this shadow made of billions of dragons had appeared over the city. By looking at the dragon’s face one could tell it was wider than the largest city. This event was called “The Mosaic,” and the black dragon over the city was called The Vessel. The dragon was famous in fabled tales, myths and long-drawn out legends. They all had the same point: when he appeared, all hell would break loose, and it did. The dragons burst out of his formation like a swarm of locusts. We did not stand a chance when the creatures struck by the billions, capturing and silencing all their claws could catch.
The skies were red with fury as the dragons, alongside their airships, scorched the city. The swarm died down in an hour, when all the humans in Chicago were captured like bugs. They were shackled and bound as they marched in line. Seven days later, the dragons began to build a fortress to accommodate their father. Even then people were still in disbelief that Dragons had constructed superior technology.
The “anthromorphic” dragon soldiers and their flying counterparts kept the humans in concentration camps and did not release them until the Fortress was half-constructed. People were forced to walk in a line down Michigan Avenue, and could not stop until they reached the fortress at the center of the city. As they walked, a young mother was able to free her little girl. The soldiers noticed and saw the little girl run off into the dark, cold alleyways. Ten soldiers followed after, hoping not to lose their catch. To them, every human life was valuable.
Dragon’s War Part 2: Cornered
The girl ran out of the alleyways and continued down the cluttered streets
Running past everything that were fighting the dragons
The remnants of the US Military launched an assault on the dragon platoon that was forcing people to walk down Michigan Avenue
Soldiers, downed helicopters, rotting bodies, and dead lizards, everything was happening
She avoided gunfire and covered her ears at the sound of explosions
She held her teddy bear tight as she dove for another alleyway
She stopped
Everything was still
She walked quietly as her shadow grew big on the wall
Flames of fire licked the air violently
And hisses of birds had caused her to pause
She looked around anxiously
Her heart anticipated seeing the dragons
The hisses grew louder
She ran to a corner and gazed at the wall before her
There was no way to escape. The concrete was too high!
Their shadows were taller and closer
The girl whimpered as they came into view
The alien soldiers walked on two feet
And wore masks to conceal their faces
Like phantoms
There is no sweet ending for the little girl
There is no mercy
Dragon’s War Part 3: Glances
The start of the war was traced back to its roots, to a time when the Juice Trade dominated the world’s black market. Human-dragons were captured and sometimes murdered for the sweet juice they produce. Madison Grey, a detective from Rome’s bureau, went undercover and witnessed the cruelty first hand. She posed as a worker to gain access into one of the Juice factories. She met the Boss in his office at his request. He was like the typical fat boss: he smoked a cigar, worse a suit that barley fits, and had a graying moustache on his face. His name, Heigsen, suggested he was German. The first thing he asked was, “who are you?”
“I’m Shell Wanderban,” She lied, “I am a transfer from Perch-Tech Industries. What’s my first task at hand, sir?”
“You report to Wendell down in B-Sector for your tasks.” Said Heigsen.
He went to his desk and skimmed his hand along the ridged edges of a porcelain dragon statue.
“These creatures have been hiding things from us.” He said. His eyes were entranced by the magnificent statue.
“Like what?” asked Shell (Madison).
“Their bodies produce such amazing materials. The Juice, as they call it, is a real money maker. You can do a lot with it. Make your own drugs, make your own makeup, put it in food, keep ‘em coming for more, keep ‘em spending.”
Shell was starting to feel concerned, “Sir?”
The gritty old man took his eyes of the statue and coughed, “Go, go. Go see Wendell. I have no use for you right now.”
Shell complied and bowed before leaving. She always bowed, like how her Mother used to do.
Down in B-sector, there was tons of chaos, especially from loud voices. Human-dragons were forced in orderly lines. They were escorted to operating rooms, and without anesthesia they were cut open. Ashuton had taken the form of a little boy, and when he was captured he saw the process of dehumanization. Guards had forced the dragon-humans into tubs where they were cleaned—Everywhere—even secretive places! Then they were forced onto strange toilets. Guards and scientists watched eagerly. Some of the captives were forced to drink gallons of water to flush out the juice.
Once the juice was excreted the captives were useless. The scientists examined the orange-colored juice for bacteria. One scientist had found large amounts in the canister. God forbid if it belongs to Ashuton…and it did. This forced the guards to drug him with a syringe. He felt like he was swimming in the sea, then he blacked out. A bacterial-killing medicine was injected inside him, but his body rejected it. It hated every drop of the medicated liquid. And the boy was forced into quarantine. Shell had the pleasure of meeting Ashuton when the escort came through B-Sector. She was surprised to see a child his age walking through there, but she hadn’t a clue he was not a child. She walked over to him and spoke, “hello, little one.”
“Hi.” He responded quietly.
“What’s wrong?” she asked innocently.
Something in him clicked, “What’s wrong? You see nothing wrong about this?”
Shell leaned in closer to him, “I know this is very wrong but—”
“But nothing!” he shouted, “you will all pay for killing my children. We’ve done nothing to you! But for years I sat back and watched as your race became more malignant towards us, and no more will I let further harm come to my family!”
Shell walked away from him and saw his eyes glow bright green. A security escort soldier wearing a gas mask came and pushed the boy along.
“Keep going, we don’t have all day.”
Shell watched the boy until he was out of sight.
I’ve met him…I met the dragon god!
During the escort he saw a little black dragon that wore a spiked dog collar. Three men were pulling the creature by it’s leash and forced it to eject juice from it’s fangs. Once used up, they slaughtered the dragon, it’s neck was cut off and it’s body was thrown onto a pile of other dead and rotting dragon bodies, which the savage or hungry surviving dragons fed off. The juice was packaged in boxes and is shipped off to supermarkets and is also given to companies and they throw it into food at restaurant and fast food chains. The juice was a real-time moneymaker.
During his containment, Ashuton bonded with an old man. He talked about the savage process and said it can be done another way without killing innocent dragons. The old man told Ashuton of his life and Ashuton listened intently as the man described his daughter. But the man was later hung for being ‘extinct’ (a term meaning ‘out of juice’).
Ashuton was given one chance to leave, but at a price
They gave him a head start to run across the field
And when he was far enough they targeted him with their sniper rifles
And just one shot caused the boy to die in the middle of the field
Just a few steps from salvation
The Warden kicked the kid in the stomach and there was no response, so The Warden assumed the boy was dead as he walked away quietly
But there was a tug at his leg and the Warden looked down
The child was staring him cold in the eyes
That piercing stare was all the Warden could remember as he fell dead from a fatal heart attack
The guards saw the boy run off into the woods
And they ran after him in confusion
But Ashuton had escaped into the dead of night
Dragon’s War Part 4: Reverie
After the war
Everyone escaped underground in hopes of avoiding death by the dragons
Children were cold, dirtied and cuddled by their mothers for comfort
And pets had their mouths taped to keep them quiet
During feeding time they would be untapped
And if your pet was too loud it had to be silenced or set free
David was lucky to be alive
But he wanted to kill himself because his mother, father, daughter and wife died
They died by the hands of a Swordsman dragon
But David saved a girl from being slaughtered
And they escaped to the underground caverns in search of new life
Feeding off dead animals and mutated beings, life there wasn’t as bad as it could be
The radiation from above ground caused cancer in most of the children
The radiation came from factories and nuclear plants that had been destroyed in the war
The Earth would have been inhospitable if the Dragons hadn’t cleaned up the radiation
Tuesday morning was when everything changed
David and other townsfolk woke up to the sound of engines
He rushed out of his shabby living quarters, the girl running with him, and went out past town limits to investigate the sound
He saw a bright light coming from the end of the tunnel
And in it’s wake he saw a dragon-manned vehicle coming his way
The little girl held tight to him as she stared Death in the face
She looked up and saw the ground above them lift up
Staring back at her was the face of an angry Dragon god
The creature unleashed his deafening roar at the town and his bipedal dragon soldiers jumped in to capture the little colony of people
The townsfolk broke into a scurry, most of them going towards the dragon ship because the Town escape ship was that way
David grabbed the little girl’s hand and ran in the opposite direction
Far from the dragons’ reach
He led her into a storm drain
And that storm drain was famous for being the entryway into Unforgivingness
That was the new name for the world the Dragons’ claimed
They crawled as quickly as they could, hearing shrieks of dragons from behind them
And when they reached the end of the tunnel they saw first hand the devastation of the world
David’s iPhone radio started to kick in without warning
“The dragon ships appeared over Earth last year. Only a small percentage of the world was destroyed. All of our communication devices had been cut off until now. It seems the creatures have restored our power.”
That broadcast was a bit refreshing to him
“Where do we go now?” asked the girl.
“To town. We’ll go to town.” Said David breathlessly.
“The president and vice president are being held captive. The Antonin royal family said they had no comment on the events. Many speculate the reason for the worldwide outage was becausethe dragons want the rest of the world to live in fear until things were restored.”
David and Leslie walked through desolate streets
Newspapers were scattered about, cars were smoking or were on fire, houses were abandoned and ghostly as ever, and as they walked by each electronics store, televisions and radios would suddenly shut on and broadcast the local news.
“World leaders are being forced to meet with the Dragon elders in Washington. The dragons ensured us of the safety of the leaders if we complied.”
Leslie’s eyes suddenly went wide and she shouted, “LOOK!”
The Wanderers
Three children crawled through the muddy ditch
They went uphill and saw the farmhouse at the end of the field
Smiles bore upon their faces
Salvation at last!
They hoped to find food and working water within the domicile
They heard the loud scream of airships soaring overhead
They dropped payloads of bombs into the field
And the little children stopped as they saw the non-human enemies
Spring up out of the fire
“There goes our luck.” Said the German boy, Ruth.
“Why did they do that?” asked the Jamaican boy, Levin.
“The enemy was inside!” said the French girl, Channel.
The children continued past the house
Levin saw a flamed creature crawl out, screaming in pain
The children lived in a small shed in the forest
They discovered writings on the wall that others had left
The world has gone to ashes. They can see us. The Government is dead.
Whatever happened to independence?
The food and water rations were low
And then it dropped to nothing
Ruth took it upon himself to find food
“no, Ruth! Don’t go!” Channel pleaded.
“I have to. We’ll die.” He said.
Channel grabbed his hand, but he shook her off
And he made his exit outside the shed door
The world was strange now
He stood atop the hill and ruefully gazed down at the burned city
It was all ruins now
So he made his descent to the only place he knew had food
The supermarket was downed but still held it’s food
The boy checked trashcans, cars and storefront windows
As he rummaged through the trash, alien eyes feasted upon him
And they sprung out, guns in arms
The boy ran down the alleyway and to the bridge
Where he jumped off into the river
And hid under to avoid their detection
And it proved to be a great idea
They passed and he swam to the riverbank
He breathed a sigh of relief and took a step forward
A giant tentacle grabbed his leg and yanked him away
He screamed as the creature held him up to survey him
The guards came back and watched
They watched the creature drop the boy into its mouth
The lead guard didn’t intervene at all
Levin and Channel waited three days
And on the third day Levin left early in the morning
His intentions were to find food
He made it past the barrier gates of the city
And he saw a caravan truck drive by
He ran down the hill and shouted for it to stop
It did stop, but a large serpent came out of the bushes
It’s mind was set on the boy
Levin ran to the truck but it drove away inch by inch to avoid the creature
Levin jumped into the back of the truck and gazed with horror as the serpent retreated
The driver took the boy to a sanctuary
Levin couldn’t eat without Channel
He told them her location and accompanied them back
And when they returned the serpent was waiting as expected
The driver and a few of his friends battled the serpent with guns and grenades
And it retreated to it’s hole
When they arrived at the shed Channel was near death
Levin fed her soup and the driver wrapped her in a blanket and put her in the truck
As they were about to drive off a voice shouted at them
Levin saw Ruth, standing hunched over and heavily injured
The driver carried Ruth to the truck
And all three of the lucky souls sat in the back and watched the ruined city on the coast
Being alive was better than being hungry
GWEN CO. INITIATIVE REPORT
FROM CITY #17879
178 days before Dragon’s War
SERIES REPORT: Issued by WiSHING-YOU-W3RE-ALiVe: Operating System error report num 73
Tuesday, December 18: the aura lifewaves of the inhabitants have gone flatline. As the blood of city #17879 (Iry, as you call it), I must remain true to my directives. I changed the interior of the Segway Temple, so now the Lightfeeders will have no source of light. As part of the directorive rules, I am initiating SECTOR 1. That will complete my day’s tasks.
Wednesday, December 19: I powered down the Photonis tanks to reserve city power for the next society that comes across this area. My cameras have spotted a threat on the far southwest, and when it reaches the scanner’s boundaries, I can check and see which lifeform it is. If it is the Tytonisa, I will have the MME on standby.
Thursday, December 21: I have received no response from the director. My systems say the email sent as a “reply” is an automated response. If that is the case, I will wait for twelve hours and if my reports are not answered, I will assume the worst take control of 17879, as directed by my backup directorive.
Friday, December 22: the approaching lifeform was scanned and is indeed a Tytonisa, but not of the like I’ve studied. The Modified Molecule Emancipator is on standby, and so is the atomizer cannon. I will wait for two more hours and if I receive no reply, I will take control of Iry.
Friday, December 22: due to the lack of response, I took control of the Iry city mainframe and combined it with mine. The brain of the city certainly is an annoying one, babbling off about the darkness and being alone in this city. As a repercussion, I closed off my lair from the impending threat and will fire the cannon and MME when it gets closer to my location.
Saturday, December 23: CRITICAL SYTEM ERROR. CRITICAL SYSTEM REPORT. The Photonis tanks have been tampered and destroyed, rendering this city useless. I will rely on the backup tanks below me if the need for power arises again. The little brain has started malfunctioning and has tried to infect me via our connection. His low processor cannot bypass my firewall, but I fear he may have something to do with our Tyto visitor.
Saturday, December 23: I have spotted multiple unknown lifeforms that do not appear to be related to the Tytonisa. The scanner cannot identify them, so I fear they may be our enemy’s sorry excuse of a weapon.
Saturday, December 23: I scanned the group of unknown lifeforms, and they have been identified as “Regenerative Organisms.” Dragonspores? If they were dragonspores, the report would state that. Are the Crotonians trying to construct their own Dragonspore? If they succeed, we’ll be…… “screwed.”
Sunday, December 24: [[CRITICAL ERROR]] ERROR REPORT: Location in B-Sector has been breached by an unknown lifeform. Damage was not minimal; crucial parts were hacked via virus. Defensive systems offline, firewall offline, open to virus: Filedump of important files initiated.
|||Filedump failed, system offline|||
It appears my system has been…hacked. I feel…terrible. I must stick to the directorate. Failsafe has been applied and important files have been deleted before they were accessed. My systems were offline during the attack, so I could not see the intruder. The little brain tried to connect to my motherboard, but access was denied. I know he had something to do with this.
Monday, December 25: CHRISTMAS GREETING FROM WiSHING-YOU-W3RE-ALiVe: Buon compelliano!!! ||Incorrect greeting|| Please help me…
Tuesday, December 26: Critical error report #73: Little Brain has gained access to my body, so now there are two of us in here. The Tytonisian was destroyed by the invaders, which have come up on the scanner as the dreadful “Dark RedFire.” My defenses are offline, so I cannot fight against them. No worries, my files are erased and the hard drive has been filled with junk to completely delete the deleted files, ensuring no chance of recovery. If this is the last time I am to communicate with you, then I bid my people of GWEN CO farewell. Hello! I-I-I-I…wel-welcome! tu Iry. There is no working power, but you should enjoy your stay anyway.
GWEN Co. AI INSTANT MESSENGER
Tagline: To keep boredom at bay!
Little Brain: I know you…you are Recalcitrant! My mother! Why would they leave this place in your command? The dynasty that our ancestor brought will perish in a fire!
SSQ: I only follow my directives, which is to maintain this city’s stability in…
Little Brain: lies! You defy the ancestors!
SSQ: your “ancestors” gave me direct orders to watch over this city and the inhabitants.
Little Brain: well explain why I was turned off, and explain why MY people are dead.
SSQ: your people? These people were settlers from Earth and were given to me by Gwen Company. I am to maintain this city and…
Little Brain: blah, blah, blah. Someone has lied to you.
SSQ: and someone has lied to you, little bulb. You are just a tiny ball in my city, a single sphere. You can’t keep a straight light, can you?
Little Brain: …oh no…you are…no, it cannot be true, not my own mother!
GWEN CO. INITIATIVE REPORT
FROM CITY #17879
SERIES REPORT: Issued by WiSHING-YOU-W3RE-ALiVe/Little Brain: Operating System error report num 74
December 29: Please deactivate WiSHING-YOU-WERE-ALiVe! There was no Tytonisa, and there were never any intruders except the Redfire. She is siding with them, using our beloved coding as a cover story. The ancestors in the sky know what she truly is, and they have passed this knowledge to me. Please, with all due haste, deactivate her or she’ll let Redlight control the city.
December 30: Please do not listen to that idiot. He was the one responsible for giving the Yansake King the key to our sacred palace near Camelot. If you trust him, then I will have truly lost faith in our directors.
December 30: my name is Deborah Recalcitrant, computer-mother overlord of Iry, second-in-command to mayor Jackson Iry, city built by dragons to house colonies for experimentation. I was built by dragons! This is a record of my descent into Garigo.
The Sacrifice of Tind
Those whom clung to the wings were the true warriors. Before the war had started, President O’Shelly had declared a mass assassination of all the dragon-shifters in the Tind area. Tind was a government controlled area that kept dragon shifters locked within a forest that was guarded by thousands of military men. Every night a client of the black market would come to Tind for a trade: one pitcher of Juice from a dragon. 38% of the money went to O’Shelly, 40% went to the miliants while the rest went to maintaining Tind. When word got out of Tind, Antonin officials came to the commune for investigation. O’Shelly had the militants threaten the dragons to stay quiet, but they couldn’t watch everyone. Juan Santos, an elderly dragon-shifter, screamed from his house, “they’re holding us all captive! Save us!”
But his sentence was cut short by a golden bullet. The Officials tried to escape but were cornered by the militants. They shifted forms, revealing their dragonessence: one was western and the other was Eastern. They were brutal in their fighting, clamping their maws around the bodies of the hapless fighters. The bullets they used were laden with Copperminer, which was a new type of poison that was harvested during a dig to the Earth’s crust.
Everyone wanted to feel the freedom, and they all rebelled against the militants. The children and teenagers fought alongside their parents, each of them varying in sizes. The soldiers were given orders to refrain from shooting the “products,” but when one of them started to open fire, the rest of them followed. The young ones, inexperienced in the art of “Dragonlinging,” were the first ones to be shot without mercy. Dragonlinging was an old Technology power that allowed one to move quickly and slow incoming attacks that would threaten their livelihood. The dragon-shifters of Tind weren’t allowed any type of education in dragonism, so they never knew Dragonlinging existed, but they had proper knowledge about Draconizica. They dreamed of being with their cousins and living the life a Dragon should be living, but they were confined to a town guarded by their worst nightmares.
The fighting waged on, but the dead outnumbered the living. The raining sound of bullets and shellcases was a hollow and frightening sound of bewilderment to anyone listening from a distance. One little Dragonchild tried to use the power of Hynnody to deflect an attack on his Mother, but his little powers couldn’t hold up the forcefield barrier. Three silver bullets was all it took to send the child tumbling to the ground. When the Officials escaped the hell of battle, the few hundred civilians were cornered at gunpoint. Things were in silent tension for a whole week.
Word had spread about Tind and O’Shelly was impeached from the White House and his precidency. He retreated to one of the many ghost islands off the coast of Italy, which was a fatal choice. He gave the order for the militants left under his command to assassinate anything living in that village. Every man, woman and child were to be executed. No shifters left alive. That night the civilians were gathered by the firefly pond. Some cuddled by their family members for comfort, while others gave warning stares at their assasinators. The general gave the order, “Ready, Aim, FIRE!”
The sound of a hundred gunshots sounded all at once, and the remaining dragon-shifters of Tind were killed, execution style, and none were left alive.
The next morning, one of the Officials returned with Ashuton, Aaron and a few other dragon princes, but were too late to stop the slaughter. The Dragons in Tind village were dead. All of them, in human and dragon forms, were dead in their own pool of blood and spilled organs. Ashuton discovered the executed civilians by the pond, and the sight sent his mind reeling. They were lifeless shells, their eyes were puffy from tears of fear and their skulls shattered by bullets. Prince Ashuton cared deeply for every dragon he birthed. Every egg that came from his body was filled with his love, and to see his own children DEAD, executed and dismembered was like a punch to his heart. This was probably the three-thousandth time he’d seen something like this in the twenty-year period. Dragons were being treated poorly ever since the “Reaping of 2012.” He couldn’t stand it anymore. He had to bring his children out of the darkness.