Page 8 of When Dragons Play

He rose, ducking under the panel that had hit him in the head and swayed. He reached out and gripped a bent metal pole and waited for the world to quit spinning. If his symbiot had been there, he would already be healed.

“We’re good. Rumor had a dislocated shoulder that I popped back into place. The man has learned a few languages from the freighter caps that I didn’t even know. It was very impressive. I swear Timber is part Sarafin. The man’s got nine-lives when it comes to certain death. I’m just glad he landed this piece of dragon dung in mostly one piece.”

Laser’s eyes swept over Cameo. The man’s affable grin was back on his face, but he didn’t miss the fine lines of strain around his nose and mouth nor the cloud of pain in his eyes. His focus moved down to where Cameo was holding his side.

“What about you?” he asked with a nod.

Cameo released his side and grinned. “A little bruising from trying to protect the black blob. I’m good.”

“Hey, Cameo, is he—? Ah, good. I was afraid I’d have to carry your limp, heavy ass out of here. Not to be a Curizan slug, but Rumor says we need to put some distance between us and this shuttle—fast. There are two Marastin Dow troop transports en route,” Timber warned.

“Let’s grab what supplies we can and move out,” Laser replied with a curt nod.

A silent, coordinated departure followed twenty minutes later. Rumor surged ahead, setting the pace for the rest of the group. His voice was tight with urgency as he explained that he’d received an encrypted message from the V’ager evac team containing coordinates for their rendezvous point, just seconds before they went down. He had downloaded the map and meticulously plotted a course twelve clicks from their current site, tracing his finger along the lines of the digital terrain.

Cameo took over the protection of the cylinder, its smooth, metallic surface cool to the touch, and followed behind Rumor. With a steady stride, Timber fell into step behind Cameo while he took up the rear. The shadow of the first troop transport, a dark silhouette against the sky, passed overhead when they were nearly a click out from the crashed shuttle they had stolen.

“Not good. Not good,” Timber muttered.

“You’ve got this, Timber. I need you to scout for places where you can set traps to slow them down,” he ordered.

Timber nodded eagerly, his eyes sparkling with anticipation. Trisha had shown him and the others how to work with Timber’s short attention span, using Timber’s need for constant activity to their advantage. By demonstrating the traps she had built, she had fueled Timber’s fascination with her ingenuity and turned their games of tag into an adventure.

The change in Timber had been palpable. Timber’s mind buzzed with questions as he absorbed Trisha’s secrets to creating the elaborate traps. When she introduced a group of young teens who she called the Dragonlings into the mix, he had been skeptical, but Timber had quickly become a favorite among the kids, and they spent all their time together.

“Be careful,” he said, feeling the weight of responsibility on his shoulders as Timber moved away.

Timber shot him a thumb’s up; a symbol Laser had seen the kids use with each other. He closed the gap, his eyes scanning the ground to make sure they left as small a footprint as possible. He was debating whether they should shift into their dragons when Rumor held up his fist.

“What is it?”

Rumor held up the screen he had been following and pointed to over a dozen images moving in a crisscross pattern. Cameo swore under his breath as he peered over Rumor’s shoulder. Laser noticed sweat beaded on his friend’s face.

“Are those what I think they are?” Cameo asked.

Rumor nodded. “Yeah, a second troop transport landed three clicks in front of us. We’re trapped between the two. Not only that, they’re also using sky bikes. If I had to guess, they have the heat scanners going. If we shift, our dragons would light up like flares.”

Laser studied the map before looking up. “Then, we don’t shift.” He returned his focus to Cameo’s face. “Are you alright?”

Cameo gave him a strained smile. “I’ve had better days. Let’s get moving.”

Laser didn’t push it, but he could tell that Cameo was favoring his right side and in pain. He reached for the bag containing the cylinder. Cameo gave him a startled look and tightened his hand on the strap.

“I’m good. You’re a better fighter. If things go bad, I’d rather you had your hands free,” Cameo said.

“Let me know if you need a break,” he instructed.

Cameo replied with a curt nod. Laser motioned for Rumor to continue. Laser eased up, glancing at Cameo while making sure they left no trace.

An hour later, Timber reappeared. He held a hand to his lips and motioned for them to get down. They each sank into the tall ferns, disappearing from sight as the whirl of several air bike motors grew louder. He laid on his back, holding the rifle blaster against his chest at the ready as one bike pass overhead.

He listened intently until the sounds disappeared before he moved. Rolling onto his stomach, he crawled on his elbows through the fern to the spot Timber and Rumor had converged. A massive tree trunk, partially decayed, provided them with limited shelter. He frowned as he glanced around.

“Where’s Cameo?” he asked.

Rumor and Timber frowned and shook their heads. “He was here a second ago,” Timber murmured.

“Spread out and find him,” he ordered.