Apocalypse Weird: Genesis (The White Dragon Book 1) (16 page)

From him, she went to Aarika and hugged him.

“You should take another bite,” he said holding yet another power bar in his hand. “And bring me a souvenir okay? Some kind of ancient, I don’t know, bottle opener or Swiss army knife or something.”

“Sure.”

Blair hugged her hard and quick. “Thanks,” he said.

Jennifer shook Kasey’s hand. “I’ll hug you when you get back,” she said.

When she stood in front of Jack, she was nervous all of a sudden.

“There was something I had wanted to do,” he began. “And I just never got around to it and now that you’re—”

Before he could continue, she kissed him on the mouth. His lips were soft and they trembled. She didn’t know if it was from the pain so she withdrew just a little bit. But he kissed her back. The stuttering sound of the M2 reverberated in the room.

She withdrew from him.

“See you soon,” Jack said.

“See you in an hour,” Kasey replied.

She began to untie her boots.

“Guys, give the girl some privacy,” Jennifer said. “Turn your asses around, gentlemen.”

Douglas, Jack, Aarika and Blair turned around.

Kasey took off her boots, pants and tank top. She still had her bikini on. She slipped it off.

“I’m gonna hold it till you’re back, don’t worry,” Jennifer said. “I won’t let any of the boys touch it.”

She and Kasey exchanged a brief smile.

“You’re a warrior, Kasey,” Jennifer said. “And I’d go into battle with you anytime.”

Kasey looked from her down into the fog.
Don’t think. Just do it.
In the deep crevasses of her mind, something stirred. It felt alien still but its power brushed against her like air on a feather.

She jumped.

“I am the distant star on a cloudless night. The dream of comfort when there is no light. I am closer than your skin and closer still. I am always with you, always will be. Good night, Darren.”

Douglas kissed the boy on his forehead and pulled the blanket up to his chin. As hot as the days had become, the nights were colder than he could remember.

“Good night, dad.”

The boy rolled onto his side, facing the wall. He would be fast asleep before Douglas was out of the room. Eleanor, Doug’s wife of twenty-eight years, didn’t want to tell Darren that his father wouldn’t come back. She insisted they not tell him. Officially, he was going away for a while to look for work up north. In truth, the war and the heat had ravaged the lands for decades; had taken from it what could be taken and had left but blood and sand and sorrow.

But there was hope. A tiny shimmer of light in the ever-darkening sky. It was an impossible dream. Highly improbable. A death sentence for Douglas and leaving yet another shattered family without a father.

But the small infinitesimal ray of hope could not be undone. It appeared usually right after he’d woken up in the morning. It stood unwavering in his mind, telling him of that one possible scenario that could change everything. The grain of sand in the clockwork of evil, the child that could yield to the power of The White and tame it.

So he needed to go, leave his wife and son, his only son, the one he had held throughout his life, the one he could not imagine living without. Even though Eleanor was furious, angry, and most of all terrified, even though she fought him tooth and nail, explaining every possible outcome to him — only one of which would bring him back safely to her — she understood, grasped the importance of him going where nobody had gone, nobody had dared to go. He would leave this world through the fog and enter a different world altogether. There, in the shadow of the mountain, on the easterly side, above the entrance to where legend had placed the White Dragon’s den, there was an eagle’s nest perched on the black rock.

It was there, under the watchful eyes and razor sharp beaks and talons of its guardians, that NechhRhud lay. The Fog would spill him out — dizzy and weakened and bereft of cherished memories — two klicks northwest of the nest. He’d have to pass through the shadow wall and the land of the mouth-less, the raptures and the sirens of Sarona.

Once in possession of the talisman, he’d make his way south to the deep and from there into the fog again. With a little bit of luck, he’d reach the shores of the alien world and meet the one who could wield the power of the White Dragon and restore balance to his world.

But that was impossible.

The End

Dear Diary,

7th grade sucks. Also, I went to the doctor again today. Mostly for waking up in the middle of the night soaked in sweat and screaming from the bottom of my lungs. They did all kinds of tests. Blood and x-rays and even a CAT scan. There’s nothing wrong with me. My mom was upset because of my temperature. Because I’m always so hot, she started to measure it every time I wake up at night which... is every night right now. It was between 106 and 108 degrees Fahrenheit over the last two weeks. It doesn’t matter if I use a blanket or not. My temperature is always the same right after I wake up. I didn’t tell anyone about my dreams yet.

Gotta go.

Kay

Dear Diary,

We went to another doctor today. This time it was a family psychologist. He asked me if I wanted to tell him anything about what was going on at home. I told him about the fighting. He asked me how I felt when I heard mom and dad fight downstairs. I told him it made me upset. He let me use his punching bag for a few minutes. He didn’t ask me about my dreams so I didn’t tell him. Also, I don’t remember them unless it’s right after I wake up.

Peace,

Kay

Dear Diary,

It’s 2:14 a.m. I’m writing down my dream. Otherwise I’ll forget. I didn’t scream today, I think. So my mom isn’t coming into my room to take my temperature. In the dream, I’m walking on this sharp rock inside a tunnel. I’m older. Not a lot but a few years. I’m not wearing any shoes. It’s very hot in here. The air I’m breathing is very hot also. It almost hurts to breathe. The amulet is burning my skin but I don’t dare take it off. It smells like when we burned sulfur in chemistry class. Then I come to a lake. It’s red. I think it’s made of lava. The lake is basically the bottom of a large cave with walls similar to the floor I was walking on before. Black stone that looks like coral in the ocean.

In the middle of the lake, a large rock sticks out of the lava. There’s a lot of smoke that covers the top of it, but I know there’s something sitting there. It watches me. It’s big. That’s when I wake up. It’s always when I wake up.

Going back to sleep but I hope the dreams stop soon.

Kay

Dear Diary,

Today was moving day. My mom and I moved into an apartment in Bay Shore. My dad moved someplace else. He’s still on the island but more like thirty minutes away.

I hate my new room.

Kay

Dear Diary,

16!! We went to the beach for my birthday. We surfed all day and played guitar by the fire. I haven’t had the dream for a while. But I remember it now during the day sometimes when I do chores at home or during homework. I see the cave and I see the rock sticking out of the lava, right in front of me.

Twice in the last month I went to the emergency room because I was burning up during the day. It went away very fast and I know my mom doesn’t catch it all the time. I tell her that it’s okay and that it happens often. I might have to have more tests.

Peace,

Kay, who is 16!

Dear Diary,

Richie Glasco is hot. He’s different than the other kids. I think he lives with his brother who works in construction. Rumor has it he’s got a chance to play for the Long Island Lions when he gets out of school. He’s going out with Susan. She’s a senior. I don’t know what he sees in her. He’s not looking at me. At all.

Kay

Dear Diary,

Richie told me he’d take me out in his car one day. I love his car. It’s always so shiny and I watch him when he comes into the school parking lot in the mornings. Can you love someone even though you don’t know them, have never spoken more than a few sentences with them? I think you can.

Peace,

Kay

Dear Diary,

Richie drove me home from school today. I was so anxious that I just sat there. He asked me if he could kiss me. I said no. Not because I didn’t want to but just because I’ve never kissed someone before and I didn’t know how. But I’ve imagined kissing him since then. Every day I imagine him kissing me after driving me home and I say, “See you tomorrow, Richie,” And he says, “See you tomorrow, Kay.”

I think I’m gonna marry him.

Kasey

Dear Diary,

Today is Friday. Today, when Richie drove me home, I let him kiss me. I got very hot for a second and when he stopped, I kissed him and we made out for a while. I can’t wait to see him later. He said he’d wait for me on the corner of Sawyer and Berkshire Rd at 2:30 a.m. and we could drive to the parking lot of the Sanchez Memorial Park.

I don’t think I can sleep tonight.

Kay

Dear Diary,

Richie Glasco is an asshole and I don’t want to see him again. Ever.

Yours truly,

Kasey Byrne

Dear Diary,

I miss him so much. Why do I fall in love with guys who don’t get me. Why do I want to be with them if they don’t really want to be with me.

I’m so ashamed of myself for last night.

Kay

Dear Diary,

I’m getting a car from my dad for my 18th birthday. I think he wants to make up for not seeing me very often. I understand that he’s busy with work all the time. I told him I didn’t need a car but he told me he’s got a friend who has a used car place in Lindenhurst. I’ll meet with him tomorrow to look at them. Maybe I can take it to the beach on Friday for our end of the school year party.

I hope there aren’t any boys I don’t know. I don’t think I can ever trust anyone again.

Kay

Author's Note:

If you liked what you've read, please leave a short review on Amazon. This will help me put food on the table and write more stories. The second book in this series,
The White Dragon: Crucible,
will be published in March 2016. If you'd like to be notified of the exact date, you can sign up for my newsletter. I won't spam you, I promise. I'm over at
http://stefanbolz.thirdscribe.com/

Click here for my other books and stories:

The Three Feathers

The Fourth Sage

Dark World

The Dawning of the True Self

A Journey Beyond Limitations

The Gate of Time

Georgia and the Dragon

The Traveler (short story, part of The Time Travel Chronicles)

Protector (short story, part of Tails of the Apocalypse)

In the works:

The White Dragon - Crucible

The White Dragon - Alchemy

The Fourth Sage - Revelations

The Night of the Hunted (short story, part of The Shape Shifter Chronicles)

Acknowledgements

Thank you, Nick Cole and
Michael Bunker, for believing in me and for giving me the opportunity to work with this most amazing group of people at Wonderment Dev. Thanks to all my fellow authors. Your encouragement throughout this process continues to be heartwarming. The camaraderie in this group knows no bounds. Thank you, Ellen Campbell, for cleaning up my grammar so beautifully and humorously. Thank you, Chris Pourteau, for lending an extra set of eyes.

Thank you, Amy Mosbacher, for being my guide through the streets and locations of Long Island. A big thank you to my muse, the
Dragonforce
band members. Your album
Inhuman Rampage
burst the floodgates to this story wide open and well into a possible third and fourth book in this series.

 Last but never least, thank you so much, dear reader, for picking up a copy of this book. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I loved writing it.

Disclaimer: No part of Long Island was harmed or damaged during the writing of this book.

Cheers,

Stefan