Sarah and the Steam Dragon
Chapter 8

“Are you awake, Sarah?” asked Stanley. Sarah’s eyes shot open and she bolted upright.

“I’m awake, teacher!” she said by reflex, then realised she was not at her desk in class. She was lying in a flower bed with Stanley, the sun hanging low in the sky. “How are you feeling, Stanley?” she asked once she was fully awake.

“Much better, thanks to you” he assured her. She could feel the strong warmth coming from him, so much hotter than it had been earlier. Steeling herself, Sarah shifted so she could look at the wound in his side.

“Stanley!” she gasped, “It is all healed up!” She ran her hands over the wounded area, her fingers tracing the scar in his scales that was the only sign of the injury remaining.

“The Black Douglas was very good” he told her. “If we had many bottles of that I think I could easily defeat the Shade and the Emissary” he boasted.

“Sorry, Dad only had the one bottle” she said sadly. “And I am going to be in big trouble when I go home for taking it”

“Could you not tell them it was to help me?” Stanley asked innocently.

Sarah laughed with sudden mirth. “I don’t think they will believe me when I tell them I gave it to a dragon! Especially one they can’t see or hear”

Stanley puffed some steam from his nostrils in reply. She took that to mean he understood her problem. Sarah looked about the rooftop gardens, wondering why no-one had come searching for her.

“If you are thinking about your mother, I believe she has already searched up here for you” Stanley told her. “She could not see you since you were touching me, but she did spend some time wondering why the flower bed was all crushed. I think she blames you for the damage”

Sarah’s mood turned sour. “I am always in trouble for stuff, even things I did not do”

“My mother, Marley, would often chastise me for my foolish behaviour” Stanley admitted. “Even when I tried to do the right thing, it would end up causing her distress. Yet all I wanted was to become a hero, like my ancient ancestors”

“One of the Ninja Dragons, from before the betrayal of your Clan?”

“No, not that” Stanley said sadly. “Long before those days, the Dracoris Vapora were a Clan of honour. Our kind were like the Guards or the Police of your city, charged with defending all the weak and upholding the laws of the Realms”

“We were not the biggest or strongest of the Dracoris, yet our Vapora was able to neutralise the attacks of the other major races. Our steam could melt the ice breath of the White Dragons, extinguish the fiery blast of the Red Dragons, even disperse the Toxic Gas of the Black Dragons”

“That is why our Clan was seduced into darkness. The master of the deepest Realm feared we could stop their plans, so they made our Clan their wicked servants. Then they betrayed us, destroying so many of my Clan and driving us from our ancient strongholds”

“They wanted to remove your Clan all along?” said Sarah. “So you could not stop them now?”

“It seems so” agreed Stanley. “That is why I must defeat the Emissary here in your world. It is my duty as a warrior of the Clan Vapora. There are so few of us left, but I am here and I will fight until my last breath to keep your world safe”

“But if you destroy the Emissary, won’t that stop you replaceing a way home?” Sarah asked.

“If that is my fate, then I accept it” Stanley said. “I have found a friend in this world, a fellow champion to fight at my side. If you are willing of course”

“I am always ready to take on the bullies” Sarah said. “I will be glad to fight at your side”

“Thank you Sarah” Stanley said with a smile.

“Hey, Sarah! Are you up here?” yelled a familiar voice. Sarah groaned as she saw her older brother Brent walking around the roof top, cupping his hands and calling out to her.

“I had better go and face the music” she told Stanley and waited until her brother was facing in a different direction. She then stood away from the dragon, becoming visible to the rest of the world.

“I’m over here!” she called out and he turned towards her.

“You are so busted!” he said with glee as he walked over to his sister. “Mom has had everyone looking for you. When dad gets home I reckon you are going to be grounded for the rest of your life! That is, if you survive your punishment”

He grabbed her by the arm and started to drag her towards the shelter with the elevator. A blast of warm air and steam washed over him and he dropped her arm in surprise.

“What was that?” Brent said, looking about the rooftop in alarm. Another blast knocked him backwards, drenching him in hot moist vapour.

“Maybe I am Awakened at last” Sarah said with glee. “Maybe I can use my awesome steam blast to cook you like a boiled potato!”

“No way” spluttered Brent, getting back to his feet, the whites of his eyes showing. “You are just a NOMA like me!”

“Things change, big brother” said Sarah, standing defiantly in front of him. “I promise I won’t hurt you. In exchange you promise not to tell Mom and Dad about my new powers”

“What?” Brent said suspiciously. “You don’t have any powers! You are just my annoying little sister!”

Another blast of steam slammed into the boy, staggering him back, plastering his wet clothes to his body. Sarah did not move, a small smile on her lips.

“Had enough, Brent?” she asked in a deceptively nice voice. Her brother looked all around the rooftops. There was nothing else he could see to cause these blasts of air and steam.

“Okay, I won’t tell” he agreed. “But you are still going to get a thumping from dad. You took his Scotch!”

“Yeah, yeah” she agreed. She headed towards the elevator and glanced back at her big brother. “Come on, stop wasting time. I may as well get this over with”

Together the brother and sister walked to the elevator, Sarah with a big smile on her face. She knew she was in trouble like never before, but she was always in trouble. That was just how her life was. Yet now she had a purpose, a reason to get in trouble.

She had saved her friend, a steam dragon no-one else could see. Being in trouble was worth that.

=====

10th District, Pan City

Friday, October 5th 2046 AD

Sarah could not believe many things this morning.

She could not believe her parents had told her off for a solid hour last night, then told her she was getting no allowance for a month and was totally grounded for two whole months.

She could not believe her school had re-opened today either. The school board must be crazy she thought to let students back there. It did not matter that Mr Albright and Creepy Bob were still being held by the Guard to “assist them with their enquiries”. The mystery of what the Emissary had planned was still unknown.

Finally, she could not believe that Carmody was walking to school with Eric! She glared at the two of them, walking so close to each other just ahead of her. So close they might as well be holding hands, Sarah thought grumpily to herself.

It was not that she was jealous, of course not! It was because her new best friend did not know how dangerous Eric really was. He was not a shy, home-schooled boy new to their school. He was some kind of Enhanced undercover spy for the Guard, that seemed definite!

“Hey, Eric” she called out. The boy and Carmody both turned to look at Sarah with varying degrees of surprise on their faces. “Why exactly are you walking with us to school today? Don’t you get dropped off in that fancy car each day?”

“Normally I do” Eric said in his usual calm voice. “Today I asked the driver to drop me at Carmody’s tower so I could escort her to school. So much has gone on that I wanted to make sure she was Okay”

“Hmm!” Sarah said, fixing him with her special look. “How did you know which tower Carmody lives in?”

“Umm, I told him” said Carmody, turning her trademark shade of bright red. “We have been chatting a little by phone and over the net”

“Is that so?” Sarah huffed. She pinned her gaze on Eric once more. “So you don’t need to make sure I am Okay?”

Eric returned her stare implacably. “I believe you can take care of yourself Sarah. You don’t need any assistance from me”

Sarah was dumbfounded and stopped walking altogether. She was uncertain if she had been complimented or insulted somehow.

“Hang on!” said Carmody, “Does that mean you think I am helpless?” She had gone a different kind of red now, turning her embarrassment into anger. Eric looked at Carmody then back to Sarah, both giving him looks that set off his danger sense.

“I think perhaps I need to learn more about surviving Junior High” he said, more to himself than the two girls he was with. “Can we forget this conversation happened?”

“Nope” said Carmody and Sarah together, then linked arms in a show of solidarity against stupid boys and stomped off in the direction of their school. Eric watched them go, then with a sigh set off after them.

After the strange incident yesterday at the school, he had been worried about the two girls. They would not know, but something had been there, something violent and dangerous. Eric knew the school cameras had all stopped working, right before the windows outside Albright’s Physics classroom had exploded outwards.

The Guards and himself who had seen the glass shatter from the courtyard had not detected anything physical, but tests had shown it was not an explosion. Some unseen force had broken the windows, flying out of the school. He was positive it had been the Anomaly.

Eric walked steadily to the school behind the two girls, alert to everything around them. He could sense no danger, but he wondered if he even could. Whatever was at the school, it was hidden from him. His eyes narrowed, looking at Sarah as she chatted to Carmody. The girl was a trouble maker yet she had a good heart, he was certain of that.

He was even more certain she was mixed up in these events, her and “Stanley”, whatever that was. One thing he was definite about, Stanley was not a stray cat.

=====

“Wow, the whole window is gone!” said Achmed, looking at the section now covered in temporary plastic sheeting. Lilly was with him as they stood outside the locked Physics classroom, joined by a number of other Year Seven students.

No-one knew for sure what had happened here and the school rumour mill was in overdrive.

“I heard Not-So-Bright had a mutant monkey chained up in there” said one boy from another class. “When they arrested Teacher it got loose, looking for some stray kids to eat!”

“Knock if off, Simpkins” said Mr Hanson, the Chemistry teacher. He had appeared without warning from the main staircase behind them all. “You students should all be at homeroom by now. Get a move on!”

“Yes Mr Handsome” said Simpkins and dashed up the corridor before the teacher could tell him off. The other students all scattered to their respective rooms, leaving a thoughtful teacher looking at the damaged window himself.

“Wouldn’t surprise me that Albright did have a mutant monkey somewhere” he muttered and headed to his own classroom on the floor above

=====

Homeroom with Miss Abrams was usually one of the highlights of Sarah’s day. Her teacher was one she always respected and English was a favourite subject. Today though she felt sick to her stomach, but it wasn’t because of Eric sitting placidly at his desk next to hers.

It was because of the reminder Miss Abrams had put on the big screen at the front of their class. Tomorrow was Parents and Teachers night, when all the students in Year Seven had to assemble in the main auditorium with their families.

“How could I have forgotten it was this Saturday?” she moaned in despair and slumped dramatically across her desk.

“Is it a problem, Sarah?” Eric asked her with some concern.

She rolled her head to one side and glared at him with a single blue eye. “It’s Okay for you, your Guardian probably likes you. Plus you get good grades”

“Don’t your parents like you?” he wondered honestly. “I know you have terrible grades at school, but they must love you, surely?”

“You are cruising for a bruising” Sarah warned him and sat up in her chair. “I got in a lot of trouble at home yesterday, more than usual. Having mom and dad come to school tomorrow is the last thing I need right now”

“My guardian will be interested to meet you” Eric told her. “He can’t quite believe everything I have told him about this week”

“Yeah, it has been a really interesting week” she agreed. At the front of the class, Miss Abrams finished the homeroom period just as the bell sounded. The students began the noisy process of packing their datapads away and getting ready to move to the next class.

“Eric, can I ask you something?” Sarah put to him as the class emptied.

“Certainly” he replied.

“Did the Guard replace anything at our school? Anything that explains what happened to Andrew, Angelina and the others?”

“How would I know that, Sarah?” he said evenly. “My Guardian won’t tell me what the Guard are doing. I only know that Mr Albright and Mr Crepsley are still being held for interrogation. That is what is on the news feeds and I know nothing more”

He met her eyes with a challenging look. They both knew the other was holding back secrets and neither was willing to spill the beans. For now it was an impasse.

“Fine!” she muttered darkly. “Come on, we don’t want to be late for Maths”

====

The rest of the morning passed in a blur of study, quick conversations with friends and then lunch.

As they had done all week, the Gang of Four met with Eric on the rooftop for a shared meal. Carmody’s mom had pulled out all the stops this time after hearing that Eric was bringing catered lunches. They ate themselves into a food coma on savoury tarts, fresh salad rolls, spicy fried chicken and little chocolate puddings to die for.

Sarah had wondered if she could save some for Stanley, but Eric was watching her all the time. It was starting to annoy her now, especially since he obviously liked Carmody. The two had sat next to each all through lunch, chatting easily. Actually, Carmody did most of the chatting and Eric just nodded and said “Yes” as required. Her friend had already forgiven the boy for his comments this morning.

“Do you want to save some food for Stanley?” Eric asked her towards the end of the break, pointing to the leftover food still in the containers.

“Who is Stanley?” asked Lilly, looking with interest between Sarah and Eric. “Is that some boy you are seeing on the side?”

“It’s nobody” Sarah said through gritted teeth “And I am not seeing any boys, on the side or otherwise”

=====

After lunch on Fridays was Physical Education for the Year Sevens. It was a combined session for Sarah’s class with Carmody’s which meant around sixty students, male and female, milling about on the school oval.

They had two PE teachers, Mr Rayne and Mrs Walters, a pair of super fit sporty types that could have been brother and sister. Both were tall, lean and muscled, with tanned skin and eyes hidden at all times behind sunglasses.

Today was running and high jumps, with the boys taken by Mr Rayne and the girls under Mrs Walters. While Achmed and Eric got set laps by the teacher, Sarah and the other girls helped erect the high jump poles and landing bags.

“Why are we doing all the hard work, while the boys just run around?” complained Lilly. She was dragging the heavy bags into place from the equipment trolley, aided by a half dozen girls including Sarah and Carmody.

“It does give us a chance to watch the boys run” said Carmody with a giggle, her eyes fixed on Eric as he easily ran at the head of a pack of labouring boys. Other girls were watching him too, commenting on his excellent form.

“I don’t really feel the excitement” Lilly replied, her eyes drifting to Achmed, lagging behind at the rear of the pack. It was only the second lap and their friend was visibly struggling, breathing heavily and sweat pouring from him. “I really don’t feel it at all”

Sarah was watching people too, but her gaze was on the blue uniformed Guards and Police Auxiliary visible on the school roof tops. There were at least four she could see up there and two more in the shadows of the buildings at ground level. The school was still being investigated it seemed, which meant they had not found what they were looking for.

Stanley was staying out of sight, which was good. She had made a quick dash to the rooftop garden of her tower this morning and he had been waiting for her, wanting to make plans. He had eaten all her lunch too, which she did not mind as she knew Carmody would bring plenty to share.

His wound was fully healed, just a faint scar remaining, and they agreed that tonight they would come back to investigate the school basement. Sarah was positive that Mr Albright still had plans for the students and she needed to know what they were.

“Hey, Earth to Sarah” said Lilly. “Time to start jumping” She pointed to where the other girls were lining up under the supervision of Mrs Walters.

“Sure” Sarah responded and went to join the other students.

=====

The day had ended at last, with the Gang of Four and Eric promising to meet up at the school on Saturday, right before the Parents and Teachers meeting.

Lilly and Achmed had gone their way already, leaving Sarah trudging morosely behind a chattering Carmody and the mostly silent Eric. The boy kept stealing glances over his shoulder at her, getting her laser beam of death glare in response.

In a short time they arrived at the turnoff for Carmody’s apartment tower. Eric paused and waited until Sarah caught up to the two of them. Carmody stood to one side and something passed between her new friend and the boy, something that caught at Sarah’s insides like a hook.

“I’ll see you later, Sarah” Carmody said and hurried off towards her home, leaving a surprised Sarah standing with Eric.

“May I walk you home?” Eric asked and Sarah could only nod in agreement. They continued walking slowly, Eric seeming to be on the point of saying something then lapsing again into silence. Sarah just kept her eyes locked forwards and concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other.

The entrance to her tower eventually hove into view and the young pair stopped at the glass fronted doors. An awkward silence ensued, neither of them able to speak.

“Thanks for walking me home” Sarah finally said and went to go inside.

“Sarah, I need to ask you something” Eric blurted out, looking uncharacteristically shy. She stopped with her hand on the doorway, the glass doors held open. Cool air from the air conditioner washed over them both, spilling out into the street.

“If you need my help for anything, anything at all, please call me” he said. “I know you don’t trust me, but I only want to keep you and all our friends safe”

“Oh, is that all?” Sarah answered in relief. “I thought you were going to say something stupid, like you really like me!” She laughed and pulled her phone out of a pocket. “Okay, give me your number”

“I do like you Sarah” he admitted nervously. “I can’t deny that. But I like Carmody too and I have no idea how to fix this”

Sarah felt her heart lurch, that hook was caught in her again.

“Don’t say stupid things like that Eric” she said quietly. “Carmody likes you a lot and I can tell you like her too. Just give me your number and go home”

Eric regarded her silently, then drew out his own phone and held it next to hers. They swapped numbers and put them away again.

“Anything at all, call me” he said once more and turned away, walking with a brisk step. For just a moment, Sarah saw his face when he thought she could not see. He lost the calm facade he held up to the world and she saw the uncertain young boy beneath. It hurt her deep inside, but like Eric she had no idea how to fix this.

She entered the foyer, letting the doors close behind her. With a sigh she went to the elevator bank and pushed a button to summon one.

“Stupid boys” she muttered under her breath.

=====

It was dark in the bedroom she shared with her sister Carrie, the only illumination a small Unicorn shaped nightlight between their beds. Checking her phone that she had tucked under the covers it was nearly midnight and Sarah was struggling to stay awake.

If she didn’t go now, she would fall asleep completely and lose any chance to sneak into the school. Moving slowly, she sat up and swung her legs to the floor, careful to make no noise. Her sister always went to bed first, so Sarah had been able to climb into her own bed fully dressed.

Her shoes were placed right against the bed, ready to be pushed over her socked feet. By the dim light of the Unicorn she pulled the laces tight and stood up. A small snort from her sister made her pause to see if there was any more forthcoming. Silence reigned so she stealthily crept to the door and opened it with infinite slowness.

“Sarah” whispered a quiet little voice, nearly smothered by her blankets. “Where are you going?”

She looked over at her sister Carrie, only the top of her curly haired head visible from under the covers.

“I’m just going to see a friend” she whispered back urgently. “Go back to sleep”

“Is it your boyfriend?’ Carrie persisted. “The one you gave Dad’s Scotch to?”

“Yes, it is” admitted Sarah as softly as she could. It was kind of the truth. “Go to sleep”

“Okay. Say hello to him for me” Carrie asked quietly and then settled back down. Sarah waited a moment longer for her sister to say anything more, then left the room, pulling the door closed.

She crossed the living room, deftly avoiding the tables and chairs scattered about with years of practice. At the apartment door she paused and took a look around her home, shrouded in darkness but so familiar to her she could see it all clearly in her mind’s eye.

With a final nod to herself she opened the door and stepped into the corridor beyond. As she closed the door behind her she felt like she was making a huge mistake and nearly went back inside. Then she thought of Stanley, and the awful vacant expressions she had seen on Andrew and Angelina.

Full of resolve once more, she went to the elevators and pushed the Up button, to head for the rooftop and meet with Stanley.