The Heart of the Dragon
Chapter 13

With the two hybrids in front and back, everyone felt safer as they hiked through the jungle, making their way to the dragon hideout. It still felt weird to everyone for having these part human part dragon creatures with them, but for Angie, she was enjoying it, she was already having an adventure she’s been wanting to have. And with Hayden by her side, she could already feel herself warming up with a feeling she would usually get whenever she was around Jackson. But now, she didn’t know why she was getting this feeling with Hayden. She knows she only just met him that day, but not only was he really attractive, but he had saved her twice, and not to mention he’s not completely human, which makes him mysterious and more attractive. She tried to push the thought to the side, not wanting to deal with it now as they all came to a stop.

“Okay,” Candace turned to them “Here’s what’s going to happen- you all are going to hide in this area while Hayden and I deal with this.”

“We’re here already?” Eli remarked while looking ahead at some trees and bushes “Uh, I don’t see anything, where’s this hideout?”

“That’s because you’re looking ahead” Hayden suddenly smirked while walking up towards his sister “You have to look down.”

And with that everyone stepped forward to look over to trees and bushes and down the steep hill they were on, and what they saw at the bottom was the most incredible scene they’ve ever witnessed. In a massive tropical area with both palm trees and other jungle trees that has some treehouses built in them along with a waterfall that fell into a large lake that was crystal clear, there were hybrids everywhere, part humans, part dragons, just like Hayden and Candace. But what really surprised them were not just the hybrids, but the real-life dragons that were around them, all in different shapes and sizes. Some were minding their own business, and some were hanging with the hybrids. It was like a little fantasy world, only this time, they were seeing it with their owns eyes.

“Someone pinch me” Eli breathed astonished “I must be dreaming.”

“I can do it for you if you want” Hayden offered while showing Eli his claws which he just exposed.

“Uh, never mind” Eli replied wide-eyed.

“Unbelievable” Mr. Monroe gasped “It’s like this world came right out from a fantasy novel.”

“This is our home” Hayden presented, “It’s where all the dragons and us hybrids stay.”

“I feel like my mind is going crazy” Jackson commented, “Dragons are real, and I mean real.”

“You can admire them all you want,” Candace spoke up “But you all need to stay hidden. Got it?”

After making sure they were well hidden, the two hybrids spread out their dragon wings and jumped off the edge of the hill as they soared down with everyone watching them with amusement, admiring how smoothly they glided through the air as they landed on the ground and folded their wings back as they joined up with their kind who were all waiting for the meeting to begin. But back on top of the hill, with everyone looking down from their hiding spot, Mr. Monroe soon took out a little notebook from his vest pocket as he began to write down some observations about the scene. The teens weren’t watching what he was doing for their eyes were glued to the dragons and hybrids.

After a minute has passed, everything got quiet as everyone looked up to see a hybrid flying in the sky. From the peak, everyone could see that it was an older man with dark colored wings as he flew down and landed in the center of the clan for them all to see. Everyone from the cliff now couldn’t see him that well, but for the hybrids and dragons, he was, in fact, an older man, most likely in his early sixties due to the fact that he had some gray strands in his brown hair, though he would have appeared younger to some people since his body was toned and muscular along with some faint scars here and there.

Like the other hybrids, parts of his skin had traces of dragon scales, only his were black along with his wings. But instead of having black pants, his were a dark brown that was stained with burns and blood. No one said a word as the older hybrid stared at every one of them in their eyes, including the other dragons.

“Good day,” he finally spoke in his deep tone “Thank you all for joining.”

From behind the crowd and on top of a boulder, Hayden turned around to make sure the humans were well hidden as Candace stood by the boulder to make sure the hybrids and dragons didn’t notice.

“Now I’m pretty you all know why I’ve gathered you here” the older hybrid continued.

“Does it have to with that crashed jet on the beach?” a female hybrid asked while sitting on the grass and leaning against a dragon’s leg.

“Indeed” the older hybrid nodded as Hayden and Candace took glances at each other “As you all know, those passengers were lucky to have survived, meaning that we didn’t have to turn them. But since they’re still here, we must make sure that they don’t replace this spot.”

At that point, Hayden and Candace felt chills running down their spines. Since they’ve already broken that rule, they kept hoping that they wouldn’t get caught.

“Um-” Hayden suddenly raised his hand.

“Yes, Hayden?” the older hybrid inquired.

“I just wanted to say-” he began, “I’ve been watching these people since they crashed, and they don’t seem harmful. So, let’s say they do happen to replace this place, what will happen?”

“We cannot be sure of that” the hybrid professed “We don’t know anything about them. But it’s always been a rule, never allow a human to come here. We must stay hidden from the outside world, if a human sees us, he or she will most likely try to get the government involved in locating us and exposing us to the world. And for all we know, they could do whatever they want to our home, and to us.”

“But what happens if we’re spotted?” Hayden asked, already getting more nervous by the second while trying to appear calm “What do we do to them?”

“Well-” the hybrid sighed, “To be honest, I’m not really sure. If we know that they want to expose us, then we’ll have no choice but to silence them.”

Hayden nearly jumped by the sound of that, hoping that the humans will keep their secret.

“It’s better to be safe than sorry” the hybrid continued “We don’t know if we can trust them, we all can’t trust humans until we know for sure they can be trusted. But over the years we have lived here, no human has ever set foot into this very spot, and it is preferred to stay that way.”

Hayden didn’t know what else to say as he let out a small sigh, not knowing what to do with the humans now. He knew he couldn’t just let them die, he needed to help them get rescued. But if they’re spotted watching from the hill, they including himself and Candace will be in a lot of trouble.