The Heart of the Dragon
Chapter 15

With her friends and the two pilots now in the home of the dragons and hybrids, Angie watched as some of the hybrids carried the injured co-pilot into a wide tent that was made out of some old boat sails while she and her friends were offered some food as they sat around a fire while devouring the offerings which mostly consisted of fruits and fish.

“You feel better?” Hayden suddenly asked while sitting next to her on the log.

“Yes,” she nodded with a smile “Thank you so much for this.”

“Anything to help” he replied with a smile that made her cheeks turn warm.

“Never thought I would replace myself surrounded by dragons and hybrids,” Tammy remarked while munching on her fruit “And I gotta say, this is so cool.”

Suddenly, a miniature dragon the size of a parrot with blue and silver scales flew down and landed on Eli’s shoulder causing him to yelp.

“Don’t worry,” Candace assured him “He only wants some of your fish, he means no harm.”

“Um...” Eli responded with his wide eyes on the little dragon who had its tail curled up “Okay?”

He gathered some of his fish into his palm as he held it up to the creature and watched as it scooped up the meat into its mouth and swallowed it.

“Looks like you’ve got yourself a new friend” Tammy snickered.

“Sweet” he grinned while feeding more of his fish to the dragon “I’ve always wanted a pet dragon.”

Angie gave a small giggle when she turned and noticed how low the sun was getting, seeing how they were going to have to spend another night on the island. And that got her wondering how many more nights they would have to stay until they were able to go home, and when her parents would begin to know that something’s wrong.

“You okay?” Hayden asked which snapped her out of her thoughts.

“Oh-” she replied, “Yeah, I’m fine.”

“You thinking about your family?”

She sighed, “Yeah.”

“Hey,” he spoke calmly, “You’ll see them soon, I promise.”

She gave a small smile, hoping he was right. But when she turned her head, Angie noticed that the older hybrid, Ajax, didn’t take his eyes off her and her friends, seeing how he was still concerned about the humans. Not wanting to make eye contact with him, she looked down at her food, already getting a bad feeling that she should keep her distance from him. After finishing their meals, the humans were shown to their temporary homes that were 3 empty huts made from bamboo, wood pieces, and leaves.

“We always have huts ready for new arrivals” Candace explained, “Of course the arrivals are usually new hybrids, but we will allow all of you to stay in these until help has arrived.”

After thanking the hybrids, the humans peeked inside the huts which only consisted of some beds and shelves.

“It’s kind of small” Tammy commented, “But I guess it’ll do.”

“Do you have any other clothes?” Candace asked them.

“Oh um, all of our stuff is back on the beach” Angie replied.

“In that case, we’ll get them for you” she offered with a smile.

“Thanks.”

As some of the hybrids flew off to the beach, Angie noticed that all the hybrids and dragons kept on taking glances at the humans, and by the looks of them, they all appeared bothered by their “guests.” She could see how they weren’t sure whether to trust her and her friends seeing how they weren’t hybrids. She tried not to think about it, hoping to shift her thoughts to getting off the island, but she couldn’t help but take glances back at the creatures.

“Don’t worry,” Hayden suddenly spoke to her “I’ll make sure they won’t bother you and your friends.”

“Thanks” she breathed, feeling a bit relieved.

“It’s gonna take some time for them, obviously they’re not used to seeing humans on our island, especially in this area.”

“I get it, it’s like being a new kid during the middle of the school year. Except we’re the only humans in a world which I thought was imaginary.”

“Yeah, it’s gonna take some getting used to. Though I’m pretty sure no one means harm to you and your friends, they’re just cautious, like what Ajax said, we don’t trust humans.”

“And yet you were willing to trust me and my friends.”

“Well like I said, I’ve been watching you guys since you crashed. But of course, I don’t know everything about you guys.”

“And we don’t know everything about you guys as well” she smirked.

“True,” he nodded.

Once the hybrids gave the humans their luggage from the crash site, everyone began to get settled in their huts. With Angie and Tammy in one hut, Eli and Jackson in the other, and Mr. Monroe in his own, they all took their time in getting ready for the night. And as soon as night has fallen, everyone was already in bed fast asleep, except for Angie who was having trouble sleeping. With all her thoughts running through her mind, it was hard to fall asleep without thinking about the hybrids, the dragons, memories of the jet crashing, and fearing that she might never see her family again.

After a moment, she decided she needed some fresh air as she quietly got out of her bed, not wanting to wake up Tammy as she pushed opened the door and stepped out into the warm night. With the hybrids in their homes and the dragons who were spread out and fast asleep, Angie felt a bit relieved that no one was around to see her in her sweatpants and a loose T-shirt.

“You’re up late” she jumped to sound of a stern voice as she turned to see Ajax staring at her while leaning against a palm tree.

“Oh um-” she replied, not wanting to sound timid “I couldn’t sleep so I decided to get some fresh air.”

“I could tell” he responded while walking up towards her as she stood still.

He didn’t say anything for a moment as he just stared at her while standing tall.

“What was your name again?” he suddenly asked.

“Angie.”

“Short for Angela I presume.”

“Yes,” she nodded.

“I knew an Angela once, she was in some of my old college classes, nice girl.”

She nodded again with a shy smile, not knowing whether to feel afraid or calm since he appeared casual with her.

“I understand you’re afraid of me” he added, “I’m not surprised, seeing how you and your friends are the first humans to ever step foot into our home.”

She said nothing as he continued.

“I don’t want you to be afraid, I never want anyone to be afraid of me. Even though I am the leader of the hybrids, I do demand respect, but I never want to be feared. I hope you understand that I’m just trying to protect our kind, and they all want to protect themselves. But we’re not dangerous beings, we don’t want to kill anybody unless we really have to. It’s gonna take some getting used to for the hybrids and the dragons, even me, but we are going to help you and your friends get home.”

Angie couldn’t believe what he was telling her, seeing how calm he was in talking with her.

“I understand, Ajax” she responded serenely “And we thank you for helping us. It is gonna take some getting used to, but like how you don’t want me to be afraid of you and your kind, I don’t want your kind to think of us humans as a threat. Every human is different, some are good, some are bad, but I promise you, we’re not bad people, we really don’t mean any harm.”

“I want to believe you, but I need to really see what kind of people you are, prove yourself that you can gain our trust.”

She let out a small sigh, “I see.”

“But until then, you should really get some rest. We get up pretty early around here to be prepared.”

She nodded as he turned and took off into the sky.