The Heart of the Dragon
Chapter 16

To her surprise, Angie had slept well that night, and as soon as morning arrived, she still felt a bit groggy, but at the same time refreshed. She had been woken up by the sound of the dragons from outside who were stumbling around while making noises. She checked the time on her watch, 7:45 am, it was a bit early, but since she was up, she decided to get up as she sat up on her bed and stretched out her tired body. Tammy was still asleep, not to Angie’s surprise, her friend was known as being a heavy sleeper who would sleep through certain noises. But not wanting to wake her up, Angie got up from her bed and began to get dressed.

Once dressed in a fresh pair of clothes that consisted of a tight fitted black shirt and some forest green shorts, she stepped outside into the warm weather where she saw the dragons doing their own business while some of the hybrids were joining them.

“Morning,” she turned to see Hayden walking towards her with some bananas in his hands.

“Morning” she replied with a smile.

“Sleep well?”

“I did actually.”

“Did the dragons wake you up?”

“Yeah,” she nodded.

“Sorry about that, it’s just these dragons and us hybrids don’t have the same sleep schedule, meaning they get up way before we do. Though we’ve gotten used to it, and most of us are able to sleep through their clatters.”

“Kind of like Tammy” she snorted, “She’s a heavy sleeper, and she’s still asleep.”

“Well she won’t be for long” he chuckled when he handed her the bananas “I brought you breakfast.”

“Oh thanks” she smiled while accepting the offering “I guess we’re gonna have to get used to eating only tropical foods.”

“Pretty much” he agreed with a shrug.

After setting the bananas down in her hut for Tammy to wake up to, Angie went back outside where she met back up with Hayden.

“So um-” she began, “Any news on the pilots?”

“Not that I know of, though I don’t think we’ll have to turn them, it’s still gonna take some time though.”

“I understand. So, how exactly are you guys gonna be able to get us off the island?”

“Well, a lot of the hybrids here were once pilots themselves, and they know a thing or two about contacting help. So they’re gonna try to fix your jet’s radio to see if they can call for help. But of course, if it does work, we’re gonna have to stay hidden while you and your friends wait at the beach.”

She agreed with a small nod when he added, “Hey um, any chance you would like to hang out with me today?”

“Oh,” she replied a bit astonished, “Really?”

“Yeah,” he nodded with a small smile “As I told you before, it’s been a while since I’ve seen humans, especially those that won’t become hybrids. And besides, we don’t know how long you and your friends will be here, so why not get to know each other while we wait?”

Angie stood there not knowing what to say, from the moment she met him, she had to agree to herself that he was one of the most attractive guys she’s ever seen, even though he’s only haft human. And now that he wants to spend time with her, she didn’t know what proper emotion to feel.

“Um, sure” she answered with a smile “What exactly do you have in mind?”

“Perhaps I can show you around, introduce you to my friends, and just talk. Candace could do the same thing with your friends. So what do you say?”

“Are you sure your friends will be okay with meeting me?” she asked unassured.

“Of course they will, they just gotta gain your trust. And don’t worry, if anything happens, I’ll be there.”

She gave a small sigh, remembering what Ajax had told her the other night about showing the hybrids that they could gain her trust.

“Alright,” she nodded.

“Great” he smiled.

“So um, are we doing it now or...?”

“That depends, are you ready?”

“Um... sure why not?” she shrugged with a small smile.

He gave a small chuckle as they strolled off from the huts, not knowing that from one of the huts, Jackson was watching them through the door crack from inside, and as he watched them leave, he couldn’t help but get this uneasy feeling inside of him, something about them just didn’t seem right to him.

As she followed Hayden, Angie could see all the looks on her given from the hybrids and dragons. She didn’t want to make eye contact with any of them as she kept her head low while staying near Hayden until they came to a stop in front of some massive trees that had some tree houses with a group of young hybrids near the bottom, 2 guys and 2 girls. Knowing they were most likely Hayden’s friends, Angie tried to appear calm while staying behind Hayden.

“Hey guys,” he greeted them with a smile.

“Let me guess” one of the female hybrids spoke, “You’re here to introduce us to your new human friend?”

“I need you guys to trust her” he declared, “And what better way to gain her trust than by meeting her?”

“We’ll be the judge of that.”

He rolled his eyes before turning to Angie who was still behind him while trying to stay calm.

“Angie,” he began, “I’d like you to meet Brett, Erin, Jayce, and Savannah.”

Brett was the one who appeared slightly older than Hayden and the others, likely in his early twenties. Like most of the other male hybrids, his body was toned and muscular and naturally tan. His dark hair was a bit longer than Hayden’s, and he wore a pair of dark blue Nike shorts that went well with his forest green scales and wings.

Next to him was Erin, a girl likely the same age as Hayden with bright green eyes that popped against her brown hair that was tied behind her in a French braid. She wore a bright blue fitted tank top along with a pair of black short shorts, but what was different about her was that she didn’t appear to have any wings. Like the others, she had scales that were an aquamarine color, but Angie couldn’t see any wings behind her, which was very peculiar.

The guy next to her was Jayce, and like Erin, he was likely Hayden’s age. He had shoulder-length light brown hair that he had tied back in a short ponytail, and unlike Hayden and Brett who were shirtless, he had on a gray t-shirt and a pair of black shorts. Angie suspected that he had to cut holes in his shirt in order for his orange wings to stick out.

Lastly was Savannah who looked younger than the others, likely sixteen years of age. Like Jayce, she had light brown hair that she let hanging past her shoulders. Her scales and wing were also orange like his, but some freckles were noticeable near the scales on her cheeks. She also wore a yellow wrap around her chest like Candace’s, and she had on a pair of denim shorts that were torn at the knee. She did look a bit like Jayce, so Angie had a feeling that they were siblings. So once she was introduced to them, she gained up her confidence and gave a small smile.

“Nice to meet all of you.”

Neither of them said a word as they took glances at each other, making Angie feel more uneasy. But after a moment of awkward silence, Brett suddenly spoke which surprised her.

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

“Angie.”

“Right,” he snapped his fingers, “I knew it started when an A. Sorry, I’m really bad with names. When I first met Hayden, it took me a whole month to finally get his name down.”

“It’s true” Hayden nodded, “It even took him longer to remember Candace’s name.”

Angie gave a small giggle when Erin soon cut in.

“You and your friends are really lucky to survive that crash” she commented, “From all the accidents that have happened on our island, there’s barely any survivors, and those who do survive are one of us now.”

“Yeah,” Jayce nodded in agreement “It still amazes me how you all are still alive, and yet you don’t have any broken bones.”

“I’m surprised myself.”

She then noticed that Savannah hasn’t said a word as she tried to avoid eye contact.

“You gonna say anything Savy?” Jayce nudged his arm.

“I don’t know what to say” she replied shyly.

“My sister’s pretty shy around strangers,” he told Angie, “She just needs to get comfortable in order for you to see the real her.”

Angie gave a small understanding nod, not wanting to look back at Savannah in fear of making her shyer.

“So Hayden,” Brett spoke, “You gonna show her around or what?”

“I’m going to” Hayden replied, “I just wanted her to meet you guys first.”

“Well in my opinion-” Erin put in, “She seems like a nice girl... so far.”

Angie avoided eye contact, seeing how the hybrids were still cautious about her.

“Hey” Erin suddenly spoke to her which caught her attention “Just because we’re cautious around outsiders doesn’t mean you have to be afraid of us, okay? We’re scared of humans as much as you’re scared of us.”

“But if you’re really trying to gain our trust-” Brett added, “Then go ahead and try, show us that you and your friends can really be trusted.”

Angie didn’t say anything as she just gave a promising nod, remembering her talk with Ajax the other night.

“Well um-” Hayden suddenly spoke, “I think I’m gonna go ahead and show her around.”

And with that, they started off as Angie stayed close to Hayden, already feeling the hybrids’ eyes on them as they walked off.