The Heart of the Dragon
Chapter 20

As she followed Hayden through the jungle path, Angie began to hear the sound of she assumed to be a waterfall. She turned at to be right when they stopped at a scene that took her breath away. In front of them was a tall and beautiful waterfall that flowed down into a pool with water so clear she could see the bottom.

“Wow,” she breathed with amazement, “This is so beautiful.”

“Take all the time you need,” Hayden offered, “I won’t look, I promise.”

She snickered when he added- “I’ll be nearby, just call my name when you’re ready.”

She nodded as he headed off. Now alone, Angie took one last look at the pool before she took off her shoes and swam right into the warm water. The temperature was so perfect as she swam towards the deep end and looked down to see the bottom. It appeared closer to her eyes, but she knew it was way deeper. She has never swum in anything like this before, and she felt that she didn’t want to leave as she kept swimming, wondering what Hayden was doing at the moment.

Not far from the waterfall, Hayden sat on top of a tree with his back against the trunk as he gazed at a vintage compass in his hands. It may be rusty, but it still worked well. But using it wasn’t the reason he had it, it was more of a reminder of the two things he had lost.

“Hey,” a familiar voice called as he turned to see Candace flying near him as she took a seat on the thick branch in front of him.

“What are you doing up here?” she asked him.

“Giving Angie some privacy,” he smirked.

“Oh, right.”

She then noticed the compass in his hands.

“You still have that huh?” she examined.

“I’m never getting rid of it.”

She quickly noticed that his face turned to sadness as she placed her hand on his that wasn’t holding the compass.

“You know they’re always looking out for you right?” she mentioned in a calm tone.

“I just wish they were here,” he sighed sadly “They would have loved this place.”

“My dad would have too. But we all know life can be cruel sometimes, we just gotta move on and make the best of it.”

He didn’t say anything as he just stared at the compass.

“You know-” she added, “If they were here, I bet they would have approved of Angie.”

“What?” he lifted his head.

She gave a small giggle, “I mean, it’s pretty obvious that you have some feelings for her.”

“We’re just friends,” he assured.

“I’m just saying, go for it if you like, I’m not gonna stop you.”

“Can we not talk about this?” he frowned.

“Whatever,” she snickered.

As soon as she was done, Angie put her wet clothes back on as she sat against a boulder near the water as she stretched out her body while letting her bones crack. Now that she was clean, she felt much better as she gazed at the waterfall that flowed in front of her, admiring its beauty.

“Hayden!” she called out, remembering what she had to do once she was done.

As she waited, she glanced down at her compass bracelet, already thinking about her parents who probably still had no idea that she was missing. But if they did somehow, she knew they were worried sick about her.

“I like your bracelet” she nearly jumped when she heard the sound of Hayden’s voice behind her.

“Oh um-” she began as he took a seat next to her “Thanks.”

“Where’d you get it?”

“My parents gave it to me on my 16th birthday, they told me that it was perfect for me.”

He continued to admire the compass pendant when he added- “Since it’s a compass, that must mean you really like to explore huh?”

“It’s been a passion of mine since I was little,” she stated with a small smile “I knew that the moment I was invited to this expedition, I couldn’t wait to see what kind of adventure I’ll have. Though I never expected it to be like this.”

“Well, what do you think of it?”

“Well, even though there’s a chance I’ll never make it home, I gotta be honest, this would have to be one of the best adventures I’ve ever had.”

“I’m glad to hear that,” he grinned, “And I promise you, we will help you and your help get home.”

She smiled back as he turned his gaze to the waterfall.

“This really is a beautiful place,” Angie commented.

“It is, isn’t it?” he agreed.

“Although I gotta ask, how do you swim with your wings? Better yet, how do you sleep with your wings?”

He gave a small chuckle as he stood up from the boulder. With his back turned to her, Angie watched with amazement as his dragon wings suddenly sank into his back and vanished. It was like he didn’t have wings in the first place, they were just gone.

“Okay-” she began wide-eyed, “That’s incredible. Can all hybrids do that?”

“Pretty much,” he shrugged, “I mean how else are we supposed to sleep in our beds?”

Still amazed by what she saw, Angie stood up and examined his back where she lightly pressed her fingers against his skin and nearly jumped when she felt his wings move beneath his skin.

“Ew it just moved!” she cringed.

“Yeah, it does that.” he chuckled, “It’s weird but, it doesn’t hurt.”

“So um, does it get tiring when you fly?”

“A little, but it’s all good, whenever I’m not using my wings I like to climb as well.”

“Oh,” she remarked, “I thought you flew around everywhere.”

“Nah, I gotta work out somehow.”

“True,” she snickered, “So you’re good at climbing huh?”

He nodded when she pointing to the waterfall.

“Can you climb all the way up there?” she challenged with a smirked.

He just grinned as he ran up to the rock wall near the waterfall and began to do so. Angie couldn’t believe how fast he was climbing, using his strength and claws, it appeared so easy for him as he quickly made it to the top where he stood upon the waterfall and looked down at Angie.

“Impressive!” she shouted.

He gave a chuckle as he stood near the edge of the waterfall and looked down, not even a bit afraid of the height. With his arms stretched out to his side, he leaped off the waterfall as Angie stood there and watched as he dove straight into the deep part of the pool with a splash. Knowing he was likely showing off, Angie gave a small giggle while rolling her eyes as he poked his head out from the water.

“Okay now you were just showing off!” she stated with a smirk.

“Perhaps!” he grinned as he swam above the deep end “Wanna join?”

She felt herself blushing when he asked that, not knowing what to say. But as she stared at him in the water waiting for her answer, she decided to give in as she entered the water and swam towards him. As she got closer, she wasn’t expecting Hayden to splash some water at her as she splashed back. Soon, the two began to splash water at each other while laughing, not knowing that it had caught the attention of Jackson who was walking by as he peered over the bushes and spotted the scene.

As he watched the two having fun in the water, he was beginning to have this feeling he had felt earlier, a feeling he never thought he would feel whenever he would see Angie with someone else. He didn’t like it, and not wanting to continue watching the scene, he turned and stormed off just as Hayden and Angie suddenly found themselves close to each other, a bit too close if they had to admit.

They noticed that they were standing in the shallow ends with the water up to their chests and standing face to face. Neither of them said a word or did anything until Angie felt Hayden’s strong arms wrap around her waist and pulled her in as she felt herself placing her hands on his shoulders. Both of them knew what was going to happen as they stared into each other’s eyes, and just as they thought, they felt themselves leaning towards each other, feeling their desires coming true as they closed their eyes and got closer just as their lips began to touch.

“Angie!”

The sound of Tammy calling suddenly snapped them out of their thoughts as they quickly pulled away from each other when they felt footsteps approaching.

“Angie where are you?!” they called Tammy calling as they made their way out of the water.

“I’m over here!” Angie called out as Tammy approached them.

“Oh,” she stopped when she saw them, standing there soaking wet, “I’m sorry, is now a bad time?”

“Oh no,” they both assured while shaking their heads.

“What did you wanted me for?” Angie asked.

“I have good news,” Tammy smiled, “The radio works now, Mr. Monroe was able to call for help.”

“What?” she gasped.

“He said that help should be here by tomorrow afternoon.”

Angie couldn’t believe her ears by the news as she stood there astonished.

“Congrats,” Hayden spoke up with a smile, “I knew those hybrids could fix it.”

“Um, why don’t you go ahead and go to our hut and get things packing?” Angie told her, “I’ll be there soon.”

“Alright.”

After she left, Angie turned to Hayden as they stood there, not knowing what to say until Hayden spoke.

“So you’re finally gonna leave huh?” he said with a smile.

“I guess so,” she responded.

But for some reason, she didn’t feel relieved, instead, she was feeling a bit sad.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

“Oh um, it’s nothing,” she assured with a fake smile, “I uh, I should go see Tammy.”

He nodded as she began down the jungle, not wanting to turn back to the hybrid she would have to leave soon.