The Heart of the Dragon
Chapter 34

“Hayden!” Angie shouted which echoed across the jungle “Hayden!”

With no answer, everyone began to fear the worst of what had happened to the hybrid. Nobody knew where he was with the explosion happened, therefore, nobody knew if he was okay or not.

“Hayden?” Angie mumbled sadly as she took a few steps towards the jungle, expecting to see him come out.

But all she saw were trees and plants, and still no sign of the hybrid. Already feeling her heart shattering, Angie allowed her tears to pour out as she felt her knees wobble. Even though she had no idea what has happened to Hayden, all she could think about was that he didn’t make it. With no sign that he was alive, she just allowed herself to sob as everyone stood back and sadly watched her breakdown.

But all of a sudden, Candace’s nose caught a familiar scent as she shot her head up and took a big sniff. Pretty soon, all the other hybrids and dragons were sniffing the air as everyone felt their hope rising. Just then, everyone heard a crack coming from the jungle as they turned and saw a figure heading their way. Angie didn’t move from her spot as she stayed put and watched as the figure got closer, hoping she would see who she thought it was.

The moment the figure stepped out of the jungle and into the light, everyone felt this big gush of relief and surprise running through their blood as they stared at Hayden. Standing in front of Angie, Hayden was covered in sweat, grease, ash, blood in certain areas along with noticeable bruises and cuts. He looked very weak, especially since he was still trying to catch his breath, but he was alive. And as Angie stepped towards him, neither of them took their eyes off each other as she carefully placed her hands on his cheeks, not wanting to put pressure on his cuts.

But as she so, Hayden let out a small sigh of satisfaction while grabbing onto of her hands with his and keeping it there. With heavy breath filling the silence between them, Angie didn’t hesitate to think as she leaned in and placed a kiss on Hayden’s lips. Because this was the moment, they both have been waiting for, neither of them pulled away as Hayden wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in and Angie wrapped her arms around his neck.

Neither of them even cared that there were being watched by everyone who stood there with smiles on their faces as they admired the beautiful moment. And as soon as they were done, they didn’t even pull away from each other as they pressed their foreheads together while holding onto each other. They never said a word as Angie felt herself tearing up again as Hayden pulled her into a hug.

“I thought you were gone” she sniffed.

“Well, you can’t get rid of me that easily” he smirked when they pulled away.

“What happened?” she asked while wiping her tears away.

“Let’s just say I managed to throw the bomb as far away as I could so I can make it back.”

“What happened to Darabont?” Candace asked.

“Gone.”

“And my dad?” Jackson added.

Hayden let out a sad sigh “I’m sorry.”

“Oh,” Jackson mumbled quietly “You know what? That man has never been a real father to be. Especially since he was a part of all this. He doesn’t deserve any tears.”

Eli gave him a rub on the shoulder as Angie turned to Hayden.

“I’m sorry about all of this” she apologized “I should’ve known Mr. Monroe was up to something. And now most of your home is destroyed including some of your kind.”

“As sad as that is, it’s not your fault” he assured “But you can see why we have to stay hidden from the world. Some people are monsters, but we now know that other people can be trusted.”

Angie gave him a small smile when he turned to her friends.

“Thank you for your help” he thanked as her friends gave him smiles and a nod.

“So” Angie put in “What happens now?”

“Now we actually call for help so you guys can finally go home.”

“Right” she sighed “Home.”

She had already forgotten about her home because of all of this chaos that was going on. And now that it was over, that meant she and her friends were going to have to leave the island and say goodbye to everyone, especially Hayden.

“Considering that we had to wait a day before these guys came” Tammy pointed to the planes “I’m guessing we’re gonna have to stay another night.”

“I’m fine with that” Angie stated as she turned to Hayden “However long it takes.”

Hayden gave her a small smile as he slipped his hands into hers as she pressed her forehead onto his shoulder. And as she gave his hand a squeeze, all she could think about was how painful their goodbyes would be once help came to take her and her friends home.

By the time everything got settled and after most of the blood had been cleaned up at the hideout, Angie had all of her things packed up for tomorrow since the hybrids had managed to call for help to come and get them tomorrow morning. And as soon as it was nighttime, she couldn’t even sleep as she laid on her bed with her eyes opened. She didn’t expect to fall asleep that night considering what happened that day.

It had been a long and scary day with near-death experiences, and all she wanted to do was see Hayden. And that was what she was going to do as she got up from her bed while wearing a loose t-shirt and a pair of Nike shorts as she slipped on her shoes and stepped out from the hut. She didn’t know what time it was, but if she had to guess, it was most likely midnight. With some of the dragons asleep outside, she quietly made her way to the tree with Hayden’s treehouse where she immediately noticed light coming from the inside.

Assuming that he was still awake, she began to climb up the steps until she reached the top. And after letting out a deep breath, she gently knocked on the door and waited until the hybrid opened the door. As most of the time, he was shirtless and only wearing a pair of shorts. But because of what happened that day, most of his wounds were bandaged including his arm where Darabont’s bullet had grazed him.

“Hi” she spoke softly “I hope I’m not intruding.”

“You’re not” he assured with a smile “I’m actually glad to see you.”

“Can I come in?”

He stepped out of the way and allowed her in as he closed the door.

“You can’t sleep?” he asked.

“I didn’t expect to fall asleep tonight.”

“I don’t think anyone does.”

“How are you feeling?”

“Sore” he sighed “But I’ll be fine.”

“What about your wings?”

“I can’t use them for a few days, I really messed them up today.”

“So in a few days, you should be flying again?”

“I hope so. Thankfully I managed to hide them during the explosion, but they did hurt like hell when I used them.”

Angie let out a small sigh as she placed her hands on his shoulders as she felt him pull her in towards him.

“I’m really gonna miss you” she mumbled.

“I’m gonna miss you too.”

She felt her eyes began to water as she leaned into him and pressed the side of her face into his chest.

“You think we’ll be able to see each other again?” she sniffed while wrapping her arms around his shoulders.

“We can try” he offered while holding her tightly “Maybe if you have the coordinates.”

“In that case, we better replace that out tomorrow before I leave.”

“I’ll make sure of it.”

As they held onto each other, Angie listened to the sound of Hayden’s heart beating as she kept her ear against his chest. It was beating at an elevated level that soothed her as she too felt her heart beating at the same level. Today had been a dangerous day, but at least she and her friends were able to survive it.