Jim's POV

Jim tensely watched as the girl child reached consciousness. The stories mentioned that the dragon would only attack if there was too much noise so Jim thought there was at least a small chance of a peaceful conversation. However if things turned south he was ready to put himself between his friends and the creature. Also.. attacking a creature even in a false human guise felt wrong. Taking a good look at the girl child she said with a huge depth of sadness “Oh. That's right. I'm alone.”

He still remembered the massive creature that he had slain in another life. This child dragon had the same symbol as that thing on the map, so he knew he couldn't take her lightly.

Trying to be sympathetic he asked the girl “Are you okay?”

Then the girl burst out into tears. She started sobbing “You smelled like her. My sister. Why did you have to wake me up? I don't want to be lonely anymore.”

Scarlet rubbed the girls back and said “Lonely? Why are you Lonely?”

The crying turned into hiccuping sobs as she said “I was separated. The storm that doesn't end. I've flown all around it and there are no gaps. I can't go home. I've hibernated here for so long and the storm is still going on. Even now I can sense it's presence.”

Then the girl started rubbing the scales around Scarlet's thigh and said mournfully "how long ago did you die sister? Probably before even I was born.”

Scarlet helpfully said “No idea! But he gave it to me!"

Expressionlessly he noted that Scarlet was pointing at him. Did she really hold that much of a grudge over him giving Forrest a new bow?

The girl asked in a daze “Do you know where she came from?”

Jim shook his head and said “As far as I understand it's just a copy. I think.”

The little girl snapped out of her trance and glared at him and said “These are no copy. They are genuine dragon scales. There are none of my kin left on this side of the storm so they have to be very old. Explain.”

Sighing Jim said “I'm not really sure on that. Actually someone should be over soon who can explain it better than I can. Lost my memory.”

The little girl looked horrified and said “You lost your memory?”

Jim nodded and repeated “Yeah. It's only been a couple days, but I'm hopeful that I can get it back.”

“How?”

“I am looking into collecting artifacts. It seems promising.”

The little girl looked to be in thought and after a few seconds narrowed her eyes. Then she asked “You wouldn't happen to be looking for an artifact around here would you.”

Jim didn't see the point in lying. It would be better to know right away if she was an enemy. Jim said “Yeah. There is a temple not too far away. I was planning on using that.”

The little girl looked at him like he was stupid and said “You realize you need all three? One of the temples is in my homeland, which is beyond the endless storm.”

“Yep!”

“And… how do you plan on getting past the storm?”

Jim didn't think telling a dragon who could just fly off and find his airship was a good idea. From what Forrest said the ship had the capability of crossing the storms.

“Look, no offense, but I don't trust you enough yet. Suffice it to say we have the capability.”

She looked at him with an unfriendly stare and said “I could make you tell me.”

On that cue everyone began putting some space between the creature. The little girl's form seemed to expand grotesquely and soon in her place stood the creature that had been sleeping before. Only this time she was wide awake looking at him with large hateful eyes.

Bellowing with eyes flashing she said “I demand you tell me. Tell me tell me tell me!”

The thing seemed more like a petulant child than a mighty creature of death. Yelling he said “Back off guys. Let me take care of it.”

Forrest and Scarlet faded away as he took up a defensive stance. Then the creature came at him full force. It's claws swiped at him and jaws bit at him, but he moved too quickly for the monster.

After a series of attacks the creature seemed to slow down and Jim struck the creature. His sword made a shallow cut on it's cheek and the creature reared back. In a blink the thing was gone.

Frantically he looked around but then heard the familiar sound of crying. Looking over he saw the dragon now in child form clinging to Scarlet. Scarlet scooped her up and started rubbing her back.

Jim could see that there was a small scratch on the girl’s cheek. Sighing he sheathed his weapon and started walking over to the pair. As he was watching the small scratch disappeared. Still the child kept crying.

When he got close enough the girl shouted “Don't let him get me! Don't let him get me!”

The disapproving looks of Scarlet and Forrest met him.

Annoyed he exclaimed “What! She attacked me first!”

Scarlet kept patting her back and said “There, there. I'll protect you from mean Uncle Jim.”

Traitor. In between the sobs the girl said “Are you going to cross the storm? Can I come with you?”

Jim said guardedly “Why. You attacked me.”

“Because you wouldn't share!”

That wasn't fair! That's a child's argument! Glaring at the hundreds if not thousands of years old creature he said “What’s mine is mine. I don't have to share with strangers.”

With a hateful glare she said “Your just like all the other mean people that come to my island.”

Jim raised an eyebrow and said “Oh? Like all the ships that you seem to destroy while passing through.”

Evilly she mimicked his earlier tone and said “What's mine is mine. My water my island my rules. They were too loud.”

“Great! Now that we are all agreed that I don't owe you anything, you can run along now. Hop hop, like a bunny. Shoo.”

Jim accompanied his argument with hand gestures indicating her to move back to her spot.

Unhappily she seemed in thought for a second and then said “You’re noisy! You broke the rules! So you owe me! Tell me how you can get through the storm!”

“No.”

The witch finally seemed to be defeated because she hunched her shoulders and started heading back to her original spot. Then Forrest came up next to him and said “What about the monster attack? We did plan on bringing demons here just so they could fight her. Maybe we can make some sort of deal instead.”

“You sure? I can probably take her but she is strong. She seems specialized in defense. It would take a significant amount of time to beat her regeneration if what she showed before was consistent. Also she has to be hiding a trump card of some sort. From the tale you mention the last creature marked on the map seemed much more formidable. I wouldn't be able to protect you all if we plan to utilize her as an ally.”

Forrest nodded saying “Why not? It would be nearly the same even if we didn't ask her. How happy do you think she will be once she realizes that we brought an invasion to her island? And seeing how we're stuck here that's probably not going to change. So I say we ask her. What's the worst that could happen?”

Looking over to Scarlet he asked "And what do you think?"

Grinning evilly she said "She seems sympathetic towards me, Maybe I can coax a few of her scales out of her? Their so large I'll only need a few!"

Sighing the words "what's the worst that could happen" seemed to keep bouncing around in his head.

Jim felt sick to his stomach when he heard those words. They seemed like a premonition of calamity. Sighing he shouted out “Hey short stuff!”

The girl turned back and looked at him.

“Yeah you, short stuff. How about we make a deal?”

Light seemed to fill up her eyes and she ran back to them. Somehow he knew this was going to be a massive mistake.

Officer Brady's PoV

Brady stretched as he just woke up. It had been a hell of a ride the past couple days. Thankfully that seemed over now. He had been given the go ahead to take the next day off and he intended to enjoy it.

After getting dressed he gave Charlotte a call. He really needed to get Gwen a phone.

“Yes?”

“Do you know where I can find Gwen?”

After a short pause she said “She is over at my house but she will be leaving soon.”

Panicked he asked “She is leaving?”

He heard a sigh on the other end of the line and then he could hear Charlotte shout “Gwen!”

A second later Gwen was on the line and she said “Hello?”

“Hey, it's Brady. Charlotte said you're heading home?”

“Yes…”

Brady had never asked where she was from before and she had never offered that information. Anxiously he asked "When are you leaving?"

"Very soon. We should be back at some point though."

"I have the day off, mind if I come over till you have to head out?"

"Sure!"

As the conversation closed out he felt hurt. Why was she leaving? Shaking his head he realized it was a smart idea. With the chaos that had been happening in the city and now that it had calmed down only a fool wouldn't jump at the chance to leave. Hell the property value for the city was probably tanking right now. Grabbing his keys he headed out the door.

Reporter's POV

April was nervously sitting outside Officer Brady’s house. She was hoping to follow and catch some good footage. The bodies of the alien like creatures were disappearing faster than a sale on Black Friday.

Seriously people from all over were scooping the bodies up and using them for various purposes. Some claimed to be doing research on the creatures but others were cutting them up and selling trophies. There was even a taxidermist that had rocketed in popularity when he made a series of videos stuffing the things and bringing it back to a life like fashion. From the organs that the man took out it was obvious to anyone that the creature was not human

For a time the government tried to step in and control the bodies of the creatures, however they failed to do so in time. And once a geneticist also confirmed that they were not human the press was in an uproar.

The geneticist's conclusion was that they were similar however even further apart than humans compared to apes, which was massive. That really messed up the narrative that it was some kind of drug addled gang that had mutilated their bodies and were hyped up on drugs.

People speculated from alien attacks to an ancient human cousin that adapted to living underground. That was all well and good for those people, however April was still hungry to try to break out of financial reporting.

The interviews and footage she had released had rocketed her popularity, however now that the situation had cooled down some there was very little to report on. Initially the harrowing tales had been massively popular. First responders and citizens told their stories of how they combated the creatures.

Unfortunately there had been too many false stories and their popularity had sharply decreased after a couple scandals. One person had claimed to have done his best to help his neighbors and after failing ran away. Then footage came out of him stealing from the houses of his neighbors that had died in the aftermath. Add a couple other stories like that and the market for first hand accounts without footage had sharply declined.

But now she was as covertly parked as she could be in front of Officer Brady's house. At least as covertly parked as a massive news van could be. She had talked to him a number of times over the past day and she suspected that he knew something he wasn't telling. One person reported how Brady had dodged the fire like attack of the creature when he had never seen it before. Afterwards she tried to ask him about it but he just brushed it off and said “Police Officer Intuition.”

As she saw him exit his house she turned around in her news van and shook her cameraman awake.

She hissed “He is on the move! Get ready!”

Groggily he said “You know he can't hear you from this far away? Also we are far from conspicuous in this news van with our network logo on the side.”

He wasn't moving fast enough for her so she started poking at him saying “Up! Up! I want you ready to film at an instant's notice!”

“Fine, fine. You know we're already going to be making a massive paycheck on what we have done so far.”

Keeping an eye on Brady she mumbled “And then go back to financial news? Pfft.”

Her voice a bit stronger now she said “All the things are nearly gone. And with so many armed people roaming the streets it's safe. Cmon!”

Unfortunately not too many people were driving. The sidewalks had a number of people, but not too many cars. She tried keeping the space open but she must have been spotted because he pulled off to the side of the road.

Watching him pull off to the side she plastered on the best smile she had and then dialed the wattage up to ten when she saw Officer Brady approach the van. April could have just kept going but if she lost him then it would be a massive waste of time. It was also odd watching a plain clothed officer walking to the vehicle behind him. Either way she had her mantra ready to go.

As she rolled down the window Officer Brady said “Well, well. What do we have here? So April, any particular reason you're following me? I think I gave you enough interviews at the station already.”

Happily she said “It’s a free country! Isn't it great running into you in such a happenstance manner in a free country! So, how are you doing?”

Brady narrowed his eyes and said “Certainly it’s a free country. However if you follow me on to private property I'll kick you with my free country boot in your free country arse.”

She feigned indignation and said “Why I would never do such a thing!”

Still keeping her smile at full force Brady grunted as he walked back to his vehicle. Soon enough she was following him again and they entered a rather good housing development. Slowing down she scanned left and right in appreciation at the architecture of the homes.

While she was in a mild day dream about becoming a famous reporter and owning one of these beautiful houses she saw a familiar green light coming from in front of her. Anxiety hit her as she gulped down her now fluttering stomach. In a low hiss she said to her cameraman “You getting this?”

A slight nervous reply came a second later and he said “Got it now. Rolling.”

April stopped the vehicle and she watched as Officer Brady pulled off one of those sharp stopping turns as he rotated his car into a shielding position. Glancing to a monitor she saw the familiar creature everyone had been getting far too familiar with. April was on a knives edge and was ready to get the hell out of there if things turned bad.

As she was watching she noticed that in the background there was a woman in a black robe standing on the porch of a nearby building. April wanted to call out to the gawker to go back inside but the creature already had it's attention drawn to the car that had violently stopped near it.

Officer Brady only had another second before he was going to fire at the monster when something amazing happened. On a cloudless day the creature had been struck by lightning! Shocked she watched enthralled as the red demon flinched and staggered from the massive blow.

When the lightning struck again she noticed a detail that she had missed a second earlier. The woman on the porch had her hand pointed in the direction of the thing and her hand shimmered with blue sparks right before the next concussive blast hit.

With mouth agape her mind was gibbering with “that's not possible!”

Whispering to her cameraman she said “Did you see that? Was that real?”

Replying he said “I think I'm in love. I've seen her picture online! She was wearing that same outfit!”

Irritated she slapped him on the back of the head and said “No! I mean the lightning! Did you see where it came from?”

He seemed to be lost in thought and then his eyes lit up and he snapped his fingers and exclaimed “Gwen! Her name is Gwen! I got the picture bookmarked. Do you want to see?”

Frustrated she replayed the footage of what she had just seen with a more critical eye. She watched as Gwen toasted the thing with what only could be called magical powers. It was similar in manner to the red creature's fire attack. It had been blurrily filmed a few times but it matched what many eye witness accounts said.

Looking back towards the live feed April wondered if Brady was in any danger. Her hand gripped her phone as she prepared to dial 911 if the lightning throwing woman seemed hostile. However to her surprise she gave Brady a girly wave. A smile formed on her face when she put two and two together to realize that this was the woman Brady had been crushing on.

She started to get out of the car when she called back to her cameraman “Looks like your too late. Gwen seems to be taken. Let's go! This is a story waiting to break!”

While she was walking up they seemed to be in earnest discussion about her leaving somewhere. Then Brady noticed her walking onto the property and said flatly “This is private property. Please leave.”

Some cunning entered her smile now when she said with feigned regret “But Officer Brady! It would be irresponsible of me to air that clip that we just got from lightning lass. Why who only knows what kinds of conclusions people would jump too!”

With defeat Brady said “So you got that just now?”

Beaming she nodded happily.

Looking back Officer Brady asked Gwen “Can they step in for a minute? This might be a problem.”

Gwen nodded and said “That should be fine. But we are about to leave soon, so I'll have to ask Charlotte first.”

As they entered the house a female voice started yelling “30...29...28..”

With a look of shock Gwen said “No time! I'm sorry Brady. Hopefully I will be back again soon!”

As she said that the woman bolted down a staircase. April’s adrenaline was up and she smelled a story!

Without hesitation she rushed right behind Officer Brady who was heading downstairs as well. There seemed to be a bottleneck of people but April tried to push past to get a look at the woman who was facing away from her on a couch.

Gwen and a child had their hands on the shoulder of the woman and Officer Brady was grabbing at Gwen's hand saying something.

April and her cameraman went around the party to get a good vantage point at the woman who was continuing to count down.

“3...2...1…”

Rounding the couch she tripped on something which she only realized while falling was a leg attached to a man. The man had his head cushioned on the woman's lap and one leg had fallen off to the side. April caught her balance using a hand on the man's leg. As the count hit zero her cameraman crashed into the back of her.