Dragon Legend: Chapter 2

On a stormy, miserable afternoon, where the sun was setting and the day began to fade away, lightning arced through the sky on the horizon, lighting up the land below.

The flash lit up the inside of a biology lab, startling a few of the students within. One of them, a slender, lithe girl with long blonde hair and light blue eyes looked up, her eyes staring out the window. She watched the lightning rip from the sky and strike the telegraph pole on top of a mountain in the distance. She seemed caught in a daze as she stared, lost in something that only she could hear.

“Kyshanna…Hey, Kyshanna!” A voice called. The young woman spun her head to the side to look at her lab partner, Briana. She was giving Kyshanna a strange look, “You okay?”

“Yeah. I was just watching the weather… its gunna be an interesting drive back to my room,” Kyshanna stated.

Briana grinned. “Yeah, I know what you mean there girl! Maybe Darien will be there,” Briana seemed to swoon slightly as she mentioned one of the residents in the cottage Kyshanna lived in.

“Briana, why don’t you just talk to him?” Kyshanna suggested.

“I’d make a total fool of myself,” Briana protested. “Besides, I have you to do stuff for me,” she added, smirking. Kyshanna rolled her eyes, fidgeting with her white lab coat, playing with the button that was hanging off her cuff.

Briana cleaned up the mess they had made during their practical as Kyshanna went to the lecturer and handed in their report on the practical they had just finished.

Kyshanna went back to the bench they had been sitting at, collecting her pens and paper, and her bag. She tucked everything inside the simple shoulder bag, along with her lab coat. She was wearing a long-sleeved black turtleneck shirt, with a pair of black jeans on her legs; she wasn’t much for colour. Pulling her trench coat from the hook near the door, she walked outside, slipping on the coat to hide from the cold.

Briana followed, tucked inside her fuzzy pink fleece coat. Kyshanna was a little alarmed at the colour, but she managed to ignore it. Briana smiled at Kyshanna.

“Have a great holiday, I’ll see you next term!” She said. She walked in the opposite direction, down the path towards the bus stop as Kyshanna waved her farewell.

The blonde girl walked down the other path, which lead to the enormous student car-park. It was fairly packed now, at three o’clock in the afternoon. She walked past the rows of different cars, finally finding hers, a sleek, dark metallic blue Subaru WRX. Kyshanna had been given her car as a birthday present when she had gotten her license.

Reaching inside her bag, she pulled out the key, and pressed the button. With a flash of the indicators, the car unlocked, and Kyshanna slid inside. She started the car up, and slowly reversed, her slender hands spinning the steering wheel quickly. Once out of her park, she turned the car towards the exit, and began to crawl along.

A swift movement in her rear vision mirror caught her attention, causing her to brake suddenly. A skinny but well muscled teenage boy scooted in front of her car, towing another young man along behind him. Kyshanna narrowed her eyes, annoyed that they didn’t notice she was trying to leave.

They had both gotten inside their own car, and were getting ready to leave. Ignoring them, Kyshanna pressed down the accelerator and began to drive out of the car park. The moment she reached the main road, she floored it, revving the engine insanely. She changed gears quickly, roaring away from the University parking lot.

The drive to the place she lived - a big, two story group house she shared with a few other people who she didn’t know, and her best friend, Julie - was short, mainly because Kyshanna broke the speed limit most of the way here. She parked in the big garage, locking her car as she stepped out, looking at the neatly built house, with its angular roof. The lightning of the storm arced over the house, the thunder roaring from the sky. Kyshanna listened to it again, swearing something was there, hidden behind the lightning.

Shaking her head, Kyshanna headed into the house. She shook the rain from her hair as she walked into the warm house, into the cozy interior. Julie was curled up on one of the single couches in the lounge room, flipping through channels on the television. She looked around at her friend, her eyes surrounded by thick eyeliner.

“Nice prac?” She asked. Julie was an English girl, and she still had some accent in her voice. She was very different to Kyshanna, with dark brown hair, which she cut and had styled differently every day. She always wore top of the line clothes, going out to buy new stuff every week. But she was a decent minded girl, studying medicine at University. She and Kyshanna were great friends.

“Eh, could have been better,” Kyshanna stated. She wandered up the stairs to her room, where she chucked her bag on her bed. She flicked her computer on, planning to spend some time drawing later.

As she exited her room, she almost ran into Darien as she speed-walked down the hall. Kyshanna stepped back, a little annoyed but also amused. Darien stopped dead in his tracks and looked at Kyshanna, taking a moment to realize who she was.

“Oh, sorry Kyshanna! Didn’t see you there,” Darien said, grinning at her.

“Obviously,” she said, her tone slightly acid. Then she laughed. “Off you go then.”

“Yeah, sorry. I’m gunna be late for my prac!” He said. He raced down the stairs and out the front door.

Darien was twenty years old, a year older than Kyshanna. He was very tall, standing at six foot one. With his russet hair and brown eyes, light build and charming smile, he had quite a few girls fawning after him. Briana was certainly one of them.

Kyshanna shook her head and traipsed down the staircase, and into the kitchen. Pulling open the fridge, she pulled out her bottle of Cherry Coke. Shutting the fridge, Kyshanna wandered into the lounge room and fell into the closet chair, exhausted.

“Long day?” Julie asked.

“Yeah. Thank god it was the last one for three weeks,” Kyshanna said.

“True that, mate!” Julie said. She then promptly began giggling. Kyshanna gave her a sour look. Julie simply smiled back at her.

“You are a strange one,” Kyshanna told her. Just as she finished speaking, thunder roared overhead, making the Earth shudder violently.

“Man your storms here are scary,” Julie told her. She huddled deeper into her chair.

Kyshanna ignored the thunder, taking a swig from the bottle in her hand. Julie watched her, her eyes showing she was slightly disgusted. Kyshanna looked around at the television, looking to see what Julie was watching - nothing that really interested her at all. She looked around at Julie.

“After I go take care of my horse, do you wanna go get something decent for dinner, rather than chicken and more chicken? Well. It’ll probably be chicken, but something more entertaining than what we make every night. Whatcha think?” Kyshanna asked.

“What, like fish and chips?” Julie asked, her eyes lighting up.

“Fine, we’ll go get more junk for us then,” Kyshanna said, “but, you’re coming with me to visit Tamarillo first.”

“Fine! Do you wanna go now? He must be waiting for you in this miserable weather,” Julie said.

Kyshanna rose from her couch and nodded. “Yeah. We’ll leave a note on the door saying we’re getting dinner tonight. For all eight of us, heh.”

Julie waved her hand at Kyshanna, who had gone into the kitchen to put her Coke back in the fridge.

A few moments later, Kyshanna and Julie were climbing into Julie’s Landcruiser, which could tackle the roads where Kyshanna kept her horse better than her WRX could. Julie was a sensible driver, much more so than Kyshanna, and even more so in the rain.

The two shared light conversation as they headed towards the biggest Agistment centre, which was about ten kilometers away from the University. The gate was wide open, so neither of them had to get out to open it. Julie drove lightly through the mud, and up to the gigantic stable block.

The stables were immaculate, and so was the covered riding arena. There was also an outdoor arena, which was currently flooded. A few people were riding in the covered arena, out of the rain. The storm was still raging overhead; it seemed to not want to leave.

Julie parked in the spot closet to the barn, and switched the engine off.

“Are you gunna ride?”

“Yeah, for a bit. Come on, you can have a go on him,” Kyshanna grinned. Julie glared, but she complied. She wasn’t into horses very much. Kyshanna raced into the stables, and returned with her horse’s halter. She grinned at Julie, “you can go watch them. I’ll be two seconds.”

Kyshanna rushed off to Tamarillo’s paddock. The big gray horse was standing under the shelter in his paddock, waiting. When Kyshanna got to the gate, he came trotting down to meet her. Kyshanna laughed and slipped his halter on.

“Come on boy.”


A few hours later, Kyshanna and Julie climbed back into the Landcruiser. Julie looked somewhat pleased with herself, while Kyshanna just looked happy.

“You ride well, for someone who doesn’t know how to,” she said. She quickly fastened her seat belt, as Julie drove out of the parking lot and up the drive.

“Thanks. Coming from someone who has been riding for ages, I suppose that’s a good compliment,” she said. Kyshanna smiled. She had left Tamarillo in his stable overnight, bundled up in his doona rug.

On the way back to their house, they stopped and picked up dinner. They ordered lots of chips, potato scallops and a cooked chicken. They also bought a bottle of Fanta, and Cherry Coke, for Kyshanna and Darien. Then they headed back home.

They wandered inside, noting the group of people who were gathered in the lounge room, sitting around the television. They had a movie running, and were all looking slightly impatient. Darien was stretched out on the long sofa, with a black haired girl leaning against him. He shot the pair a grin as they walked in, his eyes shining brighter as he saw the Cherry Coke.

“Perfect, you got my favourite!” he exclaimed.

“You’ll have to fight me for it,” Kyshanna teased. “Come on children, come get some food.”

After a swarm around the bench in the kitchen, everyone had gotten their food. Kyshanna and Darien were sitting next to each other. Darien was talking about something to do with his practical he’d had in the afternoon. Kyshanna [among others] was barely listening.

The movie on the television was incredibly boring, though most of the house was watching it. Kyshanna yawned, as she picked up her glass. She saw Darien looking at her out of the corner of her eye, but she didn’t respond to his look. She yawned and stood up with her plate of food, and looked at her roommates.

“I’ll be putting a different movie on in my room guys, if you get bored,” Kyshanna said. Julie was riveted by the movie on the TV and didn’t move at all. Darien jumped to his feet, Cherry Coke and dinner in hand.

“I’m coming. What movie?”

“Dunno yet. Let’s go pick,” Kyshanna said.

Leaving the lounge room, she headed up the flight of stairs and into her room. It was a decent size, with a double bed, a desk, and a cupboard. Her computer was on and waiting, a dragon leering at her on her desktop.

“Nice background,” Darien commented. Kyshanna merely grinned. She opened her cupboard, leaving it open. She pointed at the collection of DVD’s on one of the shelves.

“Pick something,” she said to Darien, looking around at him. His brown eyes were surveying the collection, as he looked through them.

“You have weird taste in movies. Let’s watch Pirates of the Caribbean,” he said. Kyshanna complied, picking out the second one, rather than the first.

“Personal preference, second one’s better,” she said. Darien rolled his eyes, but grinned.

“If you say so.”

Kyshanna put the movie in her computer and let it play by itself. She fell back into her bed and pulled a pillow up behind her, making herself nice and cozy. Darien had already pulled up a patch of bed, and was sitting comfortably there. He shot a sideways look at Kyshanna, who returned the glare at him.

There was a knock at the door, as a few more people came into Kyshanna’s room. They all found places to sit, where they could see.

There was minimal chattering through the movie. Kyshanna was the only one who didn’t really talk at all during the film. She found herself looking out the window every now and then.

During one of the big action scenes, Kyshanna stared harder out the window, eyes narrowing as she stared at the sky. The relentless storm roared overhead, never letting up. In the lightning flash, Kyshanna swore she saw the shape of a dragon wing in the clouds, a silhouette in the light.

She blinked, as if to see if she was insane, but it was gone. She continued to stare, not noticing that the credits were rolling on the monitor, and people were getting up to leave.

“Kyshanna?”

Her head snapped around, to see Darien looking at her dubiously.

“Whatcha looking at?”

“Nothing. Thought I saw something in the clouds, but yeah, they’re clouds. They do that frequently,” Kyshanna said, waving it off.

Darien smirked.

“Well, I’m off to bed. I’ll leave you to yourself, miss loony,” he said. Kyshanna threw a pillow at him, which he deflected and then began to laugh at her. He then picked up his plate and Kyshanna’s, and left the room.

The young woman quickly cleaned up her room, and turned her computer off. She shed her clothes and found her pyjamas, which were purple and satiny. Slipping into the top and the shorts, she climbed into her bed, ready for a nice sleep in the night. She reached out from her covers and clicked the light off, her room going dark.

As she drifted into sleep, the storm boiled outside. The night was dark and cold, and in those clouds, a dark, menacing eye peered, narrow and bloodshot, staring with hatred at the life below.