Resistance C14: Take the Town

Resistance
Chapter 14: Take the Town

I was woken before dawn by Ren Jie, who was already dressed. Gerard was supposedly in the toilet.

I peeled myself off the floor, pausing to dump the dishes into the sink and grab some bread to have for breakfast. I paused to ask about what we would do about the dragons, both of which were still sleeping, and Ren Jie said that they would come with us.

Noting that it would be light soon, I woke Fenek, who complained to no end, and Agenor who was far more cooperative, and we made our way through the dark plains to the truck. As we walked, I fumbled with my pistol and belt, trying to put it on properly.

Agenor seemed curious enough about the truck, but Fenek brushed him off, saying that it was horrible. i rolled my eyes and remarked, "Decide for yourself. Fenek is more suited to sit in a luxury car and not a no-frills military truck."

Agenor snorted. "Very well. I will do as you say. Are we near?"

I nodded as we walked through the forest and into the clearing, where the truck sat, its olive green paint blending nicely into the dark of the forest. The first thing we did was to remove the camouflage, while the two dragons watched. Fenek offered to cloak the truck, but I declined. We hurriedly loaded up some fuel, rifles and extra ammo, noting that we would have to come back for more later.

As dawn began to break, all three of us humans clambered into the driver's cab, while the dragons still sat on the ground, watching. When asked to load up, Fenek made a whole lot of protests, but complied, while Agenor said that he wanted to see how it would look when I started it up.

Putting on my seat belt and jabbing the key into the ignition, I nodded. The engine turned over twice with an enormous whining noise, before roaring to life. I flicked on the headlights, illuminating the silver dragon, whom I motioned to load up. He complied quickly enough, while I disengaged the brake and put the vehicle into gear.

The truck revved and lurched forward while I gunned the engine, driving it out of the forest and onto the plains. As we turned onto the road, doors would open and people would come out. I tooted the horn and waved from the cab, enjoying the astonished looks on their faces, faces of people who had not seen a vehicle like this in years.

It took a matter of minutes while driving at top speed to get to the town gates. The guards looked ready to wet their pants as the truck came to a stop in front of them, brakes squealing. Holding the pistol, and looking down at the nearest guy in my lights, I shouted down over the clanking of the engine, "Hello, remember me?"

I received a quick nod, and the next thing I knew, the entire guardhouse worth of people had come out to stare at the truck as they threw the gates open for us with a cheer.

Things were going better than expected.

A large crowd soon gathered, while our own armed party came over from Victor's place, and escorted us into the town square. Even the mayor came out to oogle, and I blared the horn a few times for effect.

No resistance was met for the time being, as everyone simply crowded round, some even reaching out to touch the warm metal of the truck, not quite believing what they were seeing.

As the sun gradually rose, bathing the square in light, the size of the crowd quickly become evident, and it was also ovbious that they expected one of us to say something. Victor and his group has formed a protective perimeter around the vehicle, while I remained in the truck with Ren Jie. Fenek and Agenor had slipped out at some point, causing some commotion, until it was revealed, to even more astonishment that they were on our side.

"Why are you people working with those lizards?" I heard someone shout over, from somewhere in front of the truck, whose engine I had switched off after winding down the windows.

I popped the top hatch and stood up, still holding the pistol. All eyes were on me. "Look, first things first, I think all of you know why we're here. This is once again sovereign territory, belonging to us and us alone!" I hollered, to much cheering, then continued. "About the lizards, they defected. One is mine, the other has been working for us for a while. It's hard to believe, I know, but take my word for it. If they cause any trouble, let me know and I'll dish out punishment accoddingly."

However, my speech was cut short by a loud roar, from the outskirts of the city. I shot a look down at Ren Jie. "Is that....?"

He nodded gravely, "I thought the rider would have gone off. Looks like they're still here."

I sighed and clambered back into the cab.  "Fine. You know what to do, yes?"

With another nod, Ren Jie exited the vehicle, while I did so too. The crowd had quietened considerably when the roar came, and Victor had already taken the cue to disperse them. I cocked my pistol, while the rest readied their rifles. There would be no time for me to go and grab a rifle of my own... As the crowd fled, realising that we were preparing for battle, a shadow raced along the square, which resolved into the same gold dragon from the previous day, and Saben, perched on his back, with a bandaged knee, sword at the ready and a scowl plastered on his face. They landed and he dismounted. "So, we meet again."

I raised an eyebrow, noting that his sword was still sheathed. "Yes, so we do. State your business."

He gave me to most arrogant of arrogant smiles, "Surrender now, and I shall spare you the wrath of my dragon."

I scoffed, "Why would I do that?"

He scoffed, "Oh, come off it. Everyone knows that bullets cannot penetrate their scales!"

I held back a smirk. "Oh, really? What if I don't buy that?"

He smirked. "You're welcome to try. Watch as your bullets bounce off his scales!"

I smirked. "We'll see. Since he has these all-powerful scales, I shan't bother with my little pistol, yeah?"

He nodded. "Good call. I'll enjoy turning you over later."

I pulled the tailboard of the truck down and clambered up. I grabbed an AK-47, three loaded magazines and jumped back down. On my way, I loaded and cocked the weapon, taking a sighting shot on the way and adjusting the sights as I walked. I laughed. "Oh, don't count on it. Watch this, kiddo, and learn your place!"

I aimed at the gold's head and fired, feeling the rifle kick into my shoulder as I fired, while the rest did the same, save for Victor, who kept his gun trained on Saben.

I watched as the bullet travelled on course, leaving behind a small, thin smoke trail, before striking the dragon's temple, shattering the scale and piercing through the hide in a burst of blood. This was followed by many others as my comrades fired too. I loosed a few more shots for a good measure as the dragon collapsed to the ground, bleeding from several head wounds. It was dead.

I turned to glance at Saben, who seemed stunned for a moment. His eyes filled with anguish for a moment, then anger. Cold, cold anger as he unsheathed his sword and started to advance, only to be stopped by a gushot, and a blast of red from the back of his head. His momentum carried the body forward, and the body fell at my feet, a pool of blood already forming. I sidestepped it. I had seen worse during the war... All of us had.

"Good call, Victor." I added, before slinging the rifle and retrieving my pistol from the truck.

Once again, the crowd began to form, as people came out of the alleys that they had been watching from, and started to poke and prod at the dead dragon and rider alike, some plucking scales off as momentos.

As I gathered the rest around, a cheer was heard. There was hope once again.