7. A Dragon

"I can't wait to get to the airport and meet with everyone. It feels like we're trapped in another world where monsters live while we're still here," Jess said while imagining herself on the mainland and meeting people as if the world hadn't been destroyed.

David thought about Iris' words in his dream for a long time.

David even ignored Albert and Franky,  who were talking about the monsters' weaknesses already known by the people on the mainland.

"So, that's why they survived. They've figured out the monster's weakness," Franky said.

"Is it possible that the only people left in the world are people with special abilities like us? That means the survivors on the mainland have special abilities, too," Jess interjected.

"I can't imagine the world in the hands of people with inhuman powers," Percy grumbled.

"All this time, we've been living a normal life, never know that there were people with unbelievable abilities, even us," Albert spoke while avoiding two branches blocking the car in the middle of the road.

"Now, people who don't have special abilities like me who look abnormal, this world is strange," Franky said with a sad laugh.

"Is it possible that we all come from the same ancestor? A privileged ancestor?" Kourtney tried to be grateful.

"Or maybe we're from another world. We were born in the wrong dimension," Danny argued.

David was getting more and more convinced they were making things up. All the theories made no sense.

But there was something even more absurd: their shared dream of meeting their dead loved ones and telling them to die.

"Dav, what are you thinking about?" asked Jess, breaking David's reverie. David was surprised to hear the nickname Iris often gave him, Dav.

"What will happen if we die?" asked David with an innocent expression.

Jess shrugged. "We'll be reborn, maybe. With different bodies and fates. We won't remember who we were before we were born."

David wasn't convinced. He saw Iris clearly in his dreams as if Iris wasn't just a dream creature but a living, breathing being.

"We're almost there, guys!" Albert exclaimed. Everyone turned to the front, where the wide road was full of vultures.

Albert stopped his car at the edge of the airport. They exited the car, staring at the vast area with shocked expressions.

The airport was worse than any place David had ever seen. Two airplanes lay like they had just crashed into each other. Smoke still billowed from their half-burned engines.

Bodies were scattered on the ground like pebbles.

"Okay, looks like our pickup has arrived!" said Franky. He lifted his chin towards the sky. A helicopter hovered in the air, preparing to land on the corpse-filled ground.

David found something strange. He wasn't paying attention to the hovering helicopter but to the birds beside the helicopter.

The birds were frozen. Soon, the storm would arrive, and the shadows would appear.

The helicopter landed safely on the ground.

Jess pulled David's arm. "Come on, what are you thinking?"

A pilot inside the helicopter waved. Albert and his friends ran towards him with happy laughter because soon they would be free from the limitations of this island.

David joined them in the running. On his fifth step, Kourtney was lifted into the sky. David didn't have time to look up at the sky. Kourtney's body fell to the ground like a bullet. Her head shattered, her blood flowing everywhere.

Jess screamed hysterically. David stared in disbelief at the middle-aged woman. Albert pulled Jess and

David's arms to quickly leave the place as the storm blew away whatever was around.

"No, Kourt!" Franky stared in disbelief. He stopped in the middle of the road, staring at Kourtney's death with a flushed face.

"Go, Franky. Go!" Albert carried Jess into the helicopter, then pulled Franky's arm, who still had to cover half the distance to get into the helicopter.

David noticed the black shadow that was floating in the air. The black shadow looked like a giant water droplet that could move by itself.

Jess's shout made David jump when the black shadow flowed towards Albert and Franky, who ran towards the helicopter.

"Dad, hurry up!" shouted Jess as she patted the wall of the helicopter.

Albert sped up his running. Balancing with Franky's limping steps because his sprained leg hadn't quite recovered.

The black shadow would have almost reached Franky if Percy hadn't pulled them both with a single jerk into the helicopter.

"Are you okay?" the pilot asked.

"No!" they replied together.

"Oh no," screeched the pilot when he saw the red alert flashing before him. "I didn't expect this many of you."

He counted all the passengers behind him.

"This helicopter can't carry nine people," said the pilot.

"What do you mean?"

"Sorry, but one of you has to stay," the pilot explained.

They stared at each other in silence. Meanwhile, a huge storm was shaking the helicopter's propellers.

"Stay? Are you an idiot?" said Albert angrily.

"There will be a second pickup once you reach the mainland, I promise."

"Okay, I'll get out!" David tried to open the helicopter door, but Albert stopped him.

"No, no one gets out!" Albert ordered.

"You guys go to the mainland. I'll wait for the second pickup."

"No!" said Jess.

"We're not leaving anyone here," Albert said.

"But this helicopter won't fly if there are too many passengers."

"Can we hurry up? The storm is getting bigger," said Franky in a shaky voice.

David opened the helicopter door. The wind was blowing so hard. Dust and smoke rushed in.

"Are you serious?" asked Percy.

David nodded. "Just go, I'll be fine."

"Come on, go!" screamed Franky, who had been watching the black shadow behind the flying dust.

Albert was at a loss for words. He didn't want to let David stay, but he didn't want to stay here.

The pilot flew the helicopter in the strong wind. Jess was teary-eyed, looking at David from the helicopter's window as it rose further into the air.

David squinted his eyes from the flying Dust. He turned around to watch the black shadow, but the fog and dust blocked his view.

David's breathing felt so difficult. His whole body was covered in goosebumps. He felt his blood flowing so fast that it made him weak.

The black figure emerged from behind the storm. It became more and more visible. It was solid and had two glowing eyes. It also had a wide gaping mouth. It had wings. Its body was long like a stream of water. A dragon.

David watched the two trusting eyes. His hands were glowing, too. Electricity sparkled above his hands.

The dragon wrapped around David's body and pulled him into space. David closed his eyes, already preparing to die.

When he opened his eyes, he was in a strange place. A dimly lit room with a human handing him a bottle of dark green liquid.