Chapter 7
Marcus allowed them to approach him. He kept his wing over Liz and she woke. He opened his eye; just to see how many people were around him. Marcus could see around two hundred people in the area ahead of him and he could hear some more behind him. Liz started to move. She stood and said, “What do I say?”
“I spent the entire night thinking up a speech. I’ll keep it plain and simple, for they will all have questions for us.”
“Well, start speaking.”
“Not yet, some of them are uncertain that I am real. I will wait for the speaking to die down.”
“It won’t die down if you keep sitting here like this.”
“Fine, go out and introduce me, tell them I’m your brother. We have no reason to bend the truth any more than we have already.”
Liz walked out and the crowd went silent. She knew this moment would be, at best, awkward. She said in a loud voice, “My name is Liz. The giant behind me and I came from the mainland from a long trip. I hate to be the one to tell you all this. If you already know, then let this be your proof. The human race is dying out.”
Many of the people just knew about the dragon; most of them had no idea where he came from. They started to ask her questions at once. She could not hear each individual, and she tried to quiet them, but she gave in to frustration and turned to Marcus. She yelled his name and he stirred. Marcus turned his head to the crowd and let out a heavy, angry roar. He let them see his teeth, and many of them felt his hot breath. He said to the crowd, “Let her finish speaking, then you may ask her questions.”
“Thank you, Marcus. Anyway, Marcus has been my protector through Armageddon. We’ve seen things that could probably drive most of you to insanity. Marcus can tell you our story; his memory is better than mine. But first, let me tell you, his kind don’t have the luxury of lying; expect the truth. And I hope none of you are moronic enough to say no to a dragon.”
Liz turned and walked back to Marcus. He lifted his wing away from his head and spoke as Liz climbed up his scaled leg. He said, “Not long ago, I was a human just like you. I worked for a group that built things you could never imagine possible. We found the cure for cancer a few years ago, but if any of you have seen any horror movies, then you know how the human race became endangered.”
Mitch yelled out, “The dead live.”
Marcus nodded his agreement and started to tell his story from the beginning, when he woke up on that first dreaded morning. Then he went on to the meeting with Demetrius, and then to his encounter with the military. Then Dem’s little outburst, which he was reluctant to tell. He told of his Titanstone, how it changed him, and how he used his powers. Then he went and told about him and Liz’s adventures. Liz was determined to tell the people about his “protection” when they met Mish, his ability to feel Liz when she was on his back, and his stubbornness when Liz needed to bathe. By the time he got to the present, everyone was seated.
When his story was told, Liz slid off his back and yelled, “Does anyone have any questions?”
Everyone simultaneously raised their hands, and Marcus said, “Does anyone have a question that we can answer?”
Some of the people put down their hands, but there were still a hundred left. He said, “If it is a question about your families, then I am sorry, but we cannot answer any of your questions with certainty.”
More hands were lowered, and Liz asked a man in front, “What is your question?”
“What if the infection spreads to our island? Or to our waters?”
“You must kill them quickly and burn the bodies. The infection thrives on warm liquids, so I think your waters are safe,” said Marcus.
Liz picked another person and she asked, “What if we run out of medical supplies, or some other necessity?”
“Make the trip back to the mainland as short as possible and never let the boat touch dry land.”
Liz chose who got to ask a question and others translated what she now knew was French. Marcus would answer the question, and more hands would drop. It was midday when the last of the questions were answered, and Marcus was thankful when the last person had his hand up was Mitch. He asked, “When do you plan on leaving our island?”
“Tomorrow morning at the latest. We have friends and families of our own, and I would do anything for the sake of their safety. If any of you have another question, ask it now or approach me when you feel you can. Until then, leave me in piece and count your blessings for what they are worth.
The crowd started to disperse, and Marcus placed his head on the ground again. He caught wind of a familiar scent and opened his eyes to find Jack standing very close to his head. The boy was starring strait at one of his fangs that was too large to fit under his lip. Marcus yawned, and Jack fell back. Jack kept his eyes closed and tried to find something to help pull him up. He found a hand and pulled. When he opened his eyes, Liz was standing in front of him. He said, “You’re wearing clothes.”
“I’m glad you noticed.”
“So you’re not an angel?”
“Sorry, but no. It isn’t all bad. Can an angle do this?”
Liz kissed him on the cheek, and he turned red. He nearly fell over and Marcus said, “You kissed her; now you need to kiss me.”
Marcus licked Jack, and he landed ten feet away. Some of the men approached Marcus. The twenty men were dressed in sloppily placed coats and rustled hair. Marcus guessed that they were the leaders of the island community. They walked up and started to ask him questions to verify what was going on. Marcus held his wing over them and talked in private. Liz walked back to the crowd and started to converse with the local population.
When Marcus was done conversing with the men, Liz approached him and said, “I’m hungry.”
“Then take something. These bags aren’t waterproof, so don’t expect everything to be fresh.”
Liz made herself a small sandwich out of some of the cold cuts she salvaged and a small amount of mayonnaise. She asked him, “So what did that group want?”
“They were wondering if I could use one of the broken down cars as a saddle. Apparently, they have enough strong rope to keep it on me while I fly. I’d say it’s worth a try.”
Liz climbed to the top of his head and ate her lunch while basking in the late autumn sun. She said to Marcus, “You know, for the first time in my life I’m actually happy.”
“It is Armageddon; we cannot see happiness in its purest form until we see its opposite. Sadness, anger, hatred; these things exist so we can understand joy, love, and passion. None of us can be truly happy until we are truly sad. We mourn our families, our friends, and our neighbors passing, and then we feel better about our own survival and we really understand. I’m happy for you and myself now, but I feel sad that for the first twenty years of my life, I had more blessings than I do now, yet I was not happy. Now I know why. I wasn’t truly happy because I had too many blessings and I could never feel truly sad. Now, we need to bring that happiness to our families. Every human is our child now, and we need to end their sadness.”
“I spent the entire night thinking up a speech. I’ll keep it plain and simple, for they will all have questions for us.”
“Well, start speaking.”
“Not yet, some of them are uncertain that I am real. I will wait for the speaking to die down.”
“It won’t die down if you keep sitting here like this.”
“Fine, go out and introduce me, tell them I’m your brother. We have no reason to bend the truth any more than we have already.”
Liz walked out and the crowd went silent. She knew this moment would be, at best, awkward. She said in a loud voice, “My name is Liz. The giant behind me and I came from the mainland from a long trip. I hate to be the one to tell you all this. If you already know, then let this be your proof. The human race is dying out.”
Many of the people just knew about the dragon; most of them had no idea where he came from. They started to ask her questions at once. She could not hear each individual, and she tried to quiet them, but she gave in to frustration and turned to Marcus. She yelled his name and he stirred. Marcus turned his head to the crowd and let out a heavy, angry roar. He let them see his teeth, and many of them felt his hot breath. He said to the crowd, “Let her finish speaking, then you may ask her questions.”
“Thank you, Marcus. Anyway, Marcus has been my protector through Armageddon. We’ve seen things that could probably drive most of you to insanity. Marcus can tell you our story; his memory is better than mine. But first, let me tell you, his kind don’t have the luxury of lying; expect the truth. And I hope none of you are moronic enough to say no to a dragon.”
Liz turned and walked back to Marcus. He lifted his wing away from his head and spoke as Liz climbed up his scaled leg. He said, “Not long ago, I was a human just like you. I worked for a group that built things you could never imagine possible. We found the cure for cancer a few years ago, but if any of you have seen any horror movies, then you know how the human race became endangered.”
Mitch yelled out, “The dead live.”
Marcus nodded his agreement and started to tell his story from the beginning, when he woke up on that first dreaded morning. Then he went on to the meeting with Demetrius, and then to his encounter with the military. Then Dem’s little outburst, which he was reluctant to tell. He told of his Titanstone, how it changed him, and how he used his powers. Then he went and told about him and Liz’s adventures. Liz was determined to tell the people about his “protection” when they met Mish, his ability to feel Liz when she was on his back, and his stubbornness when Liz needed to bathe. By the time he got to the present, everyone was seated.
When his story was told, Liz slid off his back and yelled, “Does anyone have any questions?”
Everyone simultaneously raised their hands, and Marcus said, “Does anyone have a question that we can answer?”
Some of the people put down their hands, but there were still a hundred left. He said, “If it is a question about your families, then I am sorry, but we cannot answer any of your questions with certainty.”
More hands were lowered, and Liz asked a man in front, “What is your question?”
“What if the infection spreads to our island? Or to our waters?”
“You must kill them quickly and burn the bodies. The infection thrives on warm liquids, so I think your waters are safe,” said Marcus.
Liz picked another person and she asked, “What if we run out of medical supplies, or some other necessity?”
“Make the trip back to the mainland as short as possible and never let the boat touch dry land.”
Liz chose who got to ask a question and others translated what she now knew was French. Marcus would answer the question, and more hands would drop. It was midday when the last of the questions were answered, and Marcus was thankful when the last person had his hand up was Mitch. He asked, “When do you plan on leaving our island?”
“Tomorrow morning at the latest. We have friends and families of our own, and I would do anything for the sake of their safety. If any of you have another question, ask it now or approach me when you feel you can. Until then, leave me in piece and count your blessings for what they are worth.
The crowd started to disperse, and Marcus placed his head on the ground again. He caught wind of a familiar scent and opened his eyes to find Jack standing very close to his head. The boy was starring strait at one of his fangs that was too large to fit under his lip. Marcus yawned, and Jack fell back. Jack kept his eyes closed and tried to find something to help pull him up. He found a hand and pulled. When he opened his eyes, Liz was standing in front of him. He said, “You’re wearing clothes.”
“I’m glad you noticed.”
“So you’re not an angel?”
“Sorry, but no. It isn’t all bad. Can an angle do this?”
Liz kissed him on the cheek, and he turned red. He nearly fell over and Marcus said, “You kissed her; now you need to kiss me.”
Marcus licked Jack, and he landed ten feet away. Some of the men approached Marcus. The twenty men were dressed in sloppily placed coats and rustled hair. Marcus guessed that they were the leaders of the island community. They walked up and started to ask him questions to verify what was going on. Marcus held his wing over them and talked in private. Liz walked back to the crowd and started to converse with the local population.
When Marcus was done conversing with the men, Liz approached him and said, “I’m hungry.”
“Then take something. These bags aren’t waterproof, so don’t expect everything to be fresh.”
Liz made herself a small sandwich out of some of the cold cuts she salvaged and a small amount of mayonnaise. She asked him, “So what did that group want?”
“They were wondering if I could use one of the broken down cars as a saddle. Apparently, they have enough strong rope to keep it on me while I fly. I’d say it’s worth a try.”
Liz climbed to the top of his head and ate her lunch while basking in the late autumn sun. She said to Marcus, “You know, for the first time in my life I’m actually happy.”
“It is Armageddon; we cannot see happiness in its purest form until we see its opposite. Sadness, anger, hatred; these things exist so we can understand joy, love, and passion. None of us can be truly happy until we are truly sad. We mourn our families, our friends, and our neighbors passing, and then we feel better about our own survival and we really understand. I’m happy for you and myself now, but I feel sad that for the first twenty years of my life, I had more blessings than I do now, yet I was not happy. Now I know why. I wasn’t truly happy because I had too many blessings and I could never feel truly sad. Now, we need to bring that happiness to our families. Every human is our child now, and we need to end their sadness.”