Dragon Flight Academy 2, page 23
I leaned to the side, and Storm veered to the left so I could regroup with Brie. Sunderland didn’t object to my orders, so I knew I’d made the right choice. We waited until we were close enough to the opposing squadron before we went our separate ways. Brie and I began weaving in and out of each other’s way to distract the enemy dragons, and luckily, two of them flew away from their group to go after us.
“Shit, they’re fast!” I cursed.
The two Russians on our tail started executing their own defensive maneuvers. They kept their distance from us, though, and I knew they were doing it on purpose. Their dragons could’ve caught up with ours almost immediately, and yet they were still fifty feet behind us.
“They aren’t attacking,” Brie said.
“Continue doing what you’re doing,” Sunderland ordered. “The longer they stay focused on you, the better. I’ve just received news that the warship is three minutes away.”
From the corner of my eyes, I could see the others were executing the same defensive maneuver as Brie and I, while Sunderland was taking on two dragons on his own. No one was attacking anyone else, but the dragons were snapping their jaws at each others’ tails and wings. It was a near miss every time, but it still made my heart jump up and down.
I wondered how we could hold off the Russians for another three minutes when they could’ve obliterated us with a single attack. The flyers from both nations had their eyes fixed on the crash site below, and I knew that it was only a matter of time before one of the Russians decided to stop playing nice. And when they did, there was a good chance one of us would end up getting hurt.
“Why don’t we just go for the satellite?” Pierce asked on the radio. “Let’s just take what we want and get the hell out of here.”
“No,” I replied before Sunderland could. “It’s too risky. We could endanger our dragons. One hit from the Russian dragons, and we’d be plunging toward our deaths.”
“Bravo’s fast,” Pierce insisted. “We can make it.”
“Pierce, no,” I said forcefully. “Last time you went solo, you nearly died. Stick to the plan and obey your commanding officer. For once.”
When Pierce didn’t reply, I took a deep breath and hoped he could hold out until the ship arrived. But then a shrill scream tore through the sky.
“Anji!” Pierce shouted, and I heard his shout echo around me.
Storm veered to the right to avoid an enemy dragon who furiously whipped his tail behind him in the hopes he’d knock us down and then turned around to see what had happened. Anji and JuJu were rapidly falling toward the ocean while a Russian dragon flew away from the pair.
“What happened?” I yelled in the headset.
“The bastard’s dragon whacked his tail at Anji,” Pierce explained. “She’s unconscious.”
“Shit,” I murmured under my breath. “Alright, Brie and Pierce, you’re with me. The rest of you continue distracting the enemy.”
“Yes, Sir,” the rest of the squadron said.
“Randall, save her,” Sunderland added.
“I will, Sir,” I promised.
The lieutenant was fighting off three dragons now, and he couldn’t assess the situation around him without the risk of getting hit. So the fact that he passed his authority to me without thinking twice about it was the best damn compliment I’d ever received from him.
“Jake, what do you want us to do?” Brie asked as Storm and I regrouped with her and Pierce.
Before I replied, I took a quick look at the situation. JuJu had just landed on the water with a gigantic splash that created ten-foot-tall waves, and Anji’s head was submerged in the water. I knew we had to act fast, and we had to rescue both the dragon and rider, or we’d risk losing them both.
“You and I rescue Anji,” I ordered. “Pierce, you calm JuJu down. We won’t be able to get to Anji if she’s thrashing around.”
“You got it,” Pierce said.
“Let’s go,” I urged my team.
The three of us dive-bombed toward JuJu, who was still hysterical. Luckily, JuJu was a bright yellow dragon, so she was impossible to miss against the clear blue water. Pierce got to her first, and Bravo hovered over the water so Pierce could try to soothe her. I could see that Anji was still strapped to the saddle, but she wasn’t moving, which meant that she was probably unconscious. We really needed to move fast if we wanted to make sure she didn’t drown.
Brie and I weren’t far behind Pierce, and we were soon hovering nearby as Pierce talked to Juju. It was harder to help an unconscious cadet out of the water when our dragons couldn’t swim or float with a second pair of wings like the British dragons could, but we didn’t have a choice. If we didn’t save Anji, we’d have another loss in our squadron.
“I’m gonna jump in,” I announced.
“Jake, no!” Brie countered. “The water might not be choppy, but it’s too dangerous.”
“If we don’t do anything, Anji’s gonna die,” I shot back. “I’m going in.”
There was no room for argument, and she knew it. While Pierce and Bravo continued to talk to JuJu, I quickly unfastened the straps that locked me in the saddle, and then I dove into the water. Luckily, Storm was hovering as low as he could get, so the dive was less than five feet, but his wings created waves on the otherwise calm water, which made it more difficult to swim toward Anji.
Storm seemed to realize how difficult it was for me to close the distance, so he moved a short distance away while I swam toward JuJu. By the time I made it to JuJu’s side, Pierce had calmed the bright yellow dragon enough that he wasn’t thrashing anymore. Still, he was clearly upset, and when I spotted the gash on its left wing, I knew why. At least she wasn’t trying to lift out of the water with the injury anymore.
Anji’s head had been underwater for over a minute now, so I lifted her head against my shoulder while I tugged on the straps. The situation was eerily similar to the accident during our drills with the Brits, but at least we hadn’t been fighting off Russians at the same time.
“Come on, Jake!” Pierce urged me. “I don’t know how much longer I can keep him calm.”
“Almost there,” I muttered and yanked on the straps until I felt them pop.
The strips of leather floated in the water while I secured an arm around Anji and then swam away from JuJu. Without the added dead weight that was tugging her down, the dragon calmed down enough for Pierce to grab the reins and lead her away from us.
“Here, Jake,” Brie said as Flame hovered to my right. “Try and lift Anji up.”
I kicked against the water as I tried to lift Anji up far enough for Brie to grab her. But Brie couldn’t get close enough to grab Anji’s unconscious form.
“She’s too heavy,” I grunted as Anji slipped in my grip.
Storm suddenly let out a deafening roar before he plunged into the water.
“Storm, no!” I yelled when I saw him dive for the water.
American dragons couldn’t swim, and yet, my stubborn dragon still tried to do just that. I could see his tail thrashing behind him as he left a trail of choppy waves, and although I couldn’t see his legs, I could tell by the way his muscles moved that he was kicking them hard in order to stay afloat.
To my complete astonishment, Storm managed to swim to me, and when he reached us, he lowered his head in a silent invitation. I wrapped my free arm around his neck while I pulled Anji in tight with my other arm, and then my dragon flapped his wings to lift us all out of the water. Flame was suddenly by Storm’s side, and the female dragon helped him out of the water with a nudge of the snout.
With the extra help, Storm managed to safely lift us all away from the surface, and with Brie’s help, I transferred an unconscious Anji to Brie before I climbed back onto Storm’s back.
“Never do that again,” I panted hard. “But thanks, buddy.”
I patted his shoulder and secured myself in the straps again before I looked around to see what had happened while I was in the water. Sunderland was still fighting off several Russians, and the rest of the squadron continued to execute different defensive maneuvers. The American dragons showed signs of weariness, though, and I cursed under my breath.
Where the heck was the warship?
We’d passed the three-minute mark already, and still, there was no sign of the warship on the horizon. We were all alone on this mission, and our dragons were fading fast.
“Dave, Michael, escort Brie back to the compound,” I ordered. “Help Anji’s dragon fly if you have to, but get the hell out of here and get to safety.”
“Yes, Sir,” the two men replied.
They parted from their teammates and headed straight for Brie, who’d managed to move Anji into a sitting position in front of her. The Indian woman was still unconscious, but she didn’t seem to have any visible injuries, so I prayed that she’d recover quickly and be ready to fly again soon.
Brie’s eyes briefly met mine, but there was no fear or apprehension there. Instead, she looked determined, and she nodded tersely before she urged Flame to turn tail and fly back toward the compound.
“Sir, we’ve just lost four riders,” I informed Sunderland, who’d remained quiet throughout the whole incident.
“Goddamit!” the lieutenant cursed. “Where’s that warship?”
“We have to get the satellite and get out of here,” I urged him. “I doubt we can hold the Russians off for much longer.”
“We’ve got to wait for the warship,” Sunderland insisted. “The Russians will chase us back, and we’ll be in the same situation.”
I knew he was right, but I hated the thought of doing nothing but executing maneuvers that would only distract the Russians for so long. Now that we were down four riders, it was only a matter of moments before our enemy decided that enough was enough.
Just as the thought crossed my mind, two Russian riders broke formation and dive-bombed straight toward the crash site.
“Shit,” I cursed.
I urged Storm forward, and from the corner of my eyes, I saw Pierce do the same. Even with Bravo’s speed, we were too far to reach the smoking satellite before the Russians.
“Sir, they’re heading for the satellite!” Pierce shouted.
Sunderland replied with a breathless grunt, and when I glanced over my shoulder, I saw that his dragon was struggling to fend off his three assailants. It was a miracle he’d managed to hold his position for so long, but now, even his burgundy dragon showed signs of exhaustion.
“What do we do, Sir?” I asked him urgently.
Just then, a large shadow fell over us. I looked up just in time to see another dragon soar so high above our heads it blocked the sunlight. It was aiming straight for the crash site, but I couldn’t tell if the rider was Russian or American, which meant I couldn’t tell if we were about to get some back-up or be blown to pieces.
Chapter 15
“Looks like you could use a hand,” a voice I recognized declared.
Relief bloomed in my chest at the sound of Nick’s voice. He and Cosmos were racing toward the satellite, and with the element of surprise on his side, Nick managed to swoop down just under the Russians’ noses. Cosmos grabbed the remnants of the satellite in his talons before he turned tail and climbed back into the sky.
For a moment, doubt arose in my chest. Nick could’ve easily betrayed us and handed the satellite back to the Russians, and I almost pleaded with him to do the right thing.
Thankfully, I didn’t need to say anything because Nick urged Cosmos to head back toward the base, and without a word, Pierce and Bravo had moved into position to protect his tail.
“I’ll escort them back,” Pierce announced.
“Whatever you do, make sure the Russians don’t put their hands on the satellite,” I ordered.
I watched the pair race away from the aerial battle as fast as their dragons’ could move. Five Russian riders zoomed past me at lightning speed, and I knew that my friends would need my help, so I urged Storm after them. I was tempted to fire warning shots at them, but I couldn’t be one hundred percent sure that the Russians would understand that they were merely warning shots. If they took them seriously, it could trigger a hostile response, and the Soviets would then be able to say that we’d fired the first shot, and therefore, we’d started the war.
“Guys, there’s a warship approaching!” Nick shouted on the radio.
“It’s American!” I yelled in relief. “Head for the warship. Pierce, stay close. You have five Russians on your tail, but I’m right behind them.”
“You got it,” Pierce replied.
I couldn’t fire any fireballs at the Russians, but that wasn’t the only weapon Storm had. So I nudged him again, and the dark gray dragon let out a roar so powerful that two of the chasing dragons tucked their tails under their bellies and lost altitude. They fell behind, and I could hear the pilots yelling at their mounts in Russian.
A grin threatened to appear on my face, but I didn’t want to jinx our victory just yet. One wrong move, and we could lose dragons and riders alike as well as the enemy satellite. I couldn’t even begin to imagine what type of highly classified information we’d find if we held onto the thing, which was why it was so important for us to get to the warship. If we made it before the Russians caught up to us, then they’d have no choice but to give up the hunt and head back to Russia.
The sailors on the warship were no doubt already preparing their weapons, and at the first sign of a threat from our enemy, they’d fire. There was a lot I could say about the Russians, but they were smart bastards, and they knew their time was limited.
“Faster,” I urged Nick and Pierce. “You’re nearly there. Caleb, Byron, Miranda, Xander, cover us.”
There were still three dragons between Nick and Pierce and myself, and even if the warship was about a mile away and we’d get there in the blink of an eye, there was enough time for the Russians to strike and retrieve the satellite.
I glanced over my shoulder and let out a relieved sigh when I saw the four cadets flying after us. Even Sunderland was retreating, but his assailants were hot on his tail. The black smoke from the crash site was starting to dissipate, which meant we had a clear view of the water below and the warship ahead of us.
Just then, the warship blew its horn, and the deafening sound vibrated through my chest. It was a warning, and the Russians knew it. They slowed down, and Storm zoomed past them. When none of them picked up the chase again, I let out a sigh of relief. The knot in my stomach was still there, but at least it felt like we’d make it to the ship.
“They’re slowing down!” Caleb said.
“Good,” I replied. “Everyone, head for the ship. Lieutenant Sunderland, are they expecting us?”
“Yes,” he replied. “Don’t stop, don’t slow down, and don’t look behind you.”
What was left of our squadron obeyed his order to the letter until we reached the ship, where sailors on the landing platform were waving marshalling wands to help us land. It was the exact same type of warship as the one we’d practiced on yesterday, and I ordered my team to let Nick and Cosmos land first since they had the satellite. Then one by one, the rest of our dragons started to land on the platform.
The ship’s captain rushed toward Sunderland as soon as the lieutenant landed.
“Lieutenant Sunderland,” our flying instructor said once he climbed off the back of his dragon.
“”Captain Munn,” the man replied and shook Sunderland’s hand firmly. “What the hell happened?”
“We received word from Fleet Command that a Russian satellite might have crashed near the Marshall Islands,” Sunderland explained. “My cadets were the only ones in the compound, since the regular Dragon Corps’ pilots in the area responded to a Russian intrusion to the south. We were ordered to investigate and possibly retrieve the satellite. A second Russian squadron was already there, so we held them off and managed to get the satellite. Call your superiors and let them know the mission’s a success.”
“Consider it done,” Captain Munn said.
The Captain turned to his officers and barked orders that sent them scampering across the desk. As I was dismounting Storm, I noticed how Sunderland slowly spun around, like he was searching for someone in the crowd. His eyes narrowed when he found his target, and I winced when I realized that it was Nick.
Nick had deliberately disobeyed his superior’s command, which was the worst thing a member of any branch of the military could do. But if Nick hadn’t shown up, the Russians probably would’ve ended up with the satellite.
“Sir, I take full responsibility for Cadet Varnes’ actions,” I said as I jogged to place myself between them. “I told him he could disobey your orders and help us. He merely acted on my command, Sir.”
“Randall, we both know you didn’t do that,” Sunderland replied. “Varnes, get over here!”
Nick’s face had gone pale, but he kept his head high as he walked toward us. I heard him gulp loudly as he came to a stop in front of Sunderland.
The rest of the squadron quietly gathered around us in a show of unity with Nick. Even Pierce was there, and he stopped so close to Nick that his shoulder pressed against Nick’s.
“Sir, I’m sorry I disobeyed your orders,” Nick apologized, though he didn’t sound apologetic. “But I’d do it again if the opportunity presented itself again. I believe that my intervention helped my squadron complete their mission, and isn’t that the most important part?”
Sunderland remained silent for a moment. His weathered face was blank, but his dark eyes moved back and forth as he assessed Nick carefully.
“Your actions, as reckless as they were, may have given our country an advantage,” he eventually said.
The lieutenant held his hand out, and Nick merely looked at it with a dumbfounded expression. Pierce nudged him in the side, and Nick snapped out of whatever trance he was in. He shook Sunderland’s hand and dared to smile.
“Thank you, Sir,” he said sincerely.
“I’ll personally see to it that your suspension is lifted,” Sunderland added.
