Dragons of Hyperborea (Novel Sample, Scifi, Space Opera)

“Beware of the bones near the entrance there.  They warn of the den of the dragon’s lair,” the beautiful young woman of about seventeen said kneeling down near the entrance of the cave.  Her long auburn hair blew over her shoulder, down over her brown knit sweater, stopping near her waist.   She was holding a small scanning device in her hand, which showed a circular radar-like screen of the nearby area.  She slid the cover over the scanning device and placed it into a pocket of her dark blue cargo pants.    

“What did you say Halie?  Something about dragons?” another young woman asked with a small laugh, as she adjusted the power on her plasma lantern. She dressed like the woman by the cave entrance, except that she had a long, black fleece overcoat on.  Her black hair was far shorter than Halie’s coming just to the collar of her coat.

The second older teen girl was kneeling next to a younger boy who lay motionless on the ground.  The boy also had darker auburn hair.  He was just under twelve years old, was wearing a short blue flight jacket, and cargo pants.  His right thigh had a bandage wrapped around it.  The young woman pulled another long fleece coat over the boy to keep him warm.  While a young man of about twenty was stacking wood behind her, preparing a fire to keep them warm. 

“So, what was that about dragons?” the woman beside the boy asked again, as Halie walked closer to them.

“It is a line from a story found in the library at the Abbey, back on Avalon One.  It tells of a lost land where dragons flew from a mountain cave.  Dragons threatened the villagers who lived below.  Dragons destroyed their crops and their fishing, so they called dragon slayers to help them. The dragon slayers were promised riches, and even the hand of princesses in marriage if they could slay the dragons bringing peace to the land.”

Halie continued staring at the entrance where she had been standing as she recited more of the poem,

“Beware of the bones near the entrance there.

They warn of the den of the dragon’s lair.

Their fire burns the village down.

When they fly don’t be around.

For they devour our sheep and goats.

And destroy our fishing boats.

So, run and hide, but don’t go in.

The bones of the slayers have found their end.”

  “I think I remember reading that in a book from my childhood,” the dark-haired woman said.

The fit man in his twenties stood up from the wood, which he had been stacking, “Ariel, stand back, I’ll try getting this fire going,” he said as he pulled his laser pistol out from under his overcoat.  The pistol was a typical issued hand laser, about eight inches from the barrel to the handle, dark gray, with two main dials at the rear, which controlled the power and focal point of the laser.  He aimed the pistol at the pile of wood.  Then he fired two short blasts into the edge of the pile of wood, soon a soft orange glow engulfed the dark cave.

“Thanks, Nash,” Ariel said as she dug through her backpack laying some medical supplies next to the younger boy. “That should help keep Skylar from going into shock.  It also makes this cave seem a bit less creepy.  Halie, are you sure you’ll to be warm enough without your overcoat?  It’s pretty chilly in here.”

Halie sat down beside the fire, “Yes, it’s far more important that he stay warm tonight.  The fire should be enough for me.  I don’t want him getting any worse off than he already is.  I’m just glad he finally fell asleep.”

Nash knelt down, warmed his hands by the fire, and looked across at Halie, “So, did the mini-range scanner show any signs of the Varangian Guard down in the valley?  I’m hoping that they didn’t pick our trail up seeing as we were on fairly rocky ground on this mountain.”

“No, these hand scanners only pick up electronic signals for a short distance. If they’re more than four or five miles out we’d never be able to register their communicators. These mountains are made of granite with an iron composite, which makes the scanner even less effective.”

Nash shook his head in agreement, “Hopefully that will be to our advantage, because their scanners can’t read through the walls of this cave either.  By now they’ve checked the burning wreckage of our ship and know we made it out.  It won’t be long before they start searching for us.  We’ll just lie low in here for now.  We will try figuring something else out in the morning.”

  Ariel checked on the injured boy laying on the ground, with a small medical scanner.  She moved a small black oblong probe over the boy’s head then over the wound in his leg.  The probe connected wirelessly to the small receiver in her left hand, which showed the vital signs being read.  

Ariel then looked across the fire at Nash, “Hey Nash, I’m not sure that this is enough wood for the whole night.  It looks like a storm is moving in. We should make sure there is enough dry wood.  We have to keep Skylar warm.  Hopefully it will keep him from going into shock.”

“All right, you two, take care of the kid.  I’ll get more wood in a minute,” he said stirring the fire, adding a couple more pieces of wood.

“So, dragons?” Ariel asked Halie. “Why did you even bring up the stories of dragons anyway?”

“There is a pile of bones along the wall near the cave entrance.  It reminded me of the warnings from the old tale.  I’m not so sure that coming into this cave for shelter was a very good idea.  I have a bad feeling about this place.”

Nash tossed another piece of wood onto the fire, fighting his anger, “All right, there is enough for us to worry about with our ship shot down, Skylar’s injured.  Then we have that storm moving in on us. Do’nt forget about the strong possibility of the Varangian Guard foot soldiers tracking us down.  We don’t need stories of monsters to make things worse.”

“She said she had a bad feeling,” Ariel reiterated, with great concern as she stared across the fire at Nash.  “You know their discerning senses have kept us out of a lot of trouble over the past several months.  Maybe we should listen to her.”

“I don’t need any of that superstitious religious nonsense,” Nash shook his head.  “Give me a good blaster and a fast fighter then I’ll show you some real power you can rely on.”

“I’m not saying it’s a dragon,” Halie snapped at Nash. “We all know those are just mythical legends and stories from the ancients.  I just meant, that there are bones near the edge of the cave, which might indicate that we are not alone in here.  I’m not sure what kind of animals there are here on Hyperborea.  Are you?  Most of the planet is still undeveloped.  I’m told that the locals are living in an agrarian society trying to live in harmony with nature.  They keep technology limited.  I don’t think a lot is known about the planet to off worlders.”

Nash stood up going for more wood, “Well I think I’d much rather take my chances with whatever might or might not be in here; than being seen by one of the Varangian Legion Guard. We will be safer here in the cave since they can’t use their ships to scan inside the rock.  The fire should also be less noticeable in here.  Now I’m going for more wood before that storm comes in on us.”

“Fine,” Halie said, “You’re probably right, but I’m going further into the cave to see just what we could be dealing with.”

“Just don’t get yourself hurt.  We’ve already got one person to carry.  I’m not sure we can manage with two,” Nash stormed out of the cave.   

“Halie, are you sure this is a good idea?” Ariel asked.  “What if there is something in here.  Maybe we should just leave it alone.  Maybe it will stay asleep if we don’t bother it.  Anyway, I would think you would be more concerned about your cousin right now.”

“I’m very concerned about Skylar, but you’re the medic.  You can keep an eye on him for now.  It will do no good to worry about his health if we end up getting killed by some animal that’s living deeper in this cave.  I’m just going back a bit further to check it out.  Don’t worry I won’t go far.”

Halie pulled her hand laser from the holster on her side, took a small flashlight from her belt and clipped it to the top of the gun.  Then she walked further into the cave shining the light from the top to the bottom of the cave as she moved. 

 Ariel watched her friend’s light becoming smaller in the darkness of the cave.  She then bent over Skylar brushing the hair from his face, “Well kid it looks like it’s just you and me.  I sure hope your cousin’s wrong about this monster thing.  We could use a real break right now.”

She touched his forehead with her hand, before running the medical hand scanner over him again checking his vital signs, confirming that the boy had a fever.  Then pulling back part of the coat, she removed the temporary dressing that had been placed upon the hole in his leg before they had left their crashed V-Cruise Bomber.  She slowly removed the blood-soaked bandage, using some antiseptic she cleaned the wound more thoroughly then she had before.  Finally, she was able to place fresh dressing on his leg.  

“Wa… Water,” Skylar murmured turning his head slightly back and forth.

“O buddy, I’m not sure how much water is left,” Ariel’s compassion and worry couldn’t be hidden.  She pulled a canteen from the side of her backpack and shook it, “Well, you’re in luck there’s just a little bit left.”

She opened the cap of the canteen, lifted his head and held the bottle against his lips.  The water rolled down his cheek, but he didn’t appear to drink any of it.  She gently laid his head back onto a piece of wood where it had been.  A tear rolled down her face, “I think you need a lot more help than we have available here.  I wish we had even half of the medical supplies we are supposed to have, then there might be a better chance at pulling you through.”

Several minutes passed.  The only sound was from the crackling fire.  Nash returned with more wood, “I’m back. Just in time, too. The rain is moving in fast.”

“I’m glad you made it back before the rain.  It looks like it’s coming down pretty hard out there.”

  Nash sat down beside the fire adding another piece of wood, “So how’s the kid doing?”

“I’m worried Nash.  He’s lost a lot of blood, and now he’s running a fever.  The metal shard from the crash created a clean cut through his leg, but it looks like it might be infected anyway. He was asking for water, or, at least, I think he was, but he didn’t drink it.  By the way, we also are running low on water.”

“Isn’t there anything in the med kit that can help him?”

“This kit only contains minor antiseptics and bandages, I did the best I could to clean the wound before I bandaged it back up.  He really needs a shot of antibiotics. A bio-regenerator would be preferable.  Then I could fix the hole in his leg permanently.  The antiseptic helps fight infection, but it really isn’t that effective.”

“I thought all V-Cruise Bombers were equipped with medical kits containing bio-regenerators, cardio-amplifiers, all the trauma equipment we could possibly need?  You’re telling me that there is only basic first aid in here?”

“The trauma case contains all of that, but most of it was blown out of the side of the ship when that Varangian Berserker’s shot us down. All I have is med-scanner and few basic bandaging items.”  

“I guess for now all we can do is keep the fire going, keep him warm, dry, and hope his immune system can fight off the infection on its own.  I’ll make a way to gather water by the entrance of the cave.  You just keep him warm.”

“I’m aware of what needs to be done.  I am the medic on this crew after all.  You’re the leader, maybe you should be looking for a solution to our situation.”

“I know Ariel.  I’m just saying, we can only do what we can. We’ll just hope for the best right now,” he put his arm around her trying to give her some comfort.  Then he looked back into the darkness of the cave, “So, Halie isn’t back yet?”

“No. I’m starting to worry.  I haven’t seen her light for a while now.”

Nash took off his coat and laid it beside the fire.  Then he took sticks and pieces of cloth forming a make-shift funnel.  He returned to the entrance of the cave and sat up the apparatus in hopes of catching some water in their canteens.  The rain dripped down from above and into their canteens slowly refilling them.

  Ariel continued to watch the darkness of the cave for several minutes wondering if their friend had seen any of her monsters.  She was beginning to worry just a little, as the small glimmer of Halie’s light came back into view deep within the cave.  The light grew brighter as she returned to her friends by the fire.

“So, did we find the beast of the cave,” Nash joked as Halie returned sitting beside them near the fire.

Halie shot a look of disgust at him, “I didn’t go very far back into the cave.  It appears to go back a lot further.  I found more bones along the edge of the cave further back.  Most of them are human bones.   It seems that something does live in here, or at least, comes here from time to time.  I think one of us should remain on watch tonight just to be safe.”

Nash sat down stirring the fire again, “All right.  I was just joking, trying to lighten things up, but I agree with you about staying on guard.”

Halie knelt beside Skylar, “So he’s still not awake?” she said brushing the edge of the boy’s face affectionately with her hand.

“He stirred a little bit ago,” Ariel said, “But no, he’s not awake.  He is running a fever too.”

Halie grasped Skylar’s hands with one of her own.  She gently ran a few strands of his hair through the fingers of her other hand, “Sky you need to fight.  You need to get stronger.  I need you to get better,” she then bowed her face until their two faces were touching. 

She placed her hand on the side of his forehead and beginning a quiet prayer over him, “You are the Creator of all things.  You made our bodies in their intrinsic ways.  You give us great ability in using our minds to find ways to help ourselves, but sometimes what we need is divine intervention.  We don’t have all we need here, but I know you can help us.” 

Halie continued in prayer for several minutes, as Nash added more wood to the fire, “She’ll be lost in meditation for a while.  We should get comfortable.”

“Why do you do that? Making fun of their ways?” Ariel asked irritated with Nash’s constant criticism of their friend’s beliefs.

“What?” Nash asked.

“We’ve been together as a team for several months.  I still don’t quite get all the beliefs of The Fidelian Order.  But, I still do my best to respect them.  They are so devout.  I admire them for that.  Furthermore, without the Fidelians we wouldn’t have much of the history of our people they are the ones trying to preserve our past.  They are also trying to keep us working toward a better kinder future,” Ariel argued.   

“Look, I may come across harsh at times, because I’m not always sure about all this religious stuff.  Like I said before, I’d much rather rely on what I know.  What I can see and hold,” Nash stated, staring at his friends for a few minutes. “I do admit that Skylar and Halie’s premonitions helped keep us out of trouble more than once.  I guess it doesn’t do any harm, but it just isn’t for me.”

“Yes, but we must work together, so couldn’t you just lighten up a bit?” Ariel asked.

“You’re right.  I’ll try not to pick on them so much.  I just hope they can help get us out of here somehow.”

Nearly half-an-hour passed before Halie sat up.  She moved around Skylar, remaining silent, as she lay down next to him falling asleep.  It was as if the prayer had fully exhausted her.

“I think she has the right idea,” Nash said.  “Why don’t you get some sleep too?  I’ll stay on guard and keep the fire going.”

“Okay.  But, wake me up later so you can get some sleep too,” Ariel said.  “I’m going to check on Skylar before I lie down.”

Ariel placed the probe of the scanner upon the boy’s forehead again reading the vital signs being given.  She then pulled back the heavy coat that covered Skylar checking the bandage one last time.

“How is he doing now?”

“It’s amazing.  His fever has come down.  The bleeding seems to be stopping too, so I guess that’s a good thing.  Maybe you were right, we just needed to give it time.”

“Maybe, or maybe he just needed a boost from Halie to get on the right track,” Nash said with a smile.

“Maybe that’s all he really needed all along, the two of them are inseparable,” Ariel said then laid down beside the fire hoping for some much-needed rest.