The Dragon Plague

"Dragon eggs found in Scottish islands? The discovery of mysterious eggs leaves the scientific community in bewilderment.

The remains of a previously unknown reptile were discovered by researchers at the University of Edinburgh in the South Sandwich Isles. The expedition also found fragments of a hatched egg, whose original length was estimated between eighty and one hundred and twenty centimetres. Along with it, an unhatched intact egg was found. An X-ray analysis of the egg showed the lifeless body of a reptile embryo with wings and a long tail. Initial laboratory analyses seem to determine that the chemical composition of the animal's organs allowed high resistance to heat and all kinds of radiation, which would explain the miraculous discovery within the quarantined territories. The characteristics of the reptile make it strikingly similar to the mythological animal popular in the recreational literature of the Old Era. The scientists involved have not yet made any official statement on the subject."

The unbreakable glass wall between them shattered with a deafening noise.

Dr. Kathleen Anderson felt the panic mount in the pit of her stomach.

The whole room bore the marks of his fury.

Oxygen erupted from a cylinder with a shrill and constant whistle and piles of shredded paper were everywhere.

He was going to get out.

She had spent the last eighteen years trying to prevent it; if he went out and infected the others... there would be no controlling it. It would be the end.

He moved towards her, and instinctively Kathleen took a step back.

She wasn’t scared of the disease, of course, but the bond with the dragon gave him a powerful and uncontrollable force that his body normally could not even hope for.

In that moment, at one of his crises, he seemed more alien than ever, with cold, snake-like eyes and the scales on his elbows and knees in full view.

“Mum,” he said, his voice whiny.

The appellative sounded wrong, obnoxious.

It had been a mistake from the beginning; but passing him as her son spared her many questions.

At the beginning she didn’t even think about it: he was born in the lab, the only survivor of a series of tests that had killed all the other subjects. The miracle child, whose blood could hold the key to the riddle of the bond with the dragons.

An experiment, the most interesting and exciting that she had ever undertaken, but still an experiment.

When she brought him home, David looked at her wide-eyed and full of hope.

“Is he my little brother?” he asked.

David was such a lonely child.

His illness had prevented him from going to school or even playing with his peers.

Even after he had healed, he was always a little shy, as if the other children were interesting but dangerous animals that he preferred to observe from a safe distance; and the new-born could not infect him, not him.

It would be easier, no authorizations to sign, nothing to hide, just another sickly child who would not leave the house very often...

“Yes, David,” she replied, and saw his face light up with joy, “That’s your little brother.”

She should have known, should have foreseen the dangers to which she exposed her son. At first, it had worked well: as a child, that being was surprisingly normal, even cute.

She remembered his toothless smiles and how at times, just for a moment, she thought that perhaps in the end she might even feel affection for him. She had tried to treat him well.

Not the same way as David, no; that would never have worked... but at least as if he were like all the other children.

But there was something evil, corrupt in him. It was in his blood, just like the dragon. And David... in the end it was him who had paid the price.

It was all her fault, she knew... but now she couldn’t let him go: he was too dangerous.

“So you want to escape? And where would you go?” She urged him, her voice trembling.

He did not answer.

“Perhaps you think you can mingle with other people? But look at you!” she taunted him. She didn’t even try to hide the contempt in her voice; it no longer mattered.

“You couldn’t hide even for a day”.

He shook his head in a gesture of annoyance, as if he didn’t want to listen.

“Listen to me,” she said, “You cannot be with other people. You are contagious. Anyone who touches you will die. Is that what you want?”

He rubbed his arms where, on the pale skin, the bruises of the syringes and the IVs stood out - an annoying and childish gesture that he often did when he was nervous. Kathleen noticed that his pupils were again rounded, and the irises were losing the cold, greenish shade. She sensed that the fury was flowing away from him; without it, he was harmless.

I can still control him, she thought... not all was lost.

Trying to remain calm, she pulled out a syringe of sedative from the pocket of her white coat and hid it behind her back.

”Now stand still. Calm down,” she said, slowly approaching him, “Breathe.”

He continued to shake his head.

”Come here. Trust me,” Kathleen continued. She was just a few feet away from him. “Tomorrow it will all look like a bad dream.”

She reached out to him... it was almost done... for a moment it seemed to work.

He allowed her to touch him, grab his arm.

However, when he saw the syringe, he snapped: “No!“

He lifted his gaze, and she saw the eyes of the dragon again.

His stubby arms pushed her with an inhumane strength.

Kathleen was thrown across the room. Upon hitting the floor she felt something sharp sticking in her back, then through her chest. When she looked down she saw her own blood on the white, immaculate coat.

She tried to get up but her strength was leaving her rapidly.

His face was above her, looking confused and horrified.

”I'm sorry, I...“ he said, looking at her wound with his reptilian eyes, apparently not knowing what to do.

”Don’t touch me,” Kathleen managed to hiss. Terror made her rude, but now it no longer mattered. Her head was spinning, and her vision was becoming foggy.

The last thing she saw was her stepson forcing the laboratory door and running away as fast as his legs could carry him.

It’s over, Kathleen thought, while all went dark around her.

All was lost.