Sarah and the Steam Dragon

When the morning break bell sounded, Sarah and her friends escorted Eric to the main cafeteria. They would normally go exploring outside somewhere, however today they had to show Eric all the important stuff.

“Right, new guy” announced Achmed, “This is the school cafeteria. During the day you can buy drinks, hot snacks and lunches from here” He pointed out rows of hot food and drink dispensers, overseen by serving staff and a few modern robotic food servers. Racks of cold drinks and snacks were arrayed in glass fronted cabinets, each more enticing than the last.

He directed Eric’s gaze from the serving counters to the rows of tables and chairs filling the main eating hall. Holographic projectors displayed different images over their heads, showing things like a bright sky filled with birds, or an underwater scene filled with giant sharks and rays. It switched to a new display every five minutes, making the hall vibrant and alive even with few students in there.

“Over that end is where the Year Nines all sit. In the middle is the Year Eights, then at this end is where the Year Sevens sit. Make sure you don’t sit in the wrong area, or some older kid will give you a hard time”

“Where do you sit for lunch?” asked Eric, who had decided he would be eating with the Gang of Three.

Sarah laughed and then Lilly and Achmed joined in.

“Oh, we never eat in the main hall” said Sarah. “That is for sad lame-oes. We find somewhere private to eat our lunch. I know all the best spots around the school where no teacher ever goes”

“Ah, I understand” said Eric in his flat monotone. “I do not want to be a ‘sad lame-oe’ so will you allow me to accompany you?”

“Well, you have to be pretty cool to be part of our gang” Sarah told him. “Lilly is a Teleporter, Achmed is a Scanner, and I am the best Sneaker in the whole school”

Eric looked Sarah up and down as if evaluating her.

“You are a NOMA aren’t you, Sarah Evermore?” announced Eric. “What is this Sneaker ability?”

“Oh no, he said the N-word” gasped Achmed. “Eric, start running now!”

“Why?” wondered Eric, just before Sarah turned red and socked him one right on the jaw.

Time seemed to slow down in everyone’s eyes as Sarah’s fist grazed lightly past Eric’s jaw, his head moving smoothly out of harm’s way. His right arm caught hers and he pivoted easily, flinging her in a wide curve over his shoulder to crash down onto the tiled floor.

“Violence avoided. Target neutralised” he said calmly as Sarah yelped in surprise from the cafeteria floor. For all the speed of his throw, he had laid her on the ground with only a gentle bump.

“Wow, Eric” said Lilly, “You must be crazy strong!”

“Um, Eric?” said Sarah from the floor, still held in place by his remarkably strong arms, “Could you let me up please?” A crowd of students had gathered at the sight of Sarah in the air then on the ground, with phones clicking all around taking pictures.

Eric was looking at her with an intense expression, her on the ground, him above. Then he snapped out of it and gently helped her to stand up.

“My sincere apologies, Sarah, for my unkind words and my extreme response” he said formally.

“Sure, that’s OK” she grudgingly replied and brushed herself down, crimson with embarrassment. “Just knock it off with the NOMA stuff. I know I have no ability so people don’t need to remind me all the time”

She glared at the other students still watching her and her friends. It looked like another tale would be added to her reputation at this school. Sarah dreaded to think how Angelina would love seeing all these pictures and videos of her being thrown around by the new kid.

“I really wish people would stop filming me all the time” she said grumpily and led her friends and Eric out of the cafeteria. Eric followed the small group, stopping momentarily at the doorway to look at the gathered students, already sharing their best images of the encounter.

The lights and the hologram display flickered for a second and every student in the hall cried out in horror and alarm.

“Hey, my phone just died!” cried one boy.

“Mine too!” said a girl. Similar cries echoed across the cafeteria as everyone in that place lost their phone data. Eric smiled, just a little private smile, hardly big enough for anyone to notice, then joined Sarah and her gang.

=====

Double Maths with Mr Ishikawa was as boring for Sarah as ever. Eric had been sat next to her by Mr Ishikawa, based on some instruction that had been given to every teacher it seemed. She had studiously ignored him all through the class, even when he tried to speak with her.

She just “humphed” at him and continued with her work. The teacher commented on how focussed she was for once and wanted to keep Eric at her side until Graduation. That made her even unhappier with the new boy!

The class ended as the lunch bell sounded. Lilly and Achmed came over to Sarah’s desk and were giving her significant looks, rolling their eyes towards a noticeably silent Eric.

Sarah glared at her two best friends, then relented and looked over at Eric. He was sitting there at attention in his seat like he always seemed to do. His datapad was already packed away in his bag and his hands lay neatly on the desk in front of him.

“Eric, do you want to come and have lunch with us?” Sarah asked politely.

Eric turned his head and regarded her with his blue eyes.

“I would like that very much” he said in his slow and deliberate manner. He stood and followed the gang out of the classroom.

Carmody was waiting for them at the main staircase, her face brightening as she saw the group approach. Sarah had already messaged her that they would be meeting here to go for lunch.

“Carmody, this is Eric, a new transfer to the school” Sarah said by way of introductions.

“Pleased to make your acquaintance” said Eric and offered his hand. Carmody duly shook it and blushed. Sarah was realising that Carmody was a very shy girl and blushed quite a lot.

“Are you also joining the Gang?” asked Carmody, looking from Eric to the other friends.

“Hell no” said Sarah with a definite air. “He is only here because I am under orders from Miss Abrams”

The students grabbed their various lunch boxes from their lockers. Eric had no lunchbox but he at least had been allocated a locker when he first arrived that morning. It was currently empty of course.

“Shall I purchase lunch from the cafeteria?” Eric enquired.

“Oh, please don’t bother” said Carmody “I have plenty to share”

Having established that, Sarah led her friends and Eric up the stairs, heading for the roof. It was a nice day outside and she knew a secluded spot up there where they would not spotted by any teachers.

She led them upstairs, down a maintenance corridor and out through a rarely used access door to a flat section of roof. It was bounded on three sides by tall ventilator stacks with the fourth open side having a railing that allowed excellent views over Pan City towards the Archimedes Tower.

There was even a series of metal boxes for some unknown purpose that provided seats for them all. Everyone opened their lunches and began the serious business of comparing and sharing what they had brought.

Carmody had indeed brought more than enough to share. Sarah estimated she had enough food to feed at least three people and it all looked quite good. There were some sandwiches, rice balls, fried chicken and mixed salads.

“Mum is a chef” she explained. “Making my brother and I wonderful food is her way of apologising for being at work most evenings. I told her I needed extra today for my friends”

Eric had been reluctant to take anything to eat, content to watch for the moment he had insisted. Carmody was not to be denied however and he soon found himself with a mouthful of fried chicken.

His face lit up as he tasted the chicken. Carmody beamed with pleasure as he could not help but tell her how good it was. Sarah thought it was the most animated she had seen him, plus Carmody was now sitting close to him, getting him to try the other foods.

“Any chance you could throw me a piece of that chicken?” said a deep voice close by. Sarah looked up and saw Stanley balanced on one the big ventilation stacks. She choked on a sandwich in surprise then blurted out “Where have you been?”

Everyone stopped eating and talking to look at her in shock.

“Pardon?” asked Lilly, then looking in the same direction as Sarah. She could not see anything over there so swung her gaze back to her friend. “Are you Okay?”

“Sure” she stammered, swallowing down the sandwich in her throat. “I just need to go check something” She moved towards the ventilation stacks, aiming for a gap between them that lead to another section of roof.

“Don’t forget the chicken” reminded Stanley, so she turned around, grabbed a piece from Carmody’s lunch box, and stalked out of sight of her friends.

Once she was sure she was out of their sight and hearing, she motioned Stanley over to her. He flew easily from the stack to land beside her, curling himself around like a giant blue cat.

“That chicken smells really good” the dragon said, little puffs of steam drifting from his mouth. Sarah reached forward and dropped it into his waiting mouth. With sighs of pleasure he crunched it up, bones and all, then burped delicately.

“Pardon” he said and covered his mouth with a clawed foreleg.

“Where have you been?” she asked him once more.

“I have been scouring the city for any sign of the Emissary” Stanley replied. He looked dejected for a moment, so Sarah reached out and gently stroked his snout.

“No luck finding it?” she asked.

“There is no sign I can detect anywhere else in the city” Stanley said. “Only the faint traces to be found here, at your school”

“What, the Emissary was here?” said a startled Sarah. ’It came to my school!”

“Of course, that was what led me here in the first place” Stanley answered. “The Emissary is no longer here, but it left something behind. Something from my world, hidden deep below us somewhere. That is what I can detect”

Sarah had an awful suspicion that whatever Mr Albright and Creepy Bob were up to, the Emissary had been part of it. She still had her hand on Stanley, stroking his snout while thinking furiously.

“Sarah, where are you?” called out Lilly, standing between the ventilation stacks.

Sarah turned in surprise, seeing her friend looking around, her eyes passing right over Sarah as if she could not see her.

“Sarah!” called Achmed, joining Lilly and scanning the rooftop. Neither one of them saw her, even though she was less than ten meters from them.

“Where has she gotten to?” Lilly said to Achmed. Her two friends walked further out, each of them passing close to either side of where Sarah stood, her hand still on Stanley’s snout.

“She can’t have just disappeared!” said Lilly worriedly. “Do you think something has happened to her, like Andrew Frobisher?”

“I need to go” Sarah whispered to Stanley, who nodded, and she took her hand off his snout and stepped backwards.

“Hey, there she is!” called Achmed, looking back over his shoulder. “Where did you pop out from?”

“Goodness, Sarah, you had us really worried” added Lilly and came over to give her a hug.

“I’m fine” she assured them both “You know I am the Master Sneaker of this school”

“What were you doing out here” asked Achmed.

“I just needed to make a phone call to my mom. I had forgotten to tell her I would be home late today”

“Oh, Okay” said her friends and Sarah walked back with them to the group. As she went, Stanley waved a foreleg at her and took to the air. She hoped she could get some time later in the day to talk with him properly about everything going on at her school.

Eric and Carmody were still sitting close to each other when the trio rejoined them, the girl doing most of the talking while Eric replied occasionally. Between them they had eaten most of what was in the lunchbox her mother had provided.

“Did you find what you needed?” Eric asked Sarah as she sat down once more.

“Hmm, oh, I just had to call home” she said casually and picked up a sandwich. Then she noticed her phone was sitting next to her lunchbox. She remembered she had put it there just after they arrived on the rooftop. Trying to look nonchalant, she slid it slowly off the metal box and popped it into her pocket.

Eric watched her from the corners of his eyes, pretending to look at something Carmody was showing him on her own phone. Some video about cats doing amusing things apparently. He saw Sarah pick up her phone and hide it in her pocket, so he knew she had been lying about the phone call.

For herself, Sarah was lost in thought again. It seemed like that when she touched Stanley she was hidden from people’s sight as well. Whatever that ability was, it meant that if she stuck close to him no-one could see either of them. That could be very useful indeed, even for a naturally sneaky girl like her!

Grinning hugely to herself, she finished the rest of her lunch and chatted with her friends. She was confident that with Stanley’s help they could solve the mystery of what was happening at the 10th District Junior High School.

=====

After lunch, Carmody headed off to her own class, promising to meet up with the others at home time. Sarah and her friends showed Eric the way to the next class, a double session of Environmental Studies.

Eric was once again seated next to Sarah, talking to her politely and assisting her with the course information. Sarah could not help but notice all the envious looks the other girls in the class were giving her. The new boy was certainly getting a lot of attention from the girls and for once her classmates wanted to be her! Eric seemed totally clueless about it all, putting all his attention on Sarah for some reason.

“So, did Carmody tell you how good looking you were?” Sarah asked out of the blue when the teacher was distracted.

“Why would Miss Brentwood do that?” he said in his slow manner, saying each word carefully. He paused and seemed to think deeply about what she had said. “Do you think Carmody likes me?” he asked, an unexpected tone of interest in his voice.

“Well, she did let you eat nearly all of her lunch” said Sarah, smiling mischievously to herself. “It was like you had never eaten real food before” she added, wondering about why he was so unusual.

Eric’s eyes widened in alarm and he leaned in close to Sarah, speaking urgently.

“Please don’t make a fuss. I had a very secluded upbringing so I realise I may seem a bit strange”

He paused and looked directly into Sarah’s eyes, making her feel uncomfortable but also like she was sharing some amazing secret.

“I was Enhanced at a young age, with a computer implanted in my head. There had been a bad car accident and my brain was heavily damaged’ Eric confided to her in a whisper. “The Doctors fitted the computer to help me have an almost normal life, but it meant I had to spend much of my time in special hospitals”

“Wow, seriously?” said Sarah. “So that is why you don’t know how to act like a regular kid?”

“Exactly” said Eric, leaning back and looking relieved. “I trust you not to reveal this, as I just want to fit in with the others”

“Okay” Sarah agreed. Everything he had said made sense, she thought to herself. Sarah knew how hard it was to be accepted when you were different from the others, like being a NOMA.

“How about we make a deal, Eric?” Sarah suggested. “You help me with my lessons, because you are crazy smart, and I teach you everything you need to know about being one of the cool kids?”

“It is a deal, Sarah Evermore” Eric replied and stuck out his right hand to her.

“Excellent” Sarah said and shook his hand. “Gosh, even your hands are strong” she added and massaged her fingers afterwards.

“Oh, and one final thing” she said to Eric, his face still turned towards hers, “I think Carmody does like you”

His face lit up and he smiled, the most genuine emotion she had seen from him all day. He really was just a boy like all the others she thought to herself.

=====

The rest of that day’s classes passed in a blur. With Eric at her side, Sarah found she enjoyed her lessons. His quiet confidence and calm voice stopped her from making a fool of herself like she usually did and she got lots of questions right for a change. Lilly and Achmed both noticed the difference, so her girlfriend cornered her late in the day when they visited the girl’s toilets between classes.

“Well?” demanded Lilly, once they were alone at the bathroom sinks, “What is happening with you and Eric?”

“What do you mean, Lilly?” said Sarah, suddenly turning bright red. She scrubbed her hands harder in the sink, splashing soap bubbles everywhere.

“You two seem to be hitting if off really well since lunch time” her friend continued, washing her hands more sedately. “Have you fallen for the handsome new boy as well?”

“As if!” Sarah said loudly and turned angrily to the other girl. “He is just very shy around people. I am helping him fit in to the new school, and he is helping me with my lessons”

“is that so?” smirked Lilly, who could read her friend’s emotions better than Sarah could for herself.

“Anyway, he likes Carmody” Sarah said, ending the conversation and rubbing her hands in the air dryer. She stalked out to the corridor where Eric and Achmed were waiting quietly, neither boy able to start a conversation with the other one.

“Come on you guys, it’s time for our last double period” she told them all and stomped off. Lilly and Achmed glanced at each other and shared a smile then followed her. Eric had paused for a moment, his super keen hearing having let him hear the girl’s conversation despite the closed doors.

“I like Carmody?” he wondered aloud. He thought about it and felt something stir inside of him. Something his tutor and his instructors had never told him about, yet it felt important. He had a mission to complete at this school for his Guardian and for Archimedes. But maybe there was something he needed to find here for himself.

Eric smiled thoughtfully to himself, just a tiny smile, then followed Sarah and her gang to class.

=====

The last lesson ended and Sarah sighed in relief. It had been a lot harder to talk normally with Eric after her conversation with Lilly. Both her friends sat together a few desks over from what was now hers and Eric’s shared desk, which was not usually a problem.

Today however they had been watching her like a hawk, sneaking glances at her and Eric whenever they thought she was not looking. It was like they were trying to prove she really was interested in Eric despite her protests.

After they packed their datapads away in their school bags, she walked past their desk, Eric in tow behind her.

“Knock it off, guys” she told them both, giving her best glare. The kind that said a Sarah Special Punch might be coming soon after. This punch had defeated many schoolyard bullies over the years and gotten her Detention at least five times. Lilly and Achmed just looked at her innocently as if they had no idea what she was talking about.

Sarah gritted her teeth and left the classroom, to be stopped short by a small crowd of female students.

“What do you guys want?” she said, her attitude becoming very surly. There had to be at least half a dozen Year Seven girls waiting, all looking expectantly at the classroom doorway. Eric appeared at her side and with a collective cry of “It’s him” the girls rushed forwards.

“Evasion mode activated” she heard the boy say and then he was dodging past the girls, ducking nimbly left and right. With the clamouring students hot on his heels he ran down the corridor and around a corner. Girlish cries and shouts of “Eric, please wait” echoed back to Sarah’s ears.

“Did that really happen?” asked Achmed when he and Lilly joined Sarah.

“Uh-huh” said Sarah, unsure how she felt about the new boy being chased by so many girls.

“This school got really weird since yesterday” Lilly added. The three friends agreed on that and headed to the main staircase, aiming for their lockers on the ground floor.

Carmody was waiting for them near the main doors, her bag and lunchbox slung over one shoulder. She smiled when she saw them arrive, which turned to one of confusion as she counted only three of them.

“Oh, did Eric have something else to do?” Carmody asked shyly, looking down at the ground.

“I think he is running for his life at the moment” replied Sarah. “The Year Seven piranhas are trying to eat him alive”

“Gosh, do you think he needs our help?” Carmody asked with wide eyes.

Sarah thought for a moment, remembering how easily he had swung her through the air that morning.

“He’ll be fine” she assured her. They took Carmody with them and left the school, the four friends chatting about the day they had. Achmed and Lilly went towards their towers and Carmody followed Sarah in the direction of theirs.

As they walked, Sarah saw a familiar dark shape flitting though the air, so she stopped and addressed Carmody.

“Whoops, I just remembered some homework I left in my locker” she told her friend. “I had better go back and grab it. You go on ahead home and I’ll see you tomorrow”

“Are you sure? I can walk back with you” her friend said.

“It’s Okay. Go home and play with Vance” Sarah reassured her, then without waiting for a reply ran back to the school gates.

=====

Sarah ran back into the school courtyard, avoiding the other students who were still drifting out of the main doors. There were clubs and sports activities that ran for a few hours after the end of lessons, so the school was still open for students.

Making sure she stayed out of sight of any teachers, Sarah headed to the back of the school buildings. There was a sports ground here, used for track and field events, as well as a full sized pitch that saw soccer, hockey and cricket battles every season.

There was no sports practice today so the whole open space looked deserted. She settled herself behind a small roofed shelter that blocked her from the main building and waited. After a short wait, Stanley raced down from the sky and landed gently beside her, little puffs of steam sending his flowery scent into the air.

“Greetings, Sarah Evermore” said Stanley. He looked at the bag on her shoulder and sniffed. “Any chance there is some lunch left over?”

“Actually, I did save you a sandwich” Sarah admitted and took it out of her lunchbox for him. She offered it to the dragon and he skewered it carefully on a sharp claw. He sniffed it, grinned a big toothy smile, and popped it into his mouth.

“Mmm, delicious” he told Sarah and looked hopefully at her lunchbox once more.

“Sorry, that’s it” she said in reply to his unspoken question. Everything else had been shared out and devoured by the five students at lunch time. The thought of food brought a question to Sarah’s mind so she asked it.

“Stanley, what do Dracoris Vapora eat?” She could not help but notice his long sharp teeth, razor sharp claws and wicked looking tail spikes.

“Hmm?” he answered. “Oh, pretty much anything, especially stuff with lots of energy stored in it. Our stomachs can turn most things into fuel for our gut boilers, but I prefer to eat tasty things”

“You have a boiler in your stomach? Like the ones the school uses to heat all the hot water?”

“Yes, in a way” Stanley answered. “I eat things to keep me alive just like you, but also to provide energy for a special organ inside me that heats up water and air. I need to drink lots of water too if I want to make lots of steam”

“So why do you have such big teeth and claws?” Sarah wondered aloud, not sure if Stanley would answer her.

Stanley looked sad and hunkered down on the ground, more steam escaping from his nostrils.

“As I mentioned yesterday, the Clan Vapora were once a race of mighty warriors. We don’t grow as big as the other Dracoris, but we are nimble and quick, able to outrace our bigger enemies and attack them from any direction. Our steam breath can hide us from their sight, yet we ourselves can easily see through it”

“You sound like Ninjas with their swords and smoke bombs” said Sarah excitedly.

“I know of those warriors, and in a way you are correct. Indeed, in the old times my Clan were used as spies and assassins by others just like the Ninjas. It is not a proud heritage and was our undoing in the end”

“Your Clan was betrayed, weren’t they?” Sarah remembered sadly.

“Yes. When you live in such a dark way, eventually the darkness turns on you. We had lost any allies we may have had among the other Clans, following the orders of our foolish Clan leader”

“Then the Emissary’s master turned on us, fearing that we would use our skills to stop them one day. The few of my Clan who survived fled into the open skies of our realm homeless and without friends”

“But your Clan found a refuge you said” interrupted Sarah. “Someone must have still been your friends”

“It was Clan Verdana, the Green Dragons of Avalon. Their Queen took pity on my Mother’s mother and allowed us to dwell in a corner of their realm. The realm of Avalon is one of the oldest and most revered of the Realms, host to the great spirit that is part of it”

“Your world seems like an incredible place” Sarah said. ”I wish I could see it one day”

“I hope to show it to you one day as well” Stanley replied. “To do that, I need to find the Emissary and discover how to open a portal back to my world”

“No more clues then?” she asked.

“No. The Emissary is hidden from me now. I think they have concealed themselves among the people of this world, perhaps in many places. Unlike you and I, Sarah, the Emissary and its master can split themselves into smaller and smaller pieces, each one as wicked and vile as the original. Given time, these pieces can grow stronger and eventually become as powerful as the first one”

“Like a Virus?” Sarah said, shivering unexpectedly. All the students in Pan City learned about the terrible Viral Bomb and following plague from nearly three decades ago. Millions of people had died and the world had been changed forever by it.

“That is true. It is like a virus that spreads and grows. If it can’t be stopped soon, it may never be stopped at all”

“Okay, sounds like we had better find out what the Emissary left at this school and what Mr Albright is up to. They have to be connected some way, I am sure of it”

“Indeed” Stanley agreed. “But not today. My steam is low and I need to find some Black Rock before I can face the Emissary. I will search some more and meet you in the morning”

The dragon stood up on his four legs, stretched like a cat, then with a final goodbye leapt into the sky. Sarah shaded her eyes against the lowering sun to watch him go, then realised what the time was.

“Whoa! Better not be late home again” she muttered to herself and took off running for the front gates. Next time she would ask Stanley about flying her home as that would be lots of fun she thought and quicker too!

Unseen by Sarah, Eric watched from the roof of the main school building. He had evaded the girls long before, spending his time doing some exploring of the school. He was certain that Sarah had been interacting with the Anomaly just now, even though he could see nothing.

He had been too far away as well to hear what Sarah had said. Her back had been towards him most of the time so he could not read her lips either. Yet he was certain he had seen her face at one time form a word he recognised. A word that still struck fear into any person alive today.

“Virus”

If the Anomaly had brought a virus to this school, then it was already too late. Infections spread rapidly he knew, however, there was no evidence of any outbreak so far. There had been a number of unusual illnesses, if that was the right word, reported among students at this school. Perhaps he needed to look into those cases.

The most recent had been the incident with Andrew Frobisher only the day before. Sarah had been involved in that as well, which meant there was a possible connection.

<Archimedes> Eric said to his internal computer, <Please extract all records of illnesses and unusual events at this school similar to the Andrew Frobisher case>

<Confirmed, Agent Thirteen> said the voice of Archimedes in his head. Files of data began loading into his memory banks, ready for him to review.

<Your brother Two is awaiting you at the front gates, Thirteen> Archimedes reminded him.

<Please let him know I am on my way> he replied and with a final glance to the setting sun, headed swiftly across the rooftop.