Cryo the dragon, Book 4, Hunted

Prologue

Last time, Cryo woke up from his previous encounter with a group trying to kidnap him. He was stuck by a dart containing a special poison designed to paralyze anything unlucky enough to get hit by it. With him still feeling the aftereffects, he had to take a “Sick day,” and stay in bed with his best friend, Cameron, watching him. After watching a movie, Cryo needed to take a long nap.

But his dream found him in some sort of massive prison complex, with him being one of the residents… The dragons from a dream he had has a hatchling appeared again and tried to take Cryo from his cell, but he was seemingly saved by strangely, a movie character. But soon his head felt fuzzy and then he woke up

He helped his friend fix up his portable console and then got curious on what happened to the human homeworld, so he asked Cameron. After hearing the tale of how humanity shot for the stars to abandon their fading planet, Cryo would eat his dinner for the night and fall again into a deep slumber…

But his next dream would begin to start creating questions in Cryo’s mind. He woke up somewhere unfamiliar, in an alleyway in the middle of a strange city, which combined nature with technology. As he began to try to move, he realized that he had been injured pretty badly, with a large indention in a wall and a crater right where Cryo had woken up. Even worse, his back right leg was broken. In pain, he picked himself up and tried to head out of the alleyway. But to his surprise, he would find himself surrounded by strange creatures in futuristic armorsuits, and a large ship in the sky in the shape of a beetle! With his injuries, he could not possibly fight them off, so he surrendered to them and was taken aboard their ship to be taken somewhere unknown…

But things would change on the ride, when one of the soldiers would come over to talk to the frightened dragon. He took off his helmet, and began to speak with Cryo. He was a Spider named Zeke and it gave Cryo someone to turn to in his bad situation. Curious as to where the little dragon came from, he began to tell him of his life on the new human world, something they took heavy interest in… Some of the other bug soldiers came over to hear the young dragons story, and they realized that he was no threat to them. The ship would soon land and Cryo was moved from a prison cell to a medical bed, clearly earning the trust of the bugs. But Cryo’s mind began to get fuzzy, but not before having one last scene, where he seemed to be transported somewhere else and would meet a shiny black dragon named Servent, who seemed to know Cryo somehow… After hearing a short monologue from him, he soon woke up.

Mourning came and Cryo finally could move properly again. With him being bed ridden all day yesterday, he knew he needed a bath. As he cleaned himself, he began to make some connections between his dreams and strangely, Earth… With his thoughts in his head, he quickly continued through his day and night soon came upon the world again, and Cryo went to sleep.

His next dream would see Cryo lead by a small light, to frozen block of ice. But when he appeared inside, he found his mother frozen in it. With a hint from a voice, he found a way to break it and release his mother. But as the scenery changed, he saw the figures of old enemies that have haunted his dreams, the armored dragons… With the voice guiding him, Cryo was able to fight off these nightmares and emerge victorious. It wasn’t long before he woke up again.

When he woke up this time however, he would be greeted by the research heads and friends, Ty, Gerald, and Cameron. Before he left however, he felt it was a little chilly that day, so he decided to wear a silver zip up jacket. They took him to the medical facility at the base, where he was taken to a high security sector and find a surprise waiting inside, his mother, Tide, was finally awake and eager to meet her son.

The researchers gave them some alone time, to catch up on the times they lost. Tide, despite being asleep, she had been aware of what has been happening since she fell ill. But as they talked, to their surprise, they would be attacked by the same assailants who tried to take Cryo before! Cryo was able to fight them back, but unfortunately, they had a backup plan. They planted explosives around the supports of the building and planned to bury them AND the rest of the people inside under the building if they didn’t cooperate. With little options, Cryo willingly surrendered and he and his mother was strapped down tightly to a psychiatric restraint beds and taken out. The assailants used the threat of explosives on Cryo’s bed to force the guard detail to stand down and allow them to escape on a hospital carrier craft…

Ch 1

Flying Fools

The ship flew through the air at high speed, as the crew made their escape. The supposed leader approached the two and lowered the blanket covers over their heads. He then strapped down the beds to the floor so they wouldn’t tip over from the flight. He took the explosives off Cryo’s bed and immediately disarmed them and placed the explosives back in the corner. He strapped something around Cryo’s neck first. Then Tide’s. “This collar will block the transmissions from the GPS chip they planted in the both of you. This ships tracking chip has been taken care of as well. No one will be coming for you this time,” the masked man said. He stepped to a nearby seat in the compartment and sat down. “I suppose the both of you are wondering why we took you?” Cryo and Tide looked and their captors with a clear frustration in their eyes. 

“You two are quite a discovery. I mean, Dragons. A creature of myth, legend, actually exist… That discovery alone is huge! And look at the achievements the whelpling has done.” Cryo gave an snort at his captors arrogance. “Imagine what history books would say about this. But, I digress, we’re not here to use you just for a small bit of fame from a discovery alone. That would be a waste of what the two of you would REALLY be capable of.”

Cryo’s eyes started to show concern, as he looked back towards his mother, then back to his captors. Tide did the same. “I find it hard to believe that portal technology could exist anywhere. It took us thousands of years to get to this planet. It only took the both of you several minutes…” Tide’s eyes shot up! “And you, little dragon. Creating a TV with hovering features and a command structure, a radio with similar features, and upgrades to technology all across your room, all from just a bunch of spare parts and metals.” Cryo began to realize what they wanted, and his angry scowl turned to fear. “You two would be extremely valuable to create technology that would revolutionize this world. We have big plans for the both of you. You’ll learn to work with us soon enough. For both your sakes, you better.” Cryo gave a gulp and began to sweat a little bit.

“Now. I suggest you both get some sleep. It may be just be 7:00 P.M., but your going to need all the rest you can get. We’ll arrive at your “new home,” by dawn tomorrow. You’ll both be put to work immediately. I’ll be back to check on the two of you later. You better not get into trouble, or we might just have to enforce some “punishment,” on the both of you.” He took out a shock striker and turned it on. He gave a small whack of it against the wall , which sent out a small spark. Cryo began to get really nervous. “Good night you 2…” He left the room from the door on the right and closed the door behind him.

Cryo began to try to struggle desperately to break free of his restraint bed, moving awkwardly as much as he could to try to break the straps pinning him down! “Come on! Come on! Break!” thought Cryo. His mother looked on to Cryo’s struggle and gave out a sigh. She wondered herself what they could do to get out of this mess. “What are they going to make us build?” thought Tide. “Does he want us to build a portal? Maybe to sell in bulk. Or to break into places to steal or worse?” Tide looked back at Cryo, who was still struggling to break free. “My baby… What will happen to him? Will they separate us? Force us to both work on different projects far away from each other with the threat that if we don’t work with them, they’ll “severely punish,” the other?” Tide looked at Cryo, who had stopped struggling, and was panting a little bit. “What else do they want us to build? Worst case, they’ll have us build weapons, like…” Cryo looked back towards his mother, and could see her concern. “This world will follow the same path ours did. War with no end. Enslavement. All because of us…” She looked back towards the ceiling and let out another sigh. Cryo now could see that she felt hopeless. “Whether they plan to sell the our technology they force us to create or use them to take over, the result will be the same. I came here to escape this… But it seems I’m right back where I started.” She began to close her eyes. “I’m sorry, Cryo. I came to this world to allow you to avoid this, but… perhaps this is what its like everywhere in the universe…”

Ch 2

Fight or Flight

“Mom…” thought Cryo. “She’s giving up. But… We can’t give up. Not now. I need to cheer her up somehow. Maybe…” Cryo lifted his paw from under the covers with the strap wrapped around it.. Though restricted he could at least maneuver it towards his mother. His mother noticed, and Cryo then gave a small smile. “Cryo…” thought Tide. Tide did the same and offered her paw and reached it out towards him. The two paws joined and the warmth between the two pulsed through the two of them. She gave a smile back, and realized there must still be something they could do.

With his mothers hope restored, Cryo began to try and think of what they could do. “Hmm… Now how can I get us out of this mess.” He looked around the area, but saw nothing but a couple of seats and windows in the jumpship. “For starters, I need to get out of this bed. But… I can’t see the straps with this blanket on me. And I can’t struggle out of them. Hmmm…” Cryo began to feel around the under the covers at the straps, with his left paw. He felt what he thought was a hole on the metallic part on the strap connected to his left arm. “This… I remember seeing locks on the bed where the reinforced leather strap meets the metal. This must be the key hole. But…” Cryo looked around himself. “But I’ve never picked a lock before, nor is there anything nearby for me to pick it with.” Cryo then remembered something he heard in a movie once. “Ice expands. Metal doesn’t…” “I wonder?…” thought Cryo. Cryo began to concentrate his cold energy into one of his left talons, and could feel it becoming encased in ice. “I won’t be able to break the straps with ice, but maybe with the belt…” Cryo positioned his claw over the lock, and carefully stuck a talon into the opening. “Come on. Come on…” A bit of ice started to form inside the lock, and a crackling noise could be heard from it! “Come on! Come on!” Soon the locking mechanism securing the strap broke, allowing Cryo to untie his paw! “Yes! Now for the others!” Cryo exclaimed in his head! Tide heard several pops as Cryo broke each of the locks pinning him down to the bed one by one, realizing that he was onto something. Soon, all the locks were broken, and Cryo could untie each part wrapped around his body and move freely again! “Yes! I’m free! Now…”

Cryo began to untie the wire on his mandible and went over to make sure his mom was ok. “Mom. You ok?” Tide nodded. “Freeze your talons and insert your claws into the lock. Then spread the ice inside the lock.” Tide shook head. “You need help breaking it Mom?” She nodded her head again. But her eyes lit up for a second. She gestured her head toward the window. Cryo walked over and took a peak outside and saw he was flying very high over a mountainous forest near the coast. “Right… It’s never easy… You’re still recovering from being asleep for 5 years. No way you can fly right now. Or at least not for very long. It’s too dangerous to try from this high up. And these collars…”

Cryo headed for a small compartment connected toward the front of the room on the left side. Tide watched Cryo as he went around. He opened the door and found a mirror in a bathroom on this part of the ship, and looked closely at it. He saw the thick, very dark cyan collar around his neck, which he could see a small, round keyhole on the front. It looked to be pretty technologically advanced.

“This collar is made specifically not to be removed or broken like standard shock collars. He said that it blocks gps signals, so the people back at the base can’t track us with this on. It looks like it’s made of Cyantrinian (Sigh-an-tre-ni-an) metal. Very resistant to ice and water. They must have planned ahead with our ice abilities. If I tried to pick it like with the straps, it probably will sound an alarm… and give me a major shock. I don’t think it’s possible for me to take this off of us without the key, and I have no idea where they placed it at. Sigh… I guess it’ll just have to stay on for now. It’s uncomfortable and a little heavy, but there’s nothing we can really do about it right now.” Cryo shook his head and began to head back towards the room to think. “I guess I should think of something else to get out of this mess. Hmm…”

Cryo then remembered looking at the blueprint for the medical ships once when researching hover technology for his custom tv. He remembered where the fuel tank was located. Right under where Tide’s bed was… An idea began to take shape. “If I were to force an emergency landing…” Cryo looked toward the door. “I don’t know how much time I have. I have to do this quick. I shouldn’t have to worry about collateral damage since we’re flying over a large mountainous forest close to the coast. And I don’t think they’ll realize I ruptured it with it being located under Mom’s bed, especially with the blanket around the bed hiding it. Alright then.”

Cryo began to walk over to Tide. “Alright Mom. Hang on tight.” He quickly began to maneuver himself under Tide’s bed, leaving her confused as to what he was planning “All right. Get prepared Mom. It’s going to be a very rough landing.” Tide gave a nod and Cryo began to cover his talon again in layer of ice with an incredibly sharp and thin tip. He lifted his arm up and quickly thrusted down into the metal floor. The talon pierced through the thick metal and he heard a popping sound. “There.”

Cryo emerged from under her bed quickly to look at Tide. Tide gestured her head towards Cryo’s restraint bed. “Right mom.” Cryo could feel the ship starting to stutter a bit. He quickly flew to his bed and lifted each of the broken restraints back onto the bed and covered himself and the broken straps with the blanket. “Mmmph. MMMPH!” Cryo’s mom tried to speak, trying to tell Cryo something! “Oh! That’s right! The muzzle!” Cryo quickly looked around the bed and found the wire used to muzzle him before on the floor. He quickly maneuvered himself over the bed and picked up the wire. Getting back into position, he quickly tied it around his snout and then laid himself down on his back and closed his eyes. He felt a big jump as the ship hit the ground!

As the jumpship powered down and turned on backup power, with a red light beaming above, he heard the door to the room open. He heard one of the guys step in looking towards them. “It couldn’t have been the two of them. They’re both still strapped down.” He went towards the beds and saw the both of them with their eyes closed and slowly breathing. He snapped his fingers over both of them. “Both of them are asleep. Or knocked unconscious from the landing.” He headed towards the door to the room. “They’re both asleep Mick. I don’t think they’re responsible.” “Sigh… What ruptured the fuel tank!” Cryo recognized this voice from the one talking to them before. “So. The leader here is Mick, maybe?” Cryo thought. He continued to listen to their conversation. “I don’t know Mick. There must be something faulty with the ship. They continued to discuss while Cryo gave a small smirk. “Gah stupid thing. Alright. We’re going to have to wait for ground transport now. We’re going to have to stay here until it arrives. Call it in.” “Alright,” They both left the room and closed the door while Cryo looked upon them. “Now then…” Cryo crept away from the bed and unwrapped his muzzle again and placed it on the bed. He went towards the door, leaning his head against the door to listen in on his captors further down the next room…

“Yes… Fuel tank rupture. 180 miles from operations near the coastline in High Peak’s forest. 44 N 110 W. Yes… Alright… Good… Excellent. Alright. Goodbye.” said a voice outside. “Hmm. The coordinates for home are about 300 miles south from here…” said Cryo. He continued to listen in. “Alright. They can make it here in about 4 hours,” said the voice again. “We’ll be way off schedule by then. We’ll just have to double those dragon’s work load to make up for it.” “Alright. We got some time. With those two asleep, we shouldn’t have any trouble from them for the next few hours.” “Oh you don’t know the half of it, you crooks,” thought Cryo, as he gave another smirk. “It’s getting dark out. I suggest we play some poker while we wait for them. It’ll be midnight by the time they’re here, assuming they don’t run into difficulties. We’ll need to be prepared to unload our cargo then.” Cryo heard footsteps as the group began to disband further down the room…

Ch 3

Stealth Snatch

“Now what?” thought Cryo. He looked at a clock, reading above them in the room, which now read 8:00 P.M.. Cryo headed for the door to the room then opened the door a bit, and thought about it for a second. “Hmm… They gave the coordinates of where we are. If I could get to it…” Cryo look towards his Mom, who was watching him now. “Mom, wait here. I’m going to try to call in the cavalry.” She nodded, and Cryo slowly opened the door to the small corridor in the jumpship and closed it slowly behind him. It was dark as he continued to creep forward. His eyes darted in every direction down the short, narrow corridor, looking for any sign of the others.

After a very short walk forward, the room began to widen up, with a set of large cabinets lining the left of the room, spreading out from near the entrance outward toward the opposite wall. The room was lit up a bit more, compared to the short corridor. Cryo quickly, yet silently ducked behind the the large cabinets, a peaked his head out a bit behind to get a better look. He saw that there was a lamp to the right side near where the cabinets ended, which was the source of most of the light in the room. Ahead of him, further down the room, he saw his captors sitting at a round table, playing cards. At the furthest end of the room, was a small tv, with a gravity ball game turned on in the background as they played. He saw the small radio down the corridor a bit on a small stand toward the right next to a door.

“If they see me we’re going to get in REAL trouble. Hmm.” Cryo thought for a moment, and then had an idea. Seeing a lamp lit in the room on backup power from the ship, he crept toward the lamp. Taking a quick look towards his captors, he quickly unplugged the cable to the lamp, causing the room to go dark. “Hey what happened to the lamp!” Cryo quickly crept over to the radio in the cover of darkness and snatched it and silently darted back to cover. He placed it on the floor with him behind the large row of cabinets. Cryo’s heart beat fast as the lamp turned back on as sweat dripped down from his head across his scales. “Lamp got unplugged somehow.” “Cord was probably loose. Come back over.” Cryo continued to hide in the back with the radio behind the cabinets until he sat back down. “Alright, now to set the frequency.” Cryo tuned the frequency to the radio to fit the radio back at command at the base. “Alright. I hope this goes through. They shouldn’t hear me with the gravity ball game on the tv.” Cryo activated the radio and made his plea for help.

“Cryo the dragon to command. Cryo the dragon to command. Requesting communication.” No response. “Please. I need assistance. Plane carrying us went down at coordinates 44 N 110 W. Captors still here watching us. Please respond.” No response still. “Hey. Where did the radio go?” Cryo’s eyes shot up!“ Captors plan to move us at midnight, please respond!” No answer still. Cryo heard the footsteps of one of the brutes coming closer, and the door back to where they were being kept was in his view. He knew there was no time left. He began to switch the radio frequency back “Cryyyy,” said the radio as he re tuned the frequency. He then placed the radio silently on the ground and then he opened a pair of cabinet doors and moved himself inside of it and then shut the door. He heard the heathen right outside the cabinet. Cryo peered through the tiny opening in the cabinet with sweat running down his scales.

“The radio fell onto the floor,” the person said. “How’d it get over there?” Cryo began to get very nervous. “It probably was knocked down and kicked over there when the lamp went dark.” Cryo’s gave out a small breath of relief. “The wind has picked up a bit and its dark out now. Just bring it over here. We’ll tune it to listen to some music while we hear the gravity ball game on the tv.” “Alright. Do you think these ships carry any snacks to eat?” “Probably in the cabinet’s somewhere.” Cryo’s eyes shot up and his heart began to beat like a base drum. “Alright. I’ll check.” The figure opened the cabinet beside the exit to the room. “Nothing in this one.” He then opened the cabinet next to the table. “Nothing in here either.” He then turned to the set of 4 cabinets, with Cryo hid inside the far left one…

“If he finds me…” thought Cryo. He opened the farthest right one first. “Nothing.” he said. He then opened the mid right one. “Nope.” Cryo was really nervous now. He slowly closed his eyes. “Please find something… Please find something…. PLEASE FIND SOMETHING!” thought Cryo. The figure opened the pair of cabinets next to Cryo, and took something out. “Hey. Got something guys.” The figure headed back to the table. Cryo waited until the figure was out of the vicinity, and his heart rate slowed. “That was… a really close one… Ugh…”

Cryo slowly opened the cabinet and crept himself out of it. “They took the radio over to them. There’s no way I can get it now… Did… Did my message reach them?” Cryo snuck back slowly to the back room of the airship and slowly shut the door. He gave out a sigh. Tide picked up her head and turned it towards Cryo. “Mom. You ok.” Tide nodded. Cryo approached Tide’s bed. “Here. Let’s get that wire off of you.” Cryo untied Tide’s muzzle and looked at her mother with concerned eyes. “Did you call for help?” she asked. “I… tried. But I didn’t get an answer. I’m not sure if they received it. I don’t know what else I can do. It’s only 3 hours now until their support arrives.”

Tide looked towards her son. “I’m still weak. I don’t think I will be able to run far.” “I know mom.” Cryo looked back towards the door. “But… I think we’ll have to. I can probably… get the back door to the airship open. Maybe I can cart you away from them instead of making you try to fly or run. “Cryo… It might be best if you… leave me behind.” “What! No! “You realize what they’ll do to you if you stay here, especially if they realize I’m gone. They’ll more then likely try to use you to get me back.” Tide gave out a sigh, realizing he was right. “The collars we’re wearing will block transmissions to our tracking chips. I don’t think we’ll be able to take these off with the tools we have here.” Tide gave out a sigh, and then a nod. “Come on. Let’s break those restraints before they realize what’s going on.” Cryo lifted the blanket off of tide and began to individually break the belts strapping her down. “The forest outside will probably be dense. I can… ugh… pick myself up,” said Tide as she sluggishly lifted herself off the bed. “Alright. Now let’s see if we can get the hanger door open.” He began to observe it. “It was a pretty rough landing. With the main power out…” Cryo turned his head towards the hinges of the hanger door. “I’ll have to freeze the hinges to open it.” “Cryo, they’ll hear us. There must be another way.”

“I don’t think there is. They’ll find out either way that we’re out. The only other entrance is near the front. And they’ll DEFINANTY see us if we try to go through there. This is our only option. This at least gives us the element of surprise…” Tide gave out a sigh and nodded. “Alright mom. Once that door falls off, we’ll have to run faster then the winds of the North.” Tide nodded. “Alright.” said Cryo. Cryo took in a deep breath and blew a stream of ice at the hanger bay door hinges, freezing them. “On the count of three, I’ll shatter the ice. Ready? 3… 2… 1… GO!” Cryo quickly swiped his tail on the door hinges on both sides of the hanger bay door. The door dropped quickly onto the ground, with a big, loud, BANG! “Run for it!” Cryo exclaimed.

Ch 4

Forest Frenzy

The two jumped from the broken back hanger door and onto the forest ground, then quickly headed through the trees of the forest. It didn’t take the others long to figure out what happened. “How did they get loose!?” “Doesn’t matter. Get the guns. Let’s get after them!” They soon began their pursuit of Cryo and Tide. Cryo and Tide continued through the forest for about an 15 minutes, trying as hard as they could to get away. But it didn’t take long for Tide to get tired. Eventually, she began to breath heavily, and slow down. “Come on Mom! We have to keep moving or they’ll catch us!” “I’m… trying. But… so tired.” “This isn’t good, they’ll make it to us in no time if this keeps up! What to do!?” Cryo quickly darted his head around, thinking of some way to maybe hide or get away. They were then stopped as they made it to an edge of a cliff, as more forest loomed below them along with a large pond connected to a long river. They could hear a waterfall as they looked down. “Mom! We have to fly!” Tide looked over the edge towards the drop, and gave a single nod. “There they are! Quick, get them!” “NOW OR NEVER MOM.”

They both quickly leaped off the cliff and began to glide back towards the ground below, as their enemies watched from the back. But it wasn’t long before Tide’s wings began to become jittery. “Mom. Hang on! Just a little further!” “I… I can’t. So… exhausted.” Her eyes shut, and she began to plummet towards the ground. “MOM!” Cryo began to dive her way at high speed. Soon, Tide landed head first into the water, with Cryo hitting the water in turn at high speed. The people overlooking the cliff looked on at the scene. They saw nothing come up.

“Are they..?” “No way to tell. They may still be alive. Once our reinforcements get here, we’ll have teams go in a sweep this area. Call it in on the radio that we’ll need climbing equipment, and possibly scuba gear.” “Right, Mick.” The group headed back towards the plane.

As they headed off, a small head poked itself just a tiny bit out of the water, looking up towards the cliff. “They’re gone…” Cryo quickly dipped back down in the water and lifted his mothers head above the surface with his paw over his mothers mouth and nostrils “Mom. Mom! Come on!” No response. Cryo started to drag her towards the shore. “Ugh… She’s really heavy…” he thought. He soon made it to the surface and quickly dragged Tide towards the grass out of the pond. He put his head on her chest, to see if she was still breathing. “She’s alive. But… unconscious.” Cryo looked around the area, thinking of his next move. “That group may find some way to get down here, or take another route. I have to do something. And with her unconscious…” Cryo looked towards a group of bushes to the towards river ahead. “Hmm… Maybe I can…”

Cryo began to head towards the bushes and began to try to dig with his talons as fast as he could. “Come on. Come on. Need to make a hole big enough for the both of us.” After quite some time, he made a large divot in the ground around the bushes. “Alright. That should be enough. Now…” Cryo quickly grabbed his mother and dragged her through the bushes and into the divot and then Cryo went to a group of trees huddled together. He then froze the base’s of each of the trees. “Alright. Need to hit this just right…” Cryo then struck his tail against the tree’s one at a time, shattering the ice and caused the tree’s to fall down right over the divot Cryo made. “That should be good cover.” He began to see what appeared to be a light shining from further up the cliff. “That must be their reinforcements! Gotta be quick!”

Cryo quickly wedged himself in the divot shelter he made for the both of them and looked up, hearing the sound of falling pebbles and ringing metal. “Sounds like they’re coming… Gulp… I hope this works.” Cryo kept looking above him, as he continued to hear the sound of clanging metal and falling stones. Suddenly it stopped. Cryo’s lifted his head up a bit, and saw a flashlight beam overhead from his shelter. “Ugh… don’t come this way. Don’t come this way…” “Those two can’t be far. Find them. Sweep over this area.” Cryo could hear creeping footsteps all around him as leaves rustled and twigs snapped. His heart raced as he looked overhead through the broken canopy of the fell trees, watching the movements of the lights overhead. He then heard something approaching. His heart was in full speed now, sweat running down his scales. “If they find us… If they find us…” The sound moved ever closer, each step bringing a droplet from Cryo’s scales. He heard it come really close now. Suddenly, it stopped. Cryo held his breath and put his paw over his mother’s mandible, keeping it silent.

“What is it, Mick?” said a nearby voice. “These trees were the ones we heard go down. Cryo’s heart sank, as he thought they may be discovered. “Did those two do it?” “Probably. These tree’s had fruit in them. Must have knocked the tree over and ran with as much as they could carry.” Let’s keep moving ahead. They can’t be far.” Cryo heard the sound of footsteps moving into the distance, and the lights shining above disappear. Cryo gave out a sigh of relief, as he looked at his mom. “That… was too close.” Cryo picked his head up a bit and gave a yawn. “It’s probably really late now. Past midnight probably. I really need some sleep. In the morning, I can figure out what to do next.” Cryo gave out another yawn, slowly closed his eyes, and fell into a deep sleep.”

Ch 5

Survival Savvy

Cryo awoke to the sounds of birds chirping and a dim light poking above his makeshift shelter. He heard something calling him. “Cryo. Cryo. You ok? Wake up!” said Tide. “Huh. Oh mom. Ugh… Good morning.” “Finally, son. What happened? How did we end up here?” “Huh? Oh I did this.” “You did?” “Yeah. I… dragged you from the water and I made a makeshift shelter to hide in from those mercenaries.” Tide gave a curious look at her son and laid her head against the ground. “Ugh… what now?” Tide asked. “I… don’t know, Mom. They’re probably still looking for us.” They both looked at each other and gave a sigh. “I guess for now we’re… stuck out here,” said Cryo.

Cryo remembered a minute about something the mercenaries said last night. He poked his head a little bit above the broken trees to peek out to see if the coast was clear. After checking the area, he began to rummage through the broken branches. He found 2 fruits and huddled himself back into the shelter. “Here mom. Breakfast.” Cryo gave his mom one of the fruits and sat down next to her. Taking a bite, Tide seemed to like the sweet taste. “What is this.” “I think these are Cannerie fruit, commonly found in forests.” She took another bite.” “It’s Cyan and tear shaped. Seems strange.” “It’s apparently a evolution of something called a pear, combined with the soil on this world.” Cryo took a bite. “We’re going to need water…” “I can hear the sound of moving water, honey. We’re still by that pond, right?” “It’s not as simple as that, Mom. Different aquatic wildlife swim in there. Drinking unfiltered water can get you very sick. Despite being water based ourselves, in our currant predicament, I don’t think it’s wise to try and directly drink from it.” “Is there a way to get it “clean?”” “Hmm… Just give me a moment to think about this…” Cryo got up and poked his head out of his shelter again. Taking a quick look around, he saw the coast was clear. “Just stay here, Mom.”

Cryo moved the branches of the fallen trees and dragged himself out of it, moving the branches back in place to hide his shelter again. “I need items here to make something that can filter water… Let’s look around,” thought Cryo. He started to search around the tree’s around the area, trying thinking of ways to create something to filter the water from the pond. He then saw what appeared to be an old bike, sitting next to a tree, near where the pond met the river. “Hmm, a bike… How did it get here? Was there originally a path here that rode through the forest? Hmm… The rubber tires…” Cryo coated his talon with ice and carefully cut the top of the rubber tire on the front wheel of the bike. He then separated the rubber wheel from the bike. He took some vines nearby and tied one of the ends of the tires tightly.

“Now. I need something to fill this with.” Cryo looked around, towards the shore of the pond. He saw that there was pebbles on the shore of it. “Perfect. Now…” Cryo began to fill the rubber tire with as many pebbles and sediment as he could find there. Soon enough, it was filled to the top.

“Perfect. Now I have a filter for water. Now I just need something to carry water in. Hmmm.” Cryo looked back at the bike again, and saw it had a cup holder with a small water bottle in it. “Convenient, I suppose. I hope this is good enough.” Cryo took the water bottle from the bike and then took a large leaf from a fallen tree. He headed towards the water of the pond and folded the leaf in half like a taco. Inserting the leaf in the pond water, he took it out and poured the water in the leaf into the tube. The water flowed through it and came out of the bottom, where Cryo had the water bottle waiting. “Excellent. This should do it. Let’s fill it up to the top quickly. Cryo began to continually dip the leaf into the water and pour it into the tube, getting more filtered water each time. Soon the water bottle was filled. “Excellent. I better keep all of these with me while I’m out here. Now. Let’s get back to mom.

Cryo placed his “water filter,” into the pockets of his silver jacket, along with his other collected items. He then took his water bottle and wrapped the nozzle around a tie on the side of his jacket. Cryo was about to head back to his shelter when he heard something. “That sounds like footsteps! It could be them again! Gotta head back fast!” Cryo galloped quickly to his shelter and and rummaged through the branches and quickly got in and put the branches back into place. “Cryo. Your back. Did you…” “SHH mom. Listen,” Tide picked up her head a bit to hear. She heard the sound of rummaging leaves. Then she heard a voice.

“Still no sign of them.” “How on earth did they get away like that?” “I don’t know. Maybe the mother wasn’t as tired as we thought.” “We didn’t find either of them in the water earlier, so we know they climbed out of it. Could have flown away to who knows where by now.” “Are we going to call off the search?” “We’re going to search by air and land now. An airship with radar should track them in air if we sweep around the place.” “Flying is defiantly not an option now…” thought Cryo. “You think it’ll be enough. Maybe they really are still on foot somewhere. “We’ve checked everywhere around the section of the forest since midnight. If they are on foot, they would have been found by now.” “Where could they have gone then?” “I don’t know. Mick wants them both found. They are too valuable to let go now. And the people from the military research institution Echo, may know he’s involved.” “Mick? Who’s that?” whispered Tide. “We’ll have several small aircraft survey both land and air across the entire forest. They’re here somewhere. Just need to find out where they ended up. Now come on.” The sound of footsteps were heard going lower as they exited the scene. 

Cryo waited for a few minutes, and poked his head out to see if they were still there. There was no sign of them. “Ugh… Airships. That… doesn’t sound good. I won’t be surprised they arm them with nasty weapons to take us again.” “Should we stay here? Radar will not pick up our movement if we’re not going too fast.” “That is true, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they also arm themselves with thermal vision goggles. They’ll know we’re here eventually.” Tide gave out a sigh and looked at her son. “What can we do?”

Cryo thought for a moment. “I guess… we’ll have to find our way back home ourselves.” “How?” Cryo thought for a moment. He poked his head out and looked toward a group of rocks near the rocky cliff. He rustled himself out and then he looked over to a set of black rocks. “Magnetite. Maybe…”He looked back towards Tide. “Hang on for a second, Mom.” Cryo lifted himself out of his shelter and then walked over toward the rocky outcrop. Cryo took a magnetite rock and a couple of other stones and placed them in his coat pocket. Cryo then headed towards the old bike again. He looked at his talon and looked around, checking to see if it was safe. He used his talon to slowly unscrew a single nail off of the bike and then went back to where his shelter was.

“Cryo. What are you doing?” “Hang on mom.” Cryo took the leaf from earlier and then he poured some water on top of it. He took the stone and covered his talon with a very thin covering of ice with a very long and thin tip. He poked his talon into the stone and created a small hole through it. He then began to take the magnetite and carefully scrape the magnetite against the nail. After several minutes of scraping, he then placed the nail on top of the smooth stone. The nail began to rotate a bit by itself until it pointed in a direction.

“Bingo.” said Cryo. “I… don’t understand what your doing, honey.” “It’s simple mom. I made a compass.” “You made a compass?” “Yes. See where the nail is pointing?” Tide looked at the nail. “So it’s pointing North?” “Yes. We need to go south to get back home. The river is pointing towards the south. So we go in that direction. Tide was surprised at how Cryo would know how to do this. “Cryo. Where did you learn to do all of that?” “I got to do the thing with the nail in my science class at school.” Tide thought for a moment. “Do they teach all kids how to do this on this world?” She then saw the water bottle that Cryo had, attached to his coat.

“Is that a water bottle Cryo?” “Yeah mom. There was a old bike nearby. I found the water bottle in a small cup holder on it. I also got the nail from it.” “Is the water in the bottle, well… clean?” “Yeah mom. I made a water filter out of the tire on the bike.” “Wait… You made a water filter out of a tire?” “Yea. Look at this mom.” Cryo dug into his pocket and took out the water filter made from the tire.” “I… don’t understand how this makes the water clean, Cryo.” “Well you see mom, I filled the tire with a bunch small pebbles and gravel from the lake and then tied the bottom so it doesn’t fall out. When the water flows through the top of the tire, the pebbles filling it will cause the dirt and grime and such in the water to get caught on it and as it moves through the tire. The small indention on the bottom is where the water comes out, cleaned and fresh and safe to drink.” Tide was very impressed by this clever use of a this simple trick with the tire.

“Wow. Humans must really try to teach survival skills in science at school. I wouldn’t have thought to do this to make clean water. Nor the trick with the nail to make a compass,” said Tide “Actually, I didn’t learn how to make a filter like this in school.” “Then where did you learn it?” “I watched a show that taught survival skills out in the wild on my television back home. Good thing I did too. Cameron never really liked it. But its a good thing I did, huh?”

Cryo put the items he’s collected back into his coat pocket, and got up. “Can you move, Mom. We’re going to need to make our way out of here as fast as possible. It won’t take them long to start sweeping the forest.” “Yeah… Ughh… I’ll manage. Tide slowly picked herself up and the both of them climbed out. “We may be stuck out here for some time.” Cryo began to gather as many of the Cannerie fruit as he could to put in his coat pocket. “We’ll just have to continue going south until we can get home, or until we find help.” “Alright. What about the airships?” “We may get lucky. They think that we’ve been going forward this entire time. They may not realize we are now going the direction of home. If we stay under the trees, we may be able to at least avoid their detection from the air. Though once they decide to use thermal, well, we’ll have to think of something else…”

The two started out east through the forest. It was only about 30 minutes, before they heard the sound of low fire jet boosters over the forest canopy. They quickly ducked under a tree and waited for the sounds to fade away. “Was that them?” asked Tide. “Most likely. That was the sound of a V12 Militant light aircraft. Considering what we’ve already dealt with, they probably have a few light attack craft.” replied Cryo “Do you think there will be more?” “I think so. We better keep moving.” They continued through, walking for about 2 more hours. Tide started to get tired and they both decided to rest under a large tree a bit. They started to eat some of their collected fruit and drank some water. Cryo then heard the sound of another ship combing over the forest. “Looks like their increasing the patrol ships combing over the forest.” he said “Do you think they’ve spotted us yet?” asked tide “No. But it seems like they have changed the directions now where they are searching. They are probably now looking over the entire forest.” “What do we do?” “We keep moving. Hopefully we can get home before they find us.” “And if they do?” “We’ll have to improvise…” They continued going through.

Eventually, night came again, and they needed to rest up for the night. “Hmm. Digging a hole and knocking down a tree would probably draw attention to this area if I tried that again. I highly doubt that’ll work twice. I need to do something else to make a shelter.” said Cryo. Cryo thought for a moment. He then broke off a couple branches from the trees, took a set of large leaves from the bigger ones, and sets of vines growing up them. He quickly began to make a frame of a large enough tent from the sticks, using the vines to tie them together. He then piled the leaves on top one at a time to cover the exterior frame and using a combination of his saliva and clay from the river to hold them in place.

“There we go. Tents done,” he said. “…Did the show teach you this as well?” asked Tide “A little bit. The idea of using clay and my saliva as an adhesive was my own idea. I didn’t actually know if it would work to be honest.” It began to rain in the forest, and a low sound of thunder could be heard in the distance. “Storm’s coming tonight Mom. We better get in quickly. The storm might lessen the patrols in the forest, so we might be good for the night.” “Alright, son.” The two got in their makeshift shelter as the wind and rain howled throughout the forest. It didn’t take long for Cryo to fall asleep. Tide looked at her son as he slept. “Look at him. Quite a little survivor he is,” she thought. “I wonder if the rain and thunder is actually a soothing sound to him. He looks pretty peaceful.” Tide laid her head down and gave a yawn.” “I better get some sleep too. I need to be ready to move again in the morning. Goodnight, my baby boy.” Tide slowly closed her eyes and then fell asleep.

Ch 6

Patient Project

Cryo slowly opened his eyes and gave a yawn. He felt something was off. He wasn’t in a forest along the river now. He rubbed his eyes as they began to focus. As Cryo’s head span a bit, he realized he was in some type of building, unlike any he had ever seen. The walls were white, but it seemed that the texture of the walls seemed to be imitating a spiders web. The texture blended to the wall quite well, and strangely felt soothing to his eyes. To his left, was a large window with light pouring in next to him, and the sight of large rolling hills far back covered in many different plants, flowers, and shrubs, with sprinklers watering it all over. Closer to the building, seemed to be a large and expansive farm filled seemingly with many different crops being tended to by workers. A bit further down seemed to be a couple greenhouses as well, having workers going in and out. Cryo couldn’t get an idea what the workers looked like though, as the room he was in seemed to be quite far up in the building. He also saw a couple of large, metal buildings around the area in a green hue, which seemingly combining with the rolling hills around it to made it a soothing view. There was a steel sliding door in the upper right corner of the room and a very large dresser lining the right wall, with many drawers across it. Cryo wondered for a second what was in the drawers of the dresser. In front, there was the insignia of a spider over a black background. Under it was a couple of chairs that had a spider carved on the back and a white and black cushion with a web pattern. There was also a set of simple wooden closet doors close to the entrance to the room.

Cryo tried to get up, but felt a sharp pain in his back right leg. “Ugh… My leg…” he thought as he gritted his teeth. He breathed in a few times, and looked down towards his body, and realized he seemed to be on a soft bed in the shape of a spider as well, and covered in a blue blanket. He lifted up the blanket a bit, and realized his back right leg was in a white cast. He also seemed to be in a blue hospital gown, made to fit a dragon like him. He also saw that his front and back paws had soft, fuzzy grey gloves and socks covering them, which also covered his talons. It felt a bit strange to Cryo, as he usually didn’t have his talons covered when wearing items like this. He felt a cold pack on his head and looked at it for a second. Seemed it was wrapped with a small strap around his neck. “Hmmm. Someone has been treating my wounds. But how did I get here? And how did my leg get broken? Wait a minute, am I back in…?” Cryo shook his head and gave out a sigh. “At least I’m not strapped down or worse now…”

Cryo looked around again and saw next to his bed on the right was a cup with a clear liquid inside of it, sitting on top of a small, wooden cabinet. Cryo began to slowly maunver himself up to take a better look at it, and saw an array of bubbles going through it. “This liquid seems to react to movement. Is it safe to drink? It might be medicine. Hmm. Guess it wouldn’t hurt to take a sip.” He raised the cup toward his mandibles and took a sip of it. “Hmm. A sweet and fizzy drink. With a citrus taste. I heard from Cameron humans haven’t been able to make drinks like this since they left earth.” Cryo took a couple more sips and drank the rest of it down and set it on a coaster. He then took in a deep breath and laid his head back down on the pillow on the bed. “No one has come to see me yet. I can probably guess there is something here watching me nonetheless,” he thought.

Not long after resting a bit, he began to hear the sounds of the metal door opening by sliding up. Cryo turned his head quickly toward the door. The metal door slid up and soon a familiar spider came in. “Your finally awake.” he said. “Oh. Its you Zeke.” replied Cryo. “You ok?” “Legs stiff as a piece of wood and I’m bed ridden. Otherwise, I’m fine.” “That’s good. You hungry?” “Yea, I suppose…” “Hang on. I have something for you.”

He went towards the door a grabbed a tray of food outside the room. He brought it over to Cryo’s bed and sat it down in front of him. On the tray was a food Cryo had never seen before. “What are these?” Cryo asked. “Well. This right here is a blueberry muffin, basically sweetened bread with blueberries in it. This here is hash browns. Basically diced potatoes fried and mixed and cooked with onions, herbs, and spices. This is oatmeal. Made of oats from an oat tree and mixed in with brown sugar and cinnamon. And finally, this is a glass of Citrus blast soda, a fizzy drink with lemon and lime fruits mixed into it to give it a sweet taste. I see you drank the soda we left for you earlier.” “So that’s what that drink was.” thought Cryo. “Do you need help to eat?” “Um… no. I’m fine.

Cryo tried each item one at a time, and liked it. It wasn’t long before there was no more. Zeke watched him as he ate, seemingly taking note of his movements. “Man. They don’t have stuff like this back at home,” thought Cryo. “You must have liked it since you ate it all.” said Zeke. “Yeah. Where did you guys learn to make all of this. “We learned it from transcribing ancient books of an ancient civilization on our planet.” Cryo nodded and then laid his head back to his bed.

“So Cryo…” “Yea?” “Can you tell me some more about the humans?” Yeah. I guess I can. What would you like to hear?” “I would… really like to know what happened after the military took you. You stopped the conversation there the last time we talked.” “Well alright. You see…” Cryo began to talk about what his life was like after he was taken after his first birthday. He talked about everything up to before the incident on the ocean, before he began to get very tired. “Hey, Zeke?” “Yes Cryo.” “Any chance I can take a rest for a bit. I’m getting tired again.” “Alright. I’ll leave you to get some sleep. Is there anything you need to help you sleep?” “Actually. Any chance there is a radio or something that can play soothing music to help me sleep?” “Yes. Hang on a second.” Zeke left the room and them brought back a small radio, after flickering a little bit with it, a soft tune began to play from it, which began to ring in Cryo’s ears. Cryo gave out a yawn and began to drift off. “Have a good nap Cryo.” Soon Cryo’s mind began to get fuzzy and he closed his eyes and fell into a deep slumber.

Ch 7

Fish Food

Cryo gave out a yawn and rubbed his eyes a bit. He began to pick himself up and looked around. He realized he was back in the makeshift tent he made. He looked back at his back right leg and touched it. He then began to drag it across the ground a bit, seemingly testing it. “Feels fine. I guess I better wake up Mom.” Cryo thought. Cryo began to shake Tide a bit. “Hey mom. Wake up. Wake up mom!” “Mmpphh. Cryo?” She wiped her eyes a bit and began to pick herself up. “It’s morning. Ready to go mom?” “Yeah… Ughh… What time is it?” “Come on Mom. We have to be able to keep moving. They’ll find and catch us if we don’t.” “Yeah. I know son. What will we do with the tent?” “We’ll have to crumple it and hide it. It’s too big to carry with us and they’ll know we headed this way if we leave it. “Alright.” They exited it and began to quickly crumple it and then they separated it into several places around the area. ”Alright mom. Let’s get a move on. Come on.” They then headed forward from the river and continued on.

2 days passed as they continued following the river. On the third day though, as they were traveling, up river, they decided to to rest and eat some of their fruit. But they realized quickly they were starting to run a bit low. “We’re going to need to find more food soon. We probably still have a long way to go,” said Cryo. “Well. Your the one who seems to be an expert on this. What do you think we should do?” asked Tide. “Hmmm…”

Cryo looked at the river and saw schools of fish swimming through it. He then looked at the surrounding forest. He then went over to one of the trees and saw it had some long sturdy vines around it. “Hmm sun vines. Grow typically on trees near freshwater. Pretty sturdy and long , but easy to fold.” He then looked back at the river. “Hmm. Maybe…”

Cryo then slashed several of the vines with his talon and gathered them up. “Now then. I need something to support its frame.” Cryo looked around the trees and flew up toward the branches. Cryo quickly slashed off two large branches and gathered them up. “These branches should be able to make a good frame. I’ll just need to trim them off to make them smeller and easier to carry.” He quickly shorten and separated the thick branches using his talons making it into 2 smaller pieces. ” Alright, I better get started with this quickly.” He headed back toward the his mom, and began spreading the branches side by side.

“What are you doing, Cryo?” Tide asked. “I’m making a small fishing net.” “A fishing net?” “Yes. I’m going to use the branches as its frame and the vines to make the net. It’s going to take a little bit to finish it. It should work with these types of vines.” So Tide watched as Cryo tied the vines along the branches, loop after loop after loop throughout. Soon it was completed. “Alright then. Let’s make sure this works.” Cryo flapped his wings and flew over the river. He took a quick look down and saw many schools of fish swimming though it. “Alright. Let’s try this.” Cryo made a dive towards the river and dove under the water. A few minutes passed and Cryo’s head soon popped up from the river.” He slowly made his way back to the shore. As he emerged, with the net, Tide saw the net with several fish caught in it. “It looks like it worked. Now. we’re going to need to keep this fresh. But that’ll be simple enough,” Cryo said. Cryo took in a big breath and breathed a cold stream on the captured fish, freezing them solid. “There. That should keep them fresh. Now I’ll attach the net on my back for later use.”

Cryo took the net with the fish and folded it in half. Then he slung it over the back of his coat, and finally took one more vine and tied it around his back. “Alright. Now let’s continue, Mom. We’ve spent enough time here. Remind me to refreeze the fish in maybe an hour or two. We’ll need to keep these frozen so that they’ll be safe to eat later.” “Alright. I’ll try to remember Cryo.” The two continued on their way.

Ch 8

Mud buds

A storm began to hover over the forest and spayed rain down upon them, and the sun began to set as they moved forward. But as they did, Cryo thought he heard the sound of rustling somewhere further back. Cryo turned his head to take a quick look, but saw nothing. “Is something wrong, son?” Tide asked. “No… It’s nothing.” They continued moving forward. Suddenly, Cryo heard a tree branch crack and quickly looked back again, He could see movement behind, ducking in the bushes! “Mom! Run!” Cryo exclaimed!

The two quickly began to run away from the river through the forest. “They’re getting away! After them!” It seems they have finally found them. Cryo continued to hear the boots trampling the leaves on the wet ground as they continued going forward. They darted in different directions around and around, but they always seemed to be able to continue tailing them! Even worse, is that it wasn’t too long before Tide began to get tired. “I’m not sure how much longer I can run like this!” exclaimed Tide. “They must be wearing thermal goggles! They’re tracking the heat from our bodies!” Cryo said. “We have to do something!” Tide exclaimed. “Umm…! Uh….!”

Suddenly, Cryo and Tide slipped and rolled into a very large and quite deep muddy divot in the ground. “OOF.” As their head span a bit, they heard the quick sounds of footsteps being very close. “NO! It can’t end like this! They aren’t going to take us without a fight!” thought Cryo. He gave a angry scowl and slowly poked his head out just enough to see with his heart beating faster then an engine.

He saw their figures come into view of the area from behind the trees. They slowly crept in. 8 heartless figures wearing forest camo, goggles, and carrying tranquilizer guns. Cryo was about to climb out of the divot and prepare for the fight of his life, when they began to speak. “Where did they go?” said one of them,” “Huh?” thought Cryo. Cryo then stood as still as a statue, keeping an eye on them as the group walked right past them, around the deep divot in the ground. “Thermals not seeing anything. “How is that possible?! Two mythical creatures DO NOT JUST DISAPPEAR! These two have already caused enough trouble for us already! We’re not the only ones combing the forest for those two!” “Huh?” Cryo thought. “If those military boys find them first, we’ll never be able to get those dragons! They already know that Mick betrayed them. There’s no way he’ll be able to get us back in!” “Mick… I’ve heard that name multiple times. Did he used to work at the base?” thought Cryo. “They may be further ahead. Let’s keep moving forward. It’s possible they split up. You 4 go towards that direction. We’ll head this way. Come on. They can’t be far.” Cryo saw their retreating figures as they continued further in until they we’re no longer in sight.

Cryo gave out a sigh as he slowly ducked back in. His heart rate slowed. “That was really close…” he said. “I don’t understand. How did they not find us?” asked Tide. Cryo was confused for a bit, but then he looked at himself, and saw that his entire body was completely covered in wet mud. “The mud. I think the mud… hid us.” “The mud?” “Mud is cold, slick, and messy. When we fell in, We got covered and soaked in it. The mud is masking our body heat. They didn’t see us in the divot since they were seeing in thermal. and they just… walked right past us.” Cryo checked again to see if the coast was clear. “They should be gone.” Come on. Let’s head back in the direction of the river. We can use mud to keep ourselves hidden from their thermal vision. We’ll have to get more once it starts to dry on us, but the soil near the river and in it should be wet enough to keep us hidden from their goggles.” Cryo then quickly turned his head back and breathed some ice on the frozen fish. “Let’s head back towards the river. Those bad guys headed further ahead in opposite direction of the river, so we may be able to put much more distance between us and them before they realize they ran right past us.” Cryo pulled himself out of the divot. “Once we head up the river a bit more, we can start a fire and cook these.” “Do you know how to make one?” “I never tried it. But I might be able to do this.” The two went back towards the river, and continued to head up it.

Ch 9

Campsite Creatures

About 3 hours later, the storm had calmed and the moon rose up quickly into the sky. The two dragons had grown tired and had decided to set up camp for the night. Cryo began to make a shelter, this time using mud, clay mixed a bit with his saliva as an adhesive and bark from a tree he ripped off with his talons. Tide sat down and watched Cryo as he worked, wondering how he was so resourceful. “Cryo really knows how to survive out here. It’s almost like he was born in the wild,” she thought. “I don’t think a survival show alone could prepare him to actually survive out in the wilderness like this. I think there might be something more…” Cryo had begun to attach the bark to the frame for their shelter. Tide began to wonder something.

“You know, Cryo’s life growing up… He was raised in the mountains, the whole first year of his life.” She began to lay herself down. “He grew up near a lush forest, filled with rocky terrain, high up. He slept in a crib in a barn, with love and care that only a loving family could give. He watched his “older brother,” take things apart and he was able to pick up on it. Even if the amount of time with them was short, its what he grew up in. Maybe that’s why. I know he doesn’t get much time outside back at the base. Perhaps… Perhaps this is reminding him of his time with them.” Cryo had just finished with the shelter. And had walked over to Tide. “Alright mom. I’m going to try and make a fire,” Cryo said “How will you?” asked Tide

Cryo took out a black stone out of his pocket and the metal nail. “I’m going to use this flint and the nail from the “compass.” “Flint?” “Yes. I going to try to scrape the nail on the flint to create a spark and start a fire.” “Where did you get that, Cryo?” “It was where I found the magnetite. I picked it up since I knew we might need it.” Cryo took in a deep breath and exhaled. “Alright. Let’s try this.” He began to scrape the nail quickly against the flint. After a little bit, he began to see sparks coming out. “Come on. Come on,” he thought. The sparks began to hit the wood. After a little bit of time, a small ember began to light up. “Alright. There’s a start. Now…” Cryo began to take some deep breaths and blew slowly on the small fire, with each breath making it a little bit larger each time. Soon, the fire blazed and he was ready to cook. Cryo quickly pulled his paws away and stepped back. “There we go. Now…” Cryo then unwrapped his fishing net from around him and gave it to Tide. “Hold these for a bit, Mom.”

Cryo then began to quickly created a stand out of twigs and logs to help cook their dinner. Taking a bunch of sturdy branches and wet soil from under the river, it soon was built. “Let’s get cooking.” Cryo then quickly skewered the fish and began to cook their meal over the open fire. The sound of crackling meat could be heard as they it cooked. Cryo began to turn the stick to cook the fish from all sides. “It shouldn’t be long before their done.” Cryo said. “It could probably use some spices and breading, but it should taste good still,” said Tide.

After about 12 minutes of cooking, the fish were done and the two had started eating it. A crunch of satisfaction was heard as they chewed their food thoroughly. “The fish tastes good, son,” said Tide. “Your right about it needing some breading, Mom. I’ve never eaten fish without it. Both gave a small chuckle as they continued eating. Tide looked at her son, who stared back. “Is there something you need, Mom?”

“Cryo. Do you like being out here like this?” she asked. “Huh. What do you mean, Mom?” “Well its just that you seem to be knowledgeable about how to live out here. You’ve spent most of your life indoors at home. It can’t just be from watching a silly TV show.” “Well…” “I’ve just been thinking Cryo.” “About what Mom?” “When you were living with Greg and the others, you were mostly outdoors. In the mountains next to a forest. Yes, your “bedroom,” was a barn with a crib inside. But its still outdoors nonetheless.” “Well. I was just a hatchling then Mom…” “Maybe. But that’s what you grew up with. Even if the time with them was short, it was your first year on this world. You and your “big brother,” would play together outside for most of the day. You would take naps several times a day in your room, with very warm cloths on your back, and then wake up again to continue until you ran out of energy again or night fell. I really love that silver jacket Cryo. You look quite cute in it.” Tide chuckled a bit. “It’s defiantly proven very useful since we’ve been out here. Those pockets on it are quite convenient to carry our supplies. It also looks nice and comfy on you, even if your covered in mud right now. I can see now why humans wear cloths. I’m glad they could share that experience with you.”

Cryo began to sit back a little, thinking about it a bit himself now. “It’s a little more then that mom. But… I don’t think you’d want to know the more “specific,” reasons.” Tide continued. “Sometimes Noble would take you indoors and play inside. Sometimes he would take things apart and you watched him with curiosity. Over time, you began to pick up on it yourself.” “Yea. Much of my knowledge of how most machines work was from watching him taking things apart and talking and telling me about them…” “Then you had to leave them behind. Your life changed. You had to live in a “different world.” While the researchers there eventually realized your potential, they kept you inside most of the time. They watched you work. They watched you play. You would really only go outside only for “breaks,” or when you wanted to play catch. I think what it really is Cryo, is that, being outdoors like this. It really is a small reminder of what it was like for you back with them. The researchers didn’t realize what outdoors really means for you. It reminds you of home, and its why you can live like this out here. The painted walls within your room can’t really simulate what its like there.”

Cryo looked behind him, and then looked back at his mom. He took another few bites and gave a sigh. “I admit mom. Your right. I don’t really get a chance to spend time outdoors at the research center. For security reasons, I admit. I can easily see why they were concerned with me being outside, considering we were kidnapped like this. But… I endured it. I had to. For them. Cameron… well… he was there to support me through the changes. He reminds me of Noble. Not exactly, but he always had my back. But… he still isn’t him.” Cryo took another bite and looked up at the stars in the sky.” “I had hoped that I could see them again one day. But after what happened now, I doubt they’ll ever allow me out of their sight again.” “Maybe they would, Cryo. I think they would allow you to see them again one day still.” “Why do you think that, Mom? It’s been 6 years since I last saw them.” Tide looked at her son, took a bite, and gave a grin. “I think once we get back home, you’ll see what I mean.” Cryo pondered what she meant, but decided not to push further. The two soon finished their meal, and soon it was time to go to sleep. Cryo gathered mud from the river and spread it all over his body and Tide’s. “Hopefully the mud will keep us hidden during the night. While it may feel weird being covered up like this, hopefully we both can get some sleep. The two went in their makeshift shelter. While feeling a bit icky made it a bit more difficult to sleep, they eventually fell into a deep slumber.

Ch 10

Patch Pro

Cryo woke into the sight of the hospital room room again. As his head span a bit, he saw that several armored bugs were in his chamber talking to each other. His head felt a bit hot for some reason. He also felt a tiny bit numb and felt a sting in his upper right arm, and looked over at it. He saw there was medical gauze and bandages over it. “Hmm?” Cryo heard.

He looked toward the front left of the room, and saw a green dragonfly in blue hospital attire and cap. It turned around to look at him. He seemed to be sitting on a rolling rounded doctor’s seat with body facing back and towards Cryo. He seemed to had been typing on a small computer attached to the wall next to the window. “Oh. Good afternoon, Cryo,” it said in a soft and calming male voice. He smiled at Cryo and typed in a few more things and pressed a button on the side of the console. He then began to slide the computer back a bit, and then picked up his long wings and began to fly with a low whir sounding off them towards Cryo with the seat in his hands. The other soldiers noticed he was awake and began to face him as well. “Glad to see your awake, little guy,” said a red centipede in the room. He smiled at Cryo. The dragonfly set down the chair softly next to Cryo’s bed and sat himself down on it.

“How are you feeling?” the dragonfly asked. “Oh… Umm. I feel… a little hot,” replied Cryo. “Hot?” “Yeah.” Cryo began to cough a few times. The dragonfly seemed to take notice. “I noticed your head getting a little red while you’ve been asleep. I can check that in a minute.” “Um… ok. Thanks.” Cryo gave a faint smile at the dragonfly. He began to cough a few times again, and settled down on the bed again. The dragonfly nodded and put a medical mask over his mouth. He then put some gloves on his front arms. “I’m a medical expert Patch. I’ve been your primary physician while you’ve been here with us at this hospital.” “Oh. You’ve been my doctor?” “That’s correct.” He rubbed Cryo’s right arm a little bit. He then took an electric thermometer from a nearby wall.

“Could you open your maw, Cryo? I want to take your temperature.” “Oh yeah. Hang on.” Cryo opened his mouth, ready for the thermometer. “Good. Now please keep this under your tongue.” Cryo nodded. The dragonfly placed the thermometer under Cryo’s tongue and Cryo closed his mouth. “Good. Now just wait a few moments, Cryo.” Cryo laid still in the bed, breathing slowly. Soon enough, the thermometer began to beep a few times. “Alright. Now let’s check your temperature.” Patch gripped the thermometer and Cryo released it from his mouth. “Hmm…” said Patch. He waited a few moments while Cryo waited in anticipation. “About… 69.2`F.” “Oh… I am running a fever.” said Cryo. He coughed a few times again. “What’s your normal body temperature, Cryo?” “About 68`F.” “Ahh. I see. Hang on. Give me a minute.” Patch looked at his wrist, which had a shiny watch or something similar around it. He leaned it close to his mouth.

“Healic. Could you get a cold pad, Ferintoph, and maybe a few cough drops. Patient Cryo is confirmed to be running a small fever and is coughing.” “Yes Patch. I’ll get that for you.” a voice called back on the device. “That wristband must be some type of comm band, like at home. Although the screen seems to show a bunch of other data on it. I wonder if its a small computer as well.” thought Cryo. He put his wrist back down and looked back at Cryo. “Alright, son. It should only be a few minutes before Healic comes by with the meds and cold pad for your head.” “Um. Ok. What exactly is, Faintoph?” “It medicine that will help bring down that fever.” “Oh. Ok.” Cryo nodded and smiled at him. He gave a nod back. Cryo looked back at his bandaged right arm again and become a little curious. He looked toward Patch.

“Hey. What was this for?” Cryo asked. “We put an iv in your arm with a sedative. We just wanted to run a few tests, and didn’t want you to awaken.” said Patch. “What tests?” “We wanted to run an x ray, blood, saliva, and a few other tests.” “Why didn’t you want me awake for it?” “Well… We wanted to know a bit more about your biology and we didn’t know how you’d react to that.” “You could have just asked. I don’t mind having to take a few medical tests to get better. I know that it helps you help me get better.” “We didn’t know how you would take it. Please understand.” Cryo thought about it for a moment and gave out a sigh. Cryo began to cough a bit again. He looked at Patch and smiled. Patch rubbed Cryo’s head a few times and then asked “Do you need anything while we wait for the meds, Cryo?” Cryo smiled and said “Yes. Can I have some water.” “Sure thing hang on a second.” Patch turned to the centipede in the room. “Firestorm. Could you go out of the room and get our patient here a nice bottle of water from the supply cabinets. “Yea. Sure doc. Hang on for a few minutes, little blue bud.” He began to walk over and was about to open the door to the chamber he thought he heard something outside the door. “What in the…” Suddenly, the door to the room burst open from an explosion!

Ch 11

Will in the Wilds

Cryo shot up with his eyes wide open, and realized he was back in the forest. He breathed a bit heavily and began to slow his breathing to calm down. His head span a bit. “What is with these dreams…” Cryo began to nudge his mother to awaken her. “Come on, Mom. Wake up.” “Mphhh… Cryo?” “We need to get ready to move out quickly. Come on.” “Alright. Ughh… Hang on a second.” Tide slowly picked herself up and climb out of the makeshift shelter. Cryo soon came out as well. “Alright mom. We’ll first need to take this apart apart and spread it about in case they come back this way. We also need to replace the mud covering us from the soil near the river and we need to fish for some food for tonight.” “Alright.” They took apart their shelter and spread its parts around. Then they headed back towards the river.

Another 9 days passed as they travelled. They spent the time travelling through the massive forest. They would wake up and spread mud on themselves. As they continued on their way, they heard the sound of jets more often. Patrols were now happening much more frequently. They had to slow down with each ship and duck under the forest canopy to make sure they couldn’t be tracked by them. They spent their time talking and walking as they tried to make their way towards home. Cryo would always take time at least one point during the day to catch fish in his net for food and fill up their water bottle with clean water for the long road ahead. During those nights, they’d build a new shelter and a campfire and it was here that Cryo would introduce Tide to the concept of ghost stories. Tide seemed to like the idea of telling spooky stories while sitting by a nice fire in the darkness of the night and eating cooked fish. She was surprised that this was an activity humans took in when camping in the wilds for fun. She eventually was able to spook Cryo with her own brand of ghost stories. When it’s time for bed, they’d spread mud on their bodies again and settle in their built shelter for a nice sleep.

And so the sun rose again. Cryo knew he had to fish for some food. After destroying their tent, they headed towards the river. Cryo poked his head from behind a tree to see if the coast was clear. He looked around, and saw no one. “Alright. I better do this really quickly before they possibly see us.” Cryo motioned his mom to come forward and they immediately headed towards the river. Cryo immediately dove into the water while Tide spread mud on herself to conceal herself. After a few moments, Cryo poked his head out and pulled out a small bounty of seafaring wanderers. He immediately took his catch and blew a small stream of ice. he then quickly folded the net and tied it around his waist. “Alright. Let’s move out quickly, Mom.” The two began to head forward.

The two walked for a while, with the sun beaming down their backs. A smooth wind began to blow as they walked. Tide looked over at her son, who seemed to be very focused on something. “Cryo seems to be deep in thought,” thought Tide. “I wonder how far we’ve traveled since we have been out here. Perhaps he is trying to calculate the distance in his head. Or maybe something else is on his mind.” Tide looked ahead and began to think. “How long are we going to have to go to get out of this mess. We’ve been out for nearly a month. We’ve seen no rescue yet.” Tide looked back at Cryo. “Cryo may be thinking of what he heard those mercenaries said perhaps. They did get our message from the radio. I just wonder where they are looking for us from.” Tide began to look toward above to see birds flying above. “Perhaps they are looking further behind of us rather then on the path to home. We may have to get back all the way on our own.”

They walked for a couple more hours and Tide needed a small rest. So they decided to take a break under a big tree. “We can stay here for a bit. We’ll have to get back on the move soon though, Mom.” “Alright, my little boy.” Cryo pulled the water bottle out of his coat, and realized it was almost empty. “I need to scavenge some more water real quick for us mom. Hang on.” Cryo headed back towards the river. Taking out scavenged water filter and leaf, he dipped the leaf in the water, and then poured the contents into the pebble filled tire. It flowed through it and came out the bottom, filtering into the water bottle. “Alright. There we go. Now let’s get back to Mom.”

Cryo was about to head back, but then he heard a rustling nearby. He stopped immediately. Turning his head, he looked around. “What is doing that. Is that them?” Cryo began to slowly walk back, looking around as he went along. The rustling was closer now. Cryo began to pick up his feet and moved quickly. “It must be them! How did they find us?! I have to get back to Mom fast!” Cryo quickly galloped toward where his mother was, with the sound of rustling continually coming closer. Cryo’s heart began to race like a base drum and soon he found his mother resting under the tree. “Mom! We have to go. Now!” “Whats going…” “Come on, Mom. Quickly!” She picked herself up but the figure was very close by now. Cryo looked back and saw the rustling very close by in a bush. “Quick Mom. We have to run!” “Wait, Cryo!” said a familiar voice.

Ch 12

Rescue Relief

Cryo immediately halted and began to look at an emerging figure from the wood, wearing dark forest camo. Cryo immediately recognized his voice. “T… Ty?” Cryo asked. The man took off his helmet and googles and Cryo recognized Ty’s face immediately. “Yes Cryo. We’ve been looking for you. You don’t know how happy I am to see you here and safe.” Ty smiled softly and turned back and waved his hand forward. “Come on guys! Form a perimeter!” A bunch of soldiers quickly came in all around and took different positions around the area. “Come with me Cryo. Let’s get you two home.” Ty motioned Cryo to come forward and the soldiers took point and formed a circle around the two dragons as they moved.

A little ways ahead of them was a small airship. They quickly loaded Cryo and Tide and headed out for home. “You two are a mess,” said Ty. “Yeah. I know Ty,” replied Cryo. “ You two will defiantly need to get cleaned up when we get you back home. We’ll also have to get those nasty collars off of both of you.” “How did you find us?” asked Tide. “We got your call. When you contacted us on the radio with the coordinates, we immediately dispatched a team there. They were using the crashed ship as a command post for their search for you both. We assaulted it and managed to split up their entire group across the woods. And we also managed to get info on the direction that you were last seen from. When we realized you we’re heading directly in the direction of home, we quickly began to make our way back. We made several sweeps over the forest with our airships, but didn’t find you.” “Yeah. Sorry about that Ty. They had thermal vision so we needed to hide ourselves using mud,” said Cryo. Ty nodded to the little dragon. “As you could guess, we then decided to try to track you on foot.” “I see. So that’s how you found us.” “You don’t know how worried we were for you two. You’ve spent almost an entire MONTH out in the wilds alone, with no food, clean water, or shelter.” “Well that’s not exactly the case Ty…” “Yes Cryo. I kind of noticed.” Ty took a look at the fishing net Cryo made, wrapped around his back. “I’m impressed about how you’ve been able to survive out here. You made a water filter out of a tire, a net out of simple sturdy vines and branches…” Ty looked back at him. “You we’re able to survive all on your own, with nothing but a coat and items from the outdoors.” Cryo took a swig of water from his water bottle and nodded. “Alright. Let’s get you back. We’ll get you cleaned up right as we get home.”

Time passed and soon they arrived back at the base. They soon docked the airship into the hanger, and as the hanger door opened, The two saw a whole bunch of personnel waiting for them. They all saw the two Dragons and immediately cheered. “Wow! Quite a reception,” said Cryo. “Everyone here has been worried about you two. News traveled fast after you two were taken, as you two probably expected,” replied Ty. “Come on you two. Let’s get you back to where you belong.” “Is there any chance I can go with my son?” asked Tide. “Yes. We have moved your things into Cryo’s room while you both been out. If you guys don’t mind, I think we would like to hear about what happened to you guys after a bath and a good nights sleep.” “Alright. Let’s go.” The group headed back through the hanger with the sound of cheers ringing throughout it. Cryo looked back and saw some of the other kids from school cheering with them. “I didn’t expect to find any of them here… Wonder whats with them?” Cryo shrugged as he walked through. After walking through the hanger to the outside and then to the building where his room is housed. Soon they arrived, back into their rooms.

Ch 13

Sunset and Safety

Cryo saw that there were some things were added to the room since they’ve been gone. There was a much larger hay bed a bit away from Cryo’s own bed, on the other side of where Cryo’s closet and dresser was stationed, with a large blanket with a regal image of Tide, sitting proudly next to her loving son, covering it. Cryo thought it was most likely meant to be Tide’s bed. Cryo’s tv and “relaxation,” area had been moved a bit further back on that side to make room for it. There was also a new relatively low to the ground table a little ways away from his dinner table with and 2 small cushions seated next to it. Cryo thought it might be a dinner table meant for he and Tide to eat together. Ty safely removed the nasty collars from Tide and Cryo, using a key stolen from the downed airship and placed them on Cryo’s work bench. “Alright. Do either of you guys think you’ll need help with anything? Cleaning yourselves up? Making dinner?” Tide and Cryo looked toward each other and then looked back and both gave a smile. “No. I don’t think we’ll have any trouble,” said Tide. “Alright. I’ll leave you both to yourselves. Have a good night.” “Alright. Thanks Ty. I’ll see ya soon,” Cryo said. Ty gave a nod a left the room.

Cryo took in a deep breath and looked towards Tide. He gave a small smile and asked “You want to wash up first, Mom?” “You sure you don’t, Cryo?” “Don’t worry mom. I can be like this a little longer. Besides. I need to take my coat off and get it prepared cleaned as well.” “Alright son. I’ll just leave you for a bit.” Tide headed her way into the washroom and closed the door. Cryo could hear the sound of the tub turning on. Cryo gave a nod and began to make his way toward a small laundry hamper in his room.

He unzipped his muddy coat and held it out in front of him. He took a look at it. It was dirty all over, but there was a few spots of silver still glistening through it. “This coat was one of my favorites. I remember. It was a present from Cameron for my 4th birthday. I admit that I’ve never liked my birthday, but this jacket makes me think of the old cloths I used to wear at home. The design was made similar to my old ones, but, its made with sturdier fabrics. Not like the ones Greg and the others back home made for me. Its a stiffer, but feels warm nonetheless.” He stuck his hand in his coat pocket and took out a small metal tag inside. He read it. “To my best friend. Happy birthday Cryo. From Cameron.” Cryo closed his eyes and gave a small smile. “Things were simpler then.” Cryo placed the metal tag back into his pocket and zipped it up. He then placed his coat into the hamper and was about to head near the bathroom door to wait for his turn when he noticed something on his bed. He went towards it, and he saw a letter on it. It said “A group apology to Cryo.” “Huh?” What’s this?” he thought. He quickly opened it up. He saw that it was from kids from school! He began to read it.

“Dear Cryo. If your reading this, you have returned. For the past month, we’ve seen just how important you are to everyone here. It seemed so different around with you being lost. No one here seems to be happy. Not even us. Everyone is talking about what horrors you might be going through. There were even rumors you might have passed on or even worse, been turned into slaves to an evil group. The more we heard this around our homes and around the base, the more we began to realize how much we have wronged you and Cameron over the years you’ve been with us in school. We’re sorry for how we treated you. We want you to know we won’t mistreat you or Cameron again. Perhaps maybe, we can be friends when you are back to being with us again. If you need time alone after your ordeal, we understand. Please be safe and be happy.”

Cryo gave out a small smile and placed the letter back on his bed. “I guess even they could not accept me being lost.” Cryo went to take a look out the window towards the outside of his room, with a view of the vast mountain range towering ahead. He sat down on his bean bag and began to relax and stretch his wings out and then to his sides. He gave out a small yawn and looked toward the horizon to see the sun setting in a brilliant red hue.

“Looks beautiful,” he said. Cryo sat there and began to think of his time out in the wilds. “I never really got a chance to see the sunset since I was taken,” he thought. “I was on the run, so I never really got the chance to watch it.” Cryo began to think. “Who were those people. They wanted us because of our tech.” Cryo began to lay down. “From what I heard back, someone named Mick was somehow involved. I don’t recognize that name. ” Cryo tilted his head and scratched his neck. “Whoever Mick is, he apparently betrayed us. He sold us out to whoever those guys were. Cryo picked himself back up. “Why would he want to do this. Is it just because they wanted our tech to sell on the market, or did they have more sinister plans with us?” Cryo gave out a sigh and continued to watch the sun set.

The sun soon disappeared under the mountains and stars filled the skys above. Cryo looked toward the skies, lined with many stars, and began to become sleepy. “I haven’t got a chance to take naps during the day for the past month… I’m probably going to have to take an extra nap or 2 during the day now that I’m home.” Cryo gave out a yawn. Cryo heard of the washroom door opening behind him. He turned his head and looked back. He saw Tide come out, cleaned up and freshened with her scales slightly glistening from the light. “You look fresh, Mom.” said Cryo. “Thank you, son. You ready to get washed up?” Tide asked. “Yea. Thanks Mom.” “Do you need any help washing yourself?” “I think I’ll be good, Mom.” “You sure?” Cryo began to think for a moment. He then gave out a smile. “You know mom. Maybe I could use a little bit of help washing up.” “Alright son. Let’s get you cleaned up, my little boy.” Tide picked up Cryo with one arm and walked Cryo to his washroom.

Ch 14

Bath time buds

As they entered, he saw that there had been some renovations to his washroom since he was gone. A much bigger and deeper bathtub had been installed in and there was a bigger mirror inside. The sink was also larger, along with a new set of large dragon talon clippers, a large talon file, a rather large dragon toothbrush, and other dental items, nestled against the side of the sink, on the opposite side of Cryo’s items. “These must have been installed for Mom,” Cryo thought. “Come on Cryo. Let’s get you in the tub,” said Tide. “Oh. Hang on for a second, Mom,” Cryo turned his head towards his bathroom radio. “It’s been a long while since I had a chance to listen to any music. I want to listen to something calming now that I’m back home,” Cryo thought. “Voice command.” “Voice command recognized. Radio model 4510 Beach bather is ready to receive command.” Tide smiled and started stroking Cryo’s back a bit. “Silly Cryo. Has to listen to some nice relaxing music while getting cleaned up.” He smiled back at her, and faced back to the radio. “Play music from Capsule Creatures game playlist.” “Which song to start?” Cryo thought about it for a moment. “Play encounter, Bountiful king of crops in the snowy tundra, Callareity,” “Playing music.” A soft yet upbeat melody played, giving a mix of calmness and royalty, like being challenged to a friendly battle by a soft and royal legendary creature. Tide smiled back at Cryo as she listened to the tune, giving a small chuckle. “Perhaps my young boy wants to feel like a prince tonight,” she thought. She carried him to the tub and gently placed him in it “Alright. Let’s get you cleaned up.” Tide said.

She turned on the water for the bathtub and it started to fill with nice, warm water. Cryo began to relax as the warm water began to engulf his lower body. Soon the bathtub was filled up.. “Ahhh. I haven’t felt this in a while.” said Cryo. Tide gave a smile and grabbed a bar of soap. She began to rub it all across Cryo’s back, chest, and tail scales. The mud began to chip off little by little.

“Alright. Turn over and lay on your back, Cryo.” Tide said. Cryo began to maneuver himself in the tub so he was laying on his back with his legs up, out of the water. “Now let’s get those limbs and belly cleaned up,” she said. Tide began to slowly and carefully rub Cryo’s scaly limbs with the bar of soap, with the mud being slowly chipping off bit by bit. She then took it and gently rubbed it across Cryo’s belly, each stroke taking chunks of mud off. “Now let’s get your head, Cryo. Sit back up.” Cryo obliged and maneuvered himself back on his feet, with his head up high. Tide grabbed some dragon shampoo began to rub her hands together. “Alright Cryo. Close your eyes and hold your breath for a bit.” Cryo obliged and Tide carefully rubbed her paws across Cryo’s head, making sure to rub every spot of his head. Cryo began to feel very comfy as Tide’s firm, yet delicate grip massaged Cryo’s head. The mud chipped off and Tide poured water over Cryo’s head. “There we go Cryo. Now, let’s get you out and dried off.” Tide opened the drain to the tub as the water began to drain out. She picked up Cryo and placed him outside the tub. She grabbed a towel and began to slowly and carefully rub it against Cryo’s scales. Soon enough, Cryo was dried off, his scales glistening in the light. “There we go son. Clean and fresh. I bet you feel much better now,” said Tide. “I do, Mom. I feel like a new dragon!” said Cryo.

Ch 15

Burgers and Bed

Cryo went to his sink and brushed his fangs with his toothbrush. Once done, he gave the command for his radio to turn off. Afterword’s, Cryo exited his washroom with Tide by his side. “Alright son. Let’s make something to eat,” said Tide. They both went to the refrigerator and pulled out some Zurburgers from the fridge. Cryo and Tide cooked it on a small grill and brought it to their dinner table. “I haven’t eaten any meat except fish for a while. It’s going to be nice to have some Zurburgers again,” said Cryo. “I haven’t had these since the incident. When I fell into deep sleep…” replied Tide. Cryo thought for a moment. “Well mom, I hope you’ll still like them,” replied Cryo. They put their Zurbergers on seeded buns and began to eat. “Mmmm. Good stuff. Right Mom?” “Yes. It tastes just like I remember it.” They both smiled to each other and continued to eat their dinner. Soon enough, all their Zurbergers were gone, and their bellies filled and satisfied.

You ready for bed?” Cryo gave out a big yawn and his eyes grew droopy. “Yeah, Mom. I’m really tired…” Tide walked to a drawer near Cryo’s bed and rummaged around it a bit. She then took out a sky blue t shirt, with a picture of a sleeping blue dragon nestled in a bed of white clouds, with the words, Dream Little Dragon, below the picture. She then stepped towards Cryo’s bed and stopped right to the side of it. “Come here my little boy. I’ll tuck you into bed tonight.” Cryo nodded and walked over. He stopped in front of tide and gave a small smile. “Lift your arms up, my little blue boy.”

Cryo complied and lifted his arms towards Tide. She slowly maneuvered the t shirt over Cryo’s body, making sure the wings could slip through the back slits. Tide then picked up Cryo and Cryo’s blanket and carefully and gently wrapped it around Cryo’s body tightly. She then nestled Cryo onto his hay bed, head on the pillow. Cryo gave out another yawn and looked towards his radio. “Voice command,” he said. “Ready to receive order,” the radio replied back. “Play soothing bedtime music.” “Now playing Naptunes channel.” The dj on the radio station began to speak in a low, soothing voice.

“This is the Naptunes channel. This next song is a classic, known for giving dreams of adventure, strength, and hope. Inspired by dream of a mighty battle against time itself. Now playing, Primal, Time and Space. The radio echoed with the tune. “I’ve never heard this one before,” thought Cryo. “It’s beat is a bit fast, yet it feels so soothing, with the flutes and synthesizer.” Cryo gave out a big yawn, and soon his eyes began to get droopy. He then slowly closed his eyes, and fell into a deep slumber. “Look’s like Cryo likes listening to lullabies when he wants to sleep,” thought Tide. “I’ll admit it, I like this tune as well.” Tide pulled her head down and gave her dreaming son a small kiss on his forehead. Tide then went towards her hay bed and slowly laid herself down and covered herself in her big blanket. “Goodnight my precious son. Maybe I can try to sing you to sleep one day.” thought Tide. She closed her eyes and soon fell asleep.

New abilities

Ice pick: Can cover the tip of his talons with ice to pick locks by breaking the inner workings with ice.

Cold Claws: Can coat his talons with ice to slash at things more effectively.

New known Likes:

Food and drinks of “Earth.”

Outdoor activities

Spending time with his Mom

Being accepted

New known dislikes:

Cyantrinian metals

Being on the run

Suspenseful situations

His mother being scared, worried, or unhappy.