Cemetery of Botched Experiments

Prologue: Cemetery of Botched Experiments

There weren't always dragons in the Valley. However the colossal skeletons that littered the lush meadow below was proof that N.A.A.N.O.’s “DNA-tech” worked. The natural evolution of reptiles wasn’t enough for mankind. The natural evolution of human beings wasn’t enough for mankind. We had to play Gods and alter our biological code.

Ajek had heard tales of a N.A.A.N.O. dumping ground in the middle of the desert that plagued the center of the continent, but he thought it was the embittered employees telling big corporate boogeyman stories to the interns. But here it was; the cemetery of botched experiments.

From behind, the hot dry desert air breezed past Ajax scruffy hair, spraying the shiny brown sand particles into the green lush valley below. The deadly sand suspended in the air long enough to reflect the sun, causing it to ripple like waves on the ocean. Yet something in the air caused Ajek concern. He closed his eyes and reached out to feel the potential energy in the air. Behind him he could feel a dark blue electric energy welling in the distance. Ajek whipped around and saw in the black clouds beginning to form in the horizon.

The bright blue sky was blocked by blood red clouds of crimson sand. He had just traveled from that direction, and there had not been a cloud in sight. Yet in the time he marveled at the oasis of discarded skeletons, a storm had formed.

The last storm Ajek was caught in, he was buried more than 6 ft below the surface of the shifting sands. He wouldn't have survived if he wasn't an Extra. He had been able to determine which direction the surface was because he could detect trace amounts of the sun's potential energy seeping between the granules of sand. Ajek drew the energy toward him, and he was able to loosen sand around him and swam to the surface.

Ajek remembered vividly that his hand was first to break through the suffocating sand. He had clawed his way out desperately as his lungs threatened to force Ajek to inhale. Once Ajek's head had breached the surface, he remembered he had involuntarily gasped for air. The shards of sand still scratched his throat when he thought about it. He had felt as if he was the dead coming back to life. He might as well be dead, for how does the saying go? If a man gasps in the desert and there is no one there to hear him, did he even exist? That may be a combination of a couple proverbs.

Ajek shaked off the memory of being buried, and focused on his present. He had hoped to take his time and scout out the best path down to the valley, however the winds of fortune, or misfortune, had changed, and he needed to get down there quickly. He was hesitant to use his power again, Ajek barely had enough in reserves since he was deserted in these waste lands. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger, he thought. Unless you break your back in the process.

Ajek looked back at the oncoming storm to judge how much time he had to get to safety. Within the couple seconds Ajek had looked away, the storm had already swallowed the horizon, and was threatening to swallow Ajek. The blustering wind swirled the red sand into billowing clouds, making it look as if the impending doom was a herd of hippocerus stampeding toward Ajek. Luckily he didn't have to fully tap out his power, and could use the energy from the wind to help him down to safety. He turned to face the valley and jumped.

The wind whistled through his tattered robes and carried him off the cliff. Unfortunately Ajek under estimated his own strength, because his power carried him out perpendicular to valley, his feet knocking into the treetops. For one sickening second Ajek could feel the sensation of weightlessness. Then he began to drop.

Ajek closed his eyes and could see the light blue energy of the winds swirling around him. He urged his right side up a little to balance his weight.

And for the briefest second, Ajek felt as if he was flying. However, almost instantly, something cracked into his shoulder, causing him to lose control of the wind's energy. He opened his eyes reflexively, barely missing a second tree. He was now careening toward an overgrown grove of thick trees.

The moment he had opened his eyes he could feel the energy slip away from underneath him, so he had to close his eyes again in order to well up the wind beneath his tattered robes. He peeked his eyes open again and was able to miss most of the thick trunks, however, the branches were clawing at his face. He spotted a semi open piece of lush grass and maneuvered a bumpy landing. He tumbled downhill, hitting every root and rock on the way. He reached out with his mind again to see if he could use the energy to stop his fall but the electric potential energy was too far above in the darkening sky.

Luckily his tattered robe got tangled in a thorn bush which slowed his descent and he was able to roll to a stop. He landed face up; wind knocked out of him. Through the green canopy of leaves above him, Ajek could see dark gray and brown winds whistling above the valley.

The trees and the cliffs of the valley protected him now, but he knew if he was out in the open when the winds stopped, he would be buried alive.

Ajek gingerly got up and started hobbling down the valley toward the graveyard of discarded remains. The descent into the valley was steep and through the patches of the tree branches Ajek could see the remains of a dragon. The dragon’s skeleton extended the entire length of the valley and curled at least twice around. He had never seen a full grown dragon; he had only seen the tiny flying lizards in the city center. The lizards that got to the size of a great dane were jokingly called dragons.

The nanobots that N.A.A.N.O. inserted into people to alter their DNA over time altered some people's appearances. Like the Fwardians were short and stout and barrel chested, the Velvens were slim with pointed features, and the Corish had jutted teeth like a wild boar. N.A.A.N.O. experimented on some animals like lizards, dogs, cats etc. to make them fly, or move faster, etc. They did try fusing some similar species together, but that didn’t always work well. But Ajek had never witnessed any animal whose biology was as severely altered as this dragon’s skeleton was. As he was running to safety, Ajek could see that the dragon’s leg bone had fused together with its wing. If Ajek wasn’t running for his life, he would have loved to stop and study the intricacies of the skeleton, but he had to find cover, and fast.

Just as Ajek skidded under a particularly large bone that was shaped like a cave, everything went quiet. He didn’t need to reach out with his power to feel the change in atmospheric pressure. The pressure on Ajek’s ears was deafening, and he fought the urge to look up at the impending doom. All at once Ajek’s ears popped, and there was a whoosh of wind. At first the sand barely sounded like raindrops on a roof, but the pounding got louder, and louder. The sand started to slip between the cracks and into the opening of the protective bone. The roaring of the falling sand actually deafened Ajek, and he longed for the empty silence that had come before the storm. The bones creaked above Ajek as he huddled toward the back, shielding his head. The roaring became more muffled, the sand threatening to bury Ajek again.

Thankfully, the sand filled up the entrance so fast it created a pocket, protecting Ajek. At least he had more time to fight himself out if it had to come to that. But right now Ajek needed to sleep, and what better place to sleep than a soft pile of sand?

The wind was whipping through Ajek’s hair as he dodged around fluffy clouds, twisting his body this way and that. He saw a flock of ducks bobbing in a lake below. Ajek dove down, giving chase to the ducks. As they flew away in panic, Ajeck skimmed the water with his feet, when he caught his reflection in the water. He reeled up, to get a better look. Staring back at him was a skeletal lizard's head. Ajeck opened his mouth to scream, except fire exploded from his mouth.

Aleks' eyes flew open. He tried to lift his head but he seemed stuck to the bone wall he had huddled up against for protection. He slowly peeled his cheek off the cool, dry bone. Rubbing it, his cheek felt warm to the touch, raw. It hurt more than the rest of his body, but he had been lost in the desert for at least a week, and he did fall down a cliff and hit a tree. The sounds of soft tweets brought Ajek to the present. He realized he hadn’t heard or seen any signs of life since he was lost in the desert.

The sand had filtered out quite a bit, to where Ajeck did not know. He climbed out of the bone cave, and saw two birds with feathers the color of fire that shimmered in the sun. The sight of the birds reminded him of his dream. That was the first time he dreamt of something other than the monsters that attacked his city. It was nice.

Ajek was in paradise. The oasis valley had everything he needed. Berries and edible vegetation, and he even caught a tiny rodent, which didn't taste terrible. There was even a tiny stream that trickled through the valley that had already filtered through the sand. Ajek didn't know where it came from, but he assumed there was some large underground reservoir feeding into the valley. The valley was teeming with life. Decaying biologics didn't hurt with growth either. His mind was even satiated with all the skeletons he could study.

But after a few days a creeping guilt lingered in the back of his mind. He needed to find his friends and save them. He couldn't stay here forever. Even researching the skeletons had become less exciting when he stumbled upon a pile of bipedal skeletons that he hoped were gorillas.

Several days after the sandstorm, Ajek was mindlessly stoking his campfire. He knew he should be formulating a plan, but after constantly fighting for his life, he was content to be content.

Staring into emptiness almost made him miss the flicker of movement on the desert summit above the valley. Ajek held his breath, the movements were too deliberate to be an animal. There were two other ripples in the trees making a beeline to the valley. Ajek quickly threw some sand on the fire. He ducked out of one bone and stumbled to another trying to hide behind a left over sand pile.

Just as he was able to get out of sight, three young men, or maybe women, burst out of the trees into the valley. They were riding on some sort of all terrain vehicle that was salvaged from several mismatching machine parts and covered in bones. The one driving had a huge bone through their septum, and bones braided through their sun bleached hair. The other two were hanging off the sides, slicing away the brush with their sword and ax.

They squealed to a stop, and jumped off the bike. Immediately, the one who was driving the bone bike put their hand up to stop the others. They raised their heads and sniffed the lingering smell of smoke from Ajek’s simmering fire. Ajek didn’t know much about the Deserters, he had heard some horror stories, and he knew it wasn’t fair to lump all the clans together. However, he was not willing to learn more about the Deserters first-hand, not now.

Maybe if he could sneak to their bone bike he could hop on and get out of the desert. All three of them had moved away from the bike, and started searching the skeleton graveyard. Ajek crouched on his feet ready to run for the bike when he saw an opening.

He had lost sight of two of the Deserters, but one of them was rustling around the area he had kept camp. Ajek cursed himself for not being more careful. It was very obvious that someone had been staying there. Ajek held his breath; he could hear his heartbeat in his ears.

Ajek saw his opportunity, but he hesitated, he’d never even heard of a bone bike, let alone driven one. Would he even be able to start it?

The trickle of sand alerted Ajek a second before the Deserter jumped out from behind the Dragon’s rib bone. Ajek didn’t need that second, he was on his feet running to the bone bike. The Deserter let out a yell, and ran after him. They were fast, too fast, and they knew this terrain better than Ajek. If he could lure them away from the bike he might be able to double back and hop on and ride away.

Ajek abruptly pivoted and headed perpendicular towards the dragon’s skull. He was glad he changed directions because the Deserters were smart enough to cut off his path to the bone bike. Ajek dove back in between the gigantic rib bones to get some cover. One of the Deserters popped out in front of him, so he twisted toward the skull. The other rider closed in on the other side. Ajek was trapped, he turned around to face the pierced Deserter. The bleached barbarian charged at him and grabbed him by the collar. There was a glint of greed in the menace’s eye that Ajek did not like.

The barbarian threw him to the ground, ripping Ajek’s robes. A white hot searing pain blinded Ajek as his back slammed against the twisted spine of the dragon. Ajek felt as if he was falling, falling into the ground and melting away. He tried with all his might to get up, but he was being pulled backward; melting.

His sight was finally coming back to him, yet it was fractaled and blurry, but he could determine that he wasn’t where he had been attacked. Ajek had some fleeting hope that while had blacked out some animal instinct had kicked in and he had crawled out of his capturs’ clutches. With all his might he surged forward and it felt as if everything was in hyper speed and he gained an absurd amount of distance across the valley floor. He blinked to clear his eyes, but when he did he a translucent eyelid slid across his lens. Ajek dared to look back at his captures to see if they had gained some ground. With the slightest motion he curled back around. To his surprise he saw three horrified Deserters gaping at him… and the tail bones of the dragon’s skeleton moving behind them. Ajek jumped, and he took off into the air. On either side of him he could see skeletal wings flapping, and a long tail trailing behind him. He looked down at the barbarians and let out an ear splitting roar.

Ajek wasn't just inside the skeleton dragon, he was the skeleton dragon.