The Dragons Awaken

There weren’t always dragons in the Valley. But Kai Courage knew how it started.

He’d been feeling like an adventure that day because things at 9 Locks Lane were pretty depressing. The blues began when Mom lost her working license and Dad started sending only texts for Kai’s birthdays. It had been two years and the-almost-teenage boy didn’t understand why his mom didn’t fight back. Or SAY something. Anything. Yet when the men came around to check on their weekly surveys – gathering happiness scores – his mom would always lie.

“You don’t believe in any of that Mom!” Kai clenched his teeth and spoke with purpose. “Why not just tell them the truth, you’re miser…”

“Don’t say it, Kai!" Mom stopped him. “You don’t understand, you’re too young to…they…we’ve got to play along for now.” Mom said.

This was their weekly dialogue every Friday afternoon, and every week there was a chance for a different ending. But it didn't come. Mom smiled, the men left and Kai had gotten used to it and he also hated that he was used to it. He didn’t want it to be this way. They trading surveys for freedom and food, and that was that. "It is what it is", the Mayor of Onesville once said. That phrase became the mantra of the passive. But Kai was 12 and his Mom was his Mom, so he gave in, too, and took his 36 hour walking pass while Mom retired to her smoky bottles.

'Finally!' Kai thought as he jumped down the steps, fighting back the tightness in his throat as he checked his ankle sensors. Once he saw the flash of green on his feet he knew he could step out of the driveway and onto Locks Lane, eventually turning right up to Valley Drive, the main road in town. He walked quickly so as not to flag the cameras because anything faster than 4.9 mph would lock his feet. Then they’d come to question him, and who wanted that because it was just a big nuisance. So he knew exactly how to keep under the radar, and get to his destination as quickly as possible. He had gotten used to being a slower paced citizen, and it was one of those things that he swore he’d change as soon as they took their town back. So if he had to walk under 4.9 mph then he would. For now.

Gliding at a brisk 4.7 mph, past the dumpsters of the last surviving take-out spot, Lao Tsings, Kai slipped through the tear in the plastic orange work fence and up the cracked concrete sewer main, to the last part of Onesville that was still - natural. The road project lay crumbling since they didn't need roads these days. But hidden under the last abutment was a tiny walkway to the other side. Like a mountian goat's path a dirt trail wound up the old stone pier. On the top of the excavated earth sat a bamboo fence-lined lane and fresh Camphor trees on half an acre of green. Real, natural scenes were rare these days, and strangely this patch of life just sat there, untouched. Perhaps the men felt like there was no need to destroy it down since the construction ended; or maybe it was a portal to another dimension. Whatever it was, Kai felt like his true self there and he could breathe. There was also something about that square of land that only Kai and his friends knew, and it was the best kept secret in Onesville.

You see behind the largest Camphor, and under the volcanic rock, there was a tiny opening to a very large subterranean chamber. The hole was so tiny that only one kid could fit at a time, but once inside it was a palace of indescribably air. And it was here in this magical cavern that Kai, Mit, Darling and Spunk met. They named it The Cave of Hope and Arrows. Mit thought arrows should be added to the name because it was cool and gave them warrior vibes. They all agreed it was cool, and hope was obviously necessary for their mission. Hope for a new way, a new life, and a new set of rules in Onesville. And above all hope that they could dream again. It was in this cave that these four bright children formed The Council of Elements, and it was here that they met every week to plan how to free mankind. It was not a small goal, and not without great risk. So they had to be very cautious.

First, was the security of their hideout, and they had Darling's coding mind to thank for creating an algorithm that kept them digitally located in town. She somehow used the volcanic rock to protect their GPS tracking and no one was really sure how, but it worked. And this would always last about 90 minutes which was perfect for strategizing the revolution and also for having chocolate and bread, which was quite a treat.

This was because Spunk, who was the nephew of Mr. Tsing, and a very good magician, was able to score some fresh baguettes from the delivery truck when the driver took his Friday rum nap. This seemed to be pretty regular and reliable, as was most things. When the men came and gave the people of Onesville everything, they also took away choice. So the citizens forgot and just followed, everyday, every week, everywhere. Except in the cave.

After securing their digital safety, second on their list was having a good time - because they needed it. They let themselves be free and fight off shadow creatures and jump around and paint and laugh and well, just be kids again. This, more than saving the world, was what Kai wanted that day. “Man I need adventure today!” Kai mumbled as the sidestepped the rats running the other way down the muddy concrete. He felt like he’d burst into tears or punch a pile of rocks or maybe just confess unhappiness to the men and be done with it. They would ship him off to the dark room camps if the did that, but anything would be better than living this lie of a life over and over. Maybe not, but at least he had the council and his friends. And he always felt better after their Friday meetings.

So the adventure had to be super big.

But when Darling and Spunk weren’t waiting for him at the entrance (Mit was always late) Kai knew something was off. ‘Not the camps’, he thought, ‘please not the camps’. They were supposed to be there just like every other Friday afternoon for the past 13 months. It didn’t make sense, but he had to act fast and couldn’t wait outside for them like an open target. In case they were traced there, that is. He was able to channel all his emotions into the big rock over the hole of their cave and slide it just enough to slip down inside. It was usually a three person job, but Kai was superhuman that day. Once down in the dark hovel, he lit the candles with the flint and steel kit they hung on the back of the door and he looked around.

“Ahhh, home.” He whispered excitedly, but also worriedly.

It always felt good there, safe. But still - where were the other guys? When kids went to the dark room camps they either never came back, or came back different. Just when his mind started imagining the worst, he heard it:

“CRAAAAACCKKKKKK!”

“Wha the ____ ? Who’s there?” Kai shouted in his toughest voice. He put down the candle and grabbed the emergency flashlight. Nothing.

He moved behind their books and handmade weapons, further deeper into the black.

“CRAAAAAACKKKKKK!”

The lamp’s light fell upon three rocks each about the size of a small car, they used them sometimes as seats but they were too big for much else. He now saw they were, in fact, not rocks at all. For peeking out of the crack of one of the large boulders was something that was going to change his life, Onesville, and possibly all men and women on the planet, forever.