Chapter 74

A storm of emotions roiled through Kyle as one piece of metal after another was carefully cut away from the dragon body by workers in magically sealed hazmat suits. His hands itched to go down there and help. It would be so simple. With the abundance of magic flooding that room he’d be able to lift and manipulate all the mass so easily. But he wouldn’t be able to protect himself from the harmful levels of arcanes in there. So, he bided his time tapping a foot impatiently.

And occasionally pacing with glances out the window to check progress.

They were close now. A final sheet of metal had been lifted away by a winch set up in the rafters of the building. Now to unfurl the corpse from its compacted state. The coils of the body were too heavy to pass a strap under for attaching to the winch, so a forklift enchanted to protect the objects it lifted from damage was oh so very carefully levering an arm under the body to lift a portion of it.

It was a slow and delicate process. No one wanted to damage the body any more than it already was. Because being accused of abuse of a dragon corpse was not something anyone present wanted to be accused of. However, this examination needed to be done. They had to know what had caused all the chaos and destruction of the day before. A city was reeling and there were hundreds, if not thousands, dead because of this poor dead being.

“They’re too close.” Kyle warned the scientists whose facility they were using.

“The workers need to guide the – ” The head scientist whose name Kyle had yet to bother remembering tried to protest.

“Someone is going to die if they don’t back away from that corpse. If the body is moving, no one not in a protective machine should be near it.” He turned away from the man he’d been addressing and glowered at the busy workers swarming over the body like ants. They obviously weren’t all just there to move the body and remove the vehicle pieces. Clearly some were from various agencies trying to get at whatever was hidden in there first. Maybe make a snatch and grab before anyone would notice.

“Back it up. Anyone not operating equipment move back while the body is in motion.” A voice announced to the group in the warehouse. Kyle watched them stop and look up at the speakers in the ceiling to listen. Some of the workers surrounding the creature backed away. Others edged closer. The warlock of the archivist eyed them.

With a half turn toward his sister, Jones, and Alex, he gave a little jerk of his head. Nothing overt. Just enough for Sam to notice. She in turn nudged her partner Alex before standing and brushed past Jones in such a way as to get his attention. In short order they were standing together joining Kyle at the window.

If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

One of the great things about Sam was that Kyle didn’t have to say much of anything to get her on the same page as him. They’d been two peas in a pod, the best of friends when they’d been younger. Their minds might not work the same way, but they knew each other almost well enough that sometimes it seemed like they could read each other’s minds.

“Some of them not only didn’t listen to that announcement,” Kyle murmured “they got closer when others pulled out of their way.” Sam gritted her teeth at his words.

“Who the fuck would interfere with a joint F.B.I. and museum operation?” She hissed quietly. “That’s insane.” As a reply, Kyle pointed.

“It doesn’t matter. They are going to die in five…four…three…”

The worker’s actions needed to be slow and respectful, and Kyle needed to maintain his patience which was wearing thin. He’d tried to warn them. Tried to tell them that they needed to back up… But did anyone listen to him?

As the forklift raised the coil of dragon flesh Kyle had indicated as the best place to start lifting, other coils of the dragon’s long body began to shift and fall. Workers who noticed this fled further away. Some fled swiftly. Others didn’t notice in time. The person manning the PA was shouting a warning. It was too late.

Part of the dragon corpse drifted sideways in an almost slow-motion looking fall. Two fleeing workers were knocked down. One had just been clipped, the other had been crushed beneath tons of weight. Chaos. Shouting. Hazmat-suited workers converging on the pair trying to help the trapped man who Kyle already knew was dead.

“At least one of them survived.” Alex commented as the one who’d been clipped accepted a hand up.

“No, he didn’t.” It was Jones who had spoken, and Kyle was relieved that he hadn’t had to be the one to say it. He just nodded and closed his eyes as the first scream started. Alex had looked to Jones quizzically at first, and then back to the scene below them when she heard the first scream. “His suit was compromised.” Jones added.

The screams were short. Oh, it felt like they’d lasted hours to Kyle. Building and building up inside his head in a most unpleasant way. The sounds chasing themselves around the inside of his skull rising in pitch and terror until they ended on a gurgle.

“At least the mutation resulted in death and not…” Sam hadn’t been able to continue her sentence. “Oh, Gods.” She blanched, face ashen under the caramel tan. “Too soon.” Her stomach heaved and she bent over to catch her breath, placing her head between her knees to reduce the nausea rising in her.

“I tried to warn them.” Kyle watched the workers swarming and moving quickly, rushing to save people who could not be saved. Hours and hours later, the dragon corpse was fully unraveled, and the human corpses had been removed in their own protective containers. Then and only then was Kyle able to get his first glimpse at the device he was here for.

“Time to suit up and take a closer look at it.”