[1] Era of the Dragons [Thread 1]

"Like memories in cold decay,"

The melodies of his music sounded into Ian's ears as the bus chugged along. An arm resting on the window and his face buried into it, his eyes just above the sleeve of his jacket as his grey hoodie covered the back of his head. He stared out of the window vacantly as he listened to the song. He watched trees flash by in a blur, the bus not allowing him to take a good look at the contents within the forest. The 16 year old ignored the outside world, lost in his own thoughts and music.

Wasn't like the bus was interesting anyways, it was practically empty except for a few occupied seats. He was going quite far, and even though his uncle was rich, he preferred the cheap way of going places. Ian was alone on the greyhound seat, who would want to sit next to a boring boy who did nothing but stare into space with headphones in his ears anyways?

"Transmissions echoing away"

Ian wasn't depressed nor happy about this trip, simply bored. Nothing seemed to pique his interest. Just another boring trip to another boring school with boring teachers and boring students.

The boy finally heaved a sigh, if somebody had been watching him they would have noticed that this was his first movement, aside from breathing, in an hour. He didn't feel the bus begin to slope up, nor did he care. He didn't want to go on this trip, he didn't want to be here. What could he do? Run away? Where would he go? He couldn't go to his uncle's, and his parents' house was likely owned by someone else. Ian had no choice but to go and be bored in such a boring place.

Far from the world of you and I, where oceans bleed into the sky.

Up in the front, the bus driver looked onward to the dull road. Her eyes were mesmerized by the road, she had been driving for too long, but at least she would be there soon. This was her last drive before she retired. No more of this boring driving where nobody liked to talk, not like she was allowed to talk to them while driving anyways.

THUD.

The driver screamed in surprise as a small bat sized lizard with light green coloring and crazy swirling designs on its body slammed into the windshield, in her panic the lady swerved on accident as more and more of the Misfit Pygmy dragons slammed into the windshield of her bus.

Ian gave a cry as he was thrown off of his seat and into the isle, he scrambled back to his seat as the bus swerved and shook, before finally it slammed into a railing of the cliff side. It bounced back to the rocky cliff, for some reason the bus driver was still flooring it instead of breaking as they crashed into a broken bit of railing and sailed over the edge and rode down the cliff before crashing into trees.

Ian gave another cry before slamming into the seat in front of him as the bus was halted by the bark of the tree. Above the bus and back onto the road, cars had also swerved to avoid the rampaging bus, and as the pygmy dragons swarmed the area with small screeches and chitters of laughter as if this were all a funny prank. Once one spotted the bus in the crashed forest below, it gave a screech and the pygmy dragons began to clear out, realizing their little prank to scare the humans had gone bad.

Ian's eyes were wide as he slowly picked himself up. There was glass on the floor along and some of the few that were on the bus were passed out. The terrified boy stepped over the either unconscious or dead bodies, his music was still playing, but in one ear. One of his ear buds must have fallen out when he was being thrown around, he didn't pull out the other one, and picked his way through the broken glass to an emergency exit in the back of the bus, seeing as the front door was blocked by a tree.

He looked out to find no road, he followed the landscape with his eye to see the road above them with smoke rising from the roads.

In the back of a relatively empty bus, Noel Freewind sat alone, chewing a piece of gum and reading a book. It wasn't normal for him to take the bus, as he had a car of his own, but what with it being broken down, he'd just have to deal with the bus today. He took a peek up from his book at the scenery outside his window. Lush green trees continued on, almost endlessly.

The forest sure is nice...

Suddenly, He heard a loud scream, and he was tossed out of his seat. There seemed to be some sort of commotion, but Noel couldn't get up to see what was going on. As he tried to stand, he was thrown into the seats without warning, and of all the things to happen to him, he accidentally swallowed his gum.

Oh god no! That gum is gonna be in my digestive tract for seven years...

He forced himself up, only to be thrown back down again. And by down, I mean... up? Whoa, the bus was falling off a cliff! They never taught Noel about situations like this in his EMT classes. As Noel was  suspended in air for a short amount of time, he suddenly fell to the ground with a thud, as glass shattered all around him. He was pretty beaten up, but with any remaining strength he had, he pulled himself out of the bus and into the outside world. They had landed in the woods. All around him, Noel saw broken pieces of metal, glass, and a few fires. He saw the unconscious bodies of innocent people, and his instincts immediately kicked in. He rushed over to the bus driver woman and started performing CPR on her. 

One Push, Two Push, Three Push...

Over and over again, he tried and tried to help her regain consciousness.

10 Push, 11 Push, 12 Push...

He kept trying until his weak arms could take no more. She was gone.

Why did this happen?

Noel stood up again, and searched the area for any other survivors, only to find a select few still conscious. Well, he was in a survival situation, he would need all the help he could get.

The constant thudding of hoof upon ground could be heard by the creatures inhabiting the forest Nicole was currently speeding through. She had never travelled at such speeds on horseback before and by god was it exhilarating!

Nicole had always been one for thrills, but riding away from the scene of the crime like this had to be the best one yet! She figured she should probably go back and give the ranch owners their house keys back... and the diary she stole that, from the reaction of the two, probably had some dirty little secrets hidden within it. However the thought of giving back the small but significant possessions she had stolen was pushed to the back of her mind as the beautiful bay stallion leapt over what remained of a fallen tree.

Nicole couldn't help but yell out a cheer of excitement as she threw her arms into the air above her, daring to let go of the stallion and brave the risk of falling off the horse to feel the wind as it rushed past. Her cry echoed through the trees, giving away her position to the pursuing owners of the ranch, but Nicole didn't care. This was way too much fun!

Fun, that was, until she reached the edge of the forest and found herself near the sheer drop of a cliff. Nicole grasped the stallion's reigns once again, encouraging him to slow down as they reached the mountain road. Before she could even consider what she was going to do next, Nicole heard the sounds of an engine and turned to spot a bus speeding towards her. Grasping the stallion's reigns once more, she attempted to move both herself and the horse out of the way of the oncoming bus, but instead the stallion reared in fear, throwing Nicole off of his back and over the side of the cliff before dashing forwards, narrowly dodging the vehicle himself as he darted away.

As she panicked, Nicole's reached for the nearest thing, anything close to her, attempting to slow her descent. For a few moments there was nothing, but quickly her hands clutched around the thin branches of a tree growing on the side of the rock face. Her palms stung with pain as each nick and notch in the branch tore at her skin, but she dared not let go. Finally she seemed to stop falling, and she found herself hanging onto the very tips of multiple branches; it was a wonder that they had held her weight at all, but she could feel that they wouldn't last much longer.
Dangling from the quickly weakening branches, Nicole glanced around for somewhere she could aim for. Just as the branches she clung to snapped beneath her weight, she found something; a thicker branch a little further down the tree. Scrambling as she fell, she only just managed to grasp the thicker tree limb as the smaller branches rained from above, clattering against the rest of the mighty plant's boughs on their way down.

With a sigh of relief, Nicole remained where she clung to the branch for a few moments, gathering her breath before she attempted to pull herself up onto it. Her hands were raw from clinging to the smaller branches and so it felt like more effort than it actually was to pull herself up. When she was safely on the bough, she sat down and leaned against the main trunk, her stomach aching from where the brunt of her body had collided with the bough after she'd clung onto it, partially winding her.

Running an ore hand through her short blonde hair, Nicole laid her head back against the tree trunk and looked up, trying to judge how far she had fallen. She realised she was probably lucky to be alive at all, but rather than dwelling on her mortality, she couldn't help but breathe a smile at just how thrilling the entire ordeal had been.

There was a loud thud that woke Cal up from his sleep, something too loud to be good news. Wow...wonder what that was. Did we hit something? He thought to himself as he came to, blinking his eyes open. It happened too fast for him as the bus he was on began to swerve, nearly knocking him out of his seat. Luckily for him, he had quickly grabbed on to the back of the seat in front of him, holding on tightly. The young teen quickly glanced around, trying to take his surroundings in and noticing a group of small dragon-like creatures flying, looking like they were recovering from hitting something...

That's a problem. Is that what we- A shrill squealing of metal and the feeling of the bus tipping snapped him out of his thoughts as the vehicle began to fall on its side, but it didn't stop there. It kept rolling, forcing him to lose his grip as he fell out of his seat, unable to stop himself as he was jostled around inside the bus. Upon hitting one of the side windows, he blacked out, falling unconscious.

Meanwhile, on the road a little ways back, a motorcycle engine whirred as Alex rode down the road, a smirk on her face. It was always so great, being able to feel the wind on her face, being able to feel the speed herself, not just see it on some gauge in a car. It was so liberating, it made her feel free.

She could hear chirping overhead, different from that of the regular birds around. Looking upwards, a series of shapes flew overhead, as if they were trying to clear out of the area.
"What are those doing here...?" Alex mouthed to herself, watching them for a little bit longer before bringing her eyes back on the road.

If only she hadn't been looking up, she would have noticed the obvious wreckage in front of her. Letting out a surprised gasp, she hit the brakes hard on her vehicle and swerved somewhat, trying to slow down and avoid the collision going on up ahead. Despite her best efforts, the bike slammed into the side of one of the cars, throwing her off and over the cliff.

There were all sorts of branches hitting her on the way down, managing to slow her fall though she was unable to get a grip on any of them. Suddenly, the fall stopped as she rolled onto the ground, groaning in pain and blinking her eyes as she tried to piece everything that had just happened together. It all happened so fast, so suddenly, she was still in shock from all of it, laying on her back and looking up.

Ian blinked, looking up at the column of smoke above as the small dragons seemed to flee the sight of the prank gone wrong. He didn't quite know how to react to this, sure he had been bored, but being bored was better than this at least.

He looked back inside the bus from where he stood, watching someone give the bus driver CPR. The rhythmical huffs and beats on their chest proved to be futile as the bus driver had passed on and away from this wreck.

He slowly turned to see a body by the foot of the cliff, its chest seemed to rise and fall, signaling whoever it was is still alive. What should he do? Should he do anything? How were they going to get back up on the cliff? Stuff like this didn't happen in the video games, but even then he doubted that video games were a reliable source for a what-to-do scenario, it was all he had though really.

Ian was brought back to attention when he felt something dripping from his head. He slipped his hand underneath his bangs and felt his forehead, he must have injured it in the fall. There was a cut on his forehead, he didn't know if it was deep, but he pressed the sleeve of his jacket against it, trying to stop the bleeding until a more suitable bandage was found.

His adrenaline kept him from feeling the pain, he still couldn't quite think straight. His mind was fogged, but he could have sword he heard a rather muffled and distant voice.

"Hey...can you hear me?"

((Note: Everyone can hear it but its still distant and a bit muffled :P))

Noel drew his attention to Ian, who had a rather nasty cut on his forehead. He was too weak to do anything else, but he knew a bit  about first aid.

"Hey... you okay? Here, take this."

Noel removed his jacket and tore a small piece of fabric off of it, and placed it in Ian's hands. 

"That should keep the bleeding down a little. Be sure to keep pressure on that cut, okay?"

He took his attention off of Ian and to the body by the cliff. He knew this person was alive, they were breathing. Should he try and help? He was sure they'd be fine, much against his selfless nature.

Noel then shifted his attention to the bus. The fires seemed to be spreading, and fast.

We have to get out of here...


"Hey, can you hear me?"

Delora stirred, immediately feeling a throbbing pain in her head from where she had been injured in the crash. She had been on the bus on her way to the boarding school she attended for the new term, but it appeared that now she had more pressing matters to attend to. Slowly getting to her feet she reached a hand out to grab a nearby seat, hoping to stabilise her footing. After a few seconds, the throbbing in her head seemed to die down a little and she made her way to the back of the bus where the open door promised exit from the burning vehicle.

Having recovered from her fall, Nicole sat up straight. She had become aware of various noises below her, voices of other people, the sounds they produced when they moved across the ground, and the smell and sounds of smoke and flames.
"Hey...can you hear me?"
Looking down, Nicole attempted to pinpoint a location to the muffled voice she had heard, but no one on the ground below seemed to even realise she was here. Confused but not curious about what had happened, she gently lowered herself down from the tree, branch after branch, until she could drop neatly onto the ground without risking further injury.

Looking at the injuries that some of these people sustained however, she considered herself lucky that she had gotten off with sore hands and a few scratches. The bus that had scared the stallion must have gone right over the cliff.
"Is everyone alright?" she asked as she wandered nearer to the others involved in the crash, "Is there anything I can do to help?"

Alex heard a few other people begin to stir, and began to smile slightly. It started as a few chuckles, but soon turned into complete laughter as she began to sit up. She had just crashed her motorcycle and gone off a cliff, and yet somehow she was still alive. In her mind, that shouldn't have been possible.

Her laughter cut off somewhat as she winced, feeling a sharp pain in her hip, immediately pressing her hand to it and looking down. She had taken a bit of a gash there, and probably a few other small cuts over her body. Her right leg ached too, possibly a bruised or maybe even broken bone. It was definitely possible, considering what had just happened.

Inside the bus, Cal began to stir, finding himself laying across one of the sides of the bus. Whichever it was, he didn't completely know. It was just the side on the ground, he knew that much at least. Pushing himself up off of the ground, he took notice of another girl inside the bus, heading for the exit in the back. Still dazed and a bit confused, he stood up and began to follow, stumbling somewhat.

"Hey...can you hear me?" That was a new voice, one that caught Alex completely by surprise. She turned her head, looking around, but all she saw were a few other people, including one that seemed to be asking if they were all alright.
"Yeah, I'm fine...were you the one that just asked that other question though?" She asked in response, beginning to stand up and keeping her weight on her left leg.

"That should keep the bleeding down a little. Be sure to keep pressure on that cut, okay?"

Ian looked at the cloth he had been handed, and back to the person, but it seemed as if they had been gone already. Who was the owner of that voice? It wasn't that person, their voices seemed different.

The dazed boy decided to obey the man that had given him instructions, it wasn't like Ian knew anything about restoring health aside from drinking magical potions that don't exist or cast spells that also don't exist.

"This way...please..."

There was that voice again! It seemed to have more direction this time, towards the forest. Whether the voice was male or female seemed to indiscernible, but it was definite that it wanted him to go into the forest. He looked around, wondering if anyone else heard this strange voice that seemed to stop his music every time it spoke.

"Please...help is this way..."

It seemed to be getting more and more talkative. Ian looked back to the car wreck, and back to the forest. He pondered a moment, and decided maybe a quick look wouldn't hurt. Any place had to be better than this flaming wreck he couldn't help with. He didn't quite think of the chance of him getting lost, but either way he was making his way into the forest.

"The rest of you too...please..."

Noel began to hear voices calling to the survivors. Who was this? It sounded soft, and kind. He had to keep listening.

"Please... help is this way..."


Help? This voice was leading them to help? Well, Noel was pretty beaten up himself, maybe he should try and get everyone to safety. He walked to the other survivors and tried to get their attention.

"Hey... everyone? Can everyone hear that voice? I'm not sure what it means but we should follow it. Maybe it will lead us to a safe location."

But alas, it had appeared that everyone had been in such a shock that they could not hear him. Were they hearing this voice he was hearing? Are they in the correct mindset after what happened? Noel sighed. He always saw himself as a leading type, but it appeared as if in the current situation, he'd have to go in alone. He listened for the voice again to try and pinpoint its location.

"This way... please..."

Aha. North.

"I'm going on ahead to investigate, if any of you are able to follow, please do..."

After his few words, Noel marched forward to the voice.

"Hm?" blinked Nicole as Alex responded to her question. She was about to shake her head, indicating her answer to Alex as no when the voice spoke again. Turning her attention to the direction in which it appeared to be coming from. It sounded like it was trying to provide some sort of aid to the injured group, but that begged the question as to why the source hadn't revealed itself yet.

Hearing someone stumble behind her as she made her way toward the bus's back exit, Delora turned to see Calvin, reaching out to help him secure his footing on the overturned walls of the vehicle. She had heard the voices calling out to those who had been in the crash, but at this particular moment in time she would prefer to leave the bus before she burned in it and neglected to focus on where or who it was coming from.

Reaching the back exit, Lora hopped out. She landed neatly on the ground but her right leg collapsed beneath her, a previous injury sustained from the crash having become more painful at the sudden jolt of landing on solid ground again. Standing up, Lora tested the leg gingerly, running a hand through her hair at her newly discovered weakness. Luckily it seemed that the wound wasn't as bad as she had initially thought, the pain being mostly from initial shock rather than serious injury.

Alex blinked as Nicole turned her head, finding herself turning as well as the voice spoke again. It was strange, the voice sounded so calm and serene. To be honest Alex had never heard anything like it before. That combined with the fact that there was no other real help nearby compelled her to step in the direction of the voice.

As she did, she grunted slightly, pressing her hands to the gash in her side as red mixed in with her clothes. Taking her black jacket off, she wrapped the arms around the area the wound was in, pulling tightly to make sure there was a good amount of pressure. She limped forward after the group, looking at the ground for any sort of walking stick.

In the bus, Calvin looked over at the girl as she held her hand out to help him stabilize himself. He shook his head, leaning against the side of the bus.
"I'm fine, thanks though..." He mumbled, making his way to the back of the bus. There was a sharp pain in his back, but he couldn't tell what exactly it was. After all, he couldn't turn his head around and see the shard of glass roughly twice the size of his thumb stuck just below his left shoulder.

The boy stumbled out of the bus once Delora exited, looking around and taking notice of the group leaving.
"Maybe we should, uh, go with them or something? Maybe?" He suggested in a whisper, almost to himself as he stumbled ahead, trying to ignore the pain in his back and catch up with the group.

Not far off from the wandering group, where the voice seemed to be the clearest and loudest, was a odd and large cave that looked like a massive underground den with a slope leading into it. The inside was dark, but the light seemed touch several strange round objects that lay in strange nests. They shook occasionally, like something was inside, but would stop when a low growl emitted from the very back of the strange animal-made cave.

The growl silenced itself, as it heard footsteps come near. The owner made a deep warning rumble, but it soon silenced itself as if something spoke to it, and it kept itself hidden at the very back of the cave.

--

Ian's head was beginning to pound as his adrenaline from the crash began to wear off. He found himself being coaxed onward by the voice, he looked back to see that others seemed to be behind him. Did they hear it too?

The boy turned back around, taking his other earphone out, his music only seeming to add to the pain rather than drown it like it usually did. He moved onward, discovering a small slope that seemed to lead to a cave. He stood at the opening, doubting it would be safe to go in alone.

((Get yer butts over to the cave and get your eggs pls |D))

Continuing onward, Noel eventually arrived at a gaping cave deep in the wood. 

"A cave? Why did the voice lead me here?"

He turned around to see that some people actually had followed him. Good, he didn't want them all to stay there any longer. As he arrived at the opening, he contemplated going inside. 

The voice was coming from here, if there is help here, maybe he should wait for any others to arrive first.

And so he waited for the other survivors to catch up to him.

Nicole wandered forwards at the found of the voice, finding herself ahead of Alex but turning back at her grunt of what Nicole could only assume as pain. Turning back, Nicole offered her help to the older teen in the direction of the voice.

Delora shrugged at Calvin's refusal of her aid. His loss after all.

"Sounds like a good idea," replied Lora, hearing Calvin's quiet words. She also made her way towards the cave, being sure to keep most of her weight of her injured leg.