--Point of View: Crim--

My whole body ached as I lay motionless on the cold floor, too tired to move. Never had I felt so drained of energy. I could still feel my body doing its best to recover from all the damage it took just an hour ago, fighting off that dreaded machine. Bones and muscle seemed to twist and churn beneath my fur. It was unsettling but at least we were safe for now. I wondered how long we would be hiding out in this room. Katie and Tom insisted on laying low while the rest of the army scanned the area. While I wanted to protest, I had not the energy to do so. Escape from this hell hole seemed like a better option but I digress.

I took the time to rest, nodding off between sleep and consciousness as Tom and Katie caught each other up on the events that had occurred. Tom explained how he was forced at gunpoint to bring one of the machines online, Commander Dawn wanting to witness what it was capable of. Well, he got his answer at the cost a good chunk of his men. Although, like most people of his status, he probably cared not for lowly soldiers. He had more important people to impress. People of power. I sighed.

“How are you holding up Crim? Feeling any better?” asked Katie, turning away from Tom for a moment to address me. I am thankful they are both okay.

“Yeah, you took quite a beating. Its amazing you are even in one piece!” exclaimed Tom right before he received a sharp elbow to the ribs from Katie. It seemed she did not want to bring up the subject so soon. I appreciated that.

“I’m doing better than I would have thought after all the excitement. It still hurts a little but I’m mostly tired. After some rest I should be good as new, or at least I hope so.” I answered, a yawn escaping my maw as I repositioned to get comfortable.

They both nodded with a smile and returned to their conversation, satisfied with my answer. I listened to them ramble on for another hour before I drifted off into a deep sleep that I more than happily welcomed. Sleep did not bring me peace though. In fact, it brought me back to where it all started.

I stood before my killer, my friends and family slaughtered all around me, burnt to ashes. The figure remained a blur at first but the longer I watched, the more I realized who it was. That same, cold metallic armor I had witnessed just earlier, came into view. Its lifeless eyes boring a hole through me. It raised its weapon to my face before everything went black.

I sprung to my feet, startling both Katie and Tom who had sat down next to me. My breathing was ragged and my eyes bloodshot. It had felt so real.

“Crim, what’s wrong? Are you okay? Does it hurt?” asked Katie, jumping to her feet as well.

“No, no. I’m fine. I just had a dream is all.” I explained, replaying the scene over a few times in my head. “A dream about when I died.”

They both stared at me, speechless for a moment as if they were unsure what to say in this situation. Katie simply placed a comforting hand on my side.

“Do you want to talk about it Crim?” she asked, her eyes full of concern and just a hint of curiosity. I too was curious. The events of my death had long eluded me no matter how much time I spent trying to dig through the crevices of my mind.

“Now Katie, that perhaps may be a bit much for our friend here. Talking about your own death is probably kind of…” Tom started, trailing off. Unsure of how he should explain this.

I smiled. They were genuinely concerned and that honestly made me very happy. I had not felt this way since I was back in my own time surrounded by my own family and friends.

“No, its quite alright. If anything, I want to tell you. Not just for you, but for myself. While its fresh in my head now.” I stated, drawing myself up a little. “Where do I begin. Perhaps from the start of that day would be best”

So, I started telling them about the day where everyone I loved and cherished, were killed before my eyes. A war had been raging for nearly a decade at this point between the local villages and the empire. The empire towered over everything in terms of wealth, power, knowledge, and even more. Our little trade village was nothing in comparison. We were not even marked on the official maps but that was for a completely different reason. Our village was known for harvesting and refining mana wood, or wood that was heavily infused with mana. It was what we all used to fuel all our magical, or enchanted tools.

Suffice to say, it was in high demand, and we were the closest source of the wood at the time. The empire was our number one customer. They used it to fuel their economy and their wars. Up until just recently, they had respected our wishes to remain outside of the empire and because we were both obedient and efficient, they followed this agreement. But one day, when we were just heading out to gather more wood, our meager village was paid a visit by a small group of soldiers. They were dressed extravagantly from head to toe to show off their status. Nobels or higher-ranking military officials, riding on only the finest of horses.

They demanded to be taken into the forest with us. The request was not a big problem by itself, but it was always risky bringing outsiders along. The forest was not a place you just wandered into as you please. It was dangerous. Mana was a fickle thing and could take on a life of its own if you let it. Plus, there was one other that dwelled behind the labyrinth of trees. Him. He was our villages most closely guarded secret and the real reason we sought so hard to keep the empire out. Without him, this would all come to an end.

I did my best to dissuade the man, but he simply would not listen, and I dared not hinder him any more than I could afford. We were nothing in their eyes. Simply tools to make use of. Expendable. So of course, I agreed. My troop and I went into the forest much like we did every day in search of fallen trees to harvest. Of course, we found several like we always did and hoped we could leave early with this find. As we worked, one of the figures, draped in a cloak, pulled something out of his pocket and watched it intently. I could not make out what it was, but it must have told him something because he immediately leaned in close to one of the others and whispered something. What? I don’t know.

Thankfully, after that incident, nothing else of mention happened. They remained quiet, only asking a few questions here and there before we made our way back to the village by midafternoon. They even thanked us for our time and said they would be back tomorrow to learn more. I was both relieved and annoyed to hear they would be back, but I suppose if tomorrow went much like today, we would have little to worry about. Or so I thought.

The next day they did return but this time with a small army. I had to warn everyone I thought to myself as I rushed back to the village. The other townsfolk must have thought the same thing because we were all out and assembled in the town square as they arrived. Only a mere glance in our direction was all they gave us, brushing off the fact we were now armed. They did not see us as a threat.

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The hooded figure from before was stationed beside the leader of their platoon this time, whispering into their ear from time to time. He seemed to be pulling the strings. I focused on him and demanded to know what they were here for. To my surprise, I received an answer.

“Your village has long been keeping a secret, has it not?” came a cold, scratchy voice that made you flinch. “You will surrender the dragon, or it will be taken by force.”

I was dumbstruck. They knew and were willing to kill us all to get it. Before I could respond the rest of the village did so for me. They yelled and screamed, daring them to try and take it from us. They were proud and would gladly die for what they cherished. We all would. Our weapons were raised, and we stood firm. That did little to stop what happened next. A flash of light left a dozen people dead. I could not even register what happened. I starred at the charred remains of my neighbors, some of which I had known since I was a child and held back a scream. I looked to the man draped in robes, his left arm outreached.

“Your decision has been recorded. You all will be dealt with swiftly.” Called the figure once more, not a hint of emotion in their uncaring voice. “You though, you may be of use to us still”

I watched in horror as it raised its other hand to point directly at me. Then chaos began. While no more beams of light were cast, it mattered very little. We were outnumbered, outarmed and simply put, out of our league. We were nothing more than laborers against trained soldiers. When a soldier did fall, another two were there to take their place. I think at that point we had all already given up on life and simply wanted to make a good last-ditch effort against these tyrants. In the end, we took out far more of them then we thought was possible but that did not change the outcome. If anything, our fight was still for nothing.

Dropping down from their horse, the masked figure slowly made its way towards me, ignoring everyone else. The rest of the soldiers filed in past him and continued to beat down whoever remained. We were exhausted and our will to fight was draining. It would not be long now, but I knew I could die fulfilled if I clobbered this one haughty individual right in the face. So, I did and nearly broke my hand. I struck cold steel.

“Valiant effort but flesh can only accomplish so much.” He spoke, reaching up to draw back his hood, revealing a droid much like the one I fought today except for the yellow collar it wore around its neck. “The researchers have taken an interest in you. You will be returning home with us.”

I remember being so angry at these words that I struck out again but was handily defeated. One smack from his steel hand broke not only my jaw but several teeth as I spilled onto the floor. Looking around, I realized I would never spend a happy day here again. Looking up once more at the machine, it raised its left arm until the barrel of its weapon sat level with my nose. Everything went white and before I knew it, I woke up in the ruins.

Katie and Tom, both of whom had been leaning in closer to hear my story, sat back, deep in thought. I waited for them to speak, curious as to what they would think of my tale while at the same time, taking it all in again for the first time since it happened.

“Crim, your story. Don’t take this the wrong way, but I don’t understand how a droid could be there. Are you sure? About what you saw I mean?” she asked, visibly puzzled.

“I’m sure. Its hard to forget such a thing, though I somehow managed to for a bit. Probably my brain trying to save me the agony.” I answered, wondering if perhaps it would have been better to not remember that day.

“I agree with Crim on this one. Its not entirely impossible. The old ones did exist thousands of years ago and according to you Crim, you came from the past.” Tom commented, scratching at his chin. “Plus, with everything we’ve seen in this lab its hard to imagine something they couldn’t do.”

“I guess you make a good point. Not to mention Crim’s very existence is odd enough already. We don’t know the exact timeframe the old ones existed so they very well could have been around during your time Crim.” Katie added with a nod.

They discussed the matter for a while longer until Tom asked a very important question.

“You mentioned dragons, did you not Crim? We had always speculated they existed but could never find enough remains to make a worthwhile conclusion.” Tom asked, his eyes hungry for knowledge.

“Yes, they did exist in my time, though they were being hunted to extinction.” I answered, looking away momentarily. It still hurt to think about.

“Hunting? For sport? Or did they offer anything of value? If the empire in your time was after them then they must have been used for something.” Katie remarked, watching me, and waiting for an answer, her eyes like that of Tom’s.

A long sigh would escape me as I sat up, stretching out my legs, now feeling much better than I had previously.

“They were hunted for their hearts. Their hearts of mana.” I said slowly, the words having difficulty leaving my tongue. “While it was not known to many at the time, the dragons were the sole source of mana in our world. The empire, having discovered this, put a hefty reward for any dragons captured alive. The only problem was the fact that dragons did not go down without a fight. Many perished because of greed and power.”

“So, your empire wanted to control the mana and thus, control all magic. Correct?” asked Tom, trying to fit the puzzle pieces together. He had the right idea.

“Yes, that was the eventual end goal. Enchanting and magic let anybody with the knowledge to do so, gain power. They feared this so moved to prevent it. There were many villagers just like ours that hid the dragons from prying eyes. We knew their value and wanted to protect them.” I explained.

“But wait, if mana comes from dragons like you say, then how come the runes on the reactors and everything else here is still working? Surely there are no dragons around here. Right?” interjected Katie, a look of bewilderment on her face now.

“I wondered that too and the only thing I could think of was a dragon heart. You see, a dragon’s heart does not die when its body, or host, passes away. It continues to beat, releasing its nearly bottomless pit of mana into the surrounding area. This is how we end up with whole forests infused with mana. Even after the dragon dies, its heart becomes buried in the forest and the very forest itself will move to protect it.” I said, my voice growing urgent without meaning to. The topic still held a lot of passion within me.

“So, what you’re saying is, that perhaps your empire, or maybe even the old ones themselves, were making use of these hearts?” asked Tom, his eyes locked onto my own.

I nodded. “I would not doubt it.”

“A near limitless supply of a magical fuel would surely help catapult a civilization forward in terms of advancement.” Added Katie, rising to her feet.

“You’re not wrong there.” Responded Tom, doing the same.

All I could do was nod and listen to them discuss the topic further, each of them tossing out ideas at one another to dispute while at the same time working to build a likely scenario. I answered questions when asked but was quickly overwhelmed by all the weird terms they kept using until they had concluded.

“So, what do you think Crim?” asked Katie who suddenly appeared right in front of my face, surprising me.

“Uh, I’m going to be honest. You both lost me about five minutes ago.” I answered, a bit embarrassed but mostly annoyed.

“I figured that may be the case. We are going to try and convince the commander to leave this base behind, or at least the lower depths. If what you say is true, its not worth the risk. We already have a reactor; any more power would likely be used for nefarious purposes. Not to mention the damn droids down here. Whoever controlled them would be a force to be reckoned with.” Explained Katie, laying out all her and Tom’s ideas so I could better understand them.

“I do think it would be best to leave this stuff behind. If I was not around, that single robot have killed everyone.” I said bluntly, agreeing with them.

Tom ran a hand through his hair, his face a bit dejected. “Its not like I didn’t try to warn them, but I don’t have much choice in the matter with a gun to my head.”

“Nobody blames you, Tom. You were just following, well, forced to follow orders.” Katie remarked, patting him on the shoulder.

After another hour of discussions, it was agreed that both Katie and Tom would leave to go discuss everything with Commander Dawn. I of course did not like the idea of having the two of them go alone but was overruled. They had radios and promised to call if they needed my assistance. It was probably for the best. I still was not at one hundred percent after my battle. Any extra rest I could get was welcome. With a quick goodbye, Katie and Tom disappeared through the large steel door before it clicked shut once more.