I stood there, locking eyes with the massive reptilian beast as it stared back, its golden amber eyes glinting in the sunlight. The fear radiating from my team behind me was almost tangible, but I held my ground. The dragon craned its horn-crested head down towards me, a wide, tooth-filled grin spreading across its face, baring massive, razor-sharp fangs. When it opened its gaping maw, the deep, ominous voice that followed was unmistakable.

"Lyra… It’s good to see you again," Stoneclaw rumbled, dragging out my name with a tone that rattled the trucks around us.

"Hello, Stoneclaw," I responded calmly, without a trace of fear. "It has been a while. How have you been?"

"Oh… it has been… rather boring as of late. I have heard that a little wolf has come into her own," he replied, his voice causing a slight tremor in the ground.

"Is my Luna spreading stories about me again?" I asked with a hint of amusement.

"Of course not… She speaks highly of her second. It is my understanding that you are an alpha now," he said, his tone both inquisitive and knowing. "Is this incorrect?"

"No, Secundo per Imperium Stoneclaw, what you have heard is correct. I am the Primum Lupus of this pack," I confirmed, using Latin to match the formality of his title as the second-in-command of his thunder.

"Ah! You have been practicing. Very good, Parva Argentum Lupus of the Magna Stella Ligatus Familiae," he replied in Latin, his approval evident. "But I am no longer Secundo per Imperium Stoneclaw. I am Primum Draco of the Elite Dragon Unit now."

"Oh? What happened to your old commander?" I asked, curious.

Stoneclaw rolled his massive eyes in exasperation. "He decided to get into the family business. Something about creating a sanctuary for wayward creatures. I believe it’s being established in Forest City, Iowa, though I’m not entirely certain."

"Interesting. I thought he enjoyed being in the service," I remarked.

"He did, until he tired of all the killing... What dragon tires of destruction and death? It brings... a certain joy to us," Stoneclaw said, grinning broadly.

I couldn't help but give him an apprehensive look, concern creeping into my mind. Did we really need a group of homicidal dragons escorting us? The last thing we needed was for one of them to barbecue us because they got carried away.

"Oh, don’t look at me like that. I merely jest," Stoneclaw said with a laugh, noticing my expression. "Our commander was given a great opportunity—his hoard nearly doubled in size because of it. I wouldn’t have passed it up myself. If there’s one thing a dragon desires most, it’s to increase his hoard."

"Ha ha, very funny, Stoneclaw. Scare the Alpha and her pack while you’re at it," I replied, crossing my arms.

"A little joking never hurt anyone. Besides, if my jesting makes you uneasy, just imagine what my thunder and I could do when we are serious," he added with a mischievous grin, his tone still laced with humor, but the underlying threat was clear enough to send a chill down my spine.

"Should I be concerned that you might hurt us?" I asked, gesturing towards my team.

"Oh, mighty hoards, no! We are here to protect the Parva Argentum Lupus and her cohorts as if they were part of our own hoard. To lose any of you would be like losing a part of ourselves. Fear not, little silver wolf of the great star-bound family, we will protect you with our lives," Stoneclaw assured, his voice serious and resolute.

"And what, if you don’t mind me asking, would a mighty dragon like yourself accept as payment for such protection?" I asked, curiosity piqued.

"Well, um, you see... we dragons..." Stoneclaw began, the imperiousness of his tone faltering slightly before one of his team members interrupted.

"He hoards books!" the voice called out.

Stoneclaw’s head snapped around, his regal composure slipping as he glared at the offender. "Shut it, Flamewing... Or I will take one of your precious stuffies and shove it down your throat," he snarled.

I raised an eyebrow and couldn’t help but grin at the realization. Behind me, the sound of my team’s giggles filled the air. It was an unexpected revelation—who would have thought that a dragon as formidable as Stoneclaw was an avid book connoisseur?

“And what, pray tell, does a dragon of your stature like to read?” I queried.

Stoneclaw turned his massive head back to look at me, his golden eyes locking onto mine. “All kinds,” he replied earnestly. “Fiction, nonfiction, historical, romance, educational—you name it, I will read it and hoard it. Knowledge holds the key to power and understanding.”

“Don’t get him started on science fiction... He’ll go on for days about it, and we have a mission to accomplish,” another member of his team barked out.

“Icetail,” Stoneclaw grumbled, narrowing his eyes. “I will crush your plastic brick tower with my claws if you keep it up.”

“It’s not like you haven’t before,” Icetail snarked back. “I’ll just rebuild it like last time.”

“Then again, I may not,” Stoneclaw huffed. “Those tiny blocks hurt worse than a bee sting when they get trapped under my foot.” His voice softened, losing some of its earlier gravitas. “He is right, though. We have a mission to complete.”

“Yes, we do. We don’t have time to sit here and chit-chat, Major Stoneclaw,” Major Pixiewolf interrupted, her tone all business.

“You ruin the fun, you small thing,” Stoneclaw grumbled, his imperious demeanor faltering as he shot her a glare. “I was having a good conversation before my team interrupted us.”

“Yes, yes, but we need to get rolling. We need to check in at the Nebraska Gate so they’ll let us pass,” Major Pixiewolf stated, already moving on.

“There is no need,” Stoneclaw announced, regaining some of his earlier authority. “I already flew ahead and informed them of your arrival. We simply need to roll up, and they will let us through.”

“Oh, well that’s convenient,” Major Pixiewolf remarked, pivoting on her heels and strolling past me and the rest of the team toward the MCV.

“We can catch up later once we reach our destination,” I said, offering Stoneclaw a smile before turning to face my team. When I met their gazes, they were all staring at me as if I’d lost my mind.

“What?” I asked, a bit defensively.

“You know a dragon?” Abel barked out, clearly in disbelief.

“Yeah,” I replied with a casual shrug.

“Can we discuss this over comms?” Steve interjected, trying to steer the conversation back to the task at hand.

“Come on, guys, let’s not keep Mr. Boinker over here waiting,” I announced, shooting Steve a devious grin. Mac chuckled while Steve shot me a glare. A few of the team members protested, wanting to know more about the dragons, but I assured them I would share it over the radio.

Once we were all back in our trucks, I waited for my tablet to indicate that everyone was ready. As I glanced at the screen, I noticed eight new names had appeared. One by one, everyone’s name switched from yellow to green. Pulling my headset on, I heard a cacophony of chatter about what we had just witnessed. I cleared my throat to interrupt them.

“Ready?” I asked.

“Ready!” my team chimed in unison.

As I pulled out from my spot, two of the JLTVs took the lead ahead of me. Everyone remained silent as we drove toward the massive concrete wall that loomed ahead, its towering height casting long shadows over the landscape. The wall was a colossal barrier, stretching as far as the eye could see, its surface weathered and overgrown with vegetation. It was so tall that it seemed to scrape the sky, dwarfing everything around it and making the trucks look like mere toys in comparison.

The gate, embedded in the heart of this monolithic structure, was just as imposing. It stood at least five stories tall and was reinforced with thick metal, reminiscent of something out of a movie that had prehistoric creatures behind it. The only difference was the numerous military guards stationed near it, looking like ants beside the immense structure.

Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

As we approached, the ground seemed to tremble under the weight of the gate as it began to open outward, the massive doors groaning on their hinges, revealing the wild northwest beyond. I couldn’t help but feel a wave of apprehension grip my chest. This was it. We were officially no longer in Kansas. The next truck rolled through, and someone finally broke the silence.

“Kinda funny, don’tcha think? In the movie, they’re going in to see dinosaurs. In our case, we’re being led in by them instead,” Tyler remarked jokingly.

“Bear in mind, said dinosaurs are listening in,” a new voice spoke over our comms.

“Oops...” Tyler replied, as several members of the team began to laugh.

“Hey, one of those dinosaurs is a bookworm. Gotta give him some credit,” Kira chimed in playfully.

“Don’t you mean book dragon?” Sasha joked.

There were several snickers over the radio before Stoneclaw’s deep voice came through seriously.

“I do detest being called a wyrm. I have legs and wings,” he said.

I couldn’t help it—I began to laugh. All the jokes were helping to ease the apprehension that had been building up inside me. I shifted gears and began to speed up as the banter continued. So far, the road wasn’t too rough. Glancing out my passenger window, I saw what was left of Omaha. Now that we were past the wall, the city looked post-apocalyptic. The buildings were slowly being overtaken by plants and were beginning to crumble. I swallowed the lump that formed in my throat and looked back ahead.

With the lack of any maintenance, the flora had begun to take over, sprawling across the cracked pavement and climbing up the crumbling infrastructure. It didn’t take long before the interstate started getting rougher, forcing us to slow down to navigate the deteriorating road. We were cautious, mindful that we still had over three hundred miles to go and couldn’t afford any mechanical failures this early on. Just then, Mac’s voice crackled over the comms.

“Lyra, we can go faster. The suspension on the trucks can handle the terrain,” she announced confidently.

“Are you sure?” I asked, hesitant to push our luck.

“Yeah, do you see the set of switches to the right of your secondary gauge console?” she inquired.

I glanced over and spotted the switches. “Yes,” I confirmed.

“Flip the third one to the right down. It will activate the adaptive suspension on the truck and MCV,” she explained.

I did as instructed, flipping the switch. Almost immediately, the truck smoothed out, the roughness of the road fading away as if I were floating over it. I couldn’t help but marvel at the tech—where was this in my old truck?

“Thanks, Mac,” I said, genuinely impressed.

“Don’t mention it. Poor Pixie back here looked like a ping pong ball when she tried to get up to grab something a few minutes ago,” she added, amusement clear in her voice.

“Did you get it on video?” I joked.

“You bet your furry ass I did,” she replied with a chuckle.

Just then, Azura’s voice piped up over the comms. “Didn’t Major Stoneclaw mention that one of the other dragons liked stuffies earlier?”

“Yeah, if I’m not mistaken, he said he was going to stuff one of the guy’s precious stuffies down his throat,” Seth added.

“What kind of dragon hoards stuffies?” Cain asked, sounding genuinely perplexed.

“I don’t know,” Sasha chimed in. “I guess a stuffed dragon.”

Laughter erupted over the comms until the voice of the dragon who had outed Stoneclaw’s secret earlier cut through.

“Are you fluffballs seriously making fun of my hoarding habits?” he growled.

“Hey, you’re the ones who teamed up with a bunch of truck drivers. We are relentless when it comes to teasing, Mr. Stuffy,” Jake shot back, his tone playful.

“I will eat you...” the dragon, whom I now knew as Flamewing, said bluntly.

“Pfft, more like snuggle him in wolf form,” Mac retorted, her voice brimming with mischief.

“Listen, at least I didn’t pack an entire duffle bag full of books to take with me,” Flamewing huffed. “I only packed two stuffies.”

“And they take up an entire duffle bag as well,” Stoneclaw interjected with a sly tone.

“Well, at least my duffle bag doesn’t weigh over a hundred pounds...” Flamewing grumbled.

The entire team burst into laughter at the dragons’ banter. Even Scuzball, who had been silently observing, couldn’t resist chiming in.

“Whoever thought it was a good idea to hire a horde of overgrown skinks to guard a pack of harebrained fluffballs was a moron,” he said while glancing at his notebook. “Never mind, I know who it was...”

“Did the A.I. just call us harebrained?” Kira griped.

“Was I just referred to as a skink by an overly elaborate calculator?” Stoneclaw interjected, his tone suddenly sharp.

Oh no, I thought to myself. Stoneclaw had just stepped into dangerous territory. Scuzball absolutely detested being compared to basic hardware or obsolete software. This was about to turn into a digital war of words. I glanced at my companion, catching the mischievous grin on his face—a grin that was all too familiar, one that Star often wore when she had a devious plan brewing.

“Alpha... Your A.I. is giving me the creeps. It’s smiling at me in a really unsettling way,” Azura noted over the comms.

“Yes, yes, I did call you a skink, you overgrown gecko,” Scuzball retorted to Stoneclaw. “And Ms. Azura, I... am... a... he! Not an it!”

“Sorry...” she mumbled, sounding embarrassed.

“How dare you... I am a regal, well-educated dragon,” Stoneclaw shot back, his tone dripping with indignation.

“Pfft, if you’re so educated, then why are you playing bodyguard for a bunch of overgrown fur missiles?” Scuzball countered, his digital voice full of mockery.

“Did he just refer to us as fur missiles?” Seth snorted, barely containing his laughter.

“I believe he did,” Steve confirmed, clearly amused.

I could hear Mac laughing her ass off in the background, while Major Pixiewolf muttered something under her breath, probably wishing she could silence both sides of the argument. We spent the next couple of hours like this, maintaining a steady speed of around fifty miles an hour. The banter was a welcome distraction, making the journey smoother. We passed through Lincoln, Nebraska, without any trouble, though the city had been overtaken by nature, its buildings now more forest than concrete.

The old highway signs were draped in vines, with rusting cars scattered along the shoulders or abandoned in ditches, remnants of a time long past. Some of the vehicles appeared to have been recently moved, likely by the unit that had passed through this area yesterday. The absence of human life was palpable as we continued our journey, the road ahead empty and eerily silent. It wasn’t until we reached the outskirts of York, Nebraska, that we encountered our first obstacle—or snag, as you might call it.

“Alpha Acosta, please come to a stop and hold back while we move ahead to investigate what lies ahead,” Stoneclaw's voice crackled over the radio, interrupting the chatter that had been filling the airwaves.

Looking ahead, I noticed thick billows of black smoke curling into the sky. I brought my rig to a gradual halt, downshifting and letting my jake brake scream loudly in the stillness. Once stopped, I pulled the brakes, which hissed sharply as they engaged. I glanced over at my M-4, securely mounted near the foot of my bed.

“Team, please stay in your trucks while the dragons investigate,” Major Pixiewolf instructed over the comms.

We all fell silent, waiting for the all-clear. It wasn’t long before the two leading JLTVs rolled back and pulled up in front of my truck. Stoneclaw emerged from the passenger side of one of the vehicles and approached my door. I rolled down the window to meet his gaze.

“What’s up?” I asked.

“There’s a roadblock ahead. It looks like part of the convoy was attacked en route,” he replied, his tone serious.

“That’s not good,” I responded, feeling a knot tighten in my stomach.

“No, it’s not,” he agreed, his expression grim. “Join me in the MCV,” he commanded.

I nodded, grabbed my rifle, and followed him towards the back of the trailer, where Major Pixiewolf was already waiting. We stepped inside and made our way to her workstation, where Scuzball was perched on the screen, waiting for us. A satellite view of the area was pulled up on the monitor.

“So, what are we looking at, Stoneclaw?” Major Pixiewolf asked.

“It appears to be four M1085 trucks stacked sideways across the road, on fire, effectively barricading the westbound lanes of the interstate,” he explained.

“What about the eastbound direction?” I inquired, hoping for a possible detour.

“The overpass that crosses above where the trucks are located has collapsed onto the interstate below,” he answered, his tone heavy with concern.

“Shit...” I muttered, the situation growing more complicated by the minute. “Scuzball, can you pull up a recent satellite view of the area?” I asked, hoping for a clearer picture.

“Not for another hour or so. There isn’t a satellite in position right now,” he responded.

“Wait, you have access to satellites?” Major Pixiewolf asked, her surprise evident.

“Well, duh... I am an all-powerful A.I. after all,” Scuzball quipped, his tone dripping with sarcasm.

“More like a cocky, over-elaborate abacus,” Stoneclaw shot back, unable to resist.

“Listen here, you overgrown scaly fly. Now’s not the time to swap insults. We have a problem to solve,” Scuzball jabbed.

Major Pixiewolf sighed in irritation, closing her eyes as if to block out the bickering. Mac simply smiled, biting her knuckles to keep from laughing, while Steve shook his head in disbelief at the exchange.

“Focus!” I snapped, bringing everyone’s attention back to the task at hand. “We have a roadblock, and we need to figure out a way through it since we can’t go around it.”

“There’s a rest area about a quarter of a mile ahead. We could pull into it for some protection instead of sitting out in the open,” Stoneclaw suggested, pointing at the old pull-off visible on the map.

“I think that’s a good idea,” I said, looking to Major Pixiewolf for confirmation.

She nodded in agreement. Stoneclaw and I exited the MCV and made our way back to the front of my truck. I climbed in and pulled my headset back on, hearing Steve relay the information to the rest of the team. I released the brakes and slipped the truck into gear, following the two JLTVs to the rest area. The JLTVs barreled into the old construction barrels that were blocking the entrance, clearing a path for us. The barrels flew in various directions, crashing into trees or the ground with loud thuds as we made our way into the rest area.

Pulling into the rest area, I maneuvered my truck far enough forward to ensure all ten massive rigs could fit into the small pull-off. Once parked, I exited the cab and walked to the passenger side of my truck. The rest of the team had also stepped out, stretching their legs but keeping their rifles at the low ready, eyes scanning the surroundings. The overgrown trees and thick foliage provided some cover, concealing our trucks from the road.

“No one go exploring. Stick near the rigs. If you need to leave the group, go in pairs or more. We don’t know what’s going on yet,” I ordered.

Everyone nodded, staying close between the two rows of trucks we had formed. A sense of unease hung in the air, but no one questioned the need for caution. I made my way back to the MCV and climbed inside, where Stoneclaw and Major Pixiewolf were deep in discussion about how to handle the barricade. Steve, meanwhile, was casually eating a sandwich, seemingly unfazed by the situation. Mac walked past me, flashing a quick smile.

“I’m going to check on the trucks. Cain mentioned his truck spat out a code earlier,” she said as she moved past me.

“Alright, make sure you find someone to go with you,” I reminded her.

She gave me a thumbs up and left the MCV. With her gone, I turned my attention back to the three others in the room, including Scuzball, who was still on the monitor. It was time to figure out a plan to deal with the roadblock ahead.