The Dragon was feeling trapped, but mostly angry up there in the Freedom Tower. He had just got everything just the way he liked with everything burning and smoldering around him, as he lay upon the riches of the earth. Now Ethan and Michael were here. He saw both of them with his own eyes. Why? Why both of them?

The problem with the Dragon was, he could never be anything more than a dragon. All he cared about was his treasure, protecting his treasure, and if there was more to be found, acquiring it. He couldn’t see the consequences of him having all the treasure. The consequences fell on everyone else. He had what he wanted. He was laying on a mound of treasure.

Now that he had everything, he became fearful of losing it. There was nothing left to conquer, and so he became defensive. Always looking over his shoulder for someone real or imaginary to steal his treasure. It made him angry. He had switched from wanting more to being protective of what little he had. It was not enough. He always wanted more.

He didn’t fully understand Ethan. He got what Michael was all about. Michael was just a strongman, sent down to tear things up, but Ethan? He had underestimated something about Ethan. When they locked into a battle of wills on the streets of New York, the Dragon was stricken with the feeling Ethan could easily have snuffed him out if he had wanted to.

This idea fueled the Dragon’s hatred and anger to the point where he could hardly reason anymore. It placed him in a state of violent, vengeful preoccupation. Did they think they were going to take the world from him too? Where would he go? First cast out of heaven to this miserable planet. What was left? Where was left?

The thing was, he had done well here. Right from the very beginning, he placed greed within trade and his web had grown to embody the world. Many had fallen to the charms of the Beast, and now as many people as not, wore his Mark. This was his planet. He earned it. They should leave him with it.

Ethan and Michael had come for his planet too. He knew it. That’s what this was all about. The Dragon’s hatred and anger grew to the point he could no longer see straight. Grew to the point, it was about to explode. He was feeling trapped and about to lash out.

Since the Consortium had built walls between themselves and everyone else, many people made their home in Central Park. The sense of community was strong there. They had no money, and very little food until Ethan showed up, but they were of a kindly spirit. They made their life one of assisting the thousands of transients who passed through the Park daily. Water and rest stations were set up where Park members provided advice, direction and basic medical assistance.

With the coming of Ethan, they were now able to provide some food and staples to the transients. When the call came out to start a militia, the people of the Park assumed they were already a part of it. Every one of them was prepared to fight and die for a better world. Everyone of them fell behind the aura of Ethan.

The Park was very quickly becoming more organized and safer. Alicia was gaining great strides with AI by finding backdoors and implementing her own datasets. She also reprogrammed the Sheriff Bobs they had stored in their compound. They now served and protected the people of the Park, even from Consortium Sheriff Bobs. Alicia’s were faster and more adaptive and responsive due to self-learning shared over the network and monitored and trained by Dawn. If a Consortium Sheriff Bob ventured into the park, it was quickly assimilated thanks to a small redirect program Alicia had put into the sim cards. Ethan and Michael could use these same cards to switch Sheriff Bobs they found along their travels and they would automatically connect to Alicia’s network.

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

Things moved quickly, and it wasn’t long before Ethan was ready to set out to meet the gangs coming from other parts of the country to confront him. The only thing left was to find Leita. Michael hadn’t found Leita yet. The day came though when he pulled Ethan aside.

“I have news of Leita,” he said.

“News?” Ethan asked.

“Yes. I found a young man who knew her when she was young. She was homeless and living on the street”.

“Well,” Where is she?” Ethan asked.

“She’s dead. She and several other young girls were abducted by Whitehead one night, then killed the following morning”.

“Of course,” Ethan thought. “That’s why Leita wasn’t on this quest. Without his intervention, she would be dead in this world. Marginally comforted that she was alive and well in the New World, hearing she was brutally murdered in this world, sent home to Ethan the depth of his redemption.

Ethan sighed, and shook his head with thoughts of disappointment in himself and grief. At a tender age, Leita had experienced all the horrors and fear of an uncaring world. “Prepare to leave. It’s time to separate the wheat from the chaff.

Elsie was not prepared to let Ethan go.

“How long are you going to be gone”?

“Not long. You’ll be okay. Everyone else will be with you. Nothing’s changing really”.

“But I want you here too, and Michael”.

“Everything will be fine,” Ethan said, hugging her. “Just remember. If you need me, call my name and I’ll be by your side”.

“Not when you’re a million miles away” Elsie retorted.

“I will,” Ethan replied, hugging her tighter. “You can trust me on that”.

Ethan released Elsie from their hug. She was crying. So many things in her life had been given and then taken away. The group was becoming her family. Ethan was the patriarch and now he was leaving too. She didn’t want to give up any of it. Ethan saw this and shook his head again in disappointment of what he had somehow let this world become. His world.

He pulled Bill to the side.

“You’re going to have to look after things for a while,” he said. “Alicia will help. I don’t think Whitehead will try anything while I’m gone, but between the two of you, you should be able to handle anything. I’m trusting you to look after my little girl”.

Don’t worry,” Bill replied, and for less than a second, Ethan could have sworn Bill took on the appearance of his warrior brothers with their metallic wings and armor. “Be safe in your journey. We’ll be here when you return”.