We walked in silence though our footsteps echoed amongst the ruins of Cyran City. It used to be such a sprawling metropolis, gargantuan on its own, yet you felt a genuine sense of community here. As we passed an old grocery store turned into a farmhouse, I couldn’t help but recall an old memory of chasing down a purse snatcher in my early days.
Funny how I can’t remember the store, but I remember the mugger. I remember the people on the street and the employees in the store. The smell of stale bread and fresh-cut flowers opens up something bitter inside me.
I’ll never see those people again.
Guy stopped and nodded at the old place. Could he tell that something was on my mind?
“Over there is where we hold festivals. You actually woke up at a good time; there's a festival of eggs in two days. It used to be called the Festival of fertility but the bigwigs thought it better to change it after some people complained about kids participating.”
All I could do was give an awkward laugh in return. It’s not like I could reassemble that store if they found another use for it.
“So…you know, maybe you and Wyatt could go.” His tone was off, like he was holding back from eating something disgusting–then shoving it down, anyway.
“That's probably not gonna happen soon. If you couldn’t tell, Wyatt and I are having some issues in our marriage right now.”
To say the fucking least.
“Oh. I see.” He paused for only a breath. “I’m here if you need someone to talk to about it. I can say with certainty that no matter how smart we actually are–men are idiots.”
“You don’t have to tell me that. I’ve known him all my life. We grew up in these streets–sorta.”
“Sorta?” We started walking again. Guy absolutely didn’t need to do it, but he often held out a hand to steady me whenever we walked over rubble.
Guilt boiled within me every time I enjoyed his touch or failed to pull away fast enough.
“Sorta. I was more of a street kid. Wyatt’s a silver spoon man. He grew up in a mansion on the outskirts of the city; his brother was the 10th richest man in the world and also a superhero like me. Dire Wolf…is he in the Dragon Archives at all?”
Someone had to be other than me. Right?
“The name doesn’t ring a bell, but the Archives are pretty deep, so there may be mention of him there. To be honest, though, I never focused on anything more than what they taught us in school.”
“Oh, yeah, education. How much has that changed since…since things hit the fan?”
The landscape grew wilder; more vines and undergrowth pushed through the cracks in the pavement. A bench remained tangle-free in front of an old movie theater. He motioned for me to follow as he took a seat. I slowly sank down next to him, happy that he stayed respectful and kept his distance even when we’re packed together like sardines.
“This bench is ridiculously sturdy. I remember I used to break benches and tables like crazy as a kid. The other kids called me Bigfoot and dammit, I couldn’t really blame them, heh.”
Although I may have punched a few bullies in the face, so they weren’t exactly calling me names for long.
“Your feet are fine. And most of the old furniture out here was torn down after the Great Detachment.”
“The great what-now?”
He chuckled, leaning forward on his elbows and knees.
“According to my grandpa,life wasn’t always like this–not that you wouldn’t know that. The thing is, it only got bad once we detached ourselves from most technology.”
“Most…right.” I glance at the gun on his back.
“Trust me, I dislike using guns. My dad wants me to at least know how to use them though. Me? I’d rather bash in skulls the old fashion way, at least give em’ a fighting chance ya know?” He cracked his knuckles and leaned back in his seat.
He finally got the message after my silence kicked in. I needed him to continue with the history lesson.
“Oh. Sorry, you probably wanna hear more about it, right? So here’s the thing: the Great Detachment came about after the last wave of monoliths hit us. I’m not sure about the rest of the world, but our power grid went down, and no matter what our engineers did–It wouldn’t come back up. Descendants couldn’t get it working with their powers either.”
“Descendents?” Why do I feel like I’m going to hate what he says next?
“What’s the word I’m looking for…powered people? Superheroes are what they used to be called, I think. We don’t call them that anymore, though. They’re descended from dragons, anyway.”
He said it so casually, but my pulse was racing. I couldn’t fathom it.
“Um, okay, do you know which dragons specifically?” My lungs went on strike as I watched him tap his chin.
“No, not specifically. Gramps said before the Great Detachment, many people died because they weren’t blessed by dragons. Our family was blessed, though I’m the runt of the pack…and a half-breed.”
Half-breed…just like me. Although I think I broke the mold.
“We have that in common at least, but okay, level with me for a moment.” I threw my elbow onto the bench’s back and turned towards him. “You said you didn’t have super strength–”
“I don’t. We’re just built sturdy. The best I can do is lift a car over my head.”
“Guy, that’s super strength! Normal humans can’t do that!” Hell, in my current state I can barely lift a vending machine overhead.
He blinked, taken aback. “Are you sure?”
“Is your other half human?”
He nods.
“Can that parent lift a car over their head?”
He shakes his head but opens his mouth to rebuttal.
“Lifting a couch doesn’t count.” I shut him down. He blushes and crosses his arms, grumbling.
“I’m not calling it super strength.” He was adorably adamant.
“You don’t have to! But it's what I know. So, since you’re hanging out with a dinosaur, get used to it.” I smirked, lightly punching him on the shoulder. Guy rolled his eyes and looked off toward my statue–still weird to think of it like that.
“You really don’t like that statue?”
“Why would anyone make me a statue to begin with?”
“Why?” He furrowed his brows and sighed. “Sometimes your humility is frustrating.”
“What did I do now?”
“You’re the first dragon on Earth, Sapphyra. Not just the first, but the greatest. You left us a blueprint on how to survive after the Great Detachment. When everyone was glued to technology and started spiraling and killing without it–it was your words that kept us sane.”
Guy hopped to his feet, pointing at my statue. The passion in his eyes warmed me…even if it was misplaced.
“Without you, Cyran City would be a goner. Without you, I—” he stopped and dropped his hand. He cleared his throat.
“Without me, what?” Now I had to know. He sighed, squaring his shoulders. A ghost of a smile appeared on his face.
“You…you helped me personally. I can’t tell you when, or where, or how, but you did. Take solace in that, in knowing that there're thousands of people here just like me who look up to you.”
Cyran City used to be home to 20 million people.
The way he searched my eyes made my heart flutter. I can’t be his savior, not anymore. I’m not a superhero. If I were, I’d be the last one alive at this rate. This is too heavy for me…but I want to sit in it for just a little while longer.
I want to sit with Guy and pretend that maybe, maybe I can still be someone’s hero.
“Guy, I–”
My words were cut short. Three flares exploded in a bright floral pattern across the night sky.
“Shit! We gotta go. My dad’s calling a meeting about the capps.”
He started jogging with me trailing behind him.
“Your dad?”
“Yeah. My dad’s the high dragon on the council. His name is Rupert Domingo.”
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