dragons breath 01 - stalked by flames by susan illene

want to hear. ”
    I turned the volume up.
    “ More dragons have arrived and are swarming all over Oklahoma City. They have managed to burn nearly all of the buildings in downtown to ash—which shouldn’t even be possible, but that tells you how hot their flames must be. We even had a brief scare at our own station. Troops and helicopters were sighted in the city less than an hour ago . The last I heard, they’re gearing up for a counterattack. Stay inside, people, and let them handle this. ”
    Conrad and I exchanged looks.
    “Maybe they’ll take care of the dragon problem,” I said, hopefully.
    “Yeah.” He rolled his eyes upward. “If they don’t get burned to death first.”
    He had a point. And as far as I knew, I was the only one immune to their fire.
    As if reading my thoughts, he glanced down at my legs. “How did you manage not to go up in smoke?”
    “I got lucky, I guess.” I stared at the road.
    He snorted. “Sure looks like you came close. Like, really close.”
    I didn’t say anything.
    “What was with that dimension theory you proposed back there?” he asked, staring at me. “You sounded sure of yourself.”
    I hadn’t meant to, but it had come out that way.
    “It’s just an idea that came to me.” I shrugged. “Maybe I watch too many movies, but it sounded good.”
    “Wish I got farther in college before this happened. I was studying for a physics degree, but none of the basics I took my first year do me much good in this situation. No idea when I’ll finish now.” Conrad sighed.
    Poor guy. I had to remember it wasn’t just my future that may have gotten ruined today.
    “So I’m thinking we head back to campus,” I said, changing the subject.
    “If that’s what you want. I ain’t got no place else to go.”
    “Me, either.” Which left me with an unsettled feeling.
    We couldn’t risk driving around for days trying to find a way to Texas. Who knew how far that chasm stretched or if another earthquake would hit? Not to mention I could only go so far before I’d run out of gas. Maybe some service stations would be open, but then again maybe not. Also, if life on a ranch had taught me anything, it was that predators were more active at night. We needed to get to safety before the sun set—which was just over an hour away.
     
    ***
     
    It was a lot easier getting back to the city than it was leaving. Less traffic and fewer wrecked cars to get in the way. Seeing the exit for Highway 9 up ahead, I breathed a sigh of relief. The sun was going down just over the trees and it was starting to get dark. I’d worried we wouldn’t make it back to Norman in time.
    “Is it me,” Conrad said, leaning forward, “or are those mountains up ahead?”
    As soon as I lifted my gaze to follow his line of sight, I let out a gasp.
    “Uh, yeah, those are definitely mountains. Big ones.”
    If I hadn’t been watching the road so closely for cracks and buckles, I would have noticed them sooner. There was a haze over the peaks, but I estimated they started about ten miles away. Probably just south of Lake Thunderbird. They didn’t appear to be a wide range of mountains, rather just several jagged peaks. As if they’d popped out of the ground in the midst of the mostly flat landscape that made up the Southern Great Plains.
    “Looks like the earthquake did more than open up a giant chasm,” Conrad observed. “If they can get rid of the dragons, this state might actually get more tourists.”
    “Think the mountains are high enough for skiing?” I asked, playing along. We needed something to break up the tension.
    “Maybe,” he said, then his gaze ran past me and he cursed. “Stop the truck!”
    I hit the brakes and pulled over. “What?”
    “Look.” He pointed to the northeast.
    Dreading what I’d find, I turned my head. Though the sky was getting darker, I could make out the shape of two green dragons blowing streams of fire at a neighborhood. It was maybe a mile away. And now that I