Instantly, Mo darted in front of her holding his arms up as if he was trying to shield her from the beast, but at this point nothing could help them.

The dragon's mouth split open and Sora shuddered in fear. She clamped her hands over her ears expecting a horrendous roar or hiss to burst forth. Instead she was shocked to see in the black depths of the dragon's throat, a flicker of red and yellow light. A horrifying realization washed over her, and Sora knew she needed to run and take cover, but her feet were rooted to the spot, refusing to move. Instinctively, Sora cowered down behind Mo. Normally, she was the type of girl who faced her threats head on, but not when she was facing a huge fire-breathing dragon with a bad temper. All bets were off in this situation!

After a few moments, Sora rose tentatively on her tiptoes to sneak a peek over Mo's shoulder. That was when she was it. A red blur blazing across the sky, crashing directly into dragon-Ben.

At first, Sora thought that Drake had thrown some type of fire at Ben, but then she realized that she was seeing Drake in his dragon form. Drake was clawing to stay on top of Ben's back. Sora could see the flickering of reds and oranges in Ben's throat, a fire was imminent.

Drake's jaw snapped around Ben's thick, long neck. The blue dragon let out an ear piercing scream, and its jaws snapped shut, vanquishing any hint of flames. Sora let out a shaky breath of relief. No fire, for now, she thought relieved. Ben quickly retaliated by slapping his muscular arm across Drake's thin, elegant neck. He hit Drake with such force that Sora feared something might be broken. Drake managed to keep his teeth buried deep in Ben's fleshy neck. He wrestled Ben down and pinned him to the ground. The claws of the blue dragon dug furiously beneath the scales around Drake's neck and Sora winced.

Can he really win? she wondered.

As a reply to her question, Drake whipped his tail around so fast that it looked like a bolt of red lighting as it pummeled Ben hard, directly in the snout. Drake wasn't finished with his attack. The end of his long tail snaked around one of Ben's horns, dragging the blue dragon's head down. Then with one perfectly synchronized move, Drake released his grip on Ben's neck as his tail yanked on his horn.

Sora never thought that would be enough to stop Ben, but when she saw the huge blue dragon being thrown around like a limp rag doll, her heart filled with hope.

Ben quickly recovered, and he was once again on all four feet with his tail swinging wildly behind him. He stared down Drake, and Sora couldn't help but think that Ben's fierce posture reminded her of Kiba when he was angry. Ben let out a low, throaty, threatening growl laced with anger. There was no doubt that he was furious. Drake was unwavering as he mimicked Ben's posture and returned the growl.

Sora secretly hoped that the growls were not signs of aggression, and that they were speaking in dragon and working things out. Suddenly, she noticed the wisps of smoke leaking from the holes in Drake's neck, where Ben's claws had pierced through. Sora watched in horror as Ben lifted his scaly neck toward the sky turning the night into day.

A thick wave of reddish-yellow flames flooded the night sky. The heat was so intense that Sora could feel it burning her skin and her eyes, but she was still unable to rip her eyes from the scene. She held her breath, not daring to move for fear she would break the spell and hinder what was unraveling in front of her eyes. Even though she was terrified, part of her found it beautiful and exciting.

She finally tore her eyes from the flames rolling out of Ben's mouth to check on Drake who was still in the same place, unmoving, just watching the other dragon with trepidation. Sora could see his tail tucked between his legs, his stance indicated fear. Just as she started to worry, Drake flicked his pitch black eyes to her, and with confidence, he rose up on his back legs and spread his wings. He bolted into flight, barreling straight toward Ben's bulk, gaining momentum until he collided into his side. Ben's jaws snapped shut in surprise extinguishing the fire.

They were a blur of tails and claws as they rolled on the ground biting and slashing. Ben appeared to have the advantage with his huge horns and his tail pointed with a deadly spear, but Drake was faster and more experienced.

To Sora, the fight felt like it would go on forever. Each bite and hit that landed on Drake hurt her, too. She couldn't let this go on for long, one of them would get seriously injured or maybe even worse. But what can I do? she wondered. I couldn't even get Katie out of the stupid car. How can I stop this madness in front of me?

Before she could act, Ben's tail spade slashed into Drake's face, and his whole body crumpled to the ground. "Drake!" she screamed bolting out from behind Mo and running straight into the fight. She heard her name being screamed but she didn't stop, she didn't even slow down.

Ben was pinning Drake's body down with three of his legs and he had his head positioned over Drake's, jaws open. The flash of fire across the night sky popped into Sora's head and she ran even faster. She couldn't allow this to happen to Drake.

"Ben, stop!" she yelled. In a few more seconds she would reach them, but she knew there was nothing she could do. How do you stop a fire-breathing dragon when you are just a girl? But then she realized she wasn't just any girl, she was a Dragoncaller. Even if she didn't understand all the ramifications of being one.

"Stop!" she screamed once more and took the last couple of steps toward Drake's head, which was immobilized under Ben's leering, open jaws. She spread her arms out from her sides, hoping to somehow protect Drake, who she could now hear growling behind her in protest.

She saw the fire building in the pit of Ben's open mouth; she could even feel the heat. "Stop!" She closed her eyes which were burning from all the heat. "Stop! Stop! Stop!"

Nothing happened.

No fire. No pain. Nothing.

Sora opened one of her eyes slowly, afraid that the fire was still in front of her. But instead of the huge blue dragon, she saw Ben lying on the ground. Naked. She snapped her eyes shut again and cursed.

"That was stupid," she heard a weak voice coming from behind her. She turned, her eyes wide. Drake was laying there, his face touching the ground, a faint smile on his exhausted face. Also naked.

Sora felt tears of relief prickling her eyes, and her cheeks warmed with embarrassment, but she didn't divert her stare. She quickly scanned his body, checking to see if he was hurt. Nothing.

"Do you mind?" he said sounding both tired and playful.

She finally ripped her eyes off him and turned to see Mo walking slowly toward them. She expected him to be terrified or at least a bit afraid, but surprisingly, he was brimming with excitement. A little bit too much excitement, Sora thought.

"That was the single most amazing thing I've ever seen in my life," he exclaimed in awe. He was rewarded with an eye roll from Sora and a growl from Drake. Mo glanced over at Ben. "Is he okay?"

The last thing Sora wanted was another eyeful of Ben's naked body, but her eyes disobeyed her brain and once again took in Ben. Sora got a good glimpse of him in his nakedness. He was breathing heavily, other than that there was no movement.

"The first change is always the hardest," she heard Drake muttering behind her. His voice was close to her ears, and she knew he was standing up.

She slapped both hands over her eyes, she didn't dare look at Drake's naked body again. It made her feel things she wasn't prepared for. Her brain kept on telling her that one more quick glimpse wouldn't hurt anyone, but she refused to listen. "Can you put some clothes on?" she said, glad that her hands were covering her whole face because now she could actually feel how hot her cheeks were. She heard him half walking half dragging himself away.

"You stopped him," said Mo who, by the sound of his voice, was standing right in front of her. "You told him to stop and he eventually did." He sounded excited, like a kid in a candy store.

Sora wasn't sure how she managed to stop the dragons, but deep down she knew that she had done it. One moment she was wishing for Ben to stop, half thinking that it wouldn't happen that she might end up a crispy critter, and then, the only thought echoing in her mind was 'stop' and miraculously, he did.

"I did, somehow," she mumbled beneath her covered face.

"She saved you," Mo said, and she figured that Drake had returned, hopefully fully clothed.

"Actually, she didn't."

Sora slowly parted her fingers and peeked at him. His face was mere inches from hers, his eyes searching her face. His hands landed softly on top of hers. "It's all good now," he said as if talking to a scared child. He gently pulled her hands away from her face. "See?" His smile was radiant. Pure bliss.

Sora nodded slowly and noticed that he was only half dressed. He had his jeans on and his shirt was hanging over his left shoulder. "You were about to get toasted," she said. She was expecting a thank you but he was obviously not going to give her one.

He put his shirt on in one swift move and folded his arms over his chest, his muscles tense. "The only one about to get toasted was you," he replied. "Dragons can't be burned by fire. We are fire."

Sora felt her eyebrows shot up in surprise. A smart retort was on the tip of her tongue, when she remembered the smoke billowing out from the wounds on Drake's neck. She peered at it. The only indication that Drake had been in a fight was the exhaustion scrawled across his face.

"What do we do with him?" asked Mo, nodding towards Ben.

"First, we get him some clothes," said Sora who once again looked at Ben before realizing he was still lying naked on the ground.

***

Sora made the first trip back to the car by herself to get some of Mo's gym clothes from the trunk. She found Katie leaning against the car. It was good to see she was okay.

Both girls walked back to the three guys waiting for them inside the forest. After the fast recap of what had happened with the dragons, Katie was excited, terrified and confused all at the same time.

Once Ben was finally dressed, they started back toward the car. Mo and Katie held a half-naked, still unconscious Ben between them. If Ben could see himself right now he'd kill us, Sora thought watching him being dragged by her friends. Mo's sweatpants were probably loose when he wore them but they were stretched tightly against Ben's thick leg muscles. They tried to squeeze him into Mo's hoodie too, but there was no way it would fit him. No wonder Katie was so happy, she was drinking in the half naked Ben.

Sora watched her friend with Ben's arms slung around her small shoulders, a big grin stretched across her face. She was obviously no help to Mo, who was lifting almost all of Ben's weight but she insisted on helping.

That left Sora to help Drake. At least he's fully dressed, she thought, but she was still painfully aware of all the places their bodies were touching. The tiny electrical jolts on her skin, a constant reminder. His arm was around her shoulders, and she was holding his wrist, her other hand around his waist trying to support as much of his weight as she could. She still didn't know if his ankle was broken or just strained.

They were almost to the car when he finally spoke. "You controlled him," he said, and she didn't know if he was expecting her to say something back. They took a few more steps and then he went on, "That's why everyone's so afraid of Dragoncallers. You can control dragons and make them do whatever you want."

Sora felt insulted by his words. It's not like she was the one who told Ben to attack him. She saved him. Or at least she thought she did, until she found out that fire couldn't hurt dragons. She opened her mouth to speak, and then snapped it shut without saying anything. He was right. She did control him. Maybe if she trained she could make him do whatever she wanted, but what would she make a dragon do?

"What will happen to him?" she asked instead, happy to steer the conversation away from her.

"First, I need to talk to him, to make sure he won't say anything unnecessary to my parents," he said, straightening up just a little bit.

Sora felt a little bit of his weight ease off her shoulders and was glad. "Anything unnecessary?" she asked.

"You," he said simply and turned to look at her, his black eyes locking with hers, then he nodded his head toward Mo and Katie, who were a few steps behind, juggling Ben between them. "Them."

"Oh, I see," she said softly. "And then what?" she asked and it was more of a whisper than an actual question. She felt a knot forming in her stomach.

"Then we leave and take Ben with us," he replied, and for the first time that night Sora remembered the sadness and guilt she sometimes glimpsed in him. She turned to face him but his attention was on something in front of them. Then he froze.

Sora almost stumbled, but before she could take another step, she felt his arms clamp around her shoulders, pulling her back. "What's wrong?" she asked scared that his ankle was actually broken and he couldn't move anymore, but he was distracted by something else. She followed his gaze along the trail and felt her heart start pounding.

"Father," she heard Drake say. He didn't seem surprised but he still tensed beside her.

Mo, Ben and Katie were now standing next to them, all five of them staring straight at Drake's dad. He was naked.

Sora averted her eyes from him and turned her attention to Katie who had pinned her eyes to the ground. I've seen more naked men in one day than in the last sixteen years, Sora thought. Naked, she repeated and then she realized what that meant. She turned and looked back at Mr. Harrison, making sure to focus on his eyes. That's when she noticed he was practically quaking with anger.

She started to take a step back but Drake's arm over her shoulders stopped her and she was glad, she didn't want to show how afraid she was. Especially since Drake appeared to be on the verge of another fight.

"Is that what you call Collecting?" His father's voice was steady and hard, like he was talking to a soldier. And then it dawned on her, all this talk about dragon packs, camps, initiation rituals, Drake was a soldier. Someone sent out to collect all the other dragons and add them to their army. And from the looks of it, he must have committed some serious infractions.

His father moved toward them, and Sora found herself wishing they had some extra clothes for him. Drake stood his ground and Sora felt his muscles tighten. She wanted to say something to assure Mr. Harrison that everything was fine and that Drake had indeed done his job, but one look at the older man rendered her speechless. And then she wondered if she could control him, like she did Ben, even if he was in his human form.

That was when Ben decided to wake up. "What the-,"he started to say as he shoved Mo and Katie away from him. "What are you doing to me? What just happened?" he asked obviously confused. Sora could see he was also getting angry. Ben always got angry when he failed to understand something. If only she wasn't so scared, then maybe she could channel his anger into her fire power and keep Mr. Harrison away. Dragons can't be burned, she reminded herself.

"It's okay, I can explain," said Drake without taking his eyes off his father. He removed his arm from her shoulder and took a shaky step towards his father. "He is the dragon and he just turned," he said pointing to Ben.

A curse escaped Ben's lips.

Sora turned to look at him. Comprehension as to what had happened dawned on him and he looked terrified. Terror was something she rarely saw on Ben's face. Mo moved toward Ben but was immediately shoved away again. "Get away from me, freak!" he yelled and hurried to Drake.

When he caught up with Drake, he grabbed his shirt and put his face as close as possible to Drake's, his eyes sparkling in the moon light. "You did this to me," he was furious now.

Drake's father moved to intervene, but before he could speak, a car halted behind them and a woman slipped out of the driver's seat. Sora recognized her immediately.

"Your clothes are in the back, hun," she said her melodic voice floating through the air soothing Sora's ears and washing a calm feeling over her. She wasn't the only one. Everyone else relaxed as well, even Ben's hands let go of Drake's shirt.

Mr. Harrison walked towards the car, retrieved his clothes from the back seat and began to dress. Everyone was silent as Mrs. Harrison walked casually to her son and Ben. She placed a gentle hand on Drake's face before turning to Ben.

"Everything is going to be okay," she said, her voice as soft as ever and then she smiled. Ben's entire posture relaxed at the sound of her voice. "You are lucky we were close by on our nightly stroll when we heard all the noise you made." 

"You are all coming with us," she went on glancing at everyone, her eyes resting a bit longer on Sora, and her throat suddenly went dry.

"I will take care of the cars," said Mr. Harrison who was now emerging from the car fully dressed.

Sora expected someone to protest, but everyone remained silent while one by one they filed into the Harrisons' car. Katie perched on Sora's lap since there was no room for her in the backseat. Nervously, Sora kept on glancing in the rear-view mirror and every time, her gaze was met by two warm brown eyes.

Once everyone was inside, the car started moving. Sora wished for another crash so she could get the hell out of there. The silence weighed heavily. Sora hoped that someone would say something to break the tension.

"You are all in big trouble." Finally, someone had spoken. It was Mrs. Harrison, but this time her voice had a hard edge, lacking the melody and calmness that had soothed them before. Now it sounded mean and evil.

Sora wished for silence.