Originally posted to the Warriors of the Red Van blog, July 12th, 2009.
As
they continued driving, the meadows changed to a more barren and
lifeless area, where very where there was little growth. The travelers
silently watched the scenery change around them, listening to the jazz
music.
Shortly
after the road had straightened out, Tooga began to look uneasy,
staring off in the distance and rubbing his thumbs on his fingers. Jik
noticed and began to wonder what was wrong.
“Hey, are you alright?”
Tooga shook his head.
“What's up?” Jik asked, now slightly concerned.
Tooga
shook his head again, still not moving his eyes from the distance. He
tore off the top page of the writing pad and wrote on it without looking
down.
“ 'There is something chaotic up ahead,' “ Jik read. “You can feel it?”
Tooga
nodded. Jik turned the radio off and began to look around carefully as
he drove. Soon the air grew tense. Jik couldn't decide if his own
battle instincts were ringing or if the monk was making him nervous for
no reason, but he could tell something was up. Despite the van's engine
and the occasional rock, the eerie silence continued, but the warriors'
patience was long and well-trained.
Then Tooga made a forward waving motion with his hand.
“Speed up?” Jik interpreted, whispering.
Tooga
nodded. Jik stepped on the gas. The van followed the road for several
minutes, steadily going faster as it went over the few bumps and
occasional left curves. They were almost heading north.
All
of a sudden, Tooga showed the palm of his left hand to Jik. He sudden
movement startled the driver, but before he could ask what it meant, the
monk slapped the top of the dashboard with his palm, then showed it to
Jik again, who finally understood and hit the brakes, forcing the van to
screech to a halt. The monk put a finger to his lips, so Jik killed
the engine and watched his companion hop out of the seat onto the road.
A
sudden dry mist seemed to roll low on the ground. Tooga kept staring
off at the distance. Jik had no idea what Tooga was seeing, but he
figured the monk wasn't just looking with his eyes. Jik hopped out and
raced around the front of the van to stand by his friend.
They
stood there for another while, the sun now well past noon. Then, to
Jik's surprise, Tooga jerked his thumb back at the van.
“What? You want me to go back inside?” he asked, slightly offended.
Tooga nodded.
“C'mon, I'm here! We're together!”
Tooga jerked his thumb again, shaking his head.
“Is there a good reason?” Jik asked after a moment, his voice much more level.
Tooga looked at him, his eyes sparkling with a fierce energy, and nodded.
Jik
stood there for a moment then stepped back toward the van, banging his
fist on the hood. He climbed back behind the wheel, forced to merely
watch what was going to happen.
Tooga
crouched down near the ground, moving his hands over the dirt road. He
began picking up some of the dirt and throwing it, spreading dust all
over, like some kind of ritual. Jik wasn't sure what was going on, but
tried to satisfy himself that this waiting would be worth it in the end.
If he couldn't fight, maybe he'd at least see a good battle.
The
monk stood up again, one hand now straight out in front of him. He
seemed to grab something from mid-air, then he suddenly began to make
rapid motions with his arms. After a few moments of studying, Jik
finally found the transparent staff that his friend was expertly
swinging around. The spiritual weapon impressed him, and he could feel
the monk's energy quickly increasing.
Then
Jik heard something, like a roar, but it was more of a feeling than an
actual sound. He knew it didn't come from Tooga. Jik struggled to
concentrate, hoping that he could see part of what the monk was seeing.
The
roar came again, closer, but not louder, and a rush of wing blew in
from the same direction. Speedily, Tooga flipped his staff at
something, and whatever it was roared again! Then the monk made a
dodging maneuver and struck again. Finally, Jik was able to see what
the noise was all about.
It
was a serpent-like dragon, transparent like the staff, with colors that
rainbowed across his scales. The dragon was firing spikes from the
mane around his head, but Tooga was dodging those easily. It also tried
attacking with a clawed hand, but Tooga quickly blocked it and
counter-attacked. It even tried to trap the monk with its long
tail-like body, but that didn't work either. Tooga was far too agile.
Every
time Tooga's staff hit the beast, a bright light would flash, making
seem like Jik was watching an impressive light show. Soon, it became
obvious that the monk was winning the battle. The dragon tried to
escape, but Tooga blocked its path and then hit it fiercely with his
staff.
Finally,
Tooga took a large leap and pierced the dragon's head with his weapon.
The dragon's eyes rolled in their sockets, and it tried to shake the
monk off. Tooga was able to hang on and began reaching into the
dragon's skull as if searching for something. When he found it, he
ripped it out, and at once the dragon dissipated into nothing. The monk
fell to the ground, gracefully landing on his feet.
There,
he began spinning the staff all around again, releasing his energy.
The staff disappeared and Tooga stood there, all by himself. He threw
whatever he had grabbed from the dragon's head into the ground and began
tossing it back and forth in the dirt. Then he held it in front of him
in one hand, his other hand on top of it, as if he was keeping it
hidden. He closed his eyes in concentration, then he stood up and
walked back to the van.
“Wow!” Jik cried, totally impressed as he watched his friend climb back into the van. “What was all that? What happened?”
Tooga
didn't respond. He just sat there, staring at the now uncovered object
in his hands. Jik leaned over and saw a medallion with a bright golden
surface. On its face was an imprint of the dragon that the monk had
just defeated.
“Whoa,” Jik exclaimed softly, “Didja pull that out of the dragon's head?”
Tooga
stayed silent, but when Jik looked at his eyes, he could see them
moisten a little. Then he watched the monk respectfully placed the
medallion in his bag, then sigh heavily.
“Shall
we keep going?” Jik suggested after a moment. He figured he wasn't
going to get much information from his friend about what had just
happened. Tooga nodded and Jik started the van again. A little later
down the road, Jik asked Tooga if he was alright, and the monk nodded,
but Jik could tell something very small had changed.
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