Chapter 1 The Exodus

Chapter 01 Exodus

2088

He watched the egg move, his Wife beside him. Bulging out at the unhatched infant inside pressed to get out. A doctor and nurse were in the room with them, a normal tradition for their kind, just in case the newborn needed assistance with it’s first breaths or hatched with some form of medical emergency. Suddenly a tiny white spike burst from the leathery prison, causing a split to form in the egg. They both smiled as we were about to lay eyes on their first son or daughter. But that feeling would be short lived. The snout that spike would be attached to would present itself, and to their horror, it would be clad in purple scales. His wife gasped and covered her mouth. He turned her away from the abomination. The doctor seemed to be unaffected, perhaps even curious. When she saw their reactions she tried to console them. However there would be no circumstance in which they would acknowledge this as their offspring.

“Get rid of this” he growled at the doctor in Draconis. She looked at them both in surprise, the nurse observing us as if trying to tell what to do next.

“Sir, this is your child, we came this far to abandon these stale ideas for our new society, your really should-”

“This THING should be culled, and we won’t have it. Kill it and tell people it died in the egg” and with that he took his sobbing wife from the room.

By then the hatchling would emerge and crawl into the doctor’s hand. Not a word was spoken between the two left in the room for quite some time. A purple dragon a one in a million chance, but the hatred from the child’s parent had shocked them both. Not only was it purple it was very small. Still wet, the doctor took the abandoned infant and proceeded with the normal. Weight, measurements, and responses, eventually laying it down on small pile of cloth meant to be it’s first bed. Other than being small and purple it was perfectly healthy.

“What do we do with this little one?” asked the doctor, finally breaking the silence some 20 minutes after the hatching.

“There is a woman near the edge of the colony” the nurse sighed “She’s been taking care of any children that are orphaned. She lives there the edge so that human missionaries have easy access to her. She listen to their ramblings about their gods then takes the free food they offer for the kids. I can take this one to her tonight, under the cover of dark” He paused “This might be perceived by some as a bad omen, we’ve already had a tough time here on Earth, I don’t want to worry people more”

“Oh that’s just superstition, we flew a long way to drop old thinking, but” the doctor sighed “I think you’re right. Just keep it quiet, may be for the best”

“I’ll take it to her tonight. But, I can’t quite tell from here” the nurse leaned it “is it male or female?”

“I hadn’t checked yet” the doctor picked up the infant again and held it steady for a moment as they contemplated, “It seems almost a useless point to check” and placed it back onto the cloth. This time pulling a heat lamp above. “Keep the little one warm for a few hours to make sure it’s stable and healthy, then take them to this place you spoke of.” She stood up from the stool and thought for a moment “Perhaps it’s best if you take them to my office, keep them warm and hidden away” The nurse looked a little puzzled “For it’s safety, we don’t know who else around here may be a little too superstitious as well”

That evening was warm, it was summertime and the heat lingered in the air. It was 11 pm at night but still slightly light outside form being so far north. The nurse, clad in a cloak, the infant held against his chest, approached the shack and knocked on the door silently. He knew there would be children asleep. Several moments later the thin woman dragon opened the door gently. She immediately tilted her head as she recognized the nurse.

“Please don’t tell me, another one?” she seemed exacerbated “I haven’t a lot of space left”

“Darla, this one is special okay”

“What’s so special?”

“Please, let me come in”

She opened the door fully and the nurse stepped inside

“Close the door” As she did the nurse pulled aside the cloak, revealing the sleeping infant against his chest. Darla grasped and held her muzzle

“Is this real? It’s so beautiful!” she looked back to to the nurse “there’s less than 90 thousand of us here, what are the odds?”

“Astronomical!” he silently shouted “listen, I’ve been with this one all day and all evening, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with it, let alone all those old tales. In fact I kind of get the feeling of just pureness, like any other whelping, but, I can’t explain, also great? Or maybe I’m just memorized by the vibrant color, I don’t know”

“I-I can’t always protect it” She interrupted, very concerned. “I’ve got nearly a dozen other kids right now, and this one is going to have a tough life”

“It’s okay, do what you can, just keep this one alive” He handed over the whelping “Good luck, and I ‘ll be back to check on it. If there is any health concerns me and the Doc are close by okay” The nurse walked out the door, closing the door behind himself. Once outside he took a deep breath. And thought to himself, maybe I should just have taken care of it? No that would never work, I’m so busy with the doctor and the clinic, this is for the best. He took a long reflecting walk back to his hostel, slightly regretting his decision, but, it was a better fate than it’s own parents offered.

2092:

The purple dragon sat crying on the grass, the other dragon children being gathered, they were crying as well. A group of adults had come to pick up what she left behind. Darla had left the colony to trade for some food and items the care home she made needed from the humans. There was a protest that day at the gate, like many other days. But today was a different day. She didn’t fall victim to the crowd, in fact she freely walked past them. But there was a vehicle accident in the nearby town, unfortunately she was too close to the street when it happened…

It watched through it’s tears as the other children, who relentlessly bullied them, even at such a young age, was carefully and solemnly taken away. But this child sat alone, throughout it’s short life so far it just wanted to be alone, even now as it cried, it wanted to grieve in peace, as the one person it knew cared for it so far was never coming back. There is sat, alone, ignored, oddly, just as it wanted.

It was as if every adult there did not hear it’s cries, not that it wanted to be heard. They walked past within a few centimeters at times, never noticing the crying child.

2098:

The purple child sat against the side of a shack in the shade. Spring time finally meant warmer weather. They experience a it’s 6th winter outdoors and it was a rough one. They sat and relaxed for a moment, pulling a few nuts from a satchel at their side. This was one of the peaceful moments they rarely get to enjoy, but it wouldn’t last long.

“Hey guys!” The purple dragon turned to see another dragon, slightly older than him, had come around the corner “I found the purple demon!” They immediately jumped to their feet and started to run, the boy and several other of the child dragons followed. As soon as they were clear of the building they spread their grayish purple wings and leapt into the air. Flapping hard as a couple of the bullies did the same. Still too young to fly far, but able to outfly those slightly older then them, they made a clean get away. This was one of the situations that their small body came in handy. No one ever taught them to fly, they just sort of figured it out. Like swimming but in the air.

They looked behind them self to see the bullies had fallen behind, already gliding back to the ground. They began to glide them self and landed in what could be described as a dirt street. Landing on it’s feet they were met with some stares and couple tsk’s from a some adults. They slide into an alleyway between two shacks. Sat back down, and started snacking again.

2100:

Taller now, the purple dragon wandered into a shop, darkness and swelling around one eye and blood still seeping from one of it’s nostrils. Filthy from being taken to the ground, and they were holding back their tears. Luckily the assailants had no clue they actually had some coin on them today, given to them by a local who had, discreetly, let them clean up around their shack. One of the very few allies they had, along with this shop keeper. They walked past the vegetables and meats, straight to an old human cooler with a rounded lid. They slide the cooler open, reached in and grabbed an ice cream cone, wrapped in paper, a brand name one, rare in the dragon colony, and walked to the front counter. They had had a rough day and damn, they were going to treat them self.

As they walked to the counter the shop keeper spoke up “Hey Purple, looks like you’re having a hard day” They nodded in agreement, sniffling from tears and a bloody nose. They place the ice cream on the counter. The Shop keeper pulled a box of tissue from under the counter. The purple dragon was surprised at such novelty and luxury, being able to clean it’s blood on this instead of it’s hood or loincloth again. They nodded in appreciation and thought, it sure would be nice to have this ice cream for free after what I’ve been through today.

“Hey” the shop keeper spoke up “you look like you’ve had a rough enough day, take this, and get some food tomorrow okay?” he paused “Just, don’t hang around, you know how it makes the others uncomfortable”

Delighted by the free treat, but a little stung by the last bit, though they were used to it, they nodded in agreement and quickly walked out. They walked a few meters away and sat down between two buildings and enjoyed the ice cream. Enjoying it a little more knowing they could now eat tomorrow too!

2102:

Today was going to be a good day, They knew because they intuition was never wrong. They walked all the way to the colony gate. The bottom of it now slightly buried in the ground from being open for so many years. They waited there.

They did not have to wait long. The human missionaries, the same ones that used to come see Darla, came to the gate. The unbiased love they had for the purple dragon, because they did not know, they had no prior experience with dragons, and did not know they were supposed to hate it for being purple. Samuel was their leader, and he instantly recognized the purple one, well, how could he not, there was only one.

This was one of the very few things that could make the purple dragon smile. They immediately greeted the human, and pulled from a satchel on his tail a couple of novels.

“I’d love to trade for more again!” they nearly shouted in english

“Haha, calm down, I thought of you and brought a couple more you might like! More important, little one, have you been eating well?” He took the books and placed them in his should back, pulled out two more and handed them to them.

“I’m 14 now! I know how to take care of myself! But if you’re offering I shouldn’t refuse” The purple dragon looked down and shyly kicked a rock. Samuel chuckled and pulled a bottle of water from his shoulder bag and gave it to them.

“I’m sure you do, but I know you have it rough, so,” He grabbed a small box from atop a stack of three another human was carrying, and handed it to the dragon “Here, some more nuts, I know you like them, along with some fresh vegetables, and, there’s even a chicken breast in there, I hope you can find a way to cook it. Now we need to make our way to the orphanage again. I’ll see on the way out okay?”

“Yes, and thank you so much!” the dragon was gleeful and genuinely thankful.

As the group of humans walked into the colony the young purple dragon made his way behind some abandoned shacks. They knew about a grill, they had used a few times, that still had some gas left in it. Old human BBQ’s either brought in by the missionaries or traded for by dragons but forgotten behind, they were left in very poor shape. Dragons have a different digestive tract chemistry than humans, they could have eaten that chicken raw, but the purple dragon preferred the taste of cooked chicken.

They unwrapped the chicken, surprised it was still chilled, kept cool in their vehicle, though it was not allowed into the colony. They places it on the grill, nearly burning their hand. Turning it, they did burn themselves slightly, but the end result was worth. Keeping an eye over their shoulder for would be attackers, thieves, or just more bullies. Once cooked they enjoyed on of their finest meals in months, one bland plain grilled chicken breast. To them at this time it was the happiest they could ever be, and even then the prospect of fresh entertainment in their pocket to read. They could now read write and speak english better than their own language, draconic.

2104:

Now 16 and having learned to survived on their own, and one thing they learned, was to trust their intuition. They woke up under the blanket between two shacks as usual, looked up into the clear blue sky, and somehow they knew, today would be awful. The feeling was accompanied that something or someone new would come around from this, and it felt odd how specific it was. They knew to trust this morning intuition.

They got up and shook out the blanket, and stuffed it behind some pallets for the sleep tonight. They had thought for a moment for some reason to take it with them, but it was a going to be a hot summer day.

They walked towards the colony gate, and to their surprise it was closed. Human soldiers stood on the other side. It was very early in the morning, not even 8 am, but outside the closed gate was a lot of activity. Something was indeed wrong, very wrong.

They began to walk calmly towards the center of the colony, wishing not to be noticed. They had only walked a few steps when the telltale sound of the gate being violently opened came from behind. The sound of the chain link rattling against the tubular frame made the dragon run. They ran a few meters then dove in between two of the shacks. The roar of rubber tires coming down the dirt street echoed in their ears. They lowered themselves flat onto the ground, and wished so hard not to be seen. After a what sounded like a dozen of the large military human trucks drove past they heard soldiers. Yelling and kicking down doors, yelling in english and a few broken phrases in draconis to “come out”.

They didn’t want to be seen.

The soldiers moved on, walking past the alley they laid down in, none of them looking in their direction. They could also now hear screams and roars in the distance, then a gunshot. Screams and roars grow louder and the noise grew.

They wanted to be hidden, but had to know what was happening.

The young dragon lifted itself from the ground and turned slowly and crawled out to the corner of one of the shacks, and looked into horror. The humans were pulling the dragons from their homes and forcing them onto the trucks. Already a single dragon lay in the street, blood pooling around their head. Their stomach churned, and the got up, and ran down the alleyway. They ran north towards the farms, hiding as they went along. More trucks had entered the colony and the rate they were invading was nearly as fast and they could run. They ran between two shacks again but when they emerged on the other side they nearly ran into a human soldier. He reached out and grabbed their hood “Come here you slimy little alien” and pulled. They backed out of the hood and it came off. The dragon turned and ran. Now topless and exposed as the purple dragon they are.

They ran a few more meters when another soldier darted out from behind a shack and cut them off. He wrapped his strong arms around the wings and body of the smaller dragon and started shouting “Here, I got this one!” The soldier turned and took the dragon to the ground, landing on top of it. It knocked the breath out of it. Unable to move the felt cuffs put on their wrist and ankles and straps around it’s wings.

A truck pulled up and they were thrown into the back. The tailgate closed behind them. The looked up to see one of the other dragons who regularly chased them down, took their money and assaulted them. There was seating on either side of the bed. They managed to wiggle to sit up against it, but could not get up into the seating by themselves. The tailgate opened again and other dragons were thrown into the back with them, others helped them up and into seats, but not the purple dragon.

“Look there it is! It’s that one’s fault!” screamed the other kid

“NO! I don’t even know what’s going on!” they yelled back.

The other kid spit on them, none of the adults batted an eye. Suddenly the tailgate was closed again and the truck started moving. For an hour it drove to an unknown place. This was the first time the dragon had ever been out of the colony, and they didn’t like it.

They arrived and were pulled from the truck. Other trucks were already there and also being unloaded. To the dragons horror and surprised, three fenced pathways, somehow already packed with dragons, lead to 3 large ships.

A large sign in draconis read “Anyone trying to escape will be shot and kill” The dragon chuckled at the bad grammar, and out of nervousness. A human soldier walked up behind the dragon and removed the restraints, and in english said “If you try to escape or fly you will be shot dead!” and they nodded.

A few moments later a hard shove came from behind. The other dragon kid who had spit on him had found 3 of his friends and wanted one more chance to ruin the dragon’s life. The dragon swung back for once, landing a fist into the bully’s snout, but the other quickly started punching and kicking into the purple one.

Suddenly another dragon they had never seen before came from no where and kicked one of them in the gut, hard, and it sent them tumbling. Then they swing at a the second, and they fell to the ground as well. They took advantage of the distraction and punched another one of them attackers in the stomach, to very little effect. The human soldiers starting laughing. The dragon who they had punched returned a fist to their face, knocking them to the ground.

As the dragon who came to their aid was swinging to punch the forth attacker a shot rang out.

They all turned to the human soldiers who had now taken a much more serious stance “Okay! That’s enough now!” His gun now pointed at as. “Now get your gross alien asses on that fucking boat” as he waved the end of his riffle towards the middle ship.

The dragon who had played hero began to walk back towards the direction they cam from but the soldier stopped him. “This way smart ass” The new dragon looked towards his family, his father pushing to come get him, but met with a riffle to the face, and force to rejoin the line. The purple dragon grabbed his arm, their gaze met and they whispered “Thank you”.

The soldier who broke up the fight pressed his riffle towards the pair “okay it’s time to move on” and the two started into the middle line. In the loud chaos the other dragon was unable to yell to his family but could see them disappearing into the crowd. He then turned back to the smaller purple dragon hanging on his arm.

“Where is your family, or whoever you are with?” He asked, the smaller dragon’s gaze went to the ground.

“I’m alone, I always have been” they replied

“what is your name?” He asked as they started down the line to the ship

“I don’t have one” they said “No one has ever bothered to give me one, I’ve only been called by purple thing or demon. Can I… can I follow you, at least until those assholes are far away?” they asked.

“Yes, of course” he replied, but obviously very distracted by concern of getting back to his family. “You’re purple, why are are you purple?”

The purple dragon gazed back down to the ground, obviously hurt by the question.

“Look I’m sorry I shouldn’t have asked that right now, there’s a lot going on” he put his hand on their shoulder “That’s not important. What is important is keeping us both safe, I may have screwed up and now I’m getting on the wrong ship. My family is getting on that one, we’re heading for this one”

“I’m so sorry, you shouldn’t have stopped to help me, no one else ev..”

“Don’t think of it like that! It was my choice to help” he cut them off “What was happening to you was bullshit. If I can keep those guys away form you I will”

The line started progressing and dragon where stuffed into the ships, more, many more trucks came in behind them, and over the next two days roughly 30,000 of them were loaded into each ship. Each ship, later would be revealed, to be design for only 25,000 each.