The Road Home

Hours later, Cammie had been x-rayed, examined, and released from River Oaks. Although she would rather have simply gone back to work, she was given two weeks off with pay and told to return home. At the motel, she packed her bag silently, occasionally glancing nervously at the muddy tan bag. She hadn't dared to open it yet. It was clear enough what was inside, but she still couldn't believe it. She finished packing her travel gear, then sat on the bed. She stared at The Bag, which was sitting innocently enough on the chair in the corner of the room.

This is ridiculous, she told herself. You are afraid of opening up a bag. No, not just a bag, The Bag.

Ah, yes, how is the bag here? And does it contain what you think it contains? said the voice in the back of her mind.

Cammie continued to stare blankly at The Bag. Finally, she rose and picked it up, then sat back down on the bed. She unbuckled the flap and lifted it. The shiny top of a tan egg with colorful patches appeared. She quickly dropped the flap back down.

Okay, don't panic. You have an egg (The Egg). A dragon egg. Somehow, you have gotten a dragon egg (The Egg). And, now, you must take care of it (The Egg) Yes, it is THE EGG, will you please shut up?! Oh, God, I'm talking to myself. I am losing it. (The Egg?) No, my mind...

She opened the flap again. The Egg was still there. She removed it from The Bag. It was perfect, in a completely horrible and impossible way. Cammie was almost shaking.

Impossible. (Possible.) IMPOSSIBLE. (POSSIBLE!) Lord, please help me. I think I am losing my mind. (No.)

That little voice in the back of her head was right. She wasn't losing her mind. Other people could see The Bag. It was real. The Egg was real. Somehow, something impossible had happened to her, both horrible and wonderful at the same time. She put The Egg on the bed (The Bed, hehe.) and looked at the muddy, damp bag. It would need to be washed. She picked it up and rolled it into a ball. Her hands felt something hard, and she realized it wasn't empty. She smoothed it back out and reached inside. Cammie pulled out a large, blue marble. As she examined it, it glowed.

What is happening to me? she wondered for at least the twentieth time that day. She stuck the marble in her pocket, where it sat with the orange marble she had discovered there earlier. The cab would be here soon. She wrapped The Bag in some of her dirty clothes and stuffed it into her bag. She wrapped The Egg in some more clothes and also shoved that into her bag. She zipped the bag and sat on the bed, waiting for her cab.

After a while, she couldn't bear to sit in the silent motel room, so she picked up her bag and headed outside. She left the key on the table as she went out, and the lock clicked behind her when she shut the door. Once outside, she took a deep breath of the cool, moist air and tried to calm down. She gazed around the parking lot. Cammie's eyes ran over the large green dumpster, then slowly backed up to rest on it.

I could get rid of it, she thought, and her heart leapt with the brilliance of it. I could just dump it in there and forget about it. (No!) Then, I could forget all about that strange dream that wasn't a dream (No!) and never look back. No more strange dragon eggs; no more strange bags. (No no no no no no nooooo!)

With a start, Cammie realized that the voice in the back of her mind wasn't her voice. It had sounded like her own voice before, but now it had changed... become more whining, more childish, more different. She had the sudden, awful perception that it was The Egg. And The Egg did not want to be thrown into a dumpster and left there to rot or be crushed. This wasn't some inanimate object; it was a baby. A dragon baby, of course, but a baby nevertheless. She couldn't believe that she had thought about throwing it into a dumpster. She had felt the same panic that teenage mothers must feel and reacted as some of them often did—by wanting to get rid of the cause. She felt sick with the thought and took a few moments to breathe.

Okay, no dumpster, she thought, now directing that thought to The Egg rather than to herself. There was no answer. She didn't blame it (him).

That's right, he is a he, not an it. Not just The Egg, but a baby, male dragon. Cammie took a few more deep breaths, then jumped when a car horn honked close by. She looked up and saw the cab. Not knowing how long he had been sitting here, she waved apologetically to the driver, then headed over. As she slid into the back seat, she told him to head to the airport. The airport.

What will happen if they stop me and search my bag? she realized, feeling fear for The Egg instead of herself. They would take it away and do horrible tests on it.

No, the voice said, again coming in the form of her own thoughts. She had learned to recognize it now, however, and was not deceived.

That's right, she thought, trying to alleviate some of her anxiety. It's a dragon egg. It's magical. Maybe they won't even see it.

She hoped it was true and nervously squeezed her bag as they drove to the airport.

She couldn't figure out how the egg had made it past the security checkpoint, but it did. Her bag slid through the x-ray machine without a hitch, without even a murmur from the personnel manning it. She got onto her plane and made it through the flight without incident. She rode to her house in another cab, climbed the flights of stairs to her apartment, then entered it and locked herself in. Now, she once again sat on a bed, her own bed this time, and stared at her bag.

How did you do that? she mentally asked The Egg. No answer. In fact, The Egg hadn't spoken since the cab in Mississippi. Well, you did want to throw him in a dumpster, she scolded herself. Not a good start as a dragon bondmate.

She still retained all her memories from her dream of the Temple of Dea. It had been real. She was sure of that now. And, however impossible her logic insisted it was, she definitely had a young male Clarus Dragon on the way.

Okay, this isn't going to work, she thought at The Egg. First of all, this world does not have dragons. Any dragons at all. You will never be safe here. We have to get you back to the Temple. (No.)

Well, at least he's talking to me, Cammie thought to herself. She thought at The Egg again. You have to go back. It isn't safe here. (No.)

Cammie realized he was half right. She was his bondmate now. Telling him to go back to the Temple alone was like telling him that he had to die because it wasn't safe here on Earth. She realized that she would have to go with him, when the time came. That thought was both unthinkable and oddly interesting. She tried to accept it, but her mind still insisted that there was no way she could leave her life here. Cammie decided that she would battle that out later and again tried to speak with The Egg.

Fine, WE must go back to the Temple. (No.) What do you mean, 'no'? If we stay here, you will never be allowed to go outside, not to mention that supporting you and myself would leave us destitute. We HAVE to go back to the Temple. (No. Mission.) Mission? A mission for us? What mission? (Mission.) Thank you, but that does not clarify. What mission?

The Egg remained silent. So, we have a mission, Cammie mused. This was like her coma dream, but in reverse. There was something she had to do before she would be allowed to get back to the Temple. Unfortunately, she had no idea what. The Egg obviously knew, but he wasn't talking.

Tired. Sleep. The Egg insisted. He was right; she was tired. Come to think of it, The Egg was probably tired too. Cammie put the bag on the floor, unzipped it, and pulled The Egg from its shroud of dirty clothes. She placed it on the bed, on one of the two pillows. Then, she went to her small linen closet and got a large towel to wrap around it. (Him.) Around him. Then, she kicked off her shoes, pulled off her jacket, and climbed into bed next to him, pulling the covers over herself. She didn't even have the energy to change. Cammie closed her eyes and started to slip into sleep.

I'll sleep now, but we are talking more tomorrow, she thought at The Egg. We're going to discuss this 'mission' of ours... not to mention that you need a new name. Soon, 'The Egg' isn't really going to be applicable.

Cammie breathed evenly and let her mind become distant and dark.