Arthur left the forest. He went back over to his friends, sitting down with them.
"What did that dude talk about with you in there?" Tyler asked. "Just some family stuff," Arthur responded quietly. It was evident in his voice that something was off. Yet, no one pried. After all, it was "family matters," and they didn't believe it right to ask too many questions.
The fishing trip went on for a bit, but with them all being new and ill-prepared, they didn't catch anything. Tyler almost caught one, but it slipped away from him.
Eventually, it got so cold that Arthur, who was wearing khaki shorts, went back to the car. And with no one able to catch anything, they packed up and decided to go home.
They all got into the car and played their music, as always. They decided to eat out that night. This was because Arthur seemed down, and they wanted to cheer him up.
The group had known Arthur's favorite fast food restaurant was Wendy's, so they went through the drive-thru and got food. They split the bill and drove to the dorms, choosing to hang out in the cafeteria, since it was open 24 hours.
They all sat down at a table, taking out their food and eating.
While Arthur did seem a bit down initially, he quickly got over it with some fries in his mouth. And the others liked their food as well, so everyone was happy. Arthur didn't really know the family he was leaving, so it didn't matter to him as much.
"You guys wanna watch a movie sometime next weekend? There's a new one coming out, it's supposed to be an adaptation of some fantasy book," Sally proposed.
"Nah, I'm actually kinda broke, sorry," Tyler responded quickly. It was not a lie. He didn't have a job, mostly using his parents' allowance. Sally and David groaned, since that was a common phrase they heard from Tyler.
"When're you gonna get a job?" David yelled, causing Tyler some embarrassment, as it was pretty easy to hear. "Shut up!" Tyler whisper-yelled, holding his hands to his face to cover up.
Arthur mostly kept silent, not having anything to add as the group gave Tyler a hard time. He enjoyed his dessert, before his phone went off. He took it out and the others looked at him.
"Sorry guys, can you be quiet for a sec, my mom's calling," Arthur said. "Tell her I said hi," Sally whispered before the group left Tyler alone as they all ate in silence briefly.
Arthur picked up, putting the phone to his ear.
"Hel–" the word was not finished, as he immediately heard screaming on the other side. The others immediately dropped their faces in concern.
"Did you agree to betray our family?!" his mother yelled. It was a shock, as Arthur had rarely ever heard his mother yell. The only times he had heard her yell were shortly before the divorce. Yet, before even that, she and his father had gotten along amazingly from what a young Arthur could tell.
"Huh? Well, yeah, but… were those actually family members? I mean, even if they were, mom, it's not like–" he could not even finish, despite rushing out his words.
"Those were our family members, and now everyone knows that you—that you're a fucking traitor!" She screamed. "You—fuck, why? Why would you, you're going to…"
"Mom? I, I didn't even know–" Arthur sputtered out, yet he stopped due to his mother's screaming.
"Fuck, fuck. Now I have to… I'll get you," she said in a whisper, before hanging up. Arthur's face was left in shock, as the others looked at him, more concerned.
Arthur put his phone away, staring down at nothing and gulping his own spit down his throat. He got up, looking at everyone.
"Guys, I gotta go, I'll be back, I just—ah," he said, before rushing to his dorm room. Along the way, he called Alicia, and she answered.
"Hey, you, what the hell happened? My mom… no, wait, what even are you to me? My sister? Then… whatever, my mom, she just called and she was really pissed," Arthur yelled. He entered his dorm and went to his bed, sitting down and listening.
"Yeesh, you did something stupid, Arthur," she said, her previous tones of joy and whimsy being replaced with a tone similar to that of inhaling through your teeth. "Did you really join the Graves family?"
"Uh… yeah, I did, but they pretty much forced me too, I mean… it's not my fault," he said quietly. "That's not how the world sees it," Alicia responded. "You've been marked with the Scent of a Traitor."
'The Scent of Traitors? What the flip even is that?'
"What? What does that even mean?" Arthur yelled at his phone. He could feel his heart pounding; a deep, primal dread in his heart, fearing that he'd made a mistake he could never come back from. Regret. A terrible, terrible regret.
"Essentially, to all noses in the world belonging to those with Dragon's Blood, you truly are a curse. There's no way to undo it, and it's not something that dragons inflict upon you," said Alicia.
"Simply put, not dragons nor humans, or even your very body can produce it. It's a smell you possess simply because the world itself gave it to you. As a matter of fact, I can smell it, even all the way from here. But it's not too strong, it's simply present if no other aromas are around," she said calmly.
"Well, what do I do then?" Arthur asked. In his mind, he regretted taking that hand, yet he also convinced himself that it wasn't he who was at fault.
The Graves family tricked him, he was the victim. He was the victim of a lie, convinced to betray people he'd never even met before in his life. His friends, their lives were threatened, or at least in the hands of someone powerful, and he was doing what was best for them.
It wasn't his fault, it wasn't his fault. It wasn't his fault.
Then why…?
"Why won't you answer me?! You're my sibling, right? You know more about this stuff than I do, so please, just answer me! What should I do?! I'm trapped in a world I know nothing about, my own mom won't even listen to me, so please, if you're really my sister, tell me… what do I do…?" He begged. The more he yelled, the less high pitched his voice became. It was eventually deepened naturally, as the more desperate and fearful he became, the lower it got.
"I could argue for you every second for the rest of my life, but they'd never listen to me. Do you want the truth?" She asked. "Yes, please, just tell me!" Arthur yelled in response.
"If you ask me, what you should do is just go ahead and end your life. Not that I want you to, but it would be the better alternative. Hey, y'know your mom, right? Our mom?" she said quietly. Arthur listened closer.
"Mom's on your way right now. If you went ahead and killed yourself, she wouldn't have to kill anyone who saw her," she said.
"Mom's on her way to… to what?" Arthur asked, terror creeping upon his face.
"To kill you. I'm sorry. I'll try my best to argue for your case, since I do believe it was an accident. However, I can't guarantee your safety. Mom's gonna kill you, literally, but the best I can do is tell her to stop and try to convince everyone that you're not to blame. But that's all I can do," she added.
Arthur was silent, and still. Time had stopped for him, everything in the world was a blur and reality was unfounded, shaking and swaying in the wind of the world.
"I only knew you for a day. And we spent even less time actually together and talking. I dunno if you're even truly my brother, since you don't seem like a dragon at all. But even though I didn't know you that much, just know I love you. You're my brother, and it's only due to weakness that I can't save you, not because I refuse."
That was it. Arthur dropped the phone, sitting on the bed and looking down at the carpeted floor. He swallowed his spit, covering his mouth. He felt so nervous that he thought he was gonna throw up.
His body felt cold. He believed he had already died. His heart had stopped beating, his lungs stopped working, he was already dead.
He fell limp, mouth slightly open as he looked out. Despite a limp body, his fingers twitched. He desperately yearned to just disappear, to cease his own existence and be removed from reality.
His mom, the woman who he had popped out of, the woman who had spent 18 years raising, then another year watching over him, that very woman was coming to quite literally slaughter him inside of his own dorm room.
The door to the room opened and Tyler, huffing and puffing, entered inside. "Bro, you alright man? You just ran off, and… and…" he said. Arthur snapped out of it. He slowly sat up in his bed, holding his head like he had a headache.
"I'm fine. Just some… some family stuff…" Arthur said quietly. He got back up, standing tall as he took a shaky breath. He put on a smile, looking over at Tyler and giving him a thumbs up.
"Don't worry, it's alright. Ahhh, now, I just need some fresh air…" Arthur said as he went to the door. He turned around, keeping a smile up for Tyler.
"Did I ever tell you you've been a great roommate? You made my life so much better, I can't thank you enough," he spoke. Tyler's face became concerned and Arthur laughed, waving his hand. "Trust me, I'm good. I just… I'm so happy that I can't help but express gratitude, y'know?" Arthur nearly yelled.
One final time, he said—
"Thank you."
And then, he left. He closed the door behind him, standing still. He wiped his wet eyes, trying his best to come to terms with his own mortality in the span of 5 minutes.
He laughed. He fell to his butt laughing, sitting against the door as he covered his face with his hand, wheezing from sheer whimsical laughter. Occasionally, it would sound like a sob, and he would have to sniffle. But by all means, it was laughter.
'Dying by my own mom's hand because she found out I betrayed some secret dragon part of the family… that's… wow, that's hilarious. It's so funny… it's so funny I'm crying.'
After 30 seconds of laughter, he calmed himself. He stood up, wiping his face as he stumbled down the hallway. He entered the campus' field, sitting on the bench he sat on whilst talking to Alicia earlier in the day.
His feet tapped to the beat of some song he had stuck in his head, as he awaited death. The moonlight shown on the field as light posts, well, provided light to the street.
By this point, he'd stopped crying, simply laughing to himself at the irony of it all. He seemed like a madman, chuckling to himself.
'I'm really gonna die because my mom killed me. That's just kind of… it's so absurd I can't help but laugh. Dying from terrorists is one thing, but my own mom? Just last week she scolded me for not checking in with her enough since I moved into the dorms…'
And so he laughed. And he laughed, and he laughed until he tired himself out.
Once that happened, he simply rested, looking up at the sky. It was then that he saw a winged creature with a tail. It was blood-red, with wings that had the familiar blue tone of veins as the color of the in-betweens.
Suddenly, the power in the street lights went out. It was a college-wide blackout. Though, that wasn't something Arthur was concerned about.
'Ah. Is that her? She's a lot… bigger than I remember.'
"Hey mom, don't tell me you've gained weight since I moved out!" he yelled. This joke caused him to break up into a fit of laughter, to the point of coughing as the dragon descended. It landed right before him, and Arthur looked directly into the glowing balls of red that were its eyes with a terribly sad smile.
"Hey, mom. Um… y'know, it still doesn't feel real, that… that you're the one who—" Arthur let out, before being smacked by the hand of the dragon. It struck his ribs, shattering them and removing him from the bench. His body spun in the air, spinning 'round and 'round, before coming to a hard impact on the grass, staining his clothes green.
He bounced off the dirt, laying still for a second, before puking up blood. It splattered all onto the dirt, filling his throat. He coughed it up, spat it up, vomited it up, all in an attempt just to be able to breathe.
"Ow… mom, why did you… ow… it hurts, mom, why would you…" he spat out, digging his fingers into the dirt. He tried to stand up, but fell once more to his knees, coughing out blood onto the well-maintained grass.
'I don't even know those people. Why did she keep it a secret from me for all my life? I've never met those people before, I've never cared or shared any holidays with them.'
'I've never, ever even seen those people! And she never told me about them, so why, why is she killing me for something that wasn't even my fault!? It's bullshit, all of it, and… I hate it.'
Arthur looked up slowly, lips quivering and eyes shedding a few tears. If he'd been killed in one fell swoop, he wouldn't have even felt this. No, if he'd just died before, if he'd just been killed in the explosion, then he wouldn't be subject to this.
"Mom, why are you killing me?! I'm sorry for what I did, I just, I didn't know what I was doing! Mom, why, why—" he coughed up more blood, paused, then continued. "It doesn't make any sense, nothing does! I hate it, I hate, and I hate…"
The dragon went over to him, looking down.
"Arthur. I'm sorry. But this is just what needs to be done. For the family, and more importantly, your sake" she said.
"BULLSHIT! For what family?! Some people you, some people you never told me about? Or, or maybe some people that, that I never met, some people who aren't your actual, flesh-and-blood son?! And you, you're just gonna do this, because of who? If I at least knew who you were siding with, that'd be something, but I don't have anything about, I don't…" he cried out. The longer he went on, the higher pitched his voice went, taking short moments to breathe.
"Why can't you choose me…?"
"..."
"Answer me."
"I'm sorry."
The dragon opened its mouth, moving it closer until it covered the top half of Arthur's body. And then, it crushed him.
Splitting him in half, it lifted him up. Of course, with Arthur's upper body still intact, he was still conscious. And he screamed.
The blood that poured from his body, Dragon's Blood, awakened. The bloody rash on his arm, the blood that filled his lungs, the blood that shot out from his insides, leaking into the innards of his mother.
In that dark, wet place, he clung to life.