Survival Tales of Aotearoa

Survival Tales Of
Aotearoa

By Meghana Joginipally

Contents
Chapter 1 - The Fire Dragon
Chapter 2 - The Water Dragon
Chapter 3 - The Dragon Of The Earth
Chapter 4 - The Dragon Of Air
Chapter 5 - The Space Dragon
Chapter 6 - The Dragon Apocalypse

Chapter 1 - The Fire Dragon

It was Wednesday September 13 2011, in the morning, Emma woke to the smell of breakfast at her door, her doorbell rang, she sat up rubbing her eyes and opened the door, her breakfast was sitting on a tray in front of her. She stepped outside, the person who delivered her food stepped into the elevator, with a ding, the elevator closed. She brought the tray inside,the wheels of the table holding the tray squeaked, RING RING RING Emma’s phone rang, it was her boss calling, “HAVE YOU GOT AN EXCITING STORY YET?” said Emma’s boss. “Not yet Emma said, rolling her eyes, her boss was a cruel, grumpy and arrogant old man, with a long crooked nose and a wicked grin. He hung up, leaving Emma with the phone to her ears.

Emma was pacing around her hotel room, a worried look on her face, what was she going to do? She had to find something to show her boss! Auckland had a lot of interesting places, Museums, Ancients stuff, statues, BEEP BEEP. Emma's phone rang, with swift hands Emma grabbed the phone. It was a message… A new beach opened up, and it was right here, in Auckland! This will be perfect for my new magazine!” mma said, speaking in excitement. She ran to get her new camera and hopped into her car, a few minutes later a beautiful beach emerged, crowded with lots of people, everyone was having so much fun! She finally found a parking spot and got out of her car, the beach was… spectacular! She went closer to the sea and took a picture, the got her notebook out of her bag and wrote ‘THe new beach in new Zealand is a wonderful beach, it has a spectacular view and is-’ a rumble interrupted her, the water in front of her boiled, bubbles burst from beneath the surface, and a ghastly shadow emerged from the depths, its bright red eyes staring at Emma.

Emma gazed up, in horror, as the tarakona / dragon soared through the sky circling the beach like a hawk. People were running around everywhere in fright. “CALM DOWN EVERYONE” Emma told everyone “Everything is going to be fine” Emma said, trying to reassure everyone, suddenly a rock came soaring through the sky, as it came closer Emma saw, the rock was on fire, she ran towards the parking, along with everyone else. Suddenly, the tarakona / dragon started moving, Emma stopped, scared the tarakona / dragon stopped, starting Emma, she took a step back, the tarakona / dragon flew back a pace, directly above her, then, Emma realized something, the tarakona / dragon was following her! She raced along the beach, heading away from everyone else,until she was on the other side of the beach, far away. She stopped with the tarakona / dragon above her. The tarakona / dragon was eyeing her, in a frightening way, “Well I haven’t really thought this through, have I?” Emma said, annoyed with herself. Then, she spotted a cave. She ran inside, she could hear the dragon’s wings flapping outside.

Emma paced around the cave. Suddenly everything was silent. She looked outside, the dragon was gone. She ran back to her car, it seemed everyone was safe, at least now she had something to write about. As soon as she was back in her hotel she opened her computer and started writing her new magazine, a few hours later she was done, she called her boss, a gruff voice picked up “Yes?”. Emma replied “I have your story, it’s about a dragon at the new beach!” . “Good,” Emma’s boss said, hanging up. “A thank you would be nice!” Emma complained. She stared out the window, until something jolted her out of her thoughts… “The dragon… why was it following her?

Emma took a step back, frightened they looked like a pair of eyes that belonged to a monster! The eyes got bigger as the figure came closer, and closer then vanished. She got her notebook and resumed writing ‘a wonderful place to have some fun and relax-’ . The rumble interrupted her again. She looked up, the red eyes were glaring at her again, it came closer, and rose up and Emma could see what it really was. It was a giant red serpent with wings, its skin was red and scaly, with claws as sharp as daggers, and a tail so sharp that it could slice through bone, it… was a tarakona / dragon.

Chapter 2 - The Water Dragon

Emma was sitting next to her computer, thinking she had to find a good story for the newspaper, the deadline was tomorrow! Suddenly Emma realised she hadn;t had breakfast “Silly me, breakfast will help me think better!” Emma said out loud. As Emma walked down the corridor of her hotel, admiring the oak doors, she heard screams outside. As she looked out of the window, on the highest floor, she couldn’t see anything. All she could see was blue, she tried to open it but it was blocked, she raced down the corridor towards the next window which she wrenched open, from this window, she could clearly see what had been blocking her view, a huge scaly dragon, identical to the one she had seen on the beach a few months ago. The only difference was that it had bright blue scales instead of red ones. As Emma looked down, she could see people screaming and hiding from the big blue beast. She raced down stairs, towards the bottom floor. And raced outside from here, the dragon really did look horrifying, with its big wings spread out casting a humongous shadow on the ground. Suddenly the dragon started moving, eying Emma. Emma thought that this dragon, like the others, wanted to follow her, and immediately started running, away from all the other people, as fast as she could. But when she turned around… the dragon wasn’t there.

“You must be wondering, how I appear out of thin air, well, I’m a ghost”. “Well yes that was one of my questions. Wait, what did you say?” Emma replied with a bewildered expression. “I’m a ghost” the girl repeated, simply “Back to the matter in hand, you know the dragon? The huge one you saw? Well, huge two?” the girl continued. “Y-yeah… why?” Emma asked, it seemed like this girl knew something about all this dragon mishap. “The dragons are here to find 5 specific objects, to save their planet, these five objects are all here on earth and once they are taken from earth, everything will be gone, water, fire, nature, air and space. Without these elements earth will turn into a planet like Jupiter, where no one can survive. The dragon’s leader, Fury, has assigned the top 5 dragons to find these elements. But to not take them, yet”.

Emma turned on the spot, where was the dragon? Had it abandoned trying to follow her? Or was it just hiding, waiting for her to come closer? Emma thought. Then someone tapped her on the shoulder, instantly Emma whipped around, but no one was there, “I must just be imagining things” Emma said, “This dragon business has been taken too far.”. But then someone tapped her again, Emma turned around. The place was empty except for her shadow. But this time she knew someone was there, as she heard the wind go ‘WHOOSH’. “Who’s there?” Emma called out, cautiously. Suddenly someone appeared in front of her. A girl, about the same age as her. “Hello!” the girl said, “My name is Olivia!”.

Emma gazed at the girl in astonishment “Wow, that’s unbelievable, but… why are you telling me this?”. The girl looked at Emma with a smile on her face “Because you are the only one to listen to me, and probably the only one who will save the panet, everyone else just runs away because their obviously too scared of the dragon, but that day, at the beach you were the only person brave enough to save, everyone else.”. Suddenly a thought struck Emma like lightning “That red dragon was after my necklace… is my necklace an element?”. The girl’s smile widened “Well done! I thought it would take you ages to figure that out! Yes, your necklace is an element, the fire element, which is why the red, or fire dragon came after it. Fury decided if the owner of the element tried to use the element to defeat the dragon, there would be no use if the dragon had the same ability. Now enough talk, it’s time for you to save the world”. “Oh okay. Well bye…?” Emma started, pausing as she realised she didn’t know the girl's name. The girl replied “My name is Olivia. Well, I hope I’ll see you around Emma!”. “Bye Olivia… Wait, how did you know my name?” By the time Emma asked the question Olivia was gone.

Emma gazed at the girl in shock, who was she? And how did she appear out of thin air? The girl saw Emma’s shocked look and said

“Olivia said the dragon would be looking for an element, since this is a blue dragon it must be the water element!” Emma said to herself. Then it struck Emma, as she remembered a specific part from Olivia’s story. “Fury had ordered the dragons to find the elements, but not take them, so all I have to do is to find the element and place it in a spot where the dragon would surely see it! And I have a feeling I know where it is.” Emma raced back to the hotel parking lot and jumped into her car, speeding towards her sister’s apartment. As soon as she knocked on the door, her sister appeared, opening the door. “Hey Emma! What brings you here?” Emma's sister, Ruby said. “Hi Ruby, do you still have that necklace we bought while shopping? The one that you didn’t want anymore?” Emma said impatiently, tapping her foot on the floor. “Yes of course! You can take it if you want to.” Ruby replied, noticing Emma tapping. She went inside and came back out holding an identical necklace to Emma’s, but like the two dragon’s the only difference was the colour, Ruby’s one was blue. “Thanks Ruby!” Emma said, as she raced back to her car. “Your Welcome!” Ruby called after her. “This has to be the necklace holding the water element” Emma said, getting into her car driving straight towards the dragon. As soon as she got near she started shouting like crazy as she waved the necklace around “HEY OVER HERE DRAGON, I’VE GOT WHAT YOU’RE LOOKING FOR!”. Finally the dragon noticed her and the necklace and zoomed up towards the sky, leaving Emma standing there looking like she was crazy. Emma started walking back towards the hotel and sat down in her room, placing both the necklaces in a box. “That will keep them safe for now, as far as I know, dragons can’t open boxes!” Emma said, laughing to herself. “I’ve just realised, I haven’t had breakfast yet!”.

Chapter 3 - The Dragon Of The Earth

Emma awoke, to the sound of a door slamming, “Seriously people, can’t you see that I’m sleeping here!?” Emma complained, annoyed. “Since I’m up, I might as well have breakfast” Emma said as she opened the oak front door of her hotel room, when she got downstairs she went to the one and only cafe in the hotel and asked “Hello, what’s on the menu for today?”. The lady replied “I’m sorry but there’s nothing left! Maybe you come back for lunch?”. Emma responded “Yes, of course. Thanks!” as she walked away. “All the food out seriously?!” Emma complained to herself, muttering under her breath “This is turning out to be the worst day ever…” she said with a sigh.

Emma decided she would drive to the nearest cafe and have something there. Then a huge roar interrupted her, “Dragon Already!?” Emma said in frustration. Suddenly… ‘BOOM’ the road in front of Emma burst, to form a huge hole. Emma screeched to a stop, as she hopped out of her car. “A pit, SERIOUSLY?!” Emma slowly edged to the pit, she was scared that at any moment she would lose her balance and fall, but when she saw what was inside the pit she said “Yup, of course!”.“It had to be a dragon, didn’t it?” Emma said, annoyed, as the dragon rose up in the air. Emma realized she had to find the element, “Why me! Why did I have to be the only one that listened to Olivia!” Emma said, annoyed “This really is the worst day ever…”

Emma was sitting down, eating her breakfast when her phone beeped. A message… “Oh no” Emma said after reading the message. “The dragon’s not gone after all…” She raced outside, the dragon was in the Kaingaroa Forest. Emma knew it was a long drive there, but she had to find the element. A few hours later Emma saw the Kaingaroa Forest, “So cool! I’ve always wanted to come here! Of course, not trying to find an element to make a bright green dragon go away”. Emma parked her car and sprinted towards the screams, and there she saw it. The bright green dragon again. “The bright green dragon must be the nature dragon, which means… it’s looking for the natural element!” Emma had to look for it “Wait a second… how am i going to find a tiny necklace in the biggest forest in New Zealand?!”

“Maybe some lunch will help me think it over. '' Emma checked her phone, and it said the next restaurant was right in front of her! She entered the restaurant and sat at a table, suddenly Emma realized it wasn’t just a restaurant, there was stuff for sale as well! Emma noticed a green necklace on a hook, under a sign saying For Sale! A thought struck Emma “What if that’s the element?”. She went straight to the counter and asked “Hello, how much is this necklace?”. The lady at the counter replied “5 dollars” as she took it off the hook and gave it to Emma, as Emma handed her the money “Thank you!” Emma ran straight to the dragon. But the dragon wasn’t paying attention to her. So she started yelling “DRAGON OVER HERE, I’VE GOT WHAT YOU’RE LOOKING FOR!”. At last, her hard work paid off, as the dragon stared at her and took off into the sky. “Let’s hope you're gone for real this time…” Emma said in relief.

She gazed up at the sky and saw the dragon was bright green, the dragon suddenly made a move towards Emma, as she said “Why is it coming close to me… I must already have the third element!”. Emma started thinking “What could it be? It has to be a necklace, as the others were, I don’t have any other necklaces!” Emma said, panicking. “Think, THINK” Emma said frustrated. Meanwhile the dragon was soaring closer to her. “I just remembered the dragon doesn’t take the element, it just finds it! So I just have to let the dragon find the element!”. Emma stayed perfectly still while the dragon flew around her. The dragon must have spotted something, since it flew away. “Yes!” exclaimed Emma, “The dragon’s gone and I can finally enjoy my breakfast in peace!”. She hopped back in her Toyota Yaris and sped away, towards the cafe.

Chapter 4 - The Dragon Of Air

Emma was sitting on her couch thinking, she knew she had to find the other elements, but where were they? “The space element is probably somewhere in space, so I can’t help with that, but since earth is so far the only planet with air, the air element must be here!” said Emma, becoming more confident with every word, “I have to find the air element!”. She opened the oak door, and ran along the corridor to the stairs, leaping over 2 steps at a time, she sprinted towards the hotel car park, hopping into her car. She wondered “Where could it be?” as she stopped at the red light. “Tonight's airshow!” Emma said excitedly as she spotted a poster announcing the show. She typed the address on her phone. “This has to be where the element is!”

10 minutes later, Emma found the airshow. She got out of her car and found a seat, and watched as all the seats slowly filled up. Then, the show started, as someone walked onto stage and started talking, “Welcome, everyone, to the Auckland Airshow! I am your host. Now, the planes will be coming in a moment, but first, I must announce that at the end we will be having a special appearance by a magician! Hope you like the show!” he ended with a flourish. Emma was listening intently, for anything about a necklace, but suddenly, planes started soaring through the sky, the biggest one rose up last, carrying a message trailing behind it, which read: AUCKLAND AIRSHOW! But Emma wasn’t even looking at the show, she was trying to spot the necklace, and there it was… hanging on a hook on a little stage where the host had made his appearance. “Gotcha” Emma whispered to herself, then a thought struck her… “How am I going to get it!?” she whispered to herself.

she whipped out her phone and snapped a picture. Girl Magicians were very rare, but as she picked up the necklace, Emma’s immediate attention was on her, she asked for a volunteer and chose the girl sitting next to Emma. While swirling the necklace around, the girl was completely under her control! After a few more tricks, it was done. The host came back and said “I Hope you enjoyed the show! Thanks to our amazing sponsors: Air New Zealand!”. Everyone left, while Emma edged closer to the tent, as she went closer though, Emma realized… it wasn’t the element. It had a swirl on it, “Just a normal magician necklace” Emma said irritated.

Emma suddenly realized… “Air New Zealand? Maybe I should check there, just in case!”. SHe hopped back in her car and sped off, following the map on her phone. When she reached the destination, she realized “This isn’t Air New Zealand, it's a hospital!”. She typed in Air New Zealand again and followed the map, this time, she ended up in the middel of nowhere! She followed the map back towards Auckland and understood, her phone wasn’t helping her. And decided sh should take a break. She went to the closest park and took a seat. Suddenly a roar erupted from behind Emma, a huge scaly white dragon was soaring through the sky heading towards a spot in front of Emma. Startled, she ran backwards, away from the stage as the dragon sped towards it. But, as the dragon was a millimeter away. It stopped and was pulled backwards.

Emma saw the magician holding a necklace, different to the one Emma saw on the hook. As Emma strained her eyes, she realized… this necklace was the element, the magician was pushing the dragon back! Emma sprinted towards the magician. “Hi!” Emma said to the magician as she turned towards her, the magician instantly replied “Cool magic trick, right?”. Emma was confused and asked “You do know this is an element, right?”. The magician suddenly had a serious look on her face “Don’t shout so loud! Someone will hear! How do you know about the elements… Do you have one?” Emma laughed and replied “One? I have all of them! Of course except for yours and the space one!”. The magician then asked “So the dragons have already seen all of them except for the space one?”. “Yup!” Emma replied. THe magicians watch beeped as she said “I need to go, my name is Amelia, by the way. Good Luck in finding the last element Emma, if you ever need me, you know where to find me!”. This time Emma wasn’t surprised Amelia knew her name, and replied “Bye Amelia! Wait, I know where to find you?”

The airshow had ended… Emma had gotten her chance, she slowly creeped up towards the stage, but stopped in her tracks remembering there was a magic show “Why today?” Emma asked herself as she creeped back to her seat. ‘BOOM’ smoke appeared on the stage, and as it parted Emma saw the so-called-magician was a girl! Gasps errupupted from everywhere, followed by whispers, as Emma realized this would make a perfect story for the magazine as