BooksBarbecue
Back The Last Dragon
Chapters (50)
  1. Cover
  2. Dedication
  3. - ONE -
  4. - TWO -
  5. - THREE -
  6. - FOUR -
  7. - FIVE -
  8. - SIX -
  9. - SEVEN -
  10. - EIGHT -
  11. - NINE -
  12. - TEN -
  13. - ELEVEN -
  14. - TWELVE -
  15. - THIRTEEN -
  16. - FOURTEEN -
  17. - FIFTEEN -
  18. - SIXTEEN -
  19. - SEVENTEEN -
  20. - EIGHTEEN -
  21. - NINETEEN -
  22. - TWENTY -
  23. - TWENTY-ONE -
  24. - TWENTY-TWO -
  25. - TWENTY-THREE -
  26. - TWENTY-FOUR -
  27. - TWENTY-FIVE -
  28. - TWENTY-SIX -
  29. - TWENTY-SEVEN -
  30. - TWENTY-EIGHT -
  31. - TWENTY-NINE -
  32. - THIRTY -
  33. - THIRTY-ONE -
  34. - THIRTY-TWO -
  35. - THIRTY-THREE -
  36. - THIRTY-FOUR -
  37. - THIRTY-FIVE -
  38. - THIRTY-SIX -
  39. - THIRTY-SEVEN -
  40. - THIRTY-EIGHT -
  41. - THIRTY-NINE -
  42. - FORTY -
  43. - FORTY-ONE -
  44. - FORTY-TWO -
  45. - FORTY-THREE -
  46. - FORTY-FOUR -
  47. - FORTY-FIVE -
  48. - FORTY-SIX -
  49. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  50. ABOUT THE AUTHOR

“There’s no buts here, kid,” Gabriel said. “Listen, Fort. You remind me of my little brother. He’s kind of a goofball and always getting into trouble. But I watch over him, because that’s what big brothers do.” Gabriel smiled, just a bit. “And wow, did he hate it. But I never let that stop me. Because I knew that if I ever looked away for just a minute and he got hurt…” He trailed off, looking into the distance for a moment before turning back to his cereal. “Friends are no different. It’s us versus the world, kid, and the world isn’t pulling any punches. You protect those you care about no matter what.”

Fort just stared at his roommate, his annoyance at Gabriel slipping away. “I really remind you of your brother?” he asked, a little surprised by that.

“Yeah, not so much in the face or anything,” Gabriel said, not looking up. “But he’s a good kid, and from what I’m hearing, you are too. Don’t beat yourself up for trying to help people, Fort, no matter how you have to do it. It’s not always pretty, but it’s still the right thing to do.”

“Um, thanks,” Fort said, and really meant it. For some reason, he actually did feel better, though he had to admit it was a bit new to him, having this semistranger say Fort reminded him of his brother. Maybe that was because Fort was an only child and didn’t really understand what having a brother or sister was like? Still, right here and now, with everyone else he knew angry at him, it didn’t feel that bad to have Gabriel in his corner.

Gabriel nodded, then rose to get back in line for seconds, while Fort got to work on his own breakfast, suddenly famished now that he felt a bit less guilty. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Jia and Rachel leave, neither looking at him as they went. Cyrus hung around, like he was waiting for Fort, but a soldier came in and waved him out of the room.

It took Fort until just then to realize he didn’t recognize any of the remaining students in the cafeteria, which meant that all the old Oppenheimer School students must have left already.

And here was Fort, stuck with the new kids.

After Gabriel plowed through a second bowl of a cereal, two more soldiers entered the room, each holding a list of names.