Yes! Dragons Exist!

By David J. Wighton

You would think that Merly and her mermaids would be safe in Earth's plastic covered oceans but they did have a natural enemy who discovered that they had returned to Earth. His name was Blubber Guts, a grossly overweight inner pentagram devil who had prowled Earth's oceans as a sea serpent long ago. He had found mermaids tasty if they were marinated. Neither Heaven nor the Wilizy had weapons that Winnie could use to defeat Blubber Guts. She'd have to use guile.

Meanwhile, the Wilizy were trying to assist the impoverished island of Cuba. Their plan was to offer the government an upgrade to their obsolete power grid. The new power grid arrived from Japan, closely followed by an army from Cuba's ally, North Korea , who had arrived intent on using the island as a missile base. The entire Wilizy family including their youngsters, guardian angels and Valkyries responded. They used guile too, along with mortars, Star Wars light sabres, bagpipes, and giggling prostitutes managed by a topless madam.

After the battle, Stu and Momaka headed to North Korea to wrap up some loose ends through a meeting with their president. That meeting didn't go well for Esteemed Cow Pie, as Momaka called him. A well-hidden secret was revealed along the way. You'll never guess what it is. No fair skipping to the end of the book.

• Language: English
• Publisher: David J. Wighton
• Release date: Jul 12, 2021
• ISBN: 9781005014834

David J. Wighton

David Wighton is a retired educator who enjoys writing youth novels when he's not on a basketball court coaching middle-school girls. The books in his Wilizy series peek at how people lived after the word's governments collapsed in the chaos that followed the catastrophic rise in ocean levels and the disappearance of the world's last deposits of oil. Luckily today, in the 2080s, the citizens of Alberta are safe because their It's Only Fair society uses brain-bands to zap people whenever they break a rule. That way, all children grow up knowing the difference between right and wrong. Unfortunately, they're also taught that women's ankles need to be covered so that men can't see them and turn into perverts. Plus, no-one in Alberta can have babies any more because the government manufactures them in a way that ensures that no child has an unfair advantage over any other child. All of this makes sense to Alberta's dictator, but not to Will and Izzy – two teenagers who are decidedly different from everyone else.Wighton's novels have strong teenage characters driving the plot and facing challenges that, in many respects, are no different from what teenagers face today. His novels are intended to entertain and readers will find adventure, romance, suspense, humour, a strong focus on family, plus a touch of whimsy. Wighton also writes to provoke a little thought about life in today's societies and what the future might bring. Teachers may find the series useful in the classroom and the novels are priced with that intent in mind.

Book preview

Chapter 1

I went for a swim the other day. A male voice.

Good. You could use the exercise. Another male voice.

What's that supposed to mean?

It means you're overweight. You shatter all the chairs you sit in. That's why you have to lie in a hammock. Your two flunkies have to hoist you out of the hammock with a winch so that they can wheel you home. What does that tell you?

I've always been big.

Retirement has not been good for you. Where'd you swim?

Indian Ocean.

Did you see any Indians?

I saw some mermaids.

# # # # # # # #

I want to talk with you about Belphegor's wealth, Winnie said to Lillian.

Is this the wealth that you took out of his Bank of Hell account with fake unlimited lines of credit?

Yes. He thought all of the people in his plot had spent his money, but they didn't know anything about it.

Where is it now?

It's still in the Bank of Hell, but I've hidden it.

Why do you want to talk about it then?

Banks do audits. If they find this money, they might start wondering about Belphegor and why his wealth is in Satan's bank when the bank was accusing him of overdrawing his account.

How much money are you talking about?

More than a million in tormentts. I don't know how to value it in any other form of currency.

How would you get it out of Hell?

The same way that Belphegor supposedly did. I'll issue some bankcards with unlimited draws on that account. Their bank records don't reveal how many draws are spent. Their system also doesn't identify the person holding the card. After I'm done, I'll destroy the bank account along with the bankcards. Hell won't be able to trace anything. But we have to do it before they start rooting around Hell looking for Belphegor. That could be any time now.

What would you do with the money?

That money has to be spent on something. It can't be saved for another time. We'd have to buy some things from some companies on Earth and have them delivered somewhere. Those companies will be paid with tormentts as usual. We'd get stuff that we could use.

You've obviously thought about this. How would you spend it?

I'd spend it on Cuba.

You'll have to see Guinny.

# # # # # # # #

Are you sure about the mermaids? Did you approach them?

I'm sure, Overweight Guy said. I saw mermaids and mermen. No, I didn't approach them. I didn't want to scare them off.

How many were there?

I was too far away to count properly. They were building a nest.

Mermaids haven't been on Earth for centuries.

When did they disappear?

Somewhere around the 5th century when the Greek gods were replaced. They took the mermaids with them.

Did we ever find out where they went? Fatso asked.

No. The Greek gods went to their home planet, wherever that is, I suppose.

And now the mermaids are back. How? Why?

I dunno, Porky admitted. It's only a small number. Not much of a feast. More like a little snack.

You're always thinking of your stomach.

I can't help it. Mermaids are tasty.

You should be thinking about who brought them here and why.

Somebody in a space ship brought them.

Who do we know has spaceships?

Huh, Glutton guy reacted.

Exactly. How long has it been since you went for a long swim?

A long time. There's nothing to eat in the oceans except plastic.

Go for a long swim. Check out the oceans. You need some exercise.

I'm quite buoyant in water. While I'm doing that, could your staff build me a mermaid pen?

Easily done. Don't eat them all at once. We may want to question them.

I'll ration them out.

Back to the Table of Contents

Chapter 2

Why Cuba? Guinny asked.

Karita, Cassie, Meghan and Paula researched the country as part of our operation to stop Belphegor's biological threat, Winnie replied. The Cubans are very needy. The country is doing all that it can, but it needs a completely new solar and wind power infrastructure and a broader national diet. I was thinking chickens. They have none. They have a small tourist economy but the women are forced to act as prostitutes so that they can earn foreign money.

The country's government?

It's a military government complete with secret police. Nobody is getting wealthy though.

And how would you get the money to them without revealing that it came from Heaven?

I was thinking of an anonymous boat load of what they need the most.

Are you trying to replace the government? Don't hide your face from me when you answer.

If it happens, it happens. But right now, these people are starving.

Hell had an ongoing presence in Cuba, right?

Yes, through Belphegor. His subordinate had monthly meetings with the government and took notes of what they needed. I don't know if they ever received any help from Hell though. Belphegor wouldn't have given them anything. He was a hoarder.

If Hell learned that Cuba had received an anonymous gift of everything they needed, wouldn't that prompt them to think of us? It sounds very heavenly to me.

Yes, but they can't track the money to us.

If they suspected we were trying to buy Cuba's allegiance, might that prompt Hell to try to buy some other poor country's allegiance? That kind of allegiance buying happened on Earth in the 20th and 21st centuries.

But Hell is supposed to torture. They're not supposed to give aid to poor countries.

And we're supposed to protect mortal souls, not give countries financial aid.

Doc and Granny's team are giving medical aid to poor people.

They don't give any medical assistance for poverty. They give medical assistance to counter Hell's health tortures. Big difference.

But...

Heaven can't interfere in a country's domestic government or economy. We combat devils and devils are not making Cuba poor. This sounds like something your family could do. They have lots of money from their MescalMeth operations.

How do you know that?

I listened in on a meeting of the directors. They're having another one tomorrow morning.

# # # # # # # #

Tell me again, Merly asked. Why are you taking me to meet some of your family tomorrow?

I thought that you might need a break. You've been working a lot on the plastirondiamium project that William gave you.

I have to admit that it was becoming boring.

I try to visit with my family on Sundays whenever I can. Maddy does too. She'll be there and will take care of you when I'm in a meeting. You'll have to be careful of what you say. Mermaids, Poseidon, seeding Earth's oceans.... all of this is super secret. My family, as a whole, doesn't know about it. Your name is Merly. You are 13 years old and you live on an island in the Pacific Ocean called Hawaii. You met Maddy at a restaurant there when her university team was playing in a baseball tournament. When you grow up, you want to study marine biology. You enjoy swimming a lot. Use some of the time before we leave to read up on Hawaii. They'll ask you some questions about it. Is your brain plug working so that you can read now?

Yes. All of us mermaids received brain plugs as soon as we arrived.

What are the others doing?

Building our nest.

Let me warn you about my mother. She will try to extract information about me from you. She'll be sneaky abut it. You know very little about me. You're Maddy's friend and ...

# # # # # # # #

Hank started the official part of the day. This meeting of the Wilizy directors is called to order. The date is Sunday October 10, 2095. Present are Yolanda, Stu, Jock and Hank. Mac is attending as a guest as is Winnie. Mac, you wanted the meeting. Go ahead.

I need to report that a part of our MescalMeth operations are not succeeding. Abject failures would be a more accurate description. The military arrests of the druggies are going well. After the arrests, the Valkyries have been successful in bringing justice to the people in the towns who had been working for the druggies.

That leads me to the part where the Valkyries have been trying to counsel and assist the women who have been working with the druggies as sexual assistants. We had thought that given the opportunity, they would want to turn their lives around. We have provided counsel and money for them to do that. Unfortunately, their new lives have proven to be a brief interlude between prostitution jobs. Without exception, the women have returned to prostitution even though, in some cases, they did seek training in non-sexual jobs. We couldn't change, or influence, their attitudes or experiences that had pushed them into prostitution. A solution might be possible, but we don't know what it is.

This is not surprising, Stu responded. I hope that the Valkyries aren't looking on this as their own failure.

They were at first, Mac responded. But none of them had success, and we have some very good women in the group. They are concerned though that they are wasting their time when it could be better spent elsewhere.

Any suggestions, Mac? Yolanda asked.

The Valkyries had to take so much time trying to rescue the women that this caused our military operations to stall. They want to focus on cleaning up the towns that the druggies occupied so that we can move faster through the states. We've done the western states. We want to go east now.

Jock, any comments?

I support what the Valkyries and Mac are suggesting. William has given us new battle gear that incorporate easy-to-operate jet packs, titanium armor, and light sabre weaponry. When we had to wait for the Valkyries, we spent the time training. In that regard, the delays were useful for the program. We can take on another military force if we had to.

Do we need a motion? Hank asked.

Stu responded first. This is just a slight change in an operation that we have supported in the past. We should treat Mac's report as simply that. A report on how the MescalMeth operation has been working and the minor adjustments they are making.

Moving on then. Winnie, you wanted to address us?

# # # # # # # #

[You know what Winnie is asking for. We'll skip that part.]

Hank was the first to respond to Winnie's request. The family has had issues in the past when some of us have urged us to become involved in another country's domestic affairs. This has caused us some discomfort. Are you asking us to give these anonymous gifts to the Cubans in the expectation that they will change their type of government?

No. The military government is doing the best they can. Yes, they have secret police and informants. But all the Cubans know who those people are. The government pays the secret spies. It's a form of job. They will never escape from abject poverty without a modern power infrastructure. Plus, they need more protein in their diet. A fishing industry can't provide that because the government is afraid that the people will use the fishing boats to leave the country.

Don't they use forced labor? Stu asked.

Yes, everybody has to work. So in that regard, it's forced labor. Even seniors have jobs sweeping streets. That means that everybody is employed. Without everybody working, the country can't feed their people. This style of government is working for them.

Do we have the money, Jock?

Yes. The money that we've confiscated from the druggies is more than what Winnie needs. That money is not doing anybody any good right now.

I like the idea, Yolanda revealed. There is no other source of support for these people.

Stu? Jock asked.

I have a bad feeling about this. Some people don't like charity. I expect government leaders would feel the same way.

Would they turn it down if it were offered, Stu?

I doubt it, Yolanda. They're desperate. Just don't expect any thanks.

Winnie will have to monitor this, Jock added to Stu's unease. The government is too poor for the leaders to take secret rewards. That may change.

Any other concerns?

...

All those in favor of giving Winnie enough of the MescalMeth funds to provide the Cuban people with a modern power infrastructure and enough chickens for every family to have several, raise your hand.

...

Motion passes. Winnie, have you ever been around chickens?

No, Dad.

They stink and they don't fly. Don't drop them from a transport. Enjoy.

# # # # # # # #

I had to meet with Mac after the meeting, Maddy. How'd it go with Merly?

The little babies really liked Merly. She got down on the floor and they were crawling all over her. Then the moms had to feed them and Merly was watching them closely. So was I. Bean offered to answer questions, so that was nice.

How'd it go with my mother?

She was pretty sneaky but Merly said she hardly knew you.

So, all in all, the visit went fine?

Well, not quite. I was telling them about my job as a batgirl and how I had gone to Hawaii where I met Merly. Then Grandma asked a question and it got a little crazy. Here's the conversation.

Do you play baseball, Merly?

No, I'm not old enough.

Would you like to play baseball when you're older?

Oh, oh, Winnie reacted.

Yes, I think I would.

What would you like most about baseball?

Maddy, I'm not going to ACK.

I think I'd like first base best. I could be good at that.

I'm not going to ACK.

But, now that I have the twins, I might like second base too.

What do you mean about these twins.

My boobs.