Dragons

With a start, I woke up on an unknown floor. I went to wipe my eyes, when suddenly the little hairs on the back of my neck stood on end.

"Hello? Is anybody there?" I asked of the inky darkness. There was a strange shuffling noise like something was moving about.

"Hello? I know you're there 'cause I can hear you moving around" I said. There was a quiet chuckle, then the ground shook as if something very heavy landed.

Then the ground shook again and again, as if the footsteps were so heavy the ground couldn't support it without shaking. Suddenly there was a bright glowing dot out of nowhere.

"Wow," I said in awe, as the glowing grew bigger and bigger. I gasped as it finally dawned on me that the place where I woke up was gigantic, and if the cave was gigantic then whatever was coming at me was going to be massive.

My eyes widened bit by bit at the most astonishing creature I've ever seen in my lifetime. What I could make out, as it came closer was a long lithe body, a strong tail, wings that viciously beat the air, clawed feet that dug at the ground and the most fearsome face I've ever seen.

It was a powerful and majestic dragon.

When it finally reached to where I was chained, its beautiful orange and silver scales stopped glowing rendering the cave back to darkness.

"Hi," I said, timidly holding my hand out to touch one of its gigantic scales. It was as big as my head and smooth as a button, there was a bright light and the dragon transformed into a little boy.

"Hi, how ya doin'?" he asked with a cheeky grin.

"Uh... okay, I guess" I replied dumbly.

"So, what ya in for buddy?" the boy asked.

"Oh, I'm in here because I.... I don't know" I said sadly.

"You don't know? Wassa matter with you, lost your memory?"

"No it's just, they brought me in here without even talking to me. Just picked me up and threw me in here."

"Ah man, I told those idiots to talk to you! Ah well... I'll eat 'em later and get some new ones"

"Huh?" I asked dumbly, not sure I heard right.

"You, my friend have been chosen to join in the select few who can transform into a dragon!" he said with a big smile.

"Huh?" I repeated.

"Let me introduce myself, King Johann the third." He said with a deep bow.

"Huh?" I said.

"Aw come on! You haven't heard of 'Johann the fierce'?" he asked while stamping his feet.

"I have, but he died-"

"-I've been reborn my good kinsman," the boy said with a glint in his eye. I took a good look at him, he was young probably about eight or nine, but there was a weariness in his eyes. As if he had seen the worst that human nature had to offer.

"No way, no fucking way that you're him, I've met his highness myself-"

"-yes I know, you were so uptight then always insisting that I do something properly. Be it eating, sitting, cleansing, whatever" he said while inspecting his nails.

"Johann? Is that really you? Man it's good to see you," I said as I picked him up and swung him around.

"I'm glad to see that you finally recognize me." He said as I put him down.

"So why'd you choose me?" I asked.

"I chose you, because- ah come on" Johann said as he transformed his arm, and in one swipe

broke my chains. He pulled me to my feet and dragged me back from where he came.

When we got there, I saw that there was a old heavy iron door. Johann pulled at it and the door creaked open, "I tell you Parker, this is gonna be the best thing that ever happened to you." He said as he led me down a maze of hallways.

"Here we are." He said as we stood at an old wooden door.

"This is where you're gonna live as we do the experi- oops, um you'll live here as you get accustomed to your new powers. No need to have the townspeople know that we're up to- oops." Johann held his hand to his mouth as he waved me on, as I went in I heard him mutter to himself.

"Man, I've got to get this body under control. Nearly lost it there."

"Ah come in, come in young man" the owner of the voice was a wizened old man in a crisp white lab coat. He had a grizzled beard and his eyes were a clear amber color. Though he was old, he moved about the lab with grace and sprightliness that belied his age.

"Now hold out your arm," he said as he held up a cylindrical syringe with some kind of multicolored thick liquid. "Now what's in this is dragon's essence, it is made from an egg that has a developing dragon in it. " The doctor explained as he stuck the needle in my arm and slowly injected the dragon's essence.

"Aaugh!!" I screamed, at the pain of the essence fusing with my cells at the molecular level. The pain was so much that I collapsed on the floor, screaming all the while. My lungs felt like they were burning, I couldn't even breathe with the excruciating pain I felt whenever I inhaled even a little bit of air.

"Aaugh!" I screamed again as a new pain far worse than any before surfaced on my back. I went to hold my back, when I did I got a glance at my hand.

"What the fuc- aaagh!" I screamed again as the pain in my back increased and spread to my head, it felt like I was in a fire. My skull and jaw shifted and changed shape, cracking and realigning. My nose felt like the fire was coursing through it.

My spine was next, the fire flowed around it changing, lengthening and realigning the vertebrae. The air was filled with my screams and the sounds of bones cracking. My arms and legs were hit next as the fire spread to them, strengthening and lengthening them so that they could support my body weight.

My hands and feet were next, the fire strengthening and changing them, and exchanging nails for claws.

Then the fire rushed back to my torso burning tough scales into my skin and building muscles underneath the skin, toughening and strengthening my respective systems so that they could bear the pressure of taking care of the new body.

Lastly the fire went to my back muscles, strengthening them for my wings.

"Aaugh!!!" I screamed again, as the fire grew white hot and pulled at the vertebra in my spine, growing more bones to form my wings. After one last pass around my body, the fire dimmed and went into my lungs to live.

All of that only took one hour although it felt like days.

"Ah, there is the man of the hour!" Johann said as he walked in.

'Huh? Where am I?' I tried to say but my dragon lips were stiff.

"Don't bother talking, as you've probably figured out dragon lips are stiff as hell so you can't speak through them" Johann said.

'How am I going to change back if I don't know how?' I thought.

"Oh, doc will teach you on how to control the dragon inside- well outside, I'll check in with you later" Johann said as he walked to the door and closed it after him.

"Alright laddie, let's get started on the change back-"

Epilogue:

Its been ten years since I've been turned into a dragon, since then I've learned to transform from human to dragon and vice versa. I've learned to breathe the fire that lives inside me.

I've learned to fly, there were a few bumps with that one but in the end everything's ok right? Anyhow Doc taught me how to fight, be it with a sword or bows and arrows or hand to hand.

Now that I've learned everything I can from Doc he sent me to the army. That's where I am now, in two more years I'll be done and Johann said to "come and serve me as my royal dragon-guard." Yep you guessed it Johann, well King Johann now, is back on the throne.