Scales and Gems

"To learn what to fear is to learn what we are."

-Guillermo del Toro

Blake^^^

I faded in and out of conciousness. My body buzzed faintly and my head pounded with unbelievable pain, my eyes only registering blistering moments: being air-lifted from the rubble, being wheeled down and infirmary hallway, even a terrifying moment inside some kind of scanning machine. It's whirring stuck in my head and my heartbeat merged with it as I slept, until I woke in a small dark room all alone. I pulled myself upwards, my body stiff and noncompliant, I was wearing a soft grey t-shirt and white sweatpants, and I didn't like how frail and thin it made me look. I missed the misguiding feel of my jacket, but that had burned away just like everything else in that factory. Except for me... And Blake! I burst out of my bed with a sudden flow of strength. My feet were hot against the frigid stone floors, but the bareness allowed me to move silently from the bed to the door. I looked out the small oval window to find a similar stone hallway completely devoid of people. My fingers curled around the doorknob and I pulled. The door swung open silently itself, it was the alarm that put me off. I sprinted down the hallway to the right, my bare feet slapping against the pavement loudly. Shouting descended behind me, and when I glanced back I found an entire squad of soldiers giving chase, pistols drawn and pointing straight at me. I put on another burst of speed, but my body wasn't able to provide for long. The hallway slanted and my vision turned fuzzy, my feet tripping over each other, my body landing on the floor with a dull thump. The guards were on me in an instant, driving batons into my spine, neck, and below my jaw. Pain flowered behind my eyes as I struggled against them, but I was too weak and small compared to their healthy, muscular arms.
"No!" Cried a woman's voice from a distance away. "Don't hurt him!" Clicking heels grew louder until the source stood before me. I was hauled upwards, and I slumped unnaturally into the guards. They held my body, but my head slumped to the side. The woman now situated before me wore a white business suit with high black heels. Her greying brown hair was pulled back in a tight bun, and her withered blue eyes were hidden behind thin panes of glass sat on the bridge of her nose. I had heard of those before. They were rare nowadays. I think they were called... Glasses. I breathed curtly through my mouth, staring down at her angrily. Even if my body was weak, I was determined to show my resilience. I didn't rot away in that factory just to be captured like this, and I swore that when I made it out, I would never return to that dreadful place. The lady scrutinized me for a moment, then turned her nose up as if satisfied at what she found.
"Take him back to his room. He's our guest here, treat him as such." She demanded, and the guards hauled me off. I had no more fight in me to give, so I let them drag me back with my legs dangling.

I instantly fell asleep when I hit the mattress. I dreamt that I was back home in the Pit. The town was just as silent and empty as I remembered, and the ash lay undisturbed on the buried town streets. I walked through the ash, following my memory back to the town square. The fountain in the center was cracked down the middle, the water refusing to flow. But what sat next to the monument drew my attention. It was a large mass of what looked like rocks. They were as grey as the ash below it, so much so that it almost blended right in. But as I walked closer, I found that it wasn't in fact a pile of rocks. It was a giant animal with diamond-shaped armor ribbing it's body, and long sharp horns jutting back from the crown of it's head. It's eyes were a stormy grey, reminiscent of my own. It pulled it's large head back, straightening it's long neck as I stood before it. It's body was thin and ghost-like, mirroring mine right down to the ashen skin. It stared at me, regarding me as I it. Then, it laid back down at my feet, it's gaze cast up at me, and it promptly fell back asleep.

I woke up once again in that small grey room, but this time I wasn't alone. The strict white woman sat at the end of my bed, reading off a clipboard and marking things with a pen. She looked the same as she did before, besides the dark circles ringing her eyes. She didn't even glance up before she began to speak.
"6 foot, 96 pounds, no schooling, employed in Abernathy corps., Born near Pinetrust valley, age 19, orphaned since age 3, deceased May 15th, 3035." She said, as I sat up and inched farther back. "You've got quite the outstanding record, when it comes to Ghosts. Usually you're all... Well... Ghosts." The lady chuckled softly, flipping shut the top of the clipboard and sliding it back into the folder attached to the bed. Her blue eyes regarded me carefully, as if sizing me up and analyzing everything about me, down to the annoying strands of hair that curled around my ears. At first, I had thought she was speaking about someone else, but it became oddly clear that it was me she had been reading about. But, I wasn't an orphan, I was born in the Pit. Of course, I didn't question her about this, instead I surveyed the room for a quick escape. There wasn't even a single window or vent, the only way in or out was the door that the woman was currently blocking.
"How are you feeling? Weak, confused, hungry?" The last word struck me deep and my stomach growled. I was always hungry, I was from the Pit. The woman chuckled again.
"Understandable. But, you've always been hungry, haven't you? Always felt like... Food doesn't affect you? Only makes you feel sick or weaker?" The woman bobs her head, and I feel myself pale. She smiles softly, as if confirming her accusations. "Don't deny it, Aaron. We understand here. We're here to help you. Now, what are you feeling today, huh? Scrambled eggs, waffles? Perhaps a cocktail of precious gems?" Her eyes narrow slightly as I cringe at her idea. Gems? Like, the kind that I used to work with? Why would anyone eat those?
"Oh, come on. You must've eaten some before... That's the only reason you've survived this long..." She trailed off as if expecting me to answer. When I didn't, she pulled a remote from her pocket and clicked one of the buttons. A few moments later, a guard wheeled a trolley in with a plate covered by a dome on top. He parked it beside the bed and fled the room in a hurry. The woman leaned over from her chair and pulled the lid from the plate, revealing an assortment of precious gems.
"You've got to be kidding." I whispered, crossing my arms over my chest and locking my jaw. The woman rolled her eyes and stood, placing her hands on her hips.
"Look, you're lucky that we even found you in time. You're extremely malnourished and weak. If that explosion hadn't been triggered and we hadn't pulled you from that rubble, you would have died in a matter of days. Why? Because you're of Dragonkin, you survive off the minerals found in these gems. Without them, you'll starve to death." I furrow my brows. This woman was insane! She waves her hands in the air in exasperation.
"Look at yourself! Not only are you wasting away, you're completely unscathed from that explosion! You don't even have as much as a scratch!" She complains, but to that she had a point.
"I've only known one other person who's been able to do that, and she's drakonic." The woman tries to place the plate in my lap, but I jump and stagger away, falling to the floor in a heap. I shivered at the cold of the pavement. The woman rushed to my side and pulled me to a sitting position by my arm.
"Careful, you're weak. You need to eat, to regain your strength. You may not believe me now, but after you eat, your drakonic half should be awakened. You'll shift at any moment. Then, maybe you'll talk with me." The women's voice turns oddly soft, and her hardened eyes round out ever so slightly. She helps me back onto the bed, then turns to leave. She unlocks the door and glances over her shoulder, she smiles faintly. "I cannot fathom how grateful I am to have found you." She whispers before slipping out the door. It locks with a soft click, but I rush to the door anyway to make sure. The handle doesn't even budge. I turn and press my back against the frame, taking in the small room. Aside from the bed and trolley, a nightstand sat empty and alone in the corner, with a white rose sat within a red vase on top.

I refused to touch the plate of gems. I was starving, I could feel it. In my bones, my skin, even my teeth. I wouldn't last long couped up in here. I think it had been at least a day since I woke up, but I can't tell. There isn't so much as a clock in my room. Two guards stand posted at my door, so I have no chance of picking the lock to escape. The crazy older lady hasn't come back since I woke up, leaving me alone to my thoughts. I was confused on why I was being kept here, why that woman had called me a drakonic, and how I had survived the explosion. I was also scared, tired, lonely, and angry because they refuse to tell me any news about Blake or my family, or even why they told everyone I was dead. I sat curled into a ball in the corner of the room, rocking myself back and forth, ignoring the growling of my stomach and the awful itching sensation that has been consuming my skin lately. I had at one point dumped the gems off the plate and onto the floor, but I hadn't realized that I would see myself on the plates shiny surface. It was a face I had memorized from my times in the Pit. My ID card had this boy on it. It was from the chest up, of a boy with messy, medium length wavy black hair, a long and ghastly figure, a thin bony face and collarbone, with sunken eyes and dried lips. My eyes always haunted me. Grey and swirling like a storm, but staring and distant like a ghost. I am a ghost I have to remind myself constantly. Nothing can change that, not even death. My door clicked open some hours later, and, expecting the woman who I so dreaded talking to, I shrank into my clothes until only my eyes peeped out. But, to my surprise, in walked Blake, but not Blake as well. This Blake had the same eyes, height, and long blonde hair, but Blake had been thin and lost, while this one was filled out with peachy skin and a wide chest. His hands no longer shook, as he shut the door behind him. He wore kahki shorts and a colorful shirt, and his eyes shone brightly as he spotted me. I staggered to my feet quickly, rushing over to hug him with all my might. He embraced me back just as fiercly, and suddenly he found his voice.
"Aaron... I thought you were dead." He choked out in a voice I had never expected. I always thought it would be nasally or high pitched, instead it was low and throaty. It didn't suit his face at all. I took a step back, desperately swallowing in an attempt to speak myself. Luckily, he stopped me. I wasn't sure I was ready to find my voice just yet. "You saved me. Thank you." He had tears brimming his eyes.
"H-How long-?" I rasped out. He watched me for a moment before responding.
"It's been a month. A-Are you okay?" My head swam with this knowledge. A week, my family thinks I've been dead for a month. Blake had to catch me before I could fall. He forced me to sit on the edge of the bed. "Hey, woah there, you're not okay. Why haven't you eaten?" Blake casts his eyes at the gems scattered across the floor. I give him a hard look, and luckily he hasn't seemed to have lost our unspoken connection.
"Damnit, Aaron. What are you doing to yourself? Ms Snow is telling the truth. You'll die!" He scoops up one of the gems and forces it into my hands. It's a fire crystal, and the red gem was lit in the center by what looked like a dancing orange flame. It waved in a random direction based on how the light hits it. I stare down at it, mesmerized by the crystal and what must've taken years to both harvest, cleanse, and purify it. All by the hands of miners and factory workers. It made my stomach slosh uncomfortably inside me.
"Aaron." Blake warned, his tone startling me. "This isn't a joke. You're going to die, haven't you noticed? A piece of chicken isn't going to help you now. Just... Trust me.." Blake kneels down before me and places a warm hand on my wrist. He was right, besides, I didn't see anyone rushing to bring me any chicken anyway. If I'm going to die, I'd minus-well go out with a few million dollars worth of precious gems in my stomach. I raised the fire crystal to my lips, taking a moment to admire the gem once more before attempting to take a bite. I admit, I thought the hardness of the crystal would crack my teeth, but somehow it seemed like the moment it hit my tongue it became soft, and I bit into it with the ease of an apple. It was tasteless and held a strange texture, but the moment I swallowed I could suddenly feel my hunger lifting. I finished off the rest of the gems in no time, and I had to lean forward and place my head in my hands for a moment just to keep myself from bursting out crying from the feeling of being full. It didn't do much good, seeing as the moment Blake placed his hand on my shoulder it all went to waterworks. My shoulders heaved and I sobbed into his shoulder like a big baby, but I was just too thankful to care. When it was over I leaned back and feverishly wiped at my eyes until no tears remained. Blake smiled at me, a genuine smile.
"See? You can trust me." He whispers. But my mind had already turned somewhere else. The door clicked open and in walked Ms Snow, the old lady wearing a white business suit. She glanced around the room and then at me with a curt nod, obviously pleased with what she saw.
"Please come with me, both of you. It's time we've got out of this prison room."