'Don't die on me kid.' I remembered a voice saying. Was it a dream? One of the doctors talking to me? I wasn't sure. 'Spent too much time on you for that.'
I vaguely remembered opening my eyes and seeing a whirl of motion around me. White coats, blank faces, white walls, hazy shades of color, all with the glow of befuddling light surrounding them. The smell of antiseptic shocked my senses as I inhaled. A murmur of voices that might as well have been in elvish wafted through the air.
I could just barely feel a pinch before I faded back into sleep.
It felt like two seconds later when I dimly heard the steady beeping and a soft voice whisper. "He's waking. Get the dragon."
"He's already on the bed," another voice called, this one deeper. Male. "We can't seem to keep him away." His tone was amused.
Where was I? What... my brain was sluggish to piece these words together and what they meant.
"He's phasing again!" The nurse said sharply and I felt rough hands clamp on my wrists, making me open my eyes a little to the burning light. "There we go... don't phase on us again," I could vaguely see the nurses' hazy dark outline with my blurry vision. She looked like a pregnant pear. I was so tired.
"Stay with us." The man agreed. "Turn the light a little brighter!" he called to someone else.
My sluggish brain finally realized that they had the lights on bright trying to prevent me from shadow travelling. "No-no." A hoarse, croaking voice that I couldn't even identify burped out. "I'm here." I stifled a groan as I felt the words shred my throat.
"Light bad!" A courageous growl put a hint of a smile on my face. "No light!" I was surprised at the demanding tone of that tiny voice.
The hands released their grip on me, thankfully before I could lose feeling in my fingers. "Turn down the lights," the burly man agreed and I sighed in relief as I felt a sensation like soothing cold lotion on my skin and exhaled in relief. Great job nurses! Burn your shadow patient! As I exhaled, I felt a slight sting in my side. Stitches. "Wh-wha?" My voice croaked like a bullfrog.
"Wow look at this," a man whispered and he whipped off my sheets to reveal my bare torso. His cold finger traced my stitches in the darkness. "It's healing at an accelerated rate. I've.. never seen anything like it."
The other nurses crowded around me, lowering their masks to reveal their gaping mouths. Was I some sort of freak to them now? I suddenly felt like a fish in the aquarium, stuck in a tank for children to gape and point at. Caedmon growled and crawled on my chest, obstructing their view of my stitches. He growled at them, his arched body making it clear he wanted them to back off.
"Give the kid some room," General Landin barked to the nurses. I sighed in relief as they backed off. He walked closer. "You.. idiots," he said when he saw the burns that were quickly fading in the darkness. His golden eyes smoldered angrily. "Why did you have the lights on? I told you very distinctly he's a shadow dragon Rider," he growled. One of his eyes twitched.
"I'm sorry sir," One of the nurses said quickly. "We've never had a shadow dragon before and whenever the lights got too dim he'd start to phase in his sleep."
I listened quietly as General Landin shook his head. "It was most likely the darn dragon trying to take him away from the fumbling fingers of you idiots! Get out of here before you're fired." He said. Well, not as nicely as I put it.
The nurses all scrambled out, almost tripping over their white lab coats. Somehow, this made a ghost of a smile reach my lips.
General Landin slowly sat on the edge of my bed and took off his little cap, pressing it to his chest. Then he looked me in the eyes, his yellow eyes pulsing with color like little rainbows were trapped inside. "Justin, I am sorry for the treatment you received here. I should have been here earlier to check on you." His apology was earnest and I tried to be angry at him still but I was so relieved to be in a dark room that I couldn't stay angry.
I reached up to stroke Caedmon's cheek with the side of my thumb, nodding slowly in agreement to what was said. "What happened?" I asked, surprised at how tiny my voice was. I was about to ask again before Landin spoke.
"You took a hard fall. Punctured your lungs. You were in critical condition for a few days, but you shouldn't be in that bed much longer by the way things are healing now."
I blinked, remembering that crazy flight. Caedmon nuzzled under my hand, peeping softly. I was surprised at how big he had grown in just a few days. He was the size of a dog instead of a cat and my hand travelled down to his paws, which were sleek and sturdy.
"They grow fast don't they," he noticed my attention to Caedmon. "That's dragons for ya."
I looked up at him, my jaw clenching a little. "The dragoness-"
"She was dismissed," General Landin said, shaking his head, his eyes narrowing. "Shame. She really was a promising dragoness. But her recklessness with you shows she has no respect for humans."
Somehow his words really bothered me but I didn't let it show. "Dismissed?" I echoed. "What's that mean?" I picture dragons being let out in the Alaskan wilderness and somehow that didn't sit well.
"It's of no importance," the General said stiffly before patting my knee. "I'll send for your friends." And before I could ask any more questions, he had shut the door on his way out.
I sighed and looked down at Caedmon. "You've been here most the time haven't you," I said, stroking between his wings.
"Never leave," Caedmon boasted proudly. "Stay an' chase 'way bad drrreams when you feel bad." He promised and licked my cheek with a purr.
"Thanks bud," I said softly, chuckling at the feeling of his rough tongue on my skin. "I'm glad I have you to look out for me."
Caedmon puffed out his little scaly black chest, arching into my hand. "I am your pre-tecter!" He proclaimed.
"Yeah, yeah you are," I smiled as I could feel his pride through our bond. "Who's the mighty shadow dragon?" I crooned and scratched his jaw gently.
"Me," he purred and his wings began to shake.
"Who is my magnificent protector?" I tried not to laugh.
"Me!" He squeaked, his tail swishing fast like a wagging tail.
"Who is as swift as a coursing river?"
"Me!"
"With all the force of a great typhoon?"
"Me! It's me!" He bounced around on the covers in circles, tail wiggling like crazy.
"Mysterious as the dark side of the moon!"
"I am!" Caedmon giggled and crouched to paw at my face as if to say 'oh silly Justin'.
Suddenly laughter diverted my attention away from the prideful little dragon and I felt heat flash on my face as I saw Merman laughing his head off at me. "Are you seriously quoting Mulan right now?"
I felt a little defensive. "You got a problem with that?" So what? I got bored and watched Mulan one day with one of my foster parent's kids. Was that so wrong?
He held his hands up. "You're a weird kid, Justin," he shook his head as he approached my bed side, his bright orange eyes scrutinizing me. "But seriously man, I'm glad you're okay. You took a pretty hard fall. At least now you're going to have some pretty cool scars to show the chicks."
I laughed and rolled my eyes. "And tell them what? That I fell off a dragoness while trying to learn how to ride?"
"Hey, that in itself sounds cool. But you're going to have to..." he tilted his head from side to side as he thought. "Embellish it a little. I know- you were flying dragon-back when you got attacked by a griffin-"
"A griffin?" I lifted brow. "Those don't even exist dude."
"They do," he countered. "There's actually a base for them down south. But we don't exactly mix because griffins and dragons don't exactly get along well together."
"What?" I sputtered and tried to sit up a little before hissing in pain and flopping back in the bed. "Any other mythical animals I should know exist?" I murmured, ignoring Merman's worried look.
"Well aside from the Pegasus and the werewolf, I guess not," Merman mumbled.
"Pegasus.... Like camp half blood?" Why couldn't they have nice Pegasi here? So I can name mine Blackjack and we could fly around together without being tossed around like a ragdoll.
"Sorry to break it to you but Pegasi are too mean to let anyone ride them," Merman said. "And most of them are too small anyway."
I groaned and hid my face with a hand. "My whole childhood has been a lie!" I groaned.
He laughed. "You're crazy, man," he said as he patted Caedmon's back. "Look at Caedmon. He's getting big! He's gotta be twice the size of Larissa by now."
Caedmon purred under his hand and I smiled like a proud father. One thing I really liked about Merman was that he didn't focus on how I was feeling so much. He didn't ask 'how are you feeling?' or concentrate on how sorry he was that I had to be here. Instead he distracted me with talking about angry pegasi and my little Cade. "Yeah, I swear he's doubled in size since I fell."
"You know- he's been watching over you twenty four seven- every time I come in I see him hiding from the nurses somewhere in the room, watching you like a hawk," he grinned and patted Caedmon's curved back.
Caedmon yawned and licked his muzzle, starting to lick his forepaw.
"He's very serious about his job," I agreed with a chuckle.
"So.. you missed the Avengers," he drawled after an awkward moment of silence in which we both had stared at the wall.
"Yeah! I did!" I scowled, glaring at him for bringing that terrible loss up.
"Hey hey, don't worry man because I've got the perfect fix for that," he smirked as he slowly slid out an iPad. "It's the nurse's," he said when he saw my shock. No one was allowed to keep their electronics and for a second I almost thought it was his. "We can watch it on this illegal website." He said, quickly starting to type.
That's what friends are for. I rolled my eyes. "It's in English right?"
"Wait- you never learned Russian?" He bobbed his head up to look at me. "Well then it's no use."
"What?" I sputtered.
"Haha- that look on your face," he laughed as he got back to typing. "Of course it's in English."
I groaned and scratched at my bandages. "You suck man. Now my stitches hurt worse."
"Okay- here it is," he said, grabbing a pillow and propping it up for me to see. "This is just great-"
Caedmon snuggled up to me to watch and I gently pushed his head out of the way. "You say one spoiler and I will beat you- hospital bed or no," I said, grinning as I saw the Marvel credits play.
About an hour into the (insanely epic) movie the door opened and a nurse came in with steak, potatoes and green beans with a side bowl of pulled pork for Caedmon. I grinned as I took the steaming plate and set it gently on the side of my chest that hadn't been damaged. Maybe I should fall from a crazy dragoness more often...
Nah.
By the time the movie was finished, Caedmon was so hyped that I couldn't keep track of him. He was running as fast as he could from one end of the room to the other, his tail high and head pumping. "Di-'int see coming?" he panted. "I'm Kick-silfer!"
I looked at Merman and shook my head. "Great. Now I got a dragon who thinks he's Kick-silfer."
Merman laughed. "He's a little ball of energy. That's how Larissa gets after we watch Dragon Riders of Berk." He said before turning off the iPad. "I better head back to the barracks. See you tomorrow, Justin." He waved before slipping out of there.
I smiled and leaned back with a sigh as Caedmon popped into existence on top of my head. "See dat?" he asked, looking down at me with a smug little smirk on his scaly face.
"Nope," I replied before yawning. "It's time for bed, Quicksilver," I mumbled as I sleepily started peeling off the bandages to find small stitches racing down my chest. But the wound was only a tiny puckered cut. "Wow." I whispered as Caedmon snuggled up under my arm and rested his head on my chest. His tail still flicked wildly. He was still excited. And I.. was drifting off.
It seemed like only five minutes later when I was being shaken awake. "Hey. Kid. What are you doing out here?" The smell of cigar wafted over me, making me gag in the foul scent. I whirled around, the grainy pavement scraping against my legs and butt. I found my eyes gazing into a wrinkled face of an elderly man with impressive white whiskers. His big eyebrows reminded me of caterpillars kissing as they bunched. "You alright kid?" he asked, his glassy blue eyes being drawn to my chest.
Noises bubbled from my throat. I grabbed my little hospital gown and pulled it over myself like I had boobs to hide as my bewildered eyes flashed around desperately. A large road sprawled out in front of me, a scary black truck parked to my right. A Pizza Hut that had an 'out of business' paper taped to the window stared at me like a skull, windows empty. Jagged ice-tipped mountains loomed just over that. I could smell fish and a musk that reminded me of an antique store. And I was pressed to the side of a brightly colored building like a barnacle. Shivering like a wet cat.
"Where's your parents?" The man asked, reminding me that he was still there crouching beside me. His head tilted as he gazed at my eyes. I realized that my purple eyes wasn't something he probably saw every day.
"I-I don't know but I-I'm f-fine," I said, really wanting him to step back so I don't have to smell his nasty breath. I slowly sat up, realizing I was in nothing but my boxers and the hospital gown. This has got to be another one of those weird dreams. I found my hand wandering to my chest to feel my heart pulse wildly, but I lingered on the dragon tattoo. There was definitely something pulsing there too. Which was creepy. And weird. The man looked away as I felt out the skin, underneath which a tiny rectangular object pulsed. What the heck was that? I scrambled to my feet and ran bare foot on the frozen ground, my steamy breath huffing out of my nose like a freight train.
The alleyway opened up to a small neighborhood. A hefty Rottweiler raced towards me, barking. Almost scared the pee out of me. I skidded aside before racing down the street, my hospital gown flying behind me like a cape.
A ten year old girl with an oversized hat squinted at me from her hot chocolate stand as I flew by, jumping over potholes. The old paved road jabbed into my tender feet. I wasn't sure where I was going, or what I was running from. But it felt good to just run. Especially when it's thirty degrees out and you're half naked.
I panted and slowly came to a stop in front of a small gas station. Someone was refueling their ATV and stared at me as I approached. "Uh.." I thought better of talking to the big guy and detoured around one of the pumps to approach the safety of air conditioning inside the gas station.
Before I ever got there, a large hand clamped onto the back of my neck. I stiffened, feeling the raw power behind that huge hand. This guy could probably snap my neck if he sneezed. Bacon breath washed over my ear. "What d'ya think yore doin', kid," he sounded like he smoked ten packs a day.
Something grabbed my foot and yanked me down. The man yelled, but it was quickly cut off as I was propelled into the shadow world faster than I've ever gone in my life. I screamed, reaching out for something, anything. The familiar tinge of Caedmon's essence stood out immediately among the shades of thousands and I grabbed onto it.
"Juzzin!" Caedmon cried as I opened my eyes, finding myself on the hospital bed once more. I sat up quickly, panting and looking around. Had it just been a dream? I looked down at Caedmon who looked like he was going to cry. Then I felt something slide between my legs and I grimaced, raising the sheets to find pebbles strewn across my mud slathered legs. "What just.. what happened?" I whispered.
I covered my eyes as a lightbulb randomly turned on and buzzed to life. I could sense a certain light dragon spying on me from it. The light sputtered and died. He was gone.
I sighed and leaned back, just wanting to relax and not worry about something freaky for once. My mind spun but right now I just felt numb. I laid there stiffly, almost too afraid to move. Caedmon nuzzled me and pawed at my chest whining.
The door handle twitched.
I jerked my body to try to get to my feet. But I had forgotten about the sheets. They tangled around my legs like Spidey's webs and I yelped as I fell flat on my face on the floor.
"Oh Justin! Are you alright?" My face turned red when I realized it was the nurse. Her slender arms wrapped around me and hoisted me up. I kept the blanket around me like a toga, not wanting reveal the mud on my legs. I did not want to look like I pooped myself. "Fine fine fine," I said quickly, looking up at her, still a bit breathless from my morning jog.
"I'm sorry I must have scared you," she frowned and her drawn on eyebrows lowered. "Are you feeling alright? You feel a little cold. How's the stitches?"
Now that I was thinking about it, the stitches were stinging a bit but I shrugged. "Good as new."
"Wow," she smiled at me. "You must be one powerful Rider to be able to heal that fast." She turned around and opened up a small cabinet before retrieving a small pile of my clothes- my uniform. "You are dismissed to breakfast." She said cheerily.
"Thanks," I mumbled as she left and closed the door, allowing me to change. I did so quickly, wiping the mud off onto my hospital gown and stuffing it in the laundry bin. Caedmon sat on the bed, staring at me. "Why go far?" his voice broke the silence of the room.
"What?" I tilted my head.
"You go far. Why?" He smacked his paw to the bed, being a demanding little buggar.
"Honestly, I don't know how on earth I got there," I said stiffly as I shoved on my socks.
Caedmon paced on the bed, his tail swishing in agitation. "Bad bad bad!" He growled and pawed at the bed cover.
I picked him up before he could tear anything up. "Why're you having this temper tantrum?" I asked, grunting when I found he was heavier than I was used to.
Caedmon's eyes narrowed. "You bad bad bad!" He snapped.
Those words shocked me. I've never heard Caedmon say something like that to me. "Hey... why am I bad?" I asked softly as I exited the room.
"Leaf me here. Stop!" He suddenly growled.
"Stop what?" I walked down the hall towards the mess hall, holding the dragon with both hands.
"Stop! Stop!" He snarled and his wicked little talons dug into my shirt. I winced. "Ouch.. hey.. careful buddy." I grit my teeth and tried to pry his claws from my shirt.
Then I realized that I felt a lot... shorter than usual. Or was the hallways getting larger? I wasn't shrinking was I? I looked down in alarm to find that my body stopped at my hips. I said a naughty word.
Seems like my childhood fear of quicksand was turning into a reality.
"HELP!" I screamed and tried to move my legs, but I didn't really have any to move at the moment. I let go of Caedmon to try to claw at the ground. Caedmon grabbed my shirt collar in his teeth and pulled with all his might, his lithe muscles bunching. My finger slipped right through the grimy tile floor as if I were a ghost. I watched in shock as my fingers, then my hand became darkness on the floor- a shadow. I was totally out of control. "Get me out of here!" I yelled at Caedmon.
Caedmon growled. Black mist started wreathing around his neck in thick swirls, purple tinted mists emanating from his neck like a mane. He yanked his body back, twisting his head. I inched out of the shadows. He spread his wings and flapped hard to gain more leverage.
No lie, I was almost crying. This was probably one of the scariest thing that had happened to me. My hands were stuck in the shadows as well as well as my lower half.
A scream wrenched the air. Someone finally found me.
I turned to look at her. "Help- can you pull me out? Please?" I gasped out, wiggling so hard that I could have joined the Wiggles band. Caedmon was basically ripping my shirt to shreds trying to yank me out. I could hear the fabric breaking under the pressure of his little teeth.
Her hand went to her mouth and she slowly backed away.
"For crying out loud- help a man out here!" I yelped. The more freaked out I got, the more I sunk into the ground. Now I was in to my nipples. Great. Just great. Here lies Justin; melted. That smudge on the ground is all that's left of him. Will they have a plaque in my honor? With my face elegantly engraved in stone? Staring off into the distance with an emotionless expression and pitifully without limbs- I could picture it now.
The girl turned and raced out the way she came. Leaving me alone with my thoughts.
Then I was yanked under.
It was like being pulled under the waves at the beach, but... you didn't have to breathe. I tried to scream but I knew it wouldn't be audible. I formed shadow claws on my fingers and lashed out with all I had, fighting for my life. A sense of coldness washed over me and I was pushed down. Like I was falling in a dream. Limbo. Was I ever going to return to the real world? This shadow world seemed more real than anything I've ever known, the darkness surrounding me like a warm embrace. And that presence sending me deeper into it. It felt similar to falling asleep as the day's events whirred through your mind, only this was flashes of surfaces, lights, fixtures, wires, tunnels.
Cold, musty air shocked my senses as I inhaled sharply, grainy concrete harsh against my elbows. I was... out in the open again. Why couldn't I... then I realized my eyes were tightly shut and I opened them slowly.
Small, blue lights were centered on different objects, all lined up in a row. Computers stood in front of every large cylinder tube. I could see the jagged green mountain peaks of heart beats, letters and numbers dimly outlined in blue. My eyes were drawn back to the objects floating in those tanks.
Curled up in the fetal position were seven humans. The first one had long blonde hair that flowed around her like a halo, the blue light creating an eerie effect. When I looked closer, it seemed like she had a mullet because half of her temple was shaved to make way for the wires plunging into her skull.
"Wh-What?" I gasped, crawling backwards.
Abrasive yellow light flooded through a rectangular window and the outline of a man's head could be seen, looking in. The door knob rattled as it started to turn. My heart caught in my throat as I tried to scramble behind a desk full of jars. Was he going to stick me into a tube too? My hands felt something hard and I picked it up, casting a glance at it to find the dull surface of a conifer green dragon scale. I threw it away from me with a gasp, wincing as it made a clatter.
"What was that?" A familiar voice barked, making my blood freeze in my veins. My mind was a swirl of panic, and my eyes flashed to the woman in the tank as her bright orange eyes flew open and immediately locked on me.
I froze like a deer in the headlights.
"Is someone in here? Come out!" the voice yelled as it got closer. I saw the tip of a green hat before I was yanked into the shadows.