Chapter Six: Captured
#5 of Drake's Path
When I awoke, I found myself in a glass cylinder surrounded by some sort of liquid. I was still able to breathe, however, which confused me until I discovered a small breathing apparatus around my nose and mouth. There were various wires and tubes protruding from my body making me feel even more uncomfortable.
I noticed a door open in the room outside my prison so I pretended to still be unconscious. Two men walked in and began to talk. The one was tall and very muscular looking in his gray sleeveless shirt and jeans, while the other was just a bit shorter but very thin. He appeared to be a scientist from the looks of his lab coat and glasses.
I strained my ears and was able to make out what they were saying. The thin one said, "Will the usual payment suffice for this last assignment?"
Tall guy shook his head and crossed his arms. "Not this time Roger." He stood in front of my tube and tapped the glass. "I lost nine of my best guys thanks to this kid. I admire his talent but why didn't you tell me that our target had a protector like him?"
'Target?' I thought. 'Who was their target?'
Roger walked over to a row of computers next to me and grabbed a clipboard that had been set on top of one. "Subject five-one-eight-three, Drake Ranguard, scheduled for a cellular mutation experiment later today. Our information didn't show the level of fighting ability for the doctor's son. I'm sorry for your loss, Jeremy, but I'm not sure what more I can offer you."
Jeremy pointed to me. "I'd love to be able to recruit him, but you're using him as a lab rat, so that's out of the question." He reached out of my sight and grabbed something. When he returned to my field of view, he was holding my fang blade. "Why don't I just take this off your hands?"
The thought of anyone taking my gift from Star away from me infuriated me enough to cause me to drop my ruse and slam a fist against the glass. He placed the blade back where he got it and stood in front of me once again. "Well, well, well. Look who's finally awake."
Roger turned to the computer in front of him and prepared to type commands. "Good, then we can get him into the lab now instead of later and he can join our other subject in the holding room. Would you kindly assist me Jer?"
He grinned. "Of course, it would be my pleasure."
Roger put three commands into the computer. Immediately, the liquid drained form around me, the wires and tubes were disconnected, and the glass began to lower. That allowed me to stumble off the platform that my cell was on. Jeremy quickly grabbed me and whipped a pair of handcuffs off his belt and onto my wrists. They both escorted me out of the room and into a long hallway.
As we walked, I tried summoning the Third Power; only to find that I wasn't quite recovered enough to use it to free myself. But it was only a matter of time.
I turned my attention back to my surroundings and counted five turnoffs before we turned left. We took the third door on the right from this side hall and the first thing that I noticed was how bare this room was.
There was a simple bed and a plain mirror. Nothing else.
Roger instructed me to lie down on the bed and I decided to play along for now. Once I was lying flat, Jeremy removed the cuffs only to put more on me. He connected a pair of cuffs to each wrist and ankle. The other ends were attached to the bed so I couldn't move off of it. After they made sure they were secure, the two men left, leaving me in silence.
I laid on my fairly soft bed, gently pulling on the restraints to test thier sturdiness, and waited for something to happen.
Suddenly, my entire body began to burn. I arched my back and let out a scream of agony; a plea for release from the pain.
I writhed against the cuffs for what seemed like an eternity before something snapped within me and my body began to alter.
My skin started to shimmer like a rippling pool of water and I felt something sprouting from my shoulders as my face elongated itself into a snout. My vision slowly turned red and I could no longer feel anything.
As the red faded away, I found myself in between two people who were dragging me down yet another hallway.
Other scientists opened a door farther down which I was then roughly thrown into. I wasn't alone though. There was a female wolf in the room with me. But I wasn't concerned with others at the moment. I wanted to know the full extent of my transformation.
I held up my hands, or rather claws, and gazed at the unfamiliar shape and dark bronze color. They were a bit larger, scaled and had small amounts of webbing between fingers. I moved from my hands to my neck and ran them down the crests that went down my neck and back. As I moved my hand to the top of my back, it bumped something that had never been there before. In the back of my mind I felt a set of muscles that had never existed earlier. I flexed these muscles and a pair of lighter bronze wings. I felt they way they moved as I flexed them and got used to the feeling.
As I marveled I could feel the wolf probing me with her mind. I frightened her when I accepted her probe until she realized who I was. I also realized who she was and said, "Silver! Are you okay?"
She walked to me and I stared at her beauty as a wolf. She had on a deep green dress that went wonderfully with her pitch black fur. Her eyes matched her dress and she had highlights of silver covering her fluffy tail. She moved with a gentle grace and let her mind drift into the embrace of mine. "I'm fine but, Drake, what did they do to you?" She sounded calm and collected, quite the opposite of what I was feeling at the time.
I held her hands in mine as I answered. "I-" I stopped, a blank forming in my head as to what had occurred before everything went red. "I don't remember." I pulled her closer. "But forget about that, we need to get out of here and I need to get my sword back. It's back in the first room I was held in."
She thought for a moment. "I was in a different holding room than you but I can get you back to the lab."
"I know the way from there." I focused the Third Power on the door, then released it. The door flew off its hinges and crashed into the opposite wall. I motioned silver forward. "Lead the way."
She walked past me and said, "Try to keep up," then broke into a run. She moved as silent and swift as a shadow and I had trouble keeping pace. After about a minute of running, she stopped in front of a door and said, "Here we are."
I stepped in front of her and replied, "Now it's my turn." I took a right down the main hallway and counted the number of turnoffs until I reached five. I entered the next door on the left. I spotted my blade on a table nest to my cylinder and ran over to grab it. When I reached for my holster, I noticed that it was empty. I strapped it onto my belt and turned to leave. But when I turned, I saw Jeremy standing in the doorway with my .44 pressed to Silver's temple. My heart all but stopped. "Let her go!" I yelled.
He took a few steps into the room. "Only if I get what I want," he replied.
"What do you want?" I looked at Silver, expecting to see fear in her eyes. Instead, they were sparkling and she had a grin plastered across her lips. Confused, I felt her touch my mind to reassure me.
'Are you watching closely?' She disappeared from Jeremy's grasp, then reappeared in the air behind him already twisting into a kick. She connected with his right shoulder and sent him flying into the wall. He slumped to the ground and dropped my handgun, which I then retrieved and placed in the holster on my belt.
'What do you call that?!' I asked her, shocked at this new ability
'It's called phasing. Now hold on to me tightly. We're getting out of here.'
I snaked my arms around her waist and closed my eyes. I felt a brief moment of disorientation then a gentle breeze blowing past my scales. I opened my eyes to find that we were just outside the building and were standing on a bed of dry pine needles.
Silver grabbed my hand. 'We're still not safe. Move as quietly as possible.'
We made our way through the trees without making a sound and disappeared into the forest.
Darkness descended upon the woods as we continued our flight from the research facility. The forest was still except for the occasional breeze causing the leaves and needles to rustle.
We had slowed to a walk and were beginning to feel drowsy. I spotted a tree with a small hollowed out gap in the trunk. I pointed it out to Silver and she agreed that we should stay the night there. We huddled together in the gap and I wrapped my wings around us to keep us warmer for the night. I fell asleep listening to the whispers on the wind.
When I awoke I had the strangest feeling that I was being watched. Silver was still asleep so I carefully unwrapped my wings from around her. When I stepped out of the hollow, I saw a flash of movement to my right and turned. There was nothing there so I decided to walk around and see if I could recognize where we were.
After wandering around for over an hour, I realized that I was lost. I turned around to go back the way I came and was knocked flat on my back from something pouncing on me. It was a humanoid cat.
It was obviously a girl and retracted its claws before it spoke to me. "What might a lovely couple be doing in Attinda Y. Surpass's woods? Hmm?" I was about to answer but she cut me off. "Never mind that. I can see by your expression that you're lost." She got off of my chest and stalked back into the trees. She stopped a few yards away and waved me forward. "Come. I'll take you back to your woman. This way please."
She led me on a crooked path through the forest back to the hollowed tree. When we arrived, she leapt to the lowest branch and sat there. She cocked her head then pointed at the hollow. "Wake her. You need to leave very soon."
I walked over to Silver and gently shook her. "Wake up Silvie, we need to get going."
She opened her eyes and smiled. "Ok. Let's go then." She walked out with me then jumped back when she say the cat sitting atop the tree branch. "Who is that?"
I took her arm. "Silver, this is Attinda Y. Surpass, I think."
Attinda dropped from her perch and bowed in front of us. "That is my name, but you may call me Atty if you wish. However, this is not the time for formalities. Whatever you did, it got the labbies all worked up so we gotta scoot if we don't wanna get zapped. I'll be your guide for now. Follow me." She stole away from the tree with us right behind her. She ran through the forest with a definite certainty about where she was going at her breakneck pace.
Around noon, our guide slowed to a walk as we passed out of the forest. "Here we are. Thank you for traveling with me. I haven't had any visitors for...well, too long. So I think I might tag along with you. You intrigue me Drake."
I flinched inwardly. I never mentioned my name and neither did Silver, 'so how does she know it,' I thought. I repeated this thought out loud to her in the form of a question. In reply, all she did was giggle sinisterly.
I knew the mountains that the forest was on quite well, so finding my house was only a matter of time. I walked in the back door and called out, "Hello? Is anyone home?" No answer. "Oh well, let's get some lunch. What do you two want?"
Atty replied immediately, "Tacquitos."
I coughed. "Excuse me?"
"Tacquitos. Ya know, tacos rolled up. You got any?" she repeated.
"No I don't think we do but you never know what Ze made one of the various days he was here. I'll check." I opened the freezer and, to my surprise, there was a bag of frozen tacquitos sitting in the back. "It's your lucky day, we have some, somehow." She clapped with glee.
I heated them up in the oven and we enjoyed the flavorful meal.
After lunch, I felt Star restoring our connection and then felt her confusion at the third presence with us. 'Just get back here and I'll give introductions.'
'Ok but be careful. I don't want to have to leave you like that again. We'll be there in a few seconds.'
Sure enough, the ground shook seconds later as the dragons landed. Atty grabbed the arms of her chair frantically and a look of awe came over her face. "Dragons!" she whispered. She rushed outside and we hurried to follow her.
When we got out there, we found Atty standing statue still in front of Star.
I asked, "Did you say hello?"
She shook her head. "It is rude to introduce oneself to another's dragon."
I led her forward to Star and said, "Then allow me. Atty this is Staréth and the black one is Wolfe. Star, this is Attinda."
Atty held out one hand, palm forward, to Star. She sniffed it, then allowed the cat to stroke her cheek. "She's beautiful, Drake! I envy you; having a dragon like her. She's amazing!"
Star looked to me and commented, 'I like her. She seems...different. As do you. What happened to you?'
I patted her nose. 'I've become like you. The same fire that burns within you is also alight within me. It makes me feel stronger than I was. I can feel you like I never could before. I can see just how beautiful you are. I'm sorry that I keep shutting you out; I didn't see how much it was hurting you.'
'You've grown, my friend. You speak repentance with a true heart.' She began to hum. 'I'm very proud of you.'
I wrapped my arms around her neck and leaned against her. I let her mind engulf mine and I immersed myself in her thoughts. I felt one of these thoughts forming into a question that caught my attention and inquired about it.
She turned and nuzzled me as she answered, 'Would you like me to teach you how to fly little one?'