Ancestral Dragon

Chapter 1

With closed eyes, Jak reached for his phone only to find an empty space where his nightstand should have been. With a pinched face, he reached further and fell onto the wood floor with his blanket.

His eyes flew open because there should be carpet underneath his bed, not hardwood. His bed was missing as well. Instead, a small wood framed couch with little padding was what Jak had been sleeping on. He slid back onto the lumpy cushion with the scratchy blanket to find that he was not in his room. Across from the couch was a lit fireplace that provided warmth in the small space. Two small, wooden tables flanked the couch and to Jak's left sat a wooden rocking chair angled towards the fireplace. A stone mantel held many different objects such as a couple of metal boxes, a structure of metal rods, a green crystal orb, a gold candlestick and many small books.

The sensation to flee rose in Jak as he realized that this wasn't even his house. There had been times when he had fallen asleep on the couch watching television and his mother would lay a blanket on him, but this was definitely not one of those times.

"Oh dear," said a hoarse voice from behind Jak.

He whipped around and involuntarily clung on to the blanket. With wide eyes, he watched as an old woman rushed around the couch from a small kitchenette. She quickly sat in the rocking chair and leaned forward, holding out a small ceramic bowl.

"Who are you?" Jak asked. "Where am I?"

"It's alright," the old woman said in a soothing tone. "My name is Agatha and you are safe in my cabin."

Without taking his eyes from hers, Jak hesitantly reached out and took the bowl with one hand, refusing to let go of the blanket with the other. What am I, twelve? Jak berated himself and let go of the blanket to stir the soup with a spoon.

"What's your name?" The old woman tilted her head and pursed her lips which deepened the wrinkles on her face.

"Jak." He wondered if her stomach fluttered just as much as his own. Did she wonder why this stranger was in her house? She didn't seem surprised to find him on her couch.

"Do you remember how you got here?"

Jak simply shook his head and inched to the edge of the couch as he leaned forward eager to hear what she had to say.

"My husband found you in the forest and brought you to our home."

"Forest?" Jak's heart raced as he searched his memories for how he could have ended up in a forest. Nothing came to him though.

"Where are you from?"

"Heronville," Jak's leg bounced as he anxiously waited for the old woman to stop asking questions and volunteer to get him home. Then he decided to take control of the conversation and ask, "Can I use your phone?"

With a confused look on her face, she answered, "We don't have one of those."

"Really? What about your neighbors?" Jak said with a rise in pitch. He didn't know there were people in the world without at least a land line.

"There's nobody else out here."

Great. Jak reached for his pockets in hope that his own cell phone would be there. No such luck though. Then he noticed that his pants were not even his own and neither was his shirt. Both were of the same heavy material and very itchy now that he noticed. He looked up with raised eyebrows while pinching the front of his shirt.