Fugitive

Kidnapped

I tried to scream, but my voice seemed to have been left back on the ground. I was completely shocked, but the little dragon-thing was squealing in excitement. I tried to see what had grabbed me, like maybe a helicopter from P.E.T.A to yell at me for touching the egg, but I couldn't see anything at first. But as I peered closer, I could make out something jet black holding me. I looked down, at the houses and trees rushing about beneath us, and then realized just how fast we were going. Very fast. I experimentally poked the things wrapped around me, and to my surprise, they tightened. I gulped. They didn't feel like the steel cables of a helicopter...they felt scaly. It dawned on me that maybe my kidnapper wasn't human...just as a human head poked over the side of whatever was carrying me.
"Hey, you!" I called, finally finding my voice. The person stared blankly, then disappeared back over the side. Why were they ignoring me? Suddenly, the person popped out from the back of my kidnapper, and swung down onto its...arm? They climbed down the kidnapper's muscular arm, then hopped onto the appendage holding me, the appendage that I had guessed was a hand...or claw. The person grabbed me by my collar, balancing on the creature's fingers alone, and growled a warning to me.
"Don't let go of your little friend." I obeyed, tightly grasping the tiny dragon-serpent-thing, as the person climbed back up the monster's arm using only their one free hand and their legs. When they approached the beast's back, they threw me on it with one hand then climbed up themselves. I sprawled out on the tough, scaly back, clutching my small dragon with one hand, grabbing a long black spike jutting out from the beast with the other. Slowly sitting up, with a death grip on the spike, I turned to face the person who saved me. They were sitting cross-legged across from me, arms skeptically crossed. At closer inspection, I realized that the person was a teenage girl, with long brownish hair that was being violently tossed about in the wind. She was wearing a black muscle tank top and camouflage shorts. I hugged my tiny little serpent to me and opened my mouth to ask about a million questions, but she spoke first.
"Where did you find her?" She pointed a finger at the excited blue ball of joy I was holding. So it was a girl?
"Um, I found her egg earlier today, in a bush. I touched it before you grabbed me, and she hatched. Who are you? Where are you-" She cut me off with a sharp hand movement.
"My name is Paige. Now shut up and stop asking questions. Who are you, how old are you, and how much do you understand the situation?" I blinked. Hypocritical much?
"My name's Jordan. I'm twelve. Uh, as for the 'situation', I understand that, um, she isn't a normal animal, and that's why you've taken me, correct?" She nodded.
"Smart kid. If you're smart, I'll take it you've realized by know that you aren't riding on anything normal?" I gulped.
"Yes."
"Well, you're right, genius. You are currently sitting on the back of a Canadian Shadow Dragon. Her name is Shadow, and she suggests you stop gripping her spine so tightly."
I blinked, and loosened my grip a little. A dragon? I looked to the left of me, and gasped to see a huge, jet black, leathery wing beating in quick, graceful strokes. "Let me see your dragon." Paige commanded, standing up and walking towards me. I was so shocked at all this information that I sat there, silent, as she plucked the little dragon from me.
"Hmm...can't seem to determine her species. I'll see if I can back at the base." That snapped me back to reality.
"Base? Where are we going?" I stared at her, causing her to sigh and glance skyward.
"I said to not ask questions, dingus." I scowled as she handed me my little dragon back to me.
"How can I not ask questions? You've just kidnapped me, you're taking me to some secret base, and now apparently dragons are real. Do you expect me to believe this?" She raised an eyebrow, opened her mouth, and replied with two words.
"Hold on." A split second after she told me this, the thing-no, dragon that I was riding on dove down and began to fall in a perfectly vertical nose dive, earning several terrified screams from me. Paige rolled her eyes, holding on with one hand in a loose grip. After falling for what seemed like 5 minutes, the ebony dragon levelled out and my stomach finally fell out of my throat. Paige tilted her head, listening to something, then looked at me.
"We'll be there soon. We'll explain some...things to you later, but the others are waiting, so let's go."
"Wait, others?!?" Ignoring all common sense, I stood up and slowly and unsteadily shuffled across the broad, scaly back. I stumbled, and fell to my knees in front of her, grabbing a spike and gazing up. "Now answer me for once. WHAT OTHERS?"
She studied me with mild interest, then gave a heaving sigh.
"Look, there are others. Others...like us. You know...with, um, dragons."
I blinked. "So...I'm now a part of your crazy mysterious dragon land?" Paige grinned and nodded. Stroking the tiny little dragon, I tried to take this all in when a tiny sharp pain pinched my fingers. "Ow!" I yelped and drew my hand up. "Did you bite me?" I looked down at my dragon. She frowned and squealed at me, showing tiny little sharp teeth.
"She's probably hungry," Paige observed, watching with mild amusement. "We'll find her some food when we get there. Meanwhile, you should think of a name for her." I realized I did get to name her. I peered down at my pouty little reptile, thinking hard.
I kind of wanted to give her a cool name, like Riptide or Sharptooth, but she looked too sweet for that. Maybe a normal name? Like, Marissa? Or Jessie? Ooh, or maybe Nessie...
"R-Rissa!" The tiny thing squealed suddenly. I jumped.
"Rissa? Where'd you get that name from?" Paige snorted at me.
"I didn't even say anything! And it's Marissa." I added to the little hatchling.
Paige rolled her eyes. "When you bond to a dragon, you gain a deep psychological connection. It starts off weak, but soon your minds will align and you'll be able to communicate telepathically." I gaped at the girl, thinking about Professor Xavier from X-men.
"RISSA!" Declared the dragon, biting me again.
"Ow!" I cried, bringing back my sore finger. "No biting, uh, Rissa." Rissa. That was a nice name...
"We're here!" Paige announced suddenly, right in my ear. I jolted up and craned my neck to look around, just as the massive black dragon we were sitting on dove over a hill and I caught a glimpse of the supposed base...
It was a literal cabin in the woods.