Forewarned (BEING REWRITTEN)

I Become a Farmer in Training

By the end of the train ride both Caedmon and I were starting to get cranky. There's only so much we could do before we were getting a bit sick of each other. Without my phone I was cut off from society and no one came to visit me except for the waiters bearing trays of cat food and hot dogs

At first it was kinda fun. Turns out Caedmon was a smart little man and I taught him to sit, roll over, and fetch by the second day (I think it was the second day anyway, time gets weirder the closer to Santa you get). We also played some weird game of tag where I usually ended up being drop-kicked from the ceiling by the feisty hatchling. He liked the reaction he got from popping out of the ceiling and believe me it was starting to get old.  Then, if I got tired or told him off for biting or jumping on my face he'd disappear. Who knows where he went. Could be the underworld for all I care. I was tired. 

For the first time since I boarded the Polar Express I was woken up by something other than Caedmon trying to pounce on my head or a waiter with another stinkin hot dog. The sharp clicks of heels announced the arrival of a female. I rolled over in bed to find myself staring at a typical 50s airplane stewardess type of girl with lipstick so bright you'd think they were bleeding. They pulled back when she spoke to reveal teeth stained crimson. "Justin... uh..." she looked at the sheet in her hands. "Justin, we have arrived at Elmendorf. Please.." she unleashed a scream before she was even able to finish the sentence, looking down to her tiny feet where the little black devil was attacking her skinny ankles. "It's attacking me! Help! Help!" 

I sighed and rolled over, plucking Caedmon up by his rubbery wings. He looked up at her with big purple eyes, his blue tongue slapping his left eyeball. 

"Chirp?" 

She pressed herself to the wall, looking down at us with fear in her eyes. "Please... grab your things. The General wants you." She scurried out of the room. 

I took one look at my little beast, eyes narrowed. "Really? You just had to bother that nice lady, didn't you?" The bright purple inside of his mouth gleamed wetly as he panted, looking rather proud of himself. 

SKREEEEE! Both of us tumbled off the bed and onto the floor as the train hit the brakes. I held the dragon like you'd hold a piece of technology you'd sacrifice a broken bone to save, landing hard on my side. He squeaked in fear and nuzzled into my sweatshirt, little claws digging into the fabric for dear life. As the initial shock wore off, I stroked his ridged spine comfortingly. "It's gonna be okay," I whispered, lying because that's what caring parents do. 

Caedmon looked up at me. "Meep?" he shrugged his little wings. I laughed at his concerned little dragon face and squeezed his chunky little self, gathering the courage to get up and venture out of my little prison. "We're gonna take a little peep at our surroundings," I whispered to him as I got to my feet. "You're gonna be real quiet, okay?" I'm not sure if he understood but he stared at me as if he was listening. I held a hand over his little head, hoping that he'd be more quiet if he couldn't see. 

Outside my door the chrome interior gleamed a blank silver. The retro lady had disappeared and no one else was in sight. Hah! Mistake number one: leave Justin Timberlake unattended. I heard heavy boots and short bursts of conversation to the right. I turned my head towards the left. There was some motion over there, but it definitely seemed less frantic. Maybe I could sneak out... make it to an airport or something. It was a stretch here in Alaska, but it was better than a century of slavery, right? Maybe I'll come out with a scratch from a bear or something and all the chicks will be after me because I got this mysterious aura of a wild man or something. Enough daydreaming. It was time to skedaddle.

Sneak mode, activated.

 Caedmon curled up against my chest, I lowered my head and walked into the next cabin. On either side of the aisle uniformed men and women scrambled for their bags and weapons. None so much as batted an eye at me. I even pickpocketed a Kit Kat from a huge dude's back pocket and he didn't seem to notice. With the sneakiest crinkle I opened the packaging and munched as I continued down the hallway, handing a little crunch to Caedmon, who proceeded to down the chocolate in the messiest way possible.