Upon Flights of Fantasy (an Upon Wings of Change story)

Chapter 2

When I finally come to, I discover myself inside a small space of some sort. I shiver despite a strong heat radiating from everywhere. I'm a little claustrophobic. Actually, make that a lot claustrophobic. But the heat, strangely clearing my mind of all thoughts, seems to guide me to sleep and I drift off.

When I wake up again I'm vaguely aware of panicked voices all around me. Something about aliens, and an explosion to come, but I fall asleep again.

This time, I jolt awake. I'm... cold. The heat is gone, and my blood has frozen (figuratively) due to the contrast of the unbearable heat to this normal, cooling atmosphere. My head, now clear, tries to convince me to lie down again, but something else pushes me to try and stretch in the space, though I don't get far before a loud shattering sound and a voice interrupts my concentration.

"Quick! Open the latches on the rest of the cages so we can all escape! Swiftly!"

It sounds like a male voice, but it seems to come directly into my head, not from beyond the walls of my prison.

A flurry of... wings? Plus a lot of clicking sounds. I hear a certain sound right next to me, and a voice, a different one, maybe female, whispers into my head, "I know you're not hatched, but at least you now have a chance at freedom."

Hatched? Was I in an egg?

The male voice calls out again, "Is everyone free? Good! Let's go!"

I'm not free! I try to call out to the voices, but nothing happens. Suddenly the cold in my prison (an egg?) changes to freezing, and it's becoming harder to stay awake. My eyes are drooping and I want to lie down (even though I can't manage it in this space) and sleep forever. But some karate-force keeps me awake and hoping for life instead of death.

If this is an egg, then that means that I can get out! Frantically, I begin punching the side of my prison, but the wall (shell?) is pretty thick. I start to wonder how I got in this situation, but the cold seems to whips around me and numbs my limbs, slowing my movements. No, no, no, Noelle! I roar at myself, You need to get out! SURVIVE!

With that last thought, my punches, kicks, and scratches become more desperate. I am faintly aware that more time has passed than I realize, and the voices have disappeared. Nevertheless, I don't stop my struggle until a loud sound penetrates my thoughts.

CRACK.

I stop for a moment, struggling for breath and amazed that I broke through, but quickly continue my attack, the numbing cold right on my heels and pushing me onward.

Go, go, go, Noelle! You're almost there! I yell at myself, despite my body's pleas to stop.

The cold is surrounding me, suffocating me. I'm almost there... just one... more... tap...

I burst out of my prison, an egg like I thought, and tumble onto the ground. The cold numbness disappears instantly, and for a moment I wonder if it was real or just something my mind made up to make me work harder.

I look up and observe my surroundings. It's a lab of some sort, and I'm in a glass cage, though the latch is unlocked and the door is open. That's probably what that female voice did when she talked to me, I thought.

I'm about to take a step forward when I realize something strange. Two somethings, actually. One, the world seemed bigger than before I was knocked out, probably meaning that I shrunk. Two, my hand was... kinda still a hand, but covered in golden scales instead of skin.

I yelp, suddenly comprehending the sight. I've been transformed!

A quick look at the rest of me reinforces my inference. I'm a golden lizard-type-thing with wings. I kind of look like a dragon, but without the horns and tinier. I have long, sharp retractable claws, very sharp teeth, and a tail, still golden, that's roughly the length of my body.