Novus Vita - Chapter 17

It was pitch black in the room where Sheri had been for the past couple of hours. She woke up a while ago after the drugs that 'they' used on her began to wear off. She didn't dare speak or even move. She didn't know where she was or why she was here. She didn't know what these people were capable of. Every couple of minutes she felt a vibration go through the room, leaving her to believe that she was being moved somewhere. The room that she was in wasn't really a 'room'; it was more like a container, kind of like one of those shipping containers they use in large overseas cargo ships.

She sat in the dark for a short while longer before noticing something odd about herself. She felt something at the bottom of her spine and she felt what it was in her left hand. Even though she couldn't actually see what it was that she was cradling but she could hazard a guess as to what it was. It was a smooth, long appendage that she felt move between her fingertips. It felt slightly cold at first touch but after a while of contact with it she noticed how warm it felt under the surface. She figured that it was a long, scaly tail and that it must have grown when she was knocked out. It felt weird yet somewhat natural as she moved it using her mind. She perked up slightly, due to the anticipation that she gained from becoming more and more of a dragon, but quickly became more depressed again when she remembered her current predicament.

Along with the vibrations travelling across the container she felt changes in her weight, hinting that she was going up and down in the air. Maybe she was in a plane? She sighed and decided to try and fall back asleep.

There was a surprising steady flow of oxygen into the container which kept Sheri from suffocating in the dark. That probably meant that there was a small hole or holes in the metal walls but it was too dark to be able to pinpoint where they were. Before she tried to fall back asleep she decided to feel the sides of the container to see if she could find the air holes. While she was scratching around on the metal walls she noticed that it felt weird on her nails. She stopped for a moment and felt the walls again to make sure that they actually were metal. It felt hard and cold to the touch. Yep, they were steel. Then why did it feel weird?

She tapped on the metal casing again and noticed that it make a clacking sound from her nails. She thought that it might actually be her nails that were different and she quickly used a finger from her opposite hand to feel it. That was a pretty bad idea. She learned that her nails have become long, sharp claws but she learned that hard way. She struck the claw far too quickly with her finger and ended up stabbing her skin slightly with it. "Ow," she said quickly as she recoiled her hand from the sharp claw, "okay, I shouldn't do that again." She felt her finger throb as the pain slowly subsided. She sighed and decided to try and fall asleep again. There was nothing else she could do and passing some time might be a good idea. She closed her eyes and let her body fall asleep, still slightly dazed from being drugged before.

Her peaceful slumber was rudely interrupted a couple of hours later when a large thud knocked Sheri from her sleeping position and onto her stomach. She groaned and scrambled back to her sitting position as she looked around in the darkness. It's a good thing that she's not really claustrophobic otherwise she would have panicked in the cramped space hours ago. Maybe it was just the tranquilizer from before keeping her from freaking out... too much.

The thud from before made her really wonder where she actually was. It's been relatively smooth during the trip she was in and, considering that it ended with a bang, she must be in a plane. If that's correct then right now would be the end of the trip, wouldn't it?

That question was answered for her when she heard what sounded like a door sliding open. When this happened, a small amount of light crept into the small container she was in. The light came through from tiny holes in the corners of the box, which explained where her air was coming from.

One of the first things that Sheri did when she could see again was check what had happened to her fingernails and the base of her spine. Sure enough her nails have been replaced by long, sharp, black claws and a long reptilian tail had grown out of the bottom of her back, covered in dark red scales. She admired that new appendage a lot, mostly because they 'went well' with her wings.

Her observation of her winding tail was stopped when she heard a couple of pairs of footsteps step onto the vehicle she was in and walked across a metal ground. Suddenly her entire box shook violently as it was lifted by these two people and hauled away.

She didn't know where they were taking her and this made her very anxious and afraid. This fear that was building inside of her soon turned into anger which took over her body. She absolutely hated being left in the dark, literally and growled instinctively at the two people carrying her container, hoping to get their attention. When no reaction came out of them, Sheri's rage provided the next best solution to gain their attention and tell her what is going on. She took a deep breath and roared incredibly loudly, letting the anger that she had been building up since she was kidnapped overtake her and control her. The booming sound of the roar reverberated through the box and caused it to rumble violently.

This definitely got their attention this time and, from what Sheri could tell, they recoiled in sudden fear and dropped the container onto the hard ground, causing Sheri to bounce around inside.

One of the men asked, "What the hell is in this thing?" who seemed oblivious and didn't know that it was actually a human dragon hybrid inside.

"I don't know!" yelled the other person, who seemed to know nothing as well.

"Hey!" yelled a third person in the distance. "What do you think you're doing? Pick it back up and load it into the truck!" Truck? Sheri's mind ran with new thoughts surrounding her circumstance. A truck? Where are they taking me? Thought Sheri as she continued to listen to the conversation.

"There's something you're not telling us! What is in the package?" asked the first guy worryingly.

He suddenly yelped but Sheri didn't know why because she couldn't see what was going on. "Nothing is inside," assured the third person in a stern, commanding voice. "Now pick the package up and load it onto the truck, now!" At the end of that little speech Sheri heard a mechanical sound come from the third man. It sounded like a gun being cocked. A gun?! Who are these people?

The two other men must have obeyed the order this time without any question because they immediately picked Sheri's container up without speaking and dragged her along towards, what she assumed to be, the truck. The men grunted and lifted the metal crate up higher into the air and slid it across a metal ground. She was pushed further in and heard a door closing behind her. She sighed. Now she has to wait even longer in the damn box before she can get out. When she thought about walking about in the open she noticed how cramped her wings were considering that she has been lying on them the whole time. She twitched the wings slightly but was overcome by pain and she realised exactly how cramped and stiff they were.

The conversation between the three unknown men continued outside. "Okay," started the man with the gun, "Now you two drive to the location you were told and drop off the package."

"Not until you tell us what is in the package," stated one of the men assertively. That seemed like a dumb idea: back talking to a man with a gun.

Suddenly Sheri's concerns about the situation in the conversation became meaningful when a long bang came from outside. The gun was fired. Sheri immediately flipped out and desperately wanted to escape but couldn't because she was trapped inside the damn box! Oh God, she thought as she imagined what had just occurred outside. I think they just killed him! What's going to happen to me?! Tears began to form under Sheri's eyes as fear took a hold of her.

The conversation suddenly ended after the bang and a series of quick footsteps was heard by Sheri going from the back o the truck, around the side and to the front. A door was opened and soon after the door closed again and he truck's engines started up. The truck began to move and Sheri was driven away to an unknown location, anywhere in the world from what she knew. She broke into loud sobs as sadness and fear took over her. Why is this happening to me? She thought in the darkness, frightened of the future and what was going to happen to her.

Hours passed as Sheri was driven to her next destination. She tried to comfort herself with her own thoughts of hope and the fact that she knew that her friend Sarah would never give up until she was safe. She smiled weakly and the tears began to flow so heavily as she drifted off to sleep, never forgetting about her friend in the outside world.

Sheri awoke again feeling stiff but, instead of what happened last time, this time a ton of light hit her in the face. She was finally out of that damn container. She lept out from her sleeping position on the ground in a sudden, excited burst of energy and she immediately looked around her new surroundings, silently hoping to herself that she was free from her captors. She sighed when she learned that she was just kidding herself. Her new room was still a sealed area, the only difference being was that now there was light and more room to move.

There was also one other, possibly more important, difference that she noticed when she looked in the corner of the room. Something was sleeping there. It was a ten foot dragon, covered in dark blue scales. "Hello?" Sheri asked it. There was no response. She decided to try and wake it up physically. She reached out one of her claws and jabbed him a little.

At first there was still no response but she persisted. After a few, more harder, jabs the sleeping dragon finally responded. Good, he's not dead, thought a relieved Sheri as she began to nudge the blue creature gently. She heard it growl as she did it. Obviously it didn't like being disturbed. "Come on, wake up," she insisted. Even though she had no idea if the dragon was going to attack her or not she still wanted to talk to it. Maybe he had some answers.

After she spoke the dragon's eyes shot open, stunned by the fact that someone was speaking to him. This sudden movement made Sheri jump back in shock but she quickly calmed back down and tried to talk with he dragon. "Hello?" she asked, hoping that he could understand her.

"Who are you?" growled the dragon softly. He seemed to be a bit suspicious with Sheri's presence.

"Oh good, you can understand me," said Sheri, excited to finally have some social contact, even if it is with a dragon. "My name's Sheri. What's yours?"

The dragon grew even more suspicious of Sheri as she continued to ask questions. This suspicion stopped at once, however, when he noticed Sheri's horns, wings and tail and the dark red scales that covered her. He seemed to trust Sheri more and was now much more reluctant to answer Sheri's questions. "My name is James."