Shadows

Chapter 2

After the rest of breakfast, all the other inmates headed off to lessons. Yeah, your in prison, but you still have to do work. I, the exception, was returned to my cell. Apparently they couldn't find a teacher brave enough to be in the same room as me. I flopped onto my bed, and stared at the ceiling for a while. Before, I was quite smart at school, not top of the class, but close. Now I haven't had a single lesson in over a year, and I think if I was ever put into a class I would be bottom.

I had memorised the layout of the ceiling from my bed. There was a darker grey blob above my head that kinda looked like a star, and a wobbly cross sort of thing in the corner that, if you squinted, looked a bit dragon-like. There were also a bunch of spots marching across the middle of the ceiling, which I thought looked like the Milky Way. But it might be just dots on a ceiling. Who knows?

I sat up with a sigh, opening my wings behind me and stretching them out. They looked rather like a bats, but with claws on the ends of my wing-finger things. My claws used to be gold, like normal, with blue scaled wing-fingers and blue membrane stretching between them. Flying was my favourite thing to do, and my wings were muscled and strong from spending so much time in the air. Then the demon possessed me, and my wings turned completely black, as well as my hair and horns. now he's gone, I have claws and horns of silver, the aforementioned blue streak in my hair, and the membranes of my wings are blue again, albeit with a large tear in my left wing. I have never seen any Elder with silver horns. Nor multicoloured wings. I'm different from everyone else on the planet. That's not a good thing.

And, to top it all, the ripped membrane of my left wing means I can't even fly anymore. I've tried, when they let us out to exercise, and all I could do was glide a few metres, and my wing was in agony the whole time from the air whistling through the rip. I haven't tried again since then.

I fold my wings again, and run my fingers through my hair, scratching the base of one of my horns. They were small and nubby, but they were still growing, hopefully. I was about16, and Elders are usually fully grown and able and to Shift at 17-20, usually 20. I sometimes wondered what my dragon form would be like. Before I wanted to have big teeth and lots of claws, but right now I'll go for anything not black.

Then my wristcuffs activated, whipping my hands together with a clang. I think they use magnets, but can never be sure. It's not like their going to tell me. It's strange they've done that though. I'm in my cell, alone, not attacking anyone, not trying to escape.

I managed to work my bound hands around to my front, so I was slightly more comfortable, and sat crosslegged on the floor, waiting for something to happen. My cuffs couldn't have snapped shut for nothing.

Sure enough, three guards stepped into the room, all Greens. I snuck a look at their shoulders. One Stronger, one Runner, one Zapper. A deadly combination. The Zapper spoke first.

"You will come with us. You will not resist in any way. You will walk at the same speed as us and fly in-"

Wait, fly? Why would I need to fly?

"-strict formation-"

I can barely even glide 10 metres dude. Formations are beyond my ability's now.

"I can't fly very well, or pretty much at all, due to my unfortunate wing injury."

The Zapper seemed all taken aback, like, Oh, what, evil villain can't fly? Who can't fly?

Me. I can't fly. Anymore.

"We'll have to carry you then. Follow me." He walked out of the room, and I scrambled off the floor to join him, staring at his back while the Stronger fell in place behind me and the Runners on either side. I looked at them warily. Even for me, four guards? I mean, when I first came here, and I wasn't even allowed out of my cell without ten. But the powers that be slacked off a little when I, you know, didn't. show any signs of attacking anyone. Now I'm usually trailed by one guard, with one standing by at every doorway. Until now. Now, I have four, fast-walking guards in formation around me. What's happening?

A door ahead of me hissed open. More guards were waiting there, in their dragon forms. At least 6. There were several Reds, and a few Greens scattered about. Looks like I'm back to 10, and that's only the ones I can see. I bet there's one or two Disapearers lurking. We, as in my original posse of four, went through the door, and suddenly I understood all the guards. They were taking me outside.

I hadn't been outside in months.

I followed the guards. The Zapper, who seemed like the head of the group, had a one-sided chat with one of the shifted guards, one of the largest at the height of a single storey building and the length of a bus. I sized him up as he walked over to me. Big fangs. Strong wings. Gold claws at the end of his paws. Red scales covered his entire body, except the membrane on his wings. Golden horns shined from the back of his head, and his purple eyes were glaring at me. I backed away a step.

He was suddenly very close to me, and I felt a strong downdraught as his wings flapped, straining against gravity to lift him into the air. Once he was a few metres up, his front leg shot out and grabbed me round the waist, and the ground was falling away from me.

"Hey!"

No one listened to me. The other shifted guards for into a strict formation around us,leaving the rest on the ground. Way up high now, I saw them go through a door and back into the prison. The rapidly shrinking prison. 

I grinned despite myself. It felt good to be back in the air, despite hanging from a dragons claws. I squirmed and twisted a bit, to get face-down, and the guard growled warningly. 

I ignored him and smiled at the view of the countryside below me. The fields were like a patchwork, and the wind in my face and the feeling of flight made me grin. I instinctively tried to spread my wings, but the guards claws were locked around my torso, and the still activated wristcuffs locked my hands in front of me.

My thoughts turned to where they were taking me. They must have a destination in mind, and something must have happened to make them let me leave the prison walls. We were flying west, out further away from anywhere important. At least, anywhere important that I knew of. I had had to memorise a basic map of our country in Geography lessons before, and there was nothing west of the prison.

So where were they taking me?

I guess I just had to wait and see.