Awaken the Dragon

Chapter 15

I start to feel a heat coming from what seemed like my core, " Is it happening?" I ask breathlessly.

Nathan starts to clap his hands as he giddily exclaims, "Oh brother, yes it is!" Emily is standing next to him nodding her head. I again look down to my hands. By this point, they are becoming quite ruddy. I start to feel muscles swelling which felt like a huge pressure ready to burst. I double over in pain and let out an agonizing scream. Then my focus was on my face. None of the other pain I had experienced today could ever compare to this. It felt as though someone had broken my face into a million pieces. As if this wasn't enough, the bones started to move and appear to elongate. Just when I thought the pain would be too much, there was a massive explosion through my whole body.

The feeling of dizziness was so overwhelming. I put my hands on the ground to steady myself. My body didn't feel right at all. There was still the weight on my back but the way I was standing was completely out of the norm. It felt as though I was sitting like a dog. There was also this strange weight coming from my lower back. I tentatively start moving the appendage in a horizontal direction. I can feel the dirt and rocks stirring underneath it. That's when it clicks, that's a tail! But it isn't too surprising right? I had wings and claws earlier. 

Then the thought hits me. I should open my eyes. Will it look like my human eyes? 

Slowly I open my eyes to see a world of color and definition. HD Tv's had nothing on what I was looking at. Everything had such detail, I cannot put it into words. 

All of a sudden, the pressure that was once in my head appeared again. I hesitated for a second put then allowed the pressure into my brain. "Beautiful isn't it?" Jake was next to me in dragon from looking intently at me. I shake my long neck up and down in an acknowledging gesture. 

After this, I begin exploring what my body could do. First, I try to walk. I found it was easiest to use four legs rather than two. It was relatively easy to control my body in this form. I found I could walk several feet around the clearing but walking seemed ridiculous when I could just fly. But how do I do that? 

I turn my neck to see the rest of my body especially my wings. They appeared to have grown to compensated for the increased body mass. I found them easy to control and started flapping them like I've seen birds do. I must know innately how to use them because somehow I start to float above the ground. It's a bit strenuous but it was happening non the less. 

Just when I think I'm going to start actually flying, I hear a door shut and my concentration is broken. My body slams again the ground with quite a bit of force. The air is forced out of my lungs and I make a growl of sorts. 

My eyes pop open when I see my parents standing in front of me with shocked faces.

With tears in her eyes, my mom touches my snout and says, "After all this time, you can shift." She collapses on the ground as my father rubs her back.