Adam's New Life - Prologue
Prologue - The Change Please keep in mind this is a prologue...an introduction only. I popped this out in about a day, and am excited to share the rest of the story and get back into a more detailed writing style. It all started, surprisingly, with a stomach ache. It was a slowly growing pain that started just under my diaphragm. The burning sensation spread downward over a couple of weeks. Of course my parents didn't seem to care, I still had to go to school and do my homework. They didn't even take me to see a doctor. Life continued on, and I continued to try and ignore it. Soon, the pain was too much to bear and my parents finally resented to letting me stay home one day. I lay in bed, curled up, as they drove off to work. My dusky purple curtains were drawn closed, keeping the light from entering my small and cluttered room. Books, magazines, and various video games were strewn about on the floor, almost completely covering the light blue carpets. The mess wasn't my primary concern right now though; the pain seemed to be spreading through my entire body. What had started a small ache in my stomach was now a fire that burned everywhere. My skin felt like it was melting and a cold sweat shone on my entire body. I vaguely had the idea that I should call for an ambulance, but that was soon dismissed as I realized I couldn't even move enough to uncurl from my fetal position much less go for the phone downstairs. At only 17 years old, I knew this was how I die, some crazy disease while my parents were at work. My feverish thoughts reminded me that my parents loved me; of course they did, but not enough. I was only adopted after all. Even though I knew that it shouldn't matter, I also knew it did. They adopted me and soon after my sister was born and they all but forgot me. I never went hungry or really wanted for anything, but I knew my parents didn't love me as much as they did her. An intense pain brought me out of my reverie, clutching my stomach as I cried out in agony. The pain just continued to grow, an unceasing suffering that consumed me completely. Finally, after what must have been two hours of torment, sweet darkness claimed me. Feverish dreams came to me, dreams of faraway lands and flying amongst the clouds. When I awoke everything changed. The first thing I noted was that the pain was gone, only a general soreness remained. Second, I was obviously taller, noting that fact as I sat up in my bed, the view of my room changed now. Finally, my body felt a lot stiffer than normal. It was almost hard to move. Groaning, I stood and moved to look into my full length mirror hanging on my closed door. I'm not ashamed to admit that I screamed. Staring back at me out of the mirror was something out of a horror film. My body was covered in green scales, wings protruded from my back, a small muzzle stuck out from my face, and I even thought I glimpsed a tail wrapped around my leg. The world tunneled slightly as I threatened to black out again, only my force of will keeping me upright as I took a deep breath to steady myself. Once the initial shock wore off I began to experiment. My wings moved easily and with obvious strength. I figured it might be possible for me to fly, which excited me more than it should have. Those fevered dreams coming back to me, soaring through the clouds and swooping into unknown lands. The desire to find those rolling hills and thick forests welled up inside of me. Fighting it was out of the question, I needed to be there. My body moved almost on its' own, walking through my house and out the back door into our yard. Feeling like I was on autopilot, my knees bent and my wings flared, and I took off. Even newly formed my wings easily lifted me into the air, the wind on my naked chest scales felt amazing. My thoughts were still muddled, but the sensations were all fantastic. Some internal compass guided me through the air, my tail wrapping around my waist to instinctively keep from flapping around. Only my pants survived my transformation, grey sweats contrasting to my emerald green body. Many hours passed with me in the air, I had no real notion of time as I flapped steadily, exhaustion only slowly catching up to me. Something drove me on, kept me going, a primal need. The sun had set before I reached my apparent destination, a mountainous region; my geography lessons told me it was probably the Rockies, the mountain range on the east coast of the USA, though reaching it in one day was impressive considering it would have taken a few days of driving to come to the foot of the mountains. Wilderness surrounded me, I was far from any trails or roads, but I knew I was supposed to be here. My feet touched ground at last, in front of the largest tree I had ever seen. Carved into it was an intricate dragon, wings flared and fire coming from its' mouth, all four legs spread out in an aggressive stance. Reaching out, my golden eyes wide with wonder, I touched the carving. A loud crack split the air a great section of the tree lowered like a drawbridge, causing me to jump nimbly out of the way.
Now that I had found what my instincts drove me to locate, my mind was slowly becoming my own again. Panic seized me, but forward I still went, the door revealing a spiral staircase leading straight down. Long I descended, a claw trailing on the wooden walls, needing no torches, my new eyes saw just fine in the dark. My tail lashes out in impatience, the fear gone as I just wanted to reach the bottom so I could get my head straight. I was powerless against this desire, this need, and it only stopped once I finally reached what seemed to be the bottom. My bare feet found themselves standing on a stone floor with matching stone walls and ceiling forming a small corridor. At the end of it was an immense wooden door, with another draconic ideogram carved into it. This time a guard stood against the door. He straightened slowly, brandishing a poleaxe in my direction, his head turning and he apparently spat a flame out onto a nearby torch to finally illuminate us in the dark. A gasp escaped me; the flames revealed he looked just like I now did. Though his scales were a dusky grey instead of the vibrant green I sported. Grinning, the other lizard creature, I refused to say dragon, moved towards me. The poleaxe returned to its' resting place on the wall as he stands, fully naked, before me and extends a talon. His words are a low rumble like distant thunder, "Welcome to Lindgard. My name is Lucian, pet to Grist, and guardian of the southern door." A silky voice, completely unlike my own, came from me, sounding like a wind through a meadow as I answered, "My name is Adam...what's happened to me?"