Prologue

I woke up to the shuffling of people in the street in front of me. It was lined with cobblestone bricks. The sound of carriage wheels bouncing on the uneven ground could be heard. I slowly opened my eyes and looked around. Everyone was running from something but I didn't know what.

Suddenly I realized I felt… different. I looked down and my body looked different. To start with, I was much skinnier than I remember. My legs looked like toothpicks. I raised my arm to look upon it. That was skinnier too. The most surprising thing was that my hands were a lot smaller.

I started panicking. "AM I A KID?!?! HOW THE FU..."

I was cut off by a deafening, guttural roar. Looking to the source, I saw the largest lizard I had even seen. Worst part was that it was flying. It was covered in brown scales and had humongous wings.

I smacked the ground and closed my eyes, leaning my head against the wall. "Great. Of course there's a dragon. Wait… dragons don't exist!"

Looking back towards the dragon, something became apparent. It was flying straight towards me.

My panic became even worse as I scrambled to my feet. I quickly looked around and noticed a door behind me.

Running up to it, I started banging on the door. "LET ME IN! LET ME IN!"

There was no response. The dragon was only getting closer. I looked back towards it and noticed it was opening its maw. This could only mean one thing.

I ran away from the door and looked around again. I noticed an alley about 10 meters from me. If I hurried, I could barely make it to safety. My instincts kicked in and I sped towards the alley.

From behind me, I heard a whooshing sound. I looked back and the dragon was shooting white flames from its mouth and I could already feel the heat.

I tried running faster but this body didn't want to cooperate. By this point, the alley was just a few steps away but the flames were quickly approaching my position. It was make or break.

I took the last two steps in stride and barely made it into the alley. As I passed the wall, I felt relieved. Safety was in reach.

However, I couldn't have been more wrong. The shockwave from the dragon's breath sent me flying. I ragdolled through the air, smacking my head on a pile of crates. I was out cold.

For a few seconds, everything was dark. This darkness was then pervaded by a familiar beeping sound that could only cause irritation. I reached over and smacked the source, the sound stopping immediately.

A feminine voice called out. "Jake! Get up or you'll be late for school!"

I opened my eyes to a soothingly familiar sight. Lifting my head off the pillow, I sat up and looked down. This was the body I was familiar with.

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. "Fuck, that was a nightmare and a half."

Tossing the blankets off of me, I swung my feet off of my bed, letting them land on the floor. I then stood up, raising my arms above my head in a morning stretch that can only be described as euphoric. A long yawn accompanied the stretch.

I then turned to my nightstand before grabbing my pill dispenser. I opened the one for Tuesday and poured them into my hand. Grabbing the glass of water next to my alarm clock, I downed all of the pills in one go.

In my mind, there was my list of things to do in the morning. I am not anything even close to a morning person so I put my body on autopilot. Shit, shower, shave, teeth, hair, socks, pants, shirt, shoes, backpack, phone, wallet, keys.

I rushed down the stairs to be greeted by my mom holding a paper towel with two waffles wrapped in it.

I grabbed the waffles and gave my mom a kiss on the cheek. "Thanks mom. Love you!"

She smiled and she watched me open the door and run to my car. "Drive safe and have a great day!"

I walked up to my car and looked at it for a moment. 'Other people might look at me and think I'm spoiled but I actually appreciate every penny's worth of the stuff I have. My dad is a lawyer so it'd be wrong if I didn't have this stuff.' I laughed to myself and I reached for the back driver side door handle.

Once my hand was in it, the car clicked and the lights flashed as the mirrors unfolded. I pulled the door open and tossed my backpack in. Pushing the door shut, I walked over to the driver door.

As I reached down to grip the handle, I heard something that I hoped to never hear again. A deep, monstrous roar shook the ground and my car. I looked up in horror.

What met my eyes was the same dragon from my dream flying towards me, flames already shooting from its gaping maw.

I was frozen. "Will this ever end?" The flames washed over me and again, everything went black.

I don't know how long I was out for but I was shaken awake. "CALLUM! CALLUM! WAKE UP KID!"

I opened my eyes to see a man in armor with his hands grasping my shoulders. "Huh? What's happening? And why are you calling me Callum?"

The man shook his head in disbelief. "What do you mean? Why aren't you in the shelter?"

I squinted my eyes in confusion. "Shelter?"

The man sighed before hoisting me over his shoulder. "Come on, I'll take you there."

He ran out into the street and took a sharp right turn.

All around, I heard the sounds of raging fires and weird explosions. I looked up to see what was going on and I couldn't believe my eyes.

Every building in sight was up in flames. Smoldering debris and the occasional scorched body littered the streets. Up above the streets was something that defied reality. Men were flying in the air, shooting blasts of varying colors out of their hands.

They were all aiming towards the source of this calamity. The dragon was tanking all of the attacks but was clearly being held at bay.

I closed my eyes to avoid overwhelming myself even more. "Who are you?"

The man kept running and glanced at me. "You don't remember me? I'm James. I'm in the guard unit with your dad."

I sighed and let my head rest on his shoulder. "Where is he right now?"

James let out a deep exhale. "I am not sure. He is evacuating the citizens just like me."

I wasn't sure how to feel. They are my parents but I don't even know them. "And my mom?"

James remained silent. "I'm sorry, Cal."

I burrowed my head into his shoulder. 'What a way to start out the day.'

It suddenly became dark. I looked around and noticed that I was being carried through a tunnel. 'This must be the shelter he was talking about.'

The tunnel extended deep into the ground. A sparse amount of lamps that were mounted on the walls lit the way. They looked normal but I looked closer. The flames were floating in the middle of the glass cage. There was nothing fueling it.

I raised my head. "James, how are these flames staying lit?"

James chuckled. "It's magic. Didn't your parents teach you anything?"

A whistle called out and James slowed to a halt before setting me down.

He looked me in the eyes and knelt down. "The dragon is dead. We are safe now."

I widened my eyes. "What? How?"

James smiled and looked extremely relieved. "The Dragon Corps must have arrived."

I raised my brow in confusion. "Dragon Corps?"

James chuckled. "They are elite mages that specialize in slaying dragons."

I nodded as I tried to process all of this information. This town was… strange. I reached over to my left arm and pinched it.

James looked at me curiously. "What's wrong, Cal?"

I looked back at him. "I guess I'm not dreaming."

James laughed. "Dreaming? What would make you think that, buddy?"

I let my shoulders drop as the tension left my body. "I don't know. This was all just so sudden."

James smiled and looked me in the eye as he gripped my shoulder. "Let's hang tight. Once the second whistle sounds, we can go find your dad."

I nodded and relaxed for a bit. I scooted over to the wall and leaned against it.

Just like that, an hour passed. The second whistle sounded. From further inside the shelter, the shuffling of people could be heard.

James stood up and put out his hand for me. "Come on, buddy. Let's go."

I smiled and grabbed his hand as he pulled me up.

He let go of my hand and began walking towards the entrance of the tunnel. I followed close behind him, scared to get lost.

Emerging from the tunnel, the bright sun blinded me. I raised my hand and shielded my eyes. Looking around, I could see a squad of guards awaiting the arrival of the people. Their job now was to direct the citizens to the safe zones where they can regroup with their families.

Directly to the right was a message board with several sheets of what seemed to be paper on it. Each paper had a list of items in writing that looked as if it was typed.

James was standing before the board and reading through the list. Suddenly, his shoulders and head dropped. He clenched his hands into fists, his hands presumably turning white under the pressure.

He slowly turned towards me and had a look of despair on his face. He walked over to me slowly.

James knelt down in front of me. His voice was shaking from the anger and sadness he was feeling. "Cal, I don't know what to say."

I tilted my head in curiosity. "What's wrong?"

James closed his eyes and bit his lip. He took a deep breath and sighed as he exhaled slowly. "Your father is gone."

I squinted my eyes in confusion. "Gone, how?"

A tear rolled down his face as he struggled to remain strong. "The dragon took him from us. My best friend, your father, is dead."

My eyes widened involuntarily. I didn't even know these people that were my parents. All I could think of was the parents that I thought I had. Was I somewhere else? Will I ever see them again?

I closed my eyes and wasn't sure how to feel but my body decided for me. Along with my eyes opening, tears of loss streamed down my face.

I fell down to my knees and my hands hit the ground to prevent my face from smacking the stone I stood upon. Tears descended from my eyes, wetting the ground beneath me.

James struggled to kneel down. He reached down to me and grabbed my shoulder. "We'll get through this, Cal. Let's get you something to eat."

I nodded involuntarily as I slowly stood up. I somehow made it up to my feet and looked James in the eyes as tears continued to stream down my face. "Where am I gonna go?"

James forced a smile but his eyes betrayed him. They revealed a deep pain. "You can come stay with me. I at least owe that to my best friend."

I tried to remain strong and smiled as I reached out and grabbed his hand. The emotions I was feeling were too complicated. I just wanted to be led to wherever he was taking me.

James started walking and I stayed with him. He looked down at me. "It'll be alright. We will get through this together."

I just looked back into his eyes, staring blankly. I nodded and gulped down a breath of air.

Unbeknownst to him, he was only right about one thing. That thing being that I was suffering from the emotion of loss. What he didn't know was that the loss wasn't towards his late best friend and wife.

I was suffering the loss of the life I knew for 17 years. Of the parents that raised me and that I came to love. Of the friends I made and spent my days with. Of all the things that I was now confident I would never see again.