1 Chapter One

*Yelling and screaming*

~What's with all that noise? Am I dreaming? It sounds so far away though~

I slowly open my eyes, I can't really see anything, it's too bright. I close my eyes again but this time I can more clearly make out that there is chaos at a distance. This time I force my eyes open and sit up. There are only trees.

~Where is all the sound coming from then?~

I slowly get up and walk to a nearby tree. I glance around and see nothing but trees.

~Forest?~

I walk towards the yelling. It all sounds like a mess. After taking some steps, I can see that the end of this forest isn't too far. I walk closer to the end of the forest and look around.

~FIRE? Is that fire?~

After some time of standing there, I see a big scaly mountain.

~A big lizard? Could it be a dragon? But they aren't real, at least not on earth. Wait where even am I?~

Just then the big lizard dragon turns in my direction, I freeze in place. It very quickly approaches where I am standing. I can't help but simply look at it in shock, fear, and amazement.

~I don't know what I did to be here but this is certainly something out of the wildest dreams I've ever had. A dream! Oh my God, that's it. This has to be nothing more than a dream. Just a dream that is truly strange and somehow seems to be real.~

Suddenly the dragon is within a few yards from me. It looks extremely terrifying. I still can't move from where I stand. I start to shake and sweat. The dragon continues to inch towards me. It stops when it is a few feet away. Its enormous head comes closer until it is a few inches away. It suddenly opens its mouth and I feel pain on my side as everything fades to black.

*Flashback*

I walk into the Rep's Grooming.

~It's a play on words, not really. Rep is just short for reptile. Yeah, I know the owner is a total genius.~

I go towards the back of the shop, that is where all the private offices are. They are more like cubicles but they have a door that provides a bit more privacy than a typical cubicle. I walk towards mine which happens to be the last one, I like it because it means that when it is late I get to remain there without many or anyone really noticing. Not that it would be a problem to be seen but more often than not my coworkers are lazy and when it's late they don't walk all the way back there. So it's overall quieter and has fewer disturbances. I walk into my office and am about to close the door when I hear someone talk to me.

"Morning Sky, how was your walk here today?"

I look up and see Lilly, she's my coworker and also a good friend of mine.

"Morning Lil, It was uneventful as usual."

She looked at me with a big smile.

"So, I've got some news."

I stare at her for a few moments waiting for her to spill the beans.

"Oscar's owner called after you left. I looked at your schedule and saw that you had an opening at 3:30 pm. So I took the liberty of setting up an appointment, hope you don't mind."

I look up at her with wide eyes and feeling a bit flushed.

"No, of course, I'm not mad, you know I love that turtle. He's my favorite client by far."

Lilly stares at me with a giant grin on her face.

~She looks kinda creepy.~

"Thanks for that, I'm glad that I get to take care of Oscar today. It might just make my whole week."

As I say that I wave goodbye at Lilly and close the door to my office. I have some time before my first appointment so I sit at my desk and go through some emails.

*3:20 Pm*

I finished up my 3 pm appointment and am headed to the restroom to freshen up before my appointment with Oscar. After what felt like 2 minutes in the restroom, I received the announcement that my 3:30 is here. I sigh and hurry out and into the client waiting area. I look for Leo, Oscar's owner, and have them follow me. We head to one of the available service rooms.

"Hey, how are you and Oscar doing today?"

I ask as we enter the room and I close the door behind us. Leo looks at me and smiles.

"We are doing really well. I just wanted Oscar to have his grooming done a bit sooner than usual because we are actually planning to go on a small trip to visit my parents."

I look at Leo with slightly sad eyes.

"That sounds great, how long do you plan to be away?"

I walk towards him and take Oscar from Leo and walk over to the setup.

"Well, I am not too sure as of yet. But for now, I will say that we will be staying there for about 3 to 5 weeks."