Human to Dragon

A young man was working the graveyard shift at some high tech facility. He found it extremely boring, his name was Phoenix Drake, standing about 6'2” and weighing maybe 215lbs. He was decently built and kept mainly to himself, he had dark hair and had given up on glasses after a surgery had fixed his eyesight. His partner and good friend was working with him, unlike Phoenix, he was black. This black man was named Joseph Reeves and was bald and stood about 6 foot. He and Phoenix would sometimes play games on work, and as long as they checked the security cameras every 30 minutes or so, the supervisors didn't mind too much.

One particular night, like many others before it, Phoenix was ranting and raving. And not because he was losing, as he often whooped Joseph without much trouble, no....he was ranting and raving about some dragons in a new game and how they were bad guys.

Phoenix: Look...what the fuck kind of bullshit is this!?!? Dragons are always the god damned bad guys. In movies, in games and the rare times that they were good guys, the movie either sucked or the dragon died in it!!
Joseph: Look man, I know this is a major pet peeve of yours, but you just got to let it go. You always...
Phoenix: Don't tell me what to let go and what not to let go!! I am so sick of this shit!!

And with that, Phoenix slams the controller onto the desk and shakes his head. He had a custom designed World of Warcraft character that was a dragon thanks to a mod that had been put into the game by a fellow friend and hacker that was currently living in Boston, Massachusetts and Phoenix and Joseph were in Salem, Oregon...on the other side of the country.

A scientist walks in and asks what the trouble was, that he had heard shouting.

Scientist: Hey...I heard shouting. Is everything okay in here?
Phoenix: Oh fuck yes man, everything is fucking peachy.
Scientist: Dragons?
Joseph: *nodding* Yeah...he always gets so worked up.
Phoenix: Hey asshole, you know I am right here right? Right?
Joseph: Yeah, but my point is valid dude. You seriously need to chill.

The scientist rolls his eyes and sets down some papers for the two men to look at. Phoenix looks over it and kind of shakes his head. He had always thought dragons had actually existed at one point in time or another and that the reason they didn't exist right now was because of man, and now he was proven right with the evidence right here. It was unmistakable and Phoenix sighs.

Scientist: I thought you guys would think this was cool, and you can't talk about this outside these walls. But I kind of figured it would make Phoenix happy, but it seems to have pissed him off more.
Joseph: Yeah, I noticed that....hey man, dragons existed. You were right man, you were actually right.
Phoenix: Yeah, but of course this means I was right about the likelihood of what killed them off too.
Scientist: We don't really have...
Phoenix: The evidence to prove that? Bullshit!! That or you are too stupid to see it!
Scientist: Well, it really doesn't matter, it is in the past and there is nothing we can do about the past. But the future should be able to shed some light.
Phoenix and Joseph: Huh?
Scientist: We have dragon DNA, and should be able to duplicate a dragon sometime soon providing we can find the proper DNA coding to fill in the gaps in the DNA sequence.

And with that the scientist walks out and takes the papers with him. Phoenix goes deep into thought and wondered if the DNA coding necessary was in the human DNA strand. And he also knew that for once like in the movies he loves to watch, that humans could truly understand what it was like to no longer be at the top of the food chain.

Joseph seemed to be able to read his mind and gets nervous.

Joseph: Uhm, please tell me you aren't thinking about what I think you're thinking about.
Phoenix: That depends.
Joseph: Ah shit man!! Don't do that!! Do you even know how much trouble you could get into over that shit?
Phoenix: Yeah....but, if things work properly I won't have too many problems.
Joseph: Oh yeah...if you try that, you'll be dead by tomorrow.
Phoenix: I'll see you tomorrow.

And Phoenix exits the security room and walks down the corridor. His shift had just ended, and he figured he'd make a slight detour before heading home and get a little stimulation. He finds where he assumes the dragon DNA is being held and spies a guard in front of the door. Phoenix checks his watch com and finds that there is no one inside. God he loved being a security guy, he could see what was inside any room in the complex.

The guard sees Phoenix approach and holds up his assault rifle.

Guard: Hold it!!
Phoenix: I'm just going to check something.
Guard: Sorry, no unauthorized personnel behind this point.

Phoenix nods and the knees the guard in the groin and smashes his face against the wall. Phoenix then shuts down the security cameras and the door and enters the room and finds a computer attached to a machine that had the DNA within it. Phoenix taps on the keyboard and comes across an obstacle, a password would be required. He thought quickly and smiles as he types in “porn” and is granted access.

Phoenix: I know you all too well dude.

He comments as he activates an injection program and is asked to place the test specimen on the nearby table. Phoenix sets his arm down and then hits “enter” and winces as the needle jabs into his arm and sees a vial extend out and hears “Human test subject needs to consume liquid 324.” and he does not hesitate as he gulps it down and winces again because it was a very nasty and bitter taste. He then exits quickly, not realizing the entire DNA sample had been injected into him. He locks everything up and leaves it all as it was when he shut it off, the exception was the guard lying on the floor. He had injected a serum into the guard's neck to prevent the guard from remembering anything about the intruder that was actually an employee.

Phoenix leaves the building and heads out to his black 1984 Chevy Suburban. He had been monitored when he left and the scientist turns to his boss.

Scientist: How did you know he'd go for it?
Boss: You know of his love for dragons and how he'd die to become one.
Scientist: Yes, but...
Boss: We'll arrest him tomorrow for breaking protocols and for assaulting a guard. Then we can begin our preliminary tests and determine whether this has a significant probability in the military or not.

But, little did Phoenix's supervisors know that the DNA which was supposed to just give a human soldier superhuman abilities and enable them to fight with the strength a dragon was supposed to have had just a little more of a kick to it then first realized. But, the changes that were to happen were not what had been anticipated.

Part 2

Phoenix entered his house about 45 minutes later. It was a bit of a commute in and out of Salem, as he lived in rural Oregon. Just outside of a small town called Echo Point, named that for a nearby mountain that many people visited to hear their own echo, but younger kids visited it at night and often times for a completely different reason.

Anyways, Phoenix rubbed his arm which had begun to itch and it bothered him. He opens the refrigerator and glances around and decides to order a pizza from the local Domino's and as he picks up the phone to call, he looks towards the freezer and remembered he had some beef, steaks and pork for an upcoming barbecue and then puts the phone back on the receiver and gets the meat out to thaw it.

After Joseph gets off at around 7am, he gives Phoenix a call. He knew Phoenix's sleeping and eating schedule were all fucked up because of the job, but so were his. As Phoenix answers the phone, Joseph can hear sizzling in the background.

Joseph: Hey man, wassup?
Phoenix: Not a whole hell of a lot.
Joseph: Whatcha cooking man?
Phoenix: Meat.
Joseph: That had better not be any of the stuff for my barbecue.
Phoenix: Who bought it? Who can buy more?
Joseph: *grumbling* Whatever....anyways, I heard you tried something last night.
Phoenix: I.....kind of had to....look around for some help as I locked myself outside and had a flat tire on the Suburban. Some big time guard gave me a hand.
Joseph: Right....you know you suck at lying right?
Phoenix: Uhm...gotta go..

Phoenix hung up the phone and turns on the stereo and listens to Motley Crue playing “Kickstart My Heart” and he gets a strange sensation and sees his skin flaking off and he turns and turning off the stove he grabs the meat out of the pan while still hot and cooking and eats it quickly. He does the same with the steaks and pork.

Joseph was sitting in his house and was worried his friend might be going to jail for a stupid stunt, but he also wondered that if Phoenix had gotten the DNA then what would he have done with it? The primary thought made Joseph unsure, because he had no idea what it would do to his friend if ingested or injected.

At Phoenix's house, his eyes are giving him a major irritation and he finds his sense of smell, hearing and sight are greatly improved. He removes the contacts and finds his vision is now even better. He hears a sound and sees several soldiers several seconds too late and is subsequently knocked to the ground. He is told that he had broken several protocols and that his actions were considered as treason.

Phoenix feels a newfound strength and storms up, the 4 soldiers go flying and smash into the walls. One had been impaled on the antlers of a trophy deer head Phoenix had from a hunting trip. Phoenix's muscles increase and rip his shirt as he appears to grow stronger and taller.

The soldiers see this and exchange glances, each one draws a baton and a cattle prod. Phoenix moves lightning fast and kicks a soldier through the window and then grabs another and uses him as a human shield and uses his pistol to shoot the other two. The one inside and the one outside, then as if a surge or predatory instinct hit him, Phoenix bites into the man's neck and knocks him to the ground.

The head of the corporation that had discovered the dragon DNA was trying to raise his men and was getting no response, he wondered if the DNA had given their security guard some useful military abilities, but this was only the tip of the iceberg.

In Phoenix's house, he looks at his bloodied face in the mirror. The blood was not his, and his fingernails grow into sharp claws. Taking in the blood of a victim had sent the transformation into full swing. His eyes were very reptilian at this point and his teeth were definitely sharper. His tongue was forked by this time and he feels the surroundings getting a tad cramped.

Outside, a second squad had just arrived to attempt to take down Phoenix without the use of lethal force, but with tranquilizer darts that they had brought with them. One peers inside and sees the remains of 2 soldiers that had been ripped apart and gnawed upon, a truly gruesome scene that was not for the faint of heart. The men move from window to window, keeping low enough so as not to be seen and keeping as silent as possible while still trying to see what was going on. The leader, Captain Lance Muldoon, an Irish man finds the bathroom window and peers inside and is shocked at the bloodied man. The blood obviously did not belong to this man, but that was not what had shocked him. It was what was happening to him that had Lance stunned and afraid.

Phoenix's form was changing at a fairly rapid pace. His skin was taking a green scaly look and his mouth and nose were changing and beginning to form into a muzzle. He was bare chested and on his back, something like dragon wings appeared to be forming. A roar escapes Phoenix's mouth and his form starts to pack on pounds as he lengthens out, a tail starting to form.

Lance dropped down and radios in to his superior.

Lance: I did not sign up to take on some mutated freak!! You told me this was some man with superhuman powers and would be easy to take down with tranq darts and dangerous in close quarters.
Boss: Yes...why, is he proving to be difficult?
Lance: No!! I saw him changing into a goddamn dinosaur with sharp teeth, I will not pit my men against this beast!!
Boss: What?

The boss sits and thinks as he pauses, the DNA was supposed to grant powers, and a formula that had been formed out of a decent portion was to be drank to keep the body from rejecting it. The question going through his mind was why Phoenix was actually becoming a dragon, then he remembered that some of the scientists wanted to form a real dragon but gaps in the DNA prevented this. It had been deemed that it could be possible to transfer some draconic abilities into a human, but apparently the human DNA strand filled in the gaps.

This was true, and Phoenix continued to change without rest. His human face now gone, reptilian eyes and a draconic muzzle present. His tail grew out and knocked a lamp off of the nearby counter top and a lethal looking stinger formed at the end of his tail. His teeth began to drip with some sort of green gleaming saliva which Lance assumed was venom. The dragon takes a quadrupedal stance and his wings spread out and take on a large span. Lance assumed the reptile had to be at least 15 feet in length with a 60 foot wingspan and guesstimated the weight to be around a couple tonnes. Phoenix turns his head as his nostrils flare, his ears twitching back and forth and a low bellow escapes his throat.

Part 3

Lance ducks down quickly to avoid being seen, but he wondered if it made any difference. As animals typically had better senses then humans in the case of sight, hearing and smell. He radios to the other soldiers around.

Lance: Phillips, Jackson, Cynthia, Carlos, Maxwell, Ken...do you guys read me?
All: Affirmative.
Lance: We got a dangerous situation here and it just turned deadly. Jackson, Carlos...take the back door.
Jackson and Carlos: Yessir!!
Lance: Cynthia, take Maxwell and meet me to go in through the bathroom.
Cynthia: Roger.
Lance: Phillips, Ken...head to the front door and make certain that you have live fire.
Ken and Phillips: Yessir.
Ken: We'll be more then ready sir.
Lance: I hope so, move out.
All: Yessir!

Carlos and Jackson move in the back door and glance around, a little on edge especially as a low rumbling sound is heard and heavy footsteps are heard. Phillips and Ken move in towards the front door and look at each other, Phillips had an MP5 and Ken has a shotgun.

Lance leads Cynthia and Maxwell through the bathroom window and checks his M16. He turns and sees the others enter in with a shotgun and custom AK47. Carlos had an M16 and for lethal situations, a Steyr Bullpup, his current partner is armed with a MP5 and a noise distracts them and both fire a quick burst of rounds into a room to their right. Then the attack comes from behind as Carlos screams and blood pours out of his mouth as he gurgles and gasps, the stinger had been used to jab through his back. Jackson turns and screams as the dragon bites down on his head and shoulders and then shakes him and swallows the body down.

Lance had heard the gunfire and then the screams and was instantly worried.

Lance: Talk to me, what the fuck just happened?
Ken: Dunno sir, I heard Jackson scream and then nothing.
Lance: Check it out and be careful.
Ken: Sir!
Lance: Phillips, maintain your position...I am sending Maxwell to give you aid.
Phillips: Yes sir.
Maxwell: Sir.

Maxwell heads off to where Phillips is at as Ken heads towards the back door. Phillips is standing in the living room and turns as his neck is slashed open and his dying eyes see a large reptilian beast knock him down and rip a large chunk of flesh off and swallow it, gunfire erupts as Maxwell fires his shotgun.

Phoenix is hit and the buckshot does damage, but it is minuscule, more like a scrape. With a deep breath, Phoenix exhales an acidic substance onto Maxwell who screams in pain as his flesh melts right off his bones and as Ken rushes back in Phoenix turns and grabs the man in his jaws and bites down as Ken makes a dying gasp.

Lance watches the dragon lay the corpse on the floor and then watches a chunk of flesh be ripped from his man and swallowed.

Lance: This is suicide...let's get the hell out of here.
Cynthia: You don't need to tell me twice!

Both soldiers exit and climb into a black Hummer H2 and drive off. A section of the house is knocked out and Phoenix exits, having grown some more as the DNA kicks in for his last growth spurt. Lance watches the beast grow to almost 60ft and add maybe another 30 tonnes or so and he notices a distinct gleam in the scales and looks down at a paper Cynthia had and he turns to her.

Lance: Explain!!
Cynthia: I have always had a fascination with dragons since I was a little girl, and so I have this stuff. More so now because of the tests being run at that citizen corporation and that is the distinctive gleam of a queen dragon. A female that is getting ready to lay eggs, a lot of eggs if species numbers are low. And she needs food, she will not stop hunting until she is satisfied enough to lay eggs.
Lance: Wait a minute, the guard was male.
Cynthia: Was...that is the operative word there, male human.....female dragon. Uhm....would you mind driving so we don't get eaten.
Lance: OH SHIT!!!

Lance swerves to miss a tree and heads away as he hears a sound and glances around and sees nothing. He had no idea where she went and figured she had darted into the woods, but Cynthia knew otherwise.

Cynthia: How fast can this piece of shit go?
Lance: Why does it matter?
Cynthia: CAUSE DRAGONS CAN FLY YOU DUMBASS!!
Lance: Uhm...*he glances out the window and looks up* SHIT!!!

Phoenix spews forth the acidic substance and the road is melted as Lance drives around the now molten asphalt. He drives into a tunnel and Cynthia turns to him.

Cynthia: Look....man eliminated these creatures, she is hungry and desperate and probably views us as a threat and right now, food. We need to get her to trust some of us and get rid of these pricks that only want to use her as a weapon or for weapons.
Lance: She killed my men, I say let the mother fuckers have her!
Cynthia: *drawing her pistol* Look...what is the right thing to do? And please do not tell me the wrong answer.


Lance knew what the right answer and knew that it was because of the gun that he was thinking it. But a workable plan had to be thought out to hide and conceal Phoenix as well as protect her and eliminate any possible future threats towards this new dragon.

Part 4

Phoenix flew through the air towards the corporation building, she knew plenty of people and possible prey would be there.

Lance looks with a pair of binoculars and is able to quickly determine where she is heading. He knows that they have little time. The plan was simple, make sure she got enough food to where she was satisfied enough and then use fruit to make her more herbivorous and then use that nature she uses and help keep her hidden away with some soldiers and people they believed would be loyal enough to keep her secret and then let this event fade away and become nothing. Then she could roam around somewhat and be relatively safe in the upper northwest, plenty of dense woodlands to hide within.

The head of the corporation hears reports that a large winged creature was bearing down on the building and that drastic measures be taken to take it down and protect the facility.

Boss: No!! Capture it and keep it alive!
Guard: Are you sure that's wise?
Boss: Do it or you're fired.
Guard: Okay...you heard him!!

Guards and soldiers take up positions armed with tranq guns and breathe deeply as this was about to get very intense very quickly. Phoenix soars in and lands silently behind them and then bites a soldier in half and swallows the upper torso as her four sturdy limbs hold her up, built like a sauropod, but with wings, a more predatory and sleek look and sharp teeth with a shorter neck and a stinger like tail. The dragon was massive and the tranquilizer darts cannot penetrate her tough hide.

The guards quickly realize that the darts are ineffective and flee, several are grabbed as they try to escape. They are devoured and swallowed down as the large predator turns her head and sees the corporation head turn and flee from the window he had been watching from.

Lance and Cynthia speed up and honk the horn, a large slab of beef on the roof of the vehicle. Phoenix starts moving quickly towards the Hummer and Lance floors it and drives off as Phoenix takes to the air.

The head calls and orders for some jets to come by and shoot down a dangerous beast and that it was being kept attentive by two soldiers, but he had no idea that they were leading it deep into the forests of Oregon to hide and conceal the dragon.

Lance stops the Hummer H2 and then exits in a hurry as Cynthia has already jumped from the vehicle as it stopped. Phoenix lands and rips the slab of meat off of the SUV, knocking it over in the process. A scent of apples fills her nostrils and she looks down at the red fruits in a wagon, obviously gathered beforehand by somebody. Phoenix's old friend Joseph and a few other older friends of hers had done this and were hiding nearby.

Phoenix sniffs tentatively at the fruit as if trying to determine whether it was edible or not and a quick scoop of several and a look crosses her face as she leans forward and swallows the fruit down, the wooden wagon included. Phoenix turns her head and growls as Lance and Cynthia exit the woods and point their weapons in the direction the sound came from.

12 soldiers pile out of 3 Humvees and look towards the dragon and then towards Lance and Cynthia. Joseph and 4 others exit and stand between the soldiers and Phoenix. One of them looks again towards the dragon and then is able to determine why she was led out here.

Soldier Leader: So...one dragon, certainly a bit rare because of that. I could see why you'd want to protect it, keep it from becoming a weapon or killed to create one. Many ways to hide a creature that size in this wilderness. Perhaps it is best we report that we found evidence that the creature was killed so no one comes looking.
Lance: Thanks...but why?
Soldier Leader: Because....dragons are very popular, and to know one is alive is very cool. And to ensure she stays that way....I must do what I must to make certain no one will come looking. A false report, lots of region to hide in and my word that my soldiers and the soldiers of mine in the nearby base will insure her protection and deny that she ever existed. A secret that will stay secret in order to protect her.

And with that he approaches Phoenix and then using a machete, he hacks off her stinger and she growls but stops.

Soldier Leader: Proof you are dead and that no one will need to come out here. So....you best get moving and find someplace deep in the wilderness and hide.

And with that he leaves and files the report, stating explicitly that the dragon had been killed and shows the stinger as proof. They agree that the dragon had been killed and it is left at that.

20 years later, and the soldiers in the base still deny a dragon ever existed. Some people have gone searching and those that had faith would return, but always comment it was a wild goose chase. Those interested in anything other then a true dragon as a rare beauty and sight were never seen again. And it was never quoted on what happened to them. Some say they were killed by the soldiers for trespassing, others say the dragon guardians killed them to protect something sinister, and others say that Phoenix herself killed them or that she had actually laid her eggs and that other dragons killed them...I like to think it was a mix of all, except the guardians are protecting nothing sinister. My name is Ozzie Marks and I know my mate is finally at peace...adios.

The End.