I was somewhat aware of drifting in and out of consciousness. I could vaguely feel a dim pain, but it was so distant that it felt like it didn’t belong to me. It somewhat reminded me of when I had been under anesthesia to have my wisdom teeth removed and had just started to come to.

My mind was foggy, and I had immense difficulty concentrating enough to even form a thought. I was dreadfully tired and didn’t really want to wake up. One thing I was aware of was the searing heat. It was like I was about to have heat stroke.

I tried to move, but was unable to. I was trapped in a small space, so tight that I could barely shift my arms or legs. The stale air was hot and stuffy. Against my will, I drifted off again as my body was overheating.

My mind partially awoke as I dimly heard faint, indistinct voices and had the sense that the container I was in was being moved. My body was so cramped from my contorted position that I could barely feel my arms and legs. I tried to shift my position to ease the deep aches in my body, but there was simply no room – not even enough to so much as turn my head. I was just so tired... I dropped into sleep once again.

I woke up again, and this time, my mind was mostly clear. I also realized just how much my body hurt from being in this position for so long. I had completely lost track of time and had no idea how long I had been stuffed into this small space.

I wondered if I could bust out of whatever box they had me trapped in. I listened but didn’t hear anything. If I can break out, this would be my chance to escape before they return and drug me again.

I couldn’t move my hands to feel the walls, so I tried to push with my arms and legs. My limbs protested loudly and painfully as cramped muscles tried to move. There had to be a door or lid on this thing somewhere.

I took a deep breath of the stagnant, heavy air before pushing again. A loud crack echoed around me, and I froze in fear of getting caught. Despite listening as hard as I could, I didn’t hear anything. If anyone was around, they might not have heard it.

I tried again and got another crack. It sounded like the wood by my feet was giving way. The heat that I had found so oppressive before seemed to lend me strength now. I kept struggling, trying to kick a hole in the box. I paused frequently to rest, although it was nearly impossible to rest in the cramped conditions with air that had been rebreathed who knows how many times. I felt starved of oxygen.

That thought sent some adrenaline through my system, and I pushed with all the might that my weak muscles could muster. A cracking and tearing noise sounded as my prison split into two. The lack of confining walls sent me sprawling on the ground as I tried to recover.

I blinked bleary eyes at the odd red light above me as I took a deep breath of air. It was hot, but it was fresh and welcoming. My muscles were shaky and weak as I struggled to roll over onto my stomach. I finally managed it and sighed in relief. I looked down and froze when I saw golden-scaled hands near my face tense up, causing the sharp claws to extend slightly.

“Take it easy. You are not going mad. We are all in the same boat.”

I jumped at the sound of the male voice in my head. Somehow, I knew that it had originated from the side. I turned my head and stared. A dragon was looking at me, or, at least, that was the first word that came to mind at any rate.

His amber-colored eyes reminded me of a cat with the slit pupils. His forelegs ended in four toes and a thumb, although his back legs had five toes. The long, thin tail accounted for almost half of his length. His slim head looked almost dainty, and his narrow neck was almost as long as his arms.

I was kind of surprised that he didn’t have any spines or horns. He reminded me more of a cute, winged lizard than a fierce monster. His tiny, shiny blue scales covered his entire body, although the scales on his stomach were slightly lighter. He was a startling sky-blue color that was probably tough to spot if he flew overhead.

He turned his head slightly, which allowed me to see long flexible ear tufts covered in miniscule scales. He yawned, revealing a row of narrow teeth with longer canines, before stretching his wings. His wings were long and narrow, built for speed and agility.

I inhaled in shock as I belatedly realized that he was about the same size as me, and that he was in some sort of glass cage. In growing distress and confusion, I started looking around as I took in my surroundings. My eyes widened as I saw row upon row of cages on tables with dragons or huge eggs inside. I inhaled in alarm as I realized that I was in the same type of cage.

I glanced back down, and with a sinking feeling in my stomach, it slowly dawned on me that the golden-scaled hand was actually mine. I shook my head as I tried to dismiss this as an appalling nightmare, possibly brought on by whatever tranquilizer they had used on me. The very action of shaking my head only made me realize that my neck moved very differently – it was extremely flexible and seemed far too long.

I turned my head and was stunned when my long neck allowed me to completely examine my own wing-covered back. Two halves of a massive egg shell lay on either side of me, the membrane still hanging inside of it. My breathing picked up as I tried to understand what was going on.

“Relax. Try not to panic.” The voice sounded in my mind again, and I could swear that I was hearing dim whispering in the background. Voices in my head. I must be going crazy.

I looked back at the blue dragon, who was watching me with an understanding and sympathetic expression. I opened my mouth and tried to ask him what was going on, but all I got was a string of chirps, whistles, and hums from my attempt to speak. I shut up in confusion. I sounded like a bloody bird...

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

He trilled reassuringly back at me. “Relax.”

I could easily understand the word in his trill, almost like hearing two things at once. He had obviously been able to understand my bird-like sounds as well.

His voice once more spoke in my mind. “Concentrate on me and try to think your words at me. I will be able to hear your mindvoice if you try to send it. You’ll also start to hear other voices – that’s the general mindlink where anyone can talk. Just imagine a wall between it and you, and it will block the voices. Just keep my voice on your side of the wall or else you won’t be able to hear me either. Mindspeech is safer than trying to speak aloud.”

Uh huh. Right. I never bought into the telepathy theory in the past, but I might as well give it a go now. I focused on him as I tried to think at him, “Can you hear me?” It was tentative, even in my mind. Strangely enough, I had the bizarre feeling that he had heard me…

He nodded in approval. “Yes. Very good for a first attempt.”

“What on earth is going on? Why do I look like this?”

He sighed heavily, and I could even feel it through his mindvoice. “None of us are here by choice. Each of us was kidnapped, and the next thing we knew, we ended up like this. We aren’t sure how the scientists did it, although we have heard rumors that they are using some alien technology from Area 51 to blend DNA.”

“Alien technology? What?” I was having a hard time believing this, although aliens shouldn’t be too far-fetched considering that I now had four feet, two wings, and a tail…

He shrugged somewhat as he replied, “We only heard a few snippets from the scientists. They recovered some sort of technology from spaceship wreckage and have managed to get it to work passably. All we know is that they needed the intelligence of a sentient being in order for it to succeed.”

I blinked a few times as I wrapped my mind around these strange details. “Okay... So, they somehow put my mind into this body? As far as I can tell, I’m not missing any memories...”

“We all remember our pasts perfectly, but whatever you do, don’t let these scientists figure out that your mind is still that of a human. They are convinced that we are just animals at this point.”

He narrowed his eyes at me as he ensured that I was listening. “We don’t dare let them figure it out. We once overheard that all of us would be put down if there were any sign of our memories or minds being intact. So try and act like an animal. Most are choosing a cat as a role model since we are about that size. You’ll discover that odd instincts and habits have tagged along for the ride in your new body. They will help cover up your inner humanity.”

I blinked in shock, still not quite believing that I wasn’t in some sort of ludicrous, drug-induced dream. “Why are they doing this?”

He laid down and stretched out his wings to collect heat from the heat lamp above him. His voice was sad. “We don’t know. We’ve never overheard anything regarding that question either. The scientists come in several times a day and often take us to various rooms. We get to stretch our legs and wings a bit. They’ll be watching, so don’t try anything intelligent. They may take a blood sample or pluck a scale, but otherwise, they mostly just observe. Whatever you do, don’t trust them.”

I looked around the room; most of the cages on one side had dragons. The other side mostly held eggs that were about the same size as the one I had just freed myself from. The dragons all had shiny scales, as well as the same body shape and size. The only real difference was color. Each dragon only had one color, although I could see six different ones.

It looked like blue or green were the most common, although I also saw red, purple, gold like myself, and a shiny grey color that resembled polished silver. At a guess, the blue dragon was correct, and we were about the size of a cat, although it was hard to tell considering my own size was now different and I didn’t have much to compare it to.

Turning back to the talkative blue dragon, I asked, “How many were kidnapped?”

He closed his eyes in an expression that I somehow recognized as grief. “Thousands have been kidnapped from around the world. The odds of surviving their torturous procedures to get to the point of hatching are extremely low. We have talked via the mindlink, and we can hear each other even if we can’t see one another. Every voice always ends up in this room. If we count you, there are 93 of us who made it this far.”

I sat silently, too stunned for words. Thousands had been kidnapped, and yet, less than a hundred survived? If I had been standing, I would have fallen down.

He seemed to notice my shock and kindly told me, “There are bowls of fruit and water in the corner behind you. It’s safe to eat; they never drug it. You should eat and drink something. You’re going to need your strength.”

I glanced behind me, still not used to my flexible neck. A drink of water sounded really good... I got up on shaky feet and stumbled a bit as I took a step; having four feet was a very strange and peculiar feeling. My wings and tail were an entirely different enigma…

Despite my difficulties, I managed to walk the few steps over to the bowls without tripping or falling. It took me a few seconds to figure out how to sip the water with my long muzzle. I had never been much of a fan of peaches, but they tasted fantastic at this point.

By the time I emptied both bowls, my legs were shaking from exertion. I used my nose to push the shell halves against the front door. I walked back under the heat lamp and flopped down in exhaustion. The heat was welcome.

My voice sounded drained. “I can’t believe how tired I am. Any idea how long it has been since I was kidnapped?” Were they searching for me yet? Had they starting putting up posters at this point?

His distant eyes met mine. “When were you kidnapped?”

I thought for a moment and said, “Mid-September, the thirteenth, I think. I had one more paper to write for a scholarship application.”

His eyes never left mine as his soft voice replied, “If the white coats are correct, the date today is March twenty-first.”

I stared at him with wide eyes, completely speechless.

Twitching his ear tufts, he said, “You mentioned a scholarship. I assume you were pretty smart?”

I blinked at the change in topic. “My grades were all above 95% the last three years in a row. I always won the largest scholarships.”

He sighed again. “That is why they targeted you then. They seem to pick people within certain categories or with various traits. They try to target the smartest, or the fastest, or the most artistic. They are trying to see if it has any influence on the success rate of whatever they are doing. They did try age ranges at first, but dropped it quickly. Apparently, no one over the age of thirty ever survived.”

I rested my head on my hands tiredly; it was strange, but felt natural enough. He glanced over at the movement.

He said, “Sleep. You’ll feel much better when you wake up. The first few days are the worst; at least, until you build up your strength.”

I closed my eyes and was instantly asleep.