The Time of the Prophecy (Ch.1)
#2 of The Time of the Prophecy
The Time of the Prophecy (Ch. 1)
*Disclaimer* I AM the owner of these characters, there is NO adult content in this chapter, so please view it if you want. Be warned, it is lengthy and filled with sarcasm and humor of the kind I'm known to employ. Read at your own risk.
*BLEEP BLEEP BLEEP*
There goes the alarm clock again. I contemplated hitting the snooze button a fourth time, but decided against it. Ten minutes of sleep doesn't justify forty five minutes of detention. I heaved myself up out of bed and stretched. It was 7:45am, the bus comes at 8:00. That left me 15 minutes to go from a disheveled mess to being at least semi-presentable. I quickly stripped off my sleep clothes: a pair of pajama bottoms and a large, stained t-shirt.
While moving around the room to my closet, I paused to glance at the large mirror that sat in the corner of my small room. I glanced at my reflection and sighed in disgust. I wasn't ugly...not really, but I wasn't exactly the most attractive person either. I was in okay shape from a medical standpoint. I could run a good ways and do various exercises for a while without too much trouble, but that didn't change the fact that I had a sizable spare tire. My hair was probably the most boring shade of brown you could think of, and stuck up in every direction. It was because my hair was so unruly that I usually had it cropped down in a crew cut, but right now, it had been a month since my last cut. My skin was pretty good, not covered in the acne or rashes that usually plague teenagers, but it was also very pale and somewhat pasty. Finally, my eyes moved up to my face. I was kind of handsome, but not the type of guy that girls fell for just by looking at him. (Not that I care what girls think anyways.) My face was round, and without too much of interest. There was, however, one thing in my face that I was very proud of...my eyes. My eyes were a striking shade of green and, more than any other feature on my body, drew positive attention.
Now that I've given you a pretty complete description of myself, I guess telling you my name would be appropriate. My name is Thomas Allen....yeah, I know, I was blessed with two first names. I'm a 16 year old sophomore in high school and I'm looking forward to starting my summer vacation in two months Anyways, back to the task at hand, I now have 12 minutes to prepare for school and I'm still staring at the mirror dressed only in boxers. I went over to my dresser and pulled out a pair of socks, an black t-shirt, and a pair of black cargo pants. These I put on as quickly as I could before going to my closet. There, I searched through the various shirts hanging up, wondering what to wear. I finally settled on a silver short-sleeved button down shirt. I finished off the ensemble with the heaviest jacket I had, which would probably have been good for a September day in New England. By now, it was 7:56. Two minutes to brush, shave, and get out the door. I somehow pulled it off and ran out the door just in time to see the bus coming around the corner onto my street. Another example of cutting things to the last second perfectly timed and executed.
The bus pulled up and stopped just in front of the house next door to mine. The two other kids on my street who took the bus with me climbed on. It was a freshman who I hadn't really gotten to know yet, and some junior bitch from the cheerleading squad. I got on after them and went back to my usual seat in the back of the bus. I always sat in the one-person seat on the right side in the back of the bus. Not that I was anti-social, I just didn't like people very much. The bus ride was uneventful, and we soon arrived at my school. Since I lived in Florida, and most of the people there had an unhealthy obsession with the outdoors, my school was actually about 15 buildings, each one composed of a few classrooms. All the buildings were interconnected by hallways that were little more than sidewalks with aluminum awnings over them. On nice days, it was okay, but on days like today, where the sky was heavy and gray, and there was a biting wind, it was miserable. Yes, I said biting wind...in Florida...in March. There had been strange weather for the past two weeks, and it was steadily getting colder and colder. If i didn't know any better, I'd say it was about to snow. My thin jacket did very little to keep out the harsh, 45 degree wind. I jogged up to my first class and went an, basking in the warmth. Thankfully, whoever designed the school didn't think heaters were redundant, Florida or not.
Most of the day passed by uneventfully. Boring classes almost lulling me to sleep, puntuated by trips back out into the cold air waking me up to full alertness. This lasted until the last test of the day, which was Chemistry. My teacher, Mr. Doley, was a nice enough guy, but I simply hated his class. Chemistry was a headache. Two parts boring, two parts complicated, one part explosions. The end result was me not doing very well there. Because I seemed to be particularly out of it today, Mr. Doley favored me with a personal lecture after class.
"Thomas, I know Chemistry isn't the easiest or most fun of subjects," Mr. Doley began, almost as if the line had been rehearsed. "But you need to at least put forth the minimum effort to pass. If for no other reason than to advance to 11th grade." Mr. Doley paused to clear his throat and wait for the obligatory "Yes sir" from me, which I delivered right on cue. "Right now, you're passing, but just barely," Mr. Doley continued, now satisfied I was listening. "You're walking on the blade's edge here. All you need to do is apply yourself a little more and you'll be fine. You're a great kid Tom, but quite frankly, I don't want you in my class again next year. I mean that in the nicest way, of course. I hate seeing students held back a grade because they barely flunk one of their prerequisite classes. So just try a little harder from now on. Go ahead Tom, you're dismissed."
"Thank you sir," I said before running out the door. I earned the lecture, but it had made me late, and as I ran up to the bus circle and saw my bus pulling away, my stomach dropped. Now I had to walk home. Five miles home, in the frigid air. Well, maybe not five miles. It was five miles if I took the shortest sidewalk route, but there was an old trail through the woods behind my school that would shave two miles off my trip. I made up my mind to get home as fast as possible and walked off towards the woods. It took me about fifteen minutes to regret my decision. All these trees looked the same, and I was beginning to feel all turned around. I continued walking in the direction I felt was correct, but it seemed to be getting colder. It was only 3:00pm, so it certainly shouldn't be getting too much colder yet, but sure enough, the temperature was dropping steadily. The wind was also picking up. It felt like a gale and only got stronger. It wasn't coming in gusts either, it was a continuous blast. Finally, the wind and cold had reached a point where I couldn't go forward any more. No, literally, for every step forward I took, I was blown backwards by two. After about a minute of struggling against the wind in a stalemate, a mighty gust came and blew me backwards. As I staggered back, I tripped over a fallen branch and slammed my head on a tree. I saw my vision narrowing with black all on the edges, before finally the cold darkness of unconsciousness overtook me.
When I awoke, it felt like I'd only been out for a few seconds, but the sky was black, and there was snow on the ground...wait a minute, snow?!?! That's not right. How could snow be all over the ground, but not on me. I slowly pulled myself to my feet, feeling a wave of nausia and dizziness accompanied by a trobbing pain in my head. I looked down and for a moment thought I must be hallucinating. Where I was laying, there was an impression in the snow, but still snow was there. It was almost as if someone had placed me there. I looked around the area and saw no footprints. Too weird. "Great, I'm in fucking Narnia. I'll just trot off to find those beavers and warm up in their dam. La-dee-da." I don't normally talk to myself, but I was freaked out and just recovering from a head injury. "Well, can't stay here. Food and shelter might be important, especially in the middle of a FUCKING ICE AGE!!!" I knew screaming was a bad idea, but I was pissed. The cold didn't put me in my best mood. Apparently something heard me though, because I heard growling and barking noises in the distance to my left. Okay, I was going right...fast. I sprinted off and heard the barking some more behind me, getting closer. I was starting to panic. I knew I couldn't outrun a wolf. The noises were now right behind me. I knew I had to be imagining things, but it sounded like the barks and snarls were some sort of language. There was definitely an odd rhythm to the noises, and it didn't sound as random as dogs barking. I didn't have much time to contemplate it however, as the noises were right at my heels. I glanced over my shoulder and saw a hulking black form less than a yard behind me. I tried to put on some extra speed, but I felt something slam into my head, causing me to fall into dark oblivion again.
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When I woke up again, I found myself looking up at bars. Crude wooden bars. I sat up straight and looked around. I was in what looked like a Native American village, except where the natives should be, there were large, hairy, werewolf looking creatures. They had fur that was either black, dark gray, or a mottled combination of the two. They were in excess of seven feet all, their fangs came down to their chins, and they had large claws on their hands and feet. They also had large, upright ears, and large noses, indicating keen senses. The most troubling thing, though, was their musculature. Even through the thick fur, I could see mucles that would make Anold Schwarzenegger jealous. There were only a few about, as it was still night time, and after a little while, those too went away. There was only one left, staring at me with evil looking yellow eyes. I figured I was dog meat anyways, so I tried talking to my guard.
"What the fuck do you furballs want with me? Let me out of this damn cage! I didn't do anything to you!" Okay, so it wasn't the most eloquent greeting, but I was an upset teenager in a cage who had bashed his skull twice in a couple of hours. I don't think the creature understood my words, but the tone and the direct eye contact made it clear what I meant. The creature growled viciously and stomped over to my cage. It looked at me with clear disgust mixed with amusement. It pointed to me, then pointed to a large cauldron near the central firepit, then pointed to its stomach. Shit....I knew it.
"Yeah well I hope I give you all food poisoning." I said it with defiance, but my spirit was shattered. The creature chuckled in a raspy, growling way and went back to its post. I sat up for a few hours, watching the creature. At first, its attention was solely on me, but then it apparently got bored with my blank stare and started pacing. It was focusing less on me every second, and I took this opportunity to look at my cage very closely. Almost immediately, I saw that the cae was designed to keep wild animals, not intelligent creatures with opposable thumbs. Unfortunately, I knew that even with my guards attention lapse, I wouldn't get ten feet if I broke out. I needed a distraction, something to make that guard go nosing elsewhere for a few minutes. Even then, I doubted my chances. I knew they'd probably be able to track me down even if I had an hour head start, but anything would be better than sitting here waiting to be roasted. I reached in my pockets, looking for something that might help me in my escape. I found a rubber band, a quarter left over from a vending machine, and a pen. The pen would help me pry the cage's simple wooden lock apart. I could also use the rubber band and quarter.
I strung the rubber band over my thumb and forefinger and placed the quarter on the band and drew back. My makeshift slingshot was good for one shot, so I aimed carefully as far off in the distance as I could. I shot the quarter and it whistled into the blackness beyond where the guard was standing. I didn't hear it impact, but he sure did. He stopped dead with his ears twitching for a few seconds, then tore off after the quarter. I knew I only had a minute tops, so I jammed the pen into the locking mechanism on the cage and popped the leather thong off a spike. The door swung open and I sprinted out into the night.
I ran the opposite direction then the one the guard had gone, but less then 30 seconds later, I heard pursuit beginning. I ran as fast as I could, hoping for some miracle to come my way. I saw a large blackness yawning open in the side of a large hill. The thought of a cave in this strange place didn't quite appeal to me, but it was better than being captured again. I ran into the cave, and tried to find my way through the cloying darkness. The cave was so dark, it was like a living thing, crawling and creeping into every corner, into my eyes, even my mind. It felt as though I'd never see anything again. Something was odd about this cave. This idea was reinforced when the wolf creatures stopped at the entrance. I couldn't see them, but I heard their harsh voices echoing down the cave. They seemed to be having an argument, probably over whether I was worth the trouble of going into the cave. They must have decided I WAS worth it, because I soon heard them approaching. In a panic, I ran over to the cave wall, and found a narrow gap. Not knowing where it led, I pressed and pushed into it. Damn my fat gut. I pushed and heaved and I'm sure I made quite a bit of noise. Soon enough, I heard the creatures at the small entrance to the opening. Thankfully, their hulking forms were unable to fit inside, but that didn't stop one of them from reaching in and clawing after me. I felt a bolt of searing pain slash down my cheek before, with a mighty heave, I pulled away from them and into another chamber. I heard them roar their frustration, but eventually they left and the cave went silent. The day's exertions finally caught up with me, and I fell asleep right on the cave floor.
I don't know how long I slept for, but it didn't help. My head had two large goose eggs, my ribs felt cracked from squeezing through the gap in the cave wall, my stomach was empty and growling, and I still couldn't see anything. I got up and staggered over to the cave wall. I could have sworn the opening was here, but I couldn't be sure. I slowly worked my way around the wall for what felt like hours, and I found no opening. "Great," I muttered, "now I'm stuck in this damn cave. What a nightmare." I walked back out towards the center of the room, or at least what I believed to be the center. After maybe twenty steps, my foot landed on thin air and I fell down into a gaping hole in the cave floor. I say gaping because I didn't smash into the sides of it during my descent. After falling for several seconds, I landed in freezing cold water. It took my breath away and seemed to steal all the heat from my body. By all rights, water this cold should be ice, but there was one bright spot....no, really, a dim glow could be seen off in the distance, so I started swimming for it.
I'd hoped from the golden color of the radiance that it was an exit to the cave, preferably far away from the village where the wolf creatures were. After fifteen minutes of swimming though, I found only two things on a small stone island. A medium length sword with a hilt of rich brown wood enlaid with golden tracery and a thin, curved silver blade, and a small ring on a thin pedestal next to the sword. The ring was unadorned except for a white gem, and compared to the beautiful sword, was rather plain. When I looked harder however, the glow seemed to be coming from the ring. I sighed, "Not what I was hoping for, but it may give me enough light to get out of here." I put the ring on my right middle finger and found to my shock that it fit perfectly. I picked up the sword and, lacking a belt or hilt, slipped it through a belt loop. I pointed the ring around me and saw that there was a shore of the subteranean lake about 50 yards off. I braced myself for the shock of the cold water and jumped from the rock island. Strangely, the water did not feel so cold, probably because I was already in the first stages of hypothermia. I swam over to where I saw the shore of the lake and pulled myself out of the water. As I slowly stumped up away from the water, I thought how much I must look like a drowned rat.
I shined the glimering ring around and saw a small passage up ahead of me. I went in, but only got a few feet before wracking pains seized my whole body. Something was wrong. Was it the cold? I made it through too much to die now from cold. How ignominous. I went down to the ground as tremors went up and down my legs. I heard strange cracking and crunching noises that seemed to be coming from my body, as well as several alarming sensations from other areas. My pants were getting tighter and tighter, my button down shirt had already popped all of its buttons, and by black undershirt burst. My face felt like it was swelling and breaking at the same time. I also felt an uncomfortable pressure just above my ass. "What the hell is happening to me?!?!" I tried to yell, but it came out as "Wraaaaag jheeeeerrr aappng mmmffff" as my face and jaw continued cracking and distorting. Finally the pain became too much. I didn't really pass out so much as retreat into my own mind. I had a sort of out-of-body experience where I still noted all of the sensations coursing through me, but it was almost from a third party perspective. The cracking, crunching, and snapping noises continued for some time, until finally my tormented body ceased its writhing and changing and I fell into an exhausted sleep.
This sleep did far more than my last. I awoke feeling like a brand new person. All of my aches and pains were gone, and I felt revitalized. Also, I found I could now see somewhat in the darkness, kind of like I had night vision goggles on. I stood up and stretched, and struck my head on the passage ceiling. Ouch...at least I'd had a few minutes with no pain. Muttering at the world's injustice, I started forward, hunched over slightly to avoid yet another smack to the head. I must be close to having brain damage at this point. As I slowly walked through the passage, I thought back to last night...or at least whenever it was before i'd fallen asleep. The pains and contortions seemed like a bad dream, but I also clearly remembered being able to stand upright in the passage. Whatever, I just wanted out now. I kept my forward pace up for at least an hour before the passage started to brighten up. I hurried forward, anxious to see the sun again.
When I finally burst from the cave, the sun didn't seem so friendly. "Aaaaahhhhh," I groaned. After so long in the blackness, the brightness of daylight was like twin daggers going in my eyes and back to my brain. I ran back into the semi-light of the cave entrance and allowed my eyes to adjust. When I was able to open my eyes without wincing and tearing up, I began to notice some oddities. First off, there seemed to be something obstructing my sight. With my luck, I have some weird cave parasite attached to my eyeballs. Also, I seemed to be looking at things from higher than my 5' 8" frame would allow. then there was the wind blowing unrestricted over most of my body. I'd been trying to avoid examining my body since the incident in the cave. I knew something freakinsh had happened and I'd really hoped that if I ignored it long enough it would go away...no such luck. Time to face the music. I gulped and looked down.
The sight that greeted me was far worse, and far greater, than I could have imagined. The first thing I noticed was that I was covered with small white scales, the same shade as the gem in the ring. I was no less than 8 feet tall, standing on legs that looked very similar to a T-Rex's, my shirts were gone, probably burst at every seam. The tough black denim of my pants was more resilient, and was shredded, but still there. The wasteband still remained around me however, which was good because the sword was still there. My arms were now lean and muscular, much like my legs. My Buddha belly was gone, replaced by a toned 8-pack. My feet had only four toes, each tipped in a large claw. My hands retained their four fingers and opposable thumb, but my fingers were now tipped by sharp claws. Smaller than the ones on my toes, but still dangerous looking. I looked at my ass and found, as I expected, a long, muscular tail protruding from it. I moved the tail a bit and found it to be prehensile. While looking at my tail, I caught something out of the corner of my eye. Reaching over with one of my hands, i grabbed the thing and puled it around to where I could see it. It was a large wing. Apparently I could fly too. I let my wing go and reached up to feel my face and head. On my head were two long, staight horns. At this point, I wasn't the least bit surprised. Imoved my hands down from my head to my face and found the thing obstructing my vision to be my long muzzle. I opened my mouth and found it full of sharp, pointed teeth. One last thing left to check. I steeled myself and, with difficulty, opened up my pants. I looked in and saw nothing there. Starting to get nervous, I felt around, hoping something would pop up. Eventually, one of my fingers slid into a hidden slit. "Please tell me this isn't a vagina," I said to whatever deity was listening. I felt around the slit a bit, and found my flacid member tucked safely inside. I sighed with relief and removed my hand. As nice as the sensations were, now is not the time or place to be beating my meat.
I forced the button of my pants closed again, the fly was a lost cause. Well, now that I'm in this impressive new form, I decided to try it out. I spread my wings and prepared to try to fly, when a voice rang out behind me. "Stop!!!" For the love of God, what NOW??? I turned around and saw a creature similar to me standing there. His scales were a bright green, and his eyes were a blue-gray color. "Our beacons around the artifacts went off recently," said the newcomer. "We expected it to be just another foolish thief. We're thankful to find you however, clearly the time of the prophecy has come. Please, follow me" He turned and walked away. Well, he didn't seem hostile, so I followed him. I might get some answers while there as well.
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End of chapter 1. My first submission, so please R&R. Yiff will come in later chapters.