Chapter 1 of A Dragon's Awakening

I awoke with a startle in the dead of the night, in what appeared to be a forest filled with horrors. Not even the moon shone through the thick canopy. All around me, I could hear the ear-piercing chirping of different nocturnal creatures, and even the howling of feral beasts. Strange species of plants, which look particularly deadly surround me. I see a small bright yellow beast with spikes of bone running down its back dart up a tree. It rips a baby bird looking thing from its nest, tears out its throat, and eats it whole.

When I stand up my entire body is wracked with pain as if I was laying there for eternity. I black out for what seems like a full minute, and it makes me feel quite nauseous. A dull ache presses onto the back of my eyes as try to get a sense of my surroundings.

I look around in horror…I don’t know where I am.

What the hell was that…? What am I doing here...? “All I can remember is that my damned name is Orick!"

I stand there with a combination of shock and horror…with my mind being riddled with confusion because I even what this place is called.

A small amount of excitement wells up in me at the prospect of a challenge and a new adventure.

"I need to assess this place...this...New world."

I look around and slowly start to freak out because of the sheer craziness of my surroundings.

“I’m not sure trees are supposed to be that spiky….or…blue”

“Annnnd!”

“Why does that plant have teeth!” I say as I get closer to this strange flora, which has teeth inside small mouths that cover the entirety of the plant, “they’re dripping blood!”

“Why the f**k is it dripping blood!”

“What did it eat!”

I hear the sad whimpers of the bright yellow beast from before as it hangs onto dear life from a tall branch with the mother of the thing in the nest standing above it menacingly. It uses its long, scaly and spindly legs to kick the beast in its head, the beast drops onto the plant of the same type next to my left. The beast survives the fall to my amazement. I hear the plant sizzling as it snaps close its powerful jaws. I try to pry them apart to save the beast, but it won’t budge. I hear high-pitched squeals coming from inside of the plant. Blood dribbles out of the sides of its mouth. The squeals coming from it stops abruptly as I hear the snapping of bone and sinews. I presume the beast to be dead.

“I need to calm down; I’m not getting a damn thing done freaking out.”

"I need information, but where am I going to find it, huh?"

"There's gotta be another damnnable person somewhere in this forest."

The darkness surrounds me causing me to have no sense of direction as I begin to wander the forest.

I'm alone.

It dawned on me... of how dangerous the situation is.

There is no way I can be calm in a situation like this.

"I AM TOTALLY SCREWED!"

"WHERE AM I!?"

I slump up against one of the non-spiky trees. I need to figure out what I’m supposed to do. I need to find some sort of civilization, or at least some sort of shelter to stay the night, so I can have a chance to gain my bearings in the morning.

“It wouldn’t be so bad to encounter people either.”

(chapter end)