Reign of Fire: A New Beginning

Disclaimer: I do not own Reign of Fire.

Chapter 2: Changes

Benjamin suddenly awoke, a cold sweat drenched his numb body and his head hurt. A chill ran through his spine as he faintly felt the cold material beneath him.

A light breeze carried the faint smell of smoke past Benjamin's nose and he slowly opened his eyes. The world was blurry at first then it slowly came into focus. He was in a large cave, or at least it looked like one. He glanced around, he was on the ground, several candles sat to his right, and two blankets lay pile off to his left.

With a groan, Benjamin slowly sat up. He gasped as a wave of pain shot down his back.

"Benjamin you're awake," a female voice called to him.

He turned his head to see Sara wrap her arm around him. "Hi Sara," Benjamin said. His voice was raspy and dry.

"We thought you where dead when we saw you lying on the ground," Sara said softly.

"We," Benjamin questioned and pulled back. He looked into her blue eyes. "Who else is here?"

Sara smiled, "Your brother."

"Christopher, where is he?" Benjamin asked. He rubbed the back of his neck.

"Right here," a deep voice said from the left. "I can't chat for long. The reserve is needed in London to get rid of those…beasts."

Benjamin looked to his brother. He was tall. He wore his green camouflage gear, part of it burnt, a rifle hung from his shoulder and a pistol from his side. His dusty brown hair, cut to military regulations, stuck out from a helmet.

"What happened," Benjamin asked, he suddenly felt dizzy.

"Well, that beast flew away with some others. We put out the fire and found you unconscious in the center." Christopher stated. "The beasts came back and we had to flee, most of the people with us were carried way or burned to death." Benjamin found it strange how his brother could keep a clam tone while describing what happened. "Sara here said she knew of some caves that could keep us safe for some time until those things were exterminated."

"Now, I have something to ask you something Ben," Sara said in a soft sweet tone. "We heard you screaming while the fire was being put out, what happened when we couldn't see you?"

"The creature I think is a dragon." Benjamin exclaimed and coughed dryly. "It shot flames around me to stop me from escaping I think. Then it roared right in my face before some kind of liquid came out of its mouth and covered me. I was screaming because it burned." He shivered, remembering how much it hurt, a tear formed at the corner of his eye but he quickly blinked it away. "I blacked out after."

"Dragons? It spit on you?" Sara asked, an expression of disgust crossed her face and she felt her arms.

"You were completely dry when we found you." Christopher added. "It didn't seem like it spit anything on you."

Ben shifted slightly, another wave of pain raced down his spine and through his shoulders. "Do you have something to kill the pain I'm in?"

A loud horn blasted outside the cave. "Hurry up Christopher. They just destroyed the parliament building!"

"I have to go," Christopher said and raced past Sara and Ben towards the entrance to the cave, about thirty meters away. "I'll tell mother where you are when I see her."

"Tell her to bring a doctor," Sara shouted and sat next to Ben.

Both were quiet as the vehicle outside speed away. The sound faded and silence filled the area. Benjamin looked at Sara. Her blond hair hung down to her shoulders and hid her eyes. She wore blue jeans with a red t-shirt.

"Thank you," Sara said to break the silence.

"Thank you?" Benjamin questioned. "What did I do?"

"You pulled me away from the thing before it killed us." Sara said and leaned against Ben's shoulder. She started to cry.

"What's wrong," Ben questioned and turned to face Sara, allowing her to cry on his shoulder.

"I was so scared," Sara cried.

"Don't worry, everything's going to be fine," Ben reassured and placed one hand on her back.

A jolt of pain coursed through Benjamin's body. For a brief moment, his vision became clearer than ever, several objects close up seemed to have a white outline. He could hear the distant vehicle his brother was in and smell the exhaust. He gasped and everything became normal again. A massive crippling wave shot through his body and he collapsed to the ground, his back arched and he inhaled heavily.

"Benjamin!" Sara shouted, though it seemed like a distant echo.

The world spun and blended before his eyes, and then suddenly, everything became clear again. His hearing became more sensitive and Sara's shouting became extremely painful. He could smell things he did not recognize and things nowhere near them.

"Sara," Benjamin said as the pain subsided. "I'm ok."

"What happened," she said in tears. "You just dropped to the ground."

"I don't know for sure but my back hurts," Ben said, blinking his eyes repeatedly see if they would change. "My eyesight increased."

"What," Sara questioned between sobs.

"I don't know how, but my eyesight got better," Benjamin said excitedly. "And my hearing and smell."

Sara shook her head. "Where's a doctor when you need one," she sighed and stopped crying, brushing away her tears with her arm. "Did you hit your head?"

"No," Benjamin said and winced as a jolt shot down his right arm. He grabbed his wrist and pulled it close to his chest, squeezing it as hard as he could, trying to stop the pain. "Do you have any pain killers?"

"No," Sara said and gently placed he hand on his arm, it felt extremely dry. "Where does it hurt?"

He winced again and suddenly the pain went away, "It's gone."

"What is?"

"The pain, it just…it's just gone." Ben replied stunned. He let go of his arm and relaxed.

Sara suddenly gasped. "B…B…Ben, l…look at you arm."

"Why?"

Sara pointed at his wrist.

Ben slowly turned his gaze down and as soon as it came into focus, he gasped. His skin had turned grey and scaly around the center of his wrist. His body trembled. "What…what's happening?"

Sara back away several meters from Ben while still sitting, "I don't know, but if that thing spit on you, I bet it had something to do with that. I heard that radiation can cause mutations so maybe it's radioactive."

"Radioactive," Benjamin stuttered. "I'm a dead man."

"Maybe not," Sara comforted. "Maybe it isn't radiation at all and you're just having an allergic reaction to something, either way, just stay over there incase its infectious."

"You already touched me," Ben pointed out.

"Still, I don't want to take another chance if it is something contagious." Sara said and pulled her knees to her chest. "I hope you'll be ok."

A low rumble sounded through the cave. "What was that?"

"What was what," Sara questioned and looked around.

"I heard something," Ben stated. "I was some kind of low rumble."

"Well," Sara said. "I don't know what you are talking about."

A heavy flap sounded from outside the cave. Sara turned her head to see rocks fall from the roof. She started to shake when a tail dropped down from the roof.

Benjamin winced as claws scraped against the rock above. He quickly got up and pulled Sara to her feet. They moved further into the cave and hid behind a large bolder.

"One of those things is here," Sara whispered.

"Shhh," Benjamin put a finger to his mouth. A thud outside the cave made his heart jump.

A low hiss sounded form outside the cave and some of the light disappeared. A dark shadow fell upon the rock. A thud sounded in the cave as the creature slowly entered. The little light of the candles extinguished as the animal exhaled heavily.

Sara trembled with fear, and smelt of it. The smell struck Ben as strong and he shook his head in a vain attempt to get rid of it.

Everything became quiet and a shadow fell over the two. Ben and Sara slowly looked up, above the boulder, the head of the creature sat only a few meters above them. Sara started to cry and looked down. The creature opened its mouth and began to inhale. Ben covered Sara and used himself as a shield. He closed his eyes.

The creature stopped inhaling. Both Sara and Ben braced themselves for the flame, but it never came. Ben slowly worked up the nerve to look up.

The head of the creature, slightly tilted, stared down at them. Suddenly, it dropped down and grabbed Ben. Benjamin screamed as he lifted into the air, he kicked his legs and hit the snout of the animal. Sara began to scream and tried to pull Ben down but only lifted into the air herself. She was too scared to let go.

The creature slowly backed out of the cave but stopped short of leaving. It dropped Ben to the ground and he landed on top of Sara. Sara groaned and pushed Ben of her. A low hiss caused both to scramble to their feet. Ben looked down to see he was unharmed.

The creature stared at them for a moment and lowered its head to look Benjamin in the eye. Ben stepped in front of Sara.

"Go away!" Sara cried.

A heavy snort silence Sara and rustle Ben's dark brown hair. The creature slowly turned its head side to side as if examining Ben.

"It's not the one that attacked us in London," Benjamin whispered to Sara.

"How do you know that?" Sara questioned, enjoying that she was not right in front of the thing.

"It looks different somehow," Ben said and froze as the snout touched his chest. He could feel a faint heart beat through the scaly hide.

"What is it doing," Sara cried. "Why won't it just kill us and get it over with."

Suddenly the creature pulled out of the cave and looked to the sky. It let out a low roar.

Benjamin felt that he almost understood it. "I don't think it's going to kill us."

"How do you know that? It could just be calling its friends to share us as some kind of a snack."

Ben just looked at Sara and turned his attention back to the cave entrance to see that the creature had lain on a rocky ridge outside the cave. It watched both Ben and Sara.

Sara slowly moved deeper into the cave while Ben stood watching the creature. Suddenly he felt dizzy and sick; he dropped to his hands and knees. Sara rushed over and put her hand on his back.

"Ben, what's wrong?" Sara asked and looked up to see the creature turn its head away.

"I think I'm going to be…" Benjamin started and suddenly threw up. As soon as the clear liquid hit the ground it combusted and both Sara and Ben jumped back.

"What the hell's wrong with you?" Sara shouted as she looked at the burning liquid. She moved a short distance away from Ben. "It burst into flames!"

"I…I…don't know," Ben said horrified. "I think I'm going to be sick again," he put his hand over his mouth but quickly moved it away.

"Don't do it by me," Sara freaked and moved further away. "I don't want to be lit on fire."

Benjamin turned away just in time. It came out in almost a spray, two separate parts. The two liquids combusted only meters from his body. Tears rolled down his cheek as a wave of pain ran through his spine. Finally, the two liquids stopped and he felt better.

"What's happening to me," Benjamin dropped to the ground. The creature outside looked into the cave and its eyes widened slightly.

Benjamin felt his fingers stiffen. He lifted his hands in front of his face to see his ring finger, little finger, and middle finger extend outward and bend at awkward angles as they grew. Thin webbing formed between his index finger and thumb as they thickened and small black claws grew outward. A surge of pain caused Ben to roll over so that he laid face down on the cold stone floor. The pressure inside his shoes began to increase until they split in two and out of shredded socks, three clawed toes stuck out.

He gasped for air as his face and neck started to change. His face extended into a snout and his hair fused into horns extending backward. His ears fused against his skull and his jawbone extended outward slightly. His neck extended and he let out a scream of pain. It soon became a roar.

The tears ceased to form and instead he whimpered. Benjamin let out a roar as the remainder of his body began to change quickly, his shirt ripped open as his scaled chest expanded with new muscles used for flight and webbing formed from the elongated finger tips to hips, his pant legs split as muscles became thicker and a tail sprouted from his body. Two spines stuck out of the tail and the webbing attached to it and continued down the tail some ways. Short spiny bumps grew from his back, shoulders and neck. Finally, Benjamin dropped to the ground, his body stung and his head ached.

"Benjamin," Sara asked, terror filled her voice.

Author Note: I finally updated this story. Now, I would like to thank LadyLuck22, a friend of mine that gave me the idea for this story. Please Review.