Noon the next day, Samuel met Elizabeth at their usual spot. "Good morning", she said as she ran to him. ", Morning", he replied with a wave. "So, what are we doing today?" Elizabeth asked. "Well, since we've explored a chunk of the forest, I thought we could explore the mountains. What do you think?" he asked for her opinion. "That's a great idea", she said excitedly. "Okay, let's go", he said and took her into his arms, taking off with a single beat of his wings.
He took Elizabeth through the mountains, taking occasional breaks for Elizabeth to catch her breath. For hours, they flew over the tops of the mountains admiring the scenery. Dusk soon approached and they had covered close to sixty percent of the entire mountain range. "Let's start heading back", Samuel said as he took another route back. As they flew over a mountain, Samuel noticed something strange. "What are those?" he asked pointing down. "Are they…", Elizabeth's voice trailed off as she tried to catch a good glimpse.
Although being a mile high in the sky, she could surprisingly see what he was pointing to. Though not as clear as Samuel's eyesight, she could still see the small figures on the ground, but she placed no further thought to it. At the base of the mountain, there were several trucks hidden within the shrubbery. Samuel flew down, hid them in the trees and observed the trucks. "Those look like military trucks", Elizabeth observed. "Yeah, I think you are right. But what is the military doing here? Do you think they know about my existence?" Samuel asked in a worried tone.
"I don't think so. If they knew about you, they would have had your home surrounded already or at least camped somewhere closer. And besides, these trucks seem not to have been moved for weeks. See, the weeds are overtaking the trucks", she said pointing to the tires. "You're right. You and your family are the only other people I've met. And besides, I'd know if I was being watched", Samuel pointed out.
"There is a small path leading up to that cave", Elizabeth said pointing. "Let's check it out", Samuel said as he held on to her and jumped down to the ground. They followed the path and came up to the mouth of the cave. "It's a cavern. Do you think someone is in there?" Samuel asked as he sniffed the air. "I'm not sure. What are you getting?" she asked.
"Nothing ... the cavern is too dusty. I guess we have to enter", he said as they entered cautiously. A few meters into the cavern, there as a clattering noise ahead. "What's that?" Samuel asked. "I didn't hear anything", Elizabeth said denyingly with a scared look on her face. Suddenly, a swarm of bats came charging at them. Samuel immediately spread his wings and wrapped Elizabeth in it. The bats flew over them and exited the cavern. "Are you okay?" Samuel asked as he helped her up. "Yeah", she said as she dusted herself off.
The sun set as they walked further into the cavern, Samuel guiding Elizabeth due to his superior vision, until they reached the entrance to the open area at the center of the mountain. "Hold up, something is wrong", Samuel said suddenly, holding Elizabeth back. He then proceeded to sniff the air.
"We are not alone. We have to get out of here!!" he shouted as he grabbed Elizabeth and ran towards the exit. Suddenly, small metal balls fell in front of them. "Grenades!!" Samuel shouted as he grabbed Elizabeth and leapt away as the grenades exploded; pushing them back towards the cavern's entrance and causing a cave in, covering the exit and trapping them in.
A few minutes ago, a group of thirty men were camped out in the depths of the cavern. As the leader of the group stoked the fire before him, one of his men run up to him in a panic. "What's wrong?" the leader asked. "Boss, our motion sensors picked up two people entering the mountain", the subordinate reported. "Prepare the rest. If they are secret investigating spies from the military, we have to take them out", the leader instructed as he kicked dirt to douse the fire.
As they got ready to welcome the intruders, the bats on the caverns ceiling were disturbed and they flew out through the entrance. "Prepare a grenade, we'll give them the best welcome possible", the leader said with a sinister smile as the closest subordinate nodded and pulled out a grenade and moved closer to the entrance to the cavern.
They heard footsteps a few seconds later, slowly reaching the entrance. The leader quickly gave the signal and his subordinate pulled the pins and tossed the grenades. A few seconds later, a loud explosion was heard followed by sounds of the tunnel caving in.
"How are you holding up?" Elizabeth asked him while cleaning his cheek after the smoke cleared. "Surprisingly, I'm unhurt", Samuel observed after taking the brunt of the explosion. He helped her to her feet and held her close, noticing that they were surrounded. There were about thirty armed men with their guns trained on the two children. The leader took a few steps forward and saw them clearly.
"The fuck! They are just kids", the leader said to himself as he studied the two kids. "You two, who are you? What…are you?" the leader asked, after taking a good look at Samuel. "Speak!" he demanded but still kept his distance.
"Who are you people and what are you doing here?" Samuel asked apprehensively. "I recognize those uniforms. They are a bad guys that attacked the white house. They lost the battle and went into hiding more than a month ago", Elizabeth whispered into Samuel's ears. "Yeah! I remember hearing about it on the news. They are a terrorist organization", Samuel said.
"We have to get out of here", Elizabeth whispered pulling on him as they tried moving closer to the exit. "I hope you aren't trying to escape. The tunnel has collapsed. There is nowhere for you to go", the leader said with a snicker. "Let us go, we're just kids", Elizabeth shouted, hiding behind Samuel. "You may be kids, but you sure were dumb to enter this cavern. Besides, what's with the costume?" he asked Samuel. "I have nothing to say to criminals like you. You'd better let us go before you regret it", Samuel said trying to intimidate the leader.
The armed men suddenly burst into laughter. "What a funny kid. A smartass, but still funny", one of the men said amidst the laughter. Samuel clenched his fist as he stood with a red face. Indeed, coming into the cavern was a dumb move on their part but the past is the past.
The men soon ended their mocking laughter and put on serious faces again. "Anyway, since you saw us there is no way we can allow you to leave, I'm afraid you have to die here", the leader said. "But boss, they are just kids", one of the men spoke out. "They can be toddlers for all I care. As long as they can identify us, we have no other choice. Even if we keep them alive, this is not a daycare, we can't take care of them here", he explained. "I understand boss", the subordinate said and stepped back.
"Good, now get ready to open fire. Let's make it a quick death for them", he instructed as they aimed their guns at the two children and prepared to open fire. Realizing that there was no way out, Samuel's instincts suddenly took over. He spread his wings apart in a threatening manner; releasing all the dagger-like extensions from the ridges, flashing his sharp fangs and claws, and giving off a menacing growl scaring the bejesus out of the terrorists.
"It's a monster! Kill it… kill it now!!" the leader jumped back and shouted as his men opened fire. Samuel instinctually wrapped his wings around Elizabeth using his own body as a shield to tank the shots. He roared loudly in pain as he withstood the rain of bullets.
The terrorists emptied their clips and began panicking as their target kept standing. "Boss, what do we do? He's able to withstand thirty caliber bullets" one of the men asked. "If bullets can't take down this demon, we'll have to use extreme force. You guys keep it under fire while the rest of you bring out the RPGs", the leader ordered.
Large crates were quickly brought and opened. They each pulled out a grenade launcher from the crates and aimed at the two kids. Samuel tightened his grip on Elizabeth as he braced for the impact. The terrorist took turns firing the rocket grenades at them. Samuel gritted his teeth as he withstood the first three bombardments.
He fell to his knees after the fifth grenade, loosening his grip on Elizabeth and causing her to fly into the wall after the seventh grenade hit. She fell to the ground unconscious with blood oozing from her temple. "No!!" Samuel shouted amidst a roar as he wobbled towards her, falling on his face before he got to her.
The cloudy night sky cleared as the full moon rose and its light made its way through an opening at the top of the mountain into the cavern at the center. The terrorists stopped firing the grenades when Samuel fell to the ground. "How much do you think people will pay for a creature like this on the black market?" one of the terrorists asked his companions.
"I don't know but having such a creature as your weapon might have its advantages. Even it's DNA would be worth a lot. I suggest we take it alive and find a way to brainwash it and turn it to our side. We'll be able to achieve our goals if we have it on our side", another said to the leader who grunted his approval.
Samuel crawled to Elizabeth and held her in his arms. He cried in pain as they were bathed in the light of the full moon. "Tie them up. We'll take them with us back to headquarters when we leave", the leader said to his men.
As they approached the two children, the ground began to tremble. The trembling soon turned into a full-on earthquake that grew even more violent as Samuel's cries intensified. His body began to glow as his scales subtly absorbed the light of the full moon.
The glow on his body grew brighter as his cry turned into a loud roar. To the horror of all the terrorists, Samuel began to shift into another form. The human parts of his body were fully replaced, giving him the full look of whatever monster, he was. He grew a longer snout with rows of extremely sharp fangs and his entire body was covered entirely in sharp scales.
He grew to a staggering seven feet in height, towering above all the terrorists and his already large tail increased to three meters in length with its spikes turning into sharp blades. Each swing of his tail generated an air current that could be felt by everyone in the cavern.