"What do you think about her nightmare?" Vivian asked as the car disappeared on a curve. "I'm not sure. I think our best option would be to contact Dr. Michelson and find out the chances of Catherina becoming like her brother. There's too much we don't know about dragons. Her dreams are too frequent to be a coincidence", he said as he retrieved his cellphone from his pocket and dialed Dr. Michelson's number, placing it on speaker to allow Vivian listen in.
"Mr. and Mrs. Griffin, it's been a while", Dr. Michelson greeted after answering the call. After a few short pleasantries, Bernard went straight to the point and briefed him on Catherina's nightmares.
"I'm worried Doc. Is she going to be like her brother? If she is, I feel like we should have known by now. Shouldn't we?" he asked Dr. Michelson. "It's possible she could transform as well, since they are both born of the same womb", Dr. Michelson replied. What do you mean?" Vivian asked.
"Well, the serum that transformed your son is mixed in with your DNA Mrs. Griffin. You are not affected because it was designed to work on new cells, specifically, an unborn baby", Dr. Michelson explained and continued. "To put it bluntly, your womb is a dragon birthing chamber. Until you are no longer able to give birth, any child born between you two will be a dragon", Dr. Michelson answered.
"But why are there differences in their births? I mean, Samuel was born with dragon characteristics right from the get go but Catherina was born just like a regular baby" Bernard asked.
"Samuel's dragon side showed itself right from birth because the serum was introduced after he was conceived but still young enough as a fetus to be mutated by the serum but Catherina was conceived in an already pre-mutated womb", Dr. Michelson explained.
"But that means Catherina's dragon side should have shown by now, shouldn't it?" Bernard asked.
"Not necessarily. Her human side has managed to suppress her dragon side from birth till now. But I think her dragon side is trying to overpower her human side, as she is already experiencing through her dreams, mentally".
"At this point, anything that could physically serve as a shock to her physical body as well as her mind could cause her human side's hold on her Dragon side to be released. Once the reigns are released, her dragon side could completely take over and she could transform", Dr. Michelson added.
"What type of shock do you mean?" Vivian asked. "It could be anything from an injury, a robbery situation, falling off a cliff, an explosion or any other life-threatening accident. Basically, anything that would cause great stress on her psyche".
Hearing him speak of falling off cliffs, Bernard suddenly recalled his daughter's school trip to the cliffs in the mountains.
"And that's not all. If she is to transform now, after all these years, it will be really difficult for her human consciousness to wrestle back control of her dragon side since she is not accustomed to it. Where is she now?" he asked after explaining.
"She's on a trip with her class", Bernard replied. "Please let me know immediately she starts showing any sign of transformation", Dr. Michelson requested.
"Sure thing Doc. I have you on speed dial. We'll be sure to keep you posted. Please say hi to Sam for us. Tell him that we'll call him later to check up on him", Bernard said as he hung up the phone.
Catherina's grade school was located at the center of the city. Betty had just dropped Catherina off and had driven away, heading toward the local farmers market at the outskirts of the city.
"Hey, girl!" Helen, Catherina's best friend, shouted from across the school yard. "Hi!" Catherina replied excitedly as she skipped towards Helen. They held hands as they strolled through the hallway to their lockers.
"So, are you excited for the trip?" Helen asked. "Yeah, I just can't wait! I get to explore my own backyard" Catherina said sarcastically. "Don't be like that. At least we get to explore your backyard together", Helen said as the two friends burst into laughter. "I guess we could have fun. There are a lot of fun spots my brother showed me. I can show them to you!" Catherina informed.
"Let's get going everyone. The bus leaves in an hour. It's time for our debriefing", their teacher called out to everyone. "Let's go", Helen said as she grabbed her bag. "Yeah, let's go", Catherina said as she picked hers up and closed her locker.
They both skipped in the direction of the assembly ground. The students lined up according to their seating number and the teachers briefed them on the location they were going as well as reiterating all the safety protocols to be observed during the trip.
Half an hour later, they were ready to go. The students followed the teacher's instructions as they boarded the tour bus parked on the assembly ground. The bus took off after a last check was done by the teachers, driving through the school gates and joining the highway heading through the city.
Whilst on route, the bus was very lively. In fact, the term lively was an understatement. The entire class with the teachers had a fun sing-a-long all throughout the journey. Even with all the noise, Catherina couldn't help but get lost in thought, nodding off occasionally.
Helen was excited as she sang along until she noticed that Catherina wasn't taking part but rather lost in thought, almost asleep. "Hey, Earth to Cathy!" she said poking Catherina gently in her side and pulling her out of her out of her thoughts.
"You've been drifting off a lot lately. What's up with you?" She asked. "It's nothing, I'm just tired that's all", Catherina responded. "It's the nightmares again, isn't it?" Helen asked. "Yeah", she responded.
"Well, maybe this trip will help you get your mind off your nightmares, you never know," Helen suggested. "Don't jinx it; but yeah, maybe you're right. I can't wait", Catherina said as she finally joined in the sing-a-long.
The bus after a couple of hours due to traffic, finally arrived at the mountains. The drive up the rocky slopes to the designated cliffside was too much for Catherina to handle. With every bump on the road, she experienced flashes that revealed an image of a ferocious blue dragon staring back her, getting closer to her with each flash.
As the bus drove along the cliff side, the very ground underneath it shifted, causing a landslide to suddenly occur. The sudden landslide stunned the driver, causing half of the bus to veer over the cliff. The driver, in an attempt to gain control and dodge the falling debris, swerved the bus and brought it to a complete stop. The students couldn't help but scream their heads of as the experience terrified them greatly.
Unfortunately for them, the bus stopped right in the line of another section of falling debris. The falling rocks smashed into the bus, causing it to finally tip over falling off the cliff, plummeting front first; travelling the, over ninety meters distance to the ground.
Deep in Catherina's psyche, she was running across a meadow of lush green grass but she was not enjoying herself. There was a blue shadow chasing after her; getting ever so close to her with each step it took. "You can't run from this. Give up and let us finally become one", the shadow declared with a deep but feminine draconic voice as it caught up to her. "It's time to awaken", it declared and swallowed her whole.
Just as the bus began its journey down, Catherina screamed loudly, and her eyes glowed brightly. She jumped out of her seat and tore through the emergency exit door at the back of the bus. Almost immediately, her body glowed dimly as she transformed into a large blue dragon.
She quickly caught the bus just threw meters away from disaster and gently placed it on the ground. She looked through the window and saw that all were knocked unconscious except Helen who was barely hanging on.
Her best friend saw the whole thing and was currently shaking with unconcealed terror, a little blood flowing across her temple. Gathering the little courage left in her little child heart, Helen staggered out of the bus and stood; staring at her monster of a best friend, who sat towering over her, in disbelief. "Catherina, is that you?" she asked in a shaky voice. "Yes, it's me. Don't be scared" Catherina said in her female draconic voice as she crouched down closer to Helen.