Involuntary testing

I stared at the computer screen in front of me. All I wanted to do was to close the dratted window, but I knew that was unwise. As part of the school's e-learning day, I was required to sit through a series of pre-recorded lectures, followed by a heap of online quizzes. According to the teacher in charge, attendance would be taken, and those who didn't access the lectures or quizzes would be subject to CWO (Corrective work order). Therefore, playing games was out of the question.

However, I did eventually get bored of organic chemistry, and ended up minimising the lecture that was still playing, and surfing the net instead. I did the usual things: checking:  facebook, my e-mail and deviantart. I replied to a few comments and read a few stories. Eventually, an interesting advertisement caught my eye.

It went: "Describing your dragon character is one thing, but seeing him/her is quite another!" It then rattled on about how one would be able to see one's character by using their application.

Curious, I clicked on the ad, and downloaded their software, and installed it. I was eager to see what my character looked like, as it was no secret that I liked the flying reptiles. There was a surprising number of disclaimers, which I didn't bother to read as usual. With the lecturer still rattling on in the background, I quickly installed the application and launched it. What appeared was a form prompting me to input the various characteristics of the character, including the number of pairs of wings, eye colour, body colours, height, apparel, etc. It was rather comprehensive, and seemed to demand a rather high level of precision. I was prompted to enter the wingspan of the character to one decimal place, and the height (in metres) to two. This, of course caused me to raise eyebrows, however, I complied, filling in the entire form in fifteen minutes, only stopping to switch to a new lecture.

However, one thing I didn't notice was that throughout the entire time, my web camera had been activated, and was filming my every move.

When I hit the 'submit' button, my a popup from my firewall application. It went: "Drgngenerator.exe is trying to access the internet. Cancel or Allow?"

Assuming that it was just trying to send the data to the company's servers to be processed, I allowed it.

As soon as I allowed it, my ancient laptop momentarily froze. I wasn't surprised. The laptop was on the verge of collapse, and running Microsoft Word could cause it to lag. I waited patiently, until a picture of my character popped up. It was not only accurate, it was also very realistic. I could have sworn that he was standing in front of me if not for the computer screen. I could make out every scale, and every hair on his mane.

They had somehow managed to factor in every little detail. From the black scales to the metallic grey underbelly, from the black slitted pupils to the small horn on the muzzle, from the twin white horns at the back of the head to the hair that ran from the head to the tailtip. The detail was amazing. They had even gotten the build right.

Just as I decided to save the picture, the entire computer froze. I cursed. However, one good thing came out of that- the annoying lecturer was silenced. Then, the screen went blank. Meanwhile, the webcam was still operating.

I couldn't help but snort. "What? No BSOD?" I remarked. That was when I noticed the webcam. I realised that something was wrong. Very wrong. I reached behind the laptop and first removed the battery, which was charging.

Before I could pull out the adapter, the screen flashed white, causing me to sit back and shield my eyes. Then there was a blur of motion. The next thing I knew, I found myself wrestling with something. At some point, I lost my spectacles, yet I fought on. As we struggled with each other, I could make out the blurry outlines of a muzzle and a pair of wings… Could it be?

Eventually, whoever I was wrestling with spoke up. "Stop! I mean you no harm!" For some reason, I recognised that voice. He got up first, and offered me a hand, which I gratefully took. I noted that it was black. Then it dawned on my slow brain that I had been wrestling with my own character.

He handed me my glasses, which I put on. Then came the awkward moment when we both gawked at each other. He broke the silence first. "You live here?!" the surprise and disgust evident in his voice. "I imagined you to have better organisation, and more sense!" he continued, gesturing at the humongous heap of notes and work on my table.

"Oh, come on! Who are you to criticize me for my organisation?! I created you, for goodness sake!" I snapped, making my indignance known.  I then noticed that my laptop had started to smoke. I reached over and pulled the plug. I was also half expecting him to disappear, but he remained there, even as my laptop's fan spun itself down.

He gave an irritated growl. "That's no excuse, considering that you're me…"

"Wait, what?"

"You heard me." He snorted. "You are me."

"Then explain to me why the hell I am here talking to myself?!"

"You aren't."

"What?! Didn't you just-"

He cut me off. "I'm still a separate entity. That company that made that program has pulled me forth from my own dimension. Your camera had been used to match the two of us… We exist in different planes… That program was tested on you." He made it sound as if it was common knowledge, and that I was a colossal idiot for not knowing it.

"Oh….. Then, go back to your own dimension!" I snapped.

"I can't. It's a one way thing. It's also not much better that they only pulled my essence here…. I am not only stuck here, you are also the only person who can see me…" He then began to look me over with a thoughtful eye. "Of course, you could…."

"Could what?" I demanded. I hadn't expected myself to be such a dick.

"Merge with me. You'll get my physical form, which I'm sure you want, while I get to live on in your mind."

It was my turn to snort. "And give me multiple personality disorder, no doubt. My answer is no. Buzz off."

He growled and pounced on me, knocking me to the ground. My head hit the floor rather hard, making me see stars. "I'm not giving you any choice!" he roared.

"I think not." I retorted, as I kicked him off, and got up. I managed to snatch my pen knife out of my pencil case, which was just within reach. "You aren't me. I would never act like that!"

His expression changed suddenly. He looked devastated, and slunk out the room, wings drooping and tail dragging on the floor. "You're right. I'm not like you…." He muttered, as he left the room.

Thinking that the situation was already done and over with, I went over to my laptop and inspected it. Some of the keys on the keyboard had been partially melted, but other than that, the exterior looked fine. I dreaded what I would find when I opened the chassis, yet I knew that I had to check the extent of the damage, lest it exploded or something when I booted it up.

As I rummaged around for a screwdriver, I heard a loud "Crash!" from downstairs. I poked my head out of the window to see what had happened.

A car had somehow skidded off the road outside the block in which I was staying (Yes, I stay in a flat), and had slammed into a tree.

I hurriedly grabbed the phone and called for an ambulance, then, I snatched up a first aid kit and took the lift down to the accident site, muttering about reckless drivers.

I ran across the void deck of the block, up to the car, whose driver looked rather shaken. I helped to pry the car door open, and supported him as he limped out. Luckily he was mostly unscathed, other than a few cuts and bruises. However, he did have a head wound. I sat and waited for the ambulance with him, which wasn't long, as the Civil Defense force was true to its boasts of being able to reach any area in Singapore within five minutes.

After giving a statement to the traffic police, I returned home. The moment I opened the door to my room, I was hit with the smell of blood.

Right in the middle of the room was the dragon. He was lying there in a crumpled heap, coughing up blood. He was also bleeding from several cuts on his arms, legs, chest and tail. His wings also looked broken.

At the sound of the door closing, he looked up at me. "Help….me…." he croaked, and was then subject to another coughing fit.

Luckily for him, I was still holding the first aid kit. I hurried up to him and looked him over. It didn't take a genius to see that he was in really bad shape, not to mention internal injuries. It also took no Einstein to draw the conclusion that he had been hit by the car. However, as I opened the box, he shook his head.

"I..I..can't..breathe!… You…must….merge……….." He then hacked up another mouthful of blood, then looked me in the eye. "Now!……. Don't….let…me…die…Please!"

There was genuine fear in his eyes.

I didn't say anything.

He began to sob. "I don't want to die…………."

I knew that I couldn't stand by and watch him die. I knew well enough that I couldn't live with it, besides, I did want to be a dragon. I went up to him and offered him my hand. He looked up, and smiled painfully as he took it. "Alright. I'll merge. But, no taking control over me without asking, ok?"

He nodded, then muttered, "Time is running out…."

"Then lets get this done and over with."

He didn't say anything, but began to fade from view. Panic began to edge into my thoughts. Was I too late?

A moment later, a voice popped into my head. <No, you were just in time. You have my gratitude, I owe you a big one…> I then saw a mental image of him standing next to me. The next thing I knew, he was standing next to me again, but this time, he was fully healed.

He beamed at me.  "I'm feeling better now, thanks to you, and now, we are one." He then pointed at my right hand.

It was then that I noticed that I was starting to sprout scales, and a set of claws on my hand.

"This is my gift to you." He said, and sat down on my bed to watch. "Do not worry. It won't hurt…"

The next thing I knew, the scales were rushing up my arm, and disappeared up my sleeve.

"I suggest you take your shirt off."

"For what?"

"It's either that or let your wings rip your shirt to bits."

As he said that, I felt the bones at my back start to shift around and make alarming cracking noises. I quickly reached behind my back and pulled my shirt off. I was just in time. As the scales began to move over my back and chest, I felt pressure begin to mount along the length of my back. The next thing I knew, two black wings burst forth from my back, as my entire back became covered by black scales.

I watched as my chest was covered by smoky grey scales, which raced both up my neck and down my chest. I then felt pressure building at my tailbone.  The dragon then pointed at my pants.

I shook my head. "No, the pants stay."

He shrugged. "Your choice, although I've already seen everything…"

"WHAT?!"

"for goodness sake, I share your mind now… There would be something wrong if I didn't…"

"Oh." I replied, as it dawned on me, and just then my tail burst forth from my pants, ripping a ragged hole in the seat of my pants. "dammit, I liked those pants…" I muttered, as the tail swished around. Then, there was a rush of new sensations as both the wings and tail connected with my nervous system.

By this time, the scales had already covered my other hand, which had already sprouted claws. The scales were now spreading down my legs, and as they reached my feet, I felt a tingling sensation, and heard more cracking noises as the bones moved about and reformed, making me adopt a more digitigrade stance, as my five toes merged into three, and sprouted a set of vicious looking ivory claws. A new 'toe' also sprouted at the back of each foot, together with its own smaller claw.

All that was left was my head. I took off my spectacles, and put them aside, knowing that I wouldn't need them anymore, as my face pushed out into a draconic muzzle, at the end of which a small horn pushed itself out, its shape similar to that of a pistol's front sight. I felt pressure build at two points at the back of my head, as two parallel horns, both with a slight upward curve, pushed their way out of my head. My hair grew, and spread all along my back, thinning out at my tailtip, forming my new mane.

All this while, the dragon stood by, watching. By the time it was done, he nodded at me, "Looking good!"

I couldn't help but laugh. "Expected. You are truly me now, and the opposite as well." Then, I sobered up. "Let me get one thing straight first. If you want control, ask me first. Clear?"

He nodded.

"Oh, and one more thing, I don't believe I got your name…"

"I'm Kr'tinoth"

"Right. Welcome to my um… life I guess" I then looked myself over, realising that I would definitely not be able to leave the room in my current form. "Now, how do I turn back?"

"You can't."

"WHAT?!" I spluttered, cutting him off.

"…let me finish…. Instead, you cloak yourself as a human, by concentrating like so." He continued, sounding slightly annoyed at having been interrupted.

As he did so, I watched myself loose the draconic features, and look human again. "Oh, thanks…"

"Now, since it is night, shall we turn back and go flying?"

"That will have to wait… I have homework to clear first…"

He gave me an incredulous look, as I sat down to do my work.

We had a loooooooooooooong way to go…