"Where the hell were you?!", shrieked his father, with a blood red face filled with anger. "Do you know how much trouble you caused us? We had to search everywhere for you, and I wasn't even allowed to sleep! Thanks to your mother's panicking that is..."

"One of these days I'm going to sock you one, and it's going to hurt real bad", snapped his mother in reply. "Eric, could you please answer your ignorant father's question?"

Eric was still thinking about the night he had went through, how much fun he had, how exhilarating it was, and almost forgot to answer the question. He repeatedly considered going back, and flying away from where he was; to have gone far away where no one could have annoyed him, somewhere vast and peaceful. For the time being, however, he was required to answer the question from the frauds he called his parents. He tried to act stupid himself, thinking maybe they would buy into it. "I don't know, I was walking and then I just blacked out in the woods. I woke up about an hour ago. I feel fine now though."

They both looked at each other. Ralph clearly looked annoyed, probably because he did not care enough to be worried. His mother, on the other hand, seemed very concerned, and about to suggest a drastic solution. That was soon the case. "Well, maybe we should bring you to the doctor. You do seem sort of pale."

"Oh please", Ralph objected. "He's fine; it's all in his head. How about you go worry about something else, like my breakfast?"

"You're a dirty, repulsive pig, you know that? I'd like to see you take a shower - you know, it's been four days now. Four days! Maybe you should be concerned over disintegrating completely under that filth you call a body!"

Eric took this opportunity to slip away, down the stairs and out the door, grabbing his bag on the way. He had a very calm walk down the street, thinking once again about the preceding night. His arm continued to annoy him thanks to the pain it had endured, but it would slowly go away as the day went by. The thoughts of the freedom linked to flight filled his head to the point of obtaining the massive urge to shift once again, even though the amount of people walking around strongly suggested the opposite. All of that aside, there were a few odd things he noticed after that night. For one, he realized he was a TFR, of course, but what he did not understand, was why he had not shown any signs earlier on like most TFRs. To Eric, it seemed so late compared to the average wait of five years. He also noted he could keep certain parts of his mid-form when he was in his human form, however he was not able to keep it for very long, nor could he attempt it very often.

While he neared the school, he noticed other people walking, who were heading to the same destination as him, staring at him. He found it awkward to have been gawked at by so many people at once, and he automatically assumed the cause to be of Bob's fault, who must have had disclosed the incident to the public. If that was the case, he was not sure whether they knew he was a dragon, but he was certain they knew he was reptilian.

Coming into the school and walking to his first class of the day, he counted at least 15 people who looked at him, gaping awkwardly at his figure. He wondered at that moment how the rumor could have had spread as quickly as it did. Eric hurried over to his first class, avoiding as many people as he could; however, it was much worse. Taking his seat near the heart of the class, he was in a perfect position for people sitting at the back to throw spit balls at. When Eric finally turned around, one of them had the courage to yell "Oh no, he's going to roar again! Take cover!", which was unintelligent on their part, since the teacher heard the slur and immediately threw them out of the class. But even in succession, there were a few more glances Eric managed to notice.

Second period - French - was even more bizarre. Bob was absent from class, and his friends sat as far away as possible from Eric. Ms. Tina seemed confused by their unusual behaviour, but she seemed to have found the reason, once she glanced toward Eric, seemingly unimpressed. Lunch followed shortly enough, which seemed ordinary at first; he met up with Veronica at a table and began a loose discussion, just like any other day.

"I remember that!", she chuckled. "Then she fell in the mud, and the only thing you could see were her legs! Wait, I think I have it on my cell..." She pulled out her cell phone, presumably scanning through her video clips. "Hmm, not there. It's on my Facebook, though."

"Good times, good times, huh?", Eric replied in the form of a question, which he knew she would not answer.

"Say, umm, there was something I was hoping to ask you..." She seemed hesitant. "What happened yesterday, between you and Bob? Are the rumors true?"

He hesitated as well, but he knew he could trust her. "Well, sort of..." He paused for a brief moment, unsure whether to continue. He lowered his voice. "See, uhh, I'm a... TFR... but I--"

"Yeah, I suppose that makes sense. But, what species? I mean, I heard all of these rumors, but I don't know what to believe. Some people say crocodile, or some sort of reptile, I'm not s--"

"Dragon...", he whispered, making sure no one heard.

"Dragon?!" She tried to whisper as much as Eric did, but she was much too shocked. She lowered her tone, covered her mouth and continued: "Dragon? I didn't think they existed, I mean I thought they were just a myth..."

And then, the event he was attempting to avoid took place. He picked up whispers coming from around the room, and then, like dominoes, it went from one table to another, suddenly sparking shock.

"Dragon?! I thought they didn't exist!"

"Wait, so that's what Bob saw? A dragon?"

"A dragon, huh? Well, this isn't good..."

The discussion went from whispers to loud discussions in a matter of seconds. Veronica too, began to notice the commotion. She shot a glance at Eric, embarrassed, seeming truly sorry for what she had caused. He knew she did not mean it, but it was too late to stop it. He tried to comfort her with a smile, but then, a few people got up from the other side of the room, and walked in his direction, fists clenched. As weird as it sounded, the dragon part of his brain gave orders; its senses warned him the situation was not safe. "Escape..."

He got up and ran, which the group of followers imitated. Taking a quick glance, he noticed a large portion of the crowd began to block the school's numerous exits, forbidding him from escaping and flying away, out of their grasp. Others tried to block corridors, including the one leading to the gymnasium, and the one to the library.

The school was divided into three sections. The right side was occupied by the cafeteria and the library, where, fortunately for Eric, the majority of the school ate. The top floor and the left wing were reserved for classrooms, while the middle section contained the main exit and the gymnasium. Each section had its own flight of steps, which lead to the second floor. Eric ran quickly towards the stairs accessed by the middle section, all while shoveling through people to try and make the left wing. Most of the school's classrooms were built there, so he searched for an unlocked room to imprison himself in. Strangely enough, there was absolutely no sign of one, which was very uncommon for the time of day. He tried running to the other end of the corridor, where there would have been yet another set of stairs he would be able to access without a problem. He had one final plan, and if it did not work, he would have been boxed in from both sides; the top floor would have crowded down after him, and the mob from the cafeteria would have run through the corridor in the same wing.

Thanks to his athletic shape, he made it down to the first floor, and luckily, his target room was close. Eric ran to it, the mob closely catching up to him. When he tried opening the door, it did not budge. "Locked!", he thought. He shook the metal knob in denial over what was happening. The horde was getting closer. Finally, he stopped and accepted defeat. He figured if they did not want him alive, so be it. He shut his eyes as they went to grab him, when suddenly, the door behind him opened, and an arm grabbed him, pulling him inside. Eric fell to the floor and the man locked the door, the gang screaming and pounding, trying to get through. He knew their persistence would most likely prevail, so it was only a matter of time. He finally looked up, and saw Mr. Matt, holding down the door.

"Matt? Man, I'm I ever glad to see you! I thought you we--"

"No time, Eric!", Matt yelled, demonstrating the danger of the situation. "I know what happened out there. The teachers are quick to send messages. I've got to get you out of here fast."

Something deeply puzzled Eric. "But, why aren't you against me like them? I mean, even Ms. Tina seemed to want to take a shot at me."

"Because!", he persisted, impatiently. "Look, I've known you were different from the others for a while." The pounding at the door began to augment in volume, forcing Mr. Renault to speak louder. "I noticed you had green eyes and longer teeth than most people, so I knew you were a TFR. But there was something strange about you; you didn't even seem to realize it. After the incident between you and Bob yesterday, I knew people would find out, and I knew they'd get mad, so I broke down that wall last night and rebuilt it with some soft cement."

Eric sat there a minute, allowing this new information to sink in. "Why would you go through all that? There's something else..."

Matt let out an annoyed sigh, knowing he did not have much time left before the door broke down. "I'm a TFR as well."

He then began to concentrate on himself, without letting go of the door. Fur began to sprout out of his face, and it quickly turned gray. His snout pushed out and formed away from his face, the same way everyone seemed to have done it. His ears became pointed, and his irises enlarged, to seem much more intimidating. His arm muscles grew, which helped to keep the door under control, and his shirt split to reveal even more fur. His legs became superposed and his tail sprouted out, just like a wolf's. The claws were next, growing on both his hands and feet, which preceded their growth. His transformation completed when he opened his mouth, revealing his sharpening teeth and flattening tongue.

Eric gawked at him for a second, and shook his head in disbelief. "He's a TFR? But he's much too old to be born one...", he wondered, knowing TFRs only appeared a mere 25 years earlier. "That means he had the experimental injection done..." He seemed very strong in his fur coat, and not someone one would want to mess with.

"Alright, now that you know, I suggest you go", he yelled, in a much deeper tone. "Shift into your dragon form, and rip down the wall I busted!" The number of kicks to the door lowered, but increased in strength.

"But, I don't know how! My first time was an accident!"

"Concentrate! Think about your mid-form, the details, and the differences to your human self! Picture it as clearly as you can in your head! Now!"

"But I --"

"Do it!" The door began to crack. Eric knew he had to try.

He tried to concentrate on his dragon self as he was told. The noise generated by the constant pounding became very hard for Eric to ignore, but he tried his best to put them aside. Soon enough, he felt the changes again. His tail jolted out of his spine with a lot less pain from the last night. Spikes and scales quickly grew out of his body, as well as his claws and snout. He was still parked to the ground when his feet shifted, which seemed to have triggered his muscle growth. When his wings finally ripped out of his back, it was over. He lifted his eyes again to see that the pounding had almost ceased completely; instead, the mob began counting down from three to one, crashing into the door every few seconds. Matt was in clear need of help - but Eric had to get out.

He got up, his tail catching his balance, as he ran over to the wall Matt designated. He hit into it as hard as he could, but it was much too durable. In spite of this, he backed up, took a deep breath and blew out a large jet of fire, which significantly damaged the wall. A final kick was all it took for Eric to break it down, allowing it to crumble beneath his feet. He glanced back toward Matt, who struggled with the door.

"Matt, I got it! Come on, get out of there!"

Matt did not move a muscle. "No, I'll stay!", he exclaimed. "I'll try to fight them off, to keep them busy while you escape!"

"No, Matt! It's not worth it, they'll kill you!"

"I'll be fine! Go to the wind farm northwest from here, and I'll meet you there as soon as I can!"

Eric shook his head in disagreement. "No, I'm n--"

"Eric, go!" Suddenly, Matt turned around, and backed away from the door, allowing the next smash to go through. The door shattered into five pieces as Matt let out a deafening roar, with his claws pulled out. He soon began to attack the frightened students, shoving them out of Eric's line of sight. Suddenly, he noticed some of them to entering the room, despite Matt's efforts. Quickly, he tried to climb out of the wall, but unfortunately, his foot spike caught onto a piece of the wall's debris, which was too big to fit through the small hole. One of the students took this chance to grab Eric's foot, and he, along with another friend, attempted to pull the dragon right back inside the classroom.

"I got him, I got him!", the student shouted, trying to alert other students. Eric noticed they were succeeding, so he tried to claw at the grass in front of him for a source of grip. Even so, the mobsters continued to pull him further back inside, smiling as if they were reeling the biggest fish of their lives. In a sudden move, the dragon instinct gave him the order to bring out his tail and hit them both across the head. The spike at the end hit point blank into both of their skulls, which sent them across the floor, blood gushing out of their wounds. Eric's eyes grew larger in shock of what had happened, but he tried his best to shake it off and begin prying the piece of debris from his foot. When he finally succeeded, he got up, and to the sight of additional students rushing toward him, he leaped up and flapped his wings, avoiding yet another possible capture.

After reaching a reasonable altitude, he remembered Matt was still inside, fending for his life. He felt a sudden urge empowering him to go and help, but the dragon within him ordered him to let it be. Hesitant, and knowing it was wrong after what he had done for him, Eric accepted the command. But just when he began his flight home, he looked down and noticed a wolf leaping out of the main entrance, running in full form on its four legs, zipping toward the northern forest at high speeds. Clearly frustrated, one of the followers turned toward the others to yell something, and thanks to Eric's enhanced sight, he noticed they were beginning to take out their cell phones. Eric knew exactly what they were doing; calling for police. They all knew his name, and they all knew how he looked like, so it would be hard for him to escape. Out of the blue, he snapped out of his daze and flew southbound to his home.