The Statue: Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Change Number Two

The report on Nate’s death appeared in the paper a few days after. It said that it was a suspected homicide. There were no fingerprints in the area, and the exact cause of death was skeptical. He had suffered a flesh wound, severe trauma to the head and burning, but the apparent cause of death was crushing. Police had absolutely no leads, other than the window in the room was open.

From then on, I was never happy. Some people suspected I was bummed by something, considering my eyes always had a horrified stare, but they could never tell what. Most people in the school didn’t even care Nate was dead.

Actually, I wasn’t like that because Nate was dead, or because I killed him. In fact, in any other case, I’d probably be happy. I was totally miserable because the instincts, my instincts, had taken over my mind completely. By the time I had regained control, it was too late. What if it happed again and I killed someone I cared about?

I had decided it wasn’t worth the risk. I vowed to never become a dragon again. I didn’t want anyone else ending up dead.

*****

A month passed. The April weather was fairly warm, although rainy, and most people were glad that the snow had all melted. The rain, however, went with my mood perfectly.

I had stuck by my vow. I had not used my ability since the incident, yet I was still always depressed. I had never gotten over the incident. I know I should have, as staying depressed caused my grades to suffer, but I just couldn’t. My mind couldn’t get over what had happened to me.

I was strolling down the hallway to another LA class with my now common emo attitude. I suddenly bumped into someone, and we both fell flat on our butts. I saw who it was, and I quickly apologized. “Sorry about that, Branden.”

Branden brushed the dust off his clothes. “It’s no problem, Marc,” he responded. I started to walk away, but Branden quickly grabbed me. “Marc,” he asked, “what’s been up with you lately? You’ve become, like, an emo guy. You’re always depressed, and I know that something’s wrong. What is it?”

“It’s nothing, Branden,” I tried telling him.

“Oh, Marc,” he said. “Don’t give me any of that ‘it’s nothing’ crap. Bullshit! I know something’s wrong with you! You can trust me! I’m your friend!”

I looked at Branden. He was right, of course. He was my friend, and I could trust him with secrets. Besides, I had to tell someone what happened to me. “You really want to know what’s wrong, Branden? Tell you what; come over to my house after school on Friday. I’ll show you what’s wrong, then.”

Branden looked kind of iffy about it, but then said, “Okay.” He rushed to his next class. I shook my head and walked to LA.

*****

The week passed by fairly quickly. I had asked my mom if it was all right if Branden could come over after school on Friday. She thought about it, because she wasn’t at home at that time (which I personally thought was perfect), but she eventually gave me the go-ahead.

My school has a weird system. On Fridays, we get three extra option classes and health class, which is pure failure. Although the classes are slightly longer than normal, they end at half past 12, meaning the kids only have half a day of school.

Anyways, I met Branden at the front of the school, buying lemonade from the vending machine (we could only by pop on normal school days from the store, and even then, only diet pops). We started walking quietly to my bus as he drank his lemonade.

The bus ride was uneventful. Not even the pricks on the bus were mean to me today, and I knew it wasn’t because of Branden. When the bus left us off at the stop, I said, “Hey, Branden, there’s a KFC just a few blocks down the road. Why don’t we go there for lunch?”

“All right,” Branden agreed. I was glad we had both brought some cash.

It only took a few minutes to walk to the KFC. Branden and I had short conversations about video games and stupid stuff we saw on the internet. Branden tried bringing up a topic about comparing something you don’t want to know about, but I told him to stop being disgusting.

We both bought value meals from the KFC and sat down in the small area to eat. The chicken tasted pretty good, and they had put a good amount of spice on it. Branden was enjoying his meal, too. Halfway through, however, Branden asked, “Marc, what was it you wanted to show me?”

I gave a short laugh, and then replied, “I’ll tell you once we get home.”

About half an hour later, we were back at my house. I had just gotten through the back door, and I told Branden to wait outside for me. I walked into my bedroom and easily found the dragon statue. I sighed and went outside, where Branden was waiting.

“Marc,” he asked, “what’s that dragon statue for?”

“I’m going to tell you shortly,” I responded, moving onto the lawn. “Come over here, Branden, but not too closely.” Branden nodded and stepped closer.

“All, right Branden,” I said. “You see this statue?” I asked him, letting him have a good look at it without letting him look into its eyes.

“Yeah,” he responded.

“Back on my birthday, I bought this statue on eBay,” I told him. “When I got it… well, I’ll just show you.” I put the statue down, and took a step back. “Whatever happens, don’t be alarmed,” I said to Branden. I closed my eyes and started concentrating.

Considering I hadn’t had done it in a month, I was surprised that the transformation still wasn’t as painful as the first time. I continued to keep my eyes closed as dark blue scales started covering my body, and softer, pitch black scales covered my underbelly. I enjoyed the feeling as I hadn’t had experienced in a long time. I felt my fingers and toes merge together, claws burst from the tips, a tail snake from my backside, wings explode from my shoulders, horns extend from my skull, and my face push out into a muzzle. Finally, I dropped onto all fours and opened my eyes.

Branden hadn’t panicked. That was a good sign. He had, however, fallen backwards onto the ground and had stared at me through the whole transformation. He was still staring at me, his mouth hanging down like he was about to chomp on a huge piece of pie. After a long awkward silence, Branden broke it by speaking, “Well, that… kind of explains a bit.”

For the first time in who knows how long, I grinned and started chuckling. When Branden realized that it was still me, he started to chuckle a bit, too. Eventually, though, Branden stopped chuckling and continued speaking. “Marc, I understand why you would hide something like this. Honestly, who wouldn’t? But why are you depressed by it?”

My mood suddenly dropped. “You couldn’t possibly understand,” I responded, and I turned away from Branden.

“Come on, Marc!” Branden said. “Yes I can understand!”

“No you can’t!” I almost yelled back.

“What could possibly be so horrible that…”

“I killed Nate!” I roared in his face.

There was stunned silence for about a minute. Then Branden responded with, “Marc, you say that like it’s a bad thing.”

“No, Branden,” I said. “It’s not the fact that I killed him that’s been bothering me. It’s… it’s hard to explain. You see, when I first became a dragon, my mind had undergone a change as well. Not only did I receive the body of a dragon, I obtained the thoughts and instincts of one as well. When Nate knocked me down one day, my rage was so great that my instincts took complete control over me. That’s why I was never happy the past month. I couldn’t get over what happened to me, as I was too worried I might kill someone else.” With that, I turned away again and lied on the ground.

Branden sat beside me and touched my side. I felt a little uncomfortable, but I didn’t say anything. “Marc,” he said, “this is all confusing, but I think I understand. But you need to get over it. Yes, it’s hard to get over losing your mind, but hey, instead of sulking over it, learn from it. You said your instincts took over because your anger accelerated. Don’t refuse to become a dragon ever again and become all emo. Marc, being able to become a dragon is awesome! I’m sure you agree with that! Not using that at least once in a while when you can is just plain wasteful. If you became so angry, all you have to do is learn to control your anger. Don’t refuse to be happy, just control your emotions.”

I thought about what Branden had said for a few minutes. Eventually, I stood up again, this time on my hind legs. Even though I was slightly hunched, I was still a good 3 feet taller than Branden. I smiled and said, “Thanks, Branden.”

“You’re welcome,” Branden said, glad that he was able to help me. He then turned his head and started staring at the statue, still lying in the middle of the yard. “Hey, Marc,” Branden asked me, “do you know if that statue still works?”

“I don’t know,” I replied. “I never used it again, seeing as how I can transform on my own… hey, wait a second!” I said, realizing what he was thinking. “You’re not thinking of…”

“I sure as hell am!” Branden responded. “You got to become a dragon, and I’d like to see what it’s like as well.”

“Branden,” I responded, “I understand what you said about controlling my emotions, but what about you? Sometime, you might get angry, and you’d probably go kill someone too! Besides, I’m not even sure if it still works.”

“I’m fully aware of that, Marc,” Branden responded. “It’s a risk that I’m willing to take.”

I sighed, but I walked over to the statue, still on two legs, and picked it up. “Branden, are you sure this is what you want?” I asked him. “If it is, there’s no going back. I’m almost certain you’ll be like me forever. You will have the ability to become a dragon, but you’ll also have the instincts all the time, even as a human.”

Branden nodded. “That’s a little uncomforting, but I can handle it.”

“All right,” I said reluctantly. “Come over here.” Branden walked closer. “When you’re ready, just look deep into the statue’s eyes.” I had the statue face him. Branden took a deep breath, and then started staring into the eyes. After a few seconds with nothing happening, I said, “I think it’s useless, now.”

As if on cue, the eyes of the statue started to glow a crimson red. “Whoa!” Branden yelled, but he continued to stare deep into the statue’s eyes. As he did, I noticed that Branden’s eyes were changing. They changed from their natural brown to a shiny silver, and they became ellipse shaped, like a reptile’s.

The eyes of the statue eventually stopped glowing, causing me to drop the statue and Branden to fall on his backside. “It looks like I spoke too soon,” I said.

“Hey Marc,” Branden said nervously, before the rest of the transformation started, “does becoming a dragon hurt?”

“Um, after the first time, it’s completely painless,” I responded. “But the first one hurts so much that anyone not knowing what was happening would think they’re dying.”

“Oh crap, now you tell me!” Branden responded. He started to get up, but as he did, I noticed that scales had already begun to form on his face. The scales appeared to be a purplish-blue in colour.

“Just brace yourself through the entire process,” I told Branden. He nodded and stood upright again. A few seconds later, I saw his face start to grimace and he started watching his feet. His shoes just seemed to melt away as his toes melded into three. Black scales covered them, and obsidian talons burst from the toes as Branden’s feet shifted and became digitigrade. A glance at Branden’s face confirmed he was enjoying his transformation.

I continued looking at Branden’s face, which continued to be covered by the purplish-blue scales. His neck stretched out quite a bit, but he didn’t seem to notice it. He barely noticed his hair shriveling away as well, but he did notice when a pair of horns burst from his skull. He winced in pain, but he didn’t yell out, which was probably a good thing. His horns were midnight black, but they were very short; maybe only a couple of inches.

Branden’s ears twitched, and then quickly morphed to become pointed and the same purplish-blue that most of his scales were coloured. As the rest of his face was covered by scales, he closed his eyes and started moaning in either pain or pleasure, I’m not sure which. Sure enough, his face bulged out and became a draconic muzzle. He opened his eyes and grinned.

His happiness didn’t last long, however. Almost instantly, Branden fell backwards again and started growling in pain. I smirked as I saw a tail snake out between his legs. The underside of his tail, compared to his purplish-blue colour, was a creamy white. When his tail reached its full length, Branden stopped growling and smiled again.

The rest of Branden’s body started to be covered by scales. As he transformed, his clothes melded into him, just like mine did when I transformed. His underbelly was creamy white, while most of the rest of his scales were purplish-blue. I noticed, however, that when the scales got closer to his extremities, they became closer to black.

Branden’s expression, which was already pretty happy, jumped up even more as his muscles and body grew, making him stronger. More scales covered his arms and hands. His middle and ring fingers merged into a single digit, and more black claws burst from the tips. There was only one thing left in his transformation.

Branden suddenly fell onto all fours and started growling in pain, doing his best not to roar. In a few seconds, a pair of wings burst from his back. The arms were the same colour as his scales, but the wings were a bright magenta colour. Branden folded his new wings up, and the transformation was over.

Branden picked himself up and stood on all fours. At first, he was still smiling at what happened to him, but his happy expression soon turned into confusion, and he shook his head.

“So, how do you feel, Branden?” I asked him.

“I… I’m not sure,” he responded. Like me, Branden’s voice had become slightly deeper and more serpentine with his transformation. “It’s like there’s… something in my head, pushing at it.”

“Don’t worry,” I reassured him. “It’s probably just your new instincts.”

“No,” he responded. “My instincts are separate and not as strong as this thing. I’m sure of it. But it keeps… AUGH!” His sudden yell took me by surprise, and he fell to the ground, clutching at his head.

“Branden! What’s wrong?” I asked, starting to panic. He didn’t respond. He just kept writhing on the ground in agony. As he did, however, I felt something radiating from his body. It’s hard to explain, really. I just felt there was something wrong with Branden, and it chilled my body.

Eventually, Branden stopped writhing and stood up, keeping his eyes closed. I still felt whatever it was emanating from him. “Branden?” I asked softly. Branden opened his eyes and I instantly knew it wasn’t really Branden. His eyes were red and glowing. I saw no free will in those eyes.


The dragon that used to be Branden let out a huge roar that half the city must have heard. He bent down and jumped into the air to fly off. I, however, had different plans, and I quickly tackled him to the ground before he could get away. He growled and said, “Let go of me!” His voice sounded somewhat like Branden’s, but it was warped and twisted.

“Not likely,” I muttered, and I struggled to keep him on the ground. Branden had always been small, and, despite growing quite a bit with his transformation, was still a good deal smaller than me. However, something that the statue did to him along with this sudden change into evil also must have given him quite a bit of strength; I could barely hold him on the ground, and he didn’t seem to be getting tired.

“Branden!” I suddenly shouted. “I know you’re still in there somewhere! You have to get control of yourself!”

The only response was more growling. I was getting weaker, and his strength seemed to be endless. I can’t let this happen! I thought. If Branden gets loose, who knows what he might do! I don’t know how, but I have to free his mind somehow. I put a huge amount of concentration into that last thought, and something very strange happened. I suddenly began to feel warmer, and Branden’s struggling started to fade.

I opened my eyes, which I close while thinking, and almost let go with my surprise. A dark blue aura, the same colour as my scales, had surrounded me and was flowing through Branden’s body. The aura continued to flow into Branden and eventually, his struggling stopped and he fell back onto the ground. I let go of him, and the aura vanished. Not only that, but I couldn’t feel any of that evil presence that had been surrounding Branden.

I took a deep breath, not knowing what to expect, and nudged Branden. “Branden? Please tell me you’re alright,” I said softly.

Branden started to stand up and he opened his eyes. I sighed with relief when I saw that they weren’t red and glowing, but the silver they had become with his transformation. “I’m fine now, Marc,” he said, sounding a little shaken, “but jeez, that really freaked me out.”

“What happened, exactly?” I asked.

Branden shook his head. “I’m not totally sure,” he responded. “Once the transformation stopped, something instantly appeared in my head along with my instincts. It was… pure evil, that’s all I could tell. It tried to take over my mind, and it hurt. I tried fighting it, but I lost and blacked out. Ah, Jesus. I hope I didn’t do anything bad to you.”

“Oh, no, you didn’t do anything,” I said to him. “You just made a roar so loud that people in the states could probably hear it. I suggest we get inside, now.”

Branden looked shocked, but he said, “Good idea. I wanted to test what I could do, but that’s not worth the risk of getting captured or something.”

I nodded at Branden and picked up the statue, which was still lying in the yard. I walked with Branden back into the house, which took almost too long, due to the incredible size of our extra appendages.

*****

When we had gotten inside, I decided to show Branden the most important thing about the ability I, and now he, possess. We traveled into the basement, as no one would be able to see in it, and I started speaking to Branden.

“Branden, before you get too carried away with being a dragon, you have to know how to become human again,” I told him.

“Thank you, Captain Obvious,” Branden replied sarcastically. When I frowned in annoyance, he quickly became serious. “All right, I get it, but how do I?”

“All you have to do is remember what you looked like as a human, and then concentrate on yourself,” I told him. “Here, I’ll give you an example.” I concentrated on my human form for a few seconds and then opened my eyes. My body quickly reverted to its human state. “Give it a shot,” I told Branden.

Branden nodded and took a deep breath. I knew that, at the very least, he was trying. Surprisingly, within a couple of seconds, his body started shrinking. Soon, he had become human again. He opened his eyes, and I noticed that they were closer to the silver they were when he was a dragon than their original brown. “That was easy,” he said.

“Good work!” I said. “Just for future reference, you do the same thing when you wish to become a dragon again. Just concentrate on your dragon form.” At that moment, the doorbell rang. I was almost certain of who it would be, so I told Branden to stay in the basement and I went to answer the door.

I opened the door to reveal a uniformed policeman. “Can I help you, officer?” I asked him.

“Good day, young man,” the cop said. “Are your parents available?”

“No,” I responded. “They’ll be out for the next couple of hours.”

“Alright, then,” said the cop. “Well, we’ve received reports of a disturbance in this area, particularly loud noises. Do you know anything about that?”

I shook my head, trying my best not to look guilty. “Sorry,” I said. “I heard loud noises too, but I can guarantee you it had nothing to do with me.”

The cop looked a little suspicious, but he thanked me for my time and left. I snorted and shut the door, heading down to Branden.

*****

About 20 minutes later, after I was sure the police had given up with this area, I made a little plan with Branden.

“Hey, Branden,” I said. “I think it’s safe now. Want to go out for a while?”

Branden took the hint. “Sure,” he answered.

We stepped outside into the back yard and I made sure the door was locked. Preparing, myself, I said, “Remember what I told you,” and quickly transformed into a dragon. Branden nodded, concentrated himself, and he too became a dragon.

“Are you ready to give flying a try?” I asked Branden.

“Uh, sure,” he responded. “But I haven’t before. What if I screw up?”

“Don’t worry,” I told him. “Just let your instincts guide you, and you’ll be fine. Seriously. I haven’t screwed up once.” I stretched out my wings and quickly flew into the sky. “C’mon!” I yelled. “We don’t have all day!”

Branden nodded and attempted himself. The moment he let his wings propel him, his nervousness completely vanished. We flew off into the sky together.