This was written by Ella.

Boy, did my parents read me the riot act. Talk about yelling. You think they would have been happy I was able to get myself home, but no. "What were you thinking? You could have been killed!" They screamed at me. "You may look like an animal, but you don't need to act like one!"

Ouch. That one stung. Did they think I wanted to look like this? I couldn't help it. I was just letting my instinct take over, doing what I thought was right. I suppose that's what they meant, but quite frankly, I found human reasoning to be a bit sluggish for the situation I was in.

Still, it could have been worse. I have a feeling they decided to tone down the screaming when they saw what I looked like, and that I wasn't kidding when I said I was now, more or less, a fire-breathing dragon, complete with scaly armor, a whip-like tail and claws. It was sad honestly, to think that my own two parents could be terrified at the sight of me. Did they really think I would hurt them?

Then there was my brother. I expected relentless taunting, but instead he just cowered behind my mom, giving me those innocent, big, brown eyes, accusing me of being a monster. Damn, I hated when he did that. However, I've got a feeling that when I flashed my shark-like teeth at him and spit a small ball of fire, it didn't help much.

That brought on another round of Mom yelling at me for scaring him. As if it was honestly my fault he couldn't handle what the World threw at him. "I was just having a little fun," I pleaded with her. But there's no pleading with my Mom. If you ever meet her, you'll understand.

But that's enough about my family. They were just an annoying hindrance at this point anyway.

When Sara asked me to tell my story, I was a little irked. She was standing in front of me at a foot tall, with blue skin, webbed feet and hair that looked like it had been given a crazy dye job, a mixture of blue and green. How could she expect me to recount anything while I was staring at her and she looked like that?

Ana wasn't much help either. Her pupils were slit like mine, and she also had wings, but similarities ended there. The horns that curled atop her head went along with the black, wiry tail and blue sparked fingers. However, it was good to know I wasn't the only freak in company.

Besides, I was still trying to figure out what had happened myself. I wasn't any more normal-looking than the rest of them. I looked like some kind of lizard demon, for God's sake.

But, they say the best way to learn something is to retrace your steps, and I had to comprehend my story just as much as they would need to. I lowered myself to the ground to sit cross-legged on the cold cement of the driveway, putting me at a little over eye level with Sara. Ana and the others glanced at me expectantly. I sighed, prepared to begin.

However, in a moment of diversion, I smiled inwardly about how Sara always complained about how I towered over her at almost more than a head's height. If she felt small then, she must have been feeling absolutely miniscule now, and it was probably annoying her to no end.

I pulled my long tail around to set it on my lap and absent-mindedly stroked it, it had the smooth texture that I identified with a large constrictor snake like a ball python.

"Okay," I told them, "so here's what happened…"

Needless to say, Florida had been completely normal vacation-wise. I got sunburned; I went swimming, read books to my heart's content, all that good stuff.

I never pictured it would end like this.

I didn't remember anything that would signal my transformation. No fireworks, no bright flashing lights or rockettes doing high kicks, nothing exciting. The only thing abnormal on my last night on the Island was that the sleep I had was much deeper than usual, like I had been in a coma for a thousand years.

I had woken up the next morning with an extremely sore neck and back that I assumed was from sleeping in an awkward position. Well, actually, I suppose morning was a bit of a stretch. You see, I'm an early riser. I've found myself awake at 7 o'clock in the morning, not to mention earlier, on Saturdays and Sundays without any problem at all. On days I'm feeling extremely restless, I convince myself to read a book or crawl out of bed and go for a walk rather than fall back asleep for a few hours. This was one of those mornings.

The sun was barely up over the horizon when my eyelids fluttered open, welcoming a new day into my life. I have the misfortune of the sun beams glinting through the window that lies directly across the room from my bed, so there wasn't much I could do to shield my eyes. Besides, like I had mentioned before, I had slept extremely well, so it was no problem getting up.

I walked past a mirror in the hallway and almost had a heart attack.

It's not that I'm vain or anything, my appearance has never been high on my list of things that are important, but I'm positive that it's everyone's instinct that when they walk by a mirror, they have to look into it.

So, after an instinctive glance, I got the shock of my life.

My skin was covered in bright green scales, locked together in a mosaic pattern. My pupils were slit like an iguana's, though the irises still retained their natural greenish-gray shade. My hair, still it's normal caramel color, seemed to be the only thing that hadn't really changed. My hands, however, we're something new. My fingernails had sharpened into long, dark claws.

Something most peculiar was that double triangle symbol inside a circle that looked like it had been branded into my chest, just below the left side of my collar bone. But I couldn't be preoccupied with that right now.

I had suddenly become aware of the perception that I was pulling weight behind me. I turned. I had a long, barbed tail.

I was…a lizard?

That's when I made another dumbfounding discovery. I don't know what brought it on, probably a bit of hair tickling my nose, but I sneezed.

There was a moment of blindness when my eyes automatically shut, a sensation of heat, a smell of smoke, and when I opened my eyes again, a spot of black soot appeared on the mirror, blotting out part of my face.

Correction, I was a fire-breathing lizard. I was a dragon.

Wait, I thought to myself, aren't dragons supposed to have wings?

I remember my sore back. Oh no, this can't be possible. Come on, brain, wake up now. You can't be serious here. This has got to be a dream, one of those really creepy, vivid ones…

But what my brain relayed to me was legitimate. I hesitantly rolled my shoulders. Slowly, not all at once, cavities in my back stretched open and out grew wings that would span a maximum of 11+ feet, twice as tall as I was.

I gave them a little flap. They were remarkably easy to move. It was just like curling my fingers or crinkling my nose. The air around me stirred up my hair and I realized that there must be a lot of power behind these new extensions in my back.

But it was still unbelievable. I tentatively reached my hand over my shoulder and stroked the bone and muscle, along with the thin stretches of skin that held the wings together.

"Damn it." I whispered. I rolled my shoulders again and my wings were drawn back into their hiding places.

I ran back into the room my brother and I shared, he was still out like a light. I quietly grabbed a pair of jeans, a t-shirt and my sweatshirt. I took them into the kitchen and cut holes in them, making adjustments where I had to so my tail and wings would be comfortable. I was just about to shove my phone into my pocket when it buzzed. I looked. It was a message from Sara.

It read: When are you coming home? Something big just happened! Reply when you can!

'Something big just happened?' She couldn't possibly be experiencing the same thing I was…could she?

I made my resolve then and there. I scribbled down a note for Mom and Dad, not like they'd believe it anyway and they'd probably kill me the next time I saw them for doing this, and grabbed a few necessary items. However, I plucked off a few scales before I left as proof. Damn, that had hurt.

I bolted out the door and raced down the steps to the channel, running at top speed. I let my wings unfurl and catch wind.

Wait a second, I thought, I have no idea how to fly!

My conscious replied: Then now is a great time to learn.

I put the sinews in my back hard at work, pumping as I took my final step and leaped out over the water.

The only thing I registered before I instinctively shut my eyes was: I'm about to get soaked. Nice job, Ellary.

You're welcome, replied the sarcastic part of me.

I waited to smack against the water, but I never did. Instead, there was a forceful tug and a blast of air. I opened my eyes and found myself ascending over the strait.

This is incredible! I'm actually flying! I laughed like a child swinging around on a tire swing and shouted with the likeliness of Harry Potter riding Buckbeak the Hippogriff: "WOO HOO!"

But the free-spiritedness of flight was short lived when my phone vibrated in my pocket again. I fished it out and almost dropped it. It was the same message as before.

I shoved the thing in my backpack with grim determination, but not before replying: 'I'm on my way now.'

I gave another powerful surge with my wings and rocketed North.

That was yesterday.

"You flew all the way home?" Sara chittered incredulously.

"Yeah."

"Overnight?"

I blinked. "It felt longer than that."

"But your parents just got home a few minutes ago. Where have you been?"

"Sleeping in a tree."

Sara rolled her jewel-colored eyes. "Of course you were. So, what's this about you breathing fire now?" She looked especially annoyed.

I shrugged.

She threw her blue, twig arms up in the air. "Wow, this is just great. I get turned into a blue, foot-high elf with webbed feet and you get to be a dragon the breaths fire and can fly? How is this fair?"

I shrugged again, a notorious habit of mine, and grinned wickedly. "Aww, is little Sara jealous?" I cooed in a baby voice as I reached out to pat her head. Ana snickered behind me.

She hissed at me and threw a microscopic punch at my arm. "Shut up." She said. "Let's try and be serious here. Do you have the mark?"

"Mark?" I gave her a blank look before my memory sparked. "Oh, you mean this?" I pulled my shirt collar down slightly. She nodded. "What is this?" I asked. "An hour glass?"

"I'm still trying to figure that out myself," Ana interjected.

Sara shook her blue head. "I have no idea."

"Do you have it too?"

"Yeah. Everyone who changed has it. You do, Ana does, I do…"

Ana and her friends turned and showed me the tattoos on the backs of their necks.

"Does anybody know what is means?" Sara asked. Everybody shook their heads.