Pain.

A burning sensation that seeped all the way into Rowan’s bones. 

His consciousness flickered back and forth as his body rebelled against him.

It felt as if thousands of needles were stabbing into the boy that would only sink deeper into his body if he stayed awake.

It would be much easier to succumb to the pain and pass out, but Rowan refused.

He would not be the only one who had it easy while others stayed behind.

Not that there was anything the boy could do about it.

Him staying awake was just childish stubbornness on his part as he was helpless to do anything.

Rowan felt his body being carried in a rough manner by the stranger per Grandpa Rodan’s request. The elderly farmer had stayed behind to deal with the cause of all their problems, the dragon.

Rowan wasn’t sure of the truth. Whether Grandpa Rodan stayed back to buy time or to slay the dragon, the truth was his grandpa had stayed behind no matter what the actual decision was. Rowan hoped Grandpa Rodan would kill the monster after all the damage and death it had caused. 

The memories of the victim flashed through his mind.

Bessie’s last burning attempt to fight off the dragon. Sir Bacon and his group of farm animals separating from their group by a large torrent of flames.

Even the arrogant noble Aaron Helmstrum.

Rowan would never admit it out loud, but he felt as if he was just starting to get along with the aristocrat.

Now they are all gone.

Rowan hoped that his Grandpa was capable enough to kill the dragon like he said he would, and not just stating empty words to placate his grandson.

Rowan's hazy mind recognized the burning tree and crackling of wood that they passed by. The sound of air whistling past them  told him that they were traveling quite fast. Too dull from pain, his mind did not question why they were heading deeper into the Forest of Death when they should be heading in the opposite direction.

His agony only exacerbated as the stranger wasn’t exactly careful in carrying his body as the boy was merely slumped over the stranger’s shoulder like a slab of meat.

Despite all his attempts to stay awake, the pain finally got the better of the boy and Rowan surrendered to the sweet oasis known as slumber.

***

The next sensation that Rowan felt was his body being completely enveloped. It was a cold soothing sensation that dulled the agony of his screaming body. It felt like Rowan had jumped into a pool of cold water on a hot summer day.

Ironically, it was the much welcome comfort that had jolted the boy out of his slumber. The change of environment had shocked the boy out of slumber, but that was all. Rowan’s body was still exhausted and his mind needed time to recover from the traumatic event.

Rowan’s body instinctively knew what to do and forced him back to sleep.

***

Suddenly, Rowan’s body convulsed and he was awake.

He could still feel himself completely enveloped in a pool of liquid. What kind of liquid he had no idea, he just knew it was helpful as it had soothed his body. His eyes still felt too heavy to open, and when he did manage to peek through, all he saw was darkness.

His consciousness had slipped back and forth between sleep and cognizant. He was more than happy to let whatever he was in do its job as he was helpless to stop it anyways. Each time he stirred himself awake, he quickly fell back to sleep.

However this time was different. Something felt drastically off that it even woke Rowan out of his slumber. He couldn’t figure out what the wrongness he felt was. His body and mind was still too exhausted to make sense of itself. It was as if his brain was still putting itself together and organizing his thoughts, while his body felt like jelly and was learning how to move again.

It took Rowan time to figure out what felt wrong, beside his body feeling off.

It was the surrounding space around him. 

Tightness was what it was.

While Rowan was not conscious of how large of an area he was originally put in, he could feel that something was pressing all around him. His eyes were still shut as he was still too tired to move and had to rely on his body’s sensations to tell him what his environment felt like. At first, his body had felt free, but now it felt constricted by whatever was pressing against him.

What was the word for fear of tight spaces?

Right, it was claustrophobia.

Rowan had heard stories of how some people feared being entrapped into closed spaces. It was part of his studies  that he actually remembered and it sounded like a funny story to him. Now after experiencing it for himself, the story wasn't so funny anymore.

Rowan pushed against whatever  was pressing against him. HIs efforts were rewarded with the feeling of the wall slightly giving way. However this little bit of energy drained him of the little bit of energy that he had recovered during his rest. Still, he refused to give up and continued to push. The worst that could happen was that Rowan would  exhaust himself once again and fall back to sleep.

Rowan tried to break free of whatever entrapped him, by using his shoulders to push. He felt resistance with each push, but he didn’t give up as he felt something giving way each time. His body was already telling him that it was time to rest again as all the pushing had exhausted all his energy. Rowan decided to give one last push and then-

CRACK!

The wall gave way and he could feel himself tumbling out of whatever had held him. His body hit something that was both soft and tough at the same time. Rowan could feel his vision readjusting itself. Before he was completely entrenched in darkness, but now light slowly seeped into the boy’s eyes. Everything slowly came into focus.

The first thing he noticed was that his body landed on dirt. The soft yet tough grainy texture of soil that he had learned to grow accustomed to after weeks of digging on farm fields. 

Right now Rowan was lying face down  on the ground. He could practically taste the dirt with each breath. There was something off that the boy couldn’t place. He had grown use to the fresh damp soil that he dealt with on the farm. Rowan tried to figure out what was off, and it took a moment before he could place it.

Soot and ash.

That was what was mixed into the soil. That was what felt different.

And the last time he smelled the mixture of soot and ash in dirt was when the dragon attacked.

The memories of the dragon's flames flashed through Rowan’s mind.

How long was he asleep?

Did Grandpa Rodan succeed in killing the dragon?

Questions flashed through Rowan’s mind, however one question stood out the most.

The most important question, is Grandpa Rodan alright?

Rowan tried to get up, but couldn't. It was then the boy realized the final thing that felt off when he woke up.

There was no feeling in his arms.

Rowan turned his head to get a view of his arms and then froze.

What greeted his sight wasn’t the usual forelimbs that every human had.

No, what greeted him was something that had taken the shape of arms. It had the same length that he was accustomed to along with two hands that he could use.

What stood out was the material of his arms.

Instead of flesh, his arms were now made of wood.