Walking silently with the other students, Cammie sighed. 'Another boring pep-assembly,' she thought. A tap on her shoulder reminded her that Zeke was still behind her.



"Sorry, I was just thinking." Cammie looked up at Zeke, his tall form looming over her.



He smiled and replied "What about? Your long lost love?" He smiled and again and winked.



A teacher shushed them along as they entered the student filled gym. As they climbed the bleachers, she noticed the principal talking with a very hard looking man with brown hair in a ponytail and a mustache to match. He looked strange. He looked like a police officer, but different, and what looked like a teaser and a glowing rope were at his side. Cammie shivered as she sat down on one of the top benches, shielding her face with her hood.



Her hands started to shake with fear or anticipation, she couldn't tell.



"Are you alright?" Zeke leaned into her hooded vision, his face full of concern.



She nodded her head as she tried to make a small smile of reassurance to Zeke.



'How did they know she was here?' St.Paul, Minnesota wasn't one of the flashiest places to live, and they knew that…She couldn't believe the Secrets were here, here to take her away like all the others. She couldn't believe they were here to take her to imprisonment.



The same teacher that had shushed her and Zeke pulled on her hood. Cammie grimaced and pulled it down.



She shrank in her seat and started to blush. Zeke put his arm around her and sighed, "Cammie, it's just the Secrets! Don't be afraid! They are probably here to check the high school for those gross creatures." He said creatures as if he was ridding himself of a poison.



'My best friend even hates me…' Cammie looked at her feet and held back oncoming tears.



As she looked up she saw the principal and the Secret Officer searching the crowd, for her. The principal caught her eye and her lips thinned.



"Cammie Smith!"



Cammie froze as everyone turned their heads to find the creature that haunted their halls. She looked up at Zeke to find him staring at her in horror. He scooted away from her as if she was a disease.



"How could you? You didn't even tell me!" Zeke turned away in disgust.



"You would have turned me in anyway Zeke…I never meant for this to happen…I'm sorry…" Tears threatened to roll down her cheeks, betraying her feelings and fear.



Cammie shakily got up and put on a brave face, and started to walk down the bleachers, wondering what kind of torture would be in store for her. On the last step she jumped down and glared at her captors. The Secrets glared back at her and she could see the malice in their eyes.



The Secret with the ponytail came up to her and bent down to her ear and whispered so no one else could hear, "We can do this without harm to you or other students, but if you resist then we will be forced to use desperate measures. We know what you are capable of and will kill you if necessary…make a wise choice Ms.Smith." He stepped back and smiled innocently at Cammie, making it look as though what he was doing was justified.



Fury erupted in her and she barred her teeth, grinding them in indecision. Her choice was made. She made a dash for the gym exit, running as fast as her legs would carry her. Suddenly she lost feeling in her legs and fell to the ground, wincing in furious pain. A green glow wrapped around her legs like a snake strangling its prey. The student body was silent as they watched with horror at the scene before them.



"I gave you a warning, and I don't give second chances. I guess you have made your choice, and so I am sorry to say that this may turn out worse for you." The Secret grinned in satisfaction as Cammie looked with disgust at his eyes.



"Look upon this creature and think about what has haunted your halls and classrooms, and remember that we Secrets are here to protect you from things like this, because no one but us knows what they are fully capable of. We are here to rid your school and safe haven of this menace, this abomination." She could here the Secrets voice in my head, but she couldn't really comprehend what he was saying. 'Abomination? Menace? What am I? A terrifying bear? The Sitka people don't harm others! We are a proud, Elvin, race who live in hiding and fear of these monsters! Shouldn't they understand that by now?" Cammie wrenched herself up off the floor and, ignoring her legs protest, hurled herself at the Secret, shoving him to the ground. But because of the amount of recruits he had brought with him, she froze in place, locked in an awkward position.



The Secrets voice rang out in her ears once more, "So now do you see? This is what they do! They only live to kill and destroy! I know it's hard to see one of your old fellow students like this, so I will show you what they look like and maybe you will understand why we think they don't belong in this world." He reached into his black leather jacket and pulled out a green glowing net, and threw it one Cammie, smirking at her pain and misfortune.



Pain ripped through her body as her human costume was torn form her body. She screamed in agony, her scream sounding foreign and unlike anything anyone had ever heard. It sounded more like a wounded animal. The students and teachers covered their ears while the scream died down to a whimper.



There were gasps and "ahs" as they looked upon her inhuman beauty. Cammie stared at her one-time friends and set her face in a hard line. 'This is the real world.' Cammie thought. 'I guess mother was right, humans are as mean, cruel, and arrogant as they say…'



Silence gathered in the gym again as they all looked in silence at her. Her almost translucent skin stood out next to her skin tight, leather armor. Her raven black hair whipped around her face like a furious storm, while her gold amber eyes flashed in anger. She seemed to glow with a power that no one could take his or her eyes from. The glow was a greenish gold, and went around her body like a cloak. Her ears were pointed, although they weren’t long, but just a little longer and pointed than the average ear.


The Secret Officer looked at her like she was a product to sell or buy, looking her over, scrutinizing every inch of her transformed body. He raised an eyebrow and walked over to her, grabbing her chin and raising it, turning her face this way and that. Cammie was annoyed with him and jutted her chin out trying to bite that ridiculous smile off his face. He flinched away and looked at her in reproach.


‘What am I doing just standing here? I can take these imbeciles any day, especially now that I'm in my strongest form…’ Cammie smirked back at the Secret and then smiled innocently.


“Don’t worry, I will come along nicely, just don’t hurt my friends!” She smiled again innocently and tried to act dumb, waiting for the right moment to strike.


“Hah! My dear, I do believe you are trying to trick me…and I don’t like tricksters!” He glared at her and kicked her squarely in the stomach.


‘That’s it, this buffoon will no longer harass me like an animal!’


Cammie struck out with her legs and jumped, dumping the Secret on the ground. She could see him doubling over in agony, and to her satisfaction, he didn’t get up but lay there moaning in pain. ‘Now that he's out of the way…I can probably call Auntia from here…’ Cammie looked at the other Secrets, and saw them all moving backwards in fear; now that their leader was dead they were frightened beyond comprehension. She shrugged and turned towards the student body, who were still frozen in shock.


“To all of you I give my apologies, because my kind are a gentle and peaceful race, fighting only when threatened! What I did now was in self-defense! Heed my warning; those who try to kill and hurt my people will regret ever doing so! I will never forget those I met here, and just because I am different does not mean I have a different heart and soul! My kind feels and works the same as any of you! I came here in hope of finding friends,” she looked in Zeke’s direction, trying to get him to understand, “but I guess those who I trusted don’t trust me…which is a great shame for I have loved and befriended all of you!”


Cammie turned around and sang as loud as her voice would carry. To a human it would sound like a foreign song used for a ritual, with the notes high pitched and sad sounding. A vibration filled the air and soon grew to a minor shaking of the building. A roar erupted from outside, and the roar seemed to enter everyone’s heads, drowning out any other sound. The students covered their pounding ears, trying to lessen the pain of the noise that seemed to make their heads vibrate.


Cammie lifted her arms to the ceiling and sung louder. The ceiling creaked and seemed to scream in protest, a crack making a large circle that was larger than a classroom. Pieces of wood and chipped paint fell to the floor, scratching the basketball court. The cracked circle floated down, stopping about halfway to the floor, making a large hole in the roof.


A large creature, it looked like a small dragon, descended from the hole, its dark gold scales grinding together as its wings moved to adjust to the amount of space it now had. Cammie walked up to the dragon and bent down in a type of bow, bending back up to stroke the beasts nose in great affection. She murmured in its ear the need for urgency, glancing up in surprise at the movement of another body atop the great dragon.


Her voice rang out in a high soprano voice, “Ezekiel? Is that you? Antis you have brought a great friend to me, and for that I am grateful! Thank you.” She beamed at her loyal dragon, while the Antis seemed to smile back, pulling her lips over giant teeth.


“Antis thought you might need help, so here I am!” His smile held a deep affection that Cammie missed so much, his smile erupted in kindness and warmth, and Cammie smiled.


“Well, what a nice assurance that I have an escort home, for I don’t trust these humans!” The laugh that came from her mouth sounded as if from a goddess, pure and beautiful. Ezekiel laughed with her and sighed.


He reached his arm down to help her sit on the large brown saddle that ran along part of the dragons back. She made herself comfortable and sighed, looking back at her once classmates, “I will miss you all, and hope you have realized that I am just as human as any of you. Well…Not human I should say, but close enough…Anyway, you may all go back to your selfish lives, absorbing yourselves in lazy ways! I hope I see you again someday, although under better circumstances!” She smiled and looked up at Ezekiel, “I think it is time to go home.”


“I quite agree Your Majesty!” Ezekiel grinned and whispered something unintelligible to the dragon and put his arms loosely around Cammie’s waist.


The dragon briefly glanced at the humans in disgust and spread her wings for takeoff. The students, teachers, and uninjured Secrets scrambled to see the dragon and creatures that flew off into the distance. Through the clouds they disappeared, and the students could almost hear a sound of laughter that echoed through the air musically.


As the laughter subsided, the hole that Cammie had made for her escape started to drift up and placed itself precisely where it was before. The cracks were no longer visible, but a greenish glow seemed to cover the once hole like a soft blanket. This glow was the last reminder of what once was, and it left a legend there that would be passed down for generations.