(So I might have been in a rush to finish this story up. If you think this is rushed, please tell me and I'll try to.. slow it down maybe? When I edit it. Anyway here's ANOTHER update today wooo)

I was snapped out of my misery when the train came to an abrupt halt and I fell off the bed to land harshly on my back. "Uh.. what.." I was sure that trains didn't stop that fast.. and I wouldn't be home this fast. This couldn't be normal. I cautiously got to my feet. "Hello? Anyone? Is everything okay?" I called, wiping my eyes and hoping I didn't look like Tobey Maguire after he cries. Which was definitely not the worst of my worries. I slowly turned the handle, surprised when the door opened easily.

I peeked out. "Hello?" My eyes widened as I saw a guard lying face-down on the floor. And I'm pretty sure he wasn't taking a nap. I inhaled sharply and stumbled backwards, falling on my butt.

"Oh I'm sorry, didn't mean to scare you," a deep voice that had a drawl reminiscent to Benedict Cumberbatch's Smaug drawl filled the air with its aloof sarcasm.

"Who is that?" I demanded.

"The Captain," the door opened wider and someone so big that he had to duck to fit in the doorway walked inside.

Literally the first thing I thought was- Thor. This guy looked like a Viking. Long blonde hair dipped in front of his eyes before he straightened. He had the muscular build of a god, I could tell even through that huge parka he had on. But when he grinned at me, I realized he was something even more fearsome. His teeth were jagged fangs and his eyes- well he didn't seem to have them. Fire licked his blonde eyebrows like his eye sockets were portals to hell. Long ears poked out of his hair, pointed elegant ears.

The nerdy side of me was thinking this was the lovechild of Thor and Legolas.

"Well the new Captain anyway," he said in a bored tone, licking a bloodied talon finger. "The old one's dead now." He said nonchalantly.

I just stared, too scared to even move.

"The name's Darius," he said, extended his non-bloody hand. I stared at his taloned fingers. He raised a brow before pulling his hand back. "Oh right. I should explain first. Hmm... how do I explain.." he ran his finger over his full lips. "You do realize that they ain't sending you home, right?" he said finally, his firey eyes seeming to look at me, although I wasn't sure.

I just shook my head dumbly.

"They're sendin' ya to the Wolves, that's what they call it. Know what the Wolves do? They basically dissect ya like a frog. I should know. I've been cut up and put back together so many times I lost count." He said. "But it happens to everyone, ya hear. That one hundred year sentence? They like to make you think you're off scotch free after that. But nah, they chop you up."

What? I was too numb to even know what to think. "Wh-wha?"

He exhaled. "Riley didn't show ya the tanks? He told me he did."

"Riley?" I echoed.

"Riley." He repeated. "He's been assigned to watch over you for about... ten years now."

What? Who was.... Then my eyes widened. "The... bad shadow man?" I blurted.

He laughed heartily although I didn't think it was really that funny. "That's not very nice considering he spent most of his life protectin' you. But you could call him that. He's a familiar, something that protects their charge at all costs. But I'll explain that all to you as soon as we get off the train." He said, looking at his watch.

"Wait- but if he was trying to protect me why did he- why did he get me in so much trouble?" I finally found my voice.

Darius shook his head. "Did you not hear a word I said, lad? That place is bad news. He was trying to get you kicked out for your salvation. Now let's get out of here. We've got three minutes." He said, getting to his feet.

I didn't move. "Wait- where are you taking me?" I asked.

"I'm taking you somewhere where you can learn to be a real dragon Rider," he said. "Not some phony who flies and lands on orders."

I wanted to ask more questions but I kept my feet planted to the ground. "But Caed- my dragon-" I said.

"Oh don't worry. My dragon's got him safe and sound." Darius said. "Now shake a leg. We've got to get out of this can."

I didn't know if I could trust him. I didn't know if he was just going to kill me. But if he wanted to- he'd have already tried- I think. And he said he had a dragon.... Everything he had told me so far had made sense, even though it had boggled my mind. He seemed to know a lot, especially about me. And my parents. I had nothing to lose anyway. I hesitated before following him.

"Sir, all the dragons have been released. The birds are ready to fly." A man with dark brown hair stepped out into the hallway. His pale blue eyes stared dully at Darius' muscled chest.

"A job well done," Darius said in a booming voice. "Now let's get this show on the road. Have Terral and Reyna pull up in thirty."

"On it, sir." He said before disappearing the way he came.

I followed like a little duckling as he walked down the hall and opened the emergency escape. The brisk air near took my breath away as it swept in immediately. We were still in Alaska alright. "Ah- almost forgot." Darius noticed how cold I was. He shrugged off his parka and presented it to me. "Put it on, you're going to need it."

This guy's coat was going to be a freakin' tent on me, but I wasn't about to argue. My arms swam in the sleeves and the hem nearly dragged on the floor. But it was warm. And smelled like Bulgari Mens's Cologne. Is this why girls stole their boyfriend's sweatshirts?

"You're tiny, kid," he said, raising a brow. His 'eyes' flickered in the wind.

"Thanks," I mumbled through the fur. Now that the parka was off, I could see how ripped this guy was. His left arm was literally crawling with silver Celtic tattoos that trailed all the way down to his fingertips. Then my attention was stolen as I saw a large animal trotting towards us. It was the craziest thing I had ever seen. I blinked and stared as it approached.

An elegant hawks head about twice the size of a horse's and snowy white was curved gracefully over the body of a polar bear. Huge speckled white wings were curled to its body. A large saddle was nestled between the wings. "Hey!" I said as I felt myself being hoisted up like a featherweight before I was plopped on the saddle like a kid on a pony ride. "Don't pull her feathers." Darius warned as the polar bear hawk galloped forwards, gaining momentum.

Wait- this hulking beast was a she? And what am I supposed to hold onto then? Her heavy gait was making my crotch hit the front of the saddle rather harshly which did not feel... good. Suddenly my stomach flipped as the creature hurtled up into the sky, wings sweeping out and carrying us high into the brisk air. I couldn't help but admit that this creature's ascent was much smoother than the dragons I've ridden before and I didn't have much trouble hanging on by squeezing my legs on the saddle tightly as I could. My humongous jacket rippled behind me dramatically as the creature tilted his wings and flew in a wide arc before dipping back down towards the train.

I could see a figure on top of the train. By the way the long black hair was swaying in the wind, I hoped that it was a girl. We picked up speed as we neared, the creature's feathered ears pinning back against the wind, and I soon knew for sure that this was indeed a she. She started running in the same direction we were flying before making a wild jump. My eyes widened before I was nearly decked by a leather boot. I crouched just in time as she clambered on the saddle behind me. "So you're the kid that Darius has been talking about for all this time," she mumbled behind me. I smelled evergreen and another musky scent I can only describe as old animal furs. Probably because she was also wearing a parka. Talk about old school. But by the way I was still cozy, old school worked pretty well.

"He's been talking about me?" I'm not sure if I should be freaked out or anything.

Before she could answer, there was a thunderous boom as one of the cars busted into flame, bits of metal flying into the snow. Like dominoes, the other train cars followed suit, mushroom clouds of smoke puffing up from their carcasses. The polar bear-eagle swooped slowly so we could watch the spectacle. A few of the train cars crashed to their sides before exploding.

The warm air acted like a vent and lifted my transport higher in the sky as a blue feathery dragon with a pair of straight golden horns flew up to flank us. I could see the man from earlier seated on it, as well as Darius who had Caedmon nestled in his arms. My heart lifted when I saw him and I wished I could reach out and grab him, but I knew now was not the time. I looked back at the wreckage and I realized that my old life as an S-11 recruit was ashes.

My new life has just begun.

(AND THIS IS THE END OF FOREWARNED YAY ITS TAKEN ME TWO YEARS ERMAGERD) (lol don't worry Justin and Caed return in the second book 'Traitor' )