"I don't know if you can understand me, or if you still have a human mind underneath all of that raw power, but please listen before you do something rash," the man said.

I growled and stabbed my burning claws into the floor, melting through the concrete and metal like butter. I've always wanted to try butter, have ever since mom told me about the wonders it can to on meat and bread, but I was no longer human and that was something I would never be able to do anymore.

"I know that you may be more than pissed with me for doing this to you, but it's for the good of our world. I mean look at yourself," he struck my curiosity, and my anger at the same time, but I didn't look down and continued to glare at him. "Your better; stronger and faster than you ever were as human. Can't you see how good this is?"

I glanced at my claws and legs before looking back at him. They were glowing, flowing with power and literal heat as my newfound muscles rippled underneath scales and skin. I could feel something building up in my chest as I turned back to the man now full of anger.

YOU RIUNED MY LIFE!! I tried yelling at him, but it just came out as a lava spewing roar. Eh, same point proved, and losing the ability to speak only angered me further.

I glared at the man with my nostrils smoking and I realized that my tail had lowered and was now back at it's place behind me and I let the feeling in my stomach release and unwind. My maw automatically opened and unhinged as white-hot fire shot out. Raging towards the man and his mental robots like a wildfire.

It suddenly stopped and spread out over the entire area of the hall. Licking at the ceiling, walls, and floor and melting everything in between me and them. When I stopped I could feel my maw open still, the scent of smoke and the smell and feeling of intense heat floated in the edges of my vision.

The man and his robots had a force-field around them, such blatant cheating?! I roared in anger again as my jaw reset and was about to charge when he held a hand out as stop. Some strange sort of honor deep inside of me prevented my advance. I could've just pushed it down and continued to tear apart this man and his minions, but I wanted to see what he had to say for himself before I did so. I think it was only the reason of knowing I had the power to destroy everything in this room that kept my sense of reason at the drivers seat.

"I am going to give you a chance to cool down and surrender, work with me and we can make this world great again without the influence of human greed. If you refused I will just have my people knock you out again and then your days will be spent as a lab rat so that we can create more of you. Ones that we can control this time though"

I just growled and took a step forwards, this human thinks he can control me!? This was really getting on my nerves. A shot rang out and there was a flare of fire in the air leading to my chest before it flickered out of existence.

I looked at it and then smiled, a giant feral grin that surely destroyed their pride, they could not hurt me. I shot forwards and smashed into the barrier, it was already a red-orange color and just spider-webbed as I slammed into it.

It turned a deep red cloud before fracturing the front line of soldiers scrambling out of the way as I fell on them. The man walked calmly through them from the center and the rest came forwards. Then the soldiers started to fire but, like the people turning to ash nearest two meters of my scales, the bullets turned into streaks of fading light and their weapons melted in their hands. The light and sound was painful, but I needed to force my way through if I wanted out.

I felt energy gathering in my in a different way, and I let it loose. The blast that came from my body disintegrated the next few lines of soldiers and the ones that didn't get disintegrated were severely burned.

The ones behind them were trying to crawl or limp away while their fellow soldiers continued to shoot at me. I saw the man look at me one last time from where he stood in the back shocked. I let loose another torrent of white-hot fire towards everything in the area and most didn't even get to scream before they were turned into ash.

When I closed my maw once again there was a sole soldier's standing at the back and a pair of feet disappearing behind the left wall. I walked past the injured one like I didn't know that he was still alive. My tail whipped as it passed the corner and cut his neck clean through and I continued towards the last soldier. There were going to be no survivors of this stupid organization and after that...Freedom.

-----------------------

It's been six months now, and to be honest I did like my new body. Not like I had a choice in the matter anyways. It

I was hunting a lone group of Mutated hoping to get in a human meal, and I saw that they were heading towards a city. They were hunting something, completely unaware of the dragon hunting them, but it looked like they might get away soon: I ran faster. I didn't want attract the attention of the city, nor other humans but the mutated were being lured closer to the city, and I couldn't have that.

When I saw them, it was a trio of Shooters and two Rippers that were tracking something... together. That was surprising, the two normally couldn't stand being near the other without getting into some sort of dispute. Maybe they had some sort of mutual understanding that food was getting harder to get so they decided to hunt together but turn on each other as soon as their prey was dead. And I wasn't about to let that happen...the humans being killed anyways.

I saw the Shooters, obviously shooting their teeth at a tree but the Rippers were flanking hoping to gain an edge and surprise them, but I wasn't going to let that happen. Hopefully these weren't the kind of people who shot at me, like the last group that I helped.

I had found out a few things after my transformation: the fire in my blood burned out all kinds of poison so Shooters were edible, the toxic blood and flesh of the Rippers was surprisingly savory, and any of the other Mutated were extremely tasty. Oops I got too carried away in my thoughts and my saliva had dripped in-front of a Shooter. Understandably they stopped shooting and looked up warily.

The news of me and my preying on Mutated had reached far, probably to other strongholds farther than I could imagine. There were hunters trying to capture me, the Mutated and the Changed ran from me knowing who was the top predator now, and the humans that I saved got to tell their tales.

I hissed with pleasure and bit the head off of the one directly under me and then munched on the other two. The Rippers had taken notice and took off running, right as they were in view of the humans too, just stopping suddenly, looking over, and fleeing. Jeez just let the humans know I'm here why don't ya. I grinned anyways and the hunt began.

I jumped into a tree and gave chase just as the humans peeked out from behind the trees. Their faces displayed pure shock at the fact of seeing Rippers, pretty much the top of the Mutated class running from something...me so quickly and with so much purpose.

Of course the only things that they saw were either my tail or the slight glimpse of my eyes as I tracked down my prey. I ran through the trees hunting the nearest one, sadly they both went in different directions so I could just have one today. I expected the humans to run, so I didn't give them any attention. Once I caught up to the singled out Ripper, going west, I stabbed it through the heart, and took it into the trees.

The reason the trees weren't burning right now was due to me having to teach myself how to make my scales' heat low enough to only leave scorch marks on the bark. I mean it was either that or create a forest fire everywhere I go, and at the rate I traveled there wouldn't be a forest here anymore. The last forest fire I made had been isolated enough I just had to cut down a few trees and dig deep pit to keep them from spreading further.

Once I was done I made a thin layer of fire surround my head and neck, a trick that I had learned just recently actually. It was much faster than finding a pond or stream to wash off in, and the blood evaporated leaving nothing behind as the film of fire was reabsorbed.

Snap

I glared behind me and quickly lept into a tree before going over to the humans that were stalking me, stupid people. You think that they can sneak up on an apex predator and get away with it so easily?

A man had stepped on a stick. Jeez, how can such a small twig make that much noise, or maybe it was my enhanced hearing? Either way you have mighty bad luck dude. He lifted up his boot slowly and sighed in frustration. I studied their clothing, and snorted.

They were higher class city kids: the male had a machete strapped to his back and a pistol at his side stupid choices for woodland combat, the female had a pair of twin swords, a camera around her neck, hip knives, and two pistols strapped to her thighs. So many weapons! Maybe she was training to be an mercenary or something? I don't imagine those being needed much as of yet.

Her brown hair was tied in a loose pony-tail, and the male had short black hair, but still long enough to look decent and get super crazy looking. I snickered inwardly at his luck and moved on. The girl punched the guy in the right shoulder and scolded him about being loud.

"You just cost us a couple extra meals for the month," she growled. "You know that if anyone gets a good picture it they get a decent amount of rations and coin."

"Yeah I know, I know." The male said and the girl just growled and punched him again with no reaction what so ever from the male even though she punched him in the same spot, twice now. This was actually cooling my mood, maybe they'll get away with trying to sneak up on me this time. I lay on a few thick branches and let my head rest on my paws as I looked down upon them.

"We'll get another chance, right?" He asked hopefully and the girl sighed and shook her head discouragingly.

"I don't know John," she said, "it's hard enough to try and find the damn thing with all of these Infected running around." I decided to lightly scratch at the bark, but since I was above them they heard it quite clearly. Drawing their firearms within a moment.

"We need to get out of here," John said, "I do not want to be ambushed by a group of Jumpers looking to get a good meal." Oh please do, those guys are tasty.

The girl nodded and they both stepped backwards a couple steps looking at the surrounding trees with their guns out, but not looking above them...hmmm. They then turned around and started to run off, and I quickly jumped down from the tree that I was on and passed them at a speed they would probably have a hard time catching with all these trees. I lashed my tail through the trunk of four trees, each cut a certain way, and the pair stopped moving, looking around at the flashes that I left behind.

The trees creaked and groaned as they fell. The two started forwards only for a tree to crash down in-front of them, then two more at their sides, and a last behind them. Completely boxing them in. I stepped up on the tree behind them and glared at both. My mouth dripping with molten fire and my eyes surely looking ready to kill. I mean I wasn't looking to be extremely threatened, but I guess that that's the effect I had because both backed up against the tree farthest from me.

They had dropped their guns from shock and were standing against the fallen tree, the female edged a hand to her camera and I shifted my eyes to her. The flash of her camera cut through my vision and partially blinded me but I didn't let them know that I was at a disadvantage. I stepped up fully onto the tree and lay there sideways. This was definitely worth it and I'm glad that I decided not to kill them. Destroying abandoned barns and nests was fun and all, but I was getting bored real quick.

I closed my eyes as a second flash cut through my vision and decided that was enough teasing. I turned away and lashed out with my tail, cutting a thick line in the trunk of the tree right of them, making them both flinch as the blade cut cleanly through half the trunk's diameter with ease.

I crawled up a nearby tree and watched as they stood there for a couple minutes more before fetching their guns and running east. I followed them the entire time until they broke through a clearing and the large granite walls of a city came into view. There was a stone path now, so that was something that had changed. These people seemed to be making a path to the roads nearby or something, but though it was slow work it was less work for me. Free food.

The two ran up the road for a bit before slowing to a fast walk. When they reached the guards, who were looking around warily, they seemingly asked a few things and checked them for something, seemingly not weapons or cash because they were allowed to keep the swords, knives, and guns and didn't even take anything out before the guards waved them in.

Someday I'll get inside of a city, I thought, Someday I'll get to see what it's like in there. I roared loudly, just to let them know that that was not happening again without danger, and looked back at the gates. The guards had their rifles raised and were looking around warily, heh let them shake in their boots. I turned and left, heading for the small town not five miles away. My home was, coincidentally, an abandoned warehouse near the outskirts of the town.

It was probably a factory or something, but I had made it into my own: anything metal was melted down and stuck together to make poles and beams, then I stuck them together and set up a sort of metal canopy that got near the ceiling without actually being too cramped. I had fused each metal beam and substitute to each other to make sure it could hold my weight, and so far it's held quite nicely, creaming here and there and I've had to add a few more beams and supports underneath, but I was happy with it.