A dragon was soaring over the skies of Germany in the year 2034. It had just left a security compound where it had been kept for months and was heading towards a research center. These were the same research centers that started the project, Next Gen, almost two years ago.
Brainy and a billionaire, Harry Blackmore, founded the project in the hope to bring back an extinct creature to life, using the genome of a living relative of the extinct animal, and that day had finally come.
A dragon.
The dragon in the air was named Nova and was part of a handful of dragons that were created. They were designed to be like their extinct relatives, they had pale red scales on them, the claws on their front legs, and the vertical stripes on their bellies. These dragons were part of a new species that combined the characteristics of the extinct animal with a few changes from the living relatives. This was a precautionary measure, to make sure the recipe was perfect.
Nova was chosen from the three hundred newborns that were born at the beginning of the project. It was named after the queen of the extinct animal, because Smithy chose it himself. Its scales were like the original, but it also had a few of its physical features changed, such as the strong tail and wings. It was also larger than the other dragons.
Nova was put into a prison and kept for five months as it had to undergo several trials in the new facility. Only those that passed the trials were allowed to spend time with the dragon. Even the scientists that wanted to see the creature they created couldn't be near it until it was proven to be safe.
In total, forty dragons were created and were being tested. Some died, others were already sold. Fourteen were kept to stay at the research center.
A couple of hours after Nova was released, it was already taking off slowly, hovering over the clouds and the ocean. Its scaly wings were spread as it looked down at the earth. It felt the rush of flying over the water and its powerful tail propelled it higher and higher until it was level with the clouds. It didn't need to flap its wings to stay in the air; the dragon used no additional power for that.
Nova soared over the Atlantic, making sure that no human was on the planet, tranquilizing the buildings or the landmarks carefully so that if it hit, no one would be hurt in the disaster area.
It felt the wind in its face and the excitement. The feeling that it was part of something important, that it was doing something good for the world.
Motionless, it flew over the North Sea and curved towards the east. The soil was brown and the green forests were mostly empty, as there had been a famine in some areas.
In the year 2041, the United States was struck by an earthquake and tsunami, that destroyed large parts of the country. For ten years, it had been struggling with extreme weather and superstorms, earthquakes and floods.
As it flew over the British Islands, the dragon felt sad that it wasn't allowed to help. It couldn't believe that the technology is so advanced and yet it wasn't allowed to help, even though it could. The ancestor that Nova was modeled after was never good with the humans, they attacked them, they hunted them. They had to have a new genome, something that the lizards weren't used to. They weren't aggressive towards humans.
Nova flew over the forests and the high-rise buildings. It swooped close to the London Eye, mesmerizing the people that saw it from the windows of the buildings they worked in. Even though they were mesmerized by the sight, they didn't actually see it; they saw it on the news later.
Slowly, it circled the building before it landed on the ground. It shifted into its human form, its long brown hair falling down its back, and its wings vanishing. It dressed quickly in a simple black suit, a long black dress shirt, and black dress shoes. The dragon then walked out of the building in the direction of the river Thames. It had been a while since it last had contact with other dragons. It knew that the rest of its kind are still in the lab. It was the experiment; to see whether living in a cage, in a compound that was surrounded by a constant wall of security, would have an effect on the animal. Well, they were right that it had an effect on them.
The dragon crossed the street in front of a sports car that was going to fast. It froze the car with magic then shifted back into its dragon form, thinking that it couldn't use magic on humans, it's a complicated matter for them to use magic on humans.
The dragon flew over the river before it landed on the bank. It walked towards the street, away from the other people. The shop owners stopped what they were doing and stopped talking over each other.
Everyone felt the power emanating from Nova. The fear, the excitement, the joy and the sadness that the dragon was feeling. It was ironic that such a powerful creature was caged.
Stopping in front of a little sand shop, Nova shifted back into its human form again. The shop owner looked at him, and spoke. "Welcome to my shop. Is there anything I can help you with today?" Nova looked at him curiously, wondering why he was asking a question that she already knew the answer to.
"What do you mean? I already know. I'm curious to know if you would know what I am. What are you?"
The shop owner's face turned white, "Do you like the sand?" the shop owner asked nervously.
"I do. It looks great here. What do I need now?" Nova asked.
"Do you know that the Sand-witch locked you here?" the shop owner asked.
The dragon was confused. "What do you mean? The witch locked me here?" Nova replied.
The shopkeeper responded. "The witch put you here in the sand, deep in the right corner. She trapped you and kept you here with an enchantment so that you couldn't escape. She's never done that to any other dragon. She's reading your mind, looking for your weaknesses, looking to torture you. It hurts, being trapped in the sand like that."
