Seeing Things-Igneous

I drift in a sea of black. When I move my extremities colors from in the air. I feel no pain in this space when before there had been so much of it. I feel a rush of panic thinking that I died from my injuries. My parents would be proud that I died in the line of duty but sad that they lost their son. My mother always complained that I worked too much. I should have listened to her.

I feel heavy in this space. The heaviness makes it hard to move but I am mesmerized by the colors when I do so I keep trying. As I drift nothing changes for the longest time. My eyes search the darkness for some else. Something else. Anything. I start to feel as if I will drift here forever. Just as I have that thought I see something in the distance.

I see a glowing red light that brings me excitement. I have no idea what I am seeing but I know I want it. The light grows bigger and as it rushes to engulf me my body sags in relief. The heaviness disappears as I am surrounded by this beautiful red light. I laugh aloud in the joy it brings and close my eyes at the feeling. I don’t know how long I drift in this peace.

When I open them I see the most beautiful face. It is a woman. I feel like I know her. She has beautiful, piercing hazel eyes. They are filled with joy when they meet mine. She has a tiny button nose. Her lips are a gorgeous shade of pink and the bottom one if fuller than the top. What shocks me most is her hair. It is the deepest black I have ever seen. It has these scarlet red streaks, and the combination is astounding. Her hair reminds me of the burning flames from an active volcano. I feel my lips stretch into a grin at her beauty.

The vision of the beautiful fades and I find myself floating once more in that sea of black. This time moving in it is much easier. I find that the colors now have all transformed into the glowing red light I had seen before. As I swim through the air of this vast space I watch as the color surrounds my moving body. While I drift in the sea of black I no longer wish to see just another. I want to see the woman again. I no longer feel alone in this abyss. After some time, I see another light in the distance. This time it is a blinding white color. Still reeling in excitement from the first light I swim towards this one. As I swim through it my vision transforms……

I blink my eyes in the blinding rays from the lights above me. They sting my eyes and cause them to water. I turn my head to the side, and I don’t recognize my surroundings. As I take in what I see around the room I know that I am in a hospital. I can smell the antiseptic cleaning supplies in the air. I struggle to lift my head on the bed I lay to access the damage. I am still dressed in my protective equipment. I am covered in ash and soot from the fire from earlier. My left leg is bandaged. I sigh in relief that my toes wiggle when I move them. It must just be a scrape.

My head falls back to the bed. I take a deep breath and breathe out slowly. I brighten when I don’t struggle to take a breath and my lungs feel clear. I feel no pain, so I know that nothing is broken. As I move the rest of my body I find no soreness or breaks. My limbs just feel a little heavy as if I have slept for a long while.

A sound from my right has me jerking my head to find the source. I shudder in shock as I stare at the woman from the strange dream I had. She sits there in the chair asleep from what I can see by the slow movements of her chest. She is even more beautiful in person. I wonder what she is doing here. Is she the one that brought me to the hospital I wonder. As I take in the smoother fair skin she jerks away in her seat and freezes when she meets my gaze.

“Hello Beautiful” I say with a rough voice. She immediately blushes and looks away for a brief moment from my gaze. She lifts a hand shyly and waves.

“Hi” she murmurs. I clear my throat so I can talk more clearly but she rises from the chair. She walks to the door and talks to someone. As she stands there waiting I take in the rest of her for the first time. She is a short woman. I imagine that if I were standing I would tower over her. Her backside curves out and her beautiful hair hangs to the middle of her back. She wears a red robe tied across her curvy figure and has no shoes on her feet. I find that odd because I find the room to be cold. I open my lips to ask her about it, but my gaze reaches hers and I realize she has caught me staring. I keep eye contact with her as I feel my cheeks heat. I definitely find her attractive and even though I don’t know her I refuse to hide it.

She steps aside from the doorway as a blond woman in a doctors coat enters the room. she removes a stethoscope from her neck as she walks toward me. I lean around her to see the woman again when she starts to listen to my heart. I realize that I have lifted up to balance on my elbow to make sure the beautiful woman wasn’t leaving the room. I wanted to talk to her.

“Your heart and lungs sound fine. How do you feel?” The doctor ask.

I look at her briefly as I say, “I’m fine” and then my gaze goes back to her. Her face has gone completely red, and I realize that my staring may be uncomfortable. For some reason I can’t seem to find the impulse to look away from her. The doctor must know that she doesn’t have my attention because she humph’s.

“Perhaps I should give you both a few minutes to talk so that I can check on my patient. I will make my rounds and be back since I sense no immediate danger.” She says annoyed as she leaves the room. I see her go out of the corner of my eyes as I stare at the woman.

“Who are you?” I ask her. I pull myself up to a sitting position on the bed so I can see her more clearly.

“I am Magma.” She says shyly. Her voice is slightly breathy, and I find the slow drawl of her words highly appealing. She walks over and stands at the foot of the bed. “You are in our facility because you were injured in a fire off of route seventy-nine..” She explains.

“Oh, I was going to ask how I got here. I don’t remember you being in the forest” I say trying to remember if I had saw someone else in the forest.

“The last thing I remember are the flames disappearing. They were heading toward a giant red beast. No, wait. That can’t be right” I say to myself.

“I flew you here” she cautions. “Don’t worry you are not insane. You did actually see a..a beast in the forest” she says placing a hand on mine.

I snap out of my head and focus on her touch. Her hand is hot compared to mine. Her fingers feel smooth on my rough hands. When I see how dirty my hands are next to hers I quickly snatch my hand back. She hurriedly steps away, and I see her blinking rapidly. Her head is down, and her hair has now formed a curtain between us.

“I am sorry I touched you. You looked confused and I wanted to reassure you. It won’t happen again” she murmurs. “I will be back to check on you later….uh.. Sorry I meant to ask your name.” she says turning back from taking an exit.

“Wait” say throwing my legs over the side of the bed. “You don’t have to go. I just didn’t want to get you dirty. My hands are filthy, and I didn’t want to put smudges on your beautiful skin” I gush. She seems to consider my words and then she chuckles aloud at my words. I feel a sense of joy that I was able to make her laugh. “My name is Igneous. It is a pleasure to meet you, Magma” I greet her holding out my hand.

She shakes my hand with a smile on her face. I see something in her eyes change. I blink rapidly because I think my brain is playing tricks on me. However, when I look at her eyes once more I see them flicker. “oh, man. I think I need to lay back down” I say as I flop back onto the bed and rub my hands on my face.

“Are you okay. What’s wrong” she says, and I hear her voice come closer to the bed.

“I think I may have hit my head harder than I thought. I seem to be hallucination” I tell her.

“Let me take a look.” She ask. I open my eyes as she lifts a flashlight from the side of the bed. She flickers it across both of my eyes checking the dilation of my pupils. When she replaces the flashlight I look at her eyes once more and they appear normal. When I feel her exhale I realize that she is very close to me. I can feel the heat of her body as her breast press against my arm. “Are you still seeing things” she ask. I clear my throat and look into her eyes once more. Her eyes are on my lips, and I smile knowing that she is affected by my closeness too. I snap out of it when I see her eyes shift again. For a little while they are the bright hazel but then something happens, and they turn into a red cat like slit.

“Oh yeah, I’m still hallucinating. I think we better get the doctor back here” I inform her.

She jerks away from me and briskly walks out the door. After a few moments she returns with the doctor right on her heels.

“Okay let me take a look and examine your eyes.

“She picks up the same flashlight that Magma did a few moments ago. “She tells me that you are seeing things. What did you see?” she ask.

So, I explain to her about what I saw in Magma’s eyes. As I explain she stops checking my eyes and looks at me as if I have gone insane. Not liking her expression I look to Magma to see that she is silently laughing. The doctor turns in her direction and gives her a scowl.

“So, he isn’t hallucinating after all. I take it you haven’t had the chance to explain to him where we are” She questions Magma.

“Not yet, No. I was trying to ease him into it since he will be here for a while” She says flickering her eyes in my direction as she talks to the doctor.

“I understand you mean well but it will be a shock no matter how slow you give him the information. As someone like him, I would say it be best that you just rip off the bandage dear. He can oversee it.” The doctor says.

“Yeah, we all remember how well you guys handle it. There is always a moment of freaking out involved” Magma says placing a hand on her hip.

As my head ping pongs back and forth between their conversation, I feel like an outsider. I shouldn’t feel like an outsider when I know they are talking about me. “Excuse me ladies, but I’m sitting right here. Would one of you please just tell me why I’m seeing things. I can handle whatever it is that I have” I inform them interrupting them from saying anything else.

“You don’t have anything that we know of sir” The doctor answer looking at Magma. “I think it would be best if I let her explain it to you. It is her information to share. I would just ask that you keep an open mind. I will be waiting right outside the door in the hall if you need me” she finishes.

When she walks past Magma she lays a hand on her shoulder and pats it. What she has to tell me must not be good. I sit back on my bed prepared to hear unwelcome news.

“Well…uhm. Do you remember earlier when you mentioned seeing a large red beast in the forest” she ask slowly.

I nod my head and say. “Yeah I remember. That’s not something someone is likely to forget. What does that have to do with what is wrong with me?” I question her as I begin to grow frustrated.

“Yeah, well that wasn’t a hallucination either. It was me.” she says as if it is the simplest thing in the world.

“What. Come again. What was you?” I ask confused.

“The beast you saw is a dragon. I am that red dragon” she says with a straight face.

I begin to laugh. I laugh long and hard. When my laughter dies down I look at her to see that her facial expression has not changed. “Okay. You did an excellent job. You can tell my crew to come in here now. This has been a well-played prank. They sure have got me good this time” I say with a hearty chuckle.

“Okaaaaay. This is not a joke Igneous. I am being serious.” She says shortly.

“Yeah, right. You are a mythical dragon and I’m lying in a dragon hospital. Then the next thing you are going to say is I belong to you now and can’t leave your layer” I say with a huff. Tired of the game she has played I hop off the bed and stand.

After laying down and sitting so long I sway a bit on my feet. Her face is still serious and apparently she is willing to go through great lengths to keep up this ruse. “You’re a great actress sweetheart. I hope my men are paying you well for this” I say as I turn around looking for my shoes.

With a hand on my arm she stops my pursuit and I meet her gaze. “This is not a joke. I can prove it to you. Look.” She commands.

She takes a step away from me and closes her eyes. She holds her arms out in front of her. When she opens her eyes they are no longer normal. I see only that red catlike look. I jerk back at how eerie it seems. She gives a terrifying smile and then turns her hand over backside up. Her skin splits before my eyes and her hand grows. Her fingers stretch to form a claw as her skin blisters out to scarlet color. Right before my eyes I see scales appear over the skin of her hand. I lean against the bed in utter disbelief of what I see.

“Shit. Your hand…. Its changed. What the hell is that?” I bellow loudly.

She holds her position as she breathes. Her weird eyes are still trained on me, and she breathes in an odd rhythm. Two breaths in and one long breath out. She lowers her arms and I watch as she rapidly turns back to normal. “It’s exactly what I said. I am a dragon. I have told you no lies” she confirms.

I feel myself collapse on the bed wondering what the hell I have gotten myself into. She takes a step toward me, and I hold out my hand in front of me to ward her off. I need a moment to think. I knew that there were dragons in the world. Everyone knows about the supernatural races. I just have never met one in person and my mind is a bit wrecked because of it. As I process I look at her. She looks human now as she stands there. She has folded her arms across her body tightly and she bites her lip. I realize that I have hurt her feelings.

“Sorry, I’m just in a bit of a shock here. I knew you existed but have never met one.” I start off. “I’m a little at a loss of what to do here. Where am I at anyway?” I ask her.

“I can sense your fear. I assure you that I mean you no harm. None of us do. You are here in the clinic of our village. I flew you here because your injuries were grave, and I had to help you survive. You will have to remain here as you recover for a while.” She murmurs. She has said all of this while looking at the wall.

“I do not fear you.” I hear myself say and when I think about it I find that I speak the truth. “What do you mean grave. I feel a little tired but other than that I am fine. There is no need for me to extend my stay.” I insist.

“We have healed you. While we did you were out for two days. We do not allow many humans to enter our village. You have to remain here until we can trust you. I’m sorry.” She declares.

“Two days. No I cannot stay. I have to get back to my men. I have a job to do and need to make sure they are all right.” As I speak I start to panic. I forgot about my men. Her presence was so distracting that I forgot about seeing the helicopter get hit by something from the fire. I rush around the room once more looking for my shoes.

“I am sorry, but we cannot allow you to leave. No one will let you leave our sanctuary. I can assure you that your station has received a report of your condition. You will be covered for some time about your duties” I start to shake my head to protest but she continues. “I also regretfully inform you that you were the only survivor from the fire on route seventy-nine. There was no one else”

At her words I give up on finding my shoes. They were most likely lost in the fire. I feel my eyes water knowing that I have lost my men. We were a team of six an pulled all missions together for the last three years. Silent tears leak down my cheeks as I cry for the family that I have lost. I was even starting to get used to the rookie who had just joined. I see her step closer to me. Her eyes have left the staring place on the wall as she stops a few feet from the bed I have collapsed on.

“I am sorry for your loss. I know this cannot be easy. As smoke jumpers we are told the risk we take with our lives. It doesn’t make the losses any less painful. I would take your pain if I could.” She murmurs.

I wipe the tears from my face and meet her gaze.

“What happened to them?” I croak.

“I do not know for sure. When I reached the blaze I saw the remains of a helicopter near the northern edge of the fire. When I was done putting it out you were the only heartbeat heard besides my own.” She recalls sadly.

I nod my head trying to absorb the information. My chest hurts for the loss of my men. She is right. I do know the risk that we take with the job, but I still feel their losses. I take a deep breath and clench my jaw against the pain. My men would want me to grieve but they wouldn’t want me to spend the whole time crying. I need something to do. I look around the sterile room as she watches me. Everything in here is spotless, well except for me. “Is there someplace I can shower” I ask her. I know that my loss is not her fault, but I can’t bear to look at her right now.

“Yes, there is a shower in the attached bathroom to this suite. If you want to take one I can have someone bring you clothes.” She answers.

I walk into the other door in the room without a word. I quickly strip myself of the dirty clothing and toss it in the hamper. I turn the water on and step underneath the spray. As I wash myself I give in to the pain I feel and let the water wash away my tears. I will give myself this time to grieve so that I can heal. When I go back out that door I have a strange feeling that this has changed my life forever. A life that I still get to live when my men don’t. I have to find a way to be grateful for that I guess.