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The Bond

Chapter 1 : Fateful night

Everything started on a dark, stormy night.

• Faster, faster !

• I know ! I'm driving as fast as possible ! I don't want to kill us by hitting a tree ! Not with our son !

• How much farther until we arrive at the Hospital ?

• There should be about 20 kilometers left once we leave Drakenfang forest.

• That won't do ! I'm already starting to feel the baby...

At this point, the woman stopped in her sentence and started grunting in pain...

• That's enough ! I'm stopping the car right now ! I'll grab the first aid kit in the trunk and I'll help you give birth to our son !

After that, the man stopped the car in a clearing and immediately got out.

He grabbed the first aid kit in the back of the trunk and opened it.

Inside the kit were useful pieces of medical equipment such as bandages, dressings, antiseptic sprays, styptic pens, e.t.c. .

The man put on the latex gloves and grabbed the survival blanket.

After laying the blanket on the ground, the man opened the front passenger door and gently pulled out his wife.

• John ?

• Hmm ?

• I don't think I'll make it...

• Don't say that ! I know you will ! You have to !

• But it hurts so...

• Emily !

• My womb feels like it's on fire ! Do something !

• Alright, alright. Relax, take deep breaths and push.

• Ok, ok. I'll do it. For us.

And Emily kept pushing on and on, until the baby was finally out.

• You've done it Emily ! We finally have a son ! It's a healthy baby boy !

-Oh John, I'm so...

Emily then fainted from exhaustion, leaving John alone in the clearing with their son.

• Emily ? Emily ? Answer me !

Then, as if sensing the distress from his father, the baby started crying, signaling his presence to the many inhabitants of the forest. Some were friendly. Others were not.

The unfriendly ones started howling....

• Shit ! As if I needed wolves to come now !

Not too far away from the clearing that John and his son were in, something was also happening.

A lone silver egg was standing on the forest floor. However, this was not a bird's egg or something like that. It was something coming from a much greater and mightier creature than a mere bird : it was a Dragon's egg.

When the baby started crying, cracks began to form on its surface. If you were superstitious, you could say that the dragon inside the egg has been awoken by the baby's crying. Other people would just say that it was only a coincidence...

After a few minutes, the dragon that was inside the egg started to come out. The first thing that emerged was the dragon's snout, rapidly followed by the rest of the dragon's body.

After getting a hold of its surroundings, it started heading to the source of this mysterious noise.

• Shit! They are getting closer and closer!

As if to answer John's statement, something in the bushes in front of him started growling...

Thinking quickly, he snapped a branch from a nearby tree and used it as a club.

The wolf's head emerged from the bushes. It was a big black wolf with vicious yellow eyes that were filled with only one thing: primal hunger.

He started circling John and his baby, looking John directly in the eyes.

That made John tense his muscles even more. He was ready to defend his son, even if it meant that he had to die in the process.

• Come on you son of a bitch!

Curiously, this sentence made the wolf lunge forward.

John managed to smack the wolf aside but not before it managed to bite him in his right arm.

The one that was holding the branch.

The only thing that could have saved him and his son.

The wolf, however, was licking his lips. He had tasted blood and wanted more...

It was readying itself for the kill when suddenly, something landed on its back and bit him in the neck.

Howling in pain, the wolf tried to shake the creature off but to no avail.

Meanwhile, John was watching the whole scene while holding his left hand over the wound in his right arm to prevent him from bleeding out.

• What the fuck just happened? Just what is that thing?

John couldn't have known what it was because in this world dragons are only creatures of legend...

Soon, the fighting was over and the wolf fell on the ground, dead.

The dragon hatchling turned its attention to the 3 humans that it just saved from a painful death.

It then started to move towards the human hatchling...

• Back off!

It was the biggest human who said that. His arms were bloody from the wolf's attack and he smelled of fear and agressiveness at the same time.

• I said back off! You hear me? You take one more step and you'll regret it!

The hatchling did not understand why he said that...

It had just saved the lives of this human's family and the only thing that it got in return was a threat.

It decided to reach out with its mind to convince him that it meant no harm...

• Yeah, that's right. Don't come closer...

John then stopped mid-sentence. He was strangely at peace, no longer worried about the tiny silver creature that was in front of him.

The silver hatchling, seeing that the big human was no longer shouting and smelling of fear and agressiveness, resumed its walk towards the big human and his offspring.

When it arrived, it started sniffing again. It also sized John up and down, almost as if it was looking to find something.

However, it stopped its examination of John after a few seconds and turned its attention towards John's baby who was still crying.

Curiously, when the dragon started examining the baby, the baby stopped crying and started watching the strange beast with big blue eyes that were full of curiosity.

When the two made eye contact, the dragon hatchling stopped moving and froze in place.

The dragon had made eye contact with the big human's hatchling.

When it looked through those blue eyes, it could see the soul of this human hatchling, his "flame of life".

It was burning so weakly that it could be "snuffed out" with a mere thought of its part but it decided against it.

Instead, it would protect this human.

After that, the silver hatchling acted on instinct and reached out with its snout and made contact with the human's hatchling right hand palm...

John was watching his son and the mysterious silver creature that had just saved the lives of his son and his wife.

It was staring right at his son's eyes, almost as if searching for something...

Suddenly, the creature froze in place.

• Hey ! You alright ?

However, John mentally slapped himself after this.

Stupid ! Why are you talking to a wild beast ? It's not like it can understand you or something...

However, before John could continue his train of thought, the tiny silver creature started moving again.

This time, it dit not move any further but instead it started reaching with its snout towards his son's right-hand palm.

When it made contact, there was a bright flash of white light that temporarily blinded him.

After the light finally faded, he squinted his eyes to adjust them to the darkness of the forest.

When he was done with the process, he was shocked by what he saw and almost fainted...

• No! Please, God, no!

His son and the creature were knocked out. They were both sprawled on the floor, looking as if they had been blown away by something.

He immediately rushed to where his son was, worried for his well-being.

He picked him up and cradled him in his arms, checking if he was still alive.

• Don't die on me son! I don't want to lose you!

He then put his right ear to the baby's chest, checking if there still was a pulse.

He was very relieved when he heard something. It was a very faint sound but it was there.

His son was still alive!

However, when he checked the rest of his son's body to see if no further damage had been done,

he found something that was quite strange...

Right where the tiny silver creature's snout touched his son's hand, there was some strange burn mark.

It was in the form of a spiral-shaped scar resembling a stylized "e".

• What the fuck is that! Is that a burn? I've got to go to the hospital as fast as possible!

With that said, John got up with his son still in his arms and put him in the front passenger seat, securing him in a bundle of clothes that had been in the back.

He then got back to where his wife was, unconscious but still alive. He carried her bridal style and gently sat her down on the back seat.

After that, he started rummaging through the first aid kit that was still standing in the trunk, looking for something to clean his wound and stop the bleeding.

First, he used the emergency styptic pencil.

He applied the stick over the bite mark in his arm that was still bleeding profusely. Immediately after having made contact with the stick, his wound started to stop bleeding but only by a small amount.

However, that was still not enough. He had to use something to cover the wound and prevent the infection of his wound.

He managed to find an antiseptic dressing and applied it over the wound like he had seen in so many movies when paramedics are healing people...

• Gah ! That thing fuckin' stings! What did they use for it? Alcohol?

When John was inside the car after finally securing his family and taking care of his wound, he turned the ignition key and started the engine.

However, when his foot hovered over the gas pedal, he thought about the tiny silver creature that had saved their lives.

I cannot leave it like that! It must be hurt too! In this state it will get eaten alive by the beasts.

It may be a wild animal but I won't leave a living being to this fate...

And with that, he shut off the engine and moved to the spot where the silver creature was lying.

He picked it up and laid it on the front passenger seat, right next to his son. He did not fear for his son's safety because somewhere in his mind he knew that this creature would not harm his son.

He turned the ignition key again and gunned the engine, heading straight for the hospital.

While on the road to the hospital, John decided to turn the radio on. It was tuned to a music station that was airing one of Ed Sheeran's songs: "Bloodstream".

The song had already started and was currently in the chorus...

"This is how it ends, I feel the chemicals burn in my bloodstream. Fading out again, I feel the chemicals burn in my bloodstream. So tell me when it kicks in. Well, tell me when it kicks in. "

However, John quickly switched stations until he found the news station to listen to the traffic alerts. The last thing he wanted was to be stuck in a traffic jam with an unconscious wife and a newborn son that were both in urgent need of medical attention...

John finally made it to the hospital and slammed on the brakes right in front of the main entrance.

This action earned him some glares from the hospital's staff.

He then got out of the car and started shouting...

• I need help! My wife and my son are injured! Please, help!

This plea for help was not unheard.

Immediately after that, paramedics rushed to John's car to check up on his family while someone called for a medical gurney...

However, when one of the paramedics opened the front passenger door to gain access to John's baby, he found the tiny silver creature...

It had curled itself around the bundle of clothes and was quite awake...

When the man tried to remove the silver creature from the baby, the creature snapped its jaws, warning him...

• What the! What is that thing!

• Oh no! I'm sorry sir. Let me explain you...

And John explained to the man what had happened earlier.

• So, let me get this straight. You were attacked by a wolf in the forest and this "thing" saved you.

• Yes.

• And after that, something happened and your son and "it" were knocked unconscious. You decided to bring "it" back with your family because "it" had saved your lives.

• That's right.

• Then maybe you can talk "it" into letting us approach your son?

• I'll try to see what I can do.

I can't believe I'm about to do that again...

• Hey. It's me. Remember?

The silver dragon hatchling had been awoken by a sudden bone-jarring movement.

It was wondering what was happening until it heard the big human call for help.

Were they still in danger? Are the black furred creatures going to attack again?

It immediately curled itself around the big human's offspring, forming a defensive shell around the helpless human.

However, something opened the door of the strange metal carriage it was in.

Acting on instinct, it bared its teeth to try to scare the intruder...

The human stepped back and talked to the big human.

After a few minutes, the big human came towards him and started talking.

He explained that they were now safe and that the other human from earlier was a healer.

The healer needed to take the human hatchling to a "nursery", a place were the human hatchlings were taken when they were born to see if they were alright.

The silver hatchling agreed but only if it could come with the little human...

• I don't know if it worked. Try again.

The paramedic nodded before approaching the strange silver creature that was still curled around the baby.

It was still watching him with a wary eye but this time "it" did not snap at him.

He tried to pry the baby off the creature but to no avail. The creature refused to budge and even flashed its teeth at him, as if this creature was daring him to try that again...

The man had no clue on what to do next until the baby's father spoke again.

• If you can't pry it off, move the two of them onto the gurney.

• Are you sure?

• Yes.

• Alright. Be warned though, if this creature pulls another stunt like that one but inside the hospital, we'll have to put it down.

• Don't worry. I don't think it will until you try to pry it off my son again. It'll uncurl itself eventually.

By the way, where is my wife now?

• She's being moved to the ER ward as we speak. Your son will be moved to the nursery ward. Do you want to go with him or do you want to check up on your wife?

• I will see my wife.

• Alright. Please follow me sir.

While John was following the paramedic who showed him the way to the ER ward, his son was being moved to the maternity ward where he would be checked up for any health issues.

The doctor that was on duty that night was named Gregory Maison.

He was a man that was sixty and that was showing in his graying hair. He was short but with a stocky build. His cane was resting on the wall of the Doctor's rest room and he was calmly sipping a cup of coffee when a nurse entered the room...

• Doctor Maison!

• Calm down young lady. What is it?

• We have something quite unusual going on at the maternity ward.

• I've seen a lot of things in my career...

• I'm sure you have Doctor but I don't think that you've seen something like this...

• Well then, out with it!

• There was a man that came to the hospital minutes ago with his injured wife and newborn son.

• What's so special about it?

• The guy says that he had been saved from a wolf's attack by some strange silver creature. Said creature is currently in our ward curled up around the guy's son...

At this point, Doctor Maison spat out his coffee in surprise...

• WHAT ?! What about the baby? Is he alright?

• Well that's the problem: me and the other nurses wanted to do the usual arrival check-up on the baby but...

• But what?

• We're too afraid of that thing. It's scaring me and the other nurses...

• Fine, I'll go and do the check-up myself. Where is he?

• Section 8.

Dr Maison grabbed his cane and then moved to the section 8 of the maternity ward to see for himself the baby and the creature that was scaring his subordinates.

When he arrived, he let out a whistle.

• I've never seen anything like that... What are you?

Curiously, the creature let out a small growl, as if to answer his question.

• You look like a reptile but yet you have wings... That's strange... Just don't bite me, alright? I have to examine your little "protégé" to see if he's alright.

Then, as if it understood him, the silver creature uncurled itself. Enough for him to examine the baby correctly but not enough for him to pry it out...

• Truly marvelous. It seems that you are capable of understanding human speech...

The Doctor then resumed what he was doing and picked up a small wooden clipboard with the check-up list on it. It consisted of basic items such as weight, height, eye color, distinctive signs and so on.

The first thing that he noticed was that despite being just born, this baby was not crying. It was just peacefully sleeping.

Moving on, the Doctor started checking the baby's reflexes. He picked up the tiny wooden mallet that was usually used on babies to tap their knees and see if they moved their legs, indicating that the muscles in their legs were correctly forming.

However, as he was about to strike the baby's knee, the silver creature swatted the mallet with its tail and started growling lightly...

• Hey! Just let me do my job! If I don't check his reflexes I won't be able to see if there is something wrong with his legs.

The creature huffed and then settled again, letting Dr Maison carry on with his examination.

He tried to tap the baby's knee again but something strange happened. Again.

Just as the mallet was about to make contact with the surface of the knee, the baby moved his leg out of the way. While still asleep.

• Huh? That's quite unusual. Let's try again...

He tried to tap the baby's knee again but to no avail. Every time he tried the baby moved his leg out of the way...

• Weird... Just how in the world can you do that? Do you have a "spider sense" or something?

He then wrote down the results of the test on the paper before moving on to the next item on the list.

This one was about hands.

• Now we're going to see if you don't have an abnormal number of fingers...

He looked at the baby's left hand and saw that all of the fingers were accounted for. But, when he started examining the right hand, something caught his attention: there was something that looked like a burn mark. It was in the form of a spiral-shaped scar resembling a stylized "e".

• Things just start getting weirder and weirder by the minute. I've never seen anything like that. Let's apply some ointment to soothe the burn...

Dr Maison uncorked the tube, put some on his fingers, and started applying it on the burn...

However, after a few seconds, the burn started to shimmer and the ointment dissolved...

• What the fuck?! You seem full of surprises boy...

Deciding that the baby's hands were correctly forming, Dr Maison moved on to the next item on the list.

Eye movement.

This was a very simple test: the Doctor was going to wave a pen in front of the baby's eyes to see if he could follow the pen or not.

But for that, the baby had to be awake...

Dr Maison tried to do it but no matter how much noise he made, the baby would not wake up...

He then decided to speak to the silver beast that was still curled around the baby to see if it could manage to wake the baby up.

• Uhm, well. Could you please wake up your little "protégé"? I need to check his eyes.

Again, the silver creature managed to surprise him by nodding and lightly tapping the baby on the nose with the tip of its tail.

The baby was now wide awake...

• Alright. Let's do this.

He then approached the baby and managed to get a good look at his eyes.

• Wait a minute... Something's wrong with your eyes... The irises are not correctly formed...

The silver creature that was with baby suddenly let out a yawn, quite annoyed by what was going on.

This drew the attention of Dr Maison and he then noticed something.

When he made the connection, he was so shocked that he almost fainted.

The baby's eyes were exactly the same as the silver creature's...

• No! This cannot possible! There is not even a one in a trillion chance that this may happen!

He shakily put the clipboard down on a nearby table and bolted for the nearest phone.

When he arrived, he dialed the number of the hospital front desk and asked the receptionist if she could send someone to bring him the "boy" parents...

• There you go sir, the ER ward. Your wife is in room 13.

-Thank you.

.

After that, John moved to where his wife was. He was standing in front of the door, his hand turning the door knob.

His mind was filled with worry about her. Was she safe? Was she unconscious? How would she react to what happened to their son?

Some of these questions were instantly answered when he saw her: she was peacefully sleeping in her bed. However, the door made a creaking noise and that woke Emily up...

• Emily! Thank God! You are alive!

• John!

• I was worried sick about you! Are you alright?

• Yes, the Doctors took care of me. Where is our baby? I want to see him and hold him in my arms...

• Well, about that...

As John said those words, he immediately regretted it. Emily's face turned from one of happiness to one of sadness in the blink of an eye and tears started welling in her eyes...

• No! Don't tell me that he's...

• No! That's not what I wanted to tell you about him.

• What is it then?

• Let me ask you a question first. What do you remember from before the hospital?

• Well, we were driving through the woods to get to the hospital when I started feeling the baby coming out. You stopped the car in that forest and...

• And?

• I don't remember much after that... The only thing that I can recall was pain, great pain and then I blacked out...

• That's what I thought. Let me explain to you what happened when you were unconscious...

And John explained to his wife what had happened during that night. The wolf, the silver creature, the flash of light, everything.

When he was finished, Emily looked at him with disbelief...

• Are you sure that all of this happened? I mean, it's so...

• Unreal?

• Yes...

However, before the two of them could keep conversing, a nurse showed up at the door. She cleared her throat and grabbed their attention.

• Excuse me for interrupting but are you Mr and Mrs Lachance?

It was John that answered.

• Yes, that's us? What is it? Is something wrong with our son?

• Doctor Maison called from the maternity ward. He wants to see you and your wife immediately.

• Did he say why?

• No, he just told the front desk that it was "a matter of the utmost importance" and that it required your presence. We also have a wheelchair for your wife.

• Well then, show us the way.

Doctor Maison was at a loss. He had never seen anything like that in his long career in the service of this hospital.

Sure, there had been the occasional odd case like when he had to help give birth to a woman who was pregnant with eight babies but this was something that beats everything.

His mind was trying to come with a rational answer but it could not. And there also was this mysterious creature that intrigued him greatly. Just what was this? How could the baby have the same eyes as that creatur ? And this strange burn mark...

Before he could continue to search for an answer, the double doors that lead to the ward opened and in came the boy's father, along with his wife who was sitting in a wheelchair.

• Ah! Mr and Mrs Lachance ! I have to talk to you about your son. Please follow me to section 8, that's where he is.

After a few minutes, the three of them were right in front of the baby's cradle.

He was currently playing with the silver creature who was holding its tail in the air, just out of reach of the baby's hands. That did not stop him from trying to reach it with his tiny arms. He was even laughing of joy like only babies are able to do.

The couple almost relaxed but then they saw their son's eyes...

• What. The. Fuck.

• Jesus!

• Doctor! Just what happened to his eyes? They look like a reptile's!

• Calm down Mr Lachance. I do not know what happened to your son. The best theory that I could come up with is that he is suffering from a VERY rare genetic defect...

• Is it curable?

• I'm sorry but no. He'll have to live with those eyes for the rest of his life...

It was then that Emily joined in on the conversation.

• And what about that creature? Right now it's playing with our son but we don't know what will happen next. It's a wild beast for pete's sake!

• I am aware of this fact Mrs Lachance. All the attempts at removing this creature from your son have failed.

• What do you mean by "failed"?

• It seems that this creature has taking a "liking" to your son. When we tried to remove it it just curled around your son and flashed its teeth...

• Listen honey. I know that what I'm about to tell you is crazy but hear me out: if we can't move it away from our son we can keep it as a pet for him.

• What?! John! Have you lost your mind! This a WILD BEAST!

• I know! However, if it was so dangerous it would have eaten us alive at the forest ! Instead, it SPARED us. Do you honestly think that a wild beast would do that? And look at the two of them! They look happy, don't they? He is probably going to be treated as an outcast because of his eyes! Do you really want to take away from what will surely be his only friend?

• N.. No. I don't want that. You've won. Once we get out of the hospital, we'll take it with us.

At this moment, Dr Maison cleared his throat, reminding the couple that they were not alone in the room...

• I'm sorry but your son and his "friend" need rest. Please follow me outside of the ward. You'll be able to come back in the morning.

• We're right behind you Doctor.

After leading the parents out of the ward, the Doctor went to his office and began to type on his computer his report about the baby.

It was explaining the boy's unusual attributes in detail: from his superhuman reflexes and the strange burn mark in hid right hand palm to his unsettling green reptilian eyes.

There was only one thing missing to complete the report: the results of the baby's blood analysis.

He let out a yawn and shut off his computer, telling himself that he could finish the report tomorrow.

END OF CHAPTER 1

Well, how was it ?

Do not hesitate to read and leave a comment, I love to know what people think of this story !

Hell, if I get enough comments, i might even post the first chapter of another fanfic of mine : the first version is on fanfiction.net but thisone will be much better.

DISCLAIMER :

I DO NOT OWN the Inheritance Cycle, Paolini does.

The songs that appear in this fic are the property of their respective owners and NO copyright infringement is intended. I am also NOT making money off of it.