Trapped!

 

            Steel looked through the glass jar that he found himself in. How could he have let himself be captured? He would never be able to live this down. Transformers were never supposed to get caught. Because he could turn into any animal he wanted, he should have been able to easily escape any kind of trap.

            Steel let out a sigh. He should have paid more attention as his eel body shot through the water. He was too busy admiring how he could swim through such small spaces. Swimming through a particularly tight section of the river, he hardly noticed when the large jar was lifted out of the water with him trapped inside it.

            Oh, well. It shouldn’t be too much of a problem to escape. He just needed some open air above him and a place where no one else was around. Glaring at his surroundings, he waited for his opportunity. This was his first time riding inside of a car. Steel would have enjoyed it more if he could move freely. It seemed like an eternity before the car stopped moving and his jar was carried outside and set down in some grass.

            Where was the forest? Instead of trees, there were lines of boxy houses lined up in a row. Steel could only stare as he was carried into a backyard. Finding his jar in the grass once again, he watched as a blow-up kiddie pool filled his vision. Waiting some more, he was relieved when the lid of his jar finally twisted open, and he could hear and feel the fresh outside air.

            Without warning, he was dumped into the kiddie pool which was filled with water. He turned to study the human who had put him there. Groaning, he realized that it wasn’t even an adult that had captured him, but a child. His family was really going to laugh at him now.

            As Steel stared at the little human, the child started talking. “There you go, buddy. I got you a nice little home with some food.” He suddenly cocked his head as he listened to another human yelling from the direction of the house.

            “Tommy! It’s time to come inside!” Hearing this, the boy ran toward the house and disappeared inside.

            Looking around carefully, Steel made sure that no one else was around. Whew! Finally, he was alone. Something bumped into him from behind and nearly scared him out of his skin. Spinning wildly around, Steel saw what it was – a lemon wedge. Was this the food that the small human talked about? He wasn’t a fan of lemons and wouldn’t be taking that with him.

            Taking a deep breath, Steel shot himself out of the water and transformed immediately into a sparrow. Flying up and up, he transformed again into an eagle. Ah! Much better. Now he felt like he could breathe properly. He started flying toward the feeling of home and soon he was soaring over a vast forest.

            Joyfully, he let out a shrill eagle cry and then transformed into his true form – a shiny silver dragon. Effortlessly, he made his way to his den, halfway up the great mountain jutting high above the forest below. This is where he was meant to be. He had no wish to be caught again. Maybe he would steer clear of the rivers for a while. Eels were overrated anyway. Dragons were far superior.