A New World

chapter four!

The darkness faded into the gray light of dawn as I opened my eyes to a new world. This new world was bright, despite the lack of sun. This new world smelled like pine. In this new world, I could hear the breathing of the people around me. I could hear their heart beats, and I could smell them. They smelled warm and like meat. Meat. I was starving. As I got up from the ground I noticed I was on all fours. I noticed I was lower to the ground, but what mattered most was the smell of fresh meat all around me.

I looked around me, but all I saw was tall things. They were tan, and made of some plastic stuff. But it didn’t matter, there was meat inside them. I heard a noise, and the smell of meat was closer, and more intense. But it was moving into the woods, quickly. I ran on strong legs. I could run so much faster on these legs and as I found the meat, warm on the forest floor, and sunk my teeth into, I realized I like this world a lot better.

 

The hot sun blazed on my bare back as I lay in darkness. That doesn’t make sense, I thought, where am I? Something touched my back and I opened my eyes. I saw nothing but leaves as I looked over the forest floor. Turning over, I saw Ariadne slouching over me. “Where ‘m I?” I muttered, feeling severely hung-over. My head pounded, and the light blazed through my eyelids.  When I tried to sit up, I fell back over. “Wha’ happen?” I managed to look towards her.

“Your first shift.” She smiled. Her green eyes sparkling in the morning light, I realized how close to she was. I could almost touch her. Why was she so close to me?

“Ardne? I wanna guh home.” I sat up against a tree, trying hard to hold down the contents of my stomach.

“Huh? I can’t understand you,” she laughed before standing up, “Come on, let’s go say good morning to everyone!”

            The trip back was long, as I kept stumbling over roots. I could hardly walk by the time we had reached camp. Though my head was clearing, I couldn’t remember a thing about last night. I had a strange taste in my mouth and I realized I was naked. “Ariadne?”

“Ya?” she turned her head to me, not finding anything wrong with this situation.

“What happened last night? Everything’s blurry. I remember running, and eating, and everything being so bright.” I shook my head. This was all happening so fast. I wasn’t ready to be a werewolf, or whatever I was now. I just wanted to be home in bed, or playing baseball with Chris. “Chris would have loved to be a wolf. You should have picked him instead.”

“We didn’t pick him because we didn’t know we would save either of you. Besides, Sam saw something great inside you, although I don’t know what.” She sighed looking me up and down, it was then I realized I still lacked a stitch of clothing and turned around, heat rising in my cheeks.

“Where the hell did my cloths go?” I yelled to her, not wanting to turn around, not wanting to move at all.

“Well they didn’t magically shift with you,” she laughed, “They were either shredded or are lying in the middle of the camp right now. You’ll have to go get them, but I wouldn’t put them back on, you might still shift again.”

“So I get to sit, naked, in the middle of the forest? When can I go home?” I glared at her, finally turning around, despite my embarrassment.

“A week or so. Depends on how quick you get a handle on your powers.”

“A week?! And don’t call this... this... thing, a f*****g power! It’s a curse if you ask me!” I stormed deeper into the woods, feeling pain welling up in my stomach as my rage increased. The pain grew, ripping across my stomach, burning through my head, forcing me to my knees. I pressed my hands against my ears as they began to ring and burn. I heard a voice. The voice was screaming something, not in any language I had ever heard. Much to my horror, it turned into an earsplitting howl as I felt my mind going blank. I tried to scream, tried to call for help, but my voice came out in whines and yelps. Ariadne’s hand was on my shoulder, the coolness of her touch calming, but soon, it too was hot and painful. The darkness forced its way into my eyes and once again the world began to fade and flash around me. This time, I felt my body changing. My hands slipped from my head, I fell onto my side as my knees gave out. My head burned, but the pain was beginning to subside, and I could feel the fog rolling out of my mind.

But who was I? I was thinking and hearing but everything seemed different somehow. As I took a breath, I opened my eyes to a new world. A world I’d remember, a world I’d grow to love. But I didn’t know that yet, all I knew now was the feel of my new legs and the warm smell of Ariadne. She smelled like home, like a mother’s warmth, and a campfire burning in the woods. Home was the last thing on my mind as I ran. 

I followed her scent. Though I couldn’t see her, I knew where I was going. I knew where she was, how far away she was, and how long it would take to catch up. I built speed, slowly and steadily, but eventually, I was tearing through the woods. Dirt flew as my claws hit the soft earth. Briers and burrs tugged at something as I ran past them. Was it fur? Oh ya, I have fur now. I chuckled to myself as I thought about it, how stupid it would have seemed just a month ago. But today, the tugs felt good, the feel of earth on my paws, the smell of the fire, running so close ahead of me. I took in all these things from a different point of view. A point I had never even imagined, not for a moment.  Ariadne? Where are you? I thought in passing as her scent vanished. One moment it was there, the next it was as if she had never walked this path.

The bushes shook and I found myself being jostled by a small wolf, her green eyes sparkling. I’m right here.