Play Fetch and bring the Next Round of Drinks

Prolouge

My name is Tom, not Thomas, just Tom. The world of fantasy isn't as much of a lie as you'd believe. I was into a normal family with normal parents with a mildly abnormal younger sister. Because of my family's absolute love for caravanning, we spend most of our summers on the coast and that's when it all started.

I was sixteen years old and had just got back from my short trip home for my GCSE exam results which would decide if I got into the sixform I wanted. I'd only failed two subjects and passed the rest so I was certain about my spot been reserved so I had no worries, I could just enjoy the rest of what remains of my holiday by the beach like before.

Over the last four weeks I was here I'd been given more independence to do as I please, I knew the surrounding main towns better than those to where I live. Most of it was spent lazing around, reading books and playing on my old gameboy just like every year before. Except this time I could go down to the beach and do it. In this time I met a lot of people around the site, like Joy, someone else stuck here for all the summer. We agreed on a lot of topics, like the best places to soak up the sun. Besides that our conversation was usually limited.

For reasons that were somewhat lacking in legitimacy, she had to disappear 'off home' for a few days meaning I wouldn't see her. But while she was supposed to be gone I kept seeing her through her window. I wasn't stalking her or trying to watch her get changed, she was just in her van when she claimed she wouldn't be. I let the thought go and went down to the beach to dig up some lug worms for tonight's late night fishing on the beach.

With a bucket half full of the most disgusting looking creatures on the planet I set off until the tide was due to come in. When it did I set off down to the beach again this time with the sky bleeding orange behind me. I set up, cast in and make work on the barbie que. Just as I finish my first beer I wind in to check my bait, nothing. Behind me I hear a painful scream of a familiar voice, Joy's voice.

I sit upright, her cries were unnatural and getting closer. Just over a sand dune I spot a silluette under the shine of the full moon. Although it appears to be a young girls body, she's bent double in pain and clawing at the ground trying to remain stood for longer. Under her screams I hear bones cracking while I watch her mutate.

Her feet lengthen to be as long as her lower leg. I spy her shoes tumbling down the dune. Her abdonem stretches, making her leaner and lankier. In the finer shine of moonlight I see hairs sprout from her body, from all the days on the beach I knew she was anal about how she looked, something was wrong with her.

I get up to approach her, she's dropped to all fours, her body spasms while more bones crack.

"Joy?" She whips around with a monstrous face and snarls. Her kanines elongated and her once green eyes which I'd admired burned a poisenous yellow. Seeing her under the moonlight was more startling up close.

She turns away clickly while many more of her bones reshape in her face. This time she looks back at me with her green eyes which yelled just one thing at me: RUN!

I turned and bolted thinking I'd come back for my rod later. I was only a quarter of the way up the hill before she'd caught up to me. This time she was chasing me like an ape from a lion. If I could get up a tree I may stand a chance but she'll certainly outrun me soon. Quickly I find a suitable tree to climb, with out thinking of the creature's approach I shot up it until I get to I good branch to sit on.

Joy reaches the tree quicker than I thought she would. I'd hoped she'd keep running on but her nose, well, her snout was firmly following the path I'd tuck. She followed my trail to the base of the tree to look up at me in the eye with her monstrous yellow eyes.

"Joy, I know it's you, you don't have to do this." She cocks her head and gives a sharp snarl. Apparently she understands me but the beast that she's become is hungry regardless. I take this time to get a good look at her. She has streaky brown fur with flickers of light browns just like her usual hair. Her ears now point forward and flicker to hear the odd nesting bird off afar. Joy now had a long fluffy tail that sweeped the dusty path sending a cloud of dirt billowing behind her. Besides all of this she just has an abnormally large and lean wolf body.

She prowls to the base us the tree and stands upstraight placing her front paws on the tree trunk. Her claws dig into the bark taring chunks off. She looks up as if to grin at me then puts her front paws on the ground. Joy circled the tree and took a few steps back.

She grinned at me again before running at the tree then like a squirrel pounced onto it and threw herself up at me. One of her claws catches my calf. It must have dug in deep because it was the most painfull thing I'd ever felt. Blood left my wound like a fountain and dripped off several branches until it formed a small puddle at the trunk. Joy stood upright and licked at a lower hanging branch drenched in my blood.

I couldn't give up, I had to go further up the tree, so I did. I found a secure spot to lodge myself in out reach of Joy and tried to sleep through her constant snarls and howls. Eventually she tired and went to sleep at the base of my tree right beneath me.

The next morning I woke with the rise of the sun to find her sleeping at base of my tree. But now she was human, naked and sleep. I climbed down to wake her.

"Hey, wake up, you've got some explaining to do." She stirred a little then covered herself with her arms.

"Give me your jacket and you've got a deal." I smile weakly and hand it over. After that she filled me in.

"Did I hurt you?" She asked as we collected the rest of her clothes from the beach.

"Only a scratch." I said pulling her red converse from the sand. I look over my shoulder to find I'd set up far enough away for the tide to not have taken my stuff.

"Oh shit I'm so sorry." Despite only wearing my jacket which was way too big for her she began to weap and hugged me.

"It's only a scratch, don't get all fussed about it." I pat her back, she's a lot more upset about this than me.

"A scratch is all it takes..."