How could this be? An instant ago, I was a ten year old child, now a heartbeat later an eighteen year old teenager. It must have been the portal; there can be no other explanation for it. When I fell through it in my escape from the soldiers, it must have aged me and taken me forward in time. Touching my face, feeling the lines etched in the skin, I slowly ran a long and elegant finger over the now pronounced cheekbones, my finger wet from the rain. It was me, yet it wasn’t me; I had become a stranger in my own body. The old Helena had seemingly died on that cliff in New Providence; the child I once knew was gone and replaced by this new adult form. I slowly got to my feet, testing my new legs and steadying myself on the metal box next to me while I put my thoughts in order. Pausing for a moment, I looked down in amazement and pulled my shirt forward.
“Hello? What do we have here?” This was a new development that I could easily get used to, I thought to myself as I shook my chest from side to side. It was definitely an improvement but it would take some time to get used to them. A lightning bolt crashed down nearby, sending me scurrying behind the metal box again, all thoughts temporally shifted to the back of my mind.
Peering out, I saw a shadow move across from me. It was too difficult to see what it was through the rain and the gloom of the lights in the alley. But whatever it was, it was big and it spelt nothing but trouble for me.
“I don’t know what you want but I warn you stay back.” I shouted at the monster while desperately slapping the gauntlet on my wrist to wake it up. It remained mute and lifeless, refusing to work like an obstinate child. “Damn you.” I mentally swore at it while groping in the darkness for anything I could use as a weapon. My hands eventually folded around a piece of wood, it was nothing more than a mere plank but it would have to do. My only hope was to look as mean and tough as possible and hope that it would scare the monster away.
“Well come on then!” I took a deep breath, gripping the weapon tightly in my hand and emerged from behind the box. The beast stopped for a moment, sniffing the air carefully and swaying its head from side to side. Yellow saliva dripped from its jaws and I could see the razor sharp canines in the dim white light of the alley. Confident that his prey would make for an easy and swift kill, the monster readied himself to pounce, a low growl escaping into the night air. There would be no escape and no running from the beast; he would be on me in seconds. Black hair stood on end as the creature came running, diving through the air. It hit me on the chest with his colossal paws, driving the wind from my body and slamming me on the grim alley floor. I closed my eyes and giving in to the inevitable, I waited for his teeth to sink into my flesh before he started ripping me to shreds. But it never came. I felt something…wet? The beast was licking me through the face with his long red tongue as his tongue wagged happily.
“What the hell?” I opened my eyes and looked into the big slobbering jowls of the wolf. It took me a moment to register what had happened. Then it struck as the realization hit me square on.
“Adelmar?” Is that you?” I could not believe my eyes as I hugged him tightly around the neck. He buried his head in my shoulder as I laughed like a mad woman, not caring who heard me. When I finally caught my breath again, I sat upright and looked him all over. “You’ve gotten so big.” I said, running my hand through his thick black mane as I scratched his ears. The wolf sighed happily and laid his head in my lap. The portal had not spared him as well, aging him the same as me. We were both adults now, the child and pup of yesteryear finally gone.
“I don’t know what to do now or even where we are.” I said softly to him, deep in thought. We were strangers in a new and very strange world that I did not understand. Adelmar got up and looked at me before he gently bit into my collar and pulled me up. I realized that he was right; there was no use in sitting around and waiting for something to happen. There was no option but to pick ourselves up and carry on. Soon, we were swallowed by the maze of alleyways as we disappeared deeper into the night’s embrace.
