Black Box Red Rose (ON HOLD)

Ch 1: Part 3: Black Box

I woke up to the sound of Feel Good Inc. playing loudly in my ears. Stretching in bed, I turned off the CD player and looked around. My stomach growled loudly so I decided it would be a good idea to shift and find some deer to eat. Standing up, I stretched one last time before shifting into my wolf form. Then I ran out of the shack and headed deep into the woods, hoping to catch the scent of some deer. What I found was nowhere even close to a deer and would prove a rather difficult opponent. 

The bear was standing on it's back legs, sniffing the air as it looked around. I was pretty sure it hadn't caught my scent since I was downwind, but I started to back up cautiously. What I backed up into turned out to be a death wish for me. The little bear cub opened it's eyes and blinked up at me sleepily, and as it started to realize the danger it was in, I started to realize just how hungry I was. My human mind would say it's too cute to eat, but as a wolf I would eat anything. Quickly grabbing the cub by the throat, I attempted to quiet it before it could call for the mother. 

Too late, the mother started walking over to check on her cub, while at the same time the cub managed a weak cry for help. Flattening my ears, I growled at the mother bear, trying to drag the half dead cub away. She roared in anger and started to chase me. I realized I would have to wait for her to leave the cub before I could feed myself. Dropping the cub I turned and ran away as fast as I could, until I ran right into the middle of a herd of deer. 

They jumped and started running in all directions, so I started biting at their ankles, trying to bring one down for food. I had almost given up until an older one fell, giving me the perfect oppurtunity to rip it's throat out. When it finally stopped moving I let go of it's neck and stepped away, going through the painful process of shifting back into a human. When It was done, I grabbed the deer by it's antlers and slowly dragged it back to my shack. 

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Finally digging into the freshly cooked deer meat, I couldn't help but let out a moan. The ache in my stomach slowly fading as it was filled. I wouldn't say it was a McDonald's cheeseburger, but it was definitely pretty close. When I was finished eating, I stored the remainder of the meat in the small bag I had. I started pacing around, trying to decide if I should go back to the town and trade some more fur. I wouldn't mind seeing the lady from the store again, Bell, since I did miss having someone to talk to. 

After debating even longer in my mind, I finally decided it would be worth going. Grabbing a pile of fur and some jerky to eat along the way, I left for the town. It took awhile, but finally I walked into the town, earning a smile from the old man that I had first asked where I could sell my furs. I waved to him quickly before hurrying on to the store. At first glance I thought it was closed and started to turn around, feeling a little let down. 

"Hey there dear! Where do you think you're going?" I jumped and spun around to see Bell walking down the dirt road towards me. 

"I... thought you where closed..." I replied, shifting the pile of furs to my other arm. 

"Never closed for you dear! You said your name was Emily right?" She asked while opening the door to her store. 

I nodded my head and followed her in, looking around to see if anything new had come in. I saw a small stack of books and a coil of rope, which would be useful for when I wanted to hang my clothes to dry. I walked over to the counter and dropped the pile of furs on it, before walking around the store. 

When I turned around to see what Bell was doing, I saw her filling a small paper bag with different types of chocolate. I felt my mouth start to water and was tempted to ask her how much chocolate I could get for my pile of fur. Then I mentally slapped myself, knowing that chocolate wouldn't help me survive in the wild. Turning back around, I picked up the rope and looked at the books, seeing one titled The Golden Compass by Phillip Pullman. Picking it up as well, I walked over to Bell and set them down. 

"Are these furs enough to pay for this?" I asked quietly when she looked up at me.

"These furs are beautiful! Of course it's enough, and here's a bag of chocolate for you! Figured you haven't eaten any in a while," she replied, picking up the rope and book and putting them in a paper bag along with the bag of chocolate.

I smiled and thanked her, telling her I might come back in a couple of days. She waved goodbye to me as I walked out of the store, heading back through the forest on my way home. The sun was already down and the half moon rising before I was even halfway there. I have to admit, I was excited to read the book, or attempt to, seeing how I never actually finished my human education. 

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I know there isn't much action yet and I apologize, but I'm just starting off. Hopefully if things work out, the next part will have some action for you. Sending out thanks to my brother.