Pureblood

Chapter Ten: First Change

Monday came. It was time for the shift. Classes were tense. Lunch was silent. When it reached evening, Leila was walking in the hallway with Nora. She wavered, balancing on the wall as a heat overwhelmed her. Nora turned, looking at her. She quickly pulled Leila's arm around her, hurrying her to where the newbies were supposed to go. Gina, who was standing there looking for her, spotted Nora supporting her. Gina quickly rushed over, taking Leila and leading her to her own area. Around her, Leila saw-- blindly through spots in her vision-- that people had gathered. All of them were being doused in ice, or cold water, writhing under the fever. Gina sat her down on the ground where the grass was soft.

"Okay, Leila, you're going to be okay,"Gina told her. Leila swallowed, fear lancing through her. She was burning up, the fever taking her body over. "First, we're going to take your clothes off.."

"But...there's...people,"Leila breathed. Gina shook her head.

"It's fine, they're not paying attention to you okay? Just to your bra and underwear, they'll rip but you have new ones prepared for when you change back." Leila swallowed, slowly lifting her shirt up over her head. Gina helped her peel it off, folding it and placing it somewhere else. Leila pulled her skinny jeans off, having kicked her converse off to the side. She felt a little cooler now that she was undressed, and she breathed out in relief. Gina moved, dipping a rag in a bucket of ice water. She placed it on Leila's neck. They sat outside, everyone waiting for the full moon to rise in fear. The fever got worse as the sun began to set.

"Gina..."Leila murmured, feeling her stomach churned. "The fever..."

"I know. It's going to get worse than this. It'll be hot until you change,"Gina told her. Leila gave her a weak look. Gina smiled at her. "You'll be okay." She moved, uncapping a bottle of ice cold water. She handed it to Leila, who took it from her. Leila stared at it and then moved, dumping it on herself. Gina snorted. "It was for a drink..."

"Didn't...want a drink,"Leila muttered. Her skin quickly turned the cold water to hot, evaporating inhumanely from her body. Leila flopped back on the grass. She breathed out and in, trying to calm herself down. She heard a scream of pain and sat up quickly, looking in the direction of it. A guy, one she recognized from the class they'd been pulled into on Monday, was rolling on the grass, convulsing in pain. Leila's eyes went wide in horror. Gina quickly pulled her attention away from him. "What's wrong with him?" Gina closed her eyes with a sigh.

"The fever is too much..."Gina told her. More screams rang out, the fever circulating. "He'll be fine, but he's just experiencing the change first..." Leila felt pain lance through her. She fell back, a gasp escaping her mouth. Gina watched in distress. The moon was slowly coming up. That was when it really began. Loud pops and cracks of bones breaking sounded throughout the field they were in. Screams and cries echoed, like it was a battlefield. Leila made little moans, only finding that it was her fingers first. They popped and then cracked, twisting at an unfamiliar angle. Leila's toes did the same thing. She let out a hiss of pain. Gina watched in astonishment. She's handling the pain a lot better than I thought, Gina thought.

Leila's arms came next, twisting painfully. She let out a small cry, squeezing her eyes shut. She couldn't watch this. It was too much to see...too much to even imagine. Her bones cracked and broke one by one, contorting and shifting into place. Her body hunched over so she was on all fours. She felt her stomach lurch, and knew she'd thrown up when she smelt it. Her mouth ached as her teeth elongated. Leila's body threw itself backwards, folding like a stack of cards. She heard the cries of her peers echoing around her.

"Please kill me...please...."Someone sobbed. Leila's spine popped hard. She stiffened in pain, grinding her teeth. A small howl echoed in her ears. Leila opened her eyes, spotting that someone had done it. They'd made the change. They were shaking as they stood on their paws, unsure of what was happening now. They looked around them. Beside the newly turned wolf was their advisor, clapping and giving then a big smile. Leila felt her hips crack after a moment. She ground her teeth against the pain.