Gage flew across the clearing into a tree, snapping it in half. I stood, eyes blazing, waiting for my opponent to get up. But he stayed down. I growled at him, ears flattening in anger.
Get up you coward! Fight me! A deep threatening growl radiated through my chest. I crouched down on my front paws, waiting...waiting. He stayed sitting on the ground, staring up at me with a pleased grin. I've had enough of this! I grabbed my enemy in my jaws tossing him about like a chew toy. I flung him high in the air and caught him again on the way down. I threw him to the ground placing one giant paw on his chest. Now you die...his bones were not that strong. If I just pressed a little bit harder....
Stop!
Why should I?
Listen to yourself! Look at yourself!
What do you mean?
You have paws!
And?
You're not supposed to have paws dumbass!
I....I.... I looked down where my paw was poised against Gages chest. My paw. I stepped back, almost tripping on the extra two feet. What...what happened? I trampled over to a small pond looking in the reflective water. I staggered back thinking it impossible. No....no...no.... What I saw in the pool was a giant wolves head. The fur was a silvery white with an odd black Egyptian-like marking over one hand-sized grayish-gold eye. My jaw dropped, as did the wolves in the water.
It's...me.... My feet--er paws--stared running before I had even decided to. They took me faster than I could ever run before, faster than the fastest runner in the world, faster than a car, faster than a speeding bullet, faster than light. I ran and ran, my paws seemingly never touching the ground. I ran in silence, no twigs snapping or leaves crinkling under my gargantuan figure. Silence. I limped to a stop starting to break down in panic. My heart was flittering, my mind racing with a million questions with no answers in sight. I lay on my side and placed my head against the cool ground. My mind stuttered to a stop sending me into blackness.
* * * * * * *
"Help me!" I screamed to the darkness, "please help me, someone!" I plowed through the forest away from my dark figured pursuer. "Help!" I ran as fast as I could but the figure was faster. I could feel it gaining on me, its huge paws crushing sticks and leaves, its hot breath at my neck. It jumped me plowing my face into the cold, unforgiving ground. Its talon-like claws dug into my back. I could feel the blood begin to swell around them, hot sticky liquid streaming down my ribcage. It lifted its paw and I wasted no time jumping up and fleeing. I heard what sounded like a mutilated chuckle emanating from the creature's chest. It was enjoying it. My pain, my fear, it was eating it up. It was going to play with me before it killed me. Chase me, catch me, let me go, than repeat that again and again and again, it was all a game of cat and mouse. Last time I checked it never turned out very well for the mouse. The trees were passing in a blur morphing into one continues shape. I tripped falling to the ground. The figure stood, snarling, over me. A toothy, mocking grin formed with its foaming jowls. I began to shiver and shake, convulsing violently. My mouth began to foam like that of the creatures, a yellowish-white froth bubbling from my bloody lips. A burning iciness poured through my veins freezing me from the inside out. My bones began to break and snap, joints bending backwards and curling in on themselves trying to form to an alien shape. My muscles and tendons ripped and reformed. My skin tore from me completely, growing new. The figure chuckled enjoying my agony. I folded myself into the fetal position, spine bending and breaking to accommodate my new shape.
When the transformation was completed I stood on my four paws, staring at my pursuer. It looked to me, an accomplished look on its face. More strode in, forming a circle around me. Their tails lay unmoving behind them in a solemn form, ears flat against their skulls. A serious and almost sad look filled their glowing yellow eyes.
"You're one of us now." I could not discern the speaker from the throng of over-grown wolves.
No...no....no.....I whimpered as they closed in around me, what's happening to me......?
*******
I awoke slowly, eyes fluttering open.
W-where am I? I thought groggily.
Then abruptly I recognized my surroundings.
Whoa...
Déjà vu much?
I was back in my tent, chained once more.
God do these freaks have a bondage fetish or something? Jeeze.
But something was different. There was something around my neck. I flipped my arms under me so that I could properly use my hands. I felt the thing around my neck trying to discern what it was. It was metal and seemed to have a lock in the back.
A collar?
Ew! Why is there a collar on me...err you....err us?!
How the hell should I know?! Wait a second....What the HELL?!
I was no longer in the cloths I had come here in. Oh no, that would be too easy. I now had on cut off jeans and a bra. THAT'S IT!!!!
OH MY GOD!!!!! Those bastards changed me!!
Those perverts!! When I get my hands on them I swear I'll-
Hey what happened to you being the non-violence side?
I converted.
Where's my shirt?
How the hell should I know? I don't know anything you don't know; we're the same person dumbass!
Well in that case you just called yourself a dumbass, dumbass.
Oh shut up.
You just told yourself to shu-
HEY! Will you focus please?! We have more pressing matters then how stupid we are!!!
Alright, alright. Well, what now genius?
Well, I would suggest we find Danny and the rest of the knuckle head gang. Maybe they'll finally give us some answers
Well it's better than nothing.
By now I had accepted what I was. I know sudden right? Well, I had thought about it and there was just no denying the events of last night...or was it last night...how long had I been sleeping exactly? Well, anyway, I had accepted it and moved on. I was a werewolf.
Now I had to get out of here.
It had occurred to me that I had new found strength and speed and I could easily escape this place, but then I thought the other people in this place have that same strength and speed and there's about twenty of them....so ya fighting my way out is not such a good idea at the moment.
I pushed the flaps of the tent aside with my bare shoulder as I walked out. A few of Danny's men were scattered throughout the camp and I instantly flushed red, feeling extremely self conscious. Surprisingly I was not even moderately cold out here despite my lack of shirt. I advanced through the camp to the largest tent with all the men eyes burning into my back as I walked. The gargantuan tent (well, gargantuan compared to the other tents anyway) had to be Danny's as it was the only one big enough to fit his considerably large ego. I pushed the flaps aside once more and entered the tent. Danny, Gage, and Jason were sitting on the ground in a small circle talking among one another. They stared up at me, slightly surprised. Their eyes lingered on me a little too long. I shot Gage a dirty glare and quickly turned my attention to Danny.
"Danny." I said coldly
"Yes?"
"Would you care to give me some answers....please" I had to force that last word out.
"Fine. Sit."
I sat outside the circle trying not to fall on my face with my lack of free hands.
"Ask your questions."
"Well for starters could you....please take these off?" I stretched out my arms toward him, again having to force that word out to those mongrels.
"Can you promise not to run again?"
I thought for a moment.
Hell, I can't promise that.
Well sure you can! Just break it. Who cares? These bastards deserve to be lied to.
True
"Yes, I promise." I said with the most convincing tone I could conjure up.
Danny eyed me skeptically. "Nice try kid, but I can tell when I'm being lied to."
Damn it!
Well, there goes that plan.
"Fine" I said dropping my hands to my lap.
"Now, your questions?" he asked
"Ok first of all what's with the collar?"
"It's so you can't phase on us like that again."
Phase?
Well I guess it's as good a word as any for turning into a giant mutant dog.
"How does it keep me from...phasing?"
Jason turned to me, "That collar is made out of a mix of iron and silver. I'm sure you have heard legends of werewolves and in those legends they say something along the lines of being allergic to silver. Well that is and isn't true. It doesn't hurt us but we can't manipulate it. You see when we phase what we're wearing sort of...disappears."
"Disappears?"
"Yes," Danny continued, obviously annoyed by Jason's interruption. "They go into a...another dimension of sorts. That's why we wear so little, it's easier to transfer that way. But, we can't manipulate or break silver."
"So if you tried to phase with that collar on you would snap your pretty little neck." Gage sneered.
"Oh I can think of at least one neck I would like to see snapped, Gage." I growled
A deep rubble of thunder began to rattle from Gage. He leaned toward me ready to spring. Jason sprung to action putting himself in between Gage and me. They both bared their teeth and snarled menacingly at one another. Danny put a hand on both of their chests and shock his head at them. Gage sat back but glared daggers at me. Jason went back but kept his shoulder slightly turned in a defensive like manner.
Umm....ok did I just imagine that or did Jason just try to...protect me?
I think he did...weird.
Very.
Danny cleared his throat. "Actually you wouldn't be able to phase at all. Your body simply wouldn't let you. Anyway any other questions?"
"Ya, just one. What was that thing on my eye, the marking?"
I could see every one of Danny's muscles tense then relax again. "I don't know."
Lie.
Yup. Does he really think I didn't catch that?
He underestimates us. Huge mistake on his part.
"Ok, since you're out of questions, Jason, Gage, take her to the training field."
Jason grabbed onto both my shoulders pulling me towards him. We walked out of the tent and towards the training field, Jason keeping himself in-between Gage and me the entire time.
Ok this is just too weird.
No kidding.
Gage turned and faced us as we entered the open field. You could practically see the daggers flying between Jason and Gages glares of pure hatred and betrayal. Oh, this was going to be a very interesting lesson.