My friends were making plans one day at lunch to go out back to the forest behind Jules' house. They turned to me as I was eating the last of my ham and cheese sandwich and asked if I could come. I hesitated. It sounded fun in theory, but Jules herself had said the forest gave her the creeps, and that the owners of the house before she had moved in let their son wander around the forest one night and he never came back, and no body was ever found. But with the hopeful looks on my friends' faces, how could I say no?
Friday night. Everyone was standing in Jules' backyard, against the tree line, going through what they brought. I had nothing on me except the clothes on my back and a very large, very thick glow stick. The others laughed at me for that, saying that if we got lost and had to sleep outside tonight, I could sleep on the cold ground and they wouldn't help me. I didn't bother taking them seriously. Why should I?
We walked off into the trees, following an animal trail, chatting idly and every once in a while trying to scare the others. They all said I was the best at it, but it would always be by accident. I might yelp in surprise at a bat flying in front of my face, or wave my glow stick in the direction of one of my friends who was trying to sneak up on someone else. They joked around that I had too much curiosity for my own good.
We reached a large clearing in front of a low-flowing creek and saw there were 5 little trails in different directions in the clearing. There were 5 of us. In the end, it was obvious we'd split up, but no one wanted to go first. I rolled my eyes and hopped across the creek, taking the path that lead straight ahead. I heard the others start leaving too, and smiled. Monkey see, monkey do.
I walked down the path until I reached a fork in the path. To the right I would follow the creek deeper into the forest eventually reaching what I knew to be an old lake, to the left there was a lot of pricker bushes and thorns and things to either side but it still looked wide enough to walk through and not get hurt. I heard a voice whisper, left...left...
True to my curious nature, I listened to the voice and went left. A strong wind picked up from nowhere and I was bombarded with thorns that made gashes all over my arms and legs. I hissed, but continued on and found an old shed on the ground, that judging by the faded paint had been used at one point as a child's secret play house. Come closer...closer...the voice whispered. It sounded so hypnotic, I felt I had no choice but to please it and go inside.1094Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5pVBXWRDWL
The shed had a low ceiling, so low that I had to stoop at its lowest point. I felt something in my spine creak, but my joints have never been reliable at the best of times. I heard my friends faintly calling my name outside. The voice told me not to talk. I'm not sure why, but I listened to it despite wanting to do otherwise. I could hear my friends calling. Don't say anything, it whispered. I stayed silent.1094Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPLGHZnh6oh
I moved around the shed, looking around, and realized that the boy Jules always talked about must have used the space. The longer I stayed, the more uneasy I felt, like my blood was curdling and my entire body was tingling. I tried calling out, despite the voice telling me not to, but all that came out was a growl, like a dying dog's. I started to panic. I needed to get out. Stumbling outside the shed, I could see 2 of my friends in the distance. They looked over my way and started running. I ran after them, trying to find out what was wrong. They started screaming about a monster and ran down the path back to Jules' house. I stopped. Monster? I knew my hair was a mess from the wind and I had a few scratches, but did I look that bad?
I tried standing up fully and fell backwards onto the ground. For some reason it actually seemed easier to crawl on the ground rather than stand up. My arms burned a bit as I put my weight onto them, but I soon got used to it. I crawled back through the brush, getting caked in mud and bleeding all over from scratches. When I got to the creek, I laid down on the bank to rest my muscles, which were now screaming in protest. I still had my glowstick clipped to my belt, and in the dim light I could see my reflection in the creek. I saw myself and gasped. My hair was completely matted down or tangled, and I was covered almost head to toe in my own blood and mud came up to my elbows. But the most shocking thing was that my hair seemed to be growing all over me at an alarming rate. I tried to claw it off, but nothing worked. Soon I was covered from head to toe in my own...fur which was getting caked in blood, mud, and some dirty water from the creek. I was frantic. I was panicking, I was an animal. I tried standing up again and found I could do so a little shakily. I looked like a dog trying to stand as tall as its master. A branch snapped behind me.
I turned and heard myself growl in warning. I was primal, animal, ready to strike. A little boy greeted me from the brush. Don't say a word, he thought into my head. I wanted to scream at him that I couldn't say anything but all that came out was more growling. He smiled. It sent shivers down my spine. "Sit," he said.
I don't know why, but I obeyed immediately. He sat down where he was, crossing his legs as he did so. "I'm your master," he said gleefully. "I've never had a dog before, now I do!"
At this point I didn't even argue otherwise. My instincts were in overdrive, all rational thought gone with wherever my human side had disappeared to.
"We're going to be friends forever!" the boy said happily, wrapping his arms around my neck. I growled when he gripped too tight. "But first, we need to get rid of those teenagers stealing my kingdom."
I got onto all fours and sniffed. Yes, there were 4 teenagers out here. I could smell their sweat. They smelled good, like meat, like prey. I bounded off in search of them and the boy followed behind. I found them huddled in a circle in a field not far away. I got down low in the grass, muscles ready to strike. I dimly remembered these humans were once my friends. But I wasn't human anymore. Now they were food. They were delicious trespassers in the master's kingdom. My muscles released and I bounded out into the clearing, attack in full swing. They never saw me coming.
When the attack was over, I woke up in the clearing surrounded by 4 of my dead friends. The boy walked up to me and giggled. "Don't say a word," he said.
I looked around, seeing what I had done and knowing that I had done it, and screamed.
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