Lost and Found

Changing

Though I despised leaving the wilderness, I continued to travel with Jasper to hunt. Human towns were vastly different from what I remembered, and the cities were like approaching a different world entirely. My first trip to the human city was overwhelming and Jasper had been forced to all but drag me through the streets. The smell of humans was everywhere, the pain in my throat was excruciating as venom pooled in my mouth. Jasper tugged on my hand, shooting me a concerned look that made me decide to hold my breath.

Jasper had led me through the streets, careful to avoid the humans traveling about till we found ourselves between two giant brick buildings. Jasper pulled me toward a large metal box with flies buzzing around it. I allowed myself to sniff and immediately gagged at the odor and pulled away as Jasper continued toward it.

"No." I said sternly, wrenching my hand away from him as I eyed the box with contempt, refusing to get any closer to the awful stench. Jasper chuckled but nodded and instead nodded to move closer to the wall. It wasn't long before we could hear two sets of footsteps walking toward us. At least one was a man, his words slurred as he spoke to whoever was with him.

"This... great...idea." He slurred; his words spaced as he struggled to put the words together.

"No, Vern. This was a terrible idea." A second voice said, another man and he sounded less than pleased.

"Lyle... you a... great friend." The drunk continued.

"You bet your ass I'm a great friend, dragging your drunk ass home." The second man, Lyle, grumbled with a grunt. The two slowly made their way down the street as Jasper and I waited for them to be within striking distance. The closer they got the louder their heart beats became, and the fire burnt stronger as I caught the scent of the two men. Vern was most definitely drunk, the alcohol smell was strong, strong enough that it almost covered the scent of the two men's blood.

"I'll take Vern." Jasper whispered and I nodded. It was sweet of him to take the drunk, but at this point I would have settled for Vern merely to douse the flames that were clawing at my throat. The men finally came within reach, and I lunged. Vern's arm had been wrapped around Lyle's shoulders while Lyle had a hold on Vern's middle and was all that was keeping Vern on his feet. I lunged for Lyle's throat, pulling him into the shadows of the building while Jasper did the same. Lyle attempted to scream but my teeth latching onto his neck stopped even the smallest of whimpers from escaping as I drank him dry. Jasper did the same with Vern, though I doubt Vern even realized what was happening before it was too late.

When it was over, I let the body drop to the ground and took a deep breath, savoring the absence of the nearly ever-present burn. It took a couple seconds longer before Jasper did the same before almost stumbling back to press his back against the brick wall of the next building. I looked over at him in concern, but whatever had come over him seemed to dissipate as quickly as it had occurred, he was already moving once again, scooping up Vern's body and looking to me expectantly. I crouched and picked up Lyle's body, nodding to Jasper and then following as he sped back through the streets and away from any prying eyes. A couple miles away there was a river that ran away from the city, Jasper stopped and tossed the body off his shoulder and into the water, I followed suit quickly.

We stood there for a couple moments, watching the bodies being moved further downstream as they sank beneath the surface and out of sight. I was content to stand at the water's edge and enjoy the post hunt buzz, but Jasper seemed restless as his eyes moved over the water and the landscape, almost like he was looking for something. He must have felt my curiosity, his eyes flicking to me before an emotion I couldn't name came to his face. I opened my mouth to speak but Jasper beat me to it.

"Are you sated, or do you want to go back?" He asked quickly and I thought for a moment, I wasn't used to having the option.

"One is enough." I stated and Jasper seemed relieved.