The Wolf Boy

Chapter 2 (You Talk?)

Something wet was tickling his face. Luke slowly opened his eyes, Buster was licking him. Luke felt a little weird, his whole body felt a bit warmer. "Buster stop licking my face."

"Ok." Said a voice.

     "Who's there, show yourself!?" Luke shouted. Startled, he sat bolt upright; he had thought he and Buster were alone.

"Um, I'm standing right by you." Said the voice. 

Luke looked around and saw nothing except Buster and the forest. "I can't see where you are." Luke said with a slight quiver in his voice.

"I'm right here." Stated the voice. 

Luke felt Buster nudge him. "Not now Buster, I'm talking to a mysterious voice." He said in a whisper. 

"Mysterious voice, I don't hear a mysterious voice." Said the voice again.

The voice sounded close. Luke looked to the right then to the left where Buster was, and the mysterious voice sounded the closest. 

Then a completely crazy thought struck him. Buster was where the mysterious voice was. He had first heard the voice when he had asked Buster to stop licking his face, and the first word was ok. Luke turned towards Buster. "Buster, are you speaking to me?" He asked.

"Of course it's me, who else could it be. Besides, do you see anyone else around." 

Luke gaped at him. His dog was speaking to him. "I must be going crazy! Or this is a dream! Yeah this must be a dream. The fumes from the factory are messing with my head."

But Luke decided to ask this dream Buster a question. After all, it wasn't every day you dreamed your puppy was speaking to you. And maybe if he treated it like a real conversation he would wake up.

"But why have you started speaking to me all of a sudden?" Luke asked.

"I have been trying to speak to you since you got me. You just haven't understood me until now." Said dream Buster.

"How is this possible?!"

"Um, maybe it has something to do with you having wolf ears." Said dream Buster.

"Wolf ears!" Luke yelled. He started to bring his hands up to feel his head, but he froze halfway there. His hands and arms were covered in black fur up to the sleeves of his t-shirt!

"This isn't a dream!"

Luke quickly reached up to feel his face. He expected to feel his skin and ears. But instead of skin Luke felt silky fur! He reached for his nose but instead he felt a snout. And where his ears were supposed to be he only felt a soft fringe of fur. But he did feel doglike ears on top of his head! 

Suddenly Luke noticed that he could see and hear better, also his sense of smell was never better. 

     "You also have a tail." Buster said helpfully.

"A tail! How did this happen?!"

"Well you first fell down, so I went over to see if you were ok. But before I got there, you suddenly became furry on your legs and arms and got dog ears and when you woke up you could understand me." Said Buster calmly.  

"Weird, I remember smelling chemicals and then feeling dizzy. I wonder if that is a coincidence." Said Luke, trying to stay calm as well.

But internally he was screaming. "This isn't right! This is not possible!  Aaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!  Aaaaahhhhh!!!"  

Buster suddenly cocked his head. "Do you hear that?" He asked. 

Luke started to say no, but then he heard it too. It was only a faint rustling. But Luke guessed that with his new wolf ears he could hear all kinds of things that otherwise he could not hear.