Anima: The Bird House

Chapter 12

I jumped as the sound coming from my mouth screeched in the room. My ears rang from the volume of the sound, and I could hear the ringing, which felt like an echo of my voice.

Fear gripped me, frozen, unsure of what to do. I stood in the bathroom alone, staring at myself in the mirror. Spreading my lips as if to look at my teeth, I could see the black pointed growth. My teeth seemed almost shorter than I remembered. Running my tongue against my upper teeth, they felt shorter. I felt the bottom of my mouth; another hard object was in front of my teeth. I assume this was the lower part of the beak.

Beak.

Just thinking about it felt wrong—a beak attached to my body, replacing my mouth. My flexible, omnivorous, fleshy mouth replaced by a rigid, inflexible object built to tear flesh from bone. Realization of what this meant made my heart sink. I know what I need to try next, but I'm struggling to try.

I opened my mouth, took a breath, and attempted to speak.

"He..Hel...Hello," I uttered, "I... am...Lyall. I am a man," As I calmed myself, speaking became easier. Breathing felt different, with every breath, instead of just a simple rise and fall of my chest. I could feel there was more happening inside.

I could feel an urge, an urge to exhale quickly. A slight tickle in my throat felt like it needed it. With little hesitation, I inhaled. I pressed the air out of my lungs with force, hard and quick. The tickle felt like something resisting the flow. I opened my mouth and let the sound free.

"KEEE-AHHHH!" The screech roared from my chest.

I fell to my knees on the ground and held my hands to my throat. I could feel the screech and vibrations throughout my neck. I now carried two voices, my usual, plain-sounding voice. Plus that of another living being, a predator, a wild animal.

A wave of emotion hit me, and I rolled onto my side, lying on the cold bathroom floor. I cried to myself, as I'm sure most probably would have. One hand on my chest and the other covering my mouth in hopes of keeping the voice inside.

I heard a thumping as someone ran up the stairs. Shortly after, the door attempted to open but was held shut by the lock. It pressed and pulled against its frame, the door handle clicking as someone tried to force it open. The thumping shook the floor.

"You in there?!" Rylies voice yelled from the other side of the door, "Lyall? Are you alright?" She kept pulling at the handle, but it did not budge, "Matt, Jerm, someone get a screwdriver or something!" She shouted.

I wanted to say something, but the fear of making that sound again kept me quiet. Maybe if I did nothing, I would wake up. I always woke up as things got too bad, and it was always just a dream, and everything went back to normal.

I closed my eyes and tried to wake myself up. This isn't real, and I would wake up in my bed at any moment.

The door clicked and swung open, hitting my legs and tail as it did. I yelped in pain, pulling my hand from my face as I did. Only for it to snap back into place. An Allen key shoved into the door handle fell out and bounced on the tile floor. Immediately Rylie and Matthew forced their way into the bathroom.

"Did you fall?" Rylie asked frantically, "Are you hurt?" She knelt next to me, looking me over.

I moved my hand, covering my mouth, "No..," I said slowly, trying to keep the other voice inside. I kept my hand cupped and ready to cover my mouth at any moment.

"Why did you scream? It sounded painful," Rylie asked.

I reached up and pulled my upper lip to reveal the beginnings of a beak. Rylie and Matthew stared at me with some confusion and elation.