I woke up to the sun on my face. The forest was dim with mist, and the ground I was sleeping on was cold and damp. Sunlight streamed between the trees and caught the mist. Everything looked like it was cast in gold.
The pain from last night had subsided into a dull ache. My body felt like I'd run a hundred miles up a mountain. I got to my feet and tried to figure out the way back to town.
On the ground was my father's butcher knife. I made a note to wash it off before giving it back to him, otherwise he might not let me use it again. I reached out my hand to grab it and almost shrieked at the sight.
My hand had changed. The fingers were long and wiry, and my nails had sharpened into points. My skin had turned gray and it had a thin layer of fur growing out of it. The arms were long and chorded with small muscles. It was more like the arm of an animal than a person.
There was no mirror in the woods, so I had to rely on what I could feel. My body had definitely changed. My knees bent the other way, and my feet had claws that stuck out the ends of my shoes. My teeth were sharper, and there was something coming out of my head.
My heartbeat went wild. Each pounding thump made it feel like a heart twice the size of my old one. My family might not even recognize me anymore. No one told me this was what happened to the people who followed the Mantra.
I took a deep breath, which sounded deeper than I remembered. Someone had to know what had happened to me. If I ran away now my family would be worried. I stumbled back toward town before I could change my mind, and focused on moving in my new body. My movements were shaky and awkward, and nothing was helped by how sore I was.
Finding the path was easier than I thought it would be. I just had to follow the faint smell of sweat and boot leather. The smell hadn't been there the night before so I could only assume my nose had improved. It was a small silver lining that I would gladly trade in to reverse my transformation.
I crept along the outskirts of town, away from where anyone else would be. It was hard to shake the feeling that any one of the dark windows could be hiding someone, and that they'd run back to town to tell everyone there was a monster looking to get in.
At last I reached my house. I had to wind my way through back alleys and crumbling houses, but no alarms had been raised. It took me a few minutes to muster my courage before I knocked on the back door.
I heard feet moving through the house. They moved all the way from upstairs down to the back door. My hearing must have improved with my sense of smell.
"Who is it?" a small voice asked from behind the door.
"Luke, it's me," my voice sounded scratchier, but it was unmistakably mine. "Are mom and dad there?"
"They went out to look for you with some other people from town. Where were you last night?" I heard the locks beginning to unlatch from the other side of the door.
"Don't open it. Something happened to me." I told him a short version of the night before, but I left out some of the more gruesome details of how I looked now. He was still a kid.
"I thought eating a demon was the best thing a person could do?" Luke said.
"So did I. I have to find out if this happens to everyone, and if there's a way to turn myself back."
"I'll let mom and dad know you're alright when they come back."
I turned and moved away from my house. It would be safer for me in the woods since most people were still superstitious, especially at night. I'd stay on the side opposite where the festival was taking place. I needed a day to form a plan.
As I walked a searing pain suddenly hit my shoulder. There was a bolt lodged in my arm.
I panicked and stumbled through the alleyways as fast as I could. More bolts struck the cobblestones behind me as I ran. A hasty glance over my shoulder showed a figure on the rooftops keeping pace with me.
I dove through the window of an empty house to catch my breath. A few more bolts pierced the walls around the window, but none could reach me. I waited in heavy silence.
The pause gave me time to remember my new body. I took a long breath through my nose to see if I could smell whoever was after me. Sure enough, there was a strong smell of sweat and something else from across the street, maybe adrenaline? The person smelled older, and the smell of woodlands was heavy on them, like a second skin.
I hurried up the stairs to the second floor. There was a window facing across the street toward where I'd seen my attacker. Whatever was growing out of my head must have been visible, because the window shattered and another bolt landed in the floor.
I peeked out as quickly as I could. I already had a hunch who was attacking me, but I wanted to be sure.
Across the street, up on the roof of a house, was Marcus. I'd seen him the day before dropping off a wild pig, freshy killed, with my dad. I'd helped carve the animal up so everyone in town could eat it.
"Marcus!" I called from below the window. The sound of my voice echoing down the street shocked me.
The smell of adrenaline subsided. "Henry? Are you with that thing? Your parents are out looking for you."
"I'm not with the thing. Something happened to me, but I don't know how to explain it."
"How terrible. Stay there, I have to tell your parents."
"Wait, I think I should..." but he was already gone. I wasn't even sure if he still trusted that I was Henry, the son of Ed the butcher.
My secret was about to be out. I took a deep breath and tried not to worry. No matter what had happened to me, my mind was still my own. I still had all the memories of growing up in town, and that had to be proof that I was still human.
