The Phantom Wolf

Chapter 5 (New Reality)

Several screams could be heard, deep within the forest, over the next few days. At its centre, lay Pearl Clearwater, who was writhing in agony. With no clothes adorning her shaking body and the bitter cold against her bear skin, combined with the affects of the venom inside of Pearls system, it was becoming too much for the young girl. In between screams and whimpers of pain, she could be heard muttering, "Please take me... It hurts... Let me come home dad... I want it to end..." pleading for death. The pain was becoming too much to endure.

On the 4th day Pearl fell silent. It was over.

*Pearls POV*

When I opened my eyes everything looked different. It was all clearer. I could focus in on things, that were to far away to properly be able to see under normal circumstances. There was an ant climbing up the trunk of a tree, it had a bit of food between its mandibles. It scaled the thick bark with ease, walking past a small clump of moss on its way up. When I looked at the moss, I could make out a green shape hiding within the small plant. It was a beetle. 'It must be using the moss to camouflage.' I thought. But what struck me as odd, was, the fact that the tree I was observing was at least 10 metres away, I shouldn't be able to see all this.

Looking down at my body, I was hit with another harsh realisation. "Where the fuck are my clothes?! What the hell?!" I yelled out, in anger and shock.

Scouring my brain for any memory of what might have happened, I drew a blank. I couldn't think of anything. The last thing I remember, was riding my bike in the dark. 'My bike!' I thought. 'Where is it? Where am I?' Standing up, I started looking around. 'I don't recognise this place.'

There were trees everywhere, I was on an incline. There's a mountain in the distance to my right. Looking towards the suns direction, I noticed a reflective light in the distance. Focusing in on it, I could see a massive lake. It was pretty far away. However, when I thought about drinking something, my throat, started to burn. "How long have I been here?" I muttered.

It feels like I've been asleep for days. I have so much energy! I started running towards the lake, intending to quench my thirst. Except, when I started running, everything blurred past me, it was so surprising that I lost my footing and went tumbling down what was left of the hill. I'd traveled so far in a matter of seconds, that by rolling on the ground, I ended up launching myself into the lake unintentionally.

When I regained my composure and opened my eyes. I found myself underwater. What i saw made me gasp. So I had to swim up to the surface immediately, to cough up the water I had just inhaled. I stayed there for a bit. Coughing and treading water. I had to look again. So I made no move to head back to shore.

It looked so clear. I could see everything. The sand at the bottom of the lake, the fish swimming around, the plants that have made their home here, all of the particles that were floating around in the water. I saw all of it in that split second. It was like I was wearing goggles and binoculars at the same time, without actually wearing anything. It was amazing! 'I have to look again.' I took a deep breath and placed my face back into the water.

'It couldn't hurt to explore a bit'. I swam down to the bottom of the lake using breath stroke, and started swimming around, taking everything in. I followed a pretty blue and black fish for a bit. I saw, what I think was an eel of some kind swim into a small cave. The opening was to small for me to fit into, so I was unable to follow it. I pulled apart some weeds and found some small creatures hiding amongst them. Some underwater snails, shrimps, mussels and some frog spawn. There was some trout swimming nearby, so I placed what I found back amongst the underwater plants, so that they could remain hidden once again. Then a turtle swimming caught my eye. I jumped off of the bottom of the lake too get a better look, but I ended up moving way quicker than I expected. I reached the surface in a matter of seconds. And that lake was very deep.

Taking in a breath of fresh air, I realised. I'd been underwater for way longer than normal. 'How long did I hold my breath for? It felt like I could have lasted a lot longer... how strange.' I said to my self.

Now that I was only treading water and just thinking over my new abilities and about how much has changed, the burning in my throat became more noticeable. 'It feels like my throat is on fire. I've never been this thirsty before.' Not wanting to wait any longer, I took in a large gulp of water from the lake, not caring about the dirt and germs that may lurk inside. The water did little to satisfy my thirst. So I swam back to shore and began scooping water into my hands, drinking it hurriedly. It made the burning lessen slightly, but it didn't do nearly enough to fix it. "What's going on? What's happening to me?" I whispered quietly.

Taking a deep breath in, I hoped that the burning would go away. The sun beamed down at me. Warming my body. Even though I didn't have any clothes on and was soaking wet from my swim, I didn't feel cold. The direct sunlight to my skin was probably helping in heating me up, but the sun doesn't work that fast. At least, not instantaneously. The top of the lake was sparkling under the suns rays. 'It's really pretty,' I thought. I placed my hand into the water, and began moving it around, watching the ripples that were created, expand at my movements.

It's so quiet around here. With no people around this seems like the perfect camping spot. I can only hear the calls of nature that surround me and and the noises made by my own hands. Nothing but plants and animals for miles. The sound of my own heartbeat was comforting, although it seemed to be much louder now. Then again, everything does. It's like all my senses have been enhanced.

*3rd Person POV*

The sound of a twig breaking across the lake pulls Pearls attention away from the water. Looking up, she makes eye contact with a large stag. The stag tenses, as it stares back at her, as if sensing the danger it's now in. Pearls mouth fills with venom, that she desperately tries to get rid of by swallowing repeatedly. Her attention towards the stag never wavers. In fact. Her eyes zero in on it. Nothing else matters. Pearl stares intently at the stags exposed neck, watching its veins bulge out, to the rhythm of its own heartbeat. The consistent drumming of the stags heart filled Pearls ears. She was as still as a statue. The only thing giving away that she was alive, was the rise and fall of her chest, as she breathed.

All at once, it happened. The stag took off running, giving in to its instincts, to get away from the danger. Less than 3 seconds after it had started running, the animal was thrown to the ground and pinned down by a growling Pearl. In an instant, she had sunk her teeth into the stags neck, draining it dry. Finally quenching her thirst and giving peace to her throat. The animals struggles were short lived, it's death, came quick. Once the animal was fully drained of all of its blood, Pearl pulled away in shock, at what she had just done. Looking down at her own body, that was now covered in the stags blood, she rushed over to the shore of the lake and began to clean herself off, hoping to forget what had just occurred.

In doing so, she came face to face with her own reflection. Finally taking notice at differences her face portrayed. Pearls eyes widened when she made eye contact with herself. Her usual deep blue orbs had been changed. Instead of the colour blue greeting her, she was met with a stare, from vibrant red eyes.