The Animal I Have Become

Chapter 1: It begins

I'm not sure why I'm writing this. I guess it's so I can make sense of what's going on in my life. I don't know what to do, I never asked for this to happen.

Oh right, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Rebecca. And you're probably wondering what 'this' is. Let me explain...

It all started a few weeks ago. It started just like any other day. I woke up, had a shower, had some breakfast, got myself ready for college and kissed my mother goodbye. I said hi to some friends whom I pass every day, and waited for the bus to come. When it (eventually) came I got on, showed my college bus pass to the driver and took my usual window seat. At the next bus stop a large guy come on board and sat next to me. He had short brown hair and looked fairly athletic.

"Hey," he said.

"Hi," I replied.

"What's your name?" He asked. I told him. "Nice. My name's Tony."

"Cool." It was mostly awkward slience after that. We went our separate ways when got to the college. I was half an hour early for my class, so I went to the library to study for a bit. After a few minutes I gave up trying to study and stared at the fictional section. After what felt like a short time I glanced at my watch and realised I had to get moving if I was going to get to my first class on time, so I quickly got up, grabbed my bag and ran to the classroom, where I saw my best friend, Emma.

Now, to any other person, Emma was someone you shouldn't touch with a ten foot pole. She had very pale skin, black hair, black clothes, basically everything that could be black, was black. I liked her. We were both outcasts in a way, and despite her appearance she was very nice and cheerful.

'Hey Becky. What's up?' She smiled, brushing the hair away from her eyes.

'Nothing much,' I replied, smiling and adjusting my glasses.

'What're you so happy about?' She smirked.

'Oh nothing...' I blushed.

'Oooh... What's his name?'

'What makes you think it's a guy?'

'Okay then. What's her name?'

I laughed, 'I don't have a crush on anyone.'

'Sure you don't, and I'm Margaret Thatcher.'

'I'm not for turning.' I smirked. She laughed, 'Okay. But you'll have to tell me one day.'

'Okay, I'll tell you one day.' Our lecturer came up and let us into the room for the first session of the day.

It wasn't long before it was lunch time. I went to the lunch hall and froze. He was there. Emma looked at me, 'You okay?' I pointed at Tony, 'There he is.'

She looked at him, 'Hmm... not bad. You gonna talk to him?'

I stared at her, 'I... umm...'

'Oh go on' She pushed me towards him. I stood there looking like an idiot, 'Err... hi'

He slowly raised his head and smiled, 'Hello again.'

"Yeah," I sat down in front of him, 'So... What're you studying here?'

'Journalism,' He said simply. I didn't know what to say after that so more awkward silence.

After a few more sessions it was the end of the day. Where did all the time go? I walked towards the bus stop, when I saw the bus pulling away. 'Crap,' I thought, 'I must've wasted too much at the library.' I looked at the bus time table and saw another one in half an hour, so I sat and waited...

After I got off the bus, it was very late, so I decided to take a shortcut through the woods near my house. Big mistake. After what seemed like hours of walking I realised I was completely lost. I desperately looked for a way out but by that time it was so dark I couldn't see a way out. Suddenly, I heard the rustling of leaves nearby. I looked in the direction of the rustling, but couldn't see anything in the pitch black of the night. I looked up at the sky, but I couldn't see any light from the moon or stars. I took a deep breath and walked forward a few steps when I heard some more leaves rustling. I looked round again, thinking, or rather hoping it was just a rabbit or something. I felt a breeze and hugged myself for warmth, wishing I had dressed up more warmly. Suddenly, something larger than me hit me in the back and knocked me to the ground. I screamed as something jaw-like clamped itself around my left arm and I felt dozens of sharp points dig into it. I closed my eyes, breathing heavily, wanting the pain to go away...

I have no idea how long it was before I woke up, but when I did, I was in an unfamiliar bed. Everything was white or cream and looked very clean and sterile. It took me a good ten minutes or so to figure out I was in a hospital bed. I tried to get out of the bed, but my legs wouldn't move. A doctor came into the room, 'Ah good, you're awake. Don't try to move, you had a nasty bite on your arm.' I looked at my left arm and saw the bite marks, vaguely remembering what happened in the woods. The memories came flooding back and I started to panic and hyperventilate. The doctor gave me a paper bag to breathe into so I could calm down. I took deep breaths into the bag, starting to calm down.

'Can you remember what happened last night?' The doctor asked. So, I've been unconscious over night, I thought.

'Y-y-yes...' I managed to stammer.

'Do you think you can tell me?'

I took a deep breath and started to talk about the woods, and the rustling of the bushes. Then I mentioned the thing leaping at my back and my voice trailed away. The doctor nodded and looked at my bite, 'Hmm... That's definitely canine.'

'C-c-canine? You mean like a dog? W-w-what if it's rabid? W-w-what will happen to me?' I stammered, starting to panic again.

'Calm down. We did all the necessary tests. There are no signs of anything unusual. You do not have rabies or anything similar.' At those words I started to calm down again, 'O-o-okay. W-w-when do you think I-I-I can get out of here?'

'I believe you'll be discharged by tomorrow afternoon.' I sighed and lay down, closing my eyes and drifted off to sleep...

I woke up in another, slightly more familiar room, yet it still took me around five minutes to realise I was in my own bedroom. I slowly got up and looked out of the window. I couldn't see much as it was dark, and I wondered how long I was asleep for. I closed the curtains and slowly walked down the stairs. My mother saw me and hugged me tightly, 'Oh honey! Are you okay?'

'I'll be fine as long as I don't suffocate from you hugging me,' I joked. She smiled and let go of me, 'You still have your sense of humour. That's good.'

At that point I heard a howl. I turned around, 'What was that?'

'What was what, sweetheart?'

'Didn't you hear that howl?'

'Are you sure you're feeling okay, darling?'

'Yeah... maybe it was my imagination...'

She hugged me again, 'We'll get through this, whatever it is...'

Not long after that conversation I decided to go back to bed. I looked out of the window and saw the full moon, shining like some kind of glowing crystal ball. I never realised how beautiful the moon looked. My back started to itch, but I ignored it and started to get ready for bed. The itching got worse, and I started scratching myself. I started to climb into bed, when, without warning, a stabbing pain shot into my stomach. It was as if it was being stabbed by hundreds of needles from the inside. I clung onto the side of the bed for support, groaning with pain. I looked at my hands and saw small white hairs on the back of them. I started to panic, wondering what was happening. The hairs got thicker and covered my entire hands, while my nails grew into small claws.

I staggered to my feet and leaned against a wall for support. I started feeling hot so I took my pyjamas off and gasped as I saw light brown fur covered my arms. My clothes started to tighten, and my feet changed into paws. I could hear my bones cracking as my limbs repositioned themselves for my new quadruped body. Then my spine started to extend into a tail, while and the same time being covered in brown and white fur. My clothes were torn apart by my expanding body, and my face painfully stretched into a canine muzzle. Finally, the transformation had finished. I collapsed from exhaustion and everything went black...

And that's all I'm going to write. I'll continue some other time. This is not the end, it's only the beginning...