The Forsaken

Chapter Eight - Black Fur and Golden Eyes.

The runaways wander through the forest for days, following an old map Raven acquires from town, heading toward the nearby highway 108 on the other side of the mountain. The harsh winter conditions make their journey difficult. The nights are bitter cold. The days are slightly more bearable, the sun hidden behind a sky of white. At night, the two of them share a bedroll, Gwen curling up into the warmth beside Raven’s large, bulky frame. During the daytime, Gwen wears her winter coat along with several layers of clothing beneath it. But even that isn’t enough. On the second day, Raven decides to give his extra coat to his friend. It doesn’t matter to him; for he doesn’t feel the cold the way that Gwen does.

Whenever Gwen loses the strength to move her frozen limbs, Raven carries her; her body thin and fragile, like a porcelain doll in his arms.

They make camp at dusk because Gwen can’t see in the dark. Raven builds a fire and sets up camp while Gwen finds something among their provisions to eat for supper. 

For some time now, Raven has been noticing strange changes in him. Things that, at first, he had dismissed as normal puberty--growing pains and all--but it has become all too apparent that he is experiencing something very different. His muscles seem to ache as if they will burst through his clothing. The need to move, to test the length and speed of stride, to run wild through the forest, is burning within. His skin is often feverish, but he isn’t uncomfortable, as though his internal body temperature has risen to match his exterior. Hair suddenly springs out of every crevice and spreads across every inch of his body at a most alarming rate. 

He’s heard that most boys start to grow a little facial and chest hair at his age, but this is like unto an animal’s fur. The hair on his head grows twice its length in a week. Raven ties it up in Japanese topknot to keep it out of his eyes. His face, full of stubble, itches him terribly. Even the way he sees the world around him has altered. For instance, his vision is clearer, and he notices the tiniest speck of dust in the air. Sees twice as far even in the darkest of night--the world becoming a silvery mirror image of its daylight self. All of his senses are magnified, and his every desire more acute. He feels like a wild beast confined inside a boy’s body. Feeling the urge to hunt and kill creeps unbidden into his every thought.

Naturally, he becomes frightened of himself, so much so that he dares not utter a word about this to Gwen. Instead, he suffers in silence, holding in the rage and the animal-like frenzy deep within.

Finally, on Gwen’s false birthday, they see Highway 108 not too far off in the distance. Soon they will be in civilization, get something warm to eat, and maybe even find a place to bathe. Their moods are lightened considerably by the prospect, and Gwen even finds the strength to run, skipping down the hill through the woods up to the busy road. Raven laughs at her giddy mood, and follows close behind her.

            “Finally, we made it!” Gwen exclaims as Raven dumps his backpack down next to her, stretching out the ache in his back.

            “I told you I knew how to read the map. Didn’t you trust me?” Raven asks, pretending to have hurt feelings.

            “No, it just took too long. It didn’t look that far on the map,” Gwen protests. She sets down her own bags, and, using the duffel bag as a chair, she sits on the side of the road and watches the cars as they approach.

“I’ve never hitch-hiked before,” Raven admits to Gwen, watching the cars pass by dubiously.

            “I think we just stick our thumbs out, or write where we’re headed on a sign,” Gwen replies. Standing up, she unzips her duffel bag and digs out her sketchbook and art case. She rips out a sheet of paper, takes a black marker out of the case, and holds the felt tip in her hand over the paper, prone to write.