Initiation

Chapter 11

     We raced through the woods, wind whipping at my face, my hair streaming behind me like brown comet trails. The group of us were running at speeds that were not humanly possible. I howled at the moon in complete ecstasy. My voice was soon joined by others, of the group.    
     No. It wasn't a group. It was a pack. I looked to my left, and saw Dylan running beside me. My heart skipped a beat, and my feet skipped a step. His eyes were a glowing pale yellow, like mine had been. His mouth was bared in a smile of pure glee, yet the picture was tainted by his unnaturally long incisors. Fangs. I glanced at his hands, confirming what I had guessed. His fingernails had been replaced by long black claws. It gave his hands a deformed look. 
   I looked at my own hands, a perfect copy of how Dylan's looked, with claws. My teeth were sharp and long. I was like him. No longer... Normal.   
     Then out of nowhere, the guy who had carried me down dropped to the ground. Then the blonde girl. Then the brunette. They were dropping to the ground like flies, I had no idea what was going on, and soon it was again just me and Dylan again. I was feeling slightly panicked, but he seemed un-alarmed as he watched his friends drop to the ground. He noticed me staring, incredulous as we raced along. It was then he said a single word;
   "Look."
     I knew he didn't just mean to glance casually around. He meant something deeper. I took a deep breath, trying to slow my mental self down. And another. And another. Slow big breaths, in great contrast to my fast beating heart and racing feet. I let my primal self slip through to the surface, my animal instincts driving me forward.
     I became aware that I could hear every beat of Dylan's heart. I could smell every drop of dew in the fresh night air. I could feel the pounding of feet through the forest floor. And I could see in detail the entire forest laid out in explicit clearness for me.
     I could see everything. Which included the slight rustling of the ferns beside me as I pounded along. I looked deeper, and was shocked to see a grey wolf loping to the side of the trail, and 3 others just ahead of him. The others hadn't fallen, Dylan's pack were now wolves. What the shit. I skidded to a halt, nearly tripping and falling to the forest floor. I was panting heavily, my chest heaving. Whatever fog my mind had been lost in, well, it had lifted. I put my hands on my knees, bent over, and took a shuddering breath. This was all moving too quickly.
     I slowly sank to the ground, not really noticing what I was doing. I sat there, hugging my knees, head down, trying to figure out what the hell had just happened. Silent tears, invisible to the rest of the world, started dripping down my face. The cool night air brushed against my cheek, rustling the leaves above me. My tears soon became sobs, and I just let it all out. The worry, frustration, fear, and confusion of the past week.
    I felt a hand on my shoulder, a surprisingly warm hand. I sniffed, and looked up.
     "What?" I wavered, my voice cracking.
     "Jas," a now familiar deep voice started behind me, "it's okay. You're okay." I looked up, turning my head to look at Dylan.
     "How can you say that?" I asked, "How can you say anything is okay right now? Dylan, nothing is okay right now. I can't..." my voice broke, and I continued only in a whisper, "I can't do this. I don't understand."
     "You will. I'll explain, I promise." He said. "Do you trust me?" he asked.
     The truth? No, I didn't. But what choice did I have? He actually seemed to know what was going on. I stood, and said "Can I?"
    "Yes. You can." he answered. He seemed so convinced, so completely assured of his own confidence. We started walking, just strolling, as if we were two totally normal teens going for a walk in the woods. Except, he didn't really talk, even though he had promised he was going to explain. He seemed to have a certain destination, so I asked,
     "Where are we going?"
     "Don't you recognize these woods?" he said, surprised. I looked around, and now that he had said it, yes, I did recognize them. We were only minutes from my house.
     "Why come here? Aren't you going to drag me off into the woods and finish me off?" I said with a smile, so he would know I was joking. Well, half joking. I didn't quite know what to expect from the tall, brooding boy. He let out a short bark of breathless laughter, and continued walking at a brisk pace.
     It became apparent that we were going to my home. I don't know why Dylan had the route memorized. We walked for maybe two more minutes before I saw the glow of our porch lights through the trees. To some, that would mean that there was somebody at home, but I knew that it was just the automatic lights that come on when they sensors detect darkness. My mom wasn't home yet. We walked towards where the tree line met my lawn, and paused because of some silent agreement.
     "Let's go." Dylan said, almost ordered. He started to walk again, towards the house, crossing the lawn.
     "Woah woah woah, where do you think you're going? You're not coming in my house!" I half shouted. There was no way in hell. Dylan may have a suitable explanation in store, but I still didn't trust him wholly.
"Of course I am." he said, disinterested in my outburst. Then, in a more serious tone, he said "Jas, you're going to have to trust me. I know you don't believe me, but I wouldn't do anything to hurt you. I'm on your side in this."
"Oh yea? And what is 'this', pray tell?" I asked, slightly peeved.
"Look, can we talk about this inside?" Dylan asked. "It's damp and cold and windy out here." He wasn't wrong, it was miserable outside. Besides, if he really wanted to, how was I to stop him from going in?
"Fine," I sighed, "follow me." I led the way to my back door, right beside my hedge. I plucked the key from its hiding place, under a garden gnome's hat, and unlocked the door. I returned the key and walked inside, Dylan following.
I told him to take off his shoes, and make himself comfortable. I was going to go upstairs and get out of my sopping wet clothing.
I started up the stairs to my bedroom, but noticed he was following me.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" I asked, a little annoyed.
"Coming to your room, to receive a change of clothes. I assume my hostess would not deprive me of that?" He asked with false innocence.
It was his arrogance concealed in politeness that got to me. Who the hell did he think he was, just coming into my house and assuming that he could have whatever he wants? He was right though, I couldn't leave him like he was.
"Wait here." I said. I opened the door to my room and started inside, with the intent of getting him an old sweater or something. I rummaged through my closet, looking for my old soccer sweater. But, then I heard a squeaking noise behind me, and I turned to see Dylan calmly sitting on my bed.
"What are you doing?" I hissed, "I told you to wait outside!"
"I predicted things would move more quickly and smoothly if I was in here." He said.
"You can't be in my bedroom," I protested, slightly peeved, "that's just... Just..."
"Oh I see. You feel as though it's not proper for a male to be on your bed?" He said with incredible etiquette. Then the façade cracked, and he grinned. "You afraid a little something's gonna happen?" He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.
"I... Um," I stuttered, more than a little flustered. I was thankful for the low light, because I knew I was blushing.
"Look can we just both get out of these soaking wet clothes? I'll go change in the bathroom." He said.
I handed over the sweater and basically threw him out the door. I quickly got changed into a navy sweatshirt and black tight-fitting pants. As I was studying the clothes piled in a heap on the floor, I noticed just how bad a shape they were in. My lace backed shirt was torn and stained, and my leggings had several holes up and down them. Great.
     I heard a knock on my bedroom door, Dylan asking to come in. I was tempted to say no, and force him out into the night.
     "Jas? We need to talk. Do you want me to explain?" He inquired.
     Yes. No. Absolutely. Definitely not. These answers all swirled around in my brain, but I heard my voice say "yes." He came in and gestured toward the bed, motioning for me to sit.
     "Ok, look." He said in a deep voice, "Jas, something happened to you. You're not normal anymore."
     "You mentioned that already." I put in sarcastically. What was it with this guy?
     "Just let me finish." He ordered, not all that gently. "Jas, I did something to you, that night in the woods. You followed us, and saw something you shouldn't have. That was the first factor. Then, you were shot. In the spine, you wouldn't have just walked away from that. What I did, in order to keep you alive, it's going to change you. In fact, it already has. I take it you've noticed that?" He  said with a raised eyebrow and a slight smile.
     "Stop it. Just tell me what the hell is going on." Yea, I let him into my house, that didn't mean I had to be nice about it.
     "Fine. I was going to ease into it big since you're in such a rush, I'll just tell you. Jas, you're not human anymore. I bit you, you've transformed. There's no going back."
     "Wh-what?" I whispered, shocked. "You mean there's no cure?"
     "Well, you can't just walk away from this. I saved your life, you're with me now." He said with finality.
     "With you? I'm not with you. Dylan I've seen you murder two people since we've met!" My voice rose to a shout.
     "Jas. This isn't some small commitment. You're initiated now, you've run with the pack on a full moon. That's how it works." He said.
     "Dylan what the hell! I didn't ask for any of this!" I yelled.
     "It doesn't matter what you asked for!" He said, his voice rising. "I saved your life, what was I supposed to do, let you just, die? Right there, on the ground?"
     He had a point, but that didn't make me like him.
     "Look, Jas," he said, voice softening, "this is big. And it's scary. But you can make it through this."
     "Can I? Dylan I don't want any of this. God," I said, my voice cracking, "I can't do this. I'm only human." I whispered.
     "No, you're not." Dylan interjected. "You're a werewolf, just like me."

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