The Truth about Griffin

Chapter 13

      We left Almer in the clearing and made our way back to the tree we had been hiding behind ealier. Sharifa shapeshited into a deer and let Griffin lean on her all the way back. Once we got there she pulled the little medical supplies we had out of the bag and proceeded to try and clean up the worst of the wounds.

     "So you've been able to shapeshift since you were born?" Griffin flinched as another rag of disinfectant was rubbed along his arm. 

     "Yes." Sharifa continued to gently clean the wounds. "My parents knew that if anyone found out it wouldn't be long before..." She trailed of and the rag became limp and unmoving. 

     I heard Griffin move and wrap his arm around her. "The perks of being different, I guess." There was a pause. "Have you ever read The Invisible Man?"

     "No." There was a hint of confusion in Sharifa's voice. "What does that have to do with-"

     "It's a good story. There's a scientist who has devoted himself to research into optics and invents a way to change a body's refractive index to that of air so that it neither absorbs nor reflects light and thus becomes invisible. He successfully carries out this procedure on himself, but fails in his attempt to reverse it. He tried the invisibility on a cat, then himself. After that the boarding house he was staying in burned down, along with all the equipment he used to turn invisible; but he soon realized that he was ill-equipped to survive in the open. He attempted to steal food and clothes from a large department store, and eventually stole some clothing from a theatrical supply shop and headed to Iping to attempt to reverse the invisibility. Long story short fear led people to violence and the Invisible Man had to fake his own death. After that he took his cat and stowed away to America, where he built a small cabin in the hills of Nebraska. Of course, that last part isn't in the book."

     "You? You were the Invisible Man?"

     Griffin shifted. "Guilty as charged." A bloody hand touch Sharifa's. "We're different, and that's a good thing; other people just don't seem to understand it."

     Sharifa sighed and gently pulled her hand away. She picked the rag back up and continued to clean Griffin's wounds. I laid down on a clean spot of grass. A little bit of blood had gotten on my fur, so I proceeded to lick myself clean. The sun was beginning to set and a cool breeze was staring to brush through the grass and trees. We sat there enjoying the night air and silence. Sharifa continued to gently clean and dress Griffin's wounds. He was rubbing me with his already bandaged hand. He was starting to look like he had when we had first arrived in Iping. It was strange how quickly things could change within just a few hours. I decided it was time for a nap.