Hidden Rogue

Prologue

My first shift happened during trigonometry. The teacher, I forget his name, was explaining Pythagoras Theorem at the front of the classroom while I passed notes back and forth with my best friend Charlie. She hated being called Charlotte, it's funny how you remember those things while you forget everything else.

I heard Charlie giggle from her seat next to me and saw her place a screwed up scrap of paper on my Trig book. I looked up and caught her twinkling eyes with a smile. Reaching for the note, having completely forgotten about math for the moment, I looked down at my outstretched hand and saw something that froze me in my seat. 

The bones were moving under my skin. Starring in morbid fascination, I watched as my knuckles shifted and my hand started stretching almost- becoming longer and thinner. Snapping out of my trance, I was filled with panic in its purest form. I didn't know what was happening to me! I just knew that no one could see this. They would call me a freak, or worse.

My heart rate was high and I was breathing in shallow gasps. Looking back down at my aching hand- if you could call it a hand- I saw that my thumb was now moving further down my hand. Cracking as the joint moved. Starring in horror I watched my fingers get shorter and fatter, the bones grinding as they compress.

"Nova!"

My head jerked up to the sound of my name. The teacher was starring at me.. as was everyone else in the class. I quickly shoved my hand under the desk.

"Uh.. pardon?" I asked, not having heard a word he said.

"Miss Monteiro, I asked if you were paying attention to the lesson," He said in a sarcastic voice, "obviously you already know all about Pythagoras theorem or you wouldn't have been so clearly ignoring me. So answer me this, what's the value of the hypotenuse in this triangle?"  

He pointed to the board with an expectant look on his face. I blushed from all the stares of my classmates.

"Uhh..." I muttered, completely unable to answer the question on the board. But my attention was diverted once again when I felt a pain in my right leg. Looking down I saw claws protruding from my morphed fingers and digging into my leg, drawing blood. 

"Don't know the answer? Hmm, disappointing Miss Monteiro. Next time you feel like daydreaming in my class--" 

I stood up abruptly- the ache was travelling up my arm now. Pulling my jacket sleeve down to cover my hand I stuttered out, 

"I uh, feel i-ill. I t-think I need to go t-to the nurses off-fice." Before running out of the classroom, slamming into the door as I went making a loud bang as it rebounded off the wall. Running down the locker lined hallway, my only thought was to get away. 

The ache had now started in my other hand as well. Not looking down, I kept searching for a way out of the maze of corridors I was in. I was so consumed with fear I couldn't remember my way around. Hearing footsteps following me I ran faster. Turning the corner I saw a fire escape up ahead. I almost sighed in relief. Freedom was just a few metres away!  

Running up to the fire escape, I skidded to a halt and reached forward to pull the bar towards me to open the door. But i couldn't open it. My hands had now morphed into large paws, with long thick brown hairs starting to poke out the back of them. I didn't have an thumbs anymore, I literally couldn't grip the bar.  

"Nova..? What's wrong? What are you doing?" Came Charlie's hesitant voice from the other end of the corridor. 

No no no no no, they'd sent Charlie after me. She couldn't see me like this. 

"Go away Charlie." I spat out, keeping my back turned to her. Only half my mind was on her as I watched the hairs sprout out of my skin, slowly making their way up my arms. 

"Nova?" She asked now in a more quiet voice, taking a few steps towards me. The hairs were at my elbows now. Glancing to the sides of me I saw only lockers. It was a dead end. Charlie was creeping towards me still, her trainers squeaking on the linoleum floor. 

"Seriously Charlie, go back to class, I'm fine just leave." 

"Why won't you look at me?" The hairs had covered my shoulders now, I could feel the prickling sensation moving down my legs under my jeans. Suddenly I felt my shoulder blades yank backwards and my legs seize up, sending me tumbling to the floor. 

I stuck my arms out infront of me at the last second, ending up on all fours. As my shoulders blades clicked into their new position, pain shot through me, making me groan and shake.

"Nova!" Charlie yelled as she ran down the hall towards me.

"Charlie.. NO, aahhggh!" I managed to say before I cried out in pain. I couldn't hold back the yell as my elbow joints snapped and settled in the wrong direction, my legs became shorter and my hip joint rotated so my legs now pointed in a different direction. All my clothes were ripping and my panic was now at such a high level I was in a frenzy. 

Footsteps were close behind me. 

My feet were stretching and my tail bone was lengthening. 

Too close. 

My ears moved on top of my head becoming pointed and my jaw broke and jutted forward. 

It was right behind me now. I couldn't see the threat. 

My teeth extended, sharpening. I saw a snout form infront of my eyes before I lost myself completely. 

I spun around, growling and leaping at the threat. I landed on top of the it. In the middle of my fear frenzy I saw red. So I buried my jaws in their jugular and tore their throat out. 

I only realised when I finally shifted back later that night, that it was Charlie's blood around my mouth. It was Charlie, sweet Charlie, never Charlotte, whose throat I had ripped out in that corridor.

I was a werewolf. A monster.

I was only twelve.

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Picture of Charlie at top >>>