Fairest of Them All

Chapter Three: Transformation

*1 Month After *

St. Cloud, Minnesota, 3:24

Alfia walked around her bedroom. She sighed and sat down on her bed.

"Mom will be back in..." Alfia mumbled glancing at her watch "8 Hours." Alfia sighed and flopped on her bed.

Alfia stood up and walked around the house.  She sighed and walked out of the house down toward the forest. She climbed up to the top of her favorite tree and sighed looking off into the distance. She almost fell asleep but then she perked back up and remembered that there was a place in the forest she hadn't seen yet. She climbed back back down the tree and away into the other side of the forest.

She arrived to the section she hadn't seen yet, she took a deep breath and walked in. She looked around and taking in the sights. She wandered around the forest until it got dark, "I should be getting home," Alfia thought "Mom will be mad." she thought again.  Suddenly an urge came into her, like a feeling just washed over her  "Mom can wait." she said aloud.  She began running through the forest, feeling so free. Fleeing all responsibility,  until she was struck with a great pain. Causing her to fall to the ground, she reached a hand to her throat, she was coughing hard until she went hoarse. Completely silent but only for a moment before it was replaced with barking. Alfia was shocked but had no time to think before she felt her bones start to break and realign. Changing shape, into something different, something canine. The pain continued for a while before it subsided and Alfia collapsed on the floor if the forest, she stood slowly and then, she lost consciousness. For she was no longer herself. She was a wolf. Her wolf let out a long howl before tearing off into the dark. She had changed completely, she was no longer human.

                                                                                     ***

Alfia sat up slowly, "Ah. Ow." she said putting a hand to her head and laying back down "What happened. She looked up at the sky as the clouds rolled by "Oh I know." she started "I was running and I fell and, It hurt. Real bad.." she continued she closed her eyes and strained to remember "Oh! Then I remember howling Like a wolf, and I think I looked down and. I-I I think I might have become a wolf, but then I blacked out." She looked around "I must have fallen and passed out and had a crazy dream" she said laughing. She stood up, and then she noticed something. She was naked. Completely naked. She used a hand to try and cover herself "Aw fart." she cursed she walked back towards where she though her favorite tree was. Maybe she still had her cell on her in her bag. She wondered where her clothing went. She froze "If I lost my clothing, maybe that wolf thing is real." she said out loud. She started running back to the tree and thankfully her phone was there. she opened it up and called her mom "Uh Hi mom." she began awkwardly "OHMYGOSHSHE'SOKAYEVERYONESHE'SOKAY!" She heard loudly holding the phone away from her ear "Yes mom I'm fine. I just need you to come bring me some clothes." she said  "Oh okay where are you?" her mom said "Uhh the forest?" Alfia said almost posing it as a question. She couldn't see her mom's face but she could hear the 'Really Alfia?' face was on "Alright I'm coming." her mom finally spoke "Okay thanks!" Alfia cheered. She grabbed her bag and crawled towards the front of the forest to wait until she saw her mom's car.

When her mom finally pulled up she stepped out and stood in front of the forest and called out "ALFIA! WHERE ARE YOU?!" she yelled. Alfia was about to get up but then she remembered she was naked  there was no way she was getting out "Trow the clothes!" she said half whispering half yelling. Her mom rolled her eyes and tossed the plastic bag in. Alfia ran over to them and began putting them on. After she was all done she stepped out "Thank you so much mom." she said Her mom ruffled her hair "Get in the car kid." Alfia smiled and jumped in and they started to drive "So." her mom started "Why did you need those clothes. Ohh I rhymed." she asked  Alfia raced around in her mind for an idea "Ohh I uhh I was running and I got caught on a branch and it ripped my clothes off." she said with an unsure smile. Her mom looked at her dubiously "Oookay." she said extending the o sound "If you say so."  her mom said  with a shrug. she turned her eyes to the road "So, I figure, let's go do some errands. And when we're done we can hit up the mall sound good." Alfia nodded "Sound great."

                                                                                        ***

 Phoenix, Arizona, 2:24

Aslema was walking home from the corner store chewing on some gum as she walked home. When she reached her dead yellow lawn she walked up the path and pushed her key into the lock and entered. She was surprised to find her entire family in the living room with all there camping stuff out "What's going on here?"  Aslema asked Her mom turned around, clapped her hands, smiled and said "We're going camping!" she cheeped "Go pack a bag we're leaving tonight for your birthday!" she continued as she pushed Aslema toward the stairs to go to her room to pack. Aslema stomped up the stairs and into her room. She hastily threw clothing into a backpack and ran back downstairs.

After about 3 hours of driving around, Aslema's family was setting up the tents and buliding a fire "I'm gonna go sleep." Aslema's sister Roseann said getting up and walking into the tent "Me too." added on Aslema's other sister Madeline and the pair got into the tent. Aslema's mom  yawned "I'm gonna hit the hay too." she said getting up and heading to bed "Wait for me!" her dad said. He turned toward Aslema "Are you coming?" he asked "Oh nah, I want to stay up and finish this book." she said pointing to the book in her hands "Okay make sure to put out the fire when you finish up." he said before stepping into the tent "Okay. Will do." 

                                                                                       ***

Aslema was sitting by the dying fire reading her book she closed it and stretched her arms out "I should be getting to bed." she said looking around and gazing at the glowing embers. "I think I'll go for a quick walk." she said sanding up off the log and turning away. from the fire and into the darkness. 

She had been walking for a while before she decided to turn back "Okay, I'm getting tired." she said thinking out loud "But which way was it?" she said to herself. She turned in a circle, but all there was. Was darkness, Aslema sighed and sat down to think. She started to think of which way to go, as she was thinking she suddenly let out a cough. And another. And another, soon Aslema was having a coughing fit. She tried to cover her cough but it was too strong, she coughed so hard she had lost her voice. A silence filed the air. Everything seemed to stop, "What the hell is happening?"  Aslema though, soon her thoughts where broken as she began to bark like a dog. She fell to the ground, she began to writhe around on the floor of the forest in pain. A cracking sound filled the air. She writhed about for, what felt like, an hour before. She had lost consciousness and completely changed. Into, into. A wolf. She tore off into the forest.

                                                                                       ***

Aslema woke up lying down on the wet forest floor staring up at the sky "What happened?" she asked herself. A chill went up her spine, she was cold. She sat up, a slight headache came to her. She looked around and noticed. She was naked, totally nude. Like the drawing scene in titanic nude. "Crapola." She said. She stood up and began to walk back to the campsite. Well, where she thought it was.

Aslema was luckily right about where the campsite was. Nobody was awake. So Aslema snunk back into her tent and got dressed. She lyed back down into her sleeping bag and fell back asleep. Maybe she'd get some anwsers about what happened last night when she got home.