FIGHTING FOR SURVIVAL

Chapter 8

Dylan

You would think that since it was nighttime, the forest would be alive and bursting with life, but this forest was different. I had never been here except once when our school had gone on some nature walk, and even then, we had stayed close to the edge, never venturing deeper. Lisa turned to me, her eyes twinkling.

"Okay, we're here," she grinned. "I'm going to transform any minute now, so don't be scared, alright?"

"I'm not scared!" I said indignantly.

"Fine," she replied. "But after I've turned, if I try to bite you or anything, just know that I'm not doing it on purpose."

"Okay," I nodded. "When'll you shift back?"

"It usually takes about two hours for me. I'm getting better at the transformations now, but I'll tell you all about that later." I nodded and she smiled. "Any time now...."

We stood there in complete and utter silence and the forest stretched out in all four directions. We had ventured into the depths of the forest and I was kind of worried that we might lose our way on the way back. But Lisa insisted she knew the place like the back of her hand so I decided to trust her eventually. Somehow, at that moment, everything seemed more real to me. I knew now that Lisa was not kidding about being a werewolf.

The trees were silent and there was no wind. The eerie light of the full moon cast the trees and us in pale shadow. Lisa was perfectly still and was staring intently at the full glowing moon. A minute later, her body went rigid and her eyes were glassy orbs sprinkled with the light from the shining moon.

Then, before my very eyes, she transformed. I tried hard not to blink so I would.not miss a single moment, but that was near impossible. Lisa's body elongated and hair started to sprout on her arms and legs. Her hands and feet grew sharp claws and I jumped back a little in fright. Now, a wolf was staring up at me, her paws raised a little.

Lisa's wolf was a snowy white with specks of gold on her head and paws. Her otherwise chocolate brown eyes seemed to glow silver now. I was rooted to the spot, too overwhelmed to move. She seemed so....strong and well, wild. She seemed free and happy. But I was scared stiff.

She inched toward me on all fours and barred her claws dangerously. I managed to duck in time though. She clearly had no control over herself. I raised my hands above my head and said as calmly as I could,

"Lisa, it's me. It's Dylan." When she heard these words, her head snapped up and her eyes seemed to go a little wide. She growled softly and I sank down on my knees next to her. Somehow, she seemed less dangerous now. I fondled her white fur and patted her head gently. Suddenly, she leapt up and took off running into the trees.

"Lisa!" I called. "Come back!" But there was no reply. I could hear the pitter patter of her paws as she moved on further, and eventually decided to follow her. We ran for what felt like hours: her running ahead and me chasing her. After a while, a gentle breeze began to blow and I found myself smiling. It felt so good on my face. It ruffled my hair and stung my eyes in a pleasant sort of way and I laughed, trying to catch up with Lisa.

I eventually did catch up to her. She was lying under an old tree and her eyes were turned up to the dark sky. She seemed so at peace with everything and so calm. I admired her for that. I lay down next to her and stared up at the branches of the tree as they swayed when the breeze swept by.

We stayed like that for a while under that tree, just enjoying the night. Suddenly, Lisa shot upright and sprinted to another tree, slipping behind it. She came back completely normal and in human form.

"That felt good," she said, breathlessly, sitting down on the cool forest ground. She patted the grass next to her and I plopped down too. The night was calm and beautiful. I now noticed clusters of sensitive stars sprinkled across the sky. The gentle breeze that caressed my face felt refreshing and the trees looked tall and leafy.

Watching Lisa turn and run across the forest had been a marvellous experience. I still could not believe that she was actually a werewolf. The concept still seemed bizarre and alien.

"So," I started. "How does it feel like, being a wolf?"

Her eyes lit up and a wide smile stretched out over her lips.

"It feels amazing. I feel like I can do anything in the world. Running on the cool grass, with the trees around you and the wind running through your hair feels great. It feels good when you can control yourself though. You learn that as time passes. I've learned a little about controlling myself now so it's really fun."

"What do you mean by controlling yourself ?" I questioned, very interested now.

"I mean that you learn to not be a savage wolf, like the ones that eat people. They don't even realise what they do when the full moon comes out. They crave meat too. Human meat. Obviously, when they kill a human, there is blood with the meat too, so they drink that too. That's why I eat other carbs on full moon night. That helps resist the temptation."

"Oh," I said. This was all so...new to me. I never knew people could actually eat other people, and drinking blood seemed sick. Besides, I thought only vampires in stories did that. The fact that this was all real was shocking.

"But it's cool if you control yourself. It's fun actually. Loads of fun."

We sat there for another hour and I decided to stay in the forest for a while. This place seemed so pure and calm. It was like it was only our little secret place. The clearing we were in was fairly wide and had trees with wide canopies. I peeked at the moon from between the branches and marvelled at it's beauty. The full moon resembled a large pizza with extra cheese in my opinion. I started counting the stars in my head. There were just too many of them.

At that moment, I started to think how it would feel to come here every month with Lisa. We could both run freely together, between the trees, and feel the cold grass beneath our feet. Sure, the first few times would not be pleasant but after that, it would be fun. I just knew it. I was thinking of becoming a werewolf.

"Lisa?" I whispered.

"Yeah?" she replied.

"I want to be a werewolf too."

"Really?" she gasped. "Ate you sure?"

"Positive."

"Okay, well," she said. "I know that if a werewolf bites a human, the human can become a werewolf. But it will hurt."

"Hoe much?" I asked. I was prepared to go feel a little pain. It meant I could be just like Lisa.

"It'll hurt a lot for a minute, but if you distract yourself, it won't be that bad. Then you'll black out for a few hours. When you wake up, we'll bandage up the wound and you'll be fine after that."

"Oh, okay," I replied.

"Do you still want me to bite you?"she asked slowly, sitting up.

I thought for a minute but then said, "Yeah, I do. Just try to do it quickly." I pushed the sleeve of my jacket up but Lisa told me to take it off. When I was only in my night shirt and pyjamas, she began to transform again.

I felt a searing pain shoot up and down my left forearm, and then it spread through my whole body, burning me. I remember seeing Lisa's face as she shifted back before I blacked out, just like she said I would after the bite.

********************************************
A/N
So now you know how Dylan became a werewolf :)
Please vote and comment!
Thanks for reading XD
The next chapter will be about....Alyssa Tremors!! :)