Dust Storm

Chapter 5-Reagan

I stroked Dusty's face and told him I loved him. "Ya did good t'day boy. Such a pretty boy."

The trees were black against the night sky as the Blue Ridge Mountains swayed as the wind blew through the trees. The air was littered with fireflies as they danced over the grass and the lake in the distant valley.

I stood at the stable door as she held Dusty's neck. At times like these I missed the days I was normal.

I planned to sleep in the barn tonight and all nights this summer unbeknownst to Rose and the rest of the family. It didn't seem right for me to sleep next to a complete stranger, especially the first night.

"You're the only one who gets me, my good boy," I said to Dusty as I patted his nose and brought his head down to kiss him in the middle of his forehead.

He whinnied softly, almost to say, "I love you, too."

I finished my rounds by closing the cows inside the indoor paddock and locking the chain. It was only nine thirty. I looked to the sky and saw the almost full moon and I wanted to go for a run in the woods before I completely lost myself in a few days. I texted Paul where I was going and I took my clothes off and dropped them in front of the small bush where I normally hide them. I dropped my hat onto the pile. Then, I tore off into the woods as my body shifted painlessly into the beast everyone in this town feared.