Blend the Light

Answer. Me. NOW!

xxxx

I start to stir a while later. Who knows how long I was out. My thoughts are muddled, and my mind is foggy. I can't open my eyes yet- I'm still far too out of it, but I know I'm not sleeping. Where... am... Try as I might, I can't seem to form a complete thought, though, very gradually, I start to wake up more. The past, all of it, is a blur. I can't remember any of it, well, I know who I am. Hawk... That's my... Name. My thoughts are slow. I groan as I open my eyes. A sharp dagger of pain pierces through my skull when I try to roll onto my side. Everything is grainy and blurry. Colorful blotches hover in midair; yellow over anything white, orange over any brownish color, and purple over darker colors. A wave of exhaustion washes over me, gentle, though, and I start to drift off again.

"Should we proceed, sir?" Someone's voice cuts through the fog surrounding my mind. They sound like they're talking underwater.

"Yes. Let's hope I've got the formula correct this time." There's another voice.

Dreamland has just captured me in its grasp when the pain hits. It skips numbers, jumping from one to ten in less than a second. I can't move. My body is frozen. Silent tears roll down my cheeks from the corners of my eyes. Go away. Go away. Go away. My mind can only think those two words, and it chants them over and over and over. "Is it working, sir?"

"Of course it is, you idiot! Just give it a few more seconds. Any second now..."

My mind hears their words, but doesn't register what they said. The pain grows. My breaths become shakier and shakier as the fireworks explode across my body. I want to cry out, to scream, but every time I move, daggers of pain slice through me. "Any second now, any second now." Please, someone. Someone make it stop. I don't know what I wouldn't give for any relief. Even if it was just for a few seconds, or something. My thoughts are all skewed. I can't think straight. I tremble as the pain becomes even worse, if that's possible. It was already off the charts. I don't know how I haven't passed out again. I don't know how I'm still alive. "Come on, something should've happened by now." The voice is angry now.

The same feeling I get when I Blend myself takes over. Wh-what's happening? I can't fight it- when I try, I hit a wall and cannot go any further. Something blocks me from stopping myself from Blending. My head falls to the side. The feeling spreads, and I can feel myself starting to shift.

What? When I Blended myself before, my bones broke and reformed, fur spread across my skin, my teeth sharpened, and my nails turned to claws. The whole process took less than a second. But that's not happening this time. I don't know what's happening. Patches of fur sprout randomly across my skin before stopping. A few of my nails have partially grown into claws. The bones in one of my legs snap, shifting into a dog's leg, but the other stays human. My canine teeth elongate into fangs though the rest don't change. Then everything stops. I'm partway into my Blended form; not a human, but not a dog either. One of the voices curses colorfully. "I could've sworn I had it right!"

"Perhaps the measurements were off, sir? I can look into that immediately."

"No. Have Joshua Spark do it."

"Sir, I will have him do that. He's currently at the Wasteland, but he can be here tomorrow, or possibly earlier, sir. I will send a message immediately, sir."

"Get him here by tonight."

"I will get on that immediately, sir." I try to slow my racing heart. My sides tremble with the slow, pulsing waves of pain. Come on. My mind is still foggy. The pain creeps up, getting worse and worse again.