Lycanthropy and Me: The First Semester(mlm)

Day 26. Friday, Waning Gibbous

The next morning Grayson awoke early. He would have thought the previous night's events were a dream, but the small key he had held in his hand all night told him otherwise. At the crack of dawn. He returned to the Howard dormitory. Chilly winds and rattling tree branches were his only company before he entered the quiet building.

The dorm gave him a eerie feeling. It was as if the zombie apocalypse had come and wiped out Redwood. Not once did he encounter another human being between Marconi and Howard. He pressed an ear to Hunter's door. Hearing nothing, he carefully used the key in the lock. Grayson took cautious steps as he entered  Hunter's room.

Hunter was still on the floor, although now lightly snoring,and laying on his side. His bindings were still in place, keeping his arms pinned to his back and his legs, bound at the ankles. There was no sign of the growling, writhing  being that Hunter had become the night before. With the threat of danger gone, Grayson dropped his backpack and knelt down next to Hunter.

"There's no way this stuff is comfortable. Let's get these off..."

Hunter's reward for returning to consciousness was a migraine. His body felt weightless and after cracking an eye open, he realized he was being lifted from the floor. Panic was his first reaction, but his body wasn't ready to retaliate. First came his old friend, the muscle spasm. He whined through the muzzle and his unseen visitor placed him on his bed. Something warm was pressed into his back, and the relief was enough to put him back to sleep.

When Hunter woke up again he could feel that his restraints had been moved, but his body was still sore. He was laying on his stomach, with his head turned to the wall. Something wasn't right. The light was on. He struggled to roll over onto his back, growling instead of groaning. The 'wolf' wasn't gone just yet.

 His jaw still didn't feel quite right, and his motor skills were still a little messy. It was the same thing after each full moon. He would awaken dazed, nearly infantile as his body reconfigured each part's use, like a computer switching programs. At this point in the process using his fingers would feel alien, and walking was practically impossible.

"Are you awake?"

Hunter squinted and turned his head. Maybe his senses were still a little off, but he could have sworn he heard Grayson's voice. He heard his desk chair being moved to the front of the bed, and suddenly there was Grayson.  sitting in front of him, the same concerned look he had the night Hunter ran off.

Oh great. Hunter rolled his eyes. I'm hallucinating. Oh, and drooling. Nice combo.

A pleasantly cool hand touched his forehead. He leaned into the touch.

"That's no good. You're really hot."

No, you're really hot. Hunter wanted to say out loud. But wait, if Hallucination Grayson had cold hands, didn't that mean Hallucination Grayson was a real person? He tried to speak.

"Grrrrayshon?"

"In the flesh. Good morning. Or should I say afternoon." He withdrew his hand. "You've been in and out all day."

"W-Why?" Hunter croaked.

"Why am I here?" Grayson surmised. "Your friend gave me the key. I uh..." He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "I happened to see you and him outside. You asked him to tie you up and I got a little suspicious..." His gaze went to the window. "Okay, maybe suspicious isn't the right word."

Hunter flexed his jaw. Talking was still difficult, but doing so always seemed to help his human side get back control. While he was far from moving around, he could at least feel his toes. "H-H-How long haff you been h--h-here?"