Change

Pain and Suffering

Such simple words barely two-three syllables at most, a pittance of linguistics that is meant to convey something far more impressive.

However, they have a deeper meaning, one few people have the questionable privilege of becoming acquainted with. I was one of those lucky few, hooray for me no?

Maybe I should explain, but this isn't something my kind likes to talk to strangers about… at least, I know I sure as hell wouldn't, and I'm not even sure there are anymore like me, but I'm getting ahead of myself.

Imagine its a cool autumn evening, in amongst the thick and encompassing embrace of Mother Nature. Surrounded by tall and reaching pines as far as the eye can see, only the stars overhead as company.

It's the kind of night you'd expect to find two young lovers taking a late stroll, their minds undoubtedly more on each other and various… outdoor activities, rather than contemplating their surroundings. Or perhaps one of societies' more scholarly members out enjoying the ambience as he or she ponders the deeper questions of the world around them.

Such a tranquil scene isn't it. I don't suppose any of you happened to have the image of a young man, more a boy really, though he'd certainly contest that fact were he a little less preoccupied, screaming himself hoarse as a searing agony more intense than anyone should ever have to endure burned its way beneath his skin?

No? Didn't think so, and to be honest, I could have done without it as well, but it's something I have to endure. With each Change, comes pain, as is the life of a werewolf.

That last statement might have you all convinced I'm crazy was I stupid enough to voice it aloud, but I'm bright enough to realise the most help I'd ever get from anyone would be a one way ticket to the nearest asylum, and at worst… well, how many of you ever saw that movie about alien autopsies?

I fresh wavy of pain cut short my musings about short features with such titles as "Werewolves Exposed!", that all featured a roguishly handsome, if very, very dead werewolf as their main attraction.

Hot on the tail of the first salvo came a blistering crescendo that doubled me over faster than any blow to the gut, the jolt to my knees as my back muscles convulsed to force me down, bending my spine in ways I know it isn't supposed to go and wrenching my head back, barely noticeable.

My face seemed to stretch as my chewed short nails dug into the cold earth, the cords on my neck bulging and writhing, cutting off my ability to speak just as my knee joints reversed with a loud snap that reverberated through the woods around me.

Had I dared open my eyes I'm sure I would have seen the fur sprouting from my body, the same sandy brown as my hair was normally but everywhere, however, I'd never been able to work up the courage to watch the Change.

My brain began to shift, new thoughts and sensations already streaming in, adding the chaos, and, as I had every other time this had happened for the past year since my nightmare began, I blacked out.

 

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