4. And This Is Why

They began to run at a jogging pace. The sky was cloudy, but the clouds were thin and began to disperse after ten minutes into the run. Alex Hunter stopped running around that time and leaned over, hands on his knees and breathed deeply.

“C’mon!” Kari Knox called out, pacing in front of him. “We’ve only been out here for ten minutes and you have to take a breather?”

He waved her on. “Go on, I’ll catch up. Just let me rest for a sec.”

She waited a second, then continued running. A minute passed, before Alex’s stomach began to feel upset. Oh, man! He thought. I’m gonna puke!

But he never did, but he did fall over, heaving as if he were puking. His insides felt as though they were on fire. He looked up, and got on his knees. The clouds by now were almost gone, and the full moon light lighted everything around him, giving the trees around him a ghostly appearance.

Alex’s body trembled as his back hunched over, causing him to bend down. His palms hit the gravel path and he felt the rocks cut into his hands. He flinched as blood trickled onto the path. He looked at his hand, and noticed that they were changing. The wounds began to close, as the palm grew tough and turned into a darker color. Alex glanced at the back of his hand, and noticed brown hair sprouting quickly from every pore.

“What the heck?” he asked aloud, as his fingernail grew pointer after every second. Alex heard a loud rip behind him and noticed his back had expanded and had ripped his t-shirt. His back was covered in brown fur, that if he didn’t know he was human, he’d say he was a dog or some type of canine.

His feet began to feel really small, and he took his shoes off to reveal two furry brown paws. Alex looked at his back, but this time it was a little harder to see behind him. And there, above his bottom was a brown bushy tail.

“WHAT IS HAPPENING?!” he cried in alarm. He felt his face with his front paw-hands, and felt pointy ears. He was transforming into a beast.

Alex felt his teeth expand, and grow as well as the rest of his body. His jeans that he recently bought were stretched to their fullness, and began to tear at the knees. When the transformation finally ended, his t-shirt was lying beside him, torn to rags. His tennis shoes tossed aside. The Fossil watch that was on his arm broke, every single link shattered. His jeans felt super-tight on his thighs, and he was scared out of his wits.

He stood up, looking at himself, bathing in the moonlight. He was covered head to foot with brown fur.

Looking around, he didn’t see anyone. But he could hear people talking in the distance. He listened closely.

“I love you,” he heard a man say.

“I love you more,” a woman’s voice replied.

“Not as much as I love you.”

“You know that’s a lie.”

Alex stopped listening and shook his head. He had to find Kari, and take her home, and then get home. Would I even fit in my car? He wondered.

He took off running, on all four paws. It felt natural—it felt good. The burning subsided, and he felt normal inside. But outside, he knew that he had become something entirely different.

But then… change is good… isn’t it?