My name is Logan Green.
I thought I was just a normal kid. Kept out of trouble, kept myself busy with football, and always making sure I had time to study and get good grades. I guess I have my dad to thank for that. He's always on my back about doing well in school. I know in my heart he means well and that he loves me very much, but at times I hate him for that.
But everything I thought I knew, everything I thought was real, turned out to be one great big fat lie. And that monsters are not just legends, but reality.
And I was one of them.
It all began one day after any other normal day of high school. It was a Friday, I remember that one random fact for some strange reason. Probably because it was the day my life took a turn for the worse.
That's the day I met her.
She was standing right next to my car. I had never seen this girl before, but she instantly caught my eye. I'm not going to deny it; she was hot. Long, curly dark brown hair with equally dark eyes, tanned skin, the real kind, not the fake tanned crap, and she was very thin, lean, and toned. I find myself at loss for words as I just stare at her.
"Um . . . can I help you?" I finally stuttered out.
"You're Logan, right?" she asks. I nod. She then gave me a dazzling smile. "I'm Angela, but you can call me Angie."
Angela. What a nice name.
I don't really remember what happened next. We start talking. Just small talk. I remember asking her if she went to my high school, Derion High. She shakes her head, saying she actually goes to Delphi.
Never heard of it.
We talk some more, and then I offer to take her out for some coffee. I don't know why, it just seemed to be the right thing to do at the time. She gladly accepts, and we just continue talking some more on our way over. She's very open about herself and really listens to me when I talk. And she isn't a chatterbox like some other girls are. Sometimes she'll let me go off about myself, and will sit there, and nod and smile in all the right places.
I start to like her. There was something different about Angela that set her apart from all the other girls I've met, but I couldn't put my finger on it at the time. But around her, I felt at ease and comfortable. She was easy to talk to, and a great listener.
We arrive at the shop and I buy her coffee for her. She insists on paying it herself, but I insist on treating her. She gives up and we take our seats. But I could have sworn she slid a five down one of my pockets when I wasn't paying attention.
We talk some more. We find things we are both interested. She likes hard rock and alternative, I do, as well. She likes the older films with actual plots and complex characters, I laugh and full-heartedly agree with her. I remember asking where she was from, if she was born here in Medford, Oregon, or if she moved here from somewhere else. She tells me she was born in Canada but moved to America when she was very little.
"Canada? Really? Get out!" I said. "You're a surprising person, Angie."
She laughs. "You don't know the half of it. So tell me, what are some of your hobbies at Derion?"
"Well, I'm on the defensive line on my varsity football team," I said. I kept myself from bragging about how my coach always complimented that I was the best defensive player on the team. I didn't think she would like me bragging. "Just your average jock, nothing special." I reach forward and take a small sip from my coffee, which is by this time lukewarm.
"I think you're something special," she says suddenly.
I almost gag on my drink. Whatever I was expecting her to say, it certainly wasn't that. I can feel my cheeks grow hot and red.
"Um . . . that's something a girlfriend would usually say," I said nervously. And now that I'm thinking back on this, that wasn't probably the best thing to say, either.
Angie leans forward, placing a hand under her chin. "Oh? Do you have a girlfriend?" she asks. She isn't sharp or seemingly jealous at all, just curious.
"Well . . . no," I admit. True, I'm kind of picky when it comes to developing any sort of relationship. "The only people that ever seem to be interested are shallow cheerleaders. They don't seem to care about me; all they care about is that I'm a jock." Ok, maybe that was a little hard, but it was somewhat true. All the damn cheerleaders keep throwing themselves at me because they think it's romantic and cute. Bt if I'm going to have a girlfriend, I want someone who's interested in me.
She looks at me with a strange expression, something that looked like a mix between pity and frustration. Maybe I'm not good at reading expressions, but she did seem to look at me almost as if she was sorry for me. Like I cared if I had a girlfriend.
She stands up. "Listen, I gotta get going, but do you have anything planned for tomorrow?"
I shook my head. "No, why?"
She gives me a coy smile. "Then meet me in the forest preserve at noon. Don't be late." Turning on her heel, she just walks out the door without a backward glance.
I smile to myself. "Wouldn't dream of it," I said to myself. Angie was definitely an interesting person, and the thought of just the two of us hanging out in the nearby forest preserve excited me.
Maybe, I thought. This is the start of something good.
Little did I know how wrong I was.
I woke up the next morning, excited to see Angie again . . . but I feel strange. Almost like I'm sick but . . . not really. I had an uneasy stomach, and a slight headache, but I wasn't nauseous. There was a weird tingling sensation in my arms and lower back, but it wasn't painful, just kind of . . . there. I wasn't sure what to make of it. It was unlike anything I had felt before. I shrugged it off, thinking that it was just a result from me waking up too fast.
I get dressed, pulling on an old hoodie because I felt slightly chilled. My dad was up before me and was downstairs watching the morning news. He glances over his shoulder at me as I head out the door.
"Going out to meet your new girlfriend?" he asks jokingly.
I give him a sideways look. "She's not my girlfriend."
"Yet," he says with a wink. I can't help but to laugh and head out.
The state forest preserve is about a twenty minute drive from my house. It's a nice size, over 200 acres of dense forest, and not terribly used. In fact, not many people used it this time of year, although I particularly enjoyed going there when I had a free day.
But when I got there, I was struck with a sudden thought. Angie could be anywhere in that 200 acre mess. How would I find her?
Thankfully, my question was answered. Pulling into the parking lot, I saw a large yellow rock off to the side with a note on it. Curious, I walked over to it and read the note.
Logan- follow the yellow rocks! ;) -Angie
I smiled. How cute.
I looked up, and saw a small bright yellow pebble leading off the trail and ito the heart of the woods. I ducked under some branches and carefully stepped over a thorn bush as I pushed my way through. I spot more yellow rocks along my way and continue to follow them. But the farther I went, the more strange I felt. My body suddenly broke out into a cold sweat, and the tingling sensation had spread all over me. I stopped. Why did I feel so weird? It didn't hurt, it just didn't feel right.
But as I thought that, a sharp jab of pain suddenly split down my back. I gasp loudly, pressing ahand to the base of my spine where the pain had been the sharpest.
What the hell was that?!
But as soon as the pain appeared, it vanished. I stand there for a moment trying to figure out what just happened and why. After this little meeting with Angie, I should seriously consider going to a doctor. I kept going. I wanted to see Angie again, but the pain kept coming back. It was manageable, just a dull throbbing in my back and arms. I shook my head. Mabe I was getting sick.
I finally meet Angie in the middle of a small clearing. She smiles warmly at me, but she can notice my discomfort. Thankfully, she doesn't say anything for the moment. I notice her hands are clasped behind her back, and a duffel bag lies at her feet.
"I finally found you!" I said. "I almost didn't make it, but I wanted to see you again."
She smiles again, but it's forced. I can sense her worry and anxiety. She looks me over, and takes a deep breath.
"Logan, I don't have much time. There's something important I need to tell you," she says. Her serious tone immediately grabs my attention, and I step closer to her.
"What is it?" I ask.
"What if I told you that all of those mythical creatures in fairy tales and legends actually exist?" she says. She looks me right in the eye as she asks her question. And she is dead serious.
"What?" I exclaim. Of all the things to tell me, she's going to try to convince me fairy tales are real?!
"It's true!" she says. "All of those creatures exist! I am one! And you are, too."
Now this is just too much. Yesterday she had been completely normal, but now she just sounded crazy. "What the hell are you talking about, Angie?" I said.
"I'm talking about dragons! Gryphons, mermaids, werewolves, they're all real! And we are both some type of mythical being!" she said. She's getting frustrated and looks about ready to panic. I don't know what's worse; the fact that she's trying to convince me unicorns are real or the fact that she seriously believes this.
I shake my head. "Look, I don't know what sort of stupid joke this is-" I say, but I am cut off when I hear a very strange cracking noise, like rumpling aluminum foil mixed with popping Rice Krispy Treats. I stare at Angie, and see her begin to change. My jaw drops wide open as I see brown fur grow all over her body.
"Oh sweet Jesus!" I hear myself say, but Angie doesn't stop changing. Her ears turn more pointed and shift up to the top of her skull. Her hands take on a more rounded shape, and black claws replace her nails. A tail sprouts out of the base of her spine, and she falls to all fours. In the blink of an eye, she transformed right before my very eyes into a large wolf.
I take several steps backwards. No. No way. That's impossible! Things like this don't happen!
A moment later, the wolf changes back into a human form, back into Angie. I don't trust my eyes anymore. It had to be a trick. It just wasn't real! Her yellow eyes-now turning back to a normal brown color-meet my own.
"I know, this is all very sudden and shocking, but I don't have enough time to explain everything properly," she says apologetically. "The reason why I met you is because you're someone like me. And soon, you'll change, as well."
I can only stand there and gawk at her. I find my voice, but it's weak and cracking. "You mean . . . you mean I'm going to turn into a wolf, too?!" I shout.
Angie winces and bites her lower lip. "Well, no, not a wolf . . ." she says slowly. Something in her voice catches my attention and only makes me panic more.
"Well, if I'm going to change, what am I going to change into?" I challenge her.
She hesitates. "A basilisk," she finally says.
"A what?!" I cry. A basilisk?! No! I couldn't be . . . be a basilisk! That giant killer snake thing in that Harry Potter movie?! No way I could be that monster!
"The changes have already started," Angie says. Then out of the duffel bag, she pulls out a large syringe with a very, very long needle. The sight of it made me shudder. "You feel sick and cold. You have cramps all over your body. Your body is covered in a cold sweat-"
"Shut up!" I said suddenly.
She goes on. "Your hands are shaking and you feel as though your entire body is on fire."
"I said shut up!" It disturbs me how accurate her predictions are. I clenched my teeth until they began to hurt. But everything else in my body was starting to hurt as well. My back exploded in pain and the numb sensation returned worse than ever to my hands. A sudden flash of pain erupts through my entire chest, and I cry out in agony.
Angie rushes to my side. "Don't fight it! You have to relax! If you fight it, it'll only make it worse!"
"Get away from me you freak!" I say. I don't want what she said to be true. I couldn't be turning into a monster! I just couldn't!
Suddenly, Angie swings the syringe down and plunges it deep into my shoulder. I cry out in pain. "What the hell was that for?!" I scream at her.
"You're a basilisk! A single glance can kill someone!" she says. "I gave you a potion that will make you harmless."
I am not reassured at all. The pain splitting across my entire body grows so great I collapse to my knees. I'm shaking from head to foot, hot tears streaming from my eyes.
Everything hurt.
"You have to relax. Don't fight it," Angie says. But I can barely pay her any attention. The pain is absolute hell.
"I'm not like you. I'm not a monster!" I grimance. "Go away!" I yell at her. The pain builds in my hands and I pull them up to my face. I let out a screech of pain as it continues to build until I feel my hands are about to explode.
The skin on my hand starts cracking and shifting, becoming swamp-green in color. I stare in horror as my entire hands are covered in green scales. My fingers crack sickeningly as they become longer, and black claws sprout from my fingertips, deadly, long, hooked claws. I scream in terror.
"No! This can't be happening!" I cry out. I rip off my sweatshirt, and I see the green scales continue to spread all up my arm. I look down at my hands, which are growing bigger and bigger. Suddenly, my middle and ring finger merge together, and my thumb shrinks back into my hand, leaving me with a three-fingered hand. My jaw drops open to scream again, but the changes don't stop.
I feel something pushing out of my elbow painfully, and two long bone-like spikes emerge, one right over my elbow and another one just below the other. I look to my other hand to see the same thing happening. At this point, the shock of transforming has almost entirely blocked out the pain, and I can only sit there and watch in horror as the rest of my body twists and changes.
The scales cover my entire arms and shoulders, and I feel two other spikes pushing their way through my skin on my shoulders. They poke out and extend to about three or four inches and hook towards my elbow. But a semi-transparent membrane is attached to the two spikes. I can feel the muscles in my arms and shoulder grow, ripping apart my t-shirt. The changes stop temporarily, giving me time to look over my arms, now fully transformed into spiky reptilian limbs.
"This isn't right!" I shout. "This can't be happening to me!"
But then the changes start up again, and my back explodes in pain unlike anything before. I bend over forward, groaning, and feel my spine extending and changing. Something is pressing up against my back, and I can feel my vertebrae extending upwards, cracking sickeningly and ripping through my skin and shirt. Once it stops, I spare a glance over my spiked shoulders. My back is covered in even more spikes. There is one particularly long one sticking just below my shoulder blades that is at least a foot and a half long, with the same membrane that was on my shoulders extending from its tip all the way back down to my back. There is one other shorter spike just in front of the bigger one, and I can feel three more spikes pop out of my spine just below the large one.
I turn back to Angie, clambering to my feet, wrapping my unfamiliar arms around my mid-section. "What's happening to me?!" I scream.
She places a reassuring hand on my scaly arms, her eys filled with pain and regret. "Just try to relax, it'll be over soon."
The last thing I wanted to do was relax. My entire body was in pain and changing into a monterish form. I was terrified and near panicking.
I double over as I feel my sides sear with pain. I scream louder than ever before, wrapping my arms tighter around me. If I thought the pain before was bad, this was a thousand times worse. White-hot pain rips me apart from the inside out, and I can hear bones snap and crack loudly inside of me. I feel my spine extending a little bit longer, and then . . . I feel something pressing against my arms. My sides bulge outwards, and with a final shriek of pain, two extra sets of arms burst from my sides. I take one look down at them and scream bloody murder.
"What the hell?! What the hell?! WHAT THE HELL?!" I shriek. I had four arms! Four freaking arms! These arms were just like my newly morphed reptile arms; covered in green scales and had three clawed fingers with two spikes on the elbows. And the terrifying thing was that I could move them. They were a part of me now.
"I THOUGHT BASILISKS WERE SNAKES! SNAKES!" I roar at Angie. I'm waving all four arms at her like crazy, partially because I had no idea how to coordinate them all at once.
Angie, although startled at my outburst, gives me a weak smile. "Actually, basilisks do have multiple limbs."
I was about to yell at her some more, but the transformation continued. I felt something pushing out of my forehead. Raising a hand to my head, I feel a pair of horns sprouting from my forehead and growing bigger. They curved backwards slightly, and I felt two smaller ones grow in as well, also sprouting from my forehead. I lower my hands, when I noticed my ears felt funny as well. For one, I could move them. I felt them, and realized they had transformed into a fin-shape. I could feel the scales continue to creep all over my body, and up to the side of my face.
The base of my spine suddenly grew painful as well, and I twisted around in time to see something bulging in the seat of my pants. I clenched my teeth to keep myself from crying out again in pain.
"Now what?" I growled. A long, whip-like tail suddenly grew from the base of my spine and curled around me, coated in green scales with spikes running along the top of it. I moved it back and forth, staring at it with a strange mix of awe and horror.
At least it wasn't as bad as growing an extra set of arms.
My legs suddenly cramped up, and I fell to my knees, all four of my arms supporting my rapidly growing torso. I could feel my chest grow in size and my spine continue to lengthen, all the while with my feet and legs changing as well. My toes pushed against my shoes as if they had suddenly shrunk five sizes too small. With a sudden burst of pain, my feet ripped through them. But they had changed into scaly three-toed feet, with a long hooked spike protruding from my heel. The feet and toes grew in length and cracked loudly as they shaped into new forms, forcing me to stand on my toes. I felt my hips and spine snap, forcing me to stand on all four-er, six, now-of my limbs.
I could tell the transformation was almost complete. I felt one last horn poking through my skull, and my entire body grew in size. What remained of my clothes ripped away, and the scales on my belly turned a lighter shade of green. The scales along my spine and tail grew darker in color as well.
Then, the final changes consumed my body. My skull seared with unbearable pain. I could feel my teeth lengthen and grow sharper, and new teeth poking their way through my gums. I let out a loud roar and felt my jaws lengthen into a long pointed snout. My tongue grew in length to fill my alligator-like jaws, and I felt two more spikes emerge from the tip of my snout, and one spike grew on my chin. I let out a deafening roar as the final changes took place.
I stood there, no longer a normal human kid, but a great giant six-legged lizard. I opened my eyes and hesitantly looked over my new unfamiliar body, taking in everything from the spikes on my nose to my long serpentine tail.
I could feel my eyes grow wet with tears. No . . . this wasn't right! This isn't me! This can't be real!
I then feel Angie's arms wrap around my neck, as if trying to hug me. I look down at her, and she cradles my long snout in her hands, all the while running her fingers gently up and down my scaly hide.
"I'm sorry, Logan," she said sincerely. "I didn't want this to happen to you."
I can only stand there, and look at her. It was all too much.
I was no longer a normal kid. That life was over.
That day marked the beginning of my new life. The life of a monster.
