Author's Note: Sorry this is short! I want to dedicate this chapter to my friend redwaves9! Check out her fanfic!
Chapter One:
I slipped downstairs, my small feet causing the wooden stairs to creak slightly. My hands clenched the straps of the small backpack that was slung over my shoulder, which I had hastily stuffed with a change of clothes, a sweatshirt, a flashlight, a book, some energy bars, and, in a small case, one of the kitchen knives. I'd heard of some pretty scary stuff out in the world, and I wasn't taking any chances.
I reached the kitchen and tiptoed to the back door. My fingers undid the latch and I held my breath, half expecting my stepmother to leap from the shadows, her shouts of accusation filling the house. No one came. Feeling slightly embarrassed, I slipped out the door, shutting it gently behind me. The night was cold, and the air was thick with the scent of pine. Above me, the stars glittered, cold and distant. I recognized the different constellations I'd read about: Leo, Perseus, and Hercules. I turned for one last look at my house. It had always felt different since my stepmother moved in. But now, looking at it in the silent night, it looked so… empty. Like a discarded eggshell left to rot in the garbage bin. I could still stay, creep back inside and crawl into my warm, familiar bed. For a fleeting moment I was tempted. Then my reluctance turned into a hard resolve. I could do this. After all, I was a Chase. Tucking a strand of long, blonde hair behind my ear, I turned around and strode into the night, the thin, yellow moon guiding me across the land.
The next few weeks were a blur. I moved steadily West with no particular destination in mind, sleeping by day and traveling by night so I wouldn't get caught by the police and returned home like a lost dog. My blonde hair grew filthier and filthier, and one day when I looked at my reflection in a river I saw my grey eyes had a slightly wild quality that scared me. I didn't look at my reflection again.
One day, as I was sleeping under a bush in the woods off a highway, a loud crash woke me. I sat bolt upright, my senses at their height. My hand moved subconsciously to the knife in my bag, grasping it by its leather hilt. As my eyes scanned the surrounding trees, they focused in on a small clump of bushes about a hundred feet away. It was the only thing in the area that could conceal potential danger. Quivering with fear, I knelt down and picked up a stick. Then, with all the strength I could muster, I hurled the stick into the bushes.
There was a hiss of alarm, and out of the bushes shot a small, lithe cat. Its coat was a pale brown dappled with orange. Its ears were torn, and its ribs were showing through its dirty pelt. It regarded me with its auburn eyes. A wave of embarrassment washed over me. I'd been scared by a stray cat! I looked at it again, feeling sympathy. We weren't that different, the cat and I. We both were lost, homeless, and alone. I knelt down and pulled an energy bar from my bag. Unwrapping it, I held it out to the cat.
"Here you go, cat," I said, my voice sounding hoarse after having not been used for weeks. "Eat up."
The cat padded forward tentatively and sniffed the bar. It instantly recoiled and hissed at me. Confused, I put the bar closer to its muzzle.
"Eat, cat! I'm trying to help you."
The cat crouched low and unsheathed its claws. Before I could react, its paw darted forward and raked its claws across my hand. I yelped in pain, dropping the bar. Blood was welling up from the cut, which was long but shallow. I glared at the cat, who hissed again. Furious, I picked up a rock by my foot and hurled it at the creature. The rock hit the cat on the head and crumbled into pieces. I took a step back, shocked. Fear suddenly coiled in my stomach as I recognized the irregularity of the situation. The cat hissed again, and advanced. And then it started to… change. It expanded rapidly, muscular limbs replacing the scrawny legs. The fur along its back thickened and turned a metallic gold that glinted in the sun. Around its head grew a mane, and its eyes were now black coals in the center of its face. When it hissed again, it came out not as a hiss, but as an earth-shaking roar. My eyes stretched wide, and, heart thudding like a hammer, I grabbed my bag and ran from the massive lion that had appeared.