Gavin's Story PART 3 Gavin's POV
It had been a week since the sickness in my stomach started. It was a throbbing pain, that never seemed to go away. If I sat up, I'd get sick. If I laid on my back, the pain in my stomach would spread to my chest, then to my lower back. Dried blood stained the tips of my fingers from clawing at the stone floor. I hadn't eaten anything since Chester had given me that apple. Before Remus told me that it had been a week, I had lost track of time. I didn't seem to notice when the sun went down and the moon was up.
I didn't notice when Chester came down the stairs and over to my cage. I was curled into a ball with my eyes shut tight. I began to shake and whimper from the pain that went from my toes to my head. It felt like my head was on fire and was blowing up into a huge balloon, ready to burst...
"Gavin?" Chester whispered, his hand sticking through the cage. I couldn't answer him. For some reason, I couldn't think of the words to say or how to say them. I moaned as my body began to shake.
"Gavin?" He said again, his voice wavering.
"Go get R-Remus." I managed to say finally. I tasted blood as I bit down hard on my lower lip.
"Remus? W-Why?"
"P-please, Chester." I cried to him. I wrapped my arms around my body and curled into a tighter ball.
"Ok!" Chester said as he stood up and ran up the stairs. He didn't shut the door as he ran to the room across the hall. With my sensitive hearing that I now acquired, I could hear him as he spoke to Remus.
"Remus!" Chester yelled.
"Chester, what's wrong?" An older voiced man asked. "It's Gavin. Something's wrong." "Oh." There was a long pause. "Chester, will you come with me? I might need your help." Remus replied as he made his way down the stairs. Chester's steps clomped on the wooden boards as he came down.
"Why are you so calm? Look at him!" Chester said to Remus.
"Because you're going into hysterics. You have to be calm for him. If he senses that you're losing it, he will too." Remus whispered, but I could hear him like he was talking out loud. "Take a few breaths, then come over to me when your ready."
My body convulsed as I felt the cage shake when Remus opened the door. Everything seemed super sensitive to me. Remus came over and placed the backside of his palm on my sweaty forehead. I moved away slightly when his cold hand touched my face. Remus pulled me onto his lap as he held his ear close to my back as I breathed. Tears began to weld in my eyes as he checked my sore hands. I moaned silently when I heard Chester step into the cage as well.
"What are you going to do with him?" Chester asked, looking down at me. He had lit a couple candles around the room. Remus laid me on my stomach while my hands dangled from his shoulders. He began to slowly rub my spine from top to bottom. It felt good in a way, but once he moved on to the lower part of my spine, the top started to burn again. I could feel my fingers twitch as the circulation was somewhat cut off.
"Nothing. Get that rag there, ring it in the water and bring it here." Chester walked swiftly out of the cage and over to a barrel that had a rag hanging off the side. He dipped it in the water and squeezed some of it out. He came back and handed it to Remus who folded it and placed it on my head. It felt good to have cool relief for my head. I wished I could have it all over my body.
"He's burning up." Remus took the cloth off and flipped it over. "Chester, he's sick. And there's not much we can do."
"We can! Just keep using the cloth." Chester cried, balling his hands into fists.
"You don't understand. You're a kid yourself. But you MUST understand there is nothing we can do. His temperature already has the cloth hot. All we can hope for is that he can work this out himself."
I cried out in pain as heat shot up my back. I gripped onto his shirt almost wrapping my arms around his neck. "Then what's wrong with him? H-He looks like he's going to die." Chester said out loud. I could feel him pacing back and forth.
"Shhh…" Remus shushed him.
"A-Am I going to die?" I asked, my eyes wide open with fright. Anything would be better then this pain.
"No no, you're not dying." Remus paused as he glared at Chester. "This happens to every boy like you."
"I'm sorry." Chester whispered.
"We have to go now Gavin. Yell for me if you need me." Remus laid my head down carefully. When he stood up, I grabbed for his pant leg. Tears rolled down my cheeks as I looked up at him.
"No please! D-Don't leave me." I stammered.
"It's ok, Gavin." He bent over and unhooked my hand from his grasp and walked away, pulling Chester by his arm. "Come now." They walked up the stairs, leaving me in the dark.
Like before, they didn't shut the door when they spoke.
"He's changing." Remus said in a raspy voice.
"What are you talking about? Changing into what?" Chester sounded utterly confused by the butler's statement.
"Oh come on Chester! He's a Lu Garou. What do you think?"
"So he's changing into a Werewolf?"
"That IS what Lu Garou means. Which is exactly why we can't do anything for him." Remus sighed.
"But he's a friend…"
"Listen to me. His body is shifting, and it's started. His insides are twisting around. So what do you propose we do?" Remus crossed his arms and shifted his weight to one foot.
"Nothing I guess…" Chester said in defeat.
"Exactly. I'm guessing it will start tonight. Your father wants all of us to watch. I don't think it's a good idea, but then again, I don't have a say."
"What if I change his mind?"
"Good luck with that. He thinks it will be a good experience to see how they change and view their weaknesses."
I couldn't take it any longer. My fingers spread out as I grabbed my throbbing head. I inhaled a deep breath and screamed.
"Remus! Chester! Help me!" I cried out. I ran my hands down my arms. I looked at them when I felt the pain. I had cuts all up the sides of my arms. I looked at my shaking hands and saw that they had become padded and wielded sharp claws on the tips of my fingers. Remus came down the stairs then and zipped into the cage. He held my hands down as I kicked and screamed, probably so I couldn't hurt myself even more.
"Get your father, Chester." Remus yelled up to him.
"Fine!" Chester yelled back down then was gone. I looked up at Remus and started to choke.
"R-Remus, I don't feel good. I don't want to stay down here."
"You have no choice. You must stay down here. It'll be over soon." Remus said as he rubbed my back. I felt dizzy as I looked off into the distance. I lurched forward and threw up. He had let go of my hands so I could braced myself. "Please…" I whispered to him as I looked up at his contorted face.
Just then, I felt my back wrench and twist. I cried out in pain as my spine moved. Upstairs, Chester burst into Travis's study.
"Has anyone ever told you to knock first?" Travis snapped as he threw down his book.
"Sorry, but Remus needs you to come. G-Gavin is-"
"Changing? Good." Travis smiled as he got up and walked toward the basement. "Go get your brothers. I want them to see this."
"But-"
"Do it! Now!" Travis yelled. He walked down the stairs and stood in front of the cage.
"Sir." Remus said as he got up to leave me. Travis watched me with a smirk on his face.
"It's happening fast." Remus said as he locked the door behind him and stood next to Travis.
"The sooner the better." By that time, Chester, Liham, and Dave walked down and stood their too. Liham's face looked mesmerized as he watched me and Dave's looked happy. Chester's was in pain.
"Yoah." Dave said as he watched me.
"He's changing?" Liham asked.
"Yes. It shouldn't be long now..." Remus replied.
I fell forward, my right cheek hitting the floor. My butt stuck in the air as I hid my face from them. I could feel my small pointy teeth grow into larger ones. I whimpered as my clawed feet scrapped the floor. I fell on my stomach and looked up at the crowd that came to watch me suffer. "Make it stop! I don't want to change! I want to be normal again, please, I'm sorry for what I did!" I cried to them, tears pouring out now.
"Begging doesn't work around here, kid. Neither does a beg for mercy. But you know about that all too well." Travis said, with his chin held high.
"What did I do? You said something happened to me! What was it?" I gasped. The muscles in my legs started to grow and lengthen.
"You didn't do a thing, you were born this way." Remus said.
"Scum like you deserve to suffer." Travis smirked. There was nothing I could do. I sat back up and pushed myself as far away from them as I could. I looked at my hands that had began to grow bigger and turn black, along with my feet. They began to turn furry and spread up my newly healed arm. The rest of my arms were white, along with my legs. My toes were rounded and padded. They were not my feet anymore.
"Can I go back upstairs? I don't want to see-" Chester began to say, but Travis interrupted him.
"You're staying right here like everyone else. So pay attention."
My chest started to heave as it expanded out and my back rounded. The shirt I had been wearing began to tear. It felt tight against my chest, which was now covered in fur, like the rest of my body. I fell on my side again and tried to claw my way to where they were. "P-p-please." I closed my eyes and opened them. "It hurts so bad." I could feel my ears shooting up and my face going out to a point. I could see my new nose at the end of my snout. I stretched out my chest and lifted my head in the air. My spine began to burn in my lower back as I curled it in. I felt it lengthen and then felt the fur rush to the end and grow thicker. I turned around to see my tail hanging out over my pants. It had a long black stripe down the middle which connected to a black curves of fur that rapped around my haunches. I glanced over to see if Chester was watching, and sure enough he was. I whimpered at him, hoping he could do something. But like Remus said, there was nothing they could do. I sat with my back against the wall and cried.
"It's almost done now…" Remus said quietly.
"Good." Travis said with a yawn.
When the sickness in my stomach stopped, I crawled over to where Chester stood. I wasn't used to my new feet, so I wobbled this way and that. When I got to the bars, I stuck my hand out. It didn't fit like it used to when I was…human. Like before, I tried to imagine something to say. "C-Chester" I managed. I was shocked by my voice. It was not the same, it sounded deeper, older, like Remus's when he was tired. I looked up at Chester, a frown on my face. He stood staring at me, his hand balled into a fist to cover his mouth. His eyes were big as he watched me. He reached his hand out an inch, but when Travis hissed at him, he drew it back. Tears were still coming, but I couldn't feel them on my cheeks. "I-I-I-It's st-ill m-m-me." I said before my voice disappeared completely and came out in a whimper. I had lost my tongue, and I wouldn't be getting it back. I drew my hand back into the cage and covered my face with them. I ran my claws down my face, pulling the loose skin with it. I began to pant when I stretched out my back and grabbed the bars.
"Here we go." Remus breathed as they all held their breath. My back began to ache and my muscled legs tingled. With my strong arms, I pulled myself onto my feet. They were wobbly at first, but I got used to them. It felt so good to stand on them, but I wasn't completely upright. My head hit the bars on top, keeping me in a crotched position. I growled in annoyance at the cage that kept me from standing. I whipped my head around as Travis began to laugh.
"You were right, Remus! It WAS the first thing he did!"
My back began to hurt as I slid down and sat in a crouch. I wanted, no, needed to stand and stretch out my new body, but I couldn't. I wanted to rip apart the bars for their inconvenience. After all that had happened, I could care less that I was in this form. All I wanted was to stand, and they couldn't give me that. I laid my ears on the back of my neck and sighed.
"Let's go, there's nothing to see here." Travis said, as he began to walk away. Liham and Dave who stood silently the whole time, laughed and followed him. Chester continued to watch me, even when Remus held onto him. As they walked away, he looked at me over his shoulder. I had curled up in the back of the cage and looked at him. My friend, who had been there for me for years, didn't say a thing to me. But when he looked, my face pulled back into a smile with my tongue slightly hanging out. My tail, which I had momentarily forgotten about, began to move back and forth behind me. I whipped my head around to watch it, then turned back sheepishly. I could see Chester mouth twitch a little before he walked off with Remus. I turned my head to the side and barked out to them.
"Bye Chester." I said, but he couldn't understand me. And he never would again.
