CHAPTER 26

I had always wondered what the point of high school was, what with all of the incompetent teachers and the cold-hearted students. My life wasn't that simple either. My parents always left on vacations from the moment I had grown old enough to make myself a bowl of cereal and to "never let a stranger in". I was almost always left by myself. At least I practically owned the medium sized two story building. Anyways, I said that school was getting increasingly more and more messed up with each passing day.

My main activity at school was to just imagine things to get through it, and most of the time, that tactic worked. But at some times, I had to face reality to keep myself alive. Enter my life, full of dullness and survival. It was the third week in my freshman year when my life had begun to unravel.

Lunch had to be the worst part of the day for me. The first time I had entered the overcrowded jam-packed hall, I knew that I couldn't just wander the tables looking for no one in particular. I would definitely be noticed and singled out as a target for the older and tougher low-lives around here. So I just went to the library from that first day onwards. Unfortunately, I still had to play the victim. No matter how hard people would try, they always played their assigned roles anyways, whether they liked it or not.

It first started while I was opening my locker. A kid the size of a barreling train slammed into me, plastering me into the metal. I grunted and crumpled to the floor, very aware that there were people watching me all the way down the long hall. The beefy kid turned to me.

"What was that for? I was just minding my own business and then you had to be in my way."

My face turned red hot with anger as the nearby people laughed. I noticed that they were all large and strong just like the kid who smashed me. Oh no. No. NO... They were his friends, and now I was a target to all of them. If this year was going to be anything like last year, then I would be ready to permanently ditch school. The burly guys walked away. Thank goodness for the security cameras mounted in the halls. They had to stage their attack on me as an accident, so they couldn't exactly beat me up the way they really wanted to.

Why is it always me? Other than the fact that I am a loner, what have I ever done to deserve this? I thought.

The bell was about to ring, so I quickly grabbed what I needed from my locker. I looked at my reflection from the phone that I had just pulled from my pocket. A boy with dark eyes and dark smooth hair looked back. I noticed a small bruise on my chin where I had collided with the locker. Eh. Nothing too major. I had gotten bigger injuries in the past. I walked to Earth Science to endure another hour of chaos before I went home.

I quickly rushed to my lone seat on the left side of the classroom before I was marked tardy. Luckily, I wasn't. Mr. Borin took roll, then stood in front of the room waiting for quiet.

"All right. We have several things due today, so please pay close attention. I am going to put on a video, and all you have to do is just take some notes. This will be your study guide to help prepare you for the upcoming test next week."

There was a loud moan from the class. I rolled my eyes. This was no big deal.

"Maybe you would do better on the test if you paid close attention, so please refrain from talking too much. Got it?"

We nodded. The teacher, satisfied that he gave us enough instruction (which probably wasn't), dimmed the lights and fired up the overhead projector.

The last class of the day was over; I was tired of the endless mayhem that was Mr. Borin's classroom. Clash Royale was a huge thing those days, and he was on it while we watched videos of whale biology-completely unsupervised. Nightmares were real, people. I walked the mile back to the lonely house I called "home". I clumsily put my backpack and instrument down to get the key underneath the mat. Yep, I also used that classic trick. A minute later, I was collapsed onto my bed. I always thought that it was strange that I always enjoyed sleeping during the day, and wrote essays at two in the morning. It was only five in the afternoon when I fell asleep, while reading an interesting book about discovering truth.

I opened my eyes. Wherever I was, it was really cold and dark. I could just barely see the outline of clean-cut rocks jutting out of the ground in neat rows.

Some dream, I thought. Unfortunately, the idea that none of this was real died quickly. I could feel the night air on my face. I could think rationally. Nah, this was no dream. Panic began to well up in my stomach, which rose to my throat.

"AAHHH!"

Nothing made sense to me at all. Where was my bedroom? After screaming a little bit more, I finally decided to have a look around. The moon came out, which conveniently gave me enough light to inspect the stones. Before I could take another step, something else happened. Alongside the moon, there was a faint bluish glow coming from somewhere. For some reason, I couldn't find where it was coming from. I finally lifted my hands in frustration. For the second time that night, I screamed my lungs out. My hands...weren't hands anymore. They were paws. I had turned into some kind of animal. A fox maybe? Upon further inspection I realized that I was giving off the glow, from the rings on my legs and...I looked up...ears. This was getting even weirder for me, so I just collapsed back into the soft grass.

"I don't want to deal with this!" I shouted to the sky. Oh boy. On top of everything else, I could talk like a normal person.

BUT YOU HAVE TO.

I shot from the floor like it had just turned into lava. Who was that?

"H-hello? Who's there?"

The voice returned as an echoing voice in my head.

DON'T YOU WORRY ABOUT THAT. THE COUNCIL AGREED TO PICK YOU. DON'T YOU FEEL LUCKY? OUT OF THE HUNDREDS OF HUMANS WE HAVE NOMINATED, WE CHOSE YOU. JUST REMEMBER, THERE WILL EVENTUALLY BE A WAY FOR YOU TO GET BACK HOME. SOMEONE WILL FIND YOU WITHIN THE HOUR. GO WITH THEM-IF YOU WANT TO GO BACK.

"But what if I don't want to?" I called out with less fear in my voice.

THEN DON'T GO. JUST SIT HERE AND FAIL US ALL.

The voice didn't come back after that. I was normally able to show no emotion when in pain or excited, but this was so messed up that I just had to cry. A few minutes later, I recovered enough to finally inspect the stones. They had names carved into them with the given birth and death dates. Wow. Whatever or whoever brought me to this place will pay for sending me directly to a cemetery. Now I had a reason to leave as soon as possible. I couldn't run just yet; normally I had only two legs. I began my descent on what looked to be a large mountain.

A few minutes later, I could see a path. My vision was surprisingly good, even with the fog and other factors someone could find during Halloween. Then, my ears picked up on something. Sobbing. My heart jumped to my throat, and an internal war began in my head. Should I investigate? The possibilities were endless. I felt a pull towards the cry, until I was only feet from the...whatever it was. I crept closer.

It was a boy, probably around twelve years of age, and he was...digging.

My mind went blank with horror. Why was I intruding? WHY?

The boy turned his head and looked directly into my eyes. Moments past. I couldn't tell what was going through his head, but I could bet that it was getting confusing for him. I stepped forwards to show that I wasn't threatened.

He wiped his eyes on his shirt sleeve then held out his hand.

"Hello there."

Wherever I was, It must've been normal for creatures like me to speak.

"Are you alright?" I asked.

"My name is Brendan," the boy said, as if he couldn't hear me.

"Hello?" I said a little louder.

Brendan looked concerned.

"Are you alright?"

"I could ask the same about you," I said, a little more quietly.

"I'm sorry. You caught me at a wrong moment," Brendan said.

"Yeah, I'll leave..." I slowly backed off.

"No!" He stood up quickly. "You're a shiny. In other words, you're mine."

I figured that something bad was about to happen. I turned my tail to him, and-

The strangest thing happened. I was engulfed in a bright light, and my consciousness left.

This was going to be the first prologue and chapter of my prequel (of this story, of course), but then I decided to cancel it. I was lazy again, I guess. There was a good reason for Brendan to be on mount Pyre those few years ago... Also, I am aware this this must be sounding like Pokemon Mystery Dungeon - ya know, because of the "human turned into pokemon" thing. Rate and review.

-PatrioticSwellow