DPV
The moon was up and the house was quiet when I knew. There was no more hiding this. The itchiness had progressed to pinpricks which now had progressed to full force pain that moved in waves across my arms and legs. My muscles were bunching and contorting and moving and they weren't stopping anytime soon. I felt my body preparing. It would begin soon.
I looked up to the clock. It was two-thirteen. Shit. Simon would be up soon. Would he leave without seeing me here? I had to hope so.
I took the alarm clock off of the desk and placed it gently on Simon's pillow, praying he wouldn't wake up. His breathe didn't even respond to the new addition to his bed. With this here, Simon would wake up on time no matter how tired he was. Besides, he would know who had moved the clock. Hopefully, that would put him at ease.
Maybe I should write a note. Something to make sure he leaves without worry. But what would I say?
A sudden muscle spasm caught me full force in the legs, jerking my body to the ground. I fell as quietly as possible and bit back the moan of pain. I had to get out, now. The note wasn't an option.
I made my way out of the room, moving as quietly as I could. The entire house was dark, but I could easily see. Werewolf enhancements made a lot of sense in this situation. I cautiously went down the stairs, praying a muscle-spasm wouldn't have me fall down them.
When I reached the bottom unscathed, I had to stop and try and calm down. I was panicking about being caught, falling down stairs, having Simon refuse to leave without me, and not to mention having anyone find me mid-change.
I took in a breathe. I had to calm down or I was going to change right here. I could feel my pulse racing through my veins, causing the body tremors to quicken, the pain waves to increase. My breath came fast when I didn't check it and it felt like my blood was boiling under my skin.
My stomach turned and convulsed, followed by an aftershock of pain that spread through my torso. Shit. I had to get out.
I took one deep breath in and one deep breath out. Calm the fuck down! Not that mentally screaming at myself would help, but I had to do something. I took another breath in, then released, slowing the process this time. My heart stopped jumping quite so much. The pain, the convulsing, the everything bad about the change was still there, but each deep breath I took took an edge off of it. Soon, I felt able to move without moaning in pain or falling.
I slowly walked to the door, hand on the wall to steady myself in case the convulsions returned to bring me to my knees. I made it to the door with out any incidents, though my arm felt as if it was separating muscle from bone. I almost opened the door, pain making me forget about the alarm, when I saw the little red light blinking next to the door. The light was on the alarm and it blinked so you knew it was up and armed.
I opened the cover for the numbers and carefully pressed the numbers, moving slowly. I did not want to see if this particular model let you try the code a few times before the alarm went off. After thirty seconds, I punched in the last number and hit enter. The light blinked fast three times, then switched to green. A tiny beep sounded in the air, too quiet for me to worry about anyone hearing.
I grabbed the handle and my hand convulsed. I lifted my hand, making sure I didn't accidentally crush the knob. When the convulsions settled, I grabbed the door and twisted, pulling it open quietly. I barely registered the dull groan of the un-greased hinges as I felt the night air softly blow on my face.
The cold night air slid across my face and my too-hot skin felt instantly soothed. Not all the way better, but such relief after such an awful night was so starkly contrasting that it felt as if it was all the way better. As I breathed in the air, my mind seemed to clear from all the dizziness and pain. For a second, my body stopped it's revolt. I stood in the doorway and just felt the air, the night, the grass and trees and everything.
Then my body started to convulse again, slightly less vigorously than it had before. I sighed. Nothing was a cure all.
I stepped on to the step and closed the door behind me, moving it slowly and quietly. What time was it? How long did all of that take? Simon would be up soon and I had to hope he wouldn't look for me long.
I stared out into the night. Where should I go? Should I leave the yard? Where the hell would I go and be sure no one's dog would find me mid-change? Was there a park around here? I wasn't sure.
A warehouse? Abandoned and fairly secluded. It-
My legs dropped, muscles expanding fast and then shrinking. I landed hard on the grass. Shit. My stomach burbled uneasily. I could feel organs and muscles in my stomach starting to work into over-drive. All of me was now shifting around, trying to change. My body screamed in pain. The knowledge that I was too close to the house kept me from crying out in shock, but it couldn't block my throat from moaning, lips shut tight. Oh, god.
My body was on fire as I tried to crawl towards the shed on the far side of the lawn. I had to get further away. This would be loud. And messy, if my rolling stomach and my father's stories were telling the truth. I had to hide it from the nurses the best I could. I had to get behind that shed before the change. I crawled, but my limbs were disobeying me. They would expand while I was trying to move them or they would simply give out. The muscles moved under my skin, trying to morph my human limbs into canine ones. My body screamed at me in the process, burning and the feeling of ripping ensuing.
As I neared the shed, I tried to remember what Dad had said. This would be exhausting. Try to pick somewhere I would rest for awhile. I would lose my lunch. Don't fight it. It would hurt worse than anything I had ever felt, especially when I changed the first time all the way. He had told me to remember that this was natural for me, that the pain would pass and I would be fine. I had to be tough. That my clothes would rip with the muscles contracting and expanding, so I shouldn't wear anything important to me.
Well, I didn't wear jewelry and my shirt wasn't a favorite. It could be thrown out. I really didn't want to get anymore undressed than my boxers and a t-shirt, even being just in the yard. Then I looked down. My shoes. Those had to go. The nurses would notice if my only pair of sneakers were missing, or shredded.
A sudden shudder made me stop where I was right in front of the shed. My bones shifted, a new unpleasantness to add to the mixture. It was a sharper pain than the muscles. My bones were shifting apart and together, pulling muscles and slamming against other bones. As the first wave of motion passed, I grabbed the shoe in my hand and pulled it off as I crawled.
I had to get back there, now. I would be past thinking very soon. If that last bout with pain said anything, my mind would be unable to care about anything. I reached the spot behind the shed and stopped, muscles screaming. I pulled off the other shoe and then my socks, throwing them behind me. I'll worry about them later. I faced the fence, on all fours, feeling my muscles contort under my skin.
I could feel sweat dripping down my skin and it slid into my eyes, burning slightly. I hardly noticed because the bones started to moved and compress again. This time, the muscles in my stomach joined in, the pain too much for my control. A moan escaped me, the pain taking form in sound.
My organs felt as if they were being squished and thrown around. On top off all the pain, I could feel nausea begin to work its way in with the rest of the discomfort I was feeling. I could feel myself getting ready to puke, that knowledge that I hated every time I ate something bad that my stomach rejected. My esophagus burned and my stomach felt like a rock, solid and unwelcome in my stomach. The rest of my organs continued to twist around, moving and growing and shrinking within me. If I hadn't gone to the bathroom not to long before I had decided to come outside, I would be afraid of losing more than just my lunch.
Suddenly, a lurch moved it's way up my torso, shooting my back up and then forward as my stomach rejected everything inside of it. Puke shot from my mouth to the grass in front of me, spewing from my lips. I shuddered as it came, one wave followed by another. After the two, my body stopped rejecting it. The nausea remained for a few seconds, then began to die down. The rest of my body took that as a sign to go back to agonizing pain. The muscles shook and my back stretched as my shoulders tried to twist forward. Wolves were built nothing like humans. This was not something I should be able to do.
There was a pause, then another twist of muscles in my shoulders and hips. Everything moved and shifted and stretched and contracted and the pain was awful. A moan shuddered through me again, though some over-ride part of my brain kept it low and quiet.
My body started to gag and retch. No nausea yet, but the dry heaves came anyways. I coughed and gagged, trying to be quiet while still allowing my body to do what it needed to.
"Derek?" A quiet voice. I stiffened. It came from beside the shed. Too close. Close enough to see. "It's Chloe."
