Chapter 7: Human No Longer
I opened my eyes. "Ohhhhh..." I groaned, feeling sick to my stomach. I was laying on the ground, face up, staring at canopy of trees. It was still dark. I stood up slowly.
"I feel like I've been hit by a train...." I said aloud. "Wha?" I was standing-wasn't I? Everything seemed taller....
I wondered over to a nearby pond in a clearing.
"Maybe some water on the face will clear my thinking." I mumbled to myself. I bent over to splash some water on my face....and froze. My reflection in the moonlit water-it wasn't me!
"Ah-ah-" I stuttered, backing away confused and afraid. 'Okay....I didn't see what I saw. I'll now go back and I'll be completely normal.' I hoped.
Slowly, I advanced back to the pond. Carefully, I peered into the water.
"AHHHHH!" I was completely disfigured.
I was only about four feet tall now, and looked like some kind of lizard. I was almost completely red, except for some white area on my belly and on the underside of my new tail. Looking at my shaking hands, I now had only three fingers, all clawed. My feet were T-rex-shaped, with three clawed toes. My new tail extended out behind me and sightly curled up. On the end of it was a burning flame, but it did not hurt me at all. Going to my face, I now had larger, blue-black eyes, on both sides of my head. My nose was gone, and I now had a muzzle, like a dog's, with two nostrils on the end of it and my mouth placed exactly like a dog's. To top it all off, I had a strange 'horn' extending slightly back off the top of my head.
I plopped down on the ground, petrified. 'Get a hold of yourself, Xaiver. You've got to figure out how to become human again....' I slowly reassured myself. Suddenly, I realized something was gone. My shivering problem no longer existed!
"Well, one thing good happened today." I snickered grimly.
I was back in my right mind, so, naturally, some new questions popped up. Who was that armored guy? Did he bring me here? Where is here? What happened to Angela, John, and Ro, assuming they had a similar fate?
Splashing my face with water, I found it hard to keep the water in my new hands. After refreshing myself, I looked around me. The forest I was in was dense, at least where I was. It was still night, too. I noticed a dirt trail just to my left, which went back into the woods. I decided that was as good a start as any, so I began trekking along it.
I heard the sounds of the local wildlife as I continued along the path. Finally I saw another clearing up ahead. 'Huh?' I stopped. Did I hear something coming from the clearing? I listened
carefully.
"Ha, we should just eat 'em right up, sir! He'd make a fine meal, though small!" a voice said.
"Yeah, who cares if he seems different, let's just fill our bellies!" another voice chimed in.
"SILENCE, IDIOTS!!" said a third voice. "He is different, and studying him might reveal something worthwhile!" This guy was obviously the leader.
I crept closer, keeping my distance. I saw three green, ogre-like creatures, each with a club, debating whether or not to eat, likely, the nearby creature which were tied up on a tree.
It looked like a dog, a little over two feet tall. He had mostly orange fur, with one V-shaped stripe on each of his front legs, and two straight stripes on each of his back legs. He had bushy, white fur on top of his head, his chest, and on his tail. He also had just plain white fur on his belly and around his wide mouth. His face contained two black eyes, a black nose, and two big ears extended from each side of his head.
I backed up so the ogres wouldn't see me. 'He's gonna die, or be tortured, or something....and he probably suffered the same fate as me.......I've gotta help, but can my new self rescue him?' There was only one way to find out. I charged out of the clearing.
I opened my eyes. "Ohhhhh..." I groaned, feeling sick to my stomach. I was laying on the ground, face up, staring at canopy of trees. It was still dark. I stood up slowly.
"I feel like I've been hit by a train...." I said aloud. "Wha?" I was standing-wasn't I? Everything seemed taller....
I wondered over to a nearby pond in a clearing.
"Maybe some water on the face will clear my thinking." I mumbled to myself. I bent over to splash some water on my face....and froze. My reflection in the moonlit water-it wasn't me!
"Ah-ah-" I stuttered, backing away confused and afraid. 'Okay....I didn't see what I saw. I'll now go back and I'll be completely normal.' I hoped.
Slowly, I advanced back to the pond. Carefully, I peered into the water.
"AHHHHH!" I was completely disfigured.
I was only about four feet tall now, and looked like some kind of lizard. I was almost completely red, except for some white area on my belly and on the underside of my new tail. Looking at my shaking hands, I now had only three fingers, all clawed. My feet were T-rex-shaped, with three clawed toes. My new tail extended out behind me and sightly curled up. On the end of it was a burning flame, but it did not hurt me at all. Going to my face, I now had larger, blue-black eyes, on both sides of my head. My nose was gone, and I now had a muzzle, like a dog's, with two nostrils on the end of it and my mouth placed exactly like a dog's. To top it all off, I had a strange 'horn' extending slightly back off the top of my head.
I plopped down on the ground, petrified. 'Get a hold of yourself, Xaiver. You've got to figure out how to become human again....' I slowly reassured myself. Suddenly, I realized something was gone. My shivering problem no longer existed!
"Well, one thing good happened today." I snickered grimly.
I was back in my right mind, so, naturally, some new questions popped up. Who was that armored guy? Did he bring me here? Where is here? What happened to Angela, John, and Ro, assuming they had a similar fate?
Splashing my face with water, I found it hard to keep the water in my new hands. After refreshing myself, I looked around me. The forest I was in was dense, at least where I was. It was still night, too. I noticed a dirt trail just to my left, which went back into the woods. I decided that was as good a start as any, so I began trekking along it.
I heard the sounds of the local wildlife as I continued along the path. Finally I saw another clearing up ahead. 'Huh?' I stopped. Did I hear something coming from the clearing? I listened
carefully.
"Ha, we should just eat 'em right up, sir! He'd make a fine meal, though small!" a voice said.
"Yeah, who cares if he seems different, let's just fill our bellies!" another voice chimed in.
"SILENCE, IDIOTS!!" said a third voice. "He is different, and studying him might reveal something worthwhile!" This guy was obviously the leader.
I crept closer, keeping my distance. I saw three green, ogre-like creatures, each with a club, debating whether or not to eat, likely, the nearby creature which were tied up on a tree.
It looked like a dog, a little over two feet tall. He had mostly orange fur, with one V-shaped stripe on each of his front legs, and two straight stripes on each of his back legs. He had bushy, white fur on top of his head, his chest, and on his tail. He also had just plain white fur on his belly and around his wide mouth. His face contained two black eyes, a black nose, and two big ears extended from each side of his head.
I backed up so the ogres wouldn't see me. 'He's gonna die, or be tortured, or something....and he probably suffered the same fate as me.......I've gotta help, but can my new self rescue him?' There was only one way to find out. I charged out of the clearing.