``Mike, wake up! You'll be late for school!'' Mom's voice pierces through my dreamless slumber.
My eyes open with a start. Ughhh, why am I so tired. I couldn't bring myself to get up. I hate mornings. Why must they be so early.
Taking a deep breath, I tried my old trick of counting from twenty to give myself a time limit on getting up. I got to three before I finally leaped out of bed and onto my feet. Without thinking about it, I landed on all fours, leaving me confused. ``What the hell, man, why did I land on all fours? I'm not a cat...'' And then the dream came back to me hard, making me take a deep breath, and I looked at my hands in confusion, almost expecting there to be paws.
I ran downstairs and waved to Mom. ``I know, I know... I'm late.''
She sighed in exasperation. ``Why are you always so late? What do you do, read all night?'' she asked before handing me a small paper bag. ``At least take your lunch. I threw in a granola bar so you'd have something to eat on the way to school.''
Sighing, I took the bag. ``Thanks, Mom, I had trouble sleeping last night. I had a... rough dream.'' Though I wouldn't call it a nightmare, just... weird, I think to myself as I feel the familiar tingling in my hand and hide it. Not now, please.
Normally, running uphill would leave me a little winded, especially in the snow, but today I felt different, stronger and more powerful. I leaned forward as I ran, almost like I wanted to run on all fours, and had to stop myself. It just felt natural to move that way when going fast. Like my body was built to be on all fours, making a sudden flash of running through the jungle rush the dream back into my head.
Is this real or my imagination? Shape shifting wasn't possible, was it? I would have said it wasn't a few days ago, but now... the way my body felt, like my arms and legs were in the wrong places and too long. What is happening to me? I'm a boy, not some big cat.
I soon reached my bus stop, feeling anxious at the sight of the crowd of other students waiting. Without warning, I felt a sudden annoyance at their presence, their smells and noise grating against me. I wanted to get off, but I had school, and feeling jaguar is probably rarely a good excuse.
As the memories resurfaced, so did the way my body reacted. Gahhh, it's way too noisy and smelly, what's wrong with me, I think as my nose wrinkles. I thought about skipping school or pretending I was sick. What if I did turn while at school?
Come on, this is just stupid and from a lack of sleep, I will feel better soon. As the bus pulled up, I nodded to the driver and dropped the money into the receptacle before finding an empty seat behind him.
The bus was full of noises as other kids were heading to school, talking about their plans for winter break the next week, some girls giggling about something I couldn't hear. During the trip, I tried to focus on the science test and managed for a bit, but the irritation built until I gave up. Why am I so irritable? Normally this wouldn't bother me so much, heck, I might have joined in. Instead, I'm suppressing a growl.
What is that? I think as a strong, meaty smell hits my nose. My mouth watered as the smell got to me. It smelled like a hamburger as best as I could tell. Ughh, why would someone ruin perfectly fine meat and smear ketchup on it?
Once again, my body desired to shift, my lips pulling back slightly as my ears twitched. I was able to control it, though it took effort. I wasn't sure if the shift would fail like it had last night, but I somehow doubted the driver would appreciate a surprise jaguar passenger. Thankfully, the school was ahead, though I wasn't sure how thankful I'd feel once I got there. Please let me calm down.
Upon arriving at school, I looked around for my friends. I didn't want to speak with them for fear they might know something was wrong, especially Charlie. Thankfully, I didn't have classes with any of them except for Charlie in biology. I did see Charlie, and he spotted me, but I rushed past him, fighting the urge to growl, pretending I didn't see him as I went to class.
Fortunately, the need to shift abated for the moment as my mind and body started to calm. I was torn between continuing on to class or leaving, but I was already there, and the feelings were quieting. Maybe, just maybe, I could get through the day without incident. Probably just overreacting.
Once I was in math, I finally handed in my finished homework. Then I focused on the lesson, and I couldn't even begin to think about the dreams I'd been having.
Math ended, and I headed to the test in science. I saw Charlie in his seat and gave him a nod. He gave me a concerned look but focused on the test.
The real problem began halfway through. I had forgotten one crucial fact about the science class: it was right next to the home ec class, and I could smell the food. My nose wrinkled up, and my ears perked again. The smell hit me, even cooked, I could imagine sinking my teeth into prey just to reach the meat. I had to keep swallowing as I was salivating so much; they were making something with ground beef. And I was hungry. I had forgotten all about the granola bar on the bus ride.
I tried to fight the urge to find the meat as my jaw ached from trying to keep it shut, the pressure to shift pushing at me. My skin was crawling, and I couldn't think straight. Great... I feel like I could literally eat a cow, and now every noise is getting to me, I think as every chair movement and pencil noise sounded like knives through my ears. I start to beg to myself, please not here, not now, it's just your imagination.
For a moment, all I could focus on were the smells of the meat; they felt almost physical, like I could see them being cooked. God, I'm hungry and it smells so good, maybe I should chase it down, I think before I can catch myself.
Mr. Rigby, my teacher, looked in my direction and saved me without realizing it. ``Mike, are you okay? You look pale.''
I shook my head as I didn't trust myself to speak. I needed to get outside before something happened. He gave me a concerned look and handed me a slip. ``Go see the nurse and redo the test next time.''
I quickly grabbed my things and ran out the door. As I left, I saw Charlie start to stand like he wanted to follow me, unsure if he should, but I was in too much of a hurry to think about it. Come on, come on, before I do something stupid, like jump on a counter growling like a jaguar. I turned the corner away from the nurse's office and bolted through the back doors of the school. Don't let there be a tail!!! I think as I could practically feel one, with how close I felt to turning into a jaguar like in the dream.
As I slammed the door open, a wave of cold hit me, making me recoil from how harsh something in me felt it was. But after a few seconds, it felt normal. Out in the fresh air, taking a deep breath, I felt so much better. The silence outside compared to the noise inside helped clear my head. Man... I can think for a second. The cold also helped cool the raging energy within me a little.
The jaguar feelings were still just below the surface, but now not so urgent. Man, I hope I don?t have to run out of school every time I have a panic... well, jaguar attack. Thinking I should get away from the school, I remember there was an old trail behind the school that I used to take when I missed the bus, so I headed that way. Thankfully, being away from the smell calmed me down.
Now I was exhausted. The lack of sleep and all the tension finally caught up to me. It felt like I had run a marathon, every muscle in my body sore. I didn't think I could make it home, and worse, didn't think I should go home. After all, what would happen if I did change? I might hurt someone.
I felt bad running out on Charlie and leaving without permission, but I needed to go somewhere safe. One place came to mind, the old abandoned tree fort I'd found one day while exploring on my way home. I spotted the trail heading toward it. It was mostly covered and hidden unless you knew where to look.
As I neared, I caught sight of something out of the corner of my eye that seemed to be following me. When I turned to look, there was nothing there. Great, am I imagining things on top of losing my sanity? Or is that just part of going nuts.
I spotted something on the ground. A squirrel was eating something at the edge of the trail that made me smile for a moment. I watched as its nose twitched and its ears perked, listening for any danger. That was until my lips curled slightly, and I found myself licking them without thinking. I went from watching it with interest to suddenly staring at it like a steak. I had the urge to chase the squirrel and catch it with my paws.
Doing so would be hard without said paws, but it didn't even cross my mind as I crouched down on all fours and started creeping toward it. My breath came out as quietly as I could make it in the cold air as I tried to place each step softly against the snow.
I somehow managed to avoid detection until I was a few feet from it. Then, suddenly, it called out in a squeaky voice, ``Don't eat me!'' I jumped backward in confusion, wondering when I had started hearing animals speak. What the hell, man, you can talk??? My heart was racing, my mind spinning as I looked around in panic for the source.
That didn't last long, as I heard laughter fading away from me. I recognized the voice, as squeaky as it was, from the previous night. There was something definitely following me. I looked around and tried to find the source, but there were no tracks, nothing in the trees, and nothing hiding behind anything I could see. If I wasn't so tired, I probably would have tried to follow it.
Continuing down the trail, I could finally see the fort in the distance. It was a decent-sized one. It seemed almost haunted from a distance, but I knew it should be a safe place to lie low. As old as it appeared, it still looked fairly sturdy and would hold me long enough to get some sleep. I climbed up the wooden boards that served as its ladder. I finally let myself relax. This should be safe, I hope.
It wasn't too bad, if a bit cold. It smelled musty but also of sap and bark from the tree it was built in. A sleeping bag was still there, though it had small holes and looked like it had been left for years, along with a few comics. Taking a deep breath, I crouched back on all fours and tried to finish what I started the night before. I was still tired, but now I was away from others, and I wanted to try one last time. Least here if I shift, hopefully I'm safe from hurting people.
Soon, I felt the familiar sensations of rubbery skin and rising energy building inside me. My chin and nose strained against my skin as if they were trying to push out from my face into a muzzle. My breathing grew heavier as I strained to push. The energy built up once again, and I felt my hands tingling, wanting to stretch. I felt like if I could just push a little harder, I would become a jaguar, but it wasn't working. As before, after a short time the energy and sensations faded, leaving me even more tired. It felt like there was just one last thing I was missing. COME ON... what is going on, one second I feel like I could turn into a jaguar, next it feels like I'm an idiot.
Giving a small yawn and feeling tired, I just give up. Maybe in the morning I will feel more sane. Still wearing my clothes, I get into the sleeping bag and lie down, tired. Almost as soon as my head hit the fabric, I started to fall asleep.
