After Ronald and my dad woke up we all went outside. I thought maybe we were going to go eat somewhere, but instead my dad lead us towards the woods that were conveniently located directly behind the hotel we were staying at. I wonder if that could have been one of the reasons we got a room here. After I thought about it, I realized it was probably the main reason.
After we had walked through the woods for a few minutes in silence - me tripping over almost every fallen branch - we arrived in a large clearing. It was surrounded by trees that had brambles and various other bushes closing the gaps between the tree trunks. I scanned the edges of the clearing and found no other opening other than the one we had just come through.
No one would disturb us here.
Teresa walked into the middle of the clearing with her twins closely trailing her, she crouched down low to the ground with her chest almost touching the ground, then she started to shake and in a heartbeat she was gone. In her place was a sandy colored wolf. I stared in awe, would I ever be able to change so easily? I’m not even sure if I will be able to change the first time.
But today I will try.
And I hope I don’t fail.
Everyone else had been training for half an hour before my dad finally put down his foot and said I had to try. Even if I didn’t try to change, I had to learn to defend myself. So he pulled me out of the shade of the trees and stopped in the middle of the clearing.
Everyone was watching me.
And I had no idea what I had to do. I looked around and saw Ronald walking towards me - my dad was no where in sight. “Laviette. Are you ready?”
I swallowed, “For what?” I hated how my voice shook, but there was nothing I could do about that. My entire body was shaking even though I hadn’t done - or seen - anything yet. Then I realized it wasn’t because I was scared. Ronald looked me in the eye and smiled.
“Are you ready for the change?”
“Um...no,” A spasm shook me and I yelped, “But I guess I have to be, huh?”
“Yea.” Then he sat down about three feet from me and started to explain what was happening, but I didn’t hear him. Another spasm had taken over me and I was panting, I collapsed down on all fours and prayed the pain would go away. My spine felt as if it was being ripped out of me while the rest of my body felt as if it was on fire.
Then the spasm receded and I looked up at Ronald. He offered me a smile and shook his head. “Your body has been waiting for this opportunity for months. Even though you probably didn’t know it was being held at bay, your body knew to hold the change back until you were safely secluded.”
“How could my body know something I didn’t know?”
But he just shook his head and laughed. “You’d be surprised, your body is going to prove to you over the next few months just how much more it knows that you’re going to not understand.”
“An example?”
“It knows how to be a wolf.”
I nodded, “And I only know how to be a human. Well I’m glad my body can help m-” I screamed and collapsed on the ground. If I had thought I had been in pain
before, then what I now experienced was another feeling all together. As I lay, writhing in pain, black stars started to float around my vision. The stars grew and grew until they became so monstrous that they clouded every last speck of light.
~Alyssa Hellenbrand~
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