The Unexplained Transformation

𝐼'𝑑 𝑆𝑎𝑦 𝑌𝑜𝑢'𝑟𝑒 𝐹𝑖𝑛𝑒

I bolted upright, sweating and panting in a panic.

'It tastes better when it's scared" I was knocked to the ground after a hard hit to my side. "Get him" Pain searing though my chest as my skin was torn beneath large claws from the giant paw holding me down. The weight alone making it hard to breathe. I gasped for air between screaming for help. I tried to push the animal off me, to get out of the old, abandoned house but I couldn't move. I was going to die.

I quickly ran my hands over my shirt, expecting the pain to come back only to find I couldn't feel any. I pulled myself out of bed and walked over to the standing mirror where I lifted my shirt to examine what damage was there.
"I should be dead" I muttered quietly in disbelief as my reflection showed nothing out of the ordinary. "What the fuck" I mumbled.
"Luka! You're late!" Mums voice echoed down the hall
"I'm coming" I replied as I checked my chest over one last time before getting ready for school.
After leaving the house on my skateboard I couldn't help but think back to the terrible nightmare I'd had. The pain felt so real I could have sworn it was. Images of the claws ripping apart my flesh effortlessly, those piercing yellow and blue eyes of those... animals.
As I worked my way through the hallway to my locker I noticed quite a few people looking in my direction then muttering and mumbling to their friends. It felt like everyone was staring at me and talking about me.
As the paranoia kicked in I bumped into Ryan around the corner
"Sorry mate" I stuttered to him as I continued to look around at the numerous eyes watching me
"Hey man, you're back" he replied as he shook my hand.
"Back?"
"Yeah?" He questioned as he closed his locker and started towards class.
"Back? What do you mean I'm back? I was here yesterday.. wasn't I?" I wondered as I ran up to match his pace
"Oh? You don't remember? Apparently, well there are a ton of rumours about the new kid but, I heard you went out, down Rook's Lane, and fell through those broken ass, nasty boards and knocked yourself out cold"
Suddenly the flashbacks of the old house flooded to the front of my mind again and I couldn't help but rub my chest.
I opened my mouth to speak as we got to the classroom and took our seats but no words came out.
"Luka! My man!" Conor cheered as he patted a hard hit onto my back
"What happened to you? We waited for ages out there and you never showed" he continued as he pulled a chair between Ryan and I.
I ignored them as I recalled the 'dream' I thought I'd had.
"Wow, you must have hit that head pretty hard" Mick commented through a smirk.
"Leave the poor kid alone, he's had a rough couple of weeks" Mrs Shea said as she walked though the door. I'm sorry, couple of weeks?!
"Hey Ry, how long have I been out for?" I asked in a hush tone as everyone went quiet and took their seats.
"Oh, like, almost three weeks?" Ryan said simply as he pulled out his workbook.
"Three fucking weeks?!" I stammered, dropping my books
"Mr Stone, I ask you to please settle down so we can begin class" the teacher called. I quickly apologised and dropped into my seat next to Ryan. Three weeks? Three weeks?! I thought to myself in disbelief.
The rest of the day was spent wondering what the hell even happened. I was here yesterday I thought. It was all a dream, right?
School finished and I went home all in a blur where I sat outside where I watched the sun set from a low hanging branch in one of the nearby trees.
"Can't sleep?" A soft voice sounded through the trees. My eyes darted around looking for the owner of such a sweet sound
"Been a weird day" I said as I hopped down from the branch and turned to face her. She was gorgeous. She had long brown hair, curling it's way down over an oversized light grey shirt and high waisted, black, sports shorts.
"I didn't mean to sneak up on you like that" she giggled, brushing some hair behind her ear
"It's okay, I think the weird part is seeing someone like you out in the forest behind my house?" I joked
"Yeah, I guess that is a little weird. I like to run. I didn't think I'd run into anyone out here as no one has lived down this street in quite a few years"
"I don't mind. My dad might though, so don't let him see you" I laughed
"He doesn't own the forest. As long as I stay on this side I'm fine, right?" Her giggle was sweet while her assertiveness was kind of hot
"I'd say you're fine" I blurted without thinking
"Like, in an argument, about property, I mean" I continued as I felt my cheeks flush and looked at the ground where I noticed she wasn't wearing any shoes
"Not that you're not fine. You're gorgeous" I added as I watched her brows raise and wished I could just bury myself in the ground beneath me. Thank god the sun had set and it was pretty dark out and she couldn't see my face right now.
"Thank you" she laughed with a shy smile
"Oh, you're welcome" I grinned. Why are you so fucking lame? I groaned mentally
"So did you recently move here? Or are you just staying for a while?" She asked, clearly changing the subject
"My dad got a new job or something so we had to pack up and move"
"That's cool, I guess. Are you going to the local school or?" She trailed her fingers delicately along a tree branch before effortlessly lifting herself up onto it and sitting down gently
"Yeah, I was there for the first day back but I had an accident and wasn't back until today" I lied, trying to block the missing pieces
"Oh, really? I haven't been there yet. My dad wanted to homeschool me but it's not been going too well lately so I think I'll probably be at school tomorrow" she laughed
"That's awesome. Maybe I'll see you there?" I asked, trying to play it cool by leaning against the tree opposite her.
"Maybe" she alluded, slipping off the tree and walking over towards me.
"Well, what class are you in?" I asked, clearing my throat as she got closer
"Not a lot of your classes, actually" she swept her hair behind her ear again as she came to a stop a foot in front of me.
"How do you know what classes I'm in?"
"I picked up my timetable this morning. What? Did you think I was stalking you or something?" She laughed and I caught sight of the moon reflecting in her eyes showing a chocolate brown.
"I don't know, I'd like to think if I had a stalker they would be pretty hot" I teased
"So you'd fit the criteria" I added
"If I were to stalk someone, they would only be of the highest attractiveness" she flicked her hair over her shoulder before bursting out with a gorgeous laugh
"Ouch" I joked, holding my hand over my heart
"You'd be at the top of the list for stalking, mate"
"So you think I'm attractive?" I questioned
"You've no idea" she laughed again before turning on her heel and beginning to walk away
"Hey, I never got your name" I questioned, reaching for her hand.
She quickly pulled her arm away from me leaving a slight tingle before turning around to look at me
"Not yet. Not here. I'll see you tomorrow" she whispered with a smile before turning and running off into the dark trees.