From The Ashes We Rise

Chp 30: Roaring in the Woods

The roars that happened every now and then seemed to get more frequent each night. Where was that roaring coming from? And why did it sound like it was getting closer?

My room overlooked the forested area near the SLE, according to the map. The sound must've come from either there or the houses nearby.

When the roaring got louder, I noticed that it sounded guttural and raspy. I wasn't even sure how loud a lion's roar could get, but it was probably not supposed to be this loud. Whatever it was, it sounded like it was in anguish or something. I kept asking everyone at the orphanage about it, but all they told me was that it was something more innocuous. I already know Singapore has no lions except in the zoo, so this was just getting weirder and weirder.

Enough was enough. I was gonna get to the bottom of this... soon. I had to sneak out of the building to find out the source of the roaring. And it involved the use of my powers. I just hoped nobody would see using them.

Over the past few nights, I shifted into a lizard and spied on everyone and took note of their nightly activities. It may look like I was stalking but I just wanted to make sure that nobody knew I was missed. I didn't want people butting into my business.

I made my move on Saturday night, so that I didn't get questioned for being late for school. I opened my bedroom window and peered out. My room was on the second floor so it wasn't a long way down. I opened the window more and more such that my entire body could pass through.

I closed my room door and locked it. That way, nobody could barge in on me. I took a few pillows and hid them under the blanket to make it look I was in bed just in case.

Facing at the window again, I shivered. The chilly night winds entered the room, piercing my skin like knives as it blew against my face. Taking a deep breath, I made a running charge towards the window and jumped through, barely hitting the top. I shifted mid-air into a bat and flew towards the forest.

I became human again at the edge of the forest. I could hear the roars again. It was much softer but I could still hear it. I decided to step into the dense greenery, unaware of what danger I've put myself into.

I walked cautiously in the forest. I had to tread carefully in case someone else was nearby; this place was a prohibited area. If I had to, I'd use my powers to hide.

I stopped when another roar ripped through the air. It sounded nearer this time. I decided to walk amongst the trees so I couldn't be seen easily.

Dried leaves cracked as I stepped on them, which made it difficult for me to be stealthy. However, I noticed that on some parts where the dirt was exposed, there were signs of paw prints. I uncovered one of them and examined its size. They were too large to be a normal cat's. There was another paw print just in front of it and it eerily resembled a human hand mixed with a lion paw. Whatever's lurking there was not a normal lion and I had to keep an eye out.

After sneaking about for some time, I came across a clearing. There were little to no leaves and the trees weren't as abundant here as they were before.

Another roar, followed by a bit of hissing and growling. It sounded threateningly close. I hid behind a tree and peered out from behind it. Some rustling noises could be heard before I was greeted with a peculiar sight.

What I spotted was in fact not a lion, but a panther, bigger than the usual ones, wandering around. It was male and appeared to have dark fur all over his body. His tail was thin, but fluffed out near the end. He was clothed, wearing a black tank top with a pair of shorts, which made it even weirder, and extremely hard for me to see him. On his head down to just below his ears was a wavy mane of dark brown, almost close to black. The blackish fur also blended with his dark fur at his mane as well. He wasn't fluffy, mostly because he's pretty much a big cat. As I watched him even more, I saw him stand up on his hind legs and deliver yet another roar. At that moment, I realised that what I was seeing was a... were-panther? I've heard of werewolves my whole life, but not this. Maybe they're just rare in this world.