The Transformation

Xavier’s introduction to wolves

Xavier traces the pawprint with his fingers, examining it intently. It is unlike anything he’s ever encountered in his years of serving the forest as a ranger. The prints resemble those of a wolf, but they are larger, deeper, and more rugged.

“Strange.’’ He mutters to himself. There haven’t been any sightings of another kind of canine or larger animal in general. There are some bears in this forest, but their prints are a world away from those of a wolf. There must be a new type of cautious wolf present. He will look into it.

He rises back to his full height, eyes on the trees to scout for any abnormalities. The wind blows through the forest, carrying the many songs from the birds to his ears.

A twig snaps behind him. Xavier spins around, readying himself for whatever is there.

Three large men are staring down at him, sneers and dirt decorate their faces. Xavier staggers back, but one of them grabs his arms, preventing him from escaping. His heart hammers in his chest, the beat as fast as that of a hummingbird.

One of them reaches in his pocket and retrieves a rag. Before Xavier can react, the rag is pressed to his face, covering his nose and mouth. He has seen enough movies to know what is on the rag, even though he cannot smell it. He refuses to breathe in, only slowly breathing out.

But the men are not on a tight schedule; they simply wait until Xavier has run out of air. His lungs are constricting, begging him to breathe, but Xavier holds on as long as possible.

Unfortunately, the human body needs oxygen. He breathes in, letting the gas run its course through his body. It makes him drowsy, and eventually, he passes out.

The humid hood is pulled off Xavier’s head, the bright lighting in the place waking him up. He has trouble getting anything to focus, his entire world is spinning around him. Ropes are digging in the flesh of his arms; the blood cut off from his fingers.

What happened?

He squints his eyes at the figures in front of him. There are five men, their upper bodies bare. Scars litter their chests, carving through patches of hair.

He recognizes the man that grabbed him when he tried to run, and all of his lost short-term memories come flooding back. These brutes captured him, they sedated him and took him here.

He looks around, taking note of his surroundings. He is in a small shed with barred windows. The smell of stale bread drifts into his nose, together with the metallic scent of blood.

One of the men comes up to his face, his stinking breath hitting Xavier’s face. He has to urge himself to keep his food inside. The smell reminds him of the dead animals he sometimes finds rotting away in the forest.

“Those tracks that you were looking at, do you know what they are?’’ The brute asks him. His eyes are a bright blue color, cold as ice.

“No.’’ Why do they want to know about the tracks? He is just an ordinary ranger, is this why they kidnapped him? Do they need his expertise? They could have gone about this entirely differently.

His head snaps back as pain explodes in his nose. A warm fluid quickly streams down his face to his lips, where the taste of blood registers on his tongue. His vision spins even more as dizziness creeps up on his head. Tears stick to his lashes but he refuses to let them fall.

The man grabs his shoulders, shaking him roughly. The force causes his head to go back and forth, his neck not strong enough to hold him into place. “You better not be lying to me, boy!’’ The brute shouts in his face, spit hitting his cheeks.

“I’m not, I’m not!’’ Xavier desperately tries to please the man, wishing he would set him free and place him back in the forest.

“But you have a guess, don’t you?’’ His vision becomes a bit clearer as the dizziness starts to fade. His eyes zoom in on the smirk on the man’s face and his squinted eyes.

“A- a big wolf?’’ He tries.

“But not a regular one.’’ The man walks around the chair Xavier is sitting in. It makes him even more nervous now that he cannot see him anymore. He could snap at any moment and he would not be prepared.

“No, something foreign.’’ He would love to have a conversation like this, were the circumstances different. If they hadn’t tied him tied to a chair and punched him in the face, it would have been interesting.

“Something like this?’’ The man’s voice distorts into something dangerous, threatening. Then the sound of bones cracking. The horrific sounds increase in intensity but Xavier doesn’t dare turn his head. He’s afraid of what he’ll find once he does.

Nails click on the wooden floor, coming closer and closer.

Xavier keeps looking straight ahead. Maybe if he keeps calm, his mind will stop deceiving him and making up things that aren’t real.

A soft growl sounds next to his ear, making his hairs stand on end. Goosebumps arise on his arms, and he can hardly contain the shiver about to run over his spine.

He slowly turns his head to the side, his heart beating rapidly in his chest. Sweat is dripping down his forehead and he almost hopes it reaches his eyes so he won’t be able to see. He tries to close his eyes but he can’t. The adrenaline is rushing through his body and he feels as if he is on steroids.

A large snout greets him. Saliva is dripping off the exposed teeth, as the creature pulls its lips back. It growls and snarls in Xavier’s face as it gets closer, its nails clicking on the floor.

Its eyes. They are the same bright blue of those of the brute. They stand out against the creature’s black fur. The hair is rough and black as the night, making it even more menacing.

He can only stare as the creature lunges at him. As his teeth rip his skin, he shakes the constraints on the chair, trying to get loose. But it is fruitless. The thing has him in his jaws, the pain making him scream out.

Then it stops.

Renewed energy rushes through him as the giant wolf lets go of his neck.

The constraints around his arms get tighter, as he feels he is expanding. His bones are rearranging themselves, forming into something different. The pain from his nose is forgotten as his whole body starts to ache.

Fur sprouts from his arms and legs, short hairs making way for new longer ones.

He breaks out of the ropes, falling over onto all fours. His face extends and his eyesight becomes vaguer. He notices several different scents, his heightened sense of smell picking up on new ones.

His voice fades in the nights as it turns into a howl. The sound echoes through the forest as the other wolves join in.

He listens to his howl, the sound produced by a wolf. Him.

A beast.