Twisted

[May]

(Okay, so this is not my first story, but it's the first one I've decided to post for the public! Please tell me what you think!)
*Note: This is NOT TorD related, which is why it is posted in the Lounge, and not in the stories section, but I think it should be a fun read nonetheless!


~1~

The stars are out tonight, and from the sounds in the forest, so is every living thing on the planet. My mind is racing; thoughts are coming and going, but mostly coming. It’s weird, a lot of the thoughts aren’t even mine, but I can’t place where they’re coming from. I don’t take much notice of it. The air smells of pine and mud, which triggers the thought of running. Weird, I hate running.
A branch snaps.
My head turns sharply, eyes wide and searching.
Nothing.
I resume thinking, but not for much longer.

* * *

I must have fallen asleep.
The moon is high and full, and the air is damp.
I feel like I’m not alone anymore, someone or something is here with me. It might be an animal, but animals don’t usually give that feeling, do they?
Slowly, quietly, I push myself up. The darkness is blinding, and I can’t see a thing, but I know something is there.
A low growl shatters the silence. My head whips around and my heart races.
Whatever is here, it’s behind me. It was following me, possibly hunting me.
Hunting me?!
My breath catches at the thought. I stumble backwards, but the hunter doesn’t move, doesn’t even make a sound. Seconds drag by, feeling like hours. I don’t know how long I’ve been sitting, just waiting; I’m too busy paying attention to the noises around me.
There is no noise though.
No crickets, no wind, no rustling of leaves. Nothing.
Absolutely nothing. The night is emptier than seems possible. I can only hear breathing, my breathing.
Leaves rustle, something exhales deeply, my body freezes in place and my heart is pounding out of my chest. Crouching down, I prepare myself to run.
Leaves crunch steadily as it walks forward, teasingly slow, as if it’s enjoying my fear. Two ice blue orbs appear at the edge of the clearing as it walks slowly out of the trees, followed by a massive head and tense shoulders. The moonlight glints off its fur, at least I hope it’s fur. If I hadn’t thought I was in such great danger, it would have been beautiful, but at the moment, I’m too scared to even breathe.
It’s huge, bigger than a Great Dane. I’ve never seen a wolf in real life, I have no idea how big they’re supposed to be, but I have the feeling that this one is much bigger than nature originally intended.

[edd18]

Excellent start - Cant wait for next post

[May]

Slowly, inch by inch, it walks forward, pausing after each step. Strangely, I feel calm as it approaches. In my mind, I’m screaming at my body to move, to run! Run as fast as I can, run away from this thing.
But I can’t. I want to stay, much to my horror. I know it means me no harm, in some obscure corner of my mind. Yet my every instinct is telling me it will rip me limb from limb.
Two feet from my face, it stops. Only now do I notice it’s carrying something in its mouth. It’s carrying a staff; long, silver, and arcane looking. As I look closer, I see various runes inscribed along the length of it.
The wolf’s fur ripples from the coiling muscles underneath, he sets the staff down in front of me. I don’t know how I know its male, I just do. Just like my next thought doesn’t seem to be mine, but it crosses my mind anyway.
Take it.
Take it? Why would I want to take it?
Because it’s yours.
I jump back, terrified. I didn’t even say anything. These aren’t my thoughts, and I know wolves do not talk.
What if they do?
“Nonsense, this is real life. Animals don’t talk.”
I don’t know why I’m talking out loud, a wild animal won’t understand me, but it makes me feel a bit better to hear something other than his heavy breathing. At least my voice reminds me that I’m still alive. Why would I be anything other than alive?
What if I’m not an animal?
“You? What if you’re not an animal?”
So those really weren’t my thoughts. Am I dreaming? Am I insane?
I assure you, you’re awake, and you’re certainly not insane.
Minutes drag by, the wolf doesn’t move, I don’t move. Neither of us speaks. My heart slows a bit, but I’m sweating bullets and shaking so bad I couldn’t move even if I wanted to.
After at least another hour, he nudges the staff towards me with his snout. He looks up, sapphire eyes almost pleading with me.
Please, take it.
I can’t stand this anymore. In one swift motion, I lunge forward, grab the staff, and run the three miles out of the woods and back home in record time. Well, record time for me anyway.

* * *

My dad is home, but he’s too drunk to notice me walk in, even with the strange staff. The house is a mess, his friends were obviously over. There’s beer cans and pizza crust littering the floor and it smells of sweat and cigars.
The stairway is dark, and I have to feel my way upstairs to my room. Pizza crust crunches under my feet the entire way, it’s disgusting. My room might be the only clean room in the house. Well, that and the bathroom.
I turn my radio on, sit on my bed, and begin to examine the strange staff. A closer look reveals that it’s solid silver, and for the first time since I picked it up, I feel how heavy it actually is. The sapphire mounted on the top is real, and held in place by four extensions in the shape of dragon claws. The runes inscribed along its length resemble various animals as I study them, and they seem to move, but that might be my mind playing tricks on me.
“What are you…”
The sapphire glows dimly. Looking closer, I see there’s a tiny hole through the center of it.
“I wonder what you do. Are you some sort of weapon?”
I have no idea why I’m talking to it, but some part of me thinks it’s more than just a staff. It seems alive.
It glows a little brighter, pulses twice, then grows dim again.
Curious, I run my finger over the hole in the gem. A sharp pain shoots through my arm, followed by an intense burning sensation, as soon as the middle of my finger passes over it. Lifting my finger, a drop of blood falls to the floor and I see there’s a needle-like projection of the gem protruding from the hole.
The needle glows brightly, almost white.
My blood evaporates from it almost immediately.
The burning feeling flows through my entire body, it’s almost like my blood is acid.
I need to scream, but strangely, it’s not painful enough to scream.
Just wait.
Apprehension builds as I turn slowly, expecting to see the huge wolf.
Nothing.
The radio shorts out. My body freezes.
A white light fills my room, it’s blinding even with the light on. After a few seconds, I realize that it’s the sapphire. Liquid runs over its surface, but it’s not liquid. The runes are moving, shifting.
Changing.
I drop it almost immediately, afraid of what it will do next.
Immediately as it hits the floor, it disappears. Blue fire explodes in the middle of my room, suspended in the air. It pulses with the rhythm of a heartbeat.
Come.
Compulsion drives my limbs; I’m not in control. Panic seizes me. My heartbeat accelerates as I strain against whatever is holding me with every ounce of strength in my body.
Resistance accomplished nothing.
Come.
I’m screaming with everything I have; yet there is no sound.
Come.
Fear.
Come.
Panic.
Come to me.
Adrenaline.
Come.
Blackness.
Welcome.

[nahtangel]

wow, this is lookin like its gonna be a pretty good story,i really like it. im excited for the next the post

[May]

~2~

Blinding sunlight wakes me. I can’t see, panic grips my stomach again. The morning is silent, dead silent. It’s like everything is waiting.
Waiting for what?
Slowly, my vision returns. Everything is blurry though. Massive shapes loom over me, from the contrast of the sun behind them it’s hard to tell what they are. After a few minutes, I realize they’re trees. Hundreds of trees. I’m in the forest.
The same forest I was in last night.
Dizzy, I stand up and try to walk.
Have you ever been so sick, and had such a massive headache, that it hurt and throbbed with every step? That’s how I’m feeling right now, maybe a bit worse. My skin is still burning. It stretches with every movement and feels like it should tear open at the slightest bit of tension.
Standing up takes too much effort, so I sink back down to the ground and resort to figuring out how I got out here anyway.
How did I get out here?
I don’t remember anything after the fire…
Fire!
I spin around, attempting to get up and run home, but I instantly regret that. My head throbs and I feel like I’m being smashed under a bulldozer. Why was I even worried about the house being on fire anyway? Other than a relatively safe place to sleep, there’s nothing there of immediate importance.
And where did that staff go?
It doesn’t matter where it went.
I don’t need to turn around to know it’s the wolf. Turning over, he’s sitting on his haunches about a foot away looking more like a big dog than a wolf. He has a backpack in his mouth.
I thought you might be hungry…
He drops the pack in front of me. Hesitantly, I open it and look through. There’s a bottle of water, a bag of beef jerky, a wallet, flashlight, peanut butter and jelly sandwich, and a set of keys.
I gratefully take the pack and eat the sandwich. As soon as I start on the jerky, I hesitate as a terrible thought crosses my mind.
“You didn’t…You didn’t kill the person this belonged to, did you?”
The wolf recoils, as if he’d been struck.
Of course not! I was hunting. The man saw me, dropped the bag and ran. It was obvious he wasn’t coming back, so I brought it for you. I’ve already eaten.
“Were you expecting me?”
Yes. I saw the fire. Heard it, rather. I knew you’d be coming, so I sat and waited.
“How did you know I would come here though?”
I didn’t. It just seemed like a place you would have gone.
This catches me off guard. It seemed like a place I would have gone? How did this wolf know me? Wonderful, now I’m wondering how animals know me.
I’m not an animal.
Fine, mind-reading werewolves.
I’m not a werewolf.
Inhuman freak.
I resent that.
He snorts in detest. I laugh to myself.
“Then what are you?”
Exactly what you are now.
“And that is…”
Beats me. The only thing I know is how it works and what you can do. To an extent at least.
“Am I even human anymore? Are you human?”
Yes, you are. And yes, I am.
“Then how are you a wolf?”
I’ll explain that later. At the moment, I believe an introduction is in order.
Expectant, he cocks his head.
“Oh, right. Sorry. My name is Maya Ellis. You can call me May, I’d actually prefer that over Maya.”
I meant myself. I know who you are far too well. I’ve been watching you for a couple months now.
This just keeps getting creepier by the second. First, this wolf is actually a person in a wolf’s body as far as I understand. Second, he’s been stalking me!
I’ve been keeping an eye on you. I haven’t been stalking you.
“How are you doing that?!”
Quite frankly, it’s aggravating to have someone reading your every thought.
You can too. Concentrate. After a while it doesn’t even take a conscious effort.
This intrigues me. Telepathy has always caught my interest –
I’d like to introduce myself properly instead of having you drag bits and pieces out of my mind.
He pauses, then lies down and crosses his front paws.
My name is Alex. I’ve been able to shift for about a year now, and that staff I gave you last night was given to me as well by my Master. Unfortunately, he met with a bit of bad luck only a week after I was chosen. He never got to teach me, which is why I don’t know much about this, but I learn a little more every day.
Shift?
“Do you have a human body?”
Yes.
“Then why are you a wolf?”
I like being a wolf.
I laugh a little at this, he rests his head on his paws and looks up at me almost questioningly. Remembering his comment on telepathy, I try and concentrate. Who knows, maybe I really can read minds now!
You can also speak with your mind. It’s more like projecting thoughts though.
Slowly, tentatively, I reach out with my mind, closing my eyes for more concentration. It feels weird, like you’re weightless. I guess that’s just because this is my first time though. After a few seconds, I begin to get a little skeptical. Then I feel it, his mind. It’s strange.
Warm.
Twisting.
Thinking.
Moving.
Alive. But why is that such a surprise? I wasn’t expecting it to feel dead.
Then again, I wasn’t expecting to actually feel.
Surprised at the feeling, I withdraw a little, but regain myself and press against his mind. A faint humming seems to come from all angles, as I listen closer fragments of words start to form.
Thoughts.
Whispering thoughts.
Their volume increases the harder I press. Certain thoughts are overlapping others, like he’s trying to hide things, and also trying to make things audible for me.
Understandable. I’d do the same if I knew someone were in my mind, and if I knew how.
The thoughts start to make sense.
…Red hair beautiful ignorant hungry just ate should be taught better than I was he died does she remember me? beautiful still green eyes wolf hiker was scared of me…
Well, they don’t really make sense, but I can catch the gist of some of it. His mental voice is beautiful and elegant.
He turns his head away. Why?
Red hair, green eyes…
I have red hair and green eyes.
Oh…
Wait here.
Alex gets up and trots off into the woods. Did I do something wrong? Did I hear something I wasn’t meant to?
Don’t leave, I’m scared. Reaching out with my mind, I feel nothing.
Seconds tick by.
Minutes.
Something screams in the distance, but it’s more like a screech than a scream. Growling follows, and a loud thud as something falls to the ground.
More minutes pass…
Relief floods my mind as I see the wolf returning. Why do I still think of him as the wolf? He’s got something in his mouth, a hawk.
Look at your finger.
I don’t need to be told which one. There’s a silver scar where the staff’s needle stabbed me, and it burns more than the rest of my body did.
Don’t ask me what happened, I don’t even know that yet. But I do know you can absorb DNA, or something along those lines. Touch it.
Dropping the bird in front of me, he motions towards it. I reach out, hesitantly. The instant I touch it a blue spark spits from my finger and runs the length of the hawk, then the body disintegrates. I jerk my hand back, startled.
Don’t worry, that only happens when they’re dead. If they’re alive, nothing happens. Well, the spark still jumps out, but nothing else. One bit of advice though, keep its mind well under control once if surfaces.
My hand is out in front of me and I’m studying it like it’s the first time I’ve ever seen a hand. Thoughts are racing through my head, I am absolutely terrified. I don’t care how nice this wolf has been to me, I want nothing to do with this. It’s unnatural.
Animals do not talk.
They can’t.
May, I’m not an animal.
“I don’t care what you are!”
I’m screaming now, I don’t want to scream at him, but I am. Alex backs away, ears flattened, tail low, head bowed.
Hurt.
The pain in my head is forgotten. All I can think about is getting home and going to bed. I’m not tired, but sleep is the only thing that seems comforting to me right now. Maybe I’m sleeping now, maybe this is just a dream and I’m still sleeping in the clearing. Maybe I’ll wake up soon and everything will be okay.
You’re not sleeping.
“Don’t talk to me! Leave me alone, don’t follow me, I don’t care what or who you are or where you came from. STAY AWAY FROM ME!”
He promptly sits back and lowers his head.
“I didn’t ask for whatever this is. I don’t want to be a freak. I don’t talk to animals, especially mind-reading, telepathic dogs.”
I didn’t ask for this either, I was chosen. Just like you were. I didn’t choose you, the staff did. I don’t know why I was chosen, or why you were chosen, but we were. I don’t know what we’re supposed to do with this either.
This is ridiculous. I’m going home. Alex gets up and tries to follow.
“No, I don’t want anything to do with you!”
You’ll need me eventually. I’m the only one that you know you can talk to.

[Lovesfundares]

Please for the love of all that is holy finish this . =)

[May]

I've been away for a while with school and moving and other things... This WILL get finished though!! Eventually...