FSE

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Chapter 1: The beginning

It was meant to be a normal day for me; a boy turning fourteen is nothing too special. For me, though, birthday is today, so it was just that least bit special to me. Last night was more or less normal; I watched a film with my family and stayed up late on Facebook, not really tired enough to go to sleep. The unnatural part of it is that when I woke up, everything was blown out of proportion. I had changed, but into what is the question. The first thing that I saw when I opened my eyes was that my nose and mouth had elongated. I shut my eyes again and reopened them, thinking I was still asleep. The first time didn't work, let alone the three or four other times I tried it after that. When I got out of bed, I literally fell back. My body was covered in fur!

From my stomach all the way to my chin was covered in white fur and my fingertips to my elbows in black, as were both my legs. The rest was a deep darkish orange. I walked to the large mirror in my room and I could hear my heart beat. It sounded louder as I drew nearer. Bracing myself for what was about to come, I tensed my body all over. I even tensed some muscles that I didn't know I had. Looking at the mirror full on, I immediately focused on the fur that covered every single inch of my body, and the ears that have grown on the top of my head, replacing my normal, human ears. I grimace as I see that behind me, I had a tail which stopped at about bottom neck height. Looking down at my boxers, I saw quite clearly that my old clothes would not exactly fit me anymore.

Since my fathers closet was in the master bathroom, I had to be very quiet as I walked through my parents' bedroom. I finally breathed a sigh of relief when I got into the bathroom without making any noise at all.

"I have to say," I whispered to myself, "this new form does have a little perk." Shuddering as I go through my dad's underwear drawer, I picked out seven boxers as I tear off my pair, and put on one of my dad's. Next, I took out about four jeans and shorts and five t-shirts. After putting on a t-shirt and jeans, I slung the others over my shoulder. I sat down on the cold rock floor and put my head in my hands, crying a bit. Realizing how much noise I was making, I told myself to shut up and get on with it. Scowling to myself as my fathers' bright orange duffel bag came into sight just above his closet, I jumped up and took it. I tried to put on a fake smile to make myself think that I was happy as I packed the clothes inside. Swinging it over my shoulder, I grabved a toothbrush and toothpaste.

Back in my room again, I grab a pad and pen and scribbled a note for my parents while grabbing some healthy-ish food for the journey. I sighed again, but this time in sorrow as I tore off the note and left it next to the oven, where I knew that my parents would find it.

Mom & dad,

Something's happened to me, and I don't' know what how to explain it. Something strange has happened to me, and I don't want to bring you into this. Just know that I love you and I'll always miss you.

Alex

P.S. Don't jump to conclusions about this; you wouldn't even guess. Just know that it's not because of drugs or alcohol.

_ _

Looking at the note, I hoped that my parents would understand it, but you can't really promise everything. Shedding yet another tear, I realized that this would be the last time I was going to be in this house, either for a while or forever. Looking outside to judge how long it would be before my parents woke up, I noticed that the sun was just peeking over the horizon.

"Crap," I muttered as I briskly walked off towards the door after placing the food in a Ziploc bag, then carefully into the duffel bag. Zipping it up was the hard part; I know zipping something up is easy, but just the fact is that if I did zip it, my fate was sealed. Eventually, after having the mental battle over a simple zip, I zipped it up and slung it over my shoulder. I headed to the front door and opened it with a sigh. Looking at my feet, I said a last goodbye to the house that I have lived in since I was about two and a half years old, the house that has seen me through some tough times in my life. I shut the door quietly and dashed off into the increasing daylight. The only place that I knew I was going to was the train station, and from there I didn't have a goddamn clue.

As I was nearing the station, there was a train pulling in that caught my eye. To be quite frank, it wasn't the ugly grey that they normally are; actually it was a vivid blue, green and yellow. As I neared the ticket booth, I could see a lady behind the counter who didn't look at all surprised to see me; in fact, she said something that sounded like, "Oh great, another one," under her breath.

"What do you mean, 'another one '?" I asked curiously as I reached the desk.

"Don't worry," she said with a somewhat gravelly voice that sounded like it would belonged to someone who smokes fifty a day. "The ticket will be four dollars seventy."

I was inclined to ask how she knew I wanted a ticket and how she knew the exact price, but then I remembered that she had seen more people like me. I opened my wallet and handed her a five-dollar note, telling her to "keep the change," with a smile as she handed me my ticket.

Trying my best to look confident, I walked towards the train, but my legs started to feel like lead; each step and each step getting heavier. I even had to urge myself mentally to keep going.

I was afraid, but I suppose that anyone would be if they woke up as an animal but. At that point, though, having the realization of my situation settle in was probably the worst part.

I was unaware of the fact that I was trembling, but I realized it as I boarded the train and handed the conductor my ticket. Initially, I didn't look at him due to the fact that fear was overcoming my body. However, I did notice that he has a golden tail, a tail that was the colour of syrup and that would belong to a dog. Quaking as I look up I see that the lady at the counter was right; there were others like me! The dog, which I presume to be a man, laid a hand on my shoulder and said comfortingly, "It's okay; I still remember when I first stepped on this train too." Those few words helped me regain my self-assurance and poise as I stood up straight for the first time that morning and I nodded in thanks, not knowing exactly what to say to him.