Shortcut.

School dragged on like always, my body aching and bruised, but at least today hadn’t been a total disaster. The nurse’s sympathy had helped, even if it was fleeting.

By the time I made it to the diner, I was tired in a way that made every step feel like wading through water. But my shift went surprisingly well.

No tripping over trays, no broken glasses, and, most importantly, no sign of them. The popular kids from school that usually made my life miserable had apparently decided to leave me alone tonight.

I somehow made it through the evening, keeping my head down, moving quietly and carefully, so as not to draw attention. For once, there was this tiny flicker of relief, like maybe, just maybe, I could get through one night without everything going wrong.

On Mondays, the diner closed early. I was grabbing my backpack, ready to finally leave, when I froze.

Out front, were the people I had dreaded seeing all night. The it crowd. They were laughing, leaning against their cars, and smirking like they owned the world. And in this small town, they did.

Why were they here? It was Monday. It was past closing time. Everyone else was gone.

My stomach sank. I’d had a good night. I’d worked hard, avoided trouble, and now here it was.

I couldn’t deal with them tonight. Not when my body still ached from yesterday, not when my head was throbbing and I felt so fragile, as if I could shatter if one of them so much as looked at me.

I made the decision, right then and there, to slowly and silently slip out the back door. I slung my backpack over my shoulder, my heart hammering in my chest, and jumped over the fence. My only option, the only way I could avoid them, was to walk home through the woods. My eyes darted around, scanning for any other way out, any path that would let me slip past them unnoticed. But there was nothing. The woods were the only chance I had.

I hesitated for a second, remembering the last time I'd taken a shortcut through the woods. The howls of the wolves, the pain, the blood, and the darkness. My chest tightened. But right now, walking past that group in front of the diner felt even worse.

The woods were cold and dark, but at least there was some cover. At least there was no one to jeer at me, to shove me, to make me feel smaller than I already did.

I took a deep breath, moving my legs forward, and stepped onto the path. Branches reached out, whipping against my jacket and hat, leaves rustlingg under my shoes.

It wasn’t safe. I knew it. But neither was I in the front of that diner.

The full moon hung high above the treetops, the silver moonlight filtering through the branches and painting the forest floor in bright shadows. There was something eerie about the woods tonight, something felt different.

My stomach started to cramp, it was a dull ache at first. I slowed down to a stop, clutching my stomach, hoping it would pass.

But it didn’t.

The pain intensified, twisting throughout my abdomen. I stumbled, clutching my stomach, gasping. My legs felt weak. My vision blurred slightly as the cramps spiked, hitting so hard I could barely catch my breath.

I sank to my knees, pressing my hands to the ground to keep myself upright. My heartbeat thundered in my ears, my chest rising and falling much too fast.

Then it started, something beyond pain. A strange, burning heat crawling up my limbs, my muscles tightening and twitching beyond my control. My hands clawed at the dirt, my fingers splaying awkwardly. My vision shifted, initially blurring then the colors sharpened, and the sounds all around me were magnified. The wind in the trees sounded like it was rushing right past me. Everything sounded and felt wild.

“What’s happening?” I thought to myself, panic overtaking me.

And then came the screams in my head. They almost sounded like a growl. I went to scream out loud as the pain increased, and my voice had twisted into something else, something raw, and animalistic.

My body convulsed, bones cracking and reshaping in ways that shouldn’t be possible. My skin burned and stretched, my back arched painfully. My nerve endings felt like they were on fire.

I tried to scream, but my mouth wouldn’t work right. My teeth felt like they were stretching out, getting sharp and jagged, my jaw pulling apart in ways that made no sense. Hot, prickly fur was popping up all over me, and my hands… my hands were turning into claws! My fingers were fusing together, stretching longer, my nails were now digging into the dirt.

I collapsed fully onto the forest floor, shaking uncontrollably. My vision blurred and sharpened all at once, moonlight glaring off the tips of my new ears, and I swear my eyes were glowing.

And then I roared, like, actually roared. It was wild and furious, and it ripped out of my chest and shook the air around me, a sound I didn’t even know I was capable of making.

I was pretty sure that I was no longer human.

Panic hit me hard, mixing with this rush of something wild and powerful pounding through my veins. Everything felt so real, so heightened, every rustle of leaves, every crack of a twig, even the wind sounded louder than my own heartbeat.

I stumbled forward, my claws dragging through the dirt, my legs bending and stretching in ways they definitely weren’t supposed to. My stomach still ached, but it wasn’t the same, it was as if something was trapped inside of me and desperately trying to get out.

And that’s when it hit me… my life would never be the same again. I was something else. Something dangerous. Something alive in a way I’d never felt before. The air around me felt charged, almost alive, and I knew I should’ve been terrified… but maybe, deep down, part of me actually liked it. I didn’t understand what was happening to me, but for the first time in forever, I didn’t want to run from it either.