It was then that I knew something was wrong. Here I was running through the darkness of the night with the harsh winter wind cutting through me. I ran as fast as my legs would take me. It felt as though my feet weren’t even touching the forest floor. I would spring launching myself through the brush. Twigs pulled at my arms exposing the warm blood currently pumping through my veins. The speed wasn’t enough. The burn wasn’t being subsided. Instead it roared in intensity making it feel as through my flesh would melt off the bones. My mind was focused on the burn while my eyes traced all the objects I flew past. My normal eyes would have seen everything in a blur as if the world was blanketed by a thick mist. Now everything was sharp and clear as if a veil was lifted from over my eyes. Even at this unfathomable speed I could make out all the details of the forest down to the shimmer on a rotted tree limb made from the banana slug slowly inching its way up the most covered bark.
That images soon pasted as I slung shot into a clearing through the woods. The thick darkness that was once forest was now a glowing meadow. The sounds of a nearby stream dribbled into my ears. I planted my feet to the ground and skidded to a stop pulling up some of the sparkling flush grass under me. It was coated with dew and made the scene that much more enchanting. None of this caught my attention though. My eyes were too fixed on the glowing orb causing all the magic.
The moon danced in my new golden eyes as the wind calmed down from it’s fury. It now gently wrapped itself around me causing a few run away black strands of hair to sway in my sight. I could feel the moon beaming into my eyes as the burn eased and my breathing became calm as well. I was compelled to the orb and felt myself falling to its will. What had become of me? One moment I was nothing more then some high school prankster. The next I was standing in a breath taking clearing, to say the least, staring at my new fascination. It was like a drug as I stood intoxicated by its beauty.
The only sound was that of water running down pebbles from the stream, the blades of grass brushing against one another as it swayed to the wind. Lastly, the only ‘mortal’ sound was that of my own pounding heart and the deep breaths of air filling my lungs.
As these sounds all swirled about in my mind the gypsy’s words rang lightly in my thoughts. Was this what she meant by the change? What about the battle? There was no war I the world, at least besides the one over seas. That wasn’t home though, at least not to me anyways. As I pondered my thoughts I became aware to a new sound, a pounding. I shook my head trying to break it free of my mind as it disturbed my thinking. I had forgotten all about the world around me. All I saw was the bright blue hued light hanging over my head. The more I pushed against the pounding the louder it grew. I soon found my skull throbbing and my hands to my head trying to make it stop.
The moons glow faded from my sight as I shut my eyelids tight hoping it would do some justice to the pain. Instead it made my mind more focused on the matter. It began to creep down my body. It started at my fingertips and worked its way up my arms. The pulsing came with the same burn from when I was running. No… It was hotter. I felt like I was being set on fire. Looking down at my hands I saw no flames. Instead I found a sight far more horrifying. Underneath my skin I watched my veins creep and move about like serpents.
I panicked seeing them bulge out and contort themselves. Frantically I pulled at the worn and hole covered white knitted long underwear shirt I had on. My eyes widened to see the same sight running all the way up my arms. It was as if I has something growing inside of me. Scrambling I forced my trembling hands to grab the equally as worn down KISS shirt I had on over my knitted one. I pulled the end up my body as I tugged my arms free from its sleeves. It was too hot. I felt like I was being burned at the stake.
Ripping the shirt off over my head I threw it to the ground and inspected the rest of my body. As if the crawling veins wasn’t enough… I gasped watching my muscles shift about in the same fashion as the burning worked its way from the core of my chest out. This couldn’t be real, I had to be dreaming. Bodies didn’t do these things. What ever this thing was… I wrapped my pulsing arms around myself as the muscles began to throb and the burning some how grew more intense. My skin felt like it was going to tear apart like some rag doll at the seams. All I could do was stand there holding my trembling body trying to hold it all together. I wanted to scream in agony but I found my throat choked up. It was hard enough to force air into my lungs at the moment let alone scream.
The trembling finally reached my legs and brought me crashing to my knees. I began to rock forward about to fall on my face. My arms then shot in front of me as I caught myself from the damp grass. Just as my hands left my body a loud tear sound echoed through the forest. My flesh had gave way to the shifting. My eyes shot open and I gasped having the wind knocked out of me. It wasn’t just my muscles and veins shifting, It was my whole body. My pupils grew wide turning my eyes completely black for a moment leaving me blind.
More flesh was heard tearing as my arms shook from under me. It felt like a heavy weight was being stacked on my shoulders trying to crush me. I pushed with all my power trying to keep myself from falling while my mind strained to bring my sight back. The ripping flesh was a slight bitter sweet as it relieved some of the burning that was running over me. At least physically I was starting to calm down while my mind was thrown into complete chaos.
My vision faded in and out to me in odd cycles. One moment I would be staring off into the cold pitch black of blindness while in the next the world rushed by me in shades of black and white. The few sights that were starting to come back to my eyes were those of the forest. It was a different scene then the one that I was currently suffering in. As I focused on it I found that it was much like the thick forest I had shot myself out of before the clearing. None of it looked the same though as I tried to see if it was merely my memory. Instead it looked as thought it was the part of forest up ahead of me that had gone unseen so far.
I shook my head at the thought as the ripping of my flesh continued to fill the air. I had forgotten all about it as a struggled with more of the mental aspects I was missing. Physical pain was a done deal, I was screwed in that department.
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