The Change

                The thorny bushes and thick underbrush tugged at her clothes as the girl sprinted through the forest. Her breath came in ragged gasps, and a dull throb started in her ribs. She ran blindly, forgoing the marked  trails and heading as far into the dark forest as she could. She was terrified. The terror she felt caused a surge of adrenaline to rush through her veins, sending her flying even faster through the trees.

It was close. It was so very close. The thing she dreaded most was almost upon her. She could feel it in her blood and her limbs. She could see it in her speed and agility. She could smell it with her heightened senses, hear it from the fearful noises of the animals around her. Her speed increased with the pounding of her heart.

The girl ran on, deeper and deeper into the thick trees. She glanced up through the trees and groaned as a portion of the sky lightened behind the mountains ahead. The moon was rising.

She continued running, begging the moon to slow down, to allow her to get as far from her home as she could before it happened.

"No," she breathed. "Not yet."

Her heart pounded frantically in her chest, but she ran on. There! A clearing only a few hundred feet ahead! She knew that clearing! It was far enough from her home that she could stop there without fear. She glanced at the sky again, sighing at the growing brightness behind the mountains. It was almost time.

The girl stopped abruptly in the middle of the clearing. Her breathing was labored, but she paced in a small circle, trying to calm herself. This had happened so many times before, but the pain never lessened. She would never be used to it.

The forest around her grew silent. Knowing what she feared was imminent, she turned towards the mountains. The moon began it's slow crawl over the mountain top. At first a tiny sliver of white, then a crescent. Then, after another slow, agonizing minute, the moon rose enough to send it's light across the forest.

A burst of heat flooded the girl's body. Her limbs burned from the change forcing itself upon her. She screamed as her muscles spasmed, her back bowing under the strain. The girl collapsed, her arms tight against her chest. The muscles in her back writhed, growing and lengthening under her clammy skin. RIIIIIP! Her shirt split along the seams, falling away from her twisted body.

The bones in her legs and arms shifted and cracked, and another scream tore from her throat. The muscles in her thighs thickened to support her growing bulk, and her pants followed her other shredded clothing. She forced her clenched hands open, claws ripping from her newly muscled digits. Her shoes burst open as her feet widened and lengthened, the bottoms becoming thick to protect her from the rough forest floor.

Another spasm racked her body and the girl rolled onto all fours, throwing her head skyward. A stabbing pain shot down her back as her spine lengthened, new vertebrae growing into a short tail. She gasped as each of her ribs cracked, pushing outward to accommodate her growing heart and other organs. An irritating itching crawled across her skin as her pores widened and thick, silky hairs sprouted over her body.

Her throat bulged with new muscle and she let loose another scream as the bones in her face began to shift and change. The front of her skull pushed forwards, the bones breaking and re-breaking to form a long muzzle. Pain shot through her gums as long, serrated teeth shoved through the soft pink, her human teeth falling to the ground beneath her. Her screams turned to howls as her throat constricted and changed to become more wolf that human. The girl's skull cracked one final time as her ears shifted up and grew to sharp, tufted points. She let out a low whimper and collapsed on the ground, her sides heaving.

After a moment, the girl's glowing yellow eyes snapped open and she leaped up onto all fours once again. Arching her back, she lifted her head towards the sky and let a haunting howl into the night air. The sound echoed for miles all around. In the trees and forest around her, the animals burst into a cacophony of terrified cries, and huddled deeper where they hid. The girl brought her head down and stared at the bright moon, soaking up it's pure white rays. She leaned forward, stretching the new muscles her powerful hind legs. Then, letting loose a feral snarl, the girl bounded into the trees. She had become something that terrified her to her very core. She had become a creature of the night.

She had become a werewolf.