A Tale of the Other Kind: A Therian Novel (7 page)

Again, he heard a rustle in the bushes, but this time his eye caught a glimpse of something moving. Unsure, he moved towards the bushes, slowly, like he would approach prey. But as he got closer, he could see nothing. He felt stupid for being so impulsive and leaving Sienna alone at the waterfall, especially now that it was getting darker, so he decided to head back. He wasn’t too far away from where Sienna was waiting for him when, suddenly, his eyes went blurry. He tried to stabilise himself against a tree. Bent over, he shook his head, trying to shake away the dizziness that was starting to overwhelm him. 

A dull ache crept into his stomach, making him buckle forward even further. He groaned as a sharp pain shot through his shoulders, sending him spiralling backwards. He fell with a thud to the flood, scraping his elbows, exposing raw flesh. He couldn’t control his body as painful jolts of electricity penetrated every one of his bones, ripping him apart from the inside. He tried to call out for help, but the pain took his breath away. It took away his voice, paralysing him into uncontrollable convulsions. Confusion struck him as his thoughts began to change and everything went fuzzy. He dug his nails into the wet soil, trying to grab onto tree roots to pull himself up, but nothing was close enough to reach. Then, everything went black.

When Kai regained consciousness, he slowly stumbled back towards Sienna. In the distance he could see her sitting next to the waterfall, fidgeting anxiously. He could see her irritation at being left alone. 

He couldn’t pull himself together, and fell against a tree, unable to call out for help. Sweat streamed down his forehead and shivers enveloped his body. All he could hear was an ear-deafening silence and the thunder of the waterfall. It seemed to get much darker rapidly now. Only the slight glimpses of the moon shone through the treetops. 

‘Kai?’ Sienna called, but he couldn’t answer. His lips formed her name, but gave no sound. ‘Oh hell, please don’t let her think I disappeared on her,’ he thought, desperately. ‘Kai! You know this isn’t funny, right?’ 

A chill rose in the air, blowing a cold breeze over her exposed arms, making her jump up from the large rock she was sitting on. 

Sienna motioned towards the edge of the forest where she’d last seen Kai, and looked around to try and see whether he was near. 

Kai tried to call out, but the pain from his bones cracking throughout his body took his breath away and he collapsed, writhing in pain. 

Sienna repeatedly called to him, but the only answer she got was the echoes of her own voice, bouncing off the overhanging rocky escarpment. As time ticked by, her voice became more urgent. She reached into her bag and dug around for her mobile phone. ‘Ugg, when I find him, I’m going to kick his ass,’ she said, furious. ‘How on earth do I end up choosing these weirdoes’ that screw around with me,’ she screamed, shaking her head. 

There was no cell phone signal. No matter how hard she tried and how many rocks she climbed, she couldn’t get a single bar of signal to even send an sms for help. ‘Just great,’ she said, throwing the phone back into her bag. ‘This isn’t happening. This is not happening,’ she said, as tears were now streaming down her face. 

Kai drifted in and out of consciousness, unable to maintain one stable moment to pull himself together to call out to her. He became frantic when he saw her trying to retrace her steps back into the forest. He tried again to call out, hoping she would stop and wait – hoping she would find him there. Anxious and unable to move, he began to panic, not knowing what was happening to him. Nearby, Kai heard a rustle in the bushes. He felt relieved that she had finally found him, but to his shock, a large lion prowled through the bushes, slowly, angling its head at Kai as it came into view. Fear struck panic into his chest. He tried to move, but his body wouldn’t let him. 

The lion grunted slightly as it crawled over towards him, its fully-grown mane touching the side of his face as it came close enough to know every detail of his scent. The lion snarled and gave a soft growl, then simply turned away and walked towards the direction where he’d left Sienna. Kai knew that she was in danger, and the thought of the lion attacking her terrified him even more than the lion making Kai his dinner. A newfound energy engulfed his body, and he forced himself up against the tree, barely making it up on one leg. Slowly, he started pushing himself from tree to tree; unable to keep up with the lion that was obviously hunting for prey. He couldn’t understand why it hadn’t attacked him, but he was sure that he wasn’t about to let Sienna become the lion’s meal. His movements were slow from his aching body, unable to breathe and unable to focus. He finally fought his way through the thick bushes, and saw Sienna in the distance, unaware that there was a lion close by. He tried to call to her to get away quickly, but he couldn’t muster a whisper to warn her. She was in reaching distance, yet, so far away. He fell to the floor, doubling over with alarming pain that spread throughout his entire body. He was sure that he was dying. Panic struck him, knowing that they were both about to die in the forest tonight. 

Thoughts of Sienna’s being hurt caused a tear to fall from Kai’s eye, knowing that he was unable to save them both. Without warning a torturous change began to take place in Kai’s body and he could only go through the motions of his human body becoming mangled into a series of unproportional shapes. Blood poured from his mouth as his organs began to shift into places that made no sense. His eyes grew wide as his torso shifted, changing his ribcage, his legs transformed into a new leaner shape. Claws protruded from his fingers, digging deep into the soil that was his only refuge from the pain he felt. His body felt like it was on fire and his skin was glowing – almost like someone had set him alight from the inside. Fear overwhelmed him as black spotted hairs grew from his skin, making him shudder on the inside. But then, calmness set in over his body although he wasn’t able to move. A sudden peacefulness overcame him, even though he could see the girl he cared for more than anything in the world, becoming the prey of the lion stirring ever so slightly in the bushes, readying itself to pounce. It startled Sienna and she stumbled backwards, falling to the ground. All Kai could do was watch the horrific scene that was unfolding in front of him. The powerful lion leapt out from behind a large rock, furiously charging towards Sienna. Instinctively she jumped to her feet and grabbed her backpack, swinging it at the charging lion, but that only seemed to startle it. 

‘Oh shit,’ she said aloud as the angry lion turned around, flashing its sharp, dangerous teeth at her, exposing its gums. She started running, but Kai knew she couldn’t outrun a lion. Flashes of anger, fear and frustration blazed through his mind as he looked at her defencelessly trying to escape the roaring lion, but it pounced on top of her, smashing her into the ground, face first. 

She covered her face as she came down hard on the ground, winding her and leaving her breathless. Before she could even try to get back up, a sharp claw slashed over her back, causing her to scream out in pain. She fumbled around and found a large rock, smashing it into the side of the lion’s skull, hardly making any impact, but slightly disorientating it, giving her a chance to get up from its grip. Kai got to his feet and looked at his body. He wasn’t human anymore, but a large, black, powerful leopard. 

Without a second thought, he leaped out towards Sienna to push her out of harms way. Sienna screamed and started crawling towards the bushes. Watching the fight between the lion and leopard unfolding in front of her. Kai slammed into the side of the lion. A loud roar escaped the now furious creature as a fiery fight developed between the two beasts. Sienna was shaking with shock and disbelief at what was happening in front of her, and between all the confusion, she tried to get up and run, but found herself too close to the embroiling fight between the two beasts. 

Kai roared loudly and, for a split second, he looked at Sienna, seeing the fear in her eyes. Without loosing track, he bit into the side of the lion, which again released a thunderous roar. The lion fought back and slashed at Kai, leaving deep wounds across his chest. The lion broke free and turned its attention back to Sienna. Her whole body was shaking as she struggled to get up, and in her attempt to escape, her foot got stuck and she tumbled over a rock. Tears of fear smeared her now dirty face. The overwhelming pain from her deep wounds was now all too evident with fresh warm blood flowing from her back. She let out a final terrifying scream, and slipped into blackness.

Kai woke up between pine needles and scatters of leaves. His clothes were torn and ripped at the seams. Looking at himself, he could barely comprehend how he ended up looking like this. He tried to rub off some of the dried mud that covered his body. 

A deep breath ignited a splitting headache, causing him to grab his head. His fingers moved over his chest where scratch marks were already beginning to heal. His mind was fuzzy, and all he could remember was pieces of a puzzle that now seemed to evade him – like a dream that escaped him once he woke up. He knew something was amiss; realising that the last thing he could remember was being with Sienna at the waterfall. He stood up, but struggled to find balance, and fumbled against a tree for support. 

Nightfall had already set in and the stars were barely visible through the thick trees. Quickly, he tried to compose himself and started walking towards the direction of the waterfall, hoping to find Sienna, praying that she was alright. After a few moments his brisk walk turned into a run, as flashes of memories flooded back into his mind. Something was terribly wrong. Anxiety started to envelop his chest, and he started calling her name, hoping she would hear him and respond. Fear made him run faster and faster, gliding over rocks and water puddles. In desperation he pushed his body towards the waterfall, fighting his way through the thick trees and plants. 

He sighed with relief when finally, he could hear the sound of falling water not too far away. As Kai reached the edge of the pond, he scanned the area, looking for her, but Sienna wasn’t there. 

‘Sienna!’ he called, but all he could hear was his own voice echoing against the cliff. 

Kai started down the path they’d used earlier through the forest and kept calling her name, but silent echoes screamed louder than any other sound. His heart was beating fast, making it almost impossible to hear anything but his own panic drumming in his ears. Faint rays of moonlight broke through the treetops, and fell onto an open area, where he saw a small figure lying on the ground. 

Hastily he motioned towards the seemingly lifeless figure. ‘Sienna! Oh no,’ he exclaimed as he knelt down next to her. He gently pulled her into his lap, and slowly pushed a dark lock of hair, clogged with dry blood away from her pale face. He wasn’t sure whether she was breathing – all he could see was a deep wound on her back and that she had lost a lot of blood. 

‘Please wake up, please wake up,’ he begged. 

He had no idea what had happened – the last couple of hours seemed like a dream; unreal. He knew that something desperately went wrong, just before he blacked out and dreamed the most vivid dream. Suddenly, the dream made sense, as he looked down at Sienna, helpless and unconscious in his lap. And then the shock of reality started setting in, when he realised that his body had transformed, and hair grew from his face, and his hands changed into paws with sharp claws. He could still remember how it felt like when all his bones were being crushed and replaced. 

He closed his eyes and thought back to the moment when Sienna had tried to protect herself from him, screaming, tears running down her cheeks as she tried to flee. Kai knew he had to find a way to explain the sudden transformation of his body, but he didn’t know where to start. It all still felt like an imagined story - too unreal to be true. Like something you see in movies or nightmares. All kinds of thoughts were running through his mind, feeling ashamed that he’d caused Sienna so much pain. 

‘Sienna please wake up,’ he begged. 

She made small movements when he gently picked her up, afraid of hurting her already bruised and battered body. He wanted to get her to safety – away from the dangers in the forest – and away from him. 

Days had passed since the incident in the forest. Kai hadn’t heard from Sienna, nor did he expect to. After dropping her off at hospital, he checked up on her recovery once a day, and was relieved that she was now at home, resting. 

Kai’s mood was less than pleasant, and he spent most of his days and evenings hiding away in his room. Nothing made sense anymore, and he felt awkward, strange and a little afraid of himself. He couldn’t make sense of the changes that were happening to him. Some mornings he woke up with long, razor-sharp claws and often, his blankets were torn because of it. 

He didn’t know how to deal with his newfound body, and was still unsure about how to control his ever-growing physical power. Holding things between his fingers became a difficult task, and usually ended in disaster when full cups broke like fragile porcelain by his mere touch. His human physique had changed overnight, making dressing difficult, as nothing fitted him anymore. 

Staring out the window, he couldn’t stop thinking about Sienna and wondering how she was doing. He twisted around in frustration and buried his head in his pillow, trying to drown the nagging thoughts plaguing his mind, when a knock came at the half-open door. 

‘Go away,’ he growled through the pillow, but this didn’t deter Kai’s mother from entering the room. ‘Please mom, I need to sleep,’ he grumbled. 

‘You can sleep all you want later. It’s your birthday and we have reason to celebrate,’ Bethany said cheerfully. 

‘I don’t feel like celebrating,’ he mumbled into the pillow. 

'Well, good morning to you too, birthday boy,' she replied. 

'You mean, you actually want to forget that you are eighteen and that you now officially have all the freedom in the world to do as you please?' She asked suspiciously.