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"s**t! Tommy, did you hear that?" Kelly hissed between clenched teeth, clutching her red metal flashlight against her chest. Her rapid, shallow heartbeats seemed to echo within the light, causing the metal to hum gently between her clammy hands. Raised as a kid in the suburbs that practically nursed from the city, Kelly had never been one for the Calamity Jane lifestyle. She couldn't remember exactly who had thought of this little trip, but whoever it was would get Hell if they survived the night in this God-forsaken tent. It was packed to the brim and thick with the enduring stench of six pubescent teenagers crammed into a synthetic stink-dome. There were several bars of deoderant floating around amidst all the sleeping bags, blankets, snack bags, soda cans, and various articles of clothing. However, finding them would be an expedition worthy of several government funds. Safe to say the deoderant would have to bide its time until they started to clean up. Which would be never.
With a disgruntled mutter, Tommy glanced up from trying to open his tube of toothpaste, balancing his flashlight between his bare feet like a monkey would as he twisted in an awkward position, trying to keep the light of his eyes while he pulled at the cap. It seemed that everything was harder in the woods. "What, the idiot asking dumb questions? Yes, I seem to hear something along those lines." He deadpanned, though a charming smile played on the corners of his lips as he watched his friend from the other side of the tent growl and grab the nearest thing - a stuffed bunny rabbit - and chuck it at his head.
"Hey!" Came a squeal as a pretty young redhead reached out, trying in vain to snatch the toy out of the air. As she watched it rebound off Tommy's forehead, Jessie gasped, clambering awkwardly over the half-asleep bodies of her other friends as she grappled with the blanket until she had successfully captured the bunny, holding it lovingly against her chest with a motherly purr. After a moment, she glanced up at Kelly, ignoring the mutters of the three she was lying across none too tactfully. "K, don't do that to Arthur! He's a sensitive little bunny..." Pouting, she stroked the brown toy's forehead, whispering to it as if the thing had been a real baby Kelly threw across the tent.
Glaring, Kelly crossed her arms, staring at the side of the tent in frustration. With an arch of his brow, Tommy returned to his toothpaste crusade while Jessie was kicked to the other side of the tent by the three who had almost been asleep. Amidst all the groans and curse words, Tommy managed to raise his voice enough to grab Kelly's attention. "What's got your panties all in a twist, anyway? Didn't you like canoeing today?"
"Oh, sure." She retorted sarcastically, crossing her arms over the front of her baggy canary yellow T-shirt that sported a picture of Tweety Bird. "It was great. Especially that part where you threw me overboard." Having not hit her growth spurt yet, Kelly was merely five feet tall and petite, easily the smallest of her friends and therefore the one that suffered the most abuse. "And don't talk about water. I have to pee like Hell." Frowning, she shifted her weight over her sleeping bag, trying to relieve the pressure on her poor bladder.
Smirking, Tommy finally decided to ignore his defiant toothpaste, tossing it to the side where it probably wouldn't be seen for the rest of the weekend. It was merely Friday night, and they had until Sunday afternoon to teenage-up this tent. By the end, they'd see to it that there wasn't a clean square inch in sight. "Then go pee, you big pansy." He teased, crossing his arms and tilting his head to the side, allowing a curtain of dirty blonde hair to fall in his face. "Unless you're chicken."
Ignoring the sudden chorus of chicken sounds that the three who were supposed to be sleeping suddenly emitted, Kelly glanced to the zipper door of the tent uneasily. "But...it's dark and unfamiliar..." She half whimpered, leaning forward just slightly to inspect the door. It was flimsy, so it really offered no protection from the scary things outside. Only the knowledge of companionship kept her from screaming her lungs out like a terrified little girl. Glancing back to the others, she found herself met with not-so-friendly encouragement, along with several threats against her life if she didn't go empty her bladder that minute. Finally, with a timid sigh, she grabbed her flashlight and crawled out of the tent on all fours, balking at the squish of the earth under the knees of her comfy pajama pants. Ick.
After zippering the tent up behind her, Kelly cautiously shuffled her bare feet over the sticks and leaves that littered the clearing, trying to find a suitable bush to squat behind. Of course, she'd prefer to just stay there, but she was certain her friends could see her silhouette, and peeing was just gross. They didn't need to see that. Pushing a stray clump of long hair out of her eyes, she silently cursed not bringing more hair ties as she forged through the waist-deep shrubbery, trying to find the perfect spot to sit without getting a pine cone rammed up her a**. Finally, she found a little sparse circle around the base of a tree that seemed perfect for pee duty. With a relieved sigh, she stooped and set her flashlight on the ground, soon squatting to take care of business.
Once she was finished, Kelly stood, pulling up her pants hesitantly as she heard a mournful howl ring out through the trees. Gasping, she grabbed her flashlight, holding it close as she wildly swung the beam around, trying to locate the source of the noise. Was it a wolf? A monster? A chainsaw killer? Too many horror movies started out this way, and she wasn't in the mood to become one of the many victims. However, as long as none of her friends had sex in the tent, then they were probably okay. Those movies only sold if there was teen sex in them, so they always had such explicit dances. Saved by celibacy.
Taking a deep breath, she slowly began to inch towards the tent. It was farther away than she had thought, though she could see the glow of flashlights shining through the blue material of the tent. Feeling her steps hasten, she was soon half-running towards her friends, panting and gasping for breath as her mind began to play trick after trick on her. That rock was a gnome. That twig was a snake. That leaf was a razorblade thrown by a ninja. That treestump was a wolf. Wait. Treestumps didn't snarl. Freezing, Kelly stared through the thick darkness at what she had hoped was a treestump. Slowly bringing the flashlight around to expose the creature, she quickly realized that her imagination was much tamer than she had ever thought it could be.
The light only angered the drooling beast, prompting it to charge silently towards her. Too afraid to scream, Kelly dropped her flashlight in her haste and began running as fast as she possibly could, ignoring the pain in her feet as twigs, rocks, and roots pieced her soles. Had to get away. Had to keep running. Trees whipped at her face, leaving small scratches across her skin as she hurtled through the unfamiliar woods, powered only by her desparate desire to outrun this beast. However, humans never win, and she was soon overcome by the bristling creature. She didn't feel a thing as its jaws clamped around her still-forming waist, head twisted sideways before it lifted her off the ground and shook her like a rag doll. Lights out.
-[+]-[+]-[+]-[+]-[+]-
"Sweetheart, are you sure about this?" Melinda Slater queried tenderly, looking to the windows of the music studio. "Are you sure you wouldn't prefer a quieter instrument?" Expenses weren't so much the problem as all the noise her poor ears would endure as her daughter began to learn one of the most obnoxious instruments she could name. Of course, she still believed that after that savage dog attack her baby had suffered in the woods, Kelly needed an outlet. Fear like that wouldn't go away with a band-aid and a piece of candy.
Nodding stubbornly, Kelly ran a hand through her recently cut hair. Since the attack a month before, she had felt herself changing. She became even more active, spending a great amount of time at the local gym. She was less shy all of a sudden, and much more exciteable. Plus, there was that one night last weekend where she woke up in the backyard, but she had managed to convince herself that she had gotten into her father's fine scotch cabinet. It didn't explain why she smelled of sweat and grass, but it was good enough for a scared teenage girl. "I'm sure, mom. Thank you." Smiling sweetly to her mother, she reached up and pecked the woman on the cheek before scampering off towards the austere building, almost hoping to find answers within its walls.
Over the next few months and then years, Kelly continued to immerse herself in her drumming. After the first few awkward months, she began to get quite good, picking it up easily. Her rapidly increasing upper body strength was a grand help as well, though she could do without those monthly black-outs. Oh, well. By the time she was sixteen, Kelly had more or less figured out what was going on: she was a werewolf. Yes, freaky. Unnatural. Made up. Whatever you want to call it, it was true. And, it was probably the only thing keeping her addicted to the drums. She got intoxicated off music, finding that it was her best escape from the primal impulses and desires that ravaged her still-changing body. Sometimes, when outraged, she would feel her teeth enlarge and the hairs on her arms bristle. However, when she was pounding on those drums and ringing those symbols, nobody noticed or cared. She could be her own salvation onstage, whether Animal Control liked it or not.
 rane.ben · Fri Mar 16, 2007 @ 01:34am · 0 Comments |
