CHAPTER 23

I screamed with terror as I felt and heard the bone of my arms break, the pain dragged me out of my hiding place within my head to be in control of my body again. The second bone broke and I rolled on the floor writhing in pain as I felt myself lose control of my limbs, the constant pain and cracks pushed me off the ground and moved me to a kneeling position and then back to the ground to roll on it again.

Tears fell down my eyes uncontrollably as I felt every single bone in my body break, even my face wasn't spared, how I didn't lose consciousness I don't know because I felt it all break into pieces and I fell to the ground, my face and body distorted, then it stopped. Silent tears fell from my eyes as my cheek rested on the cold floor.

My teary eyes wandered and it fell on Kira who was staring at me crying, her eyes filled with fear as she stood on that same spot by the door. Rona ran to her and pulled her arms urging her to follow her out of the hut but she stood transfixed as she stared at me. My eyes flickered and changed back to their normal color as I stared at her through my own large brown lens.

We were friends, we used to be friends, even though I had said I didn't want to make friends anymore, I had thought of her as a friend but they, she and her sister, they hurt me.

"We have to go now! Kira!" I heard Rona shout in the midst of the calm that took over my whole body but I somehow knew this calmness was fake, it felt like the calm before the storm. So I just lay there waiting for the storm to start and it didn't take long.

I felt the broken bones painfully begin to rearrange and I screamed again rolling on my back as fur began to sprout out of my skin and my already tight clothes began to tear apart. Just at the same time, I heard the sound of their feet leaving, but I didn't care. I couldn't bother about them now, not when all this was going on in my body.

I found myself in the kneeling position again clenching my fist as the pain blurred my eyes, but this time naked and hairy. I threw my head back and screamed with the whole of my being, as all the last bones popped and snapped into places and I fell to the ground.

I tried to stand up but my wobbly leg gave out, so I lay there whimpering as the pain subsidized and calmness, a beautiful calmness filled me but again it didn't last long as my eyes flashed red and rage coursed through my veins. The hunger was back.

I jumped to my feet probably to react but found I was on all fours and comfortable. I looked at my feet but saw paws and fiery red furs, I looked around my body and saw more red furs, then a tail, and instinctively I began to chase my tail hoping to catch it when I suddenly heard a hiss in my head.

I stopped and my head perked up as I heard feet, those of humans running away, and it was coming from somewhere far. I sniffed the air and caught the scent, the moment I did as if on cue, I felt myself being yanked to the back of my head as Rieka emerged anger burbling with her.

She shook her large head and changed our stance and I could have sworn that we now stood with confidence, as our vision reddened. She threw her head back and let out a heart-rending howl, signifying the beginning of a hunt.

When she stopped the whole forest was dead silent around us as if squirming in fear of her presence. I watched from the back of my head as she sprinted out of the hut not even giving attention to her surrounding but running straight into the wild in search of her prey, the scent whose owners she so dearly desired to erase from the face of the earth.

Catching up with the witches was not a problem, she caught up very fast, and it was almost as if she jogged toward them. She saw them standing afar under an oak tree. Kira gasped as she saw Rieka but Rona only smiled mischievously and Rieka wanted so badly to wipe it off her face.

Rieka stopped for a second observing them, they were no longer running, why was that? slowly we saw Rona's mouth move inaudibly and as if on reflex, Rieka busted into a sprint, she was fast because the forest blurred as she traveled through, when we were a foot away, she leaped in the air to pounce on Rona but as fast as she leaped she landed on the floor with nothing but traces of blood and a torn piece of cloth in her claw, she turned back and I saw that the witches were gone. They had disappeared into thin air.

Growling Rieka turned around and ran back to their hut but when we got to the clearing, even the hut was gone, everything was gone almost as if it had never been there, almost as if they had never been to that part of the forest, even their scent was gone.

Rieka growled with raged then threw her head back and howled before charging into the forest.