Chapter 2

My mom wasn't to upset especially once I told her all about Jesse. She was actually excited for me. He was the only boy I have shown any interest in.

"I am happy for you Willow. However, there will be rules. For one no later than ten on school nights and eleven on the weekend." I smiled at her and agreed.

That was two weeks ago. Jesse and I have become the talk of the school. I was starting to see why he liked being part of the popular crowd but it was not me and he understood that. He never pushed me to be around his friends if I didn't want to.

"Hey babe you staying after for practice today?" Jesse took his spot beside me and pulled me closer to him.

"I can't today. I promised mom I would go home after school. She has some stuff being delivered." He flashed me his big puppy dog eyes and I laughed.

"Fine, but we have to run to my house right after practice." He smiled at me and then went into conversation with one of his football friends. I looked at Beth and she rolled her eyes making me laugh.

"So Beth how is the play coming along?"

"Oh Willow it is turning out great. I still can't believe I got the lead. It is a lot of work though. I have rehearsal after school today. Maybe I can come by tomorrow and we can run lines." I nodded at her.

"Of course. I think mom has to be at work early tomorrow morning but you know she doesn't mind you being there."

After school I made it to the bleachers and watched Jesse and the team practice. Well I sort of watched. I had a big project due in history so I was sort of watching Jesse and studying at the same time. When practice was over I walked to the locker room area and waited for Jesse.

"Well, well isn't it our beloved captains little girlfriend." I knew who it was his voice had never left my mind. I turned and sure enough Hathaway stood there. His smirk still made me shudder as he came closer to me.

"Look you know that if you mess with me that Jesse is going to kill you. So just go before he comes out here and sees you." He pushed closer to me making me back into the lockers behind me. His eyes were a weird color. They were almost a yellow color.

He ran his nose up the side of my face almost like he was sniffing me. "You smell so sweet. I can't wait to taste you." What the fuck? I needed to get away from him because he was really freaking me out now. As he got closer to me I kicked him in the groin and took off down the hall. I didn't even see Jesse as I ran right into him.

"Willow? What's wrong?" He wrapped his arms around me protectively.

"It's Hathaway. He had me cornered against the lockers again." Before I could say anything else Jesse let go of me and pushed me behind him.

"What the fuck is your problem Hathaway? I told you to stay away from my girl." The look in this man's eyes was far from normal. He had the most sinister smile on his face as he came charging at us.

Jesse pushed me back hard and braced himself for the attack. Nothing could have prepared either of us for what happened though. Hathaway ran into Jesse with such speed and force it was almost in human. Jess went flying back into the lockers. As he fell to the ground I could see an indent in the spot where he hit.

"Jesse!" I yelled out and started to run twords him but Hathaway was impossibly fast and was on top of Jesse in seconds. I started yelling for help as I watched in horror as he was ripping Jesse apart in front of me.

I had to do something but what could I do. My heart was racing at full speed and I started feeling weird. I had a burning and tingling feeling running the course of my body. I thought it was just the adrenaline as I started to run twords Jesse and this beast of a man. As I closed in on them I leaped at them.

I felt the trees fly past me as I ran. I didn’t know what was happening but I swore I could hear yelling. “Freak! Get out of here!”

“We don’t want you around here.”

“Die you freak.”

Their words rattled in my brain as I kept running. Not exactly what a sixteen year old girl wants to hear. I finally stopped running and didn’t know where I was. I couldn’t hear the voices anymore but then again I think they had stopped a long time ago.

What the hell had happened? Why couldn't I remember anything? The last thing I remember was running twords Jesse and Hathaway to help Jesse. Now I was being chased threw the forest and I was in different clothes. None of this made any sense. This all seemed like a dream. Maybe I had passed out from shock and I was dreaming. That had to be it.

I heard what sounded like voices in the distance. I jumped up and took off running again. How did they find me so quick. I was always the fastest runner in school which was why I was the captain of the track team. I felt alive when I ran like I was meant to be free and run wild. That sounds ridiculous I know but I just felt right whenever I ran.

I could feel something changing inside me as I kept running. It was the same feeling I had earlier before... I shook my head and kept running. The feeling kept getting stronger and then like last time I felt something changing and then darkness took over my body.

I woke to the sound of someone or something moving around. I opened my eyes and that's when all reality set in. I hadn't been dreaming and I was completely naked now. I was in a cave and someone was moving around at the front. I moved into the shadows as quickly as I could. I watched as a young man entered the cave. He looked around and then started to leave. At that moment my damn body decided it wanted to sneeze. I let out a sneeze and it echoed. The young man turned around and walked in further. He pulled out a flashlight and turned it on.

I quickly backed as far back as I could. I was to embarrassed to let him see me. He was shining his light around but luckily he couldn't see me. He looked around a little more and then finally left. Before he was completely out of sight I saw him place a bag on the ground by the entrance to the cave. Then he turned back one last time. "I mean you no harm. If it gets too cold out here my family and I live just over the hill."

He then disappeared into the woods. I waited for a little bit and then made my way up to the bag he had left behind. It had an amazing aroma coming from it as I untied the bag. I looked inside and there was some plastic containers filled with some food and also some water bottles and clothes.

My stomach growled at the thought of food. I hadn't eaten since lunch yesterday and it was still cold out. I wasn't sure if I could trust him but what other choice did I have. I needed to eat and then gather some wood for a fire. I didn't have enough trust to go to his house but I figured at least if the food was poisoned I would die out here.

I pulled the food out and set it to the side. I grabbed the clothes and put them on. They were a little big but they were warm. I ate half of the food and decided to save some for later. I wasn't sure what I would do once the food was gone but I was a smart girl I'm sure I could find food. I slowly made my way out of the cave and looked around. I didn't see anyone so I cautiously started to explore my surroundings and gather wood for a fire.

I didn't know if I should stay put or keep moving. I figured I could stay one more night here and then it would probably be best if I left. I had no idea what had really happened yesterday but I was sure that I couldn't go home. The thought of being alone made me start to panic. Would I ever be able to go home?

I took a deep breath and calmed myself. Willow you need to stay calm and figure out where you are and exactly what happened. I said to myself. I gathered the wood and took it back to the cave. The rocks and branches were hurting my feet so I rested inside the cave for a while.

Alright Willow think. How do you start a fire? I placed some of the wood in pile and then gathered some rocks from around the cave and build a circle around the wood. I had been in girl scouts when I was younger and I started to remember what they had taught us. I needed to find two smooth rocks so I could possibly be able to hit them together and cause a spark.

I looked around and found two rocks that I felt would work. I went back to the fire pit and started to tap the rocks together. At first I wasn't getting any sparks and I was starting to get fustrated. I tapped them harder and saw a spark fly at the wood. I kept going and after a few more hits the wood caught.

I watched the fire carefully to make sure it didn't go out or get to big. Although being inside the cave there wasn't anything for it to catch fire to. After a while I noticed the sun was starting to go down. I figured I should try and get some rest if I was going to leave in the morning. I pulled out the rest of the food the man had left and finished it.

I decided I would leave the containers by the front of the cave in the morning. I placed some more wood on the fire and the curled up next to it. I closed my eyes and that's when the nightmares started.

Dream sequence...

The blood was all over as I looked down at my hands. I was covered in it and didn't know why or how. "What in the hell?"

I turned to see one of my fellow classmates. She was staring at me and then back behind me. The pure shock on her face was terrifying. I looked behind me and that's when I saw his body. He was a mangled but I knew who he was. I screamed out only it wasn't a scream it came out as a howl. Like an actual wolf howl. I covered my mouth as I turned back to see more of my classmates.

They all looked at me in shock and then someone threw something. "Murderer! Freak!" I stood up and ran through the crowd. I could feel them throwing things and then I could hear them starting to chase me.

"Call the police."

"She's getting away."

"Get the freak."

I kept running not realizing what had happened or that I was naked. I ran out of the school and that's when I bumped into my friend Beth.

"Oh my god Willow. What happened? Why are you naked?"

"I'm naked?" I looked down and sure enough I was naked. She handed me her jacket. I heard the others coming quickly behind me so I took off twords home. I had to get out of here. I had no idea what happened but I knew I couldn't stay here.

I made it home and luckily my mother was at work. I ran upstairs and straight to my bedroom. I grabbed some clothes and then went into the bathroom. I quickly washed the blood from my hands and face and then got dressed. I heard cars pulling up out front and could hear the voices yelling again.

I ran down the stairs and heard them beating on the front door. "Come out freak!" They yelled as they continued to beat on the door. My only choice was out the back. I ran through the kitchen and out into the back yard. We had a small wood fence then nothing but forest behind us. I ran across the yard as I heard them break down the front door. I cleared the fence without even thinking about it.

I kept running and didn't look back. The voices slowly fading away. When I looked down I was no longer human I was in all fours and covered in a white fur. When I came to a stream I stopped and looked at the monster I was. I looked into the eyes of a wolf.

End dream sequence...