Seeds of Autumn

by HB Lyne

  Chapter Five

  15th November

  It was with some fierce determination and sense of obligation that Ariana dragged herself from her bed and got ready for work. She felt awful; still full of this “new-moon-flu”, as she had decided to call it, still shaken by her nightmares and her head spinning with questions. A lifetime of martial arts training wasn't for nothing, however; she could be disciplined and diligent when she set her mind to it, and that afternoon she had classes to teach. She shoved the thoughts and feelings that were so unwelcome deep into the darkest recesses of her mind where they could not trouble her.

  She walked through St. Mark's in the rain, again. One of these days she would stop off at a shop and buy an umbrella. It was early in the afternoon and cars sloshed by, sending torrents of water across the pavement. Ariana trudged on, knowing that dry clothes and shoes were secured in her locker at work.

  She arrived and got changed, made idle chat with her colleagues when she saw them, greeted students as warmly as she could muster and warmed up her body for her first class of the day. Regular deep, cleansing breaths helped to keep unwanted thoughts and feelings at bay throughout the afternoon, but as the sun set outside and the windows of her studio grew black, the aching set in.

  Throughout her last class, Ariana felt her body growing more and more tired. She shouted instructions to her students and leaned against the wall to take the weight off her aching feet. Her eyes felt tired and she closed them briefly to rest them. Her head pounded. All of her senses seemed to be on overload, crowding her head up. She could smell the sweat of her students so strongly it almost made her retch. The studio lights were too bright and she cursed Ron out loud for not installing dimmer switches. The teenagers in her class were so loud and boisterous that she felt like her ears might begin to bleed.

  As her class drew to a close she hurriedly threw her kit into her bag and bolted out of the door ahead of some stragglers. She ran out into the street, hoping that the air would quieten the noise in her head. She breathed deeply and looked up into the sky. There was no rain, the downpour had stopped and she stared at the clouds overhead as they drifted across the sky and parted. It was so black and Ariana knew without needing to look that it was a true new moon.

  As that thought took root something shifted in her gut and she thought she was going to be sick. She ran to the kerb and retched, but nothing came up. She felt her bones groan and muscles stretch. She stumbled backwards and slammed into the window of the old electronics shop as a strange sound rose in her throat, part growl and part howl, it was a sound so alien to her that she started running, trying to flee from herself.

  Her eyes darted around for her guardian, but he was nowhere to be found so she just kept running. She knew she needed to get to him, wherever he was. She didn't know how she would find him, just that she had to.

  Her heart pounded, she was terrified and her body felt so alien, it was as if she were no longer inside it, but rather watching from somewhere just above her head. Sometimes she was sprinting on all fours, at others she was leaping along in huge bounds, her hands grazing the pavement at the same time. When she looked down she saw wolf paws pounding the pavement one second and the huge claws of a lion the next. Her arms and hands were no longer her own, they were covered in thick fur. Her throat felt strange, the noises coming from it were wrong. She was aware of her tail, swishing behind her as she ran, and of the strength of her legs as they propelled her along at an alarming speed. She felt she could launch herself twenty feet into the air if she tried.

  The street around her kept changing too, flickering like an old TV with bad reception. It was normal one second, but another it was twisted and wrong, the cracks in the pavement became gaping maws to be traversed, which she found she could do easily with those powerful legs of hers. The buildings alongside her loomed overhead, bigger and darker and looking down on her as if they were alive. In the road to her right, a sleek, black shadow glided along beside her, turning out each street light as it passed, keeping her in darkness.

  Her head was filled with panic, she had no idea how far she'd travelled, fear and pain were ravaging her mind and body.

  Suddenly the street went black, all the lights went out, there were no cars, no people, nothing and she collapsed in a shop doorway, shivering. Her clothes were torn, hanging off her in shreds and she began to scream, her body convulsed and tears streaked down her face. She looked at her human hands, they were covered in scratches and scrapes.

  It's just another nightmare, she thought, just another nightmare. I'm going to wake up any second now. Any second now.

  Her vision began to clear and she saw them running towards her, her guardian and the fox. She could hardly see them in the blackness of the night, but she knew it was them. Her guardian dropped to his knees by her side and unzipped a large duffel bag, pulling out clothes and trying to cover her with them. She resisted at first, her mind a fog of uncertainty, she twisted and writhed and scratched out at him. He stayed utterly calm and silent, but persisted in his efforts to cover her and calm her body down. He caught hold of her wrists and pulled her into his strong embrace.

  Ariana sobbed against his chest and gave in to him, a feeling of warmth and safety gradually overtaking the terror. The fox sat silently beside them, his amber eyes connected to her own and as she stared into them she felt his thoughts inside her mind.

  We are family.

  She felt the heartbeat of her guardian against her ear and gradually his thoughts entered her mind too.

  Shhhh. I have you. You're going to be just fine.

  Further away she felt others. She could almost see their faces.

  My pack? She asked in thought. The fox glanced at the man, who pulled away from her in order to look at her.

  'Yes,' he said aloud. 'Our pack.'

  Ariana felt a wave of calm wash over her, followed by complete and utter exhaustion, and before she could say or do anything about it, she slipped into blackness.