Everything Will Change

Many months had passed since Karen officially joined the war. After she had killed the enemy soldier a new side of her was released. The way she acted was more wolf-like. She constantly snarled at anyone who got in her way. The new instinct to kill was evident in her behavior towards any humanoid, or towards any human for that matter. The darkness she was afraid of had finally entered her soul, turning everything black and introducing extreme hatred in her mind.

Everyone was afraid of her now, enough to cause the enemy army to surrender. Everyone saw the monster she saw in herself. The true form of a wolf was now in human skin. Everything Karen did was so much like a wolf, and she stayed in that form since she killed that soldier. With the threat of war over, it seemed that everything was peaceful. This feeling soon got Karen thinking of home; her real home. Despite the fact that she would not be able to return to the once normal life she had, she still wanted to go home. The monster she had become needed to be hidden from the sight of everyone. In his office, Zark thumbed through some paperwork. He suddenly stopped when he heard the pitter-patter of paws. He opened the door and saw Karen, as a black wolf, waiting for him.

“Karen, what a nice surprise to see you. Please come in.” Zark opened the door wide for her to walk through. He noticed that her back fur had a slight bristle to it.

“I request that you send me home,” Karen demanded with a slight snarl.

“I cannot do that.”

“Why not?” she growled.

“We are going to war once more. We will depart the day after tomorrow, so you better get ready.” he snarled.

“You enlisted me without telling me?”

“That is how it works here. Remember where you are now.” Zark snarled back at Karen.

“I will not be going to another war. I have had enough General Zark!”

“You will be on the spacecraft going to Narnosk.”

Karen growled and lunged at Zark. Her anger towards him grew with every strike. She clawed and bit as much as she could, but the truth was that she did not know how to fight like an animal. She stayed strong and fought Zark for ten minutes. She got too confident and Zark picked her up by the scruff of her neck and threw her into the wall. She hurtled through the wall with a yelp. She laid on the ground helpless as her head began to spin. Zark picked her up once more and smiled.

“An animal like you belongs in a cage!” Zark snarled.

Karen was soon caged and she hid her head in shame. She asked for this when she lunged at him. She whimpered to herself as guards came and put her cage in the spacecraft going to Narnosk. Now the only choice she had was to join another war.

As night came, the guards began to rest. It was peaceful to all except Karen. She felt as if something was watching her. She was still in wolf form when she heard a noise. She softly growled as to not wake up the guards. She feared that if she did wake them she would be a fight she could not win. She could not risk that chance. She simply sat and watched a shadow move in the night. After many hours of watching the shadow, Karen noticed that the form was a wolf. She recognized it immediately and was filled with joy as the wolf from her dreams came over to her.

“I see you gained a mutation.” The wolf stated the obvious.

“No, really?” she said sarcastically.

“Ah, ok then. No fun right now.”

“Fun. I forgot what it feels like to even live. I have become a monster.” She hissed.

“I remember when you absolutely loved wolves. You spent every second learning about

us. I am hurt at that statement. I am no monster and neither are you.”

“All the people I have killed say otherwise.”

“Maybe, but in the end, they would have died one way or the other. It is life.”

“I lost control and gave in to the darkness inside.”

“You fight poorly, so you rely on rage. Reverse that trait child. Animals fight and only

kill when necessary.”

“I’m not an animal!”

“You are now. It may have been against your will, but it is who you are. Just accept it, please. Your survival depends on it, the hope others need depends on it.”

“What?”

“Have you ever wondered why your form is a wolf?”

“No.”

“You have many that have not decided if you are right for them. I knew instantly that you are my human. That is why you can become a wolf. We are linked and soon many others will be linked to you.”

“So you are basically a pet.”

“Never call us that!” the wolf growled.

“Ok, ok. Sorry.”

“We despise that term. People think that they pick their spirit animal, but in truth we pick you. You are mine and I am yours. That is how we work.”

“I didn’t know. I’m sorry.”

“It’s ok. I will stay with you for a few days and teach you how to fight. You will slowly learn more about my kind, but that will take a very long time. There is so much to explain, but never enough time. Now get your sleep, we shall train in your dreams.”

Karen nodded her head. The wolf became blurry as it walked through the bars of the cage. After he went through he became solid again. Karen just closed her eyes and thought she was just seeing things. The wolf curled up next to her and comforted her.

“If only I had known exactly what would have happened to you. I could have saved you from so much pain. Now that you are so animalistic, I can’t even tell what kind of animal you are.”