Strange Happenings
Midnight. They always came at midnight. The chimes from the old grandfather clock in the den jolted Daniel out of his restless dreams. It wasn't the chimes that woke him so much as the knowledge that They were coming. It was the same horrifying ritual, every single night.
The room was illuminated by an eerie pale green glow. Three figures in haz-mat suits stood around his bed. One of them held a large briefcase, another held a gun, and the third--the apparent leader, from the way he acted--was making entries into a large handheld computer. Daniel tried to escape, to run, to even move, but some unseen force held him in place, as immobile as the bed itself. The leader looked up from his computer and signaled to the one holding the briefcase, who set the case down and began to open it. Daniel strained to see its contents, but couldn't from his position. If only he could move...
The leader reached forward, grabbed the bedcovers and--
The shrill blast of Daniel's alarm clock filled the room. He'd had that dream again, the same one he'd been having every night for nearly a month. Except that it didn't feel like a normal dream. It felt more like a memory, but one that had been partially forgotten. Anyway, Dan had more important things to worry about, so he pushed whatever it was aside for the moment. Today was the last day of school, finally. All he had to do was survive his last few final exams, and he'd be home free. He wasn't about to let a creepy dream get him down.
***
Dr. DiCaoz glanced over his biology classroom. "Is anybody still working on the final?" he asked tiredly. He paused for a moment, then said, "If everybody is finished, you may talk quietly amongst yourselves for the remainder of the period." As the class erupted in chatter, he went back to nursing his hangover.
Daniel loved his biology class. It wasn't just that he was good at it, or that it was the last class of the day. By some bit of luck or fate, he happened to be in the same class as his four closest friends, Gassan, David, Pammy, and Jake. Gassan, David, and Pammy had become absurdly popular since coming to high school. Gassan was Lebanese and therefore "exotic," David was a star swimmer, and Pammy was a cheerleader. In retrospect, popularity was an inevitability. To the other popular kids, Jake an avid follower of the Furry subculture (he called it a craze, but nobody else did) and Daniel, the introspective writer, were social liabilities. Still, Gassan, David, and Pam never let their newfound "friends" keep them away from Jake and Dan. Privately, Daniel was grateful that he had managed to befriend the four people who appeared to be immune to high school drama.
"So, what'd you guys think?" Pammy whispered.
"I'm pretty sure Dr. Di is a nutcase," Gassan answered quickly. He was met with a chorus of approval from his companions.
"Anyway," Pam continued, "are we having our annual Thank-God-The-Schoolyear's-Over party tonight?"
"I can't go," Jake said, "I've got a convention."
"I can't go either," said David, "My dad's taking me camping. He's on a back-to-nature kick."
"I'm visiting my grandma," Gassan said. Pammy rolled her eyes.
"Alright," she sighed, "when do you guys get back?"
"Sunday"
"Sunday evening"
"Sunday, but it'll be late."
"So," Pammy continued, "is Monday night alright with everyone?"
***
The days passed quickly. By the time Monday arrived, he had gone an entire weekend without his mysterious dreams. He was mostly relieved, but part of him wished the visitors would come back so he could find out what they were up to.
The streets were charged with an eerie calm. A summer storm was coming. As Daniel reached Pam's door, he couldn't help but feel a strange foreboding. Something was decidedly wrong. He rang the bell.
"Come in," called Pammy. Dan opened the door and found friend sitting on the floor in a tidy circle. They were all staring at him, an unsettling hunger in their eyes. "We are playing Truth or Dare," Pammy intoned mechanically. "Please, join us. Truth or Dare?"
"Please choose Dare," Gassan said, in the same unearthly voice.
"The Truth is never any fun," agreed David, still in the same tone. Throughout the exchange, none of the four took their eyes off of Daniel.
"Is everything alright?" he asked. "You all seem...different."
Pammy answered in the same monotone as before: "We are collectively unnerved at a series of recurring dreams we have been having. Perhaps you too are experiencing these visions?"
"Yeah," Dan said, "but I'm not acting that weird about it."
"Perhaps," Pammy said, "All will be made more clear if you answer this simple question: Truth...or Dare?"
Written by Zodiac on 31 May 2008
Dare (bark like a dog)
“Dare,” Daniel said as he stepped into the living room, looking around Pammy’s house. Things seemed off. The circle of his friends sat, all eyes on him. He eyed around the house, the others so very, very still. There was silence. It was almost tangible in the air, as Daniel walked around the group of them, Pammy, Jake, Gassan, and David, he felt their eyes on him.
The game of Truth or Dare seemed innocent enough, but the events leading to it, the empty streets, the blank stares that met him from his friends, made him almost regret having said it.
“You have to go outside and bark like a dog.” Gassan said, blinking those soulful brown eyes of his, a false smile crept across his face. “You have to do this for a minute.”
Daniel nodded as he walked outside and rolled his eyes. This was ridiculous, he had just agreed to it almost on instinct. The street he and his friends all lived on was still so very barren, no people in cars, no one outside, nothing.
“Guys, this is stupid, I’m not going to play,” was what Daniel meant to say. However, upon exiting the house, and breathing in the faint mist and fog that clung to the neighborhood like a glove, sent a shivering sensation down his throat. It was cold like menthol, and burned ever so slightly, like diluted mouthwash. When Daniel opened his mouth to speak, only canine growls and barks emerged from his lips and throat. His hands shot to his throat and he screamed, or rather, howled. The words just were not coming, and no matter how he tried to manipulate his speech, all the came out was barking.
Daniel blinked and looked at the closed door, hearing someone lock it from inside. “You have to go outside and bark like a dog. You have to do it for a minute.” echoed in his mind. He growled, still worrisome, but as he counted and reached near a minute, he felt that cooling stinging sensation go over his throat again, and in mid growl he felt his vocal chords stretch in his throat and his human speech was returned to him.
Daniel ran towards the door and as he went to pound on it, it swung open, Gassan’s face visible behind it. Daniel stopped himself short before heading back in, Gassan following behind him. The rest were still seated as they had been, staring blankly forward, Gassan joining them shortly thereafter. Pammy moved slightly to the right, giving Daniel some space to sit with them.
“Truth or Dare has been a significant bit of fun today, Daniel.” Jake said, staring forward before turning his head to meet his gaze. “It’s your turn, buddy.”
Written by Jack Ripper on 26 November 2015
Dare all of them
Daniel looked around the group of friends, “Ok, I want to ask Truth or Dare of all of you, all at once.” His mind was racing, taking in the events of the last few moments. The mist outside, the strange fugue state his friends were in, it was making an odd sort of sense. He looked down and then across at all of them, “Afterwords, I’ll do the same for you.”
They all looked at one another, and then nodded in unison. “Very well,” they said, speaking as one, “Dare.”
Daniel stood up and opened the windows to the living room, letting the fog roll in, the light mist from outside chilling the already well air conditioned parlor.
“I dare you all, to snap out of it, and to stay snapped out of whatever’s got your minds muddled.”
Pammy, Jake, David and Gassan turned their heads to the left, as they breathed in the mist, and then began to yell and clutch their hands to their temples. Daniel shook, his friends in obvious pain, but soon they leaned forward only to throw their heads back and yell before going limp on the floor.
Pammy was the first to awaken, sitting up and holding her head. “What happened..? How’d you all get in here?”
Daniel ran to her and helped her to her feet as the others began to stir. “All I know is know is, I woke up and my house was empty, the streets were silent and I came here to see if you all were alright. You were like drones and wanted me to play Truth or Dare with you. Gassan dared me to bark like a dog, and,” he paused, grabbing her by the shoulders and looking her in the eye, “I swear to you, my voice CHANGED into a dog’s voice. It happened when I was outside, and there’s this crazy mist. I think it has something to do with it.”
Pammy moaned, her temples aching. “What about us?”
“I dared you all to snap out of it, it seemed to work, although I don’t think it was supposed to do that. It’s probably why it stings. I bent the rules of whatever it was.”
“You were always good at finding the plotholes in things.”
Daniel smiled, “I’m a writer, it’s sorta what I do.”
“Well, you’ll have a hell of a story to tell with this one.”
Written by Jack Ripper on 30 November 2015
Jake
Jake soon sat up, listening in on the conversation. He’d been an avid fan of the “furry fandom” for some time, it giving him a slight social stigma, but his friends stuck with him, not caring about it. Hell, it was becoming a bit mainstream anymore these days. He stood up, his shoulder length black hair fell in front of his face. Wiping it back with the back of his left hand, he let out a grunt from the pounding in his mind.
“What. The. Hell.” Jake murmured, blinking rapidly until light and shadow stopped doing their best to impersonate a kaleidoscope in his vision. Gravity was the next obstacle to conquer, along with the control of his limbs but soon he was standing and looking at Pammy and Daniel.
It was Daniel who ran over to steady Jake as he had a moment of vertigo, guiding him to a chair. “Whoa, there man. I’ve got ya.” Daniel looked to Pammy, gesturing to David and Gassan, who were still in the throes of headache and coming to. “Go get them some water, I’ll try my best to make sure they’re doing ok.”
Pammy nodded, running off towards the kitchen, her voice calling out from the other room, “Wait a second, where are my parents?!” She stormed back in, putting a pitcher of water, chilled from the refrigerator and a handful of red plastic cups on the coffee table, looking imploringly at Daniel.
He put his hands up, in a half-self defeating way, “I just got here, I literally have 3 minutes more experience than the rest of you lot. Hell, go check the rooms. Jake, you stay here and make sure David and Gassan are OK. I’m going to head to my place and see if my folks are there or not.”
Jake nodded, his trembling hands spilling a bit of the water on his khaki cargo shorts. “You got it man, you can count on me.”
Written by Jack Ripper on 02 December 2015
No Parents
Jake nodded, his trembling hands spilling a bit of the water on his khaki cargo shorts. “You got it man, you can count on me.”
Daniel grinned and opened the door, seeing the fog rolling in thicker down the street. Down the neighborhood was his house, if there was something dangerous about the fog, he could probably beat it to his place, but getting back was going to be a problem. It seemed fairly innocuous, if it’s abilities to warp reality weren’t triggered. He looked both ways down the street and made a dash for home. His years of getting picked on, regardless of his friendship with two of the most popular kids in school had given him a one hundred meter dash that could have placed him on the Track and Field team in High School. He ran, the wind and light fog whipping past him and cutting through his hair, moistening it with its dew. The fog was rolling in, tangible in the air, drifting and tumbling over itself as it spilled down the road when he reached his front door, twisting the knob and finding it still unlocked. He slipped in and slammed it shut, locking and deadbolting it, then systematically slamming every window closed, trying to prevent any of the fog from reaching the inside of the house.
“Mom?! Dad?! You home?!” He called out as he ran from room to room, securing the windows and checking for any signs of his parents. Bedrooms, bathrooms, kitchen, basement, everything turned up empty. Daniel screamed, tears welling up as he ran around, checking the garage, seeing the family car still there. If anything he knew a way of getting around town, or out of it. He hung his head, wherever his family was, moping around and not doing anything wasn’t going to help them come back. He strode to his room and grabbed his cell phone, calling Pammy, glad that whatever the fog was, it wasn’t hindering reception.
Written by Jack Ripper on 06 December 2015
Supplies
“Hello?” Pammy’s voice quivered, the sounds of the others heard muffled in the background.
“Hey, my parents aren’t here. The fog is pretty thick, but I’ve got the car, I can come over there in it.”
“My parents are gone, too. The others have tried calling their families and nothing. IT’s like we’re the only ones How? If that stuff can change people, I don’t wanna let it in the house.”
“Listen to me, do you have a box fan anywhere?” Daniel said, a plan forming in his mind’s eye.
“Yeah, how come?”
“Ok, plug it in in your garage, have it blowing air OUT. I’m going to drive over, open the door for me, and close it behind me. I’ll wait about 10 minutes for the fan to blow any fog back out the window before I come in. It’s the best bet we have.”
“OK. Will do.”
“Listen, I can bring over supplies if need be, anything you all need?”
“I think we’re good on food, but extra won’t hurt especially if we’re going to be in here for the time being.”
“Ask everyone else what they want. I’ll see what I can get. Got a bunch of stuff in our basement.”
There was the telltale shuffling of ear and cheek against the microphone of the cellphone, as Pammy called out to David, Gassan, and Jake. A traditional rumble of late teenage unsure desperation was echoed back, as after a few moments David suggested that Daniel bring as much food as he could, in the event that they were stuck at Pammy’s for an indefinite period of time. Gassan had suggested candles, and anything that might help for camping, should they need to leave the neighborhood, finding a place where the fog hadn’t reached yet. Money was something none of them had much of, but Daniel made a point of grabbing the emergency credit cards, in the event things got out of hand. Finally, it came to Jake, who chuckled.
“Hell, the others got all the good ideas, if you find the girl of my dreams, bring her here?” Jake asked nervously, if facetiously.
Daniel laughed and shook his head as he prepared to descend into the basement. He hung up the phone, put it on its charger and and located a few reusable shopping bags. His plan of action was food first, near the entryway of the basement, then the camping gear and emergency supplies near the back, and a final run through of the house before getting back. He took a final look through the window, the fog obscuring the outside world, not even able to see halfway across his front yard now. Back through the kitchen and down into the basement he went, an odd almost licorice taste in the air. He shook his head as he gathered up canned goods, making sure to pack the can opener as well. Three full bags of canned goods and non perishables made their way into the trunk of the car. With each trip, and venturing further in, that odd anise taste thickened. Bittersweet, it hung cloy on the tongue as Daniel smacked his lips. Concentrating on filling the car with as many items as he could, knowing Pammy was prepping her garage for his arrival. Soon he was gathering up the camping gear, tents and single use alcohol burners, things they might need if the power went out. Candles, sleeping bags, and various sundries soon filled the trunk of the car.
Written by Jack Ripper on 07 December 2015
The change
Daniel’s mind focused on the joke Jake had said, shaking his head with a much needed smile breaking up the panic and seriousness of the dilemma they faced. As he turned one last time to examine the basement, his heart sank in his chest.
One of the far ground level windows was wide open, the fog pouring in. He smacked his lips, the licorice like flavor in the air. Good lord, he’d been breathing in the fog for the better part of twenty minutes, and while nothing seemed to have changed, he was doing what he had been told to do. He’d gotten as much food as he could carry, he had gotten all of the survivalist supplies. It was then he felt that strange tingle wrapping itself around his body, then chilling him from the inside out. He grunted as his gait felt awkward, stumbling towards the window and shutting it quickly. as he reached he saw the back of his hand, the fingers more slender, nails growing longer and black hair starting to sprout. There wasn’t exactly pain to the change, but it certainly wasn’t a pleasant sensation. If anything, the fact that his mind was unaffected while his flesh was warped and altered, made it all the more frightening. He felt his hips begin to feel warmer, an internal heat as the bones within began to widen, his clothing shifting, hemlines flowing like so much water with every passing moment. The hair was soon revealed to be fur as it spread over his body, legs thinning but toning more. He ran to the stairs, stumbling and tripping a few times to the bathroom as he stared in the mirror. Vision blurred as his face began to press outward, boned in his skull deforming and expanding into a canine muzzle. Daniel felt over his body, realizing the full extent of Jake’s wash was going to come true. He shook his head as he looked down at his chest, small buds forming over his pecs, slowly expanding and pushing outward. He arched his back, a hand moving down lower, blushing as he felt his more treasured parts start to recede. He was going to become the perfect girl for Jake, and Jake did love his furries. He whimpered, pounding his fist against the door jamb.
There were sensations and sounds coming from within him that terrified him. Feelings of his organs moving, of them changing. Things he know should send him into shock and pain and panic, but it was so dulled, more like a gentle massage in places where nerve endings had never been touched, and as such were more sensitive and confused. He was becoming a she. Inside and out, in every way, as impossible as it could be to have happen. The tail was an oddly welcome relief, adding a counterbalance to her newly acquired bosom, which, along with the changed attire, seemed to spawn a bra underneath her shirt. She took a few tentative steps as she waited, not knowing what to do. Daniel grabbed his.. her phone. She had to get used to a pronoun shift, and texted Pammy.
“Fog got in the basement. I’ve undergone a change. Coming over soon. Please don’t freak out.”
Daniel grabbed the keys and jumped in the car, turning over the engine and opening up the garage door. The fog poured into the small space, obscuring the road, it was even thicker. Daniel turned on the high beams and slowly began to roll down the street, the half block to Pammy’s house, turning into the driveway and honking. The garage door opened and the fog rolled in with the car, after honking a second time, the door was closed and Daniel was made to sit and wait alone until he was certain the fan had blown as much of the transformative fog back outside.
It was a long ten minutes as Daniel ran a hand over her new form, feeling the curves, trying to avoid certain intimate areas as right now getting to the bottom of this was what was needed most. However, she needed to understand the body before she could use it properly. Things seemed to be mostly the same, save for the center of gravity and the tail. She stepped nervously from the car and walked around back, noting that the others had set up a few box fans in the windows, helping air out the place faster. The trunk was left open, as was the back seat, as Daniel walked to the side door, leading from the garage to Pammy’s house and turned the knob.
“I’m coming inside, don’t freak out.” she said, emerging before the others.
Written by Jack Ripper on 13 December 2015
No change?
It was Gassan who looked her over head to toe, confused. “You said you got changed, Dani. What happened? You’re still the vixen we’ve always known.”
“WHAT?!” Dani said, “I’m supposed to be human like you! I’m supposed to be MALE.”
Pammy shook her head and walked over, “Danielle, you’re not making sense. You’ve been our friend for years and you’ve always been a girl fox…”
“Oh damn, the fog. it’s affecting your minds, or reality or something. I promise you, I’m supposed to be a male human.” She reached into her wallet and fished out her driver’s licence. The image of her current self was shown, and had all the wear and tear that a driver’s license could get in two years. She stumbled back and looked at them. “I’m telling you the truth, the fog is rewriting reality. I .. I know you don’t believe me, but what I’m telling you is true.”
The others slowly nodded, worried that the fog had affected the young vixen’s mind and guided her to a couch to lay down on. Dani started to sniffle and cry, Jake coming over and holding her hand. They’ve been the best of friends, but now he was changing his approach, being more casual, holding her hand.
“Dani, whatever that fog did to you, it’ll be ok. Soon your mind will clear and these ideas of you being a dude and human will go away.”
Dani shook her head. “Jake, we’ve been best friends, we’ve got more things in common between us than the others. We’ve been the outcasts, and I’m asking you to believe me. I was a male human until you mentioned that you wanted me to bring back the girl of your dreams. Then POOF.”
“Poof, huh?” Jake said as his thumb trailed over the back of Dani’s hand, making her squirm, she’d never been looked at like that by a guy. Felt this way.
“Yeah,” she said, pulling her hand back. “Poof. I..I think you better go help the others bring stuff in. Go on, go get em, tiger.”
Written by Jack Ripper on 15 December 2015
oops
Jake chuckled and headed out towards the garage. Gassan, Pammy and David were all hefting up supplies and depositing them in the kitchen, the popular kids, unlike Dani and him. They’d been friends for years, yet he still felt like what popularity he had was merely an effect of social osmosis. The work had been nearly completed by the time they finished.
“What do you need me to do?” Jake inquired, looking at the car, the garage and the whirring fans.
“Well, let’s not risk any of that fog coming in, how about you get the windows closed up and bring the fans in?” Davis said, with a nod and a smile to the gawky black haired geek of the group.
Jake nodded and stayed behind as the others walked into the house, closing the door behind them. He’d have to move fast, the fog was certain to pour in the moment the fans were pulled away. He started at the far end of the garage, unplugging the first and pulling it free before he slammed the window shut, getting a whiff and a blast in the face of the licorice tasting fog. He examined himself for changes, although he was starting to doubt Dani’s stories. So far she’d been the only one who’d dealt with the so called changes of the fog, from fixing their heads, from barking like a dog, to this claim that she used to be a male human. Hell, if this fog could make him into a furry, he kind of wanted to jump at the chance.
He took care of the second window, giving that some thought, the majority of his life he had wanted to be something other than human, and Dani had been an example of that, it tormented him how much he cared for her, and yet she always had found him an incompatible partner. It didn’t stop him from being her best friend, and he was happy enough for that. As he reached for the third and final fan, his thoughts went to what she had just said, about how they had so much in common, how close they were, two best friends. It made him smile, that was until his hand slipped on the slick handle of the fan and he coughed, putting it back up for a moment on the ledge. Only then he noticed the taste of anise was stronger than ever and he looked into the whirring plastic blades of the fan. He’d put it in backwards.
Written by Jack Ripper on 18 December 2015
Another Change
Fog rolled at high speed into the garage and he squealed, getting a heavy dose, filling the floor of the garage quickly. He pounded on the door.
“I screwed up! The fan, it slipped and I put it in backwards! The garage is filling up. I’m gonna hide in the car until the fan shoved it back out!”
On the other side of the door were panicked cries for his safety and Jake tried to reassure them as he put the fan back correctly in the window, and hopped in the backseat of the car. The air was thick with the fog and luckily he saw the fan working, slowly making the amount lower as minutes passed. However, as they passed, locked in the car he felt changes start to happen to his body. Fur, white, black and orange began to sprout over his body. His lanky arms getting a fine coating of them as he felt an odd sensation on his chest. He and Dani had so much in common, two peas in a pod. Of course it was rare that a guy and a girl be friends from such an early age, and as his bosom started to grow, he cried out in fear and panic. His clothing shifted, jeans hugging around his hips more, the telltale bulge behind his zipper fading to a more feminine curve as he bit his lower lip, feeling things changing deep inside. Minutes passed in the car as Jake huffed and chuffed, stripes appearing across her back and arms, becoming every inch the tigress, that Dani had been a vixen. While he only remembered Dani as a vixen, he began to think there may had been truth to the claims she had put forth.
Once the fog was gone, she stumbled haphazardly from the car and reached up, pulling the fan out and slamming the window shut, knocking on the door.
“Let me in…” she said, her voice a low purr now.
Pammy opened it up, seeing the tigress shake and shiver.
“Did anything happen to you, Jackie?” she said, shivering, the image before her seeming totally normal. Jake, now Jackie gulped.
Written by Jack Ripper on 20 December 2015
Gassan
“Dani was right, the fog changes us and makes it so we’re the only ones who remember. Let me guess.. none of you remember me as a male human?”
Gassan groaned. “Not you too, maybe that’s what the fog does, makes you think you used to be the opposite sex and another species.”
“Dammit, Gassan, I just felt my body change, I had to watch it happen, trapped in that car. Listen, I don’t remember Dani being a boy or a human, but I’m going to believe her.”
Dani poked her vulpine face in, looking at Jackie. “I’ll trust you, but even I gotta admit, I don’t remember you being a guy, hon. So this is what’s it’s like from the outside point of view…”
Gassan shook his head, guiding Jackie towards the sofa, nodding to David and Pammy. “If this continues, we’ll all be thinking we’re someone else.”
Dani and Jackie looked to one another, Dani speaking up, growing frustrated with the situation. “We could test it, if you don’t believe us. You wanna step outside and get changed?”
Gassan looked at the two anthro girls, no women on the couch. “No thank you.” He said in a sultry, dulcet tone. Ever since his family had moved to America from Lebanon some years ago, it was his exotic looks and voice that had sprung him to heights of popularity, he and David generally had girls lining up wanting to go out on dates, and although he had pondered pursuing Dani and Jackie, he’d never had the gumption to do it.
“Well look, Gassan, if you want to be all mysterious, that’s one thing. But we’re telling you the honest truth ok. You’re the one who’s always come to our aid, lion-hearted and ferocious. You need to trust us, that fog will change you. If you go out, we won’t remember you being you.”
“Well,” he said, looking them over, “any way of controlling what we become?”
Dani shook her head. “Other than Jackie…,” she held her temples, there was something locked there. The words used that triggered it. “Something about her best friend coming back.”
Jackie rumbled. “When I went into the garage, Dani had just called me tiger, and that we had a lot in common. Being a girl, I think that’s what happened.”
Dani nodded. “If there are changes rewriting reality, maybe that’s why I remember being a guy, but not what was said. If I’ve been re-written to remember Jackie being a girl, maybe Jackie had said something about wanting a girl. I mean you know how boy crazy she is.”
“BOY CRAZY?!” Jackie said, as Gassan looked at the door. They began to argue about the facts of Jackie vs. Jake. Not seeing Gassan walk to the garage door.
“The last things you all said to me were that I was lion hearted, and ferocious in defending you. These are good qualities, do me a favor, call me intelligent and brave and strong. I’m going to test this.”
Pammy walked back in the room seeing Gassan open the door to the garage, sprinting and trying to get him to stop.
“Pammy, what you need right now, is a hero. I want to be that hero for you, but if this fog works on changing you into what others tell you that you are, then we can work this fog in our favor. Let me out.”
Pammy, tears running down her cheek, hugged him tightly as she opened the door. “You are brave, and strong, and fierce, my friend. You would protect us, and guard us.”
Gassan nodded, his arms trembling as he jumped into the garage and hit the button to open the garage door. Fog poured in, thick, almost soupy and soon filled the small room, to the point that Gassan choked on it, unable to see his hands in front of his face. It tasted of licorice, spicy as well, like a good chai tea. It also hit him like a brick wall collapsing. If the change had been gentle with the others, it was due to how little they had breathed in. He had jumped full tilt into it. His fingers ached, and as he felt over himself, he checked for signs that his chest was changing, luckily he didn’t feel the growth of breasts.
Written by Jack Ripper on 22 December 2015
Sphinx
“At least I’m not becoming female, like they claimed.” He muttered, growling as his tingling fingers moved to his face, his sideburns falling out, fingernails like claws. There was a change, especially in the shoulders. He hunched over, stomach aching as his shoulderblades shifted place, hips starting to rotate as if on an axis. He cried out as muscle began to pile on, his hands becoming useless paws.
Lion-hearted, strong, brave, protector, guard.
Mysterious.
He had forgotten they had called him mysterious, and deep in his mind he knew what was coming. Only one creature fit those words. One that did walk on all fours, and was guardian for others and a protector. He was going to become a sphinx. He also knew all sphinxes were inherently female, and upon that realization his fumbling paws clawed at his jeans, as he felt organs shift into new positions, the pants he wore tearing free and falling useless to the ground. Gassan watched as a roll of fog obscured them, and made them disappear. His mind expanded, intellect growing, a knowledge of riddles, of having all the answers and not being able to give them. He KNEW what was going on, connected at the foundation of truth. He.. now she, strode on all fours to the door and pawed at it.
“Gazala? Did it work?”
“Gazala,” Gassan thought, “it means intelligent and charming.” Dani and Jackie knew the truth of the matter, but now she, Gazala, knew how to stop it. If only she wasn’t bound to keep it secret.
“David needs to let me in, however in so doing he will become more than the mere man he is now. He will need to solve two dilemmas at once, one of self, and one of others.”
David’s voice came to the other side of the door. “Do you mind telling me what any of that is supposed to mean?”
“I am beholden to speak in riddles, David.” Gassan, now Gazala said. “Now get your skinny ass out here and get changed into the form that might be able to help us all out!” she thought. Wishing sphinxes had the ability to just be up front and honest with solving problems.
“If I’m going out there, I need to know if you’ve changed.”
“They won’t believe me, or they’ll be hesitant, but I can not lie. Crap, what the heck am I going to say?” Gazala thought. She spoke after a moment, “What I have been to you is new to me, I speak for Dani and Jackie. But in coming out here into the fog, I have clarity. David, you will be changed into the hero we require. You will be of myth and legend to us all.”
David grumbled, “Do I have a choice?”
“Yes, you could leave me out here to starve, in this fog. As it is, I can not reach the button to close the door, my paws are ill equipped to turn on the fans. If you need to leave this place you put us all in danger of further changes.”
Written by Jack Ripper on 24 December 2015