Shift

Two

Ava

“Sammy! Sammy, come back here,” I called. He was sniffing around the dark park. “C’mon, Sam, we gotta go home.” I pulled my North Face more tightly around my body, my teeth chattering with the rest of me as I trembled in the cold mid-January air. 

Little snow flurries were beginning to form. While they weren’t sticking to the grass under my boots, it was obvious that I needed to get home. I scanned the park, finally spotting my dog. “Sammy,” I muttered, chasing after him. I grabbed his collar and hooked the leash onto it, which I despised doing.

“Really, it’s the middle of the night, and I’m-” I was cut off by a shaking in the bushes. “Stay here, bubz,” I whispered, using Sam’s pet-name.

I hurried around the other side of a swarm of bushes. “Hell-o?” I muttered, wondering what was going on. I held my breath and focused on any possible sound. Then, I heard it. Inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale…Stop. Someone was trying to control their breathing- that meant a human.

I stumbled forward. “Umm, hello? Hi? Are you…are you okay? Is anyone even here?” I asked, moving some branches away. That’s when I saw him.

There was a boy standing there- a man, really. I gasped. He wasn’t actually wearing any clothes. I mean, I couldn’t really see anything because it was so dark but… I did get a chance to see fur crawling up his arms, moving around. I also noticed dog ears dissapearing into his head. My vision became fuzzy.

“My God!” I cried, flailing my arms around to catch me as I stumbled backwards and tripped over a root I hadn’t noticed.

The world faded to complete blackness, just as I felt secure arms wrap around my body.