—

Wish looked at the samples, unable to tell what’s so special about them, but she trusted the archeologist’s professional opinion. She watched as the woman ducked and weaved between the branches and bushes, climbing up hillsides and sliding down slopes, giving chase as the creature ran in an attempt to escape and hide. It was so close, just beyond reach. 

But it all happened so quickly, a split second after the woman was able to latch onto a handful of fur, the creature turned its head back and sank its teeth into Selia’s flesh.  Panicked by the attack, the woman released her grip and fell back, allowing the beast to run off into the woods. She cursed under her breath, but still had hopes of tracking the animal down. Selia reached out and saw the amount of blood roll down before retracting and applying pressure as she continued. The hard snap of branches set her into a mad sprint. Clutching her left arm hard into her chest, she ran, low branches and leaves snagged on her clothes and face. 

Just watching every moment of the panic within the memory was enthralling. Wish unknowingly began to clench her left arm, and was unable to look away. Although the archeologist herself was uncomfortable to be experiencing this all over again, she was also captivated by the scene; as if she was being pulled into it, almost merging perspectives with the holographic display of herself.

Selia watched as she pressed down on her own forearm as hard as she could, she could almost feel the rush of adrenalin pulsing through her body to the point where her head began to ache. They continued to watch as the archeologist fumbled around in the dark, without her flashlight there was nothing left for the eye to see, but a moist patch of grass swallowing the illuminated area. Rummaging through her back pouch, Selia grabs the bear spray, whipping it out in front of her. “Come out! I’m not done!” Silence awaited her answer as the moment filled with the creaks and groans of the forest encompassing her, but eventually abandoning the effort.  

Thoughts screamed into her head as the abandoned flashlight became far from view, leaving the maw of the forest entrance, and watched it all disappear in the rear view mirror. She could feel her heart beating so fast she hardly noticed the radio had been going for half of the drive back to the city, playing something about stray dogs.

Selia frantically reached over and smacked the middle console to shut off the radio. The palms of her hands felt sweaty, sliding her hands around the sides of the steering wheel attempting to find a comforting grip. Even the slightest breeze filtering through the car wasn’t helping, nothing was. Selia’s attention was locked so tightly on the road she hardly noticed how hard she had been breathing. Each rapid breath had her feeling the cold sweat dripping from her brow. ‘It was the next right turn past the newly refurbished laundromat right? Or was it the right turn after the Universities Library?’

‘One hundred ninety ninth Avenue, One hundred ninety ninth Avenue, One hundred ninety ninth Avenue, One hundred ninety ninth Avenue, One… hundred… ninety ninth… Avenue, One… hundred… ninety-’ Wheels came to a screeching halt as Selia nearly missed her turn to the public garage. “Come on!” She cried, pressing the button on the ticket machine to let her in. With a small Fwip the machine relinquished the pass, “Finally. Stupid damn parking- Shit!” Snatching the ticket in her left hand, she realized the amount of blood she had left on the formally white little box. ‘I’ll apologize later,’ she thought, continuing to drive off.

As she stumbled out of her car, Selia assessed her surroundings and found the entrance to the urgent care, in which she was thankful was open twenty four hours. The archeologist rushed in and found only two people there to help. 

Wish noticed the two in the hologram to be the same two Gwady was curious about at the party, and grew suspicious in their involvement. As the attendant looked over to the woman, her toothy grin was even larger than before, with their eyes never leaving the two.

“Help… please…” Selia sloppily said, slurring her words as her head started to spin.

“Right this way.” The taller blonde gestured, looking tired and annoyed as they guided the archeologist into the room. 

“Sit on the bed.” The redhead instructed bluntly, as she pulled some equipment out along with a bottle. A plush towel was then placed under her forearm, “Brace yourself.”  She added with sarcasm as she popped open a clear bottle. Selia winces as antiseptic is poured over the bite wound. The blonde on the other hand, looked over at the wound and quickly looked away, uncorking a bottle of her own and started to chug.

—

“We… We don’t have to sit through all of this.” Selia spoke up, reacting again to her own procedure. “This took like three stitches to patch up.”

—

The scene shifted forward in time, now showing the archeologist in her office, realizing something was off about herself. “I felt like I wasn’t myself.” Selia explained to Wish as she watched on. “Like something was beneath my skin. Still me, but like double-layered. Like I was wearing a suit and looking out onto the world from that suit. It was especially so when I was emotional.”  

Selia had a hard time sleeping since then, and found herself scratching and clawing at her own skin, trying to free whatever lay dormant within her. She eventually fell off the bed, scrambling to get it out as the pain got worse. “ARGHHH-” The archeologist screamed, feeling hair force its way out of her skin, her skull crack and change shape, and grew taller as her back started to arch. The pain didn’t stop until the transformation was over. She struggled to stand up as she caught her breath.

‘W-What is this?’ Her thoughts echoed within the library with the permission of Selia herself. Looking at her hands, the archeologist rushed to the nearest mirror and investigated. ‘Fur, canine-like nose, heightened sight and smell… D-Did I become a werewolf?!’ She then looked for paper and a pen, but struggled to pick it up for a moment with her new hands. 

The scene then fast forwarded as she investigated her new body, spending time attempting to go in and out of the form, and noting her findings. Things that were noted was the ability to change due to her excitement, and learning how to control it so it isn’t as random. 

That was the extent of her investigation as she didn’t know who she could trust with such information. But then Selia met a smaller woman with vibrant orange colored hair with green eyes, wearing a white collar dress outfit with a light blue blouse over it, the bottom of both were tattered which showed off her brown high boots. She came in and asked questions about the possibility of a cursed doll.

—

“That is Melissa.” The real Selia said, turning towards Wish as the scene went on. “She came by and we started talking. She was a good friend.” She started to smile at the sight of her friend, thinking back to this moment. “She found out about my secret because…”

—

“I’m sorry, are you keeping some type of canine in here?” The ginger lady interrupted her own question to ask another. “I don’t think this house is fit to keep a wild animal in.” She pointed out the claw marks on the wooden floors, the stench in the air and the loose fur all over the carpet. Being an ethologist, she insisted on seeing the animal and threatened to call the proper authorities if Selia didn’t comply. 

Out of desperation, the archeologist had to show her the secret. She was expecting Melissa to scream and run; but instead, the woman was fascinated. She started to bombard the beast with many questions. “Can you still understand me?” “Can you speak?” “Can you jump further and sprint faster?” “Do you have better night vision?” “Can you hear better? Smell better?” “Do you feel emotions differently?” “Is there a different sleep cycle when you are in this form?” “What about different dieting habits?” The questions just kept coming, and Selia didn’t know the answers to any of them.

Melissa promised to keep this a secret, under the condition that she gets to study the beast. They became close friends during the process, almost inseparable. They would meet every other day, even on days when the beast wasn't involved.