Rhia’s alarm was screeching in an annoying, brain-melting cacophony that made her want to throw her phone out of her window. It didn’t sound like her alarm, though. Her alarm usually sounded like bells ringing pleasantly, not like a chicken being repeatedly startled into a raucous shriek. Her forehead wrinkled in annoyance and she swiped in the direction of her bedside table, reaching out to slap her phone and hopefully silence the god awful noise so she could sink back into sleep but, instead of the lacquered wood of her bedside table, her fingers slid across something cool and slick. Not wet, per se, but not wood. It felt weirdly organic somehow. The noise paused and Rhia sighed in relief, ready to sink back into oblivion, when there was a new noise. A quiet buzzing sound that flew around her head and grew louder as it made its way to her ear. A fly?
“For fucks sake,” Rhia grumbled, her eyes still closed as she waved her hand about. She paused. Though she had said “for fucks sake”, the words hadn’t been in English. What she had said was closer to “Ot je’sija skaj”.
The buzzing returned with a vengeance, interrupting her confusion. It was right in her ear, louder than ever, when Rhia felt a sharp pain on the tip of her ear. With a yelp, she shot upright, wildly swiping at the air around her for whatever bug had bitten her, but what she saw made her freeze in place. A kaleidoscope of color seared her eyes and she stared in shock at the dense forest that surrounded her. Ancient, gnarled, purple-barked trees spiraled upwards and created a viridian canopy hundreds of feet above. Purple-ish blue vines snaked along the tree trunks and pulsed with life, and thick flowered plants glowed brightly in exquisite hues of every color imaginable. Birds and jewel-shelled insects flitted about moving from flower to flower, tree to tree, and the air was alive with the sounds of the intense life all around her.
Rhia sucked in a breath in wonder, stunned by even the intensity of the scents around her. The smell of damp, rotting mulch, the sweet fragrance of flowers- it was thick in her nostrils and settled heavily in her lungs. The sunlight above could barely penetrate the heavy canopy of the treetops but, where it did, golden beams of light caressed the earth and spilled upon the ground in waterfalls of warmth. It was so beautiful that Rhia’s chest tightened with emotion and she brought her hands up to wipe at her eyes. Then she paused, staring down at her hands in stupefied silence.
They were hands, with three fingers, a pinkie, and a thumb, but the skin over her hands wasn’t pale and dappled with even paler spots. It was tawny gold, and inked with delicate, unknown markings. Each of her fingers were long and nimble, and ended in sharp claws. She rubbed her fingertips together, feeling rough callouses that only solidified the fact that the hands she was staring down at weren’t her hands but belonged to somebody else. She was in someone else’s body. Her heartbeat began to thunder in her ears and that, at least, sparked some sort of familiarity in her brain. Rhia had panic attacks all the time. Surely she couldn’t be all that changed if she still suffered from it. She waited for the inevitable rush of sickening adrenaline that would have her gnawing her nails down to nothing, but the crippling fear never came. If anything, her senses grew sharper, the world coming into incredible focus as she stood frozen.
Okay. Okay. So, no panic attacks. Right.
She wasn’t sure if she should be relieved or even more freaked out. Was this some sort of bizarre dream from eating too much chocolate before bed? She squeezed her eyes shut and tried to wake herself up but, instead, the memory of her falling backwards over the open lobby of Avery’s agency rose up like a tidal wave. Her eyes flew open and Rhia sucked in a startled breath as she ran her hands over her body. She was alive, in a breathing body that moved and, yep, hurt when she pinched the skin of her arm. She looked down the long line of her shockingly naked body and swallowed as more unfamiliarity met her eyes. She was taller than she…used to be, and was covered in more tawny skin with those faint marks running down her long, toned legs. Muscles bunched in her arms and her stomach had a rigid washboard of abs she had never had before. Her hips had been skinny before but now curved out into thick, muscled thighs. And her boobs. She had actual boobs! Not the mosquito bites old Rhia had, but a pair that looked like she would need an actual cup size to keep contained. She had a head of thick, dark gold hair that hung down to her butt in wild, choppy strands, with bangs that she blew away from her eyes. Lifting her hand to her mouth, Rhia ran her fingers experimentally over her teeth and found that her top and bottom canines were both longer and sharper than what could be considered normal. Her lips were broad and full, and she felt the hard edge of a strong chin. Her nose was long and proud, and high cheekbones gave way to deep eyes with long lashes.
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
Smoothing her fingers over her face, Rhia went to tuck the long hair beside her face behind her ears and paused in shock. On the side of her head, where there should have been the usual skin ears, there was warm, soft, fur-covered ears. Her hands suddenly shaking, Rhia brushed her fingers up, her nails snagging in her hair, and slid her fingertips up the points of two tapered animal-like ears. When some sort of creature crowed from the trees nearby, one of the ears flicked in that direction and Rhia yanked her hands away with another gasp.
I have fucking animal ears. What the fuck?! There’s no way….
Bracing herself, Rhia placed a hand on the middle of her back and slowly slid it downwards, over the curve of her lower spine. To her complete horror and consternation, more fur met her finger tips as she gently ran them over the top of a tail. With but a thought, the tail swung behind her, sweeping against the dirty forest floor before Rhia swung its length around to the front of her body and caught it in her hands. It was long, at least five feet, and covered in thick golden hair. It twitched back and forth, faintly reminding Rhia of a cat’s tail.
Suddenly feeling overwhelmed, Rhia let her tail drop from her hands to swing back behind her. The alien feeling of a new appendage moving independently of her body was strange and overwhelming, and she did her best to push the feeling from her mind.
“Okay…okay….” Rhia took a deep breath and peered up at the towering canopy above her through squinted eyes. She could see everything up there. Leaves shivered and shook, and Rhia’s ears swiveled like tiny satellite dishes to catch the quiet noise.
Rhia took an experimental step forward and was pleased to find her legs didn’t shake at all even though she was shivering with barely-suppressed shock inside. She moved like a well-oiled machine as she stepped carefully away from the giant leaf she had been sleeping in. Her bare feet sank into the loamy ground silently and every curious step she took was just as soundless.
What do I do from here? Where do I go? It was obvious she wasn’t anywhere on Earth; she didn’t remember learning about purple and blue trees in her geography classes. She had never seen insects that large or birds that shiny on the Discovery Channel. There was nothing else to do but pick a direction and walk, try to find some sort of shelter, a source of water, and maybe some food. The thought of food had Rhia’s mouth filling with saliva and her stomach growled loudly. It was impressively loud, almost feeling like the ground trembled under her feet. She frowned and placed a hand against the rigid expanse of her abdomen. She had just eaten in Avery’s office, but who knew when that had been in the grand scheme of things.
The rumble came again but, this time, Rhia didn’t feel the ravenous gurgle in her stomach. It was then that she noticed that the lively forest around her had gone completely silent and still. The light from above felt dimmer and cold, and no playful birds flitted about. Somewhere in the back of her mind, alarm bells were shrieking, the animal parts of her brain calling out a blaring warning that she didn’t understand. Her muscles tensed, locking her body in place with the exception of her ears and tail that flicked back and forth in nervous irritation.
Everything was deathly silent. Rhia’s pulse thundered in her throat and instinct kept her rooted in place. Several breathless moments passed and, just as Rhia had started to believe she was safe, a terrific crashing noise heralded the arrival of a nightmare.
