Curiosity got the best of me in the late morning of a sunny day three years ago in mid November. Being youthful and full of energy I had decided to take a stroll near some woods a few miles from my abode. It was then that youthful urge to explore deeper into the woods got the best of me. As I trudged onwards I began to notice very strange things in the forest, the sheer lack of any wildlife whatsoever was one of the bigger hints to me that something was wrong. I knew I should turn back, and so I did. But the idea of leaving seemed to not be an option for I had already been in for a great deal of time (at least an hour) and it seemed that a storm was gathering past the ever so thickening thicket of trees above me. This meant that darkness would soon fall upon the area and I would be best to seek some form of shelter.
I wound up taking refuge that night underneath a great pine tree. I must have slept for at least four hours for when I awoke shivering with cold the rain had stopped and night had blanketed the forest around me. I stood up and began to pace back and forth as I attempted to rub my near numb hands back to life. It was at this time that I noticed a faint light out in the distance. Knowing that pneumonia could very well settle in if I were to spend the night in this freezing forest I stood upon my now sore legs and proceeded towards the light. As I dawned closer I noticed a dilapidated mansion. “How could I have missed such a large thing earlier?” I thought to myself as I approached the area. From a distance the area looked like it was ready to collapse upon itself but as I came closer to the light I noticed the sheer beauty of the great building. Sure the siding was falling apart and the small wooden fence in the front yard were in shackles it didn't deny the buildings true beauty. Not knowing why I found this old shanty building so mesmerizing I waltzed right through the front door without a moments hesitation.
Upon entering the mansion and lighting my lighter I noticed that my previous infatuation with the buildings beauty was indeed well founded. For even through the dim light of my small lighter I could see the houses well kept beauty. The state of the house was surreal in its cleanliness and tidiness yet it never really sparked into my brain at how strange my current situation was. Or at least it didn't spark until I heard an echo from somewhere in the house. The sounds of laughter and joy were faint to my ears but they were still present, somewhere. I proceeded towards these sounds of joy and as I approached an open door near the mansions great staircase that seemed to lead to a basement. I began to make out the words that I heard.
“Yes! I have finally done it!” Exclaimed the voice of what sounded like a madman to my ears. “Oh yes! With this I shall become a man among men! No! A god amongst them!” As laughter once again filled the hallow halls of the mansion fear finally struck me. I was indeed trespassing and it would indeed be a great mistake to let this man know that somebody had inadvertently trespassed into his house while he was in such a state of self delight and success. And plus the sheer amount of lunacy in his ever rising volley of laughter suggested he might be one to take the notion of 'I got lost and couldn't find my way home' correctly or kindly by any means.
Then the laughter stopped and I could almost feel the madman's sudden realization that he wasn't alone, and neither was his secret. I began to flee into the darkness of the night, away from this mansion and whomever was residing in it. There were faint tire tracks in front of the mansion that I hadn't noticed earlier, so in light of hopefully finding a way out of this forest I began to follow them. Feeling safer I slowed to a light jog and began to catch my breath. But it was just as soon as I had stopped that I heard a noise behind me and when I turned to look at what it was it was too late. I froze into the headlights of the fast approaching truck like a foolish animal. The truck narrowly clipped me as it swerved to dodge me and as the blinding lights of the truck turned of my eyes I saw what him. He wasn't wearing a lab coat, but instead a sports jacket and jeans. “Why bother just knowing my secret?” The madman asked me. Why I didn't flee I do not know. Maybe it was destiny? Or maybe I had just had enough and wanted to confront this issue. “Yes why bother just knowing it when you can be part of it?” The madman then pulled out a small firearm from his pocket and shot me. I cringed in pain as I felt the needle enter into my neck and I fainted before I was able to even attempt to pull it out.
I awoke back in the mansion, down in the basement. The area looked like an any normal chemists lab aside from the large complex formula that was scrawled on the blackboard behind the cacophony of test tubes and vials. I felt light headed and incredibly weak from the tranquilizer and to my dismay I appeared to be stuck in a cage. “Awake already?” I looked towards the sound of the voice and saw the madman standing in the doorway. “Oh to be young and full of life and energy! How quickly you have awoken from such a potent drug.” “Wha... What do you want?..” I muttered in reply. “Why I only wish to share my secret with you. For as you may have heard I have created something that I am very proud of.” As he said this fear once again filled me, for he was pulling out what seemed to be a syringe. “I'll help you help me. I'll give you this little 'gift' and you can spare me all of that paperwork I'd have to go through in order to find a way to properly test this.”
This is the last that I remember of that day. I found myself wandering the forest confused until I ran into what used to be the mansion. It had burned to the ground at some point in that night and upon inspecting what little remains there was and digging through the debris I realized the the basement was mostly in tact. I dug my way back into the basement to find the madman again, only he was dying. He was a burn victim. “You?” I inquired at the miserable being. “What is it that you did to me? What happened after you injected me?” I felt no shame for him; I only wanted answers.
The madman wheezed in pain as he told me his woe. “I.... I... Shouldn't have wasted it on you... That gift cost me my life... But.... Don't blame yourself.... It's almost like Lycanthropy, only for anything really.” “Wait!” I objected. “You mean to tell me I'm to be compared to a werewolf? How am I supposed to believe that?” Then it slowly dawned onto me that it might be my fault that this stranger was dying. “Did... Did I or you? Did I hurt you?” “No...” Wheezed back the madman. “No... It was not your fault... The power of a thousand different instincts digging into your memories, your DNA, and your identity, it would be to great for any man to take hold of... Lord knows.” The madman then broke into a painful cough that sprayed blood with every weakening release of air from his freezing lungs. “Lord knows! What would have happened to me if I had taken that gift... I feel i'm need of a rest now... Leave me be...”
It was with this that I fled the madman and his now destroyed domain. I knew his death was imminent and I felt no remorse in letting him waste his final hours in those ruins. I ran like the wind, faster that I had ever ran before, but I didn't tire. Deeper into the forest I ran until I found my way to a small watering hole. Feeling a need to rest and relate the past 24 hours events I stopped to take a drink. As I knelt my head down to drink I noticed that I wasn't human anymore, but I was a wolf. Scared I pulled my head back recalling what the man had said to me earlier. Was I human when I talked to him? I looked back down upon my reflection in remorse, remembering my human face and to my surprise it had returned! I would spend a great deal of time in this spot in the future. Honing my new shapeshifting ways.