//------------------------------// // Part II - Chapter 6: A Shot In the Dark // Story: Return of the Mare // by Victoria //------------------------------// Chapter 6: A Shot In the Dark I opened my eyes to see the unfamiliar white ceiling over me. I’d gotten used to the dull gray ceiling of my own room, so I understood immediately that I had been sleeping somewhere else. It took a few seconds for my sleepy brain to remember everything. My mood became sour as soon as I did. The room was brightly lit by a sunlight shining through the window. It meant that I was late for work, though it would be crazy to go there while looking like the weird yellow creature that I was. And I couldn’t even call in sick – they wouldn’t recognize me with the new voice. Because I had apparently slept much more than usual, I was feeling well-rested. I glanced at my body to see if anything more had changed. Nope, it was the same one as yesterday. There was no point in staying in bed any longer, so I rolled out of it. I landed on all fours on the floor with a loud clop. I cringed when my ears flinched from the sound. I wasn’t used to ears that moved on their own. It wasn’t painful or anything, just a little annoying. Speaking of annoying things – I twisted my neck to look at my behind, checking if the tail was still there. It was sticking out of my rump like a sore thumb and showed no signs of going away. If anything, it had gotten even longer and fluffier. I guess it even looked pretty in its rich, blue color with a bright streak of purple. I would have liked it if I saw it on a cute animal. Concentrating on it, I made the tail swing up and down, getting an interesting sensation at its base. But there wasn’t any time for distractions. Humans are not supposed to have tails. I had made a decision to cut the thing off and I planned to follow it through, no matter how cool it looked. Stopping playing with my tail, I energetically trotted to the exit, but stopped half-way, when I felt the call of nature. The horrible realization dawned on me – I hadn’t used the bathroom since yesterday. I had no idea how I was going to sit on the toilet to do my business, but it was dangerous to delay it any longer. Turning in the other direction, I rushed to the bathroom as fast as possible. Opening the door with my mouth, I got in. The whole process took me longer than expected, but I was finally done. Instead of using a toilet that obviously wasn’t supposed to be used by quadrupeds – which I figured out the hard way – I just used the bathtub instead. I made a mental note to warn Marcus about that to avoid any unfortunate accidents. When I had finally left the bedroom, I saw Marcus sleeping on the couch with a closed laptop in his embrace. I approached carefully, trying to put my hooves down without making a noise. I was feeling hungry, but I suppose I could try to get something to eat myself without bothering Marcus. My friend deserved some sleep too. I glanced at his watch – it showed 11 AM. Marcus was supposed to have been at work a long time ago, but he probably took the day off like he had promised yesterday. I sighed, drooping my ears. He was going through all this trouble for me without even asking anything in return. I had always wanted Marcus to be more than just a friend and just as our relationship was about to go somewhere, this weird change had to happen! If we didn’t find a way to make me normal again, I could as well bury all my hopes. He needed a woman in his life, not a weird creature like me. Marcus stirred, starting to wake up. The laptop would have fallen off of his arms if I hadn’t stopped it with my foreleg. He opened his eyes, looking at me half-awake and then suddenly jumped back with a scream. His reaction startled me so much that I was forced to take a step back, tripping on my own tail in the process. If I’d still walked on two legs, I would have fallen hard and probably hurt myself, but now I just fell on my rump. “It’s just me, Marcus,” I told him, feeling saddened by his reaction. My earlier fears had been proven true – he wouldn’t like me in my current form. Marcus had calmed down already and was sitting there with an embarrassed expression on his face. He looked down at the laptop that was lying on the floor and picked it up. “Sorry about that,” Marcus said with a tiny smile, “I was just having a nightmare and when I opened my eyes and saw you…” He stopped saying anything when he saw my tearful eyes. I had every right to be upset over the fact that I could scare him like a nightmare. “Eh, don’t be upset, Annie,” my friend said, patting me on my head, “I was just startled, not scared by you. You actually look really cute.” “Really?” I asked in disbelief. “You like it?” “Yes,” Marcus nodded, “You should consider yourself lucky that you didn’t turn into some hideous monster instead.” “Why, thank you,” I said with a voice full of sarcasm. “I’m so lucky.” Marcus made a noncommittal shrug. “Your hair has changed color, by the way,” he told me. “It’s the same as your tail now.” I lifted a strand of hair to give it a look and confirmed that he was right. Not that there was any doubt. In fact, I would be more surprised if the hair color had remained unchanged. Everything else had become different, so why not the hair? “Speaking of the tail–” I started to speak, but was interrupted by Marcus. “I get it,” he said unhappily, “You hate it and want it cut off. I’m gonna get my scissors.” “Thank you,” I nodded. Marcus was clearly showing his displeasure at the idea, but it simply had to be done, despite how nice the tail looked. I should remove it now before I became too attached to it. I followed Marcus to the kitchen, where he took a pair of scissors from a drawer. Then he looked down at me. “Turn around and stay still,” he ordered. I did as he asked, lifted my tail up and waited. Seconds passed, but nothing happened. The tail started to shudder in tension – it was pretty hard to keep it in such a position. I turned back to see the reason for the delay and saw Marcus staring at my rump with a weird expression. Noticing my attention, he blushed heavily and turned his eyes away from me, saying: “I think you need to put on some panties…” “What?!” I twitched in shock and pulled my tail down in an attempt to cover my lady parts, realizing that I was completely exposed! Keeping my backside pointing in a different direction, I turned around to face him. My coat felt almost like clothes in its own right, so I must have forgotten to put on some real ones. And Marcus saw everything… “I wasn’t expecting to see something like that,” he said, brushing a palm over his hair nervously. “At least, not until a third date.” “Very funny,” I said in a flat voice. “This is so awkward…” “Yep,” Markus chuckled. “Anyway, you want me to continue?” I shook my head in disagreement. I was already having some doubts and after that incident I had become reluctant to follow up on my plan. Maybe the tail should stay after all. It didn’t seem that bad now – I was starting to get used to it. “Your choice,” Marcus shrugged, putting the scissors away. “I found some leads about your transformation in my late-night internet search, by the way.” “You did?” I asked excitedly, throwing the issue of clothes out of my head. I didn’t have anything of my size anyway. Marcus walked silently past me back to the living room and sat on a couch. He took his laptop and patted the place next to him, inviting me to join. I didn’t need to be asked twice. “Well, what is it?” I asked impatiently, settling on the couch. “After you’d told me your story yesterday, I got some ideas…” began Marcus. I listened to him with great interest. While I had been sleeping, Marcus had managed to conduct some small research about the area where I was found. Turns out, the forest was considered pretty weird by the local population. There were sightings of strange creatures in the past and, though none of them had actually been confirmed, the place still had quite a reputation. Even the large stone that I saw when I first opened my eyes was mentioned. “…They call it simply The Boulder,” Marcus explained to me, opening a page of the local town’s forum. “See? There was a pretty heated argument between some users here; either it’s cursed or it’s just a scary story for the children. I find it a striking coincidence, don’t you?” “The Boulder?” I rolled the name over my tongue skeptically. “I admit, that’s strange. But yesterday you thought I was a lab experiment and now you think some rock is to blame?” “I just don’t know what to think, Annie,” Marcus looked at me seriously. “I don’t see people transforming into other creatures every day.” I fell deeply into thought. What if it really was a curse? Despite my love for fantasy, I had never believed in real-life curses, but Marcus was right – my transformation was a pretty big event to ignore. It wasn’t difficult to believe in the existence of real magic if you were its actual victim. A loud knock on the door made us both flinch. I didn’t think Marcus was expecting someone else over, judging by the surprised glance he shared with me. He pointed to the bedroom, suggesting that I hide inside and waited; so I rushed to do just that. I could still see the entrance directly through the keyhole though, so I stood there and watched, wondering who that might be. “Mr. Brown? My name is Inspector Frost,” a man in a police uniform introduced himself, after Marcus had opened the door. I felt like my stomach had been twisted into knots. The police visit was definitely connected to my mum’s call yesterday. It meant that my disappearance was already being investigated and as much as I wanted to reveal myself and stop that nonsense, I understood it was a bad idea. We had to handle this situation ourselves. “Can I help you, Inspector?” Marcus asked in a slightly shaken voice. “As a matter of fact, you can,” the inspector nodded. “Are you aware that your colleague has gone missing?” “I saw all of them just yesterday and they were fine.” “Anne Evans, the girl you work with in one shift, has been reported missing,” the policemen continued sternly. “You were seen leaving the store together. What was the last time you saw her?” “Eh, I just…just walked her home and that’s all,” Marcus explained. “I see. There is no official investigation yet, we’re just asking questions to her friends and colleagues so far. But I still recommend you stay in town for the near future. This is all. Good day, sir.” With that, the inspector nodded politely and left just as suddenly as he had appeared. Marcus stood by the entrance for a moment, dumbfounded, before finally closing it after him and looking in my direction. I slowly emerged out of the bedroom, feeling lightheaded. It seemed like my friend was getting into trouble because of me and I didn’t like it one bit. My heart clenched in guilt. “Wow,” he said with a deep frown. “That was pretty intense.” “I’m so sorry, Marcus…” “Sorry?” he asked in surprise. “You’re not the one to blame here. Your overprotective mum is.” Thinking over his words, I understood that logically he was right. But I still felt responsible for bringing the attention of the police to him. The only way to stop them now, besides revealing myself, was to fix my condition as soon as possible. Marcus had found a lead – the “cursed” rock – and despite how ridiculous it sounded, that was the only explanation we had right now. Marcus apparently had come to the same conclusion, because he said: “We should leave immediately, before things escalate. Go to the place where you were found. I feel like we’re going to find some answers there.” I started to nod at first, but then I saw a problem with his plan. I couldn’t just go outside – I looked too different now. There was no way for me to pass for a human, even if I wore a hoodie that proved to be so useful yesterday. Marcus agreed after I shared my concern with him. Together we came up with a better plan. According to it, we should leave in the late evening, when it was already dark. We would use my quadruped shape to its advantage, meaning that I would pretend to be a dog. I figured that I would pass as one from afar and Marcus supported the idea. Then he would call a cab and we would drive to the place where I was found, in comfort. The place itself wasn’t far from here. It was small town, basically a village, near Marlborough, west of London. If everything went right, we should be there in less than two hours. Our plan was based on the hope that the police wouldn’t do anything until tomorrow. Everything would be ruined if they decided to make Marcus a suspect in the case of my “disappearance” and detained him. *** I was lying on a couch and looked out of the window, deeply in my thoughts. I had started to get a little worried. Dusk was already setting outside, but Marcus hadn’t returned yet. We had a full brainstorm earlier and dismissed our rushed idea about taking a cab while I pretended to be a dog. It was too risky. I just didn’t resemble one with my bright yellow coat, even in the dark. Our new, improved plan was to rent a car and drive to the place ourselves, so Marcus went out to get it. He had a driver’s license so it wasn’t going to be a problem. To be honest, I had expected him to return a long time ago. My already high opinion about Marcus only grew in the light of recent events. He told me that he took a self-paid vacation at work for a whole week just to help me. When he had mentioned it in his usual off-handed manner earlier, I was so touched that I stood up on my back legs and embraced him in a tight hug. I wasn’t sure if he’d liked it, though. After all, we’d never hugged during our months of working together. Finally, a sound of a key turning inside a lock announced the arrival of Marcus. I knew that it was him, since no one else had a key to his place. Jumping off the couch, I trotted to the entrance to meet him. The sound of my hooves clopping on the floor still disconcerted me a little. During the long wait, we were trying to figure out into what exactly I was transforming. Our most reasonable guess was a horse. Obviously, I was looking pretty far off from a real horse, but the structure of my body was similar, as the internet search showed us. Those differences were for the better. I would probably take my condition much more poorly if I had become a real horse. First of all, real horses couldn’t talk and, secondly, I discovered that my new body was almost as agile as my old human one. The main drawback was the lack of fingers – it was hard for me to do even the simplest things now. I was harshly reminded of that fact when my mum tried to call me just after Marcus left home. At that point, I would have taken another chance at explaining the situation to her, but my hooves simply didn’t work on a touchscreen. All I could do was to watch the screen helplessly, unable to answer. My mood went sour right after that. When Marcus opened the door and came in, he was wearing a happy smile. I didn’t want to ruin his mood, so I greeted him with a smile of my own that was hiding my distress. “Have you got a car?” I asked, trying to sound excited. “Yes!” my friend answered, not noticing my drooped ears. “And for a good price too. I rented it for a whole week.” “A whole week?” I raised my eyebrows. “Isn’t it too much? The place we’re going to is just a few hours’ drive away.” “I figured that better safe than sorry,” shrugged Marcus. “They told me I could return it earlier and get the money back for the remaining days.” “I’ll return you the money as soon as we figure out how to fix me back, I promise,” I mumbled, looking down at my hooves. I didn’t like the feeling of being in debt to someone. “Don’t be ridiculous, Annie,” he waved off my concerns like some annoying mosquito. “I have some money saved and I didn’t really spend all that much. You would have done the same.” I decided not to tell him my doubts about that and simply nodded instead, forcing a smile to return on my face. “So, the car is waiting outside,” Marcus said, pointing behind his back. “We have to take along some blankets though, because most likely we’re going to sleep in it.” I didn’t look forward to sleeping in the car, but we couldn’t really book a room in a local hotel. The town was known for its rumors about strange creatures, but a yellow, talking horse staying at the hotel would prove too much even for them. There was nothing for me to take, so I just sat on the floor and waited for Marcus to finish packing. It didn’t take long – all he took was a pair of blankets. He figured that it was easier to buy food at the place than try to pack whatever he had in the fridge. When we were finally set to go, it was already dark out on the streets, just as we had planned. I carefully strolled outside, glancing around to see if there were any late strugglers, but the street was empty. The car that Marcus was talking about was parked on the side of the road. It was pretty roughed up – I could see its scratched gray surface in the light of the street lanterns. I wasn’t a car expert, so I couldn’t distinguish its exact model, but it definitely wasn’t anything from this century. At least it was cheap. Marcus went ahead of me to open the front door. It was very thoughtful of him since it would be difficult for me to do it myself. With a grateful nod, I climbed onto the seat. An unpleasant smell reached my nostrils as soon as I got inside. I quickly noticed its source, standing on the dashboard. It was a half-eaten hamburger by the looks of it. I suddenly realized that that transformation must have affected my taste preferences too. As far as I knew, horses were vegetarian by default. It meant I was a vegetarian now as well. That also explained my sudden dislike of tacos in the restaurant Marcus took me. The door to my right opened and Marcus settled in the driver’s seat, fastening his seat belt. I gave him a questioning look and he got my hint. Reaching over, he fastened my belt too. The car started with a low rumble and we slowly moved forward. I noticed with worry that Marcus was holding the wheel so hard his knuckles were white. He was concentrating on driving harder than was comfortable for me. It wasn’t really surprising, since he didn’t own the car himself and was probably out of practice. I just hoped that his skills were enough to get us to the destination in one piece. Marcus accelerated our pace when we got out of the town itself. The road ahead of us was mostly empty, which gave him more confidence, and we started to move pretty fast. I touched my belt nervously, making sure it was holding me tightly just in case. I didn’t want to distract my friend with pointless talk, so we drove in silence. Since there was nothing for me to do, I closed my eyes to get a quick nap. It seemed like no time had passed at all when I was woken up by Marcus shaking me. Opening my eyes with a powerful yawn, I glanced at him. “We’re here,” he explained. “So?” I asked in a cracked voice. “Weren’t we supposed to sleep in the car?” “I was thinking about that,” Marcus admitted, “But let’s try to find a hotel room first. I’m going to book one and then you slip inside.” “That sounds pretty risky.” “We’re going to spend some time here anyway,” he told me with a shrug, “Might as well do that in comfort.” I had nothing to say against it, so it was settled. Marcus opened up the map on his phone and checked for the closest hotels. He found one quickly and soon we had parked nearby, examining it from a distance. It was a two-storey building with a car park in front of it. It wasn’t big, but it was good enough for a small town like that. A few windows were illuminated, showing that some people were staying there. Marcus explained his idea to me. He was going to book a room on the first floor and open up a window. Then I was supposed to sneak in unnoticed. The place was lit up all around, but it was night, so we hoped that no one would be looking out. I got out of the car and waited, watching Marcus park it in the car park. The night air was chilly, but I wasn’t freezing despite being basically naked. My coat was saving me from that. At the very least, I could save some money on clothes if I stayed in this form for long. Finally, I saw one of the dark windows light up and Marcus’ silhouette appeared in the frame. It was my cue. Crossing the road, I cringed from the loud clopping of my hooves on the firm asphalt. Slowing down, I carefully approached the window. Marcus was holding his hands, ready to grab me, but just when I was about to climb up, something happened. I heard an angry bark from behind and a sharp pain suddenly pierced my thigh. I shrieked and bucked by a reflex. My back hoof hit the attacker and it let go of my leg. Turning around, I saw a dog getting up from the ground. The dog was almost the same height as me when it stood on all fours. The collar on its neck suggested that it wasn’t some wild stray dog. It growled angrily and revealed the sharp teeth in its maw. I looked at them in fright. “Annie!” Marcus shot out. I couldn’t answer, because the dog was about to pounce on me again. Not waiting for another attack, I sprinted off, trying to get as far from it as possible. I could hear the dog on my heels. Turns out my new body was fast, but even galloping at full speed I couldn’t shake the damn dog off my tail. If I was still a human, it would have caught me already. After a few minutes of non-stop running, I went out of breath. It became increasingly hard to maintain my pace. I dared to throw a glance behind only to see that monster a few feet away. Taking a sharp turn, I gradually came to a stop. The dog ran past me by inertia at first, but then quickly turned around to face me. I was heavily panting from the chase, but I was far from giving up. I tried to scare the dog off by stomping my hooves loudly, but it continued to advance on me menacingly, saliva dripping from its mouth. A wave of fear washed over me and I backed away, not daring to break eye contact. “Just go away!” I screamed at it in frustration. My words had the opposite effect on the beast as it lunged at me with a bloodcurdling snarl. I dropped to the ground with a panicked shriek, putting my forelegs over my head. I expected the bites to come, but they didn’t. The dog’s barking could still be heard, but it sounded kind of muffled now. I carefully looked out between my hooves and saw in amazement how the dog was pointlessly throwing itself at a faint, blue force field that had appeared in front of me. I got up, still shaking from the adrenaline. The dog had given up its attempts to break the shield and was just growling angrily. We looked at each other for a full minute straight, until it finally turned around and ran away in defeat. The field disappeared as soon as I had lost sight of the dog. I let out a breath and fell on my knees, feeling awfully tired. The adrenaline was gone and I started to feel the pain from the bite in my back leg. Looking back, I saw small droplets of blood on the road. It wasn’t telling me anything good. I had to take care of the wound as soon as possible. The dog’s jaw was pretty large and could have left a nasty mark on my thigh. It could have been much worse if not for the mysterious field. Such things weren’t supposed to be possible; it was a thing out of the sci-fi stories that I so loved. When two impossible things in a row happened to me, it definitely wasn’t a coincidence. The field was most likely connected to my new body. Perhaps my panic triggered some defense mechanism. It was an awesome ability to have and I wondered if I could invoke it at will. But that would be something for later. I spared a few glances at my surroundings to get my bearings. I was lying in the middle of an empty road; a row of similar cozy houses was on both sides from me. They were built in the same style as Marcus’ own. All their windows were dark, which was a promising sight so far. No one had seen me yet as far as I could tell, but I was sure someone was going to check out the commotion. I had to get away from this spot immediately, despite how tired I was. Standing back on my hooves, I limped in the opposite direction from where the dog went. I planned to take a roundabout way to the hotel, so I wouldn’t meet the dog again. I still couldn’t believe that I had managed to drive it off. Who even let such a crazy dog just roam freely on the streets? It was irresponsible and dangerous. I would have reported the owner to the police if I had known who it was. There were no bushes at the sides of the road to hide in, so I had no other choice but to be out in the open. Keeping the general direction of the hotel in mind, I took a few turns to the right and walked straight ahead for a while until I finally saw it. But I didn’t let myself relax just yet – the dog could still be around somewhere. I approached the building carefully, watching for any sudden movement. Soon I noticed Marcus pacing nervously under the open window. My friend saw me as well because he broke into a run to meet me half-way. “Thank God you’re fine,” he said with relief, looking me up for any injuries. “I was terrified when that dog jumped at you. Let’s get you inside before someone sees us.” I silently nodded, not wishing to stay on the street any longer myself. I limped behind, but I was unable to keep up with his fast pace. Marcus looked back to check what was wrong. “That fucking dog…” he growled, finally noticing my wound. “Does it hurt?” “What do you think?” I sighed. “Get on my back,” ordered Marcus, “I’ll carry you.” I didn’t need to be asked twice. At this point, I was barely able to stand. The force field that I had produced earlier had taken a lot of my strength and I had already been tired from running. Marcus crouched down, so I could easily wrap my forelegs around his neck. He stood up with a grunt and got me to the window much more quickly than I would have on my own. He helped me to climb up on the window sill and then jumped in himself. Finally, I could relax. I dropped on the rag in the middle of the room and rolled on my back, having no desire to move anymore. Marcus had another idea, however. “We should treat your bite, Annie,” he said. “Dog bites can be pretty dangerous.” Without even waiting for my answer, he just picked me up and put me on the bed. The bed was rough, but it was to be expected from a hotel in a small backwoods town. Marcus went to a bathroom, probably to find a med-kit. The search didn’t take long – it was right where it was supposed to be. I stretched my hurt leg to make the process easier for him. He disinfected the wound first. I bit my lower lip hard, trying not to yelp out in pain when Marcus worked on the injury. The whole process went smoothly, however, and soon he was bandaging it. “Thank you, Marcus” I said weakly. “You’re welcome.” *** I felt much better the next morning after getting a good night’s rest. We both were hungry, so Marcus brought some quick food from a local store. I warned him about my new diet preferences, so he wouldn’t waste the money on something I would find disgusting. After a nice meal together, Marcus had gone out again. He was supposed to visit a local library – and maybe a pub – and ask people about The Boulder in the forest. I had seen it just once six years ago, so I didn’t remember its exact location. I was dying of boredom after the first few hours alone. Soon I started to explore my new body’s abilities since there was nothing better for me to do. My goal was to produce something like yesterday’s force field again. I settled on the bed, bending my forelegs under me. It was weird, because the position would be impossible in my old human form, but now it felt pretty comfortable. Slowly breathing in and out, I started to relax. Closing my eyes, I tried to remember what I felt yesterday besides panic when the dog was about to pounce. There was something…and just out of reach. Some weird feeling on the top of my head that had appeared right before the force field – that was probably it. I tried to emulate it now, but to no avail. I wasn’t about to give up after the first try, however. Having that ability would be pretty awesome, so I made another attempt. This time I felt something. A few sparks came off of my horn with a crackling sound. Of course! My horn was the channel for the energy that was used to create the field. It wasn’t some useless sprout as I thought at the beginning of my transformation. The exact nature of the energy wasn’t clear, but I had a pretty solid guess. And thanks to my horn, I could learn to control it. Having understood the basics, it became much easier to summon the energy. After a few more attempts, I was able to produce a bunch of sparks, but I was far from producing the actual protection field as I did yesterday. Perhaps I should see if I could use the energy for something else. Opening my eyes, I searched the room around me, trying to come up with an idea, when a lamp on the nightstand caught my attention. A smile of anticipation grew on my face. Concentrating my stare on the lamp, I focused the energy into my horn. The more energy went there, the more tired I felt. When I decided it was enough, I just let go of it and the result surpassed all of my expectations. A blast of blue light shot out of my horn and hit the lamp. It flew off from the nightstand and crashed into the wall with force, breaking into pieces. I twitched when one of the shards whistled just a few inches past my ear. Marcus chose exactly this moment to return, of course. He walked in just after the lamp's destruction. Closing the door behind him, he faced me with raised eyebrows, moving his eyes between me and the mess by the wall. “You know I have to pay for anything we break here,” he told me in a disapproving voice. “Sorry, it wasn’t on purpose,” I lowered my gaze for a second, but then looked up with enthusiasm: “You wouldn’t believe what I just did!” “Broke the hotel’s property?” my friend deadpanned. “No! I mean, yes, but that’s not the point here,” I waved my hooves in frustration. “I used telekinesis to do that!” “What?” Marcus frowned. “Telekinesis. Real magic,” I explained. “That was how I escaped the dog yesterday.” I quickly recounted yesterday’s events. It looked like Marcus had believed me, especially after I told him about my horn and demonstrated the sparks that I could shoot from it. “This is incredible,” was Marcus’ review after I had finished. He sat on the bed beside me and cautiously touched my horn with his index finger. I could only feel a slight pressure from it, like when you touched your nail. “It’s warm,” Marcus said. “Makes sense, since it channels the magic through it.” “Are you sure it’s magic though?” asked Marcus with some doubt. I simply nodded in answer. Magic was the most logical explanation, as strange as it may seem. I had never believed in magic before, since there was no real proof, but in the last few days I’d gotten much more of it than I could handle. “Just remember how I looked two days ago and say you don’t believe in magic,” I said seriously, looking into Marcus’ green eyes. “You have a point there,” he admitted. We sat in silence for a few minutes after that, rethinking our shattered world-view. We just proved that real magic existed in the world. But was I the only one who could use it or were there others like me? “You’ve turned into a unicorn,” Marcus broke the silence all of a sudden. “A unicorn…” I repeated thoughtfully. Similar thoughts had visited my head earlier and hearing the same from Marcus only made them more convincing. “Horse-like anatomy, a horn, magical stuff – you’re a unicorn, despite how ridiculous it might sound,” Marcus spread his hands apologetically. “No, I agree too. It makes sense,” I assured him. “Anyway, have you found out about The Boulder?” “Ah, yes,” Marcus perked up, “That rock is pretty famous in town, as I’ve learned today. There are a lot of rumors and legends going on about it.” Marcus explained that The Boulder had been in the forest even before the town’s establishment. Some people thought it was just a rock, while others believed in its power. They claimed that a man felt strange when he went close to it and a lot of weird creatures could be seen near it sometime. I knew that it wasn’t some baseless nonsense. The stone was somehow connected to my memory loss and, most likely, the transformation itself. I didn’t know the exact nature of the connection, but fully intended to find out. “Do you know how to find it?” I asked Marcus eagerly. “Yep,” he nodded. “I paid one guy to show me the road. I told him that I’m a tourist.” “Oh…” Marcus was generously spending his own money for me and I didn’t know how to feel about that. On the one hand, I was grateful, but on the other, I was feeling indebted to him more and more. I wish I had some money of my own to contribute, but I was broke. I didn’t let my conflicted emotions appear on my face, though. “Thank you,” I said instead. “Are you sure you remember the way?” “Well, yeah…” answered Marcus, rubbing his neck. “Okay then. We should go tonight.” “I don’t know if I can find the way in the darkness, Annie,” Marcus shook his head. “We should go early, I think.” “But I can’t walk on the street during the day,” I objected. “You would have to just get into the car and we’d drive there,” explained Marcus. “And no one would see you in the forest itself. Going to the forest at night is a bad idea, believe me.” I was nervous, but Marcus had a good point. The last time was pretty scary, but I was rescued by the hunter early on. Getting lost in the woods at night again wasn’t something I wanted to experience. We still had a few hours before the evening, so, in the end, we decided to go right away. Marcus drove the car closer to the hotel and opened a window for me. Making sure that no one was watching, I jumped out, almost landing on my face, and rushed to the car. I laid on the back seat this time; a unicorn on the front seat would definitely catch the attention of people in the daylight. I stayed there during the whole trip which, thankfully, was short. Soon Marcus went on a country road and stopped on the edge of the forest. “That’s where we go in,” Marcus pointed at the dark, impenetrable wall of trees. “The stone is a half hour’s walk from here.” “Really?” I asked with doubt in my voice. The sight before me didn’t fil me with confidence. “Yeah, there is a path nearby,” my friend assured me. “You can’t see it from here, but I know there is.” Marcus opened the door for me and I climbed out. The air close to the forest was unusually clean. I wasn’t used to it while living in town. It was also warm; the sun was still shining brightly above us. But it was much gloomier in the forest itself. We walked with Marcus inside the forest until I saw the path myself. It was just a thin line between the trees, which was easy to miss. It wasn’t used very often, based on its poor condition. A low growl behind us made my blood run cold. Turning around, I saw a stranger with his dog, standing on the path. I recognized the dog as the same one that had attacked me by the hotel yesterday. The man was pointing a rifle at us and his stare was eager. “You?” Marcus asked in surprise. “Me,” admitted the stranger with a grin. The man was strangely familiar, but I couldn’t quite place his face. He was wearing a shabby semi-military costume with a vest full of pockets, having the look of a typical hunter. Judging by the rifle in his hands – he was one. But I was more afraid of his dog. The gray beast looked at me without blinking, growling menacingly. I felt my back leg twitch where it had bitten me yesterday. A few seconds passed and it didn’t attack me, so I realized that it was waiting for the order. I switched my attention to the hunter. The man studied me with great interest, like some curious museum exhibit. We stood in silence just staring at each other until finally the man broke it. “They called me crazy for believing in all those stories, but I knew I was right all along…” “What stories? Put your rifle away and let’s talk, man,” Marcus offered, trying to sound reasonable. “I saw you at the hotel yesterday when my dog chased that creature of yours…” the man said rapidly. “When you showed up in town today asking about The Boulder, I knew that it was connected somehow, so I offered to show you the road, hoping that you would bring the creature here.” “Sure, man,” nodded Marcus, “Let’s put the rifle down and we can talk all about “the creature”.” I was listening to the conversation in fright. The hunter didn’t seem like a stable person. Once again, I was the reason Marcus had gotten in trouble. First with the police and now some crazy hunter was pointing a gun at us. “I need that creature!” shouted the hunter, his dog barking along. “I’ve been looking for such a thing for years!” “It’s not a creature; it’s my friend,” Marcus stepped forward, making the hunter twitch the rifle nervously. “She’s a human being, just like you and me.” “Don’t take me for a fool, boy,” frowned the man. “It’s not a human.” “I actually am,” I opened my mouth and regretted it instantly when he suddenly pointed his rifle at me. My ears drooped and my tail tucked itself between my legs. “It can talk?” the man asked, astonished. “Can it understand what I’m saying?” I froze in place, not daring to say another word. I was looking at the rifle’s muzzle that seemed to be pointing right in my face, despite the hunter being a dozen meters from us. “You need to chill, man,” repeated Marcus. “She can talk because she’s a human. She suddenly started to change into this form a few days ago.” “That’s bull,” the hunter said. He took a few steps closer to us and his dog followed him obediently, still looking at me eagerly. I had a terrible guess that it remembered my taste and just wanted some more. “Stop playing games! Just give me the creature and I won’t set my dog on you.” Marcus took an involuntary step back when the dog made a series of loud barks at him, but quickly regained his position. “Why are you doing this, man?” “I told you!” the hunter exclaimed angrily, advancing forward. He was now standing at half the distance that he had been at the beginning. “I need that creature!” While they were having this dialog, I started to quietly gather up my magical strength. My plan was to blast them the same way I had destroyed the lamp back at the hotel, but it was risky. I had to choose only one target – either the man with the rifle or his large dog. “Hey, why is its horn glowing?” the hunter asked, approaching more closely. I realized that my magic manipulations had been noticed; there was no time to lose now. Releasing my magic, I pointed the blast at the dog as the most dangerous of the two. It was thrown far back with a wail and fell somewhere in the bushes. Marcus, in turn, jumped at the hunter under his rifle and tackled him to the ground. The rifle fell from his hands on the ground and I kicked it to the side just in case. The two men struggled, while I was just standing by pointlessly, wishing to help somehow. I would use my blast again, but they were too close to each other and even the first blast left me panting from exhaustion. Thankfully, Marcus came out the winner in the end. He stood up, leaving the hunter lying on the ground with a bloody face; he was out cold. My friend was a little hurt too: his lip was starting to swell and blood trickled from his nose, but that was it. We exchanged glances. None of us knew what to do at first, but then Marcus gathered his thoughts. He picked up the hunter’s rifle and took his backpack for himself. “That’ll teach him,” he commented his action for me. I simply nodded – that guy deserved getting his stuff taken. “We need to find a rope and tie him up.” “He’s the same guy who had found me six years ago!” the recognition hit me suddenly. “It’s not surprising,” Marcus shrugged. “He probably walks here a lot. He isn’t being so helpful this time.” Before we could do something, his dog jumped out of the bushes and ran towards us in rage. “Fuck…Run!” We took off as fast as two Olympic athletes. But the dog wasn’t interested in following us, it stopped by its owner and ran around him agitatedly. I saw it when I looked back. Only when the dog was lost far behind us, hidden from our sight by the wall of wood, did we finally stop. Marcus looked at the rifle still in his hands and laughed. I looked at him suspiciously. I hoped that he hadn’t lost his mind with all that stress lately. “I just realized – I could have just shot the damn dog,” he told me, still laughing. “Shoot?” I gasped. “Sure. It hurt you and would do so again.” I admired Marcus’s resolve, but at the same time I wished he didn’t have to do this. The dog was mean, sure, but it was just an animal. I didn’t like the idea of hurting animals, even if they were trying to hurt me. “Let’s just go find The Boulder…” I said, trying to distract him from such dangerous thoughts. “Who knows, maybe it just changes me back or something.” “It’s as good a guess as any,” Marcus nodded. He went forward, since he knew the way, and I followed behind. My strength was slowly regaining; I wasn’t feeling quite as tired as right after the blast. It was a good thing in case I needed to use it again. We were moving fast, wishing to find the stone quickly, hoping that it would solve my problem. It was our only lead and I didn’t know what I would do if The Boulder turned out to be a big bust. Although this new body wasn’t as bad as I thought at first and had some awesome abilities, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to keep it forever. The thing I missed the most was the use of my fingers. I could get by using my mouth for taking stuff instead, but it wasn’t the same. Marcus was silent the whole way through. He was probably thinking heavy thoughts of his own. I decided to distract him with small talk and it helped make the time go by faster. Soon we arrived at our goal. I recognized the white stone immediately. Six years had passed since I’d last been here, but The Boulder looked the same. The big rock was just standing on a small opening among the trees – I could feel some energy coming off of it. I didn’t remember feeling anything like that before. Perhaps it was connected to my changes after all. Feeling a surge of hope, I walked closer to The Boulder. Marcus stayed close to me all the time. He put his hand on my back and stroked my fur. It was a weird, but nice feeling, so I didn’t tell him to stop. It was having a calming effect on me, which I needed right now. Being closer to The Boulder, I could feel the energy more clearly. I knew now that it was magic. So the local legends were true: the stone was magical. Maybe I had to trigger it somehow? Was that what I had done the last time and what had destroyed my memory? But I still had no clue why I was transformed to a unicorn six years after the incident. “So, what do you think, Annie?” Marcus asked with a hopeful voice. “I think you were right,” I said and looked him in the eyes. His face was a mix of hope and worry. “I’ll try to do something now…” Without taking the time to explain the details, I just gathered my magic and touched The Boulder with the tip of my horn. The result was instantaneous; the side of the stone was turned into a smooth, faintly glowing surface. “What the hell is that?” Marcus asked, leaning closer to look at it. A sudden thunderous sound made me jump and I watched in terror how my friend fell forward and disappeared into the dark surface of the stone. “Got ya.” The hunter revealed himself, coming from behind a tree; he had a smoking pistol in his hand. I couldn’t move, paralyzed by fear. The man got closer to me with a mad grin appearing on his face. His evil dog was ready to pounce by his side. I was thinking fast; I had nothing to lose in this situation. Marcus had fallen into the stone, which was most likely some kind of portal. I didn’t know what was there, but I had to risk everything to help him. The hunter lowered his gun and reached his arm to grab me and at that moment I made my decision – I leaped into the unknown.