Chapter 1
"Dan, hurry up!" My friend Jacob yelled anxiously. "We're going to miss the bus!"
"Coming, calm down." I replied back as I swiftly rounded the corner to see his annoyed glare. "I just needed to pack some last minute things."
Jacob's glare intensified as he spoke with a hint of disgust in his voice, "By 'things', I'm assuming you mean those stuffed animals you can't seem to live without. Come on man, we're in high school! No one uses stuffed animals for anything but pet toys anymore!
I glared back at Jacob. "And I refuse to give in to your childish social norms. Mature people don't judge others through interests."
"Well they also don't play with five year old toys! Whatever happened to your embrace of change and trying new things? I've never seen you try sleeping, or even going for more than a few hours for that matter, without those wretched kid toys."
That comment hit me like a meteor. I froze and slumped my shoulders when I realized what he said was true. I rose to my feet and opened my bag to pull out my childhood friends that have been with me my whole life. I felt like I would be missing a part of me by letting them go, Which drastically went against my personal law against change that caused mental trauma. Drawing a serious face, I placed them neatly back in my bag and turned to face Jacob.
"I can't leave them, you know this goes against my values." I said with a firm tone. "I will not have them denied from me."
"Whatever."
With that we marched out the door and towards the bus waiting in the lot for us. The driver had been kind enough to go around the city to pick us up rather than making us hike to the school. I thanked him as I took my seat for the long drive to the camping area ahead. Slumping down into a more suitable sleeping position to catch up on lost sleep, I gazed out at the ever-still landscape, pondering its aspects of curiosity.
*
The ride was short and uneventful, causing me to awake a few hours later to the sound of others dragging luggage off the bus. I slowly rose, popping my joints as I stretched, and followed suit. The clearing we entered was surrounded by trees of the coniferous variety, along with a few fire pits for general usage. The ground was littered with dust and mountain-based debree, most likely caused by occasional small rolling rocks and avalanches. I caught Jacob's eye as he waved me over.
"Are you gonna help with the tent or what?" He looked up worryingly, slightly annoyed at my lack of motivation. I gave him a stern look and walked over to assist.
"What's your problem? You've been falling behind all day," he asked as I picked up the pegs. "Is something troubling you Dan?"
I didn't answer right away as I focused on seeping the pegs through the defiant cloth of the tent. Once it complied, I turned slowly towards Jacob to answer his growing anxiety. "I guess I'm just tired. I didn't sleep well last night, and Mr Parker forcing us to get up early didn't exactly help with that either."
"Well, I'll let you sleep as long as you want once we finish setting up the tent," He smiled. I looked back to him, but couldn't find the energy to return it. Jacob registered my lack of enthusiasm and turned back towards his work with a grunt.
*
The remainder of the setup went without issue, the rest of the enviro class enjoying themselves amongst their surroundings through scenery and people alike. I crawled into our tent and laid my pounding head against the puffy sleeping bag pillow, intent on at last providing my brain with its well deserved rest.
Though, I began to ponder the purpose of this enviro trip and why I accepted Jacob's invitation if the only reason was to teach us hands on environmental survival. I pondered why people had been so kind towards our school's students lately. But most of all, I pondered the possible reasons for Jacob being so pushy towards me, and whether my actions responding to such were in just territory of their own. These thoughts pestered me for a time seemingly never to end, even as the deep and inescapable grasp of the sandman claimed me.
*
I awoke to the sound of laughter around the smoking campfire set up next to our tent. Opening my eyes slowly, I groggily stood up as I muttered gibberish comprehensible only to my currently half-asleep mind. I stumbled out of the tent, much like a drunkard after waking from a night of drinking. Walking over to Jacob and his other friend currently unknown to me, I forced myself fully awake as I sat down in a chair next to them that they had set out for me.
"Looks like Sleeping Beauty finally awoke from the spell," Jacob snickered. I turned and gave him another glare, not in the mood for his witty remarks.
"He was just trying make a friendly joke," Jacob's other friend said. "No need to be such a grinch."
"Yeah, well, we've been together long enough that he should know I don't enjoy talking sooner than one cup of caffeine or one hour after waking." I remarked snidely.
"And you should know better than to respond to a birthday invitation gift from a friend with jerk remarks."
I froze at that comment. My blood ran cold as my brain tried fruitfully to process what he said. I had forgotten that my own birthday had fallen on this weekend, and I was thankful he had not forgotten it, but camping was not something I enjoyed. I spoke up with a mixture of pity and annoyance in my voice. "Jacob, I'm thankful at least someone can remember my birthday, but you know I hate camping! The only reason I came is because you said earlier it was manditory to bring at least one friend along. If I had known it was optional to accept the offer, or if your other friend was coming, I would have definitely chosen to stay home!"
Jacob and the unknown one's faces instantly turned to regret, turning towards me in unison. Jacob spoke with a sadness so deep, I thought he was going to burst into tears. "Well if you can't accept my kindness that I've been trying to show you over your own birthday, then I'm just going to go to bed for the night before you break my resolve completely." With that, he stood up and trudged gloomily into the tent, kicking off his shoes and laying down onto his pre-blown air mattress. The unknown one's face turned towards me cautiously as he shook his head in disappointment before following suit. I grumbled before walking towards the tent myself and laying down on my own mattress.
That's when the voice resonated in my head, making me grasp it in a desperate attempt to rid it from my abused mind. It spoke with concern at first, then with disappointment just as Jacob and his friend had throughout the day. I could tell from its pitch that it was most likely female, though the throbbing in my head seemed intent on hiding the full release of the fact from me. "You should learn to respect your friends no matter the pain or discomfort they put you through," It spoke. "Especially when they try so hard to brighten up your day. I have watched your planet for a while now, and many of you seem to neglect or even outright despise the idea of harmony. I think you'll be the perfect candidate to first test this learning process, for you're not too lost so as to never learn the ways of harmony, and yet you seem to neglect the power of these values. Over this trial, you will learn to respect and embrace such values, and teach them to others once you have learned to master them yourself. And I think I know the perfect forms to help you along in the process. I will warn you to brace yourself for midnight, as that will be when your lessons will begin, and they will not be painless."
I swear the source of the voice would have been smiling mischievously after that speech if it did not also contain a tone of warmth and universal respect within its depth. The voice left without another word, and I laid there pondering what it could have meant, or if it was even just my own conscious punishing me for something. When nothing further happened in the next ten minutes, I passed it off as the latter, and attempted to fall asleep for the third time that day.
*
I laid awake for the next few hours, unable to sleep as if the sandman had had his fill of me for the day. Leaning over to check the time, I focused on the time portrayed upon my watch. Eleven-fifty-seven. I grasped what the voice had said about midnight, and laughed softly at the seeming absurdity of its words. Closing my eyes, I finally fell into a light sleep.
The sleep did not last long, however, as I jolted awake to the discomfort of my body poored over with sweat like I had just got out of a river. I jumped up, thinking something must be horribly wrong with my body to have it sweat so much in what seemed like mere moments. I began frantically feeling around my body, searching it for a source that could possibly cause so much sweating. A sudden burst of small, aching pain spread throughout my body, causing me to grunt and moan. It wasn't unbearable, but it was definitely some of the worst pain I have had, for it was as if I was being crushed between two walls of ever increasing force. Unsurprisingly, it did not take long for Jacob to awaken with an annoyed tone in his voice with the light sleeper he is.
"Damnit Dan, there is no reason for you to act like you've been beaten in an alleyway. Just go to sleep already." With that, Jacob laid his head back down onto his egg-white, fluffed pillow.
That's when the real pain started. I let out a blood curdled scream as I felt my bones literally crack and break within me, followed by their immediate reform soon afterwards. THIS pain was most certainly unbearable. It made the force-like pain feel like a pain relieving massage. I noticed Jacob had looked up at me, this time with horror, confusion and serious concern washed over his face unlike any expression I had ever seen him wear. I let out another scream as it felt like my skin was being wrenched apart to force something long and thin through it. I looked up at Jacob in my piled heap of bones, tears flowing down my face both due to the agonizing pain, and fear of what was happening to me. His look of horror had intensified to the point where he looked like he wanted to run to preserve his own life. But he held firm, determined to help his friend in need even if the proccess would be cause for insanity. I kept a firm grip on consciousness, determined to see what abomination was to become of my body. The voice's words echoed in my head, 'And I think I know the perfect forms to help you along in the process... They will not be painless.'
Oh god. What did she do to me?! I screamed once more as the changes continued, two long appendages forcing their way through my back, causing my face to become an abomination of twisted agony. My hair grew exceptionally long, and my face protruded outwards into what seemed like a snout while something in my throat seemed to reform. I gasped, falling into a heap upon the mattress to catch my breath. I laid there panting, trying my absolute best not to lose my own sanity from what I had become. The pain had completely subsided as soon as the change ended, leaving me in the proper mind to see what had happened. I looked down at my hands, seeing the small, yellow stubs that had formed in their place. I noticed my hair had grown into a long, pink, bush like appearance with no resemblance to my previous short, brown hair.
"Dan? Is that you?"
I back-pedalled at the hand that reached out to me, seeing it to come from a seemingly much taller and more intimidating Jacob. "What... Happened?"
That's when my mind broke. I burst into tears as my ears registered my high pitched voice and equine-like body. Burying my face in my hooves, I continued to weep even harder as I remembered my last normal moments with Jacob. I continued to weep. Something was wrong, I just couldn't stop crying! It was as if something had drastically changed how my mind and emotions work. It was almost as if...
"Is everything ok in there? I heard screaming."
"Eep!" I proceeded to curl up into a ball with my hooves hiding my face as I crawled under the blanket. I couldn't let Mr Parker see me like this! I just couldn't...
"It's fine Mr Parker!" Jacob called back nervously. "We just pulled a little prank on Dan here."
"Well stop please. It's time for bed, it was lights out two hours ago!" He replied annoyed before his footsteps faded to the distant side of the camp.
Jacob slowly pulled the cover off of me before placing my hand on my head, making me flinch back in fear. "It's ok Dan." He said soothingly, almost as if taking care of frightened animals was his life's passion. "I won't hurt you."
"Maybe not, but I still don't deserve this kindness your showing!" I broke into tears again. It was true, I didn't. Not after how I had treated him and his friend all day. "You tried so hard to brighten up my day, and all I did was snap at you!"
"Well I was pushy myself," he replied with the caretakers voice again. "Besides, true friends won't abandon each other no matter what. If it was anyone but you that this happened to, I would have been long gone due to fear by now."
I sniffed and looked up at him. "Really?"
"Really. Now get some sleep, you'll definetely be needing it after that experience. We'll figure out what to do about it in the morning."
I nodded and began to curl up into the natural feeling sleeping position. Then something caught my attention. "Speaking of sleep, how the hay did your friend there sleep through all the noise?" I asked.
I could tell Jacob wanted to snicker at my mixup of heck in my comment, but he held firm. "Once you've tried getting him up in the morning you'll understand. His name is Max by the way. Now, sleep."
"Alright. Max huh? That's a... Nice... Name." Blackness' sweet embrace soon took me.