Change

by J. A. Smith

  It was my Uncle Tyler, the baby of Dad’s siblings, and his four boys. James was about twenty five. He had black hair and a light skin with a beautiful complexion, Bryson was twenty four making him the same age as his cousin Albert and he had a comparable build to James but lacked about two inches in height and had spiked green hair; which looked like grass that was badly in need of a lawn mower. Kyle was very tan and had blonde hair but fit in with the rest of his brothers in build only a year behind Bryson at twenty three and the youngest Chris had brown straight hair all the way down to his back which looked like it was only trimmed in his whole twenty years. They all had piercing blue eyes like their dad, my Uncle Tyler. I didn’t get up to greet them. I just pretended to ignore them and stare at the flames from the fire not caring if I was coming off rude.

  “Well, Well this must be Lana” Uncle Tyler said looking down at me. I just waved from where I was sitting; I didn’t feel like talking much. Beside Uncle Tyler, there was a young man that I assumed must have been the friend of Derek’s that my Dad asked me to behave around. He was as tall, if not taller than my dad by an inch. He was trim and muscular without being scary. He was delicious looking. He had a shaved head, a bold, proud nose and full plump lips.

  Wow, he was hot; So much better looking than brad from the football team. He seemed to glide when he walked and since he was so big I felt compelled to watch his graceful approach.

  “Wow Quinn” my dad said smiling “you have grown into a man”. Dad already knew him for the past?

  “Yes sir” Quinn said looking at my dad at eye level which is saying something. I had to look away because I was starting to blush with the thought of this man. Bill came to sit next to me and smiled. I was both relieved and upset that Quinn would not be sitting next to me.

  “You know Lana maybe you should try to shield me more than you are. I heard that loud and clear”. Bill stated forcing his thoughts into my brain. I was so embarrassed I placed both my hands on my face.

  “Please don’t tell my dad, he’ll kill me” I said through my hands.

  Bill laughed at my plea.

  “I am not going to tell your dad anything Lana. But why aren’t you introducing yourself? “He asked nodding to Quinn.

  “Um, well I am not allowed to” I said through clinched teeth.

  “Why not?” He asked Confused.

  “Because my dad is very strict, and I don’t want to get anyone killed” Bill’s eyes widened.

  “I guess that means you’ve never dated?” Bill looked amused.

  “No I haven’t, plus it isn’t totally all my dad, Men just aren’t that interested in me” I said looking at him for an affirmative.

  “Is that right?”

  “Yes?” I questioned uneasily. I was starting to get a little warm from being so close to the fire, and wanted to escape this conversation quickly it had nothing to do with embarrassment. So I stood up to leave, maybe go back upstairs to finish my homework. Dad stopped me before I could get very far.

  “Where are you going?” He asked me sternly.

  “I have homework to do dad remember? Since I have to be here and not in school, I have a lot of work to do, now if you will please excuse me,” I said trying to move around him.

  He didn’t budge.

  “Lana you just learned you have a unique ability and I understand you are frightened but you can’t hide out upstairs the whole time you’re here” he told me.

  “WATCH ME!” I yelled finally losing the temper I had kept a firm leash on and eventually shocking him enough that I could easily get around him. I was angry that he thought I was trying to escape and runaway but right now I did not care enough to prove him wrong. I ran into the house and straight upstairs not thinking about anything but the comfort of my room, ok maybe I was escaping but I needed a minute to think to myself. My room was back at home where I wanted to be but upstairs in my guest quarters would work for now. The day’s events flashing through my mind like a strange science fiction movie. I didn’t notice the man who just stepped out of his room until I nearly ran him over in the hallway. I guess at some point Quinn had come up stairs to get situated and I had not noticed.

  “Oh I am so sorry” I said looking up at him. He had light teal eyes. I had never seen anything like it. His skin looked smooth as a baby’s bottom and he had perfectly white teeth. I had to look down at the ground so my face wouldn’t redden.

  “You alright?” he said trying to look me in the eyes. I nodded and glanced down pretending not to see him as I shot off down the hall without a word.

  I made it to my room opened and closed the door quickly while trying to catch my breath. “Wow, he is so hot” I said out loud since there was no one there to hear me.

  I wished I could call Amber and tell her about the man who seemed to ignite my inner fire.

  Chapter 2

  I plopped down on the comfortable window seat, and started doing my homework once again. The sun was setting as I looked upon all of the people down in the back yard. I moved over to the bed to finish up what I had been doing before my father had interrupted and stretch out my muscles when Bill knocked on my door, since I was not shielding in my room, I knew it was him from the images he was sending me. I threw up my shield before I opened the door.

  “Lana you need to come outside” he told me.

  “I can’t I have a lot of homework to do, and since you said I can’t cheat on tests I have to study” I teased him back.

  “How are you feeling right now?” Bill asked emphatically, I thought it was a valid question and one that pertained to my mental ability.

  “I am fine, you were right, the headache went away”

  “I really think you should go outside with the others” he said staring at me. Was I still wearing some rib sauce or something? I whipped my mouth off with my sleeve just in case to be sure; nope, nothing there. I looked at Bill still staring at me.

  “What?” I asked shrugging my shoulders.

  “Look you need to come outside right now” he said grabbing my hand and hauling me off my bed and out of my room. He led me outside to where only Tanya was still standing. I looked around at the clearing that all my family was just at moments ago.

  “Bill where is my Dad?” I said looking around.

  “How do you feel?” he asked again.

  “I told you my headache is gone, why do you keep asking me that?” This question was really starting to eat at me.

  “Come with me, and try not to be afraid of what you are about to see”. That made me not want to go with him.

  “Why? Where is my Dad, Bill?” I said sternly.

  “He is hunting and he wanted me to bring you to him, so let’s go” he said. I checked his mind and he was telling the truth and that was all he would allow me to read.

  “Ok” I said very uneasy. He took my hand and escorted me out to the forest. We walked until I couldn’t see the lights from the house anymore. The air smelled like a wet dog.

  “We aren’t going to like get shot right?” I asked just before we stopped. Bill laughed a little “No they aren’t using guns” he said staring at me.

  “Ok then. Well I don’t want an arrow in my chest either”.

  “They aren’t using bows and arrows either Lana”. I was racking my brain trying to come up with another way to hunt when my face fell. At that moment I saw a striped orange tiger coming right behind Bill. I whispered to Bill who’s had his back was facing the large predatory cat.

  “Bill don’t make any sudden movements from where you are right now, slowly walk toward me please” Every inch of my body was telling me to run the other way as I started to back up.

  “Don’t be frightened Julie” Bill said, as the tiger came next to him. I looked around me and I was surrounded by at least ten tigers now. I let out a whimper and closed my eyes prepar
ing to be mauled I heard Bill moving closer to me.

  “Lana, open your eyes they won’t hurt you” he explained to me in a calm voice. But I was too scared to open my eyes it was like I was living my nightmare.

  “Lana ! ! ! ” Bill yelled startling me. My eyes popped open is result. My face felt weird and it was like the ground was trying to pull me down but I resisted and stood tall. The tigers started to circle around us. I looked at Bill and not the tigers hoping to will them away by ignoring their presence.

  “We’re going to die aren’t we?” I said starting to cry out of sheer panic.

  “Shh, No we are not going to die, I need you to let go” Bill said. I wasn’t holding on to him so I didn’t know what he meant. I was frightened and confused and looked to Bill for answers.

  “Let go?” I asked

  “Do you feel any different right now?” Bill asked staring at me.

  “I’m scared shitless right now Bill” He should know that. Duh! That was the only emotion that I had at the moment that I could make sense of.

  “Lana I want you to take a deep breath and relax. Then look at your hands and don’t freak out ok?” Bill said nodding towards my hands. It was so dark I was not sure if I would be able to see my hands, but my vision was extraordinarily clear. I had white fur with emerging black stripes on my hands coming out of my skin. I tried to whip it off on my jeans, but it wouldn’t come off. I started to panic more so now. Furiously I wiped and tried to tear off the offending fur. Seeing as that wasn’t helping matters at all I looked to the only person that apparently found my condition humorous.

  “Bill what is happening to me?” I asked crying.

  I started to feel weird like my nose was swelling up and beginning to get longer and wider. It felt like my face was changing shape. I scrunched my face and tried to shake the opposing feeling lose. I looked at Bill scared to death. I had no idea what was going on.

  “Bill, help me!”

  “Lana you are changing and your father should have told you about this earlier” he shot an angry glance toward one of the tigers.

  “My dad should have told me what “I was exasperated. At that moment the pull from the ground’s gravity was pulling me to my knees; it was as if I felt the earth’s pull had magnified suddenly. I looked around and apparently this was not going to scare the tigers off. Everything else in that clearing was completely oblivious to the change in gravity and the pull that only I was being subjected to. But the pull from the ground was forcing me to my knees. I buckled under the pressure and cowered to the ground.

  “Lana we will talk about this in the morning, but right now you need to let go and stop fighting, you are quite strong for your age. I have never seen someone resist so much, the idea that you are able to resist at all is baffling, the strength you are showing is hard even for the elders, I have never seen someone resist for so long.”

  I couldn’t speak as my entire body began vibrating from the inside. I released myself to the pull of the ground, a cloud of white haze started to swirl around me. I felt my bones start to crack then change shape; it felt so weird almost like someone was rearranging my spine.

  I tried to scream out in pain but all that came out was a roar and that startled me more. I closed my eyes and prayed for this nightmare to be over. The tigers came close to me but not close enough to enter my swirling white cloud. As the pull from the ground eased I attempted to shake then stand. Somehow I wasn’t standing at my normal five foot six, I was too low to the ground which left me looking up at Bill who seemed taller the normal and really surprised at what he was staring at.

  “Lana ! ! ! ” he said in amazement.

  I tried to yell what but what came out was a throaty meow which was really terrifying to me.

  “Lana all you have to do is think to me and I can hear you” Bill said kneeling next to me.

  “What happened?” I thought to Bill trying to gather my thoughts.

  “You have changed” he said patting me on the head like I was a dog.

  “Changed?”

  “Yes you are no longer human but it appears you are white Siberian tiger” he told me. I attempted to take a step back but since I wasn’t used to being on four legs I got tangled up and fell on my side in a huff, a soft purring sound came from the on looking pride at my embarrassment thought what the purring meant I had no idea.

  The biggest tiger that I had ever seen was an exact replica of the giant cat on Uncle Allen’s living room rug. He came over to me and whined, then nudged me with his enormous head. I was so scared I stopped breathing and seemed frozen in place.

  “Don’t be afraid of him Lana, this is your father, let down your shields and see for yourself.” Bill said warmly

  I was a little reluctant to do so but at this point in the game figured I really had nothing else to lose, well except my life but that seemed to me questionable now so I let down my shields not realizing they were still intact during my “change”. I instantly regretted the decision. I should have just left the damn things in place. Indeed this tiger was my dad. I was being bombarded with him repeating his pathetic apology to forgive him

  “We need to have a serious talk Dad, soon!” I thought. Bill laughed and relayed the message. The big tiger thought he deserved the chiding and added that he still loved me.

  Apparently while I was scolding my father at his idiocy the rest of the tigers seemed to take interest and gathered around me. A large but kind of awkward looking tiger that seemed to me as if he had not grown into his size yet approached, I realized it was my cousin Derek. His thoughts were shared by most of the pride, I soon realized, He thought I was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. Uncle Tyler was thinking about how rare I was and how many times I could mate. I smacked the air towards him for his disturbing thought, he hissed at me showing how much he disapproved of my actions towards him. I just wanted to go to bed and have this night over with.

  “Lana, it’s time to hunt” Bill relayed in a stern tone that left no room for arguments.

  “I don’t want to hunt. I want to go home and stop being so damn weird”.

  Bill laughed “Things have changed, you’ll see.” This scared me. I liked my boring, normal, happy life. I tried to get up and walk away, but it was difficult to take more than two steps. It felt as if I was a new human baby trying to walk for the first time. I wobbled and fell a lot revealing the toddler in me.

  “Maybe I wasn’t supposed to be a tiger. Maybe this is a dream and tomorrow I could worry about tests like a normal seventeen year old”. I thought basically to myself but Bill smiled and shook his head.

  “Lana it takes a while to get used to this I have heard. You are a Siberian Tigers and to make you even more elite since I haven’t ever heard of your breed before, you have the added gift of being a telepath. This will all come naturally to you if you stop trying to put so much thought into it and accept the gifts and work with them naturally.” I looked up at him and then closed my eyes trying to get a grip on my quasi-reality.

  “Ok. Don’t fight this. I need to just let it come to me” I thought to myself, hey at this point I needed a pep talk. The tigers were starting to retreat into the woods. I wasn’t sure if this was to give me space or if they had some business to attend to like maybe return to the mother-ship, but until then I was going to have to learn how to use this body. I began by standing up, my legs shook like crazy but not because I didn’t have the strength, because I was literally scared to death that once I took that first step this would all be real. I started to move my legs forward in effort to walk, I realized it was easier once I didn’t fight it like Bill had suggested except I ended up closing my eyes to help myself concentrate, so I kept going with my eyes closed; and ended up opening them just in time to walk into a tree. Bill was nowhere around, I started to whine in defeat and humiliation I had a very bad feeling I wasn’t asleep at
all and this might be all real judging from the lump now forming on my head from the giant tree I had run into. Just then my dad in tiger form came out from behind said tree. He wanted me to follow him into the woods and down to their hunting grounds for a lesson in catching prey. I didn’t want to. This was all coming way too fast for me to mentally process; but I knew my dad was trying to make the best of a bad situation and apparently, I had a schedule to keep. There seemed to be an urgent tone to everyone’s thoughts.

  I followed him, as I admired how the smells of pine and small sounds from wild life seemed to be more prominent now. I watched as my dad jumped up onto a branch like a house cat, all grace and beauty. I had got the walking down right I attempted to jump on a similar one. Balance was something I was going to have to take into consideration here, I landed just fine but wobbled to and fro before I had to grip harder with my claws. The first large tree was difficult; I kept falling to the ground and landing on my butt which I would probably have a permanent bruise on by tomorrow. I watched as my Dad leapt gracefully up the trunk of a giant pine tree, he seemed to almost dance from branch to branch as he climbed higher, once he got high enough he motioned for me to join him. I finally made it to the top of the tree on the highest branch that could support my new larger weight safely; I was celebrating my new found ability when below me I spotted something out of the corner of my eye at a full run.

  “Stay still” my dad thought to me, I froze in place obediently. Then my dad pounced off the tree and hit a large buck into the ground, snapping it neck instantly. It was dead before I even had a chance to stumble down.

  I could smell the moist copper smell of the blood coming from the deer, Dad had already started with his first course venison entrails. I wanted to throw up at the sight. But the blood smell was oddly intoxicating. I turned my head so I would not have to see it.