Trees whipped by as Sophia ran through the forest. She bounded over a tree log, landed on all fours, and resumed chasing the deer ahead of her. The claws on her forepaws dug into the dirt…
Sophia awoke, her stomach churning. Head still pounding and shivering, she made it to the bathroom and suffered through another round of vomiting. After washing as best as she could, she made her way back to her bed.
Six pups nursed from the two rows of teats along Sophia’s belly as she rested. Her ears swiveled as she heard movement outside the den…
She came to in a puddle of sweat as her alarm went off. Nausea still racked her stomach, and her head still hurt, but her fever had broken. Pushing back her blanket, she tried to get out of bed, but that only resulted in her nausea intensifying and the room spinning. She sat back down on the bed and removed her sweat-soaked sweatshirt and jeans before lying back down again.
“Sophia, Mom was in an accident… she didn’t make it. Sophia?”
“Sophia?” Her father's real voice brought her to consciousness. “Are you still here? Are you sick?”
Sophia groaned. Her head was feeling better, but the rest of her body was still tired and achy. She looked at the clock; school started in ten minutes! Then the taste of vomit in her mouth and her churning stomach reminded her she was in no shape to go anywhere.
“Yeah, Dad?” she called shakily. “I think I caught a stomach bug. I’ve been throwing up all night.”
“I saw the mess in the bathroom,” he responded, concerned. “You weren’t drinking, right?”
“What? No!” Sophia exclaimed in indignation.
Of all the people..!
“Alright,” her dad replied quickly. “You need me to call school for you?”
“That would be great,” Sophia answered.
“I’ll call, and then I have to get to my job,” he told her. “Take care of yourself and give me a call if you need anything.”
“Thanks, Dad,” she responded graciously.
He left, and she quickly fell back asleep, this time blessedly unperturbed by dreams.
Several hours later, Sophia awoke feeling considerably better. She still felt fatigued and some achiness, but whatever it was seemed to have passed. Her sheets had dried, although the faint smell of vomit still pervaded the room. Sitting up, she leaned back against her headboard.
My dreams were so vivid, so real. She thought. I’ve had dreams about being a wolf before, but never like this. Was it pretending to be a wolf at the party? I played like that when I was younger, but I don’t remember ever dreaming like that.
Putting it down to the stomach flu, she shook her head and cautiously got out of bed. Once she was sure she wouldn’t fall over, she made her way to the bathroom and looked herself over. Her face was still a bit ashen, and her brown hair was a complete mess, but she otherwise looked fine. After cleaning up the vomit that had missed the toilet, she jumped in the shower. By the time she was done, the previous night’s unpleasantness was fast fading from her mind, though the dreams stayed with her.
The rest of the day, Sophia spent attempting to catch up on school work, sorting the clothes on the floor into piles, drawing, or watching funny videos online. By the time school normally let out, she was feeling like her old self. Well, not quite like her old self; something she couldn’t put her finger on felt different.
Several times throughout the day, she found herself looking out the window at the brightly lit forest and mountains. She had always preferred the natural world, but over the last two years, before her mother had died, the feeling had become something akin to a pull. It had not been something she could explain, much less talk about. Today, though, it felt like a part of her was missing and could only be found out among the mountains and trees.
Sophia was contemplating calling into work and taking a walk to the forest when Candice called her cheap flip phone to check on her. After a brief conversation in which Sophia assured her friend it had just been some kind of stomach bug and she felt much better, she closed her phone and shook her head. No, she couldn’t miss work as much as she wanted to. Missing the income wasn’t something she could do, and certainly not when she felt well enough to go in.
After eating her first bit of food since the previous night, she put on her work clothes and headed out the door.
Sophia’s shift was, thankfully, far less stressful than Monday’s. Although the illness itself seemed to have passed from her system, she was still feeling the effects from the lack of food and water. By the time her shift ended, her hunger was getting ravenous, and she was eager to get home. She purchased an energy bar to snack on and - giving into the tantalizing aroma that had been torturing her all night - a box of leftover fried chicken from the deli. Her manager looked a bit amused as he rang her up, but thankfully said nothing.
Prizes in hand, she left for home. She had planned on eating the bar first, but found herself far more interested in the chicken. Even cold, the first bite from a leg was ambrosia, and she quickly stripped all of the meat off of it. Next, she grabbed a breast and proceeded to devour the meat off that, too. As she walked up her driveway, she felt around for another piece and was shocked to feel nothing but bones left in the carton. Taken aback, she stopped and looked in the box for a moment.
I can’t believe I ate six entire pieces of chicken, she closed the box. I never eat that much at once. Of course, I had thrown up everything in my stomach. That’s probably all there is to it; my stomach was empty from being sick.
Feeling sated and a little embarrassed, she threw the box in the garbage bin in the garage and tucked the unopened bar in her bag. As usual, her father still wasn’t home even though his job should have ended several hours before. He also hadn’t even bothered to call all day to see how she was doing, she noted bitterly as she checked her phone for messages. A bit hurt, she considered waiting for him and letting him know it. However, with her hunger satisfied, fatigue was starting to weigh heavily on her, and she instead began getting ready for the night.
She had just closed her eyes for the night when she heard her dad’s truck pull into the driveway.
“Sophia?” her dad called from the kitchen.
“I’m in my bedroom,” Sophia replied.
She heard footsteps and then a knock.
“I’ve just laid down,” Sophia told him. “I’m still not feeling the best; I’ll see you in the morning.”
“I’m sorry I didn’t call or check in,” her dad tried to apologize. “It was a busy day.”
“Well, I managed on my own,” Sophia said acerbically.
“I’m really sorry,” her dad apologized again. “I’ll make it up to you; I promise.”
That would certainly be a first. She turned away from the door. I wonder if he would notice if I ran away or disappeared… or care if he did.
After a few moments, she heard him walk away from her door. After a time, anger and loneliness finally gave way to sleep.
Hunger woke Sophia a few minutes before her alarm did. Usually, she only needed something small in the morning to keep her going until lunchtime. That morning, though, she felt like she hadn’t eaten in days and quickly found it impossible to wait even the few remaining minutes until her normal wake-up time. Annoyed, she sat up and canceled her impending alarm. She then threw on a pair of sweatpants before making her way to the kitchen.
In the kitchen, she grabbed a cereal box from the counter, a bowl, and a carton of milk from the fridge. She quickly fixed a bowl and barely took time to breathe as she scarfed it down. Finding she was still feeling famished, she ate another full bowl - and then another. Two tall glasses of orange juice soon followed the cereal. Finally feeling less starved, she stared at her empty bowl.
What is going on with me? She wondered. I’m constantly hungry and just can’t stop eating. Being sick can’t explain how much food I’m consuming.
After cleaning up her breakfast dishes, she set about getting ready to leave for school. By the time she was ready, she found she was hungry again and downed a couple of toaster waffles and another glass of orange juice. When she finished cleaning up her second round of dishes, she quickly made her way out the door and headed towards school.
Candice surprised Sophia at her locker, giving her a hug.
“I’m glad to see you’re feeling better today!” Candice exclaimed. “We were all really worried when my dad took you home. The party pretty much ended after you left.”
Sophia was gratified, but brushed it off, “I’m alright, just a stomach bug. After you called, I was even able to go to work. I hope no one else got sick.”
“None of the other girls got sick as far as I know,” Candice assured her. “I’m fine and so is Lynn. It looks like whatever you had, you kept it to yourself!”
“Glad to hear that!” Sophia replied.
With that, the warning bell rang, and the two left for their separate classes. Sophia made it to her second class before the waffles and cereal completely wore off. By the third, she could barely pay attention to her stomach, yelling at her that it was empty. The energy bar she had luckily saved in her bag took the edge off long enough to get through gym class and get to lunch. Normally, lunch was easily enough to fill her, and she often had leftovers. Today, though, she found herself still feeling hunger pangs and went back through the serving line for a second round.
“Damn girl!” Candice exclaimed after Sophia came back. “You run out of food at home?”
“I’ve just been really hungry since getting sick yesterday,” Sophia replied sheepishly, with a mouthful of food. “I guess it really took a lot out of me.”
“I’ll say!” Candice replied in awe as Sophia proceeded to wolf down her second helping.
Lunch thankfully stuck better, although she still found herself getting hungry again as she left school. At the grocery store, she bought a Lunchable and a sports drink and consumed them before starting. Unfortunately, it was during her shift that her bladder finally took notice of her increased consumption. Thrice, she had to excuse herself to use the bathroom, and by the time her shift was over, she was getting desperate again.
“You pregnant or something?” her boss sarcastically asked as Sophia once again made a beeline for the ladies’ room.
Sophia considered buying another box of chicken, but thought better of it as it would mean she’d have to bear more disapproval and sarcasm from her manager. Instead, she grabbed her things and headed for home. As she stepped outside, the strange feeling that had been nagging at her over the last hour intensified. It felt as though every cell in her body was being tugged, and she ached to be away from the world of pavement, brick, and steel.
The growl from her stomach reminded her she hadn’t eaten dinner yet, and she set off for home. It was fairly cloudy, and the lack of natural light slowed her journey home. By the time she arrived, she was absolutely starving and quickly went about ransacking the kitchen. She didn’t even bother warming up the package of hot dogs and quickly scarfed down the four remaining dogs. Next, she thawed out two Hot Pockets in the microwave and was easily able to eat both. Finally, she grabbed the half-gallon of milk and downed nearly half of it.
Pressure on her bladder reminded her that all that liquid had to go somewhere, and she once again found herself perched on the toilet. It occurred to her then that she had not needed to poop all day despite everything she had consumed. Curious, she stepped on the scale and was both unsurprised and horrified to see she had gained three pounds in her binge. Back in the kitchen, she tidied up and then headed for her bedroom. It was Thursday, and her dad was rarely home before midnight.
Sitting in bed with her sketchpad, she found herself staring out the window at the nearly full moon peeking through the clouds. The moonlight was making her oddly restless, and strange tingling sensations played across her skin. It was as though her body was expecting or waiting for something, yet she didn’t know what. Not knowing what else to do about her restlessness, she got out of bed and closed the curtain, leaving only the unnatural light of her lamp. It didn’t really help how she felt, but at least her attention was no longer being drawn by the moon. After clambering back into bed, she resumed her sketch. An hour later, she had finished a detailed drawing of the wolf that had crossed her path three nights before. It was drawn entirely from memory, but overall, she was pleased with it.
Wherever you are, I hope you’re safe, she gazed at the drawing.
It was strange missing an animal she had only just glimpsed for a few seconds, but right then she ached to see him again. In all likelihood, though, he was long gone and far from town. Sighing, she took one last look at her drape-covered window and turned off her lamp. She fell asleep holding her sketchpad tight against herself.
The next day, Sophia’s hunger returned, and she managed to finish off the box of cereal in the morning. Luckily, her body’s obsession with food wasn’t quite as intense as the day before and seemed to wane throughout the day. Replacing her hunger, though, was an apprehensiveness she just could not explain. Her body felt like a coiled spring waiting to be unleashed, and to top it off, she felt strangely aroused. In English class, she couldn’t help staring at Logan and imagining his strong arms around her… among some other things, which made her feel very warm.
Even without her crush distracting her, keeping focused in her other classes proved impossible. She even forgot to look for Candice at lunch. So preoccupied with trying to keep herself from finding and escaping out the nearest exit, she didn’t notice Candice was already seated until her friend came and tapped her on the shoulder after she had sat down to eat.
“You okay, Sophia?” Candice asked after Sophia had relocated to Candice’s table.
“Hmm?” Sophia replied as she stared out the window.
“You seem really distracted today,” Candice said with a worried expression, studying Sophia’s face. “What’s up?”
“Um,” Sophia forced her attention on Candice. “I don’t know; I just feel really tense about something.”
“Well, at least your appetite seems to have gone down,” Candice replied, looking at Sophia's tray.
“Mm hmm,” Sophia absently responded, while looking past her friend and out the cafeteria window.
Candice could only laugh and shake her head.
In sociology, Sophia inadvertently started noisily drumming her pencil on her textbook, inviting a reprimand from the teacher and a flustered apology. When the last bell rang, Sophia was the first out the classroom door, nearly tripping over a kid in the back row who was getting out of his desk. Stepping foot outside the school brought tremendous relief, followed by a new round of frustration as she remembered she had work that night. Grumbling to herself, she reluctantly headed towards downtown.
“Whoa, Sophia, what’s the hurry?” Karen asked as Sophia practically jogged past her.
“Just have a lot of energy today, I guess,” Sophia replied, forcing herself to stop.
After giving the older woman a reassuring smile, Sophia continued towards the breakroom, though at a slower pace. In the bathroom, she realized she had forgotten to pack her work shirt that morning. Thankfully, the evening manager for the weekend was Linda, and the woman found her a spare with barely more than a light chiding. After changing, Sophia found herself pacing in the breakroom and invariably couldn’t sit for long, no matter how much she tried.
By the time her shift started, working the checkout had become a Herculean task. Several times, she forgot what she was doing while in the middle of ringing up an order and was reminded by the customer that they also didn’t want to be in the store all night. By the time the light outside started fading, she was starting to sweat, and several customers commented that she looked pale. Finally, two hours into Sophia’s shift, Linda came over to check on her.
“Are you feeling okay?” Linda asked Sophia with a worried expression. “You don’t look very good.”
“I… don’t know,” Sophia replied shakily.
Her clothes were starting to chafe and cling due to perspiration. Every cell in her body felt like it was vibrating, her heart was racing, and her breathing was rapid. The feeling of being trapped was quickly starting to overwhelm her, and it was increasingly all she could do to keep from bolting.
“Well, several customers asked if you were okay and said you had trouble with their orders,” Karen told her. “Why don’t you punch out and go home and get some rest. I can handle the register tonight. Just get that uniform laundered and back here next time you work.”
Relief flooded through Sophia, and she barely managed a ‘Thank You’ as she rushed to the back of the store. She punched out and barely remembered her bag before heading out the automatic doors.
The night air was cool and a welcome respite from the fire she felt raging within. Although she was out of the store, every fiber of her being was telling her she was still in danger, and she broke into a run. As she ran, her skin began to itch, and she felt an odd pulling sensation begin in her ears while her gums began to ache. Heat was also building below, and she was all too conscious of the growing dampness in her underwear. A tingling sensation in her nose drew her attention, and an increasing number of strange smells she couldn’t identify started to bombard her brain.
Even as she neared home, strange urges were telling her she needed to get away from the brick, pavement, and glass of town. Even the thought of seeing another person brought an unfamiliar dread. The intense feeling she needed to seek the familiarity and safety of her home warred with the equally intense feeling she needed to head towards the open fields and forest. Increasingly alarmed and confused by the cacophony of unfamiliar emotions and sensations, she settled on completing her journey home.
As quickly as she could, she unlocked the front door with a shaking hand and practically threw it open. Equally as quick, she slammed it shut and locked it, rattling the windows. Not even taking the time to turn on the lights, she headed for her bedroom. Automatically, she flipped the light switch, unexpectedly prompting her to close and shield her eyes from the sudden glare. After a moment, her eyes adjusted, and she dropped her bag and tore off her shoes before heading for her mirror.
The moment she glimpsed herself in the mirror, she screamed in pure terror.