Chapter 5: Into the Redwoods we go
She couldn’t help but look at her hands, flipping them that way and this and even trying to make sense of it all. Seriously though… these things literally just seemed to come out of nowhere. Was it her thoughts that had caused this to happen or was it something else entirely. She really didn’t know, but she knew that the pain that she had to endure just to go through this transformation didn’t seem to be worth it.
Reaching over tentatively she touched the stick she had tried to pick up before and to her surprise it didn’t hurt. So, she grabbed it with her hand expecting it to hurt once again, thinking that this whole thing might still be in her head, and yet… she grabbed it. She even let it go dropping it to the ground to look at her palm again and noted the small serrations but nothing that penetrated the thick pads.
She smiled brightly. “Human evolution in minutes and not thousands of years. Truly wonderful.” She said aloud as she gripped the stick once again, just being amazed that she could. “Well… I don’t know how it happened in the truer sense, but thankfully it did happen.” She moved back over to the scaled feline. She noted that it looked more like a jaguar than a bob cat. She mentally jolted that down as she started to use the stick to poke around on its insides. Noting some reproductive organs and other things that she knew should be in there. She had no trouble looking at dead things, or living things. It was really just another part of her job.
“Well it looked like you adapted something that was alien to your species to yourself. That is a wonderful gift indeed.” The haze spoke.
“Do you mind if I shorten your names? You two sound too angelic to me, and yet you don’t look like any of the pictures.” Elaine spoke as she pulled at some loose intestine to see what was in the digestive track. It would help to know if the creature took its time to eat or if it swallowed chunks whole like some wild canines did.
“And what would you call me then?” Seraphion asked.
“How about Sera?” Elaine shrugged as she noted the paste like meat… definitely took its time to eat its pray. That went to show that this creature didn’t want for food which meant that there was a abundance of pray in this forest.
“That’s fine.” Sera stated.
“what about me?” asked the lazy voice rolling back over as if to face her… Soul?
“I would really wish you to come out too… that feels to weird.” Elaine stated. Shuddering at the movement.
“Nah… just call me Zee” Zeraphine stated and rolled back over… “You really need to get a grip on your gift though… that hurt.”
Elaine paused, well one for Zee moving… and they felt what she felt? She had only thought that they felt things mattering the soul… did that mean that this change to her hands was something that changed her completely? “My soul? And I don’t even know how to do that gift thing though…” she sighed.
“Well… it seemed to happen when you touched the animal, thought about what you wanted and knew what you were looking at.” Sera stated. “After all you thought about it and we heard it.”
That would make sense… but that still didn’t seem right. How could one person grow something that was made of different elements and biological materials? Didn’t that have to come from somewhere? She had thought this effect to an evolutionary progression, so did that mean that it came from somewhere right? It would only make sense. She gave her body a one over and noticed that she seemed a bit paler… or was that from the blood loss? Oh fuck… she did bleed a lot. Maybe I should move away from this place before something else comes to check around. She thought standing up, she had already done a quick autopsy of what was left and looked out towards the forest.
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Which way should I go? She thought to herself and then noted that the other rabbit-like creatures had come from her… left? Yeah, definitely not going that way… She looked forward or to her right. She didn’t remember how she got here, else she would have tried to make it back to that bovine thing. Wait! Which way is the big tree on that horizon that I saw do you know? She thought to Zee and Sera.
“Maybe… that way?” Zee said pointing… “Oh you can’t see where I’m pointing… umm Seraphion mind showing her?”
“Uhhh… I wasn’t paying attention either. I was watching that cat. It looked really cool.” Seraphion stated. “Maybe climb a tree?”
Elaine looked blankly at Seraphion. “You really think that I’ll be able to climb a tree? I can’t even run very well, what makes you think I’ll be able to climb a three hundred foot tree?” She said putting her hands on her hips. “And that cat wasn’t cool at all. It wanted to eat me after all… well maybe it was kinda cool.” She said with a shrug.
Ok… time to make a educated guess. She looked up and noted the sun was to her right. When she had started this it was to her back, and the giant tree was towards her front… “Umm…. Sera… didn’t you say you thought the day cycle was 48 hours?” she looked at the haze as she started moving forward. “You mean day and night right?” she asked worry starting to cross her features.
“Yes I did. I was county to see how long you were going to be out.” Seraphion stated satisfied with her own answer. She felt pretty good about knowing something that her soul buddy didn’t. “I thought it would be something important to know.”
“That means each day and night is… ninety six hours long…. Holy fuck.” It hit her like a stack of bricks then. What kind of animals came out during that long night? And how the hell was I supposed to sleep that long!? She thought feeling the horror and dread come to her. Fuck… I need to find somewhere to shelter in. God what that professor had stuff to say about that… umm…. Shelter near water. Right? Yeah… and a food source… fuck… I have to hunt!
“Ha… told you you’d have to kill something… go get that stick you had. Better than nothing.” Seraphion stated smugly. “Don’t worry girl. I’ll help”
“How?”
“Ill watch your back.”
“And that helps me bash its head in how?”
“Umm… well… I don’t know. I’m new to this too.”
“Ugh… Just watch around me and tell me if anything moves.”
“Something moved… *yawn*” Zee stated pointing again.
Elaine froze where she stood. Her heart started to race as her eyes darted around. She held still hoping whatever it was….
“Yeah don’t you see that leaf moving?” Zee said with a laugh.
“Fuck you. You nearly gave me a heart attack, and stop moving around or you can come out here too.” Elaine stated as she kept walking back to her stick. Sera was right. She needed something to defend herself with.
“Nah I’m good… too much effort.” Zee stated with a snicker as she made sure to roll over in a very extra way. Knowing full well that it was going to make Elaine feel a way.
Elaine just ignored it the best that she could and retrieved her stick and started down the path once again that would hopefully lead her towards her goal. The large tree that she had seen. She had roughly twenty four more hours of sunlight to find somewhere to settle down for the night she knew was to come. She had a nagging feeling that this was most likely not going to be a easy night.
"When the shadows dance and the creatures of the night prowl, only the will to survive can see you through to the light..." She muttered. She didn’t know where she remembered that or where it had come from, but it made her a bit more motivated to continue down the path that she had chosen. Though oddly enough she had forgotten about her hands. It felt natural after all.
If this continues what am I going to be when I get to that tree? Will I look diffrentf or how much will I change from what I was? She thought to herself… Oh and I don’t need a response you two. She also added in… she missed her uninterrupted internal dialog. She sighed as she gave the stick a few practice swings as she put one foot in front of the other.
That’s when she heard a small rumble… her stomach was uneasy… tightening in knots. She even felt it.
“Fuck me…” she exclaimed silently looking around.
