When the sticky goo engulfed my head, I believed without a doubt that I was a goner. Screaming at the top of my lungs, I wanted everything to stop; the pain, the misery, the public embarrassment. I cried so hard I thought I was about to blow my vocal cords. Ever heard of somebody doing that? Not me.

But the worst thought in my head was of my parents finding out that I died. Died. Then again, things weren’t what they seemed.

I went from feeling my muscles burst to utter weightlessness, the pain was suddenly nonexistent. Did I finally die? It didn’t feel like it. There was no tunnel of light but I did hear wind rushing past my ears.

I didn’t hear Scott, that made me concerned.

I opened my eyes.

Above me was a blue sky and scattered white clouds, below was a thick, endless, redwood forest, devoid of hills and civilization. The forest was coming at me. Instinctively, I shrieked and flailed my arms in free fall.

Straight down, and thanks to the sudden adrenalin rush, I picked out the form of a house and a colorful garden, but directly below me was a pond. I fell past the canopy, nearly crashing into the branches, then, with no prior preparation; I splashed into the pond head first. Ouch.

Water rushed into my lungs as it burned my chest. Disoriented, I couldn’t tell which was up or down within the deep, dark pond. The water was ice cold and it quickly seeped through my skin and down to my bones. The fear of drowning kept me moving. I saw a circle of light, and instinct pushed me to kick and swim towards the it and I broke through the water’s surface.

I reached for the edge and felt smooth, interlocking stones. I coughed and slowly breathed again. There was no way that I was going to stay in that water any longer, so I pulled myself out, using the stones as steps. The next thing I knew I was on my back coughing once more.

I opened my eyes to look at the sky again. A circle was cut out of the canopies over the lot. I sat up, very slowly, to check myself for injuries. I was certain that I had crashed into the water and my clothes were drenched, but as I looked at myself, I was dry and unharmed. How was that possible?

The tattoo was still on my shoulder, glowing as before.

“Okay, that’s weird,” I said to myself.

I stood up looking around, I was in the middle of a secluded lot with a grass-covered yard. There were flower patches with the biggest red roses I’ve ever seen, marigolds, daisies, and a variety of poppies. A small log cabin was situated at the edge of the forest with a porch and couch swing. Curious, I peered down the ten foot wide well, and couldn’t figure out the depth. I took a breath and the air smelled of trees and fresh cut grass, it was so intoxicating that I could have stayed there for the whole day.

It wasn’t heaven for sure; everything looked too peaceful, secure, and tranquil. Still, I had to find out where I was.

“Hello,” I yelled. “Anybody here?” No answer. Thinking there was somebody in the cabin, I walked towards it, still looking around the beautiful grounds. I could imagine some lucky guy owning that place, maybe a rich one who prides on his privacy. Then I stopped short of the cabin, looking at one spot that could top the weird shit list of the day.

I saw a blue human body, a woman, silently screaming, convulsing in pain, and contained in a glowing stone circle embedded in the grass. My jaw dropped when I recognized that it was me in there.

“What the fuck?” I felt compelled to inch towards it. I was seeing me… in pain. It was illogical that I could be at two places at once, except it could’ve been a hologram, a really good one, but nothing about it was technological. Stopping a foot from the circle, I brought my arms up to hug myself. From the quiet, convulsing body, I could imagine the sounds coming from the mouth. I noticed that some things were changing on it, making me feel more uncomfortable.

Odd plates formed under the skin. I, the body, turned a little and I saw the same thing along the… well “my” spine. I thought that I was seeing things when my ears elongated and a tail grew.

I felt revolted, but didn’t have the heart to look away. Why wasn’t my body, the one I was in, clothed and unharmed, and not experiencing the pain?

For a moment I felt like I wasn’t alone. A presence, so to speak. I moved my eyes from the circle and saw a creature beside me. On top a simple perch attached to a wooden pole sat a beautiful red-tailed hawk. The perch hadn’t been there a minute ago, it had just suddenly appeared with no warning.

I gasped and backed away, but my reaction didn’t startle the bird. Its brown wings, light brown chest dotted with spots, the long tail, and sharp primal eyes made a striking statement. The bird stared hard at the blue body, just when the plates were formed and the ears stopped growing. The bird was bigger than my head.

I blinked, not expecting it to not look at me. It wasn’t a sculpture of a hawk, the chest heaved as it breathed.

“Hello?” I said to the animal. There was no response, not even a small flinch of the wings or talons. I didn’t risk poking it for attention. I looked back at the circle and muttered, “Stranger and stranger.”

“Forgive me for not speaking, Katie, I’m in deep thought at the moment.”

I froze. The voice was female, but held tremendous power in her words. I looked back, hoping to god that it wasn’t where it came from.

“Come on now, don’t be that way,” the bird looked at me like a caring parent, its beak sounded out words perfectly. “After all, deep down inside, you know the answer to all of this strangeness.” Its, or her eyes, locked onto mine.

My knees buckled and I fell onto my butt. I was dumbstruck, the bird was speaking fluent English with no difficulty. “Wha? How? Why?” I tried to talk, but the words escaped me.

The bird spoke again.

“I know that seeing me talk is a bit of a shock to your nerves, but it’s all real, Katie.”

She stared down at me like a god, a master, and a freak. The talons wrapped on the perch were sharp enough to tear through my delicate flesh. I finally spoke, “How… Who are you? How do you know me?”

Great, now I’m talking to an animal. Was Doctor Doolittle on Mom’s side of the family?

“My my. It’s because I’m part of you. I’m your totem, Arana, the one that embodies your conscious, your will power, and your knowledge protector.” She unfurled her wings, five feet of animal grace. “And I’ve waited since you were born to speak to you, face to face.”

My mouth felt dry from my breathing. The grass under my hands was moist and my butt became wet.

What do you do when you confront a spirit animal? Yes, I knew what they were when I was more into my hobby. Stories and practices have been involved to call forth an individual’s animal, by drugs or deep, focused meditations. I stared at mine, a red-tailed hawk. I had once read about calling spirit animals, but failed every time in my sophomore year. Just a piece of a spirit animal’s voice would bring me to my knees with the realization that magic was real. Yet there I was, acting like an idiot, but thinking like a curious child.

“Magic.” My voice came out shaky. “It is real. Please tell me, this has something to do with magic.” What I said made me feel great.

Arana was still at first, she probably wanted to have a dramatic effect, but she made a single nod and smiled.

“I knew it!” I picked myself up and brushed the grass off of my jeans. My hands were shaking from the news. “This is amazing,” I said, “I knew magic was real. All those years teetering through those books and waving my wand in my bedroom late at night wasn’t a waste.” All those precious memories came back and I felt extremely happy. “Wait until Mom and Dad hear about this.”

“You might want to reconsider, Katie,” Arana said. “You might not live to see them again.”

I stopped prancing around the grass, “What?”

She pointed her wing at the circle. “Do you see? This is magic, but a different breed. I have no idea what is happening to your body. You're coming out as three different species rolled into one.”

I turned back to the circle. The image of my body seemed to approach the end of its transformation. A long, three-foot tail stuck out of my spine, lined with armor. My lower arms and legs had that same armor plating. My new ears twitched. My face, or the image’s face, was scrunched up hard, and my jaw was about to pop out of joint. The muscles relaxed and it fell to the floor, lifeless. At an odd angle of looking at my own rump, I clearly noticed that the body was more defined in strength and beauty.

“See?” Arana asked. “Unknown magic.”

“But, it’s a transformation,” I added to a working theory. “It’s magical.”

“The magic smells different. It's teaming with life, primal energy, and I don’t think that once you come out of this, you might not survive.”

I brought my arms up close to my chest. “I don’t believe you.”

“Suit yourself. For what this phenomenon is, that new book I’ve skimmed in the cabin has the answers. We must slow down and think this through, and take time to learn to defend yourself.” Her wing came under her beak.

What book?

The trees rocked from gusts of wind all of a sudden, the canopies swayed back and forth. Wind blew from all directions, and the smell of the flowers intensified.

“What’s happening?” I asked loud over the wind.

“I don’t know, this never happened before,” Arana called out, her feathers flapped with the wind and she looked scared on her perch. Then, invisible hands yanked her up, catching her off guard, and shot into the sky through the forest opening. She was screeched like a real hawk.

I felt my body lifted up, as my feet dangled over the grass. My stomach jumped when I shot straight up, yelling, feeling myself frightened all over again. Arana disappeared through the clouds, and then me. A vortex of many colors surrounded me. That was when I felt the familiar pain again, the pain of my bones breaking, my nerves on fire, and unknown things begin to rise.

In that second of torture, I screamed, “Mommy.”

8:09 PM

I returned, feeling limp.

I felt so damn weak. So weak that by the time the goo floated off my face and the rest of my naked body, I was wading in and out of consciousness. Sounds were like mud. None of them were pleasant; people were afraid, very afraid. My eyes still worked, they were weak, seeing everything going on.

The strips of goo floated out of sight towards the apartment stairs.

I heard Scott’s weak voice calling my name. I felt the winter wind come at me and it made my bare skin prickle. “Mike, help us!” He commanded. I could only clear my throat from with my low strength.

I felt strong arms pull me up. My eyes blurred after I caught sight of a mob of people with frightening expressions. Women shaking heads, men cursing, many running to the comfort of their homes—they saw me, naked, exposed, and vulnerable. Kill me.

“Katie, please wake up!” Scott yelled. My eyes were shut but I managed to moan. He hugged me tight, but the hug felt really wrong and I couldn’t pin down the reason. “Ah, yes. Yes. Mike, get over here with the blanket. Help me get her on her feet.”

“Mike, don’t!” That shrill shout was Ashley, I was sure of it.

“Let go of me, Ashley. They need me.”

“Now, Mike!” Yelled Scott, hugging me tighter. Why was he not a limp doll like me? And what was with the intense warmth coming from him?

The shouts from the witnesses became restless as I heard their harsh words. I wanted to get out of there. Wind and snow picked up and I felt a heavy blanket drape over me. I smelled the fabric and it was the spare fleece blanket that Scott keeps with him.

A dog barked close by with intense fury, snarling in between, and the people shrieked.

“Get on the other side, Mike,” Scott asked, and I heard feet pound on the driveway.

Hands gripped under my arms, lifting me. “Katie, move your legs,” Scott whispered.

Groaning a little, I focused on my legs. They felt like jelly, the bottoms of my feet felt cold, but I had to lean on Scott for support. The shouting grew, none of it forgiving.

“Is this the future of the human race?” One stranger exclaimed.

Mike and Scott pushed me up the stairs, one challenging step after another.

Without warning, I felt something punch me in the chest and I cried out. It came from inside me, like something blew and thrust against my rib cage. I slumped onto the stairs, my bare knees scraped against the snow covered steps. Scott yelled, cursing and grinding his teeth. Each snowflake prickled against my skin. The electric shock was so great I didn’t have any tears to shed.

What is wrong with me?

Scott was breathing hard. “Shit. What was that?”

“Scott, you alright?” Mike asked.

“Forget it. Gotta get inside. Gotta get safe.” He picked me up, faster than before and his grip was a lot stronger. He was never that strong before.

Something crashed above us and Mike let go of me, “Back the fuck off, people, or I’ll call the cops.”

“Mr. Sanders,” a voice said, it was female and stern. “Protect Scott and Katie at all times.” It was Arana, no doubt. I had more questions as to why she was in the real world.

Footsteps darted away once we reached the top, opened the door, entered, and closed it shut. Inside the apartment, more footsteps thundered up the stairs, getting closer and closer to the door.

Please, go away, I thought.

Mike yelled, threatening them to get away. Some stopped.

I felt Scott’s stance weakening, and he nearly fell to the floor. I trailed my hands to his chest to try to help him. My eyes shot open from the strange sensation; I felt smooth, muscular skin under my fingertips. I cracked my eyes open, seeing a strong chest. It had to be a dream, it certainly wasn’t Scott’s body, there was no way.

A gunshot went off outside and I could hear the people scream through the walls. I heard their feet galloping away like a herd of frantic sheep.

“Must get to bed. So damn tired,” Scott huffed. We dragged our feet to the bedroom as I nearly tripped on my toes. I whimpered as I started to shake from exhaustion, starting from my stomach to my arms. Staying awake took most of my energy.

The bedroom door was closed, leaving us alone in the dark room. Another shock of pain hit me, followed by a horrendous scream from my throat. Scott screamed too, grunting in agony, and the pain sent both of us tumbling onto the bed with the blanket still covering us. The comfy sheets, blankets, and pillows felt so soft against my skin, lessening my pain after lying on the pavement. Face down, buried in a plump pillow, and feeling a muscular arm on my back, I finally felt safe. Another thrust of chest pain and I was asleep.

Come to think of it, I couldn’t remember the last time my hearing was so good.

What happened to me?