Strange Happenings
Midnight. They always came at midnight. The chimes from the old grandfather clock in the den jolted Daniel out of his restless dreams. It wasn't the chimes that woke him so much as the knowledge that They were coming. It was the same horrifying ritual, every single night.
The room was illuminated by an eerie pale green glow. Three figures in haz-mat suits stood around his bed. One of them held a large briefcase, another held a gun, and the third--the apparent leader, from the way he acted--was making entries into a large handheld computer. Daniel tried to escape, to run, to even move, but some unseen force held him in place, as immobile as the bed itself. The leader looked up from his computer and signaled to the one holding the briefcase, who set the case down and began to open it. Daniel strained to see its contents, but couldn't from his position. If only he could move...
The leader reached forward, grabbed the bedcovers and--
The shrill blast of Daniel's alarm clock filled the room. He'd had that dream again, the same one he'd been having every night for nearly a month. Except that it didn't feel like a normal dream. It felt more like a memory, but one that had been partially forgotten. Anyway, Dan had more important things to worry about, so he pushed whatever it was aside for the moment. Today was the last day of school, finally. All he had to do was survive his last few final exams, and he'd be home free. He wasn't about to let a creepy dream get him down.
***
Dr. DiCaoz glanced over his biology classroom. "Is anybody still working on the final?" he asked tiredly. He paused for a moment, then said, "If everybody is finished, you may talk quietly amongst yourselves for the remainder of the period." As the class erupted in chatter, he went back to nursing his hangover.
Daniel loved his biology class. It wasn't just that he was good at it, or that it was the last class of the day. By some bit of luck or fate, he happened to be in the same class as his four closest friends, Gassan, David, Pammy, and Jake. Gassan, David, and Pammy had become absurdly popular since coming to high school. Gassan was Lebanese and therefore "exotic," David was a star swimmer, and Pammy was a cheerleader. In retrospect, popularity was an inevitability. To the other popular kids, Jake an avid follower of the Furry subculture (he called it a craze, but nobody else did) and Daniel, the introspective writer, were social liabilities. Still, Gassan, David, and Pam never let their newfound "friends" keep them away from Jake and Dan. Privately, Daniel was grateful that he had managed to befriend the four people who appeared to be immune to high school drama.
"So, what'd you guys think?" Pammy whispered.
"I'm pretty sure Dr. Di is a nutcase," Gassan answered quickly. He was met with a chorus of approval from his companions.
"Anyway," Pam continued, "are we having our annual Thank-God-The-Schoolyear's-Over party tonight?"
"I can't go," Jake said, "I've got a convention."
"I can't go either," said David, "My dad's taking me camping. He's on a back-to-nature kick."
"I'm visiting my grandma," Gassan said. Pammy rolled her eyes.
"Alright," she sighed, "when do you guys get back?"
"Sunday"
"Sunday evening"
"Sunday, but it'll be late."
"So," Pammy continued, "is Monday night alright with everyone?"
***
The days passed quickly. By the time Monday arrived, he had gone an entire weekend without his mysterious dreams. He was mostly relieved, but part of him wished the visitors would come back so he could find out what they were up to.
The streets were charged with an eerie calm. A summer storm was coming. As Daniel reached Pam's door, he couldn't help but feel a strange foreboding. Something was decidedly wrong. He rang the bell.
"Come in," called Pammy. Dan opened the door and found friend sitting on the floor in a tidy circle. They were all staring at him, an unsettling hunger in their eyes. "We are playing Truth or Dare," Pammy intoned mechanically. "Please, join us. Truth or Dare?"
"Please choose Dare," Gassan said, in the same unearthly voice.
"The Truth is never any fun," agreed David, still in the same tone. Throughout the exchange, none of the four took their eyes off of Daniel.
"Is everything alright?" he asked. "You all seem...different."
Pammy answered in the same monotone as before: "We are collectively unnerved at a series of recurring dreams we have been having. Perhaps you too are experiencing these visions?"
"Yeah," Dan said, "but I'm not acting that weird about it."
"Perhaps," Pammy said, "All will be made more clear if you answer this simple question: Truth...or Dare?"
Written by Zodiac on 31 May 2008
Simple truth
Daniel took a moment to glance about the room. The scent of fresh food baking in the kitchen to the right, the couch propped up against the wall and a television near the window. Everyone was seated on the floor, Gassain with his legs crossed and Pammy making sure her frilly dress covered all of her legs. Jake Sprawled out lazily and David looking over his shoulder with a nervous twitch.
“I guess I’ll pick truth. How long have you four been playing?” Daniel asked as he dropped into a seat next to everyone. Pammy scooting to one side so it formed a more complete circle, everyone facing into the center.
“About an hour by now.” Answered Jake.
“I think … yeah you missed the brownies.” David sounded disappointed.
“Still wish you’d pick Dare you know, the truth is boring.” Gassain complained.
“But it’s the only thing that’s important right now. Daniel?” she intones with that deliberate, unearthly monotone. “What have you been dreaming of?”
“Nothing the past two nights.” Daniel answered truthfully, thinking back to the calm weakened. “I go to sleep. Blackness. Then wake up. Pretty boring.”
“The last two. What about before that?” Pammy is quick to press.
“He’s being evasive. That must mean he’s with them.” Jake sits up, staring at Daniel with concern.
“Oh and what, you think he’s replaced?” David accused.
“Guys, guys, chill.” Gassain interrupted. “We’re here to play a game alright, you can talk about your mindwashing theories when it’s your turn.”
“What on earth did you guys put in the brownies? Starting to think I should be glad I didn’t eat one.” Daniel snickered to the three bickering teenagers.
“But would you please answer the question?” Pammy once more. “It’s important.”
“Okay fine.” Daniel sighed. “I dreamed I was tied down a slab, or something. Three guys, a computer, someone taking notes. I never get to see what they’re doing. In the dream I can’t even turn my head.”
“No briefcase?” David leans forward with a stare.
“Well, uh. Actually one of the guys did have a case on him. He opens it up. But I never see what’s inside.” Daniel replies.
“And then the other guy has a gun. So we’ve got Noteguy, Computerguy, and Boxguy.” Jake pipes up. “Clearly they are all supervillians.”
“In Hazmat suits?” Gassain balks.
“It’s just their costume, duh.” Jake rolls his eyes, acting as if this were obvious.
“In my dream they looked more like government types.” David crosses his arms. He looks down, taking a keen interest in his feet.
“They, uh. The three guys did have suits on in my dream too.” Daniel pipes up. “As soon as they lift off the covers I’m awake.”
“How long have the dreams been happening?” Pammy.
“I don’t know. A while? Its stopped recently so I’d like to think it’s over now.” Daniel answered.
“Hah! Not a chance.” Jake retorts. “Your dream took place in your own bed, and you still think it’s a dream? Mine too. Identical.”
“We are not being invaded by brain steeling government employees.” Gassain groans, leaning back against the couch.
“Not just employees! Tax collectors.” Jake counters.
“And they need the biological protection for …” Pammy asks, looking to each of three. “What? Exactly?”
“Maybe Gassain’s room is just so dirty they don’t want to take chances.” Jake grins.
“And maybe they know what you wear in yours, and just don’t want to touch anything period.” Gassain snapped back. Jake wasn’t entirely amused.
“Guys.” David pipes up in a stutter voice. “This isn’t coincidence guys. We won’t all have the same dream at the same time because nothing unusual happened.”
“Maybe it’s a prank.” Daniel offers to the group, looking at Gassain specifically as the man casually lounged about.
“By who? In my dream it was clearly three adults.” Pammy offers.
“All three of them men I can tell you that, way too broad in the shoulder.” Jake nods.
“Well then what do we do about it?” David questions. He looked scared. More scared than anyone else in the room.
“Set up cameras?” Daniel suggested with the usual earnestness.
“I could try this, yes.” Pammy nods, now looking down to think it over.
“Guess I could rig something up. Don’t have the memory to record the entire night though.” Jake mentions.
“What if the men just take the camera away? Or turn it off?” David questions with alarm. “Its not like I can afford some hidden spy camera right now and the ones I do have are really big and easy to spot.”
“Better than me.” Gassain shrugs. “I don’t have any camera at all, let along some way to hide it. You guys are just being paranoid here.”
“How can you say it’s just a dream?” Pammy looks serious. “With all of us, even you.”
“Don’t know.” Gassain holds up his hands defensively. “But they stopped, didn’t they? So long as we don’t have the dream again we don’t really have anything to worry about.”
“I guess so.” David admits reluctantly.
“Computerguy has probably already moved on to his next victim. I’ll bet other kids around school are having the same dream we are.” Jake muses, looking out the window as if with expectation.
“We are not calling him Computerguy.” Gassain pouts.
“How about ComGuy then. Shorter to say?” David offers.
“If the dreams have stopped then we only need to worry about them if they don’t come back. But have they actually stopped?” Pammy inquires, sitting up strait and looking all four of the boys directly in the eye. “How long ago did the dreams seem to stop?”
“About eight days for me.” Jake raises his arm.
“I’ll guess about six days, I noticed I could sleep easier last Sunday.” David offers reluctantly, his arms still folded across his chest. He looked like he was cold.
“Four days.” Gassain shrugs, leaning his head back into the couch and looking over his fingernails. The ceiling light cast the shadow of a hand across his face. “Didn’t count how long they went on for but I’m pretty sure they aren’t coming back.”
“Two days.” Daniel finally answers. “It stopped on Friday. Last day of school.”
“You mean the day D.i.C. came in hang over?” Gassain perks back up.
“As if you have any right to talk little fascinated by finger shadows.” Jake sticks his tongue out.
“Well, I think I answered all the truths I needed here guys.” Daniel steps in, propping one knee up and wrapping his arms around it. “How about we get back to the game?”
“I agreed.” Pammy nods. “Its your turn Daniel, go ahead and pick.”
And thus the five teenagers played their game on into the night. Drinking when they felt like it, having a ready dinner once it was finished. Revealing truths and convincing each other to pull off embarrassing pranks. Pammy ended up shoving two straws in her nose while Jake took pictures. Jake was forced to act like a bunny, leaning against the table with a carrot in one hand like a cigarette. Cell phone cameras immortalizing the image for all to see. David was dared with putting ice down his shirt. Gassain rather effortlessly breezed through a dare to climb the branch on the tree outside.
And Daniel was dared to speak only in Riddles for a full hour, which seemed much more difficult to pull off than he’d expected.
They went home, they slept, and when they woke up in the mourning something was completely different.
Written by Arbon on 25 May 2016
Enter: Sphinx
The chill wind blowing through the leaves, rustling in the grass. Daniel’s eyes peaked open to the glimmer of a sunrise over a rocky outcropping, the land dotted with trees and bushes. He closed his eyes right back and attempted to roll around for his blanket. The hands felt like they were covered in oven mitts, and when he reached over his back he could feel the shaggy hair of some animal. A dog? No, a cat maybe. Daniel could swear there was something of a tarp draping down over the side of his haunches, yet his arms could grasp onto the edge.
He couldn’t find his pillow either.
Resting a chin against his arms, tucking his face into the crook of his elbow, the teenager simply curled up in wait for the alarm clock to beep. Any minor problems in his situation could be ignored for another hour or two, he wasn’t getting up for anything beyond an emergency. A wide, deep yawn rambles out of his mouth. He almost thought he heard the girlish tones of a woman yawning with him, but didn’t bother looking around to check. Sleep, yet more sleep, he could feel the heat of the sun beaming directly onto his flanks now. Warming his face, making his left side feel as he were back at the beach while his right side was chilled in the morning dew.
He peaked his eyes back open. No pillow, no blanket, and no walls. He could see directly into the side of a high cliff face, ancient roots stabbing into the dirt and weaving around the larger rocks like tendrils. Bushes dotted the landscape, the grass was chilled and wet by the misty morning. Looking out deeper into the valley he could even spot early fog just starting to rise above the tree tops. He couldn’t find his phone. His alarm was missing. He didn’t even see the neighbor’s house somewhere beyond a window.
Raising his head, he only just now realized he couldn’t see any houses at all.
“When is the time one hand of small, are needed to sleep by most if not all?” he asked to the thin air, Daniel trying to decide if he was dreaming or not. “Five more minutes.”
He yawned. His head drooped back down, and he truly did sleep for a time while the sun continued to rise. He was stopped by the sensation of a squirrel climbing on his face.
“Gah! Enough! Release me you vermin!” he’d roar. Clambering onto all fours and shaking his head left and right in violent jerks, the feeling of feathery arms jutting out of his back as they spread into a wide flare. The squirrel was thrown to one side and left in a daze, while Daniel stomped his fist into the dirt before him.
“What is quick to destroy, can only come on mornings, and you do not ever wish to be!” his voice thundered out. Bold, proud, and distinctly feminine despite its reverberating tones. Daniel could hear his echo from across the canyons first, then a third booming into the valley between distant, forested mountains. Daniel did not even slightly recognize who’s voice was coming out past his lips, the sounds were adult and strong and female. But he could tell he was speaking. Shouting really.
The squirrel did not appreciate his efforts to intimidate and quickly scampered off, leaving Daniel to mutter softly under his breath. ‘Breakfast.’ An answer to the question that no one heard.
Once past anger and surprise then came the confusion. He was still on four legs, but looking over to the trees he was clearly half as tall as even the largest ones while crawling. He wasn’t so much on his hands and knees as he was on his toes and his palms simultaneously. He attempts to stand up, but the hold is too shaky. After a few wobbles he drops back to the ground and decides upon using a tree to prop himself up.
When standing on just two legs he was almost as tall as the trees themselves. Judging by the height of the flowers, either everything had shrunk in a subtle way or he was suddenly larger than his mother’s car. He was pretty sure he could see over the bus if he tried. Another oddity. None of which more distressing than glancing down to see a poofy chest, the bulging fur coated paws of a tawny yellow cat, and his feet looked more like talons than anything with toes or a heel.
He drops back down to examine. Was this another dream just as real at the last ones? He suspected this is the part where he’d wake up if that was the case, few dreams allow you to linger after the illusion has been shattered. Daniel looks back to the rest of his body, sporting the main portions of a lion with feathers along most of the shoulders and part of the back, two thick and muscular raptor wings, and the hind legs that looked as if they belonged on a chicken more than his current body.
Chicken or eagle, honestly. Though Eagle sounded less like an insult in his mind.
“What happened here was the work of an instructor of fitness.” He declares instantly, once more surprised at the rumbling, yet feminine voice. As he looks to see no one else was around he mumbles. ‘Donut no.’ and saunters forward.
He could not remember how he got here or why he was in this body, but he also realized that screaming and denying its existence would not achieve any worthwhile results. In the best case scenario he would be proven wrong about his faculties and suddenly awaken, laughing at himself about how easily the dream had fooled him. In the worst case scenario this was a real event. He could not do panicking blindly and causing more trouble than was worth.
He had to do something productive, which meant finding a river or a pond. Something to drink from if need be, dangerous in the immediate term but life saving if he was stranded here and miles from civilization. He had wings and knew full well that most dreams allowed one to fly, or perhaps he’d be halfway lucky and be capable of flight in reality. When groggy and tired and barely able to walk without tripping himself was not the sensible moment to go airborne around numerous pointy trees on wings he knew nothing about.
It was not a long walk until the newly formed sphinx found a river trickling down the Cliffside. Small and burbling, but enough to fallow. He turned toward downstream and kept walking until he could spot a pond, something with still and clear water. His footsteps caused the pond to ripple, making him feel like a monster from some film series. When he gazed down he was surprised to see a human face.
Even more surprised to see a woman’s face. The long eyelashes and deep, pitch black shadow lining the outside of his eye. His face was petite in frame, completely without blemish, and his hair was neatly trimmed into a curt shape. The color was a deep black that matched the shadows around his eyes. The iris’s themselves were a bright and tawny yellow, just about matching his newfound fur. Atop his head were two catlike ears with puffy insides and black tips.
Daniel twisted his head to clear away the shock, blinking several times at the sight before him. On a whim he smiles, but finds his teeth are strait and pointed. Exceptionally neat like the rungs on a fine comb, but razor sharp and looking wicked dangerous as far as he could tell. He sticks his tongue out at his reflection. He amuses himself for a time by making silly faces, only stopping to examine the rest of his reflection.
The sphinx is only mildly disappointed to confirm what he already knew, that his lower body appeared to be that of a lion with bird feet, wings on its back and the head of a human. At least reflections worked fine. Was that something one could be pleased about?
His next order of business was to find some way to contact help, locate civilization or the authorities or possibly the tower of a park ranger. Surely this had to be a park of some sort, how far away from home could he have been? Daniel gazes into the sky, up past the cliff-side and toward the clouds. A single glance at his back and the wings folded ever so neatly. It was all one needed to reach the obvious solution.
Written by Arbon on 26 May 2016
Attempt to fly
At first Daniel started rounding the way toward a hill he could climb, watching as it curves gently around one side of the sheer cliff. When he reaches a clearing he’d stop and flap.
Flap…
… flapflapflapflap!
Daniel rises off the ground sprinkling sand and leaves and dry grass in every direction, hovering gently until his chest grows sore and his wings fold back up. Lowering to the ground talons first, and feeling his padded ‘hands’ squish into the grass like fuzzy oven mitts. He did not know for how long, but he knew he could fly.
Around bushes and under tree branches, snapping twigs that get in his way and stomping into underbrush. His talons claw into the soil for a strong purchase, while his paws spread wide could grip against the branches and stone to pull himself upward. He found climbing the gentle slope of the hill to be easy and graceful, he rarely had to think about where he’d move his paws before finding purchase. He simply had to move, and he moved.
By the time he’d reached the highest point he was ducking under trees, padding towards the steep edge, and gazing down across a wide canyon as the sun rose higher into the clouds.
Better still, he spotted what appeared to be a waving black river that weaves in through the valley. It looked a lot like a road, coming in from the south and then turning east between the mountains. He rationalized that it was possible for the sight to be an actual river, perhaps alien or polluted, muddy or simply locked in shade from this current angle. But it still looked a lot like a roadway, which meant this was his best chance for finding people. Finding civilization and an explanation, assuming he doesn’t simply wake up.
Daniel feels his wings flex, and with a calm realization he notices he has no fear of heights. Nor any particular fear of being trapped here. His mind sharp and clear, yet alien and emotionless. It was not that he didn’t feel any emotions at all, he noted, but rather that any fear he might feel seemed irrational all of a sudden. Childish.
He knew it was childish to keep assuming this might be a dream that all goes away, and while he still felt the urge to shout and scream and rage in the back of his mind, something now told him to be practical. That acting like a toddler throwing a tantrum would never improve his situation.
The winged lion steps forward with it’s wings spread and the front paws lifted up. A leap, a drop, and swoop. Daniel could see the trees shooting colder, the cliff-side behind him scraping past at ridiculous speed, and the entire horizon appear to twirl around as he changes position midair. The wings flap and catch air on the way down, then they flap harder, and harder, and yet harder still. His chest was heaving already and all he’d managed was to hold in level flight. Twisting his neck to aim toward the black river he grew tired in the air, spreading his wings and keeping them level rather than constant flapping.
And in such a state he glided, gently and easily over the tree-tops, swooping quickly through the valley.
When he arrives near his destination he’d spot the telltale signs of a roadway even through his exhausted, the dull pain in his chest where muscles he never knew existed felt the fatigue of trying to flap into the air. He twisted and maneuvered, but was losing altitude fast. Daniel had to flap harder to get higher into the air, then coast down the roads, using the open space as a nice gap between trees for level flying. Over-all this entire scenario felt peaceful.
On a dime it goes from peaceful to elation, the rumble of a car zooming up from behind caught his attention. He could see it, a light blue pickup truck with a single occupant steering the wheel. The person inside obscured thanks to this angle, but just knowing someone was there caused a tingle of pride, or expectation, of … of what he wasn’t sure.
Daniel slows to match speeds with the truck, making sure to maneuver himself directly above it. The driver inside most definitely appeared to notice, one thing to spot a flying lion and quite another to realize it’s stalking you.
Travelers! The sphinx’s mind was shouting at itself, travels going through MY territory. MY home. MY place to defend. And the sphinx’s mind was pleased with this, it knew just what to do while Daniel knew exactly what he planned to ask. Exactly what he planned to say.
A swoop forward, a violent crash, and with the crunch of cement and the rending of metal Daniel ended up snagging the front of the pickup truck with one claw then driving his heels into the pavement, bracing against those bird legs to stop the car. He was just a hair bit bigger than the car itself, his human head only just barely small enough to fit inside an open door, and far too large to fit through the window. While straining, it was not at all difficult to force that car to come to a stop.
The person inside was now at a blind panic, the scent of burning rubber wafted into the air and smoke started to billow up thanks to the friction. A revving engine and the desperate turning of a car that tries to continue forward was all one could hear for a time. When it pauses, it’s only long enough for the back tire to start spinning the opposite direction.
Daniel raised his eyebrow to the person inside, peering through a window partially obscured by the glare of the sunlight. He shifted his weight backward, braced his right paw under the front of the car while keeping his left paw onto the top of the hood. Long gashes from his newfound claws were already there, and he could feel a light sting in his hind legs as the car tried to pull him forward against the bracing of his talons. Scraping him through the cement, feeling those solid scales roughed up as the toenails gouge into the road.
The sphinx simply lifts up, hugging the front of the truck into his chest and using that bit of leverage to tilt the back end up. The wheels were no longer burning rubber, they were simply spinning dead and empty into the open air.
Daniel grins to the person inside, watching someone desperately try to fiddle with the door handle even as he’s holding the car aloft. This was not casual, nor was it easy, but it wasn’t any terrible strain either. But the teenager knew what he wanted to say, and right now ‘Listen already, I’m not here to hurt you just want to talk’ was at the front of his mind.
“Listen traveler and listen well!” were the words that actually came out. “No harm comes to those of swift thought, lend thy ear, lend they voice, what choice have you got?”
He almost wanted to question the discrepancy, but he was having too much fun. Maybe he was simply getting into the spirit of things in this most definitely not a dream. ‘Where is the city of Longport? I’m lost! I need to find my home alright, can you help me?’ he wanted to say. He tried to say.
“Assist me with haste, Long are the ports I seek, lost but not in the waters deep, home needs no direction.” Was what actually came out in that same thunderously sweet voice, as if a woman and a lion both attempted to caw like a bird. Daniel was no longer having any fun, nor could he pleasantly ignore what was clearly a major problem.
Eyes wide with rage and panic, he shouts toward the terrified driver and practically shakes the car about like a tin can. He wanted to say the obvious ‘No, stop! I’m human like you, don’t be afraid!’
“Fear not, traveler and stop thy blinded terror. On two legs I walk, with tulips I talk, with a head made of hoarse air and a tale that is never there, I am as you. What am I?” was what actually came out, spilling past his lips even as he was thinking entirely different words.
Now, thought Daniel, was probably a good time for the both of them to panic.
Written by Arbon on 27 May 2016
Try to convince him
Daniel could tell his mind was addled by something, his lips betrayed him and he did not have the sense of fear or urgency he might have otherwise portrayed. At any other time he knew he would be dropping the car and clawing at his hair, cursing or shouting or something to get his voice back under his control. Yet here he was calm. The emotions of panic at the back of his mind seemed to be muted by something, inconsequential when compared to the reality he experienced.
Multiple times he had tried to speak plainly, yet the words that came out was not what he was trying to say. Something had to be filtering him. Perhaps the same effect that caused his transformation into a woman, among other aspects, as a means to make changing back more difficult? Or maybe he was hearing his words incorrectly, but that seemed unlikely. The man appears to have heard incoherent riddles, something to cause confusion alongside the obvious fear. He couldn’t have been speaking wrong, his vocal musculature did not change overmuch beyond the soft, rumbling tones of his new size and gender.
Most likely it was his mind, filtering itself as if on instinct. A sphinx now, when has a sphinx ever been known to speak plainly and with direct purpose? According to legends they would attack travelers on the road and demand riddles in exchange for passage. Devouring, or simply mauling all who fail to pass their tests while quietly allowing the clever to pass without harm.
The human’s form scrambled over the front seat and ducking into the back. Daniel felt his claws stabbing through the metal, the full weight of the car starting to wear on his shoulders. A kick. A shudder. The back doors open and a leg can be seen dangling for the ground. The sphinx rolls her eyes, holding the car steady in a rather deliberate effort to allow this traveler freedom. A fall, a plot, and then the driver is suddenly on the ground and running back the way he’d come. Strait down the center of the road.
‘How am I going to get anywhere with this’ Daniel thought.
“What is the place one will never reach, rushing backwards down a road with impaired speech?” was what he actually said.
Crunch. Impossible muscles grind and tear, his fur covered skin bulging with the effort. While Daniel could and did set the car down with a gentle effort, the car wasn’t exactly designed to have claws jabbing through the undercarriage. Nor was the driver-side door intended as a load bearing support structure. When the rubber wheels touched against the blacktop and he pulled his claws free, the door was noticeably ajar.
Patpatpatpatter. The driver kept running as fast as his legs could carry. Breath misting over his face in the chilled air, his clothing ruffled behind him. The air was dead and silent without the slightest breeze, even the birds and animals of the forest had chosen to still their calls. In curiosity, in fright, or by simply being absent from the roadside. The driver’s loud panting was harsh against his lungs, but his body was lean and well shaped.
Daniel rolled his eyes. Her eyes. The wings flap once, then twice, then she’s leaping into the air on thick padded feet and letting the heat of the road fill her wings. Ten feet high. Then twenty. She glides more than hovers in an effortless dive, dropping back onto the road just in front of this human. A wide saunter to turn in front of his path, eyes gazing down with such vibrant intensity.
He couldn’t let this human escape, that would just be silly. Who else was he going to talk to? He still didn’t have directions. It wasn’t like this man was going to get very far walking on foot through mostly abandoned woods, let alone woods that already have one giant monster in it. All Daniel needed was to get him to figure out the riddles, or find some way to communicate that didn’t involve sounding like a pretentious twig.
“A-aahh!” the man screams, stumbling over himself to turn back around.
‘Just listen, aright! I’m not dangerous, I’m not a monster, and you are being very silly right now. Stop running and pay attention to what I’m saying’ Daniel attempted to get across.
“Take heed traveler! What is not a monster, what is not a danger. Answer my riddle, and you shall be spared, pay homage to my words and there will be no need to flee.”
The man stops running. Not by choice mind, he’d tripped over his own feet and came stumbling onto the cement, but his crawl was close enough to a stop that it might as well count. Daniel’s words sunk in, and while this was still more than he was expecting to find the man did indeed find the ‘riddle’ worth catching onto.
“Y-you’ll let me go, right?”
“You shall be spared, and you shall answer my riddle. Attempting to run would be … dangerous.” Daniel replies. All while thinking ‘eh, close enough’
“R-right, right. Not running!” he holds his hands up and sits into a crouch. The panic evident, but he can see the state his car is in with the front door twisted off its hinge and the back door hanging open. “W-whats the riddle again?”
Daniel’s eyes flared, wanting desperately to just say what he was after and be done with this. At the same time he noticed that this man might be in for an awkward time if his car doesn’t start anymore and he’s left abandoned in the woods. Leaving him ‘alone’ might be dangerous even after directions are obtained. And it’s not like Daniel would be getting any in-depth explanation when he can barely form his questions into anything coherent.
“Answer now these questions three, what is a monster, what has become of me.” He starts. “Where is the heart, where does one start, where does one long to be.” He pauses, frowning angrily as the words just didn’t come out the way he wanted. “I walked on four legs to start, on two legs till dawn, I shall walk on three legs near the end, and shall walk my last when breath falls. What am I?”
The man blinks. Then blinks again.
“U-uh. Become of … well monsters are scary, a-and they attack people. So you did?”
The sphinx smacks a thick, padded paw against her face and groans.
“Okayokay I’ll try it here, uh … where the heart is. That has to be home right?”
“Though I care little of yours, I have failed to find mine.” Daniel replies almost instantly, the faintest grin for at least getting part of this through.
“And then uh, well I’ve heard that one before. The answer’s human right?”
Daniel beams, dropping her palms back to the ground with a grin. Her face leaning close until she’s just inches from the driver, and the man backs away in a spout of nervous fright.
“Your name I might require, tell me of home so I may retire. Long and long are the ports I seek, lost but not in waters deep.”
“Uuuhhh, right.” The driver breathes deep, shallow, and pained. One arm reaching up to scratch behind the back of his head. “There aren’t any ports here. Oceans at least a few states that direction so I guess you could fly there. What’s your name? If, uh, you aren’t going to kill me.”
“Answer the riddles, and you shall be spared.” The sphinx nods. “My name is Daniel. What is yours if you’ve prepared?”
“John? The name’s John Castin, and I’m just heading over to longport. Or at least I was until something hit my car ...”
Daniel can feel her eyes sparkling, a glance down the road, a glance down to the abnormally dented automobile, and then a glance up to the skies.
“So that’s it, three riddles right? I can go now?” The driver was already backing away.
Daniel could see him hoping to reach his car and peel off as soon as possible, but at the same time he’s heading the same direction the Sphinx was it seems. And if something went wrong he’d be out in the woods, alone. Was it best to simply leave him, or should he go through the effort of convincing this man that a giant eagle-cat-woman was a safe thing to ride?
Written by Arbon on 01 July 2016
Leave him be
He wanted to say something. The sphinx opens her mouth as if about to answer, eyes darting between the man and his car along the roadside. Daniel decides to offer a simple nod lest he risk his words twisting into riddles and confusing the matter further. The human-shaped lips sealed tight and his eyebrows furrowed, a puffy tipped tail swished behind his wings with annoyance. Mostly at himself for the fact whatever this block was that filtered his speech was actually getting to him.
The driver stepped back. Twice. Four times. Very slow to trust the idea he can turn around, he kept his gaze on the towering Sphinx the entire time. Even as he shuts one door behind him, and is left to fiddle with the ruined front door to the driver’s seat. Daniel simply watched. Wings folded behind him, the four legged body curled up like a housecat and seated on it’s haunches. Wide eyes watching intently to see if the car would start.
The man steps inside, and while the sphinx cannot see what happens within there is the sound of an engine revving. The car starts, then drifts forward. Within moments it’s moving smoothly and easily through the curved roads and left to vanish around the bend, trees blocking it’s view.
Daniel sighs, there wasn’t anything to worry about for the man’s safety it would appear. And more to the point now he had a direction to travel and some idea where he was going. The name of his home town was the same, there were cars, the man’s clothing looked ordinary, Daniel could at least assume he was in the same universe and not transported to some fantasy land. After such vibrant sensation and a direct conversation any chance he might have been dreaming need be long forgotten by now.
That just leaves making his way home and hoping this entire event doesn’t ruin his summer. What happens when he gets home? How are his friends going to react? Was he ever going to change back?
Thinking of it practically this new form gave something that even his grandest dreams would never have allowed for. With a flap he demonstrated to himself just how much of a boon this was. The front legs push off the blacktop, his hind legs brace against the staggering weight of his enormous body, he can feel the muscles in his chest stretching and pulling with every beat of the feathered limbs behind him. For a moment he was standing up on two legs, and then a moment after he wasn’t even standing but hovering.
The air felt firm beneath his eagle-shaped wings, his legs felt light and free as if he were dangling them over the side of a bed. There was a comfortable tingle in the base of his spine, staring down to see the ground receed farther and farther. The trees on either side shifting tones from brown and green, to a more pure green as he can see less and less of the trunk. By an overhead view the roads looked less like something of civilization and more like a blackened river that cuts through the trees and around hills.
In the distance already he can spot John’s car trailing away. Toward something, it was certain. To longport. Daniel could see a glistening city far behind, but the car was traveling away from it. A flap. A swoop, then another few flaps to gain height. It was awkward and lazy at first, and with this constant effort he could already feel his wings getting tired. It was like having another pair of arms on top of the first, perhaps to make up for the five fingered hands he’d just lost, and flying was like taking a very large fan in each palm and forcing it through thick water.
Try paddling a boat when there’s nothing between you and the water, and your paddles happen to be as wide as your body length in either direction. No wait, wider. It wasn’t even still water at that once he’d gotten over the tree line. While the air at ground level was flat and dead, requiring effort to lift off and power his immense weight into the skies, up here without the trees as a wind-break there was a breeze. It was a current of air, like swimming against a river with wide paddles attached to your back that scooped up as much of the current as possible.
Already Daniel could see the car had passed well beyond his sight, even with the large and keen eyes of a Sphinx. The wind shifted, and he could feel himself knocked off balance and left flailing for stability. His four paws grasping uselessly against nothing while his wings catch the wind.
Exhausted, nervous, and now a slight bit frustrated he straitens the wings out and tries to glide down toward the trees, toward the road, at which point he realizes just how much easier this is than flapping. Now the breeze lifts under his belly and catches in the feathers. Now he’s being still and relaxed, while moving forward at a much faster pace. It was the difference between walking and skating, leveling his flight to just glide in took almost no effort at all and left the wind largely useless at steering him off-course. Diving headlong into the breeze actually seemed to help steady his path.
So for a while he simply drifted, eyes wide to the glory and wonder of open wilderness beneath. He could see rocks sparkling with bits of quarts, he could see the moss growing strong across fallen logs and sunken boulders. The sunlight glinted off of stagnant pools leftover from the last rain. For a brief moment he thought he could spot the brown and tan of a deer far to his left, then the flash of white and tail and the creature has bounced away into the brush. He could stare straight ahead to the distant cliff faces, the entire valley being ripe with vertical terrain and ancient trees.
Come to think of it, those trees were getting a little bit too clos-SMACK!
He feels the painful crunch of leaf and branch against his right shoulder, the wood splintering away to catch amongst the lower branches while his weight and bulk simply powers through. The leaves and smaller twigs scraped over his fur and left parts of the legs raw and itchy. Another tree too close ahead. The weight tilts, his wings flap and curl in an effort to fling him toward the left, toward the open road where trees had been cleared away. No time! Brace!
CRUNCH!
His two thick arms and furry paws held together before his face, feeling the wood smash against his forearms and then splinter away like plywood. It hurt and it stung, but this branch was too large to catch amongst the leaves and went falling all the way to the ground. Mud splats away, and as Daniel drifts onward he can hear the crinkling sound of smaller wood chunks falling.
Height. He needed height! The wings flapped, harder and harder and yet harder still, forcing himself into the slight breeze. As soon as he got above the tree line he could feel the wind getting stronger, but he wanted altitude above all else. Wind smacks into his face and chest, catching in the wings and causing his forward flight to stall. It felt all too much like being punched in the gut. But he carried on, higher and higher, until his wings were sore with effort and the burn of exhaustion pulled all the way down his arms.
Daniel was gasping for breath, his heart pounding into his chest and the dull throb of where he twice impacted against solid wood kept nagging into his senses. Higher. The wind was strong enough to force his tail stiff and strait behind him, he wasn’t moving forward in the slightest and all of his flaps just took him up. Higher! He did not have much practice with flight, but if this was to be his education then he could not help but note its similarities to an unpleasant Gym. HIGHER!
At last he felt his face enter amongst the clouds, he could see the green shifting into grey deep down bellow, and he could see over the range of the mountains beneath him. The clouds drifted over his face and it was like diving into fog, the cool chill of the sprinkled mist pleasant against his injuries and soothed the pain in his wings.
After so much effort the sphinx straitens her wings out and eases into a level flight, tilting forward just enough that the wind catches beneath her feathers and helps to lift up while her sheer weight and momentum kept her drifting against the current. It was a luxury, a respite against the previous desperate climb. At last Daniel could breathe a sigh of relief and focus on his forward destination.
Find the city of Longport, fly or glide his way back home, get back onto his bed and then call it a day. It all starts with finding …
Finding …
Written by Arbon on 08 July 2016
Lost among the clouds
Where was it? He couldn’t see the road anymore, it was just trees and grass and clouds all around. His head swiveling back and forth while his movement was smooth and strait. In theory it was just a matter of gliding forward until he spotted something, but looking far ahead in the direction that driver went didn’t appear to be anything. There were mountains and trees, and … what was that? Splash of color?
Just an open patch of grass with some flowers growing wild. Brown where the dirt was too barren or the land too steep for a plant to cling to, and grey in the areas where stone was thick and round and solid, often with moss growing on them. Nervously watching for any clear sign of civilization, he wasn’t paying much attention to the skies.
Suddenly white. Cool and damp and white, he drifted into a cloud and then out just moments later. He’s left to wipe the moisture from his face with fuzzy paws that might as well be wet towels. The fierce winds blasting into his face served at once as a hair drier, if a bit chilled and unwelcome at its task, while simultaneously acting as the driving force behind throwing clouds at his head.
He tries to swipe his paws at the misty fog, feeling the cold jolts of ice along his padded fingertips. The breathless frost beneath his claws. Naturally this has far less effect at moving the cloud out of the way than simply diving forward until he’s free. Each time he looks down to see how the landscape changed, how the trees grew less sparse or the rocks more frequent. Then a cloud would overtake him and the world was a white fog. When he dives beneath and finds freedom again, all of the far away topography has shifted.
Daniel grumbles, but at least this flight was fast, and it was easy. Wings spread wide all he had to do was lazily sail downward, losing altitude every moment but going forward at a wonderful pace. Certainly faster than walking, and now that he’s managed the climb it was a heck of a lot easier. This felt to him like putting in all of the painful effort to climb up and up to the top of a hill, then sitting atop a bicycle and using the downward slope to just ride without having to pedal. Soft, easy, pleasant, it gave his sore wings a badly needed rest.
But then again they were rested now, how many minutes has it been since reached this height? Five minutes? Ten? He did not wish to lose too much of that hard earned altitude but at the same time getting a face full of clouds over and over did not make for the most pleasant experience. He flaps. The wings beat hard against the fast flowing air, he can see swirls and spirals as the feathered limbs to a very effective job of shoving the cloud cover aside. The smoky mist spun into little circles all around him and the chilled moisture making his wings heavy. He flaps, he paddles, up and up with that same effort he’d forced upon himself before. Only this time when he reached an all new height it wasn’t a landscape of green for him to look down on.
White. The white and the blue and the yellow, the bright sunlight glinting across an ocean of clouds and letting everything sparkle. He was above them, above all of it, his claws grasping at nothing while his wings caused the puffs and swirls to deform away from him. The entire area looked like lands of cotton, fluffy and white and gold, while through the broken patches where clouds did not cover he could see the caps of small mountains and the green of the land.
He breathes. Deeply and joyfully filling his lungs and letting his chest be still, the wings leveling out for a smooth flight. This was strait up wonderful.
This had to be the absolute best part of being a sphinx. More than the size, more than the paws so thick shoes aren’t even required, more than the muscle and power that came with these new limbs and these new claws. Wings! If he ever had the chance to change back, Daniel knew he would give anything just to keep this freedom of flight. To keep this amazing chance to see the world from an angle such as this, flying so high he could not see the ground for the clouds.
He did not know how long he drifted with that goofy smile on his face, the feminine body hanging strait behind and his fur and feathers being ruffled by the wind. The sphinx wasn’t really keeping count, she was simply enjoying the rest. It wasn’t quite like going to sleep, but it was smooth and effortless he might as well have been laying down for the entire trip. When he looses enough height to feel his feet, no his face dipping into the puffs of mist beneath, he’s left with the choice of flapping again to keep above, keeping strait and suffering through the moisture, or tilting forward and diving.
Daniel chooses to dive.
Nose pointed down, he angled his body almost directly toward where he thought land was, and dropped. The wings fold back, the wind grows stronger, faster, no stronger still! It was like suddenly jumping into a wind tunnel and having the immense force pounding against his face. Like sticking his head out of a car window as it’s speeding along a highway, only in this case it’s his whole body that feels the wind. An entire body that also happens to be naked at the moment.
It isn’t even half a minute before he’s broken the clouds, leaving the puffs of mist distorted behind him, and once more free to gaze at the entire landscape bellow.
Searching.
Searching for ….
Written by Arbon on 15 July 2016
Spotted a campfire
Whoosh! Zhoom! Faster and faster until the ground appeared before him and all was green and brown and blue, save this time with a speck of orange and a trailing smoke from somewhere to the far left. Daniel couldn’t see anything resembling a city but he did spot a road a bit to the right, looping around a large mountainous hill. He straitens his wings out to drift back into that sam- …
PAIN!
His wings felt like they’d been punched, some of the feathers torn clean off and his body left tumbling backwards. The ground was above him one moment and his paws were reaching for the clouds, only for it to flip back around. He folds his wings mostly out of reflex and allows himself to fall, twisting his hips to orient those catlike feet toward the ground. Such a very long drop.
He opens his wings again, slower, more controlled, and can feel the horrendous force of that wind pulling him away. Open an umbrella in a hurricane and watch what happens, now imagine that umbrella is both of your arms. It did not feel at all pleasant on the shoulders, and worse he didn’t even slow his fall all that much, just a sudden jolt from improper flying.
No, he had to ease into this. The wings opened more, his body angles slightly forward in the high speed. It was quite literally catching wind and letting it buffet against his belly and face and all over those wings to slow his descent. And more to the point to aim his downward speed into forward movement. Taking it gently this was a strain on his muscles. Taking it gently he could manage to swoop back into a looping flight. He’d lost about half his height by the time he was level, while he still retained most of his speed from that swoop. He’d overtaken the flames and smoke, but it was a simple matter to tilt his left wing down and his right wing up, turning his nose toward the bright and black so noticeable amongst all the green and brown.
When he was closer he could smell it. Meat and barbeque, he could smell marshmallows and chocolate. A swoosh over the smoke with the scents growing stronger, his wings distorting the black ash filled clouds as easily as they swiped away the white misty ones. He could see tents, he could see people. Was that two? No wait, three people, but two tents. A campfire in the center with rocks piled around burning wood. They were sitting down with sticks in their hands, blackened on the ends and silvery along the handles, with tiny chunks of something jutting out into the flames. White in one. Marshmallows? Brown in another, that had to explain the meat smell.
And by the time Daniel had taken all of this in he had overtaken the campsite once more. Zipping overhead he’s forced into another long turn to come looping back around. He could feel his tongue was wet and his stomach pained. A dull longing that the smells of breakfast seemed to emphasize. It wasn’t even noon yet, was it? Hard to tell without a phone or a watch, the sun wasn’t very high even if it wasn’t quite morning anymore. The last time he’d eaten was at home, as a human. And now here he’d been exercising muscles he did not know he had for the better part of two hours. He’d need to use them again as soon as it came time to take to the skies and fly off.
He’d lost so much height and very desperately wanted to touch down and rest before he had to climb once more. Swimming through the air for so long is tiring enough, swimming upward against a current did not come easy.
A tilt and a swerve, when he’s coming back towards the camp this time he’s only just above the trees, and coming in much slower than before. Far too fast to land, but he was quickly killing speed from his dive. This time he focuses on the people. Three in total, two by the fire and one now fiddling amongst a backpack for something. The scents of food, fresh and sugary, wafted high into his senses.
Two men and one woman. The first boy had a rugged face, a square jaw that almost made him look like something from a western film. His eyes squinted and harsh, the hair cropped trim and square in a military cut, and the fur along his face and chin scraggly and blackened. His clothing was loose but thick, long jeans and a brown leather jacket. If he had a fedora and a cigar he might have passed as detective cliché, though as it stands the smores in his hands and the white stains on his lips and hands ruined any cinematic appeal. He was looking down into the flames and did not appear to notice the flying beast overhead.
The second one by the campfire was close to the opposite. Slim, tight fitting clothing with bright colors and blue grey patterns, wearing form fitting leggings with numerous pockets. A pack around his waist and a phone in his hand. The second man’s face was rounded and clean shaven, eyes wide with wonder and staring up with awe. No, was that fear? He was looking directly at Daniel. He was pointing the phone up, looking through the screen while the opposite end aimed like a camera.
The woman off to the side combing through stacks of assorted bags and pulling random things out was short haired, thin yet muscular, with hardly anything to show along her chest. She was donned in only tight shorts and a muscle shirt, no apparently shoes at first glance. Her arms smooth and freckled, her hair a deep brow, and her skin almost pink.
All three of them appeared to be adults, and more to the point they seemed to have a large amount of food packed.
The glide continued, Daniel having to turn his head and look behind to watch the scenes beneath. Once again he’s overtaken the camp completely and has to spiral back around, taking a long and looping turn. There was a very serious choice here, muscle his way through the skies and try to get back home as quickly as possible. Or stop here, try his forced and contrived riddles against yet more people, and possibly ask for a bit to eat.
Written by Arbon on 22 July 2016