Suspiscion rose in the intelligent side of my mind when the other wolf started ripping the zombie to shreds. Funny, I'd thought she was in control of herself by the way she had lay down, nose to the earth to block out the scent of blood and death and undeath, a few feet away from me. But I guessed I must have been too quick to assume she wasn't like me.
Kill, kill, kill...
The part of my brain that was in control still couldn't decide whether to go after the corpse or or the being holding the vial. After what seemed like an eternity of walking in circles between them, the beast was finally starting to wear down. If only there hadn't been so much blood, I could have changed back...but gods damn themselves, every inch of the ground seemed to be drenched with the red stuff!!
Kill, kill, kill...
I heard someone crashing through the bushes, breaking breanches and snapping twigs as they progressed in my direction, and my head swung around to see...blondie was back and he looked pissed. He had a reason, of course- he'd left one vicious monster and come back to find three. But still, he seemed to be acting...odd. He attacked a tree as if it had killed someone he loved, then dropped to his knees and began throwing bits of corpse everywhere, screaming "WHY?". A peice of zombie struck me above the eye. Great, so much for trying to regain control!
Kill, kill, kill...
It was the approach of the hunters that finally spurred me to reclaim my mind. Horses whinnied, the ground shook, and...hunting dogs bayed. Damn it all! Canine barks and howls could force me into wolf shape almost as easily as blood could. But desparation...the thought of more horsemen heading our way instilled a fear so powerful in me that even the my lupine side felt it. Frightened for a second before it could get it's priorites straight again, the wolf slipped mentally- and in this moment of weakness the me that should have been in command broke loose from the inner prison constructed by the beast. In my mind, my rational side finally addressed my wolflike side.
GO BACK TO WHERE YOU CAME FROM, ASSHOLE!
The wolf obeyed. My vocal chords changed first, and an almost-human shriek of pain escpaed from a canine throat as self-dominance was finally given back to me. Masked by my cries of pain, the voice of the blonde man somehow managed to reach my ears.
"Don't..." Crack. Both of my legs broke and returned to their human shape, and I screamed in pain. "Don't...leave...me...." My arms broke next my and fur began to disappear, revealing the long gashes that on my back went from my neck to my waist. Blood dripped everywhere. My blood. My wings burst from my back and regrew their feathers, showing no sign of the arrow that had pierced them before. I blinked once or twice, wincing in pain, as my eyes changed from yellow to brown, the whites becoming visible and my pupils changing from slits to circles. More screams.
When the change was finally complete I stood cold, injured, and half-naked in the shadow of a tall tree. "We've got to follow him," I told the other wolf and the suscpiscious tattooed woman, gesturing pathetically toward the path the pale blonde man had taken. My voice was too weak to be called a whisper. I wondered if anyone had heard me.
I felt diizzy. The agony of the transformation had sapped my strength and my knees gave in, causing me to fall forward. I landed flat on my face and there I stayed for a moment before I raised my head, a sudden will to live that hadn't been there before adding heat to the fire that naturally resided behind my eyes.
Digging my fingers, which were already covered with blood and dirt into the earth to pull myself forward I began to crawl toward the path, determination etched into every angle of my face.
