Shadow of the Beast

What happened to the old me?

Id bundled up my dirty bedding to throw in the laundry, and rushed into the bathroom before Aunt Kate saw me. I'd decided to not mention this to her; she was already so worried about leaving me the next week, and I didn't want her to pull out of the project and lose her big contract because of me. I'd shower, get my bedding clean and act like nothing had happened. 

I had a long, hot shower, scrubbing the dirt off my body and out from under my nails. My hair was all matted and I'd watched a few small leaves circle the drain whilst washing my hair. 

'Fuckit, what the hell was I doing last night?' I thought. I'd seen a few fine lines of dried blood on my arms, where it looked like I'd scratched myself on some bushes or branches, but when I'd washed them off, my skin was unbroken. It didn't even surprise me anymore, everything was just weird lately. 

Back in my room, I'd pulled out a pair of jeans and a pretty, flowy shirt to wear. As I pulled them on, I noticed that the jeans were loose. I'd last worn them a few days prior, and they had fitted fine. I'd expect them to be a bit tight from a bit of bloat, but not loose... I pulled them back off again and headed to the full length mirror on the other side of the room. I hadn't looked in the mirror yet that day, but the sight of my body, in just a bra and underwear, was completely unexpected. 

Where I'd previously still had a soft pouch of a belly, was now a well defined six pack. My thighs were tone, my arms were toned, everything I looked at was just toned and perky and muscular. Not too muscular, but I suddenly had this athletic physique that was definitely not there the day before. I turned to inspect more of my body - since puberty hit, I'd had some pale stretch marks on my hips. They were gone. I stared and stared, admiring my new body, wondering if I was still dreaming, or where it had come from, or if this was just another one of those weird things that keep on happening. 

My face also seemed different. I was still me, definitely, but something was different. My skin was perfectly clear, my eyes seemed brighter, and my lips seemed a little poutier and more red. I smiled at my reflection. I'd never liked it, but today, my ego was about to burst through every window and door in the house. 

I decided on a loose but comfortable dress. It clung to my body just right, was casual enough for the day and didn't make the obvious changes to my body as noticeable. As much as I'd resigned myself to weird things happening, Aunt Kate didn't need to. At least with her being away for a while, when she came back the change wouldn't seem so dramatic. I dried my hair, and it fell in loose waves all around my face. It seemed shinier and healthier. As far as I was concerned, whatever freaky thing was going on, it could definitely keep on keeping on! 

'Whoah girl, you really don't need to wear that much makeup to see the doctor!' my aunt had joked. I smiled and laughed. I wasn't wearing any. 

The doctors appointment had gone well. He'd given me a clean bill of health, said that the heart and blood pressure were perfect, and that my fainting episodes were probably stress related. It made sense, between the fight with mom, starting a new school, uncovering family secrets... I desperately wanted to go for a run again, and the doctor had cleared me to go, but both him and my aunt had agreed that it was probably best for me to go with a partner for a while, at least until we knew that the fainting episodes were behind me. That would definitely throw a spanner in my plans to seek out William Wilk. 

I started wondering if Barbara's daughter was much of a runner... I guess I could wait another week.