Captured Willow

Charity woke up frozen and unable to feel her fingers, surrounded in snow. She couldn't remember even going outside, but a quick glance around told her she was far from home. She wasn't dressed appropriately, either. She wore knitted boots which are not known for keeping one dry, a thick hoodie, a hat, and knit gloves. It wasn't enough to shield her from the January chill.

Was it still January? She didn't know how long she'd been out there, away from home. Had she been dumped there by someone? Had she blacked out and run there by mistake? How much time, if any, had she lost from the black out, if she'd had one?

Charity decided it didn't matter for the moment. She was hungry and ice cold. She had to find her way home. Years of ecology club would pay off, since she recognized the trees around her as a certain species that only grows on the most north-eastern part of the forest preserve by her house. She was only about ten miles from her house. She began to walk with the rising sun always on her left side to ensure that she'd be travelling south. Soon she'd get to the main road and could walk home from there, or maybe even hitch a ride if she recognized anyone passing by.

Half an hour later she was still trudging through snow in the section of the preserve with the gruesome trees she'd recognized. Confused, she looked to her left. The sun was still there, still rising. She didn't think the patch of trees was that thick. She walked on anyway. After all, plants could take over surrounding lands for dominance, too. Maybe those trees had done so since the last time she'd been there.

Five minutes after that, however, she was back where she woke up. Or at least, she thought she was. She saw the outline of her body where she had awakened in the snow, and the clearing looked very familiar. But if she had been keeping the sun on her left side and had only walked thirty-five minutes, how could she have gone in a circle?

Maybe I'm not back, Charity thought, and began walking south again. Still, half an hour later she found herself in that same clearing, or so it appeared.

How is this happening? she wondered. Charity took off her hat and set it down where she'd been lying, then began to walk south once more.

Half an hour later, she walked into the clearing once more, where she saw her hat lying on the ground.

"You're going to need that, you know."

Charity spun around, her eyes falling on a girl. She had blonde hair, grey eyes, and was wearing the most peculiar outfit. She must have been no older than nineteen or twenty.

"Excuse me?" Charity said to her.

"It's cold out here. You don't want to die of hypothermia, do you? Let me tell you, that's not a good way to go." Charity walked over to her hat and pulled it back onto her head. "Heat escapes through the scalp. If your head is warm, you will be as well."

"Thanks for the tip," Charity replied sarcastically. The girl didn't even blink. "I'm sorry, who are you?"

"Lucinda. Luci for short, if you'd like."

"I'm Charity."

"Oh, yeah? Interesting name."

"Thanks, I think," Charity said. She was unsure of this girl. She didn't look adequately dressed, either, wearing only a hooded shawl for protection from the cold. Plus, seeing as Charity had been seemingly walking in circles for a couple hours and hadn't seen her, she was confused about where this... Lucinda... had come from. She couldn't have just appeared out of nowhere, but Charity had seen no human tracks in the snow. Just rabbit, deer, and some kind of canine- probably a wolf- had been there.

"You should probably build a fire, too. You do know how to do that, right?" Lucinda asked.

"I'm alright. I need to get home. I can warm up there." With that, Charity turned and began to walk again.

"I wouldn't count on it," Lucinda called out. Charity stopped, suddenly angry, turned slowly, and grimaced.

"What makes you say that?" Charity asked through gritted teeth. Lucinda smiled.

"There's nothing around here for miles. No towns, no roads, no people."

Charity was only getting more angry, but not at Lucinda. She was angry at the fact that Lucinda was probably right, and she would be stuck there for who knows how long.

"This isn't the forest preserve, is it," Charity said aloud, more to herself as a statement than as a question for Lucinda. Lucinda just shook her head.

"I'd get started on that fire." Charity nodded and turned to gather some of the fallen branches she'd seen during her circling.

"How and why are you here, then, if there's nothing for miles?" Charity asked as she piled sticks for her fire.

"There's a full moon tonight," was all Lucinda said. Charity was confused. She turned around to ask what that was supposed to mean, but there was no one there. Lucinda was gone. There was nothing but more tracks, still none of them human except for the two footprints from where Lucinda had been standing.

Charity woke up writhing in pain. She got up and vomited on the tree next to her.

Must be food poisoning, she thought. She waited to be sure no more puke was coming, then layed back down on her makeshift bed.

A pain that felt like knives tearing through her flesh filled her all throughout her body and she let out a long, throaty wail, bending back to try to relieve it. She turned over, sideways, in all directions, trying to make it go away. She tried to stand up but was knocked back down to her knees when her back rounded. She felt like something was trying to tear her open from the inside. Her heart pounded fast, then faster and faster. She watched as hair... no, fur... grew from her hands, arms, face. Her clothes shredded as her bones changed their shape, shrinking in some places and lengthening in others. Her hands and feet shifted into paws, her nose and mouth grew out into a snout, her ears grew into a triangular shape and moved upward. Her screams became howls. Finally it was over, the pain stopped leaving nothing but an aching memory.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw something move. When she turned to look, she saw three wolves in the trees to the north of her. She backed away, afraid of what they might do.

Come with us, Charity. She recognized the voice... it was Lucinda's. It wasn't spoken aloud, though. It was a voice in her head, but the look in the eyes of the wolf furthest left matched the words she'd heard in her head, and the color of the eyes matched the eerie grey she'd seen in Lucinda's eyes earlier that day.

Why should I go with you? Charity thought, trying to communicate with Lucinda-wolf. It must have worked.

Because, Charity, we brought you here. You're one of us now, you can't go back.

What?

By the way, you're going to have to get a new name. You can't have a connection to your old life. We'll call you Willow. Ha, captured Willow. Catchy. Lucinda acted like this was nothing.

I don't think so, I have to go home...

You are home now. You have no choice. You belong to us now. With us. You are one of us. If you don't come along, we'll kill you. That's how it works. Lucinda explained.

I'm not going with you! Charity said firmly.

Yes, you are. Lucinda growled.

No! Charity leapt away from them to run, but another wolf jumped in front of her to block her path and the last one sank it's teeth deep into her neck, shaking his head to try to rip her throat out. Charity let out a loud yelp and fell to the ground. The other wolf let go, and they began to walk away.

Die, then, thought Lucinda as she strutted away.