Hanna continued to suck on the cough drop her brother had given her. It didn't taste great, but it seemed to give her good luck. Ever since she had tried it, she had been moving much faster and getting more candy. Her costume no longer seemed large and unwieldy. She had even gotten a few compliments on the quality of her costume.
In truth, she had been a little worried. As time went by her costume at first seemed tight, snuggly adhering to her body. Even though she felt like she could run - heck, even wanted to run because of the newfound energy she felt like she had - she still walked because she was afraid she might rip it. But now the costume felt comfortable, almost like a second skin. So she eagerly ran to the next house, oblivious to the leg sticking out in front of her.
Hanna landed with a thud, her bag of candy scooting away from her. Worse yet, she swallowed her good luck charm, the special cough drop her brother had given her. She looked up to see a group of teenagers leering down at her.
"Have a nice trip, shrimp?" said the older boy who had tripped her.
She looked over and saw a smaller boy holding her candy bag, pawing through its contents.
"Cool! We hit the motherload!" said the smaller teen.
"Whatever. This sucks. Who cares about little kid candy? When are we going to the party?" said a girl dressed as some kind of gothic witch.
"In a minute, in a minute. I'm having fun. It ain't about the candy. I just like to mess with the twerps," said the taller boy. He had no costume, just some dark gothic clothes.
"Give it back. It's mine, " said Hanna.
The others stared at her in shock, surprised by the deep tone of the small girl. Hanna herself was a little surprised, but she didn't show it. All that was visible on her face was anger.
Normally she was a very shy girl, who wouldn't dare say anything to bigger, meaner kids. But tonight she felt different. The small ebb of energy she felt had grown to a surge that burned through her whole body. Subconsciously she thought it was just anger. But her conscious mind didn't care. She was just so mad. These kids had done wrong. Stolen from her, hurt her, ruined the special treat her brother had given her. She was infuriated.
The pack leader smiled breaking the silence.
"And what are you going to do about it? Call your Mommy and Daddy?" said the boy, as he bent down and stroked her chin with one finger.
Hanna growled and snapped her jaw, trying to get a hold of his finger with her teeth. The boy reeled back a little and Hanna grinned, her sharpening teeth proudly displayed. She dug her hands into the dirt, pushing herself up a little. She felt her tail slap against her back. It felt heavy and warm, before sliding down her back.
The others in teen boy's pack giggled nervously until a glance from their leader silenced their disobedience. He had to reestablish his dominance, assert control of his pack, by humiliating a weaker kid.
"Little freak! Trying to give me some disease? What the hell are you supposed to be anyway?"
"I think she is like Godzilla or something?" said the smaller boy nervously.
"Gah! Are you kidding? No one would believe that pipsqueak is Godzilla. She must be like a dinosaur or some dragon from a little kid's show!" scoffed the girl.
Hanna could take it no more. The insult to her costume was the last straw. She dug her hands and feet into the dirt, deep divots forming beneath her weight. She pushed herself up in one stroke, slowly rising and continuing to rise until she towered over the teens.
"I am not Godzilla. I am kaiju!" she yelled, punctuating her statement with a loud roar that echoed through the still night.
The teens stared at her in mute shock then turned to run. The leader was the last to go, leaving a trail of urine behind him as he left.
Hanna was a little shocked, too. She had never done the roar that well before. She was ecstatic. Her tail wagged happily behind her.
Wait....tail?! thought Hanna.
She reached behind herself and grabbed her moving tail. It was heavy and warm in her hands. It felt .... alive! It was hard to hold her tail. It was trying to move, to maintain her balance.
Maintain my balance? Hanna thought.
She let go of her tail and looked down. She hadn't realized that she was standing on the balls of her feet. Her feet had a wide base with three large toes, narrowing as the long paw extended to her ankle. It looked just like ... just like a real kaiju!
Hanna wiggled her clawed toes and was delighted to see the previously immobile costumed digits now move with life. She looked at her clawed hands and wiggled her stubby fingers with equal glee. She ran her hands down her chest, feeling the hard scaly hide that had replaced her felt costume.
This is so cool! My costume is real! thought Hanna with the joy of a child. Her tail wagged excitedly behind her. I have to go show my brother.
She ran down the block to where her brother promised to wait for her, unaware that she was still changing, growing bigger with every step.