I ate a granola bar for breakfast and packed up camp. Now was when the real hike began. I felt so good, I wanted to hike all the way up the nearest peak and set up a campsite with an amazing view. So, with a whistle on my lips, I set off.
I descended deeper into the valley. The trees got thicker and the trail got narrower. Part of me worried that I might lose the route back to my car but I was in far too good a mood to let that bother me. It was amazing how good I felt. I felt stronger and tougher. I felt in touch with nature, ready to hunt and run and really go wild. I knew coming out here was a good idea.
But after an hour or two, I started to feel a little strange. It was getting a little harder to walk. My khaki shorts were chafing around my thighs. And my shirt was rubbing against my shoulders. But I figured I’d just been a stranger from hiking too long. I wasn’t about to let the forest get the better of me.
I was scratching at my chin a lot too. But I hadn’t shaved in a while, so I assumed I was just entering the itchy phase of stubble. My watch seemed tight so I absently adjusted the strap.
After hiking for a little longer, another path converged with mine and as I passed the junction I almost bumped into some other hikers. A young man and woman, presumably a couple. We nodded to one another, though it was clear none of us were interested in smalltalk, so I let them go on ahead and slowed my pace to give them some distance.
I scratched my chin again. My beard seemed thicker than I remembered. I found myself licking my teeth, as if they were the wrong shape in my mouth.
God, these hikers were so slow. I should have gone first.
The seams of my clothes were really cutting into my skin. I’d worn shorts to free my movement but each step was constricted. Was I sweating? I flexed my arms in the hope they’d feel less stiff and I felt something snap. The seams where my sleeves met my shirt had torn open. What the hell?
The woman ahead of me was looking back. I tried to look inconspicuous. The moment she turned back round, I examined my sleeves. I’d chosen this shirt for its loose fit, now my shoulders were bursting out of them. The short sleeves had been roomy this morning, now my arms filled them. And looking at my arm, it seemed much hairier than usual. They had been hairy before but not this much. And not this pudgy. My fingers were thick sausages, my hands were like dessert plates. The hem of my shirt used to hang loosely beneath my waist, now it was stretched tight across my body, leaving part of my belly exposed. I’d never had a six pack, but now it bulged out in front of me beneath two round pecs.
I was agog. I pressed and prodded my body with my giant hands, just to prove it was real. Had I been stung by something? Was this an allergic reaction? But I wasn’t just fatter, I was more muscular too. And much hairier. Instinctively, I felt my beard again. It was definitely thick fur now. But as I felt, I discovered it didn’t end at my cheeks. My hands moved upward. The beard didn’t stop. My whole face was covered. I let out a cry of shock but it escaped my mouth as a guttural grunt.
The woman looked back again. I froze. She was quite far away now, and turned back without seeming to notice anything, though I saw her whisper to her partner. I didn’t think about calling for help. I was paralysed by fear.
Then with a loud rip, the seams of my shorts tore. Before the woman could look around again, I ran from the path and into the trees. The motion snapped the remaining strand of my shorts and I felt my legs and crotch swell into the space it freed. I stole glances downward as I ran. My legs were black with thick hair. I still had my boxers but they too were straining against the size of me. With embarrassment, I saw I was erect, which didn’t help matters.
I saw dark patches appear as my arms burst out of the sleeves. Strips of shirt flitted away from my torso like falling leaves. I didn’t notice at first when my shirt was gone because my chest was now covered in hair.
I stopped to catch my breath, as well as to take stock of the situation. I was just in my boxers now, though holes were appearing. My shoes had fallen off at some point and the straps on my backpack must have snapped because I wasn’t wearing it anymore. I looked like bigfoot. I was huge, broad and chubby and covered from head to toe in a thick pelt of fur. I realised my mouth was open and I grunting with each breath. I lifted my hands to feel my face, and noticed my hands were now paws with fat claws. I tapped my face gently and felt the shape of it had changed. I had a snout. I licked my lips and felt fangs. I had round ears at the top of my head.
SNAP! My boxers finally gave way. And with that the last remnants of humanity left me. My balance shifted and I no longer felt stable on two legs. I tried to stay up, holding onto a tree, but my new weight was too much. I crashed forwards onto all fours.
For a moment, I remained perfectly still. I don’t know what I expected. The world to keep turning upside down. For the other hikers to appear, screaming in horror. To wake up. None of these things happened. The forest was quiet and still, save the tranquil birdsong and rustle of leaves in the wind. I was a bear. And the world behaved as though this was normal.
I didn’t recall my dream. I had no reason to connect this with the herbs I had inhaled. As far as I was concerned, I had just turned into a bear completely by random.
And as I looked around the forest, I realised I had no idea which way the path was.