Andrew Farminga stepped out into the cloudy night, his eyes quickly looking up from under his black hood to where the rain was no longer falling. The sky had been quiet, but now it wasn't flashing either. There were just swirling gray/green clouds up above, with just the barest hint of stars in the night's sky.
Shaking his head, he pulled his hood down off his head and turned to move towards the parking lot as the others exited the cabin in the woods behind him. This was a puzzle, and he was good at those. His black wolf tail wagged eagerly from beneath the back his Assistant Coach jacket. One foot after the other, his team-colored sneakers squeaking his last step from the black grate at the door to the stone and cement beyond.
Christopher Brown, still somewhat coated in cum down his front, had to loosen his belt to the last notch again as he followed that black tail of Andy's out the door of the cabin. He could feel the very red tip of his canine cock just a centimeter or so pushed up from his sheath. Its tip caught for an instant the back of his belt before he pulled his shirt down again, forcing him to take a breath to calm himself. Not twice in one night, he nodded to himself. Keep it together. You're a rock.
"You OK, Chris?" Zelda, the eventual bat, asked though still currently fully human. Her black hair was tied back behind her in a pony tail tied with green and blue hair-ties. As her steel-toed boots hit the wood patio, her gaze fell to the tree-line to see if she saw any other animals there... then her eyes shifted up to check the branches. Shaking her head, she turned her eyes back forward. Both were green, though one was noticeably more blue than the other.
The linebacker realized he was just outright staring at Andrew's ass at this point. He blushed a little as he moved down the well-lit path. "No," he admitted as he took his varsity jacket and tied it around his waist to further hid his growing stiffy. "But I'd rather be with you all than the others if something goes wrong."
"Boys," James said with a smirk, looking to Zelda.
"Indeed," she nodded. "Though, I'm currently outnumbered in that department," she remarked, glancing towards the front door as Heather had been called back inside by someone and she was left alone with the guys. Looking back down the path, Zelda barely caught Andy looking over his shoulder towards her, clearly about to comment, then decide against it and looked forward. "What was that look?" Zelda asked. "Deja Vü?"
"Eh. Not right this second," Andy shrugged as he was coming to a stop at the lime green BMW Beetle. In truth he'd almost said something along the lines of 'I'd say we're even strength' before he saw Heather turn and head back inside.
The automobine had spider-webs up in it's wheel-well and though no tires were flat, they were all low on air pressure. The windows were covered in dirt and leaves made up a lot of the front windshield. There was, even for these four human noses, the distinct are of animal marking coming from the vehicle.
James came to a stop at the driver's side door, his dark brown hair still wet from earlier. Rubbing his redish-brown circle beard with his right hand, he took the same hand and pulled up on the door handle. It made a ticking noise indicating it was locked. "Worth a shot," he offered with a shrug.
Andrew tried the door on the other side with the same result. His hand brushed against rough lines as he touched the door. Looking down, he saw four spaced cuts, groves that were in the window and continued into the top of the metal of the door. In his mind's eye, he saw a wolf paw, claws scratching to get inside... and he quickly moved his hand away.
Stepping over to the driver's door next to James, Christopher pulled a Swiss army knife from his pocket. "Whoa dude... that's against school code," James smirked, knowing the "himbo paladin" was often all about the rules.
Christopher waved his finger at James. "Not on school grounds, not on a school trip anymore, not at school," he said, making it clear he didn't see it as a big deal. "Besides, the rules say knife specifically." As he said that, he clicked a small button and out whipped a comb so fast that James jumped. Fixing his white hair from where it'd gotten matted from the rain earlier, he then turned his attention back to the car.
"That's not a knife," James grinned, using a half-decent Australian accent.
"Correct," Chris nodded as he then twisted his wrist and put a finger along the seam between the window and the rubber lining around it. Focusing on trying to wedge his finger and then the comb into the space. It took a moment, and he got the comb into the seam... but he paused, staring at his finger. "Uh."
James looked closer at Chris's hand. The two fingers he'd been trying to get into the gap of the window no longer had human finger nails, but sharper, yellow-brown wolf claws. "Whoa dude," said James as Chris shook his hand like it had gone numb. A few seconds later, his fingers had returned to normal. "You good?"
"Still a little hard, but I'm good," he said as he made sure the comb was wedged into the gap above the window still. It was clear he was trying to get the glass to slide down into the door.
"T.M.I.," James said.
Zelda hadn't seen what happened, but she still took a stance: "I disagree," she said. James looked over the car at her from where he stood near the back. "We all need to be carefully verbal about keeping our urges understood. The more we can all help each other, the better."
"Point taken," James said. "Uh... I'm totally neutral right now. I feel normal."
"Normal?" Andrew asked from the passenger-front size of the car near Zeldam having moved away from the door.
"Normal for me," James clarified with a smile.
Andrew looked to Zelda. "Zeddy?" she looked at him. "You?"
She took a long breath. "Trying to focus... to not have a panic attack." Andrew blinked, then stepped a little closer. "I've certainly had more lewd thoughts for the past few minutes, but when I entertain them, there's like... a dark cloud... like a pile of nope-stones on the path."
Christopher looked up at her as he worked with his hands. "Zeddy, uh, Zelda... sounds like... sounds like when your inner-voice tells you there is danger without words."
She smiled at the big-lug. "You can call me Zeddy, Chris. We're friends." She smiled, turning her eyes to meet his. "But... you're taking about your sub-conscious?"
"Yeah, I mean," he kept fiddling with the window. No one was yet questioning that Christopher did or didn't know how to break into a car. "This thing doesn't have power-windows does it?" he asked, and James and Andy both said 'no' since they could each see a door from where they stood. With that, Chris shifted his placement on the window. "You ever get, like, your body to work without thinking... instinct... spider-sense." He froze. "Shit, I said spider. Shit, I said it again!"
Andrew chuckled. "You're already turning into a wolf," the assistant coach pointed out.
Zelda smirked. "Wolf-spider is a thing," she said, then slapped her hands over her own mouth.
James eyes went wide as everyone's eyes trained on Zeddy. "My sister... would kill me..." He glanced at Chris. "Like... literally, she's an arachnophobe."
Zelda put her hands on her face. "But I don't wanna be a spider," she moaned. "How would that even work?"
Andrew stepped over to Zeddy and put his arms around her. "Hey, hey... it could be worse." James held his hand out and wiggled it back and forth like a teetering beam in order to silently convey 'maybe'. Andrew didn't see him. "You could have said—" he stoped. "—something else."
Zelda froze, her body going completely stiff in Andrew's arms. "Oh... fuck," she declared firmly, but slowly. She pushed Andy back, away from the hug. "When did the curse start?"
James, who had a habit of answering for Andrew, quickly responded. "Before the parking lot, but after the tree fell behind your bus," he offered, though looked to any of the others to dispute him. "I mean... I think. That's when we lost proper text and cell and stuff, yeah? Andy said 'Maybe we should just seek shelter' and then Coach thought he was talking to his wife, but the connection was lost."
"So... when I called Linda out for evoking my phobia... I said it." Her lip quivered. "No... no... no, this can't be happening! Nevermind! I'd rather be a spider!" she shook in place and her knees almost gave-way. Stepping back up to her, Andy took the risk and hugged her again. In fact, he hugged her tighter than before.
"We... we'll get through this," said Andy softly, black fur traveling up his arms where none could see it.
Christopher stared. What happened was really important, but he didn't get it. He looked to James for assistance. James whispered. "You know that feeling you get when you look down from someplace high?" Christopher nodded. He was an Acrophobe. "Now imagine every place you lived or moved was that high up, with a glass floor, forever."
Christopher's eyes very slowly went very wide. He let go of his comb, leaving it in the gap of the window, and moved over the Zelda. Reaching down, he picked her up from the ground and gave her a hug along with Andy. But at the point James approached, she shook harshly. "To many boys!" she laughed, tears the the edge of her eyes.
"Of course," James smirked, putting his hands on his hips.
With that, Chris and Andy both laughed and let her go. "Awe, fuck," she sighed out loud. "I'm going to be living a nightmare..."
"OK," James said, putting his hands up. "Chris, you seem super-hard right now... maybe you can break the window with your dick?" he asked, though even James couldn't say it with a straight face as grin spread across his face. "If answers are in this car, we need them stat!"
Zelda wiped the edges of her eyes. "You're really distracted by his dick," she noted. 'I know I am,' Andrew said softly. "What?" she asked, turning to face Andy, not catching that.
"Nothing," he blushed.
Christopher shook his head, stepping back over to the car. "Real talk," he said the group as he put a grip on the handle of his comb. "You guys talking about it is making me distracted and hard."
Andrew swallowed hard. So hard he had a brief image in his mind of Christopher's cock in his mouth and memory of the taste of his semen. He shook his head. "Then we won't do that," he confirmed. "I'm feeling weird too," he admitted, looking directly at Chris. "No more sexual jokes. This curse seems very verbally-activated."
"Agreed," Zelda said.
"Understood," added James, looking a little guilt. "My bad."
The window came loose for a moment, and Christopher wiggled it. It fell about two inches, then stopped. "Shit," he said. But he looked down and saw the rod that would be attached to the door-lock. "Oh, well. Yeah, not automatic. I got this," he said and started to remove his belt.
Andrew whistled and looked away, speaking softly to himself. "Still not saying anything."
James watched Chris remove his belt and said nothing, a smile plastered on his face.
"I can get it with the loop," he assured them, but knew their eyes were on him. With one hand, he held his pants up. With the other, he lowered the belt into the window until the buckle's opening went around the door-rod. After a few tries, he managed to get the belt looped around it once tight enough that when he pulled up, the door popped open.
The group proceeded to check the car, under the seats, and all around, looking for clues. "Chris," Andrew said. "Pop the frunk." James moved to the back of the car, and Christopher pulled the lever to open the front hood. James looked very confused. Andrew smirked. "Frunk, man. Front-trunk. I may not know cars, but I know Beetles have a rear-engine."
There were briefcases in the front trunk. Christopher moved around to the front as did James as Andrew leaned in and forward. His black tail lifted up, giving a close-up of the junk in his own trunk. Hoping no one was looking, Christopher's eyes shifted down to confirm the rear-bulge that he'd seen on Andy earlier, just below his tail.
Yup, Christopher nodded to himself. That's a dog-pussy in pants, he thought, nodding again. Wolf-pussy, I mean. Oh, no... uh. Would it fit me? Oh, shit, I bet it would fit me. No, stop. Stop! The poor guy was growing harder, his shaft pushing the front of his shirt forward a bit as he stepped back and up onto the curb, shaking his head.
"This one's got books," Andy said, leaning further forward after opening a backpack. Christopher closed his eyes and looked away from dat ass. A moment later, Andy was up and out of the frunk. Turning around, he sat on his tail. He sucked in a bit of breath, then simply moved his tail on its own out of the way and sat on the suitcase near the front of the trunk. Even then, he could feel his pussy cramped in his pants and he leaned forward.
He pulled out a little black notebook and showed it to Zelda with a smirk. The front cover was in whiteout lines to make designs. Its central white space had the black words 'Change Note' in a certain anime's font.
James blinked. "Death Note reference?" He glanced to Zelda. "What's that give us, timestamp-wise?"
She tilted her head. "Hm. Well, 2006 for the anime and 2003 for the original Jump?" she asked. "So that book's at most just a little younger than any of us..."
Andrew opened it up and looked at the first page. Or, rather, the first page that wasn't torn out. "Well... hell," he said. Turning to show the book to the others, the first page explained that this was the newest organized rules figured out by a cursed person. Turning it around, Andrew started to read:
"To whom it may concern... and if you're reading this, it likely concerns you," Andy said, nodding. "I have repurposed this notebook to write down the rules I and those who have come before me have experienced," it said. "Consider this an Ivanov First Edition Rulebook—"
"—Nerd," James and Zelda both said at once. They looked at each other and Zelda smiled. "Jinx," they both said in unison. "Jinx!" they each said three more times before James choked on his spit and Zeddy said it a fifth.
Zelda smirked. "You owe me a pop."
James raised an eyebrow. "You mean a soda?"
"My name is Micheal Ivanov," Andrew interjected, trying to get them on-topic, "and here's how you read this book." He paused, making sure he had their attention. "I figure there's ten rules, and about ninety pages left, so I've left eight pages blank between each rule for you to addendum rules or add stories to confirm or reconfirm the rules."
Andrew stared into the page, the sensation he'd already read it before firmly in his mind. Each of the others noted it. There was more, but Andrew turned the page to the first rule: "'Rule #0: If you do not find a way to escape the curse, you will eventually turn completely into an animal and lose your humanity all but permanently. Essentially, you will die, though your body may live forever.'"
Andrew looked up at everyone, the seriousness of the situation allowing Christopher's boner to reduce. "Addendum One," he said, standing up. "'You'll end up a hermaphrodite, a creature containing male and female genitals.'" Andrew just noted. "Addendum Two, 'they will be oversized and is a telltale sign of a cursed if you risk a look.'" His head titled to the side as black fur grew in from the edges of his face. "Risk a look? Oh... at the genitals," he realized.
Zelda put her hand out for the book, and Andrew handed it to her, all his fur fading away. She flipped ahead to the next rule. "'Rule #1,'" she began, "'The first transformation you will encounter will always be the tail, abdomen (if insect), or other equivalent. This transformation will be based upon the animal you named since getting lost'—getting lost is underlined—'not since arriving at the cabin itself.'"
She sighed, resentful of her fate, but she went on. "First addition... someone scribbled this in red pen: 'I've seen a dryads, centaurs, and vampires in my dreams and they feel real. While you can't name them to become, it may not be because they don't exist.'" James perked up at that. "'My guesses? They did exist and are now extinct... they're not in this reality or only exist in dreams... or there's some force that's a part of this curse which excludes 'supernatural' creatures, otherwise they'd work.'"
James looked to Zelda. "Elder Dragon... just putting that in the air," he said, looking around as if someone not there could hear him. "I'm serious."
"I can't read this next one," she said, holding the book up to everyone in turn. "Anyone?"
"Belarusian," Andrew said, holding his hand out to take the book back. He ran his fingers over the purple ink. "Oh yeah... that's Deja Vü," he nodded.
"What's it say, man?" Christopher asked, trying to focus on Andrew's words and nothing else. He crossed his arms over his front to keep hiding as much of his boner as he could.
"'The people before me,'" Andrew had switched on a Belarusian accent he didn't normally have. "'All have journals saying they turned directly into animals. That hasn't happened with me or one ones after me. Maybe that kid really did something?'" he raised an eyebrow at that. "'Now we seem to reach a hybrid, partially animal, partially human form as an almost equilibrium.'"
He kept going. "There's a follow-up... same handwriting, though... much more scribbly," he noted. "'Based on the journals, we seem to get through the transformations faster too. Old entries describe slow, bit by bit transformations. If I am reading these right—my English is poor—people use to have changed much slower. Might be wrong. Maybe it's just me.'"
He flipped ahead a few pages, then held the book out to James. "'Rule #2,'" the brown-haired boy began. "You will change by arousal or pleasure,'" he said, then titled his head to the side. "Uh... in the margin it adds 'or oneness' in pencil." He put one hand to his lower lip. "Oh, like Chris' nails... I guess?" he wondered aloud.
Christopher looked to James. "You're... saying I was trying to scratch open the door like a wolf?" Zelda blinked. "Or Andy's mouth earlier..." James raised an eyebrow. Christopher looked over to Andrew. "When you ordered Dowd off the bus, you had canine teeth and black lips... scared him good. You still had them when you turned to face me."
"I didn't realize," Andrew said, but nodded as if he remembered now. James was flipping the pages of the book as Andy still held it.
"'Rule #3,'" James started again. "'If you don't orgasm, you don't stay changed long and will revert to your previous normal,'" he said. "Previous normal?" he asked, but went on without answer: "'How you change once doesn't mean you'll change that way the next time.'" He looked up from the book. "Next one's in the purple," he said to Andy who promptly turned the book around to face him.
The accent came back as Andrew spoke: "'It seems like these new hybrid forms are given more leeway. Speaking from personal experience, I've brought myself to orgasm and not changed. But Edward and Sandra...'" Andrew trailed off. He took a breath, glancing up. Then he looked back down and finished, "'Edward and Sandra fucked each other into senseless horses this afternoon and now I'm alone again.'"
Christopher winced. "Geez, that's fucking depressing."
"Literally," James noted, getting a dirty look from everyone but Andrew. He was focused on the book as he flipped ahead a few pages.
There was more, but Andrew didn't feel like reading all the spicy anecdotes. He flipped ahead. "'Rule #4: It does not matter how pleasure is induced: masturbation, sex, or rape, etc.'" he tilted his head to the side. "Someone scribbled in 'beastiality' with a little arrow after 'rape'," he added.
Zelda frowned, her tone incredulous: "This is a lovely book."
"Would you rather not know?" James asked.
"Hell no I wouldn't. We have to beat this thing!" she almost yelled. She motioned with her hand to take the book and Andy handed it to her. "'Rule #5: The cabin changes shape and decor, but never while anyone is looking at the changes.'" Andrew snapped his fingers, lifted his hand, and pointed at the book like 'yep, yep, that.' Zeddy nodded. "'This includes the nearby, outside woods. This can go so far as to increase or decrease in size, and add or remove rooms, even if those rooms are between people in other rooms. Flora, landscaping. If no one can see it, it can change.'"
Christopher looked back at the cabin. "That's what you said earlier, yeah, Andy?"
"Yeah," Andy nodded.
"Check this out," Zelda said, holding the same page up to Christopher who turned to look at it and started reading:
"'One time, I went to bed in the bedroom facing the sea. When I woke up, I was in the same room, but the window faced the inland sand,'" Christopher blinked. "We're hundreds of miles from the ocean."
James put one hand out, palm up. "Will we always be?" he asked. "Also, they said 'sea', not 'ocean'." Christopher put the book in James's outstretched hand. He read the next addendum: "'My mate, when he could think human again, told me he remembered seeing the building change. So, however it alters, it doesn't care that it's seen by those lost to animal-mind. Everyone else, you never see it change.'"
Zelda raised an eyebrow. "Animal-mind... they could speak? That passage doesn't make any sense."
Andy just gave a confused look and shrugged. "Maybe it's explained further in?"
"'Rule #6'," James went on, "'The cabin doesn't change the shape of stuff you add to the cabin.'" He blinked, the re-read the sentence and continued: "Bring a journal? It stays. Make artwork? It stays. Leave out a partially finished wheel of cheese it made? It can vanish, because it was never truly yours."
"Oooh," Christopher bounced on his toes. "That explains the cars," he nodded. "Oh, and the notebook itself."
"Maybe the paintings?" Andy asked. "And the drawing on the bathroom stall," Andrew realized, slapping a fist into his open palm. James looked over at him. "That's how... I... got my tail," he said carefully. James's right eyebrow slowly lifted. "It... was really detailed..." he offered but said nothing more.
James stuck his tongue out, then looked back at the book and kept reading: "Addendum: 'I saw a tree with 'Mark+Angie' carved into it. I've seen that same carving on different trees in different places, but it's always exactly the same carve.'"
Zelda paced, one foot after the other. "Sounds like graffiti in a video game."
Christopher rebutted that thought: "It's not reusing assets if there's only ever one carve." Zelda looked at him like he had a third head. "What? I play video games." She smiled.
"I dunno if I wanna read this next part aloud," James considered. "I mean... it's not sexy, it's sad." He shook his head. "I'll just... here: 'I only have the paints I brought with me, but they should be enough to make some scenic pictures,'" he read. "'Maybe I'll paint Rodney. He's a lovely—'uh, one of you," James said, clearly avoiding the word 'wolf' while motioning to Chris an Andy. "'—now and I am his prey. If you are reading this, maybe paint an—'redacted'—if you see it? Might be me." The missing word there was 'elk'. James one hand went to his head as he held out the book for someone else to take with his other. "I'm not crying, you're crying."
"Rule #7," Zelda said, before she'd fully turned the book to the page it was on. "'The cabin improves comfort over time as if becoming more modern or comfortable to its victims. Many early, faded journals reference luxuries of forever burning candelabra, wood stoves, glass windows, and so on. Right now, it has electricity and stocked pantry. Maybe someday it will have WiFi?'"
Andrew lifted his head. "This place has WiFi."
Everyone looked at each other, then each in turn took out their phones and looked through the nearby signals. Sure enough, there was the 'Northwest Bell SA-X02'. "Guys," Zelda said. "If that's Northwestern Bell, that's a Baby Bell. They never had WiFi before being reaborbed." She took a breath. "OK, let's not go crazy... probably just somewhere else in the world."
Andrew took the book from Zelda and skipped to the next rule: "'Rule #8: Animals are animals. Those not whole will become whole. Simple scars will stay, but genitals will regrow and youth will become infused to a point.'" He went on: "Person adds: 'I survived here almost three years. I think this may be eternal youth, not eternal life.'"
Christopher held his hand out for the book. This was a good distraction, as horrible as all the knowledge was. Andrew's hand brushed against his as he took the book into his palm. "'Rule #9,'" he began, taking a breath: "'People who become animals cannot change back. However, they can regain their mind and even speak for a time if you use their names. Loose their attention and they revert.'"
"Oh, interesting," Zelda blinked. "That explains the earlier passage... and opens up a window of experience. If we can use these journals to track names and animal-types, maybe we can find people in the woods who can tell us their stories."
"There's stories here," Christopher noted, reading the first addendum aloud without reading it first: "My husband gave birth—" Christopher shook his head, but kept going, blindsided by that wording, "—to his third litter three weeks ago. These weren't wolf-mix, but rather husky-retriever, and husky-doberman mix like the two dogs Miss Thatcher arrived with. None of these puppies in the last year have shown any signs of human intelligence. Animals are Animals."
Andrew shifted his pants, his lupine vulva getting warm and wet. He turned to face everyone from the grass, standing just so his back was away from them... though his tail slowly lifted. Christopher took note, but looked away quickly, choosing to go on to the next story:
"'I was able to carry on a conversation with my siblings once,'" Chris said, giving a sigh of relief at the opening words. "'We talked for four hours, cried, and shared memories...'" the white-haired man trailed off.
"But?" James asked.
Christopher was uncomfortable, but read on" "But... after the two of them followed me inside to eat, I ended up stuck in the pantry and had to climb out the window to get back in the front door. When I got back inside, they were fucking again."
Zelda groaned. "Siblings... fucking... again?" she asked. It was disgusting, but also kind of hot? No, she shook her head. "Ugh, no. On to the next rule, please..." Christopher waved the book out in front of him for someone else to take. Zelda declined and added, "Also, no one tell Heather and Seamus that one..."
With that, James took the book and flipped ahead to the tenth rule: "'Animals will lust you. Many of the animals in the woods are former humans, but even if not, do not be fooled! Even giant predators have a good chance to take their lust out on you rather than attack you—but some will still attack you! Also, your pets. Even the fixed ones.'"
He skipped ahead to the addendum: "'Especially the fixed ones. It was like Argus had been pent up for the last decade and I wasn't ready for his advances. His balls being back I couldn't care less, but that new wet cookie of his..." James trailed off. "The fuck is a 'wet cookie'."
Andrew bit his lip. "Canine slash Lupine sexes... and a lot of other animals, I guess... they have kind of tri-fold vulva that—"
"—Dude! I am sorry I asked," James said, sticking his tongue out again. "Though I guess I would have found out eventually," he said, looking between Christopher and Andrew. "I mean... hopefully not, right, but that's part of the curse, right? You're gunna get girly."
"Actually, nothing in here says 'girly'," remarked Zelda. "Just hermaphrodites. That means you can be masc, fem, or anywhere in-between so long as you end up with some version of all characteristics," she theorized. "The most manly men would still lactate from flat breasts if they had a child... women might only grow a micro-dick..."
"I think I need to lay down," Andrew admitted.
Zelda nodded. "Grab the journals... I guess leave the cloths?" she said.
James reached out for the books. "Those journals are probably lewd as hell," he said. "None of the three of you should read them," he added swiftly.
Zelda held out the backpack that had all the books to James. When he tried to take it from her, she pulled it back for a moment. "Don't read them aloud," she advised. "Especially if you don't know a word," she continued, "It might be an animal you've never heard of."
James nodded, finally taking the books. "Duly noted." He took a breath. "Guys... it really is hard not saying any animal. I'm having to devote a lot of mental energy to it, so, like... wish me luck?"
"Good luck," Andrew smirked. "Avoid peer pressure."
Christopher went to the car and rolled up the window he'd opened but left the door unlocked. He was still hard, and it was annoying, but he ultimately would have been fine if he hadn't looked up and had a perfect shot of Andy's ass as he walked up the path back to the cabin.
He rubbed his cock lightly through the lower part of his shirt. "I have a problem," he said softly to himself before turning and jogging after Andrew.