Tom began to stir, his eyes slowly opening as the morning light streamed through a window. The man yawned and pulled the covers over his head, shielding himself from the sunlight. Just a few more minutes in bed couldn’t hurt…
The realization that he was in a bed was what woke him up. The man shot up in a panic, looking around frantically. He was in a rather nice-looking room resting in a king-sized bed. There was a TV, a lounge chair, a desk, and some bookshelves that were filled to the brim with various books.
Tom’s breathing slowed as he remembered the events of the night before: he got off the highway, pulled into the small mountain town of Claw Valley, and rented a room in the nearby bed and breakfast. The man let out a sigh of relief, although he couldn’t help but feel as if he was forgetting something important…
There was a knock at the door. That was probably Stephen. “Come in,” Tom said. As soon as the door opened fully, Tom remembered what he had conveniently forgotten about the night before.
“Fuck! That wasn’t a dream?!” the man shouted, holding his hands up in front of his face. “What the fuck are you?! St-Stay back!” Tom’s breathing began to quicken once again as he backed as far away from the deer as possible, not thinking to leave the bed. He could feel his heart pounding like a drum, ready to burst out of his chest at any second.
Stephen held his hands (if you could call them that) up slowly. “Hey, take it easy,” he said calmly. “I can’t explain what’s going on if you’re panicking like that. Take some deep breaths.” The deer began to take deep breaths, miming the inhale and exhale with his arms. Tom wasn’t entirely sure why, but he began to do the same. After a minute, Tom’s breathing had returned to normal, though he was still clearly on edge.
“Feeling better?” Stephen asked, looking the man over.
“Y-Yeah…” Tom replied slowly. “You could say that…” Now that he was calmer, he noted how Stephen was wearing the same jeans that he was yesterday evening, he was no longer wearing a shirt, showing off his rather slim yet toned core. He looked rather good, but that wasn't important right now.
“Good.” The deer flashed him a rather charming smile as he entered the room, closing the door behind him. “I want to apologize if I seemed a bit on edge last night. You came in at a very inopportune time, to say the least. While I’m at it, I’d also like to apologize for scaring you so badly.”
“No, it’s…it’s not your fault. I just…you…how?” Stephen scratched his head as he glanced out the window nervously.
“Jeez, I never expected that I’d have to break the truth to someone,” the deer said. “Tell you what: how about we talk more over some breakfast? You must be hungry.”
Tom grimaced, looking over at his suitcase. “I’d love to stay, but I need to get going. I have an important meeting to attend later today, and I’m already behind schedule. If I’m not there in time, then I’ll never hear the end of it.”
As soon as Tom mentioned leaving, Stephen shifted uncomfortably. “Look, just…just meet me in the kitchen in a few minutes. You need to hear this stuff, okay?” Tom glanced at the alarm clock on the nightstand next to the bed. 7 AM…he could spare a few minutes…
-=-=-=-=--=-=-=-=-==-=-=-=-=-==-
“So, let me get this straight…” Tom said before scooping some scrambled eggs into his mouth with his fork, chewing, and swallowing. “Last night, the valley switched over to a completely new world full of anthropomorphic animals while I was driving through the area, and that’s why I was feeling so weird all of a sudden?”
Stephen swallowed a bite of his toast, nodding his head. “I can’t answer that last part since I wasn’t there, but it sounds about right,” the deer said.
“And this isn’t just you…it’s everyone in the valley?”
“Save for the new students at the college and yourself, yeah.”
“So then, what will happen to myself and the new students?” Tom asked as he grabbed a knife and began to spread some cream cheese on his bagel.
Stephen hesitated for a second, breaking eye contact with the other man. “You…you’re going to transform…”
This revelation caused Tom to drop his knife, letting it fall to the floor. The man stared at Stephen, a look of utter disbelief on his face. “I’m sorry…what?!”
The deer took a deep breath, preparing himself for the potential freakout that could follow. “Over this coming week, you’re going to change into an animal and get new memories. It’ll be like you were born in this world.”
“Then I’ll leave before I change,” Tom said, starting to get up from the table before Stephen held up a hoofed hand to stop him.
“It doesn’t work that way,” the deer explained. “The valley only flips back over to the other side a few times a year. The next time it will flip is close to the end of December, around the time the university’s winter break begins.”
“December?!” Tom shouted. “I-I can’t stay here until December! I have a family back on the other side that I need to get back to! I have a job! I had plans! I can’t just leave them all behind! Surely people will start looking for me and those college kids, right?”
“Well, no, actually,” Stephen countered, shrugging. “I don’t fully know how it works, but the magic of the valley makes it so people on the other side just…rationalize your disappearance. If you choose to stay over here, then you’d essentially be erased. It would be like you never existed.”
Tom shook his head in disbelief, trying to process everything. He sat back down, putting his head in his hands. “Why does this keep happening to me…?” the man asked quietly. “Why does everything in my life have to go so wrong?” Tom heard the sound of Stephen’s chair sliding against the floor. He assumed the deer was leaving the kitchen to give him some space, but to his surprise, he felt a furry arm wrap around his shoulders. He looked up to see Stephen standing over him, a sympathetic smile on his face.
“Look, I can’t really empathize with you, since I was born on this side,” the deer said softly. “But there are plenty of people in the town and at the school who chose to stay here. I’m not entirely sure how it works, but the valley…it works to make people’s lives better. People who come here and choose to stay end up having better lives than the ones that they had before they came here. The owner of the other bed and breakfast in town came here about three or so years ago, and he chose to stay because his life was so much better here. He’s a sweet guy, by the way. Makes a mean vegetable stew, and he’s got such a nice accent.”
Tom was quiet for a minute as he processed everything that Stephen had told him. “How long until I…you know…?”
“Probably sometime this week. Changes happen at different speeds for different people. Those who accept their changes will find themselves changing faster and finishing sooner than those who don’t. I remember hearing talks about this one college student about two years ago who had a tail sprout during their orientation. Just…FOOMP!” Stephen mimicked a tail coming out from behind Tom, and the man couldn’t help but smile a little.
“I’m still not fully okay with this happening,” Tom said, looking down at himself before looking back up at Stephen. “But I can appreciate how you’re selling it all to me.” The man’s eyes met the deer’s, and he felt his heart skip a beat. Those eyes…those gorgeous brown eyes…
“Well that’s good to know I’m doing a good job,” Stephen said with a chuckle. “Who knows when I’ll next have to sell this experience to any wayward travelers who get caught when the valley switches over.” Both men laugh at that.
“But, if for any reason you do want to leave after your changes finish,” the deer continued. “You would go right back to being human once you cross over, and it will be like none of this ever happened. You’d vaguely remember some details about the valley, but you wouldn’t remember any of this.” Stephen gestured down at himself. “You’d just remember me as the friendly bed and breakfast owner who let you stay free of charge until you got things figured out.”
“Free of charge?!” Tom almost shouted. “No no no, I can’t do that to you!” Stephen smirked at the man’s response. It was kind of cute actually…
“Nah, it’s no big deal,” the deer said with a slight shrug. “I’ve already taken a bit of a liking to you, and who would I be if I didn’t show you some Claw Valley hospitality? In fact, how about I clean up here and we go on a nice walk down by the lake? Some fresh air always helps me out when I need to clear my head.”
“I’d like that a lot, actually,” Tom replied, standing up from the table. “Though let me help you out with those dishes. If I’m going to be staying here for a while, then I’m not going to be staying here rent-free. You need help with anything, anything, around here, and I’ll help in any way I can.”
Stephen thought for a second before nodding his head. “Alright, you got yourself a deal,” the deer said, holding out a hoofed hand. Tom accepted it, shaking the deer’s hand. As their handshake broke, however, Tom got a good look at his right hand. His fingernails had changed, lengthening and darkening in color with a slight curve. He took his hand away and held it up, noting how some black fur had started to grow in. Stephen caught a glimpse of the man’s hand and nodded in approval.
“Looks like you’ve started changing,” he said with a smile.
“I didn’t even notice…” Tom said quietly, more in awe than he was shocked. “The rest of it…it doesn’t hurt, right?”
“I’ve been told it doesn’t, but again, I can’t really say much about transforming, as like I mentioned, I was born on this side. But if for some reason it does start to hurt, I’ll be sure to help you get through it as best I can.”
A smile crossed Tom’s face again at the deer’s generosity. It had been quite some time since anyone had been this polite to him. Maybe all this wouldn’t be so bad after all…