#The human is DJ btw... Vi was driving and talking to him and then BOOM

[sammydem0n64]

The date is March 23, 2021. You’re turning 15 in a few days. Your mother always counted down the days until your birthday, she liked to plan ahead, even if it was a whole year before. Like you, things are changing around the forest. Wolves are taking their Humanoid shape and getting closer to the roads, the bat people are, too. It seems that the forest is allowing itself to grow, to interact with the people with round ears, five fingers, and- in your case- straight legs. Despite the friendliness between the shapeshifters and the humans, your mother warns you about going towards the road.

You aren’t a shapeshifter, but you are a humanoid. Your legs bent backwards at a sharp angle, and then forward again. Your ears are large and sit at the top of your head. Your freckles are white, contrasting your tan complexion. Your antlers are small, barely grown in yet despite your age. Humans would call you a Satyr, but they would be wrong, you don’t have the parts of the goat.

Mother told you stories of how the roads were dangerous, large... things will come and go, speeding across the pavement. Sometimes they would hit the animals of the forest. Your mother didn’t want you getting the same treatment as the animals, especially since the creatures that you resemble most, with their large antlers and thin legs, are known to get hit by those speeding monsters. You stayed away from the road as much as you could, you are a good kid, you never disobeyed your mother. But, today was different.

The roads didn’t seem cruel. Rarely did you see one of those monsters zoom past the forest, at least from where you lived. On the off chance you did see one of those things, they never treaded at high speeds. They went sort of slowly, if you’re being honest. You didn’t believe that those things could kill you. Even if they were fast, you believed you were faster.

You didn’t want to feel like an outcast, seeing all the shapeshifter kids make human friends made you feel left out. Never once did they get hit while on the road. Alas, your mother was protective, and when she wasn’t there to coddle you, you still listened to her word. She wasn’t with you right now, she was home, preparing a meal or planning your birthday again, you didn’t know. Eitherway, this was your chance to see the roads up close and personal... maybe even... cross.

Not only were you not allowed to go anywhere close, crossing the road was strictly forbidden. Even when your curiosity peaked, you would be shut down with excuses like “The other side of the forest is the same as this one” and “Why make such a hassle when you have all that you need here, away from the road”, but this was your Bad Boy Spring. You were going to cross that road, no matter how bad your anxiety was. You made it to the edge of the forest, where the trees meet the grey pavement. You took a deep breath, all you had to do was take a few steps and you’ll be on the other side, then you can immediately go back and lie to your mother for the rest of your life.

You take a step forward, but your mind begins to wander.

What if your mother did find out, what would she do? You disobeyed her rules, you put yourself in danger! All for what? Your own curiosity? Oh god, how would she react...

She could ground you for the rest of your life. She could burst into tears since you broke her heart and trust. She could yell at you and cause a fit. Oh no, what if she hated you. What if she hated you for the rest of your life.

No, no you can’t let that happen. Then again, what if she doesn’t see through the lie? You don’t have to make it incredibly elaborate, if she asks where you were just say you were taking a stroll like usual. But what if the guilt sets in, you’ll have to live with the fact you lied to your mother for... forever. Until you die, you lied to her over the one thing she didn’t want you to do, for your safety! You are a terrible son.

Ok... just turn back. No, no you can’t, you already came out here, this has been your dream, you can’t just turn back now. It’ll be quick. But what if it’s not. What if it takes forever. But what if it’s quick, too quick.

What if your mom was right. What if you get hit. What if you get hit and you die right there. She’ll see that you didn’t come home and go looking, and after a few hours she’ll see your dead body in the road, dead. She warned you, and now you’re dead. Congrats.

Then the meaner thoughts came in.

What if you purposefully got hit by the thing.

You’re a terrible son for even considering this, you piece of scum. You’re horrible, disgusting. You’re breaking her trust, her heart and even her love for you just by being here. You’re despicable.

Get hit by the monster.

You’ll never get past the guilt, it’ll eat you up from the inside. You’ll go to bed crying every night because you lied about this little adventure. Your mother will still love you, but you don’t deserve it. She’ll die happy that you never crossed a road, but you’ll sit next to her on her death bed knowing you lied to her, that you did cross a road, and she’ll die unware. What if you told her right then and there, when she’s dying, so her final breath will be filled with disappointment and disgust.

Internalize all of this, Wendell. You deserve it.

What if you got hit by the thing, by the monster, wouldn’t that be funny.

Get hit-

You were so caught up in your thoughts that you didn’t realize you were in the middle of the road, halfway to your destination. You let your anxiety get the best of you again. It’ll only get worse from here, but at least you’re at the midpoint.

Then you heard a noise. The sound broke you from your intrusive thoughts immediately. It was loud, and only getting louder as the seconds go by. Like it’s getting closer. You turn to face the noise, and there you see one of the monsters. Inches away from you.

You froze, looks like you were gonna die on this very day. Your thoughts were right, congrats on getting hit! Despite one of the many thoughts being right, your brain continued to scream at you, telling you to move. But you couldn’t. You were too scared, you just had to accept your fate. You couldn’t even close your eyes.

But.

Then it stopped.

The monster stopped in it’s tracks.

Your body started working again, you blinked, and started to breath. You breathed in and out. It was too quick, but you were having a moment, so you didn’t stop yourself to take slower breaths. The monster... opened itself? It’s side flung open like a door, and something stepped out. It ran to you.

It had round ears, a dark complexion, it grabbed you by the arms of your sweater with its five fingers. It looked as panicked as you were. It was moving it’s mouth like it was talking, but you couldn’t hear a word of what it was saying, you were far too out of it.

Something managed to come through, finally.

“Are you ok?” The question came out in a worried tone. You shake your head, not as a response, but to snap yourself out of your daze. You glance down.

It has straight legs.

A human popped out of that monster.

You felt like you were gonna pass out.

You zoned out again.

You realized you probably should have listened to your mother.