Curse of the Ninetailes - Act 2

  Izaak knew running away from home was dangerous, but for the first time in his life he felt like he was in control. He took a deep breath of the sweet scented night air and savored his first taste of freedom.

  He felt so alive at that moment, even the cold drizzle of rain found it hard to dampen his spirits. His head turned to the sky and he spotted the moon through a gap in the dense blankets of clouds. He almost considered howling at the glimmering orb, but he decided against it.

  Instead he tightened his grip on his rucksack and sprinted away from his house, jumping clean over the front gate with ease. Nothing could stop him now, he thought as he landed in the deserted street and raced over the empty road towards the direction of the forest.

  The rows of houses and streetlamps and cars were blurs to Izaak as he blazed past them, finally coming to a stop when he caught his first glimpse of the forest edge where the road ended and the trees began.

  Though he had walked through these trees many times on his way home from school, nothing about the forest seemed familiar in the unnaturally murky shadows that cloaked everything under the living canopy, but with his torch in hand he marched into the maze of trees in search of the fire Pokémon Ninetales.

  An hour went by and in that time Izaak had tripped, stumbled and smashed into every rock, tree root and low hanging branch the forest had to offer, yet still no sign of the Ninetales showed itself.

  He was taking refuge under a large oak tree as he nursed his fresh batch of bruises. Every one of his limbs burned with exhaustion and even though he felt like he was on fire, his body refused to stop shivering from the cold which was made worse by his sodden cloths that clung to his skin like moss on trees.

  Pulling himself up from the floor, he wiped the rain from his eyes and carried on his search, but only took three steps before the torch began to flicker.

  He watched helplessly as the light faded away and in its absence the darkness got thicker, not even the full moon could piece the shadows as the dense layer of leaves shrouded the forest floor, leaving Izaak standing in absolute blackness.

  Dropping to his knees he dived into his rucksack and pulled out his toy Vulpix, embracing it tightly. Its soft, dry fur tickled his chin and was a welcomed change from the constant dampness he was forced to bare. He let out a long, weary sigh as his shivers began to lessen. He didn’t feel alone anymore.

  A lonely orb of blue light appeared from within the darkness, pushing it back with its pure glow. A will-o-wisp drifted towards Izaak and he instantly recognized the ghostly flame, as it was the same type of fire that surrounded the Ninetales in his Pokédex. This had to the sign he was looking for.

  He felt its warmth as it hovered close to his face and he brought his hand up to touch the wisp but as soon as fingers got close it darted away from him. He wasn’t about to let his only lead get away, so he quickly slung his rucksack onto his shoulder and trailed the will-o-wisp as it floated through the dark trees, making its way deeper into the forest.

  He followed it in till they reached a large clearing with the biggest elm tree he had ever seen at its center. Its roots were as thick as a telephone pole and its twisting branches stretched out over almost the entire grassland.

  The wisp moved across the glade and under the branches of the elm tree, which acted like an umbrella to the constant downpour. The rain clouds made a halo around the tree allowing the moon’s grace to peak through the opening like a pillar of light, which in turn coursed every single droplet to glisten with the stars that filled the night sky.

  The will-o-wisp continued its advance and circled around the massive trunk then dived into a hidden hole between the roots and without thinking, Izaak jumped in after it.

  He fell for a few seconds before landing on a soft surface, once again finding himself in complete darkness. He felt the floor and was surprised to find the ground didn’t compose of dirt or rock, but instead it felt warm and loose as if he had landed on a dusty beach.

  He caught a glimpse of the will-o-wisp hovering ahead of him, its glow revealing the stone walls of the tunnel. The wisp began to flickering wildly and quickened the pace, eager to reach whatever lay ahead. As they traveled deeper into the burrow Izaak noticed that the air started to become warm and dry.

  The tunnel slowly became bigger and opened up further than the wisp’s light could reveal. He could see the entrance to a chamber in the distance as well as a pale glow that stood out like a lighthouse on a moonless bay.

  The will-o-wisp dashed off at the first glimpse of the light. Izaak ran after it but, as soon as the wisp entered the chamber it was absorbed and vanished from existence.

  Izaak crept up to the mouth of the entrance, careful not to end up with the same fate as the wisp, and stole a quick look inside. His eyes lit up in awe of the beauty that was before him, a mighty queen upon her thrown the white fox Pokémon slept peacefully at the center of the massive chamber.

  He had done it, he had found a Ninetales. His body overflowed with glee and he had to resist the urge to jump for joy. After taking a few deep breaths to calm down and after waiting for his heart’s thumping to return to normal, he entered the chamber.

  The ceiling was like a shimmering lake of diamonds that glittered with the warm light that seemed to radiate from the Ninetales herself. To Izaak, it felt like he was still outside by the elm tree, gazing up at the star coated sky.

  He took a step closer to Ninetales and felt the enormous pressure of her mind as it washed over him, sending blood rushing to his head and he had to drop his rucksack just to remain steady.

  He continued his advance to the point where he could separate each of the nine tails that surrounded it. He got so close that he could hear her slow, gentle breathing and appreciate the slightly raised platform she rested on, which was etched with glowing veins of gold that pulsed in time to his quickening heartbeat. Her fur was a coat of untouched morning snow on the last bright morning of winter and brought the same amount of excitement to Izaak as any child would feel on the eve of Christmas day.

  This was it. His hand trembled uncontrollably as he edged it closer to one of the tails, his fingertips mere inches away. It was now or never.

  “I wouldn’t do that if I where you.”

  Izaak withdraw his hand sharply, expecting to see the Ninetales awake, but when he looked over, he could see that its eyes were still closed.

  “What would mom say if you turned into a Pokémon?” The voice said, it sounded close.

  Izaak lifted the toy Vulpix, which after all this time he still held on to, in till they were face to face. He stared into its still eyes and it stared right back. Once again he felt like there was life deep in the stuffing of his toy.

  “Vulpix, is that you?” He asked it.

  “Aren’t you listening? If you turn into a Pokémon you won’t be able to see her again, you won’t be able to see anyone ever again.”

  He smirked. He had finally got Vulpix to talk and she was trying to stop him from becoming a Pokémon, didn’t she see how much he wanted this.

  “I thought you would understand more than anyone,” said Izaak, feeling a little betrayed. “Once I turn into a Pokémon I can do whatever I want, I’ll be happy again. And so what if I can’t see my mother again, she never wanted to listen to me anyway, why should I care?”

  “Because your mother loves you, abandoning her will not solve anything. There are other ways to be happy.”

  His jaw began to lock up and fresh tears began to form. What did a toy know about being happy? Vulpix didn’t have a father who hated it or a mother who wouldn’t listen. It was just a toy. It was always happy with its never moving smile.

  “What do you know?” asked Izaak through clenched teeth. “If you would’ve just spoken to me when I needed you, I might not have to do this. You were my only friend and you were always there for me, but now I see you’re just like everybody else.”

  Tears burnt at the edge of his eyes, but he wouldn’t allow himself to cry. Now wasn’t the time to be sad, he was so close to becoming a Pokémon and being free from his horrible life, now was a time to be happy and he wasn’t going to let a toy ruined it.

  “You don’t understand me, no one dose, and once I become a Pokémon I won’t need you. I won’t need anyone.”

  He threw Vulpix and it landed with a soft thump on the sandy floor at the other end of the chamber. He didn’t even glance back as he turned to face the Ninetales with the purpose of a boy about to finally take control of his life. This was what he wanted, this will fix everything. There was nothing left to keep him human so, with no regrets, he grabbed one of the white tails.

  The Ninetales blood red eyes flashed open and Izaak couldn’t help but tremble in its gaze. He tried to leave go of the tail but his muscles stiffened as a shock-wave erupted from his hand and rippled over his skin like electricity through water. When the rippling ended his fingers reluctantly uncurled from around the tail and he backed away from the platform. His skin was sweaty, his eyes watered and his mouth was dry. His whole body quaked and seared as if he was in the middle of an intense fire. Then the agony came, as thin needles of deep red fur wormed its way out from under his skin, starting from the fingertips of his hands. He tore off his school jacket and shirt as creamy white fur began to grow on his chest. He went to scream but instead a cloud of black smoke vented from his mouth filling his nose, making him to cough violently and with each bout of coughs, flames would escape from his throat leaving behind the taste of smoldering coal.  
 
He didn’t want to go on, the pain was too much, but despite his wished the transformation continued as his nose and jaw pushed outwards, molding into a short muzzle. His legs gave way, and he fell on the sandy floor as his bones began to shrink and stretch and snap. His legs shrunk, his arms shortened along with his body and his fingers molded together to make paws. His spin drilled its way out and began to split at the end, all the while new skin covered fresh bone as well as soft, longer fur. Lastly were his ears as they started to form points and sprouted.

  The sand underneath him sizzled with heat. Every inch of him burned and every part of him was in agony and with one last shudder, his alteration was complete, then black.