The first thing I experienced as I woke up was the feeling of falling before, I hit the floor. I shook myself out and looked around, confused, My blanket was wrapped around me making it hard to move. All I could remember was dreaming of being a wolf and hunting. I had lunged at the deer and got caught by a hoof. I even felt a tiny bit sore on my chest where a hoof had caught me, but it was quickly fading away.

I finally managed to extricate myself from the blankets and stood up. I breathed a sigh of relief as I checked the clock. It was just after eight. I probably wasn’t going back to sleep after the adrenaline surge from falling off the bed. Thankfully, it didn’t sound like anyone heard me fall.

I headed downstairs after getting dressed and looked to see if anyone was around. My mom's car was gone so I figured she was off at church with my sister, though my dad's car was still there. Walking through the house, while trying to find where my dad was. I doubted he was in the basement, and having come from upstairs, I doubted he was there. I finally found him reading a book in the den.

As soon as he spotted me, he said, “The lawn needs cutting, and you have a few hours till you go see the movie. Could you mow it? I'll give you some money for snacks for you and your friends if you've finished on time.”

I looked at him, sighing a little bit. Our lawn was a fair-sized one, but not impossible to do. “Sure, do we have enough gas?” Running out of gas had saved me the trouble of mowing the lawn a few times.

He nodded,. “I checked last night and it was low, so I refilled it to be sure you have enough.”

I sighed, “Kay, I will get started.” I grabbed a couple of sausages from the fridge before heading out to the shed to start up the mower.

Mowing gave me time to think about the last few days and the dreams. they all felt so real. They didn’t have that same level of dream-like qualities of my typical dream other than the experience of turning into animals. The smells and the way I felt were far more vivid, and the feeling of wanting to swim, or the desire to run as fast as I could. The smell of the sausages was divine in a way that I had never noticed before, and I quickly ate through them as soon as I was done with the first part of the lawn.

Everything seemed to have a stronger scent, or maybe I was just more aware of it, the sour scent of grass, the irritating almost acrid scent of gasoline, the sweet sugary smell of ripe fruits nearby. I was so entranced by it as I was finishing up that I didn’t notice Charlie calling out to me, or coming over until he tapped me on the shoulder.

I jumped at his presence and then laughed. “Oh, hey good timing, I should be done in a few minutes here.” He nodded and moved to go sit down on the grass while I finished the last bit of the lawn.

Once I put the mower away, I grinned. “So, you ready? Any idea when the others will show up?”

He shook his head “No, but they said they would get here before the movie.”

“Well they should be here soon I hope," I said as I moved over to sit on the porch and wait, "Oh, I had a cool dream last night."

“So, is that like the dream before?” Charlie gave me a look of excitement, but also jealousy.

I chuckled a bit, "Yeah I turned into a wolf. Nothing like I've ever experienced before."

"That's rather cool, I wish my dreams were that neat, instead I get some boring ones." he gives off a fake yawn as he finishes.

Chuckling I nodded. “Yeah, I remember a bit more about this. I was on some kind of mountain and found an old shrine with a wolf skull, and it told me to become the wolf. After it spoke to me, it was like I had always known how to become a wolf and what it meant to be one. Then next thing I knew I was a wolf and our pack was running in a hunt, We caught a deer, but I caught a hoof to the chest and woke up.”

“That sounds so exciting. Maybe I will have to steal your dreams tonight” he joked as he gave me a playful jab in the shoulder.

Taking a moment to think, I shrugged. “It made me feel excited and happy. Like being the wolf was natural, and when I woke up being human didn’t feel quite as natural. I kinda wish that I could have remained in the dream longer. I like being myself, but something thrilling about being an animal. Even if just for a short time."

“Well, it seems that you’ve been having good dreams. Just try to remember they are only dreams. We don’t want you getting arrested for chasing sheep at one of the local farms, ” he said trying to act all serious, though the corners of his mouth were failing at it.

I laughed. “Okay, I will try to keep that in mind, but they always look so tasty when cooked.”

He groaned at that. “Har har.” he turned around at the sound of a car driving up. My mom and sister pulled up into the driveway.

We headed over to them. “Hey there, how was church?” I asked curiously.

“It wasn’t bad,” my mom said.

Just as I was thinking we should head to the movie soon, I heard the voice of John from behind me.

“Sorry we're late, the bus got delayed for some stupid reason,” he called.

I turned around and waved to him and Frank. “Good timing, I was just starting to wonder if you two were going to make it.”

“Okay, get in everyone, we have thirty minutes to get there, but it's better to arrive early than risk big crowds, ” my mom said and I went to grab the money from my dad and we all headed to the movie.

We arrived at our town's single theater. It was an old, small building but our town wasn’t big either. We soon found our seats with me on the end, and charlie next to me with frank and then john.

“Should we get the popcorn now or wait?” I asked.

John shrugged. “We still have a bit of time till the movie starts, and there's a big line,” he said.

"What you guys want? Frank and I can grab some popcorn and drinks." I said looking between the two of them.

John smiled, "Sure get me some popcorn and a coke."

"You know me, just a rootbeer and some Twizzlers." Charlie chimed in.

We headed over to the concession stand and waited in line talking about movies and games. He told me about a new game, Batman, and how it had some of the best graphics he had seen so far. He promised to bring it over the next chance he got.

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

We were just getting back to our seats when the lights dimmed and the trailers started up. We both handed out the snacks and sat down to see the movie.

I simply enjoyed the opening of the movie right up till Cody climbed the cliff and we got to see the eagle in all her glory for the first time. Upon seeing the eagle, my eyes widened and my heart started to race. I could only stare as the scene progressed and then when she rose from her bindings and flew down to save Cody, I felt tears in my eyes. The scene filled me with strong feelings of joy, excitement, and longing. I saw the way that they flew. My body started to feel a little strange, my fingers wanted to spread and lengthen as my nose wanted to grow, like something within me was wanting out, or more accurately was wanting me to become something else.

As the scene nearly came to an end, I felt a tap on my shoulder from Charlie and he asked, “Are you okay?”

I realized that I must have looked odd crying at that moment with my hand stretched out. I nodded my head wondering if I should get up and leave to catch my breath but the scene was over, and I was finally able to clear the tears from my eyes. I didn’t know why, but the scene had hit me hard. I was feeling homesick, especially when I saw her eggs, but I couldn’t understand it. It was just a movie. A good one, but why did I have those feelings.

Thankfully, the others hadn’t noticed my reactions as they would have teased me. The rest of the movie went mostly well. A few scenes affected me too, but nothing quite as strong as that first scene with the eagle.

Shortly afterward, we walked out of the movie and I was thankfully calm. “That was a great movie, what did you guys think?” I asked.

John and Frank shrugged. “It was, pretty good for a kid's film,” John said.

I couldn’t believe that the movie didn’t affect them more, but then again they never seemed to get the same effect from movies that I did. Last time it was with Ladyhawke and while they liked it, it wasn't to the same level as me. They never seemed to enjoy the idea of turning into animals, and other than Charlie they didn't even know my connection to animals, as I always felt a little embarrassed about it.

I took a deep breath. “So, what now? Should we go back to my place? We can play some games in my backyard, and if you don’t have to go home too early, we could play some night hide and go seek.”

Everyone agreed it could be fun, We headed back to my place. We were soon running around the yard trying to get away from each other. I was feeling a bit more energetic than usual and managed to tag a couple of them. I even made it back home free once.

But then it started to get dark and then things got a little strange for me. It was my turn to find the others as they ran behind my house to the little wooded area by the creek. I counted to twenty and went following them. The rules were simple, you could hide anywhere but you had to stay in the wooded area. I walked into the woods and tried to think of where they were. I knew a few common places.

As I walked into the woods, my ears perked up as I scoured the area for any signs of them. After a few moments, I spotted one. There was a tree across the creek and its shadow didn’t look right like it was a little lighter. Jumping over the creek I got down and started to move towards the shadow, keeping low to the ground to avoid detection. The closer I got, the more on all fours I ran as if I was stalking something. As soon as I got close enough, I gave out a shout and raced straight for the shadow and tapped him on the shoulder.

What I hadn’t expected was the scream that Frank made before he realized it was me. “Man you scared me…all I saw at the last moment was something close to the ground charging towards me," he panted.

Charlie popped up from a bush near me, “Everything okay?” he asked, he looked a little spooked too, though not as bad as Frank.

I nodded. “Yeah, I just scared him. I was trying to stay close to the ground to avoid being spotted and probably looked like a monster coming for him.”

“Should we call it for now, or keep going?” I asked.

I was wondering where John was when he finally showed up. “What was that scream about? Did someone get eaten?” he joked.

We shook our heads. “I just scared Frank.”

Frank and Charlie smiled, “Well now that I’m not at risk of a heart attack, I’m quite happy to keep going.”

I nodded. “Good, though maybe I shouldn’t be the seeker for a while.”

The others laughed and we played a few more games until it was nearly time for their bus. we walked to it together.

Frank and John got on their bus and we had a few minutes before Charlie would get on his. He spoke up, “So, what was that? I saw you from a distance, and you almost looked like a cat stalking a mouse. You were so close to the ground and had a look on your face that I can't really describe.”

I gave a concerned look “I’m not sure…it just felt natural. I started as I stayed low to the ground to avoid being spotted, but the closer and closer that I got, the more it was like I was stalking something. At the time it felt like it would be fun…but now I wonder. I’ve been…acting odd for a few days.”

He nodded. “And what happened at the movie? I know you got emotional at times, but it was more like you were feeling sad and happy at the same time. I get the feeling of happiness in the scene, but the sadness?”

That made me sigh. “I don’t know…at the time it was like I was remembering something, that I had flown before. And then something about the eggs I wish I knew. I didn’t hate the feeling, but it’s scary to think that I have no idea where they come from.”

“Well, let's talk tomorrow, just you and me after school. Let me know if there are any more dreams that you have, I would like to know just whats going on.”

His bus arrived so I nodded. “I should get home and sleep if I want to be awake for school tomorrow.”

He laughed. “Not like not sleeping ever stopped you from being at school…late sure, but not skipped.”

I grinned and said goodnight to him before heading home.