As he was trying to focus on something at the far side of the cavern his eyes ripped themselves to the left. If he could have, he would have fallen over from the sudden violent shift. There was something back there but even though he was straining himself he couldn’t make his head turn back around toward what he had seen. It didn’t matter anyway because standing right in front of him was Ares, though he was in his werewolf form Ares still towered over him by at least seven or eight inches. William watched as his arms raised themselves and his legs kicked off the rocky shore. He felt his body sail through the air toward Ares.
William wanted to close his eyes, but he couldn’t and he felt his arms swing down with crushing force on Ares’ raised arms as Ares blocked the clumsy aerial attack. He felt himself land hard. He felt the impact shoot up his body as his instinctive other half didn’t seem to know how to bend his knees. He felt himself snarl and stare at Ares.
Ares was standing a few feet away watching him.
“William, are you in there at all?”
Ares shot forward and swept his legs out from under him. He felt the world shift out of focus and he felt the pain of the impact as he landed hard on his side. He heard himself give a howl of pain as he landed. His eyes were open toward the far side of the cavern and he was trying to get himself to focus on something that was off in the distance but as he strained himself to see, once again his vision was ripped from his focal point, and he was thrown off balance. His head, if it could even be said that he had a head anymore, exploded in pain as once again his werewolf body moved without warning.
William could only watch as Ares continually threw his body to the ground. His other half was stupid and kept throwing himself at Ares. If this had been a movie, he would have said that it was boring. Except that it wasn’t a movie. He was watching and feeling every punch, every block, every attack, and every fall as acutely as if he had full control over his body. But he had no control. He couldn’t close his eyes, he couldn’t speak, he couldn’t even move a finger, not that that would have stopped the pummeling he was being given by Ares.
William watched as his body threw a barrage of punches at his teacher and he felt the bone crushing force of Ares’ blocks. He felt and heard himself snarl then all the wind was gone from his lungs. He felt himself gasp for air. Ares didn’t wait for him to recover. He lashed out with a vicious kick, again to his midsection. He felt the concussive force of the blow and he felt a small part of him panic. What is that? He didn’t feel panic it was coming from somewhere else. Is that you? He asked to his other half.
If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.
Ares launched a double punch, again to his exposed midsection and he felt himself fall to the ground. William could feel fear coming from somewhere. The pure instinctive, bestial side of himself was afraid. William had never felt fear so acutely before. It was wild and untamed. He couldn’t soothe the fear with rationality. All he could do was experience the fear of death with the side of himself that was in control. William knew that Ares wouldn’t kill him, or would he? The fear and panic that gripped his other half was infecting him as well. He was losing himself to the pure instinct of his other and he didn’t like it. He tried to calm his own fear just as the fear that he was feeling threatened to drown both of them.
He felt his body stand up and throw a howl that echoed out across the cavern. William was encased in fear and pain as his other half started to run. He felt his body jerk up and away from the ground as his throat was constricted and once again air was cut off. He felt Ares’ powerful arms and legs wrap themselves around his body in a sort of sleeper hold. His other side just fought harder to get away. There was nothing except the cold emotion of fear. William couldn’t feel any anger or pain just the all-consuming fear that was robbing him of his own mind.
"William, you can’t give in to the fear. Don’t lose yourself.”
William stopped. He didn’t feel any fear. He spoke too soon the fear of dying gripped him like a snake wrapping itself around a rat. But for a moment when Ares had spoken to him, he hadn’t felt any fear at all. For that one moment of clarity, he had been free. He wanted to yell out but the fear of his other was clouding his own mind once again.
Ares was keeping a constant pressure on William werewolf’s form’s throat and the air was slowly trickling into his lungs. William tried to think of something.
‘The one constant through all the years, Ray has been baseball.’
His mind worked as he remembered things outside of nature.
‘Covey leader to Raven, come in John.’
He felt himself lose his fear as he remembered things from his life that his other half had no memory of.
‘The plaque for the alternates is down in the ladies room.’
He felt the fear slide from him and he felt the fear from his other fade as well.
‘I too wish to stand before the emperor, as you did.’
William felt the cocoon of instinct unwrap itself from him and he felt a kind of gratitude from somewhere. What are you so happy about? He couldn’t quite explain it, but he felt himself grow. Instead of just observing and having to watch everything that was going on around him he began to become part of it.