Welcome to Gaia! :: View User's Journal | Gaia Journals

"The Journey" is a set of bizarre and random dreams that I've had over the last 2 years that I found quite interesting considering that they occurred in a sequential order just like a series of books, each being a different step in one journey. Currently there are only three, and I'm anxiously awaiting the coming of the next. When that will be, I have no clue, since these things can never be predicted nor made to occur. Anyway, I've been planning on writing them all down for a time now, and have finally decided to do so. Enjoy.

The Journey

Part I: Truth

The throng of people was almost suffocating as the group of bustling students made its way through the walkways of the city zoo. My ears were ringing from all the overly-exaggerated words and obnoxious calls of the surrounding teens that swirled and hummed together in an annoying drone of mix-matched phrases that made no sense to the listening ear. I tried to concentrate on anything other than the group of immature gossiplings that continued to push and shove around and past me as the amoeba undulated through the walkways. I was getting a bit claustrophobic and made my final effort to pull myself away and towards the outside edge of mass.

A large sigh of relief escaped my lips as I flung myself onto the railing of the nearest animal exhibit, a few feet from danger. I glanced at them from over my shoulder; they were all piling around each other to gawk at something of interest. Out of plain curiosity, I stood on the lower rail of the metal railing and stretched my neck out to get just a glance of their infatuation. "Of course," I lowered my head in slight annoyance and dropped back down to the ground to resume my previous position. "The food court." Seemed like all the hustle and bustle was all about what exactly was on the menu. I sighed again, exhausted from my overall frustration of the lot. I knew there nothing I could do about it. They were them and I was me: hyper-active, loud, and obnoxious pack animals verses a solitary, silent, and slightly proud....me.

It was growing dark by the time the group began our departure, and the silhouettes of the surrounding trees and bushes had already started to blend into the darkness and cast the ground in spotted shadows. I lagged behind as usual, just taking my time taking last glances at the scenery when I noticed the exhibit to my left.

I stopped and gazed through the large glass panel that separated the public from the creatures behind it. My curious gaze was surprisingly met by a pair of sharp eyes, shinning like the sun, and staring straight at me. I froze. This was the kind of death stare that was paralyzing to whomever fell into it. I tried to blink, but she had my gaze locked on to mine, neither one was moving. It was only by using peripheral vision that I noticed just what I was staring at: a pack of timber wolves, with this she-wolf as their leader. What did she want? The she-wolf lowered her head slightly and I raised an eyebrow as she cut off her gaze. But right after I thought I was loosed, the sound of shattering glass, and the force that came with it, made me immediately reconsider.

The burst of force had landed me on my back 5 feet from the now obliterated window. My lungs ached as I finally managed to gasp back my breath and I could tell that I would have a seriously bruised back by morning. I laid dead still for what seemed hours, the sounds of screaming tourists, frantic zoo keepers with their 2-way radios, and several different barks and howls echoing through my head. What the hell? I flinched as the sounds gradually became louder with heightened consciousness.

"Get up." A strong feminine voice rippled through my head.

"What?"

"I said, get up. Or are you too weak to even handle a little fall?" The voice's sarcasm seeped through my mind like acid. Who was this b***h anyway? At that I sat myself up to face whoever spoke so confidently. But this was no woman who spurned me, and I was frozen in utter surprise and terror to find that the face I was nearly nose to nose with was that of the golden-eyed she-wolf who had so easily broke through the 3-inch glass panel.

All I could do was stare awe-struck into those dagger sharp eyes that bared down on me like Summer's high noon. What was this? Was I a meal? If so, then why didn't she just snatch me by the throat and have done with me?

"Don't tremble so much! It's embarrassing."

"Huh?" I was taken aback by the fact that the voice I heard seemed to come from the creature in front of me. Normally I would question this, but given my present circumstances, I really couldn't care less. For all I knew, this was just the revenge of the cold pizza I ate that morning.

"Don't stutter either. It's very unbecoming. Even if you are just a pup." The she-wolf now straightened her posture to where her full, elegant form was visible; sleek, pure white fur seemed to flow over her firm and athletic frame, and the presence of toned muscle rippled under her full pelt that shimmered under the newly risen moon.

"Well pardon me if getting tackled by a wild carnivore left me a bit stunned!" I immediately scolded myself for that comment. This was definitely not the place to let my forked tongue get away from me. "...don't eat me, please..." I shrank back a bit, hoping that my submissive posture would mean something to her.

"Hahaha!" A loud bolt of laughter emminated from her as a low chuckled rumbled from her throat. "Looks like we have a spunky one on our hands! Well then, that's more like it. And don't worry, I'm not going to eat you. I'm no cannibal."

"Oh thank God!" I breathed a sigh of relief. "Wait." I paused. "Cannibal? But that means..." The she-wolf leaned in closer, her nose to mine, her eyes again bearing down into mine like she was staring at something inside me.

"You don't even know what you are, do you?"

My eyes went wide and my heart stopped; everything faded into shadow and then to complete black. All I could think about was those eyes staring into me...and those words echoing through my mind.

"Take a look, my dear. Are you not simply marvelous?" The same voice from before. So it wasn't a dream.

The darkness faded back into shadow as I awakened to another pair of vivid eyes gazing back at me. "What do you want now?" I was still only half-conscious.

"Look." Her voice didn't come from in front of me...but from the side. But then that would mean...

"What?!" I came to fully and stared bewildered at the face in front of me; jet black fur bristled from the cheeks and jaw and melded into the surrounding shadows while a pair of shocking aquamarine eyes shone like lightning in a storm cloud. I stepped back to find that what I was staring at was none other than a fragment of the shattered window. I was staring at my own reflection.

I could sense the she-wolf's grin and my eyes went wide as I studied the wolf in the glass. A full mane of smooth and glistening black fur flourished from the fluffy, erect ears along the tight and firm slender frame--one obviously meant for powerful speed--to the toned haunches and legs, ending in an elegant and bushy tail.

"This is...me?" The words stumbled out of mouth, though it seemed that speech didn't actually involve any vocal structures, more like some form of telepathy, if that's even believable. Then again, shape-shifting isn't typically something one would read in a scientific textbook.

"Mmhm," The she-wolf raised her head in pride. She was obviously the alpha female. "And quite a catch, too." Remarking on my subtle but powerful frame; I was slightly smaller than she, which made some sense considering that normally I only stood at 5'1.

I continued to gawk at my reflection, still in disbelief.

"Come." She quickly turned and trotted away from the window towards the exit where the rest of the pack was waiting. I turned and whimpered in slight confusion. She stopped and let out a quick bark which sent the rest began running about, almost in an excited frenzy, around her. She stared at me confidently, beckoning. "Come. Run with us." With that she sped off in front of the others, leading the pack out and away from the park. I didn't even realize the swarm of people around me; the swarm that had been there the entire time and now were even more frantic with the pack's escape. They were lost to me now, and I quickly sprinted to catch up with the pack, the rush of energy and adrenaline pulsing through my body, the constant tense and release of my muscles contracting and stretching to make me run faster, and the never-ceasing rhythm of my paws pounding the ground as I sped through the surge made me forget everything that had ever come before.