Chương 4: Not a Dream

I woke up, hoping it'd been a nightmare. Then my tail twitched. Nope. Fudge me sideways. At that moment, as if my new body wanted to complain about me, it growled. Actually, it was my new stomach that growled. It was actually impressive since it was louder than my grandfather used to snore. What was weird was the fact that I wasn't particularly hungry. However, my body was acting like I'd starved myself for days. That didn't stop me from waddling into the kitchen. God, I hate that word. Too bad it's appropriate.

I'd dug up some vegetables the previous morning and dumped them in the sink before my unfortunate incident. I grabbed a carrot and started nibbling on it. Before long, I finished them all.

"Damn." I haven't eaten that much since I was a teenager, I thought. I stared down at my round little gut. I was still hungry, but at least my stomach had shut up. Must be the mana thing, I decided. After braving the toilet bowl once more, I got back in the recliner and grabbed the remote. YouTube suggested 'Mutant Animals Emerge! End Times or Hoax?' Sure, why not. The footage was grainy as hell. One video showed a deer with glowing antlers while another had a two-tailed fox slinking past somebody's barn.

There was even one with some guy in an actual tinfoil hat waving a Bible and a shotgun at the camera.

"You're making us all look bad," I told him, and switched videos. I wanted to say he was a government plant meant to discredit legitimate concerned citizens. Sadly, I was pretty sure he was just a nutjob. The world was full of craziness. At least the scientist looked trustworthy. She also looked like she hadn't slept in weeks.

"We're detecting elevated background energy, especially in the Ozark Mountains. Localized mana surges are causing unprecedented mutations in wildlife."

"Yeah, thanks Captain Obvious," I muttered. The video continued, obviously not too concerned about what I had to say.

"The highest concentrations are in Arkansas near the Missouri border." She pointed at one of the largest dots on a map of the country. I leaned forward and noticed there were about a dozen large dots, but the biggest by fair was located here, in the Ozarks. Interesting, I thought while trying to guess how many small dots were on the map. Before I could make a good guess, she continued, "Whatever's causing this, it's centered in the Ozarks.

At the moment, we're still trying to determine what this energy is and where it is coming from." So why are making a video? I wondered while I looked at the comments section. Maybe I'll learn something there. The comments section was a dumpster fire of conspiracy theories, religious doomsaying, and dozens of mentions of "Azeban."

"Hmm," I made a sound. Something about it made my hair stand on end. In fact, it felt like static electricity was crawling up under my fur. Either that or lice. God, I hope I don't have lice. I shook it off the thought when a creak from the front porch made my ears swivel foward. My heart started hammering. Is it the wolf again?

"Abe?" A soft worried voice called out.

"You here? I saw the news, all that weird stuff happening." Relief hit me hard enough that I hollered back "I'm fine!" before my brain caught up to what I was doing. Then I felt like banging my head against the nearest wall. If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. Wow, such quick thinking. Damn but I'm an idiot. Her boots hit the porch steps and paused.

"Abe?" she called.

"You sound weird."

"I'm fine!" Higher that time. Fudge me with a rusty wrench. The door swung open. A second later Shelly stood in the doorway and stared at me. I stared back with the remote held up in front of me like that was going to help anything. I waved my paw from left to right in front of me.

"This is the Abe you were looking for." Her jaw dropped. Not a Star Wars fan apparently.

"Abe?" she whispered, both hands on the doorframe.

"Is that... you?"

"Surprise?" My voice cracked on the second syllable. She stepped inside.

"You're a raccoon. A talking raccoon." Her voice had gone unsteady.

"This isn't real. The mana tide finally fried my brain and I'm having some kind of episode and…"

"Shelly, it's me." I wanted to reassure her, but that was all I could think of.

"Raccoons don't talk!" She backed toward the door, then caught herself. Her hand went to something on her belt, a carved wooden charm I'd never paid attention to before.

"This one does," I said.

"I died, Shelly. Heart attack. Woke up like this." I waved both paws at the general situation. She stared at me, breathing hard.

"You sense mana, right?" I tried, completely bullshitting. I figured with the way she'd always talked about auras and such, I might be able to use that to convince her.

"You're always going on about life's essence and the energy of the land. You told me once you felt called to this place. Can't you feel it's me?" Her eyes went wide but she didn't say no. She just stood there, all wide-eyed, trembling slightly. At least she's not screaming and gibbering. She closed her eyes. Her fingers wrapped around the wooden charm and something shifted in the air, something I felt in my chest. I'd always figured the druid thing was like being Buddhist. Her eyes opened.

"Oh my God. It really is you." She looked like she might cry.

"Your essence is the same, but there's something else. Something old and…" She shook her head. I hopped off the recliner before that thought could get any worse. My feet hit the wood floor and shot sideways and I spent an embarrassing second flailing around before I caught myself.

"Heart attack," I muttered, "followed by reincarnation." Shelly knelt down next to me. She smelled like lavender and pine, but I realized there was also something else I was sensing. There was a weak thread of… power flowing through her. With what had happened to me, maybe she really is a druid. If that was true, it wasn't a lifestyle choice with fake aura readings and crystal healing. Which meant magic users might actually be real, although perhaps not very powerful.

It looks like I've really misjudged the world, I realized. Does that mean werewolves and vampires are real too?

"Abe, you're overflowing with mana," she said.

"Pure, clean energy. I've never felt anything like it."

"What does that mean?" I cocked my head to the side while I tried to figure out what in the hell that meant.

"You're something more than a talking raccoon." Great. Very helpful, I thought as I looked down at my paws. Not sure how to respond, I went with, "I'm a forest heartthrob is what I am. Bet the lady critters are lining up." Shelly snorted and covered her mouth.

"You're still you. Grumpy and sarcastic, just furrier."

"Damn right." My voice cracked on the last word.

"Life's a joke and then you die. In my case the joke just kept going." Her smile faded.

"This isn't just about you, Abe." She dropped her voice.

"My mentor's been tracking incidents. People are going missing near mana-dense areas. Livestock are being drained of blood. The old protections aren't holding." That explained why she visited me, I realized. It sent a surge of warmth through my tiny raccoon heart.

"You're a beacon." She looked like she wanted to reach out and stopped herself. One of those small ordinary things that catches you off guard.

"Still the grumpy prepper who yells at squirrels," I said.

"Right?"

"Right," she said. Neither of us fully believed it. She got up and went to the kitchen without another word. Water was running and the microwave was humming. A few minutes later she came back with popcorn, set it on the armrest, and sat down. My mouth was already watering. Heavy footsteps landed on the porch, more than one set. Shelly's hand went to the charm.

"Were you expecting someone?"

"Been dead twenty-four hours," I said.

"Not on anyone's calendar." My nose twitched. Whoever it was was human, but different. I also smelled wet fur and... Ah, the wolf from last night must be with them. A shadow crossed the window and someone knocked.

"I know someone's in there. I can smell you both. We're not here to cause trouble." After a pause, the man continued, "My name's Pierre. The man with me is Alder, our pack elder. We'd like to speak with you." Pack leader? Something told me they weren't talking about the Boy Scouts. My stomach dropped. Shelly's eyes went wide. We looked at each other. Neither of us had anything useful to say.

"Since movie night's over, I guess I can talk. Come on in," I said, trying to sound nonchalant. The door opened and everything got a lot more complicated.