Bitten

Watching the sunset with her best friend was one of Danielle's favorite things to do. It never got old, seeing
those vibrant rays of color melt into the horizon. It was a clean escape from the classes at Danielle's boarding school
that dragged on throughout the day, the drawling teachers harldy seeming to pay attention themselves. There was,
however, the occasional night when all students were rushed into the school immediatley after the sunset.
The night of the full moon.
Everyone knew, all too well, what happened on this night that made their safety so vital. It was
the night that the werewolves came out. Sadly, those that were innocent had no control over themselves the moment
that full moon came into view. And the night of the full moon happened to be the next day.
As the beautiful sunset once again vanished, Danielle and her friend, Sierra, headed towards the school for the
night.
                      * * *
As usual, the next day moved slowly. The classes taught Danielle no more knowledge than she already had. And
as if that wasn't enough, everyone was jittery because of the same thing: The moon would be full that night. The
werewolves would come out.
Even Mrs. Krull, the math teacher, darted her eyes towards the window throughout class. Danielle had always
somewhat favored Mrs. Krull. While the other teachers appeared to have no personality, what Mrs. Krull taught
actually made sense to Danielle. But on full moon night, she was always a nervous wreck.
                    * * *
When evening came, no one dared venture further than a few feet away from the school. Danielle and Sierra
watched the sunset from the front steps. Sierra wore her striped scarf, which she treasured over all her belongings.
"Doesn't the sunset always look better on full moon night?" Sierra asked.
"Yeah, I guess it does," Danielle replied. The two friends watched as the sun began to dissappear.
"My scarf!" Sierra shouted. The wind had blown her scarf off of her, and was carrying it towards the forest.
Sierra started to run after it.
"Sierra, don't! It's too dangerous!" Danielle shouted. The sun was almost down. Danielle chased after her friend.
Suddenly, the dark figure of Sierra stumbled and fell. Danielle rushed over to her. Her foot was caught in a vine.
As Danielle tried to untangle her friend, a bone-chilling howl came from nearby. Very nearby. Danielle frantically
tugged on the tight vine, but it wouldn't budge. Suddenly, a wolf-like figure ran out of the woods towards them.
The werewolf bared its sharp teeth, its hungry eyes fixed on Sierra.
Danielle couldn't leave her friend. She jumped in front of the werewolf, which directed its attention to
her. It gave a deep growl. Danielle tried to lure the werewolf to cut the vine so Sierra could escape. She moved
slowly in front of the vine, careful to keep the werewolf away from Sierra. As the werewolf lunged at Danielle, she
quickly jumped to the side. The vine sliced in two, freeing Sierra.
"Go! Run!" Danielle screamed. The werewolf once again lunged at her, but this time she wasn't fast enough. The
next thing she knew, she was on the ground, with the werewolf clawing at her. Danielle did her best to push it away. The
werewolf clawed at her with all its might, and Danielle kept resisting. Suddenly, the werewolf ceased its struggle
and fell. Danielle turned and saw a tranquilizer dart in its back. Two distant figures rushed towards her, and
Danielle passed out.
                    * * *
"I think she's awake!" came a voice. Danielle slowly opened her eyes. She was in the school's hospital room.
It was like a nurse's office, but larger and more clinic-like.
"You were bitten." The voice belonged to Mrs. Krull.
Sierra sat next to her.
"You saved my life," Sierra said. "Thanks." Danielle sat up and saw that there was a large
gash on her own leg.
Danielle hesitated, then asked,"Does this mean I am a werewolf now?"
Mrs. Krull looked solemn. "Most likely."
Danielle lay back down. At least Sierra was safe. At least there was a tiny chance that she hadn't just become a
werewolf. At least...
"I'll keep you away from others," Mrs. Krull offered.
Danielle nodded. "This is going to be a long month."
                    * * *
The first thing Danielle noticed about the day she went back to normal classes was that everyone stared at her.
Many looked upon her with fear in their eyes, some with blank expressions. Even Mrs. Krull seemed to be watching her closely.
Danielle didn't enjoy this, but it went on for weeks, and didn't stop when the next full moon night approached.
                  * * *
When the day finally came, Sierra had almost forgotten about it entirely, but Danielle hadn't. She had feared this
day, feared that she might hurt someone. Mrs. Krull pulled Danielle aside and brought her deep into the forest. The moon
appeared in the sky, and Mrs. Krull backed away from Danielle slowly, like she had some sort of deadly disease. The moment
Danielle saw the moon, sweat covered her body. She felt like her whole life was tearing inside of her. She hunched over and
started growing. She couldn't control anything she was doing. Mrs. Krull had a mixture of fear and amazement on her face. She
backed further away from Danielle. Danielle threw her head back and howled involuntarily. She turned and started running
deeper into the forest, where she heard howls from other werewolves. Mrs. Krull cautiously ran after her.
Danielle spent the entire night running and howling with no control over her actions. Finally, the sun crept
over the horizon. Her body slowly returned to normal, and she breathed heavily as Mrs. Krull rushed her back to the school.
                  * * *
Even if Danielle thought the staring, pointing, and whispering couldn't get worse, it did. Danielle felt like she
would never have another moment of privacy. Sierra did her best to defend her friend.
The next month was the same as the first. The werewolf transformation was painful, and Danielle was
constantly stared and pointed at. People whispered behind her back, and once she caught the words, "... a werewolf in
the school... she should be kicked out..." Even the teachers glanced nervously in her direction sometimes. But Danielle could
withstand it all, knowing that she did this to save her friend.
                  * * *
Danielle had expected the next month to be the same as the last two, but she was horribly mistaken. Sierra
accompanied her this time. After she had trnsformed that night, Danielle noticed two glowing yellow eyes watching
her. She cautiously moved toward them. Suddenly, another werewolf jumped out and attacked her. Danielle had
been through this before, and now she could fight back as a werewolf. As Sierra started to run away, Danielle
clawed at the other werewolf and knocked it away. Noticing Sierra for the first time, the werewolf darted after
her. As it drew nearer to Sierra, it reached out a claw. Danielle ran as fast as she could, which was very fast in her
wolf body, and jumped at the other werewolf. Sierra tripped and watched the fight, her eyes full of fear. Danielle
finally managed to scratch the werewolf hard enough to send it whimpering back into the forest.
                * * *
Danielle's life was hard enough without her worries about Sierra still wanting to accompany her when
she transformed. Danielle was still worried that, not being in control of her actions, she would bite Sierra and make
her go through the same pain. Or, like last time, another werewolf might come, and Danielle might not be able to fight it.
When the day came again, the same yellow eyes glowed in the bushes.. Danielle's wolf instinct made her
lunge towards them. No doubt, the eyes were from the same werewolf as the month before. But this time, the werewolf
dodged Danielle and headed straight for the school. Danielle chased after it. Lights came on in the windows, and students
watched from their dorm rooms as Danielle once again tackled the werewolf.  As had been Danielle's nightnare since the
last full moon, the werewolf struck her to the ground, tore open the school doors, and ran in. Danielle staggered up and
rushed after it. Heads peeked out doors. Danielle tried to get the students to evacuate the school, but her body was not
in control. Plus, all the kids were terrified of her. Her instincts led her to claw at the werewolf with all her might.
Suddenly, light shone through the doors and windows. The werewolf froze for a moment, staring at the sunrise, then
darted out the doors and into the forest. Just before it disappeared, Danielle saw its dark figure slowly form into
that of a human's. Danielle transformed as well, right in front of everyone's eyes. She stood for a moment, noticing there
were scratches all over her, then she fainted.
                * * *
Again in the school clinic, Danielle opened her eyes. This time, she was bandaged all over, and a man she
had never seen before was sitting by her bed. Startled she sat up, but grew dizzy and thumped down again.
"Don't strain yourself," the man said. He had a deep, scratchy voice. Even though he was a complete stranger,
something about his voice was calming.
"Who are you?" Danielle asked quickly.
The man hesitated. "I... I'm sorry. Truly sorry. I'm the one who bit you. And... I gave you all those cuts and scratches.
Please forgive me. You'll know well by now that I had no control over my actions. I almost killed you and your friend..."
"That's okay," Danielle said. Seeing that the man had bandages like hers, she said, "And I'm sorry I attacked you."
The man smiled. The door opened a crack, and some students peeked in, but closed the door quickly when Danielle
looked their way.
"I'll take care of them," the man said. He walked slowly over to the door, opened it, and roared at the students like
a werewolf. The kids shrieked and ran away, and Danielle couldn't help but smile.
                * * *
Over the next few full moon nights, the farmiliar werewolf would pass by, smile at Danielle, and be on
its way. It was then that Danielle realized how she had been able to make herself defend Sierra and the other
students, how she had not attacked everyone in sight, and how the man in his werewolf form had just smiled at her.
She realized that there was one thing that werewolf instincts could not overpower: friendship.

                                              THE END