I WRITE FRIDAY FLASH

As Black as Night

Part 2

 

by Carolyn Brown

(Jason tries to come to terms with the changes happening within him, 

in Part 2 of this Paranormal Serial - 680 words approx.)

We both fell silent, each of us dwelling on our own thoughts for the rest of the ride to school.

The day passed without any incident and as Jason’s English teacher was away he got away with not completing his assignment.

He felt a little embarrassed when he saw Diane in the afternoon as they boarded the bus to return home, but his unsettled feelings were soon forgotten when she sat beside him and cheerfully started chatting about how she had spent her spare period in the Library, researching the internet for information on panthers and mystical were creatures.

She bombarded his senses with a mountain of information which she was more than happy to share with him.

An apple core hit Jason in the back of the head, as he lent over closely to Diane to hear what she was saying.  He looked towards the back of the bus to find Brett Anderson smirking and looking straight at him.

“Get lost, Brett!”

“Make me, freak!”

Diane grabbed hold of Jason’s wrist to stop him from getting out of his seat and smashing Brett in the face.

Jason could feel anger bubbling up from deep within him and knew that if it wasn’t for Diane’s firm grip, he would be lunging at Brett’s throat tearing it to pieces.

Jason was shocked at this impulse because he usually had the good sense to ignore bullies.

He turned to continue the conversation with Diane, taking deep breaths to calm his aggressive behaviour.  Diane seemed to be aware of his struggle and tried very hard to keep his mind from wandering back to Brett and his gang of bullies.

As they disembarked from the bus, Jason was pushed from behind, but instead of stumbling on top of the students below him, he lifted himself into the air, leaped over their heads and landed gently on his feet.

“Told you he was a freak!”

Jason gained his composure and stood up erect to face Brett as he dismounted from the bus.  Brett directed his ‘boys’ to position themselves to surround Jason.

Diane moved away from them and started to make a call on her phone.  Jason had no idea who she would be calling, but was glad that she had at least removed herself from the crisis.

The gang of boys taunted and teased Jason as they tightened the circle around him.  Brett stepped forward and pushed Jason in the shoulder.

Jason looked him in the eyes and showed him no fear, even though Brett was one of the schools best football players and was built like a brick out-house.

“Well, pussy! What have you got?”

Mumbling and giggles came from the rest of the boys, and then Brett took a swing and collected Jason in the nose with the full force of his fist. Blood sprayed from Jason’s nose and his anger rose to the surface as he began to lose control.  At first he felt a stretching sensation in his fingers which was followed by cracking sounds as the bones began to lengthen and change shape. It took no time at all before his hand had changed into a large paw, with razor sharp claws extending from its extremities.

As Jason straightened his stance and wiped the blood from his face with the back of his sleeve, Brett lunged at him again.

This time Jason reacted quicker and lashed out with his newly formed paw, slashing Brett across the face.  The other boys closed in and tried to kick and punch Jason, but he was quicker than any of them and it wasn’t long before they gave up and moved away.

Brett wasn’t so easy to stop though, and he tried to tackle Jason to the ground. He raced forward to grab hold of Jason’s legs, just as a car pulled up alongside them.  It was full of strangers, they grabbed Jason before he was able to lunge at Brett and dragged him into the car and sped off down the street.

Find out what happens next week….