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The Deer by NightlySnow

Nature always held a special feeling in Erik's heart. He was no tree huger by any means, but he respected the earth, mother nature, and all that it offered him. Erik found it incredibly relaxing to just lay under the stars and just think. Not about the day's events, but about life in general.

Ever since he was little, the red hair man collected survival guides, information about plants, and guides to communicate with animals through body language. Every summer, his father would take him fishing and camping, passing on his knowledge to his only child. In the winter, the two went hunting, learning different ways to track and capture their prey. His dad only had one rule, "If you want to eat, you must catch it yourself."

Many may see this rule as harsh, but Erik quickly learned to gather food rather quickly. But, devastation happen at the age of 16. Erik spotted a deer laying down in the middle of a frozen lake. He wanted to impress his father by capturing the unsuspecting deer and set out after it, quietly approaching the deer from behind. As he got closer, he noticed around the deer was a red tint to the snow/ice. It was obvious the deer was hurt, or most likely dead from another predictor. As he grew closer, the deer noticed his presents and struggled to get up. It was then Erik noticed the deer's leg was caught in the ice.

The frantic movement of the frightened deer crumbled the relatively thin ice, plummeting it to an icy grave. Erik turned as fast as he could, but was also greeted by the same impeding doom. As the ice gave way, his father saw him suddenly shoot down. He ran as fast as he could, diving into the freezing water. He successfully found Erik, and lifted him onto a sturdy piece of ice. Once Erik recovered from the shock, he turned to help his dad but noticed he was gone. He stood there for what seemed like hours, waiting for his father to resurface. But, he never did.

He was 25 now and finally bought a cabin in the mountains. It was free from modern convinces, so he no longer had to work. Because of his upbringing, he didn't have to worry about buying groceries. He just hunted, fished, or gathered berries and plants to eat.

Erik stared into the small mirror in his cabin, using a large hunting knife to shave off his red 5 o'clock shadow. His food supply was running low, so he would be fishing all day to restock it. He grabbed his fishing pole, some worms, and a bucket and headed outside. A warm spring breeze greeted him as he walked outside, the smell of blooming flowers hitting his nose. He walked to the lake, a big grin on his face as he enjoyed the scenery.

The lake glittered with excitement, as if to greet the young man. He threw his line into the lake proceeding to catch a weeks worth of fish. The whole time he imagined himself as some kind of animal, skillfully retrieving the fish. He wish he could be an animal for just a day, just to see the world through their eyes. With the sun setting, he collected his catch, quickly gutting them and cleaning them a little bit up. He ran to his home, wanting to get inside his cabin before the night hit.

He made it just in time, closing the wooden door as the sun said its last farewells. He set down his catch, grabbing some wood and throwing it into the stone fireplace. He quickly rubbed two stones together, creating a spark rather quickly. He blew on the pine needles under the timber, encouraging the flame to blossom. Success. The flame slowly made its way up, threatening the wood to become ash.

While the fire lit the small living room, Erik lifted some floor boards, revealing a human sized hole. He tied a rope to the handle of the bucket and lowered it into the primitive refrigerator. Once it hit bottom, he nailed the other end of the rope to the floor, so the rope couldn't accidentally fall inside. He closed the floor boards and sat next to the fire, watching them dance with a free spirit, without a care in the world.

This only made Erik want to be an animal even more. To truly enjoy nature to the fullest, without a care in the world. Erik jumped at the sound of a knock at his door. He let out a growl as he got to his feet, annoyed that a human was bothering him. He opened the door, a scowl across his tanned face.

His eyes widened as he gazed at the figure on his porch. The being seemed to float in midair. It wore a black cloak but seemed transparent at the same time. It raised it's invisible arms and drew back the hood, revealing it's face to Erik. Except it wasn't a face. It was a pale white oval, like a human face, but it had no features: no eyes, no nose, no mouth. Erik was unsure to scream or run. Instead, he just stood astonished.

"Mother nature has heard your wish..." Came a whisper from no where. The human didn't bother looking for where the voice generated from. He knew the being had some how communicated it's voice to him. "On the 'morrow, you will take form." Came the haunting voice again as the human stared on, instinctively nodding his head as if he knew what was going on.

The figure started to dissipate in front of the frighten human until no trace of it's existent was left. He slowly closed the door, blinking a couple of times. I must be more tired than I thought.

He dragged himself to the only room separate from the main part of the cabin. Inside was a worn out mattress bed that was most likely older than him. He stripped to nothing but his boxers and slipped under the deer skinned blanket he had made a few years back. The warmth quickly made him drowsy, quickly forgetting about the visitor not even ten minutes earlier.

Erik awoke startled. It was as if someone poked him, which he knew was impossible. He attempted to stir but realized his body did not respond. He tried to move his arm, nothing. His leg, nothing. His whole body was numb and wouldn't follow the commands his brain frantically sent.

The numbness soon became a tingle, starting at his toes and gradually moving up. Silent screams escaped from his dried mouth. He had no idea what was going on under the blanket and wished he could move it so he could see. The tingle was now at his ankle as he noticed something weird. He could have sworn the blanket had just moved, and it couldn't have been him who moved it.

The tingle was now at his knees and he knew he was crazy now. The blanket started to stretch on its own accord, slowly wrapping it's self around his feet and ankle. He felt like a human sized Boa was slowly constricting him, ready to eat it's prey.

The tinglings had reached his chest, the deer skin blanket not too far behind. He continued to watch in horror as the words of the faceless man played in his mind. Was he really getting his wish? The feet started to burn like someone had put hot coals all around them. A silent scream escaped his lips again as it grew worse.

His feet slowly got hard, turning a black color. Erik was sure that they were cooked or frost bitten. But, he also stared in amazement. His feet started to take form of a hoof. Once both were at the desired form, the burn began to fade, bringing a smile to the man's face. He was indeed becoming an animal. His wish was becoming true.

He was no longer fearful but watched as the blanket became his fur. The human's hand soon began to burn but he tried to ignore the pain since he knew what was going on. They formed much quicker than his feet, which he assumed was because they were smaller and needed less shaping.

His fur had reached his neck. He'd be lying if he said if he wasn't nervous. He wasn't sure if the fur was going to suffocate him or mold around his face in a perfect pattern. His multiple questions were soon answered as his face started to burn like a thousand suns. The pain was so intense that his silent screams soon made an audible sound of pure pain. A pain that the devil himself would cringed at.

His nose started to extend, becoming maw shaped, along with his lower jaw. His eyes separated a little bit, giving him a weird perspective he wasn't use to. His ears, melted into his head, just to pop out on the top. Last to come in was his horns, a beautiful full rack appeared, threatening to go through the wooden wall.

His spine soon started to tingle as his face took it's new form. He could no longer scream but understood what was taking place, he was about to become more deer shaped. Fire burned down his spine as shrank a bit and bent over. He huffed and puffed as best as he could with his new animal lungs when...

PLOP

His eyes gazed to his back end. A short stubby but fluffy tail appeared. He attempted to wag it, and it followed his command. His body soon became normal feeling. No burning sensation. No tingling or numbing. He had become a handsome brown deer with a little red around his antlers. He leaped for joy, almost hitting his head on the ceiling. He was more excited that his mind was still intact. He could experience this and remember it.

He ran to the front door, his new found hooves making weird noises as he galloped. He attempted to grab the handle but failed in the attempt. His long face grew sad as he realized he couldn't open the door. He wasn't going to stay stuck in this house. He rammed the door multiple times before it broke free, allowing him to enter the world as a new deer.

He trotted around, going to his places he hanged out as a human. The sun warmed his fur as he experienced the same world but with different eyes. He wished he could laugh and shout about how wonderful this was but he'd have to be satisfied with just child like laughter in his mind.

He started to walk to a new area of the forest he had never visited. A weird smell was calling out to him and he had to investigate. He loved how he could just smell things so much better and be able to tell two different ones apart. He drew closer to the smell curiosity driving him to run faster.

He ran faster, faster, and faster, until he was going full speed; The smell within his grasp.

BANG!

He stood still, confused at the sudden sound. His vision started to get blurry, a horrible pain in his head. He tried to move but nothing happened. He just all of a sudden fell on his side, crashing into the ground. He blinked as a drop of red landed in his eye. It was then he knew what was going on. He had been shot.

He attempted to scream, but the sound was only in his mind. He was feeling so cold, so tired. With his last breath, he slowly closed his eyes, as young boy happily hugging his dad because he finally taken down his first deer.