Say it isn’t so Chapter one: This is what you want, This is what you get
Author's note when you see - that meant that the seen has changed
and when you see ~ that means the character has changed.
Chapter one: This is what you want, This is what you get.
"Hello everyone I would like to tell you about Melanie Blake. She is a very normal young woman. She just turned twenty and has an average height, weight and build for a woman her age. She is enroled in Collage and lives in an all girl dorm on campus. She also has a part time job at a local coffee shop to help pay for her tuition. Like I said a very normal young woman. As a result she has dreamed of having an adventure. Something exciting that would shatter the chains that shackle her to her humdrum existence. Unbeknownst to her the adventure she's longed for is about to fall into her lap, and it will have far greater consequences then she could possibly imagine."
-
Melanie was successful in regrouping some of the men after they hit the beach. "First and second squads on me!" Mustering all her courage, she rushed up the beach to the sea wall. Bullets from the machine guns on the cliffs in front of her whizzed passed while her ears were filled with the sound of explosions and the screams of the dying. She crouched down in front of a stone and barb wire fence. She looked into the faces of the men that followed her up this bloody beach it looked like a third didn't make it, no time to worry about that now. "Matthew where the fuck are you?" a kid (he didn't look any older than 18) ran up to her he must have been fresh out of boot. "Take those bangalores a little ways up the beach and blow a hole in this wall so we can make a run on those machine gun nests." He nodded and began running down the beach. As soon as he was off Melanie yelled after him. "For fuck sake keep your fucking head down." But it was too late a sniper's bullet hit him in the temple and he crumpled to the sandy floor in a heap. "Shit!" she turned to another of the men that fallowed her. "Robert get out there and make that hole." He nodded and was about to go when they heard an air raid horn from the bunker on the cliff then every thing became hazy and black.
-
The incessant blearing of the clock radio did its job and brought Melanie out of her sleep. With a groan she looked over to the illuminated numbers 4:30 a.m.. With another groan she looked down at the history book she used as a pillow and the nearly finished report she was writing for Mr. Slome's class. Mustering all her will power, she got up, turned off the alarm, and shuffled her way to the small kitchen on the first floor. Once there she began to brew a pot of coffee. She inhaled the aroma of the bargain brand French roast as it finished brewing. Reaching into a cupboard she began to pull out a mug but suddenly stopped. "Fuck it." She said to her self as she put the mug down, took the creamer from the fridge and poured it into the pot. About then Melanie heard the front door open and closed. She walked into the main living room and saw no one. She then heard a gasp coming from the stairs above her. When she looked up, she saw one of her dorm sisters Beth. "My god Mel you look terrible. Did you pull another all nighter?"
"You're one to talk." Melanie thought to her self. Knowing Beth it was probably one of her many boyfriends that just left.
"Ok Mel you are going to go up to your room, you're going to get into bed and you're going to sleep the day away. When your finished with that you will wake up, freshen up then you and me are gonna go clubin' till the wee hours of the morning." said Beth as she began to walk down the stairs. Melanie softly shock her head.
"Sorry Beth but I have a big test later to day. Plus I have work at the coffee shop this afternoon." Beth heaved a sigh and nodded her head.
"Alright Mel but you really need to make some time for yourself. All work and no play make Mel a dull girl." Beth turned and went back up stairs (presumably to her room) while Melanie went back into the kitchen to retrieve her pot of coffee.
Melanie was almost back to her room when she caught a glimpse of something from the corner of her eye. She stopped and turned to look at it. Upon closer inspection Melanie found that it wasn't an it but a her. The woman looked to be in her late twenties to early thirties. She had shoulder length brown hair and strikingly green eyes. She was wearing a powder blue bath robe, a long frumpy shirt and some black and blue pajama pants. This woman appeared to be the epitome of the stay at home mom getting ready for the next long day. Suddenly Melanie's eyes widened in horror. This woman was herself she was looking into a mirror. "Holy shit is that me?" she said aloud still unable to comprehend the image she was faced with. "My god I can't believe I let myself get so disheveled." She thought quietly to herself as she opened the door to her room to complete her report. Which just so happened to be due in two hours.
-
"You're late Ms. Blake." Said professor Walter Slome from his desk. Melanie looked up at the clock on the wall.
"6:31 I'm only a little late, does this guy always have a bug up his ass?" Melanie thought to herself.
"Normally I would have tossed you out but today I'm in a good mood so take your seat before I change my mind." Melanie groaned inwardly. Whenever Mr. Slome was in a good mood, it meant something bad for the class. After Melanie turned in her report and sat down Mr. Slome got up and spoke to the class. "I have an important anointment students. I have been asked to join a group of researchers in Germany as a result I will not be here for the remainder of the semester." The entire class froze the words going through their minds where
"did he just say what I think he said?" Mr. Slome continued.
"As I cannot leave you unattended Miss. Nelson will be watching you for the rest of the semester." Melanie was fighting the urge to start jumping up and down. As she looked around the class, everyone else seemed to be in a similar stat of excitement. "I have also decided that there will be no more homework, tests or reports for the duration of the semester." My god did hell just freeze over. "As a result the reports you should have turned in today and this test will make up the last sixty present of your grade." Nope the pits of hell are still burning as hot as the sun. he picked up the test booklets and began handing them to the groaning students. "Don't worry class if you studied and turned in your report I'm sure you'll do just fine." When he was finished passing out the tests, he sat back down. "All right everyone you have three hours to completed the test startingggggg now."
-
Melanie staggered back to her dorm. "That test was brutal." She said to herself. True to his nature Mr. Slome threw in a couple of curve ball questions that really unnerved Melanie but all in all she felt like she aced the test. Now she just wanted to crash out and sleep for a few hours before her shift at the coffee shop. She reset her alarm for 1:30 p.m. as her shift didn't start till 2:00. Melanie was about to collapse on her bed when her Cell rang. Reluctantly she flipped it open and hit the talk button. "Hello"
"Hi Mel this is Peter. (Her manager at the coffee shop) Stacey called in sick and Billy won't be able to handle the counter on his own do you think you can come in?" Melanie heaved an annoyed sigh.
"What about you can't you help him out?" "No can do. I have a doctor's appointment in an hour. I'll tell you what if you do come in I will pay you time and a half for the added shift what do you say." Melanie sighed again but nodded her head.
"Alright I'll be there in thirty."
"Thanks Mel this is a big help." she hung up her phone then walked in to her small bathroom (just a mirror, sink, and toilet) to freshen up and look presentable to the customers. She then opened her closet and pulled out and put on her apron and cap. As she walked into the main room she saw Beth watching T.V.
"Hey Mel are you going to work? I thought you didn't have to go for a couple hours yet."
"I know but someone called in sick and the boss can't help at his own store so they called me in. On the upside I am getting paid time and a half for the extra shift." Beth returned her gaze to the T.V. as she spoke.
"Alright it's your life, but if you don't relax soon you're going to explode."
"Whatever Beth see you later." said Melanie as she left her dorm heading for the student parking lot. In no time she was putting her key into the ignition of her 92 hatch back. It looked like a real shit-kicker of a car but it was deceptively reliable and better yet all paid for. After a twist of the key she was on her way (albeit reluctantly) to the coffee shop.
-
It was now 10:30 a.m. and it was the last big push of the breakfast crowd. Peter's car was nowhere to be found and as she walked in Melanie found that Billy had his hands full with three costumers at once. When he saw her he gave her a small help me look. She nodded her head and joined him behind the counter to help him stem the tide of thirsty commuters. It took about twenty minuets but the flow finally died down. Billy heaved a sigh of relief as he turned to Melanie. "My god Mel you don't know how happy I am that you showed up." Melanie smiled and nodded. Billy pulled out a pack of cigarettes and began walking to the employee lounge. He called back over his shoulder. "Mel I'm tacking my break be back in ten." Melanie kept a vigilant eye on the counter. Unfortunately for her the worst costumer of the day walked in. He was wearing a fine business man's suit and appeared to be very important. Melanie greeted him as she was instructed to do.
"Hello sir and welcome to The Coffee Shop home of the giant Java Ju-" was as far as Melanie got before the man started screaming.
"NO THAT IS NOT ACCEPTABLE. You tell Paterson that if he doesn't have that report on my desk by noon today he will find himself working in a factory among tumble weeds and thistle sticks by this time next week." Melanie's first thought was that this man is crazy as she didn't see a cell phone. But after a moment she noticed his no hands set. A cable leading from his left ear into his front pocket where his phone must be. It was at this point that he gave his order. "I want a grandenofathalfcafhalffoamtriplemochalatte." Melanie tried her best but she could barely catch his rapid fire order. She turned and began to try and piece it together. Was that a half fat no caf or the other way around. She heard him speaking to her again this time in an angrier tone. "Today princess today some people have important things to do." after another few moments she finished his order.
"Here you are sir that will be 4.09"
During her second shift
Peter still wasn't back from his appointment yet and there was no one else to help her out on the counter in the afternoon but she didn't mind the afternoon shift was a lot slower then the morning and evening shifts. Melanie was filling up the various coffee machines when she heard a voice behind her.
"Excuse me miss."
"One moment sir." replied Melanie. When she finished with the machines she turned around and immediately began coughing as she got a face full of smoke. He must have just lit up a cigarette. ":cough: sir :cough: th this is :cough: :cough: a no smoking area." the man was wearing a large grin as he spoke.
"Oh do forgive me miss." he then licked the end of his thumb and for finger and doused the end of the cigarette. "Now as to my order I will have a tall coffee... oh with cinnamon." the last part he said like an after thought. Melanie smiled back but his grin unnerved her. It was as thou he knew something she didn't and she couldn't help but feel nervous. She filled his order and turned back to him.
"Here you are sir that will be 2.09." he put down his money, picked up the coffee and took a sip.
"Tastes grate Melanie." then he turned and left. Melany was shocked.
"How did he know my name?" she began to wonder then felt like an idiot when she remembered the name tag on her apron. She heaved a sigh and couldn't wait for this day to be over.
-
Melanie finally shuffled into her dorm at about 6:30 p.m.. As she did she heard Beth call to her from the kitchen. "Hard day at the office honey?"
"Shut up Beth." her friend couldn't stifle the fit of giggles that rose up in her. Melanie was about to clime the stairs when she heard Beth again.
"Come on Mel I know you want to talk about it." Melanie didn't know what the girl was talking about but her legs walked her into the kitchen and sat her down at the other end of the table across from Beth.
"Well." Beth said. Melanie's frustration over the day finally boiled over.
"I hate this place I just hate it. I feel like I am ignored by my teachers and abused by my superiores at work. It all just feels like an endless cycle of frustration."
"Go on." Beth said.
"I mean when I was at home there was always something to do or some place to go. But here I feel like I'm stuck in this one place stagnating. And what's worse is that these were the decisions I made and this is the place in life I decided to be."
"And."
"And I just wish something would happen. Right now I don't even care what just something different." Beth smiled at her.
"There now don't you feel better?" Melanie smiled back.
"A little."
"Good, now get up to your room and get some sleep." Melanie didn't argue she just nodded and trudged up the stairs to her room changed into her usual PJ's and crashed out for some much needed rest.
-
Melanie's eyes shot open. She had been having a nightmare but at the moment she could only remember pieces. Pain, struggle but little else. Suddenly she heard Jasmin (another girl in her dorm) at her door. "Melanie are you alright what was all that noise about?" Melanie looked around her room for a moment and was shocked to find what a horrible mess it was. Granted she was a college student and a certain amount of clutter can't be avoided but it looked like a typhoon just hit the place. Most of the damage centered around her bed. She was also dimly aware that the room seemed unnaturally bright. She turned to the door as she heard Jasmin's voice again. "I'm coming in." as the door opened Melanie brought up her hands to guard her eyes from the brighter light of the hall. However her eyes focused almost immediately allowing her to see clearly. Jasmin was staring at her mouth agape, eyes wide and face pale. Melanie was about to ask her what was wrong when Jasmin fainted. Melanie got up much faster then she thought possible and caught her friend before she hit the ground.
"Are you alright. What's wrong?" Jasmin groaned lightly as her eye's fluttered open. Melanie smiled as she saw her friend was alright. But when Jasmin was fully conscious her eye's widened in terror her mouth open as if to scream but nothing came out. Without warning she punched Melanie square in the face. Melanie tumbled into her dresser as Jasmin scrambled out of the room and ran down the hall. Melanie yelled after her as she rubbed her face. "What the fuck was that for you crazy bitch?" Melanie continued to rub but after a moment she realized that she wasn't rubbing smooth skin but rather soft fur. She puled her hand away confused. When she looked at it she found that it to was covered in soft fur save for the tips of her fingers and the palm of her hand which now had soft rubbery pads. Her mind could barely comprehend what she was seeing but she had to know how extensive this change was. She went to her closet and threw it open (as there was a full body mirror on the inside of the door) and froze when she saw the reflection staring back at her. Her face looked almost completely feline in appearance. Her ears where on top of her head. White fur covered her nose mouth and neck and presumably her chest and stomach as well (as that was hidden behind her long shirt). She also noticed that her hands and feet where covered in the same white fur. The rest of her body (as well as her new tale) had light brown fur. After a moment she noticed she was also taller. Earlier in the day her height had been about 5'5 now however she estimated she was about 6'3. Suddenly Melanie heard Beth's voice coming up the hall.
"Calm down Jaz what do you mean there's a monster in Mel's room." Melanie was too panicked to hear a response.
"I can't let Beth see me like this." she thought and frantically began looking for her car keys. Just as she found what she sought she heard Beth coming up the hall.
"Mel is every thing alright." Melanie's panic kicked into full gear as she looked for an exit other than the door to her room. Without thinking she dashed to her window opened it and leaped out only when she was on solid ground again did she realize what she did. Her room was on the second story and if she was still human she would have broken her legs landing on the concrete outside her window. With her mind and heart racing faster than a formula one she ran to her car; only one thought stuck in her mind.
"Daddy can fix this he's a doctor he'll know what to do." she didn't bother to buckle up. Just put the key in the ignition and took off.
-
Melanie was zooming down the interstate and a trip that normally took an hour she was able to cut down to twenty-five minutes. She took an off ramp onto Willow Dr. Which would then almost be a straight shot home. Suddenly she had a moment of clarity. "I can't just show up like this I have to call him." She pulled her cell phone out of the ash tray (as she didn't bother to take it out of her car after work) and tapped her Dad's speed dial number. She glanced over at her clock 10:30 p.m. "Come on Daddy be there." one ring. "Pick up." two rings. "Pick up pick up pick up pick up." three rings click.
"Hi sweety what are you call-" Melanie cut him off.
"Daddy I need your help. Something really weird is happening. I just passed Wilkins and I'm coming home. I'm scared." her father's concerned voice came over the phone. "Well calm down honey calm down. Just take a breath and tell me what's happening." Melanie closed her eyes and took a deep breath but when she opened them again she saw that at the next intersection another car was going to cross her path and she wasn't going to be able to stop. Time seemed to slow down the seconds stretched out into minutes. Her body began to pull away from the inevitable and she found herself in more of a crouching position in her chair rather than a seated one. Once the car's touched time seemed to speed up to compensate for the lag. Melanie didn't really hear anything she was simply in her seat one moment and flying through the air the next. She tumbled and rolled across the pavement and when she finally stopped she was on all four's. she looked over at her car and found it to be a total loss. There was no way anyone was going to be driving that thing again. She then took a quick mental check of herself. She had several cuts and just as many bruises but other than that she was unharmed. It was her new found reflexes and agility that saved her life but her mind was to frazzled at the moment to really think of it. Right now she just wanted to get home without being seen. So she began jumping fences and running through backyards making a b-line for her home.
~
Andrew Blake Was nervously waiting for his daughters response when there was a defining crash over the phone followed by an automated voice. "We're sorry the number you where connected to is no longer in service please hang up and try again." Andrew's eyes widened in horror as he screamed into the phone.
"MELANIE, MELANIE WHAT HAPPENED!" nothing. He throw down the phone and ran outside. "She said Wilkins. She must mean Wilkins Boulevard." he said to himself. It took him ten minuets of running but he arrived at the seen. He couldn't believe what he was seeing his daughter's car was a twisted mangled wreck. The second car looked to be in a similar state however the damage was centered on the front end of the car the passenger compartment looked relatively untouched. There was an officer already on the seen. He must have been making his rounds in the area. Andrew immediately ran over to him. "Have you seen my daughter where is she."
"Sir calm down what are you talking about."
"That's my daughters car. is she here? Melanie, MELANIE."
"Sir calm down only the passengers of the second vehicle are present." A very large and angry man stomped his way up to Andrew and the officer.
"Your daughter had better have some fucking insurance or you and her are going to pay through the nose to fix this mess." Andrew turned to the man with his apology.
"Sir I am truly sorry about all of this. I'm a doctor and if there are any injuries I will see to them personally free of charge."the officer began leading the large man away but called back to Andrew over his shoulder.
"Sir it's probably best if you go home there's nothing more you can do here." Andrew looked from the officer to the wreck and back.
"But... but." he didn't think anyone could walk away from that.
"sir go home we can handle things here." reluctantly Andrew nodded his head and trudged back up the street.
~
Melanie landed in her back yard with out incident and ran for the sliding glass door. "Daddy are you here, daddy." she opened the slider with ease. What she didn't notice though was that the door was locked and she just ripped it open. She ran all over the house looking for her father but he wasn't there. She finally took a deep breath to calm herself. "Ok I'll just wait in my room I'm sure he'll be back soon I'll just wait for him there." she climbed the stairs to her room and awaited her fathers return.
~
Andrew dragged his feet as he entered his home. He was still in shock over the whole situation. Fifteen years earlier he lost his wife Margaret the same way and he would be damned if he let it happen to his daughter too. However At the moment he just didn't know what to do. He shivered. "Why is it so cold in here?" he asked himself. He looked up and from the front door he had a clear view into his back yard. It was at this point he noticed that the sliding glass door was ripped open. "A burglar." he thought to himself. His eyes shot around the room but he was no one so he slowly walked over to his phone still lying on the ground. He was about to pick it up when he heard a creaking from up stairs. He paused for a moment to make sure he heard it then the creak came again. Only one room in his house creaked like that and it was his daughter's room. Instantly his feelings of fear and uncertainty where replaced by anger. "No one was going to break into my house and start pawing my babies things not tonight." he thought angrily to himself. Rather than pick up his phone he quietly walked into his den and opened the gun cabinet there. What vacation time he was able to get from the clinic he worked at he spent hunting. He picked up his favorite twelve gage and put in three rounds of buck shot. Being an avid hunter he knew how to keep quiet. He used all the skills he had to his advantage. Like a ghost he silently climbed the stairs when he reach the top he could see that the door to his daughter's room was open just a crack and the light was on. He paused next to the door and took a breath to steady himself. When he exhaled he shouldered his weapon spun around and kicked in the door. He swept the gun across the room and leveled it at something staring back at him wide eyed and terror stricken. "Who... or what are you and what are you doing in my daughter's room!?!" the creature backed into a corner and crouched down hugging it's knees. Andrew took a step forward and pumped the handle on his gun to arm it. "ANSWER ME!!" the creature began to mumble something but it was to quiet for him to hear. He leaned in and caught it the second time around.
"In day time or night time any time is Melanie time because I love you and you love me and together we make a perfect family." Andrew's eyes widened in shock. On the same night his wife died he made that song to sooth his daughter. No one on the entire planet would know that song save for he and she. He lowered his gun as he looked over his daughter.
"Sweetie?" she looked up at him and the dam broke. Her eyes filing with tears as she rocked herself back and forth. Immediately Andrew through down his weapon and wrapped his arm's around her. She was able to speak a few words in-between her sobs.
"Daddy :sob: what is :sob: :sob: happening to me." he didn't say anything he knew that if he did he would start to cry and one of them had to be strong.