A growling whine of horror came from his throat as he brought his furred, clawed hands up to his face. Before his eyes, he was changing, shifting into…something. He watched as his face was pushed out, nothing but an itch and pressure to tell him that this was real. Little to no pain, or maybe the shock was enough to make him oblivious to it. A muzzle formed as fur grew from face, his nose was pressed back, turning wet and black. At the same time, his sense of smell exploded around him, and he could smell the sour smell of the stale bathroom, of the boys who had been in here before him. His ears moved from the side of his skull to the top, growing larger and pointed. His sense of hearing too burst and he could hear people running in the hall, trying to find him. One of them would very soon come into the bathroom and see him. And he would look back at them with dark yellow eyes that spoke of rage.

Fear burning in him, he raced into a stall, locking it. But they would still know he was in here. Would know something was wrong, because they would see the shredded remains of his shoes trailing into the stall. Realizing his shoes were in pieces, he looked down to see paws for feet. He was standing on the balls of his feet as they elongated and grew thick with fur. Black claws sprouted out of his toes just as they did from his hands. His pants and shirt were already ripped from the muscle brimming and growing underneath his skin.

He felt something push out from the base of his spine, and in pain, he pulled his pants down some to see what was forming back there.

A tail.

Werewolf! he though frantically. Oh God, I was right!

And then, everything stopped.

It was done. He was a six and a half foot upright wolf. This he knew well, and it scared him. Finally able to vocalize his emotion, he threw his head back and screamed. But what came out wasn’t even close to that. It came out as full-boor howl.

The bathroom door slapped the wall and someone called his name. But he didn’t hear his name. He heard human gibberish.

Another thing he was finally able to realize. He had the mind of a wolf, and couldn’t understand human language. Either that, or-

With a roar, he slammed one now incredibly powerful arm against the stall door, snapping the lock. It flew open, banging against the stall next to it. Josh stepped out of the stall, glaring at his classmate, who looked with horror upon the monster that had stepped out of the stall door. Josh rushed forward, slashing his class across the kid’s torso, sending him flying in to wall. The kid screamed, but Josh didn’t care.

It was prey. Or interference. Whichever. But it was going to die.

The scream died before it could start in the boy as Josh’s powerful right leg settled on the boys chest, and Josh pushed his back claws into the kid’s throat. Growling deeply, he looked down upon the kill.

It had been too easy.

This, he could not have.

There had to be a better challenge in this building of humans, of prey, somewhere.

Then, more sounds, what Josh could tell was his name. Footsteps coming for the bathroom. Ah, more prey, maybe a better challenge. Josh shoved his way through the bathroom door, into the hall with his head thrown back in a roar. His claws shone with blood form the boy he had just killed, eyes ablaze with the desire to hunt. He lowered his head, focusing on the three kids who were staring at him with their mouths agape.

At once, they screamed, and Josh howled along with them before he dove for the nearest teen, a girl who was also in his math class.

Math, his hungry, vicious mind, wondered. One dead human in the bathroom, plus three more live ones, plus one more soon to be dead, equals blood, and no challenge. This passed through his mind as he shoved his jaws into the young girl, lifting her up by the throat with his deadly teeth. She struggled, but quickly quit as the blood drained from her. Josh’s ears jerked back as he heard the other kids running from him in fear.

Two kills minus the two running away equals a chase.

He threw the girl to the floor, and whipped around in pursuit of the two boys running from him.

*     *     *

By now, more than one class knew something was wrong. The classes nearby instantly locked the doors as the carnage was taking place outside. The students who had left Josh’s math class would not be allowed in. When lockdown happened, everyone who was caught in the hall was fucked, and that was exactly what was happening to Josh’s classmates. Not that he cared, aside from the lack of challenge they presented to him, but that would all be fixed once he killed them and got out of this school. After all, he couldn’t let fleeing prey remain alive, no matter how sad the fight they put up.

His classmates ran, pounding on doors, begging to be let in. As the alarm that some wild animal was loose went through the school, no one took any chances. The lights all went off in the classrooms, and the bangs at the door were ignored, while students and teachers waited in their rooms as screams echoed through the walls, and police rushed to the school. But by the time they arrived it would be too late.

*     *     *

He ran. He killed. He grew frustrated. There was nothing here but children. Easy kills. Nothing to satiate him.

When he heard the shouts of what his human mind, which was now nestled somewhere deep in his mind where it had little to no control of his current body, knew as police, he decided it was time to go. He’d done enough here, and the police were likely no more of a threat or a challenge the human children.

Throwing the last math student to the ground, he licked blood from his jaws and turned to the large window at the end of the hall. Outside, the parking lot stretched into a small group of trees. He would need to go somewhere to hide for now, but he had to have more space than what the land outside the school offered. If he wanted to be content and away from any humans (which was an absurd thought since all he wanted to do was kill), he’d need to go somewhere outside of town for sure. Growling softly, he took one step back and then rushed at the window, bringing his arms up to burst through the glass as to not harm his wolfish face. He crashed through the window with ease, hitting the ground with a roll. He got to his feet, looking up at the window that was two stories above him. He ignored the fact that he had just leapt down from there and focused on finding somewhere where no one would find him. He sprinted across the parking lot, transferring to all fours with a single smooth motion, and bounded into the woods.

He moved quickly through the small patch, looking out to the road beyond. Where to go? Lifting his head, he scented the air for trees and earth, away from humanity. It found his nose easily, and he moved off once more, just as quickly as he had come into the trees. He put the school, the unchallenging kills, everything behind him as he jolted across the road and towards the edge of town, where he would seek shelter until a better opportunity arose…

*     *     *

Josh groaned loudly. His whole body ached. His arms felt abused and his mouth tasted funny. Like blood, he thought, after biting his tongue or chewing on the inside of his lips too much. Whatever he was laying on, it was firm and cool. He opened his eyes, and saw leaves over head, tree branches stretching out, blocking the sunlight that was coming through.

What am I doing out here?

He tried to sit up, and managed to after fighting with his sore body. Sleeping on the ground was definitely a bad idea. Not only that, but it seemed to tear up clothes too. He looked down at his tatters for clothes, only a shirt and jeans, which barely covered him, but would do for now since he was in the woods and no one could see him. Josh closed his eyes, trying to figure out what had happened. All he recalled was being in school, running to the bathroom, seeing his face in the bathroom mirror, but then again, it wasn’t exactly his face, but more bestial.

And after that, there wasn’t much. Screams. Blood. Roaring.

Josh stared at his hands. Werewolf. Could it be true? Had he turned into a werewolf while in school, attacked everyone, and escaped? He shook his head, refusing to believe it. But if he didn’t turn into a werewolf, then how did he end up in the woods like this?

He whimpered, now nothing more but a scared kid. He patted his pockets for his phone, but there was nothing. He must have lost everything. Looking around the woods, he realized he had to get out of here and back home. Everyone would be worried.

Or they would know he was he who killed everyone, and they’d be after him. But who would believe a werewolf had killed the kids back at the school?

Wanting to cry now, Josh took a few steps, hanging onto a tree when the forest detritus bit into his bare feet. Getting out of here was going to be much harder, and far more painful, than he thought.

Eventually, Josh found himself at the edge of the woods, looking out on the small town in which he lived. It still looked to be maybe a mile away. He wasn’t sure if he had the guts to walk all the way back home with no shoes and clothes that barely covered him. He had resisted crying, but now he felt like it was the only thing he could do.

As he had been walking, memories from the previous day had returned to him. Transforming, killing, jumping out a window and running to the woods. All the while, he was not human, a six-foot-something brownish werewolf with long claws and sharp teeth, and an appetite to kill. And something had rang in his head the entire killing session, something about challenges, and how the school was not providing enough of one. Josh held his head, wondering what he was going to do, or if he could even go back home after this. He knew he couldn’t stay in the woods, he was just a kid, but still…

Joshua swallowed, knowing he had to get back to town. Whether or not he looked like a mess, or had no shoes or proper clothes, he had to return home.