Little Transitions

Punctual Dreams

“Mh.”

"Why isn't she getting up?"

"Probably dead…"

"Oh hush. Matt would be dead too."

The words "Matt" and "dead” in the same sentence forces me jolt from my concussion. I am greeted by a white blinding light, and a cold winter's breeze.

Where am I...?

I try to sit up, but all I end up doing is getting dizzy. I squeeze my eyes tight while trying to get my head to stop spinning.

"Saskia." A loud, booming voice calls from above.

Oh God, am I really dead?!

"Agh!" I yell back, cradling my skull in my hands and trying to block out the overtly loud voice.

I (thankfully) don't hear much after my yell. Sitting up in crossed legged, I reluctantly slowly opened one eye at a time to see where I was.

And I saw; was absolute astonishing.

I was sitting in the middle of a large field of snow, but it didn't feel cold. Lukewarm, funnily enough, just like the fake snow you would buy at a*****e or something for Christmas. I pick some up with my good hand, and squeeze it for a while, then watch the water droplets now run in between my fingers.

Real, warm snow.

With the biggest smile, I look up to see myself surrounded by vast, green woodland. It was amazing; it looks just like home.

Then, I see something out the corner of my eye.

It was a pack of wolves…running straight towards me! Surprised, awkwardly get up and start sprinting away. They were so fast! They got closer and closer, and I braced myself for the impact.

But it never came.

They flew right above me, barking and howling like it was completely normal for them to do that.

"The hell…?" I whisper breathlessly.

Now, a surplus wolves are running and flying through the air. Some were even wrestling playfully in mid-flight.

"Mush! Mush!" A group of people yell behind me. I turn around to face translucent golden glowing Eskimo's sprinting underneath of the elegant creatures.

They run right through me, and start growing these amazing, white wings as they are running.

Then, once they have a good speed, they start soaring magnificently through the air, each of them start calling out incoherent words to the dogs. One by one, each dog goes to a different person, until everyone has their own.

They were calling out their names!

They all start flying around as a pair, some humans retracting their wings and grabbing onto the neck of their companion, then mounting them until there sitting on its back; soaring through the air happily together. Giggling, joyful squeals…

I feel a bit of jealousy sink into my heart. I didn’t know why exactly. Maybe I was missing my own dogs? Or maybe even Matt…

"Why hello there. We've been expecting you for some time now." A male, voice boomed.

This snaps me out of my thoughts. "Can we please lower down the volume!?" I shout angrily, my pounding head matching my energy.

"You never fail to be ill-mannered, Saskia. Even in front of your fated helpers, you are cold." A softer spoken male voice says around me.

"It was loud. Sorry, "Fated Chiefs"." I with the bunny ears gesture. I look up in the sky for a response, but I didn’t receive one.

All of the dogs and Eskimos are gone now, leaving me all alone with the creepy voices from the vast grey sky.

"Well, where f**k am I?!" I yell.

Still no answer.

"Okay, you cannot just leave me here to think for myself right now! I just want to know what the hell is going on!" I scream, frustrating myself again.

"Once you are done with your little temper tantrum; then we will discuss what is happening to you, and your Wolf; Matthew."

I roll my eyes, then cross my arms.

"Saskia. I know you have a lot of questions that you want answered" A female voice says. "But first, we must do something that will ensure your full comprehension of this moment."

"Wha-?" Before I could finish my sentence, a flurry of snow starts forming a screen of sorts in front of me, almost like a projector.

After a while, it dies down, leaving me with something that shatters my very soul.

A blurry overview of Matt is seen lying in my bed, bloody and beaten to a pulp. I can barely make out smears of more blood on my floor; like he dragged himself all the way in there. He is murmuring things like "Please come back…" and "I love you so much…"

"Matt?" I run up to the fuzzy mirage of my best friend. I run straight through it though, crashing into the fluffy snow on the other side and landing on my already broken hand; making me scream out in pain.

I turn around and look back at his awful state, which makes me start sobbing loudly.

"Matty…" I say, limply crawling up to the illusion. "Matt…I'm so sorry." I choke.

"Now, do we have your full attention, without any snarky remarks?" The female voice states.

I keep staring at the figment of Matt longer, getting the last of my tears out before pulling myself back together.

“Yes, you do."

"Good. Now as punishment for you two, I am making any outburst you throw at us pain Matt, until you finally understand the meaning "Keep quiet."

"Punishment?!" I yell heatedly.

Which was a bad idea.

Matt starts screaming in agony, clutching his heart. "Master! Please…please…!"

"Matt?" I whisper.

"Punishment, because one: Matthew hasn't explained himself to you in a good way. At all." I blush, raising a hand to trace the flesh wounds on my lips from his "kiss".

"And me?" I whisper almost inaudibly, afraid of the answer.

They manage to catch it.

"You, because of your inability to listen and respect your companion's needs and emotions, causing your bond to become weaker and duller." I wince at that accusation.

"Please explain." I say monotonously.

A deeper male voice speaks up next.

"Basically, you need to tone down your attitude. The way you act affects your friend’s form, which is why he lashed out so badly. He feeds off of your actions and emotions.”

“If you’re happy, then a he’s happy. If you’re sad, then he’s sad. If you’re angry…”

My eyes water. I really haven’t been a good friend, have I?

“Do you understand?”

"Yes, I do." I say, as I bring my attention back to the snowy screen.

"Alright. Now, for a history lesson. Are you still paying attention?" He jokes.

"Yes…." I almost spit, but hold back. I don't want to hurt Matt anymore than I already am.

"Alright. We'll try to make it short, but first..."

The screen, much to my underlying irritation and sadness, is now covered with snow. I turn my back from it without any reply.

"Don't want any distractions, now do we? Us 5 created wolves to hunt for pesky rodents and some larger game because there were just too many roaming here."

The woman voice speaks up now.

"For about a hundred years or so, things were nice, until the wolves started seeing humans as similar game to things like deer. They attacked them, killing off hundreds of thousands of humans in the course of a century."

There was a long pause.

"We decided to do something drastic. We created a whole new generation of humans. They have a special gene that gives them the ability to control a particular wolf.”

“Our goal was, one day, to make every wolf have a Master so that they could hunt with each other to control populations of game.“

"Because of this new change, things were going great. Overpopulated species declined greatly, making room for more of our creations.”

“Once everything was under control, wolves and their masters didn't have anything to do. So, we gathered all of the pairs together through their dreams, or state of unconsciousness.”

I felt myself trailing off from this history lesson, my headache slowly trying to creep its way into the forefront of my mind, but I try to hold patience. They continued.

“We told the humans that we could take away their wolves, since they didn't need them anymore. But, the humans did not want to give up their wolves, and the wolves did not want to leave the Master’s side.”

“The wolves said that they were willing to die for their Master’s, and that would be the only way they would continue on living. So, we gave them that luxury.”

I smiled a little. That’s cute.

A male voice, different from the rest (I think he would make voice number four?) continued on with the story.

“We have the wolves the ability to be humans with capabilities stronger than their masters, but adjacent to their species, so that they could protect their masters from predators such as other harmful humans, or wolves.”

And they look kinda cute that way, too. I thought. This made me smile.

"But, we didn't want to make things that easy for the humans, all that power over their companions plus their added quirks; the humans had something to aspire to be better for.”

My ears quirked a little. The woman’s voice speaks.

“We gave the wolves and human opposite personalities. We wanted them to see how well they could balance each other out, while still maintaining a strong relationship.”

“Some did excellent, knowing exactly what their companion needed to keep them strong and happy. But others did not.”

I c****d my head to the side and waited for them to continue. There was some mumbling behind the scenes, and then the booming male voice spoke up.

“The humans that did not make it were mauled to death.”

I gasped loudly. My hands began to shake and my voice trembled as I spoke up.

“What do you mean?”

The voice continued. “Through negligence, abuse towards the companion’s wolf or human form, or even an unstable relationship that causes the wolf to turn.”

"Oh." Is all I had to say to that.

“But…but why are you telling me all of this?”

“Because we’re trying to help you." The

woman’s voice says.

“So what your saying is, the way I treat Matt, Matt will behave accordingly?" I ask.

"More or less." They all say in unison once again.

A scruffy, older voice speaks up now.

"Now that that's out of the way, we'll move onto what's happening nowadays. Because the new generation of human species was mixed into normal human DNA, different amounts of the, we'll call it the "special gene", were in different amounts of people, which causes some of the gene to vary in the human population.”

“Somehow, your entire family tree has a fair amount the gene in them."

"Wow…"I murmur, actually pretty surprised at this fact.

"But..." The female voice says once again. "You, Saskia, have the greatest amount."

"Really?" I c**k my head to the side. “So, was this the reason why you brought me here? I have the highest amount of the gene in my family, and your afraid I’m gunna f**k up something in my genes or family lineage by dying at the hands of my own wolf?" I narrow my eyes, hoping for this all to be some sort of joke.

Matt will appear out of the snow somehow, all good to go and happy, and I will slap him for being so crazy and silly.

"Try the world. You are one of 4 people in the world to have the gene of the amount.”

My breathing stops.

"Oh." I whisper. My fantasy of Matt bursting from the snow slowly mirages back to him on the bed, bloody and alone.

"You are the highest percent out of the 4, which is why we needed to speak with you personally. You need to repopulate this gene back into society."

"This world is in desperate need, Saskia…" The woman’s voice trails off.

“Why so desperate?" I say, just as desperately.

"Well, it looks like a few of wolves figured out a loophole in our system.”

My eyebrow quirks. She continues.

“They figured out that you can kill their Master to have superiority over other’s with the gene. This could cause great turmoil in our creations, and the world.”

I try to catch the breathe that keeps trying to escape me. I think that they could sense my anxiety.

They continued.

“When wolves who have been in a bad relationship with their Master kill them, they become obsessed with it. With murdering. They get hooked on the authority they get from the kill, and they become obsessed with the power they have over people and Master’s, the tremendous and ever-growing strength…it’s like a drug to them.”

There was a pause.

“You burn exceptionally bright, Saskia. You have to be careful.”

Wait. I shake my head and hold up a finger to the sky, gesturing to ask a question.

"Can you tell if a wolf has this power?” I asked. Alex’s eyes…

"Yes. Usually in their physical features like patterns in their fur, mental illnesses like psychosis or mania, and sometimes-"

My ears perk up.

“Their voice tends to be sultry, smooth, almost trance like. Like a siren.”

My knees almost buckle beneath me. That cunning bastard…

"I think I might know a wolf with this power." I say sharply.

The chief with the booming voice answered just as sharp.

"Then you must kill him, before he robs you of more of your kind."

"Wait, kill him? I don't kill, first of all…" I start to say, but then stopped myself.

There's just no way I could do that to.

"Couldn't I ask Matt to just…?" I start to ask.

"Saskia. Don’t you think he’s had enough?” The scruffy male voice asks.

I turn my back towards the now snow-free screen. Matt, who was asleep in a tight ball, is quietly making small whimpering and groaning sounds from the pain that encompassed his body.

"No, no he doesn’t." I say softly, turning away from the display before I started to cry again.

"You must kill this wolf in his human form. He will be too strong for you as a wolf.” The gruff voice continued.

I just nod my head. There’s nothing to say anymore. There’s so much to think about, but my mind can only think of one thing right now, and that was Matt.

"So, that sums up everything we wanted to tell you. Now, you need to go fix your relationship with your companion before you end up dead.”

“Thanks for the encouragement.” I mumble under my breathe.

“Just fight Saskia, we believe in you.” Said the sweet sounding woman.

"I will try." I mutter, really nervous knowing now that losing my life could mean the loss of just about everything.

My family. My dogs. Matt…

"So, before we bring you back; do you have any more questions?" The female voice asks.

"Well it's not really a question, just a favor I guess." I ask while looking over my swollen hand.

"Ask away." The chiefs say in unison.

“Could you guys fix my wrist?"