Pain was the first thing I knew. Not sharp or clean, but deep and constant, like every muscle in my body had been pushed too far and then left to stiffen. It wasn't just one place, it was everywhere.
My body is sore. Everything is sore.
"What the fuck…" My voice came out rough, dry, and unfamiliar.
I forced my eyes open, expecting blinding white light, sterile walls, and the steady beeping of hospital machines. Instead, I was staring at mountains. Massive ones stretched across the horizon, with thick trees surrounding me on all sides. The air smelled like pine and damp earth, fresh, clean, and completely wrong.
"…What?"
My head throbbed, a sharp pulse cutting through my confusion. "Fuck… my head…"
I tried to sit up, but the world tilted hard, like I had just been spun in circles. My body didn't respond the way it should have. My muscles felt off, uncoordinated, like I had to consciously think through every movement.
I stayed still for a moment, breathing slowly, trying to get control again.
Where am I?
The last thing I remembered came rushing back. HQ, the hallway, the door, the knife.
"Shit…"
I forced myself to focus. Panic wouldn't help. It never did. Think. Assess. Adapt. That's what I was trained to do. Even now. Even like this.
That's when I heard it, a faint, steady rushing sound somewhere nearby.
Water.
My throat tightened painfully. I hadn't even noticed it before, but now it was overwhelming. Dry. So dry it hurt to swallow.
"I need… water…"
I tried to stand, but my legs immediately gave out beneath me.
"Ouch, mother fu!" I hit the ground hard, the impact knocking the breath out of me.
"…Fuck this."
Something was seriously wrong. My legs didn't feel right. Nothing felt right.
"Help," I called out, my voice weak.
Silence answered me. No voices, no movement, just wind through the trees and the distant sound of running water.
"…Yeah. Didn't think so."
I clenched my jaw and pushed myself up again, this time onto my hands. Even that felt strange, but I ignored it. One problem at a time.
Water first.
I moved forward, clumsy and uncoordinated. Within seconds, I tripped over a bush and slammed face-first into the ground again.
"Son of a bitch!"
Groaning, I lifted my head and saw it.
The river.
Clear water, moving steadily just ahead of me.
Relief hit instantly. "Okay… okay… I can do this…"
Walking clearly wasn't working, so I adapted. I dropped lower and started crawling. It felt awkward at first, but quickly it became easier. Smoother. More natural. I didn't have time to question it as I pushed forward.
Within a few minutes, I reached the riverbank.
"Haa… shit…"
I didn't hesitate. I leaned down and drank.
Cold water flooded my mouth, clean and sharp. It was easily the best water I had ever tasted. No contest.
"Ah… thank God…"
I drank deeply until the dryness faded and the pounding in my head eased just a little. Even my thoughts felt clearer.
A little.
I lifted my head and looked around. "ANYONE THERE?!"
My voice echoed faintly through the trees, but no one answered.
"…Yeah. Figures."
I sat back awkwardly and frowned. "Alright… let's figure out what the hell is going on…"
I looked down at myself. At first, my brain tried to interpret what I was seeing as clothing. A coat, maybe.
"Fuck this," I muttered. "I'm taking this off."
I reached for it, then paused.
"…Where's the zipper?"
My hands moved across my torso. No seams. No edges. No separation between "clothing" and skin.
"What the fuck…"
I lifted my hand in front of my face and froze.
Four fingers.
"…No."
I stared at them, my heart starting to pound.
"What…?"
I flexed them. They moved perfectly. No pain, no numbness, no missing sensation.
Just four fingers.
"That's not how that works…"
My breathing picked up. Amputees still felt missing limbs, I knew that. This wasn't that.
"Ouch, motherfucker!"
I jerked as something poked into me. Twisting awkwardly, I tried to see what I had sat on.
"…Oh."
I blinked slowly.
"…It's just my—"
My brain caught up.
"…my tail."
Silence.
My hand moved behind me cautiously, almost afraid of what I might find. I touched it.
Soft. Warm. Alive.
It twitched.
I froze. "I can feel that."
My voice dropped, almost calm, too calm.
I grabbed it, running my hands along it. It moved again, reacting to my touch.
"HOLY SHIT!"
I jerked backward and fell, pain shooting up my back as I hit the ground.
"Nope. Nope. Nope."
My breathing turned sharp and fast. "This isn't happening."
I scrambled toward the river. "I'm checking. I'm checking right now."
Leaning over the water, I looked down.
Everything stopped.
Staring back at me was a panther. Jet black fur, sleek and powerful, with eyes wide with panic.
My eyes.
And wings, large, dark wings folded along my back.
"…No."
I blinked. It blinked. I moved. It moved.
"No, no, no…"
I pawed at myself frantically. "This is a suit. This is a suit. Where's the zipper?!"
My claws dragged through thick fur.
Real. Attached.
"I'm a panther."
The words came out slowly.
Heavy.
"Yeah… I'm a panther…"
My voice trembled slightly.
"…with wings."
Silence stretched around me.
Then I shook my head hard.
"Nope."
"This is a coma."
Relief flooded in as my brain latched onto the explanation. "Yes. That's it. I got stabbed. I'm in a hospital bed somewhere, and this is just my brain being an asshole."
I nodded, convincing myself.
"There is no other explanation."
The tension drained out of me all at once, replaced by exhaustion.
"I'll just… lay here…"
I lowered myself to the ground.
"…and wait."
The river flowed beside me. The wind moved through the trees.
And I, Specialist Alice Morgan, soldier, human, did what any sane person would do after waking up as a winged panther in the middle of nowhere.
I fainted.