I was so excited I was barely paying attention to where I was going. When I finally stopped, I realized I had no idea where I was. I had found myself in a clearing edged with dangerous looking brambles and thorny vines. I had managed to come through the only area that wasn’t covered in sharp plants. Something was off about this place though. There was a weird smell in the air. It was strong, I followed my new nose trying to figure out what the smell lead to when I almost ran into a weird patch of brambles.

The rest of the clearing had greenish-purple brambles, but here the brambles were bright purple. The smell got sweeter the closer I got to the plant. It just seemed so inviting. The smell was so strong now, I could feel myself salivating all over my front paws. I couldn’t take my eyes off the plant. Large purple flowers were all around me. All of them letting out that sweet scent. Their soft petals looking so enticing I get closer and my nose touches the tip of one of the flowers petals. The flower secretes some sort of fluid that makes my muzzle go numb. At this point I don’t care, all I can think about is that smell and the pretty color of the flowers.

WARNING – WARNING – WARNING

You are under the influence a harmful substance

Losing Biomass

WARNING – WARNING – WARNING

These annoying windows have been popping up for a little while now, but they block my vision so I can’t see the flowers, so I dismiss them as they come up. Then they come up faster and faster till they completely block the flowers from my view. They start re-appearing faster than I can dismiss them. It isn’t until all my attention is on the windows that I actually read what they say and realize what I’m doing. The scent is still strong and overpowering most of my senses, but I fight to maintain control of my body. I will my legs to move and try to back away from the flowers. My legs move slowly like I carried a mountain on my shoulders. Moving just my legs took forever but it was all I could focus on. That smell was clouding my head. ‘Wait a minute…. I’m a shapeshifter!’

Fighting against the influence of the scent and the pretty flowers I managed to get back enough function of my brain to remember this important fact. Immediately I breathe out and then absorb my respiratory system. No longer needing to breathe lets me slowly work the stuff out of my body.

It was slowly getting easier to think and something things started becoming apparent.

I was being eaten.

The flowers had grown teeth and were ripping chunks out of my body. The clearer my head got the more pain I felt.

I started thrashing, ripping off the thick vines and roots that had started growing around my body with my fangs. Clawing at the flowers and desperately trying to escape the carnivorous plant I fought with everything I had. Using my back leg to tear through a particularly resilient vine I was free.

I ran out of the clearing and far away from that monster as fast as I could. My vision was a little cloudy and my body was practically torn to shreds. I ran until I collapsed next to a large cave opening. The agonizing pain and the window blinking in front of me made it impossible to rest.

Warning – Warning – Warning

Biomass low

Body damage surpassing 70%

Recommendation:

Enter recovery mode to repair

Warning – Warning – Warning

I had no idea what would happen when using this ‘recovery mode’ but I would rather not die. So, I dragged myself into the cave mouth to get some shelter. It led to a small room with an opening that led further into the cave. I limped to a corner and curled up.

‘Recovery mode’

Would you like to enter recovery mode?

Yes/No

‘Yes’

I lost consciousness immediately.

__________________________________

I fixed my tie for the thirtieth time before getting off the bus. This was the fifth interview I have gone to this month. No one would hire me though. I didn’t understand what I was doing wrong. I graduated from college with pretty good grades in everything. I walked towards Grump Towers to try and get a job. It was a large skyscraper run by a family owned conglomerate. The tower was a large monstrosity of steel and plasti-glass with an American flag hanging on the front. There was a rumor that one of the members of the Grump family was actually president. No one believed that rumor though.

I passed by the spinning doors and entered the building. Trying not to get distracted by the gaudy decorations I walked straight to the front desk and introduced myself.

“Hello, my name is A-Adam and I am here for the i-interview?” I stammered to the lady barely looking at me from behind the desk.

“Take the elevator to the 2nd floor, it’ll be the fifth door on your right.” She said before going back to completely ignoring me again.

I thanked the lady before walking over to the elevators on the right and pressing the call button. It didn’t take long for the elevator to come. I entered and took another deep breath to calm myself. I didn’t want to stammer again when I actually meet the person for the interview. I unconsciously straightened my tie again before I pressed the second-floor button.

________________________________________

I could feel the sensation come back to my body and all the pain I felt was gone. I opened my eyes and looked around. Everything seemed a little bit blurry. I stood up and had a good stretch and then walked outside. The cave mouth looked a lot bigger last night, but I was also in lots of pain and my head was still a tiny bit cloudy from that stuff the plant secreted.

I look down at my paws and gasp. They had shrunk!

Before I could even process this a window popped up.

Notice

Biomass required for healing insufficient

Form has been reduced to

‘Dire wolf Pup’

Extra biomass was used for repair

Recovery mode deactivated because injuries have been healed

Congratulations!