“Hey, fatass, get back here! ” Conner shouted, taking off at full speed towards the woods. Luke had a head start, but Conner would catch up before he got too far. He would give that fat kid the beating of his life this time for sure!
Luke had been bullied for as long as he could remember. Terms like ‘fatso, lardass, tubby, and the like were frequent forms of mental abuse, though, eventually, Luke had learned to tolerate it. He was large, well over 50 pounds heavier than the recommended weight for a 14-year-old male. His absentee parents, always away at work, used material possessions to make up for the guilt they felt for not being present in their son’s life. They were fond of using food, particularly sugar and grease, as substitutes for their love. Even if he wanted to try to eat healthier food, which he had no access to, he craved the sugary goodness that became, in tandem with his ‘nerdy’ interests, his only pleasures in the world.
It made his school days a living hell, to be the butt of everyone’s ire, just based on who he was. Luke was considered to be a ‘gifted’ child, excelling at both math and literacy. Naturally, his peers took offense to it. Luke’s insistence at being respectful to his teachers got him labeled a “teacher’s pet. ” The bullies never left him off their radar, even if their jeers towards his physical attributes were not a factor. Luke quickly learned to keep quiet in class, though his eagerness for praise made it a difficult feat to constantly perform but also remain vigilantly silent.
His hobbies earned him no friends, either. Even since he could recall, he’d had a fascination with cryptozoology, animals and entities that were as of yet unnamed by science. His curiosity had been inspired by local legends of a being in the nearby woods, a glowing, feminine apparition that appeared before those before they went missing. It was all superstition, of course. Few people in town believed in such things. Still, it had inspired Luke to search out evidence of it and other legends he became aware of along the way. He had sadly learned to keep his hobby quiet after it became fodder for the teasing he’d experienced regularly.
Naturally, it was his demeanor and weight that made up the bulk of his tormenting. Yet as soon he seemed to adapt to one form of punishment, his bullies seemed to concoct some new horror to rouse his reactions. It began with simple dares, any friends he might have made being told to raise his hopes before leading him into an ambush. Even the most sympathetic people were under constant pressure to ostracize Luke’s presence, lest they receive even a fraction of bullying that Luke himself did. Things rose to the point of Luke being told to ‘kill himself’ that his life was worth nothing, and everyone at school would be happier if he was dead.
The taunting of his physical attributes paled in comparison to the slights against his perceived sexuality. At first, girls would ask him out, only to call him a fag when he turned them down. It didn’t matter that Luke knew they were being dared to do so: even though he told them he knew they didn’t even want to date him, that they would just laugh if he said yes, they still called him a faggot when he refused their obvious ruse. It hurt so much. Some of the guys were dared to do the same, threatened with being called fags or cowards (both of which were schoolyard suicide to a young man trying to build a reputation) themselves if they declined. It was always more humiliating to endure the prank from other guys. Worst of all for Luke, there was a good chance he might actually be gay. Even so, he would likely never have the opportunity to explore those feelings in his small, homophobic town. Even if there was another boy to share his curiosity, Luke was at the bottom of the pecking order. He was undesirable. A loser. A freak.
Conner, Oscar, and Quin were by far the worst offenders. All three were on the football team, the envy of the rest of the student body. Though their grades were lax, their prowess on the field made up for that and allowed them a pass required for their scholastic pursuits. In short, they were privileged. Privileged young men could do no wrong in Luke’s hometown, so long as they kept up the school’s win record. Even if his abuse was witnessed it was just chalked up to horseplay. Boys will be boys, after all. No one cared.
The list of tournaments they were not held accountable for was long. They had promising careers, so how could some little fat kid like Luke try to destroy their lives just because they played too rough with him? They were angels in their parents’ eyes and brilliant to their hometown’s desires for fame. The very notion that it was just “making a big deal over nothing” was what Luke found so painful, and they just continued to get away with it.
The trio’s history of harassment started with stealing, taking any money, toys, games, or books that Luke had thought comforting to bring with him to school. Never satisfied with destroying his stuff, the boys took their abuse steadily up in intensity. At first, it was humiliation in school: being forced headfirst into lockers, garbage cans, and even urinals and toilets. Once, they threw his book bag into the giant garbage bin out behind the school and left him to flounder through it to get it back. Another time, his head was forced into a broken urinal, pissed in by his bullies before using his hair to wipe the insides. Luke could vividly recall the misery of having to walk home crying from school, stinking of garbage or piss, and unable to explain his side without contradiction from the other three boys. His word against there’s, after all.
Luke didn’t think it could get much worse, yet his bullies were relentless. His tormentors went as far as to stalk Luke outside of school, hiding to throw garbage, rocks, and even bottles at him! Forced to trespass through people’s backyards just to avoid the telltale van as it rolled slowly along after him, Luke cursed his weight and the neighborhood who witnessed his torment but never, ever intervened.
The endless taunting and threats made Luke feel insignificant and small, unworthy to be in the presence of other humans. Of course, they never hit him directly, preferring their rocks and garbage as they hunted him down like prey even in their off-hours. Luke almost would have welcomed a physical beating, the undeniable proof of their abuse. Even so, he knew they would just lie and vouch for one another, get an uninvolved friend to say he’d seen them, and that they hadn’t done anything or that Luke had started it, and it was self-defense. Luke knew there was no hope. Even if they left bruises all over his body, it would be ignored as always.
So, Luke was alone, either bullied directly by a group of the more “popular” kids or ostracised by the rest of his classmates. It was a pitiful existence, made worse in that he had no escape. His family had no job prospects beyond the small town, and there were no other school districts where he could easily be transferred to without running into the same kids who hated him for the simple, cruel joy of it. The years of humiliation felt like an eternity to the fourteen-year-old.
Luke had no way to fight back. Any attempt to report the abuse was met with adamant denial by the staff. It was always a “his word against theirs,” with no one to back Luke’s side. All of the students kept quiet for their own safety. It was ‘keep quiet and stay popular’ or ‘speak up and lose the protection of being in the popular kids’ good graces’. Being in the “in” group was a powerful motivation to lie. Besides, who would willingly want to be Luke Number Two? It was friendship, safety, and the promise of a social life versus getting labeled a fat, loser faggot. There was no contest.
Luke wished daily for a chance at revenge. He dreamed about it, fantasized about seizing his moment and making his tormentors cry all of the collective tears he’d wept. Enough to fill a lake, he thought. The chance arose one day, almost as if by fate, to finally enact some justice. He was well aware, as was the majority of the student body, that the three jocks often partook in weed and booze. While not unusual, it was something that the facility could not tolerate from their athletes, something that would bar them from premises-bound games. Though their chosen spot was beyond Luke’s knowledge, he happened to one day overhear his grandfather complaining about “Kids over in his fields smoking up. ” As luck would have it, a few hours of teaching his grandpa how to work a phone camera, and it was only a matter of time before his old man would catch them in the act. The promise of the photographic evidence being a more powerful deterrent than anything he could yell at them was so tantalizingly close to being his!
Victory in hand, Luke presented the facility with the photograph. Several booze bottles were in the shots, and what could easily be inferred as cigarettes or joints in the kids’ hands as they glared in anger at the old geezer that was encroaching on their buzz. Soon after, the trio was called into the office, and to Luke’s unexpected delight, they were kicked off the team, and even temporarily suspended! It was better than any high knowing sweet vengeance had been his. He’d wished they’d been expelled, and he’d never have had to see them again, but honestly, just knowing they weren’t untouchable felt so good.
Luke’s retribution had been short-lived, however. The rumors quickly circulated about his involvement with the incident, as much as he tried to keep it secret. He was almost prepared to take the beating, just to get them off his back. But it never came. All week, the three bullies were suspended, allowing Luke some room to breathe. Yet, a quiet tension lingered in the empty spaces the trio used to occupy, almost as if an unspoken promise was etched in the air that they would be back. Even so, he was finally able to stay in the library, out of sight to allow him the meager pleasures of academic life for even just a short reprieve.
Lost in his book, Luke had disregarded the time in an escape to a far off fantasy. Even in his current tale, one where a man turning into a wolf lay waste to a village who had slain his family, Luke felt some level of kinship with the antagonist. Even as a beast, he’d been granted the revenge he so desperately deserved. Hundreds of years later, a descendant of the man dealing with the same curse was tempted to seek revenge on the school bullies that had abused him. How Luke dreamed of such a thing in real life! To be able to slip out of his human failings and into the liquid muscle of a powerful wolf!
After a while of being lost to his fantasies, the shifting shadows and growing silence alerted Luke that something was wrong. He got up, walking over to the clock with a gasp of horror. Not only was school over, but Luke had missed his bus! Without a cellphone, he’d have to hoof it home. A mile didn’t seem like much, but Luke was very overweight, and he’d be chafed and sore from sweating and rubbing his thighs together in his clothes.
Luke decided in vain to check around the schoolyard, hoping that someone was still around to give him a ride, but there were no cars in the lot, and all access to landlines was locked behind office doors. He didn’t have any way to contact his parents without walking towards town. He sighed audibly, cursing his luck as he kicked an errant can in the parking lot.
As he walked out into the fading light, a familiar piercing laugh hit his ears. He felt his heart plummet into his guts. Like a rabbit caught in a trap, he looked back to see his least favorite people at the other end of the parking lot, slowly advancing on his position. They walked as if they had all the time in the world. At this point in the day, all of the other teachers and faculty had gone home for the day. None of them were supposed to be on school property, and no one would be around to provide him with any support!
“Fight me, faggot! ” Conner yelled, brandishing his knife as it glittered in the sun. He had a crazed smile on his face as he opened his arms wide in an invitation for Luke to attack.
The sight of the weapon made Luke’s blood run cold. He knew there might be repercussions for getting his bullies in trouble, but never expected to be threatened with his life. Were they actually going to kill him?
He didn’t have time to question or ask. He had to get the hell away from there, from whatever it was they were planning. His life could be… no, definitely was in danger.
Luke raced into the woods surrounding his school, his only potential escape. He was too far away for help. Old fears of this place haunted him as he entered the trails, knowing of the legends that surrounded them. Though many had walked the paths before with no ill befalling them, there were a few instances where someone would report lights and others where someone went missing who had been known to travel the woods. Luke had even enjoyed a tale or two where the missing victim had been chasing or assaulting someone else. But that kind of poetic justice was too much to hope for. Right now, Luke’s thoughts were focused only on escape.
His pants and shirt were torn from branches as he ran off the trails. Nearly tripping over debris on the forest floor, he was huffing and sweaty and on the verge of collapse within even the first thirty seconds. He cursed his weight and the effort it took to do the things others found easy. But he had to keep going. He didn’t know if they would kill him, dismember him, or just carve their names into his skin, but they had lost the most important thing to them: their spotless records. They were crazed, desperate. Luke didn’t want to imagine what they were capable of in such a state!
Rage filled Conner’s eyes as he hit the tree line, gazing around the woods for any trace of his prey. Repercussions be damned. If he didn’t have a spot on the team, then what the fuck was he going to do with his life? Failing grades and going home to his father yet again beating the everloving shit out of him, Conner Conner knew he might as well take whatever opportunity for vengeance he could get when he was already in so much trouble anyway. In his mind, he’d already lost everything. What was teaching the little fag pig a lesson going to add to it? .
He wasn’t going to kill the kid. No, being sent to juvie aside, it wouldn’t get his point across. He wanted the kid to live with the knowledge of his place in the world. A fatass faggot like that should be under the heel of a star like him. A star that Conner would eventually be again. Soon the school would recognize the necessity of his position on the team, especially in the more competitive leagues he would qualify them for as he advanced in high school.
Oscar and Quin weren’t exactly on board. Beating the kid was one thing, but stabbing him? Cutting him? They hoped that Conner had no intention to do anything else but carve the word ‘“faggot” into the fat kid’s belly as he’d planned. But they didn’t have any choice. Conner was their leader, after all, and pissing him off might have Conner turn on them. Despite their number, Conner was the biggest of the three. He had the weapon and might be in a crazy enough state to try such a thing. And besides, they felt some rage towards the little fat kid that had fucked things up for them, even if not to the level Conner was taking it.
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Unbeknownst to the four young men, the glow of an extra-dimensional entity floated above, eyeing the sight of their presence with a mixture of curiosity and ire. So few humans trespassed on her domain, and when they were unfortunately present during one of her limited periods of wakefulness, they were privy to her whims, as demented as they could be considered.
Her personal preference was to punish perpetrators by pulling away their humanity. If they sought to enter her domain, she would make them part of it, relishing in the screams of their frayed psyches.
It has been so many years since she last caught an unfortunate interloper invading her space. Now low and behold, she was encountering four in one day! She could change them all, making them unaware of the process until it was too late, as was her preference. But with so many gathered, it might be more amusing to change them one by one, as each watched in fear before learning their own fate. This was to be a most pleasurable experience.
Slowly, the unnamed entity opened her mind to the thoughts of the four young boys, reading them the way humans read written words. She would delve into their deepest depravities, finding the most twisted forms to bend their bones into as their cries of agony satisfied her demented desires.
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Luke puffed and panted, knowing his pursuers were closing in. He had run far faster than he’d expected he would, and perhaps if he was able to push himself farther, he might actually escape his tormentors, at least for today. But he was done. His sweat-soaked body ached and cried out for mercy. He nearly collapsed as a sharp shooting pain ran through his chest, making him wheeze and spit up bile. A single, thick branch sent him flying forward, forcing the air from his lungs as he hit the soiled ground hard.
His world went black for a moment, and Luke was terrified that he might have given himself a concussion, but the pain seemed centered on his stiff muscles and strained chest. thankfully, he didn’t have a headache. He had averted any serious injury from the fall, at least, but there was no telling what would happen when his pursuers caught up with him.
He raised his head, looking around to see if they were closing in. So far, it didn’t sound as though they were right behind him, but Luke’s face rose to a world that was a far cry from the late afternoon sun of the woods he had escaped into. He could hardly see the treetops through a dense fog that had settled over the forest. The somewhat familiar trail he had run into was gone, and Luke found himself surrounded by strange trees, perfectly spaced gnarled branches that extended as far as he could see in the gloom. Luke was no expert, but it seems as though these trees did not belong in the forest that he had entered.
Still, he had little time to reflect further on the trees as a pair of strong hands grabbed him and forced him onto his knees. He’d had no warning, and it seemed not only had his pursuers been nearby, but their rage had overridden any fear from being in an unfamiliar place.
“Hold him! ” Conner ordered, a wide grin on his face as he once more brandished the knife that had sent such fear through Luke’s body.
“No! No, stop! ” Luke squealed, wanting desperately to be anywhere but where he was. He was powerless to escape in the face of the three.
“Shut up, fag. ” Conner spat, the hatred and disgust playing over his features as he allowed the handle of the knife to dance through his fingers. “I’m going to teach you a fucking lesson about being a fucking snitch, you squealing, fat, pig bitch. ”
Luke’s cries were inaudible, snot dribbling down his face and mixing with the tears cascading down his chubby cheeks. “Hey, don’t worry too much, lard ass! We ain’t gonna kill ya! Well, I mean, I wasn’t going to. ” Conner said, glancing toward the alien sky with a look of contemplation that made Luke cry out in terror. They were going to kill him!
“No, no, no. Killing you wouldn’t be fun! Tell you what. I’m just gonna brand you a little! You know, like the fat little piggy bitch you are! ” Conner declared as he reached down to pull up the boy’s sweat-soaked shirt.
“What do you think of this? Maybe I’ll carve the word “faggot” in big letters on your fat fucking gut, huh? Mark you as a fag! If everyone knows you’re a faggot then we can call you a piggy because of how much you squeal! WRREETTTT WRREEETT! ” He yelled, mocking the boy’s cries by mimicking a pig’s squeal. Luke sobbed. It was too much to even imagine. If he even survived, how would he ever live with it?
Luke kicked and screamed but was helpless as the two boys held him firm for Conner. Conner took his time, making fake slashes and thrusts with the weapon before bringing it close to his prey. They were alone in the woods, and Conner intended to savor the moment as he brought the knife down. Luke squirmed a little, feeling the tip of the cool metal tease over his skin. He could only manage to whine out a desperate and feeble “no! ”
All of a sudden, Quin let go, his arms shaking as though something had bitten him. “What the hell… Ah! ” he cried, pulling his hands back. The other three boys, Luke included, looked to see the pained expression on Quin’s face as his eyes closed, and spasms wracked his body. Luke couldn’t be sure, but there had been a flash of brown as Quin pulled his hands away.
Oscar had let go of Luke’s arm by now, and Luke knew he should run… but something kept him rooted to the spot as he stared at the agony on his tormenter’s face. Quin’s teeth were clenched, and as Luke stared at him, it seemed as though his front teeth were getting… larger? His front incisors started thickening, their square tips darkened from their off-white shade to yellow to orange.
They quickly became larger than his lips would allow, and Quin raised a hand to touch them, only to be further startled by the sight of his hand. The back of it was covered with brown fur, but that was the least of his worries. His fingers were shorter, blunt nails sticking out from them as thick pads grew from the flesh of his skin. It was obvious that Quin was trying to flex them, shaking his hand as they seemed to shrink in comparison to his arm. Soon his fingers, in particular his thumbs, were mere stubs sat upon arms that were steadily shrinking and covered with brown fur. He had the paws of an animal!
All three of them stared in stunned silence as fur ran up his arm, towards his shoulders, and under his shirt. Quin tried to pull it up to see his belly, but the fingers on his other arm were undergoing the same fate, and he had no grip with the useless appendages. Still, he was not to be trapped as his clothing seemed to sag over him, already several sizes too much for his shrinking body. The other three boys could easily see more brown fur sprouting from the skin wherever the billowing clothes exposed it.
“What the fuck… help meeeeeee! “Quin bleated, his voice suddenly sounding inhuman. He tried to raise his paws to cover his mouth but could hardly rotate his hands as his cheeks puffed out, adorned with thick whiskers.
The contours of his face continued altering, the same brown fur accenting his cheeks before running up his face to merge with his hair. Slowly, his ears, now long, rose well above his head and began swerving back and forth independently. His nose, too, started to twitch, flattening into his face as his jaw continued to press forward. Even his changing eyes could not hide the expression of pure terror on his face, beady though they were. It was obvious the boy was turning into a rabbit!
Oscar reached out to touch him, but his own hands were suddenly overcome with change. The digits darkened to black as his nails pressed outward into a blunt set of claws. His hands seemed to shrink as well, giving him a tiny pair of paws that Luke now recognized belonged to a rabbit as well. It was clear he was changing too, making the remaining boy’s blood run cold.
Oscar cried out suddenly as he reached down to take off his shoes, his feet seemingly too large in the runners. Luke could see the heel pressing against the back of the shoe, evidently growing to match his human proportions. Yet his hands no longer worked, and he winced as his massive rabbit feet burst out of the confining runners.
The pain of his growing feet did little to distract from an ache in his back as Oscar reached for it, obviously restricted by his compressing chest. From his contracting body, it was not hard for everyone present to see the puffy tail sticking out above his rump, evidently painfully pressing out his spine. He seemed to be able to move it, even as his back hunched and continued to shrink.
Quin was on the ground now, falling into his clothes as the horrific changes washed over him. Thankfully, his feet had shrunk before they could pressure his shoes, though it was a small reprieve in the face of the transformation itself. Even as his body continued to diminish, Luke couldn’t help but notice that the boy’s muscled frame was filling out with fat, even beyond what he might have expected in a bunny. Even as Quin’s body shrank, his stomach continued to balloon outward, and any notions of vengeance Luke might have harbored were lost in the terror of the sight.
In less than five minutes, nothing was left of the young man Quin other than a common brown snowshoe hare. His rabbit nose twitched in fear from his size; he was by far the smallest and weakest of those gathered. And oh, he was fat; his rabbit body holding more weight than was natural for a creature of his size. He knew he could run but wasn’t sure he could make it very far if needed. And worst of all, whatever magic had changed him left him rooted to the spot with an all too human mind.
Oscar seemed soon to follow, using what was left of his voice to beg for mercy from whatever force saw fit to change him, but it did stop his nose from flattening, his buck teeth jutting out embarrassingly before his muzzle could cover them. Like Quin, his belly bloated out with fat, even as he shrank into lapine proportions. He, too, kept the expression of pure terror on his beady bunny eyes as his skull shrank and his ears curved. The new hare sat still in his clothes, evidently as frozen as his buddy. From the expression still plastered on both their lapine faces, it was clear their minds were still present, likely trying to process the horrific transformation.
Conner stared down at what remained of his entourage before he felt an uncomfortable bloating in his own stomach. He reached down to rub the skin before letting out a rather loud and uncomfortable burst of flatulence. Embarrassed, his hands left his stomach, even as it grew large enough to pull up his shirt, exposing the pallid, sweatless skin beneath.
A tingling in his ears drew his attention upward, and his hands played over the hot, now hairless crown of his head as his hair fell away, leaving him bald. All the while, his body was ballooning up with fat, and his chest and neck pressing outward. Luke was rather surprised to see the once worshipped athletic body being swallowed up by the obese figure that was clearly so different from the bunnies his friends had become.
“No! Stop, please! I don’t wanna WRRREEEEETT! ” Conner tried to yell, but his words were cut short as his throat altered too much to allow human speech. He raced to put his hands over his mouth but was not fast enough to cover how upturned his nose had become or how two of his incisors began pressing from his puckered lips.
All the while, his body continued to expand, putting on fat faster than his teenage body could support it. His ass, in particular, was stretching the waistband of his shorts painfully tight. Though Luke didn’t want to look, he couldn’t help but stare at the curly tail that seemed to erupt from his spine.
Much to Luke’s disgust, he got another whiff of Conner’s flatulence just before the backs of the pants were stained with feces. Luke finally tore his gaze away, not wanting to watch even his bully give into animalistic urges. From the look of red on Conner’s face, Luke could tell that the action was involuntary. The shame was not lost even as his cheeks fattened, and his skull sloped to better support his growing muzzle. Luke was reminded of the time he’d been pushed into the filthy urinal or the trash bin, though was unable to enjoy the justice under the bizarre circumstance he was witness to.
The changes continued to play over Conner’s fat body as his shirt was pulled painfully over his entire frame. His flabby pecs were clearly visible through the fabric, and Luke could even see that lines of porcine nipples running down the contours of his belly. All the muscle Conner had spent his life working to perfect was lost in the blink of an eye. Had Luke not been so terrified, he might have considered it a fitting punishment.
Conner tried desperately to remove his shirt, but his stiffening fingers, in tandem with the tightness of the fabric, made it an impossible task. Conner ceased his attempts as keratin covered two of the digits, and the others either rotated to the front of his hands or disappeared entirely. Within minutes, he was left staring at a pair of perfect pig trotters. His loose shoes were an indication that his feet were undergoing a similar transformation, supported by his change in stance, making it evident that Conner would not last on two legs much longer.
A loud tearing resounded as the pig-boy’s ass split his pants apart, leaving the soiled clothes to fall to the ground. Even with his expanding ham hocks, his shorts were able to slide off his form easily. His fattening thighs, merging with his growing belly, were sufficient to force him to the ground with a squeal. His rear trotters fell out of the shoes, heels stretching to support his girth as his spine extended. His shoulders sank into his barreling trunk until his body was forced on all fours forever.
“RRREEEELLLPPP WWWRRRRREEEET” *snort* *grunt* Conner tried to yell for help, but his voice was far too warped to make human sounds anymore.
The stinking hog, formerly a star athlete, looked up at his bully-victim with beady eyes. Even through his porcine features, Luke could see the pleading expression and knew that the boy’s mind was still in there somewhere. There was some poetic justice in the formerly muscled jock being the very pig he had always taunted Luke for being. But such things did not happen naturally and left Luke more terrified than overjoyed at contemplating whatever process could do this to a human.
Conner, the pig, seemed unable to move, much as the bunnies that had become of his friends. Whatever spell had robbed them of their humanity seemed intent on having them present until it had run its course. Luke had a frightening feeling that their lack of mobility meant the process was not finished, and the only one who remained to be changed was himself.
Still gazing at what had become of his bullies, Luke was barely aware when an intense itching started covering his own arms. His entire body went cold as a series of pangs wracked his chest and body. He cried out, feeling his frame shifting. The aches centered on his fingers and toes, a dull thrumming as they altered from their human shape. Luke didn’t need to see his growing gray fur or sprouting claws to know that he was changing too!
Luke wanted to run but clearly knew that it would not save him, so he stood there and let come what may. Curiosity won out, and being only in the presence of the boys-turned-animals, he stripped off his clothes to watch the process. He looked down, almost fascinated as a lighter layer of white fur covered his belly and coarse gray fur lanced around his sides and shoulders. Luke was glad that whatever force that was transforming him saw fit to protect his modesty. He was unable to see anything downstairs, save for a swath of fur covering the area much like it was covering the rest of him.
Still, it would not be preserving his humanity as Luke felt his fingers stiffen and shrink, pulling into his hands until only stubby claws remained, rough paw pads the only traces of skin. The same was happening to his feet, and Luke knew that he would soon no longer be able to stand on two legs, his foot paws and stature unable to support such locomotion.
Yet one thing did seem to be unexpected. Luke figured, being so fat, he would turn into something disgusting, like a fat hog or cow or something similar to the former jocks. But, instead, Luke felt his fat evaporating under the flesh, leaving only lean muscle to stretch from his belly. Though his arms were shrinking, shoulders sinking into his barreling chest, he could feel the strength as his hunched shoulders expanded inside his powerful frame.
He was already so much larger than even his human self, and he continued to expand, in particular around his skull, which was now only just starting to warp his human visage. His jaw became thick and heavy as it cracked forward, and his teeth shifted sharper even as a flat tongue curved around them. His neck thickened as well, its expanding muscle needed to work such a jaw as the one that was to adorn his face.
Even before the changes were completed, Luke already knew what was happening. It had been so fresh on his thoughts, after all. And it seemed to be progressing how he’d always imagined it might. Though in this case, as his pelvis realigned and he lowered himself onto his new front paws, he knew he would be a complete animal, not one that stayed on two legs in memory of its former shape. Somehow, that notion sat well with Luke. The less chance Luke would have to return to his human life, the happier he became.
As if to confirm his suspicion, he could see his blackened nose stretch before his face, sniffing the air as if for the first time. He could feel his ears growing pointed atop his head, swiveling this way and that. His body was heavy, firmly planted on all fours as he continued to grow. Something twitched behind him, and if Luke tried, he could move it, wagging his new tail as a dog might.
At last, the warm tingling of transformation faded, and Luke knew it was over. The new, muscled wolf licked his lips as he stared in eagerness at the frightening prey animals before him. Luke still retained a bit of himself, just enough for him to enjoy this role reversal. It reminded him much of the story he’d read, the idea of becoming a wolf to take vengeance on his tormentors vastly appealing. And the forms that his bullies had taken on would allow Luke the retribution he’d craved all these long years.
Now Conner couldn’t hurt him or threaten him when he, Luke, was the one with a mouth full of knives.
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The extra-dimensional entity floated up in the air to watch the new beasts running for their lives as her wolf prepared to hunt. She figured it fitting to leave their fates to the bullied human. If he decided to spare their lives, their overweight, unhealthy bodies would not last long in the merciless forest. But that was his business now. She liked it best that way. Set events in motion, and let nature take its course, as it were. It would surely give her hours of entertainment! Well, minutes at least. Perhaps she’d made them too fat.
Smiling, the entity looked upon her work, marveling especially at the new wolf she had created. She had intended something more malicious for all four of them, but after reading the tormented boy’s thoughts, she felt enough compassion to select a different fate for him. She could not let him leave as a human; no one was granted that reprieve in her presence. But she strongly felt that after presenting her gift, the boy would no longer wish to return to the world of man. The idea was so firmly at the forefront of the boy’s thoughts, it was impossible not to grant him that wish. And the idea of watching him take his justice was far too poetic a prospect to pass up.
The bumbling bunnies would likely get away for the time being. They were mostly compliant in their leader’s activities. Living their lives as helpless prey animals was sufficient punishment. Though, their affinity for calling their victim a ‘faggot’ was not lost on her ears. They would quickly find their enhanced lapine hormones lusted only for each other and would have to deal with the inferred shame of only mating with males. At least they would have the comfort of each other’s bodies to lead them into their new lives.
Their porcine leader was not so lucky. The entity would have seen it fit to change the former boy’s sexuality as well, but she doubted he would live long enough for it to matter. A pig had been a fitting choice, given how he had referred to his victim all those times. And not just any pig. A true hog would not be helpless. Tusks and hooves and an aggressive demeanor made hogs dangerous prey, and even a wolf would find some risk in taking one on. But not this one. With no instincts to guide him, and his body vastly overweight, the former boy was well at the mercy of whatever the wolf saw fit to do with him!
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As though finally realizing they were in the presence of an apex predator, the three prey creatures discovered they could run. The two hares tore off in the same direction, bolting through the underbrush to look for a hole in the ground to hide from the wolf that would find them a worthy meal. It was awkward, their minds too afraid to access the instincts of the beasts they’d become. Yet, at least their legs were fast, and though their bellies were fat and they were soon out of breath, the fear pumped enough adrenaline to keep them moving. They would burn off all those extra calories quickly, assuming they lived that long!
Conner, too, tried to run but managed to trip on his new trotters as he struggled to get back up on all fours. Unlike the others, he received no instincts on how to properly use his new porcine body, and his human mind struggled in vain against the confines of his changed anatomy. Even if he had, his mind would not be accustomed to such a harsh forest, and he would have no place to run or hide to escape his predator. Conner writhed and squealed, but only managed to thrash a few inches away from the wolf that was now staring at him with murderous intent.
Luke, meanwhile, allowed the lupine instincts to slowly creep into his mind. The scent of his scared prey was more appetizing than any buffet. Soon, he would leave here in search of a different meal. Perhaps a real wolf would eat his kill, but Luke had enough humanity to know that torturing his former bullies would be a far more fitting fate. He would not allow them to get off easily. And besides, with how fat Conner had become, Luke was sure that he would never get far enough away to avoid his predatory senses.
Letting out a low growl that caused Conner to piss himself, Luke lowered his muzzle to lick the chubby neck of his once-proud tormentor. He reveled in the position of power, savoring the delicious porcine squeal as he gently leaned in, biting ever so slightly. His deadly fangs pierced the pallid pig flesh, just enough to draw a few drops of blood. The new wolf lapped at it fervently, enjoying the salty flavor as Conner screamed his protest and panic. The first loss of blood was only a prelude to what the wolf would eventually do to the boy who had made his life a living hell.
And what hell could be greater than living in squalor, having small bits of your body eaten away until hunger and the elements robbed you of any chance at life?
What a hell it would be for Conner and his friends to beg for mercy from the one they had taught so well to never, ever grant it.