Another story that I've posted on another site, under the name A. Kent, but couldn't seem to finish. And I really like it, so I want to finish it.

Chapter 1
Caught

I walked behind Ryan following the twisting, muddy path through the woods. He broke the pine branches that blocked the path, making it easier for me to follow along. My brother was a year younger than I was, but you couldn't tell that by looking at us. He was tall and well built, he looked like he was seventeen, and it was disturbing hearing the girls at our school talking about how dreamy he was. Whereas I was the tall, scrawny, sixteen year old brother, with short curly hair, who everyone thought was gay, and had lots of friends who were girls who liked me because I was safe and friendly.

“Ryan, how much further is it?” I asked, getting my hand covered in sap as I grabbed a thin tree trunk to step over a fallen log.

He pointed up the path which seemed to go up a hill at a 90 degree angle. “It's just up this hill, Anthony,” he said. “Believe me it's worth the climb.”

Wiping the sweat from my forehead I slowly followed him. Even in my shorts and t-shirt, with about a litre of bug spray, the august weather was hot. This had better be worth I thought, there was a nice deserted beach, with a cool breeze and a clean lake waiting for me back at Grandma and Grandpa's cottage. But Ryan had seemed so excited about some old carved stones he'd discovered, that I'd finally agreed to follow him. As the mosquito's swarmed us, despite the bug spray I was rapidly regretting my decision.

I fell twice going up the hill, coating my hands and legs in the the black mud of northwestern Ontario. Combined with the pine sap already covering me, I was going to kill my brother slowly and painfully if this wasn't the most amazing thing in the world. He was already halfway down the ridge on the other side when I made it to the top. He waved at me and pointed at a ring of granite boulders in the center of a clearing. It looked odd.

By the time I made it down the ridge, I was ready to sit down and take a break. Taking a drink from my almost empty water bottle, I staggered over to Ryan and his rocks. I had to admit they did look cool.

The clearing was surrounded by tree's, you could only really see the rocks from the very top of the ridge, or by standing right on top of them. Emerald green moss covered the ground, it looked so pretty I didn't want to step on it, but the red granite boulders caught my attention. Each one was placed about two meters apart from its neighbour in a circle that would fit a good size house. The boulders were almost perfectly smoothed, none of the bumps and cracks you usually see on boulders. Each boulder had holes on the inner side.

I needed to get a better look. I gingerly stepped on the moss, it was like stepping on snow, my foot went into it all the way to my knee. Thick roots bounced under my weight like a net, If I wasn't careful it was easy to slip off the roots and break a leg on old stumps and rocks hidden under the pile of moss.

“See! I told you you'd want to see this,” Ryan said looking at the nearest rock.

Grabbed his arm to keep my balance, I leaned in for a better look. The granite had been carved. There were stick figures with bows and arrows, above them was something that looked like a monster. Big teeth, an enormous face, and a body made of clouds. A hand span below those carvings was a crooked line with eyes, little stick figures were lying beneath it. A shiver ran down my spine.

“Those aren't the coolest part, listen to the hole,” he said.

I held my breath and put my ear close to the hole. A cold breeze froze my ear, it was like standing near a drafty window in a blizzard. Looking in there was only a small circular hole that went in maybe a foot or two. “How is that possible?”

He shrugged. “No idea. But get down here and feel this one.”

I touched the hole he was pointing at, it was about knee height. Instantly I pulled my fingers back with a yelp, it was burning hot. “What is this thing?” I asked.

“They're all like this, every hole does something different,” he said grinning. “That one over there on the little rock sounds like water. The biggest one, with the ten holes makes a different animal sound whenever you get close. It's awesome!”

Looking around the stones, I didn't think it was so awesome. They seemed to be watching me. The sky darkened a little as the last of the rain clouds from yesterday moved across the sun. “Come on Ryan, lets get home. We can call up some scientists or something and you'll get your face on the news as the discoverer.”

“Stop being a chicken, Anthony. This is too cool, lets look around a little bit and take some pictures.” He pulled out his camera and started taking pictures.

At that moment I really wished my phone worked this far out in the woods. The wind rustled through the branches of the trees, and the grass rustled strangely. It was just my imagination, I told myself. I'd never been afraid of the woods before, it was just the really freaky stones making me nervous. Hoof beats echoed in the distance.

That wasn't right. There weren't any horses for at least 100km's, and none of them would be this far in the woods. The rocks, roots, mud and pine tree's made riding a horse on anything except an actual road practically impossible. “Ryan did you hear that?” I asked, putting my back to the stone.

“Hear what?” he asked, busy tracing out a carving on another rock. “This looks a lot like Native American art. Maybe this was some kind of ceremonial spot. I wonder how old it is?”

Normally I'd have been fascinated by it. But everything about the spot was screaming danger at me. The cold wind from the rock was getting stronger, freezing the sweat on my skin. The bottom of the rock seemed to glow from heat, I smelled smoke. I turned to Ryan and jumped in shock, he was there but he was a little boy. He looked exactly like he had when he was five years old.

“R-Ryan?”

The sun blinked.

“Anthony, what happened to you?” he asked in an old mans voice. I tried to scream as I saw the hunched and wrinkled man standing where my brother had stood seconds before, only an ancient haggard cough escaped my lips. My throat felt as dry as dust. Covering my mouth, I saw my hands were thin and bony, paper thin skin was stretched over them ready to crack and peel if stretched too far.

Wolves howled in the moonlight. Ryan was normal again, as was my hand. “RUN!” I yelled at Ryan.

We raced up the path. I had a head start but Ryan quickly blasted past me, running confidently over the muddy ground. Tree's cracked around us, branches that hadn't been there on the way down slapped at my face, leaving itchy sap in my hair, tangling my clothes, scratching my arms. Rain poured down from the clear sky, making the already slippery path impossible to run quickly on.

A horn blew off in the distance. The hoof beats I'd heard earlier were quickly coming closer. Red eyes watched me from the thick bushes on either side. As I clambered up the last few feet to the top of the ridge, I looked back and saw a raging blizzard, shadows moved within it, some seemed to be running, others shadows soared on the wind. Hawks screeched over the howling winds.

Ignoring my tired muscles and the fear that made me want to curl up and scream I ran as fast as I could, not daring to look back again. I could hear them they were laughing far off in the distance, bells jingled ahead of me, hooves stamped the ground on either side, I felt hot breath on my neck. The sounds made no sense. I heard a horn blow right beside my ear, almost making me fall, yet as I looked to my side there was nothing but tree's.

And my stupid brother, who was a member of the track team, who'd dragged me into the woods in the first place was disappearing into the distance on his long legs. Stupid, stupid jerk.

Dogs started barking and growling, nipping at my heels. I tried to run faster, my breath was ragged, I was slowing down despite my best efforts. Even with my long legs I'd always been the slowest in gym class, and that was going to get me killed.

I never saw the rock that sent me tumbling to the ground.

What I did see was the muddy path coming up to meet my face. The flash of a horses hoof shining like the full moon on a clear night. Ivory white fangs dripping with saliva inches from my face. A face as beautiful as an angels with smiling blood red lips. The hem of a dress, as blue as the sea, waves of golden light singing and dancing with every step the wearer took. I saw all of that and more, as the fall took an eternity. My outstretched hands aged and wrinkled, turning to dust before my eyes.

The rain that had fallen the day before turning the dirt to mud rose up, the thousands of drops of rain reformed, first muddy black, then clean and clear, rising up into the sky to form clouds once again, leaving the ground it's usual loamy dark black of the northern forest. A young black bear walked backwards ahead of me, It's large head looked at me curiously and it began running in fear, jerky, unsteady, flickering in and out of existence. A pine cone caught fire, burning brightly, popping open from the heat, a green sapling rose in it's place, growing in the time it took me to hit the ground into a tree that touched the sky.

I fell, sliding through the mud, painfully scrapping over hidden rocks and sticks, strong thread like roots of pine trees caught in my outstretched fingers, snapping under my momentum but leaving painful welts on my hands. A net flew from the tree's covering me. I screamed, trying to throw it off. The silk like silver strands wrapped around my hands and arms, tightening like a snake with every movement. Constricting my legs, encircling my body. Before I realized it, I couldn't move, I could barely breath.

Men and women circled me. They wore jeans and cowboy shirts, silver armour that looked straight from LoTR, animal skins, and khaki’s. I saw their faces and closed my eyes. They weren't human. Some had skin like tree bark, cracked, rough and thick, the grey colour of the pine trees that surrounded us. Others had bird beaks, or insect eyes. A few looked almost human, but their eyes were too big, the mouths too small.

I would have pinched myself if I could have. This had to be a bad dream, there was no way this could be real. Just a dream, just a dream, just a dream.

I kept telling myself that, as they lifted me off the ground, tying the net closed with what felt like ropes of ice. I felt myself being draped over an animal, it's hair seemed more like grass, but it smelled and moved like a horse.

My eyes never opened, I couldn't open them for all the money in the world at that point. Even as the animal began to move, and the creatures around me congratulated themselves, I couldn't open my eyes. It was just a dream. It had to be a dream.

**

I don't know how long we walked, time seemed to stretch. One minute I'd be hungry wanting lunch, then it would seem like I hadn't eaten in years, my stomach cramping and growling like the dogs I couldn't see. The next second I'd feel tired and bloated as if I'd just eaten six bowls of maple ice cream. My eyes still wouldn't open, but sometimes the light would be blinding burning my eyeballs even with them closed. Just as quickly it would be blacker than the windowless basement of my parents home at night with the lights out.

Birds I'd never heard before chirped happily, and owls hooting. Wolves howled, while partridge beat their wings. The sun warmed my back, and a cool night breeze froze my spine. Rain fell on my feet, the sun beat on my head.

Tears rolled down my face. What was going on?

Finally, the horse stopped and someone grabbed me. They didn't take me out of the net though, and I was immediately put on a broad shoulder like a sack. It didn't feel right though. It was hard, not muscle hard, it was rock hard, with sharp edges, bumps and ridges. I opened my eyes, but that didn't help, I just saw something red and dark grey, like the granite rocks along the highway. It flexed and moved with each step. I tried to turn my head, but the silver ropes kept me trapped, I wondered if this was what a bug felt like just before being eaten by a spider.

There was music ahead of us. It sounded like a fiddle. I'd heard something like it before, my parents listened to Celtic music every time we drove more than a few minutes. It sounded something like that, but there were echoes and different sounds I couldn't place. It got into my head and danced around causing me to shake, seeing colours that weren't there, tasting things that I could only vaguely remember a second later.

Where was I?

We came to a stop, and I was put on a floor of liquid silver. It wasn't hot, and it wasn't wet, but ripples formed under me. I lifted my face from the cool surface, drops of silver fell from my face, dripping back onto the floor, becoming smooth once more. The net flowed into the floor, I jumped to my feet, but the thing that had been carrying me slammed me back to the ground. It's thick, blunt fingers rubbed my skin raw, there was strength behind it, it seemed like it could crush my skull as easily as I could break an egg. My face touched the silver, it entered my nose, oozing into my sinuses, down my throat.

I choked, coughing screaming, desperately trying to breath, my hand hit the creatures leg it was cold and as effective as hitting a rock. The massive hand holding my head still lifted slightly. I threw up the silver liquid, snot and tears ran freely, absorbed by the floor. A rumbling voice, what you would get if you banged a bag full of rocks together whispered in my ear, “Silence. Show respect for the lord and lady, or I'll crush your skull like a grape.”

I tried to stop crying, I was still choking, trying to clear my throat, but I was as quiet as I could be. I didn't dare look around, closing my eyes again, I prayed that this would end soon, that it would just be some horrible dream.

“Welcome back my hunters,” a booming voice said. “What prizes have you brought for my queen? A bird perhaps. Might it be another vicious bear or a lumbering moose, maybe yet more wolves?”

Ripples appeared near my face, the blue hemmed dress I had seen earlier was just visible, the golden lights were muted and still. “My liege, we have a most wondrous gift for you. A human child,” a woman's voice said. She sounded like a bird singing, long whistling vowels, hard chirped consonants.

There were gasps all around the room. Rustling and jostling sounds filled my ears, voices spoke in a strange language, from the tones it sounded like cursing. Something in me wanted, needed to look around, yet another part held me paralyzed with fear. It really didn't matter anyways, the stone like hand held me firmly in place.

“You speak truly?” a woman's voice whispered in the wind, the voice surrounded me I could hear it not only in my ears but my bones. It felt cold, like a winter breeze just before a blizzard.

The woman spoke again in her strange voice. “My liege, my lady, I would not speak untruths to you. Magdi, present our prize to our lord and lady.”

My neck strained as I was lifted by my head. Before I could shout in pain I was placed on my feet. The hand didn't go away. Instead it bent my head slightly so I had to strain my eyes to see who the lord and lady were.

The man looked almost normal. He had darkly tanned skin and long straight black hair, like a Native American. He wore a golden fur robe which covered everything except his hands and face, a silvery bow rested on his seat, which looked to be a living tree covered in moss and brilliant green leaves. He was cleaning his long, almost claw like nails with a black stone knife. His eyes were pure black, I couldn't tell if he actually had eyes that were black or if they were empty sockets leading to a the depths of space. They looked at me and my soul shivered.

The lady was less human than he was. She was wearing a long black dress, which looked like something you'd in movies for parties and things. It covered her pale blue skin, and was covered in glittering frost. Her eyes were enormous, as if a cartoon girl had come to life, they were a beautiful sky blue, yet white misty clouds swirled in them disappearing at times and then coming back leaving the entire eye a milky white. Her icy white hair blew in a breeze I couldn't feel, tinkling like a wind chime with each tiny movement. She was beautiful, but as horrifying as the man.

“My, my, my, you have done well Calandri,” the man said with smile, revealing sharp dagger like teeth. “Now the only question is what shall we do with this human? My love do you have a suggestion?”

The blue lady stood up from her simple chair of clear ice and blinding white snow, and walked towards me, every step she took turned the floor to ice, which quickly melted once more into the liquid silver. She touched my chin, it felt like metal during the middle of winter when the temperature reached minus 40 Celsius. My teeth began rattling at her touch, my eyes seemed to freeze in their sockets.

“Let us see if the human can dance,” she said in her windy voice.

There was a cheer and wild applause from the things surrounding the room. The stone creature, Magdi let go of my head, as the fiddle music started again. I looked around trying to get rid of the pain in my neck. The things weren't human. Like the faces of the hunters who had caught me they had the bodies of humans, but they were all the colours of the rainbow. Some of them looked like they'd once been tree's or bushes, with leaves and moss for hair and limbs that were solid wood or thorn covered vines. Others looked like golems, dropping bits of sand and mud when they clapped or they were rock like like Madgi, clapping in slow, powerful movements as unstoppable as an avalanche. There were half human cat girls, and people with the skin of bears, or antlers like a deer.

I started to cry.

Calandri, The lady in blue with the golden lights came over to me, her red face was furious, her fiery red hair crackled like a bonfire. “Do not embarrass me human, you must dance or I swear you will suffer horribly.”

I couldn't form the words to tell her I couldn't dance. In gym class when we had to practice dancing I could never remember the steps. Whenever my friends tried the dance moves they saw on tv, I just sat back and clapped, because I had two left feet. The thought of dancing in public, especially for these creatures, the thought was so terrifying I wanted to wet my pants.

The fiddle music faltered and their was an angry rumbling from the audience. I stood their tears pouring down my face, staring at my muddy shoes, wishing that the nightmare would end. This couldn't be real, there was no way this was real. It just had to end sometime.

“Calandri, your gift doesn't seem very talented,” the lord said, his fingers tapping his throne with a loud click.

The red woman bowed low, “I am sorry my liege, she is young and untrained. I'm sure some time under the lash will train her properly.”

A wooden face man wearing a suit of white bark with moss for hair, stepped forward. “If I may my liege, this creature is hardly made to dance. It is too bony, too awkward, too tall, too male. The females dance better. It simply needs to be molded properly before it can learn to dance under the Lady Calandri's tutelage. I humbly request the chance to improve her.

My eyes went wide, what were they talking about? How could they improve me?

The ice lady clapped her hands in delight, making her hair jangle musically. “A fine idea Jasper. Please begin at once, and Calandri you may teach your new toy to dance properly. We expect to see great things soon. You may depart with our blessings.”

Calandri grabbed my arm her touch almost hot enough to burn, and dragged me painfully from the room. Jasper followed, smiling happily. I struggled to stay on my feet, sobbing in fear as they led me away.

**

I was led through twisting halls that made no sense. We would be walking across a floor of ice, turn a corner where red flames formed the walls and find ourselves twisting in the air to walk on a ceiling of smoke, yet it always seemed that we were on a normal level.

There were other creatures wandering the halls, tiny flower like creatures flew on butterfly wings tending vines that formed hallways and grew crystal windows looking out to dancing stars, frozen fires, coral reefs and more. Bobbing globes of light, so beautiful with their swirling patterns that I needed to follow them and only the iron grip of Calandri kept me moving forward, flew purposefully down the hallways. Scaly creatures with fish tails and disgusting, bloated hags sat in rivers of breathtaking beauty, and small stagnant pools of slimy water.

The sheer strange beauty of it all was enough to make me forget my terror. That is until we reached a crystal room with a single table of glass in the center. Calandri picked me up as easily as a baby and placed me roughly on the table. I tried to get up but my skin and hair were stuck, I felt like I was fly on a strip of flypaper.

Jasper looked at me and the table tilted until I was almost standing. I saw my reflection in a blue crystal. I could see myself perfectly, my skin was peeling from a sunburn I'd gotten three days ago at the beach. My blue eyes were red and bloodshot from all the crying I'd been doing, and my large nose was covered in snot.

“This won't do, won't do at all,” Jasper said looking at me and shaking his head. He waved his freakishly long fingers, my shorts, underwear, and t-shirt began unravelling like a cartoon sweater leaving me cold and naked.

I started yelling for help.

Calandri walked up beside me. “Shut up, or else.”

I didn't shut up, I actually began yelling even louder. Frowning the red woman whispered something under her breath, her too warm fingers grabbed my throat and squeezed. I felt my throat shrink almost like it was play-doh, my scream became quieter, fainter, and finally stopped. I could see myself screaming in the crystal, but I was utterly silent.

Jasper bowed to Calandri, “Thank you that was getting quite irritating. Now for our dancer, how should she look?”

They both looked me over, poking and prodding me, making mental notes as they went. Finally Calandri spoke. “I think it will be best as an acrobat. It is so small, to make it into a buxom dancer would require more material and that would be troublesome.”

What did they mean by more material? My heart was beating a mile a minute, I could see my muscles straining against whatever was holding me but I couldn't budge. I bit my tongue hard enough to draw blood hoping to wake myself up, but nothing happened.

The wooden man nodded in agreement. “I believe that would be best. May I begin?”

Calandri stepped aside, and Jasper began rubbing his hands along my body. His rough skin made me itch, it felt as if a mouse was running across my body, strangely wherever his hands touched the muscles and bones turned to jelly. I could actually see my reflection becoming floppy, loose, like plastic doll being melted over a fire. I wanted to scream, I wanted to run and hide, I wanted to wake up. But as he ran his hands over my face I could barely even close my eyes. My face drooped, becoming melted wax.

Within minutes my body was useless, flabby, boneless. Then Jasper was able to begin his work.

He pressed his fingers into my flesh as if I were clay. He kneaded my long arms, shortening them, turning bone into muscle, shaping the muscle defining it making it more graceful. Bony fingers were flexed and molded, strengthened, with long rounded nails. The skin was smoothed out, his nails scraped away the faint arm hair. His breath was warm on my arms, where he breathed lightened in colour, removing my sunburn and freckles. I could feel the tip of his nose just brushing my skin.

My legs went the same way. My skinny shapeless thighs shrank, the meat and bone filled out my loose skin. My shins were made elegant, with well defined muscles, my oversized feet became small, dainty things. Jasper actually pulled the unneeded flesh from my feet and placed it near my head, a small pile of quivering, excess flesh, waiting to be used elsewhere. Once more I felt his breath on me, removing my hair, clearing up my skin.

His hands pressed down on my shoulders, I felt my body becoming shorter, more compact. Skin, muscle and bone formed a large lump on my stomach. Massaging the fat and meat he moved some of it to my hips. I could feel bone forming beneath my skin. My hips became larger, not much larger, but I now had hips that my girlfriends would admire. Somehow his hands went through the table, and he molded the muscles in my butt along with some more fat from my stomach into a rounded shape, taut with muscle and just a thin layer of fat to create a gentle curve.

His hands smoothed out my stomach, turning the pile of flesh into hard compact muscle, It was barely noticeable but I now had a six pack. His hands moved up my body, rubbing my ribs and shoulders, he gradually shrank them making them more harder yet frail looking. I could tell the bones while smaller were far more dense and stronger then before. He grabbed a small handful of the jiggling pile of flesh from my feet, pushing it through my skin onto my ribs. Poking and prodding it, I felt the bones expanding, and the muscles built up.

He touched my chest, and while the shock of it all had left me paralyzed and speechless, I tried to scream. I tried to scream so hard I thought my throat would tear. Taking the last of the flesh from my feet the monster forced it under my skin, massaging me, making my flat chest larger, raising it up like dough. My skin stuck to his hands briefly as he finally stopped touching me, it fell away with a sick sucking sound.

“Do we want it to speak?” Jasper asked, wiping tree sap from his brow.

Calandri stroked my short, curly brown hair for a minute deep in thought. “Yes, we may want it to sing.”

Long fingers caressed my throat, it became longer, almost inhumanly long, the bones and tendons stretched. My throat expanded again, but only a little, I opened my mouth and tried to speak, a high pitched squeak came out, but I couldn't seem to form any words, or even really scream.

When he touched my face, I shut my eyes, I couldn't bear to see what was happening. His fingers moved around my face, making my features smaller, more curved, more like a girl. I felt him stretching my eyes, squeezing my skull to make it more rounded. Then he pulled my hair, it didn't hurt, it just kept getting longer and longer. I could feel it brushing against my new breasts. His cold breathe smelling like pine needles filled my nostrils, I could feel the dampness of his breath, My new voice screamed and whimpered.

“That is most excellent," Calandri said, but then her eerie gaze strayed lower, her lip curling back in distaste. "But what about that... thing between his legs. We can't have that, it breaks up her curves and it will most likely get in the way.”

“I was thinking we could keep it as an extra feature for when it performs,” Jasper said.

“No get rid of it,” Calandri insisted.

I felt his hands touch me, and it was too much, I fainted.