No Shortcuts...

 

 

There’s a town out there. Not quite secluded.

Many roads lead there. Many roads lead from there.

Regardless, the town itself holds no importance other than its location on a map.

An expanse of woods surrounds the town, tall trees, lush greenery, and a persistent fog that always seems to never damper. No one ever goes in too far; they can see it all just fine from the road’s edges.

The citizens always tell visitors to stick to the roads and city. Though it was tempting to explore nature. It was easy to get lost, even in their small quaint town, if one wasn’t careful. It was a phrase many of the kids didn't quite understand, they knew the lines, but not the explanations.

Josiah was no different when he heard the warning to never go into the woods. Of course, all the usual questions were asked: No lions, tigers, or bears in these parts. Maybe disgruntled deer, but adults always assured the kids the warning was important.

But one dad, Josiah’s dad, got a bad cold, couldn't drive his son to school. The man barely got out of bed. As for Josiah, he had to walk. Him and his dad had done the walk before too. No big deal, nothing more than 20 minutes. He headed down the street. His eyes peered at a patch of the woods. Not where Josiah thought it started. The boy stared. If he went through there, he'd be at school in half the time. He started towards it then stopped, remembering all the warnings. A quick look around. No one was watching. Josiah released a big sigh as he continued the long way to school.

He made it, and of course the woods were across exactly where he had expected it to spit out. Far across the street from the building's entrance.  

School was boring as ever for Josiah. But he didn’t care. The entire day his mind was on one thing: going into the woods to get home. He stared out at the window watching the top of trees sway from the winds. After the school bell brought the school day to an end Josiah waited until the parents and buses all left and the teachers went to a meeting. No one was around. He played the path home in his mind, with no twist and turns it was essentially a straight shot.  Josiah sprinted into the woods bag flailing on his back.

The moment he could no longer see the school, he slowed down. People never went in that far. He began walking in the direction of home. He walked. And walked. Then walked some more. It was not the 10-minute stroll he envisioned. There were only more woods.

His legs, arms, and chest began to feel itchy. He scratched about looking for Poison ivy. His father had told him how to spot it but not a vine was in sight. The itch, however, was the least of his worries. His feet were hurting in his shoes. Not like he’d stepped on a rock, or walked too far, a genuine aching. Then there was his throat, Josaiah reached up to massage it only to have his fingers be met with bristles where his throat and mouth connected. Shocked, his hands migrated to his jaw. Rigid defined lines had formed at the edges of his face. The bridge of his nose stuck out a bit more.

Josiah continued to walk forward. He couldn't turn around. Not now then he’d be even more lost. His eye line of the trees got further from their roots and closer to the branches. Small sounds came from within as his body grew taller. He rested for a moment, placing a mysterious large hand on bark. It took him a moment to register; the hand was his. He moved the fingers watching them respond to his command. There was no time to dwell on it, he wanted to get home. 

If there was one good thing. His bookbag was getting lighter, despite the books crammed inside, he felt like he was carting air. The straps were divided by Josiah’s traps developing to support the neck that stretched further up. Another step in the woods. Josiah’s shoes burst open and feet slammed into the dirt. They were not the feet he’d woken up with; these belonged to a man several times his size. The walk continued as the sounds of his soles hitting foliage and meeting the forest floor echoed around him. 

The itch got unbearable as pecs popped his shirt apart. His torso was nude, but it didn’t look it, as black curly hair had taken over his torso. A pelt of fur his own body had produced, that flowed down into his pants. Annoyingly, the same hair was now growing along his forearms and legs too. He sneezed once, pollen in his nose, and above his lip got warmer. The same carpeting that had taken over his face and grown in. He couldn’t quite remember where he was headed but was sticking straight.

His pants got too tight. A RIPPPPPP disturbed the peace of the forest. Everything came spilling out. A large brown cock slapped his thighs, freed, while his firm bare buns got reintroduced to the world. He immediately tried to grab at the scraps of clothing, but it was useless, every part of him seemed designed to show off. A hairy man in the place of the boy. His journey home continued. He never noticed when he couldn’t feel the forest at his feet, or the wind on his ass. Clothes had appeared; shoes and shorts. Nothing more, nothing less. His torso and furry tits were forced to remain out, new definition in his shoulders and arms.

Josiah tried to recall what he was doing out in the woods. He was on a hike. A hike where? Home of course, to visit his dad! He was getting there, he could see the clearing now, right across from his dad’s place. He shouldn't have gone in the woods though. This town was not the place to hike. He understood it on a deeper level now, but he didn’t know why. But the fact remained:

In the town called Life there were no shortcuts. 

Then again, maybe there were.