The week flies by as Adrianna sends me study instructions until she comes back. I only have a couple days till my transition and she has laid out a foolproof plan to get me into the woods. She convinces her dad to talk with his parents and let him go camping with them this weekend seeing as it's a three day stretch. Luckily, there wasn't much persuading to be done as he told them a couple of families and their kids were going and since my grandpa Curt wasn't here to take me he wanted to extend a hand. Dad took to the idea like it was the best idea in the entire world. Mom on the other hand was still very skeptical. They said that we would be over one hundred miles away but she still didn't like the idea of anyone out camping while fierce animals were out but my dad pestered her until she agreed. He always loved camping with my grandpa, his dad. He wished he could come but he was going to be swamped at work for a while. Thank God for that and just like that we are a go for Transition time.
The next few days can't go by quick enough. I make sure I have no homework or anything left to do over the weekend so I can focus solely on my main priority, which is the transition. I am more determined than I have been for anything in awhile. It occurred to me that I lost my drive when my grandpa left us. It's like I found something to keep us connected to each other forever. Something that connects just him and I like a part of him that will forever be with me. I make sure I have everything I need packed and ready to go for after school. I double check everything and make sure there aren't any bugs, nasty smells, or tears in the tent. Last time I went camping my grandpa took me to the lake. It was probably the best camping trip I ever went on. I had so many great memories camping which is probably why I feel a little excited and scared at the same time. School couldn't go by fast enough. I'm supposed to wait for Adrianna at my truck and we are going to meet up with some others to head to the lake and come back Monday afternoon.
Adrianna was waiting by my truck, bag in hand, ready to go. She tells me there was a change in plans. The others won't be joining us until in the morning. We head out, stopping by the gas station before to fill up the truck and an extra gas tank in the back. We get a bunch of junk food and drinks to put in the cooler. It feels kinda weird knowing I'm going somewhere with no adult supervision for the first time and with a girl. We finally get on the road and it's a four hour drive to where we are going. For about an hour it was quiet and seemed kinda awkward until she asked if I was nervous about the transition. Honestly, I have no idea what to expect. I know it's going to be painful the first time. We talk for a while, about all the things that are going to happen the next day. We joke around about school and listen to our favorite songs to pass the time. We finally pulled up to the camping spot just before midnight. First thing to do is set the tent up then start a fire. The tent only takes a few minutes. Adrianna says she is going to check the perimeter and she disappeared into the woods before I even started the tent. I gather some dry firewood and stack it up like my grandpa taught me. I put a little gas on the wood just to get it started.
Adrianna walks up after it really gets started. She said it was time to get some sleep. I have a big night tomorrow and I need to be well rested because I'll need my energy tomorrow. It's well after noon when I wake up to noises outside. I start looking around the tent and notice Adrianna sleeping in the tent with me. Startled, I woke her up and told her about the noises outside. We both get out of the tent to see a bunch of people setting up camp around us. A bunch of kids running in the distance down by the water. Men and women, both setting up tents all around mine. Adrianna gives me a crooked grin and runs off to hug a few people. I assume it's family so I took a look around, and I'm starting to remember camping trips like this with lots of people. All day long I remember tiny little things about camping with my grandpa. It was like things were finally coming back to me and it's like we've done this before. I guess my grandpa really did try to teach it all to me before he left but why am I just now remembering all this.
I soon realized all my senses are stronger and better than they ever have been. It must be why I am starting to remember things better too. I can see farther than any normal person. If I really focused it was like looking through a sniper scope. My hearing was impeccable. I could hear conversations from a mile away. Adrianna noticed too because she could sneak up on me before but now I hear her coming before she's anywhere near me. I can even smell her coming as if she was standing right next to me. The day passed by quickly as I was discovering what to do with my newfound wolf senses. I went fishing and caught way more fish then I ever could have before. This must have been why my grandpa was so good at catching fish. I talked to some of the men and they added it to the already huge pile of food to cook for the whole group. Everyone brought veggies and many other things. A couple of them killed a few deer and were almost done skinning them for the fires set up for all three to be cooked at once.This would probably last us all weekend. Everyone was working together to cook dinner. Some of the older kids were helping as well. They were even filleting fish and preparing the other stuff to go with dinner. I find a place with good reception to check in with my parents so they know I'm safe and I tell them all about my day minus the werewolf stuff of course. I told them I would call tomorrow when I find reception again and check in again. It's time to eat and get ready for the change.
Everyone set up the tables and chairs and we all dug into it. By the time everyone was done eating and completely full every bit of food was nearly gone. Like, picture Thanksgiving dinner three times over and there was barely anything left. I even ate more food than usual. It was like I was starving but I snacked on junk all day long and I shouldn't have even been hungry but I guess everything is changing. The moon started to rise as the sun was barely setting. Adrianna takes me out to the woods and walks me out for miles. As the moon rises higher I can feel it in my bones, like they are starting to creak. My body is starting its transition. We walk a little while longer until it starts to hurt. Adrianna stops and gives me all the instruction I need before running off in a different direction. The moon is almost at peak and I feel my bones start to crack and it feels like I'm breaking every bone in my body right now. Everything is twisting and turning. My body is morphing, distorting itself to make my body transform. It's excruciating and so hard to focus on anything. My skin is on fire and so is my brain. Everything finally clicks into place. It felt like hours of non stop torture, and I felt exhausted but I've changed. I let out a howl and started running. Pretty soon more wolves join in. We run until the break of dawn then we shift back. I am so tired I could drop but I head to my tent then I crash out.