Unexpected Change CYOA

1
Unexpected Change

• By Julianna Head
• Start

2

• Meow!
• You sigh as you roll over in your bed, clutching
  your pillow to your head. The cat has been
  meowing for the past hour, and you are at your
  wits end. You huff angrily and fling the covers
  back and make your way toward the window. Outside
  it is dark, but you can just make out a black
  kitten sitting on the tree branch near the
  windows ledge. It looks so cute and fluffy as
  the wind tousles its fur. You stand there for a
  moment, deciding whether you should SAVE it or
  IGNORE it and go back to bed.

3

• In the end, you unlock your window and open it,
  shivering as cold air winds its way around your
  body. You climb out the window and quickly reach
  for the branch. The kitten skitters away, its
  fluffy tail twitching. You scramble after it,
  rushing. Keeping your gaze focused on the kitten,
  you miss a branch. You open your mouth to scream
  as you fall from the tree, terror racing through
  your veins. You black out, but not before you see
  the kittens eyes glow and its black fur change
  to red.
• You wake up with a groan. Sighing, you open your
  eyes and immediately start in surprise. Im
  alive! Joy fills you as you look around the white
  room. Its full of medical equipment and a
  strange looking creature lies near you on an
  identical table. You see a door and think for a
  moment, curiosity gnawing at you. You can either
  ESCAPE or INVESTIGATE the strange creature.

4

• You decide to ignore the pesky creature. You
  glare at it one last time before turning away and
  walking to your bed. You snuggle under the covers
  and slowly start to fall asleep. As your eyes
  close, you feel as though youre falling. You
  scream out as pain rips its way through your
  body.
• After awhile the pain stops and you open your
  eyes. You frown and notice that youre not in
  your room. Your eyes widen when you see that
  youre in a tank full of water. Then you catch a
  reflection of a grey creature on the tanks
  walls. Half of the body is of a large grey wolf,
  and the other half is a shark. You frown, and the
  reflection copies you. You raise your eyebrows,
  and the creature does to. Thats when you realize
  you are the creature.
• Rejection, strong and fierce, races through your
  new body. You flail in terror and slam yourself
  against the tanks walls. You die from trauma and
  rejection of your new body.
• GO BACK!

5

• You decide to ignore the creature. You run to the
  white door and fling it open. Blackness, dark as
  midnight, greets you and you step back in fright.
  Then, you hear it that annoying kitten. It
  steps out of the darkness and seems to glare at
  you. You watch in a terrified silence as the
  kitten grows. Horns appear behind its ears and
  shaggy red hair grows on its forehead. Red
  markings appear, and its eyes glow yellow. Its
  fluffy black tail turns red and grows a spike at
  the tip. It snarls at you.
• My name is Damon. And tonight, you die.
• You scream as it leaps for your throat. By the
  time you hit the floor, youre dead.
• GO BACK!

6

• Your curiousness gets the better of you and you
  slowly tiptoe toward the creature. It looks as
  though its asleep the machine beeps out a
  steady rhythm indicating the heart rate and its
  breathing is even and deep. Its strange looking.
  With the top half of a wolf and the bottom of a
  shark, it looks like something out of a sci-fi
  movie. You tentatively reach out your hand and
  stroke the creature. Its slate colored fur is
  coarse and gracefully blends into the smooth skin
  of the shark. You snatch your hand back as the
  dorsal fin twitches. You hear a growl and jump
  away in fright. The creature has woken up, and is
  currently glaring at you through its blue wolf
  eyes.
• You gasp as the creature rights itself on its
  wolf legs. Like a well-oiled machine it drops off
  the table and starts toward you. It snarls at
  you, and you realize that you can either RUN or
  DEFEND yourself.

7

• In the end, your flight or fight instinct takes
  over. You run. Sprinting toward the door, you
  manage to trip and fall. The snarling of the
  wolf-shark echoes in the white room and you start
  to sob. You reach the door and dont look behind
  you as you turn the knob. The door doesnt open.
• Please open! Please! You choke on your sobs as
  you plead. You can hear the animal coming closer.
  You pound on the door and yank the knob.
• NO! Come on! PLEASE! You scream it again and
  again, and as the creature sinks its huge teeth
  into your leg, you fight back. You scratch its
  face, but its too late its already dragged you
  to the ground.
• GO BACK!

8

• You decide to defend yourself. The creature
  hobbles toward you, its fangs dripping with
  saliva. What happens next, though, you dont
  expect. It twists its tail underneath itself and
  pushes, like a spring. It sails forward,
  narrowing in on your neck. Instinct takes over as
  you flinch away. Its long teeth sink into your
  shoulder like a hot knife in butter, and a
  piercing scream rips its way from your throat.
  Tears stream down your face as you dig your nails
  into its face, but its too late. You quickly
  succumb to the ever-pressing darkness with a sigh
  of relief.
• You wake with a start and immediately realize
  that something is wrong. Your hearing is to
  sharp, you eyesight too clear. You realize that
  you are floating in a tank of water. What in the
  world? You catch your reflection on the tanks
  walls. Terror races through your blood as you
  look at the shark-wolf. Its eyes widen in fright
  and its mouth opens in shock. Wait a second You
  swish your legs. The creature copies you, but
  with its shark tail. NO! You realize that youre
  the creature. Should you FREAK OUT or try to
  ESCAPE?

9

• You decide to panic and freak out. You end up
  rejecting the body and dying.
• GO BACK!

10

• All right, okay. I will not freak out. You chant
  this to yourself for a few minutes. Then, you
  take a deep breath through your gills and look
  around. The tank is small, but obviously old. You
  curl your tail under yourself and slam into the
  glass. With a loud crash you are out, and
  immediately notice the change in the water. The
  water around you is black as night and as you
  swim around, you rely on your hearing to avoid
  the rocks in your path.
• After awhile, you see a glow toward the bottom
  of the water. You swim cautiously toward the
  beautiful green and blue glow. When you reach the
  strange rock, you smile with delight. Its just
  so pretty. Then, you spot a bright orange. Your
  eyes grow larger in shock as you realize that it
  is not a rock, but an aquatic dragon that youve
  stumbled upon. It looks hungry. You swallow and
  decide whether or not to SWIM AWAY for your life
  or ATTACK it.

11

• Really? You attacked it! Wow, okay, now youre
  dead, as if that wasnt obvious.
• GO BACK!

12

• With a squeak of terror you swim away as fast as
  you possibly can. You swim to where you think the
  surface should be, adrenaline pouring through
  your veins. Suddenly, the water grows lighter and
  you feel air, not water, surrounding you. Youre
  suspended in the air for a moment, then you
  splash back into the water. Curious, you stick
  your nose into the air, your adrenaline fading.
  With a smile you realize that you can breathe air
  to. You swim with your head above the water for a
  bit and run into an underwater path with people
  on it, looking lost. They spot you and start
  running toward you.
• Should I ATTACK them or HELP them?

13

• You growl at the human as its hand reaches for
  you. In a flash you sink your teeth into its
  flesh and then dive back into the water. There is
  no way youd ever trust a stranger. You swim on
  into the darkness and eventually find yourself in
  a dim lighted room. In the room are the group of
  humans, another human that looks more like a
  demon than anything else, and Damon.
• Fury grows inside of you. Its all that stupid
  cats fault! You silently slip into the water and
  dive down, glad that no one spotted you. You put
  as much power as you possibly can into coiling
  your tail under your body and leap out of the
  water. With a feral snarl you land on Damons
  back and sink your teeth into its scruff. As it
  dies, you feel yourself being sucked down into a
  pool of darkness.
• EPILOGUE!
• (Not quite ready for the end? GO BACK!)

14

• We found you! a person calls, jogging to you.
  You raise an eyebrow in confusion.
• You need to help us. Youre the only one that
  can lead us out of here safely, the person says.
• You nod, figuring that if you help them, youll
  find out why youre a shark-wolf. You submerge as
  they start to follow you. The path is fairly
  straightforward and easy to navigate, and soon
  you are in an echoing room with lights
  underwater. You look at the people.
• The boss is here. If we defeat him, we can all
  go home.
• Should I ATTACK the boss with them or FLEE?

15

• You chicken out and shake your head vigorously.
  There is no way Im risking my butt for you!
• You submerge again and swim out of there,
  following the path. For the rest of your life you
  swim through the black waters, avoiding the
  aquatic dragon and eating the small fish and
  clams you find scattered about. You never see
  sunlight again, or feel a fresh breeze, and you
  never know whether or not the group of people
  escaped.
• THE END!
• (Want another ending? GO BACK!)

16

• Home? You immediately nod your head in
  agreement. Suddenly, the lights go dim, and out
  of the darkness steps a man or what used to be
  a man. His eyes are sewn shut, and he has no
  nose, just a line of stitches. In the middle of
  his forehead lives a demon eye. With him is
  Damon, and you shiver in fright. You will not
  back down now. The humans quickly charge, but you
  dive down silently. Then, with a burst of speed,
  you lunge out of the water and onto Damons back.
  You snarl at the demonic cat as you bite its
  neck, snapping it easily. Ha!
• You look around and see that the humans have won
  to. Suddenly, you collapse on the ground, falling
  into a swirling pit of darkness EPILOGUE!

17

• You jump awake and sit up. Sunlight pours from
  your window and flows onto your bed. Your room
  glows with light, and its a much-needed relief
  from your dark dream.
• Of course it was a dream. How could it not be?
  You ask yourself, but doubt creeps into your
  voice. You look around your room and notice a
  stuffed animal on your bed. You pick it up and
  immediately recognize it as the shark-wolf.
• It was just a dream, You whisper.
• Or was it?
• (GO BACK to the beginning!)