Batty

Vacationing is always fun, especially when you’re with a loved one. Jack Cox had been planning this trip to Australia with his girlfriend for over a month. But three days before they were planned to leave, she had dumped him for his friend. Broken-hearted, Jack still decided to go on vacation.
He reached his destination in fair time and decided to walk to his hotel. Jack shuffled slowly down the sidewalk, feeling very depressed. I can’t believe she left me, He thought, glancing at the darkening sky. I thought she was the one. We had so much in common, and we never argued!
Consumed in thought, Jack didn’t really pay any mind to the fruit bat that was following him. However, he did notice when the flying creature swooped down and bit him on the neck. He cursed loudly, feeling a stinging sensation take him over for several minutes. His neck was bleeding excessively, despite there were only two puncture marks. Jack sped up to reach his hotel.
The clerk at the desk asked him if he needed help, but he kindly turned down her offer. “It’s just a scratch. A bat got me.” He told her while signing in.
She looked at him in confusion. “Bats don’t attack people.”
Jack ignored her and went up to his room. Once inside he attempted to clean out the wound with a towel, but it didn’t help at all. So, he turned on the shower in hopes of washing away the strange amounts of blood. Jack stripped and stepped inside the shower. The hot water did soothe him.
But when he was washing his hair, his bite-marks began to sting incredibly and a strange feeling took over his arms. Blindly, he reached for a towel. He did manage to grab one, but the sound that followed was not a pleasant one.
“Riiiiip!”
Quickly he wiped away the soap from his face and stared in shock at the mangled piece of fabric in his hand. The towel had been shredded by what looked like black dagger; he could see it poking through. In wonder, he grabbed it and tugged, only to find that it was attached to him. Jack cried out in shock, slipping in the shower.
He fell and hit his head on the wall, which knocked him almost entirely unconscious. His eyes were still able to see in blurry images, but his brain really couldn’t process what was happening. Jack groaned as he could fell his skin tingling in an odd sensation, however he couldn’t see the short fur sprouting all over his body.
The ‘black dagger’, formerly his thumb, was actually a hooked claw on the top of his developing wings. A thin layer of skin was connected to his hand and stretched all around him to form what appeared to be a bat’s flying equipment.
His feet were also changing: curling into small paws with claws made for holding his entire body weight, which was also transforming drastically. Jack was slowly but surely shrinking and was currently the size of a very big dog.
He groaned again and opened his eyes wider, blinking and trying to see. “Wh…what?” Jack mumbled and then gave a muted gasp as he looked down at himself. He was covered in brown fur, paws for feet and his fingers were extending to soon be bat-wings. “What’s happening to me!?” He yelled, attempting to stand up but failing.
Now no bigger than a cat, Jack felt the transformation reach his head. His ears stung as they became large and pointed, but suddenly he could hear everything. But the fascination only lasted seconds for his face was soon painfully pushing out into a short, narrow muzzle. Fangs replaced his dull human-teeth and sharp, black eyes enhanced his comparably terrible vision.
Jack released a high-pitched, but practically silent, screech and scrambled out of the shower. The water was much tougher on him than it had been before and his newly developed instincts told him to escape. However, the real Jack was still inside of this body and he was terrified.
What happened? He wondered, shaky. Jack flew to the counter, finding it very easy to do so, and stared at himself in the mirror. A fruit bat stared back at him and moved as he did. This is insanity! I can’t be a bat! Jack thought in outrage and fear, when suddenly, the door flew open and a maid came in.
“Mr. Cox? I heard screaming and I…” She let out a scream of her own, now staring directly at him with terror in her eyes. “A bat! Eek! Out with you!” The maid swung a broom at him and Jack quickly flew to a high-positioned open window.
By now it was night. Though Jack found it easy to maneuver in the darkness, he was still very scared. “Help me!” He screeched pointlessly; it’s not as if anyone could understand him.
“I can help you.” A softer call answered and he was met in mid-air by a fruit bat, just like himself. He recognized her, for some unknown reason. This had been the bat that bit him. She hovered in the air and gestured with her head. “Follow me.”
Jack knew there was nothing else he could do, so he flew after her. The two soon became mates and raised many children; and though he had lost the love of his old life, he had found a new passion in this one.