The Hunter

My eyes flutter open, adjusting to the outside light filtering into my bedroom. I automatically stretch my limbs as my duvet lowers by my waist. I sit up halfway as I notice the duvet is pitched like a tent at my waistline. I rub my eyes again to adjust to the scene in front of me. I look around my room to make sure I was alone, and thankfully I was as I slowly lift the fabric up and peek under it as I see my tight boy shorts bursting at the seams. I quickly and awkwardly get up, slightly panicking as I stand in front of my full-length mirror.

Are my eyes deceiving me? Am I dreaming again? Pinch yourself, would you?

I quickly close my eyes and pinch my arm, “Ow!” I slowly reopen my eyes and still see it, protruding, ripping my underwear. I internally scream and freak out as it will not go back down.

Oh, my God! I have a…

I could not fathom thinking about it, yet it was there, making sure its presence was known. I hear a faint voice from outside my bedroom. My mind tries to remember last night, realizing I had my male lover over for an all-night session.

Dammit! How would I explain this to him? I can barely wrap my mind around it myself.

I quickly turn to look at my alarm clock on my nightstand and realize I have an hour and a half to get to work. I shake my head in annoyance.

I got to call out. My whole body has transformed.

I quickly text my friend to come over asap, deeming it a state of emergency.

I hear the same faint voice outside of my bedroom door.

“Babe, I am making breakfast, what do you want?” I hear him ask in such a sweet way. I sigh, shaking my head as my phone vibrates with a text message:

“This BETTER be an emergency. Be there in ten!”-R

I sigh in relief as I begin to open my mouth to respond to him.

“Eggs, toast and some cof—” I stop talking as I cover my mouth in shock. My voice is more profound and huskier, almost Barry White-ish. Almost.

“You don’t sound good! Are you coming down with a cold?” I hear him coming closer to the door, and I quickly grab the doorknob.

“Y-yes. Just a hoarse voice. You know…from last night.” I roll my eyes hearing the lame excuse. I can listen to him, chuckle on the other side of the door.

Whatever helps him stay on the other side of the door.

“I know, right?” I hear his feet retreat away from the door as I can imagine a smirk on his face. I begin to walk back towards the mirror, and I am still “excited.”

What in this parallel Universe was I dreaming about that my p-….pe-…pe...nis is still wide awake?

In a low whisper, “I can think of that disgusting Human Centipede movie, that should help.” I close my eyes, and I think clearly of the gruesome scenes in that movie. Within minutes I felt more relaxed down below, and as I reopen my eyes, it was soft, but my underwear was destroyed, though.

I don’t think it’s a good idea to free ball today. I think I have one of his boxers stuffed in my lower drawer.

“I told him not to leave any of his stuff here,” as I grunt, digging through my clothes to find his blue and red Joe Boxer’s. Before I decide to slip it on, I hear my front door opening and another familiar voice. Then a soft knock on my bedroom door. I walk over quickly as I peak out of it and I saw my friend looking sleepy and annoyed. I quickly open the door and yank her inside while slamming the door shut.

“What in the hell?! Why did you…?” Her voice trails off as her eyes bulge out of her head.

“Who the hell…?!” I quickly covered her mouth with my hand and whispered.

“It’s me. Meghan.” Her eyes did not believe me, but I know deep down she knew it was me. I mean, I still looked like me but…with manly features. I slowly stepped away from her and stood before her.

“Look, in 9th grade, you dated this Hispanic guy that….” She cuts me off abruptly.

“Alright, I believe you. Let us not dig up MY past, thank you.” She sighs and continues to gawk at me. “Wow…how did this happen?”

I stood in front of the mirror once again, trying to wrap my head around it. “I woke up this way.”

My friend, Rachel stood beside me in the mirror as her eyes trailed over my body.

“You got taller by at least 6 inches. Your shoulders are broader and your arms a bit bigger and the amount of hair on your arms, back, legs, and…” Rachel’s deep brown eyes trail downward.

I quickly cover my hands down below, “Hey!”

“What? I am curious. Have you looked at it yet? How big are you?” Her fascination is weird to me, and it is a bit rude, too.

“I-I haven’t looked at it fully yet. Anyways, I can’t figure out how this happened. Last night was a bit blurry.

She goes to sit on the edge of the bed as I can feel her eyes bore into my back.

“Try to remember, Meghan.”

I roll my shoulders as I hear an “mmm” sound coming from her. I close my eyes tightly in annoyance.

“Can you stop checking me out? Jeez, it’s creepy. You never found me attractive as a female.”

She scoffs, “Yeah, because you weren’t a guy, and I gotta say, damn. I am giving you a compliment. Deal with it.”

I realize I don’t have clothes to wear other than my basketball shorts and a white t-shirt that may fit me in this form.

“Can you do me a favor?” She gives me an annoyed look. “Can you tell Armond that I will call him later and that I don’t feel good. Also, can you go home and bring over some of your boyfriends’ casual clothes for me to wear. We should be almost the same size. And can you call me out of my job pretending to be me?”

She gives me a pissed look. “You. Owe. Me. Big. Time.” I roll my eyes and shake my head.

“Yeah, I know. I will see you in ten mins.”

S

he gets up and walks over towards the door, “Oh, don’t forget to check it out.” She grins and closes the door behind her.

This is wild.

I strip off my bedclothes, toss my destroyed underwear in the trash, and hop in the shower. I know I couldn’t avoid cleaning it so, I did it fast.

Damn hair everywhere on me. The hell…

Once I was finished, I began to shave my arms, under my arms, neck, my legs.

Luckily, there isn’t much hair down below. Just enough.

I step out of the shower, grabbing a towel to dry off. I step into my room, and I heard a glass break as my friends’ mouth gapes open as my towel drops to the floor. I am standing there in all my glory, the blood rushing to my face as I quickly grab the towel from the floor to cover my lower region.

“Um…” she trails off and blinks a few times. I nearly cried, but I held back and channeled annoyance instead.

“Why didn’t you wait in the living room?” My voice grew deeper, sterner. She was knocked out of her shock and tilted her head.

“Excuse me? I did everything you ask, and this is how you treat me? You got some nerve.”

I quickly adjust my attitude and walk over to her in my towel and gently places my callous yet steady hand on her shoulder.

“I’m sorry. I was embarrassed at you seeing all of me, and my emotions went haywire.”

She sighs and playfully pushes me away from her, “Don’t worry about it. And besides, you definitely don’t have to be embarrassed about anything.” Her eyes look down once again towards my lower region. “Not bad at all, my friend.”

“Alright, this is weird. Do you have Jake’s clothes?” I ask, trying to speed this along.

“Yeah.” She tosses me a gray t-shirt and a pair of dark blue Levi jeans and his gray Nike sneakers. “This is the best I can do. I doubt you can fit his stuff. You are a bit taller than he is. This is all weird as hell.”

I go into the bathroom and put on his clothing.

Nope, this hardly fits. It’s a bit too tight, and the jeans are high above my ankles.

I step outside, and she laughs. “Yeah, we need to go shopping, asap. Let us go, I’ll drive.”

“Let’s get this over with,” I say as we leave my apartment.

I felt like a Ken doll after an hour of trying on clothing to her liking even though I am the one who will be wearing them. She made me buy and put on silk boxers, a white and a black tank top, and a pair of Levi blue jeans with a black and gray Under Armor T-shirt and a pair of black Nike sneakers.

I give her an exasperated look as she grabs men’s deodorant, body wash, comb, and brush.

“Seriously? Why do I need all of this?”

“Because…” She puts everything else on the counter as the salesperson scans the items. “You don’t know how long you will be a man…” the salesperson gives an odd look at us as my face burns up. “Besides, you have to revisit that club on fourth and Arcturus street, which is why I had you buy dress clothing. That was the last place you visited with Armond last night. Was it not?”

Right. I did visit a classy underground club that only a few are invited to.

“Oh! Yeah, my memory is a little fuzzy. I must have been drinking a lot that night. I barely remember receiving an ecru colored envelope with a dark blue card in it that had an emblem on it. Right in the middle of it…” I begin to search the corners of my mind of what the emblem looked like.

“It was the infinity symbol,” she said matter of fact as she shows me a picture of the dark blue card on her phone. “You sent it to me two days ago when you received it in your mailbox asking me about it. I had no clue what it meant other than you sent me the address. I seriously thought it was sketchy.”

I stare intensely at the picture as flashes invade my mind, of being in an underground wine cellar, dim lights, and people dressed in business casual clothing and or formal clothing, drinking, gambling, and doing drugs.

What made me go to a place like that? I certainly do not fit with that crowd.

“I am remembering a woman, light brown hair, intense blue eyes, and she asks to read my palm…” my mind draws a blank. “I remember the feeling of her touch, cold at first, and then it grew warm as if she was sucking my own warmth from my body but never leaving me cold.” I snap out of my thought as my friend stared at me with big eyes.

“Tonight, we are going there to figure out what the hell did they do to your body!” Her voice grew as the salesperson asked for my credit card, and I handed it over to him, hoping he didn’t read my correct name on it. He smiled at me and winked as my eyebrows raised up.

“Thank you, Mister…” The salesperson trails off in hoping for my name. I open my mouth, but no words came out until my friend interrupted.

“His name is Malachi.”

He smiles, “I like your name.”

I am taken aback of the blatant flirting of this guy towards me. I am not offended at all, just in shock when I felt my friend nudge me to speak.

“Call me, Kai. Nice to me you and thank you for your service.” I quickly smiled and grabbed my things and ran towards the door.

My friend grabs my credit card from the salesperson and runs after me, giggling.

Why won’t I wake up now? Please, wake up!

“Mm. It looks like you still attract men to you, even in this…form. This is some funny stuff.” She chuckles obnoxiously.

I throw the bags in the trunk of the car, and I grab her keys from her hand.

“I’m driving, and I am hungry. I could eat a cow right now.” I adjust her drivers’ seat, so I can fit comfortably in it. “Damn, you’re a midget! Stumpy legs.” It’s actually the first time I laughed all morning. It felt good, given the situation.

She climbs into the passenger seat and punches me on my arm. “You’re an ass, and I am not the one with a third leg.”

“Lame,” I say as I roll my eyes and drive off towards the next destination.

We sit down for lunch at Mumbo Jumbo, a local Italian restaurant. The waitress comes over, tall brunette with milk chocolate skin and beautiful cheekbones asks us what we would like to drink.

“Uh…I will take a glass of Chardonnay and water.” I look up and smile at her, and she smiles back thoughtfully—Rachel chimes in.

“I would like a glass of pink lemonade, please.”

The waitress smiles yet again, “I will be back with your drinks, may I see your I.D., sir?” My eyes go wide as I search my wallet, pretending, I lost my driver's license.

“Oh, damn. I left my I.D. Instead of the Chardonnay, may I have a glass of iced tea?”

The waitress nods and turns on her heels and walks away. I watch her sway her hips, and everything seemed like it was in slow motion. The way her bottom moves in rhythm as she maneuvered around other people. I hear a faint voice pull me from my trance.

“Earth to Meghan! Are you serious right now?” Rachel asks with a disgusted look on her face.

I shake my head out of my dazed moment, “What? What did I do?”

She scoffs, “You were nearly craning your neck to stare at the waitress’s ass. Even in your natural body, you never looked that hard before.”

I felt my body stiffen a bit at the thought of the waitress’s body. My eyes were blinking as I adjusted in my seat. I felt my member have a mind of its own as I stood up quickly.

“I need to use the bathroom, be right back.” I ran towards the woman’s bathroom before I bumped into a woman coming out of it.

“Oh! I am sorry…”

“Yeah, watch where you are going, sir.” The woman quickly picks up her purse with an attitude and walks off. My mind finally adjusted to the situation in front of me. I had to use the men’s room.

This is some bull.

I slowly peek my head into the men’s room. You can smell a light foul odor emanating from the urinal.

Jeez. Nope, I can’t do this! Hell no.

But my body really needed to go. I take a deep breath and wash my hands quickly before stepping in front of the urinal. I pull the zipper down and adjust myself, and I tentatively hold it as I close my eyes. I finally willed myself to pee.

Ah. Simple. See? Not so bad, is it?

I continue to urinate as I hear faint male voices come into the bathroom. I freeze and hold in the rest of my pee. My face turns red as I stand like a statue with my eyes looking straight at the wall in front of me.

“Hey buddy, you look like you are having a hard time letting it go. Are you okay over there?” I blink a few times before speaking.

“Er, yeah, I am good. Got a lot on my mind, you know?” I curse myself. The gentleman uses the urinal beside mine as his friend uses the opposite one.

“Dude, I get it. My wife has a baby on the way, and at times I would just be peeing, and then I stop because my mind is preoccupied with stress. It happens to the best of us,” he continues.

Is this really happening? I am having a conversation with a stranger about not taking a piss while I am struggling to do so at this moment. Ha.

“Y-Yeah, man. It’s annoying,” as I clear my throat. “I woke up like this, and I am just getting the hang of it.”

His other friend chimes in, “What do you mean you are getting the hang of it? Hang of what?”

Think Meghan. Think! Oh! Movie references help.

“Ever see the movie Big with Tom Hanks?” Both gentlemen nod in response. “Yeah, something like that. It’s so hard all the time.”

Both guys quickly clear their throat and zip up as they flush.

“Buddy, you might want to get some help.”

“Yeah or get laid.” Both guys leave the restroom quickly as I sigh, letting out the last bit of my urine.

Can I wake up now?!!

I finish and clean myself up before sitting back down in the booth across from my friend.

“Hey, sorry. My first time using it to do anything.” I grab the menu and look through it. My friend kicks me lightly under the table.

In a low whisper, “How was it? What did it feel like to you?” I furrow my eyebrows and shift a little.

“Dude, imagine when you touch your boyfriend’s penis!” in a low whisper. “Can we order now, please?”

“Touchy, touchy,” Rachel teases. The waitress walks back over and asks for our order. As we both finish telling her our order, I smile as she takes our menus.

“I’ll be back shortly,” she smiles at both of us and then at me one last time as I give her a cocky grin.

“Look, as fascinating as seeing you flirt as a guy is, it is also disturbing. Please, stop.”

I laugh once again before becoming serious. “Alright, we need to figure out what happened last night at that underground club. What is it called?”

Rachel instantly searches the internet on her phone, “It’s called The Seven Sisters. Interestingly, there are no Google reviews for them. That is strange and creepy.”

Or maybe they are keeping a low profile.

“Something doesn’t add up. You can find the place online but no reviews, no pictures, just an address…” I trail off getting glimpses of pictures in my mind from the night before.

“And the infinity emblem.” She says in a hushed tone.

My phone buzzes in my pocket, and it’s Armond asking if I am okay. I text back saying I am getting better, and I also ask about the night before since he was with me at some point in the night.

“Do you remember picking me up from a club last night?”- M

“Yeah, u was a bit buzzed but coherent. You kept saying, 24 hours.”- A

“Did I explain why I kept saying that?”-M

“If I remember you said a woman read your palm and then you danced all night long. But you kept repeating 24 hours is all you have.”- A

My brain is in overdrive trying to piece last night together, and I am still coming up blank.

I look up at Rachel, “Twenty-four hours…That must mean something. Maybe it has something to do with my transformation?” I rub my temples as mental exhaustion starts to take over.

“It could be it. I typed in Seven Sisters in Google search, and the only information that pops up is some spiritual Universe stuff.”

“Thank you, Armond. I will hit you up later. Need some rest. x”- M

“Feel better. Ttyl.”- A

The waitress comes back with our food, and I dig right in. I didn’t realize how hungry I was. Rachel stares at me in awe at how quickly I devoured my big plate of pasta and bread.

“I thought you were Keto.” She says as she eats her food. I lean back in the booth, rubbing my belly slightly.

“Not today, my friend. Not today.” I burp softly, excusing myself. “I am such a guy, jeez.”

“Girl, no matter what body you are in, you will always have guy traits. It works for you.” She shrugs as she continues to read off her phone about The Seven Sisters.

“The Pleiades were the seven daughters of the pre-Olympian Titan Atlas, and Pleione, a nymph. According to myth, the Pleiades, named Maia, Electra, Alcyone, Taygete, Celaeno, Merope, and Asterope, was dedicated to Artemis, the Greek goddess of the moon and the hunt.

Orion the Hunter had been placed in the sky, along with the scorpion that killed him by Zeus. Before his death, Orion saw the seven sisters and set off to capture them. Zeus, in pity for their plight, turned them into stars and placed them in heaven.”

Something about what she is reading is humming to me at a low frequency as my mind shift to the night before. I had seen a cluster of stars along the wall of this back room. But one star was missing.

“Does it show a cluster of stars?” I ask curiously. Rachel nods her head as my eyes shift to the right in thought. “Missing sister, missing…sister. I don’t know why that is ringing a bell in me.”

Rachel chokes on her drink, “Uh, there is a legend that modern astronomy has found that the seventh-brightest Pleiades star – Pleione – is a complicated and hard-to-understand “shell star” that goes through numerous permutations. These changes cause this star to vary in brightness, which makes it seems like its missing from the cluster.”

My mind flashes back to the night before, and the woman was reading my palm. There was a tattoo on her left wrist. I wave my hand to the waitress to bring over the check.

“Wait! Wait. I am still eating!” Rachel hisses. I give her a look not to argue with me.

“Take it with you. Pieces are coming together, and we need to get a move on.” I turn to the waitress. “Thank you.” I give her my credit card as she walks off towards the cash register as I turn towards Rachel. “The woman who read my palm she had the words “shell star” tattooed on the left wrist in cursive. She did this to me, and I want to find her and reverse it. NOW!” I stand up as the waitress comes over with the receipt.

I quickly tip her and thank her one more time before walking out of the restaurant. Rachel grabs her bag of food and the napkin the waitress gives her as she points towards my direction. Rachel’s eyes open wide in realization and nods quickly before catching up to me.

“I turn the ignition as I program the GPS coordinated to “The Seven Sisters” underground club. “What took so long?” I ask impatiently.

Rachel huffs, “Cut the attitude, okay? You don’t have to be a jerk, and secondly, the waitress wanted me to give you this.” She hands me a napkin with a name and number on it.

“Oh. Erm. You can toss it. I will be back in my old body by tomorrow morning.” I say confidently. Rachel shoves the napkin in her pocket instead.

“Nah. Just in case this fails. You will need to get laid at some point because your moods are killing me.”

I tear out of the parking lot as I speed to our location.

“Thanks, my friend,” I say dryly.

“Don’t thank me yet.” She chuckles.

We’re standing outside midday, looking at a warehouse. My frustration levels shot up like a fever. This cannot be it.

“Maybe the GPS got it wrong?” Rachel cautiously questions as she stood a few feet away from me. I wanted to toss anything and scream in frustration. Instead, I kicked a dumpster and dented in, and I felt a bit better. Rachel had her arms folded across her chest as she shook her head.

“No. We are here. It’s a front for something else. Probably why reviews are not reported, and if so, they are paying an I.T. person to erase them. Point is my bones are telling me this is the place.” I slowly walk around the building until I stop seeing a faded infinity symbol on the exterior of the brick wall. “Yeah…” I automatically trace my fingers along with the print. “This is it. We will come back tonight and finish this for good.”

Rachel nods in agreement, “Perfect. I have an outfit I have been dying to wear. Let us go back to my place and work out a plan.” I reluctantly move away from the wall, staring at the building one last time before we get into her car.

“There is something else nagging me about the night before,” flashes of pictures invade my eyes as I try to piece together everything. “Something about a hunter that calls to me. I remember the palm reader pulled out cards with specific artwork on them, and as each card, she placed on the table, her face drained of color, and the last card was called the “Hunter.” The hairs on my arm stood up as she stood up quickly and ran off.” I shake my head, frustrated about the holes in my memory.

Why was she so freaked out?

“Well, we will be back there in a few hours, and we will fix this. I promise you.” Rachel grabbed my hand and squeezed it tightly. I know she was trying to soothe me, but deep in my soul, it feels like this is just the beginning of something I don’t think I am ready for.

Rachel continued, “At least you remembered some things, and that is progress. Look, let us go inside and get ready, okay?” She exits the car first as I sat there for a moment, looking down at my right palm, remembering the feeling of the mystery woman tracing her finger along my fate line.

Seven hours have passed by, and all I could do is pace in Rachel’s living room as I continued to search my mind for any clues.

“Will you stop pacing you’re giving me a migraine. Jeez, have a drink, would you?” Rachel passes me a shot of rye whiskey. My throat burned as I cough helplessly from the heat of the whiskey.

“Damn, I feel the hair I shaved earlier grow back on my chest!” I cough out as I gulp down some water quickly.

Rachel chuckles, “That serves you right for giving me a migraine and not even noticing what I am wearing. Jerk.”

I huff as I turn to her to see her wearing a color block sleeveless side slit sheath dress with white heel strapped shoes. My eyes blink a few times as original me would be like, ‘Yass, get it, girl.’ But the new me is like, ‘Whoa!’

“Erm, wow. You look amazing. It hugs your curves perfectly, damn. It is definitely a good look for you.” She smiles as I nod, trying to control my eyeballs from looking at her boobs. The door to her apartment opens to break the awkwardness.

Thank goodness!

“Hey babe, I bought dinner! Where do you want to set up tonight?” Rachel’s boyfriend walks in with bags of food as his eyes catch her, and then he looks at me and then back her. You can see the equations hovering over his head.

“Uh,” Rachel fumbles her words as I quickly walk over to him, smiling.

“Hey Jake, it’s good to see-uh meet you. Rachel has told me a lot about you.” I say coolly, trying not to act obviously. He looks back at her to explain.

“Babe,” she walks over to him and helps him with the bags of food. “Remember Meghan’s gay cousin, Kai? Well, he is visiting for the week, and we are about to go out to a gay club.” Rachel smiles toothily as my mouth drops open in shock. I grit my teeth with a fake smile.

Hey,” Jake says sternly as he holds out his hand for me to shake. I look at his hand and at Rachel as she mouths, ‘YOU. OWE. ME.’ I quickly grab his hand and shake it fast. “Nice to meet you. Which club will you be going to?”

Rachel wraps her arms around Jack’s waist and gently kisses him as I turn my head to look away. Hearing kissing sounds from them began to stir my stomach, and not in the right way.

Nauseating.

“Hey, um, I am going to use your guest bathroom to change my clothes so we can get going.” I took a quick swig of the rye whiskey from earlier. This time I was grateful for it going down my throat as I quickly closed the guest bedroom door behind me.

Let’s get this over with.

Twenty minutes later, I hear a soft knock on the door as I stare at myself in the mirror in these dress clothing.

I do look attractive as a man. Not bad at all, Meghan.

“Kai, are you done? Can I come in?” Rachel’s voice carried through the thin door. I have to say, my best friend has good taste in clothing both for men and women.

In a softer tone voice, “You may enter,” I chuckle as I button up my Rib-knit lapel collar short sleeve tan dress shirt, leaving the last button unbuttoned.

“Shut up. You’re lame.” She rolls her eyes for a second before I turn to look at her in my outfit. Her brown eyes scan my body as my confidence level shot up 85% from the first time, she saw me alone in my bedroom. “Well, well, look at you. Damn, it was worth buying the Italian stretch wool black dress pants with the Stacey Adam’s Talford tan shoes.”

I roll my eyes as I grab my black and gold Eros timepiece from Vincero, snapping it around my wrist. She walks over to me to adjust my shirt and unbuttons another button to show a bit more of the chest but still modest. “This woman who read your palm, I have a feeling she will be there, and she will expect you this way, in this body. You need to entice her to come to you so you can get the answers you need.” Rachel softly said as she stepped back to check out “her” masterpiece with a smile on her face. “I know my fashion. I guess having a live ken doll has its perks to play dress-up with.” She snorts as I playfully shove her.

“Let’s go, please.” I grab her car keys and leave her bedroom as I brush past Jake. He does a double-take as he watches me leave the apartment.

“Honey ar-are you sure he is gay because…” he is cut off with lips on his for a moment before she pulls away with a sweet smile.

“

He is. Now, don’t wait up for me. I love you.” She grabs her purse and leaves the apartment as I wait for her in the car as she sits down in the passenger seat.

“I had to convince him you were gay.” She snorts as I shake my head.

I need this over with like hours ago.

We pull up to the location, and it at least 100 cars parked and people walking inside with a doorman checking what looks like invitation cards like the one I had the night before.

“Damnit! I don’t have that invitation card. I don’t know how we would get in.” I rub my temples in annoyance. I park the car and get out, walking around to open the door for Rachel as I hold my arm out for her to grab.

“Let’s try and see if we can; if not, we will find another way in there.” We walk up to the building, which has the infinity emblem illuminated above a black door. The doorman, wearing dress clothing, looks at me for a moment, and then his eyes widen.

“Sir, it’s been such a long time. It’s good to see you again.” He stumbles his words. I tilt my head in confusion, and then I look behind me to see if he was talking to someone else. Rachel elbows me lightly.

“Uh, yeah. It’s been a while. It’s good to see you. May we go in?” I ask confidently. He smiles for a moment as he grabs the doorknob, but he doesn’t turn it. He looks back at me.

“I have to ask, Sir. What’s your name?” His green eyes bore into mine as I blink rapidly, trying to remember anything from last night.

“Uh...” I shift on the heels of my feet. “Well...” A soft voice repeats in my mind saying a name over and over. My mouth opens, and the word falls out, “Hunter.”

Rachel grabs hold of my arm tightly as I stared into the doorman’s eyes before he nods and turns the doorknob to allow us to enter. I nod at him before guiding Rachel inside.

“What in the hell was that?! How did you know?” Her excitement is valid, but my focus is on my surroundings with dim lights and beautiful wine barrels dressed up elegantly with hanging lights while people are using them to place their drinks on as they chat with others.

“Yeah, I know, right? I…I have this feeling that I’ve been here more than once before.” My eyes search the crowd of people nearby as I saunter towards the middle of the floor. Before I can grab Rachel’s hand, a guy grabs her hand and asks her to dance with her. I silently tell her it’s alright. I won’t be too far. As she dances, my legs take me closer to the red wine-colored door fifty feet away.

Familiar. This must be it.

I amble towards it as if it were commanding me to go over there until she stands in my way. My eyes adjust to the figure in front of me as her Nordic blue eyes slightly glow, stopping me in my tracks. Our eyes are staring intensely at each other from twenty feet away as I feel my bones ache to be closer. But I standstill as I allow her to come to me. She walks over, wearing a tied backless ruffle hem light blue floral dress that hugged every inch of her entirely. My hands begin to sweat at the anticipation of touching her as flashes of memories from the night before once again invading my thoughts, causing me to shake my head quickly as I blink my eyes rapidly. She disappeared from my line of sight as I look around for her until I feel a hand on my shoulder and I turn around and there she is, looking up at me with those blue eyes. I feel fire running through my veins as I grip her arms, gritting my teeth.

“What. Did. You. Do. To. Me?! Huh?! Turn me back now!” I scream over the music as her face covers with a pained look before she slips from my grip and slaps me across my face. My right eye waters from the sting of her hand.

I slowly look down at her, “You’re lucky I don’t hit women, or you would have been knocked out.” She huffs and rolls eyes. “You’re gonna talk to me! Why did you turn me into a man?!”

She shoves me and yells, “I didn’t turn you! This was supposed to happen! Trust me, I was shocked when I touched your hand the other night, and I saw things that only a few in this lifetime were witnessed to. Then…then I pulled the cards, and each card foretold a new beginning and an ending.”

I am trying to wrap my head around this, but none of this is making sense to me. “I don’t understand!” I yell, frustrated. She puts both hands on the side of my face and gently leans her forehead against mine.

“See for yourself.” The intro to a cover of Rihanna’s Love on the Brain begins to be sung in the background as I start to see flashes of the night before. The mystery woman was taking me through the underground tunnels as she talks to me about what is happening now. She holds my hand, and it feels right. Then flashes of some time ago, long before I was born, almost ancient times of Seven women hiding from fear of something or someone except one. She stood tall, confident, and she stared right through me. Another flash of last night as I am standing outside of the club, hearing her talk to me, hugging me, whispering, “I found you, my love.”

I snap out of it as I stumble back from her grip as my mouth drops open, and I shake my head as sweat beads on my forehead. “The hell…” I can barely talk as she runs up to me and places her hand on my face, gently caressing my cheek.

“My Hunter, my Orion. The ember in my vein has called for you each lifetime. I have found you. But I need you to wake up.”

My hand gently touches her shoulder as I look at her as if I have seen her in many forms, in different lifetimes. “Wake up? I am awake…”

“No, my love. They are searching for you. Each incarnation they kill you before you get to me. Now that I have found you, I cannot allow them to take you from me.” She grabs my hand and guides me to the wine-colored door from earlier. I step inside, and it felt like a fortress as the stars along the walls illuminated.

“What is this place?” I look around in awe. She positions me to sit down on this alter as she places multicolored stones around me.

“Please, trust me. Trust what you feel. I can only tell you this; Your name is Orion, the great Hunter. The one where your belt is noticeable by the naked eye when humans look up to the heavens. I know this sounds crazy, but before you were killed by…” she trails off, and she looks uncomfortable.

I grab her hand, “By who?” My brown eyes follow hers, and she cups my cheek and lightly kisses my lips as my eyes close. I begin to see flashes of my death, and each lifetime it’s by something or someone. I pull away, breathing heavily as my hand reaches to my chest.

"Every time you die, a part of me dies, literally. I have a little bit of magic left in this body from the ancients. My name is Pleione, I am the mother of the seven sisters you were supposed to kill a millennia ago. But you saw me alone by a river, picking berries you watched me for hours, and I sensed you there yet, I should have run, but I didn’t. You walked up to me with your crossbow pointed at my heart, and I thought for sure you would pull the trigger, but you slowly lowered the bow and our eyes connected. From then on, our souls embraced each other, but you had the urge to kill my daughters no matter how much love was between us. You were destined to hunt them down and kill them one by one for Him. His power is unmatched and unparalleled, but somehow, I believe love was stronger than Him. Our love was stronger than Him.”

It all feels familiar and seeing the flashes from a time long ago, yet I am still trying to wrap my mind around all of this. “Why won’t you tell me who forced me to kill your daughters a long time ago?”

She lets go of my face and stands up and lights a candle and grabs an old book and slowly opens it. “You kill my daughters each lifetime, whether by accident or on purpose. He has cursed you to do this and to keep us apart. But the Universe decided to change the tides of our fate, including my daughters. Unfortunately, They know this, and I need you to wake up. I mean I need your soul awakened, my beautiful Hunter.”

I started to feel drowsy as the room began to spin, and my stomach churns in annoyance.

“I feel so sick…” I hear her chant words softly as my head began to feel heavy, and my chest felt like something was sitting on it. My back hits the ground as my eyes stared up at the stars illuminating on her ceiling. Orion’s belt begins to twinkle as I hear the last words from her mouth.

“Don’t forget who you are, my love. I need you to be awake. NOW!”

I pass out, and then the next thing I know, I am awake in my bed, alone. I sit up abruptly as my t-shirt is drenched with sweat and my pulse races. I rub the sleep from my eyes, and I scoot to the edge of the bed as my feet hit the warm carpet.

Softly, “What a warped dream…” I barely can stand as I walk slowly to the full-length mirror as my eyes adjust to the figure in front of me. I automatically feel my breasts, and my hands roam every curve of my body. “Thank the heavens it was only a dream…” I sigh.

As I stare into the mirror, there was a mark on the side of my neck, a small one but noticeable. I look closer, and it spells:

H

R *Orion* U

E N

T