Staying Human

By Adam Bolander

It's the year 2047, and the human race is on the brink of extinction. A mysterious virus is turning anyone it infects into animals. This is Eve's story, a young woman who is slowly turning into a panther. When she meets Bastion, a man turning into a wolf, her entire world is turned upside down, and she learns that maybe there is more to her transformation than she thought...

• Language: English
• Publisher: Adam Bolander
• Release date: Oct 14, 2013
• ISBN: 9781301835119

Adam Bolander

Adam Bolander grew up struggling with several learning disorders. All his life, he'd always had one dream: to be a well known author. Though it took him until his junior year of high school to actually begin writing, he has since then published three books, with several more on the way. All of Adam's books are appropriate for ages 12 and up. They contain no sexual content, no foul language, no drug use, and only mild violence.

Book preview

Staying Human

By Adam Bolander

Copyright 2013 Adam Bolander

Smashwords Edition

Thanks to Rita Muñoz for the awesome cover!

Chapter One

Have you ever knelt in the tall grass of an abandoned field, the scents and sights and sounds assaulting you from every angle, while you waited for a wild boar to wander by so you could violently murder it?

If you haven’t, you’ve never lived.

Of course, that probably only sounds remotely appealing if you’re one of two types of people. The first is a bloodthirsty psychopath who has gone too long without sticking a knife into something. The other someone like me… although, I’m not exactly what you’d call a person.

My name is Eve. Just Eve. I had a different name once, and another name to go after it, but it’s gone now. In truth, I can’t remember what my old name was. Maybe I simply have no need for it anymore, so my mind has erased it. Maybe the transformation wiped it from my mind. Either way, my name is Eve now, so don’t bother trying to call me anything else.

So, I was crouched there in the tall grass, my eyes scanning the field in front of me, my tail twitching eagerly behind me. I unconsciously angled my ears up and down, trying to catch every little sound and locate where it came from. My right hand gripped my wooden spear, itching to put it to use- to kill. I blamed the big hunk of mutton I had strategically placed on the ground twenty feet away from me. The smell of meat drifted into my nose, making my mouth water. I licked my lips, my tongue gliding over my thin, sharp teeth. At the moment, I honestly wanted nothing more than to devour the succulent meat instead of wasting it on some stupid pig.

But I forced myself to remain still. My tribe needed food, and a whole boar would feed more of them than a hunk of sheep meat would. I wasn’t exactly on good terms with them, so I couldn’t risk their anger by eating the bait I was supposed to use to bring home food. Maybe if I did this, they’d finally let me sleep close to the fire tonight, instead of out in the cold. I’d thought that same thing every other time I went hunting, more times now than I could count, but maybe, just maybe, this would be the time. The thought did nothing to comfort my rumbling stomach, though.

A soft grunting noise came from the other side of the field. Immediately, I went rigid and crouched even lower behind the grass. My tail swished back and forth, gently rustling the grass behind me.

The boar lethargically made its way into the field, its big nose up in the air, sniffing out the meat I had placed for it. I had scouted this area frequently, and knew the boar came by this field on a daily basis. I had set my trap so that the boar’s path would be downwind of the meat, while I was far enough away to evade his sense of smell. Slowly, agonizingly slowly, the giant pig bumbled in, completely unaware that I was watching its every move. Finally, with a snort of satisfaction, it found the mutton and dug in.

I gave a shrill cry of excitement, and leaped from my hiding spot. The boar, distracted by its free meal, was slow to react, and I immediately drove the tip of my spear into its hide. The pig threw its head back and squealed in pain, whirling around and trying to gore me with its tusks. I jumped backwards nimbly, ripping my spear out of its body. With an angry snort, it hooved the ground and charged at me. I did not move out of the way. My instincts would not allow me to. Instead, I waited until the last moment before darting forward, placing my foot on its face, and vaulting myself into the air. I performed a graceful flip before plunging my spear into the boar’s back.

As gravity brought me back to earth, I grabbed ahold of my spear, still embedded in the hog’s body, and swung around to land directly on its back. The massive pig reared up on its hind legs, trying to buck me off, but my balance was far greater than a human’s, so keeping my footing was no challenge. With a feral growl, I pulled my spear from the boar’s back and plunged it into its neck, just above the spine. I felt the spear’s stone head connect with bone, plowing straight through it with little effort, and the pig immediately collapsed. My eyes bulging with exhilaration, I leaned my head back and let out a cry of victory!

Finally pausing to catch my breath, I blinked a couple of times and put my hand to my chest, forcing my heart to beat slower. It wasn’t good for me to let my animal instincts take over, even if it felt oh, so good. Pulling my spear from the boar once more, I kneeled down next to its corpse and pulled out my hunting knife. Within minutes, I had carved out all the meat I could carry and was headed back to camp. Later, I would return to collect

Reviews for Staying Human

[sheiladeeth_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

By the year 2047, people have changed. A virus is turning us all into animals, and there’s no cure, only a drug that slows the effects and allows the taker to “stay human.” But humans have never been good at accepting those who are different, so the question arises, at what point is it no longer worth trying to fit in where you’re not welcome.Adam Bolander’s novella creates a very convincing, almost-human protagonist, describing the balance of tail and claw with evocative conviction. Eve hunts for her tribe and feeds them well. But the tribe doesn’t care for Eve. And surely, there must be more to life.When pantherish Eve meets wolfish Bastion, all her human assumptions begin to fall apart. It is essential, or even right, to resist change? Or could there be something more than human underlying her wounded nature?A fascinating exploration of human nature, identity, and the power of love, Staying Human is a beautifully written and very appealing novella for middle grade and up.Disclosure: I found a free ecopy and enjoyed it.