**Night Walker's Metamorphosis**

The thick yellow hoodie hung loosely around Jason's skinny frame as he walked through the park, its color stark against the dark, foliage-draped paths. At 13, Jason was a nondescript kid, medium height, with a mop of brown hair perpetually falling over his eyes. The white undershirt poked out from the hoodie’s hem, a silent testament to the cool night air. His blue jeans were faded and well-worn, testament to countless adventures, and his black-and-white shoes squeaked rhythmically in time with his steps. Jason had always felt an odd sense of peace meandering through the park at night. He loved the way the moonlight filtered through the leaves, creating shadows that danced along the ground. Tonight was different, though. The usual tranquility seemed tinged with an unsettling energy that made the hairs on his neck bristle. His pace quickened unconsciously. Suddenly, he stopped dead in his tracks, a strange feeling prickling at the edge of his awareness. He spun on his heel, almost expecting to see someone— or something— following him. But there was no one there, only the silent whispers of the leaves in the gentle breeze. Jason’s eyes were drawn upward, to the hauntingly luminous full moon that hung like a giant orb in the starlit sky. As he gazed at the moon, an unshakeable trance took hold, seizing his mind with icy fingers. An inexplicable pull tethered his senses to the celestial body. The world around him faded, dissolved until there was nothing left but him and the moon. Jason didn’t notice when the change began, so focused was he on the silvery light. It started subtly, almost imperceptibly. A tingling sensation spread from the tips of his fingers and toes, radiating inward. His breathing grew shallow and rapid, each breath laced with an otherworldly heat that coursed through his veins. He convulsed suddenly, doubling over with a gasp as a searing pain jolted through his spine, as though his very skeleton was stretching and pulling itself apart from within. The discomfort became agony. His bones seemed to liquefy, then solidify again— longer, thicker, stronger. His limbs elongated, the joints popping and grinding as new layers of bone and muscle took form. His fingers and toes stretched outward in grotesque distortions, the skin tearing slightly around the growing claws that began to replace his nails. The shoes could no longer contain his expanding feet, and with a loud rip, they burst apart, shards of fabric and rubber flying off in different directions. Jason’s hoodie, once so comfy and oversized, grew painfully tight. His muscles bulged beneath the fabric, straining the seams to the breaking point. The soft yellow material shredded as his shoulders widened and bulked up, revealing the almost inhumanly sculpted muscle beneath. His chest expanded in sync with his growing height, forcing the white undershirt to split down the middle as his heart pounded with raging intensity. A guttural growl erupted from his throat, involuntary and primal. His ribcage stretched and expanded, the structures accommodating a bigger set of organs and sinew within. Each breath now came out as a snarl, the sound resonating with a beastly timbre. Sweat poured from him, steaming in the cool night air, as fur began to sprout from the exposed skin— thick, dark fur that gleamed under the moonlight. His face twisted and contorted painfully as his jaw elongated into a snout, teeth sharpening into deadly points. The transformation engulfed his head, remoulding it into something more beast than boy. His vision sharpened, adjusted to the night; his hearing heightened, capturing even the faintest rustle of leaves. Jason’s consciousness retreated further into his mind as primal instincts surged to the forefront, pushing rational thought aside. Every nerve tingled with heightened awareness, his senses now attuned to the world in ways that were both thrilling and terrifying. The beast he had become roared with newfound strength and ferocity, the sound echoing through the empty park, a declaration of his metamorphosis. Where once a 13-year-old boy had stood, there was now a towering, muscle-bound beast, rippling with power and animalistic savagery. The shredded remnants of his clothing lay scattered around him, souvenirs of a life that felt distant and alien. Every movement was a symphony of raw, uncontained power as he prowled forward, the park now his domain. The sensations were overwhelming, the moon's pull inescapable. He howled once more, a spine-chilling cry that pierced the night, cementing his place as a creature of the darkness. Hours passed in this moonlit frenzy, the transformation's ferocity waxing and waning with the moon's glow. Slowly, almost grudgingly, the beast within Jason receded, letting the boy resurface. Exhausted, he found himself crumpled amid the dew-kissed grass, naked and trembling, staring up at the moon that had invoked such a nightmarish transformation. He was himself again, but nothing would ever be the same. The park was no longer a place of solace but a reminder of the beast lurking within, awaiting the next full moon to emerge once more.