Feralympics - Alice Cook

Alice got up on quivering legs. She balanced on her now paw-like feet, relishing in the feeling of the rough, rubbery track surface beneath her bare but freshly padded soles. Testing her new body, she jogged around her prep area, savoring the sensation of landing on the balls of her feet, her clawed toes spreading with each step to balance her weight as she pushed off and propelled herself effortlessly.

Her body was lithe, her muscles strong. As a world-class athlete, she was already incredibly fit as a human, but now that she was spliced with wolf DNA, she was on a whole new level. That was the whole point of the Feralympic Games, after all – a celebration and showcase both of the athlete’s personal training and the scientific breakthroughs that made transformations like hers a reality. Together, they symbolized that anything was truly possible.

As per the Games’ custom, she and the other athletes were injected with their chosen serum one by one in the stadium, their naked forms proudly on display. The crowd, which only moments ago had witnessed her transition from woman to wolf, watched in silence as she examined and explored her new self, her long tongue lapping in and out as she panted to keep her body cool and fueled with oxygen. She wagged her bushy tail behind her, twirling a few times in excitement and joy and ensuring that it translated on camera. She knew these cheerful thoughts were at least in part because of her new wolfish instincts kicking in – after all, she was out in the open, about to run and race to her heart’s content – but she indulged herself in them, allowing herself to be lost in the moment.

Finally, she decided it was time to let the next athlete take her turn. She returned to her prep area, standing on the pedestal marked “USA” and posing proudly, her prep team and coach flanking her on each side. With a smile, she waved once more at the crowd, the flashes of thousands of cameras firmly marking her place in the Games’ history.

She took a deep breath, and let out a triumphant howl – and the crowd roared.