He
crawled backwards to the far side of the jeep, putting as much metal between
him and the creature as possible. The bear pushed against the side of the jeep
and it lurched. James clung to the roll cage as the car moved, pain still
burning in his back. He could feel his shirt sticking to his back and knew he
was bleeding heavily. The bear reached inside, but couldn’t reach the doctor.
It tore at the door and ripped it away from the body of the vehicle. James
crawled out the opposite side as the bear thrust its body into the vehicle,
snarling.
He
ran into the woods, not once looking back until fatigue and blood loss got the
better of him. He collapsed in the forest, and when he finally awoke he was on
a cot back in the base camp. It took weeks of recovery before he was able to travel.
He was sent back home to his wife and recovered quickly. He attributed his
remarkable recovery to his talented peers, and soon life was back to normal.
Even better, he was going to be a father!
Then
James woke one morning, naked in a field with no recollection of how he’d
gotten there. It took months for him to piece everything together, and by the
time he had, his wife was already experiencing complications with the
pregnancy. By the time he realized what he had truly become, it was too late.
His poor wife just couldn’t handle the supernatural child she was carrying, and
James lost them both.
He
was devastated; James took an extended leave from work and disappeared from his
social circles. He took the time to mourn, and to learn more about what he had
become. He learned to control his shifting; he could transform into a bear at
will, and though it was a struggle at first he was able to maintain control of
himself in bear form as well.
The
part that continued to elude him, however, was the science behind what he was.
At first, he believed it could be transmitted from a bite, like the legends
say. He tested his blood and saliva and found nothing out of the ordinary; but
when his blood mixed with another’s, even of the same type, it turned dark and
clotted. He believed this incompatibility was the reason he’d lost his wife.
Though years had passed, he kept to himself, closely guarding his heart because
he knew any woman he loved would be doomed to a fate the same as his wife.
James
began volunteering with the blood bank last year, and was secretly bringing
home small samples from each donor. He tested them in the lab he had
constructed in the estate he had inherited from his parents. He had been
ecstatic when he discovered the first sample that was compatible with his own.
It belonged to a sixty year old man with no children or close family, but it
gave him hope that he’d one day find another woman he could love without fear.
Out
of the thousands of samples he had tested, so far he’d only found a dozen
compatible people. They all hailed from the same region of Eastern Europe,
which he thought explained why there were few reports of creatures such as
himself in the United States. None of the potential matches had been suitable
mates; over half were male, and of the females only one was young enough to
still bear a child. He had found reasons to meet with the woman multiple times,
but there was no chemistry there. He had debated offering to pay the woman to
carry his child, but in the end decided that his baby should be born into a
loving family.
James
checked back to the samples from today; he had drawn blood from nearly forty
people outside the mall, few fit the descriptors he was looking for, but he
tested each and every one. If any were found compatible, he’d look into their
family. It was possible for those who were biologically compatible but
otherwise not viable options to have sisters or daughters who might be worth
looking into. He knew it was strange to be searching for a mate based on
genetics, but he could think of no other way. He often worried that he’d end up
stuck with someone he
crawled backwards to the far side of the jeep, putting as much metal between
him and the creature as possible. The bear pushed against the side of the jeep
and it lurched. James clung to the roll cage as the car moved, pain still
burning in his back. He could feel his shirt sticking to his back and knew he
was bleeding heavily. The bear reached inside, but couldn’t reach the doctor.
It tore at the door and ripped it away from the body of the vehicle. James
crawled out the opposite side as the bear thrust its body into the vehicle,
snarling.
He
ran into the woods, not once looking back until fatigue and blood loss got the
better of him. He collapsed in the forest, and when he finally awoke he was on
a cot back in the base camp. It took weeks of recovery before he was able to travel.
He was sent back home to his wife and recovered quickly. He attributed his
remarkable recovery to his talented peers, and soon life was back to normal.
Even better, he was going to be a father!
Then
James woke one morning, naked in a field with no recollection of how he’d
gotten there. It took months for him to piece everything together, and by the
time he had, his wife was already experiencing complications with the
pregnancy. By the time he realized what he had truly become, it was too late.
His poor wife just couldn’t handle the supernatural child she was carrying, and
James lost them both.
He
was devastated; James took an extended leave from work and disappeared from his
social circles. He took the time to mourn, and to learn more about what he had
become. He learned to control his shifting; he could transform into a bear at
will, and though it was a struggle at first he was able to maintain control of
himself in bear form as well.
The
part that continued to elude him, however, was the science behind what he was.
At first, he believed it could be transmitted from a bite, like the legends
say. He tested his blood and saliva and found nothing out of the ordinary; but
when his blood mixed with another’s, even of the same type, it turned dark and
clotted. He believed this incompatibility was the reason he’d lost his wife.
Though years had passed, he kept to himself, closely guarding his heart because
he knew any woman he loved would be doomed to a fate the same as his wife.
James
began volunteering with the blood bank last year, and was secretly bringing
home small samples from each donor. He tested them in the lab he had
constructed in the estate he had inherited from his parents. He had been
ecstatic when he discovered the first sample that was compatible with his own.
It belonged to a sixty year old man with no children or close family, but it
gave him hope that he’d one day find another woman he could love without fear.
Out
of the thousands of samples he had tested, so far he’d only found a dozen
compatible people. They all hailed from the same region of Eastern Europe,
which he thought explained why there were few reports of creatures such as
himself in the United States. None of the potential matches had been suitable
mates; over half were male, and of the females only one was young enough to
still bear a child. He had found reasons to meet with the woman multiple times,
but there was no chemistry there. He had debated offering to pay the woman to
carry his child, but in the end decided that his baby should be born into a
loving family.
James
checked back to the samples from today; he had drawn blood from nearly forty
people outside the mall, few fit the descriptors he was looking for, but he
tested each and every one. If any were found compatible, he’d look into their
family. It was possible for those who were biologically compatible but
otherwise not viable options to have sisters or daughters who might be worth
looking into. He knew it was strange to be searching for a mate based on
genetics, but he could think of no other way. He often worried that he’d end up
stuck with someone he
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