Barely over a month has passed since my first metamorphosis, yet it feels like a lifetime. My mind is aware of my crimes, and I try to stop hunting and killing innocent creatures, creatures that are just following their instincts for survival. But I canât; itâs as if Iâve lost all self control. I crave revenge and the taste of blood. Things arenât what they seem. Bits and pieces of lies and truths were mixed together in my mind like the bits of colored glass in a kaleidoscope, but now Iâve cut through the veil of illusion. I see the truth of many things.
I know that Aidenâs death released something within me, something that took my sanity. I try to remember who I am, or who I was, but I canât find my way back to my human side. Iâm not feral either, Iâm far worseâIâm rabid. Memories locked within my cells since I was a child have resurfaced. One thing I know is that Alexander Hunter made a mistake in not killing my sister and me when we were born. But he didnât know we were both werecats, didnât understand that the suppressive medicine he was giving us, mine for my condition, hers for her asthma, was creating an abomination.
The truth is that my sister and I were never meant to live. Like was meant to breed like. Ferals breed ferals, werecats breed werecats, and humans breed humans. My sister and I are genetic hybrids, abominations. The medicines we received didnât actually contain our illnesses. They kept us alive long enough to allow our mutated cells to grow, allowing the beast within to develop and mutate into a new breed of monster, ten times more powerful than werecat and feral combinedâand ten times as dangerous.
It was my fear and anger the night I was attacked in the alley that released my darker side for the first time. I know why Abby and I were always such scared little girlsâthe beast within fed our fears, hoping weâd eventually snap, hoping weâd give in to those fears and let the beast out of its physical and mental cage, even as it whispered that it was coming to protect us.
Still, I donât understand why my medicine stopped working. Maybe I outgrew it, but that doesnât explain Abbyâs change. I knew it was coming, I could smell it on her. Maybe Dr. Tannerâs ionized inhaler wasnât as strong as Abbyâs old one, which would explain her heavy bouts of asthma since Athens. Her asthma was her beast striking at her lungs, trying to break through, until it finally did, escaping to the outside world to eat at Abbyâs mind until she, too, becomes rabid. Sheâll suffer the same fate as me, mad beyond belief while her mind sits behind a veil, watching through sane eyes as the horror unfolds.
AbbyâI barely remember her now. Only when Iâm allowed a brief moment to summon up a snapshot of sanity and remember these thoughts do I recall my sister, my best friend. Or Aiden, the love of my life, dead now. I cry when I remember him, knowing Iâll never kiss him again.
The veil begins to close. Itâs time to hunt and feed on the reptilian, gator-like creatures that took him from me. That was three days ago, and theyâre nearly all dead. The ones remaining are hiding in the swamps. They know Iâm coming for them.
Sometimes I see strange visions of my mother, though I donât remember her. Maybe sheâs still alive, or maybe sheâs a ghost come to save me from myself. But when I see her face in the mists, another ghost chases her away. Keenan. He demands retribution. He whispers evil thoughts to me. He tells me Iâll have no resolution until I kill everything connected to the death of my true loveâincluding the doctor.
Jack Tanner, the man with false hopes of finding a feral cure within the cells of my kind. I think he was wrong, but if heâs not, heâll be dead before he can prove his theory. My rabid side will kill him before he gets the chance.
I know that Aidenâs death released something within me, something that took my sanity. I try to remember who I am, or who I was, but I canât find my way back to my human side. Iâm not feral either, Iâm far worseâIâm rabid. Memories locked within my cells since I was a child have resurfaced. One thing I know is that Alexander Hunter made a mistake in not killing my sister and me when we were born. But he didnât know we were both werecats, didnât understand that the suppressive medicine he was giving us, mine for my condition, hers for her asthma, was creating an abomination.
The truth is that my sister and I were never meant to live. Like was meant to breed like. Ferals breed ferals, werecats breed werecats, and humans breed humans. My sister and I are genetic hybrids, abominations. The medicines we received didnât actually contain our illnesses. They kept us alive long enough to allow our mutated cells to grow, allowing the beast within to develop and mutate into a new breed of monster, ten times more powerful than werecat and feral combinedâand ten times as dangerous.
It was my fear and anger the night I was attacked in the alley that released my darker side for the first time. I know why Abby and I were always such scared little girlsâthe beast within fed our fears, hoping weâd eventually snap, hoping weâd give in to those fears and let the beast out of its physical and mental cage, even as it whispered that it was coming to protect us.
Still, I donât understand why my medicine stopped working. Maybe I outgrew it, but that doesnât explain Abbyâs change. I knew it was coming, I could smell it on her. Maybe Dr. Tannerâs ionized inhaler wasnât as strong as Abbyâs old one, which would explain her heavy bouts of asthma since Athens. Her asthma was her beast striking at her lungs, trying to break through, until it finally did, escaping to the outside world to eat at Abbyâs mind until she, too, becomes rabid. Sheâll suffer the same fate as me, mad beyond belief while her mind sits behind a veil, watching through sane eyes as the horror unfolds.
AbbyâI barely remember her now. Only when Iâm allowed a brief moment to summon up a snapshot of sanity and remember these thoughts do I recall my sister, my best friend. Or Aiden, the love of my life, dead now. I cry when I remember him, knowing Iâll never kiss him again.
The veil begins to close. Itâs time to hunt and feed on the reptilian, gator-like creatures that took him from me. That was three days ago, and theyâre nearly all dead. The ones remaining are hiding in the swamps. They know Iâm coming for them.
Sometimes I see strange visions of my mother, though I donât remember her. Maybe sheâs still alive, or maybe sheâs a ghost come to save me from myself. But when I see her face in the mists, another ghost chases her away. Keenan. He demands retribution. He whispers evil thoughts to me. He tells me Iâll have no resolution until I kill everything connected to the death of my true loveâincluding the doctor.
Jack Tanner, the man with false hopes of finding a feral cure within the cells of my kind. I think he was wrong, but if heâs not, heâll be dead before he can prove his theory. My rabid side will kill him before he gets the chance.
Similar Books
