Inner Demons

Chapter 1

"One. T-two. Th-ree. F-f-f..." I struggled to count aloud to cam myself. I heard the door squeak open.

"Who's there? Stay away! I... I don't want to hurt you! Please... just leave me alone."

It was happening. I was changing like He said I would... I didn't want to change; I didn't want to become the monster I thought I was all my life. I didn't want to hurt anymore...

"Clarke? It's me, Livia. It's alright, I'm here for you. Let me see you, please Clarke? I just want to know that you're okay."

I heard her voice muffled from behind the half-closed door. She was the last person on Earth that I wanted to see me in that state.

"Livia? No. No, no, no, no! Leave! Now! Please... you're the last person who should be here," I shouted frantically as I took cover under a nearby desk.

"Clarke, what's wrong? You sound distressed. Tell me what's going wrong," she asked, finally moving from the doorway into the room with me.

"I'm scared, okay? I'm scared of who I am, of what I'm becoming. I'm scared I'm going to hurt you. Please, stay away from me... you're only making things worse for yourself," I replied while trying my best to stay as far away from her as I could.

It felt as though my blood was boiling in my veins. My scars were turning a coal black, the color slowly seeping into the flesh around them. My arm was slowly being engulfed in a light swallowing darkness. I was struggling for control. With great difficulty I tried to crawl away from her. It was sapping all my strength to keep my thoughts clear in my head.

"Please, go now! I'm losing myself and I don't want to lose you too... I love you, Livia."

Her hands were softer than a summer breeze against my skin. Cool, inviting, forgiving. She held my face in her hands and angled my head to meet her gaze. I could see myself reflected in her calm, blue eyes. I could see my irises become flooded with a deep shade of red where once my eyes were nearly black.

Her voice was quiet and tear choked as she brought her forehead to mine.

"It's alright, I'm not going anywhere anytime soon. I lost you once before, I don't want to lose you again..."

It was too late. I couldn't control it anymore. He was out and He was out for blood. My skin was absorbed by darkness, spirally curved horns sprouted out from my head. I could feel my shirt press against my skin as wings started growing from my back and my chest grew wider. Claws grew from my fingers to form slender blades at the tip of each finger. The wings burst forth from my shirt, their sleek, dark feathers shining in the late afternoon sun. It looked as though I were wearing a dark cloak around me. This new form was now me and that frightened me.

I leapt at her, taking her by surprise. She couldn't even turn to run away from me before I had sliced into her. Blood sprayed from her form. A coat of crimson stood out against my pitch-black skin.

Her scream was high pitched. It threw me off guard, giving Livia a chance to escape. There were four streaks of blood on the front of her blouse running from her left shoulder to the middle of the right side of her chest. She ran from me, screaming, terrified of me. I couldn't blame her, even I was afraid of who I was. Even the love of my life couldn't love a bloodthirsty demon freak.

I may have been able to spare her life, but my thirst for blood was far from slaked. News reports said that a cloaked man with an assortment of blades had come through the high school that day. Nobody could figure out how he managed to get in to the school or what his motives were. There were thirty-six fatalities on the scene and a further seven died to their wounds. Those who survived described the attacker as having glowing red eyes, a long black cloak and appeared to have curved horns on his head. Officials thought this was a disguise to protect his identity. They weren't far off from the truth. That wasn't me who killed those people. It wasn't Him. It was Us.