Bite Marks

Sunrise

I tried to make conversation with my guard but he was either mentally disabled or really really good at ignoring me. Somehow I thought it was the latter. Kane finally came back down, without a bucket I noticed with relief.

"You should have about an hour left. I know you're bull headed and won't listen to a word I say, but if you would just humor me-"

"Oh, well I'm sorry I'm not as compliant as you seem to be used to," I said rolling my eyes.

"I will explain the change," He continued on ignoring me. Now I know where my guard learned it from. "It's going to hurt, mostly because it will be so foreign to your body, but you can't fight it. If you fight the changed it will take longer to finish. The first change is impossible to stop anyways so it's useless."

"Okay well how long until this thing starts-" A shudder wracked my body cutting off my words. I looked up at Kane. What the fuck was that? His smug expression said it all.

"It's starting early, remember don't fight it. Control your breathing," I wanted to tell him I wasn't changing I was having a long delayed panic attack, but I couldn't get a breath. The pain started in my stomach and radiated outwards. Trailing down my arms and legs. I stumbled back into the cot and sat down.

Vaguely I heard Kane telling me over and over to take slow steady breaths, which I think actually works for panic attacks too so I took his advice. The pain receded and I relaxed.

"It will come and go in waves. Quit denying it, just let it happen. On the off chance you don't survive is there anyone I should notify?" Damn him that was cold. Even worse though was the fact that there wasn't anyone.

Kelsey and I were friends, but I wasn't a large part of her life. Aidan would already be involved because he was a cop, and I'm sure he would be upset, but I wasn't crazy enough to think what we had was anything more than casual. Jason would be upset that he lost his personal punching bag. I know he expected me to come crawling back eventually. I always had in the past. My dad... I hadn't heard from my dad in years. I wasn't even sure he was alive anymore. The only person who really needed me was my boss, but I wasn't going to tell Kane that. It would be too mortifying to tell him the only person who would be affected by my death was some old guy who ran a restaurant... and not even because he liked me but because he would have to get a replacement.

"No," was the only response he got.

"No one? You're telling me that if you die here right now there is no one who would care?"

"That's what I'm telling you."

I'm sure he would have said more, but the spasms came back and I hunched into myself. My breathing trick did not work this time and I found myself trying not to panic. I fell to my hands and knees on the concrete.

The cold ground brought me back to myself for a minute and I struggled to rise above the hazy pain. What the fuck was happening to me. I started listing off random medical emergencies in my head, heart attack, stroke, aneurism, but I knew that what I was experiencing now was none of those things.

I opened my eyes and gasped. My arms were covered in hair. Long and course, it covered every inch of my skin. I heard popping noises and my back bowed. The pain was unbelievable. More cracking noises and my elbows inverted. I fought back the contents of my stomach as they rose in my throat. If on the off chance I was becoming a werewolf or something I didn't remember them putting this gruesome part in my romance novels.

I felt light headed but forced my eyes open again. My body didn't feel like it was the right size for me and my face felt... strange. My vision was different; colors were distorted. Again I looked at my hands, but didn't see long pale fingers instead they were grotesque and stubby; my nails had elongated. I knew I was on the verge of passing out.

Iamnotchangingintoawerewolf.Iamnotchangingintoawerewolf.

I AM NOT A WEREWOLF.

The pain stopped. I took my first complete breath of air and collapsed on my side. I was sweaty and shaking. My clothes were torn in some places, but I looked down at my hands and they were mine again.

I had only ever experimented with hallucinogens once in my high school days. One bad trip was all it took and I was done with that. That's what this whole experience had been. They had drugged me and brought me down to this fucking cage knowing that when the drugs finally kicked in all the talk of werewolves and fucking shape changing along with the stress of being kidnapped would give me the worst trip of my life.

I finally found the energy to look up. If I hadn't been so drained I would have laughed at the look on Kane's face. Incredulous had never looked so funny. I wanted to get up and lay on the cot but the cool floor felt like heaven on my hot skin. I felt like I had a fever, but even as I was thinking it I began to cool down.

"Leave," I heard Kane mutter at the guard. The shuffling noise let me know he was gone and I finally mustered up the energy to pull myself up onto the cot.

"So what now?" I rasped. My throat felt raw and I realized at some point I must have screamed.

"You stopped the change..."

"No, there was no change. You sick bastards drugged me up, dragged me down here and got off watching me freak out while I had a bad trip."

"Cassie, my God you are the most infuriating woman I have ever met! I saw it, you started the change and then it just stopped; flowed back into you like water. I have never seen anything like it. I've never heard anything like this happening."

"Can't I just go home now? You promised if I was alive in the morning you would let me go."

I looked out the window realizing a lot more time than I had thought had passed. The sun looked like it was just beginning to rise.

"You can go. There is one stipulation though. If you ever start to feel the change happening again you HAVE to call me. Cassie I don't know what happened to you and I don't know what will happen in the future. Maybe your body somehow fought off the change and it hasn't affected your DNA. Honestly I don't know and against my better judgement I'll let you go, but I won't be leaving you alone. We will be in touch." He walked toward the stairs but stopped and looked back down at me.

"I don't suppose I need to tell you to keep this visit to yourself. Even if you did tell anyone who would believe you? You're not hurt, and by tomorrow there will be absolutely no evidence you were ever here."

I wanted to find a flaw in his reasoning, but couldn't. If I told Aidan what happened to me he would have to get a judge to issue a warrant so he could search the house, and by then I'm sure there would be no evidence of my stay.

I closed my eyes and laid back on the cot. Honestly I just wanted to put this whole fucking thing behind me.

So what do you think? Why didn't Cassie complete the change? Should Kane let her go?? Comment, vote, let me know what you think!