Holly

It hurts

["The guys are getting angry."]

["What do you mean? More than they have been?"] I ask Ira over the talkie. We have arrived at the island and we are walking around looking for anything useful.

I hear faint swearing as Ira presses the button to speak. ["They are getting antsy and tugging at the ropes."] I hear Arius yell my name in anger.

["Tell them to cool their jets. Are they still trying to shift?"]

["It doesn't seem like it anymore."]

Kaia and I begin walking towards the center of the island. "Didn't you say you had some dreams about the island?" Kaia asks.

"Yes."

"Do you see anything that reminds you of it?"

I look around and shake my head. "I remember there being a fire."

"I remember," Kaia says and starts walking in a specific direction. We come to a patch of sand. There is no sign that fire would have been there. "It was here."

I look into the tree line and see a glint of something on the ground. Kaia follows me as I approach it.

It is a puddle. A small, black puddle... with a strange vibrating to it.

"Kaia."

"Yeah?"

"Do you hear that?"

"Hear what?" Her voice becomes faint as the buzzing grows. I stop myself from walking closer but my legs start burning with that need to move again. It feels like something is pushing me.

"You really don't feel that?" I ask, half paying attention to Kaia. My eyes are stuck on the puddle.

"No..." Kaia is interrupted when Ira speaks on the talkies. It is faint but I can hardly make out what she is saying.

["I had to sedate Atticus but Arius is gone."]

"What do you mean gone?" Kaia asks.

["He said Holly's name and ripped the ropes and dove into the water. I think he is coming after you guys."]

"Crap, Holly." I can hear her voice but I can't respond. The burning in my legs is too strong. It hurts. "Holly, can you hear me?" The burning turns to stabbing and I can't resist anymore. I begin walking towards the puddle. "Holly, stop!"

I feel Kaia's hand grab me but I keep going. The water is deeper than it should have been. It almost immediately comes up to my knees and I don't seem bothered. All I can focus on is the humming. It is a rhythm that sounds like someone speaking but still a humming. I don't think I can stop myself.

"Holly, Ira doesn't sound too good! I think we have to go back. The bite is hurting her again."

I wish I could respond. I feel a horrible sense of dread pool in my stomach as the thought of that bite surfaces through the haze. It isn't good. But I am too horrible of a friend to be able to fight through the haze.

Everything becomes darker, cloudier. It feels like the world is phasing out around me and I can't hear anything other than the humming. My eyes feel half closed, half open. I... I think they are open all the way. I can't tell.

"Here."

I turn my head to the sound of a strange voice. It is completely new and unrecognizable. The voice is also strange, like I can hear it but from under water.

"Do it."

I see an older man with gray hair standing next to a young boy. The boy's back is to me and I can't see his face.

"Shoot her."

The boy lifts his hand up and I see a gun. His arm is shaking but nothing is in front of him. All three of us are still surrounded by the black void.

I hear it though. A faint sobbing and a woman quietly begging.

Bang!

The sobbing ends suddenly and the boy lowers his arm. The older man places his hand on the boy's shoulder.

"Well done."

"Where is Edm..." The boy glances over his shoulder at his father but I still cannot see his face. The name is about to fade quickly as if something doesn't want me to hear it.

"Him and his father are burying the rest and harvesting what is still usable."

I feel sick. The man opens his mouth to speak again but I can't hold back the words.

"Arius."

The boy and his father turn to face me but a cloud of black blurs their faces before I can see them. The black quickly consumes the rest of them and my heart starts to pound with fear.

It is all around me. I can't hear, see, smell, or feel the real world. Instead of a salty breeze, there is nothing. All I hear is the humming. All I see is the darkness. All I feel is the water at my feet.

I look down to see the puddle is still there. It looks like a black mirror and I can clearly see my reflection.

A stream of red blood pours down my face in the reflection. My hair doesn't look how it did before. It is in braids like it was a year ago.

"Holly."

I shut my eyes when I recognize my dad's voice. "Stop,"

"Holly, please look at me."

"Stop it!" I squeeze my eyes shut but the numbing void is torture. I give in and open my eyes, praying that the puddle will still be there as my only companion in this strange new world.

In the reflection, I see my dad behind me. Dried blood is on his lips but his eyes do not look dead. They look concerned as they study my face in the reflection.

"Your face, Holly." I reach up and touch my cheek.

Scales.

A cold, sharp shiver slides down my bare spine. I feel a pain in my fingertips and a weakness in my legs. I look at my dad, panicked. "Dad!"

His eyes look at me, still worried. He opens his mouth but the black void falls around me. A sharp pain goes through my body as my back hits the hard ground.

Pain shoots through my limbs and I writhe on the floor.

"Holly!" I feel Kaia's hands on me. When I try to shove her back, I hear her yelp. I think I cut her with my... my claws.

I roll onto my stomach and the pain intensifies. It feels like my skin is peeling and something cold and hard is sliding from the open wounds.

I let out a scream and it sounds twisted and screechy, completely unnatural.

"Holly, what is happening?"

I try to respond but all I feel is the burning pain as my legs fuse together. The skin melts and my leg bones crackle until it is liquid. Somewhere in the pain, I realize I have one leg... or tail.

"It... hurts!" I manage to choke out. I feel something in my throat change and I claw at it, drawing blood.

A lot of blood and a lot of pain.