The Phantom Wolf

Chapter 6 (Coming To Terms)

*Pearls POV*

'Red... red eyes, how is that- ' her train of thought interpreted by a flash vision. A memory. Of a red haired lady standing over her and biting into her neck. Then mass amounts of pain flooded her body.

'That's what happened. I was bitten by a Cold One. She made me like her. Is that what she meant when she said I had to change?', I thought bitterly. 'But, wait. Am I a real Cold One, I mean, yeah I got the creepy red eyes and all. But I can still hear my heart beating. Ain't Cold Ones literally walking corpses?'

*3rd Person POV*

She mulled over it in her head for a while, but couldn't find a clear answer to her question. Recalling the attack (after she was bit), it was all blurred. No clear pictures. No clear memory's. Just snippets, bits and pieces. That Pearl couldn't decipher.

According to the legends Pearl was told as a kid, Cold Ones by definition, are the living dead. They walk amongst humans, blending in with ease, by nature. They have an alluring beauty that draws their unsuspecting prey in. Their skin pale, bodies cold as ice, with no life occupying them on the inside, there's no heartbeat to listen to, no breathing to watch, they could be as still as a statue with no physical repercussions and their sense are heightened to the absolute limit. Cold Ones are the definition of a monster.

Thinking of the legends, Pearl couldn't help but compare herself to them. Looking over her body, using the lake as a mirror, she found herself to have a slightly paler complexion and that her features seem to be more refined. The old legends stated that Cold Ones were incredibly fast and had unnatural levels of strength. Pearl recalled running to the lake impossibly fast earlier in the day. She thought about how she crossed the distance of the lake in a matter of seconds to reach the stag. Although, that recollection sent a shiver down her spine.

*Pearls POV*

So I'm very fast, slightly pale, have red eyes, can see and hear things no human should be able to. Does this mean I have super strength? I wondered. Deciding to test it out, I walked over to a large tree and punched it. It was blown out of the ground and thrown backwards, coming to a stop at least 5 metres away. It's roots were still attached to its trunk. They were all ripped out of the ground by the force of my punch. And I'm not even really that strong?! "I really am a Cold One" I said quietly.

That must be why my throat was burning so much. I wasn't thirsty for water, I was thirsty for blood. At the thought of blood my mouth filled with saliva again. "Okay... I guess... I need... to go hunt."

"Let's try out my speed, hopefully I don't fall flat on my face" I said jokingly. At first, I ran around the lake at human pace. Gradually speeding up, until the trees seemed to blur past me. Then I headed into the thicket, listening out for movement other than my own whilst running. I smelt it before I heard it. Heading towards the nice smell I came up to a small field. There was a herd of deer grazing. They hadn't noticed me yet. 'Best to keep it that way' I thought. I started creeping towards them slowly, using the bushes around me as cover.

One of the does looked in my direction so I froze. Please don't see me. Please don't see me. As if hearing my inner cry, it turned away and continued grazing. I could have sworn it was looking directly at me. I disregarded the thought and continued my pursuit towards the herd. Something feels different. I'm not sure what it is. I think I feel, lighter? Tingly almost? It's strange...

One of the deers stepped out directly in front of me. I couldn't take the delectable smell anymore, so I pounced on it and started feeding. Too my surprise none of the other deers moved. It was as if they hadn't noticed. If they had noticed then they certainly didn't seem to care all that much, since they all continued eating like nothing had happened.

Once I finished drinking, I looked down at my hands since the tingling sensation had grown stronger. Only to see right through them, looking at the green grass instead. I'm translucent! What the hell?! How?! I got up from the ground and moved away from my kill. Looking over my entire body. All of it was see through! I could still see myself, but I could also see right through me as well. Was it the same for them? I wondered as I stared at the other deer. I walked up to a stag to see it's reaction. I stood directly in front of its face. It lifted its head up and sniffed. Looking around for bit, before shoving its head back into the grass, continuing to chow down on the green strands. It was like I wasn't there. Hah! Story of my life. I thought, giggling quietly. The stag made no move to show that it had heard or had seen me. So I'm invisible to others now? And... they can't hear me either? How do I turn it off? And upon request, thinking of being seen and heard, made me turn back to normal. "I can't see through myself anymore, that's so cool!" I noted as I looked down at myself. Unfortunately during my celebration, all of the deer turned to look at me. I gave the poor stag I was standing in front of the biggest shock of its life. It fell back in surprise whilst trying to get away from me. It was kinda funny, really. The deer in headlights situation with the others didn't last long however, because as soon as that stag jumped back and started running, the whole herd joined in. I had started a freaking stampede. With them running away from me, my instincts to chase them were running wild. I couldn't help myself and ended up pouncing on another doe, draining it of blood, as the rest of herd fled.

After that all happened I decided to explore the forest. When next to the mountain I had seen when I first woke up, I came across a cave. "This looks sanitary." I commented sarcastically whilst looking inside. "Well, it will have to do. I'm too tired to bother trying to find other shelter" I said tiredly. So I settled in for the night.

*Time Skip*

*3rd Person POV*

Over the next week Pearl got better and better at managing what she had become. With her invisibility, hunts were incredibly easy. Her prey never knew what was coming until it was to late. Pearl figured out over the course of the week that there seemed to be more to her ability than just being able to turn invisible. Pearl learnt that alongside her invisibility came a lack of presence. Other animals instincts couldn't detect her at all. In fact, they were completely blind to her. No matter what sense they focused on, she could not be found out, if she wanted to be hidden. She could hide, from all of the senses.

Pearl had also learnt, that she had no scent. When hunting, even if she became visible and allowed the animals the chance to see her. They never seemed to react to her smell, even when she stood upwind. When using her ability she came to understand that any noise she made whilst being covered with it, was completely silenced. She also discovered her ability to pass through solid objects, although doing that was incredibly difficult and frustrating.

Pearl could become completely undetectable, with just one thought. There one minute, then gone the next. Because of this, Pearl started referring to herself as a ghost, when using her ability. A phantom.

The last week, has been a learning experience for Pearl, not only because she was able to learn about all of her new abilities, including her vampire side with her new strength and speed. But also because she discovered another way to sooth the burn in her throat when she becomes thirsty. Turns out, she doesn't have to just drink the blood of her kills. She can also eat their flesh as well in order to satisfy her hunger. When she does this, the burning sensation in her throat takes much longer to return.

Overall, Pearl has become content with her new life. She's a fast learner. No longer losing control at the sight of an animal with a heartbeat, even if she is thirsty. The only acceptation to that, is if the animal is injured and bleeding. If she's already thirsty, that animal is as good as dead.

*Pearls POV*

Letting go of the deer I had just killed, the tune that has been stuck in my head for days emerged and I started humming it involuntarily. I need to listen to some music soon or I'm literally gonna go crazy. This sucks. I can only take so much of the same song. 'Sighs'. Well, I should head back to my cave now, it's getting late. Plus, I'm getting quite tired. Letting out a yawn, Pearl turns in the direction of her cave, taking a step forwards before freezing in place.

A deep growl sounded from behind me.