I'm Not a MONSTER

Part three - The Stranger

      You wake up the next morning to find a man lying on your couch. You blink a few times wondering if you're dreaming. You pinch yourself, once, then twice, and by the third time, it hits you. There's a man on your couch...and you scream.

      He jolts awake groaning in pain, surely from the headache of someone screaming at him so early in the morning. He looks around confused almost like he's not sure he's alive at all.

      "What are you doing in my apartment? Who are you?" You look around only to realize the cat you were caring for is missing. "What did you do to that cat?"

       He looks up at you with wide eyes but you don't care. You're more worried about that cat.

      "Where is it?!" He flinches as you yell at him. "It's me, I'm the cat." He finally speaks. His voice is hoarse and gravely like he hasn't spoken in days.

      "You're not the cat. You're a man and you're in my house and I'm calling the cops."

      He stands up abruptly, almost instantly falling back onto the couch. "No! No cops, please. You're my only hope. Please, I need you to trust me."

      "You broke into my house, do not give me a lecture on trust right now."

      "I didn't break in, you brought me here." He groans in pain his body slowly shifting and changing into something that resembles a cat, but he's obviously in pain because he can't fully change before he's back in the human form groaning in pain. You stare at him in shock, eyes wide like saucers.

      "Did you just? You're the cat?!" You can't stop the yell that leaves your lips. "Sorry," you correct yourself talking in a much quieter tone. "Okay, then what are you?" 

      "They called me a shapeshifter." He looks down at his lap as if seeing an unseen memory.

      "I have a lot of questions but those can wait. You look like you haven't eaten in days." You decide to trust the strange man sitting on your couch for now. He's too malnourished to even stand on his own. You'll keep an eye on him in the meantime. You head over to your fridge get out the diced-up ham and look around for some crackers. You remember from history class when you were younger that you have to feed someone who's been malnourished light foods so that their body gets used to the nutrition.

      You decide the best course of action is to crush up the crackers and mix them into an almost porridge. After a few minutes, you walk over and hand it to him being sure to keep your distance. His hands shake as he takes the food from you. He smells it like a wild animal before taking a small bite. His eyes light up and he takes several more bites and before you can even blink the food is gone.

      "You were really hungry huh?" You smiled softly, he was almost endearing like this.

     "Yeah, I haven't eaten in a long time." He looks down at his empty plate. "Thank you."

     "Do you have a name?" He looks up at you almost ashamed. "No, just the numbers on my arm." You stare at him like he just slapped you in the face.

     "You don't have a name? That's crazy. We'll work on something. For now, I'll call you Dragon. Since your hair is bright red." His face seems to light up at the idea of having a name.

     "I like it. It's cool." You smile softly and stand up.

     "For now let's work on getting your strength up. I have a few days to spare so I'll be here to help you."

     He grins like a kid and nods "Okay."