Sagwa was in the middle of a bad dream when she awoke, screaming, only to realise she was changing. She could feel the teeth in her mouth changing, the nails on her fingers turn to claws, her hands change into paw-like shapes. Oh god, the werewolf, she thought as she jumped out of bed, "Kreed!" She gasped in horror as she caught sight of herself in the reflection of the window. Her body looked more muscular, her hair a large shaggy mess, and her teeth like wolves... But her eyes were what stood out, not only had the colour turned to a misty gold but the shape was changing too. "Kreed!" This time, her call was starting to sound like a growl. "Sagwa, what- oh jesus." She dropped to the floor as she tried to fight against the change, her body aching as the werewolf tried to take over. Kreed dropped to his knees in front of her, taking her face into his hands, "Sagwa. Look at me. Breathe. Just breathe. Forget this. Focus on breathing. Breathe. Count your breaths, c'mon, just focus on how many breaths you're taking. In and out." She immediately realised he was trying to calm her, and she fought to concentrate on her breathing, it felt like hours before she felt herself returning to normal, "Oh my god." She sagged against Kreed. He tightened his arms around her, "What happened?"
"I had a nightmare, when I woke up.. I was changing."
"Shit. Your emotions control the hybrids in you."
Sagwa let out a shaky breath, "That felt horrible. I've never changed so far before."
Closing her eyes, she allowed his arms to act as a protection, and distraction, as she tried her best to convince herself that she would not become the monster Jack had hoped to create.
****
Raya sat next to Gabe, her hand on his arm, "Gabe, she is fine. I can feel it."
Gabe sighed, "Ray, she's dying. If he hasn't killed her yet."
"You know her, Gabriel. Dammit. You know she's not dead, don't come acting as if we're talking about some stranger. This is Sagwa."
Gabe sighed but didn't say anything, he knew Raya was only trying to help, but he couldn't shake the feeling he had in the pit of his stomach. The sinking feeling he felt in his heart. The feeling that his Sagwa was gone for good.
Red and Em sat on the veranda that overlooked the town. He sighed, turning his head from the scene between Gabe and Raya who were in the lounge. "He's looking terrible."
Em sighed, "The woman he loves is missing, possibly dead, of course he looks terrible."
Red looked up, quite surprised, "Em, c'mon, we all know how you feel about Gabe."
Emily raised an eyebrow, "He loves her. There's nothing I can do about that, no matter how much I love him, it will never change the fact that he will only want her."
Red sighed, Emily was right, they all knew how much Gabe loved Sagwa, they also knew Sagwa enough to know there would never be another chance for Gabe after what he had done to her. Red had been Sagwa's best friend for a long time now, and he knew she saw him as a brother, even though he saw her as much more than that. She had never known how he truly felt about her, and now not knowing her fate, he regretted not telling her. Even if she rejected him, at least she would know how he felt. Sighing again, he looked up at Gabe, he felt like he was betraying him in some way.
Emily stood suddenly, "We need to work on this cure for when we find her."
Red nodded and followed her into the apartment, hoping and praying that this wouldn't all be too late.
****
Sagwa stood in front of Kreed, trying to convince him to take her back to her friends.
"It's too dangerous, Sagwa. Jack will know by now the you're still alive."
"I don't care. I need to get to my friends and get them to safety. Jack knows how I am, he will use them to get to me," she began pacing, "I need to get them together with us. We need a plan to bring down Jack and his organisation. Whatever it is he's planning, we need to stop it."
Kreed sighed, "And how exactly do you plan to stop the man who can create hybrids that are unstoppable?"
"I don't know. First, I need to know what exactly he's using, what he injected into me. Once we know that, we get Gabe to create the cure, not just for me, but for whoever else Jack has infected. And then we plan his take down."
Kreed sat in silence, her plan could work, it was dangerous, but not impossible, "We'll need someone on the inside to get us the info on what Jack's using." Sagwa nodded, "Jerred will help me."
Kreed frowned, "The lawyer?" "Yeah. He's a good friend of mine."
Kreed stood, "Alright. Let's get you a disguise and go pay this Jerred a visit."
