Animal

.:13:.

I flop down on top of the queen sized bed and rested my head against the pillow. "I seriously question the people who inspect these places," I stated to Jada.

Jada threw her bag down next to mine at the front of the bed and took a spot next to me, tucking her arms under her head and staring up at the ceiling. "You and I both know that even the inspector is to scared to come to this place."

"That says a lot if we're willing to, then," I responded, laughing quietly and closing my eyes for a moment.

"You know it."

"At least," I started, a thought flashing into my mind, "there's hot water." I grinned cheekily at her and slapped her arm gleefully as I hopped off of the bed. "I get to go first!"

"Mmkay, whatever, Mr. Clean," Jada sang, picking the remote to the television off of the nightstand and waving it at me nonchalantly. "Take your shower. Cleanse your being. Yada yada." She turns the television on.

I laughed at her, then turned on my heel and practically skipped towards the bathroom after getting my bag.

The water being hot was so worth getting the dirty room. I usually have to shower at least once a night, and seeing as I haven't been able to shower these past few days I was feeling absolute bliss at being able to shower now.

The hot water spills down onto my skin, instantly starting to wash away the gunk and days old uncleanliness. As I showered, I took that time to think things over carefully.

I never really got the chance to think about why I was sharing my head with my dog. My head rested against the white wall, letting the water pelt down onto my bare back. Some of it still felt like a very bad dream, especially the parts where Shark and I share a conversation.

Then it hit me, it hit me like a bag being opened and out spilled a pile of bricks right on top of my already fragile being. I slowly slid to the bottom of the shower, the sound of squeaking piercing my ears as the pads of my fingers dragged across the wall with my downward movement.

Never again. Never again. Never again. It kept chanting inside my head over and over, ruthless and slicing my heart every time. Never again would I see or hear from my parents, friends, and other family. Never again would I walk through the halls of my high school. Never again would I plan for college, get the degree I wanted in zoology and graduate. I wouldn't find the perfect partner, marry them, and have a family to come home to and be greeted with warmth and love.

I would never fulfill my deepest desires, make my dreams come as true as they could have been.

Heavy, hot tears welled in my eyes once more and began to spill down my cheeks. I nearly jumped when I heard a soft moan of agony and despair, then I realized the noise had come from me. I buried my face in my hands and began sobbing softly, which slowly turned louder.

"Mckenzie?" I barely heard the voice call to me quietly, as the mixture of the water and my sobs pushed over it and made it hard for me to hear. "Mckenzie, are you alright?"

I opened my mouth to respond to Jada, but it was as though claws wrapped around my throat and held me in a strangled cry. I was unable to produce a proper sentence, I couldn't even respond with a noise. The sobs died, cut off by the imaginary claws gripping my throat. My breathing was bad, I gasped for breath but made no sound. I was suffocating.

The shower curtain flew open and a blurred figure appeared in my vision. Jada, who was stripped down now, cupped my face and shook me slightly. "Mckenzie?"

"J-Jada?" I was surprised. How had I managed to speak now? When, only twenty seconds ago, I couldn't breath.

I felt numb all over, and Jada started talking rapidly. "... Breath ... Awake ..
Mckenzie!"

I sucked in a bubble of air, relief of the ability to breath once more filling me. The claws had released me. Then I felt it again. My throat swelled up once more and I found it hard to suck in air through my nostrils and mouth.

I gazed at her faded face and blinked a few times to clear my vision. But she remained blurry, her voice distant and intangible.

The next thing I see is Jada saying something, but only silence filled my ears.

-:-

Barks, multiple of them, surrounded me. My heart thumped against my chest like a scared rabbits, and my eyes darted around me. I felt nothing but terror, fear. It made my stomach twist violently, again and again, as if something were trapped inside and begging to be free.

I found myself suddenly face to face with a dog. It was large, covered in brown and black fur that stood on end. It had a haunched stature, with pointed, large ears atop it's head but pinned back to add to its already terrifying appearance. The look in its eyes confused and terrorized me: the dark brown orbs were filled with lust, a lust with an aggressive push, as well as pleasure. This thing took amusement and pleasure of my fear, it was feeding off of it emotionally. I've never seen that look in any sort of animals eyes before, this was not normal.

It started drooling, except the liquid that dribbled from between its teeth and jaws was a scarlet color, dark and thick like .. Like blood.

Dried stains, fresh splashes, and smeared hand prints covered this dogs pelt. To me, they looked like an execution result. To the dog, they were trophies. Proof and pride of his kills, the blood he spilled, the delicate human bones he crunched between his sharp, blood stained teeth. The powerful jaws would kill in an instant, but based on how the stains were assorted, the animal had tortured its victim before finally killing them.

I was suddenly down. A sharp pain shot everywhere through me, and suddenly everything changed. I was shorter, but I felt more energetic and on edge, with the terror from before poking in the back of my head. The blood from the dog, I could smell it. It was rancid, sharp, and it made me sick to my stomach from five feet away. I could taste the metallic on my tongue, as well as agony and pain that did not belong to me. It was not from the dog, but from the person it had killed. It's fur still had the emotions nestled within it like fleas making a nest between each hair of its pelt.

My sight strengthened. Now, I could see the dog in a better light. The darkness provided my sight with a soft glow, and a glint from the moon shot off one of the deadly fangs in its mouth.

I heard a voice. It was rough, and it nearly sent me to the ground from the chills that it produced when it spoke, "Kill. Orders. Kill. Orders. Kill. Orders."

The animal kept repeating those two words for the next seconds as it stalked forward, an inch closer to me each pawstep. I realized it was a chant, words of encouragement and force to keep the animal going.

I opened my jaws to scream, but what came out instead was a vicious snarl. The hair on my back and neck stood up sharply. Wait. My back?

I didn't know how I knew, but I was a dog, or some other animal. I had gone from human to creature within a matter of seconds, and now my senses told me to fight back.

I curled my lips back and held my tail over my back, a warning towards the larger dog. It stopped its movement and chanting, instead eyeing my position ever so carefully. For brief seconds, we stood, facing off one another in a silent tension.

Then it snarled. "Kill."