Bold Interests (sequel of Subtle Changes)

Chapter Five

Chapter Five Annabel

"Hold on! Come on, hold on!"

This echoed through my head as I bolted up right. The short nap had turned into an all-nighter, presenting to me how exhausted I was. The nightmare had been blurry and skipped like a scratched record. The last sentence someone had screamed in my dream was about the only thing I could recall.

Obviously my subconscious had gotten the message the nightmare had unfolded, my breathing ragged and my forehead coated in a cold sweat. I took a deep breath and whipped my forehead with the light, summer blanket. As I stumbled out of the short bed I viciously chew at my thumbnail, the thought of the dream fresh in my mind.

As Emory had promised there was indeed some fresh clothes hanging up in the closet across from the bed. They were all a size too large but would easily do. I chose a black short sleeve and jeans and hurriedly slipped them on as my bladder screamed for release. I threw the door open and sprinted down the stairs and into the living room. I spotted Shan staring at the TV and Emory focused on a newspaper while sipping coffee. I quickly, and almost silently slipped into the bathroom.

Just before I had fallen asleep around one the day before, Shan had been locked down in a cement room in the basement. I had heard his tortured screams as the beast took over him, and when Emory came back upstairs I had asked him if I would go done there when the beast found me again. He had nodded and explained how he went down there at the same time each morning. It meant he was due for the monstrous fit soon. But me on the other hand, I had no idea when the madness would catch me. I could feel it just under the skin, writhing with impatience.

I flicked on the light to the bathroom and saw the open window. It blew a sweet smell in, though the cool breeze swept through me, forcing a shiver to shake me. I finished and walked to the window and stuck my head out. A bluebird sang from a low hanging branch and the light wind moved the bright leaves of the oak tree.

I slowly brought my head back inside and began to turn to the sink. I instantly froze as I inspected the image looking back at me through the mirror. My heart immediately thumped about a million times faster, turning into a butterfly in my chest. The figure in the mirror had the same clothes as me and the same short, burnt hair, but its face. Its face was unbelievably different.

The stranger's face blinked when I blinked and when I brought my hand up to feel my own I felt the creases and bumps the mirror reflected. Yet it wasn't me, it couldn't be me. The cheekbones were much higher and more pronounced while the nose was a bit wider and flatter, unlike the baby carrot nose of a snowman I had once had. My eyebrows were higher as well and slightly closer together. The same black eyes stared at me, but were slightly deeper into my face and without and dark circles. It wasn't my face.

I knew I was going to scream as it rose up in my throat. It was piercing and shrill as I raced to the bathroom door. I had no idea what brought me to it, but I locked the door and fell back against the sink. The scream had died down and was replaced by the constant questions yelled from behind the door where Shan waited. I didn't reply to his inquiries as I began to lose myself.

It was beginning.

The panic and fear of my feature change had brought it upon me. I grasped my head and forced it onto my legs. A fierce headache had sprung to blot out the sounds of Shan and Emory trying to force open the door. Yet they would be too late. Far too late.

My hands began to shake as I brought them off the back of my neck and in front of my eyes. I held my breath as my fingernails grew jaggedly. By the time they were full claws my vision had turned blurry. Every muscle in my body ached as the sinews and bones cracked apart and together again. Suddenly I was standing, hunched over like an animal. I was no longer holding my breath as I groaned. The pain. My eyes were wide and unseeing. Oh, the pain. It felt so good.