A Kitten's Bark

Part One, Aston House: Chapter One: Five years ago

“Rayon? I can’t sleep.” I pushed open the door that connected my brother’s and I’s room and walked over to his computer chair. He opened his arms and pulled me close to him, swinging his chair around as he situated me on his lap, turning back to his computer screen. “You can’t sleep either?” Rayon shook his head, he seemed anxious about something; it was making my hair stand on edge. “Is it because of what I did today? I heard mom and dad yelling at each other about it earlier.”

“Is that why you couldn’t sleep?” Rayon looked down at me, brushing my hair away from my face. I nodded snuggling deeper into Rayon’s chest. His arms wrapped tighter around me. “I think it’s amazing that you shifted earlier than everyone else in our family has. It makes you unique and that’s what you’ve been from the start Kitten.” He smiled and looked back at his computer.

“What’s on there? I can’t read it.” I scrunched up my face trying to make sense of the foreign language that he was reading with such ease.

“Just some homework, don’t worry about it. Here, you go lie down on my bed and I’ll go get you something to eat.” My face lit up and I ran towards his bed, Rayon walked towards his door and turned to look at me. “Don’t leave this room, just stay there. Alright?” I nodded burying myself in his sheets, giggling.

“I love you Rayon.” He froze with the door partly open and looked back at me again, smiling.

“I love you too, Bianca. Don’t forget that.” He left the room and I yawned. Mom and dad hadn’t seemed pleased when I shifted into a kitten at all today. They’d seemed scared and then when I overheard them yelling at each other earlier about it, I got a sick feeling in my stomach and couldn’t sleep.

I hadn’t known then that when Rayon hadn’t used my nickname that it was something serious. I didn’t know that Rayon was going to kill our parents and then set the house on fire. Or that he’d come and get me, only to leave me at the park near our house.

“Kitten, you need to run, run far away from here. If you ever see me again, I want you to try your hardest to kill me, let the hate for the fact that I killed our parents burn through you and let it be enough that you’ll kill me when I tell you to. Run and don’t let the Creature Enforcement catch you.” Rayon shook my shoulders, but all I could see was the bloodstains on his face. “You shifted before you were supposed to, you need to run, don’t let anyone know that you shifted before you were fourteen. Run and find me, kill me. Run!” Rayon shoved me away from him as he shifted into a hawk and flew high into the air, leaving me shaking in my pajamas on the playground. Wiping the tears from my face, I ran my nails over my arms as I tried to stop my shaking limbs. Taking a deep breath I shifted into a raven and took off in the opposite direction of Rayon; his words rang through my mind. Kill me. Find me, kill me. Try your hardest to kill me.

I would do just that. I’d kill Rayon for killing our parents and just leaving me to fend for myself for five years, almost being caught several times, only looking for him.