The Beasts

After Life

The casket had soft fabric but it barely had cushion. It was dark, cramped, and I couldn't hear anything besides my own movements as I wake from a long dark sleep. My throat burns as if someone put a hot blade down my throat. I sit in here for another hour at least waiting for the group to come get me. I hear faint mumbles above me. Five minutes past and I hear a loud thud on top of me and I jump a little. I can hear two people talking, but I can't understand what they're saying and who it is. The casket opens and dirt falls on my face and I wipe it off while trying to adjust my eyes to the light Lilie is shining over me.
"Morning Cara, sleep well?" Tyler jokes reaching his hand out for assistance.
"Very funny, what took you guy's so long?" I stand and can barely see Michael's and Jonie's head above the grave.
"Well, Veru sort of needed a little extra help when we dug her up" Tyler said lifting me up out of the grave.
"Let's just say she was a little thirsty and greedy, very greedy" Tyler said as I look up and see Veru being held down by Michael as Jonie pours blood into her mouth. Veru's veins were big and black all over her body.
"How come i'm not like that?" I ask and Lilie walks next to me
"She'll tell you when she recovers"
I look at Lilie and roll my eyes
"When will that be? Y'know actually will I ever actually know what the fuck is going on I'm sick an-" I choke on my words and put my hand around my neck. My throat began to burn worse.
"Here drink up, you'll feel better" Lilie hands me an IV bag full of fresh blood. I quickly take the bag and chug the whole thing in seconds. I look at the label and it said it was from some woman named Ellie.
"Thanks Ellie" I say scrambling up the bag and put it in the grocery bag next to Veru which was already filled with six other empty IV bags.
"Cara" Veru manages to cough out. I kneel down to her and put my hand on her shoulder and she gives me a small smile.
"See Ty, I told you she was different" Veru chuckles and winces
"I knew it all along" she continues wiping off the blood around her mouth.
"She may not look like you at the moment, but we still don't know for sure" Tyler responds walking towards her helping Michael stand her up.
"So now that you're up can you tell me anything?" I ask sharply and Veru turns to me
"No, not yet" I cross my arms and my brows furrowed.
"Guys before you two get in an argument we need to get these graves filled back up before the sun comes out" Jonie interrupts. I give Veru a little glare before walking towards the closest shovel and the group does the same. For the next two hours it was quiet between us all. We were almost done with my grave and had a couple of hours left until sunlight when the security guards shift starts. Lilie pulls Veru somewhere else to talk. I could tell they were talking about me since Veru kept looking up at me with disappointment. Out of nowhere Lilie shouts at Veru and all of us heard
"You're ruining yourself and you won't do anything about it that's why!" Veru puts her face close to Lilies in disgust and walks away towards us.
"Cara, drop the shovel and let's go." Veru spat and I look at her in confusion.
"Now!" she shouts and I quicky stand up straight in shock
"Veru what's wro-"
"Just come with me, no questions" she grabs my arm and walks away from the group.
"Tell her about who you really are!" Lilie shouts
"Tell her about the day you stole someone's life" she adds and Veru's hand became tighter. I look up at Veru and I could tell she wanted to cry but she just keeps a straight face. We walk out of the cemetery to the nearest woods and Veru let's me go.
"Follow me" Veru said shifting into her tiger form and runs off. I quickly shift and my bones were still not used to the changing so I felt my bones breaking. I slowly fall to the ground in pain. Everything was blurry but I saw Veru running towards me and before my eyes closed I saw her morph back to human and kneel next to me.

*

*Veru's POV*

    I set Cara whose unconscious on the couch in the living room and checked her forehead to feel her burning up. I grab a cold rag and put it on her head and I sit next to her admiring how she rests. Cara's veins were visible on her neck and I saw the warm blood flow through her body. Every piece of me wanted to have a taste of the flesh in her body but I kept myself controlled. She's not like us, or anything I've ever seen. She's still human underneath the monster I turned her into. I have to tell her everything, the reason why I'm here. The reason she's here. Cara's eyes open slightly and she starts wincing in pain.
"Veru, everything hurts" She cries out and I just look at her helpless. There's nothing I can do to stop her pain.
"I know, it'll go away soon I promise" I say taking her hand making her feel comforted. Cara cries in pain and I keep watching her. I start to tear up because I can't stand not being able to help her. I get up and walk to the basement and I pace back and forth thinking of what to do. I stop and notice the journal on the shelf next to my aunts spellbook. It had blood on the spine of it. I grab it off the shelf to examine the tracing and I reveal an upside down cross on the cover. Inside there was an eyelid used as a page mark. The marked page had images in it of a familiar face. I look through the other pages and reveal a number of images of different people with a familiar face and descriptions of each of the people. I start to remember who's journal this was and why it's here. I look at the bookshelf and notice another book with blood tracings on it. The tracing on the cover was not a symbol, it was words and it said 'DON'T KILL IT' with a smeared smiley face under it. There was another page marker but it was a dried chunk of human skin with flesh still on it and it had a tattoo of something but I couldn't quite make out what it was. I look at the page and it was a drawn picture of me but I felt something under the right page. It was another chunk of skin with a tattoo and it looked like a window with weeds surrounding it. The page had a big arrow pointing to the next page which had more chunks of skins and more arrows. I noticed the pieces of skin with tattoos all had similar markings. I put the books down and lay the skin pieces on the ground trying to understand what it could mean. I put two of the pieces together and noticed they matched the markings of the tattoos. More and more pieces came together making a bigger picture. Before I could finish Cara screamed out my name and I quickly put an old sheet over the skin pieces and run to Cara.
"What's wrong?" I ask worriedly
"I...need..blood" Cara puts her hand over her mouth and coughs up blood. I run to Lilie's room where she has a cooler full of IV bags. The door locked and I try thinking of another idea. My blood won't do her any good anymore. Cara screams my name again and I run to her. She has black stuff coming from her nose and her eyes go black and she looks up at me
"Veru what's happening?" I couldn't think of what to do so I just stand there in shock because this was something none of us have seen before. She needed Lilie but the group doesn't come back for another hour. I think of what to do but it won't be something Cara will forgive me for.
I run outside and sniff out for anything I can give to Cara and I smell something a couple miles away. The smell became stronger as I ran towards it. It was finally visible and I took a step back and hid behind a tree to sneak up on it. The little girl was walking around the park singing lullabies to her small stuffed dinosaur. She was alone far away from her mother who sat on the other side of the water fountain barely visible. I waited for the girl to come closer to me before snatching her and snapping her neck before she could scream. I ran back to the house then sliced the girl's neck and let her blood pour into a bowl I found outside before going inside to Cara. She grabbed the full bowl and started chugging it down while the blood dripped down her neck. Her eyes were still black and she looks at me with a wide smile on her unknowing what she just drank.
"Thanks" Cara chuckled wiping off her neck and licking the rest of the blood around her mouth. I look down at my bloody hands and think to myself about how she said we were monsters. Looking at her made me realize that's exactly what we are. I felt no sympathy for killing that little girl even though I knew it was wrong. Cara needs to know the truth before she does something that could bring this world to an end. I know she's going to be powerful. She's going to be stronger than all of us. She's the one and I know it. I saw it when I bit her.
"Cara, you need to know something" She looks at me and her eyes go to a glowing brown.
"Yeah, what is it?" she says adjusting herself on the couch.
"Jonie, Michael, Lilie, Tyler, and I...we are here for a reason but I need you to promise me you won't back out from us" Cara looks around the room unsure of what to say and then looks back at me
"I promise" she says giving me a shy smile and I grab her hands
"Adam and the Gangrels aren't the only ones trying to kill us. There are groups of different creatures all over the world and their plan is to possess us into one of them and turn everyone into their little soldiers so they can take over this planet and make it their own hell"
Cara puts her hand over her mouth in shock
"And so now you want me to learn everything you guys know so I can join this war you forced me into? I can't fucking believe you, Veru" she says getting up from the couch
"Look all I want to do is protect you-" I stand up towards her looking down at her
"And protecting me means getting me killed, having me leave everything behind? I left my family Veru, and now I've got nothing so I can involuntarily join your fucking war because you wanted to protect me. Sounds like a load of bullshit" Cara starts walking to the front door only to be stopped by Lilie coming in.
"Veru told you what's really happening then didn't she?" Lilie said sighing
"Why would you let her do this to me? Why me?" Cara attempts to walk out the door but Lilie grabs and stops her
"Veru didn't do anything besides follow her orders. None of this is her fault. You being here was supposed to happen, because you are the one"
"I'm not anything. I'm me, Cara Beck. Before any of this no one knew who I was, I was happy and hopeful. I was full of life and care. I didn't want any of this and I don't. I just want to go home and not exist to anyone again. None of you mattered to me then and none of you matter to me now. And Veru-" Cara walks over to me. "I don't love you, and I never will for the rest of my forever life. So please just let me go." Cara begins to cry
"We can't let you do that" I said sharply
"And why not?" Cara said crossing her arms
"Because those creatures she told you about will rip out your families heart and make you feed on it if they ever catch you. They'll torture you until you're too afraid shut your eyes ever again. So unless you want that to happen, because it will if you ever leave, then you need to stay with us" Lilie said. She began to walk towards us and stopped halfway
"Cara you're the chosen one and you can't do anything to change that. Whoever owns you is promised riches and powers no demon could ever have. We've been looking for you for a hundred years to protect you from that ever happening" Cara looks at Lilie with fear
"And how can I trust that you're not just tricking me for those powers and riches?"
"Because if we were I would have your family hanging from trees across the world and make you a necklace out of their hearts by now" I said angrily before continuing "and I care about you too much to hurt you. You see I can't feel love or care for anyone because that's what happens when you come from nothing. No one mattered to me, not even Tyler. But you wouldn't know how long I've been waiting for you to come around. I know everything about you, Cara, and you're my only priority and keeping you alive is something I have to do"
I say. Lilie walks over to us and put her hand on my shoulder. The truth is out, but who know's what Cara will do now. She can't leave, not now or ever.