The girl who didn't know

Their lifeless bodies were all that I could remember. Claw marks all over their bodies and clothes torn, with blood seeping through them. It was a reminder that I was alone; never to have my family with me, never being able to see them. Now, I was only able to see them in my memories. Ruby was the only person I had left. Ever since we were little we've been looking out for each other. She was with me when I found their bodies. It was comforting, knowing that I had someone like her in my life.

You always knew when a new victim had been slaughtered in a similar fashion to my parents, the chiming of the town's bell was a signal of that. Everyone in the village began to call it 'The Beast'. It always left its victims the same, with claw marks all over their bodies. I wanted to - NO - I needed to get my revenge on The Beast for taking away my family. Ruby thought I was crazy when I told her that I wanted to find The Beast and get my revenge for what it did. My crossbow was the only real weapon that I could use to exact my revenge. Engraved with my name "Katherine" on the side of it, my crossbow was still in good enough condition to provide me with all the ammunition I needed to bring it down.

"Tonight, we hunt The Beast who hunted us," I proclaimed. Ruby thought it was a bad idea. "We shouldn't be out here. It's suicide". Ruby couldn't understand that I was compelled to be here. She knew I had my reasons. Maybe it was crazy to be out at night when The Beast would be roaming. Hardly anyone had been crazy enough to hunt The Beast and those who had tried, had never come back alive.

"I still think this is a bad idea," Ruby pleaded once more.

"If you thought it was such a bad idea, then why'd you agree to come?" I queried.

"Because you're my best friend Katherine. You're my sister." She paused and then added, "And I need to look out for you."

The gravel on the road crunched beneath our feet as we gradually made our way through the village. Everything was quiet. All the lights were turned off. Doors were locked and windows were shut tight. We had a curfew. We had to be in our houses by 9:30pm.

Ruby was walking much slower than me. It was probably because she was scared. I was too, I was just not trying to show it. I knew if The Beast found us tonight, there would be no coming back for us.

Suddenly, I realised that I couldn't hear Ruby following me anymore. That's when I knew something was wrong. Looking back at her from where she stopped you could see that sweat was running down her face. She was starting to shake. That's when it started. That's when the pain coursed through my body.

The pain was unbearable. It was like a hot branding iron penetrating my skin. I didn't know what was happening. My vision was going fuzzy. Every muscle in my body felt like they were shifting into different places. A piercing scream could be heard from behind. It felt like the person screaming was right next to me. I needed to find Ruby. I needed to make sure that she was okay. I couldn't lose her. She was the only person I had left in my life. Fear coursed through my body. What if The Beast took her? My vision started to go dark, like someone had placed a blindfold over my eyes. The last thing I saw was Ruby standing still, like she was frozen to the spot. Then I lost consciousness.

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My memory was blank. I just couldn't remember a thing about what happened the night Ruby and I tried to hunt The Beast. "You're a monster Katherine," her voice exclaimed confidently. But, I couldn't understand what she meant when she said I was a monster. How could I be a monster? She obviously was delusional. I couldn't be The Beast that was going around slaughtering people in the village. That's when the thought dawned on me. How could I have slaughtered the people in the village? And what about by family – why would I kill my own parents. I could feel the hot tears threatening to slide down my face as the sheer possibility ripped at my heart. My wrists were starting to hurt. Some sort of metal chain was tied around my ankles and wrists, holding them up against the wall and chained down to the floor. There was a throbbing pain coming from my head.

My vision was starting to come back slowly. That's when I noticed Ruby. She was the one standing in front of me. Three long claw marks were etched down her face. Her brown hair was tied into a messy bun. Her clothes were torn up. In her right hand she held my crossbow that I was given when I turned 16. Her crystal blue eyes were filled with a mix of disappointment and fear.

The chains were starting to get tighter. The pain was coming back again and this time it was ten times worse. I wasn't sure if I was going to remember any of this in the morning. That's the thing with being cursed for life is that you have no memory of ever changing.

As my eyelids started to slowly close, the last thing I saw was Ruby writhing in pain. Her form began to morph into what looked like an animal. Her nails started to grow longer and sharper. She fell onto the ground and her back arched in an inhuman way. Glancing at her left leg, I noticed that there was a bite mark. Suddenly I had a flash back; a glimpse of the night before. I bit Ruby. I did this to her. Now she has to live with this curse for the rest of her life. I cursed Ruby to become the thing humanity despised.