Strange Thoughts

Part Two-Chapter Three-Aubrey

Where am I? Who am I? Wait, I know who I am. I'm Aubrey. I remember everything now. I'm like Aleya now! At least I think I am.

Aleya does not deserve her power. It should go to the ambitious, the hard working, the talented, like me. Why did I think I loved Brian? He isn't good enough for me. He never was, it just took me a while to realize it.

My thoughts are racing through me so fast, misplacing and reinstalling themselves. I understand things a little better, hear them a little clearer, as I live them for a second time.

I open my eyes, and look right into the eyes of Lion, in her shape of a lioness. She's so much bigger than me. Much bigger than she was before. I feel like an ant in compare to her bulky muscles.

I look down at my feet, seeing a little pair of black paws. I tilt my head in wonderment, flicking my ears back and forth. I lift up a paw, and wave it in the air. Lion takes a giant golden paw, sheaths her claws, and places the paw gently on my back. I begin to arch, but then I remember what this is. She's showing signs of dominance, and I must obey.

I lay down and roll over on one side. Lion takes her paw of my stomach. "Go over to the mirror." Her voice is surprisingly sharp and clear. I walk over to the mirror, and see a small, fluffy, black kitten. I have striking green eyes, that look nothing like my own.

"Your shape will grow with time. It just began its life." I nod, and twitch my whiskers. I never thought my spirit animal would be a cat.

"Concentrate on your human form." Lion quickly morphs into a human. It's so quick, that it happens in a good second.

I concentrate on my human form. I feel my limbs begin to tract and expand. It's a weird feeling, it gives me dizziness.

"It might take you a little longer." Lion says, staring down at me. I start to feel pain.

The pain lasts a couple minutes, I writhe around, the pain hard to bare. Once it's gone, Lion leads me down to a room with two huge cages hanging from the ceiling.

A little girl is huddled in the side of one, and a boy in the other. "Aleya!" I shout. Aleya does not turn around. She stays in place, shaking, her back turned.

"It's Aubrey!" Aleya slowly turns around. "Aubrey! You're here to save me!" I pout. "Aleya, don't try to make me feel guilty about something I shouldn't. I'm with Lion, and Dr. Claire. I always have been. Trust me, when we rid you of this power, it'll be for the better."

I smile my widest smile. "Your teeth!" Aleya gasps. Lion hands me a mirror. I hold it up to my face, and look at at the mirror. I notice my usual features first, my light brown hair, hazel eyes, and peach skin. Then my eyes travel down to my smile.

My canines are pointed, it looks like I have fangs. Aleya watches me for my reaction. "I love them!" I say. My voice is hungry for more. I love who I'm becoming. The sooner I push the old Aubrey out, the better.

"Aubrey, stop playing tricks. Please just get me out of here!" "For once, I'm in the spotlight, and you want it back, right away. I'm sorry, but you're not going to get your wish. Don't worry though, you have company." I say.

I look over to the cage on the right, the young boy now trying to shimmy out of the metal bars. Lion steps forward, her eyes angry.

"Mr. Parker, we do not tolerate escape here. You will be punished for that." Aleya looks a little nervous, but Gray looks terrified. I feel bad, he's only here because of what Aleya started.

An old woman steps out of the corner.

"This may seem cruel, but the only way to force Aleya to obey, is to kill him. He will spark rebellion inside her."

"Who are you?" I ask. " I'm Sadie.This place is full of young people. They need someone my age, to help make the big decisions." She flattens dowm her spiky white hair and leans on her cane.

I nod. That makes enough sense to me.

"Kill him." I say. Two heavily armed guards pull him forward. I know that right now, I am proving my loyalty. I know what I have to do.

I get through the pain of changing into my shape. Now, instead of a tiny kitten, I am a huge black panther. Lion is watching me in awe, she was not expecting my shape to turn out like this, especially this fast. She must of thought I wasn't strong enough. Now she wouldn't be able to show dominance over me.

I take a huge paw, and swipe at Gray's neck. Gray wiggles out of the way. I let out a tiny giggle. The power I have against this weakling makes me laugh. I don't care that he is kind. All I know, is that this will make Aleya obey. That's all I care about right now.

I feel a little tickle in my mind. I let out a huge roar, shaking Aleia's cage. "You have no right to read my mind!" I yell. I know everybody else heard it as a growl, but the message seemed to get across to Aleya. I walked closer to Gray, moving swiftly on all fours.

I lift up my paw, and swipe at his neck, claws out. Gray falls to the ground. Aleya screams.

"You have proved your loyalty." Lion says, her voice solem. She presses a red button on the table, and Gray slowly morphs into a boy, about my age.

I kick Brian's body to the side, and morph into a human. "Gray's still alive!" Aleya says. "Aubrey, you're a murder. I-I can't believe it. My own sister."

"You better believe it, because it's true. I don't regret anything." Aleya has silent tears running down her face. Her mouth is open, her eyes searching.

Lion goes up to the cage, and unlocks it. She throws a pair of headphones inside. Lion backs out of the cage, and locks it before Aleya can sneak out.

"Put those on, or you'll be punished." Aleya obeys. She is scared now. If she wants to stay alive, she has to obey. Aleya puts them on and a projection is put on the wall. It shows Aleya's brain waves.

The picture turns into words, the words being the guard on the right's thoughts. "This shows who Aleya is reading!" Aleya quickly backs out of the guard's mind, and the words turn to nothingness.

"Aleya," I taunt. "We can see everything you are doing now. There is nothing you can hide." Aleya brown skin paled. She narrowed her eyes at the people around her. The guard looks alarmed, but he has nothing to worry about. He had no thoughts of betrayal.

I whip my head around and leave. Aleya does not deserve to be in my presence any longer.