Animal Instinct

Prologue

Victoria

Everything was on fire.

I heard earsplitting screams coming from the bedroom next to mine. I was five years old and fire was climbing the walls of my bedroom. I called for my parents in a panic before stepping onto the hard floor. "Go outside, Victoria! Get your sister and go outside!" My father had shouted.

The fire split at my feet, clearing a path from my bedroom to the door. I ran to my sister's room, pulling the one year old out of her burning crib and into my arms. I lugged the heavy baby down the stairs, assuming my parents had already made it out. I was mistaken. I called out for them as I watched the house be engulfed in flames.

I held my sister close as we sat in the grass, my hand clasped against the charm bracelet my mother had given to me, it had only two charms, but it was all that was left.

My sister and I were brought into the hospital that night. The nurses were shocked to see I didn't have a single burn on me, but my sister was covered. She didn't live through that night. I was by her side when the machine stopped its constant beeping.

Ashton

Everything was burning.

I screamed for my mother from where I lay, scratching at my bed. I was seven years old and I felt like I was being torn apart from the inside. My mother rushed into my room and knelt down next my bed, when she looked at my face she looked mortified, like I was a monster. She stood up and stepped away from my bed, her hands shaking as she covered her mouth.

I got out of my bed and let out a small whimper as I collapsed onto the floor, my nails dug into the floor and suddenly I wasn't human anymore. I was a monster, just as my mother thought. Not that it mattered much anymore because the next thing I knew, I was shivering on the floor, covered in blood and she was ripped apart.