The Curse of Beasts (BEASTARS)

Passing The Crown

    Thunder boomed, jolting him into attention. He looked around, finding himself in a bare room. There was nothing of note inside other than a chair on its side. A door stood open to him, an unnerving chill coming over the human. He knew for a fact where he was, but something didn't feel right. There was something wrong here.

    A shrill sound broke his thoughts, making him race through the door to a hallway. Did it look...longer? He couldn't tell, but it felt twisted just like the room before. It didn't quell his shaking body, though, as he slowly made his way down the extended passage. His breaths were shaky, the chill from earlier had become a blizzard, almost freezing his body in place. He knew this was wrong, he knew this wasn't how things went, yet he pressed on. Why was he here? What's going on? Why is everything so different?

    He had to pause once he reached another door, his heart aching at this point. It felt like it was being squeezed inside his chest, being gripped with an unseen force. Whatever brought him here, whatever was doing this— it was playing with him. It was treating him like a toy to do with whatever it wanted. He hated it, but the ever-present chill in the air made him a puppet whose strings were clear as day.

Before he could make a move, the door opened— and before him lay a gruesome sight.

    The room was a blur to him, nothing in focus except for two figures in the center. The smaller one lay flat, head turned away as her long ears spread limply around her skull. There was red all over her, pooling beneath her as a larger figure stood over her still shape. The behemoth stared down at the girl, jaws open and drenched in crimson as heavy breaths escaped him. He was large, parts of his body covered in the girl's essence as he breathed her scent in.

    The human was frozen, no sound escaping him as he gazed at the scene. It wasn't like this, he made it in time. He knew he did! It didn't make sense, none of it did. He shook his head, taking a single step back as he got ready to avert his eyes. It proved to be for naught, as the hulking form snapped his gaze to him, a sharpened pair of eyes seeping madness. The human couldn't take it anymore, turning and sprinting down the hall.

    He ignored the quaking booms behind him, focusing on getting out of this place. He needed to be somewhere else, anywhere else! The sight in that room wouldn't leave him, but it helped eliminate the chill in the air and replace it with an inferno that launched him to his feet. Bizarrely, the hall seemed to go on for miles, no other exit in sight. There was nothing but the same walls and floor repeating over and over. It made his head spin!

    His legs were beginning to ache, the booms getting closer in his ears. He suddenly found himself tackled by a huge weight, pounding onto the floor in a heap as he struggled. The beast stood over him, gazing down at him with feral insanity. Large claws grasped his neck, making him grab at the wrists frantically as his lungs began to burn. The world blurred around him as he gasped for air, eyes watering in fear. The feeling left his arms, then his chest...

And his vision went black.

    Alan became aware of his shivering the moment he opened his eyes, jolting up instantly. His chest panged as if he were running a marathon in his sleep, taking slow breaths to ease it. He looked at his arms, finding them racked with sweat in the moonlight. Looking over, he saw Todd fast asleep in his own bed, none the wiser. He sighed silently, going to the bathroom and cleaning himself up. Once done, though, he looked in the mirror.

What was that all about?, he thought. Why was I dreaming about that?

    It wasn't something that happened too long ago, as it was shortly before the break. He hated that night, the night everything changed for him. He was forced to confront the reality he wanted so badly to change, and he experienced first-hand what kind of danger lurked in the world. He felt his neck ebb faintly with pain, but he paid it no mind. He took a deep breath and sighed.