The Werewolf Gene

Part One

    The pain was unbearable. Her whole body was itching and at the same time, burning. All of her bones were breaking and changing in her body, joining up with new ones, growing, shrinking. But during all of this pain, the excruciating, horrible pain, the only thing that Isobel could think of, was the need to kill.

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     It has been 3 years since Isobel's parents disappeared. There had been a note on the kitchen table when she and her sister got home from school that afternoon, then nothing. The police searched everywhere for clues as to what had happened to them, and after three months, their bodies were found. There was a funeral for close friends and family, and then the case was closed; the police no longer seeing a need to investigate what had caused the disappearance of Mr and Mrs Vaughn. Once a week since the funeral, Isobel took fresh flowers to her parents' graves and removed the old ones. She knew that her parents couldn't see what she was doing, but it made her feel closer to them. When she first started going to the cemetery, her sister would tell her that there was no point, that going there would only refresh the pain of loosing them, but eventually she gave up. It didn't matter what she told her, Isobel still went.

    She had just gotten home from the cemetery when her sister walked inside with the shopping.

    "You know," Heidi said, walking through the front door with her hands full of shopping bags "some help with these would be appreciated."

    "Really? You look like your doing just fine on your own." Isobel replied with a slight smirk on her face.

    "Please?" Heidi asked.

    "I suppose."

    They had finished putting the shopping away and were in their living room watching television before dinner.
    "Are you going to do anything for your birthday?" Heidi asked Isobel.

    It is Isobel's birthday in a bit over a month and she is turning sixteen. For most girls, their sixteenth birthday is a big deal and there would be big parties that go all night and they would talk about it for ages after. But for Isobel, it is just another birthday. She doesn't see the point of a huge celebration and heaps of people over.

    "I'll probably just go out with Jess and Lexi for the night. Dinner and bowling or something like that. I don't want anything too big." Isobel replied.

    Jessica and Lexi are Isobel's closest friends. They were there for her when her parents disappeared and always tried to do something to help cheer her up. Jessica has known Isobel since they were five. They started school together and have been friends ever since. Lexi had only known them for about 6 years years. She moved to town with her mother, stepfather and younger brother when her mother accepted a new job at the police station. She doesn't like her stepfather much but he makes her mother happy so she just tries to avoid him. The girls are the closest of friends and they do almost everything together.

    "Are you sure? You're turning sixteen, you're allowed to have a big party if you want."

    "Yeah, I'm sure. I don't really like big parties."

    "Okay. Well tell me if you change your mind."

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    Just as Isobel was about to go to sleep, she thought she could see something through her window. She walked over to it to try and get a closer look but when she got there, it was just darkness. The two bright glows that she thought she could see were gone.

    Must have imagined it. She thought to herself, her usual bubbly personality draining out of her at the thought of someone, or something, watching her.