The Half Lies of the Circus
#3 in Ringmaster on March 27, 2019
Prolouge
The conversion is quick, the history of experiments bleeding out in front of everyone. I watch as it begins to flow through him, and he shakes, his hand that's holding his gun, unsteady, and I clumsily trip over my feet in an attempt to take back away from him. I regain my balance and take a unsure but steady step towards him and put a hand on his arm, trying to gain his attention, but it's no use. I'm close enough that i see the monster wake itself from its slumber inside of Ryan. His eyes stare at me, blankly and i watch as they transition from his blue eyes to the golden eyes of a cat. I watch as his pale blonde hair begins to grow black from his head, as if someone had spilled ink on him, and it was seeping through his hair slowly. The wound he'd had heals itself, the skin repairing itself from the inside out and the bullet is pushed out and falls to the sand without a sound.
"R-Ryan?" I ask him, and as if my voice had awoken him, his eyes grow aware and his eyes narrow on mine, the hand holding his gun steadying. I see the predator that has awoken in him and I struggle to keep myself composed.
"Ryan, I know you're in there... Come back. I- You and I are okay. Please just... Fight it off." I whisper, so that the crowd can't hear. So that they don't alarm the monster before them... So they don't throw away their chance of getting out of this alive.
"Fight it off?" Ryan asks with an uncertainty rarely found in his voice.
"Yes, fight it off. I know you can do it. If you don't. All these men will get hurt." I say trying to reason with him. Trying to help him see clarity. Then, he smiles, a large grin and it seems sinister from him and he peers at me through his hair that has fallen on his face.
"Did one of these men shoot me?" He asks and I am caught off guard.
"Yes..." I answer him, biting my tongue before i can say more. Ryan merely looks at me and grins... Before he turns, raises his gun arm and fires.
