In Our Mortal World

The sun was falling to the west, signaling the debut of her mission. She wiped the sweat glittering on her forehead with the back of her hand. It was a hot evening in August. And so, she started lollygagging.

A few poorly maintained cars were parked to her right, under the flickering light of the street lamp, some broken and others out of use. From the corner of her eyes, she could see, hovering from his height some fiend racketeering a young wisp of a boy. On the other side, she saw a high man selling a little bag full of white powder. She saw the girl handing him a bundle of cash.

The parking lines were beginning to erase themselves causing the cars to be arranged in a sickening way.

But what caught the most attention was the convenience store. It was at the end of the parking lot. The wall wasn't full of gang graffiti, nor was it falling apart. In this shitty neighborhood, it was the only standing building in good shape, which was unnatural.

She took the red envelop she was holding and read the message in it again.

« 81 blocks, dismantle the weapon traffic, and bring back the stolen papers »

She sighed at the minimum information the sheet of paper gave before folding it and dumping it inside a trash can. Changing her trajectory, she was now headed for the store. Soon enough, for sure, she felt stares. Lurking behind the shadows were pairs of eyes watching and analyzing her every movement. A shimmer left her.

Arriving in front of the shop, she pushed the glass door and heard the acute voice of the bell, fixed on top of it. She began wandering around the stacked shelf. They were filled to the brim with household goodies and groceries such as junk food. She went to the candy section and picked a few different items, not really caring about the brand.

She walked to the cash counter and let the candies fall on the counter before smiling at the cashier. She began scanning each packet while Raïna let her eyes roam. On her right wrist, she saw a gold watch. Her fingers were decorated with rings, each mounted by a gem. Things you couldn't buy with the salary of a cashier.

"I like your jewelry " Raïna blurted out. The blond girl shutter a bit before scanning the last packet of candy. She forced a smile and answer a simple thank you before tapping  random buttons and announcing :

"The total is 18.99$. How are gonna pa- " She was stopped in the middle by Raïna yanking her close and whispering in her ear.

" How did you make so much money? "

"I-I don't know what you are talking about... " she quivered. Raïna's smile slowly faded which caused the girl to start trembling.

The blond swallowed hard before pointing to the back store, her finger shaking. Raïna looked in the direction and let go of the girl before heading towards it.

Inside the darkroom, only the screen of an old computer gave a slightly wavering source of light. Dozens of piles were scattered on the marvel ground flour, each of them stacked with documents of every genre. But neither of that interested Raïna, She headed straight for the dark safe on the other side of the room, all the way behind. She took care not to touch anything before arriving in front of the strongbox.

Of course, there was a lock and she didn't have any clue what the code was. She had a simpler way to open it. She took a deep breath and engulfed as much air as possible before releasing everything in a grunt. She let the stingy sensation of her canines coming out envelop her. Spreading her natural nails were claws growing at an alarming speed before they reached the desired length. Her brown eyes had turned a dark shade of blue, shining like a clear sky full of stars.

The familiar feeling of power surging in every cell of her body flowed right in. In a matter of seconds, she had landed a swift blow to the safe with her sharp claws and had burst it open. She retracted them before taking the golden file in her hand to keep them intact. She threw her head back and close her eyes. Just after, she was back to looking like a normal human being.

This time, walking back, she pushed down every pile of papers and closed the door behind her. She had now a satisfactory smirk curving the sides of her lips. The blond was still behind the counter, too scared to dare move.

"Thanks for your help, really appreciated it. " Before heading out she came to the counter and took a packet of candy. " For the road. "

As she opened the door, she again heard the bell clanging. She only had put one foot outside when she heard steps coming toward her. She opened the candy bag and started eating, waiting for what was to come.

5 minutes after, she had twenty men in front of her. One stepped in front of the group and started speaking to her :

"Wanna do this the hard way or the easy way ? " he said while the others growled behind trying to intimidate her. "Come on, you don't want to die like this, do you?"

Raïna burst out laughing until it hurt. " Bring it on. " She responded, taking an offensive stance.

His smile dropped and his eyes turned a yellowish-brown before he shot himself forward with his claws heading for Raïna's neck. She dodged and used that fraction of a second to transform herself completely into a werewolf. Unlike her half transformation earlier, this time she went for the animalistic one.

The sensation of her bone-breaking, her muscles burning, and her skin itching flowed right back. Her ability to stand up straight on two feet slowly dissipated and she ended up on all four. Her eyes turned that beautiful blue and her nose became a muzzle, causing her smell to become more accurate. Grey fur came growing out everywhere on her body and she lets slip a dark, gravelly growl that cut through the night.

The men all changed, becoming a wolf pack. From yellow to brown, they all had the regular-colored eyes of a general wolf and were normal. Facing Raïna's wolf they seemed like little cubs against the majesty of her mythic wolf.

The two parties collided. A mixture of blood, of pain and sweat, hysteria and cries, dolor and frustration unraveled in front of the homeless, begging for money across the street. People in their fancy cars would be shocked at the brutal assault of wolves battling for their lives. Using their canines and claws, their weight and growls to survive.

Corpses were multiplying, until only a blue eye and a brown eye wolf were standing. The little wolf was panting and struggling to catch his breath as it was evading each of the attacks of the bigger wolf. Covered in scratches, bruises, and blood from his fellow, his movements were becoming slower until he fell in a loud noise, tripping on the corpse of his fellow.

The grey monster walked solemnly to him and stood on his two feet. A heartbeat later, a naked woman was hovering over the now wasted man. She had brown eyes, black hair with a grey lock of hair, and clear olive skin. In her mouth was a gold document and in her hands was a candy wrap.

Guys ogled her body before it disappeared on the horizon.