THE MUTANT

About an hour later, Gray's suffering didn't seem to get any better.

"You're depreciating, man," Michael said.

"He's too old and his body is rejecting mortality," Joey said.

"Should I bite him?"

"No, it's not that simple,"

"Should we summon your parents?" Michael asked Gray.

"Yes, take me home."

* * *

Annie was awake again. She was dazed just like before, and wasn't sure if she was awake or dreaming or in a trance. She looked towards the walk-in closet where she'd previously found the gapping door and there was only silence. The doors were also closed as if nothing had happened at all, but she was hearing a sound such as could only come from the shores of a river or sea or ocean.

She hadn't noticed before that the house had a beach behind it. She stood from the bed and glided towards one of the French windows. She knew it was still night because the house was dark and the room she was sleeping in was dimly lit. If it was daylight, the windows should have been enough to allow a lot of brightness into the room. But even though it was still dark, the environment around the surging sea was bright as day. The sky was a little cloudy, but yet, it was unmistakably daylight.

There were Vessels on the river, some flying boats, some diverse shapes of boats. There were a lot of activities going on. People were walking on a long wooden walk way towards their different boats. Some were arriving, it seemed as if a roll call was being made and people needed to have their documents checked before proceeding either towards the sea or off of it.

Annie noticed a middle aged couple who just passed the check point and were heading towards a certain vessel. She was distracted by the sight of three under dressed men rushing towards the now obvious harbor. It was Michael and Joey half carrying and half helping Gray towards the harbor.

They called out in the direction of the middle aged couple and they stopped in their track. The couple turned around. At first, they were happy to see the trio, until they noticed the urgency in their movement, their almost nudity except for their shorts and the burden they were carrying.

"Gray," the mother called out.

The two let him go, it seemed as if they'd reached their boundary and couldn't step foot on the wooden walk way.

The couple began to walk toward Gray as he applied all his strength into making his way towards them. He was grabbing onto the ropy railing to steady himself.

The woman got to him and hugged him. "What happened to you?" She asked with a troubled face.

"Are you being careless again?" the man asked, as they both helped him towards their vessel.

Annie saw them floating away towards the deep sea. She was unexplainably close to the large canoe that was carrying the trio. She'd now understood the couple were Gray's parents. She saw as Gray continued to wreath in pain.

"He's dying, do something," Gray's mother said urgently to the man.

"Quick, both of you get into the water," Gray's father commanded. Annie watched in horror, wandering if they could swim, as they obeyed. Gray's mother flipped his now almost unconscious body into the sea and jumped in after him.

"Drink the salty water," he commanded. Annie watched as they drank, tumbling around in the murky looking water. She saw with horror that Gray couldn't drink anymore, he seemed like he so wanted to die, but death eluded him. As if he wanted to drown but couldn't.

She watched as Gray's father jumped out of the canoe, swam towards him and began to guzzle him alive. To her utter dismay, he was tearing off the flesh around the top of his right thigh, chewing and hurriedly swallowing. Annie stared, wide eyed, mouth gaping as he guzzled his son's flesh as if the boy's life depended on it.

Gray's father was impatiently eating him. He'd eaten the entire top of his right thigh, the area before the knee and moved to the area around his armpit. He was tearing off huge chunks of flesh and literally swallowing them.

The sun suddenly shun through, breaking the gray clouds. Annie watched as Gray instantly began to heal as the sun touched him. His white, flushed, pale skin began to gain some lively colours. The wounds his father had left were rapidly closing and he began to float towards the shore.

Annie saw herself standing behind the gapping door again. Gray turned towards her, his eyes were sparkling once again, his immortality was restored and he looked famished.

"Should I lock the door?" Annie asked impulsively.

"Yes," he responded reluctantly.

Annie shut the door.

With quivering hands she slid in the top bolt, sort for the bottom bolt and also slid it in. The room was now painted white, everything was white including the door she'd shut and the bolts she'd locked. And there were no other entrances except the door she'd locked. There were also no other furnishings except the bed she'd arisen from.

The door didn't seem strongly closed, it was as if any kind of push could open or at least rattle it. She was shivering as she saw Gray through a small gap between the door and the wall, he wasn't looking aggressive anymore. He was, in fact, fully recovered and was walking about on the corridor, still in his shorts, gathering stuff together and paying no attention to her.

* * *

Annie fully awoke, or so she thought.

She was in Gray's bedroom alright. She looked around and all were as they had been before she went to sleep, except Gray. The pillows were there, but Gray wasn't.

She stood up, changed into the dress she'd worn to the party and left the room. She came out of Gray's apartment and approached the stairs that led down to the center of the condominium.

As she was coming down the large, curvy staircase, she began to hear the sound of struggling.

The sound was coming from somewhere at the foot of the staircase. She hurried down to find two large, aggressive looking beings grabbing onto each other. It seemed as if they were pushing themselves back and forth. One resembled an animal and the other human, with obvious protruding veins and muscles.

There was someone lying casually by the end of the other staircase that also led up to the apartments, watching the struggle.

Teddy's girlfriend was seating on the last staircase, watching. She gestured to Annie to come and join her.

"Nothing to worry about," she said.

"What is going on?" Annie asked.

"It's a game."

"What are they?"

"Werewolves and vampires." The lady stated, matter-of-factly.

One of the werewolves pushed the other down and pinned him on the ground.

Annie watched as the animals began to transform into human beings.

The man at the foot of the other staircase was Joey, he was a vampire. Michael and Gray had been the ones wrestling. Gray was a werewolf and Michael a vampire.

"How are you feeling now?" a voice questioned from way beneath the stairs and Annie turned to see Teddy coming out from under the stairs. He was in the midst of transformation himself, he was human from his belly up and wolf from his waist down.

"Is he still in there?" Gray questioned. He'd stood from the weak body of Michael and was walking towards a door that was facing the center of the two large staircases.

"Yes, we imprisoned him as soon he got here." Joey said, as Gray touched the door.

"Don't open it! We're not ready!" Teddy said.

"Now!" Joey commanded a few seconds later, after Michael got up from the floor.

* * *

Gray opened the door and went inside.

A loud roar was heard coming from the room. Two large werewolves came struggling out of the room.

One was holding the other tightly. Teddy transformed in an instant, rushed over and began to help restrict the larger wolf. Joey held him from behind.

Annie's foot shook on the floor.

"What is that?" she questioned with a shaky voice.

"A visiting Alpha," Teddy's girl responded steadily, as if she wasn't moved by all the happenings.

"Who is he?"

"He's your father," she said.

"What?!"

"He's here for your head!"

"My head?"

"You've been a bad, bad daughter," the girl sang, mockingly.

Annie was shocked beyond words. She watched as the two young werewolves finally pinned the larger wolf to the ground. It seemed as though one of his legs was broken and there was blood smeared around his shoulder.

The two young wolves transformed back to humans. Gray beat his wrist and began to drip blood into the wolf's mouth, while holding him down. Joey was lying at his head area.

"Maybe some more blood will make you feel better," he said.

"Blood? What blood?" the wolf croaked.

"Human blood," Joey said.

"No, not human blood," the wolf croaked agonizingly.

Teddy walked over to his girlfriend and Annie watched as she beat her wrist and tricked some blood into a small container. There was a small foam at the bottom of the container, shaped like a tongue. There was a deep cut in the center of the tongue. The tongue was soaked with the blood that had gone into it.

Teddy gave the small container to Joey.

"Yes, human blood. It will do you so much good, maybe absorb all your misused immortality and save us all the trouble." Joey mocked.

He took the container and pressed a little on the tongue-like foam. His long fingernails mistakenly scratched on the surface of the container's cover, some brownish dust dislodged and sprayed on the blood-wet tongue.

"Hmmm, some acumen. That will definitely do it." Joey said.

"Acumen? Nooo," the wolf croaked loudly, as Joey fed him the entire content of the small container.

The big gray werewolf stood, laughing mischievously. He slowly levitated, still laughing.

He transformed into human. And Annie saw in great horror who he was. He wasn't her father, he was Marlowe - her worse nightmare.

The human spread his hands which were now fleshy wings. He laughed even more. Now, he was neither a werewolf nor a vampire. He was a human form, in the shape of a bat, covered with muscles.

The young werewolves stood, "now there's no door in this house that can shut him out," Joey cried.

"How did this happen?" Michael cried.

Gray slowly and casually approached Annie. He took her by the arm and began to casually walk up the staircase. He turned towards Teddy's girlfriend.

"Are you coming or what?"

He took the girls through a corridor at the back of his apartment, pushed a door open and shoved them in.

The room was similar to the one Annie had seen herself in when Gray had approved for her to lock him out. Only this one had a symbol of love at the top of the door. The heart was built with the same material the door had been made with. It was round with a pointy underside just like a heart, painted white like the rest of the room and very shiny.

Annie hurried in and just like she'd locked out Gray, she locked the bolts. The door was also looking weak, as if a gentle push could rattle it.

She saw the mutated alpha outside the door, through a crack between the door and the wall. He had arrived a little too late, she felt him bang on the door in frustration, but the door didn't even rattle.

He'd been deceived. There was the room that could keep him or any other thing out. Gray couldn't say it out or even think it in his mind cos the mutated Alpha would find out. None of them could.

* * *

I jumped awake on my bed, gasping for air. Thank God it was all a dream. Vampires or werewolves are not real, are they? I thought, Marlowe is worse than both for sure.