She lifted her shirt up and using the flashlight, looked at the damage. There was an irregular bruise just below her left breast, if she hadn't been wearing the vest, it would have been fatal. She took off the gun belt and holster. She removed the pistol, screwed the silencer onto it and set it next to her pillow. She put the flashlight right next to it. She crawled into her bag and went to sleep.She dreamed of gunshots and blood. There were growling monsters and torn bodies. She heard a voice calling her name. She knew that voice. That deep bass of Damien was saying her name. She felt sick to her stomach and her skin itched. There that voice was again. She sat up, sweating and breathing fast. Her stomach still felt queasy and she itched everywhere."Elena."There it was, that deep bass, and it wasn't in her dreams. It was in her ears. WHAT? She reached for the pistol and the flashlight. She slid out of her sleeping bag and crouched."Elena. I am here. You called me."Now she was rea
"No, that's the change coming on, and if you are feeling that right now, you are close. The full moon is still a few days away, and you are already fighting off the urge to shift. That's not a good sign, Elena. When did these feelings start?""Well, the other day when I was really angry with someone was the first time, but I was able to fight it off with the help of my friend. I felt it again while I was dreaming just a few minutes ago, just before I woke up and heard you out here calling my name.""Yes, anger will cause you to shift if you can't calm down soon enough. What were you dreaming of?""Blood, monsters, and torn bodies.""Okay, blood and violence will cause you to shift early as well. However, I have never known dreams to cause it. It's the smell of the blood and the feel of the violence that stimulates the change. Have you been involved in anything today that had blood or violence?""Yeah, I was shot twice."He looked at her sharply and then shook his head."I see no wound
He hit her again, not quite as hard as the first time, but hard enough. She could feel the blood trickling down her chin. She could taste it in her mouth. It sent shivers through her body."You stay put. I'm going to get my Jeep and then the fun will begin. If you try to get away, the next beating will be worse, bitch. You understand me?"She nodded her head. He eyed her suspiciously. He went over to the truck and picked up a roll of duct tape. He came over to her and wrapped several loops around her, securing her to the tree. He stood back and eyed his handiwork. He nodded to himself and smiled. It was an evil smile and it chilled Elena to her bones. He laughed when he saw her shudder. He turned to walk away, then rotated his hip and kicked her in the stomach. Her breath shot out of her and she puked. The pain was terrible; her whole midsection was on fire. She choked and tried to breathe. He was laughing at her."That was for tricking me with the vest. You shouldn't have worn it. It
She tossed what was left of the bad human on the ground and went to find a place to rest. She walked slowly back to where she had woken up before her meal and looked around. There were scraps of clothing lying all over the ground. She spotted the tent, ooh, that looks good. She crawled over to it and opened the flap. There was fluffy bedding on the floor. Perfect! She slid in and curled up, wrapping her muscular arms around herself and pulling her legs up, she went to sleep.Elena opened her eyes; she could hear someone outside her tent. She panicked, and reached for the gun. It wasn't there! Then she looked at her hand and saw it was covered in blood. Oh God! What's going on? Then she looked down at herself and saw that she was naked and there was blood all over her and it had rubbed off onto her sleeping bag. She was shaking and trying hard to think about what could have happened. She couldn't remember! No wait, I woke up earlier, and I had to pee. Then nothing. Scott beating me? Oh
"Oh gods, no, Elena. I loved you. I still do. But the change in you has caused that love to change as well. I don't know how to explain it. None of the languages I know have a word for it. It's just, well, it's different.""Okay, I believe you. So, will you teach me how to do the mind stuff and control my shift?""Yes, I told you last night I would. Our time will have to be short, however. I cannot be with you for more than a couple of hours at a time, before my control is pushed to its limits. Also, there are two things that I want in return for this help""Oh? What are they, Damien?"Elena was instantly suspicious. Damien was different now and her trust in him was no longer what it once was."First, I need a promise. You have to swear a blood oath to do something for me when our time is finished.""A blood oath? Why? No one does those anymore.""It doesn't matter, you will do this or I won't help you. I hate to be so uncouth, Elena, but I have to have this blood oath.""Okay, say I
She got out her campstool and sat down, emotionally drained and physically exhausted. Her face went slack and her eyes lost focus as she reviewed what she had just done. The ruined piece of humanity that had been lying on the ground numbed her sense of reality. Her mind kept trying to come to grips with the fact that the white ragged sticks were bones, that the red mass of tissue had once been a human being. The sickly pallor of the skin that no longer had blood flowing to it to give it that peach colored hue, the blood turning black as it dried in the cool mountain air. The sickening slurp that sounded so loud in her ears as she picked it up and drug it across the ground to the hole she had dug.She came out of her disturbing reverie to find her hands shaking and her skin cold and clammy. A fine sheen of sweat covered her face, her stomach felt like it had turned to stone. There was a strange sensation of floating in her head, like she was inside this giant indoor stadium and her bod
Elena thought about that and remembered watching one of those shows on TV about criminals and things they did to cover up their crimes."He was a fugitive, so we have to be very careful if we drive it out of here. If we get caught on a main road, it's over. No, we need to take it deeper into the backcountry and abandon it. They might not find it for a year or more.""Okay. You'll have to teach me how to drive.""You know something, Damien? That is one thing I never would have expected to hear you say to me.""Good, Elena. Your sense of humor didn't disappear. I'm glad. Lead the way, let's get this done."Four hours later they were wiping the inside of the Jeep down. Elena had explained the technology of fingerprints to Damien. He was amazed that someone had thought of that to catch criminals. He did tell her that since she hadn't touched anything inside the Jeep that she didn't have to worry about it. That no police department had ever gotten his fingerprints, he hadn't been a human s
The sun finally slipped behind the mountains and then she could feel it, the moon. It was calling to her. A soft insistent surge of longing. She felt on fire and stripped out of her clothing to try and cool off. Her skin crawled like she was covered in ants and worms. The white disc peeked above the rim of the valley and she fell to the ground as her bones popped and her muscles slithered beneath her skin. She howled. Her massive form stood and she pointed her muzzle at the moon and howled her pleasure at seeing its beautiful face. She felt so alive! She wanted to run, so she did.She reveled in her strength and agility, grabbing trees and sinking her claws into the bark and climbing up the trunks. Reaching the tops she would sway back and forth and howl at the moon, Thank you!! I love you so much! Thank you for this power! She sniffed the air and she smelled the other. The old one. She leapt to the ground and ran at that scent. She followed it to the edge of the valley.She found his