Running From the Dark | Double Lives Series | Book 1

Chapter 2-Transformation

Beep

Beep

'What is that noise? Where was I?'

I opened my eyes slowly, trying to soak in my surroundings. Bright lights illuminated the room which kind of blinded me a bit. There were tubes stuck in my nose and arms. I looked to my right, seeing that my mom was lounging in a chair, wrapped up in a blanket while my sisters sat in another, sleeping.

I moved my hand a bit as I tried to speak. My mom took notice of this.

"Oh mah god. Are you okay?" asked mom, jumping up quick.

"Y-yes," I finally managed to speak. I tried to move my arms, but I winced in pain.

She approached me and delicately placed her hand on my chest.

"Be careful. Stop movin' so much."

I relaxed my body and asked, "W-whut happened?"

"Ah found you on de bed unconscious after ah heard you scream," she told me with a worried look on her face.

'Unconscious?'

I cleared my throat.

"How long have Ah bin out?"

"3 days..."

My eyes widened.

"H-how??"

"You were drugged."

I gasped.

'Sorry bro. Ah have to do this.'

I shook my head and just stared at her. She seemed deep in thought and her face had a look of fear. Just then, a thought came to mind.

"Why didn't you tell me dat ah have uh brother?"

She looked at me with her eyes wide. She swallowed harshly.

"Ah-ah'm sorry..."

Anger washed over me and I snatched the tubes off of me, wincing in pain in the process.

"What are you doin'?" asked mom. "You can't take those out."

I quickly got out of the bed, but instantly collapsed onto the cold floor.

"Jake! Are you okay?!" mom asked me in panic as she ran over to me, picking me up.

"Ah'm fine," I grunted. I glanced over at my sisters and they were still sleeping despite the commotion. "Ah need to go to de bathroom."

I left the room and basically limped all the way down the hall, passing doctors who gave me funny looks. I ignored them and kept walking until I found one of those personalized bathrooms.

I splashed my face with hot water and stared at my reflection in the mirror. I saw my eyes flicker to gold, making me jump back. I rubbed my eyes and looked back in the mirror.

"Am ah trippin'?" I said to myself.

My eyes glowed again and I started panicking. I splashed my face again with more hot water, but my eyes were still glowing gold. I gripped the sink as my stomach began having a weird feeling. In seconds, it crumbled to pieces. 

I stood there, trying to make sense of what just happened. With shaky hands, I opened the door and exited the bathroom. As I walked back to the room, I hid my eyes away from the doctors.

I avoided eye contact with my mom as I walked into the room.

"Everythin' alright?" she asked.

I ignored her and went straight to the window, admiring the view. The dark night sky, the full moon shining bright like a diamond. The reflection of my golden glowing eyes were staring back at me. It was a bit eerie.

But then, my stomach started feeling weird again. I collapsed to my knees and rolled onto my back, crying out in pain.

"Jake!" my mom shouted as she came over to kneel beside me. She placed her hands around me, checking for anything. "Whut's hurtin' you?"

I didn't answer, just kept crying in pain.

My sisters woke up from the disturbance. I heard Riley say, "Momma, whut's wrong?"

"Go git help!"

They ran out of the room to get help.

I turned onto my side and tried to get up. But agonizing pain shot through my body as I felt my bones snap and my bones switching places. My mom began backing away slowly, observing the horrific scene taking place in front of her as I kept screaming. 

 My screams were replaced with growling as I got on my hands and knees. I watched fur sprout out of my arms and around my hands. My legs snapped to possibly shape itself which made the pain more intense and unbearable.

'What's happening to me?'

After what felt like an eternity, everything stopped.

Doctors immediately came in, but stopped before they could come close. I glanced at my hands–or what was my hands. They were paws covered in jet black fur. I was standing on all fours like a dog or a wolf. I looked at my mom. Compared to her, I was actually her height. So I was about 5 feet tall.

All of a sudden, the lights went out and an alarm started going off. Adrenaline kicked in and I went into flight or fight mode. I let out a growl and dashed past the doctors, knocking them over. I didn't know where I was going. I needed to just get out. The smell of medicine and cleaning chemicals filled my nostrils and it was very loud.

'Whut did he do?'

'Wuz he tryna tell me 'bout this?'

'How did this happen?'

'What am I?'

I saw security guards and police officers up ahead and stopped. I growled at them fiercely and they shot me with what was probably a dart. I whimpered and howled until I blacked out.