Human

“Woah…” “What now Connor?” I sighed. “Y-your eyes!” he exclaimed, pointing to my eyes. “Huh? I don’t know what…” “Rachel!” Adam whisper-yelled. “Go look.” I raised my hand, waiting anxiously for the substitute to call on me. I exaggerated tapping my foot to make it seem like I had to go to the bathroom. Still waiting. The sub passed his eyes across the room till he finally saw me at the left side of the classroom. “Yes, Rachel?” he asked impatiently. “May I use the restroom please?” I asked in my professional, innocent tone. “Uh, yes. Make sure you take a pass though,” he said, gesturing to the bathroom and locker passes magnetically clipped to the dry-erase board. “Thank you.” I stood up and brushed the surface of Adam’s desk, signaling him to cover for me if anything goes wrong. I heard a quiet double-tap response from under his desk that no one else in the room could hear but me. Not even Adam. I started to open the door, but I saw my reflection in the glass and gasped. The left eye was yellow, the other was green. I glanced at Adam and saw the worried look on his face. I rushed out the door and walked fast towards the girl’s bathroom at the very end of the hallway. My heart skipped a beat every time I pictured my reflection in the door. “Walk please!” One of the upper grade teachers said. I have some serious problems to handle bitch. Leave me alone! But I nodded and slowed my pace, receiving a satisfied smile from the teacher. Watch your language, I could almost hear Adam saying for the billionth time. Finally, I entered the bathroom and almost didn’t check to see if anyone was in there, but luckily, no one was. I closed my eyes. I stood myself in front of the only mirror and sighed. Get it

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over with. I opened my eyes. Oh shit. Both my irises were yellow and the pupils small and hungry looking. I have to go; I have to get out of here! My instincts told me. I heard a student walking down the hall towards the bathroom. Their smell was mouthwatering, causing my stomach to rumble. I didn’t realize I was so hungry. Suddenly, I felt cold, and my hands curled into fists. They were getting closer, the smell exhilarating. All the hairs on my arms stood up making me shudder. The footsteps got louder… and louder… but they stopped right outside the door. “Senka? It’s Adam.” Oh no. “Hello? You okay?” he asked with a worried tone. “G-go away,” I ordered. “Please. Please…” “No, I need to see if you’re okay.” “Adam just go! I’m begging you.” “Just let me see if you’re okay,” he said softly. I couldn’t resist it for much longer. I was so hungry, but I couldn’t hurt Adam. I closed my eyes and opened the door. The smell of flesh was overwhelming. “Adam!” I screamed. I couldn’t take it any longer. “Adam help!” His mouth opened like he was about to say something but nothing came out. He took a step back. “Distract me. Hurt me. Please…” Another step back. “Push me, hit me, cut me.” I was growling now. “Do anything.” Three more steps. I was crying. I grasped the side of the door and dug my fingernails into the wood. He hit the lockers with a loud bang.

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I stepped closer, and he gasped. “No Adam, please. I won’t hurt you. Just help me, I’m begging you…” “Uh, is everything okay out here?” Oh no. Oh please hell no! The sub started his way towards us. Both the smells made my instincts go crazy. I wanted to rip my own head off, it was so horrible. I cleared my throat, trying to get the fat lump out. “I- we’re fine. I just accidentally scared him,” I lied. Wow. That was pretty pathetic. The teacher’s mouth kind of slanted to the side, and his eyes grew wide. “You… Wwhat?” he uttered, pointing a finger at me. Oh you’ve got to be kidding me. A fat piece of meat dangling right in front of my face. I screamed- well, more like snarled- and lunged for the unprotected limb. I saw the floor growing closer. He did it… Adam tripped me. For a split second, all I could think about was Adam. But the floor made contact with my face, causing my wolf instincts to kick in. Adrenaline-powered rage filled my body as I blocked out the pain. Slowly, I stood up and wiped blood away from my forehead with the back of my hand. I staggered back as my sight started turning black. What the? I spun around to see Adam holding his giant history book in a hitting position. He hit me. As my eyes grew wide, he mouthed the words, “I’m sorry,” and hit me again on the top of the head. Hard. “Thank you…” I whispered only loud enough for him to hear. My legs collapsed, and my sight immediately turned black. But I wasn’t going to give up that easily. I let out a deep breath, calming myself, and relaxed all my limbs. I forced my mind to my eyes and ears. Slowly, I opened my eyes. Everything was still black, but I could hear two startled gasps. Not needing my sight, I sweep kicked both of them and heard two loud thumps against

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lockers and hard tile. The sound of a clinking noise caught my attention as I realized Adam was pulling out his pocket knife. Yes, a pocket knife in school. He’s not crazy though; I told him to bring it for just this reason- protection from me. He was quick about it. Adam sliced through my right ankle, and I screamed. What was I doing? With my own willpower, I managed to say, “Adam help. I’m not doing this.” The sound of clumsy footsteps walking toward me scared me, thinking someone was going to attack me. No, I was the attacker, they were the prey. I slammed my uninjured foot into Adam’s knee. He fell back against the lockers as I heard the other human running back to the classroom. He started talking on the class phone. “Help! Rachel, she’s… something is wrong with her. No! Please. Okay, hurry.” That’s not good. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry,” I cried. But the smell of blood pouring from my cut overpowered my temporary moment of self-control. My stomach rumbled as I pushed myself onto my hands and knees, slowly gaining my eyesight. I turned myself around to see a blurry Adam attempting to stand up. The new prey was helpless. My jaw clenched, and I used my left foot to push myself off the floor into him. He yelled something, but I couldn’t make out the words. I dug my fingernails into his arm and chest, trying to weaken the prey. Suddenly, there was a sharp, ragged pain in my right side. The pain continued down my leg. He was stabbing me with his free hand. A blood-curdling scream escaped my mouth. “Stop!” I screamed. “Help, it hurts!” I pounded and scraped the threat, trying desperately to make him stop. It felt like my whole side was being ripped off slowly. Blood was everywhere. We were both covered in blood and tears. He stopped. But the pain didn’t. I was gasping for air and grabbing… nothing. “No! Senka, I’m so sorry,” he cried. “Run!” From what?

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I heard heavy footsteps sprinting up the stairs to our hallway. Jingling keys accompanied the, “Don’t move!” from a man. Police officer. I had to get out of here. Fighting wouldn’t workhe had a gun. Run, I had to run. But how? I could barely move… I played dead. “Oh no,” Adam cried softly. “Oh please, Senka no!” I felt warm tears fall to my bloody skin. I slowly brushed my finger against his leg. A quiet gasp came from his mouth. He tapped my arm twice. I love our secret code. The officer didn’t even ask any questions. He picked me up, and I heard him handcuff Adam. I wanted to speak so badly- to tell the officer that he didn’t do anything. I was the attacker and he was defending himself. I told him to. But I couldn’t. He set me back down, away from the bloody mess, and started talking on his radio. “We need an ambulance immediately. We’ve got a girl who’s been stabbed… five times on the right side of her body- mostly on her leg. She’s lost an enormous amount of blood and passed out, but she’s still breathing, amazingly. There’s also a boy who has multiple cuts on his right arm and chest and bruises on both his legs. We are unsure how he received the injuries. He was holding a pocket knife, which I’m assuming he used to stab the girl. He’s been handcuffed.” I almost started crying, but I managed to prevent the urge. “Bring the boy to the front of the school,” he ordered another man. “I’ll take the girl outside to wait for the ambulance.” Oh, no no no, please no. We were being separated. We’d have to make our escapes without each other’s help. Good luck Adam… As the officer carried me, I calmed myself and focused all of my energy on my hurt leg. If I can heal my sight and hearing, I can heal anything. I focused on the blood running through

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my veins. I focused on pushing adrenaline into my leg. Even if it was a momentary burst of energy, I would use every last bit of it to sprint through the hallways, making my escape. I twitched my leg, to see if it hurt to move it. Pain shot up my leg and into my spine, causing me to shudder. “Don’t struggle, it’ll be fine,” said the officer. That wasn’t anything compared to how I could struggle, man. You just wait. I needed the adrenaline from my wolf side, I realized. I started to breathe heavily, inhaling through my nose. Blood and flesh filled my cloudy head, sharpening my thoughts and reflexes. My mouth watered, and I shivered, startling my captor. I licked my lips and tasted rusty blood, making my stomach growl at me. My teeth were like razors- fangs. That was enough to make me smile. “W-what’s going on…?” I asked innocently. “Shh, it’ll be okay. We’re taking you to a hospital where they can heal your injuries.” I grabbed the policeman’s head with both my hands and twisted it as hard as I could. Once I heard the crack, I leaped out of his arms, knocked him hard to the ground, and went for his legs. I ripped through the skin, tearing muscle and tendons. Blood was pouring everywhere. He was yelling for help, but the other man was just watching in horror. I smirked and continued ripping apart my prey. It felt like I hadn’t eaten anything for days and days. The taste of his flesh was satisfying. “Senka!” someone hissed. “Stop now!” Ha ha ha, I wasn’t going to stop. I won the fight. This was my reward. Click. So many memories, horrible, horrible memories hit me. The last of Thalf’s warmth comforting me. The cold snow drenched with blood. The terrifying feeling of defeat. But I got a second chance… somehow. I knew I wasn’t getting a third.

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I jerked my head to the direction of the gun and saw the horrified man pointing it straight at me with shaking hands. Next to him was Adam, as pale as a ghost and crying with terror. The pain in my leg slowly came back, causing me to scowl. It was now or never. I jumped onto the railing of the stairs, grimacing at the pain in my leg. I let go and started falling two stories down. This is going to hurt. I landed perfectly on two legs, but throbbing pain shot through my leg all the way to my head. Everything went black for a couple seconds, and I felt too dizzy to move. But the rush faded, and the escape continued. A couple students wandered the hallways staring in shock at a bloody girl tearing through the school. The smell of students as I ran past was intense, but I resisted the urge to look back. There was screaming up ahead. All of a sudden, three policemen rounded the corner and halted as soon as they saw me. “What the hell? She’s a like a bloody zombie!” one exclaimed. That did it. I forgot all about the excruciating pain and charged the police officer. He fumbled for his gun in his belt and pointed it at me. He loaded the gun and was getting ready to shoot from five feet away. I pushed myself as hard as I could and swiped the gun out of his hand, and he watched it skid across the floor to where the other two were standing. Then I punched him in the nose and watched it bleed. The two officers watching the show started pulling out their guns as I ran for the doors leading me to freedom. They started running after me, but I was faster. My muscles were no match for theirs now. I ran through the commons and once I made it to the doors, I kept running, getting ready to push the bar of metal inward to open them. But they refused to open. I crunched into the door and staggered back. I was stunned, realizing that they had locked all the doors like what they did for our intruder drills. I desperately banged against the glass, but it was too strong. I needed something stronger to hit it with. Two of the officers were moving closer, both aiming their guns right at me. The third that had the bloody nose was talking on his radio. I didn’t have much time left.

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I picked up a chair from a nearby lunch table with one hand and swung it as hard as I could into the door. Nothing happened. The officers were one hundred feet away now. I swung again. Nothing happened. Again, I threw the chair into the glass, this time making sure that the metal leg pierced the glass. The leg broke off and almost hit me as it bounced back. This could be handy. Fifty feet. I picked up the piece of metal and swung hard against the glass. A crack appeared. I hit again right in the center of the fault. It grew bigger. I glanced behind me and saw that the policemen were now in perfect range to shoot me. I continuously smashed the metal into the glass, hoping desperately for it to break. Suddenly, the glass shattered into millions of crystals. But I froze in astonishment, realizing that I didn’t break the glass, a bullet did. I heard one officer load his gun and I immediately sprinted outside. I could hear my heartbeat through my ears. I felt the adrenaline rushing through my veins. I felt the power of my muscles moving me as fast as a wolf. I saw the forest right ahead where I could hide and wait for all of the danger to disappear. I smelled my own blood flowing out of my body. I dared a look behind me and saw the flashing lights of police cars, a wailing ambulance, and a boy being led to a police car. Adam. No…

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