by Lexy Timms
I blink, almost thinking that a different woman has appeared in front of me. But there’s no mistaking the tawny hair or those smoky eyes.
“Well?” Clarissa gives a whirl, her hair dancing around her shoulders. “What do you think?”
Beautiful. That’s the first word that comes to mind, but I don’t say it out loud.
“Nice,” I say instead, scratching the back of my neck. “Much better than my old sweater.”
She chuckles then goes back into the dressing room. For the next few minutes, she goes in and out, each time with a different pair of pants on, a different blouse, sweater or dress, a different coat or jacket, a different headpiece, sometimes with a scarf.
And each time, she looks beautiful, leaving me utterly in awe, my breath stolen and my heart pounding.
“She looks good in anything, doesn’t she?” the woman next to me remarks.
A feeling of pride explodes in my chest. “Yeah, she does.”
It’s a great thing but for Clarissa, it seems to be a bad thing, too, her eyebrows furrowed as she goes over the clothes she’s tried. Finally, she makes up her mind, picking the pair of black jeans with a sandy brown belt, the cobalt blue turtleneck, a tan coat and a white fur cap.
I give her a thumbs up. “Great choice.”
“Thanks.” She puts the other items back in their racks. “And thanks for taking me shopping and getting me clothes. Now, I feel like a human.”
I frown. “You didn’t feel like a human before?”
She chuckles and considers me seriously. “You know, we should get you something, too.”
“Me?” I point a finger to my chest, eyebrows rising to get lost somewhere in my hairline.
“Yes, you. When was the last time you bought yourself a sweater? Or something new?”
I shrug.
“My point exactly.”
She rushes over to the men’s section, already looking through the racks. I follow her.
“Clarissa, this isn’t necessary. I...”
“Aha. What about this?” She pulls out a gray and maroon sweater, holding it up. “What do you think?”
I give another shrug. “I really don’t...”
“I, for one, think it will look great on you,” she interrupts, holding the sweater against me.
My eyes narrow. “You think?”
“Totally. It’ll make you look hotter.”
My eyebrows go up for a second time. If I keep this up they’ll get lost up there and not come down again. Hotter?
She turns away. “But if you don’t like it, I can keep looking. I’m sure...”
I grab the sweater from her. “I’ll take it. If it fits, that is.”
The corners of her lips turn up into a rewarding smile that convinces me I’ve made the right choice.
“Let’s hope it does.”
IT DID SEEM A GOOD choice back then but now, sitting in the living room of my apartment, I’m no longer sure it is.
I can sense Clarissa’s eyes wandering restlessly, constantly over my new sweater, though I get the feeling it’s not just my sweater she’s seeing. The fact that we don’t have anything else to occupy us doesn’t help.
“Maybe we should have bought a book for you to read,” I suggest. I’m not sure what else to say. I don’t spend a lot of time in the apartment. It’s a place to stay when I’m not at sea.
“It’s fine.” Clarissa shakes her head. “There’s nothing particular I’ve been wanting to read.”
“What do you do during your spare time?” I ask her.
“Watch TV mostly.” She sits back in her chair. “Or use my computer.”
I wince. I’m not big into electronics. “I’m sorry I don’t have either.”
She waves her hand. “Please don’t apologize. It’s not your fault you don’t rely on technology to keep you amused. It’s admirable, actually.” She shifts her legs. “So, what do you do during your spare time?”
“I sleep or eat.”
She chuckles. “I think I already guessed that. Any other...hobbies?”
I glance at the totem on the window sill. “Whittling.”
“Oh, yeah. I noticed.”
Clarissa stands up, picking up the totem. “Maybe you can teach me how to do it, then?”
I nod. It’s not like we have anything better to do. Besides, she needs a distraction, as do I.
I get my tools and sit on the rug. Clarissa sits across from me.
“So, what do I do first?”
I hand her a chunk of basswood. “First, think about what you want to make.”
“Hmm.” She scratches her chin. “Maybe something simple, like a leaf.”
“Okay.” I hand her one of my pocket knives. “Careful. These knives are very sharp. They have to be so that cutting will be easier and safer.”
“Got it.” She holds the wood in one hand, the knife in the other.
I grab mine and start cutting, making several thin slices along the surface of the wood. She does the same.
“This is like peeling a cucumber,” she says.
I hold a finger to my lips. “Concentrate.”
“Right. Sorry.”
She continues cutting in silence.
“Once you have the general shape, you can start making finer cuts like this.” I start cutting with the knife facing me this time.
“Like cutting an apple.”
She starts doing the same.
“Now, this isn’t too...”
Suddenly, she stops, the chunk of basswood falling to the rug. Beside it, I see a tiny red drop which makes my heart stop in turn.
“Clarissa?”
“I’m fine. It’s just a small cut.”
She stands up, getting off the rug and heading to the sink to wash her thumb.
Concerned, I get a Band-Aid from the can in the drawer, peeling the adhesive off so that I can put it around her thumb as soon as she’s done washing.
As she turns off the faucet, I grab her other hand.
“Here, let me help...”
I pause, eyes wide as I realize there’s no cut. Is this the wrong hand?
But no, it’s the right one. Why is there no cut then? Where had all that blood come from?
“It’s fine.” Clarissa jerks her hand away, hiding it behind her. “I told you it’s just a small cut. It doesn’t really need a Band-Aid but thanks.”
“Oh.” My arms fall to my sides.
“I think that’s enough whittling lessons for a day.” She yawns, but it feels fake. She’s running away. “I’ll go take a nap.”
Without waiting for me to say anything, she disappears into the bedroom. I throw the Band-Aid away and go back to the rug, cleaning up my tools and staring at the blood that has seeped into the grain of the piece of wood she was working on.
A small cut, huh?
I’ve cut my thumb a few times and I know it’s not small. Even if it was a small cut, there should still have been a mark but there wasn’t. It was as if the skin hadn’t been broken at all.
I look at my hand. I heal fast when I get cut but that’s because I’m not human. But Clarissa is.
I glance at the closed bedroom door.
Isn’t she?
Chapter Seven
~ Clarissa
I HOLD MY HAND UP IN front of my face, staring at my thumb in the semi-darkness.
I can still clearly remember the skin cracking open, the blood oozing out. But now, there’s no sign of that. No cut. No scar.
My thumb has healed completely.
I place my hand on my forehead, sighing.
I knew it wasn’t my imagination when I healed so fast after the crash. But if it’s not, what’s the explanation? Is there one?
Sebastian said he’d help me find answers.
Well, he didn’t help me. Or maybe I hadn’t given him enough time to. But did he find answers? Does he know more about me now than I know about myself? By now he has to have discovered that I’m gone. If so, is he coming after me?
&nb
sp; You know I am.
His voice in my head goes through me with a jolt that brings me to my feet in a panic. I feel trapped suddenly, in this small room with no windows. I throw open the door and find Theo already up and ready to pounce, eyes on the door to outside.
Wait. He knows?
There’s no way he could know Sebastian’s coming. But something’s got him alert. Worried. Theo paces. Fleetingly, his eyes wander over to me and he gestures for me to stay where I am. I stay still, holding my breath.
Moments later, the door opens like it had never been locked. I know that’s the case. It’s all I can do to not scream when I see Sebastian standing there. He turns his head towards me, grinning.
Missed me?
I glare, trying to pretend I’m not terrified. You wish.
“Who are you and what are you doing here?” Theo asks. His voice is hard as steel, as cold as the wind that blew across the ocean.
“I’m here for her.” Sebastian points at me. I swallow hard, moving unconsciously closer to Theo, until I can feel the warmth of his body with mine.
“Well, I won’t let you have her.” The words are a snarl, animalistic.
He pounces and though Sebastian is quick to evade, Theo is also quick to recover, grabbing at Sebastian’s leg.
“Stop!” I shout.
But Theo isn’t listening. He throws Sebastian out the window, the glass shattering, shards flying in all directions across the room.
Sebastian!
Suddenly I’m unsure. I’d been scared that he’d come for me like this. But he’d saved my life. Mad as I am I don’t want him dead.
Then Theo jumps out as well.
What the hell?
I run to the window, looking down below. Nothing.
I hear the fighting in the distance, though, noises in the streets below. I can’t see. There are too many buildings in the way, and I’m afraid someone is going to call the cops.
I have to stop them.
I jump out the window in one bound, snow splashing around my feet when I land. I run in their direction, eyes ahead, searching for them. They’ve left the buildings and have entered a park. Signs nearby point toward the zoo. I pray they’ve gone the opposite way, where the paths lead into more remote areas. Away from people. I don’t know how to explain this otherwise.
I find them deep in the trees.
Sebastian moves quickly, deftly but Theo is big, strong. I swear he must have been a wrestler once.
He throws Sebastian away like he weighs a pebble, his body crashing through some trees and breaking them in two before landing in a pit in the snow.
No!
I run over to him but stop a few feet away, just as he emerges from the pit. Crouched on all fours, he shakes off the snow. Then he opens his mouth and lets out...
A howl.
Before my eyes, he grows, his hair spreading to cover all his body in black fur, some of it turning into a tail at the base of his spine. His head stretches, his nose turning into a muzzle with a set of sharp teeth.
Holy shit.
Theo, however, doesn’t look the least bit daunted as he arrives at the scene and seconds later, I find out why.
As the wolf Sebastian has transformed into tries to hang on to his shoulder, fangs buried there, Theo lifts his head and stretches his arms and in the next instant, his dark skin has grown fur from his head to his toes, now claws.
A bear.
Sebastian has turned into a wolf and Theo into a bear.
I stumble backwards, trip and go down hard in the snow. No matter how many times I close my eyes and rub them, when I open them, the same scene stands before me – a wolf as black as those piercing eyes I’ve stared into before fighting a bear that has Theo’s necklace around his neck.
I’m not dreaming. This shit is real. But that doesn’t mean it isn’t shit.
Confused, terrified, I no longer care what happens. Let someone call the police. Or animal control. Maybe the zoo has room for them both. I run off as fast as I can in the opposite direction, my heart going even faster and my thoughts fastest of all.
What are they?
And if I can communicate with Sebastian, then what am I?
HOURS LATER, AS I SIT in an abandoned den in the middle of who knows where. I made a wrong turn somewhere and had only wound up going deeper and deeper into the park. I still don’t have any of the answers. All I know is I’m cold and alone, and that they’re out there somewhere.
They’re humans. That can somehow turn into animals.
My mind had been circling around these two facts for ages now. How they do it and how they acquired the ability, I don’t know.
I’ve gone over everything I know about it. Mythology. Fiction. Movies. Everything I’ve read or seen suddenly became more than an entertaining story. What if legend was merely...data? Where does one begin scientifically to make sense of all of this?
Mutation? But this seems like an entire metamorphosis altogether, and in just a span of seconds.
It should be scientifically impossible.
Which means there’s probably something more than science at work here.
Which makes it even more scary.
Unless there’s a science out there you don’t understand. At one time all of science was considered ‘magic.’ There’s no need to panic just yet.
Sighing, I pull my knees closer to my chest.
Well, that explains why they don’t like shirts and why they don’t have combs. That’s probably part of their animal side.
But seriously, what are the chances of me running into two of them?
I stare at my hand.
Unless I didn’t run to them. Unless somehow, they were attracted to me. Sebastian did say I called to him.
I’ve been asking what they are but maybe I should be asking: What am I?
Suddenly, I hear the sound of footsteps, of hearts beating a hundred feet away. The scent of Sebastian and Theo drift into my nostrils.
Clarissa, where are you?
Shit. They’re here.
And if I can hear and smell them, then they can hear and smell me.
Or maybe not.
Moving back further into the den, I crouch on the ground, cover myself in the leaves that the den’s previous boarders must have used, close my eyes and try to concentrate on clearing my mind.
The footsteps come closer and I concentrate harder.
Good. So far, I’m not picking up any of Sebastian’s thoughts. I can only hope he isn’t hearing mine.
Out of nowhere, Theo appears in front of the den. As he peeks inside, I wrap my arms tighter around me and squeeze my eyes tight, hoping he doesn’t see me.
It seems like an eternity but finally, he leaves, footsteps fading. In moments, the scent drifts off, too.
I open my eyes.
Theo hadn’t seen me? Or did he pretend not to see me? Could he somehow have read my mind, too? But if so, how come Sebastian was not able to?
More questions. No answers.
I should just be grateful they didn’t find me because I don’t know if I can face them just yet. Or how.
Shrugging off the leaves, I crawl out of the den and after looking around to make sure the coast is clear, I head back to the city, listening carefully until I hear the sounds of traffic and civilization.
And hoping that whoever the Lab sent for me is already there, ready to bring me back home at a moment’s notice. I’m ready to go.
“I’M SORRY,” LT. CURTIS, the officer behind the desk, shakes her head. “We haven’t heard from anyone. Would you like to make another phone call or send another email?”
“No, thanks.” I look down at my hands, my heart sinking.
“You’re staying with – What’s his name again? – Theo Anderson, right?” she asks after quickly checking something on her computer.
“I was.”
“Did something happen?” Her eyes narrow in suspicion. “Did he do something?”
“No, no.” I shake my head q
uickly. “I just wanted to stay at a hotel, you know, with a TV and with more privacy, maybe better food.”
She grins.
“But I don’t have money and neither does he, so I was hoping for some good news.”
“I’m sorry about that. It must be tough on you, going through something so tragic and being alone in a city miles away from home.”
“Yeah. A bit.”
She reaches for my hand. “If you like, I can ask my sister to let you stay at her place for a few more days. She’s a good cook and she’s got a spare room. She’s pregnant right now and could really use some help with her kids, so you could work out an exchange of sorts.”
“Really?” My eyebrows go up but go down again as I consider the idea of Sebastian and Theo coming to that house with small kids. I could never forgive myself if I’d put someone else in danger for my sake. Especially those kids.
“It’s okay,” I tell Lt. Curtis with a shake of my head. “I’ll figure things out.”
“If you can’t, just come back and we’ll see what we can do to help you,” she says, withdrawing her hand. “Sure you don’t need a doctor?”
“I’m fine,” I assure. “Thanks for all your help.”
I walk out of the police station, head bowed and shoulders slumped.
Now, what am I going to do? Where am I going to go? The shelter still doesn’t sound appealing and what if kids are around there too?
“Clarissa?”
At the sound of the familiar voice, I stop in my tracks and lift my head, my eyes meeting warm, blue ones that immediately send joy and relief washing all over me.
“Kyle!”
Chapter Eight
~ Kyle
I TAKE A STEP BACK as Clarissa throws herself into my arms then wrap them tightly around her, fighting back tears as I bury my face in her hair.
I thought I would never see her again.
When I got word that the plane she and Teresa were on had crashed, my knees had given way beneath me. The only thing that made me decide to get on the next available plane to Alaska was a glimmer of hope, hope against all hope that she could still be alive.
