The sun rose, indifferent to the storm brewing inside Elias Thorn.
The first rays of dawn slid through the blinds like knives,sharp lines of gold cutting across the room's shadows.His breath came in shallow, uneven pulls,sweat slicking his forehead despite the cold creeping into the room from the cracked window.The air was thick with silence, too heavy for comfort.It wasn't just the nightmare that clung to him-it was the truth.
He was changing
Elias sat up slowly,muscles sore in a way that didn't feel natural. Every inch of his body felt too tight, stretched like old wire ready to snap. His bones ached- bit from sickness,not the dull,suffocating fatigue of chemotherapy-but something other- A feral strength curled beneath his skin, unfamiliar and terrifying.
The memory hit him like a blow to the chest.
Teeth.
Claws.
Pain.
The woods swallowing him whole.
The bite wasn't a nightmare.It was real
"I should go to the clinic real quick" Elias thought to himself
Elias dragged himself out of bed, his body sluggish but humming with something dark and restless beneath the surface.His reflection in the mirror caught him off guard.
Pale.Hollow. But then no ,"it couldn't be"Elias thought, the wound it's healing and to top it off...his hair.It was coming back
Fingers trembling,he ran his hand through the thin, growing strands,his scalp no longer completely smooth.The reflection stared back at him with Hollow eyes,caught between fear and something worse-hope.But this wasn't healing.It wasn't remission.It was something far more dangerous.For a split second his eyes looked like they burned gold before returning to normal.
What the hell is happening to me.
By the time he stumbled into the kitchen,his hands still shock,his aunt had already left for work-detective hours were merciless leaving her gone before dawn most days.The house was cold, quiet, and painfully empty.The ticking of the wall clock was a reminder that time was moving forward whether he was ready or not.
His phone buzzed.A text from Jaylen.
JAYLEN:You good? I'm outside.
Elias runs outside but as he's about to open the door he stops thinking about the bite and if he should tell him "I'll think about it later" Elias says to himself.He enters the car and and quickly notices Jaylen upset and this has never happened before and ask's"what's wrong" with a quick response "What's wrong, What's wrong you say ,you know what's wrong I looked everywhere for you I had to to dancing with Darcy for you ok" Elias shots back with a sarcastic response"dancing with Darcy" and before he could finish Jaylen cut him from saying anything further more,"Shut up adults are talking now,look man I was worried about you thinking you were mauled or something"
"Something like that" Elias quietly said,"I looked everywhere for you,even in the trenches of these damned forsaken woods,I even went to nearby restaurants hoping you were there but no, at last I went to your house as last resort praying you were there and by the grace of god there you were sleeping like a damn baby,FUCK I screamed to myself I was damn worried- how'd you even get home."
"I...uh...I walked"Elias hesitantly said
"Walked" Jay asked back with a questioning look."for more than a 10 km route with cancer on the side wow"
"Yeah" Elias said,but somehow he could see that jay didn't believe him one bit but let it go for he thought he had his own reasons to walk back home.
They arrived at the school and as they are walking together.