Two years ago

  Back then, I thought the worst part of my life was middle school.

  I was wrong.

  That night, as I lay in bed pretending to sleep, Mom came into my room. She sat beside me and began humming an old nursery rhyme in a language I never understood. Her fingers moved gently through my hair.

  It was something she used to do when I was little, but she hadn’t done it in years.

  I didn’t react. I just kept my eyes closed.

  Then she tapped the side of my head.

  Hard.

  “Ouch”

  “Don’t yell,” she said when I flinched. “It was just a tap.” I looked annoyed but did not want to drag it out so I stayed quiet.

  That part wasn’t strange. Mom had always been the more strict parent.

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  What was strange was her tone when it softened.

  “My little cub,” she said quietly, “tell me if you feel anything unusual. Pain. Changes. Anything you can’t explain.”

  “I told you, I don’t want to talk about puberty stuff,” I muttered. “Can’t we wait for Dad to get back?”

  She watched me for a long moment.

  “Fine,” she said finally. “But if you feel pain tonight… call me and make sure to stay awake if you can.”

  Stay awake? I didn’t understand why she said that, but did not dwell on it. So, I fell asleep anyway.

  As I dozed off everything felt normal. Then some discomfort started to grow in my body

  At first, the pain was small.

  A dull ache in my stomach.

  Then it sharpened.

  Then it burned.

  Then it twisted.

  My skin felt too tight. Like something underneath was trying to claw its way out. My joints screamed. My teeth throbbed.

  I tried to scream for Mom.

  Nothing came out.

  My ears stretched—ripped—shifted.

  The mirror across my room caught movement.

  For a second, I didn’t recognize the thing staring back at me.

  Black fur spread across my arms. My fingers thickened. Nails split into claws.

  I fell from the bed. My bones cracked.

  I inhaled, desperate, and forced out the only word I could think of.

  “Mom—”

  Or at least I think that’s what I said. The door slammed open. I heard her voice, but it sounded distant. Warped.

  “Stay awake.”

  Everything burned.

  Then the world turned to fire.

  Flames climbed the walls. Bodies twisted in agony around me. Fanged creatures pressed inward as if the room itself had teeth.

  It felt like hell.

  Like I was trapped inside something that wanted to consume me.

  But I stayed awake.

  Because that’s what she told me to do.