Page 29 of Into the Night

With a sigh, I grab my backpack out of the truck and shine my torch into the trees, still swaying violently from the wind. This is madness, walking through the woods in the middle of a lightning storm with flying debris everywhere, but if it is the boy calling for help, I have got to go.

Pocketing my keys, I jog, head down, toward the sound.

My beast easily maps out the quickest route for me, over logs and under branches, like he knows every inch of this forest already. The further we travel, the more anxious he gets. I wonder what he can sense that I can’t, and I pray it’s not because the boy is badly hurt. Glad I packed a first aid kit, I push on, expecting to stumble across the injured boy at any moment.

Suddenly, my beast pulls me up, and for the first time in my life, I’m not able to move my own body.

Panic grips me as I realise that somewhere along the way, he’s taken the reins and seized control. Recognising the coppery smell of blood in the air, adrenaline floods my body.

That’s not good.

I’m trying to force my legs to move, to push on, when a blood curdling scream splits the air. The hairs stand up on the back of my neck, and I freeze, zoning in on the hushed voices and snarling close by. Twigs are crunching, and teeth are clashing. The sound of flesh hitting flesh echoes through the trees.

The blood isn’t an injury from a car crash, someone’s being attacked.

Surging forward, I finally agree that in this instance, the darkness inside me is the one we want to be in charge right now.

Opening my mouth to taste the scents drifting on the air, my legs almost buckle beneath me as I recognise one. A scent that normally fills my dreams, but this time, it’s a nightmare. As I skid on a patch of wet ground, looking down as I regain my footing, I’m shocked to see my boots covered in dark red liquid.

My stomach lurches. All that blood belongs to Kali. There’s too much.

When I hear her choking, coughing and sputtering nearby as she fights to breathe, it confirms she's badly hurt.

With a pain like nothing I've ever felt before, my beast explodes from my body, every bone snapping into a new place, and my skin splitting and knitting back together to cover my bulging muscles.

Raw power and the need for violence courses through me. I stare down at the thick fur coating my body as we sprint toward Kali, my paws pounding rhythmically against the earth as I run.

Another scream from Kali shuts down all rational thought, and my mind goes completely black. I’m no longer me.

I’m all him.

16

KALI

Pain. All I can feel is pain.

A deep, soothing voice whispers to me that everything is going to be okay as he gently brushes my wet hair back from my face. I recognise the scent. It’s woodsy and familiar. Ben.

I relax in his arms, grateful it’s not Scott or Serena back to finish the job.

Ben mutters his apologies as he lifts me into his arms, every tiny movement sending fresh slices of agony through every nerve in my body. It feels like someone is scoring my skin with hot razor blades each time I move even the tiniest bit. When he cradles me close to his chest, wrapping his arms around me, I swear, I can feel my broken bones shifting inside me.

I know I'm in deep trouble.

The sensation of warm liquid dripping from my fingertips is eerily pleasant, if not disturbing. There’s a weird sense of calm that washes over me, despite knowing that it’s my very life force leaving my body, dripping onto the leaves below.

My cousin moves as quickly as he can without jostling me too much.

I vaguely appreciate the thoughtfulness, despite knowing that no matter what he does, I’m probably not going to make it. His heart pounds in his chest, and I can taste his fear. He doesn’t fancy my chances either. So, instead of worrying about the pain that mercifully seems to be fading into the back of my consciousness as the cold grips me, I let my head flop back and just enjoy the sensation of the wind blowing through my hair.

The leaves and branches dance and sway above me as we fly through the trees. The twinkling stars beyond are mesmerising. Gaps in the canopy clear, letting silver moonlight stream through and touch my face.

Closing my eyes, I let myself enjoy the freedom, the beauty of nature, and the loose feelings in my limbs. If this is it, it’s not the worst way to go: outdoors, with family, cradled in the arms of a warm body.

“Stay with me,” Ben mumbles, voice fraught with worry. I feel sorry for him. He needs to relax and accept the inevitable. If I could speak, I’d tell him to stop and just hold me in my final moments. Or to go back and slice Serena up into little pieces for me.

Something cold and damp brushes my forehead, and I squirm away from the touch, not wanting anything to disturb my peace. My eyelids flutter closed again as I manage to shut out the irritation, but then I’m moved to a hard surface with a jarring thud, and I whimper, displeased at being out of the comforting embrace from a moment ago.

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