"Okay okay okay okay okay."

  A shaky exhale fell from my lips. I lifted the woman's shirt just above the wound to see what I was working with, and nearly choked as more blood spilled. Fighting the urge to hyperventilate alongside the urge to attack her, I grabbed Malachi's sleeve.

  "I-I need a light. It's too dark to think straight."

  He nodded and turned on his phone's flashlight. I sighed in relief.

  "Today would be nice." Hunter muttered under his breath.

  "I'm tryna figure out how not to kill her in the process!" I snarled.

  "It's not that complicated! Lick your hand and slap it on the wound!"

  "Yes it is! It only works if there's blood in my mouth first, it needs to be mixed with my saliva before I try to heal-"

  "Fine! Then lick the blood on your hands!"

  I hesitated. This really wasn't as good of an idea as I'd thought. I couldn't see any way I could do this without losing control. I took a deep breath and licked my blood-soaked hands - which even I thought was gross. The guys both looked away in mild disgust. I kept my sight on the flashlight, forcing myself to stay calm. After letting it simmer on my tongue for an unbearable few seconds, I licked my thumb and swiped it across the woman's wound. I knew my powers were off the charts tonight thanks to the blood I had earlier, so there was a good chance this girl could walk out of this healthier than ever. Which was really not ideal.

  I exaggerated my knowledge on my abilities to my friends a lot over the years. Couldn't really tell you why, but I guess some part of me doesn't want them to have more reasons not to trust me. So if they believed I could control the strength of this one, I'd have to hope for a miracle, or prepare myself to be yelled at all night.

  We each watched with bated breath as the blood flow slowed to a stop. Despite our hopes, the tissue began to regenerate, and the wound scabbed over. Fresh skin then absorbed the scab, and not a trace of the wound was left. A tense silence fell over us.

  "... In my defence, it's really hard to control the-"

  "Damn it, Zach!" Hunter hissed over me.

  The woman jolted awake with a gasp, and I immediately knew I'd gone too far. My stomach twisted. My jaw ached.

  Oh no.

  I backed right up until I hit a tree and slumped to the dirt, wishing I'd stayed with the girls like I was supposed to. The woman hyperventilated and faded in and out of consciousness. Hunter and Malachi tried to calm her down, assuring her she was alright, but her system couldn't handle my DNA. I hugged my knees as I watched helplessly.

  The ambulance soon swung around. The guys talked with one of the paramedics for a while, while the others helped the woman into the ambulance. The paramedic was struggling to understand the situation, and Hunter was an awful liar. I stayed put.

  "So, she wasn't stabbed, but you thought she was, even though she's unharmed?" the perplexed paramedic murmured.

  "The blood's from the attacker." Hunter nodded. "She must've put up a good fight."

  The paramedic's eyes narrowed, but she didn't comment on his statement.

  "Like, she's got that... y'know... adrenaline strength?" Hunter continued. "Women's self-defence classes and all that-"

  "Hunter." Malachi hissed in a whisper.

  I couldn't help but wonder where said attacker had gone. When I'd thrown him across the park, I didn't break enough of his bones to render him immobilised. I couldn't see him, and I couldn't detect him through any other sense either. It felt unnerving.

  I held Malachi's shining phone closer to my chest, clinging to my only light source as to not lose my mind.

  "Hey, am I alright to head back to the house?" I murmured to the guys.

  "I'd rather have you all stay put until the police arrive." The paramedic spoke firmly.

  I winced and hugged my knees tighter. Staying out in the dark all night wasn't my concern, I was more so worried about Tori being left alone with Carly and London. It wasn't their first time babysitting her, of course, but it felt like something always went wrong when Tori didn't have me around. Not to mention that she hadn't eaten much today. I strained to hear anything from the house, but the paramedics' chatter and the flashing lights drowned it all out. I was too overstimulated.

  Tori could be fine. Or she could be starving, shaking, losing it.

  I had no way of knowing.

  -

  This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

  "No, like, he said that the woman had the same scent as Tori." London stuffed a marshmallow in her mouth as she gossiped with her sister.

  "But she clearly wasn't her, Tori was with me the whole time." Carly frowned, not following. "The girl probably uses the same perfume Victoria used to."

  "Zach looked really distressed by it." London shrugged. "I thought it could be like how dogs can smell all sorts of diseases and illnesses on their humans, that maybe the woman has something in common with Tori medically, but I don't know."

  "Yeah, maybe don't compare him to a dog, that's a little weird." Carly chuckled.

  "He's a lot like one!" London pouted. "He's just as whiny, and he bites just as much too."

  Carly raised a brow at that. Her attention panned to her zombified friend, who was happily cracking every stick she could find on the ground around her. Carly checked her phone and sighed before standing up and dusting herself off.

  "It's 3:30am. I'll take Tori to bed." she said, helping the girl up.

  "Did she have dinner?" London murmured.

  "No, but she ate a lot for lunch."

  "Maybe get her a snack just in case."

  Carly nodded and led Victoria back inside the house.

  Tori wandered with a sway behind her as she was led to the kitchen. The house was dimmer than usual, with only a few lights on for once. The kitchen walls were lined with dark oak cabinets and granite countertops. The girl squinted as Carly opened the fridge, the bright light filling the room and stinging her eyes.

  "Mm... Do you want ham? We've got a few different packs - different flavours." Carly offered. "Or maybe bacon? God, Zach buys a lot of pork, the psycho."

  Victoria rubbed her strained eyes and shook her head.

  "I heard in a documentary once that cannibals say pork tastes the closest to human of any other meat." Carly muttered to herself as she rummaged through the fridge's contents. "I wonder if that's why Zach buys so much of the stuff..."

  "... actually, ew, I wish I never thought of that."

  Victoria reached an arm over Carly's shoulder and grabbed a box of chicken tenders. She took it over to the bench and started placing each one down, right on the granite in a line. Carly swooped over and took hold of her wrists to stop her.

  "Uh, please don't do that. That's not sanitary at all," she chuckled nervously. "Did you want one?"

  Tori responded with a blank stare, though she chewed her lip slightly.

  "Of course." Carly sighed and threw some in the air fryer. "What's with you and chicken?"

  -

  Carly hadn't stepped foot in the bedroom since Victoria died.

  She hadn't grown the courage to, even after almost a month of living in the house. London had been the one to burn the silverleaf in there, Carly couldn't bring herself to do it. Now, standing in the doorway, she realised just how much had changed. The air felt heavier, like something lingered throughout the space. She could still see it - every scratch on the walls, every rip in the bedding, every sign her old friend had tried to hold himself together and failed.

  A string of fairy lights fought to illuminate the room from where they hung up from one ceiling beam to another. The oak of the bed frame matched the cluttered bookcase beside the desk, both decorated with claw marks. Engravings from sharp teeth and a compulsive biting habit littered a specific corner of the desk, leaving the wood chipped away, with remnants of dried blood soaked into the grain. Carly traced the tips of her fingers along the damage, her brow furrowing in sympathy.

  A grumble from Victoria drew Carly's attention back to the bed. She gave an apologetic smile and sat on the edge.

  "You can't stay awake forever, yknow."

  Tori huffed, her face pressed into a pillow stubbornly. Carly parted her lips to speak again, but the words left her as her gaze fell on the tearing of the pillow. She narrowed her eyes and leaned closer.

  "Did you do this?" she murmured under her breath.

  Tori turned her head to meet her eyes.

  "That." Carly pointed to the tearing.

  Victoria propped herself up on her elbows and studied the rips. Slowly, her hand raised and aligned itself with the claw marks, fitting perfectly. Carly frowned and looked the entire room over once again, now in a different light.

  "How much of the damage was you?"

  Having lost interest, Tori lay back down and cuddled the torn pillow, her pearlescent eyes fluttering shut. Carly gave her ashy hair a gentle pat before glancing back to the bookshelf. After waiting a few moments, she quietly wandered back over to it. Her heart cracked as she turned over a face-down picture frame and found the swimming carnival photo. She put it down as quickly as she'd lifted it, and tried to shake her head clear of the heavy thoughts that had come with it.

  Each shelf was weighed down by clutter. Bundles of $50 notes, half a photo booth strip torn down the middle leaving only Tori's side, the name tag from a dog's collar. Both novels and old textbooks put together in towers. A cracked watch stuck to 4:14am. Beside an old soccer trophy stood a stack of phones. They were all recent phone models, none older than a year. All had shattered screens or were destroyed beyond repair. Some had bloodstains between the cracks.

  Unsure what she was searching for in the first place, Carly ran her hand across the books lining one of the lower shelves. Her breath caught for a moment as she found papers shoved between two of them. Carefully, she picked one out and unfurled it.

  I lost time again. What is that, the third time now? It's starting to really freak me out. I don't know what I did this time, what I said, how I acted, and no one will tell me. It's not fair. I deserve to know why they're afraid of me again, I only just got them over the past mistake-

  "What is this?" Carly's face scrunched as she read through the scrambled writing on the torn paper. She turned it over in her hands, careful not to damage it further. The other side didn't help either, as the writing was upside down and of a completely different topic.

  "Did Zach journal?" she wondered aloud as she began reading the other ripped pages. "Since when?"

  Okay, so no flight, which sucks. I was really hoping that myth was real. I think I broke my leg when I fell, but I honestly can't tell. My healing's crazy strong.

  "How old is this one?" Carly frowned and read another.

  I can't figure out if the sunlight weakness myth is true or if I'm losing my mind. Some days I have no issue, some I'm in agony. What the hell! I tried watching The Vampire Diaries like London told me to but oh my god I cannot stand the sappiness. How do girls find that shit attractive? If I did that stuff I'd get arrested.

  Carly let out a slight chuckle as she read that, though her smile faded as she read the last one.

  I killed him. He's gone. I kept his collar and left his body for the birds. I don't know how to feel. I loved him so much. There'll never be another dog like him. But I'm not sad. I feel better than ever. I don't know what happened, all I remember is how good it felt.

  "Early." Carly shuddered. "These are early."

  Her gaze flickered back to the dog tag she'd spotted earlier. The sight carried more weight after that note. Her heart felt heavy as she gently picked it up and inspected it. She'd always wondered what happened to Titan, of course the answer had been right under her nose the whole time. With a sigh, Carly put the tag back, checked Victoria was asleep, and left the bedroom.