The Beast

A/N: Hello, Hello! Apologies for not uploading this week.~ Here's a chapter we've been working on as a replacement for Chapter One.

((Some people were complaining that Chapter One didn't have enough action so we decided to change it. We would love to hear your opinions.))

As always, thanks for your support and have a fantastic day! :)

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Feet clad in sneakers slapped the pavement in the frantic drumbeat of fear. The scent of sweat mixed in the air with the smog of the city, and the sweet rotten smell of trash in the alley. The runners breath came fast and hard, and the claustrophobic alley seemed frozen around her.  

“All dead.” The words came out with every exhale, over and over. “All dead. All dead.”

“Not quite.”

The runner, a young woman with dark skin, braided hair, wearing a tank top and jeans soaked with sweat and blood, gasped, and pushed herself faster, arms pumping harder. The voice, an echoing reverberation in the air that drowned out the

senses, spoke again.

“You’re left after all,wolfling. The last of five.”

The runner gasped when a dumpster she’d run past suddenly flew over her head. The massive blue bin landed in a crash, steel and concrete slamming together. In an inhuman display of agility, the runner bent her legs and leaped over the dumpster. She screamed aloud as the dumpster rolled beneath her, her cry punctuating the horrific sound of metal squealing and concrete shattering.

“You think yourselves predators. The beasts who kill man.”

She tried to ignore the voice, but it seemed to ignore all attempts at driving it away. It pressed in around her, squeezing her lungs, filling her brain with shadows. She ran harder, and screamed when a unseen claw stroked her back with lazy leisure, even as she sprinted at a pace beyond all but the fastest mortal cars.

“But what is a mortal but stalks of grass to be clipped? Does the rabbit claim to be a predator as it devours acres of life?” He laughed. An insane laugh that sucked the light out of the world.  “That is what you are  little beast. A rabbit nipping at the heels of its betters. And I am  the tiger. Come. Let us see what you taste like.”

“Please!” She screamed as she ran through the empty alleys. Fur began to sprout across her visage, and her cute button nose began to grow out into a muzzle. “Why?! We didn’t do anything to you!”

“Oh litte rabbit. You think the tiger attacks because it is offended?” The voice suddenly went from echoing across the world, to being behind her, and the runner gasped. “It simply hungers.”

She spun around. Long claws, like blades of bone, sprouted from her furred fingers, slashing through the air with a loud whistling sound. She lashed out with the speed and strength given to her by her mythical nature. For a moment, her heart soured. The pure, primal energies within her blood roared. She roared, an echoing boom of noise that split the air.

The pain that filled her as her arm was cut off choked off that roar like a baby being crushed. She stared in horror as her right arm flew high up. It was long, powerful, furred muscle all over. A predator’s arm. Utterly useless now.

Then she stared at her assailant through the eyes of a wolf. For a moment, the memories of her dead friends flowed through her mind. She could almost see their faces floating before her. Then they disappeared.

“Just… please.”

Something wrapped around her face. It caressed her fur, cheeks, and chin. It was almost gentle.  

Then he laughed, and all the strength in her body disappeared. The last thing she saw was the blurry distorted face of a monster before it jammed its arm into her causing the life to leave her body before she could even react.