The Darker Side of Me
Tonight it was coming undone. The spider webs were falling apart and bugs crawled back into the cracks on the wall. The house groaned and protested to the heavy pounding on the walls. We had picked a place no one would ever find us, hidden in the bush of Australia, somewhere between the St George scrub and Moony River. David had brought me here to start our new life, wherever here was. But we had claimed this tiny Queenslander house as our own.
'You ready?' David asked.
'I think so. Will it hurt?'
The air was thick with foreboding. The bad magic pushed at the walls. The familiar pine green eyes watched my pale face with concern. David Thornton, my older brother and my one protector.
'Close your eyes and pretend you're someplace else.' His hand gripped firmly around mine.
Darla, my pink, stuffed teddy bear, hung limply in my other hand. The one I thought I had lost to the storm last year, now I kept it for luck as the last survivor.
I refused to put myself someplace else in my head. Otherwise I would lose myself completely to the beast within.
The full moon shone through the square, cracked window. David trembled beside me. He fell with a loud yelp, releasing my hand like I had electrocuted him.
I fell to my knees next to him. What do I do?! I hesitantly put my hand on his forearm as if I could stop the shaking just from thought alone. He yanked it from my grip.
'Riley! Get away from me! I can't always control it!' he yelled.
I leapt to my feet and stepped back. He was in agony. My big brother. I couldn't stand it. The force was crashing against the house now, like warning drums in my ears.
His trembles are violent spasms. His face drained of colour. Crack. A howl ripped from his throat. The cracks intensified, louder and faster. His nose bent out of place, stretching forward like elastic, the bones crunching and welding into each other. His lips became his gums; teeth bent and broke, falling on the wooden floorboards. Blood splattered his hands. His ears melted into his skin, tufts of hair sprouted around it. His face got longer and harder, hair appeared everywhere, while the hair on his head sank back into his head.
The transformation moved from his face, travelling along his body. His chest became smaller… more compact. I watched in horror as his arms dislocated from his shoulders and sloped further to his chest. His arms cracked and shrunk, leaving matted fur in place. David's nails stretched and pointed at the tips, a dirty yellow colour. His palms and fingers turned grey, welts covered his palm.
I moved further against the wall, alarmed and scared.
His body crunched and twisted and he curled up further into a ball, like the pain was coming from his stomach. His back curved further, his shirt tearing apart as thick, black hair sprouted all over his chest and back. I managed to close my eyes, not being able to watch the rest. A small whimper made me glance back at my brother. He was still curled on the floor, but he was no longer my brother. There was no trace of human left with the huge monster. Nimble for the great beast as he got to his feet or paws I guess. I wished he could have at least kept David's eyes, but they were now a bright purple, close to violet, watching my every move. His sharp, canine teeth slid from under his drooping lips. Saliva dribbled to the floor.
He was waiting. I looked back at the full moon again.
Crack.
It does hurt.
