Prologue

MY BLOODLESS-WHITE FINGERS WERE LOCKED TIGHTLY AROUND THE WHEEL; arms steady as the nineteen-nineties Volkswagen gradually eased up the narrow road in the Graian Alps. The digital clock in the stereo read 23:40. I had twenty minutes to reach my destination. At this time, the party I had abandoned earlier that night would soon be coming to an end, and all of the people I had come to know – friends and acquaintances alike – would be returning into the safety of their homes.

But not me. For the safety of others and myself, I was on the road to isolation.

For one night every month, I am forced to build a fragile wall between myself and civilization; the end goal being to get as much distance as possible before my mind loses touch with reality.

The car indicated that it was now traveling off-road, as the ride became jarring. The anxiety within me became evident, as my mind knew that the moment was soon to strike. It felt foolish to be nervous. I've been doing this for years, but I couldn't seem to shake the feeling from within me.

Gazing out the window, the whole world seemed plain - colorless. Every detail was in gray-scale. I glanced at myself in the rear-view mirror; my eyes had circles under them, which were darker than the matte hair on my head. It did not faze me, as I had been sleep deprived my whole life. It didn't help that my amber eyes made the blackened circles stand out further. The tight grip around the wheel slowly eased as I felt my hands starting to twitch; small vibrations releasing from within the core of my hands.

The changes were already beginning. I had four, maybe five minutes maximum before I'd no longer be able to operate the vehicle. I pushed in on the brakes, parking the car in a shadowed area.

This was the place. An abandoned parking lot that had been used decades ago for sightseeing.

The place I'd been coming to for the past two years.

After stepping out and locking the car doors, I hid the keys under a small rock that perfectly blended into the rubble. A place I wouldn't forget.

That was one of the minor perks of this curse: an enhanced memory. One that could remember every specific detail that had happened in the past month, but beyond that the memories start to become faded.

My palms were hot, burning as if acid was flowing around in the veins; vibrations coming out in spasms. The pain was excruciating; not enough to scream out though. After all these years I'd grown accustom to it. The hands were the easiest. It was when the acid spread from the limbs to the chest, and then to the head. That's when the screaming began.

I glanced skyward. The full moon was bright, shining light onto the world below, illuminating everything within reach; like a delicate blanket of light being placed onto the land.

That's when I heard it.

The rumbling of a vehicle. It was approaching, its lights shining brightly in the distance. I was a deer; wide eyed and stunned. Caught between an invisible barrier and a set of headlights.

The twist was that the deer wasn't the one getting killed. Far from it, actually.

I swore cursed words under my breath. If I hadn't been so caught up in my thoughts I would have heard the vehicle from a mile away.

I tried to think of a plan; anything that could give me the chance of possibly saving this human, but it was already too late.

A loud whine escaped from my throat and my knees slammed into the battered pavement. The transformation was starting to wholly take effect, and the acid had made my body become partially paralyzed.

My forehead pressed against the ground as I wrapped my arms around me. A choked back scream ripped through my throat, cutting the air like a razor.

The sound of a car door slammed.

"Elias!" A voice shouted.

It was as if I had spent the day gawking into Medusa's eyes, as I was now truly petrified.

The voice was one I easily recognised. One that I could pick out from a crowd of people. The voice of someone I cared about.

"Stay back!" I hissed out – my voice already becoming distorted from the transformation - but it was no use. The large figure reached me, wrapping his arm around my back.

"What's wrong?" The boy yelled as he crouched down next to me, his voice shaken with panic. "What are you doing out here?"

I was crying now; not out of the pain, but out of the fact that the boy next to me would be dead within the minute.

"G-go home . . ." I begged him. "Please, go home." I turned my head slightly; staring at the face of the boy next to me. His wide, warm blue eyes now shocked from what was happening. My bones were breaking; shifting around in inhuman-like ways. The fur was growing rapidly. There was no way to stop it.

"Elias, I-"

"Please . . ." I asked once more.

I didn't get to hear a response, as my mind slipped from consciousness.