Chapter 1: Evolution

"Ouch!" I shouted loudly I as yanked the shard of glass out of my hand. I turned on the sink and put my hand underneath the running water. "Stupid phone" I said out loud as I tended to my wound. I was unpacking my boxes and organizing my small dorm room. One of the boxes was labeled GLASS! BE CAREFUL! I opened it and reached in at the same time my cell phone rang. The lack of paying attention is probably what caused me to stab myself with the broken glass.

As I dabbed the cut with peroxide and prepped to wrap it in the bandage I noticed the excessive amount of blood in the sink. Most girls would have ran and screamed at the sight, however I've always been fascinated by it. Ever since I was little, my foster mother used to tell me how strange she thought it was that I would be so calm whenever I got cut or was around someone bleeding.

Guess I was destined to be a doctor after all. That's what I'm currently studying at Seattle Pacific University. People always told me growing up that I was a very intelligent young lady. I always exceeded in school. Straight A's all my life and I even skipped the 7th grade. My 8th grade teacher once suspected me of cheating and stealing the answers from the teacher's books. I tried to explain to her that all my life I had an almost photographic memory. It's like everything being told to me, everything that was taught always stuck in my head. Sometimes it felt as if I could just know what the person was going to say next. Due to my intelligence I always had a mixed reaction to people. The popular kids would talk to me in hopes that id help them with their work. The less popular kids always suspected me of cheating off them to help the popular kids in hopes to gain popularity. Both groups were wrong. I never helped the popular kids and I chose to refrain from being too close to the smart kids.

My senior year I was granted a full scholarship to attend any Ivy League school of my choice. I didn't really feel it necessary being that just because its ivy league doesn't make it better. Any school would do me fine. I knew that Seattle had some of the best hospitals in the USA, so I decided id go to school there. That's how I ended up where I am. Before I left my home back in New Jersey, my foster mother, Sophie, insisted that I get a roommate, but I was always a loner and felt privacy was best. Not to mention I didn't really feel like explaining some of my weird habits to people. For instance, my need to eat steak as rare as possible, I still don't understand why that is. When I started to grow into my teenage years I noticed my need for the rarer, the better" of course there's the whole salmonella thing and getting sick isn't one of the best feelings in the world. One of my foster brothers who happened to be Japanese introduced me to sushi. Ever since then my diet then turned into "rare or raw."

Sophie, who happens to be a physical therapist, says that my highly toned body was due to my eating habits. The better you eat the better you look. Growing up in a foster home wasn't as bad as most might think. I connected with Sophie on a different level than others. She always seemed to have an answer for me. Except when it came to my birth parents. She never gave me the same story on how or why they gave me up. It was always changing and it made me believe she was hiding the real story. When I was 16 my curiosity took full drive and I did some research in her office. I snuck into her office one night while she was sleeping and found her files on all the kids she took in. My file wasn't as big and there wasn't much in there. Only an article from a newspaper dated October 31st, 1993.

That was my birthday, lucky me right? I share my birthday with Halloween. You can only imagine the terror I faced growing up. The news paper articles title was big and bold across the top of the page.

"PREGNANT WOMAN AND HUSBAND MAWLED TO DEATH...BABY SURVIVES!"

That baby was me. My mother and father apparently were killed by someone or something when my mother was only 8 months pregnant. The two were walking in a park together when the attack took place. Doctors couldn't understand how I survived but say it was nothing short of a miracle. Sophie was devastated when she walked in and saw me reading the article. As upsetting as it was to know what happened to my birth parents I was glad that I finally knew. Sophie thought I should have looked to medical attention since I didn't cry. I never cry. Doctors said it could be a tear duct defect. Who knows?

I wrapped my hand up and went back to my phone. The missed calls log said "Sophie." I totally forgot to call her when I arrived from the air port. I checked the voicemails first.

"Rena, its me, Sophie… I asked you to call me as soon as you walked in the door! Knowing you though, your OCD took overdrive and you probably started unpacking. Call me." I hung up and smiled. She knows me all too well.

I scrolled through my phones contact list and hit "send" on her name. I turned on the speaker phone and continued to unpack as she rambled on. She is the type of person who keeps you on the phone or hold you up for hours at end just because its someone to talk to. She was definitely the person to call when you needed a diversion from something.

One hour later, I was all unpacked and she was finishing up her lecture about my curiosity. "Rena are you listening to me? I'm serious about this! You know how you can get be careful wondering around in the city or wherever you go. Make sure your cell phone is always charged and make sure you always have it on you." She said. "I will Soph, I promise to call and keep you updated" I reassured her. "and one more then Rena, um…" she hesitated and I knew it would be something horrible. "…if you meet boys, make sure you don't let them buy your drinks. You don't want them to put that date rape drug in there! And if you meet someone you like…be safe and wear a con…" I immediately cut her off! "Oh my god, stop! I will be safe! I promise! I should really go to bed now!" we said our good nights and hung up.

It made me feel good that she cared enough to ask that id be safe if I had sex. Some parents go on and act like being a grandparent at 30 is something they always dreamt of. I on the other hand, would never do that to Sophie. Plus, the boyfriend and romance stuff was something that I was lacking in life. Not that I never had a boyfriend, or never had sex… its just that right now, my future was way more important to me then finding love.

I still remember my first and only boyfriend. He was two years older than me, and his name was Kellan. We met at a counseling center for adopted kids when I was eight. We were just "best friends" in the beginning, but once that certain age came, we couldn't help but fall in "lust" with each other. I say lust and not love because that's what it was. We both grew into our bodies, he was a football player and I was very nicely built and athletic. One night after long nights of make out sessions, it just happened. I still remember how we laughed at how nervous we were. We laid there naked in his little brothers tree house, laughing for hours, He was truly my best friend.

Unfortunately he and his family had to move to South Africa. SOUTH AFRICA. Of all places that far away. His father got a job in a children's hospital and they had to move. So off he went. Last I heard from him he was married, and had a kid on the way. Definitely not where I want to be in life, but still very happy for him and his wife.

I looked around the cramp area, impressed with what I did with it, and happy that I was lucky not to have to share it with a roommate. The room was very similar to that of a studio apartment, Except smaller. The front door led to a half hallway which housed the closet. The walls were painted an off white, almost egg shell and the doors were a dark wood color. Entering the main "living area" there is a small kitchen area on your right. Which is followed by a door to the bathroom. The rest of the room is self explanatory. Computer desk then dresser is on the same wall as the bathroom. The bed is on the opposite wall, but the foot board is almost touching the dresser. That should pretty much tell you how small it is. There is a window alongside my bed which is about the size of a jail house window. Minus the bars. Not to shabby for my first place if I must say so myself.

I went to the small bathroom prepared to shower. My room was one of the only dorms on campus to have a private bathroom. It used to belong to a Resident Assistant, but he apparently went missing and since there were no other rooms available, I lucked out. I started the water and started to remove the bandage so that it wouldn't get wet. To my surprise, the cut looked like it was barely there. Too small to produce all the blood that was in the sink earlier, but still large enough to bleed. Maybe I was just over reacting? I removed my clothes and stepped into the shower.

After I got out the shower, I sat down and began to blow dry my hair. I began thinking about what to wear tomorrow. God only knows how my first day of college would be like. I settled for a slim fitting Tank, cut off jacket and some jeans. I'll probably change my mind in the morning. I laid my clothes out on the chair of my computer desk. Made sure it wasn't wrinkled, then laid down. I plugged my phone into the charger and set the alarm. I didn't want to be late on day one and since I still had to go to the student center, I better set it for an earlier time. I placed it down and laid my head against my feather pillow. The room then faded out, and I was gone.

I have to be dreaming…. Wake up Rena, WAKE UP! I couldn't seem to come to, it was snowing. I was standing in the middle of a field. The snow was coming down slow, almost as if it was fake. Trees outlined the perimeter of the field. It almost looked as if beyond these trees there was nothing. The snow was still coming down, but I felt nothing. There was no cold to the air and no chill on my skin. At first glance it looked as if I was alone, then I heard a whimper. I turned and there, laid a wolf. A wolf like I've never seen before. It was huge, its fur was a sandy brown and It seemed to be hurt. I slowly started walking towards it as it whimpered. I almost felt bad for it.

There was a horrible stench in the air and I couldn't put my finger on what it was. As I got closer to it, I noticed the blood. The wolf had a huge gash in its side, like a big chunk had been slashed out of it. What could have done this? The markings looked almost like a human hand print and not like any animal bite. I knelt down and stretched out my arm as if to touch it, and he let out a snarling howl. I stepped back and with a quick movement, he lunged in my direction…..