Author's Note: Well, I got my first review today from a user, and I was filled with joy that they loved the first chapter. Of course there isn't going to be only one chapter; I'm gonna keep writing this as long as I can!

~x~

Chapter 1- A Sheep in Wolf's Clothing

I came to in the dark room, lying prone in a dried puddle of my vomit and blood. For a moment, I remained still, unable to comprehend my predicament. I was myself again. I was Alex. No Hunter was in my head, urging me to kill... But why? What had happened? I had felt my mind leaving me, vanishing into that darkness... And the new, savage voice of my infection taking over. I felt puzzled, but it was soon replaced with a sense of relief. There was no trace of that inner beast. A sense of momentary hope rose inside of me; had I survived the infection and proved myself immune? If so, then there was no need for my sacrifice! I could go back into the world of the living, back to the peaceful farm everybody at the camp had set up.
And if Lily was alive...
I opened my eyes at this, averting the painful, mixed emotions that threatened to overtake my feelings of hope. I did not want to think about Lily right now. I was alive! I started to cry. I was filled with hope again; hope for the future. I had survived the infection that corrupted most of humanity; no, I had defeated it! I tried to give a shaky laugh at my own bad humor, but all that left my mouth was a deep growl and a hiss. It echoed around the room for a moment, and then all was silent again.
Panic swelled up inside me like a roaring wave, immediately drowning out the fragile feelings of hope and joy. I began to cry harder, and then tried to cry out for help. Someone had to hear it; my desperate cry for someone, anyone to tell me I was not a Special Infected. But my pleading words were twisted into a horrible cacophony of ear-splitting shrieks, wails, and growls. These sounds bounced back off the walls towards me, shattering the illusion that I had fooled myself into believing. I had not beaten the infection. Though I had my mind intact, there was one thing that was clear. I was a monster.

All the pent up emotions of despair I let loose in a long, harsh howl. I howled my misery to the silent, dark walls, until my throat was raw and dry and all I could manage was a weak, continuous moan. I could feel the changes in my body now, more apparent than ever. The claws that now protruded out of my deadened hands and toes; the elongated teeth remade to easily pierce flesh; the strong, inhuman muscles in my legs were now painfully obvious. I was no longer Alex; I was the Hunter. This thought was too much to bear. I curled up in a tight ball, trying to make my body as small as possible while ignoring the complaints of my bound limbs as I forced the deadened joints to move again. I closed my eyes, hoping that some form of rest would come. Sleep, death, anything that would end this nightmare.

-Preyapproaches,hidepouncekillkillkill- My eyes snapped open as the rapid, barely coherent thoughts of the Hunter flitted across my mind, causing a small surge of panic as it intruded on the outer fringes of my conscious self. The panic remained for only a short while, and then weariness replaced it. I was already suffering, trapped in the body of a monster and unable to change back. And now I had the Hunter inside my mind as well, urging me to unleash an inner predatory urge. I sighed, opening my eyes again only to find the blank, dark wall a few feet away from my face. I paused for a moment, and then considered the Hunter's words. Prey? It was true, I could smell something strange besides the vomit and blood. It took me a few moments to realize what exactly I was smelling. Humans. I was smelling humans. Were they coming closer? Lifting my head off of the ground, I sniffed the air quickly. Yes, the scent was growing stronger by the second. A distant sound of boots scuffing against the ground reached my ears.

-KILLkillkillkillkillkill!,killkillKILLKILLKILL!- The Hunter's thoughts were intruding farther into my mind; a predatory instinct that came with my new body. My body twitched at the thought of killing; the pounce, the screams of the prey as it tried to escape, my sharp claws swiftly sinking into warm flesh... And then I rejected that thought as soon as possible, driving back the Hunter to the fringes of my mind. I panted, gasping for breath as the sound of footsteps grew closer and closer. How could I have thought of killing like that? The people out there were human! I couldn't just kill them because of my new body! I started to moan quietly to myself, suddenly terrified. I wasn't firmly in charge of my own mind. Alex could easily be replaced by the Hunter, and then... My moaning grew loader, punctuated by hisses as my eyes started to leak tears again. I didn't want to think about that possibility. I returned to my former curled-up position, rocking back and forth slowly while the footsteps grew louder and louder.
A knock on the door startled me, and I slowly rotated my body so that I would face the door, chains clinking loudly as I did so.

'Is it awake yet? Has it finally transformed?'

It was the scientist lady who had taken Lily's photograph! But her voice was strange; it grated on my nerves and my mind. I wanted her to stop; the sound hurt my sensitive ears. I tried to tell her that I could hear her, but all that left my mouth was a snarl and a growl. There was a small pause, and then a click as the door to the dark room was unlocked. As the door opened, all I had was the Hunter's warning echoing in my mind before I began to scream.

-Nonononono, lightbadlightpain!needdarkneedhide!-The light hurt so much! Just a mere glimpse of the painful white light seared my eyes and burned my nerves.-PAINPAIN!NOMORESTOPPAIN,PLEASENOPAIN!- Screeching, I thrashed around, trying in vain to shield my eyes from the bright light. Finally, I twisted violently and ended up face down on the floor, my eyes leaking small tears as they recovered from the burning light. -Betterbetter!yesyes,darknessgood,nomorelightnomorepain- My thoughts were jumbled as I slowly got over the pain. The guards, however, had different plans. I felt hands around my shoulders, but I remained limp as the guards hauled me to an ineffective standing position. My legs were numb and unresponsive, and they simply collapsed under me. Ignoring the Hunter's screams inside my head to attack, I simply stayed still and let the guards do whatever they please. I didn't move as I felt hands seize my ankles and arms. I was easily lifted into the air, propped up between the two guards.

'Not offering much resistance, is it? The first Hunter nearly crippled itself; it was trying so hard to rip us apart.'

I gave a small hiss as the voice of the guard ground against my ears; it hurt to listen to them. The guards quickly looked down at me, and then they moved towards the door. The scientist was staring hard at me, but that wasn't my biggest concern. The light from the doorway was drawing near. I whimpered quietly with every step the guards took. The light... it hurt my eyes so much. I couldn't face the light again. Desperately, I turned my head to the side and tried to grasp the hood of my jacket, which was impossible due to the iron bar between my teeth.

'What is it doing? Stop that!'

The guard shook me violently, but I started to twist and writhe in the guards' grip, desperately renewing my efforts to pull on the hood. I didn't care about anything else but the hood; the pain from the bright light was too much to bear. I quickly twisted my head to the other side and started to pull the hood with my teeth. With the iron bar from the muzzle preventing me from clamping down in a bite, I couldn't latch my teeth onto the hood. My eyes flicked up to the illuminated doorway, where the dark silhouette of the scientist stood against the bright, white light. I whimpered, gearing myself up for a massive amount of pain; my struggling doubled. No! I don't want to go to the light! I thought, thrashing against the iron grip of the guards.
And then I felt a firm hand pull the hood up, obscuring my face and covering my eyes. Good. Now they would be safe from the light. I immediately stopped struggling, and went limp again in the guards' grip, moaning a little in relief.

'Now, that solves our little problem. Let us continue to the cleaning area. I need to run some tests.'

It was the scientist who spoke, but it wasn't the gentle scientist who took my photograph and promised me to inform Lily. The cold and ruthless voice sent small shivers up my spine. What was going on here?