Bristol, England – Present Day - (Naomi)

This is it, the end of my life. I didn't think it would happen this way. I cursed my sudden decision to go to the store late at night. Stupid move, Naomi and surely you knew that fate didn't make mistakes. Fate didn't play games. When your number was up, it was up. Why tempt it? Don't give it a reason to look for you. Stay hidden, make yourself small and it will never find you. That's worked so well for me up til' now. I am currently working as a receptionist at a legal firm, still trying to finish my degree at University. Making myself small wasn't working out so well for me. I knew I had to find a way to be somebody. As I trudged down the deserted alleyway, I clutched my pint of milk and Garabaldis to me in their rustling plastic sack. It's stupid really, why I felt like I needed groceries at eleven at night. I laughed internally at myself. I was so lost in my own thoughts, that I didn't notice the "thing" lurking in the shadows. I heard it before I saw it, exhaling a shaky, raspy breath that sounded guttural and animalistic.

I whipped around in the darkness in time to see a mass of fur and teeth, gnashing at me and pushing me down to the pavement. The ground knocked my breath from my body, stinging me with pain and feeling as if a knife had pierced my lungs. I furiously pushed at it and screamed when I regained my breath. I prayed that someone would hear me, anyone. Would they even be able to help me? As I fought with this beast I wondered was it a wild dog, an escaped zoo animal? I didn't know. The adrenaline surged through me and I continued hitting and smashing at its face. Suddenly, I heard the sound of two "pops" and heard the beast yelp in pain. It leapt off of me, scurrying down the alleyway to be absorbed into the wretched arms of the night.

I lay still for a moment. I was shaking. Too in shock to move, I suppose. I instantly felt better when I saw my "savior" standing over me. Short, I thought, but gorgeous. Pale skin, deep dark eyes, long brown hair, petite and soft featured. Curvaceous and really drop dead gorgeous, actually. She holstered a gleaming blue steel handgun under her dark wool pea coat and raked her hand through her beautiful brown hair. Her dark eyes shone like tiger's eye in the darkness somehow. I gulped hard. I was more afraid of this girl than of the beast that attacked me.

"Are you alright?" she asked me. Fuck. Her voice, deep and throaty, the hottest thing I have ever heard in my ears. I shivered involuntarily.

We exchanged pleasantries which is odd really, but after what had just happened I'm not sure I can judge "what is odd" and "what is not" anymore. She said she'd walk me home. I was flirting with her honestly, the adrenaline making me bold and reckless. I took her hand in mine and pulled at her but I felt something pulling at me back. It was as if a thread connected Emily and I at the heart strings and if I moved too far from her, it stabbed at me. Squeezed my poor heart so hard it might explode. It is an odd feeling. Then that pulling and tearing feeling expanded to every inch of my skin. I felt like I was burning alive. Suddenly I didn't feel so well.

"Naomi, did that thing scratch or bite you?" Emily asked me concerned and if I'm honest, quite sadly.

My response was a rambling one. I felt myself burning up. I suddenly felt too big for my skin to contain. I felt wild. I pulled Emily's sad, sweet body to mine. I heard her breath hitch, softly resonating through her throat. I moved my face up to hers and captured her cool, smooth lips in my own. I growled into her mouth. She at first pushed at me slightly and I felt a pang of guilt, but only for a moment. Then she returned my kiss with fervor and my heart hammered inside of the ribcage I swore was becoming far too small for it. Her tongue found mine and wrestled with it and I pulled her legs up around me – lifting her off the ground. "Where did that come from?" I wondered.

"Naomi." Emily moaned. Hearing her deep voice moan my name drove me wilder still. I nipped at the tender flesh of her neck. I dug my nails into the fabric of her shirt, clutching at it. "Naomi!" Emily shouted pushing back from me and dropping like a graceful cat to the pavement. She sat half perched, looking rather predatory at me. Her brown eyes were now black orbs, solid black, with no trace of white showing. Her breath was labored and from her small elegant lips I saw the white of two fangs.

"What the fuck are you?" I sputtered.

She was silently eyeing me as she willed her appearance to return to its previous guise. Still, even as a monster she was beautiful. "Fuck sake, Naomi. Get a damn grip."

"The question is, Naomi my dear," She said straightening her body and moving closer to me again. "What the fuck are you?"

"I'm sorry?" I said stupidly to her. A second ago, I wanted to devour her beautiful pale skin. I wanted to feel her writhe beneath me in a sweat covered splendor. That feeling hadn't quite gone away. Images of her naked seemed to come to me in painful flashes and a rumbling began low in my belly. It made me want to tear something apart, it made me want to break the world open wide, and it made me want to howl. I was suddenly frightened again. "What's happening to me?" I asked her pleadingly.

"Naomi, come with me. You'll be safe, I promise." She sputtered.

"Not until you tell me what is happening to me!" I yelled at her desperately. I began tugging at my shirt ripping at it unconsciously. I began running my hands through my hair furiously.

"Naomi, stay with me. Don't let it control you. You can control it."

What was this "it" she was talking about? My heart was pounding painfully in my chest and it felt like the atoms under my skin were going to tear me apart. Suddenly, I wanted to howl again. I felt the scream clawing its way out of my throat. Scraping as it pushed its way out of me, like vomiting pieces of broken glass. "Aaaaaaaaaa!" I yelled uncontrollably as pain shot through my entire body.

"Naomi, don't." Emily said helplessly. I felt like my skin was stretching across my frame with each breath. It was painful and it made me angry.

"Emily," I gasped out, weeping. "Emily," I fell to my knees. "Help me."

The petite brunette sprinted to my side and clutched at my body that was screaming in agony. I fell writhing to the pavement. I looked up at the stars, they seemed to hum and vibrate in the sky and it hurt to look at them. The full moon was as big and luminous. It filled the sky and had a tinge of yellow upon its pockmarked surface. The moon was so big. Had it always been this big? I pushed my hands up in front of my face to shield myself from the surging sensation I felt when I gazed at the sky, shocked to see before me, long dark nails springing from my fingertips. I felt my eyes being bathed in a swath of red. "Emily. Emily where are you? Help me. What is happening to me?" I growled into the night.

I heard her solemn voice as she hovered above me, lightly kissing my forehead. "I'm so sorry, Naomi. I wish for all the world, things could be different." I felt an electric shock course through my body, lighting me up from the inside out. Then, everything went dark.