7.30PM

[Richard and Nicole just returned from the gadget store with Anais' present and settle at the diner Dinner to drink something. After being served, the couple look each other in the eye. Richard smiles and Nicole chuckles when he almost drops his soda due him not paying attention.]

Nicole: You silly bun!

Richard: Hey, at least I managed to catch it!

Nicole: Yes you better did, because that soda was paid from my own wage!

[Richard gulps when he sees her baring her teeth, but quickly realizes she's messing with him.]

Nicole: Just kidding, just kidding. [Chuckles and sighs] It feels good not to worry anymore, dear.

Richard: I believe it does; finally some rest.

Nicole: Oh yeah, and not to mention to finally be able to prevent that horrible pain... Ugh.

Richard: Yes. [Smiles]

[Nicole wants to take another sip of her drink, but suddenly feels a shock going through her body. She freezes as it only lasted a second, but is surprised by how much it hurt. Richard then realizes something.]

Richard: Speaking of which, have you taken in the herb tonight?

[Nicole's eyes widen out of fear when she feels an upcoming stabbing pain in her gums.]

Nicole: [Gasps] Oh no...

[She checks her mouth with her paws and gasps again when she feels sharp edges evolving on her teeth; it is slowly happening again. She holds her head and Richard immediately gets up to hug her. Nicole feels a heavy headache spiking up and closes her eyes in fright.]

Nicole: T-there's still time... B-but we need to go home right now to get the medicine!

Richard: All right, let's go!

[Richard quickly grabs the shopping bag and supports his wife as she doesn't manage to stand up straight. Her heart pounds in her chest and she feels extremely dizzy. It has been a while since this happened... Richard stressfully searches for the car keys in Nicole's purse after he let her sit down on the bench near the exit. He finds them, but can't even be happy about it as he sees a known person approaching Nicole. Nicole barely can think clear and the pain increases agonizingly slow. She then sees the person's full appearance as she got closer. She has a spoon-shaped orange body which is accompanied by a shoulder height haircut and her little blue son stands next to her, who has a rather snobbish expression on his face.]

Felicity: Well, well, well. Look who we got here.

Nicole: F-Felicity?

Felicity: How are you surprised? Don't you think it's suspicious that a murderer is free on the streets like that?

[Nicole frowns and sighs as she remembers the fact that her murders got into the news.]

Nicole: That all happened two months ago.

Felicity: Two months or two years, I don't care! Murder is still murder!

[Richard immediately steps in when he sees Nicole is about to potentially lash out and stands in between the two women.]

Richard: I'm so sorry to interrupt, but my wife here isn't feeling well and we need to get going quickly.

Felicity: Oh really? I wonder what made her sick... Perhaps if she is allergic to blood!

[Nicole covers her eyes and grunts when her fangs have fully elongated now. She starts trembling and all her muscles feel like they're on fire. Her claws unsheathe and she only grunts louder and louder when her sleeves start to rip.]

Richard: [Gets extremely nervous] Oh no, no. This you see, isn't a... a very normal disease.

Felicity: What is going on with her?

Richard: I advise you to stand back... or run!

[Nicole gets on all fours and bends her back as the pain continues getting worse. She starts growling and her claws dig deeply into the mall's tiles. Felicity now starts feeling afraid and watches in terror how the entire back part of Nicole's shirt rips open and reveals extremely wild fur. Nicole screams when she opens her eyes, only to reveal that they are glowing yellow again.]

Felicity: Oh my gosh!

[She picks up Billy, her little son, and runs away while alarming the other customers.]

Felicity: Run for your life! It's a monster!

[The other customers flee in terror and scream when they see Nicole rise up and giving in to the chase. Her main target is Felicity who ran into the opposite direction of the mall's exit. Richard drops the shopping bag and tries running after his wife, but he is too slow. The other customers escape the mall and Felicity can't hide in the crowd anymore. Nicole angrily shakes her fur after running through the crowd and stands still to look around. Felicity manages to get on the second floor with her son and hides behind a tilted table. Nicole lowers her head and starts sniffing while following her enemy's scent. She then takes a powerful jump and lands on the next floor, close to where Felicity is hiding.

Billy had panicked and is hiding behind the fountain, next to the tilted table. To Felicity's horror, her little son trips over his own feet and falls right into Nicole's eyesight. She immediately charges for him and jumps. She pins him down and he screams in terror when he sees the gigantic sharp teeth. Nicole drools as she tries to bite him, but Felicity quickly got away from her hiding spot and hits the big feline with a fire extinguisher. She grabs her son and sprints away to the escalators. But no matter how heavy the collision with the metal object was, it didn't stop Nicole as she immediately runs after them. She blocks their path when Felicity and Billy were right about to go downstairs. She then wants to attack Felicity who pulls out her phone and calls the law enforcement. Felicity dodges Nicole's pounce, but her shoulder still gets scratched open by the blue feline's claws. She yells and covers the wound with her other hand while Billy runs downstairs in fright. Felicity jumps forward and runs downstairs too, only to encounter the cops who just arrived. They run inside and face the terrifying blue monster who approaches them. Richard wants to step in when they aim their tasers, but gets blocked by one of the officers.]

Officer: Stand back, sir. We will sedate this beast.

Richard: I'm afraid you're gonna need more than tasers for that...

[The officer gives the bunny a confused look, but then sees what he meant. Eight tasers get fired at the same time and Nicole freezes. Her tail and left paw twitch, but it doesn't stop her at all and she pounces onto the closest officer, immediately biting him in the neck. He screams and blood splatters all over Nicole's snout. The other officers drop their tasers and aim their guns.]

Richard: Wait, no!

Officer: I'm sorry, sir. This is the only way.

Officer 2: FIRE!

[Richard closes his eyes when bullets race through the air, straight onto Nicole. She backs away from the wounded officer and he manages to escape. Richard opens his eyes in grief, but sees the impossible. The bullets didn't even pass Nicole's skin as they simply bounce off her fur. The Upper Limit has come to its worst and made hermore powerful than ever. The officers feel doomed as they realize there's nothing they can do and Richard pushes the officer away who was holding him back. He runs to his wife and hugs her while holding her still. She violently tries to release herself from his grip and snarls viciously while trying to scare him off. But he doesn't give in. He keeps hugging and hushes her until she calms a bit down. She then takes deep breaths and her ears drop again. She realizes it is something that will haunt her forever... It is something which tires her out... She grunts and raises her head while trying to speak up.]

Nicole: [Speaks almost silently] It's a curse, Richard...

Richard: W-what?

[Nicole pushes him away and roars while her voice echoes into the air.]

Nicole: IT'S A CURSEEEE!

End of Claws of Rage – main book.

Written by Black Dog Productions in 4 May - 30 September 2020