In the Night

3 hours later . . .

Genki was in the middle of another gruesome nightmare, where he looked around and saw his comrades falling and bleeding to death. Getting their innards torn out by enemy soldiers and blown apart by cannons and mortars. Then he saw the men being slaughtered right and left, women being rapped for the pure pleasure of it. Inside he wants to join them but then thinks No, I can't want that. I'm never going to rape again to feed my sex lust or slaughter again to feed my blood lust. I'm not letting myself become a blood lusting, sex driven beast again! He begins to fight what is going on.

Genki woke with a start, a cold sweat pouring down his skin as he gasped for air. It was another horrible nightmare, like the ones he had been having them ever since the war. Since sleep was not an option, he decided to go for a walk, quietly slipping past Holly and the others, so he wouldn't wake them, he went outside. However, Holly awoke, hearing him while he was having his nightmare, she watched as he left and decided to follow.

Genki sat down outside and tried to calm his nerves. Holly, who had snuck up behind him, startled him. Spinning around he grabbed her wrists, "What the fuck, you scared the crap out of me, Holly," he said releasing her.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you" Holly said apologetically, and sat down next to him wondering why he had cursed like that. "What's up, why are you out so late?"

"I couldn't sleep" Genki replied.

"Why?" Holly asked.

"A nightmare, I've been having them for a while now." Genki answered.

"Do you want to talk about it?…………Listen, I know you didn't tell us everything. I could tell by how you reacted to our questions………. What happened, Genki?" Holly asked clearly worried about her male friend.

Genki sighed, "If I tell you, you have to promise, not to tell anyone else."

"I promise, Genki" Holly responded.

"Ok, after my parents where killed, my sister blamed me because I was arguing with mom again. I said some things I shouldn't have and that I didn't mean." Genki said.

"What did you say?" Holly interrupted.

" I said that I hated her, that I wanted her to stop fucking with my life and leave me alone. I also told her that I sometimes wish that she were dead. I never meant what I said I was just angry with her." Even though Genki's face was stern, his eyes were glazing over slightly, "anyway, after their death, my sister and I received two million dollars each. I hadn't known that they had put that much life insurance on themselves, until then. A lot of the money I received went towards paying off my parent's debts. The other part of the money went in the bank, for safe keeping, until I was 18. I finished school and graduated. After that I enrolled in college to study computers. I took care of my sister who was 2 years younger than me. Since I couldn't get into the money in the bank, I joined the military. The military paid fairly well and would pay for college too. I sent 50 of my pay to my sister, and 25 percent to a person I had hired to watch out for her and take care of her, a close friend of mine. I lived off the 25 that remained. When I was 19, a war broke out between my country, the United States, and North Korea. In my world, a group had set up rules for war. Yet Korea didn't care, they went against every rule, just to spite everyone else. I was a Lieutenant in the US Navy Seals, an elite group of fighters, the best of the best; my job was to make weapons of mass destruction, capable of destroying entire cities with a single hit. Our cities are really big, they span hundreds of miles in diameter."

"Why would anyone want to kill so many innocent people?" Holly asked shocked by what she'd been told.

"If you attack the people, you eliminate the countries resources and they'll give up. Either that or the people will make them give up. You could just say, they're just instruments used in the war." Genki realized that Holly was mortified by what he had said, "I know it seems barbaric, Holly, but being out in the field watching your comrades fall, smelling death everywhere and hearing their agonizing cries for help that may not come, is much worse. I was no medic, and had I went to them, I or anyone trying to help them, would have been killed. Your senses are enhanced when you're out in the field and you fight only for your survival. Just like everyone else on the field, as it was, that didn't keep me from being captured. They took my comrades and me to a remote region in the forest. There they painfully tortured us for fun, and for information. That's where the scar on my face came from. Some soldier slashed me with his knife. They withheld food and water; they took our clothes from us and gave us a single blanket to keep warm in their dark, wet, and cold dungeons. Hell, they only gave us a cot on the floor to sleep on and a bucket to do are business in. They also used electricity, fire, hot wax, and boiling hot water to torture us."

"Oh, my gosh!!! Did they do anything else, Genki?"

"Yes, but I'm not sure I can tell you." Genki responded.

"Why?" Holly asked concern showing on her face. Yet Genki's only answer was his eyes growing cold and almost full of hatred. She scared by this, but put her hand on his shoulder anyway in concern.

"If you promise to always be my friend, Holly I'll tell you. My friends in my world left me because of this." He paused for a moment, "so did my girlfriend for that matter." He finally said narrowing his eyes. Holly was puzzled by what would turn his friends and girlfriend away, but decided that he really needed someone he could trust.

"I'll always be your friend Genki!" she told him.

"Well, after they tortured me for awhile without success, they took me to a room and clamped me down. A scientist came in and explained he was going to use me for an experiment. He took a blood sample from my arm then After he ran a body scan on me, he injected me in the neck with something, and told me since their serum was done, they'd test it out on me instead of wasting one of their own soldiers. Its felt like fire was running through my veins. My body went into convulsions, he gave me a second serum and I passed out from the pain. When I woke up I was chained up, in the middle of a room. Someone came in and started whipping me on my back. Something inside me snapped, my body began to ache all over. The guy stopped hitting me, when he noticed this. I felt my bones crack and reform, my muscles burning and moving under my skin. I had no idea what was going on, or what they had done to me. At that point I didn't care, the pain was too strong. The pain abruptly stopped after about five minutes.

When I finally opened my eyes again, I noticed what had happened. Whatever they had done had changed me into some kind of beast. I had dark, reddish-brown fur all over my body. My legs were bowed back like Tiger's or Hare's; I had sharp claws on my hands and feet, and a long, bushy tail. When I touched my head, I noticed I had a big, bushy mane and two curved horns.

I asked them what they had done and the scientist said, he had turned me into a Beast Soldier, specifically a Kareen or skin shifter. He said that when I shift, I'll be stronger and faster, my senses with become more acute, and I'll have some powers as well. As for why they did it, they said they did it because they could, and it would win them the war. Soldiers created for fighting alone, that wouldn't need rest, or be self-conscious about slaughtering people. I broke loose and destroyed them and their building. What I'm saying, Holly is I'm only half human now." Genki closed his eyes and looked down.

Holly put her arm around his shoulders and said "I don't care if you're only half human, Genki, it wasn't your fault. I'll always be here for you, when you need me." She smiled. Genki pulled her into a hug and whispered, "Thank you, Holly, how can I ever repay you?"

"You don't have to. Just confide in me, ok. I'll always be here for you cause I'm your friend," she said returning his embrace.

"Ok, Holly" he hugged her tighter.

After a few minutes Holly asked shyly, "You cared for your girlfriend a lot, didn't you?"

"Yeah, I did. We had planned to get married." He said longingly, "While I was at war she had our son." Genki's expression changed and he looked even sadder, "When she found out what they turned me into, I wasn't allowed near her or my son. I don't even know what he looks like." His grew cold and emotionless again, Holly really felt sorry for Genki now and held him a little closer.

"I'm sorry, Genki. I don't understand why she would hurt you like that. Especially, when you gave her your heart. And yet, I know how you feel. My boyfriend left me for another girl. He said he wanted some one who understood him. What he meant was he wanted someone who would have sex with him. He knew I wouldn't."

Genki continued to hold on to her. She realized he must have been holding back his feelings and pain. She also realized that she liked being close to him. She smiled to herself, she had missed him all this time, and now she knew why. "Holly, do you have a boyfriend?"

"No, why?"

"I was wondering if you'd ever consider being with me, now that you know what I am"

"Of course I would, Genki. It makes no difference to me what you are; I like you for who you are."

"Holly, I love you with all my heart, you're the only one I trust."

"I love you too, thank you…" Genki stopped her and leaned over and kissed her. She didn't stop him. When he pulled away she was blushing. "That was my first kiss, Genki."

"I hope you didn't mind"

"No, I'm glad it was with you. Though if Suezo finds out, it'll be hell to pay."

"I know, but we'll deal with him later."

"What about your nightmares?"

"They're about the war or about losing people; maybe they'll stop with you around."

"Are you asking me to sleep with you?" Genki blushed then responded

"Yeah, I am, if you want to of course."

"I think we should take this slow. I wouldn't feel comfortable sleeping with you yet."

"It's ok Holly, we'll go at your pace." They got up and went back inside. Holly and Genki laid down in there own sleeping bags, and went back to sleep.

Unbeknownst to the both of them, Tiger and Greywolf had heard everything and they nodded to each other.

"We've got to stop this," Tiger said.

"Yeah" Greywolf agreed. They both went back to sleep, as well.