Ch. 9 Embrace the Monster
Rhea curses loudly as she comes within view of her sister's home. Everything is dark and silent, but the front door is busted in, hanging off one remaining hinge. She slides off the horse and approaches the house hesitantly. She feels like vomiting. One single agonizing thought replays over and over. She's too late. Rhea reaches behind her and unties the top skirt of her dress, letting it drop and kicking the painful heels to the side. Her underskirt reaches only to her knees and offers more freedom of movement as she steps quietly into the house.
With a choked sob, Rhea collapses to her knees as she enters the kitchen. She pulls Riley's quickly cooling, brutalized corpse to her chest and rocks her back and forth. She cradles her sister's face in her hands and presses their foreheads together. Riley's honey eyes, always so full of life, are wide and unseeing, and her beautiful face is frozen in fear. Rhea's sobbing ceases as she hears muted voices outside, coming from the back yard.
"What do you mean you can't find her? She's a two-year-old girl! She can't have gotten that far! Get back out there and look again. Your orders were to kill everyone."
Evelyn. She's still alive! Anger and a terrifying blood-lust floods Rhea with adrenaline. She lays her sister on the floor gently, closing her eyes with a shaking hand.
"I will save her Riley, I promise. I won't be too late this time."
Rhea stands and stalks silently to the back door, which stands ajar. The four men facing the door gasp as she steps into the yard, which causes the fifth to turn towards her. A thin, wiry gentleman in a crisp suit, with ashy hair and deep-set age lines, stares back at her with a sneer. Rhea sees red.
"Carter."
"Ah, miss Vaughn, you've arrived a bit early I'm afraid. We haven't quite finished your presentation. No matter."
Carter removes a pistol from his jacket, pulls back the hammer, and fires. The bullet pierces her chest with a flash of searing pain, missing her heart by mere inches. Rhea collapses with a sharp cry.
"You should have listened to me, girl. Your precious family might have been spared."
Carter puts the gun away and turns back to the other men.
"Well, what are you standing around for? Go find the girl."
The men jump into action, splitting up and running into the trees. They are going to find Evelyn and kill her too. She's too late.
No.
Rhea's rage burns white-hot. The pain in her chest fades, but is replaced with another pain, so intense that Rhea's vision blurs. It feels like lighting is coursing through every nerve.
I will not fail.
Rhea screams in agony as her arms and legs twist and the bones break. Carter turns and gasps in horror, pulling the gun from his jacket. He fumbles in his fear, and the pistol drops to the ground.
Filthy murderers. I will kill them.
Rhea's spine snaps, stretches, and reforms. Her jaw shatters and begins to elongate into a fur covered muzzle, with a row of glistening, razor sharp teeth. Carter falls to his rear and shuffles away in terror.
"What the hell are you!?"
I will tear them apart.
Rhea's hands shift into large claws. Her body growls nearly two feet, and her dress is torn to ribbons. Pointed ears, along bushy tail, and thick white fur which covers her whole body, emerge. The pain slowly subsides, and the transformation is complete. Where there once stood a small, beautiful woman, there is now a grotesque hybrid with a wolf like appearance. Instead of standing on all fours, she stands on two powerful hind legs. Her front paws resemble human hands, but are covered in fur and tipped with sharp, black claws. Rhea stands, still shaking from the pain of her first transformation. Then she sets her burning gold eyes on her prey, who sits on the ground still, paralyzed with fear. Her lips curl back from her fangs to loose a deadly, rumbling growl.
Tear.
She stalks closer to Carter, and the movement stirs him from his stupor. He holds his hands up in surrender.
"W-wait! I'm sorry. I'll let the girl live. Please just- urk!"
Rhea's fangs meet flesh, tearing into Carter's neck and shoulder. He collapses with a cry, hands pressing to his neck in a desperate attempt to stop the bleeding. Rhea's head turns to the trees and she sniffs the air. She can pick up the men's scents clearly.
Hunt.
She throws her head back and unleashes a chilling, sorrowful howl. Then she sprints into the trees to follow the men's trail, leaving Carter to his fate. Rhea takes the first man completely by surprise. The torch falls from his hand, and the forest swallows his screams as her claws rip into his left shoulder and drag all the way down to his up. Another of the men bursts from the brush, having followed his partner's screams.
"What the hell?"
He freezes in absolute terror at the sight of her, and she wastes no time. She rushes forward and clamps her jaws around his throat. She revels in the sound of his neck snapping and tears his jugular clean out. Rhea turns her nose up again, sifting through the scent of blood to locate the other two. They aren't far, and they're heading straight toward her. She has no desire to wait. She takes off through the trees again, running on all fours to increase her speed. She finds the last two as they sprint into a small clearing. Rhea leaps and pins the shorter of the two to the forest floor. He thrashes wildly, desperate to escape, but he's no match for her alarming strength as she holds him down with one clawed hand. With a snarl, she sinks her teeth into his skull and squeezes until she hears the satisfying crunch of shattered bone. Dropping his lifeless, crushed skull from her jaws, Rhea rises to her full height of two meters.
Bang!
Rhea barely registers the pain as the bullet lodges in her shoulder. She turns. The final man has managed to keep his wits about him. But his hands still tremble as he attempts to reload the shotgun. He drops the shell, and doesn't bother to search for it, pulling another from his pocket. He manages to reload and points the barrel at her chest.
"S-stay back!"
Rhea takes a step forward.
Bang!
The second bullet hits her square in the chest. The burning pain in her heart is dull compared to her transformation and she glances down. Her flesh is already stitching itself back together. The bullet is pushed from her body and clatters to the ground. The man's grip on his gun goes slack.
"H-how?"
Rhea closes in, and the man drops the gun and raises his hands.
"P-please don't kill me! I'll give you whatever you want."
Rhea growls darkly. She raises a clawed hand as the man continues to plead with her. She swipes straight across, ripping apart the man's abdomen and spilling his innards. He hits the ground with an agonized wail, clutching his stomach and futilely trying to push his guts back inside. Rhea lifts her foot and brings it down forcefully on his torn abdomen. She hears the sickening snap of his spine, and then everything falls silent. Rhea stands alone in the clearing, the light of the full moon bathing her blood-splattered form. She lifts her dripping maw and howls once more. The notes release all her grief and hatred into the night.
A rustle from the trees alerts her, and she snaps her gaze toward the source of the noise. From the underbrush stumbles a small girl with bronze skin and dark hair. She is covered in dirt, tree sap, and a multitude of tiny scratches. Rhea snarls viciously and the girl stops, staring up at her with wide honey eyes. Riley's eyes. Rhea's mothers. Evelyn. A sharp pain in her head causes her to whimper and kneel. Her body twists and shrinks until Rhea's human form, naked and drenched in the blood of her victims, emerges. She gasps for air as she clutches her trembling body.
"Auntie?"
Rhea looks up at her niece, tears flowing freely as she throws her arms wide.
"Evelyn!"
Little Evelyn rushes into her embrace, sobbing uncontrollably. Rhea grips her tightly and rocks her as she sobs also. Evelyn quickly cries herself to sleep as Rhea continues to rock her.
"Rhea?"
She looks up at the sound of her name. Emmett stands in the clearing, horror and fear plastered across his face.
"Rhea, you did all this?"
"They killed Thomas and Riley. They were going to kill Evelyn too. I had to stop them."'
"Stop them? Rhea, there's nothing left of them. It looks like they were torn apart by an animal. How did you even do this? What…what are you?"
Rhea hears people drawing closer, hears them shouting orders. Emmett must have brought back up. They're close, only a few minutes out.
"I don't know what I am, Emmett."
"They're coming. They'll hang you for this, Rhea. There's nothing I can do."
"I know."
Rhea gets to her feet, cradling Evelyn in her arms. She moves toward Emmett and feels a pang in her chest when he instinctively flinches away from her. She holds her niece out to him.
"Please take care of Evelyn. There's enough money in the safe in my office to live a comfortable life. The key is in Riley's dresser."
Emmett takes Evelyn into his arms, but he looks conflicted as she begins to back away.
"Wait! Where could you possibly go that they won't find you?"
"Don't worry about me. Just promise you'll take care of her."
"But—"
"Promise me!"
"…I promise."
"Thank you. Tell her when she wakes up that I love her, and I'm sorry."
"I will. Good luck."
Rhea nods her head and closes her eyes, concentrating. The thrumming power comes easily to her this time, and there is only a flash of pain as she shifts, not into the hybrid beast, but into a true wolf. She hears Emmett gasp, but doesn't look back as she runs for the wall. If she looks back, Rhea knows she won't have the strength to leave.
…
Rhea opens her eyes and quietly observes Erwin's reaction. His expression is cool, only a slight widening of his eyes gives anything away. At some point during her story, he had leaned forward over the desk. He straightens himself and folds his arms across his chest.
"Hmm."
"Really? That's all you have to say?"
"Of course not. I was merely gathering my thoughts. So, according to you, it was members of your father's gang who killed Thomas and Riley as some sort of retaliation. You only killed the rest as punishment, and to save your niece. It's believable, but there's one part of your story that doesn't add up. There were only four men found dead that night, not five."
"What? No, you said I was wanted for the suspected murder of six people."
"Yes, the four men whose bodies were found, and both Riley and Thomas."
"That doesn't make any sense. I wasn't anywhere near Thomas when he died. Carter had him killed, and then he was the first one I killed at Riley's house."
"Carter? You wouldn't happen to be talking about Benjamin Carter, the nobleman?"
"Yes. He was one of my father's oldest associates."
"Benjamin Carter is currently the governor of Karenes district."
"What? But how on earth did he survive? I bit into his jugular. He should have died. You have to believe me!"
"I do."
Rhea's eyes widen, and she slumps in the seat. Levi brushes his fingers against he back of her neck.
"You…do?"
"Yes. Because as it happens, Mr. Carter has a rather nasty scar in that spot. He says it's a birthmark, but I have met him once, before this incident, and he had no such mark."
"He's alive. I can't believe it. Oh no! What about Emmett and Evelyn?"
"Emmett Parker defected from the military police four years ago. He disappeared and has not been seen since. Coincidentally, all the money in your safe went missing that night also. Authorities assumed that since the safe was obviously not broken into, it must have been you that took it."
"They're safe then. If Carter had found them, he would have made a big spectacle of their deaths, hoping it would draw me out of hiding."
"Yes, I think it is safe to assume they are alright. Also, given that the evidence clearly supports your story, I can summarize that you are telling the truth."
"Thank you. So…what now?"
Erwin turns to Levi, who removes his arm from the back of the couch and sits up straight.
"I will leave that up to you, Levi. After hearing the truth of what happened four years ago, are you still willing to vouch for her? Do you still believe she will be an asset to humanity?"
"Yes."
Levi answers without hesitation, and it causes a swell of emotion to erupt in Rhea's chest, and an uncomfortable squirming in her stomach. Erwin rises from the desk and makes his way toward the door, pausing to address Levi once more.
"Very well. Then she will be your responsibility, Levi. We will meet with Hange and Mike tomorrow to discuss our plans in greater detail. For now, make sure she is always with you. I leave it to you to decide what to tell your squad, but from this moment Rhea will be considered its newest member. I think it should go without saying but be careful if you take her outside of HQ. People may not be actively searching for her, but there is still a warrant out for her arrest."
"Yes, sir."
Erwin places a hand on Levi's shoulder, who glares at the appendage with distaste.
"It's good to have you back, Levi."
"Tch. Whatever, Eyebrows. You're only glad you didn't lose 'Humanities Strongest'."
Erwin chuckles and takes his leave, shutting the door behind him. Rhea throws herself at Levi, wrapping her arms around him and pressing her face into the juncture between his neck and shoulder. Levi grunts in surprise but doesn't push her away. Rhea's voice is barely a whisper.
"Thank you."
Levi stands there a moment, perhaps unsure how to react. But then he gently removes himself from her embrace and heads toward the door.
"Tch. Just don't make me regret it, brat. Now come on, we need to go find Petra."
"Oh? Where are we going?"
Levi pulls open the door and stares at her coolly.
"To get you some clothes, so you can stop stinking up mine, brat."
Rhea walks to Levi and playfully swats his arm, realizing he's joking.
"Lead the way then, Captain."
"Levi."
"What?"
"You're not a scout, yet anyway. Call me Levi."
Rhea's stomach flutters again and she fights a smile as she follows him out the door and down the stairs.
"Okay then, Levi."