DARK DREAMS

Chapter 3: Horrifying Revelation

Enforcer Headquarters...dawn...

Exhausted Felina dragged herself back to her office after a fruitless search for the creature. Her eyes felt gritty and her body demanded she stop and rest. She forced herself to make out a report of the night's happenings and left it on her uncle's desk. With a tired sigh, she barely made it home where she stripped her clothes off and collapsed on her bed for some much needed sleep.

Later that morning, Commander Feral dragged himself in to work. He was soo tired. Another nightmare, this time with him fighting his own enforcers and not finding any prey and waking in pain and exhaustion even more confused.

He saw Felina's report and dropped down in his seat to read it. Shock vibrated through his body as he read what she had written. Word for word it described his dream in stark detail. He dropped the report as if it had burned him and buried his face in his paws. He was going crazy. It was the only thing he could think of. Pulling himself together, he realized he had to talk to someone and the only one who might believe him was Felina.

He checked the roster and discovered she had signed out for home. Well after all she was up all night trying to hunt the creature. He couldn't wait. He had to talk to her now. Taking the report with him, he grabbed his coat and locked his door. He told his receptionist he would be out for a while but not where. She could reach him by cell if he was needed.

Hurrying out to his car he quickly headed to Felina's apartment. Some twenty minutes later he was parking in front of her place. Striding into the building, he didn't bother waiting for an elevator and raced up three flights to her door. Leaning on the buzzer he waited impatiently for her to wake and answer. Five minutes later a groggy Felina was opening the door to her agitated uncle. He pushed past her and stood in the middle of her living room waiting for her to close her door.

Felina stared at her uncle in shock. He looked scared and exhausted. "Uncle, what's wrong?"

"Let's sit down Felina." He said tightly as he sat down on the overstuffed chair. "I need to talk to someone that won't think I'm crazy even though I'm afraid that's where I'm headed."

Concerned she sat on her couch opposite him, "I'm here uncle. I'll listen. I know you've been troubled by something for some time now."

"Yes, I...I've been having terrible nightmares for weeks now. They've gotten worse over the last three days. What makes them so bad is that they match exactly what that creature has been doing as if I was connected to it the whole time." He said rubbing his neck. "Then I saw your report this morning and it detailed everything I witnessed in my dream last night." He looked up and stared at his niece in anguish. "I don't understand what is happening to me and why I'm seeing these things."

Felina's mouth gaped open while her uncle described his dreams. She snapped it shut as she realized with horror that her uncle was the cursed Kat. It wasn't dreams he was experiencing but the actual thing in his changed form.

"Uncle, I found out some things yesterday when I went to see Dr. Sinian. I had a drawing of the creature and she found a corresponding one in her library. The creature is cursed." Quickly, Felina told her uncle the story of the cursed family that she now realized was her own. When she finished, her uncle was staring at her in horror. 'God! The look on his face!' Felina flinched in sorrow.

A moment later he was burying his head in his arms and moaning in anguished shock. She got up quickly and went to his side hugging him and offering what comfort she could. 'Dr. Sinian has to find the cure.' Felina prayed fervently. She couldn't bear the thought of any more of her family suffering like Uncle Ulysses was now.

"Oh my God. It was me all along. I attacked those poor Kats. I just...I can't believe I could do such a thing." He shuddered unable to shake the images of his attacks from his mind. 'God the blood and raping.' Just that image alone caused him to lurch up suddenly and rush to the kitchen to throw up.

"Oh Uncle, I'm so sorry!... It's not your fault!...You didn't know! You become a totally different person when you change. At least you didn't kill anyone. You always left them alive and able to recover and we did succeed in stopping you last night. We just have to keep you confined during the full moon until Dr. Sinian can find the cure." Felina tried to comfort and offer hope to her distraught Uncle.

"Locked up...Gods...locked up in my own jail. This just can't be happening to me." He hung his head which was beginning to pound.

Felina rubbed his back, "Here, let me get you some aspirin and water to rinse your mouth out" She rinsed the sink out, grabbed a bottle of aspirin and a glass from the cupboard. She filled it with water and handed it and some tablets to him.

He rinsed his mouth out and downed the tablets. "Okay let's get you laying down for a little while. My couch folds out into a bed and you need to rest. You shouldn't have any more nightmares now since the full moon is over and you badly need to just stop before you drop." Felina urged her uncle toward the living room. While he stood waiting, too numb to argue with her, she quickly converted her couch to a bed then helped remove some of his clothes and pressed him to lie down.

He hid his face in his arms and whimpered in distress. She crouched down beside him and gently stroked his back soothingly until he finally relaxed into a deep sleep. She took his cell phone into her room and unplugged her phone in the living room so that no one could disturb him. He was far too exhausted to be able to handle anything more today. She really hoped no emergency would happen to give him a much needed break. She relocked her apartment door and sought her own bed as she was still very tired herself. Tomorrow would be soon enough to deal with this problem.