Rachel set the last cardboard box on her dorm room bed; taking a deep breath, she sat down, sullenly looking over at Cloe's side of the room, her roommate. It was bright and colorful, reflecting her bubbly personality; they'd talked online earlier that week. Cloe's previous roommate dropped out of Miami University, leaving an opening for her.
Taking out her cellphone, she unlocked it, opened her voicemail, and listened to her father's message in Korean:
"Sung, look, it's no surprise it's been difficult for you and your sister-in-law to see eye to eye; you have very different personalities. Therefore, it is necessary that you distance yourself from the family; for the business' best interest and my sanity.
"Sung, it's become too difficult for you and your sister-in-law to see eye to eye. I know moving out was demanding, but you should take this time to reflect on your relationship with Alexa. For the business's best interest, my sanity, and your own growth, I believe this is a good temporary compromise.
"Everything still stands, Sung. If you keep your grades around A's, we'll provide half of your tuition and pay for your housing. We do expect a weekly report on how you're doing, and we'll come by during the weekend to talk things over when tempers settle down.
"We expected the same of your brother when he was enrolled. Don't disgrace our name or Nam's reputation. We're an alumni family at Miami University and have an image to uphold. Your study of martial arts is admirable, but don't let your extra-curricular activities diminish your..."
She turned it off as her roommate walked through the door.
Cloe's green eyes lit up. "Rachel! Oh, wait, should I call you Rachel or, umm—Park Sung Hyo?" She asked, butchering her Korean name while reading a small piece of paper.
"Rachel is fine. It's hard for most Americans to pronounce Korean names, it's okay. It's nice to meet you face to face, Cloe."
Cloe nodded with a beaming smile. "Thanks! So, umm, I just popped in to grab my laptop charger. I got all the way to English 1010 before realizing I forgot it! Umm, by the way, you're pretty tall compared to most Asian girls I've met—oh, that was so rude of me! I'm so sorry." She muttered. "I'm just a little nervous."
Laughing, Rachel shook her head. "It's fine. There aren't many five foot nine Asians; I've heard it most my life."
"I see," Cloe's eyes shifting to her bedside desk. "Alright, well, I gotta head to class. Mind if we chat later?"
"That's fine with me."
"Great!" Grabbing her charger, Cloe stuffed it in her backpack and dashed out into the hallway, slamming the door behind her.
Sighing, Rachel leaned back, running her hands through her shoulder-length black hair.
I can't believe I got kicked out because Alexa hates martial arts ... every time I get home from the gym, she's making a scene. So what if Nam takes some time out of his day to watch me? I guess it was only a matter of time; since her dad's a vital contractor for the business, Dad would prioritize that over me, and talk it over, hah. I just need to keep a better hold on my temper when Dad's around. He never liked shouting matches, but she starts it … it's not fair.
Angrily scratching her left temple, she growled.
I've done everything right, though! Grades, partial scholarship, despite the decrease to my average, and all because I'm Asian. How can schools even do that? Lower my average because of my race ... isn't that racist? I almost didn't qualify this year because of that damn loophole—all to get people into school that'll probably drop out anyway, and didn't even do half the work I did!
She released a frustrated growl, taking a few deep breaths to calm down. Discharging a long puff of air, Rachel looked at her phone.
Eleven A.M. At least I have today off. She glared at her boxes. Might as well get everything set up. I do need to finish some math before heading to the gym; keeping four weeks ahead of schedule should be the minimum this semester. I should push for five weeks ahead next, heh, that'll show Dad. I won't be the one to embarrass the family, Alexa's a disgrace. She didn't even finish college! What a loser.
She massaged her neck before getting to work unpacking. There wasn't a lot, clothes, a few household goods, and making her bed. She didn't have the money to buy frivolous things since she needed to support herself.
Yawning while breaking down the last cardboard box, she put it on the top of the others before indulging in a quick stretch to get her blood circulating. She rolled her neck around, sitting down to do some homework. Pulling out her laptop, she logged into the school network, starting her future assignments.
Rachel finished sooner than she'd anticipated; for some reason, Math 251 was easier for her to understand than the prerequisite. Looking in the top right corner of her screen, she smiled. Four-twenty. I've got a long day at the gym today!
She donned cream shorts, a black sports bra, and a white tank-top before grabbing her gym bag. Walking out of her dorm room, she went down the halls, making it outside. The bright, humid weather of Miami, mixed with the salted sea breeze made her smile as she moved through the massive crowds of the ocean city.
The walk was therapeutic; Miami was host to a plethora of active people, which helped brighten her spirits, and seeing all the toned muscles made her aware of her own impressive physique. She'd worked hard to get her solid form, which probably was the cause of Cloe feeling a bit intimidated when first meeting her in person.
Arriving at the Muay Thai gym she had a membership at, she dropped her bag off at a locker and wrapped her hands, beginning warm-ups. It didn't take long for her coach, Tyreese Cyrus, to free up.
"Aye, weh yuh ah seh, Rachel! Girl, you lookin' good before getting all sweaty," he chuckled with his slight Jamaican accent. "How much time I gotcha for?"
[how are you doing]
Tyreese's dark skin almost shined; he waxed everything, including his head. At six-two, and two hundred and sixty pounds with rock hard muscles, more than one person had made a joke about the link with his nickname, Rock.
Rachel gave him a half-smile as they walked up to each other, clasping hands. "Rock, yo, what's goin' on?" She asked, muscles tensing as she tried to push his left hand to the right; he easily countered her strength, returning her smile. "Eh, a good three hours."
"Whew, quite da session for meh little duppy conqueror, eh? You done hittin' dem books and ready for da bag?"
[duppy conqueror i.e., literal translation 'ghost conqueror' implying a fearless person overcoming obstacles.]
"Was hoping for some sparring today!" Rachel returned, trying not to lose face as he applied more pressure, curving their arms the opposite way.
"Ah, feelin' some blood in your ears, huh? Yeah, we can't get down and scrappy! You need to work on that combo, eh?"
"You know I've got it down," Rachel huffed, breaking her grip with him to flex her numb fingers, giving her coach a smirk. "Got something new?"
"Okay, okay," he mused. "I'll show you the whapper!" He said while doing a quick left fake to right kidney shot. "Give you the ol' burn, eh? Take you back to some string combos before the teep!"
Rock had trained in Thailand for five years before returning to the States, and she'd been with him for years. She began her conditioning and training with him, smirking at her coach's jabbing comments to break her concentration; it was fun to see what he'd come up with to make her frustrated while trying to dish it back and stay focused.
"You get pistol-whipped in the mouth every mornin', small up yuhself!"
[small up yuhself i.e., make some room or get some distance]
"Oh, I don't know; sometimes it's hard to see when I step back," Rachel chuckled, dodging a few testing jabs. "Do you have a pound of baby oil on your head, ugly ass?"
He laughed. "Yeah? Better than the egg yoke you put in your head every morning. Eh?"
"Better yet," Rachel took sharp breaths while ducking under a swing, giving a strike to his side, but she was forced to retreat as he threw a back elbow. "I see they let you out early at the car wash today."
"You sayin' I'm washed up, huh?" He hummed, darting forward.
She winced as he followed a right and left fake with a light jab to her face; she managed to catch the shift in his posture just in time, blocking it with the back of her hands as he threw his much greater weight class at her.
"You better focus, any worse, and you'll be tongue licking uppercuts, me girl!"
"At least I didn't chip my tooth, licking a crosswalk button!"
He roared with laughter while allowing her room to try for another offensive.
After training for three hours, she finally hit the showers, breathing heavily with sweat running down her body. She leaned left and right, letting the cool water slide down her smooth skin as her muscles burned. Sessions like this were the highlight of her week.
Since eighth grade, she'd been training in Muay Thai, trying to release the stress she felt at home. Her parents were semi-traditional, second-generation Korean immigrants. Her mother and father being a part of a consensually arranged marriage came with some troubles. It did have its struggles, but they loved each other. The business did play a role, though, she was sure.
Drying off before dressing in the white t-shirt and shorts she'd brought in her bag; she left the gym to move along the busy sidewalk, mind returning to the fight they had.
How much more do I need to do to make them proud? I work, I go to school, I train in martial arts ... if only Nam hadn't married that stupid snowflake.
She thinks she's so much better than me because her dad gives her whatever she wants—Americans look at me; I'm amazing because I'm a Vegan. Oh, martial arts is violent; therefore, I'm violent. I'm taller than most Asians; I'm so odd and too muscular for a woman. Well, sorry, Princess, I didn't ask to be born taller than you, and it feels good being in shape.
Fuming, Rachel took a deep breath while stretching out her arms.
Whatever, it's not like Mom likes her anyway; she always disappears to take a bath when Alexa's around. She's just a business deal since she likes Nam, and it would benefit the company.
Massaging the back of her neck with both hands, she stopped at a light as it turned green, shifting the bag on her shoulder.
Once I finish school and get a law degree, then what can she say? She's worthless; all she has is her rich dad while I'll be working for a big firm. Maybe I could be the business' lawyer if I get successful enough, then they'll have to acknowledge me.
Rachel jogged to a local diner and ordered her usual, spiced salmon and vegetables. The food was just as good as always. Eating quickly, she left a twenty percent tip before leaving, grabbing a superfood smoothie to go. She walked the rest of the way back to her dorm, finding Cloe in bed with her laptop.
"Oh, Rachel. Wait, did you go work out? Do you do that often?" She asked, sitting a little straighter against the wall.
Rachel nodded, setting her bag down while stretching out, feeling her sports bra tighten against her chest. "I practice Muay Thai in my free time."
"Really? That's so awesome!" She set her laptop beside her, scooting to the edge of the bed. "You look really fit. I was thinking about doing something like that since I've been gaining a little weight recently." She grumbled, poking at her belly.
Smiling, Rachel pulled out her desk chair to sit. "You could just..." She paused as a scream sounded down the hall, and a reverberation pulsed through her body. It rebounded within her for several seconds before everything changed.
In a split second, the room had expanded. She could see everything in focus within a two-hundred and ten-degree angle. Rachel saw the neon glow of lights shining from the window in the corner of her vision, just the same as Cloe in front of her, everything was visible in crystal clarity.
Her hearing opened like she'd been submerged underwater all her life as something similar to her arms appeared atop her head; millions of sounds and conversations fed through her brain, and somehow, she knew they were hundreds of meters away.
She jumped, realizing a new, small appendage had formed near her butt. It was like her entire body was fluid, shifting into something else and a new strength that she'd never dreamt of arose within her muscles, exploding into a power that made her more alive than she thought possible. Half her weight had vanished, and her flexibility doubled; she'd never felt so light.
Cloe's face turned ashen. "What was that—what's happening to you?" She gasped.
Frowning, Rachel looked down; her hair had changed. "I have white hair—it's so long? What—how—what happened to my black hair?" Her focus shifted from her hair to her fingers, sliding down to her left arm. "My muscle … why—it's gone."
Shaking her head, Cloe covered her mouth, pointing at the mirror.
Rachel turned, seeing her reflection before facing it. Her lips parted in disbelief.
On closer inspection, her hair was white, glowing with a light pink hue that mixed with the beams of colorful mixed rays, shining through the nearby window. Her once shoulder-length black hair had grown, falling to her butt and was absurdly thick, causing her elastic hair tie to bulge.
Her eyes were no longer brown. Rachel's enlarged pupils were surrounded by four faint pink petals, resembling a four-leaf clover; the black of her eye had turned maroon red and was almost entirely eclipsed by a pink glow in the center. A white radiant halo surrounded the pupil's outer ring, separating it from the other sections of her irises.
However, the most pressing change was the two long bunny ears attached to her skull. She pulled back her pink-hued white hair, searching for her ears in vain; the only thing that met her fingers was her skin and thick, silky locks, hiding the fact that her human ears were gone.
Swallowing reflexively, she realized she could feel them like her own fingers. They twitched, shifting with the same unconscious desire as her arms. Feeling the slight discomfort at her butt, she turned around to see a bulge in her gym shorts. Pulling it back, she stared at the puffy white rabbit tail attached between her hip and waistline.
"What's—going on?" She muttered. Her bunny ears tensed as she heard multiple conversations around them.
"Did you feel that?"
"What was that feeling?"
"I'm on fire!"
"I have a cat tail?"
"What are you?"
She flinched as she heard gunshots in the distance, and she could hear the panic in people's voices, yelling for help against aliens, and monsters; more gunfire followed. Sirens started blaring everywhere as reports flew in.
Rachel ran to the window and looked up into the sky, Cloe hesitating before joining her. There were massive rifts in space all across the atmosphere; uncountable cracks opened and closed as the heavens rippled, each one a different hue. The sky was fracturing and repairing itself hundreds of times in the span of a few seconds; lights radiated through the fissures. An even stranger detail, she could see the stars through it.
"I don't understand," Cloe mumbled, dancing back before looking at her with fright. "You're changing like—you went from normal to bunny-like—like a dozen times. Now you—wait, it's not changing anymore, and the lights … are aliens attacking us?"
Rachel shook her head, lips dry. "I don't know what's happening either. The sky—it's normal now." Only seconds after she saw it, the event passed, leaving the normal black sky to take its place as the reverberations within her ceased. "The sky—it was breaking. Bright colors were coming through the cracks..."
Cloe turned back to her laptop as she heard the screams, sirens, and shouts around her. "Umm—let me see if I can find anyone talking about it. Uh," she gave her a forced smile, "you're not playing with me, right? This isn't a joke?"
Rachel gave her an incredulous look, gesturing to the window. "How would I pull something like that off?"
"I—I don't know," she whispered, head ducking to search some sites online. "Here are some live streams … ugh, they're inside—they don't have a clue what's going on. One second…"
Rachel walked over to watch the screen, still examining herself in the mirror, within her wide visual focus area.
It took several minutes, but she managed to pull up a local news podcast that seemed to have caught onto the event; the announcer sounded frantic on the other end.
"We are getting multiple reports of people changing into monsters and displaying supernatural powers all over the city—no, this isn't a hoax … the police are in a panic, some of their own members changing before their eyes. We're getting official reports in, now. There seems to be anarchy breaking out within some neighborhoods—we urge people to stay indoors, we're not messing around—this is serious..."
Her phone vibrated, and the podcast cut out; opening it she saw:
Presidential Alert
State of Emergency Declared
All States
Stay calm—stay indoors, and if in public, proceed to a safe location. Martial Law has been instated. The Military, National Guard, Center for Disease Control, and other agencies are being mobilized. Again, stay calm and proceed to a safe location.
The reporter came back over the air. "An IPAWS message was just sent nationwide; stay indoors, and if you are out, please proceed to a safe location. We expect Police to be overwhelmed with calls. Stay safe; we might be under attack…"
He paused for a moment. "We are getting further information that the President will be making a public statement soon; the CDC, U.S. Military, National Guard, FBI, and many other agencies are also being mobilized. I repeat, the CDC is being mobilized. We will keep you aware of the situation as it unfolds. Stay indoors, and if you are out, proceed to a safe location."
Rachel's face matched her hair. "The CDC? Is this a terrorist attack ... a virus?"
Cloe jumped to her feet, took one look at Rachel with wide eyes, and ran out of the room. "I'm sorry!"
Rachel collapsed against her bed as emergency sirens went off. She listened to the chaos around her unfold, trying to cope with the panic flooding her body. She could hear cars crashing, guns firing, people shouting, and explosions, all miles around her. How is this happening?
Cloe turned back to her laptop as she heard the screams, sirens, and shouts around her, and pulled up a local news podcast; the announcer sounded frantic on the other end.
"We are getting multiple reports of people changing into monsters and displaying supernatural powers all over the city—police are in a panic, some of their own members changing before their eyes. There seems to be anarchy breaking out within some neighborhoods—we urge people to stay indoors..."
Her phone vibrated, and the podcast cut out; opening it she saw:
Presidential Alert
All States
Stay calm—stay indoors and proceed to a safe location. Martial Law has been instated. The Military, National Guard, and Center for Disease Control are being mobilized. Again, stay calm and proceed to a safe location.
The reporter came back over the air. "An IPAWS message was just sent nationwide; stay indoors, and if you are out, please proceed to a safe location. We are getting further information that the President will be making a public statement soon; the CDC, U.S. Military, and National Guard are also being mobilized. We will keep you aware of the situation as it unfolds. I repeat, stay indoors and proceed to a safe location."
Rachel's face matched her hair. "The CDC? Is this a terrorist attack ... a virus?"
Cloe jumped to her feet, took one look at Rachel with wide eyes before running out of the room. "I'm sorry!"
Rachel collapsed against her bed as she listened to the chaos around her. She could hear cars crashing, guns firing, people shouting, sirens blaring, and explosions, all miles around her. How is this happening?