After escaping the park, Jayden felt too unsettled to go straight home. Instead, he wandered toward the lake—a familiar refuge that had always seemed to clear his mind and calm his nerves. He had a habit of coming here whenever life felt too heavy, and tonight was no exception. The last thing he wanted was to worry his mom, the only person he loved. He cared deeply for her, and letting her see him like this wasn't an option.
As he crossed the grassy path leading to the lake, Jayden noticed an odd tingling sensation beneath his feet. Curious and hoping to ground himself, he kicked off his boots, hooked them over two fingers, and began walking barefoot. The cool earth usually soothed him, but tonight felt different. An unsettling heaviness weighed on his head, and his muscles ached as though gripped by fever. He brushed it off, stubbornly continuing down the path.
Above him, the moon seemed larger and brighter than he'd ever seen. Its glow flooded the landscape, casting silvery beams across his path and drawing his gaze upward, as if beckoning him closer. As he neared the water, the air grew hauntingly still, increasing the tension creeping through his body. When he was just ten feet from the lake's edge, his vision started to blur, his head pounding with dizzying intensity. His knees buckled, and he collapsed onto the damp ground.
Clutching his temples, Jayden squeezed his eyes shut as a piercing whistle pierced through his mind, loud enough to drown out his thoughts. Desperately, he opened his eyes, but everything swayed and doubled in his vision. The world around him seemed to spin, the once-stable ground slipping out from under him. He looked up at the moon, which now seemed to pulse with each wave of pain, until the agony became unbearable. Unable to fight it anymore, Jayden slumped forward, surrendering to the darkness.
In this strange darkness, he began to dream—or so he thought. He found himself surrounded by a sickly warmth and opened his eyes to a horrific sight. He was standing over a pile of flesh, a mass of scattered, torn remains, with just head and arms remaining, but all he sensed was a thick with the scent of decay. Nearby, something grunted, low and guttural. He whipped his head around, but there was no one to be seen. Heart racing, he took a step back, and his foot hit something solid.
When he looked down, he felt his stomach twist in horror. Beneath him lay Felix, he was lying in the same position he died in. But Felix's body was torn, his flesh ripped apart and scattered in pieces around his corpse, leaving him in a grotesque mockery of the position he'd died in.
Jayden jolted awake, a wave of disorientation hitting him like a punch. The dim morning light filtered in, and he found himself lying on the cold, hard ground in his own room, confused. His head was pounding, but not with the same intensity as before. Slowly, he sat up, blinking as he tried to shake off the fog of sleep. It took a few moments for him to notice something strange—his clothes were torn, shredded beyond repair. But he wasn't fully exposed; scraps of fabric still clung to him, as though he'd been through some kind of violent transformation.
He pulled himself up, feeling every ache and strain in his muscles. Stumbling to the bathroom, Jayden glanced at himself in the mirror—and instantly froze, his pulse racing. His mouth was stained with dark, dried blood, stretching down to his chin, staining his skin with rusty streaks. His heart pounded as he moved closer, tilting his head to inspect the horror before him.
A sharp, throbbing pain radiated from his gums, and when he opened his mouth, he saw them: two long, razor-sharp fangs protruding just in front of his canines. His jaw felt sore, as if these fangs had forced themselves out in the night.
Then he saw his hair—no longer the white he was used to. It was brown, a caramel like brown, and slightly longer than it had been the day before. A wave of panic flooded through him. His chest felt tight, his breath came in shallow gasps, and his hands were trembling. He could hear his mother's voice in his mind, urging him to breathe deeply whenever he felt overwhelmed.
Taking a shaky breath in through his nose, he exhaled slowly through his mouth, hoping to steady himself. The technique worked, but as he looked back into the mirror, he caught a glimpse of something strange: his eyes. They were glowing a vivid green.
Jayden, startled, splashed water on his face, desperate to shake the vision away. The coolness of the water stung his skin, but when he looked again, his reflection seemed...normal. His teeth, now entirely human, revealed nothing out of the ordinary. His eyes were no longer glowing, and his hair seemed only slightly darker. But the image of those fangs and green eyes haunted him.
"What...what happened to me?" he whispered, his voice barely audible. Fear gripped him as fragments of memories flashed in his mind—images he couldn't piece together but left him with a sense of dread. He was almost certain he had done something awful, something he couldn't undo. It wasn't just the blood or his changed appearance; it was the heavy feeling in his gut. He remembered killing Felix, but there was something else he had done, something unspeakable, but it was hidden, shrouded in his fractured memories.
He quickly scrubbed the blood off his face and tried to clean up, though his torn clothes were beyond saving. He had no time to wash them, no time to linger; if he showed up late, it would raise too many questions. He bundled the clothes, shoved them into a plastic bag, and stuffed it deep into the trash can, burying the evidence. After a hurried wash, he popped some mint candies into his mouth, hoping to mask any trace of the strange, metallic taste lingering there.
His mom had made breakfast, the smell filling the kitchen, but he had no appetite. She didn't press him when he declined, though her eyes lingered on him with slight suspicion. "Nice hair color!" she said with a smile, clearly noticing the change.
Jayden forced a smile back, feeling like a stranger in his own skin. He muttered a quick goodbye and hurried out the door, questions pounding in his mind, and the haunting certainty that this was only the beginning.Jayden's mind was a storm of images and memories as he walked to school, barely aware of his surroundings. The scene from last night replayed over and over, haunting him. He hadn't even realized how quickly he'd arrived until he looked up and saw the familiar school building looming ahead. But today, it looked different—police cars surrounded the entrance, their lights flashing, increasing tension. He felt a chill creep up his spine. This was about Felix. Deep down, he'd known he couldn't escape the consequences, yet seeing it unfold before him brought a wave of dread.
As he got closer, he overheard fragments of conversations, students whispering in shock and fear. Felix's body had been found, but it was unlike anything anyone expected. His lower half was missing, and the rest of him was horrifically torn, as though by some wild animal. The police presence wasn't for investigation alone; they were there to reassure the students, to show they were safe from whatever creature had done this.
Rumors spread quickly. Someone claimed to have seen a massive, wild bear sprinting from the woods nearby. In a town this small, with the dense forest so close, sightings of wildlife weren't unheard of. People from the city loved to camp in the woods, and stories of animal encounters were common. But this... this was different. This was brutal.
In the school canteen, Benjamin was positively joyful. When all four friends gathered at their usual table, he couldn't hide his excitement. "It's like a miracle!" he exclaimed with a wide grin. "God's on our side!"
Ivy shot him a glare and whispered urgently, "Keep it down, idiot!" They were safe for now, the blame falling squarely on a bear. But Jayden was struggling to find comfort in their luck. His mind kept flashing back to his bloodstained clothes. No bear had done that.
His friends, sensing his unease, tried everything to lift his spirits. They cracked jokes, poked fun at each other, talked about anything they could think of to pull him out of his dark thoughts. But Jayden barely responded, a heavy silence hanging over him. They had no idea that it wasn't just his mood that had changed—something deeper, something in his heart, had shifted. The memory of Felix's death felt like a weight he couldn't shake, and all he could think about was the punishment he felt he deserved.
In a last-ditch effort, his friends suggested a bonfire party. "Come on, Jayden, you need to unwind!" Ivy insisted. "This'll be good for all of us."
"Fine!" With irritation, Jayden threw his hands up.
That evening, they gathered at their favorite spot on the edge of the woods, where the trees cast long shadows in the fading light. They had everything ready: drinks, loudspeakers, and laughter, trying to drown out the memory of what happened. The crackling of the bonfire filled the air, and their laughter echoed through the trees, but for Jayden, the dark forest around them felt like it was watching, waiting.
Before this bonfire, Ivy and Jayden had hooked up a few times, usually after they'd had too much to drink. Though they weren't in a relationship, their chemistry flared up in those hazy, drunken moments. But lately, Jayden had noticed Benjamin trying to get Ivy's attention, throwing compliments her way and always eager to be near her. Tonight, under the low glow of the fire, Jayden watched as Benjamin and Ivy swayed to the music, both of them tipsy and laughing, lost in the rhythm together.
Jayden was about to look away when he caught the gaze of a girl across the fire. She was smiling, her eyes fixed on him, her friends giggling behind her. Feeling a glimmer of confidence, he gave her a small smile back and walked over, leaving his friends behind. The girl's smile widened, and soon they were dancing, her soft voice barely audible over the music. When she said something he didn't quite catch, he leaned in. "I love this song," she repeated a little louder, a playful sparkle in her eyes.
They talked for a while, and with each sip of his drink, Jayden felt a bit of the weight from yesterday lift. For the first time all night, he felt normal, even happy. But just then, a loud rustle came from behind the trees, and someone leapt out with a roar. The girl dancing with him, started, stumbling back in terror. Jayden turned and saw Benjamin wearing a bear mask, stumbling out from the shadows with a triumphant laugh.
"Benjamin, what's your problem?" Jayden shouted, stepping toward him as the girl backed away, trembling.
With a grin, Benjamin yanked off the mask and swung it playfully in his hand. "I'm Felix! Roar! Oh no, this bear is eating me!" He chuckled, throwing his arms up dramatically. But to Jayden, the joke wasn't funny. It was cruel, sickening, a slap in the face of everything he'd been trying to bury.
"I said shut your mouth!" Jayden's voice was cold, and before he knew it, his hands were around Benjamin's throat, shoving him back against a tree with all his strength. His grip tightened, and he could feel Benjamin's pulse racing beneath his fingers, his gasps getting weaker. Jayden's heart pounded, his thoughts swirling with flashes of Felix's face, Felix's fear. He wanted to squeeze harder, wanted Benjamin to feel that same terror, that same helplessness.
"Jayden, let go!" Ivy's voice broke through the haze, and she shoved him, forcing him back. He blinked, releasing Benjamin, who fell to his knees, gasping for air. Around him, his friends were staring, wide-eyed and speechless. The girl he'd been dancing with looked horrified, inching backward, her face pale.
Without a word, Jayden grabbed his jacket, threw it over his shoulder, and walked away from the fire and his friends, unable to bear their stares.
He was scared—not of them, but of himself. The rage that had surged through him, the twisted satisfaction he'd felt in Benjamin's struggle for air—it was monstrous. He hated himself for feeling that, hated how much he'd wanted to keep going, to see Benjamin crumble under his grip, to hear that final gasp. The worst part was, a small part of him had savored it. And he couldn't shake the thought that the person he'd become was something darker than he ever imagined.