Changes (20 page)

The night felt magnificent as he ran through the grass. The wet grass felt so wonderful between his toes. The feeling of each blade felt more than just wet, it felt cool. It felt calming. It made him feel right. They surrounded him to the point of ecstasy, and it felt so wonderful that he could almost loose himself within the feeling they gave him. The brightness of the moon overhead let him see everything with such clarity that it almost brought him into the realm of magic. He loved feeling it all, sensing it all, and being within it. The cool breeze passed by him and raked his fir, making it feel better than anything else in the world would ever possibly feel. It felt better than life itself.

Running along the sidewall of the building, he came out towards a lighted area, where the grass disappeared, and became replaced with a cold blackness that stretched out away from him towards the main road. He didn’t like seeing that blackness. It made him feel tragic. He hated how humans destroyed the green and replaced it with the black of nothingness. Stopping at the corner, where the wall turned towards the front, he looked out to the blackness, and could see him there. He was the one he wanted. He was the one that he longed to be with and start over again. He could see that he was walking with the woman. He watched them both move away from him. He watched their golden colored halos as they moved. They looked so beautiful. They looked so rich. With them, they felt prefect. Watching them, he took the chance and moved to the bushes along to his left. There he would watch and wait. He didn’t have to wait long.

The young one came back quickly and moved towards the front of the building, moved towards him, but soon turned, and headed back to the illuminated empty doors to his left. He had to get him to come to him. He needed him close. He had to get him to carry on his life.

“Jimmy?” he heard a voice come up from within him. It felt so hard to let it come out, but he had to do it. He hated the sound, but he knew that he needed to make it.

The one he wanted stopped and turned towards him. Excitement built within him as he watched him come to the bushes, and come to him.

“Come here?” The voice came again. It was working. He was coming. The halo around him blazed.

The one came to the bushes and came on the grass. He came right up in front of him and stopped. He knelt down and showed him that it was time to do this. It was time to bite.

The man came closer.

He moved fast. He moved out from the trees and bit down onto his hand. He tasted his flesh. He tasted sweet. He tasted strong. He released him just as fast.

The man backed up and screamed.

He watched him turn and leave him, holding his arm as he disappeared back inside the building.

Watching him, he breathed. It was time to go. It was time end this. It was time to move on. He could hear footfalls coming towards him from behind the wall. Their smell followed the sound, coming on the breeze. There were so many of them coming that he knew that he had to go. He had to let them find him. It was time to show himself.

He left the bushes and ran back to the corner of the building, and off in the distance, he could see the lights they carried bob as they moved. He left the corner, and ran off across the green, wet blades, moving towards the fencing that ran along the water that rushed behind the building. There, he would wait for his time to end. There, he would wait to be released. That time would come quickly, for the men with the lights came on him fast.

Surrounding him, he roared out, trying to force them to back off. The fear he caused then made them all move back. It made them wince. He could feel their hearts pound behind their chests. He could feel their breathing groan around the air. The pleasure of all of it felt so wonderful. It all felt so right to be worth his death.

They moved closer and pointed their long weapons at him as several more of them came rushing to him from out of the darkness. One of them, the one that he hated more than all the others, aimed his weapon at him and didn’t hesitate to set it off.

A loud crash blared out as a sharp flare of heat came into his back. It flushed his core with heat, and made him roar. The heat of the hit caused his body to burn from within. He screamed again, but this time the voice inside him came out stronger, until the roaring stopped and the pain disappeared. Soon, he was gone.

Jimmy woke up, covered with sweat as his heart raced hard. He was lying in his bed, on his back, and sat straight up and looked around the room. He still felt them there with him. They had to be there somewhere in the dark. When he saw an empty room, he instantly calmed, and instantly breathed.

Another fucking dream! What the hell is going on with me.
He couldn’t believe his own mind as he turned and looked to the wall towards the foot of the bed. The mirror on the closet door showed him his face. He looked soaked. He wiped at his face with the back of his hand. He took a deep breath as he pulled his feet over to the side of the bed and hung his head down low, realizing what he just thought—what he just dreamed. He let his head bury into the palms of his hands, and the thoughts of the dream already started to fade. He looked over at the clock on his nightstand and saw that it was now a little after eight. It was time to get up. It was time to get ready for work.

With heavy legs, he stood up and moved. He took only two steps when sharpness flew through his chest, and gripped his heart. Instantly, he raced both arms to his chest and wrapped his own torso, hugging himself, almost trying to keep the pain from spreading to the rest of his body. It didn’t work as the pain continued, racing from his heart to his lungs. It felt almost like all of his organs wanted to explode. The feeling continued to his back, ripped to his spine, and flared down his thighs. It all caused him to fall to the floor beside his bed. It made him collapse to his knees.

The pain increased, moving through his arms, and continued down his legs. He screamed with a heavy moan as he fell to his hands. A cracking sound came within him, as he could feel his back begin to slide under his skin. He could feel it bubble. It made him shake. It felt almost like his own skeleton was trying to force its way out from his own body. He fell to his belly, and screamed louder as his entire body shuttered from within.

The pain raced through him like streaks of lightning. The flares felt so intense that all of the air in his lungs flew out of him with one giant blast of wind. His mind disappeared as he rolled over to his back, and his feet slid under the bed. Heat shot through his skin as his entire body felt like it was on fire. He screamed again as the heat built up, and carried through his skin and flared to his mind. His thoughts raced and his heart thundered harder, and his breathing grew short. He felt instantly like he was dying. He screamed as his toes began to crack under the bed. The sound of them breaking echoed around the room. He could feel his chest begin to heave. He could feel his arms twisting as they burned from within them. The feeling of agony raced through him like water from a faucet.

He listened to himself scream. He listened to himself break. He looked up to the ceiling, and suddenly, and quite thankfully, everything stopped. The pain vanished as fast as it came. His heart calmed and all of the heat in his skin disappeared and cooled. With it all, he caught his breath.

What the hell?
He raced his hands over his bare chest, and felt his body beneath his palms. Everything now felt normal. Everything felt right again. He sat up, using the bed sheets to pull himself up into a seated position on the floor. His back cracked some, but that’s all it did. He looked to his bedroom door, and he took a deep breath.
Am I dying? Is this what it feels like to die?

Slowly, he picked himself up onto his knees. Using his right leg for balance, he stood back up to his feet. Again, his legs cracked some beneath him, but that was all they did. All of the pain seemed gone. All of the agony left. He felt normal. He felt better than ever, and again, he took a cherished breath.

Satisfied that he felt all right, he slowly moved away from the bed, and just as slowly, he made his way out into the living room. Standing in the center of the room, he turned back to the bedroom and looked back to his bed.

What just happened?
He questioned, thinking. His memory of what happened had already started to fade. In fact, he couldn’t remember what happened at all. He felt numb and completely out of place. Nothing was there, but he knew that something should have been.
What was I going to do?
He stepped over to his sofa and stopped by its arm. He reached for it, took the top of it with both hands, and gripped it firmly.
What was I doing?
He looked to the bay window and found his mind still blank.
Am I losing my mind?
He didn’t know. He knew he should have, but he didn’t. He couldn’t think straight, and with it all, he sighed. He shook his head, and looked back to the kitchen. He felt completely fine. He felt more than just normal, he better than ever. There couldn’t be anything wrong with him. He would feel it, wouldn’t he?

He didn’t think so, so he turned and walked into the kitchen, and made his way to the refrigerator with a solid stride in his steps. The only thing he felt was hungry, so he opened the door and immediately began the search for food. Then he would get ready. Then he would head off back to work.

He made his way to work with his mind still in a haze, and nothing else on his thoughts. During the drive, he could think of only one thing and only one thing only. He couldn’t wait to see her again. He couldn’t wait to be by her side. He couldn’t wait to smell her scent. He couldn’t wait to hear her voice. It seemed like days had passed since he stood with her. It seemed like an eternity. He didn’t know how much more he could stand it, not being with her. He had to do it. He had to quench his thirst for her.

Pulling into the parking lot, he found a space just at the back of one of the vans and parked. He stood out, bringing his thermos with him, and closed the door. All around him, the air felt cool, and the wind seemed calm. The nearly full moon looked bright overhead. He looked up to it, watching it glow. It looked almost like it sparkled back to him with glee. It looked so beautiful. It looked so nice. Walking across the parking lot, he made it to the sidewalk in no time flat. He made it to the front glass double doors with a skip in his step. He had nothing but a general sense of wandering in his thoughts as he walked inside.

Pat gave him the full rundown of everything that happened during the day. When he finished, he left.

He waited for him to cross the parking lot, before he took his chair behind the counter. He set his thermos down behind him, and now, all he had to do was to wait for the first hour to go by to start his tour. Then, he would go and see her. Then, he would go and smell her again. He couldn’t contain the excitement that he felt by just having that one simple thought alone. He could almost feel it coming out from his very own soul.

Twelve o’clock came so fast that when he saw the time, it almost knocked him out of the chair. He felt so excited to start. Quickly, he stood up, grabbed the wand, and put it in the back pocket of his pants. He grabbed the radio and clipped it to his belt. He took a very deep breath, and felt ready. It was time.

He left the counter and headed for the stairs, and went up them without another thought about anything else. After hitting the first chip, he hurried along his way, made it down the hallway and headed for the entrance to the labs. Nothing else seemed to matter. He made it through the tour in record time.

Reaching the entrance to the labs, he used his access card to go through the double doors and went inside. He was almost there. He was almost to her.

Making it down the hallway, he felt like he was a small boy all over again. The excitement felt unbearable, and it seemed very hard to control. When he reached her lab, he stopped. The door was closed and the only window in the center of the door looked dark, telling him that she obviously wasn’t there.
Where the hell is she?
He sighed.
Maybe she forgot?
He had to think, but it was hard to do.
This wasn’t like her. She wouldn’t forget.
He knew that, so there for, there had to be a reason for it. He knew what she felt for him. He could feel it. She seemed excited to see him again. She felt excited to help him too. He was her answer for everything. He was what she was looking for.
She’s not here yet.
That had to be it. Nothing else made any sense, so he breathed. He relaxed. He turned.

A heavy odor came to him almost all at once. The smell of mustiness came heavy in the air. It smelled masculine, but it also had differences to it. He could also tell that it was coming from the hallway back towards the entrance to the labs. It smelled strong, and smelled intense. There were several of them in fact, and they seemed to be all coming towards him. He recognized their stench. He knew them all too well.

He ducked away from the door and headed to the next intersection, and there, he turned to the corner, and put his back to the wall.
They can’t see me here. They can’t see me with her.
He had to protect her. He had to try. Slowly, he turned back and peered around the corner, and looked down the hallway, but saw no one there. However, he didn’t believe what he saw. He knew they were still coming. He could smell them all coming closer, moving towards him with a steady stride.

“I know you’re there freak.” Gary came to the door of Rachel’s lab, and stopped. He looked towards the next intersection and smiled. He knew he was there. “There’s no reason to hide.” He mocked him. He enjoyed it. He felt like he had a new toy, and he couldn’t wait to play with it.

Jimmy heard him and slid back to the hallway’s wall, when he noticed a new scent now coming from his right. This one smelled different, but it did smell like a man. He also knew the smell.

Sure enough, a man turned the corner, and seeing him there along the wall, he came right at him with a steady stride in his walk.

Seeing him, he left the wall, walked back out into the intersection, and turned to the smell. He didn’t know what to think. He couldn’t breathe. He didn’t know why they were coming for him, but he just knew they were. He could smell it. He could feel it. It felt intense. It seemed instinctive. It felt powerful.

The man came to him with a smile on his face. He had determination in his eyes. He could hear his heart pounding in his chest, and could almost hear the man’s blood flowing through his veins.

He didn’t like this. He hated the sounds. He hated the smells.
He’s coming for me.
His mind now raced and his thoughts became ragged. He turned back around as a laugh came from behind him, and it made him jump. He blinked when he turned.

“Hi there freak.” Gary turned the corner. He saw him in the center of the hallway, and smiled. He even gave him a wink.

Jimmy turned and saw the blonde haired bastard approaching him, and sighed.
He knows.
He winced. He watched him pass Rachel’s lab door. He could see it on his face. He could see it in his eyes. He could hear it in his voice.
He knows about me. He knows about us.

“You really thought that we wouldn’t find out, did you freak?” Gary moved closer, but kept his mind focused on what they had to do. He had to stay cautious. He had to be ready for anything. These things were so hard to judge. These freaks were hard to anticipate. He knew that he couldn’t take the chance to drop his guard.

“What do you want with me?” Jimmy asked, looking from the blonde haired man, and back to the other man coming from the opposite hallway towards him. He turned, looked to the other hallway on his left, and saw another two men now coming towards him from behind him. Seeing all of them only made his heart race faster, and his breathing picked up pace. His mind shot with fear, and his cheeks flared with heat. He could feel his palms grow damp, and now he wanted to run. Now he knew that he had to get away.

Gary laughed, watching his fear begin to bubble up to the surface of his face. He reached to his belt for the gun that he brought along with him, and grabbed it tightly in his hand. He didn’t want to use it, and feeling the plastic of its handle, only added to that feeling. After all, he only wanted to kill him, as he did with the other one, not stun him like Ross wanted him to do with this one. “You really don’t get what you are do you?” He laughed, brought up the plastic tranquilizer gun in front of him, and took quick aim.

Jimmy saw it and his mind flashed. His legs burned. The need to run blazed through him like thunder. He turned away from Gary. A popping sound came out from behind him just as he took one-step. A pricking feeling came to his back just after the sound. Instantly, his mind went numb almost at once. He grew dizzy as he reached for the wall, fell towards it with both hands, and hit it with a solid thud.

“You freaks are all the same.” Gary lowered the gun back to his hip. Now all he had to do was sit back and wait. The tranquilizer will work fast. It always did.

Jimmy felt his mouth go dry and his world turn upside down. The floor came up on him so fast that his feet gave out and he fell to the floor with a loud hollow thud. Before he knew what really happened, he was now on his back, looking up to the ceiling above him. He could feel his eyes slowly haze over and his mind begin to fade. Seeing the lights along the ceiling, he watched as the darkness came. He passed out fast. He didn’t have a chance.

Gary watched him hit the floor. He loved what he saw. Pride swelled up in his chest. Now down, he moved over him and looked at his face. “Always trying to run huh?” He laughed. Satisfied, seeing him unconscious, he looked back up to the others with him. “Get him to the shelter. Strap him solidly to the bed.” He took a deep breath. “This one won’t get away this time.” He sighed. Everything felt done.