Ch 4: Never Let Me Go

‘Drowning. I am drowning again, but now it's all blood. Where is Andrea?! I have to get back to her! But I can’t breathe. Where is the surface?!’

Jackie gasped awake, trembling and exhausted. Her body felt like it had been hit by a train. Her breath came in ragged gulps, her chest tightening with panic. She didn’t recognize where she was. The last thing she remembered was lying in a pool of blood, dirt clinging to her skin as she reached for her sister. But now, she was in a bed that was soft, warm, and unfamiliar. The room around her was cozy, painted a pale, serene blue. It wasn’t a hospital, and it wasn’t a jail cell. Swallowing against the dryness in her throat, she tried out her voice, remembering how it sounded so foreign the night before.

“Where the hell am I?”

A voice answered, making her nearly jump out of her skin.

“You are currently in my guest room.”

Jackie turned, eyes locking onto one of the most striking women she had ever seen. She was graceful, almost ethereal, with long golden hair braided and draped around her shoulder, and a face sculpted like a Greek goddess. But it was her eyes that held Jackie captive, one a brilliant crystal blue, the other a vivid green. Heterochromia. Just like her mother.

Realizing she had been staring with her mouth open, Jackie shook her head, feeling embarrassed, and forced herself to speak. “Why am I in your guest room? Who are you? Wait, where is my sister?!”

As she spoke, panic started to crash over her in unrelenting waves, suffocating her. Memories of Andrea, and the last time she saw her, she had been on the shore, bleeding, barely breathing.

‘No. No, no, no. I was never supposed to let her go. What is wrong with me? What is happening?’

Sensing the fear rising in Jackie, the woman placed a steadying hand on hers. “The woman we found with you? She is okay. She’s at the hospital. I can take you to her later, but we need to talk first.” Her voice was calm, but firm, and her smell was honest and comforting. “My name is Laura. And I am like you.”

Jackie’s breath hitched, her racing thoughts cut off by Laura’s comforting voice and reassuring words. But the last sentence gave her pause. “Like me? What does that mean? Why is she in the hospital, and I’m not?”

Then, like a dam breaking, the memories came flooding back. The feeling of her body contorting in agony as it shifted form. The hunger. The sheer, raw power that had overtaken her. She had transformed into something else, something monstrous. She had killed a man. So much blood. Frantic, she threw the sheets off her body and looked down at her hands, running shaking fingers over her skin, her teeth. Convincing herself it wasn’t real, and it had to be a delusion. She knew logically that people didn’t turn into monsters and rip out throats.

Laura tilted her head slightly, catlike as she watched Jackie with curiosity. “You really don’t know what you are, do you?”

“What does that mean?!” Jackie’s voice cracked as the panic surged again. She scrambled off the bed, knocking over the nightstand in her desperation to escape. Wrapping her arms around herself, she pressed her back against the wall, trying to stop the tremors. Before Laura could answer, the door swung open, and a storm of a man stepped in. He was just as devastatingly beautiful as Laura, with features similar to hers and eyes the same colors, but mirrored opposite hers. He was tall, sharply dressed, and carried an air of power. Jackie barely processed his words. Her head felt underwater again, the world slipping further away. She couldn’t catch her breath, so her following words came as a whisper, fragile and lost.

“Why am I here?”

Laura and the man exchanged a glance, an entire conversation passing between them in their silence. Then Laura spoke first, motioning to the man next to her, “This is my brother, Luke. He may look scary, but he’s really an idiot.”

Luke rolled his eyes but said nothing. Laura continued, “You’re here because it wasn’t safe for you to go to the hospital, and you don’t need treatment. You really don’t know what you are? Was that your first time transforming? That would explain why you were out for almost 36 hours.”

Jackie shook her head numbly in disbelief. She wanted to talk back, calling them crazy, but she hesitated. Focusing past the numbness, she realized her body didn’t actually hurt. She should have had a broken jaw, a broken rib, and probably a punctured lung. But there was nothing but a lingering ache, like the one she felt after an intense workout. And further down, she felt a humming power just beneath the surface. She unwrapped her arms and inspected her hands.

Laura continued, “You’ve never heard of the Nunda? The Mngwa? Félin-Garou? Werecats?”

The word Nunda sent a shiver through Jackie. A long-buried memory surfaced of her mother, furious, arguing with a striking man with an African accent. She had been so young. The memory had faded, deemed unimportant. Now, it clawed its way back.

Snapping back to the present, she said, “Werecat? Like werewolves? That can’t be real.”

At the mention of werewolves, both Laura and Luke flinched, visibly disgusted.

“We are nothing like those hounds,” Luke said, his voice smooth, the sound vibrating in Jackie’s bones. “We can control ourselves. And, not to mention, we smell much better.”

A laugh broke free from Jackie’s lips, sharp and disbelieving, bordering on manic.

‘I’ve lost it. All of this can’t be real. These people are crazy! I need to get out of here. I need to find Drea.’

“Okay,” she said, forcing confidence into her voice. “Say, I believe you. Why is this happening to me now? And how did you find us?”

Luke smirked. “You don’t know how to ask one question at a time, do you?”

His smirk stirred something in Jackie that made her want to flip him off or stick her tongue out at him. Laura shot him a look of irritation before answering. “For those who aren’t born knowing what they are, the transformation is usually triggered by a traumatic, life-threatening event. A snap. Those of us born into The Society undergo an awakening ritual that allows us to shift safely for the first time. And as for how we found you?” She hesitated. “We were tracking Dante. The Mngwa that attacked you. He’s part of a rogue faction of basic feral monsters who kill for sport. By the time we found you and your sister…” Laura’s voice softened, “you had already taken care of him for us.”

Jackie shivered. She could still feel the blood on her skin, the taste of it thick in her mouth.

“When can I see my sister? And why is she in the hospital while I’m here?”

Luke chuckled, and something in Jackie snapped.

‘This is NOT amusing.’

Before she even knew what she was doing, she lunged towards him. Luke’s smile fell as he dodged, stepping back smoothly, but she crashed through the doorway. She saw her chance to escape. As beautiful and kind as they seemed, she didn’t belong here. She wanted to get out. She sprinted for the door. Behind her, after a moment of shock, Laura and Luke ran after her. She reached for the doorknob. Laura’s strong arms wrapped around her, pinning her in place, but not hurting her. “You can’t leave until we know you won’t hurt anyone.”

“I’m not going to hurt anyone! Let me go!”

As she struggled to escape Laura’s hold, her protests died in her throat as she looked down at her hands. No, not hands, but claws. Long, curved, gleaming in the dim light, were carved into Laura’s arms. Horror slammed into Jackie, and she recoiled. “No, no, no, I, I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean–”

Laura merely sighed, cutting her off. “It’s fine. I’m going to let you go now. You promise not to run?” As Jackie silently nodded, her skin drained of color, as if she were about to be sick. Laura watched with caution and motioned to Jackie, saying, “Your eyes. That’s how we knew. They mark those with the gene. Most are born chosen and monitored now, and those born outside The Society usually never know. Forced awakenings have been outlawed for a century.” Jackie barely heard her. Her eyes locked onto Laura’s arms, watching as the wounds knit themselves back together, the bloody gashes fading into smooth, unbroken skin.

“Another trait of ours,” Laura added, noticing Jackie’s attention. She wiped away the last of the blood with a towel given to her by Luke, who stood by silent and observed Jackie. “So you can quit apologizing.”

Jackie swayed on her feet, exhaustion dragging her under again. “I need to lie down.” Luke was behind her in a flash to steady her.

Laura nodded and relaxed, knowing Jackie wouldn’t try to escape again. “Rest. We’ll talk more soon.”

Luke escorted her back to the room, gently guiding her down the hall and into the bed. Jackie curled into the mattress and pulled the sheets over her shoulders. Her mind never stopped racing. She didn’t believe it, couldn’t believe it. Despite all she saw and heard, she still felt like she had to get out of there. And before closing her eyes, welcoming sleep, she came up with a plan.