RONI
I woke up with a heavy breathing. I am in a cage-like room that is made up of bamboo trees and some strings. I am lying on the cold ground since last night and I have no exact idea where I am but I'm pretty sure that I am in the werewolf lair. I was oblivious as to why they didn't kill me nor have eaten me yet. Are they waiting for something? I glanced on the other side and saw how the dawn breaks, making the sky into a crimson shade. The place is almost deserted unlike when I arrived here last night. I was so shocked when I saw how greatly outnumbered my team is from the pack of werewolves which is also a wonder for me as to how they managed to multiply in a short amount of time. Some of them have the red collars with the names of the test subjects but I didn't see the female alpha, the male alpha and the kid werewolf. They didn't harm me but they keep on looking at me as if they're communicating towards each other.
Later after I was put in a cage, I passed out. But today, I noticed that I wasn't alone. There are five more cages across the room and they are all teenage girls who were about to die of dehydration. I tried to talk to them but no one dared to look at me. I sighed before looking around the cage. It is daylight and werewolves cannot go out without a moon. They should be below us, below the stairs on the right probably sleeping. I stood up slowly and reached my hand out to the spaces between the bamboos and tried to get the bamboo stick above me. I jumped but to no attempt. I decided to look around for something else and when I saw my phone on the far left, I grabbed the bamboo stick again. On my fifth jump, I successfully got the stick but I landed on my butt. I grimaced before standing up. One of the girls stare at me intently when I tried to use the stick to reach my phone. I pulled the phone even though it was so hard to. I grunted and tried to extend my arm as long as I can. When the stick hit the phone, I pulled it. And a few moments later, I successfully picked it. I tried to turn it on but it didn't. The battery might be dead. I sighed before leaning on the bamboo rails. I wish my friends made it back to California safely. I hope Jack is fine.
"Hey." Someone called. I looked around and saw one of the girls staring at me with hopeful eyes. I stood up and moved closer to the other side of the cage. She stood up too and carefully looked around us, making sure no one's watching us. "Where are you from?" She asked. "I'm from Mount View." I answered. Her forehead creased but she immediately fished a phone out of her dress.
"My phone is dead but I've been counting my days here. I arrived last month and these other girls came after three days. You were the first after that." She muttered with a low voice. She's been here for a month yet she looks perfectly okay to me, the same way as the other girls do. So there's a possibility that I will be here for a long time. But for what reason? Why are they keeping us imprisoned?
"My name is Alexis by the way. And you are?" She introduced. I smiled before nodding my head. "I'm Roni." I said. She then smiled at me weakly before she decided to sit. That's when I noticed her wounds and some blood stains on her dress. She doesn't appear to be in pain but by the looks of it, she needs to get her wounds cured.
"Are you alone when they caught you?" She asked with a menacing look. It gives me chills and it looks creepy to me but I decided to shrug the thought off. I sat down and rolled up the sleeve of my shirt to check my bleeding arm. I wasn't paying much attention to it awhile ago but now it stings a little. I nodded without looking at her. I was alone when they caught me. My friends didn't make it in time but that's what I wanted. "Do you think we'll ever escape?" she asked, quietly. I shook my head slowly. There's no assurance that we can escape. There's no possibility even that we'll stay alive for a longer time. "I'm sorry for asking you so many questions. I should sleep." She whispered before turning her back against me and lied down on the cold ground.
I sighed before doing the same thing. I lied against my back and looked up at the sky. The clear sky paved the way for the rays of the sun to shine brightly. It was a breathtaking view. And I hope nothing more than this before dying. Peaceful scenery amidst the treacherous reality. I closed my eyes and recalled the memories I have kept, the memories that I will always cherish even when I die.
"Do you think it's her?" Someone murmurs. My forehead creased when I heard it but I refused to lend my ears to them. They might be talking about someone and it doesn't concern me. "I think so. I noticed how they looked at her last night. She must be her." A sharp voice muttered. I turned to the other side and tried so hard to ignore their conversation but something caught my attention. I am curious as to what they are talking about.
"If it is her then I think we can finally be set free. That's what they were up to for the last few weeks. Finding the girl who can turn them back." I opened my eyes and slowly sat up. I turned to them and saw three girls talking to each other with their stares set on me. As soon as they saw me staring back at them, they bowed their head down and averted their gazes. They also stopped talking as if they were caught red-handed.
"Can I help you?" I asked without a hint of interest. My eyebrows rose on their own and the girls were taken aback by it. "Are you Veronica?" The girl on the right asked. She looks so young and innocent yet her hands were stained with blood. "Why do you ask?" Now my curiosity is digging up their sleeves. I don't remember seeing these girls so how did they know me? Are they from Mount View too?
"Nothing." The one with the auburn hair muttered nonchalantly after she raised her right brow at me. I sighed before turning around. If they won't tell me anything then its best if I don't tell them who really I am. I spend the entire day sleeping or spacing out. My stomach growled but there's no food around. The girls were also quiet the whole time and even though they all seem hungry, they didn't say anything.
"Roni." Jack called. I opened my eyes and the sun immediately blinded me. I rose from the ground and found myself alone. The girls are nowhere to be found. The cages were empty without any hint to where they are. The strings aren't forcefully opened so there's no way they tried to escape. "Rise and shine, Veronica." I looked over my shoulder and my eyes widened in disbelief as she walks slowly until she reached my cage. Her expressionless face is now filled with humor and mixed emotions. "You're much of an early bird than I thought." She murmured to herself but I heard it all.
"Luna." I muttered, horrified. I can't believe this. She's here right in front of me with a normal human form. I creased my forehead and examined her closely. "Surprise?" She muttered with a laugh.
"How did you...." My voice trailed off when she laughs again and this time, its way more villainous. It gave me chills. "How did I turn to human again?" She guessed. "I'm sure you can figure it out. I expect nothing less from a Stanford standout." Luna held on the bamboo bars and scrutinizes every inch of my body before smirking. She shook her head after. She then fished out a syringe on the side pocket of her coat.
"Now, do me a favor." She whispered.
Luna forcefully grabbed my arm and with her superhuman strength, I was pulled forward with an impact that made me dizzy. I grimaced when I felt an ant bite on my arm. I tried to pull my arm back but her hands were so firm and strong and before I knew it, she successfully injected me a green liquid.
"What did you do?" I demanded. "I injected you my blood and I'm sure a few moments later, you'll start feeling the agonizing pain I had felt when I was on that lab." She answered monotonously like it's no big deal. I shook my head and touched my arm. "Don't worry, you're not going to transform into a werewolf. You'll just turn into a monster." She whispered to my ear before leaving. She laughed again that even if she's already away, I can still her voice echoing.
"No." I whispered before my tears start to fall. My vision started to blur and my body felt numbed like all of my strength has been robbed. I leaned on the cage and pulled my knees to my chest. "Oh. One more thing." Luna returned and though I am too weak to even look up, I forced myself to look at her. The grin that was plastered on her face didn't leave and I felt the familiar swirling or my blood from my stomach. I want to throw up, not until she's gone. "I think this is yours." She put a ring on the ground and when I saw the diamond on it, I cried harder. Luna laughed like a lunatic before standing up. I reached out for it and hold it tightly.
"Where is Jack? What did you do?" I screamed before slamming by body against the cage railing but to no avail, I was pushed backwards. Luna gives out a mocking laugh before she hummed to herself and walked away.
Jack failed and Luna found them before they can even escape. I closed my eyes and lied to the ground while weeping. They're all gone. They're all dead and that is because of me. It is all my fault. I did this to them. My sacrifice isn't worth it and what's worse, I tracked and led the pack to me without thinking about the possibility that one or two werewolves will stay and hunt them down. There's also a possibility that the other test subjects can transform back to human, given that they have the same potential as Luna. It also bothers me as to why she bit me without ripping me to shreds. What is she going to do with me? And she said I'll be a monster. I covered my face with my hands and screamed my heart out. This all so frustratingly painful. I don't think I can hold on so much longer.
"AWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
My eyes immediately sprung open when I heard a howl. I sat up and noticed that the moon is up and is nighttime already. The darkness is too vast but there's a lit wood fire beside the huge pillar on the side. That's when I just noticed that there's a stone cave that goes under. A pack of werewolves surround a huge bonfire at the entrance of the cave. There are at least forty of them. They managed to produce more and as to why, that I need to find out from Luna. Speaking of her, she's sitting at a throne-like chair made of bamboo sticks and on her right sat the male alpha.
"The time has come." Luna muttered and their howls and grunts immediately died down. Some of them bowed their heads when she stood up. "The time has come for us to resurface towards the main reason why we're treated as lab rats." She spat. She then pointed to where I am and all of them turned in a blink of an eye. A shiver ran through my body and I felt bile rises from my throat. Their gazes were intense and I felt their raging agony towards me. "We are all going to land a blow to humanity, especially at the Antigen Facility. Tomorrow, before the blood moon stops, we'll battle out." She uttered with complete confidence. She then turned to me before smirking and her eye color changed. "She is none other than the person you've wanted to meet ever since." Luna gestured at someone. And then a blinding light was lit at my direction. I closed my eyes for a brief moment.
"Dr. Veronica Jane Heartfillia."
As soon as Luna said my name, I heard a rumbling sound and the ground at my feet shakes. I opened my eyes and saw the pack running towards my direction. My heartbeat doubled as I tried to move backwards, away from the sharp fangs they're bearing at me. I yelped in pain when one caught my arm and it left a bleeding claw mark after I successfully got away. I pushed myself to the far end corner of the cage and slowly hugged my knees to myself. I covered my ears when they growled simultaneously while grabbing the bamboo rails, trying to get near me.
"Go away." I shouted and closed my eyes again. And amidst the fleeting moment, I can still remember how they bear their sharp claws and fangs at me even though I closed my eyes and thought of mind over matter but to no avail. "No! Go away!" I screamed louder this time and surprisingly, the noise died down and all I heard is my own breathing. I slowly opened my eyes and the werewolves are gone. I stood up and walked near the rail again despite my heavy legs and shaking hands. I swallowed hard and searched the surroundings but no one's there. It's like they just vanished into thin air. The other cages look empty.
I took a deep breath and wiped my tears before walking backwards. When I turned my heel, I bumped into someone. My forehead creased and the familiar fast heart rate overwhelmed my whole body once more. I can it breathing behind me and the tingling sensation hit my neck. With a silent cry and unsteady movements, I turned round only to scream in horror. It immediately grabbed my neck and lifted me off the ground. I kicked my feet and tapped the hand but to no avail. I coughed and grasped for air as I feel my lung's slowly running out of oxygen. I kicked my right foot and it reached the head. It made a low tug sound as the grip on my neck loosened. I fell back to the hard ground and I winced when my back hit first. I coughed and steadied my breathing as I crawl.
"I've forgotten how you're flexible. I underestimated the captain of the cheerleading squad." She said before grabbed me again and this time I flew to the other side. My head hit the bamboo sticks before falling to the ground again. I grimaced and tears fell down on my face. I tried to crawl but my left calve is aching and bleeding. Her sharp claws got me before I could move away. She lifted me off the ground. I can feel a hot liquid gushing from my head to my face and my sigh blurs. I didn't try to escape, there's no point in doing so.
"Any last words?" She uttered before tightening her grip around my neck. I winced before slowly averted my gaze to her. I gasped for air and then smiled at her after. I raised my hand slowly and cupped her face. "Did you feel this pain too?" I whispered. "I'm sorry for everything. I hope you'll forgive me." She clenched her jaw before growling at me. I closed my eyes and shook my head slowly before opening them again. Her eyes were a perfect mirror of mine and I'm sure she understands how I feel.
"Jack loves you." I muttered without sounding bitter. I flashed the genuine smile she always loves about me. I lifted my other hand and cupped her other face. I saw something sparkle in her face but I shook my head. I don't want her to cry.
"I may not—." I paused and gasped for air but I couldn't. I swallowed hard before letting her face go. "I may not always say this but I love you. I am thankful to have you as my best friend." I uttered amidst the excruciating pain in my chest.
"Goodbye, Lauren."