It's All About Control.
~Vallory's P.O.V.~
"Lenny, I just can't do it!" I exclaimed. I was frustrated, ever since I came back yesterday Lenny's been trying to teach me to control the turn. But I can't! Everyone can but me. Lenny sighed.
"It's because you're not listening to me," He sat me down on my bed, "Okay, do you feel that nagging feeling in the back of your mind?"
"Yeah."
"That's more or less the virus trying to take over your brain. To turn on command, you just focus on that nagging feeling. The harder part is controlling yourself once you've turned. If you're going to turn, make sure you have something or someone with you that will remind you of who you really are or that virus will take over your brain completely."
"I swear to God you are not mentally 7," I mutter.
"Hush, now c'mon. Try it, if it doesn't work I'll just turn to so you won't eat me."
"I'll try..."
I shut my eyes, putting all of my focus on the light tugging feeling at the very back of my brain. A sudden feeling of nausea flooded over my body, then I felt detached. Like I was floating in a different universe.
"Okay Val, open your eyes and look around. Focus on me, think about who I am and who I am only," A voice echoed.
My eyes opened, a low growl erupting from my throat. Food. That's the only thing I could think about. Their heartbeat was pounding in my ears, the blood rushing through their veins. Food. But wait....This feels wrong. They're not food...They're familiar. Then it flashed through my mind. A series of faces and pictures, memories? There was a tall boy with shaggy brown hair and electric blue eyes, Carl. A man with a crossbow and thin brown hair, Dad. A shorter boy with short brown hair and bright green eyes, the boy in front of me, Lenny. So many more names and faces flashed through my mind, and now I know they're not food. They're family. I cocked my head, an action that took more effort than you think, and tried saying his name, Lenny. But instead it came out as moan/groan, but he got what I meant.
"Guys! She's controlling it!" He screamed, I covered my ears and growled at him, he gave me a sheepish smile, "Sorry, forgot."
More people came rushing into the room, my brain became overwhelmed with the sounds of breathing and heartbeats. I groaned, everyone took a step back. A man took a step forward, I recognized him.. Dad.
"Can she turn back?" Dad asked Lenny.
"Dunno, let's try. C'mon Val, you can do it."
There was a small tug of defiance in the back of my mind, trying to bring me back. I stopped fighting it and I felt yet another wave of nausea hit me, then I no longer felt like I was floating. The force of gravity hit me like a wrecking ball. I lost my balance and hit the floor, then doubled over and threw up.
"That...fucking...sucked," I breathed, everyone laughed. "Now how do I stop it from happening in the first place?"
"It's all about control."
***
Sorry this was short, hope you enjoyed!