“Wha - how do you know my name? Are you some kind of stalker or something?” I sputtered. The woman said nothing and simply took a step forward. “This is private property, so that means you’re trespassing, you know,” I tried again. “And what’s with that Halloween costume?”
The intruder frowned, and suddenly, in a silent instant, she crossed the 10 feet or so between us, and was now holding one of her black claws beneath my chin, threatening to stab my throat.
“You’re in denial, Nate,” she hissed. “It’s not an uncommon response, but it is rather annoying.”
I felt a rush of - adrenaline, I guess? - I wasn’t quite sure how to describe it. I managed to back off, almost as fast as she had approached me, and held my hands up in a defensive posture. My hands which, I noticed, now ended in similar claws to hers. I felt the familiar sensation of sharp fangs filling my mouth right afterwards.
The woman laughed. “It’s always so fascinating to see how they react when they first learn the truth.”
“What - what is this…” I could only whisper.
“Surely you’ve heard that your body was going to go through some changes during puberty,” she said.
“Yeah, but not like this!” I objected, still staring at the claws that had replaced my fingernails, as if I could somehow convince myself that they weren’t real.
“I’ve been watching you for a while now, Nate,” she grinned, taking another step towards me, completely unafraid.
“Who are you?” I asked, my fear intensifying.
“I’m someone like you,” she replied, grinning to expose a mouth full of sharp teeth. “You know you’ve always been different from normal humans, don’t deny it. You should be thankful to finally meet another one of your people.”
“Are you saying I’m not human?” I asked. I was still in disbelief over this whole thing, but I figured that it couldn’t hurt to ask questions.
“Oh no, we’re both still human,” she explained, an amused look in her eyes. “We’re just humans who… evolved differently. A subspecies, you could say.”
“But - but my mom and dad are normal! And I’m sure I’m not adopted…” In truth, I wasn’t completely sure of that, but I was desperate to hold onto any last scrap of hope that this whole thing was some kind of misunderstanding.
“Do you know what an atavism is, Nate?” the woman asked.
“Um…” I had heard the word before, probably in science class, but I couldn’t recall its meaning, except that it vaguely had something to do with biology.
“It’s when an ancestral genetic trait resurfaces in a child, after many generations of dormancy. Your parents are indeed “normal”, but their combination of genes and a series of specific mutations just happened to make you turn out this way,” she explained.
“W-what way?” I asked the question that I had been avoiding up until now. “What am I - are we?”
“We have several names for ourselves,” she began, smiling with the knowledge that I was finally willing to listen. “Predators, Carnivores, Nocturnals… we have coexisted with our prey for tens of thousands of years, at least… their legends of monsters like vampires, werewolves, and demons partially originate from encounters with us. We used to be more plentiful, but the atavism seems to be growing ever rarer these days. It seems to affect no more than one in every ten million human births.”
“And you just happened to find me, a one - in - ten - million chance?” I asked, trying to poke holes in her story.
“As I said, I have been watching you. We have a certain ability to sense each others’ presence… it’s vague at first, but it can be developed and honed over time. I’m here to welcome you into your new life, and help you adjust.”
“I prefer my old life, thank you very much…” I muttered.
“Foolish. We’re not meant to live among human society. They’re our prey. You’ve already killed one, and more are sure to follow. You need to be with people who can actually understand you, and properly teach you to manage your… talents. As you grow older, your predatory traits will only become more pronounced. You won’t be able to control your insatiable thirst for blood. A few years from now, raw meat will be the only type of food your body will even be able to digest.”
“So I’ll eat raw steaks and sushi,” I shouted. “I’m not going off to live in the woods with a bunch of crazy monsters like you!”
“You don’t have to live in the wilderness, Nate,” she said. “Many of us live in abandoned buildings, on the outskirts of towns or in run-down areas of human cities. We don’t fit in human society, but we need to be close to them, to ensure that we can feed.”
“I’m not going to go around eating people!”
“Yes you will, Nate. It’s in your nature. You can’t deny it any more than a fish can refuse to swim. After a while, you’ll get used to it. Killing and eating humans will seem normal to you. You’ll even enjoy the thrill of the hunt, I guarantee it. Leaping up a rung on the food chain is a good deal. Didn’t you enjoy finally dealing with that Ransom boy who had been tormenting you for so long?”
“I-“ I hesitated. As much as I hated to admit it, it had felt good to see that Cliff was dead. I had absolutely hated him. I knew, from an intellectual standpoint, that I should have been horrified, and that I shouldn’t have wished death on anyone, but seeing Cliff’s mangled corpse had instead triggered a feeling of satisfaction in me, one I could no longer deny. But still, I wasn’t about to give in to this woman.
“Maybe I am glad he’s dead! But he was an asshole. I don’t want to kill anyone else. I love my parents, and I have friends at school… if you think I’m going to treat them as food, you’re insane!”
She laughed again, softly this time. “You young ones always start out this way, so sentimentally attached to your prey families and friends. But it won’t be long before you see them all as nothing more than potential meals. For your own good, it’s usually best to sever that emotional connection as early as possible.”
“W-what do you mean?” I stammered. The expression on the monster woman’s face had settled into a twisted grin.
“It’s quite simple,” she said. “You won’t long to return to your parents if they’re not around anymore.”
And with that, she turned toward the house, and, practically faster than I could blink, opened the back screen door and slipped inside.