By Kimora Edwards

It began with your average game of football. Me, the twins (two guys) and a girl, Nia. We just sat on the bleachers talking like teenagers do, but because the twins were soooo dreamy, I couldn't focus on the conversation. They were tall, slender and so attractive that almost all the girls at school fell for them. Niko was sweeter than Nick, he was a chill lover boy, but they weren't the same. Nick was more of a "stay away from him he's trouble" kind of guy who seemed to have problems all to  himself. But don’t we all?

 And then there was me, a girl that always tended to have two swords attached to her back in a harness, curly black hair, about 5’3, considered short but knew martial arts. Nick always laughed and teased  me because of my harnesses. I started to feel a rumbling sensation in my stomach. Hunger. Realizing i haven't ate since yesterday morning.  I started to ask the twins if they would like to join me to find snacks. The twins decided on going and we began to take the walk. We walked down the bleachers and headed around to the back where the alley sat. You couldn't see through to the other side. It was so dim, quiet, gloomy..and who doesn't dread the unknown? But I felt okay because I was with the twins, so we kept going. I merely realized that the scenery was continuously evolving. It changed into a replica of the old apartments I used to live in 8 years ago. It was dark, very few light posts worked, and it was unsettling. I watched moths ram into the lights with persistence over and over until.. they fell with stiffness. Dead they went. We headed straight out from the alley onto a narrow path between the houses and watched a few people rush up their stairs in a hurry.  We didn't think much about anything. Maybe they were missing a show or something I laughed to myself about.

Niko touched my shoulder with a firm push, and the word "Tag" escaped from his lips in a youthful, lighthearted way. I shifted in shock then I realized he was planning on playing a game. Nick rolled his eyes as if he were in pure disgust, maybe just annoyed. Who knows what was going on in his head. That pretty  head of his. When he puffed out the air, that one adorable chocolate curl that fell between his eyes drifted up and over, as if it was in slow motion, and boy I had butterflies. Every time. He took off after Niko, going back in the opposite direction, so I ran forward cutting along the sidewalk. As I ran along the apartment park fence I noticed a noise in the bushes, but I didn't think about it. Maybe it was because the twins were playing tricks on me to scare me. So I ran into this little storage room, like a place where the mail was kept, and I hid in there with a grin.

Twenty minutes had already passed and I hadn't spotted anyone yet so I ran out of the room. To my shock, it was darker, the night was still and silent as if the world had been frozen. No one was out but the full moon and the very faint stars. A fast yet gentle breeze kisses my face, sweeping my hair to obscure my vision. I began to track my steps back to the gate of the park. And then I just stopped. Something sinister moved with persistence in the bushes. My heart began to pound in my chest. Then it crouched to the ground, and there was a sensation of dread in my stomach. Two  massive eyes the size of the baseballs glowed through the bushes and stunned me. Without making a noise, I ran past it.

I heard the intense movement in the bushes again. Then I decided to stop, and  cautiously turn around again. To my surprise, there's a large black panther behind me and it was nearly 8x the size of your average panther. I screamed, and ran as quick as I could as the panther tracked behind me. His paws penetrated into the soil lifting and destroying tiny shrubs. I feared that I was going to die. I was going to be the prey of a panther. The eyes shone brightly with a greenish yellow hue as the pupils were locked. On me.

 The ears perched up listening hard as my breathing fastened. Fur the shade of the midnight sky, so shiny and beautiful yet deadly. The teeth clenching as it was furious...with me. I started thinking as I glanced up to see we were heading for the dark long alley where the football field was standing on the other side. But I kinda had a plan. All the homes in the apartments had patios with wide gates that I could climb over and hide in. I raced faster and faster as I listened to the sound of sharp claws and heavy paws on the pavement. He was getting closer to me. I was coming closer to becoming  prey.

I spotted a  series of fences, and I knew what to do. I halted and turned to face the panther that was gaining on me. I picked up a big rock and raced to the left, away from my destination. I threw the  rock and hit between the eyes. Score i said in my head with glee then realized a panther was in front of me and all that glee washed away. Once I had distracted it, I easily jumped over the fence and crouched to the ground. My heart was pounding so fast and hard I felt as if it  was going to fly out of my chest. I froze as the beast dashed onto the gate of the patio. I could feel him getting closer to me, I could feel the tension in the air, I could feel the anxiety rising inside me.

I closed my eyes and wished that I would not be found, that it was all just a dream. It fell quiet and I thought the horrible moment was over until a squirrel shifted from branch to branch and a sharp snarl emerged. But the squirrel was distracting the panther from me. I took this opportunity to slowly but quietly jump onto the fences until I got to the alley. If I made errors that could be my life, I gathered enough confidence and proceed. I made it on the long dark wooden fence and laid low, as if I were to become one with the fence. All was fine until my leg slipped and the panther glared back at me. But I noticed that the more I stood still, the less he could see me, the less my pulse raced, the less he could sense me. The less fear he could smell. I attempted to make my way to the next fence.

Maybe I was going crazy but the creature had a… smirk as if this was a game. I got up and ran down the narrow, dark alley. I stopped again foolishly. I was worried about where we were going.. What was the reason for chasing me? I was sending the beast to school, everyone's life would be in danger. I paused to face the panther, and all my fear faded away. I had to do something. I couldn't keep running.

 I withdrew the swords from my harness, shifting cautiously around the panther. He wasn't stupid, he turned clockwise as he shifted. I shouted, so maybe the people at school could hear me, and I had my swords at hand. A fast swing and a scar emerged, saturated in blood between the eyes of the panther. But that just made him more furious. He raced closer and proceeded to pounce onto me but to my benefit, a brick wall sat tall behind me. I ran towards him and slid across the ground. CRASH!! The panther's long, fit yet lean body crashed into the bricks nearly unconscious. It shook its head back and forth after the wipe out, turned its head around and looked at me with pure rage as he hissed. Growls emerged from the pits of the massive beast stomach and that's when my fear washed over me as if the waves on a beach would.  

Footsteps emerged from the alley facing the school, and multiple students were screaming in terror as they gazed upon what made such a loud, otherworldly noise. They hesitated and fled in the opposite direction escaping the beast. The first individuals I glanced at were the twins. They didn't look how they usually looked. They had this look of utter disgust and rage written on their faces. I turned around to see what had them like this and.. it was oh yea, how could i forget this lovely night A GIANT PANTHER CHASED ME TO MY SCHOOL!!I grabbed their arms pulling with grip and with my chest I said “WE HAVE TO GO NOW!!” I tugged harder but they didn't move. They looked at each other and nodded firmly. I was puzzled as they dashed toward the panther. I yelled. “NO!” and tripped over myself as a beast like a wolf emerged. Now that thing was 10x the size of a typical wolf. It didn't include one but two heads like a hellhound, long silk like black fur that complemented the moonlight. A long tail that broke into two at the end, two large fluffy ears that stood erect and pointed, and the eyes... Oh, my, god. Each head had two main eyes, the smaller ones on the top of the head like crystals.

The creature was beautiful, but I was also terrified. My body ordered me to “Get Out of Here Now”  but I couldn't do it. I've been too focused on examining this creature. As I fired back into reality, a mega mute 2 headed wolf was going to fend off a slightly smaller mega mute panther. What a time to be alive and not mauled to death by a panther. The mega wolf charged at the panther with full force and bit into the neck. The panther’s long sharp spears for claws came out, and cut across opening the flesh of the wolf's neck as they let out a howl. My hands shot against my mouth as my heart dropped feeling the pain of the wolf. The panther charged for the wolf and I was dead behind him when the wolf slid to the side. The panther ran straight for me but I couldn't move. I closed my eyes and then.. Silence. I went unconscious.

I woke up about 20 minutes later barely opening my eyes, but I saw the wolf walking towards me. My air flow stops as I back up onto the brick wall. I look around/behind the creature to find myself puzzled yet amazed that the panther was dead. A low whine flowed from the throat of the wolf as it licked the wound  on my cheek from hitting the brick wall. I smiled weakly. The wolf stepped back and bent its head down, lifted it up all the way back and howled at the moon. Smoke appeared as smoke emerged. I covered my eyes as if I were blinded by tear gas. Once I opened them it was the twins. My jaw dropped as if it dropped to my ankles. I almost fainted until Nick caught me. The only thing I could do was “why was that so hot?”  After I literally just almost died. Anger and confusion ran through my veins at the thought of what the heck just happened. We had a talk because I needed answers fast. 45 minutes later I came to a point of understanding. Turns out no one at the school was human… not even me. I asked cautiously “What am I then?” The twins looked at each other for confirmation that they could tell me. Together their lips opened and released the words:

¨You're a-”

And i woke up clenching my chest

                            BASED ON A TRUE DREAM/STORY

P.S. 8 years ago in the same apartments, there was a man that got arrested for having illegal pets, one was a tiger cub. And noticed how i called the wolf they, because the twins merged into it!