THE AWAKENING

Cassidy couldn’t escape the feeling she was being watched.
And it wasn’t the first time she’d felt this way.
A shiver of apprehension crawled up her spine and rattled her skull as she hurriedly walked home. The walking path was
illuminated by the barest of street lamps — budget cuts within the city had eliminated bulb replacement — and it was her bad
luck that she didn’t own a car and so had to walk home from the university.
Normally, she enjoyed the time to herself to walk home. But lately, she couldn’t shake the feeling that eyes were on her, watching
her every move.
Of course, the dreams didn’t help either.
For the past week, she’d woken out of a deep, almost drugged sleep, sweat-soaked and achy as if eaten by a fever, and oddly,
aroused.
It was disconcerting and a bit embarrassing considering the men in her dreams weren’t exactly men but more like beasts.
Thank God she lived alone. She’d hate to have to explain her behavior when she didn’t have a clue what was going on with her
body or her mind.
The bite in the air signaled snow was coming and she pulled her scarf tighter around her neck to ward off the cold. Almost home,
she noted with relief, when the old apartment building loomed in the darkness.
A sound, much like that of a coyote or wolf, echoed in the night and she startled at the mournful sound. What the hell?
She quickened her step, her heart thundering in her chest. Probably someone’s dog, she told herself when her imagination
threatened to run away with her.
It’s not like there were actual wolves running around the city. The idea was ridiculous.
So stop freaking out.
But even as the stern advice seemed rational, she continued to jump at the shadows from the moving foliage, until when she
stepped onto the paved parking lot of her building, she broke out into a run, slamming into her front door and fumbling with the
keys to let herself in.

She slid the bolt and leaned against her door to release a shaky laugh.
God, Cassidy...get a grip. No one is out there.
Willing her heart to slow down, she took several deep, calming breaths and when she was sufficiently recovered, she tossed her
backpack to the table and went straight to the kitchen. She was starved. No, she was beyond starved. She was ravenous.
Cassidy cracked her fridge and peered inside, her eyes lighting on the package of raw hamburger she’d purchased yesterday on
impulse.
For a weird moment, she pictured herself ripping into the package and devouring the raw meat, slurping the blood as it ran in
rivulets down her forearms.
Shocked and disgusted at the errant thought, she deliberately shut the door and grabbed a box of cheese crackers.
Maybe she had the bird flu or something, she thought as she munched on the crackers and tried to ignore how the cheesy taste
was starting to make her a little nauseous.
She wanted meat, not wheat.
Damn it, she thought, returning the box to the cupboard. Her stomach cramped from hunger and she almost doubled over from
the pain.
Fuck! What was wrong with her?
Was her stomach caving in? This had to be some kind of weird virus.
Great timing. When she should be cramming for finals, she was doubled over like she was dying. It wasn’t likely her professors
were going to care about her stomach issues when she came to class unprepared.
She inched her way to the kitchenette table her mom had given her before leaving for college and levered herself into the chair.
For a brief moment, the pain subsided enough for her to take a deep breath. It felt like that time she got food poisoning while on
vacation with her parents in the Bahamas. Her stomach cramped and clenched, threatening to expel everything in her body at
once.
The pain came in waves that built with each crest.

She wracked her brain, trying to remember when she could’ve eaten something bad but for the life of her, she couldn’t think of
anything out of the ordinary.
Could it have been that burrito from the taco truck that was always parked by the university?
Maybe.
The pain shot spikes of red-hot agony twisting through her body and she collapsed with a cry to the tiled kitchen floor. She
writhed, knowing she needed a hospital, but she couldn’t reach her cell phone.
Oh God, she was going to die on her kitchen floor. Cassidy struggled to rise to her feet, or at least climb to her knees, but she
blacked out before she succeeded.
Her last thought before total oblivion was, damn, she should’ve been friendlier with her neighbors. Now, no one was going to find
her body until it started to stink.
The only saving grace? At least she didn’t have a cat to worry about eating her carcass.