"Where's Alex?" Amanda asks.
"She's in the room." Lucca answers.
I can hear them talking through the half-open door.
The time has come for me to show myself to them.
I haven't seen anybody but Lucca for two days.
Nervousness inevitably consumes me. I feel a little awkward.
What will they think?
No matter, Loren taught me confidence.
I go to the door.
Sinuhe is by my side. Although those two days he has preferred to be inside the space than outside, I guess he's not accustomed to having someone else besides me.
He stands out when he's near me. The white of his fur and the black of my hair.
I walk down the short corridor.
I can hear the frantic beating of my heart.
I discovered that after Lucca's blood took away my humanity, I can perfectly hear people talking a kilometer away, which isn't that good if you don't want to feel schizophrenic all the time hearing voices from places far away, so I mostly block it all, the 20/20 vision is a bonus, late night readings had put a strain on my eyes and now it's like I have brand new ones.
I can distinguish smells and scents from a great distance which too isn't that good because people smell, and not always good, I can carry practically a ton easily (actually, I only lifted a car, but it weighed almost that much), if I get hurt in a matter of seconds I heal, and I don't need much sleep, because my brain is always alert. Considering it all I guess I'm pretty good. If a zombie apocalypse broke out I'd be lazing around like a stroll in the park.
But it's not enough. I'm just ordinary right now, when everyone else is an exception being more than average amounts to nothing. Everyone else is stronger, faster, smarter.
Revenge for now is all but a dream, I can't do it alone. Hell, even with more people, what does that amount to?
These months have been constantly growing. I don't feel that youthful exuberance anymore, the feeling that I can simply do it if I put my mind to it.
The light from the room hits my face.
I can see the shocked expressions on Rod, Amanda, and Loren's faces.
Mainly Amanda and Rod.
"What the hell happened to you?"
"I think I'm no longer human."
In fact, I don't think I've been human for a long time now...
(Contrary to what I thought, Rod knows about Amanda's supernatural nature and he is a wolf - Amanda a vampire - and I only found out he was a wolf because Sinuhe told me, it seems they can recognize each other)
"When are you leaving?" Asks Loren.
His question caught me off guard. I guess he had already imagined I was under a spell or something, Loren is smart like that.
"Tomorrow." Says Lucca.
Everyone avoids talking as little as possible about my new look, which makes me feel more comfortable.
I am already struggling to not jump at every sight of my reflection, it's much better if people pretend it's all right.
***
I wake up with Lucca next to me.
Sleeping he is a perfect angel.
He opens one of his emerald eyes.
A lock of his thick hair falls over his forehead giving him a charming and innocent look.
"Good morning." He whispers.
I smile.
"So it's today, right?"
He hums.
I don't think I'm ready to see my sister face to face, but life never waits until I'm ready.
I can only go on and deal with it when that bridge is crossed.
Put your big girl panties and deal with it like a calm adult, I cheer myself on.
Oh, how I wish my mom was still here.
***
The farewell is sad. I hate sad goodbyes.
I will leave my true friends.
We spent so much time together.
I learned so much. Grew so much, like coming off a cocoon.
'Soon we'll see each other again, I promise. Send a message when you arrive, I want to know you're safe.,' Loren said.
I'm not so sure about that.
I don't know what the future holds for me.
The car trip was actually quick, much quicker than I expected. Lucca said he used some kind of spell I don't understand and we arrive by dawn.
My black hood falls over my face, the combination of the hood and my bangs makes it so I can't see much.
I'm basically the same as I was the first time I came here.
Wearing dark jeans, Converse, and a black jacket with a hoodie. My color preference is the only thing that didn't change, I guess.
"Are you ready?"
"Of course." I smile.
The truth was that I never wanted to see Pietro again. Although I consider myself more mature now, I don't know, something inside me just wants to plow him to the ground when I see him.
The door opens and I can make out a blond figure in the darkness.
It's Sammy.
I practically fly out of the car and go to meet her.
I hug her tightly as if she would dematerialize at any moment.
"I should hit you for not coming for me." She says tearfully.
"Sorry." I mumble, my throat choked up with all the words I can't say.
We remain still for a long time, I feel her tears hot on my neck, each one striking deeply in my heart. How could I leave my sister behind? I don't know what I was thinking. I should have taken her with me.
"If you squeeze any tighter you'll melt into each other." Lucca teases.
"Shut up, you idiot." Says Sammy.
He laughs but I sense a tension between them that wasn't there before.
I finally let go of Sammy.
She takes my hand and guides me to the door (which wasn't necessary since I can see extremely well in the dark).
The lights in the room come on.
They all look the same as the first time I saw them.
Even Pietro who was on the first step of the stairs.
The cut I made on your face hasn't healed completely.
A red mark cuts across his face from top to bottom.
That's good. I thought it would be just a fleeting annoyance to him but it actually lasted, that's more than I can hope for, but why did it last though?
"We were worried about you." Says Gabriel, the first to break the silence.
Gabriel is handsome in a cute way, with strong and delicate features, his coat hiding his build, his brown hair falling in light curls over his forehead.
Sinuhe jumps from the space where he has been hiding the whole trip and growls at Pietro.
"Oh, Lucca told us about your wolf, but as far as I knew he was just a pup." Gabriel continues.
"He grows up fast." I say nonchalantly.
"Stop creating such suspense, take off that hood, everyone can sense your scent changed." says Ally.
"I don't think it's a good idea." I reply.
"Why? Are you afraid everyone will see your ugliness?" Says Pietro, coming down from the stairs and pretending he's not noticing Sinuhe but I see the tension in body. Good.
He has a bottle of beer in his hand.
Really a drunk.
"Shut up Pietro." Lucca retorts. "Or I'll break your face myself."
Pietro laughs.
Sammy in a sudden movement lowers my hood.
Everyone was amazed and confused (especially Pietro).
"Are you real?" Says the blond boy named Huggo.
"Of course she is!" Says Sammy but there's an edge of doubt in her voice.
She looks into my eyes 'Lucca had told me that you were different, but I didn't imagine it that much' she says mentally.
Sammy is a little paler, looking more fragile.
"You're sisters, daughters of the same parents, why don't you look alike?" Ally asks.
Her bright red hair is tied back in a ponytail, her black, flowing satin dress falling softly just above her knee, a white, lace sash around her waist ending in a bow at her back, and just like the first time I saw her, she's like a cold lolita.
She has the same angelic features as Gabriel.
"You look just like mom, but with different colors." Sammy mutters, her hand gripping mine tightly.
It actually struck a chord with me. I had no features from my parents before, but knowing I look like mom warms me a little. I didn't recognize it when I first saw in the mirror but I see where Sammy comes from, now thinking about it, it's not in the overall features but there's traces of her I missed, the curve of my mouth, the arch of my brow, the high cheeks, the translucent skin, the way my hair curl at the ends, even my height.
If mom was still here I could look her in the eye.
I try to ignore the sourness in my nose and the sting in my eyes.
Although I do look like mom now, Sammy still is her lookalike. Maybe that's why I've been running so much from here.
Being around her, seeing her face, it's all like seeing mom. And I can't think about mom and dad without feeling like the world is falling apart.
***
Two and a half months pass.
It's already a new year.
Theodore was never seen again.
I don't actually think that is a great thing.
I get to know all my "new friends" better.
Ally is great with a bow and arrow (especially if the arrows were soaked in flames).
Gabriel knows the "art of defeating your enemy when he least expects it" like no one else (he taught me some of his techniques, it's pretty useful in stealth).
Tauro is a great fighter (and Tannisha's boyfriend, who is also a great fighter, together it's like trying to move a mountain, both like two tanks).
Johhan can hunt anything (especially Alanis who loves to challenge him to catch her).
Huggo is the smartest one among them all, disturbingly smart.
Ivan is as fast as an arrow (especially when it comes to stealing a kiss from Anny), and has a lot of random knowledge about chemistry for some reason, like concocting homemade bombs like it's coffee.
Vinccentt is a perfect swordsman (although a bit perverted and flirtatious, but he really likes Ally).
Anny became my personal angel, besides having visions she can manipulate energies (a kind of witch, but very shy).
Alanis is also a great fighter (she always beats Tauro if he's alone).
I suppose when you are all young and together all the time things get heated, that's why most of them are dating.
Sammy, despite appearing fragile, was the one who held her own the most in combat training. She's unpredictable. I guess those months she spent here she wasn't just looking around. She integrated with everyone else like old friends.
However, Sammy and I are what's called a hybrid.
Half vampire, half wolf (because that's what Theodore turned us into, vampires and werewolves at the same time, although now I'm half Neephilim too for some unknow reason, the most voted suggestion is that one of my parents is a hybrid but only me got the secondary descendence).
This became clear when Huggo ran tests on our DNA. They have some kind of magical testing that's more than just DNA, it's infused with a lot of stuff I heard in one ear and lost in the other, Huggo used so many technical terms it lost all the magic and my brain shut off.
The whitish liquid in the syringe was the virus of lycanthropy and vampirism, although we both coming from supernatural parents should have been supernatural too by birth, for some reason it didn't happen, which led to all this mess.
I noticed that Pietro keeps listening to everything we say and then makes unfunny jokes only when he laughs.
It's a huge drag.
But it's not like I can kick him out of his own house, I wish I could go somewhere else though.
***
I researched and found out that Sinuhe in means alone.
But Sinuhe is not alone.
He is always close to me when Lucca isn't around. I asked him about it but he didn't give me a clear answer.
I love hugging him.
Feeling his soft fur against my skin, it's always like a plushie, I'm not that into dolls but he's simply irresistible.
He gives great advice (he even stopped me from killing Pietro for trying to make me fall into the mud) even though he's not human. It all comes down to how animals simply just… know. Their instinct is indeed much clearer than ours. He has lessons passed down by ancestors in his pack and he passed it down to me.
Ally proved to be a great friend.
She likes to be more mysterious, but she was always as friendly as possible. I guess the first friction was just a misunderstanding or some sort of reaction to having a stranger entering her house.
Loren… I always think about him and Amanda.
How I want to see them again.
How I want to… I don't know. Just feel comfortable next to them. Not that I'm in a bad place here. But it's just… not my house.
I am like an intruder, no matter how nice they are to me, I just don't fit in.
Like a stray looking from outside the glass.