I gripped my ears tightly, groaning in pain as, for that moment, I could literally hear everything.
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It was like this morning when I left the house, but ten times worse. I could hear the whole school: every word being spoken by every student in the lunch area, the footsteps echoing through the classrooms, the papers rustling on teachers' desks. And you know what? It hurt like hell!
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"AAAHHH!!!" I yelled out as the pain grew more severe. Through my heightened hearing, I could make out the whispers of the students whose attention my scream had drawn
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"What's wrong with him?" I heard.
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"Is he alright?" came another voice.
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"What a weirdo." Okay, rude.
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"Boss, are you okay?" I could just barely hear Benny ask through the noise.
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"M-my ears," I said. "The pain is too much."
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"D-do you want me to take you to the nurse?" Benny asked again.
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I was about to nod my head, to beg Benny to take me to the nurse, which of course would've ruined my reputation even more. Dammit, I was going to have to do so much more bullying after this.
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I looked up at Benny, trying to give him the signal to help me to the nurse's office, but then my whole body stopped as a single voice broke through the many.
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"Concentrate..." The voice of Hazel spoke. "Concentrate and keep that thing locked up," I heard her say.
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"W-what thing?" I asked.
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"Concentrate..." she said again.
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I did what I was told, which I of course wasn't used to. I closed my eyes and breathed in and out.
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My skull felt like it was going to break, but with every breath, my hearing seemed to even out. It was then that a single figure popped up in my head—the figure of the other me, smiling at me with those yellow eyes and sharp teeth.
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"T-this is my body," I said quietly. "Get out!" I yelled, and as soon as I did, the pain began to disappear, and my hearing returned to normal.
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"Um, get out of where, boss?"
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I opened my eyes and looked at Benny, who was staring at me with fear mixed with confusion. He wasn't the only one; at that moment, it seemed like I had gotten the whole school's attention.
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"Uh, what the hell are you all looking at?" I yelled, turning away and continuing to get my lunch.
***
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Walking home by myself felt like a blessing. After the weirdness of the day, I needed to be alone, to clear my head. My feet moved automatically, but my mind was racing.
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Hazel's words kept echoing in my mind. "It's not what you did... it's about what you are." What did she mean by that? And what was going to happen to me on the next full moon? The thought made my stomach churn.
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My senses were all messed up. The hearing thing was just one part of it. My sight seemed sharper too, like I could see every detail of the cracks in the sidewalk, every leaf on the trees. It was both amazing and terrifying. What the hell was happening to me?
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And then there was that figure in my head—the other me with yellow eyes and sharp teeth. The memory of it sent a shiver down my spine. Was that thing trying to take over my body? Was that what Hazel meant by "keeping it locked up"?
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As I walked, the sun dipped lower in the sky, casting long shadows. Tomorrow night was the full moon. What was going to happen then? Would I turn into some kind of monster? The thought scared the crap out of me.
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I didn't want to admit it, but I was terrified. Terrified of what was happening to my body, of what I might become. And I didn't have anyone to talk to about it. Not Benny, not Charlie, not anyone. They wouldn't understand. They'd probably just think I was going crazy.
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I shoved my hands in my pockets and kicked a loose pebble down the sidewalk. "Get a grip," I told myself. "You'll figure this out. You have to."
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But deep down, I wasn't so sure and that was what scared me more than anything.
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I got home, exchanged a quick hello with my mom, and walked upstairs to my bedroom.
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I must've just lain in my bed for hours, not doing anything, not saying anything. I just stared up at the ceiling. Soon, it was dark outside, and as the darkness crept into my room, my eyes began to close, and my dreams began to take over.
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***
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I walked through a deep forest, a familiar forest that I remembered running through before. I looked around at the trees and the vines that hung from them.
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I looked up at the grey sky and down at the ground. I scrunched my toes and felt the loose dirt between them. They were normal, too normal.
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"Welcome back."
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I quickly turned around and saw him standing above me on a small cliff of dirt, smiling down at me.
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He looked normal, thank god, and he wore the same things I was, which wasn't awkward at all.
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"What do you want?" I demanded, trying to sound braver than I felt.
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"To talk," he replied, his grin widening. "You have questions, don't you?"
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"Yeah, like what the hell is happening to me? What are you?" I asked.
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He chuckled, stepping closer. "I'm you. The stronger you. The one who's not afraid to take what he wants."
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"That's not an answer," I snapped. "Why are you doing this? What do you want?"
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His eyes glinted, and for a moment, I thought I saw them flash yellow. "This body belongs to me," he said calmly. "And it will belong to me, because I am strong, and I will not be controlled. Not by the weak."
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As he spoke, the forest around us began to change. The trees and ground started to be covered in blood, and the vines around the trees transformed into spiky tendrils. The air grew heavy with the scent of iron.
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"What's happening?" I asked, my voice trembling despite my efforts to stay calm.
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He just smiled wider, his teeth slowly sharpening before my eyes. "This is the future," he said, his voice echoing ominously.
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I looked around frantically as the forest continued to transform. The once-familiar surroundings became a nightmare landscape, dripping with blood and filled with deadly vines. I glanced back at him and saw his eyes glowing yellow, his grin full of sharp teeth.
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The world around me began to darken, and the last thing I heard was his voice, echoing in the growing void. "I'm coming."
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And then everything went black.
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***
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I woke up with a start, sweat soaking my sheets. The moonlight streamed through my window, casting eerie shadows across my room. My heart pounded in my chest as I tried to shake off the lingering terror of the dream.
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Tomorrow was the full moon. I had no idea what was going to happen, but I knew one thing for sure: I wasn't ready for it.
***
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Author notes: Please support my work on Patreon for early access to new chapters. https://patreon.com/DarkMatteromniverse34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUqUlH2KQtH
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