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Chapter 2 - Dust

Where was I? I had no idea and the light was intense around me. My body was numb, it had been like this for... I don't even recall how long. Suddenly I felt my feet, I was walking, to where I don't know. Then suddenly a voice muffled into my ears. They twitched turning to the sounds as I looked up. "Hello?" I asked looking around the intense light.

The blazing intense white around me began to fade. The darkness slowly began to set in showing I was standing. Standing at the edge of subway platform. The light blinding me was the overpowering buzzing of the halogens above. Looking around I saw the security officer trying to speak to me. Her words began to drone into my mind slowly. "Are... you... ok?" She seemed to mouth to me.

I nodded in some sort of response. Looking down at myself I noticed my nice clothes were gone. Ragged clothes clung to my body tightly. I didn't recognize them sadly as they clung to my fur. My fur had gotten longer, my once nice thin coat had grown long between my fingers. Bringing my finger tips to my face I noticed the first of many problems. Turning my hand, I noticed my claws were gone. Removed completely leaving small imprints where they once were. My hand started to shake and I grabbed my wrist. My entire body started to shake as if something in the back of my empty head began to burn. Where was I? What day was it? What happened to me? Raising her hand's she led me to a bench and began to talk on her radio

A few hours passed and I was moved from the platform. Some cop took me down to the station. Before I knew it, I was processed, had some doctor shinning lights in my eyes, then I was sitting in an empty room. My mind was still starting to well up from the blank haze I rested in. However, nothing was in my mind. I remember school and going out that night. Everything after that was a total blank.

"Well, it seems you're starting to wake up." A man stepped in suddenly. A big mean ass bear looking down at me with total disdain. Stepping up he took a seat across from me. Pulling the seat out he sat down across the table. Pulling a yellow folder out from under his arm he sat it down with a loud thunk.

Opening it slowly he slid my wallet and my broken phone across the table to me. I took it seeing 1000 bucks was folded between the leather sheaths. My ID was crumpled and shoved between them. "So, let's start with your name." He spoke and looked up at me. "I...I don't remember." I shook my head and looked up at him. "Thought so, the last ten we found were just like you, found wandering some random part of town." He said and I looked at him. Narrowing my eyes, I stared at him hearing his words so plainly. "Care to talk about it?"

"I don't remember anything; I was at school... then I was where I woke up, what... day is today?" I asked looking at him.

"Your name is Derik Able, you're a student who went missing 4 months ago, your mother contacted us after your teachers called saying you never went back to classes. It was you and fifteen other people... all carnivores, you're the eleventh to turn up. All with the same issues... claws removed, fangs filed down, fur overgrown, injection marks along your arm, but no signs of drugs in your system." He told me. Obviously, he wanted me to give him some big break in his case. Unfortunately, I couldn't even give him the first clue considering I didn't even have any idea of who I was.

Turning away from him I felt something twinge in the back of my mind. A burning sensation seemed to itch away at my brain. I felt my body starting to twitch and shiver again at the sound. It welled in my veins as I tried to remember anything from before. I lifted my hands rubbing the back of my neck as something hissed in my ears. "Never say a word..." It cackled deeper in my ear drums. "It's alright, pain in the back of your head? Yeah...it happened to everyone else, Don't worry about it, we'll get you processed and get your family on the line. We'll have you outta here in no time." He spoke again. Standing up he left me to stare at the table. What was going on? I was lost in my own head. Did he even say four months? It was just getting out of winter the last I remember. Now it was well into summer. What had happened to me all that time ago? Did someone kidnap me?

I knew I had to wake up soon, my mother came and got me. She took me home and I was soon lying in bed. Our apartment was tiny and I remember being so happy to leave to college. But now I felt so peaceful just laying back in my bed. Hearing the TV just outside in the living room. Everything was muffled as I stared up at the ceiling. The scents of linen and years of home cooked meals fell deaf on me. They were seemingly blank against the folds of time. Closing my eyes, I tried to let myself fade back. I needed to remember what happened to me. I felt like I was hollow inside. Like something had been ripped from my interior. Replaced by something so much stronger than anything I could imagine. I was still wearing rags, sitting up a little I shivered softly turned my head my closet. Walking over I opened the door staring in the full mirror. Staring at myself I slowly peeled off those rags.

My fur was overgrown and long, it wouldn't take much to trim it down hopefully. Yet it did make me look puffier than I had been before. Running my hands along my body I felt my muscles, they were bigger and more defined. Running my fingers ran along this unfamiliar body I felt a few sore spots. More than a few... quite a lot actually. Moving my fur a little I found I was covered in marks. Scars of all kinds ran along my bare skin beneath my fur. "What happened?" I ran my finger along a rather large one on my chest. Feeling it running from my right shoulder to my left hip. As my clawless fingers drug along I felt something staring down at me.

I could almost see the shadow of a being standing behind me. Staring down with those ghostly blue eyes. Burning into the back of my head. "Does it hurt?" That voice inside me growled out. "Who... are you?" I asked and as if by command all the scars stung at once. "Your job is to answer....not question." I heard it growl. I let out a soft whine in my throat. I opened my mouth running my tongue along my teeth. Finding my large canines had been filed down. Shaved to soft flat nubs. "I... It does not hurt." I spoke weakly as my arms curled in around myself. Hugging myself as I could almost feel his hand rest on my shoulder. It made my body tense, my hair stand on end, my eyes begin to water.

Looking back at the mirror I saw myself again. This time I could feel the invisible collar tight around my neck. Reaching up I so badly wanted to grab onto it. My fingertips dragging along my neck softly feeling the long gone leather clinging to my neck. "Who am I?" I asked the void inside me. If anybody knew who I was this soulless creature surely did. "Don't you remember child... I wrote it on your body." The voice answered back. Peeling the last of my clothes off I saw it. A furless burn wound written along my thigh. The words "meat eater" so perfectly etched into my leg.

Tears began to run down my face with a rush of sudden emotions. I don't know why this mark got to me so badly. Just something so intense welled up from the deepest parts of my body. Collapsing forward I banged my hands on the floor. Clutching them into fists as I bit my lip so tightly. The front teeth I still had pierced my lip a little. Causing a few droplets of blood to drip onto the carpet.

I spent hours crying into the carpet. As that monstrous voice left me feeling so empty again. It was like everything I was before was gone. My likes, wants, needs, all were torn from me. I wasn't Derik anymore, that name was gone from my memory and replaced. Yet I couldn't remember what it had been replaced with.

For a while I hide from everyone, just sitting there silently in my room eating whatever mom happened to make. Staring at the walls hoping some flicker of light would spark something in my head. I needed to hear that voice again. It was the only thing that connected me back to myself. I was still completely lost in who I was. Four months of my life was just a blank mystery. Scattered to the winds. After three days I finally pushed myself off the floor and took a seat at my desk. I ran my hand over my laptop softly. Wiping the dust away and pushing the screen up. With a soft type I clicked in my password and watched the screen fill. All of my school assignments were still on the screen. Exactly as I had left them. I remember I was going to finish them after I got home from something. What that was I couldn't remember.

I clicked open a few different things. Just closing old windows and found my email was still open. Looking at the screen at the top of the list of expired offers, Emails from people trying to contact me, and other responses to people thinking I'm dead. I saw a single unread email whos title immediately caught me. Sliding up I tapped it on the screen opening the email up.

Welcome Home

I know you just got home but I heard from the news another guy had been found like me. The cops gave me your contact information. I was wondering if I could meet you. Maybe we can find out what happened to us.

• Sam

It took a second to sink in but I wanted to meet this person. How many of us had just gone missing? Just vanished and appeared again out of nowhere. I wasn't sure who this person was but I needed to at least try and find something out. I responded and waited. Quickly getting a meet up spot and a time.

Stepping out I asked my mom to take me out. She wouldn't let me go anywhere alone for a while. So at least with her nearby it would prevent me from disappearing again. She drove me to a small coffee shop nearby. It took almost an hour to convince her to stay in the car. Getting out I walked up towards the door. Pushing open the sheet of glass the overwhelming scent of coffee and cheap pastries filled my nose. I looked around and didn't recognize anyone immediately. The cheap faux wood chairs and tables all crammed into this tiny place. From one of the tables a jet black jackal looked up from her table.

Her black fur trimmed tight to her body. Her wars perked up as she wore a silk scarf over around her neck. Her hands resting softly on the cup of coffee in front of her. She looked up at me and lifted a hand. I made a small shuffled walk over and sat across from her. Looking at her as she couldn't make eye contact with me.

"Hi..." I spoke

"Hey..." She responded.

"Are you Sam?" I asked her and leaned back.

"Yeah, so you're the other one they found, do you remember anything?" She looked up at me. Her bright blue eyes shining at me. I could see the newly grown fur over her scars. Still thin enough to make it evident that their still fresh.

"I...I don't, they found me on a Subway platform. I was just walking." I spoke softly. She hung on my words leaning forward slightly. I could tell she was showing a lot of interest with what I was saying. "Damnit, you don't remember anything before that? Nothing at all?" She looked at me with such hope. I could see the longing for information in her eyes. She looked familiar, I had seen her before.

"I was found in this coffee shop. I just wandered in and walked to the bathroom. I sat down against the wall and after an hour they called the police. I don't remember anything at all. Nothing but...this." She lifted her scarf. The word meat eater etched into her neck across her collar bone. I stared at it above her ample chest. Watching it move and bend a little as she took a breath. "I remember exactly how I got this, it's in pieces but the pain is still there." She looked up at me. The blue from her eyes began to shift, it seemed to become dull as If something started to overtake her.

"I was in a room and it was completely black till they opened a door. I was collared and the wounds when these weren't scars were still fresh. I... He came in and touched my face. I could only see his outline. He touched my face and I thought I would never feel kindness like that again. I was in so much pain I was so tired of screaming. He told me if I was a good girl and did exactly what I was told. I would never be hurt again... I agreed and he branded me this then... everything gets fuzzy again." She spoke as if she was reliving it. Her body changed as she hunched forward a little letting her hair hang over her face. She could remember it so clearly. I watched a tear drop from her face and hit the table. Looking up the color returned to her face as she took a deep breath. I blinked and watched her regain her composure, wrapping her scarf back around her mark.

"How... how did you remember that?" I asked. Trying not to shove her feelings aside as I prowled deeper into her. She looked around making sure no one else was really paying attention. Once confirming that no one was she looked back at me. "There's this place... I found it online while I was looking up disappearances. It's a club on the far side of town for herbivores only. You have to be invited with a friend to get in if you're a carnivore. I smelled something there... and it triggered that memory, I'm planning on going back but I have to wait for my friends to take me." She looked at me.

"What's it called?" I needed to know.

"Is called...The Nine Rings." She explained. Nearby a glance from mother caught Sam by surprise. She looked so frightened by just saying it that she immediately stood up. Nodded to me and made her way out. Just so suddenly that it was almost like she was scared of what anyone might hear. I was left sitting with more questions than answers. But I suppose it was nice to see I wasn't alone in this. Standing up I returned to my mother car. Getting in I just stared out the window. Mom tried to speak to me but her words fell pretty flat on deaf tones. I didn't even know how to respond. I was too concerned with what that place may hold. What might get woken up inside me.

I know mom was concerned about me. The way she kept yapping on behind me so intently. How could so much of myself have just faded. Just fallen apart to nothing but dust.