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The blink of an eye.

Wars have been won, children have been born, and people have died in the blink of an eye. Dreams have been reached, hopes have been crushed, and the impossible been made real in the blink of an eye.

In the blink of an eye, your entire life can change. Nothing can stop it. You can try your hardest, but it will happen. You'll feel a sharp pricking in the corners of your eyes, and they might water. And all at once, you can't take it anymore.

And you blink.

It's as simple as that. You could blink, and miss something vital to your very way of life... But it doesn't even occur to you. It's just a blink. And in a second, you'll take another. And another. Life goes on, things happen, and all you can do is try and catch what happens in between the blinks. It passes so quickly...

How do you decide? When should you blink? Does one moment offer more of a reason to be experienced than the next? Should you strain yourself to see everything for as long as possible before inevitably blinking? Why?

Why does life pass in a blink? Why must we lose precious moments?

Why do you blink?

---

Wires...

A tangled mess of wires, fingers, and impatience. Why did I love something so irritating? Maybe I enjoyed inflicting pain to my mind. Perhaps dragging my fingernails against a chalkboard was in order. Throwing myself into a sewer. Marrying a horse.

Wires. This was my life. Rearranging wires. Finding where wires fit. Fixing wires. Bundling wires. Wires, wires, wires...

I sighed. My life was more than wires. There was coding. Circuit boards. Breakers. I also made a mean pie. Pecan.

This was my life. It wasn't as if I didn't choose it. As a teenager, sitting in my room, hacking into anything I could get into with my piece of junk computer, I had always dreamed of doing something more with my life. Never guessed teenage Damien Carter would end up working for the government. Then again, he was a pretentious ass with a big head.

So, you know, not much as changed.

Wires.

I reattached a few more wires, and backed away from my work. I still had no idea what it was, or what its function was. Two weeks ago, my superior, Sharp, brought in a pile of broken tech and told me to fix it. Didn't tell me what it was, or why it needed to be fixed. Prick.

My partner got an easy job. Fix Sharp's computer. Kiss ass.

I looked at my project with a mixture of pride, irritation, and confusion. It was a box. Kind of. There was one large hole in each side of the box, about as big as a frisbee. There was a lot of tech hooked up to a central unit. There was a pawprint stamped on one side. It was blue, with lots of grooves in it. I had no idea what the heck this box was, or why Sharp wanted it so bad. He wasn't big on details. Prick.

"Still staring at that hopeless piece of junk?" And, there was my lovely partner. I swiveled my chair towards the voice. "You should find something else to occupy your attention."

"Like your breasts, Veronica?" I smirked. She rolled her eyes, but I could see the faintest glimmer of a smile.

"I'm more than breasts, Damien. I've also got a nice ass." Veronica was interesting. To say as little as possible about her. She was beautiful. Gorgeous. She knew it too. Veronica had a great mind and a wonderful body. If only she wasn't a slut. And a kiss ass. Basically, everything to do with her personality.

"The very same ass you've been sitting on all day, fixing Sharp's computer. I hope you didn't strain yourself. I know it must've been horribly difficult." Veronica rolled her eyes. Again. That woman's eyes seemed to be in a constant rotation. Maybe they'd roll out of her head if she did it enough. If only I was that lucky.

"Someone's grumpy. Did your work zap you again?"

"Did you get an STD?"

"Bite me," Point: Me. I leaned towards the machine and continued to work. "So, wanna get out of here?" Of course it would come to this. Veronica managed to bring it up whenever she could.

"I'm not having sex with you." I didn't wait for a response. I focused my attention on getting this thing to do whatever it was supposed to do.

"I never said anything about sex. I just want to go out for drinks."

This symbol... Something was missing. The grooves probably needed to hold something. "Which normally leads to sex."

"You know all about that, huh?" I paused. For a moment. I returned to work. That had been a long night. There was alcohol. Sweat. Candles. They smelled like feet. Oddly, it was a good memory. But that was the past. Long time ago. Long-ish. And like I'd said, there was alcohol involved. "Come on, a few drinks! Please?"

"I'll drink when I fix this." I ignored the groan of protest and continue to ponder the symbol. Maybe these wires here.... I transfered them over to the symbol, and snapped one into place. That did the trick.

"How about we skip the drinks, and get right to it?" Ignore. I snapped two more in. "If we leave now, you can do anal." Ignore. I snapped one into place, and grabbed the last. "Ugh, screw me already! Stop messing with that useless pile of scrap!"

I jammed the final wire in and jumped out of my chair. Veronica was shocked... Even more so, when I shoved a finger in her face. "Shut about sex! I'm trying to work here, and your desperate shit is stopping me fro-" I heard something. Veronica could hear it too. She was trying to look behind me.

I turned back to the box. The symbol was glowing... I... I'd actually gotten it working? I didn't understand it completely, but it was working!

I picked up the box, and looked over every inch. Some pieces were moving around, and electricity was coming from the central unit. When I had pieced it together, the central unit was intact... Maybe it was a battery of some kind... Probably not. Too much tech around it to constitute such a small function. Plus, there were too many parts that were dark and still. It had even more secrets. I wished I could take the central unit apart, but the whole thing was seamless. If I tried opening it, and broke something, I'd never forgive myself.

I brushed a thumb across the symbol. A pawprint... It was stranger than just what it showed. Now that the wires were in place, it was smooth. Seamless. Like it had been complete all along.

"You fixed it? You... actually fixed it?" I spun my attention back to Veronica. She was genuinely surprised. Unexpected... Still. Must not be finished. Need to continue work. "That means we can go for drinks! C'mon, let's go!"

But-Oh, whatever. I took a step towards Veronica.

I blinked.

*In a single moment, your whole life shall come undone. This is what must happen. This is what will happen. You are the vanguard of the coming days. Give in to the instinct. Give in to the beast. Give in, Damien Carter. You are the Beast.*

And then there was pain. The most, ungodly, pain! Ripping through my body, destroying my- Crippling everything! I fell to my hands and knees, and screamed. The scream resonated from the bottom of my diaphragm, and carried every gut wrenching shot of agony with it. It was so-I couldn't even-I just-I-I...

I blacked out...

---

Scents... Like a... hospital... Perfume. Salt. Tears. Cologne. Coffee.

Sounds. The click of heels. Light whispering. Focus... "...stable, but... This... What is this?"

"Nothing of your concern. Leave us." The heels click away. Smell of perfume weakens. Cologne lingers. "What am I going to do with you?" Familiar voice. I knew it. Sharp.

My eyes... Heavy. Need to open. I tried... I could feel my eyelids struggling to open, but it was... hard... I gave up, and continued listening and smelling. There wasn't much else I could do.

Things were much... clearer, than normal. There was an open window to my left. The heels kept clicking somewhere in the distance. Sharp was... in a chair. To my left. He was drinking a cup of coffee. Black. No cream or sugar.

Everything was clear, but I couldn't see. It was like a puzzle. Some pieces were put together, but without the rest, it was incomplete. Needed to finish the picture. I had to see. Finish the puzzle.

I tried again. This time, my eyes opened. Light! Bright light! Right in my face! Ow. I shut my eyes quickly. That proved to be quite insightful. This time I opened my eyes, I turned my head away from the blinding light.

Sharp. "Rise and shine."

"Well, goo-mornuh..." My tongue... My tongue felt weird. Longer. Bit numb. My nose looked just as weird. "Goo-Good morn... morning. Morning. Da-mi-en. Car-ter. Blah. La la la. Testing, testing, one two three..." There, my tongue had some semblance of control.

"You done?" Sharp's voice held as much warmth as the glacier that hit the Titanic. It wasn't especially inviting normally, but there was definitely something else in there.

I knew Sharp wasn't happy. The question was how to approach the wasps' nest in front of me. "Um... what happened?" Sharp leaned forward in his chair.

"You tell me."

"I... remember fixing something on the machine... And then... Something hit me, maybe. Did the machine do something?" Sharp took a sip of coffee. I just stared back. He sure was taking his time answering.

"I'd say it did something." He was being evasive... I squirmed in the bed I was in. I felt... hot. Why was it so hot? My tongue... fell out the side of my mouth. I was... What? Panting? What was I? A dog?

"What's going on, Sharp? And can you get somebody to crank the AC? I'm dying over here..." Sharp threw something. It landed in my lap. I reached over, and picked up the- "What the hell?!" There was hair! There was hair, all, over, my hand! I dropped whatever it as, and stared at my hands, flipping them back and forth. Hair! So much, freaking, hair! And Sharp was so-What did he throw? My eyes locked on the item. It was a mirror.

I picked it up, and looked into it. I... I didn't recognize the face that looked back at me. I had... black fur, all over my body. My eyes were a fierce orange, and my... I...

I wasn't human.

I stared in the mirror. A wolf stared back.