What is Real and What is a Dream?
"Stop!" I yelled, clenching my ears to try to block out the ringing I heard. They must've thrown me pretty hard against the wall. My head was throbbing. I struggled to open my my eyes."What did you just say, weakling?" the bully asked crouching in front of me."I said stop," I replied with a shaky voice, "stop before I-" the bully cut me off by kicking me in the head."C'mon, Bruce, he's had enough!" I heard one of his friends say. I watched as Bruce punched that kid in the stomach. My pain began to subside. Oh no."He's had enough when I say he's had enough!" Bruce yelled. He turned my way and had a glimpse of confusion before going back to bully mode. He probably saw that my black eye had completely healed in the span of five seconds. I felt my pain fade into anger, the rage beginning to control my movements. I struggled to get up."I said stop," I repeated, "but now it's too late for you." My anger transformed me, forcing me to drop my human disguise. "You've asked for it. Time and time again," my voice began to deepen as the creature underneath rose to the surface, "You don't seem to understand a sincere warning." In a shimmer, my image quickly morphed into an anthropomorphic black panther. A feline growl formed in my throat as the bully began to cower.I knew what happened next. I see this every night. Seemingly against my will, though I chose to do it at the time, I grabbed the bullies throat and began to squeeze, my claws extending to pierce his skin."I am fed up with scum like you," I growled."Dude!" I heard. I turned to see the guy that tried to help me. The scared look on his face hit my human side pretty hard, but my feral side loved it.I was in the early stages of development then. Merely a cub in terms of how long I've had these feral features. If you had looked close enough, you would see warning signs: pointy ears, unnaturally sharp teeth, yellow eyes. This bully only pestered me about it though. He made it a game to insult me until I got upset. Well, I appear to have been the referee, so I say he lost."Game over," I said to Bruce's friend before slamming Bruce as hard as I could into the wall. I heard screaming there after as my vision blackened. I passed out as the police came charging in.And then I woke up.I lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, my fur flowing with the wind from the fan at my left. I've had that dream every night for the past couple of weeks, and it only ever gets worse. I released the tight hold I had on the stuffed bear
in my arms. Lord knows that that bear has calmed my nerves when I needed it most."What have I done?" I asked myself. I got up and went to the mirror on the wall of the very small room I'm in. Looking in it, I see the panther from my dreams. The only difference is that I look frightened and guilty. My eyes, thankfully, didn't stay yellow and eventually returned to the blue color I loved so much. I heard a knock on my door."Dylan? You awake in there?" a familiar feminine voice asked."No, I'm asleep." I growled."Come on now," she persisted, "can we start the day with a happy Dylan for once?"I approached the door and opened it, revealing a cheetah girl. Her name was Mary, and she was a thorn in my side. "No," I said."Have that dream again, did you?" she asked rhetorically, "You gotta stop letting that get to you. It's in the past, and he asked for it from what you told me. You're not even in trouble for it.""Yes, I know. The case was ruled self defense, but I was transferred here. But unlike you, I still have human morals," I growled, "Unlike you, that's the first and only time I've ever killed. And unlike you," I got close to her face, "I didn't enjoy it."I walked away, making a point not to look at her as I went to the cafeteria for breakfast. I didn't make it there in a bad mood, thankfully, because my best friend, Cody, joined me for the walk. He's a wolf with serious problems with fire. Last time I upset him, for instance, I had to order a new bed due to mine spontatneously combusting, let's just say. Good thing he's upbeat usually."Morning Cranky Kitty," he mocked. I couldn't help but smile. He always knew how to change my mood."Well morning to you too, Fire Mutt," I shot back."You know, a little birdie told me that you've been trying to get us certified as a team," the wolf accused."A bird moved in? Since when?" I asked with mock ignorance."Oh, shut up," Cody said, playfully shoving me, "you know what I'm talking about.""I do not," I lied, crossing my arms."Yes you do! Mary told me," the wolf insisted."What else did that witch tell you?" I asked, my tone suddenly lacking energy.Cody sighed, "What is it with you and Mary?""Simple, I don't like her blood lust," I grumbled,
"and she's just an overall b-""You do know she's a demon, right?""No wonder she's trying to get me to kill for fun," I sarcastically realized, "of course I know, and what is our job description?""Demon hunters." the wolf answered."Then why in the world am I not allowed to run her through with a ten foot pole?!" I yelled. Everyone that was walking around us stopped and stared after I yelled that, but soon returned to normal when they saw who it was."Because," Cody hissed, "you and I are the only ones that see it.""Go figure." I sighed, continuing to walk towards the cafeteria. I was suddenly much more hungry and craving something unhealthy. When we sat down at the lunch table, Cody frowned at pile of chocolate pancakes I had."It's strange that I'm more jealous than disappointed," he mused, staring at the heaping pile of junk food."The term is envious," I corrected, "and I'm surprised they even make these. We're supposed to have healthy diets, right?""That's assuming chocolate is unhealthy, and knowing the people that run this place they probably made it very healthy." the wolf suggested."Fair enough." I accepted with a mild chuckle."So how are my two favorite people?" a voice asked from behind me. It was Ashley, my girlfriend and Cody's best friend, the latter of which could me misunderstood as them being siblings. She's a beautifully white snow leopard with almost glowing blue spots that seemed to dance across her fur as she moved."I suppose we're doin just fine," I said, faking deep thought, "Got any news?""How did you guess?" she asked with mock surprise."Well it seems you only call us your favorite people when something good happened," Cody pointed out with equally forced smart alec-ness, "so I assume you talked to the general.""I did, and he has certified us as a demon hunting team!" she cheerfully announced."We? I don't recall making you a part of my team," I said with an immense amount of sarcasm."You keep on believing that, babe," Ashley said, hugging me from behind."Anyway, did they give us a mission?" Cody butted in."Yes, actually," Ashley answered, handing the wolf a piece of
paper, "It's simple, but we need it.""It'll be nice to earn more priveleges around this place," I mused, "There are wings I've never been into, for crying out loud!""It appears to be a glorified wanted poster." Cody explained, quoting the page, "A legion of Balam's demons...""Wait, Balam?" I interrupted, "That three headed demon king? Why are we given a task to face one of his legions?""Because I thought you could handle it," Mary purred nearby. She was probably invisible, which made me even more irritated to hear her voice."Speaking of demons..." Ashley groaned."Since when could you see my horns, honey?" the she-demon asked. Calling my girlfriend "honey" angered both her and me."Don't call me that," Ashley growled."I will call you what I please, darling," Mary teased, "It's not like you'll do anything about it." A tendril of fire flew in the direction of her voice, having been thrown my an angered Cody whose eyes were glowing a fiery orange and the markings on his body began to appear in that same color. He radiated heat."Go away. Now." Cody growled. Mary chuckled, and her laughter faded into silence as she disappeared. "The next time I see her, there will be fires shot.""Same here." Ashley and I groaned in unison."Ya'll can't actually shoot fire, though," Cody pointed out."Let's just get on that assignment," I suggested, "I would rather not sit around griping about it." I got up and went to put away my plate. I was about to put my plate down when I heard a scream. I turned to see an invisible force yanking Ashley by her hair down the hallway. It was at that time that I realized the illusion. Everything flickered, leaving only me, Cody, and the sounds of Ashley screaming."Cody," I started, "what the hell is going on?"