December 29th, 2014
"Wahh wahhhh wahhh!"a baby seemingly cried out. Rain could be heard hitting the ground, every drop louder than the last, nearly silencing all other sounds around, but not enough to suppress the baby's whines. "Wahhh wahhhh!" A door can be heard through the deafening rain. Creeee—k... Intruding on the smooth rhythm created. An older man begins to speak with a soft, gravelly voice. About average in stature, but well built for his age. A short thick beard covered his face, but no hair to be found at th top of his head. "Love… there's something at our doorstep." Gentle but slow footsteps on soft, aged wood can be heard as he comes closer to what seems to be a black carriage with a baby inside. Behind him, another pair of footsteps—these with no rhythm but equally as slow. An older lady follows behind him, short in stature, but well kept. Long beautiful brown hair, and youthful expressions. "Oh honey…" can be heard from a much older woman. She sighs, but not out of relief—more of worry. "Hurry! Get her inside until we figure out whose child it is!" said the older lady in a worried but annoyed tone, as the older man, who's bones seemed to rattle, walked slowly.
The older man looks around the carriage for a name or number, but alas, nothing. "What are we going to do, Walt…" the elderly lady says to what seems to be her husband. "We keep searching, that's what. I'm too old to be taking care of kids!" the older man snickers, but out of concern, he sighs "If push comes to shove, I guess this old man has some years to spare, Edna…" The elderly lady smiles toward her husband. "We'll find her parents, don't worry." She gets closer to the carriage and picks up the baby. As pale as snow, and as cold as ice. Crimson red eyes like that of blood, and a pendant on her neck shaped like a cross with red jewels. "My God! What a cute thing you are!" says Edna, but she notices how cold she is… "WALT! Get some water boiling NOW! This baby is FREEZING!" Walt begins to hurriedly waddle toward the stove. He fills a pot with water, and all that can be heard is the sound of water rapidly hitting the steel pot. Tick… Tick… tick… WHOOSH! The stove turns on and he places the pot. Thunk. Some of the water spills, some hitting the fire directly. Tzzzz.
The footsteps of Edna can be heard as she walks in circles, the child wrapped in blankets, and held tightly close to her. "Everything will be okay, you hear me? Walt's heating up the water. You'll be just fine," Edna says to the baby, as if it could understand her. "Love, the water is ready and hot. I'll get some towels," Walt says as he hurriedly waddles once again toward the bathroom and grabs some towels. Edna rushes him to get back as fast as possible as she takes the pot off the stove and turns it off. Walt then places the hand towels next to the pot, and Edna begins to place them into the pot of hot water. "Walt, do me a favor and turn the heater on in the guest room, and do it fast!" she says in a strict manner. "Understood," says Walt in a more obedient tone as he goes to the guest room. Splash. She drops the towels into the pot, letting them soak. She grabs one and puts it over the baby's forehead. "Warm up fast, it's a very cold night," she whispers to the girl once more, guided by maternal instincts. The baby smiles a bit, no longer crying. "Edna! The room's heating up now!" shouts Walt across the house. Edna grabs the pot by the handle in one hand and carries the baby in her other arm as she heads over to the guest room.
June 3rd, 2030
Birds can be heard chirping, the sun shines through the clouds, and flowers blossom. It's a spring morning, beautiful as ever. Sixteen years have now passed since the elderly couple took in the baby. A girl runs across the street and knocks on a door. Knock knock. "Mrs! I'm home!" the voice of a cheery young lady can be heard. The door opens. Edna greets the girl with a smile. "Welcome home, dear! How was school today?" "It was great, Mrs. Carmichael!" she says with a huge grin on her face, cheeks red from having just run. "Come in, Vivienne, I made spaghetti today. Are you hungry?" she asks in a welcoming tone. "I could eat. How about you, Mrs?" she asks, wanting to eat together. But… "Oh, I'm sorry, dear. I need to get going. I have a gathering to attend. Next time for sure!" she says in an apologetic tone. Vivienne, as she was about to get sad, lightens up again. "Make that a promise and we have a deal!" she says excitedly. "Fine, next time we can eat together, dear. I have to get going now, though. I'll see you later." Edna walks out the door and waves at Vivienne. She waves back as she heads in.
Vivienne walks up to the counter. There lay a vase and a picture with Walt. She offers her gratitude to him, gives a small prayer, then walks off. She is grateful to Walt for having welcomed her into this home along with Edna… but she didn't know him at all. "Vivienne, would you like to know more about Walt?" was a question often asked by Edna. Her answer was always, "I'd rather not. I'm happy with how things are now." This did not mean she did not want to know Walt, but that if she got to know more about him from Edna and grew attached to the stories, she thought she'd feel sad about it. She did not want that, so she avoided it altogether. The only thing she knew about him was that in the search for her actual parents… he was shot. That's all she carried about him with her. Nothing more… nothing less.
She turns on the faucet to wash the dishes, the water rushing out. Shhhh. She grabs the scrub and begins to wash them. Stab. Blood comes out of her hand as she begins to bleed. A deep cut caused by washing a knife."Oh crap! Oh crap!" she says in a panic, not knowing what to do. She stares at her hand and begins to feel… dazed. She starts to black out as she gets nauseous and dizzy. She loses her sense of balance as she stumbles. Crack a bone snaps skrreech and flesh tearing. "Aaaagh!" she yells in pain as she falls onto the ground, holding her jaw. She passes out for a few seconds t. As she begins to wake she feels another surge of pain Schlurp… Her canine teeth begin to grow, sharper than before. Her mind goes blank for a second. "..." With absolutely zero thought, then suddenly… "blood." She panics, not understanding, but that's all she can think about. She stands and looks down at the floor where she lay, a pool of blood left behind.
She craved it, wanted it, needed it. She wasn't sure what was going on. She wanted to refuse this thirst, but she couldn't. Seeing her own blood was just like seeing an ice-cold cup of lemonade on a hot summer day. Drool fell from her mouth, like a wolf looking at its prey, but she reclaimed her senses. To the best of her knowledge, all she knew was that this could be related to beastmen—humans with animal-like characteristics like that of a wolf or feline. She hurriedly ran out. On her phone, rang her only family. She calls someone. Ring… ring… ring… But they don't pick up. "Mrs. Carmichael…" she says to herself. Needing to decide quickly she looks up the nearest hospital and sprints. She runs, runs faster than ever before, hoping they can help her—and finally, right in front of her, the hospital entrance. "Can they help me…?"