Shrug Emoji

A Story by emma

I don't know what to name this sorry but I wrote it forever ago and I, surprisingly, still like it.

They cornered me in the alley and I knew I was doomed. From the second the catcalls started I knew how this would end. It was getting dark and I had just got off work. The group of men had been staring me down from the second I left the building, yelling taunts and threats.

"Are you a boy or a girl?" One of them shouted. They all stepped closer.

"I think i'd f**k it either way," another said.

I glanced at the sky. S**t, s**t, s**t. I had to go. One man stepped closer and I could smell the alcohol in his breath. A swift punch to his stomach left him doubled over but only angered the others more. I was screwed. Before I could even spare it a thought, my fist collided with a nose and I ran. I could hear two men tearing after me and the other two swearing and yelling in my direction.

I needed to run faster. I needed to get away from them before the transformation could take place.

I could feel it starting. The other mind was taking over. My feet were growing too big for my crappy sneakers. I still didn't know what I was becoming, just that it was happening.

My name is Lex. I am HUMAN. I am HUMAN. My name is Lex and I am human. It was the single most important thing for me to remember. Even as an animal, I am human. Human, human, human.

When I woke up, it was still dark. A person crouched next to me. "Hey, Lex. How you doin'?" They said.

Lex? Lex, that was me. I lifted my hand to wave. But there was no way my skin could be that red. Blood! There was blood all over my hand. What happened last night?

"Looks like you could use a bath," the person joked. Ezra. The person was Ezra. "The shower in the bathroom should still work but you might want to prop up a flashlight or something. I had to pay either the rent or the electricity bill and I figured you'd rather be dark than homeless."

That's when I realized I was laying on the floor of an apartment. Our apartment. I was in the living room. I grabbed onto the couch, forgetting my hands would stain it red, and pulled myself up. "What did I do?" I asked.

He shrugged. "I don't really know. I found you outside. Like this," I gestured to my bloody, bruised body. "I think you forgot about the full moon last night." This time he jerked his thumb behind him, where a chart of the moon cycle was pinned to the wall.

"Sorry," I muttered. My clothes were in tatters and my shoes were totally ruined. "I thought I would get home in time." I grabbed the blanket off the couch and wrapped it around my body as I took a few unsteady steps towards the bathroom. "You have any idea whose blood this is?" I asked.

"Nah," Ezra shrugged. "But I think it's yours. You were in pretty bad shape when I found you."

"I'd rather I hurt myself than anyone else, I guess." An image of the men from last night flashed before my eyes. One of them lay on the ground, gasping for breath, and the other seemed dyed red. "S**t!" I yelled. "I think I know whose blood this is and I'm not really sorry about it anymore. But I think we have some bodies to clean up when I'm done in the shower, Ez."

"Bodies? F**k, Lex, more than one this time? Whatever, yeah, I'll help you out. Clean that blood off first, though."

"They were scum, I promise," I muttered.

"Yeah, I'm sure they were," He said, taking a step closer to me. "And we'll take care of them later. But right now I really need you to shower that blood off before I throw up."