The speed at which public opinion shifted sent a cold shiver down Kelly’s spine.
Aster City had been on edge for weeks now with humans and werewolves snapping at each other over every little thing, and she could feel that tension coiling tight in the air. One mont, the crowd had been thrilled, and entertained by the fight, the next, that feeling had turned deadly.
Their eyes were on Ken.
Kelly knew that look and what ca next.
"You all saw what happened!" she shouted, stepping forward before fear could paralyze her. "Noah attacked first, both of them!" Her finger jabbed toward the injured werewolf still writhing on the ground, his bones struggling to knit back together. "Ken didn’t start this!"
She planted herself in front of Ken without thinking, her arms spreading slightly as if her body alone could shield him from the crowd that was beginning to close in.
"It was self-defense!" she declared, her voice shaking but loud. "He had no choice!"
A scoff rose from sowhere in the crowd.
"Self-defense?" a man sneered. "That’s bullshit. He’s a werewolf, that kid was human. All he had to do was take a hit or two."
Another voice chid in. "Yeah. But he used his full strength."
The ugly murmurs increased.
"And now the boy’s dead," soone said grimly.
Kelly’s stomach dropped.
"This is exactly why these creatures shouldn’t be walking among us," a woman hissed. "They’re dangerous."
"That’s murder!" another person yelled.
The word rippled through the crowd like gasoline on fire and it didn’t help that the
bus pulled in right that mont.
Its brakes hissed loudly, the doors folding open with a chanical sigh. Instead of dispersing, more people spilled out, drawn by the noise and the tension like moths to fla.
"What’s going on?" a passenger asked.
"So Werewolf killed a human," soone answered imdiately.
"What?"
The driver leaned out of his seat, eyes narrowing as he took in the scene. "Hey, what the hell happened here?"
"Call it in," another voice urged. "Get the authorities."
Kelly’s heart slamd violently against her ribs. This was quickly getting out of control.
She felt Ken shift behind her, probably trying to defend himself. Kelly turned her head just enough to whisper. "Ken, don’t. You need to run. Now."
"Run?" he whispered back, disbelief in his tone. "I didn’t do anything wrong."
"I know," she said. "But that doesn’t matter anymore. Not to them."
"I am not—" Ken started, anger bleeding into his voice only for a collective gasp to ripple through the crowd.
They turned just in ti to see Noah pushing himself upright.
Cuts littered his body with blood soaking into his clothes. One arm hung at a wrong angle, the bone clearly broken, but he didn’t even flinch. Almost as if he didn’t feel it at all.
His eyes lifted, and there was nothing human in them anymore. A wild, unhinged gleam burned there, hungry with violence. The crowd sensed it too and so of them backed away instinctively.
How was he still standing? That shouldn’t be possible.
"Ken..." Kelly whispered, her voice slightly trembling. "You need to run. Now."
Ken didn’t move.
Noah’s lips peeled back, a low snarl tearing from his throat, raw and animalistic.
"Ken," she pressed, fear settling deep in her bones. Whatever stood in front of them wasn’t the boy Noah anymore.
Still, Ken wouldn’t move.
Then Noah launched.
He moved faster than anything human had a right to and Kelly barely had ti to scream before Ken shoved her aside. She hit the ground hard, pain flaring up her shoulder as Noah slamd into Ken.
They crashed to the concrete in a tangle of limbs with Noah straddling him instantly.
This wasn’t a fight but a mauling. Noah struck wildly, his fists and elbows coming down with feral brutality, while snarling and snapping his teeth at him. Ken struggled beneath him, grunting as he tried to push Noah off.
"Get off , you fucking bastard!" Ken cursed but Noah didn’t budge.
Then, without warning, Noah dropped his head and sank his teeth into Ken’s throat. What followed next was a wet, tearing sound and Ken screaming in agony.
The horrible sound traveled through the space causing the crowd to gasp in horror.
Blood sprayed across the pavent as Noah ripped his flesh with savage force.
Kelly gagged violently, bile burning her throat as she scrambled backward.
This was barbaric.
"Holy shit! This is sick!" the sa man from earlier shouted, pushing closer with his phone raised, excitent gleaming in his eyes.
Others weren’t laughing. In fact, several people turned away, their faces pale, while so stumbled back toward the bus, unable to stomach the violence any longer.
Just when everyone thought it was over, Noah drove his fist straight through Ken’s chest.
Ken let out a broken groan, blood spilling down the corner of his mouth as his body jerked once. Noah’s eyes glead with savage intent as his hand closed around Ken’s heart and tore it free in one brutal motion.
The light drained from Ken’s eyes and for
a suspended mont, no one moved even though their phones remained raised, still recording the impossible scene unfolding before them. The air felt thick and
suffocating, as horror rooted the crowd in place.
Then Noah straightened slowly.
Whatever humanity he had left was gone as he lifted the heart to his mouth and bit into it.
The reaction was instant as screams rent the crowd. Several people gagged violently, with so doubling over as they vomited onto the pavent. Others stumbled back in blind panic, tripping over themselves as reality finally dawned on them.
Kelly scrambled to her feet, shocked. Even the injured werewolf from earlier had managed to rise too, staring at Noah with open revulsion.
Then Noah suddenly dropped to his knees as a scream ripped from his throat. He clutched his head as if sothing inside him was tearing itself apart, his body convulsing with violent spasms. The sound sent icy chills down Kelly’s spine.
"Run!" she scread. "Run for your lives!"
She didn’t wait for anyone else and fled.
The remaining werewolf followed her, alongside a few stunned humans. But the others stayed behind, still filming even as terror engulfed the street.
Then Noah stood again.
Except this ti, sothing about him was deeply wrong. His movents were jerky, grotesque, his limbs bending at unnatural angles. His eyes glowed crimson as he staggered forward.
So humans finally backed away in fear.
All except one.
The man who had been cheering earlier stepped forward instead, grinning. "Yeah!That’s it! Show ’em who’s boss!"
Noah turned his head slowly and lunged.
He tackled the man to the ground with terrifying speed and sank his teeth into him.
Chaos exploded.
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