Not Human

Soren leaned against the door frame and took out a cigarette. He was staring at the mutilated corpse on the bed with no expression on his face. Agent Issac stayed in the hall, his back against the wall and the bedroom out of sight.

"You know, in the movies, they focus on zombies eating brains. It's a lot harder to get to the brain than people give credit. The parts that are the easiest to get to, and arguable the better parts, are the internal organs. The stomach doesn't offer much resistance when you're as strong as a mutated.

"One punch is all it takes to bypass all that flesh and rip up through the ribs…"

"Please… Stop…"

Agent Issac turned to the side and proceeded to throw up.

"Damn, kid, doesn't this bother you?"

Agent Issac wiped his mouth and turned to look at Soren who shrugged.

"I suppose, but not the same way it does you. I saw shit like this as a kid so it's not new. What bothers me is that all of this happened in the first place.

"It's all just unnecessary."

Sirens could be heard coming closer. Soren pushed away from the door frame and moved toward the living room.

"I think it's best if Fry and I aren't here when the cops arrive. I'll let you know when we return to the house."

Agent Issac watched him in silence, not sure what he should say. Soren grabbed Fry's hand and pulled her out of the apartment. They quickly moved down the stairs and out of sight before the cops pulled in.

"He killed his parents, didn't he?"

"I'm afraid so."

Fry rubbed at her eyes and took a deep breath. She had waited to speak until they were about three blocks away.

"He only moved back there a month ago. That could have been me."

Soren squeezed the hand that he was still holding.

"But it wasn't. It'll be our job to help as many people as we can, but what happened to Pete will happen to other people. You can't shoulder that level of guilt, Fry.

"Jordan is going to help me draw blood every two days so that we have the means to stop people from mutating before they ever start."

"Thanks. I should have said it earlier, but I'm saying it now."

The part that she did not say aloud was that she would be working harder to accept what she was. She knew that becoming stronger was the only way to help people.

"You're important to me, Fry. I have a shortlist of people that I care about and you're on it."

She smiled and leaned against him as they continued to walk. Their first destination was the repair shop. It was a quick in and out; she went inside to pay then they left.

The next stop was his apartment where he packed away all his clothes into a trash bag. He had a second trash bag that he threw what food and essentials were there. From there they drove to an atm to check his father's debit card.

They went by her place last. It was a small one bedroom apartment like his, though she had personalized her space with pictures and knick-knacks.

It took a little longer to pack away all her things. When they were done it was already nearing five in the evening. They had been so busy they had not stopped to eat lunch.

"It's weird, but I don't feel hungry. You would think I'd be starving by now."

Soren looked over at her. He had let her do all the driving since it was her vehicle so she was sitting behind the wheel. They were on their way back to the house.

"You'll start to notice that more as time goes on. When you're eating properly you won't have to eat every day. Right now you shouldn't go more than a day without eating, though."

"What about you?"

"So long as I'm on a regular diet and don't over exert myself I can go two weeks without eating. The longest I ever went was a month, but I did more sleeping than moving.

"If I'm active I can't go more than a week, supplementing with regular food is a good idea."

"Will we have to… Eat that every day?"

"No. Two or three times a week, yes, but not every day. In the early stages, it's better to not push yourself. Part of controlling the hunger is keeping it fed. So long as Jordan or I are there we can keep the two of you from harming anyone if you were to lose control.

"Because it is something that you have to learn to do, gaining control over your hunger will take months. Fresh blood will be your main trigger."

"Will it really be that hard to control?"

"How long did it take you to notice what you were eating last night?"

Fry opened her mouth to say something then closed it, biting her lower lip. Her hands turned white as they gripped the steering wheel.

"Just imagine reacting like that when a human cuts their hand. Until you and Ethan have full control we will be keeping an eye on you."

"You and Jordan have full control?"

"We do. Remember, we've been dealing with this since we were little. Teenage hormones added some complications. I slipped up once after I ran away. My father had supplied me with the necessary food my whole life and suddenly it was on me to take care of it.

"I adapted and learned. I managed to live eight years with minimal impact."

"So, you… You…"

She could not say it aloud, could not even finish the sentence in her mind. The person she had known for the last three years was nowhere near who he actually was.

"Yes, I killed. One person a year was more than enough. I learned from my father that there were people that no one would go looking for if they suddenly disappeared."

They had pulled into the driveway by then. Fry parked the car and turned to look at Soren.

"How? They were people, doesn't that bother you?"

"No. I can't even use the excuse that they were criminals, or terrible people, because I didn't dig that far. I chose people that I knew no one would miss. It was a matter of my survival and in a sense, the survival of everyone around me."

Soren turned to face her, making sure she was looking him in the eyes. He blinked and his brown eyes turned a bright, vivid red.

"Fry, I am not human. At some point in my life, I was, my parents were human after all. I've looked through all the research notes that my father kept on me, and watched all the videos. I was one or two when he started injecting me with the virus.

"I fully mutated for the first time when I was five, lost all sense of reason for a day before I came back. When you look at Jordan it's clear what he is. What I am is no different from what he is, I'm just a monster that looks nice on the outside.

"The way we think is similar, I just happen to view humans as food. That's not to say I can't co-exist, I've been doing that. I believe that everyone deserves a fair shot at life so long as it doesn't infringe on mine. You are no longer human, Fry. I can help you learn how to function as you are, teach you how to co-exist with humans.

"The only thing I can't do is take back what happened."

Tears were freely flowing from Fry's eyes. She would wipe at her eyes to try and stem the flow, but it never seemed enough.

"Are we just saving them because they're food?"

"No, not at all. We're going to save them because no one should have to go through that. I don't want to see another friend hurt like Jordan or Pete. Some of my reasons are petty; I refuse to let my father win. I won't let him destroy the world."