Bonus Ch 206: Lost Self-control

[For Reference: Continued from Bonus Ch 198. Read or skip.]

Thereafter exiting out the front door, Ian jumped in his car where he parked it in the driveway. He respired, trying to make sense of what had gotten into him. His eyes shut, trying to think about what he ate last night. Maybe one of his friends put something in his food just to be funny. Again he attempted to rationalize any common sense he could gather.

"This is not the time kid." He faintly heard this masculine voice whisper from a far-off distance.

Behind his shades, his eyes forced themselves open as he stretched his neck everywhere, but he only saw neighbors weeding their gardens, mowing the lawn, or washing their cars. Almost everywhere, somebody was doing something productive.

Beneath his chest his heart thuds in irregular patterns. All he could do was push what he distinctly heard off to the side and block it from there.

Then he smelled such temptation on each person he stared at.

"Feed," that same whisper encouraged once again.

He was tempted strongly when two ladies jogged by the rearview from on his street. But he shook his head and gained self-awareness, though knew something about himself wasn't right. He sought to take a break and thought it was best to be going.

Once he started the engine, he geared it into reverse and pulled out before driving onto the roadway. He exhaled again, trying to keep his cool. Just to take an extra breather, he turned into this park. He parked the car and shut off the engine. Again he closed his eyes and relaxed for a mere minute. Till he heard nearby these patches of trees. A few squirrels were bickering and the sound was so distracting.

He got out of his car and went to the source. Right there a gray squirrel climbed to his reach.

"FEED!" That whisper nagged at him again. Ian snatched the Squirrel! "Squeak! Squeak! Squeak!" It cried in his grasp while it bit his knuckles.

"Ouch!" Ian hissed, yet he felt this pressure on his upper canines while he brought that squirrel to his mouth for a bite. Crunch! Bones crushed underneath his teeth and jaw.

"Sq-ueak!" The squirrel squealed upon that foremost killer bite. Blood replenished his mouth and those canine teeth sank like a sponge into the squirrel's fur. He sucked in the warm blood and it ran into his parched throat. That soreness was gone while he drank every last bit. Satisfied, he hissed to his full content.

He looked at the dead squirrel flopped in his hand and dropped it from shock by what he did. Using his tongue, he rubbed it on his teeth and felt they were pointy and sharper than a razor.

Then looking at his hand, he noticed the bite marks on his knuckles healed, spontaneously, which was pretty cool, he reckoned. Just when he was about to talk to himself.

Above, more squirrels scurry high in the tree. Game over! Ian lost any sense he had of self-control. Like a spider, he ascended the tree, growling like a ravenous beast. Any squirrel he saw he snatched to feast.

Oh, did he ever feast! Throughout the branches, he cornered each squirrel until there were none left in this tree. However, it didn't end there, he ambushed a few chirping birds as well. By the time he was done feasting, his mouth was a bloody massacre. That's when he uncovered he has one freakishly long tongue that he uses to clean up his face.

At the end of his feast, he felt better and came back to reality. Now for a sure fact, he knew this wasn't natural. It's like he wasn't human anymore, he felt. Even worse, how could he return home without harming his family? He questions inside his head.

For that duration, he stayed at the park and contemplated in his car. Once night rolled in, he went home since his parents were lenient with him now. He could be out during late hours.

Once he unlocked the front door, he walked in and was happy to see the lights were dimmed. Which told him everyone was in bed.

"Why are you still wearing sunglasses when it's dark out?" Suddenly his heart strikes the floor when he hears his little sister Laura ask him. In the living room, he turned around and saw she was still up during the night, playing an online game on the computer.

"Why are you still up?" He asked to avoid her question. "Shouldn't you be in bed?"

"It's summer," Laura reminded him and squinted her eyes at him strangely. While he fought hard not to go anywhere near her.

"Feed," urged that whisper.

The blood in her pulse baited him too vehemently as if feeding on those squirrels and birds did nothing for him.

"I'm going to bed." Ian turned and hustled upstairs. He went to his room and locked himself in.

~~~

August 1st came and during these weeks Ian kept his distance from his family. Heavy sorrow weighed on his heart to be so cold to his family. But his stepdad defended his unusual behavior to his mother and sisters. With his newly developed hearing, he overheard his stepdad saying he was acting this way because it was his way of dealing with the fact he was moving out. Ian was heartbroken to hear this and wished he could tell them the truth.

Never once had Ian been like this toward them. Yet, he felt it was the only way he could come up with to protect them from the blood-sucking beast inside him.

For the most part, he sated his hunger by feeding on animals. Unfortunately, he ate the neighbor's cats and dogs but it was better than feeding on his neighbors and family, he justified.

Now the time had come and Ian found his stepdad working inside the garage.

His nostrils flared to inhale such a delicious redolence coming from his stepdad. It was so wrong and unnatural, he thought.

"Hey, Dad," he addressed, feebly.

His stepdad looked up at him from the toolbox and asked. "What's on your mind, Kid?"

"I've decided I'm going to move out and live at the college dorm, I am attending," Ian broke the news.

His stepdad proudly smiles yet he has sadness too. It was a bittersweet moment to watch Ian grow from an infant to the young man that he is now. Not a day went by that he didn't see Ian as his son. He was proud to be the loving father that raised him.

"You always have a home here. Do come by to visit," his stepdad said.

"Yes, sir." Ian smiled, weakly.

"Let's go break the news to your mother and sisters," his stepdad said and then they stepped inside to do that.

[Back to the main storyline.]