The Beast Within: Shadows Over the Marina”

Yousef slowly opened his eyes, lying on the cold grass of the garden. The sky was overcast, and morning dew clung to his cheeks. He murmured vague words while staring blankly ahead:

"Marina… yachts… Daniel…"

He rose sluggishly, his body still exhausted from the transformations of the night. He crept into his house like a thief, stole some food, and devoured it hungrily like a wild animal. Then, in a swift motion, he transformed into a falcon and soared high into the sky toward the marina.

He landed on one of the marina buoys, his eyes scanning the boats like a predator searching for prey.

Suddenly, his pupils widened.

"Oh! It's Judy!"

He said to himself in disbelief. She was standing on the deck of a yacht, glancing around nervously. It was clear she was hiding something serious.

Judy boarded the yacht along with some strange-looking men, and the boat sailed off, slicing through the water in a sinister calm.

Without hesitation, Yousef dove into the sea and swiftly transformed into a giant shark, his eyes locked on the yacht.

In the middle of the sea, the boat suddenly stopped. The shadow of the shark drew closer to the hull.

Judy, her voice trembling as she looked into the water, said:

"I saw him…"

Before she could say more, one of the men motioned for her to be quiet and ordered the captain to return to the marina immediately.

Yousef got there before them, returned to human form, and sat watching from a distance, his face pale and tense, eyes tracking every movement.

When the yacht arrived, only the man disembarked. Yousef quietly followed him to a secluded area.

Suddenly, he felt danger creeping from all directions. He turned to find the man and others surrounding him.

One of them roared as he transformed into a raging lion and lunged at him.

Yousef dodged and raised his hands in surrender:

"Stop! Let's talk! I've lost my memory!"

But the lion didn't listen and attacked again.

In a flash, Yousef transformed into another lion, and a brutal clash erupted between the two—growls, claws, and violent strikes.

Yousef quickly backed off and turned into a German Shepherd, trying to escape. But another man transformed into a Doberman and chased him, and the fight spilled into a public street.

People screamed, some filmed, others fled.

Environmental Protection officers intervened, trying to contain the chaos.

Inside a large iron cage, Yousef sat hunched over, breathing heavily.

Yousef (angrily):

"Never again!"

He turned back into his human form and began slamming the bars:

"Why are you all attacking me?! Why all this violence?! We're human—we can speak and reason!"

In the adjacent cage, the man transformed from a Doberman into a small snake, slithered through the narrow bars, and suddenly transformed into a massive anaconda, coiling around Yousef and squeezing tightly.

Yousef screamed in pain but didn't give in. He transformed into a giant gorilla, grabbing the anaconda and smashing it violently.

A guard entered at that moment, and the moment his eyes took in the scene, he fainted from the shock.

The bars shattered, and the battle intensified. The gorilla and the anaconda separated, staring each other down in primal fury.

Suddenly, the enemy also transformed into a gorilla, broke through the wall, and escaped.

A thrilling chase broke out in the streets—gorillas running, people screaming and filming, the Environmental Protection officers chasing behind, and no one believing what they were witnessing.

The battle reached the edge of the sea, and in the heat of the fight, the two gorillas leapt into the water. Media, bystanders, and officials followed their movements, but once underwater…

They vanished.

No trace of them was ever found.

No camera, no diver, no radar could locate where they had gone or who they really were.

In a quiet room, Sarah sat next to Yaqoub, her eyes fixed on his phone as he played one of the trending videos.

Yaqoub (in shock):

"Look!"

Sarah (anxiously, in a whisper):

"Do you think he… died?"