Chapter 33 - Hybrid Theory

"Let us see what this hybrid is capable of," a man smirks. He has long black hair, tied back. He wears a fine black suit and a top hat. His eyes are a cold shade of grey. I'm trapped in a cage, directly under the moon. There is a fresh wound in my side. The man laughs as I wince, gripping the stinging flesh. He cackles as the clouds move away from the glowing orb. I slowly look up. A full moon. This is it; goodbye cruel world, hello pain.


The moonlight shines on me. My heart pounds in my ears, my breath catches and my viens throb. I feel my fangs grow uncontrolably. I grip the bars. My muscles pang as I arch my back. Falling to my knees, I grasp my painful skull and yell with pain. The man just laughs madly, as if my pain is his joy. I scream, lunging, throwing myself into the walls of iron bars that contain me. I feel as if I'm going to explode into a million tiny pieces. I snatch the bars again, managing to compose myself into a stance, breathing hard.


The moon reveals itself again. The pain intensifies. My aching heart skips a beat. I fall forward, back onto my knees, screaming, ripping, tearing my clothes off. Still the man laughs. My eyes are an inferno of bloodshot violet. My bones snap and crack into different positions, an unnatural wiry fur spreads over my skin, my hands and feet turn into clawed paws, a muscular body replaces mine. I'm howling like a banshee, my ears grow tall and pointed, shifting themselves to the top of my head. I can't hold on.


I shake the cage wildly, wailing. My jaws and nose lengthen, molding together to form a muzzle full of razor sharp teeth. It's complete. I'm a fully fledged beast - a hybrid that is more dangerous than anything Dracula and Frankenstein could ever imagine. Vampire and werewolf cells cannot both inhabit the same body. I will either be cursed, killed or overrun by one of the groups of cells. I only hope that it's the vampiric cells that gain victory.


I snap at the man who imprisoned me. I'm out of control. I will destroy anything in my path. I growl, standing on my hind feet, towering over the shadowed male as the remains of my clothes drop from my body. He clambers upon my cage and begins to rattle the locks. I snarl and sit back on my hocks, awaiting my release. A group of humans is flung into view, in chains. I narrow my eyes. The locks drop to the floor and the door is thrown open.


I launch myself at the humans. They are suddenly pulled up the tower, screaming and yelling as I leap up and scramble up the walls after them. They're dragged along the halls. I race after them, snapping and clawing for them. They disappear. I rise back onto my hind feet, scenting the air. There's half of a shriek from behind me. I whirl round and charge after the humans. They've been set loose. They run away together. I'm on all-fours, hurdling after them, snapping, knocking thing out of the way, smashing things, making a complete mess of the place, hungrily.


I don't remember anything after that. It's all a blur. My whole body aches. I groan and open my eyes. I'm lying on my front. My wound has healed itself. My wings are unfurled from my back. Ishizu stands over me, tending to them. She flexes my left wing. Pain shoots down my spine. "AARGH!" I explode.
"Stop squirming!" she mumbles.
"AHAAA!"
"Stay still!"
"AAAAGH-oooh...you sound like my grandmother!" I moan.
"Good!" she scolds.


"I don't feel well..." I mutter.
"Well, Mr.Rockstar, you do throw a gig whenever you can," Ishizu says loudly, folding my wings. "And what happened last night must have been painful..."
Marik sticks a device in my ear. It bleeps and he removes it. "You've got a high temperature," he grunts. "Looks like those cells are starting to attack each other,"
I sniffle and sneeze.
"Now they are," Ishizu nods. "Stay in bed and try to sleep through it,"
"We'll have to cancel tonight's gig," Yugi says.
"What?" I cough, eyes snapping wide open. "Argh!"
"Try to relax," Tea says soothingly. "You're sick and weak,"
"I don't want to miss-" I break off, coughing.
"See!" she grunts.
"I'm fine!" I protest.
"Don't lie, Pharaoh," she says stubburnly. "Let's promise not to lie to each other. That way, everything's gonna be a whole lot easier,"


Night comes sooner than I had expected. The Ishtars are asleep already. Yugi's watching movies on the TV and Tea's sipping at a mug of hot chocolate, hiding behind a pillow when scary scnes come on. I sit next to her.
"What does the C in KFC stand for?" Yugi suddenly pipes up.
Tea giggles. "You don't know?"
"Corpse," I smirk, just as the woman in the film is attacked by a zombie.
Yugi shudders.


I pick up a glass of blood from the table and begin to drink. The woman on the film screams as the zombie pulls her legs off. Tea turns to me and notices what I'm drinking. She shrieks and jumps behind her pillows.
"What?" I frown.
"Don't do that!" she whimpers.
"He's a vampire, remember?" Yugi says. "He needs to do that,"
I put the glass back on the coffee table and sit with my elbows rested on my lap. My chin is in my palms and I'm running a finger up and down my left fang. It's a habit I have, I do it when I'm thinking or bored.


After couging for what seemed like ages, and then finally coughing up a dark liquid, I manage to get into bed. I still don't feel well, but I'm pretty sure the vampiric cells are winning. I lie awake, long after my friends had fallen asleep. Can't get comfortable. My back, head and ears ache. For once I actually want to sleep. My arm hurts. Luckily I have my own room so that if anything goes wrong, I can keep it to myself.


"Hey, Pharaoh!" Tea knocks on the door. I'm still asleep.
"Pharaoh! Woohoo! Hello?" she bangs on the door.
"Hey, Atem!" Yugi yells.
"Did he lock himself in again?" Marik asks.
"He must have," his sister agrees.


"Pharaoh!" Tea tries one last time. "We'll see you at the beach okay?" she calls.
The group leave. My eyes flicker open. My body no longer aches. I hiss as I squint through blinding sunlight. My right arm feels different. I look down at it. "Aaargh!" From my shoulder down, it's covered in dense, wiry fur, my hand has leathery pads, on the tips of my fingers, my palm and on my wrist and my nails are claws! My arm's a werewolf! Please don't be permanent! I lump out of bed and try everything to return my arm to its original form. Nothing works. I need to hide this from the humans!


There goes my career of being a guitarist...I find some bandages in the bathroom and wrap them round my arm, tightly. Mummify it! The best way of preserving and protecting something, plus no one can get at it...I think...I get washed and dressed.


I wear black trousers, a black shirt under a hoodie and black boots. Put my hands, wallet and keys in my pockets and hope the bandages work. Jog down the stairs, have a quick breakfast then walk down to the beach. Tea, Yugi, Ishizu and Marik run over to me.
"You changed your hair," Yugi notes. "How come?"
I don't answer, just clench my fists in my pockets and fail to hide a wince as my claws dig into my palms. Tea keeps glancing at my arm suspisciously. I keep looking into her eyes, bringing her face up from it with my own. She reaches for me and I step back. Big mistake. I just made her even more anxious.



She catches a glimpse of fur. Grabbing my wrist and pulling my hands out of my pockets, she unwraps the bandages. "I thought we promised not to lie to each other," she says, smug that her rumors were true. She drops the fabric on the floor.
"I'm...sorry to tell you this, but that will be with you until you die," Marik says in a small voice as I glare at Tea.
I sit down on a bench and suck the blood from my palm. Another habit, for when I'm worried, scared or just in a bad mood.
"Why didn't you tell us?" Ishizu asks quietly.


"Looks like those cells had a tie then. Will he still transform?" Yugi mutters.
"No," Marik replies. "There is enough vampire blood in him to prevent that, and enough lupine blood to keep him immune to sunlight,"

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