-Kristine, by Kimmi

It was a dark, gloomy afternoon when a teenage girl found herself walking down an alley with the feeling of being watched. She quickened her pace. Something behind the girl crashed, and in an instant she was running. In a matter of minutes, she heard some kind of vehicle. It was no use. She knew she could not out run it, but she had to try.

Too soon a door opened, and feet padded on the concrete. 

"Oh...no..." Kristine was forced to stop. Dead end. Slowly, very slowly, she turned around, hoping for the best, but fearing the worst. Three dark figures crept closer. 

"Who are you?" her voice came out as barely a whisper. "Please...don't," she begged.

Kristine shrank back against the brick wall, trying to move as far from the men as was possible. Her damp,curly, black hair fell over eyes, obscuring her vision. The men reached for her. She struggled, but her efforts proved to be futile. No girl, not even a strong one, would have a chance against three fully grown, muscular men.

As she was dragged to the van, a chloroform cloth was pressed over her nose, and mouth, forcing her to black out. 

When she awoke, her mind was a bit cloudy, but eventually it cleared. She had no idea where she was, or why she was there. Kristine was lying on some sort of table, held down by leather straps. 

"Ah, awake are we? Good. Now I can begin," a low voice said somewhere in the much too bright room.

Kristine blinked several times, trying to adjust her eyes to the brightness. "Who are you?" a few moments later she could make out a burly man with short, black hair, and wild eyes. He had an un-kept look, and was very much in need of a shave, or at least a touch up. 

"Me? Do you not recognize me?" he gave a short pause and continued, "of course not, you haven't seen me since you were three months old."

"How do you know me? Let me go!" she cried.

"Oh hush. Do you want me to answer you? I will. I'm a man who has been broken too harshly, and someone needs to be sacrificed for another's past sins. Your mothers, to be exact. She ripped my heart out and tore it to pieces. Now, I will fulfill my revenge, and make her suffer for what she did."

"N...no...let me go!"

"I would, I would, if it was not crucial to my plans, but alas, I must continue." 

He held up a kitten by its neck. It struggled, not he did not let go. "See this? Disgusting creatures, aren't they?"

She watched, horrified. "Leave it alone!"

The man came closer. "Oh, don't look at me like that with those large, blue, penetrating eyes. They are just like your mothers." his eyes were fixed on hers, and seemed to stare off into another time, but then he snapped back. Without another word, he turned from her and put the kitten in a cage. "Don't worry. This wont hurt. Well, I dunno, maybe I'm lying. This is only my second test. The first specimen died. No need to worry though, I believe I've worked out the kinks."

Kristine shook uncontrollably, too frightened to move, or speak. The man went over to a computer, and pressed a few keys. At first she thought it was she that was shaking, but they she realized that it wasn't her, but the table which shook. Her vision blurred, and waves of unbearable heat washed through her. Tears dripped down her face, and she could hear the kitten meowing and hissing in fear. 

Then everything stopped, and the man rushed over to the table. "How do you feel?" 

She opened her mouth to speak, but all she heard was a meow.

He watched her quizzically, and then his eyes brightened. "How unexpected...hmm"

Kristine tried again, and she managed to whisper, "w...what was that?"

"You haven't guessed?"

"N…no." her voice shook.

"You’re a mutant now, of course. I've spent years working on this machine, and it is finally ready, and working in proper order. Come, look in the mirror and see for yourself."

The straps that had restrained her loosened, and unbuckled with a press of a button on the control panel.

Kristine sat up slowly, frightened, and made her way to a large mirror. She froze. Is…that…me? The girl could not believe it. Would not believe it. "This can't be…it's an illusion."

"No, no, it is not an illusion, it is very real. I, Jorge Dunbar have done this. I shall go down in history as…"

"What the hell?!" Kristine cried, interrupting him.

Jorge's face darkened. "No one interrupts me when I'm speaking." He glared, then turned from her, only to quickly turn back and slap her.

Kristine fell back hard, and slid across the floor from the force.

Kristine fell back hard, and slid across the floor from the force.

Without another word, Jorge grabbed her, dragged her across the room, and shoved her through a door. Kristine was left shivering, and trying to choke back her tears, but failed.

The image of what she had seen in the mirror haunted her dreams when she finally cried herself to sleep. She stood before a mirror, looking like a girl, except cat-like. In place of her real ears, were cat ears, and her eyes…they gazed back at her, a yellow-green, and her pupils were black slits in those luminous, orbs. Her nails had been, longer, deadlier. She was a monster.

Kristine woke up screaming.

She sat up, and looked around the room frantically. She had to get out of there. Kristine walked up to the barred window. There must be someway to get rid of these. It was when she wrapped a hand around one of the bars that it really hit her. It was real. Her nails were just as she had seen in the mirror, and in her dream. This was actually happening to her. She watched as her long nails glistened in the moonlight, and she got an idea. Kristine walked over to the door and slid a claw into the keyhole, and wiggled it around until she heard a satisfying click. 

Quietly, Kristine opened the door, and walked soundlessly across the icy, concrete flooring. All was silent until she walked past the cage containing the kitten. It stared up at her, its large eyes pleading to set her free. Her? How did she know it was a her? For some reason, the just knew, and she could under stand all its body language said. Somehow, she even knew her name. Mi. The kitten trusted her. 

"Shhh…" Kristine used a claw to unlock the cage, and Mi leapt onto her shoulder. 

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