Present day
RYLAN
__
The scales grow heavy...
Sweat dribbles down my face, an unbearable tightness cramping around my chest--a noose getting tighter by the second.
'Help!'
'Help us!'
'Here comes the king!'
'My baby!'
A child's squall pierces the air. Guttural yells follow soon after.
The voices spill into themselves, merging into a ghastly song of terror. My claws snap out, my beast threatening to rise but unable to do so. I could do nothing in this dream state, a prospect I would never admit terrifies me, thwarting my desperate need to always be in control.
Rylan!
RYLAN.
DUDE WAKE THE F*CK UP!
Hands shake my shoulders roughly and I come to with a gasp, causing my friend, Enrico, to lurch back.
"s**t! I would never get used to that," he says, slack-jawed.
I struggle to cat
