"... And you should've seen her face when she saw it - priceless!" He guffawed, and the others laughed along with him. "I swear her eyes have never been wider!"
"Somehow," Kane laughed , "You always share the best stories, Theo!"
Theo looked around his circle of friends. Kane, Milo, Tyler, and Aren. Their happy faces were lit by the warm glow of the campfire. Then Tyler looked up at the sky.
"Oh, shoot - it's nighttime." Tyler swore. "We should sleep now!" It was only a moment ago when it seemed that the sun was only beginning to set.
"Yeah," Kane stated in a slightly worried voice. "Don't want the Bloodseekers to find us."
Bloodseekers weren't all that common. They were probably only 100 of them in the entire world. But it wasn't their numbers that posed a threat to humanity. It was their size, their mindless hunger, and their swift, merciless brutality.
The could be best described as gigantic, humanoid killing machines.
As Theo walked around the campsite, he noticed that Aren was quiet. Out of all Theo's friends, Aren was the most talkative one. Being quiet just wasn't his thing...
Theo gently rested a hand on his shoulder. "What's up?"
"Nothing!" Aren yelped, jumping away. Theo frowned. Something was definitely wrong.
"C'mon." Theo sighed, sitting down. "Spill."
"No..." Aren whispered. "I can't tell you..."
"Why not?" Theo asked, gently nudging him. "If it's a secret, I promise I won't tell."
"It's a dangerous secret!" He cried, slumping down. "And, you would hate me if I told you. You would also probably tell the others!"
"Why won't you tell us then?" Theo protested, "Then we might hate you less."
"I feel a bit selfish keeping this from you guys." Aren mumbled, "But you, Tyler, Kane, Milo - you guys are the only friends I have..."
"Alright," Theo relented. "I can see that you're not comfortable with this at all. But just know that I AM curious. And a bit worried."
"Don't worry about danger." Aren smiled weakly. "Don't even worry about me. Worry about yourself."
"Alright,", Theo chuckled, sitting up. "Now I'm definitely worried about danger and you." Aren smiled back. Then, he winced.
"Sorry, ah, I gotta go to the bathroom." He bolted off into the trees.
"Wait!", Theo called after him, "What about the Bloodseekers?!"
Cursing to himself, Theo grabbed a flashlight and followed Aren off into the forest.
...
The only thing that was circling around Aren's mind was oh, shoot.
He hated lying to Theo. He hated that he had a secret that he had to keep.
He snuck behind a tree, and finally released his grip in his mind. Slowly, he felt his eyesight sharpen, his hearing become more sensitive and his smell improve. Then, he began to grow.
He hated that he was a Bloodseeker.
To be honest, though, apart from the size difference, Aren never felt any hunger, or loss of control, or anything. Maybe he was just a fluke, one-and-only.
He sighed, waiting for his energy to come back. "Why me," he grumbled, looking up at the bright moon. "Why does it have to be me?"
His ears flicked when he heard footsteps, and his ears caught the smell of someone he knew very well.
