1. Change

They call me Talon.
This wasn't my name always; I used to be someone else. I used to be something else. But that is my past; I try not to remember it, though of course I cannot forget. I have pushed those memories to the back of my mind, behind dusty shelves, in dark corners, those muddy memories that were once the best I had, now too painful to look at.
My new name is everything now. Talon is both who and what I am.

My story begins, like all others, with the burning. The pain was beyond anything I thought possible, continuing for an immeasurable length of time. And when it stopped I opened my eyes to dusty darkness, uncomfortable, but not absolute. The walls around me seemed to crumble away without my needing to apply any real force. I left the wreckage of the house that, for a short time, had been my home.
I fled to the woods, terrified of the monsters, the red-eyed fiends that were my last recollection before the burning. I moved like never before, the world seemed to pass in slow motion around me as I sped faster than a bullet through the trees. I ran tirelessly, and when I came across a young deer, an unknown instinct overtook me; I caught the doe and broke its neck as easily as I would snap a twig. Its blood was warm and moist and soothed the ache in my throat, which until that moment, I had not noticed.

I was covered in blood and dirt, so I followed the smell of fresh water, faint but discernable, until I found a still pond. I washed off the muck and sat by the waters edge, watching the ripples until they stopped. I saw my reflection then and recoiled in shock. I edged back to the water and looked again, this creature was not me, her skin was paler than any I had ever seen, her hair, despite the dirt and knots, was a thick, glossy, bronze mane down her back, her eyes were vivid red and her face, under the shock, was heart-breakingly beautiful. I could not understand, I raised a hand to touch my face; the reflection did the same, and felt the smooth, perfect texture of it. I held out my hand and saw that it was dead white. I looked back at the reflection and studied my eyes; I had never seen such a brilliant crimson, except for-
I leapt away from the pond again, the single bound carrying me 20 feet from the water. I stared unseeingly into the trees, my face a mask of utmost horror as the memories flooded my mind.

I crouched on the floor against the wall as the creatures tore apart the house. Two of them, one male and a female, they looked human, but for their pallid skin and crimson eyes. They moved with supernatural speed and strength, ripping though cloth, furniture, walls. I heard my aunt shriek from another room, the sound was swiftly cut off. I cringed; the male who was still in the room saw the movement and spun with blinding speed. He was on me, his teeth sinking through the flesh of my arm. I screamed and there was a deafening crash like metal against stone. The creature roared and turned around, I saw my uncle standing behind it, crowbar raised for another swing, his first strike seemed to have done nothing but made it angry. He never got to make that swing, the creature lunged at him. I heard the crack but did not look to see my uncle lying broken under the monster. My arm was beginning to burn but I resisted the urge to cry out, my fear of the creature was too great. I crawled away and hid in the cupboard underneath the staircase; I pulled the door shut and heard something crash against it, locking me inside. Then the burning spread and the world ceased to exist.

I was like them. I was one of those creatures, those monsters. I realized then that I was not breathing and forced myself to take a breath, but I felt no relief from the action, almost as if I didn't need to breathe.
The sun was setting and I didn't want to be caught on the ground at night, there were plenty of predators in the forest. I climbed a tree and stretched out along one of its massive branches, wriggling into a comfortable position. I soon realized I was acting only out of habit; it seemed I no-longer needed sleep either.
I struggled to put a name to this thing I had become, for it was clear I was no longer human. The strength, the speed, the senses which were much sharper than before, all pointed to this theory, I was something else, but what? I thought of the blood I had drunk earlier, the concept was repulsive, but I couldn't deny that the deer's blood had smelled and tasted better than anything I had ever come across.
I thought of the doe again and shuddered. I had always liked deer, and I was disgusted that I had killed one. As I focused on the deer something strange happened, I felt like I was slipping, though I had not moved an inch. I gripped the branch and the feeling stopped, I focused on the image of the deer again, and once more felt the slipping sensation, as though I was water, flowing fast down a river. Then I tumbled over a waterfall and the feeling stopped. I looked around wildly but I was still in the tree, but everything had changed, my body felt different, the unbelievable strength was gone, along with the super senses. I jumped to my feet and fell out of the tree, landing heavily and collapsing as I tried to get to my feet again, I felt like I was tied up with sheets. I struggled out of the restricting cloth, I was on all fours, but this felt natural, my face was further from the ground than it should have been. I held up a hand to my face, the movement was wrong, and my hand was no longer a hand. I yelped and the sound was different than I had expected, I twisted my head around to look down my back, it was covered in tan fur and stretched into a tail. I bolted back to the pond and looked into its glassy surface, seeing my reflection in the fading ruby light. The face that stared back at me was that of the doe I had killed.