Shifters: The Lost Shifter

The world spun around me, a dizzying whirlwind of chaos and confusion. My vision was clouded by thick, acrid smoke, and I couldn't make sense of what was happening. My hand reached up to my throbbing head, and I winced as I felt a sticky wetness. Blood. I must have taken a blow to the head.

Struggling to sit up, I pushed myself off the ground, my head swimming with dizziness. The ground beneath me was littered with debris and the scent of burnt wood and charred metal filled the air. As my vision slowly cleared, I began to piece together the fragments of my memory.

"Kiara!" I shouted, my voice barely audible over the ringing in my ears. Panic gripped my heart as I scanned the area for my friend. There, just a few feet away, lay Kiara, her body twisted at an unnatural angle. She was alive, but barely, her labored breathing a testament to the severity of her injuries.

I crawled over to her, my hands trembling as I tried to comfort her. "Kiara, hang in there," I whispered, my voice filled with desperation. "We'll get out of this. Just hold on."

The smoke began to dissipate, revealing a scene of utter devastation. And then, I saw him. Drake. He was in the midst of a monstrous transformation, a sight that chilled my very soul. His body elongated, limbs stretching into grotesque shapes. His skin rippled, and dark scales sprouted, covering his form. Large, obsidian wings unfurled, and a wickedly barbed tail lashed behind him. In his monstrous maw, he held the head of our professor.

My heart pounded in my chest, disbelief and terror warring within me. Drake was my friend, my classmate, and I'd never seen anything like this before. He had inherited the final transformation, a Wyvern, and it was a monstrous sight to behold. The world seemed to slow down as I watched him, unable to tear my gaze away from the grotesque spectacle.

"What... What happened, Drake?" I muttered to myself, the words escaping my lips as a whisper. It was a surreal nightmare, and I couldn't comprehend it. Was this really Drake? Was this monster responsible for what had just happened to us? My thoughts were a jumbled mess, a cacophony of fear and disbelief.

The darkness in his eyes was chilling, void of any recognition. I needed to get to Kiara, to protect her, but the distance between us felt insurmountable. Drake's gaze shifted towards me, and for a brief moment, I saw a flicker of recognition. But it was gone, replaced by a predatory hunger that sent shivers down my spine.

"Drake?" I tried calling out to him, my voice trembling with uncertainty. "It's me, Tad. Do you... Do you recognize me?" There was no response, just that malevolent, reptilian stare.

With every inch I crawled towards Kiara, Drake moved closer to me, his massive wings casting an ominous shadow. The world around me blurred, and the smoke seemed to grow thicker. My head was throbbing, my thoughts chaotic and fragmented. I couldn't process what was happening.

As Drake closed the distance, I began to lose consciousness. The pain from my head wound, the overwhelming fear, and the sheer absurdity of the situation all became too much to bear. My vision dimmed, and my body felt heavy, like I was sinking into a bottomless abyss. I reached out a trembling hand to Kiara, but it was too late. The darkness swallowed me whole.

In the final moments of consciousness, I wasn't sure if Drake was an ally or enemy. Had he lost control of himself? Was there still a fragment of my friend buried within that monstrous form? It was a question I couldn't answer as my world faded into blackness.

And then, silence.

The world ceased to exist as I slipped into unconsciousness, leaving me with nothing but questions and uncertainty. All I could hope for was that when I awoke, I would find the answers I so desperately needed.