She'd been mid-stride on her morning jog when pain shot through her skull like lightning. Her earbuds clattered to the pavement as she doubled over, a scream caught in her throat. Something was growing from her tailbone, tearing through her leggings. When the agony subsided, she found herself alone on an unfamiliar street, buildings half-collapsed around her, with a bushy fox tail swishing behind her.
The broken car mirror reflected a stranger. Felicity stared at the pale woman who stared back, her ocean blue eyes wide and trembling with disbelief. She touched her lips soft, full, pouted slightly in confusion then ran shaking fingers through blonde hair that flowed past her shoulders like spilled honey. But it was the fox ears that stopped her breath: blonde fur tipped with white, perched atop her head like some cosmic joke.
"Hello?" she'd called out, voice cracking. "Anyone?" Tears falling down her face.
That's when she'd spotted a woman the woman, crouched behind an overturned bus, her pale face framed by a shock of white fur that blended seamlessly into her platinum blonde hair. Two rounded ears poked through the crystalline strands, twitching at every sound in the rubble around them.
"What's happening to us?" The woman had sobbed, examining the sharp points that had replaced her fingernails. Before Felicity could answer, they'd heard it the guttural snarls of approaching monsters, followed by the jeers of beastmen whose eyes gleamed with hunger and lust when they spotted the two transformed women.
"Move your ass!" The woman hissed now, her tiger tail swishing impatiently behind her otherwise human form. "We're losing daylight!" "Im Coming, by the way my name's Felicity, whats yours?" Felicity murmured, "Rose, My name is Rose." tearing her eyes from her reflection. Her new shape still felt alien gentle curves where there had been none, soft fur covering her ears and tail, and a face that was beautiful yet otherworldly.
She hurried after Rose, her tail swaying uncertainly. The late sun slanted across the ruined street, long shadows stretching between piles of rubble. They pressed against crumbling shopfronts, every step stirring the scent of rot and something wilder that made Felicity's heightened senses quiver. Rose paused under a broken streetlamp, squinting at a roughly sketched map on a piece of cardboard. She drew from memory as no phone worked."If we find water here, there's a good chance others have too," she said. Looking around the city had turned wild now 30% city and the rest looked like a forest. "Which way?" Felicity whispered. Rose pointed north. "That way. We have to hurry." Distant snarls mutant monsters or was it zombies? no doubt reverberated through the still air. Felicity's chest tightened as adrenaline flared. Shadows now carried threats, and every scrap of debris could conceal danger. " what the hell is going on" she whispered to her self. Out of the gloom strode a lizard beastman, scales shimmering dully in the waning light. He barred their path, head tilting with a predator's curiosity. "Well, what do we have here?" his raspy voice hissed. Lust filled eyes
Felicity froze, pressing herself closer to Rose. "We don't want trouble," she said, voice barely above a breath. " we also turned into animals we should be kind to eachother."
The beastman chuckled, a low, wet sound. "Oh, I dont think so." His gaze flicked over them like a gambler sizing up cards. Rose's tail flicked in warning. She gripped a length of rusted metal bar she'd scavenged, claws sharpening against its edge. Felicity's palms trembled; she snatched up a battered broom handle and held it before her like a shield, knees knocking together despite her resolve.
"Let us pass," Felicity stammered, voice wavering. "We'll defend ourselves if we have to."Inwardly, Felicity's thoughts spiraled with panic. She couldn't even open stubborn pickle jars without help how was she supposed to survive in a world of superhuman beasts? The beastman's smile wavered, showing reptilian teeth. He took a slow step forward. "You're in no position to make demands." He licked his lips while his eyes slowly looked at rose and felicities curved bodies. Rose glared back, bar raised. Felicity tightened her grip on the broom, breath coming fast. They shared a silent promise: together, they'd face whatever came next.
The beastman's eyes darkened with predatory intent as he sprang forward, his massive form casting a shadow that promised violence and worse. Felicity swung her makeshift weapon, every ounce of her fear transformed into will. They wouldn't go down without a fight.
Felicity's heart pounded as she ducked behind Rose, her fennec fox ears flattened against her head in terror. The creature a massive, grotesque beastman, not a monster but a savage lizard predator lunged forward with terrifying speed. Scaly flesh stretched over rippling muscle, and its multiple jaws snapped at the air where they'd stood just moments before, saliva dripping as though it hungered to drag them off and force them into submission. "I don't know how much longer I can keep this up," Rose panted, her tiger claws extended as she slashed at the monster's flank. Felicity's broom connected with the attacker, the impact jarring her arms and throwing her off balance. She stumbled sideways, realizing with dismay that her makeshift weapon had barely slowed her opponent. The beastman let out an inhuman shriek, its reptilian eyes flashing with cruel delight as their blow landed. Its twisted form recoiled, but Felicity could feel her strength weakening. The creature's taloned hands slashed through the air, missing her by inches as it crouched, poised to seize them both.
A guttural roar suddenly echoed through the ruined courtyard, followed by a blur of silver and gray. A massive figure crashed into the fray, moving with impossible speed. A tall beastman with broad shoulders and golden-brown fur covering muscular arms landed in a crouch before them.
"Get back!" he shouted, his voice deep and commanding. Felicity waved a dismissive hand. "Take it. I insist," she said, her voice light but firm. He swung a heavy club, its head cracking against the lizard beastman's knee. The Lizard man staggered back, clutching at its limb. Felicity's eyes widened, the terror that had gripped her seconds ago suddenly evaporating. The stranger's silhouette stood against the fading light, features indistinguishable but unmistakably powerful. "Thank the stars," she whispered, barely audible even to herself. Her fingers unclenched slightly as she watched him, wondering if his arrival meant salvation or just a different kind of danger.
The new arrival towered over them, his silhouette outlined by the dying sun. The stranger's face was mostly human, but a stripe of white fur bisected his nose and swept across his jawline, accentuating sharp blue eyes that burned under a heavy brow. His thick mane bristled as he squared off against the lizard beastman. In the half-light, he looked carved from marble, his jaw squared and lips pressed into a flat line. Across his back, a tattered military jacket hung askew, the sleeves ripped to accommodate biceps thick as telephone poles. His bare hands, tipped with short, black claws, flexed as he readied for another strike.
"Name's Finch."
///A/N: hi besties this is my first book and im borderline illiterate so be gentle ///