With a sudden convulsion she bent forward and grabbed her mid-section in what Caleb assumed was pain.
"Mom! What is...?" With a staggering step, she reached out to the bed to steady herself. Caleb stared for a moment, trying to process what he was seeing. Her fingernails were growing out, long and sharp. "Mom?" He took a step back as her moans of pain began to deepen. Her fingers started to lengthen, and her fingernails grew thicker, reshaping themselves into claws. As he backed away, he could see the pajamas were now not only tight, but they were beginning to tear along the back.
"Caleb," she said with a deepening voice. "What did you give... me?" The last word sounded more like a growl than a word, and she turned to look at him. Her eyes had turned golden yellow, and her gritting teeth were growing long and sharp. Brown hair began to grow along her arms and cheeks. With the sound of snapping bone, her nose and mouth began to elongate outward. Her body snapped and continued to reshape as muscles grew larger and less human.
Panicking, Caleb turn from his mother and ran downstairs. In moments he was outside in his backyard, through the closest door to the bedroom. One of the next-door neighbors had his lawn mower going, but he could still hear another cry from inside the house. In moments the cry morphed into a howl.
"This is nuts," Caleb said to himself aloud. "This can't be.... I'm dreaming. I have to be dreaming." Through one of the upstairs windows, he saw two golden eyes staring at him through the reflection of the outside. After only a second, the eyes quickly turned away.
Still panicking, Caleb ran to the detached garage thinking to get in the car. Only when he was partway there did it occur to him that he didn't have the keys. "Please be unlocked. Please be unlocked." He pulled on the handle. It was locked.
There was the sound of crash from the main house. He wasn't sure what it was, but he knew he needed to get away.
What was in that package? he thought to himself. However the package was inside the kitchen, and he knew that might be not be safest location to go to right now.