Paul Skurts was a student in his sophomore year of college at Garrington University, located in Pennsylvania. He and his twin brother Ben had both received full rides due to their grades and were each entering different fields of study. While Paul was working towards a career in computer software, his brother was researching genetics in the science department, often working in their college’s newly-build science facility. At the moment, Paul was in the dorm he and his brother shared, waiting for Ben’s return from the labs.
As he sat on his bed reading his book, Paul looked up at his alarm clock. It read 11:47, which worried him.
“Ben should be back by now,” he thought. Glancing at his phone, he confirmed that he hadn’t received any messages and was wondering what was taking his brother so long.
“He’s probably out talking with that girl again. Maybe he’ll actually have some luck this time.” Paul chuckled to himself at the thought, but was then startled by a loud banging on his window. Moving over and opening the bottom pane, he was shocked to find a disheveled and panting Ben, who jumped in the opening and shut it behind him.
“Jesus Ben, what’s the deal? Are you bleeding?!”
Paul tried to inspect his brother’s shoulder, where his clothing was torn and a small gash was located, seeping blood into the damaged shirt.
“I’m fine, Paul, no worries. I’m just a little shaken up. I cut through the edge of the forest as a shortcut and was jumped by a massive fuckin’ dog. I managed to outrun it, but it definitely cut my shoulder. Nothing a little bandaid should handle.”
Ben inspected the wound, then walked to the bathroom to patch it up. He walked out shirtless, a small bandage covering up the open orifice on his arm.
“See? Good as new.”
Paul looked at his brother skeptically, sensing that there was something he wasn’t telling him. His mother had always said they could read each other easier since they were twins, but he didn’t know for sure.
“Listen, I was expecting you to get here earlier, Professor Powell sent out a last-minute email letting us know class is earlier tomorrow morning. Now I don’t know about you, but I say we should hit the hay.”
Ben nodded in approval, and the two boys got everything ready for the morning and got into bed, Paul easily drifting to sleep. However, his brother tossed and turned for most of the night, knowing that if he told Paul about the hulking, bipedal beast which attacked him, he would never believe him. Also, his wound had begun to cause him some discomfort…
———————————————————————————————————
The next morning, Paul woke up and ran to the communal bathroom for a quick shower. He knew that not many others were up this early, so he’d have a good amount of time alone. He noted that there was one other student who had been in the shower when he first got there, and hadn’t left once Paul had finished...
When he returned to his room, he realized that his brother was missing from his bed.
“Must have gotten up before me. Guess that means that gays he got wasn’t that bad after all.”
Locking the door behind him, Paul made his way down the hall towards the lecture hall. On the way, he noticed his friend Arty leaving his room as well, jogging over to him. Arty was a red-headed fairly athletic student, well-known for his skills on the school soccer team.
“Hey Art, have you seen my brother by any chance? Not sure when he left this morning, but he never let me know beforehand.”
Arty thought about it for a moment before shaking his head. “Can’t say I have. I’ll keep an eye out for him and make sure he knows you’re looking for him. Good luck man.”
They shared a fist bump before heading separate ways. While Paul was concerned over his brother's whereabouts, he wasn’t too worried. After all, the guy was 19. What’s the worst that could have happened to him?
———————————————————————————————————
The lecture was the same as always: long and tedious. Paul sat in his usual seat in the back row, barely focusing on his professor due to his lack of sleep. As he dozed off, he was brought back to reality by the chair next to him being pulled out and taken. Looking over, his brother had taken a seat and buried his face in his hands. Paul could tell something was wrong with his brother, evidenced by the low groans and grunts of pain he overheard.
“Ben, you good? You look like shit. I was worried about you this morning, I figured you must have left before me.”
Ben looked up at his brother and gave him a look of pure dread. His eyes had tears welled up, and they were… somewhat glowing? Glowing yellow! Paul was certain they were the usual blue-green from the night before, but obviously, something had changed. His brother’s brown hair was also wet and disheveled, meaning that he had just recently left the showers.
Paul then looked at Ben’s shoulder. The bandage had blood seeping through the fabric, and his veins were pressing out against his skin, which looked like it had a leathery texture around the wound. The shoulder was also covered in coarse hairs, much thicker than on his other arm.
The girl on the other side of Ben noticed his discomfort, looking at him concerned. Paul recognized her as the girl Ben had been trying to talk to, Lilah Bellows. She begins to ask if he’s alright, only to be cut off by a grunt of pain, his hands revealing his face to them.
His ears were slightly pointed and poking through his hair, seemingly higher up on his head than usual. His teeth were sharper and larger, pushing out against his lips, too big for his mouth. And then, he jerked forward in pain, Paul and Lilah watching in shock as Ben’s nose and jaws suddenly jutted out nearly a whole inch, him letting out a yelp of agony. Tears streamed down his face as he grabbed his bag and quickly left the room as everyone watched.