Chapter 2: Waking Up Changed
Tyler woke to a dim ceiling and the faint buzz of old wiring.
His mouth was dry. His head throbbed like a bad hangover. And his heartbeat felt... wrong.
Not faster—deeper. Like it echoed in the walls of his chest. He sat up too fast.
Pain lanced through his ribs, and he groaned.
"Whoa, easy," came a voice beside him. "You're awake."
Tyler turned. Mason sat on a folding chair beside the bed, still in his scrubs, a spiral notebook balanced on one knee. His dirty blonde hair was a mess. His light blue-grey eyes were bloodshot. He looked like he hadn't slept in two days—which he hadn't.
"You're awake," Mason said, half accusing, half relieved. "Finally."
Tyler rubbed at his face. "The garage... the Jaguar... the guy in the coat—"
"What are you talking about." Mason said "Back up. Just... tell me what happened."
Tyler blinked. "What happened? I'm not really sure."
"Then start from the top."
Tyler exhaled, sitting on the edge of the bed.
"Guy brings in a Jaguar F-Type around ten PM. He's weird. Twitchy. Wearing a damn Armani coat like it's not ninety degrees outside. Drops a roll of cash, says fix the undercarriage, don't touch anything else. I almost turned him away but—"
His eyes flicked toward the wall. He knew the tuition bill was still taped above the kitchen sink.
"I needed the money."
Mason didn't interrupt.
"I get under the car. Strut's shot. Easy fix. Then I see something under the seat—this briefcase. No seams. I try to open it, cut myself, and the blood triggers it somehow. It opens up and inside is this... thing. A glowing orb. Red. Cracked. It felt alive."
Tyler's voice lowered. "Then it melted. Into me."
Mason leaned back in the chair, arms folded, unreadable.
"And then?"
"Then the lights blew out. Something seemed to pull me under the car. I blacked out. And now... I'm here."
He looked up, expecting disbelief.
Instead, Mason looked tired. And worried.
"Ty," he said slowly, "that didn't happen."
Tyler stiffened. "What do you mean?"
"I mean I went to the shop yesterday. You never closed up. The gate was still open. The Lights were off. Uncle Rick got there first and thought we were robbed. But you weren't there. Nothing was."
Tyler's pulse quickened. "No. That's not—"
"No Jaguar," Mason continued. "No log. No man in a coat. No briefcase. Nothing. Like what you explained."
Tyler stared at him. "I was there."
Mason didn't argue. He just ran a hand over his face.
"I know what you're saying. But I'm telling you, it's like it never happened. Uncle Rick thought you bailed. Said the place looked like someone ghosted out of it."
Tyler sank back against the mattress, pulse racing.
A long silence.
And then Mason surprised him.
"Okay."
Tyler blinked. "Okay?"
"I believe you."
"You just told me none of it was real."
"Yeah. But... I know you. And I ran tests while you were out." Mason pulled a notebook from the floor and flipped to a page. "Your blood? Totally clean Like it never went through the system. Your vitals keep spiking and dropping like you're fighting something off. And your eyes..."
Tyler froze. "What about them?"
"They're still blue. But deeper. Like someone spilled ink in them. They don't look... normal."
[Bloodmoon System – Activated]
[Host DNA: Compatible]
[Current Form: Human (Lycanthropic Transformation – 5%)]
[Warning: First Transformation in 6 Days, 22 Hours, 17 Minutes]
A translucent red screen blinked into the corner of Tyler's vision—glitching faintly like a broken HUD.
He stumbled back, knocking over a lamp.
Mason was on his feet in an instant. "What? What is it?"
Tyler touched his temple. "I… I think I'm seeing things."
[Error: Mental Rejection Detected]
[System Stabilizing…]
"Dude," Mason said, stepping closer, his voice lower. "You're scaring me. Talk to me."
Tyler met his brother's eyes—and everything in him wanted to run, to scream, to believe none of it.
But Mason had always been the one he could trust.
He remembered Mason at ten, gripping their dad's old wrench like it was Excalibur.
He remembered the funeral—rain, suits, and the vow he made in the dark: Mason's future comes first.
He remembered Dad's voice: "You don't quit on blood."
"Uncle Rick thinks I ran away from the shop," Tyler said quietly. "Or freaked out."
"I don't know but he wasn't happy with the place being abandoned like that," Mason replied.
He sat down again, his voice gentler.
"I think whatever that thing was that entered into you, it wasn't natural. It did something to you. And I don't think you were supposed to survive it."
Tyler closed his eyes. "I didn't ask for this."
"I know," Mason said. "But you've got it. So we will figure it out. Together."
[Trait Unlocked: Heightened Senses]
Tyler flinched. "Did you hear that?"
Mason blinked. "What?"
Tyler turned toward the wall. "TV's on next door. Battlestar Galactica. Season two."
"That's two apartments over," Mason said.
"I can hear it." Tyler said.
They both went quiet.
Unitl The silence wasn't silent anymore.
Mason knelt beside his backpack, pulled out a thick folder, and opened it.
"These came from the lab," he said. "Buried reports. Stuff scrubbed off the books. All of them have weird exposures. Biological anomalies. Medical phenomena no one could explain. This isn't normal, Ty. And whatever this is... it's the first time I've ever seen something like a system. It's not natural. It's not even known."
Tyler's stomach twisted.
"This thing inside you," Mason said, eyes narrowing. "It's not some myth. It's new. It's built. Someone made it. Designed it. And it chose you."
Outside, the moon climbed high over the city skyline.
And deep inside Tyler—beneath skin, blood, and bone—something old stirred.
Hungry. Ancient. Awake.