Chapter 9

9

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Chise's bones shifted under her skin. The pain was so intense that she lost consciousness. It was only for a second, but in her mind she saw her entire life unraveling, unfolding, rewinding at twice the normal speed of a cinematic movie. The last image, her birth, burned like a film strip before her eyes. It blazed into a flash of white light, roared into a clash of horrendous, monstrous, blood curdling screams. The imagery, sights, and sounds overwhelmed her senses to the point of becoming momentarily blind and deaf. Once she was finally able to open her eyes again she lost all sense of her humanity. She was being enveloped in a circle of golden light and though her thoughts were primitive and instinctual now, she felt the urge to look into the glass of the nearest hospital window. Her body was pure white and scaly, snakelike from the waist down. Her torso was that of a human woman, but her face was otherworldly. Truly alien, grotesque, enough to frighten her into looking away. Sharp teeth hid beneath her mint-green lips. The hair atop her head trailed into a mane that reached to the tip of her tail. Her reptilian eyes, save for the blood-red slit pupils which sat within, matched her lips and hair perfectly. The golden light overtook her and then the next thing she knew, she was in Krowne staring at a sleeping woman. She did not recognize her, nor did she have any thought in her head but to obey.