《Mara the Undying》Chapter 1 THEN

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My story begins way back near the beginning of human civilization. My first memories are waking up in the middle of what is now the Tabernas Desert in Almeria Spain. I was partially buried in the sandstone and it was during a heavy rainstorm that had uncovered me. I have no memory of how I got there or who I was before I was buried in the desert, all I knew was that I was the only living person for miles around. I didn't know how I knew there wasn't anyone around for miles but I could feel it in my center. I was emaciated and naked with nothing.

I began looking for shelter from the raging storm and wandered through the downpour towards a darkened crevice I saw in a jagged overhang. I crawled into the wide opening and found a dark cave with a shallow pond of water off to the right side and a ledge to the left about the size of a king-sized bed. Not that I knew what those were ten thousand years ago since they didn't exist yet. I took a dozen or so gulps of water from the pond then climbed to the ledge and passed out.

What I can only guess was hours later I was awoken by a snarling growl emanating from the cave entrance followed by a flash of red eyes in the darkness. A surge of fear quickly turned to rage flowing through my body and I was on my feet before I realized I had even moved. I looked down at my body and it had filled out to an almost healthy shape and no longer had such an unhealthy pallor. The creature in the entrance began moving towards me in the slow stalking manor of a predator growling deep in its chest preparing to strike. As my eyes adjusted to the darkness of the cave I could make out the shape of what I would many years later recognize as a large Iberian wolf with its head at eye level with my own and shoulders more than double the width of mine.

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I had no idea what to do, only that I was in danger and I needed to defend myself. Fueled by my anger and fear I began circling towards the massive beast trying to get closer to the pond in the hopes that the water would slow it down. The wolf had other plans though and with a single leap cleared the distance from the cave entrance to the space between the pond and myself. I recognized then that it had no intention of letting me get away without a fight and decided that it was only going to end when one of us was dead. Instinctively I pulled power from my center and infused my body with a strength that completely caught me off guard and distracted me allowing the wolf to make the first attack. In an instant massive jaws were closing around my neck and head nearly swallowing it whole and I felt razor-sharp two-inch fangs penetrate my flesh The burn of the werewolf venom entered my system and my body's automatic rejection of the virus brought everything back into razor-sharp focus. I planted my feet and latched onto the wolf's head with my arms and dug my fingers through its pelt and grabbed ahold of its jawbone and the top of its muzzle and pulled it apart like opening a bear trap. I could feel the life force pulsing with the strength only found in the most powerful of supernatural predators and my body's biological need to replenish my lost resources. Without thinking I used my innate ability and pulled with my core on the wolf's life force like a drowning woman gasping for air and to my utter shock, the werewolf's eyes went wide then started to shrivel and shrink along with the rest of its body. As I pulled the life from the massive and terrifying monster it shrunk down and changed, its body shifting and popping and turning into a scruffy dirty emaciated human who looked like he had died months ago.

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I jumped back shocked at the change, dropping the now man's corpse to the cave floor. I felt a surge of power in my own body and looked down at myself and gasped at the change in my appearance. Where I had been scrawny and looked starved and weak now I was filled out with well-defined muscles and a perfectly proportioned body. I had no blemishes or scars and I looked like a perfect female specimen from head to toe. I could still feel the werewolf's power coursing through my body and I hadn't let go of the strength I had infused into my muscles at the start of the fight and I didn't intend to any time soon for fear of what other dangers I might face outside the cave.

The thought of the outside of the cave made me realize I no longer heard the rain or the storm outside. Hesitantly I began making my way to the entrance of the cave listening carefully for any other predators that may be around. Hearing nothing to cause me to fear the outside I stepped slowly out into the cool night air and looked around for anything that could be a threat. There was nothing outside and I pushed my senses out as far as I could with my newfound abilities and could tell nothing was living nearby that was an immediate threat to me.

Deciding that sleeping with the corpse next to me wouldn’t be ideal I decided to drag it out and far from the cave before I went back to sleep for the night. Pulling the dead man out of the cave I started dragging him toward where I originally woke up since I knew it was already basically a hole in the ground and would be sufficient for the corpse until I left in the morning. When I got to the place where I was buried I looked around the hole and tried to see if there was anything I missed when I originally left the area and upon inspection of the hole I found a piece of black rock with a strange symbol carved in it that I can only describe as a tree surrounded by lightning bolts inlaid with gold. I could feel the power emanating from the medallion and there was a hole for a leather thong. I used my fingernails that I had realized were extremely sharp to slice a patch of hair from my head and braided it into a necklace and threaded through the hole and tied it around my neck. After I was certain there was nothing else in the hole I was buried in I unceremoniously tossed the dead man in and made my way back to the cave entrance and then my makeshift bed.

The next morning I awoke to feel as though I was fully rested and had enough energy to run for days. I walked outside and the heat of the sun hit me and warmed my flesh as I stretched my body hearing every joint pop as I strained against them and tested my maneuverability. Knowing nothing and not even who I was or anything about the world around me I decided I would just start walking and continue until I could find other living beings to try to communicate in some way. That's how I spent the first several months of my life as I know it but I will save the rest of my past for another time.

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