tatum

I hear it before I see it.

A loud growl erupts from Raiden's hospital room. Without waking up, I rush inside and I see Cloud lying on the floor as his bones begin to break and his body begins to change. Only, it isn't Cloud. Dark fur begins to sprout and I see the sign of red eyes taking over.

The red eyes of a feral.

"Cloud!" I call out, but the wolf pays me no attention, telling me that Cloud was no longer the one in control. This feral was.

My eyes follow the feral wolf as it begins to stand. Now, it focuses on me. Its ears flatten and its teeth are bared and it lets out a low warning growl.

"Cloud," I try again. "This isn't you. Come back."

The wolf lets out another growl, not bothering to listen to what I have to say. It moves as if it's getting ready to attack and I take a deep breath.

"The last thing I want to do is have to fight you," I admit. "Do you think that's what Raiden would want? You look like you're in pain. Calm down."

The wolf's ears perk up at the mention of Raiden and it turns its head to stare at him. When it looks back at me, I watch as the red eyes begin to flicker back and forth. Cloud was fighting for control.

"Come on, Cloud!" I encourage. "Fight it!"

The wolf lets out a loud, strangled growl and begins to thrash around. I move back to keep myself from getting hurt. I want to intervene to help, but I knew better than that. If anything, it would make the wolf more on edge — making it think I was trying to attack it in some way.

The thrashing increases until the red finally fade from the wolf's eyes. I spot Cloud's mismatched ones right before they roll into the back of his head and the wolf falls to the floor. I quickly make my way to him, just as his body shifts back into its human form. I grab an extra blanket lying on one of the chairs in the corner and quickly wrap it around Cloud. The closer I get, however, the more I begin to realize that I couldn't feel Cloud's wolf.

Before it was faint, but there. Now, it was completely gone.