The Beast

"You have been dreaming again." It wasn't a question. Claire nodded miserably. Her psychiatrist gave her his professionally sympathetic smile. "Can you describe it to me?"
"It was the same again. I saw myself, but it didn't look like me."
"And what did it look like?"
"Distorted. Hideous. Evil. It's hard to describe, but I was a monster."
"No, you weren't. Remember, Claire, the person in your dreams is not you. It may be like you, but you are not that, so that is not you."
"But it is me. I know myself--even as each dream shows a darker version, I know they are me. It's like I am seeing my true self for the first time."
"You need to stop looking at yourself that way. Look around--you are a sweet, kind, friendly young woman. Ask anyone--everyone who knows you loves you."
"They love me because they don't know me. They don't know the real Claire--the Claire I have met in my dreams."

Back and forth, they went. Claire insisted, Dr. Seger denied.So the session went, only this time, she would not be convinced.
"I have to leave. We've been here for hours." She did not wait for him to protest, but snatched up her purse and coat. The door snapped shut behind her with a deafening force. Looking out the window, he saw her jump into her little car and rip out of the parking space with a violence. There was only one thing to be done.
He had the number on speed dial.
"We're losing Claire. She may never come back." He cringed as he waited for the burst of anger from the other end. He knew he deserved it. He had been careless--again. But it did not come.
"Does he have her?" The icy voice on the line demanded.
"No--not yet, at least. But it's only a matter of time. We've seen this before."
"We can still stop her. We stopped Evan, and he was further gone than her."
"Evan is dead. What's the use in that?"
"He does not have Evan. It is the only way. Claire must be eliminated."
"Yes, my lord."

The door was locked. Claire cursed her luck as she fished around in her purse for the keys she knew she did not have. Perhaps one day, Jesse would remember that two lived in this house. The lights were off and his truck was gone. All her phone calls went straight to voice mail. Another night in her car. She rapidly texted Jesse her explicit opinion of him. Just as she hit 'send', the image surged back into her mind. Claire the Monster. She staggered back against the porch railing. The monster from her dreams--it was leaking through into the real world. The text suddenly was a dark, hideous thing--already sent, an irreversible evil.
I have to call Dr. Seger! Her thumb hovered a moment over the phone. What help has he ever provided? He'll just say it was a dream. She returned to her car and rested her head against wheel. Who else was there to turn to? Jesse would think she was nuts. Her parents--she laughed out loud at the thought. They would never understand--as usual.
No one. Alone in the world. Claire wished that Dr. Seger was right. If only this was just a mixture of childhood trauma and deep-seated fears. If only it could be fixed by a little self-esteem boost. Night slowly gathered around her blue Sunfire as she tried in vain to answer the many questions tormenting her. Finally, she sank back into the seat and let the warmth of summer night, mixed with the stress of the day draw her to sleep.

She was choking on blood. Hideous gasps and snarls filled the air as she thrashed about, tearing the turf and corpses strewn about her. She had killed them all--Jesse, her parents, Dr. Seger, her neighbors--everyone. Now, not her blood, but theirs was stifling her life. She struggle to rise from the mound of bodies, but her claws were tangled in the gore, binding her to her victims.
"Claire." She twisted her neck, trying to find the source of the voice. An unfamiliar face looked down on her. The stranger approached slowly and deftly set to loosing her from the gristly bonds. Finally, she tore free, and sprang to feet, spitting out the mass of blood. But seeing herself free, she turned on the stranger with a mad fury and--

Claire awoke with a scream. She clutched her throat, still gagging from the dream. She felt her nails catch in the fabric of her seat. She held the hand up against the dim glow of the street light. The gnarled, hairy fingers, the four-inch claws--in terror, she turned to the mirror. The fangs glowed faintly with their own light. Her eyes were swallowed up in massive holes of blackness. She had become the beast of her nightmares. No! It's impossible--I'm still dreaming. The grotesque hands trembled as she lied to reassure herself. But it was real. She could feel her hair rising in sharp bristles along her neck and her leathery skin scraped against her sleeves. Everything in her wanted to scream, but she did not dare to think what monstrous roars would come if she opened her mouth.
She fumbled with the ignition until the engine came to life. Now Dr. Seger would have to believe her.
The sun was rising as she pulled up in fron of his office. A few teens loitering in front glanced up before she could hide her face. Strangely, they didn't react but just returned to their business. She checked the mirror again. Was she the only one who could see it? Perhaps it was just the window tint hiding her from them. She pulled her hood up and hid her claws in her pockets and quickly stepped out of her car. She ran to the door, keeping her head low. Then she saw him.
A dark-haired man, waiting patiently for the light to turn at the crosswalk. The stranger from her dream. Forget Dr. Seger--if anyone could help her, it was that man. She turned back to her car, opened the door and--
Crrash!!!
The door was ripped from her hands as the car flew forward and up on on the sidewalk. Pedestrians scattered as a massive tanker truck followed the car. Claire jumped back just in time. The side of the tanker tore against her, spinning her around and sending her backwards onto the sidewalk.
She had no time to register what had just happened before a strong hand seized her claw and hauled her to her feet. She found herself face to face with the stranger from her dreams. She could see herself reflected in his eyes. He could see the beast.
"Claire!" She started at Dr. Seger's voice. He was standing in the doorway of the office building, eyes wide with horror at the scene that had just played out on the street. He was beside her in an instant. "I saw it all. Are you hurt? Come in--can you walk?" He took her arm. "Lean on me--it's--"
"I'll take her." The stranger said firmly. Dr. Seger looked at him in disbelief for a moment, then turned to Claire.
"Come, Claire. You know me. This man could be almost anyone. I will take you to the hospital." He doesn't see it. Claire realized.
"N-No. I'll go with him. He's a friend." She silently hoped that that was true.
Dr. Seger's grip on her arm tightened.  "It would be much safer if--"
"Release her, Seger." The stranger's voice was calm but firm. "You and your lord have lost this one. My Master calls for her." For a moment,  the doctor looked like her would throw himself at the man's throat, but instead he let go of Claire's arm and fell back a step. The man let Claire lean on him as they began to make their way down the chaotic street. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw Dr. Seger stare at her for a moment, then bolt back into the office building.
"Watch your step." Claire stumbled over the sudden dip in the pavement.
"Where are you taking me?"
"To a friend. You do not know him, but he has been watching you for a long time. Now that you see what he has known all along, He is able to help you."

The street gave way to a small city park. They turned off and and followed a walking path to an ancient stone building, worn with ages of neglect. The door stood wide open, but the park was empty. Claire hesitated on the threshold.
"How will he help me? Can he make me like I was before the dreams?"
"No. You cannot go back, Claire. You have always been as you are now, but you never before saw it. For you to be free, the beast must die."
"But that will kill me! The beast is  me."
"It is. But it does not have to be. Come. My Master will show you how."
Claire hesitated only a moment. She could not live like this. Even if it killed her, it could not make things any worse.
The light inside startled her--it had looked so dark from without. She searched the hall. "Where is your master?"
The man turned to Claire. "Do you not know?" She shook her head, and he beckoned to a door on the side. Claire could smell the blood before she saw it. It spattered the walls and streaked the floor of a room riddled with carnage. Even the stone walls were chipped and cracked, while all that was left of furniture was splinters. Her guide held the door. "This is where your kind attacked him."
My kind... "You mean the beast?"
"I mean your kind. My Master came to destroy the beasts."
"But they killed him?"
"He did what he came to do. He opened the portal." He pointed to yet another door--a door she could have sworn was not there ten seconds earlier. The door was pure red, as though made of blood. Claire took half a step forward and the door flew open of its own accord, revealing nothing but blackness.
She hesitated.
"Go in, Claire. If you would be free, go and do not stop!"
The darkness gave way to blinding light as she stepped through. She took a few steps, blinking, trying to make out her surroundings. Then she caught a glimpse of her hand. It was a hand. The claws were gone, then skin was smoothed. How could it be that easy? She looked up again. She was in a field, the source of light somewhere beyond her, on level with the land. But who cared? She was free--
A snarl behind her made her start. Turning, she saw it--the fangs, the bloody claws, the hollow, black eyes--the beast. Go and do not stop. Go where? The light blazed brighter than before and she turned to run to it. She had never run so fast in her life. Heart pounding, lungs aching, she did not dare to stop. The beast was only a few paces behind her, running on all fours like a grotesque, malformed wolf. She could feel the heat of the light as she drew closer. She could not look at it, so she ran with her eyes closed until she collapsed.
She lay still, waiting for the beast to kill her. There was no escape. The stranger had lied to her. But the attack never came. She turned to see a brilliant figure--he had to be the source of the light--standing between her and the beast. The beast snarled and gnashed it's fangs, but it hung back. The shining figure drew a sword and struck the beast in the head. Claire fell back with a shock of pain, but it faded as quickly as it came. The beast turned and fled, leaving a trail of blood.
"Claire."
Claire did not dare to look this man in the eye. "Are you the Master who opened the portal?" She asked the ground at his feet.
"I am. And I am he who called you here. I sent my messenger to bring you and you have come."
"Is the beast dead? Or will it return?"
"It is dying. I have dealt it a mortal blow. But it is not far away."
"I cannot fight it. If it comes back, it could kill me."
"Stay close to me and it will not." He reached out his glowing hand and she took it. The light shone through her flesh like glass. The two walked together through the grass. So this was what freedom felt like. Claire smiled. She was safe at last.

"You are telling me you let him take her?!"
"I had no choice--I tried--" Dr. Seger protested
"Tried! You failed, Seger--Failed again! Incompetent fool! You were supposed to kill her. Now she's lost to us forever!"
"My lord, he called for her. What did you expect me to do? I cannot stop him. He--" The line went dead.