Uncaged

I killed my wife and kids. I mean I didn’t but I did and it’s my fault. I take these really expensive pills. They come up with them about ten years back to help treat my condition. They’re not a cure but they help. I took the wrong pill last night. Mine is green. My wife Sharon left her blue allergy pills on the table. I’ve never had the best eyes in the world. I got confused. I should have double. I should have noticed. I didn't. I took the wrong pill. That’s what happened. That’s my reality and I’m so sorry I had to make it there’s. I wish I could fix it.

I got home from work at six. She was already putting the my boys Alex and Craig to bed. I talked her into letting them stay up and watch TV with us for a little while. We put on some sitcom Sharon loved and I popped one of those frozen meat lovers pizzas in the oven for my dinner. That’s when I grabbed a bottle from the counter and put a pill in my mouth. I didn’t really think about. I always take that same pill every month and there had never been an issue before. I swallowed it without water and returned to watch TV with my wife and the boys while the pizza baked. Twenty minutes later I took it out of the oven and though I intended to save some for lunch at work the next day I found myself hunched over the stove top ravenously shoving the nourishment into my mouth without so much as waiting for it to cool. It burned my hands and mouth but I took no notice.

The sun was going down. I was already starting to feel it coming on but I told myself it was just anxiety. I returned to my family in the living room. We watched an episode of the Simpsons. Sharon insisted they go to bed afterwards. I forced them to say a prayer. I’m not really religious but my dad always had us pray before bed and even now I think about what I’ve become since he passed. Anyway I put the boys to bed and after reading to them for maybe half an hour I headed to I and my wife’s bedroom. She was wearing the white robe I got her last Christmas. I was feeling very excited so I tried to put the moves on her. She responded with a sad face “Sorry babe. Not tonight. I had a really rough day at work.” We didn’t have a loveless or troubled marriage. We were very happy. We talked for a little while about some bitch who had been making for her with their boss. Eventually she fell asleep. I wasn't’t feeling too hot myself. I went to the bathroom and took a cold shower to try and feel better. When I got out I saw my reflection in the foggy mirror above our dirty ass sink. It was a sight I recognized immediately from childhood. I was changing into the wolf creature. My muscles and bones were slowly reshaping themselves as my skin tightened and shifted. It wasn’t very far along yet. I thought I could stop it.

I ran down to the kitchen to find my pills. I grabbed the bottle from earlier in the evening and read Sharon’s name on the label. My own had fallen into the sink. I uncapped it and downed two pills immediately. That’s when I fell to the ground and the pain began. In my human life I’ve broken an arm and both my legs in a car accident. I’ve also dislocated a knee in a drunken fight and been stung by wasps over the majority of my body. It’s safe to say I’m not a super lucky. All that pain is nothing in comparisons to changing into the creature. It’s a bit like having every bone fracture a hundred times over while you’re cooked from the inside. Actually it’s a lot worse than that but I’m not great with words. I tried to call out to warn Sharon and the kids to leave. I could handle the pain and paying for whatever damages I would end up doing to the house. I was unable to make any sound other than a low growl. As I lay on the cold kitchen floor staring out the window up at the full and hellish moon I prayed to any god, angel or spirit that might listen. I prayed for death. That was all I wanted. I just needed it to be over and my family to be safe.

The pain started to subside but the transformation was not complete. I was a little misshapen and a bit hairier than usual but was without a doubt still a man. I sighed with relief. The pills had worked. I wouldn’t become the monster again. I managed to stand up and start heading back to the bedroom. I was so eager to be with my wife safe in bed now that the ordeal was over. I walked quickly. Then I was running. Then I was on all fours. Then I twisted a thousand ways in under three seconds and the hunger took over as the transformation finally completed and I was gone. I could still out of my eyes but the will moving my now horrific body was the will of a violent animal. It burst through the bedroom door. It snapped my wife’s neck before she woke and then she proceeded to chew at her breasts like an oversized dog playing with a squeaky toy. I could taste the blood. I can still taste the blood.

Then it went to the boys’ room. They cried so much. I tried to fight back from inside but it did what it wanted to before returning to the bed I shared with my wife and slowly and joyfully ripping her limb from limb before falling into a deep sleep. I took the wrong pill. I shouldn’t have but I did. When I woke up the creature was gone. It was just me in the bloody bed filled with bits of the woman I promised to love until death did us part. I’m going to put a silver bullet in my brain in an hour. I need to be put down. I’m so sorry that I made this happen.