(description/exerpt)

The story starts with a boy of 19 who is only a week away from his 20th bday, the day his darker-half would over take him. knowing his doom is near, he is down and depressed. doing wild things, rash things that are unlike his normal nature. since people over 20 are no longer human, relationships start at a much younger age, and so his wife of 16 fears for him and their new born child. but 3 days from his bday, and old man arrives at their small rural dwelling where over 300 children are seeking shelter from the crazed adult world. he tells the boy there is a way out and offeres him a pill that will help him contain his dark-half. but it isnt easy. he must have increadably strong will, and extreme focus without a doubt in his mind. so, with hope for his wife and child, the boy goes off into a desolate part of the town to be alone for his bday, incase his attempt turns failure. as he walks through the city he he takes the pill out to take, and drops it down a drain hole. he frantically searches for it, even climbing in the sewers. but he was out of luck. he ends up wandering to an old broken down church where he sits on a pew to think about what will become of him. hours passed and still he sat waiting for his doom. apparently he had fallen asleep because he awoke to an immense pain in his chest and head, a feeling of bones breaking and flesh ripping. as if his brain was trying to claw its way out of his skull. and so he fought, with focus and will. the thought of his darling wife that he loved so dearly, and of his new born child and the hopes and dreams he had for him. he seemed to hold and his body held its form, but the pain continued. it seemed to rip through his soul, as though his soul was ripping in two. then he felt other pain. his hands, arms, legs and face were mutating. spikes, claws, ripping flesh. yet he fought to hold his resolve. then, as suddenly as it had started, it stopped. was he himself? was he still human? he raised his hand to see what looked like a human hand, yet somehow, it was different from his original. he felt as though someone was standing over him, next to him, watching him. his whole body felt different, it felt... powerful, strong, and hungry. that scared him the most. the fear that his hunger could be that of an adult. yet he stood and wavered to the church doors on new legs. openning the door he found a hundred or so adults, darklings as he had heard them called by tavellers, standing in a mass at the foot of the church steps. as one they looked up to where he stood with a look of awe. apparently they had come to meet a new arrival to their side, apparently he had been screaming. but then again as one their awe turned to snarls, and they reared back as if to pounce, some to fly. they were a contorted group, each in his own way. some looked like dogs walking on hands and feet, yet not like any dog he had ever seen. some had tentacles, some had wings, and one even had a baby that had mutated from the mothers stomach, still attached, acting as one. the boy knew he should run as fast and as far as he could, but he felt no fear, no need for fear. only that of anger and hatred for these foul beasts and mutated souls. he felt strong, and knew what he must do to protect his family. as though thought and action were one, he was out among them, or at least he thought it was him. was that his arm slashing these creatures apart? it felt as though it were someone else, as though he were watching it all. but then he did notice another, a shadowy form that was fighting along with him, fighting the beasts as he did. he was in control, he was powerful, and as he lifted the last adult into the air to break it in half, he found himself face to face with a shadow, a perfect shadow of himself, yet it had form. it stood face to face with him, never moving. again he felt no fear, only curiosity as to what had happened to him that his own shadow could stand in front of him in broad daylight. it was then that he saw his hands again, and this time they were not human. a mess of colored fur and claws. he felt fear then, and it was gone, human again. and as he looked up to face his shadow once more, it stepped forward, stepped into him, into his soul, and he felt whole again, felt human.