Chapter 3 03

ELIZA

Something was happening to me and I had no idea what. That morning as I jogged, a strange sensation washed over me. My skin tingled, almost as if it was rippling beneath my clothes. I glanced at my hands and was startled to see my bones shifting, moving as though they were alive.

That never happened before. I was hallucinating.

Panic surged through me, and I bolted toward home. Everything around me blurred as I sprinted faster than I'd ever thought possible...too fast for anyone to notice me. My heart raced in panic as I slammed the door behind me. I leaned against the wall, breathing hard.

What the hell is happening to me?

As I glanced at the time, I realized I was getting late for work. I forced myself into the shower. As the warm water ran through my body, my nerves relaxed and I was able to feel normal again.

Slipping into a lilac short dress, I drove to work. Ethan wasn't even close in my thoughts. All I could think about was what happened at the jog with me. Without wasting a minute, I decided to call Julia, my psychiatrist.

"Will you be able to adjust me in your schedule in the evening?" I asked.

"Of course Ellie. Are you sleepwalking again? "

"Doc I think I'm hallucinating..." I said as I focused on the road, "Like something is shifting inside me. My bones moving...my face changing and stuff."

"Don't worry, you'll be just fine Ellie." She said, "My last appointment is at seven. You can see me after that."

Good. It was hard to get an appointment with her, especially when you call at the last minute. But she was my best friend's Aunt. And I was like a family to her.

I headed straight to the locker as soon as I reached the hotel. I slipped out of my dress and sandals, replacing them with my black-and-white checked trousers and crisp white jacket; the uniform of the hotel's kitchen staff. I pinned my hair up, securing it with a hairnet and hat, and slid on my safety shoes.

It was a weird day.

The morning passed quickly. My focus was on the desert schedule for the 100th Year Anniversary. But something felt off. I experienced what I called "fades"; moments where my focus wavered, my vision blurred, and my body felt like it was out of sync with itself.

By lunchtime, I couldn't take it anymore. All the noise in the kitchen, the heat and people, it was all too much for me today. It felt like my senses became ten times stronger but hard for me to handle.

"I'm stepping outside for a break," I told Danial.

I rushed to the river that ran behind the hotel, opening my jacket buttons. I took a long deep breath trying to calm myself. It was much quieter there. I closed my eyes and focused on the sound of the river.

It was relaxing. I was relaxing.

But then my stomach crunched and a strange burning sensation ran throughout my body. A searing pain overtook my body. I gasped, clutching the bench as my skin seemed to ripple unnaturally.

"What...what's happening to me?" I screamed as I saw the bones in my hands moving. My body felt out of control and it felt like the temperature around me rose to a hundred degrees.

I got up to call for help but my legs betrayed me. I could see someone rushing toward me but my vision wasn't clear.

And then I stopped the struggle.

"Eliza!" was the name I heard before I dropped myself into his arms and Ethan's face was the last thing I remember before I fainted.

But that had to be a part of me hallucinating.

As soon as I opened my eyes, I found myself wrapped in a blanket. I slowly got up and Margeret came rushing to me offering me a glass of water. I could hardly carry the glass with trembling hands, so Margeret helped me drink. I thought I'd drink a sip or two but the glass was empty in a second making me want for more.

But I couldn't ask my boss to offer me more water. They weren't the friendly kind of bosses.

I scanned my surroundings. I was in their office, lying on the sofa.

Oh gosh, this is embarrassing.

There was Margeret, right next to me, and Thomas, who was talking to someone whose back was on me.

"Eliza..." Margaret put her hand on my shoulder and slightly rubbed it, "We've called our family doctor. He's on his way."

I looked at her but it was as if I was on drugs. My vision was still foggy and then it happened again. The burning. The rippling. I leaned back, stretching my body as I screamed, clenching my fists tightly.

"She's shifting," I heard Margret yell.

Shifting? What did she even mean?

But I didn't have the power to think what it meant.

Fear overtook me as tears spilled down my face. I couldn't comprehend what was happening; why my body felt alien, why I couldn't control it. Then, mercifully, the pain subsided, and I slumped.

As soon as my vision cleared, I saw Ethan next to me. So close. He scooped me into his arms as if I weighed nothing, carrying me inside to the common room. I didn't know what was happening.

Why is Ethan here? Who called him? Gosh, I was embarrassed!

As soon as he put me down on the bed, Thomas and Margeret came inside with a man. He was tall, perfectly built, bald and black. "Hello, Eliza," he sat on the chair beside the bed and approached me with a kind smile, "I'm Mason, a doctor."

So he was the family doctor Margeret told me about. I nodded trying to steady myself.

"Can you tell me if this has happened before?" he asked.

"No doc," I told him, "This is the first time it's happening."

He exchanged looks with Ethan and then turned his head back to me, "You're positive nothing like this has happened before?"

I took my time to respond. "Well, there was a time in my early teen years, I started to hallucinate and I would get a fever but it wasn't even close to what happened to me today."

"And did you tell your parents about it?"

That question made me want to scream my lungs out. How could I tell my parents? They were always too busy making my life a living hell. I never had anyone to talk to. I learned to do and manage things on my own. I was never my father's princess and my mother was never my best friend.

I nodded, "No, I..."

"I would like to have a word with your parents, Eliza." Mason didn't let me finish my sentence. Maybe, he saw the hesitation in my words.

Ethan responded before I could even think of what to say. "Mason, her parents passed away."

My gaze shifted to Ethan as my pulse pumped. How does he know?

Mason nodded and then turned his head to me, "I'm guessing you're in your early twenties."

"Kinda..." I responded, "I just turned nineteen."

Without saying another word, Mason got up and went outside, followed by Thomas and Ethan.

My head was wrapped around only one thing: What was Ethan even doing here? Did he know my bosses?

"She's shifting," I could hear Mason say.

And then Ethan's voice cut in, "But why now? Shouldn't this have happened years ago?"

"Her lineage must be unusual," Mason replied. "Or maybe, she suppressed her animal. It's rare for someone to delay their first shift until adulthood. The process is harder on the body when it happens later."

"I didn't know we could control the shifting..." Tomas's voice lined with curiosity.

"She is the first case I've seen as well..." Mason spoke, "She needs rest. This must be very painful for her."

"She can't be alone." Ethan's voice stormed through my ears, "Not when she doesn't know what's happening to her."

"The penthouse suite is free." Thomas responded, "I'll make arrangements for her there."

"Good," Mason agreed. "She needs complete rest. I'll give her something to ease the pain and help her sleep."

Mason returned in the room followed by Ethan and Thomas, making Margeret stand on her feet.

"Is it what we think it is?" Margaret asked, trying to keep it a secret.

Thomas nodded.

Margaret then called for a glass of warm milk for me. I could hardly open my eyes. It was getting hot in the blanket. I slowly got up and pulled it away.

"Eliza," Mason spoke as he sat next to me, "I'll give you something that'll help you with the pain and will help you sleep."

I glanced at Ethan, whose eyes were stuck on me. I could tell he was worried for me.

His identity was still a mystery for me because what was he even doing with my bosses in the first place? I'd never seen him in the hotel before.

Mason mixed something in the milk and asked me to drink it. As soon as I drank it, my body reacted in a different way. I could feel my muscles getting relaxed. The pain was going away. The reaction was ten times faster than a typical pain killer.

And before I knew it, I was almost asleep. The last thing I remembered was Ethan grabbing me in his arms...again.