Feeling oddly relaxed as Cloe searched for answers online, Rachel’s attention was pulled away from her soft grumbles to the mass of voices fighting to be heard throughout the campus; it was as if everyone was in the same room, their words being crammed into her brain.
It was challenging, and there were a few conversations she kept an active tab on, but her primary focus was on her own, now less muscular body. Her entire physiology had transformed in seconds, and that took precedence.
She didn’t feel weaker; in fact, it was the opposite. Testing her strength by lifting up her bed, she discovered it was practically weightless.
Flexing her fingers while setting it down, she caught Cloe’s shifting eyes with her wide field of view, everything in her periphery showing in perfect clarity. The blonde was studying to see what she might do, and Rachel didn’t blame her. She had practically turned into a different species.
Honestly, she wasn’t sure if she could trust her own senses; how could she hear conversations over a mile away? Obviously, the answer was her stupidly long ears, which had replaced her human ones. They really were long—nearly 45 cm from the base—and fully prehensile; in addition, she’d completely lost her human ears.
Tilting her head to observe them in Cloe’s mirror, she found it enthralling how the overhead light passed through them, making the inner skin glow orange. Their range of motion was incredible, and they were sensitive to the touch. Her attention was soon pulled to the tufts of fur protecting her ear canal; it was softer than she would have thought.
Examining her changed face, a frown came to her now full lips. She traced her higher cheek bones, giving her a more refined and almost haughty impression. It didn’t help that her eyebrows were now white with a subtle pink glow, drawing attention to the celestial phenomena happening inside of her eyes—it was now by far her most striking feature.
Another noteworthy identification was the thick white hair that was long enough to reach past her waist. She’d never worn it this far down her back. Although, it did form perfectly around her figure, somehow not obstructing her wide, entirely in-focus vision.
A lot was happening in her eyes, as well; it almost appeared like a double solar eclipse of red moons with pink petals in the shape of a four-leaf clover surrounding them.
I’ve turned into a monster girl, she internally groaned as Cloe forced a chuckle.
“You do look… stunning! You even have a glow. Does it feel weird?”
“Very…” Rachel muttered, feeling around her thin stomach; she had muscle, but it was toned, and not the bulky, hardened steel it was before. That being said, she knew they could take more abuse now, which was frustrating to admit; she liked her muscle. “My muscles…”
“Yeah… Heh. On the bright side, you could totally be the glamor girl in any magazine now! Oh, maybe you could get a job as a model! That’d be crazy… News channels are just as stumped as us, though—I’ve been looking—and a ton of people look like they changed, not just you. A bunch of sporting events are being thrown into chaos… You don’t feel ill or anything, right?”
“Just hearing everything around us… I can hear people talking a mile away,” she mumbled, scratching the base of her right ear as it twitched; it felt hot. “I can even tell the exact distance… A lot of people have changed—probably over a hundred.”
“No way!” Cloe straightened, glancing toward the window. “It’s only been a few minutes. Do you think it will happen again? Did everyone turn into animals?”
Rachel shook her head, shifting the back of her shorts to allow her tail some wiggle room from the place it settled while going to the window to stare outside. A few people were gathering around a man that was on fire; he’d settled down and was now laughing as people freaked out.
“People have powers.”
“Is that guy on fire?!” Cloe gasped, tossing her laptop to the side to rush to the window. “Why is he—is he not on fire—a body suit?”
“No. As I said, people are getting powers… He can burn the lawn, though,” she muttered as he and a few others started to freak out at a growing fire; someone came with an extinguisher, blowing him out with the grass. “Can you find anything from the news networks?”
“Ugh. Not really—only a few are talking about it that were covering big events—places where a lot of people were changing,” she said, returning to her laptop after one last look at the embarrassed man that had lost his clothes. “Huh. Well, that’s a view—the power to burn off your clothes, more like. Hehe. Umm. So, you have superhearing?”
“Among other things,” Rachel said, remaining by the window to observe the crowds gathering below, but most of their attention was focused on a girl that had partially turned into a bird, and was understandably freaking out about her lost arms. Rachel was suddenly thankful she’d only lost human ears.
It was surprising how many people were utterly unaware of the celestial phenomenon. Rachel tried to steer away from those watching ‘adult films’ or engaged in other similar extracurricular activities. A few individuals tripping on mushrooms made her ears itch with their slow monologuing.
News about changed people was spreading rapidly due to the insane antics some were getting up to, such as the flame guy, who dubbed himself The Human Torch, to cheers from his friends; most believed a flash cosplay convention had stormed the campus.
Several interesting discussions made her left ear twitch, pulling her head in the direction of the recreational facility; she was still a little stunned by the buzz of hundreds of voices that occasionally poked her brain.
Rachel ran her fingers down her arm as goosebumps appeared; for some reason, she felt stronger than ever, and she knew she should be freaking out more than she was, yet panicking would get her nowhere. What would provide a direction was listening to several groups that embraced the change as some kind of fiction-made-reality event—people who seemed to be onto something.
“Hmm… Some boys are talking about figuring it out—he turned into a Faekin elf and his friend a Champion fighter.”
Cloe’s head tilted to the side, still scanning news feeds. “Say what; a boy turned into an elf—is he hot? Wait, uh… you seeing this, or am I tripping?”
Rachel moved to her bedside again as she brandished the screen; what appeared to be a three-meter-tall ogre woman was screaming and crying in the middle of a basketball game. Dozens of other changed people, who took on more animalistic characteristics, were trying to understand what had happened to them.
A shiver ran from her tail to her ears, making Rachel hug herself, trying to shut out most of the voices to close in on the boys that were experimenting with their new ‘powers.’ The shouts and discussion filtered out on desire as she subconsciously fine-tuned her hearing; it was getting easier.
“Ugh…”
Cloe’s eyes widened with concern, watching her fall on her bed and bring her pillow over her head; even with the slight improvement, it was way more stimulation than she’d ever had before. “You okay—you don’t look okay… Should we go to the hospital? Maybe they’ll know what to do—I don’t know.”
Rachel took a deep breath and let it out, shaking her head while tossing her pillow against the wall. “I just… have a small headache—I hear everything within a mile. I’m trying to focus on these boys that discovered something…”
“Okay! Okay! Umm. I’ll be quiet and keep looking online. Take your time! It has to be aliens,” she mumbled, going down a bit of a mumble tangent on the topic.
The blonde pushed herself against the wall, bringing up her laptop like a woman on a mission, determined to find out what was going on. Rachel left her to the research, centering on the two boys; a cat-girl joined the mix—seemingly a gaming friend—they were heading back to her dorm, excited about their sudden change.
“Yo, Zoe, the squad… Whaa—you changed, too? And a loli cat-girl?! Haha!”
“Shut up! I’m not a loli—I just… I shrunk a bit…”
“Nice!” the elf boy cheered, pumping his fist into the air. “I’ve been waiting for this moment all my life, baby. Aye, Adam, I’m a Faekin elf mage, bro—I’ma be pumpin’ out that dps—where’re the monsters?! I’m ready to pop off!”
“Let’s go! What about you, Loli Zoe?”
“You are not calling me that!”
“Aye! Aye! No need to get feisty—ouch! You got claws; watch it!”
“Heh. Yeah, so cut the teasing! Uh… How do you tell—I just got a tail and ears like… five minutes ago—give me a break, guys. Umm, are we going to the dorms? Having my tail tucked down in my shorts is really uncomfortable!”
“We can do that,” Adam muttered. “I gotta get a band-aid and stop this bleeding anyway… Thanks for the cut. Healing, Will?”
“No can do, bud—I don’t even know what spells I got. We need to figure that out next. Oh, Zoe, you just need to ask The System what you are. Asking questions seems to get us some answers—I’m still figuring it out. Uh… you doing good with that belt, Zoe?”
“Bah! It won’t go any tighter—why did the System take off a few years… It’s like I’m in middle school again. Eww… I’d rather not.”
“Aye, it is what it be, girl,” Adam snickered. “I’m just glad you look close enough to what you did before so we could recognize you.”
Will cleared his throat. “So, eh-heh, what do you think, guys? I’m totally hot now, right?”
Rachel could almost picture the sly smirk that crease the cat-girl’s eyes with her playful tone. “It’s, umm, an improvement.”
“Yo, bro, let’s not catch a case here, askin’ an underage loli that sus question!”
“I’m not underage!”
“Oh, c’mon! Who’s teasing who, now?”
“Heh. You asked for it!” Zoe snickered, likely glaring at Adam. “Wait… I’m a Beastkin domestic cat?! Scuffed! I want a reroll!”
“Hahaha!”
“Get rolled! Maybe you could be puss in boots?”
“Hey, I actually love that movie.”
Rachel stared up at the ceiling, headache subsiding while absently combing through her long white hair, examining the pink hue each strand radiated.
Okay, System… What am I? A Mythickin lunar hare.
“Huh.”
Sitting up, she tilted to the side to let her wide field of vision take in the grounds outside; the fire guy had gotten some replacement clothes and was making a spectacle out of showing off his fire tricks. Some were freaking out, and others were embracing it.
“A hare?” she muttered to herself, fingers sliding down her right ear.
“What was that?” Cloe asked, glancing up from her screen.
“Just learning from everyone experimenting around campus,” she replied, shifting to the window to lean against it. “Hmm?!”
“What?! What?!”
Cloe straightened, looking at her to the window, yet Rachel’s focus darted to the dark sky, tinted by light pollution; the sun had fallen below the horizon, and the moon’s rays touched her skin, causing a glow and strength to embrace her.
I’m a lunar hare… I gain power from the moon? Rachel’s gut tightened when her phone vibrated, snapping her mind away from the topic; pulling it out, she swallowed. Mom? What will Dad and her think when they learn I’ve changed into… this? Will they even believe it’s me?
Gesturing to Cloe to quiet down as she peppered her with questions, Rachel held an arm against her stomach to stop the squirms; she answered.
“Mom… How are you?” she asked in Korean.
Her mother’s normally soft voice was filled with concern, using Korean. “Sung-Hyo, tell me you’re okay; there’s been some kind of attack at a mental hospital in Miami…”
“She’ll be fine, Chan-hee…” Rachel’s tail and ears bristled as her mother’s heated voice shut her father down; she’d never heard her shout at him like that.
“I don’t want to hear it, Gwon—we’re leaving for Miami—now! Rachel, are you okay?!”
“I’m, umm… I might have… changed a bit…” she trailed off, not knowing exactly how to explain what she was going through, but her mother plowed right through.
“We can talk about it when we’re in Miami—Gwon, we’re leaving!”
“Chan-hee, Nam can produce energy creatures… Shouldn’t we deal with—”
“Nam is safe at home—we both know Miami is going to be overrun by chaos soon, and my little girl is—” The call cut as a sharp vibration ran through her phone.
Thoughts dashed after the call, she lowered her phone to see the emergency message that was sent to her phone, and the news radio stream Cloe pulled up paused in their questions regarding the changed people with powers.
Presidential Alert
State of Emergency Declared
All States
Stay calm—stay indoors—further instructions will be sent; if in public, proceed to a safe location. Martial law has been instated. The Military, National Guard, Center for Disease Control, and other agencies are being mobilized. Again, stay calm and proceed to a safe location.
The reporter came back over the air. “An IPAWS message was just sent nationwide; stay indoors, and if you are out, please proceed to a safe location. We expect the Police to be overwhelmed with calls, and networks may go down due to traffic. Stay safe; we might be under attack…”
He paused for a moment. “We are getting further information that the President will be making a public statement when more information becomes available; the CDC, US military, National Guard, FBI, and many other agencies are also being mobilized. I repeat, the CDC is being mobilized—masks people; seal the windows and doors—it could be a biological agent released into the atmosphere. We will keep you aware of the situation as it unfolds. Stay indoors, and if you are out, proceed to a safe location.”
Rachel’s face matched her hair after the call with her parents. “The CDC? Is this a terrorist attack... A virus?”
Cloe jumped to her feet, took one look at Rachel with wide eyes, and ran out of the room. “I’m sorry!”
Rachel collapsed against her bed as emergency sirens went off in the distance—she couldn’t blame Cloe’s reaction—a part of her wanted to run, too, but something kept her focused and alert. It had been twenty minutes since the lights cracked the heavens, and already she could hear people panicking; a small group was planning a looting trip, expecting to get away with a lot of goods due to the rising pandemonium.
She listened to the chaos around her unfold, mainly listening to Zoe and her oblivious friends as they remained in their own little world, not paying the sirens much mind, other than theorizing it could be a monster break; according to them, they needed to learn their skills, so they don’t die.
There were no monsters, though, other than the human kind; she could hear cars crashing, guns firing, people shouting, and explosions, all within a mile of her. Curiously, Rachel’s mind was occupied by thoughts of her mother’s unusual reaction. Was it unusual? Had her mother also gone through a change? Apparently, Nam had, which was interesting.
The signal on her phone went dead shortly after the presidential alert, which could have been from traffic or sabotage; the result was the same, she couldn’t contact her mother. The campus internet was still up, and she knew you could call through WiFi, but not how to do it.
Her gaze wandered to the laptop Cloe left, watching the news play out, showing fires in some areas and armed gunmen storming ammunition stores only an hour after the news started to spread.
The military was mobilizing, and first responders were already showing up at the college, setting up a relief shelter and processing area for the CDC; it would still be another hour or more before the proper personnel showed up, and Rachel soaked in all the information, creating a complete picture of what she should do.
Her attention was pulled to a new group of Chinese fiction lovers with answers that had pushed ahead of Zoe’s D&D friends. She sat against the wall, listening in to the hundreds of students searching for the same things, offering her a wealth of data to compile as each person discovered their own personal details.
She listened to the fantasy, anime, and novel enthusiasts as they theorized. They were far too positive, considering what was happening beyond the relatively tame environment of the campus; a news report from Cloe’s laptop showed Washington State being overwhelmed by a mass of zombie-like fiends, led by a vampire lord—self-proclaimed—and panic was setting into major cities.
However, some of the fantasy enthusiast predictions were chilling—it was basically the apocalypse to these people—but the military was acting fast. The police and the National Guard were locking areas down and bringing those changed into protective custody since some crowds were hunting them. Miami State University was one of those safe zones they were setting up.
Be it a belief they were alien invaders, devils from Hell, or [insert country here] had launched a bioweapon and that the infected needed to be culled for the masses to survive. Murder and chaos were only escalating, and, naturally, certain parties were taking full advantage of the circumstances to enact their will on others.
Rachel didn’t want to believe this could get worse, but there was a tightness in her gut that told her this was only the beginning, and that she had to understand her transformation if she wanted to survive. It was lucky she had her ears because the think-tank of fantasy nerds was uncovering a lot of secrets.
It took two hours of pacing, leaning against the window, and lying on her bed before she’d collected all the basics from the scattered college kids, putting their brains to good use in decrypting the mysteries involving their sudden powers.
Certain things were becoming clearer as time went on, and details regarding her transformation came in bursts of knowledge; it was similar to how she could move her ears—instinctual—therefore, most would eventually come to the same understanding of their powers as these enthusiasts, it would just take time.
Adam believed they were still in a phase of adaptation, and Rachel had to agree; each person had something somewhat unique to them, yet there were also commonalities that she kept track of by opening up a document on Cloe’s computer and compiling the information.
From those that transformed, she compiled a list of what they told their friends they’d become, and there were categories that stood out to her; in order of the most common to the least: Champion, Beastkin, Faekin, Aberrantkin, and finally, Legendkin and Mythickin.
There was only one Legendkin she’d heard within the campus and she was the only Mythickin.
Myths and Legends did have a nice ring to it that made Rachel believe it was of a higher tier than the others. There certainly appeared to be something unique about her compared to those that filled in the other categories; there was only one way to prove it.
She knew, without a doubt, something else was going to come—it was a disturbing pulse that tugged at her chest—and she had to be ready, or she’d die.
Testing something she heard, Rachel crossed her legs on her mattress, closed her eyes, and breathed deeply, following one of the lessons her grandfather taught her about meditation; controlling the air that went in and out of her lungs, Rachel relaxed.
I want to disable automatic Feat placement, she repeated, following the advice of Zoe’s group, and information flooded her mind as the world vanished.
Her eyes opened while shut, revealing a void environment with a white, circular platform, where she stood; it was the strangest sensation, and the world outside, with all its noise, disappeared.
“What are my… Huh.”
She didn’t even need to complete the sentence before a simple black-and-white screen popped up, displaying everything she’d heard from the others that had already gone through this process and guided their friends.
It had her name, age, gender, race, height, weight, and just about everything else involving her physical attributes; the information continued to fill out as if actively scanning her, and, out of curiosity, she asked for her measurements—she’d need them if she were going to shop or know what bra size she needed to upgrade to once out of her sports bra.
“Well, that’s not creepy at all,” she whispered as it showed what she desired; her focus moved to a 3D model of herself that appeared ahead of her, showing a duplicate of what she’d looked like before the change; it was so surreal seeing herself in full 3D. “An increase in butt fat, chest size, and bone structure… Why take away my muscles…”
Her jaw tightened as the answer came—the explanations were settling into the fibers of her bones as she examined the sheet—the transformation reflected the inner desires of the person, for better or for worse, but Rachel instantly rejected the thought, even if she knew it was true.
“So, you’re saying I wanted to look slimmer but retain my strength? Bull. I love muscles,” she growled to the aether, walking around the model of her former body with envy; there had to be a mistake. “Is there any way to build up my muscle mass again? Shit. There’s really no way?”
She screamed out a long sigh of frustration, glaring at her toned arms; it was better than nothing, but she’d worked hard to have her previous figure. It took her a bit more time to release the agitation she felt while returning to the holographic status sheet.
It was obvious she was built for speed and high-intensity combat, yet her endurance wouldn’t last long fighting at that output; in a way, it did reflect her Muay Thai fighting style.
Stats were divided into Primary and Secondary while having a grading system for how effective putting points into them would be:
Force:
Power - High Strength - Below AverageDefense:
Toughness - Above Average Resilience - Below AverageDexterity:
Speed - Extremely High Agility - Extremely High Quickness - Extremely HighEnergy:
Constitution - High Stamina - Average Endurance - Below AverageTenacity:
Elemental Resistances - Above Average - (Solar Below Average) Physical Resistances - Above Average Control Resistances - Average Penetration - Average
It was a strong start for a close-range combatant, and it would suit her well in competitions—if she were still allowed to compete, that was.
Rachel’s attention went to an armchair that appeared at the thought of sitting, and she rested on the cushioned seat, shifting her attention to the Base Feats that were a core part of her kit, it seemed. The first thing she noticed was the difference between Grades; most were at the first stage, yet two were at the maximum Grade of ten, shown as a numeral X.
Base Feats:
[Primal Force X] - S-tier - Mythickin [Lunar Pride X] - S-tier - Lunar [Lunar Pool I] - F-tier - Lunar [Divine Lunar Surge I] - F-tier - Blessed Lunar [Divine Beast Empowerment I] - F-tier - Blessed Lunar [Lunar Coat I] - F-tier - Lunar [Lunar Cap I] - F-tier - Lunar [Beastial Instincts I] - F-tier - Hare [Bringer of Misfortune I] - F-tier - Hare
Primal Force X increased her growth rate, while Lunar Pride X acted as a state of consciousness that affected her mannerisms; she understood the advantage of Primal Force, but Lunar Pride was a bit of a conundrum, being at the highest Grade.
She didn’t like the idea of something controlling her, but upon inquiry, it became clear it was designed around her own ideals; what good it provided remained somewhat of a mystery. In a way, if it was negative, it was her working against herself.
Rachel knew she was prideful—she’d walk through fire to prove she wasn’t afraid—and she’d fight anyone, no matter the odds; that didn’t mean she didn’t stack them in her favor as much as possible. She’d have to see how Lunar Pride affected her day-to-day life to grasp its negatives and positives fully.
Lunar Pool was self-evident; it stored up the lunar rays she absorbed, but something she hadn’t expected was that it could be evaporated by sunlight.
The Divine Feats were an interesting touch since they involved a mysterious divine benefactor that enhanced them by a minor degree.
Divine Beast Empowerment heightened her natural senses to include supernatural phenomena, while Divine Lunar Surge gave a base multiplier to her Power and Toughness Stats by 1.2% for every percent of Lunar Energy in her pool, maximizing at 120%—the overpowered part about it was that it was multiplicative, working with other multipliers, such as Lunar Cap.
Lunar Cap provided an extra 10% bonus to all of her Stats when her Lunar Pool was full, meaning her build was best suited not to drain it.
Lunar Coat dealt with her hair, tail, and ears; despite what she’d thought earlier, her ‘fur’ was practically as strong as steel, and the same came with her three new appendages, yet they were still sensitive to pain—or pleasure.
Beastial Instinct was more of an instinctual understanding of her probability of winning a fight by sizing up her opponent, a 6th sense that told her how to approach a scuffle. It also had a rather concerning detail about not feeling remorse for killing another person; in a way, these Feats were a reflection of herself, as she learned from Lunar Pride, so it was a window into her soul.
On the other hand, Bringer of Misfortune had her scoot to the edge of her chair; the base Hare ability gave her a keen understanding of the law of misfortune, and also had the ability to passively drain luck from someone within a two-meter radius.
So… I’m a bad hare, hmm? Rachel mused, enjoying what she was seeing. Oh? I can select three more swappable Feats… Nothing that drains my Lunar Pool since I need to keep it at 100% for a week to advance its Grade. What’s this… Cerridwen Branch?
Scanning the dozens of Feats that all required the use of her Lunar Energy to sustain, her mind settled on three that didn’t have the seemingly standard Hare or Lunar Branch category. She had no idea who or what Cerridwen was, but it would be something she searched for when this was done.
They were too good to pass up, so she selected two from the odd branch, leaving [Lunar Deadening I] for later, which erased the reactionary stimulation to pain in moonlight, leaving only the knowledge, and chose one active Feat from the Lunar Branch:
Equipped Feats: 3/3
[Lunar Burst I] F-tier - Lunar [Mental Acceleration I] F-tier - Cerridwen [Strategic Mind I] F-tier - Cerridwen
She needed a way to do a solid, big hit if she needed it, which Lunar Burst provided, acting as a charging attack that drew in her lunar energy and released it in a lunar-charged, elemental explosion; its current cap was 5% of her Lunar Pool, and it came with an hour cooldown, which basically meant it could only be used once a fight.
Mental Acceleration was the fascinating one that hastened her mind to process information at a rapid pace; she’d need it with how fast she’d discovered she could move while passively testing things in the last few hours—especially when in high-speed combat.
Strategic Mind was a no-brainer; it enhanced her mind to retain information and draw connections she might not typically see, and the best part, both of these Cerridwen Feats didn’t require Lunar Energy to activate.
She could only have three Feats equipped, which told Rachel that she may gain more as she leveled, as her current level was one. The System wouldn’t tell her anything about what was to come from the following levels, so her time was best spent on other things.
Desiring to leave the white, void-like space, the world opened up again with her clearing vision, and the hundreds of voices returned. Staring at the clock on Cloe’s computer, Rachel hummed; ten minutes had passed since she’d entered that inner place. If she needed to go there again, she had to be mindful of where she meditated because everything in the outside world had been blotted out.
Rachel rose to her feet, studying the current situation and soaking in the new information; the CDC and National Guard were starting to mobilize on campus, setting up areas to learn more about what had happened to them.
She had to debate whether to join them or not; certainly, some of her fellow students had a point in not trusting the government when it came to this kind of situation. Still, as she listened to those taking charge, she determined they truly wanted to get to the bottom of things, and Rachel did want to meet a unique person like her to understand his own changes to compare to hers.
Listening to what the scientists discovered and being able to ask her own questions seemed to be the right play. Two and a half hours after her change, Rachel changed into a less stifling sports bra, frowning as her thicker thighs that filled in her Muay Thai shorts more than she was used to.
Am I that vain? Mmh. Yeah, I guess I could be… I’d think more toward muscles, though; how can I fill these out more with fat—I miss my muscles…
Sighing, she scratched the back of her neck and used a hair tie to pull her locks into a high ponytail. What did she need to do? She needed to have answers for her parents when they arrived.
After hearing her mother’s tone, memories of her childhood resurfaced, and she started to realize a few things she’d buried with the calm, community-serving, model of a matriarch her mother was; there was a sharper side to her mom that set her tail on-edge, and she didn’t want that aimed at her.
Rachel paused at the door, head lowering a tad while thinking back to her mother’s reaction; it reminded her of the times when she was nine when her mother went into a full breakdown after being in an accident involving a drunk driver that her cousin didn’t survive.
She’d been locked in her room for weeks after the funeral, and with Strategic Mind active, Rachel recalled the incident where her mother had snapped at her dad; in fact, there were several instances now connecting that turned everything she thought she knew about her family dynamic on its head.
Pushing down the uncomfortable feelings, she left to position herself in the same lineup as Zoe and her friends; they’d been unwillingly pulled into the CDC’s net as they began ushering those who were changed into areas to be processed for blood work and a full physical to determine if this was a threat to the general public.
Martial law was in order, and the military was cracking down, but it would take some time to fully mobilize and organize. Rachel knew she had to use the time to get what she wanted—answers.
Feeling oddly relaxed as Cloe searched for answers online, Rachel’s attention was pulled away from her soft grumbles to the mass of voices fighting to be heard throughout the campus; it was as if everyone was in the same room, their words being crammed into her brain.
It was challenging, and there were a few conversations she kept an active tab on, but her primary focus was on her own, now less muscular body. Her entire physiology had transformed in seconds, and that took precedence.
She didn’t feel weaker; in fact, it was the opposite. Testing her strength by lifting up her bed, she discovered it was practically weightless.
Flexing her fingers while setting it down, she caught Cloe’s shifting eyes with her wide field of view, everything in her periphery showing in perfect clarity. The blonde was studying to see what she might do, and Rachel didn’t blame her. She had practically turned into a different species.
Honestly, she wasn’t sure if she could trust her own senses; how could she hear conversations over a mile away? Obviously, the answer was her stupidly long ears, which had replaced her human ones. They really were long—nearly 45 cm from the base—and fully prehensile; in addition, she’d completely lost her human ears.
Tilting her head to observe them in Cloe’s mirror, she found it enthralling how the overhead light passed through them, making the inner skin glow orange. Their range of motion was incredible, and they were sensitive to the touch. Her attention was soon pulled to the tufts of fur protecting her ear canal; it was softer than she would have thought.
Examining her changed face, a frown came to her now full lips. She traced her higher cheek bones, giving her a more refined and almost haughty impression. It didn’t help that her eyebrows were now white with a subtle pink glow, drawing attention to the celestial phenomena happening inside of her eyes—it was now by far her most striking feature.
Another noteworthy identification was the thick white hair that was long enough to reach past her waist. She’d never worn it this far down her back. Although, it did form perfectly around her figure, somehow not obstructing her wide, entirely in-focus vision.
A lot was happening in her eyes, as well; it almost appeared like a double solar eclipse of red moons with pink petals in the shape of a four-leaf clover surrounding them.
I’ve turned into a monster girl, she internally groaned as Cloe forced a chuckle.
“You do look… stunning! You even have a glow. Does it feel weird?”
“Very…” Rachel muttered, feeling around her thin stomach; she had muscle, but it was toned, and not the bulky, hardened steel it was before. That being said, she knew they could take more abuse now, which was frustrating to admit; she liked her muscle. “My muscles…”
“Yeah… Heh. On the bright side, you could totally be the glamor girl in any magazine now! Oh, maybe you could get a job as a model! That’d be crazy… News channels are just as stumped as us, though—I’ve been looking—and a ton of people look like they changed, not just you. A bunch of sporting events are being thrown into chaos… You don’t feel ill or anything, right?”
“Just hearing everything around us… I can hear people talking a mile away,” she mumbled, scratching the base of her right ear as it twitched; it felt hot. “I can even tell the exact distance… A lot of people have changed—probably over a hundred.”
“No way!” Cloe straightened, glancing toward the window. “It’s only been a few minutes. Do you think it will happen again? Did everyone turn into animals?”
Rachel shook her head, shifting the back of her shorts to allow her tail some wiggle room from the place it settled while going to the window to stare outside. A few people were gathering around a man that was on fire; he’d settled down and was now laughing as people freaked out.
“People have powers.”
“Is that guy on fire?!” Cloe gasped, tossing her laptop to the side to rush to the window. “Why is he—is he not on fire—a body suit?”
“No. As I said, people are getting powers… He can burn the lawn, though,” she muttered as he and a few others started to freak out at a growing fire; someone came with an extinguisher, blowing him out with the grass. “Can you find anything from the news networks?”
“Ugh. Not really—only a few are talking about it that were covering big events—places where a lot of people were changing,” she said, returning to her laptop after one last look at the embarrassed man that had lost his clothes. “Huh. Well, that’s a view—the power to burn off your clothes, more like. Hehe. Umm. So, you have superhearing?”
“Among other things,” Rachel said, remaining by the window to observe the crowds gathering below, but most of their attention was focused on a girl that had partially turned into a bird, and was understandably freaking out about her lost arms. Rachel was suddenly thankful she’d only lost human ears.
It was surprising how many people were utterly unaware of the celestial phenomenon. Rachel tried to steer away from those watching ‘adult films’ or engaged in other similar extracurricular activities. A few individuals tripping on mushrooms made her ears itch with their slow monologuing.
News about changed people was spreading rapidly due to the insane antics some were getting up to, such as the flame guy, who dubbed himself The Human Torch, to cheers from his friends; most believed a flash cosplay convention had stormed the campus.
Several interesting discussions made her left ear twitch, pulling her head in the direction of the recreational facility; she was still a little stunned by the buzz of hundreds of voices that occasionally poked her brain.
Rachel ran her fingers down her arm as goosebumps appeared; for some reason, she felt stronger than ever, and she knew she should be freaking out more than she was, yet panicking would get her nowhere. What would provide a direction was listening to several groups that embraced the change as some kind of fiction-made-reality event—people who seemed to be onto something.
“Hmm… Some boys are talking about figuring it out—he turned into a Faekin elf and his friend a Champion fighter.”
Cloe’s head tilted to the side, still scanning news feeds. “Say what; a boy turned into an elf—is he hot? Wait, uh… you seeing this, or am I tripping?”
Rachel moved to her bedside again as she brandished the screen; what appeared to be a three-meter-tall ogre woman was screaming and crying in the middle of a basketball game. Dozens of other changed people, who took on more animalistic characteristics, were trying to understand what had happened to them.
A shiver ran from her tail to her ears, making Rachel hug herself, trying to shut out most of the voices to close in on the boys that were experimenting with their new ‘powers.’ The shouts and discussion filtered out on desire as she subconsciously fine-tuned her hearing; it was getting easier.
“Ugh…”
Cloe’s eyes widened with concern, watching her fall on her bed and bring her pillow over her head; even with the slight improvement, it was way more stimulation than she’d ever had before. “You okay—you don’t look okay… Should we go to the hospital? Maybe they’ll know what to do—I don’t know.”
Rachel took a deep breath and let it out, shaking her head while tossing her pillow against the wall. “I just… have a small headache—I hear everything within a mile. I’m trying to focus on these boys that discovered something…”
“Okay! Okay! Umm. I’ll be quiet and keep looking online. Take your time! It has to be aliens,” she mumbled, going down a bit of a mumble tangent on the topic.
The blonde pushed herself against the wall, bringing up her laptop like a woman on a mission, determined to find out what was going on. Rachel left her to the research, centering on the two boys; a cat-girl joined the mix—seemingly a gaming friend—they were heading back to her dorm, excited about their sudden change.
“Yo, Zoe, the squad… Whaa—you changed, too? And a loli cat-girl?! Haha!”
“Shut up! I’m not a loli—I just… I shrunk a bit…”
“Nice!” the elf boy cheered, pumping his fist into the air. “I’ve been waiting for this moment all my life, baby. Aye, Adam, I’m a Faekin elf mage, bro—I’ma be pumpin’ out that dps—where’re the monsters?! I’m ready to pop off!”
“Let’s go! What about you, Loli Zoe?”
“You are not calling me that!”
“Aye! Aye! No need to get feisty—ouch! You got claws; watch it!”
“Heh. Yeah, so cut the teasing! Uh… How do you tell—I just got a tail and ears like… five minutes ago—give me a break, guys. Umm, are we going to the dorms? Having my tail tucked down in my shorts is really uncomfortable!”
“We can do that,” Adam muttered. “I gotta get a band-aid and stop this bleeding anyway… Thanks for the cut. Healing, Will?”
“No can do, bud—I don’t even know what spells I got. We need to figure that out next. Oh, Zoe, you just need to ask The System what you are. Asking questions seems to get us some answers—I’m still figuring it out. Uh… you doing good with that belt, Zoe?”
“Bah! It won’t go any tighter—why did the System take off a few years… It’s like I’m in middle school again. Eww… I’d rather not.”
“Aye, it is what it be, girl,” Adam snickered. “I’m just glad you look close enough to what you did before so we could recognize you.”
Will cleared his throat. “So, eh-heh, what do you think, guys? I’m totally hot now, right?”
Rachel could almost picture the sly smirk that crease the cat-girl’s eyes with her playful tone. “It’s, umm, an improvement.”
“Yo, bro, let’s not catch a case here, askin’ an underage loli that sus question!”
“I’m not underage!”
“Oh, c’mon! Who’s teasing who, now?”
“Heh. You asked for it!” Zoe snickered, likely glaring at Adam. “Wait… I’m a Beastkin domestic cat?! Scuffed! I want a reroll!”
“Hahaha!”
“Get rolled! Maybe you could be puss in boots?”
“Hey, I actually love that movie.”
Rachel stared up at the ceiling, headache subsiding while absently combing through her long white hair, examining the pink hue each strand radiated.
Okay, System… What am I? A Mythickin lunar hare.
“Huh.”
Sitting up, she tilted to the side to let her wide field of vision take in the grounds outside; the fire guy had gotten some replacement clothes and was making a spectacle out of showing off his fire tricks. Some were freaking out, and others were embracing it.
“A hare?” she muttered to herself, fingers sliding down her right ear.
“What was that?” Cloe asked, glancing up from her screen.
“Just learning from everyone experimenting around campus,” she replied, shifting to the window to lean against it. “Hmm?!”
“What?! What?!”
Cloe straightened, looking at her to the window, yet Rachel’s focus darted to the dark sky, tinted by light pollution; the sun had fallen below the horizon, and the moon’s rays touched her skin, causing a glow and strength to embrace her.
I’m a lunar hare… I gain power from the moon? Rachel’s gut tightened when her phone vibrated, snapping her mind away from the topic; pulling it out, she swallowed. Mom? What will Dad and her think when they learn I’ve changed into… this? Will they even believe it’s me?
Gesturing to Cloe to quiet down as she peppered her with questions, Rachel held an arm against her stomach to stop the squirms; she answered.
“Mom… How are you?” she asked in Korean.
Her mother’s normally soft voice was filled with concern, using Korean. “Sung-Hyo, tell me you’re okay; there’s been some kind of attack at a mental hospital in Miami…”
“She’ll be fine, Chan-hee…” Rachel’s tail and ears bristled as her mother’s heated voice shut her father down; she’d never heard her shout at him like that.
“I don’t want to hear it, Gwon—we’re leaving for Miami—now! Rachel, are you okay?!”
“I’m, umm… I might have… changed a bit…” she trailed off, not knowing exactly how to explain what she was going through, but her mother plowed right through.
“We can talk about it when we’re in Miami—Gwon, we’re leaving!”
“Chan-hee, Nam can produce energy creatures… Shouldn’t we deal with—”
“Nam is safe at home—we both know Miami is going to be overrun by chaos soon, and my little girl is—” The call cut as a sharp vibration ran through her phone.
Thoughts dashed after the call, she lowered her phone to see the emergency message that was sent to her phone, and the news radio stream Cloe pulled up paused in their questions regarding the changed people with powers.
Presidential Alert
State of Emergency Declared
All States
Stay calm—stay indoors—further instructions will be sent; if in public, proceed to a safe location. Martial law has been instated. The Military, National Guard, Center for Disease Control, and other agencies are being mobilized. Again, stay calm and proceed to a safe location.
The reporter came back over the air. “An IPAWS message was just sent nationwide; stay indoors, and if you are out, please proceed to a safe location. We expect the Police to be overwhelmed with calls, and networks may go down due to traffic. Stay safe; we might be under attack…”
He paused for a moment. “We are getting further information that the President will be making a public statement when more information becomes available; the CDC, US military, National Guard, FBI, and many other agencies are also being mobilized. I repeat, the CDC is being mobilized—masks people; seal the windows and doors—it could be a biological agent released into the atmosphere. We will keep you aware of the situation as it unfolds. Stay indoors, and if you are out, proceed to a safe location.”
Rachel’s face matched her hair after the call with her parents. “The CDC? Is this a terrorist attack... A virus?”
Cloe jumped to her feet, took one look at Rachel with wide eyes, and ran out of the room. “I’m sorry!”
Rachel collapsed against her bed as emergency sirens went off in the distance—she couldn’t blame Cloe’s reaction—a part of her wanted to run, too, but something kept her focused and alert. It had been twenty minutes since the lights cracked the heavens, and already she could hear people panicking; a small group was planning a looting trip, expecting to get away with a lot of goods due to the rising pandemonium.
She listened to the chaos around her unfold, mainly listening to Zoe and her oblivious friends as they remained in their own little world, not paying the sirens much mind, other than theorizing it could be a monster break; according to them, they needed to learn their skills, so they don’t die.
There were no monsters, though, other than the human kind; she could hear cars crashing, guns firing, people shouting, and explosions, all within a mile of her. Curiously, Rachel’s mind was occupied by thoughts of her mother’s unusual reaction. Was it unusual? Had her mother also gone through a change? Apparently, Nam had, which was interesting.
The signal on her phone went dead shortly after the presidential alert, which could have been from traffic or sabotage; the result was the same, she couldn’t contact her mother. The campus internet was still up, and she knew you could call through WiFi, but not how to do it.
Her gaze wandered to the laptop Cloe left, watching the news play out, showing fires in some areas and armed gunmen storming ammunition stores only an hour after the news started to spread.
The military was mobilizing, and first responders were already showing up at the college, setting up a relief shelter and processing area for the CDC; it would still be another hour or more before the proper personnel showed up, and Rachel soaked in all the information, creating a complete picture of what she should do.
Her attention was pulled to a new group of Chinese fiction lovers with answers that had pushed ahead of Zoe’s D&D friends. She sat against the wall, listening in to the hundreds of students searching for the same things, offering her a wealth of data to compile as each person discovered their own personal details.
She listened to the fantasy, anime, and novel enthusiasts as they theorized. They were far too positive, considering what was happening beyond the relatively tame environment of the campus; a news report from Cloe’s laptop showed Washington State being overwhelmed by a mass of zombie-like fiends, led by a vampire lord—self-proclaimed—and panic was setting into major cities.
However, some of the fantasy enthusiast predictions were chilling—it was basically the apocalypse to these people—but the military was acting fast. The police and the National Guard were locking areas down and bringing those changed into protective custody since some crowds were hunting them. Miami State University was one of those safe zones they were setting up.
Be it a belief they were alien invaders, devils from Hell, or [insert country here] had launched a bioweapon and that the infected needed to be culled for the masses to survive. Murder and chaos were only escalating, and, naturally, certain parties were taking full advantage of the circumstances to enact their will on others.
Rachel didn’t want to believe this could get worse, but there was a tightness in her gut that told her this was only the beginning, and that she had to understand her transformation if she wanted to survive. It was lucky she had her ears because the think-tank of fantasy nerds was uncovering a lot of secrets.
It took two hours of pacing, leaning against the window, and lying on her bed before she’d collected all the basics from the scattered college kids, putting their brains to good use in decrypting the mysteries involving their sudden powers.
Certain things were becoming clearer as time went on, and details regarding her transformation came in bursts of knowledge; it was similar to how she could move her ears—instinctual—therefore, most would eventually come to the same understanding of their powers as these enthusiasts, it would just take time.
Adam believed they were still in a phase of adaptation, and Rachel had to agree; each person had something somewhat unique to them, yet there were also commonalities that she kept track of by opening up a document on Cloe’s computer and compiling the information.
From those that transformed, she compiled a list of what they told their friends they’d become, and there were categories that stood out to her; in order of the most common to the least: Champion, Beastkin, Faekin, Aberrantkin, and finally, Legendkin and Mythickin.
There was only one Legendkin she’d heard within the campus and she was the only Mythickin.
Myths and Legends did have a nice ring to it that made Rachel believe it was of a higher tier than the others. There certainly appeared to be something unique about her compared to those that filled in the other categories; there was only one way to prove it.
She knew, without a doubt, something else was going to come—it was a disturbing pulse that tugged at her chest—and she had to be ready, or she’d die.
Testing something she heard, Rachel crossed her legs on her mattress, closed her eyes, and breathed deeply, following one of the lessons her grandfather taught her about meditation; controlling the air that went in and out of her lungs, Rachel relaxed.
I want to disable automatic Feat placement, she repeated, following the advice of Zoe’s group, and information flooded her mind as the world vanished.
Her eyes opened while shut, revealing a void environment with a white, circular platform, where she stood; it was the strangest sensation, and the world outside, with all its noise, disappeared.
“What are my… Huh.”
She didn’t even need to complete the sentence before a simple black-and-white screen popped up, displaying everything she’d heard from the others that had already gone through this process and guided their friends.
It had her name, age, gender, race, height, weight, and just about everything else involving her physical attributes; the information continued to fill out as if actively scanning her, and, out of curiosity, she asked for her measurements—she’d need them if she were going to shop or know what bra size she needed to upgrade to once out of her sports bra.
“Well, that’s not creepy at all,” she whispered as it showed what she desired; her focus moved to a 3D model of herself that appeared ahead of her, showing a duplicate of what she’d looked like before the change; it was so surreal seeing herself in full 3D. “An increase in butt fat, chest size, and bone structure… Why take away my muscles…”
Her jaw tightened as the answer came—the explanations were settling into the fibers of her bones as she examined the sheet—the transformation reflected the inner desires of the person, for better or for worse, but Rachel instantly rejected the thought, even if she knew it was true.
“So, you’re saying I wanted to look slimmer but retain my strength? Bull. I love muscles,” she growled to the aether, walking around the model of her former body with envy; there had to be a mistake. “Is there any way to build up my muscle mass again? Shit. There’s really no way?”
She screamed out a long sigh of frustration, glaring at her toned arms; it was better than nothing, but she’d worked hard to have her previous figure. It took her a bit more time to release the agitation she felt while returning to the holographic status sheet.
It was obvious she was built for speed and high-intensity combat, yet her endurance wouldn’t last long fighting at that output; in a way, it did reflect her Muay Thai fighting style.
Stats were divided into Primary and Secondary while having a grading system for how effective putting points into them would be:
Force:
Power - High Strength - Below AverageDefense:
Toughness - Above Average Resilience - Below AverageDexterity:
Speed - Extremely High Agility - Extremely High Quickness - Extremely HighEnergy:
Constitution - High Stamina - Average Endurance - Below AverageTenacity:
Elemental Resistances - Above Average - (Solar Below Average) Physical Resistances - Above Average Control Resistances - Average Penetration - Average
It was a strong start for a close-range combatant, and it would suit her well in competitions—if she were still allowed to compete, that was.
Rachel’s attention went to an armchair that appeared at the thought of sitting, and she rested on the cushioned seat, shifting her attention to the Base Feats that were a core part of her kit, it seemed. The first thing she noticed was the difference between Grades; most were at the first stage, yet two were at the maximum Grade of ten, shown as a numeral X.
Base Feats:
[Primal Force X] - S-tier - Mythickin [Lunar Pride X] - S-tier - Lunar [Lunar Pool I] - F-tier - Lunar [Divine Lunar Surge I] - F-tier - Blessed Lunar [Divine Beast Empowerment I] - F-tier - Blessed Lunar [Lunar Coat I] - F-tier - Lunar [Lunar Cap I] - F-tier - Lunar [Beastial Instincts I] - F-tier - Hare [Bringer of Misfortune I] - F-tier - Hare
Primal Force X increased her growth rate, while Lunar Pride X acted as a state of consciousness that affected her mannerisms; she understood the advantage of Primal Force, but Lunar Pride was a bit of a conundrum, being at the highest Grade.
She didn’t like the idea of something controlling her, but upon inquiry, it became clear it was designed around her own ideals; what good it provided remained somewhat of a mystery. In a way, if it was negative, it was her working against herself.
Rachel knew she was prideful—she’d walk through fire to prove she wasn’t afraid—and she’d fight anyone, no matter the odds; that didn’t mean she didn’t stack them in her favor as much as possible. She’d have to see how Lunar Pride affected her day-to-day life to grasp its negatives and positives fully.
Lunar Pool was self-evident; it stored up the lunar rays she absorbed, but something she hadn’t expected was that it could be evaporated by sunlight.
The Divine Feats were an interesting touch since they involved a mysterious divine benefactor that enhanced them by a minor degree.
Divine Beast Empowerment heightened her natural senses to include supernatural phenomena, while Divine Lunar Surge gave a base multiplier to her Power and Toughness Stats by 1.2% for every percent of Lunar Energy in her pool, maximizing at 120%—the overpowered part about it was that it was multiplicative, working with other multipliers, such as Lunar Cap.
Lunar Cap provided an extra 10% bonus to all of her Stats when her Lunar Pool was full, meaning her build was best suited not to drain it.
Lunar Coat dealt with her hair, tail, and ears; despite what she’d thought earlier, her ‘fur’ was practically as strong as steel, and the same came with her three new appendages, yet they were still sensitive to pain—or pleasure.
Beastial Instinct was more of an instinctual understanding of her probability of winning a fight by sizing up her opponent, a 6th sense that told her how to approach a scuffle. It also had a rather concerning detail about not feeling remorse for killing another person; in a way, these Feats were a reflection of herself, as she learned from Lunar Pride, so it was a window into her soul.
On the other hand, Bringer of Misfortune had her scoot to the edge of her chair; the base Hare ability gave her a keen understanding of the law of misfortune, and also had the ability to passively drain luck from someone within a two-meter radius.
So… I’m a bad hare, hmm? Rachel mused, enjoying what she was seeing. Oh? I can select three more swappable Feats… Nothing that drains my Lunar Pool since I need to keep it at 100% for a week to advance its Grade. What’s this… Cerridwen Branch?
Scanning the dozens of Feats that all required the use of her Lunar Energy to sustain, her mind settled on three that didn’t have the seemingly standard Hare or Lunar Branch category. She had no idea who or what Cerridwen was, but it would be something she searched for when this was done.
They were too good to pass up, so she selected two from the odd branch, leaving [Lunar Deadening I] for later, which erased the reactionary stimulation to pain in moonlight, leaving only the knowledge, and chose one active Feat from the Lunar Branch:
Equipped Feats: 3/3
[Lunar Burst I] F-tier - Lunar [Mental Acceleration I] F-tier - Cerridwen [Strategic Mind I] F-tier - Cerridwen
She needed a way to do a solid, big hit if she needed it, which Lunar Burst provided, acting as a charging attack that drew in her lunar energy and released it in a lunar-charged, elemental explosion; its current cap was 5% of her Lunar Pool, and it came with an hour cooldown, which basically meant it could only be used once a fight.
Mental Acceleration was the fascinating one that hastened her mind to process information at a rapid pace; she’d need it with how fast she’d discovered she could move while passively testing things in the last few hours—especially when in high-speed combat.
Strategic Mind was a no-brainer; it enhanced her mind to retain information and draw connections she might not typically see, and the best part, both of these Cerridwen Feats didn’t require Lunar Energy to activate.
She could only have three Feats equipped, which told Rachel that she may gain more as she leveled, as her current level was one. The System wouldn’t tell her anything about what was to come from the following levels, so her time was best spent on other things.
Desiring to leave the white, void-like space, the world opened up again with her clearing vision, and the hundreds of voices returned. Staring at the clock on Cloe’s computer, Rachel hummed; ten minutes had passed since she’d entered that inner place. If she needed to go there again, she had to be mindful of where she meditated because everything in the outside world had been blotted out.
Rachel rose to her feet, studying the current situation and soaking in the new information; the CDC and National Guard were starting to mobilize on campus, setting up areas to learn more about what had happened to them.
She had to debate whether to join them or not; certainly, some of her fellow students had a point in not trusting the government when it came to this kind of situation. Still, as she listened to those taking charge, she determined they truly wanted to get to the bottom of things, and Rachel did want to meet a unique person like her to understand his own changes to compare to hers.
Listening to what the scientists discovered and being able to ask her own questions seemed to be the right play. Two and a half hours after her change, Rachel changed into a less stifling sports bra, frowning as her thicker thighs that filled in her Muay Thai shorts more than she was used to.
Am I that vain? Mmh. Yeah, I guess I could be… I’d think more toward muscles, though; how can I fill these out more with fat—I miss my muscles…
Sighing, she scratched the back of her neck and used a hair tie to pull her locks into a high ponytail. What did she need to do? She needed to have answers for her parents when they arrived.
After hearing her mother’s tone, memories of her childhood resurfaced, and she started to realize a few things she’d buried with the calm, community-serving, model of a matriarch her mother was; there was a sharper side to her mom that set her tail on-edge, and she didn’t want that aimed at her.
Rachel paused at the door, head lowering a tad while thinking back to her mother’s reaction; it reminded her of the times when she was nine when her mother went into a full breakdown after being in an accident involving a drunk driver that her cousin didn’t survive.
She’d been locked in her room for weeks after the funeral, and with Strategic Mind active, Rachel recalled the incident where her mother had snapped at her dad; in fact, there were several instances now connecting that turned everything she thought she knew about her family dynamic on its head.
Pushing down the uncomfortable feelings, she left to position herself in the same lineup as Zoe and her friends; they’d been unwillingly pulled into the CDC’s net as they began ushering those who were changed into areas to be processed for blood work and a full physical to determine if this was a threat to the general public.
Martial law was in order, and the military was cracking down, but it would take some time to fully mobilize and organize. Rachel knew she had to use the time to get what she wanted—answers.
