The white box

Renee was breathing heavily. Her eyes were  trembling under her lids and her limbs were spasming. Her heart seemed like it was going to jump out of her chest, as tiny droplets of sweat formed all over her forehead. Her hair was tangled and her skin was red from the heat. If you listened closely you could hear the pulse of her heart: bom, bom, bom. You could feel the moments go faster. Bom, bom, bom. And then her eyes sprang open! Red veins were prominent around her pupil. They were wide. She opened her mouth. And then she screamed.

Renee had finally calmed down, after drinking the whole glass of water that was on her bedside table just moments before. She sat upright and gathered her thoughts. She realized she had just had a nightmare but she still couldn't shake off the feeling that there was something off. Like an ominous presence, like she was being watched. She tried to remember what the nightmare was about, but she could come up with nothing. According to her iPhone, she still had about an hour before the alarm would go off, and she would have to get ready for work. It didn't seem like a good idea to go back to sleep, so Renee decided to make breakfast for herself, which was quite a rare occurrence. Her mind finally escaped the nightmare, and it was now filled with a strong debate between a sweet or savoury breakfast. Finally, her sweet tooth won, and she found herself flipping pancakes and chopping up strawberries to the sound of her favorite indie songs.

.

.

.

While driving to work, she realized she had almost forgotten it was her birthday today! What a way to start the first day of her 30th year of life. Thankfully, she wasn't really into birthdays; she found them way too much hype for nothing. Besides, she was spending it at her less-than-boring job. Office jobs couldn't be exciting even if they had glitter all over the walls and had puppies greeting you at the reception. But Renee wasn't really concerned with that, she wanted a simple and quiet life after all.

Her day was going just like any other Tuesday would go. She got up to stretch her legs, so she walked to the bathroom. On her way there, she felt this metallic taste in her mouth that she could only relate to one thing. She could taste blood. She hurried her walk, and stormed to the bathroom mirror to see what was going on. She was surprised to find that when she opened her mouth there was nothing wrong. Her teeth were intact and there was no visible wound that might indicate that she might have been bleeding. She brushed it off and went about her day, but there still that faint taste in her mouth.

When Renee returned to her desk, she was already distracted, so her work pace had slowed down significantly. Everyone around her was being so loud, she almost felt sick from all  the noise. She started hearing voices that felt like they were coming from far way; like they weren't even in her building. Her head was pounding, when she suddenly jumped out of her seat with a loud screeching from the chair. Everyone turned to look at her, and she stared right back at them. Her manager found this tension the perfect opportunity to bring out a birthday cake and encourage everyone to start singing. Oh this was a disaster! Everyone was closing in around her and she felt like the room was spinning. She felt like she was in her nightmare again, as her heart pounded and sweat covered her whole body. So when everyone stopped singing and her boss stood in front of her waiting for her to blow out the candle on top of the tall chocolate cake, she ran. 

.

.

.

Renee did not stop running until she was out in the fresh air. She took a few deep breaths  and decided that it would be best if she headed home. She had no idea what was happening to her, and she had just embarrassed herself in front of everyone, so she was going to avoid this fiasco, and call it a day. Little did she know that heading home would only create more problems.

She walked through the front door, and dumped her bag on the floor. Her cat was on the couch, avoiding her as always. She made her way to her bedroom, where she planned to collapse for the rest of the day. She stopped dead in her tracks when she walked into the room. Her whole body went numb, as she faced what seemed like a present box on her bed. It was a plain white box with a dark red ribbon, shaped as a bow. Thoughts were endlessly running through her head. Renee lived alone and no one had access to her apartment. She hadn't even given keys to her parents, in fear of how often they would invade her home. The front door required a key to enter, and she was certain she had closed it before she left for work. It wasn't even broken into when she came back. The windows of course were off limits, as she lived on the 7th floor. But why would anyone even break into her house to leave a present? Who does that?

She considered calling the police; who knows what is in that package. But as classic Renee, her curiosity won her over. She inched closer to the bed and sat so close to the edge of it, that she would fall if she moved a centimetre. She picked up the white box and gently shook it. Something in it made a noise, and she almost jumped. She undid the ribbon, and slid the box open. Her heart rate stopped for an instant, and then returned to normal rates, when she realize she was facing a simple pendant. She picked it up. It was a long, thin copper chain. And at the end of it was some kind of rock; one of those crystals she guessed. It had all kinds of colors within it; like a mix of every crystal that exists. It was encased in what seemed like small tree branches, hugging and shielding their precious content. It was stunning, and much more intricate than what she first thought.

A while had passed since she had been sitting there, staring at the strange jewel. She eventually snapped out of her trance when her phone started ringing. It was her mom, so she already knew to brace herself for the overwhelming wishes. She answered her phone and thanked her mom for all the sentiments she expressed. Eventually she managed to get a word in.

"Hey mom, by the way, did you by any chance come past the house today? Or maybe dad?"

She heard her mom be caught by surprised, just before she received the answer she expected. Neither of them had been near the house today. She thanked her mom one last time and quickly hung up. What was she supposed to do now? She thought a long, hot shower might help her figure things out; clear her head a little. She picked up the box to put aside when she noticed there was a white envelope on the bottom of it. She must have not noticed since the box was white too. She picked it up and quickly ripped it open. It read: 

Happy birthday dear Renee! We are glad to finally have you join our ranks! Welcome to the moon side sister!

Blessings, 

Your clan.

Well this certainly did not help solve anything! Ranks? The moon side?  Clans? What the hell did all of that mean? There is more than one person behind this? How on earth do they know her name? Someone had had to be pranking her, this is the only thing she could think of. She was getting furious at the mystery of this all. And it hit her at that moment that she was hungry. God, she was starving! She walked to the kitchen and opened the fridge, and she almost threw up. Everything seemed to reek. Yet everything in that fridge was fresh. She grabbed her keys and decidedly went to get some take out. As she walked down the corridor of her apartment block she met her neighbor, Liz. Liz was quiet and reserved; the perfect neighbor. She greeted her and when she walked past she realized that she could smell every single bit of Liz. She smelled...delicious. And then it occurred to her what was happening. She was hungry for Liz.

.

.

.

Renee walked out of her block half an hour later, and this time she could definitely taste blood. But this time, she knew exactly why. She dropped on her knees and took everything in. She had just attacked her neighbor, and bitten her body off, chunk by chunk. She could cut a human up with her teeth for God's sake! It felt more natural than anything she had ever felt. She was still surrounded by Liz's taste and smell. And now she was finally not hungry.

.

.

.

Renee finally got back on her feet when she got faced by two women. They both wore black leather clothing and they were now both blocking her way.

"Hello Renee. Did you get our present?"

"It was you? Who the hell are you? And what the fuck is happening to me?", she had grabbed the collar of the woman that stood closest to her. She had deep green eyes.

"Calm down Renee", her voice was serene. "We thought you might have figured it out by now."

"Figured out what exactly?"

"You're like us. You are part of the diamondteeth clan. You are a witch."

Renee was laughing hysterically now. 

"Is this some kind of fucking joke? Huh? Where's the camera? Birthdaypranks.com ? Very. Funny."

"This is not a joke Renee. The necklace you received, that is your token. The change happens on your thirtieth birthday. We are sure you would have noticed some..differences."

"Change?  I Just fucking ate my neighbor! I'm not a witch, I'm a psychopath!", Renee lowered her voice in case anyone could hear her confess to Liz's murder. She wondered why the second woman did not speak to her; she only watched her as if she was studying her.

"You are a supernatural being Renee. Witches feed on human blood and flesh, as it is partially our source of power. If you want to know more, come tonight to this place", said the green eyed lady while handing her a piece of paper. "We can explain. Have a good day."

.

.

.

She was definitely not going to be going anywhere tonight. She was just about ready to go give herself in. This  must have been it. This is the point she was going insane. In her short thirty years, she had gotten to the point of insanity. She walked all over the streets all afternoon; she could not risk being seen around her apartment with those psychos out there and a possible already-on-track murder investigation. So she walked some more. 

She must be completely out of her mind, because she found herself at the address she was instructed to go to by the equally insane green-eyed lady. But she had nowhere else to go, and in a day full of unexpected events -like murder- she did not think it could get much worse. The address led her to what seemed like an abandoned building just outside of town. And suddenly the girl from this afternoon popped out of nowhere. Renee almost screamed.

"Hello again. I knew you would come. Don't freak out, this is only a mirage.", said the girl as she made a humungous villa appear where the abandoned site had just been.

"How did you...how did you just do that?", Renee was stumbling over her words now.

"Come inside. I can show you how to do it, too.", and so Renee followed.

The Victorian style home was mostly black, with touches of diamond statement pieces everywhere. She found a whole group of women sitting in the loungeroom, surrounding a fireplace. And suddenly she was not afraid. She felt safe, and proud, and brave. She felt like home. 

She hadn't felt such empowerment before. Her senses were starting to overtake her again. And she could feel Liz's blood circling her whole body.

"I came here today to have my questions answered. So hear me out." She took out a piece of paper and started reading:

"Who are you? Who am I? What is the Diamondteeth clan? How did you get into my house? How do you know who I am? What do you mean I am a witch? Who was the second woman I saw today and why did she not speak to me? Why did I kill a human being? Why can I hear, and see and smell everything? What was the necklace I received today? Why is this happening to me now? You said half my power comes from humans, what about the rest? What is the power? Will this ever stop? Am I a monster? And finally... Show me what I can do."

"Well Renee", said the green-eyed woman with a wide smile and glee in her eyes "The answer to most of these questions is...magic! And now that you are willing to listen, let us begin to give you some explanations. And of course soon enough, when the moon is in the position we need it to be, we can show you exactly what you are capable of, if you think you can handle it. Are you ready?"

Renee finally remembered what her dream from last night was. And this was it. She couldn't believe it all started with a nightmare; and now it was happening. Except this time she wasn't scared.

"I'm ready."