Eat or be eaten
Eighteen
Iris's Perspective

I watched the people I loved sob, circling my bed and holding each others hands.
I wanted to stay and tell them I was fine, but I started to disappear.
I appeared in an open green meadow, in the middle of a forest, a glistening pond in the center of the meadow.
The sun flared down on me, soaking my bare arms, legs and stomach.
"Iris," came a soft voice from behind me. I turn around, on guard, to find two women, each no older then my mother and aunt Alaya. I knew who they were.
"Grandmother Castalina and Celest."
They each smiled and nodded. Grandmother Castalina looked the spitting image of my mom; Aunt Celest the exact replica of Aunt Alaya. And strangly enough, I looked like them both.
Castalina held out a hand, beckoning for me to take it. I grab her hand and she pulls me into a hug. She felt warm and firm, her dark brown hair blowing around us, like a fallen immortal.
Celest hugs me next, her skin soft, but just as warm as her sisters. Her golden blonde hair like a firery halo.
We pull back, grinning. It was hard to imagine her doing all those horrible things my mother had said she'd done.
"Unfortunetly, my dearest Iris, I did everything she told you." Celest said, reading my mind. "And I regret it all, expecially what I did to my daughter. But it's now up to you to set right."
Castalina nods gravely, as if wishing there was some other way.
"But how?"
Celest looks sad. "It's to late to cleanse her soul, she's spilt to much blood. But she can be reborn anew."
"I have to kill her?"
"Yes. And before your mother does." Grandmother says. "She's already killed two of her kin, if she kills another, her soul will shatter."
I nod. "I can do it. I promise."
"Thank you dearest Iris. But please, tell her I love her."
"I will."
They each hug and kiss my forehead and cheek, before waving their hands and I disappear again.
My eyes open, looking around the hospital room. I was alone, my monitor off, all the tubes and wires out of my body. I get out of bed and change into my shirt and jeans, though they're still covered in blood.
I rush out of the room, ignoring all of the shocked expressions the docters and nurses wear as I pass them.
The second I feel fresh air on my face, I transform, my body long and sleek, my fur shining in the moon light. My front paws hit the ground with a light thud.
Screams echo the streets as I run at full speed, trying to get home as fast as I could. People push themselves against walls of buildings, trying to stay clear of the wild tiger.
Finally, I enter the gates of my front yard, calling out for my family.
But the house is cold, silent, still. They weren't home. I hurridly change into a pair of tight black pants and a V-neck top, my mothers garters over my pants.
I hide knives in my boots and in the garters, putting one in the waist band of my pants and head out.
As my mother used to say, it was time to play.