The Monster Within.

Pain.

That's all I can focus on as I clutch my middle, slightly hunched while standing on the train.

Heat comes in waves and my eyes nearly roll back. I grip the pole tighter, but my slick palm finds no purchase.

A moan nearly escapes me, but I manage to stifle it. The car is quiet, everyone politely plugged into their phones, minding their own business.

At once I am terrified to attract notice, but also secretly desperate for a kind stranger to discover my plight.

I'm only one stop away, yet the two-minute train ride feels like hours. At last the train slows and I stagger to the door. Suddenly, an elderly woman insolently cuts in front of me and I nearly lose it; can't she see my condition?

I rush out the doors, nearly toppling the old biddy in my haste.

I fear for my life, my sanity. Each step is one closer to sanctuary, but I have no hope for salvation.

All I can hear now is a panting, rasping breathing I'm horrified to discover my own. The change is near.

This isn't the first time and I doubt it will be my last. Yet I continue to hope for a cure one day.

My apartment is within view and the sight, rather than tame the beast, only intensifies its rage.

Three flights and five doors down.

The end is near and the monster within knows it. I feel it clawing from my insides, attempting to escape the confines of my body, but along with a sob and plea for clemency, I reach my door in time.

I relaxed too soon.

Shit.