In Their Own Skins: Shifting Sands
by Kiernan Kelly

Prologue

Idling, the bike growled like a hungry, black-and-silver predator, its headlight dark. Camouflaged by the night, only its distinctive rumble gave away its position. The naked rider crouched low over the handlebars, motionless, revving the engine and waiting with the patience of an experienced hunter.

The purr of an automobile was heard moments before the twin beams of its headlights cut through the gloom. It passed by, a darker blur against the blackness of the night, leaving exhaust-scented spoor in its wake.

A few heartbeats later the motorcycle roared, pulling onto the road and following at a distance.

Popping sounds and the screech of brakes reached Cain’s ears as the car ahead of him hit the stop sticks he’d spread across the macadam about a half-mile up the road. His lips curled in a feral smile, white teeth flashing.

As the bike rounded a bend in the road, Cain spotted the car off to the side, its tires flat and shredded. Cain’s eyes reflected the weak light given off by the moon, his exceptional vision giving him a clear view of the driver as he angrily kicked the flattened tires of his car. The driver turned and jumped up and down, trying to flag Cain down as he passed. Fool, Cain thought, it’s like an antelope waving to get the lion’s attention. Passing the accident scene, Cain pulled off onto the soft shoulder of the road.

Dismounting, Cain stretched himself to his full height, nearly seven feet of rippling sinew and muscle. Tipping his head from one side to the other, he cracked his neck; the popping of his vertebrae was reminiscent of the sound the tires had made hitting the nail-studded sticks.

This was the moment he lived for, when he could allow himself to shed his flawed and frail human form and assume the one that was far stronger, far superior, and far deadlier. The form that would one day soon allow Cain to take the role that nature had intended for him. Supreme ruler. King. God.

Throwing his head back he bellowed, his voice deepening, his body expanding and lengthening along with the volume of his voice until his roar rolled across the desert like a shock wave, and each step he took shook the earth like a seismic event.

Reptilian eyes focused on the tiny human who screamed piteously and tried to scramble away as Cain thundered toward him.

Soon all that broke the peaceful silence of the desert night were wet, crunching sounds as Cain fed.
 

Continued in First Section