I can still remember the impenetrable darkness. I blinked against the light and face the body of the male voice. He smile kindly. He reminded me Santa Claus. He had a broad face and a little round belly...Well, you know. "I'm Dr. Wenchell and this is Nurse Quinn."                "Water." I croaked. And as if on cue Nurse Quinn handed me one of those huge seventy-two ouce plastic cups that could have been sold at the gas station or something.                I popped the lid off barbarically and guzzled down the ice cold liquid, spilling it on me in the process. Once satisfied, I thanked the nurse who in turn just gave me a wry smile.                "All set?" Dr. Wenchell asked, picking up the clipboard from the foot of the bed.                "I'm okay I guess. How long have I been here?"                He was silent. "You've been in a coma for a month."                "A month?" It was just simply unbelievable. I sat up abruptly, immediately feeling a tightness in my abdomen. I was nearly encased in itchy, rough material. "What the hell happened to me?"                "Write that down." The doctor commanded. "You remember nothing?"                "The last thing I remember was being at a club with my friends on my birthday. That's it. So, why am I in the hospital?"                "One month ago, you were attacked. By a panther."                Suddenly, I remember the animal, with its glistening teeth, fatal claws and threatening muzzle. "Why aren't I dead?"                "That's a perfectly good question. We found you nearly eviscerated in the parking lot. It's a miracle your not dead." Dr. Wenchell said, taking my pulse.                "It's not a miracle. I was nearly cut in half. What aren't you telling me? Do I have lycanthropy?"                His kind face reddened. "Yes. You have lycanthropy."                "You can't know that. I haven't even changed yet."                "True. However, after extensive research we've found a way to diagnose lycanthropy before the metamorphisis. Or the change as you call it. It's a simple blood test."                "Well maybe it's wrong." I told him.                He shook his head. "The tests are quite accurate."                "I can't believe this." I rubbed my temples.                "I understand it doesn't really seem fathomable now. But surely you'll get used to it."                "Get used to it?!" I yelled. "I'm a goddamn human being. I can't deal with being an animal too." I pounded my hand into the mattress.                "Please calm down. Someone will be here to talk to you about the disease in a minute. She's very understanding and knows a lot about it. She'll keep you very informed."                "Nevermind all that. What happened to my friends?"                "Hey, Leena." said a female voice. I turned towards the doorway to find Kylie standing there. Frankly, she looked like shit. Her usually tanned skin looked pasty and her voluminous golden hair was dull and limp. Her blue eyes were wide and horror filled.                "Hey." I said, using the bed's remoted to sit me up straight.                Kylie's face crumbled and she ran to me, pulling me into a hug. "I'm so glad to see you." She began to cry, body shaking.                Tears now burned in my eyes. I was glad to be alive. Lycanthropy or not. And seeing Kylie made me all the more gracious. "I thought you were dead." She whispered.                "So did I." I said.                Kylie pulled away from me. "Don't joke about things like that Leena." She had extreme hurt in her eyes.                "I'm sorry." I felt ashamed now. "Where Cheryl?"                Kylie bit her bottom lip and grabbed my hand tightly. "Cheryl's dead, Leena."                My eyes widened. "You've got to be joking."                Tears began to stream out of her eyes. "After..." she said. "After you were attacked, Cheryl and I were running for our lives." She shivered as if she were cold. "We didn't even have time to see if you were going to make it. That-that monster was on us so fast."                She shook her head, trying to get rid of the memory. "We'd just made it to some parked car. I made it to the driver's side of the car, and by the time I reached over to unlock her door..." She buried her head in her hands. "It was so horrible, Leena. That panther was out to kill us." She hiccuped. "There was so much blood. We couldn't even have an open casket funeral."                I didn't know which was worse: watching my best friend cry or realizing that I couldn't. It all seemed so unreal to me..like a distant dream. I patted Kylie's head. "I'm so sorry. It's my fault. It was my idea."                "No!' She said firmly. "I won't have either one of us blame ourselves for something that we couldn't control. We didn't know, all right?" Kylie said, puffy eyes focusing on me.                I shook my head in agreement. "All right." We sat in silence for what felt like and eternity. "I have lycanthropy."                "You have what?" She looked up at me.                "Lycanthropy." It was simply to say. But describing it to her was a totally different story. "I'll turn into an animal during the full moon."                kylie jumped back like I had slapped her. "I know what it is. But, how do you know so soon."                "The doctors told me." I shrugged.                "Could it be wrong?" She asked.                "Dr. Wenchell said the test was very accurate."                "When will you be able to leave?"                "I don't know. There's suppose to be some lady coming to to talk to me about lycanthropy."                "Do you want me to stay?" She said.                "No. Please just go. I know you have a lot of work to catch up on." I smiled at her. "I want you to get some rest though, okay?"                She nodded. "Call me if you need anything."                "I will." I assured her.                "Here's some clothes I brought for you." Her voice was shallow. "I couldn't tell your parents what happened. I just told them you didn't have time to come home to get more clohes."                I thanked Kylie and watched her leave. What would my mother and father say? Sure, I asked that question. But I knew the answer. They've probably freak out. I so wasn't ready for that yet.