Click, click, click—there was always a click. Alya was sitting in a black room. She had been in here for—who knows how long? Clothes and ripped clothes had been thrown all over the enclosure. She never got hungry or had to ask for water. The last thing she remembered was being in her professor's room and being black. She began to cry when she heard an echo of her voice.

“Crying again?” A female voice echoed through the dark: “How many times have I told you I can get us through this? Now quit your crying.”

“I’m sorry, it’s just that I miss my grandmother; she might be worried sick.” Alya said she was crying.

“I know, sweet child, but the wizard has trapped us, remember?” The voice said it in a sweet, caring voice.

"Yes, I remember, but why did he do it?” Alya asked, “He must have done it for something?”

“Oh my, he did it because he was afraid of you and of us.” The voice said, “Just sleep, and this will all be over soon.”

"Ok,” Alya said.

Alya began to feel that her body was more tired than usual. Her eyes were starting to get heavy, and she laid down on the floor. When she had fallen asleep, her body began to twitch and move. Her muscles began to spasm, and her legs began to break and reconnect in different places. Her skin started to grow jet-black fur. Her hands and feet looked like deadly weapons. She was turning into a werecat, but not like the one that her uncle was. She was turning into an actual panther-like cat. She walked around, and the cat was restless. The enclosure was beginning to glow white, then the sigils and runes began to get white hot, and they burned. The glass prison was now just a glass prison. The cat growled, and with one swoop of her paw, she broke through the glass. The room began to scream with alarms, and the windows and doors started to close one by one. The panther walked out of the cage, and then she began to transform into a more human-like creature. She was still thinner and more agile than her male counterparts. Her fur was now outlined around her shoulders with what looked like a gold necklace. Her head had a half crown going from ear to ear like a Roman coronet.

From behind her, another cat came into her field of view. He was brown with white fur around his feet and hands. He was about her height and was just as bulky as her uncle.

"Well, it looks like we finally found you, sister.” The cat said, “Do you remember me? I’m Atlas. Your brother.”

"Well, if it's the same Atlas that once got stuck climbing a tree, then yes.” She said teasingly, “What took you so long?”

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“The wizard had you very well hidden.” Said Atlas while holding up a brown leather book with the title INHERITED CODEX, “He especially caved when we showed him this book.”

“It can’t be The INHERITED CODEX, it was supposed to have been lost in the fires of Alexandria.” Ayla said it happily.

"Well, apparently it was with some homeless bum.” Atlas said it with disgust.

"Really, after all these years, he picked a worthless bum.” Alya said with disgust in her face, “But then again, he always did like to anger me.”

“Let’s go.” Ayla said as she jumped down to the floor.

The two cats ran to the front door. The place was a wreck, with paintings that looked like they had some value but were now bloody and broken. The once-emiaculite place is now in chaos. They ran down the stairs, and a female body was torn apart, and pieces were everywhere. Blood had painted the third floor. They both ran down to the first floor and out the front door, never bothering to close it. Once they ran out of sight, a female human walked around the corner. She was walking her dog and saw that her neighbor had left the front door open. She walked to the door, saw blood on the door knob, and called the police. Her dogs ran inside and sniffed out the body.

Within minutes, two cops had been dispatched and entered the property. They saw a blood trail and freed their pistols. They saw the trail go up the stairs and began to see body parts. They stopped and walked back outside. One of the officers began yelling into her radio on her shoulder. Her male partner ran back to the car and holstered his gun. He sat in his car and contemplated what he just saw. He saw his partner walk up to him.

"Well, rookie, you did better than most.” Montoya said she was also putting her service weapon away.

“I I I I…” he just said.

“I guess I spoke too soon.” Montoya radioed her captain, “He cap, I may need psych to come and evaluate my rookie.”

“Not another one." The captain said over the radio, “I thought I told you to stay away from crime scenes like that before they graduate.”

“I tried to tell him, but he was adamant.” Montoya said.

The neighborhood was instantly buzzing with police on the corners, ambulances, and news media. Among them, four police officers had arrived at the scene. Two female officers with red hair and a yellow strand pulled back were twins. The other two were older males. They had lieutenant ranks on them. They walked to the building, and one of the females discretely chanted a spell, and the building began to shrink. An identical building was then left in its place. The only thing was that the inside was bare and empty. The place was then filled with a dead mixture of gas and exploded. The firefighters ordered everyone to evacuate the surrounding buildings and began to put out the fire. The four wizards looked around and walked back to their cars. They drove off, but not before Officer Montoya caught a glimpse of what they had done.

“Someone get those hoses to that building.” Shouted the chief, “Make sure everyone is evacuated; Mitch, call this in; let’s get some more trucks here.”

Montoya got up and saw that her partner had snapped out of his daze. He looked at the building and saw the fire. He gasped and stood up.

“I’m sorry, TO; I was caught off guard.” The male officer said, “But I can’t unsee what I saw; this is it for me; I’m done.”

He sat back down and closed the door. He looked at her and then locked the doors. He took the gun and pulled the trigger. The inside was covered in blood and brain matter. Montoya was shocked when she heard the gun go off. By instinct, she pulled her gun out and saw her partner's brain all over her brand new police cruiser.

“Goddam it.” Montoya shouted, "Central, we have shots fired and officers down.”

Two other officers saw what happened and opened the driver's door. Chunks of matter and a skull fell from the window to the street. One of the officers threw up.

“What happened, officer?” Said one officer, “Please come with us.”

They escorted her to a car, and she was driven back to the station. The fire had come under control, and the fire fighters were now working to continue to put the fire out.