My Second Chance p12 FINALE ep 1

So here starts the Finale of My Second Chance (thoughts welcome)

My Second Chance Part 12 FINALE

Caught in a void of judgmental staring and genuine fear, Alex sits across from Luke, with Marissa looming over her, unable to speak. Every single person in the café is looking in her direction, thanks to the cat's ears now sticking out so evidently from her head.

Heart pounding deep in her chest, instincts long forgotten rise, and they tell her to run, to run far. Visions or warnings flash in her mind of terror so foul it prickles on her skin.

“Alex….?” Luke leans across, the first one to speak. “Did you make those? I didn’t know you liked cosplay.”

Alex's head snaps toward Luke. She gasps. His face is twisted and grotesque, warped by some unseen force, only to blink and see it suddenly normal again. She can’t be sure what she just saw, but his soft smile eventually breaks through the fear.

“Alex?” he continues. “I like them. Cat ears are cute on a girl….”

Alex wants to play along with the idea of it being a cosplay, but the world around her still feels like it’s screaming. She can barely focus on what he’s saying. She tries to shake off the ringing in her ears but can’t.

Her senses are on overload. She feels like she can see the air around her, and it’s stained with the dark crimson of blood.

“Alex….” Luke reaches across the table and light touches her hand to get her attention.

Instantly, her gaze sharpens to his touch, like his fingers are made of knives. Every fibre in her being urges her to strike in defense. Her tail stiffens, her pupils narrow, and her breathing slows.

“Alex…” Luke tries to get her to look at him. “Alex……”

Rage swirls deep within Alex, like she’s coiled, ready to snap. Yet more visions of pain and horror play out in her mind, like she’s being shown something she barely understands.

Slowly looking up from his hand touching hers, Alex looks at Luke’s soft smile once again, and the vision dissipates.

“L-Luke….?” Alex speaks softly, feeling as if a haze is clearing.

“Hey,” he grins. “I like your ears. Don’t let Marissa bully you.”

Slowly, Alex looks at Marissa, who stands with her hands over her mouth, gazing down in shock. Marissa’s eyes are fixated on the top of Alex’s head.

“Marissa?” Alex had almost forgotten she was there.

“Don’t talk to me, skank!” Marissa hisses as she reaches across to touch one of Alex’s cat ears. “They look so real….”

Marissa’s finger brushes the tips of Alex’s cat ears, making them twitch in reaction, just like a cat. She steps backwards in disgust, holding that same hand as if it were infected.

“Urgh!” Marissa cries out, causing the café to go silent once again. “They’re real!” Marissa looks at Luke in disbelief. “Urgh, your girlfriend is a FREAK! SHE’S A FREAK!”

“T-They twitched?” Luke states, also reacting.

The blood drains from Alex’s face, and even her cat ears begin to fold over, showing the depths of her despair. She glances at the disgust on Marissa’s face and then the confusion on Luke's. Alex doesn’t know if she should hide or run.

Her instincts are telling her to attack.

However, in her mind, the cat ears don’t feel strange. They feel…normal, like the natural awakening of something ancient and buried deep within her. There’s no fear of them, only of how the world reacts. It’s just like her mom always said: warrior blood runs through her veins.

“Urgh,” Marissa scoffs again, sticking her finger into Luke’s coffee and flicking the drips in Alex’s face. “Don’t sit with us, freak! Kitty cats drink off the floor!”

Without thinking, Alex’s hand raises and blocks the coffee being flicked at her. Confused by her own body's reaction, she looks at her hand as if it were possessed.

“Get out of here, FREAK!” Marissa shouts. “We’re all disgusted by you and your freaking features!”

Alex looks around as the faces in the café stare harder. It makes her skin crawl.

Standing up from her seat, he tail spills out from behind her. More whispering can be heard as her tail stands up in the air. Alex wants to get out of this situation, but Marissa stands in her way.

“You’re not going anywhere, Skank.” Marissa throws up a hand to stop Alex

Again, moving without thinking, Alex grabs Marissa’s hand and shoves her away with ease. Marissa goes tumbling backwards into a chair. People in the café stand and gasp in fear.

“A-Alex….?” Luke says, confused as he looks up at her from his seat. “W-What’s happening to you?”

Eyes wide at how easy Marissa was to push away, Alex begins to shake in confusion. “I-I…..”

Marissa gets to her feet. Pride bruised and rage boiling over. She stomps towards Alex, fist swinging a punch directly at her face. Intent on striking her directly on the nose, Marissa is stunned as Alex easily grabs her fists and begins to squeeze down with the might of someone six times her size.

“YOU'RE BREAKING MY HAND!” Marissa screams out in shock.

The other people in the café stand to help Marissa, causing Alex to let go. Stepping away, Alex feels trapped as a crowd gathers around. She has to suppress the desire within her to strike at them all.

She doesn’t want to hurt anyone, but her body seems to be moving on its own. Instincts that take over, without regard for the consequences.

Alex looks at Luke’s expression, and her heart sinks.

“S-Sorry!” Alex squeaks out, holding back the tears. “I’ve gotta go!”

Seconds later, Alex bolts for the door of the café, easily pushing past people twice her side.

“GET BACK HERE, FREAK!” Marissa screams as Alex flees.

As she rushes out onto the street, her panic rises as crowds of people flood the sidewalk, all screaming, running, and shouting. She’s out of the frying pan and into the fire. The streets are chaos, with sirens blaring out in every direction.

Heart pounding, Alex dives into a gap between the buildings, and her mind races. She thinks about all the things her mother told her about Grimalkins. She tries to understand why this is happening, but she comes to no conclusion.

She touches her ears. They are real.

 She touches her tail. It’s real.

Both are very much a part of her.

Thoughts quickly turn to missed calls from her mother. Flumbling to get her phone from her back pocket, Alex looks at the screen to see more missed calls and messages. Not thinking, she calls her mother.

The phone rings and rings and rings. No answer as the voicemail kicks in.

Alex shakes it off and tries again.

The same happens.

She tries her father instead.

The phone doesn’t even ring.

Panic rising, Alex looks through her message. At first, they are just normal, asking her to call back, but as she reads further into the missed messages, they become increasingly panicked.

One particular message from her mother holds her attention.

She stares at the words on the screen, unable to focus on what seems like a goodbye message. The phone quivers in her hand as the words start to sink in.

Alex, these are my final moments. It’s found us. It’s found all of us.

A horror from our people's past. The thing I tried to protect you from all these years.

Alex, I wanted to speak with you one last time and explain what’s happening, but I couldn’t get in touch with you. Do not come back to the house. We will not be there.

I made so many mistakes in my youth, my precarious Blake, my beautiful Alex. You have a chance to help put those things right. Build a better future.

Know this. I’ve given myself for you to have a second chance, not only as a girl, but as a Grimalkin. 

If I’ve predicted my finale Formador gift correctly, you should be changing. Don’t be scared. You are becoming the best of us. This was and is your fate.

I’m sorry I can’t guide you through this time, sweetheart.

Search out Ursula. With her help, you will end the horror that haunts our people.

I love you, Alex. Daddy loves you.

Be strong and let your instincts guide you

Mom xxx

“M-Mom…?” Alex touches the screen, knowing deep down in her heart that something horrible has happened to her parents.

Tears slide down her cheeks as she stumbles back against the wall for support.

She can barely breath.

She tries again to call both of them.

No answer.

She tries again, becoming more and more desperate with each moment.

No answer, and the tears drip from her chin

“There you are!”

Alex looks up to see Luke standing at the entrance of the gap between the two buildings. He steps in closer, moving slowly at first but becoming more confident with each step.

“Hi,” he smiles, standing in front of Alex. “Are you okay? Do you wanna talk about it?”

“Luke!” Alex whines out, collapsing into his arms. “I think something's happened to my parents.

Surprised at first, Luke happily takes Alex into his arms and embraces her tight. Her cat ears tickle his nose, but that makes him smile. 

“Did you get odd messages too?” Luke asks, holding her tight as he thinks about the phone call he’s just had with his father. “I called my Dad back. Something is attacking the city.”

Pushing away from their embrace, Alex wipes tears from her eyes and looks at Luke, confused. “Something… is attacking?”

He looks her deep in the eyes, trying hard not to look at her tail flicking wildly behind her.

“Yes.” He says plainly, before giving in to look at her tail.

He takes off his glasses and rubs his eyes. “Are you an alien?” Luke asks, cleaning his lenses, before putting his glasses back on. “You talked about cat people before, and I can’t help but notice that tail and those ears are very much a part of you, Alex.”

Alex grits her teeth. “Luke! What about the thing attacking the city!?”

“Who and what are you?” Luke asks, pressing for more information.

Blushing, Alex looks away and her tail wips with a snap to show her frustration. “I’m an…” Alex sighs and lets herself accept it. “A grimalkin.”

Luke’s face scrunches in thought, and then after an awkward moment or two, smiles.

“So….” he looks at her ears. “The conspiracy people are right!? There is an alien race that walks among us!?”

“I guess….” Alex lightly chuckles, pleased Luke is more excited than freaked out. “But I’m more second generation, Luke. I was born a human boy, so I don’t really understand myself.”

“Born a…..” Luke pushes his glasses up his nose and doesn’t instantly react. “A boy….” He continues.

Then, it clicks. “Wait,” his eyes grow wide, “You were born a boy!?”

Alex’s face erupts in embarrassment, realizing what she’s just said.

“I was,” she admits softly, hoping he’s not going to be mad. With her cat ears sagging with worry, Alex looks Luke in the eyes. “Remember Blake?”

“Yeah…..”

Alex shrugs her shoulders and looks away from his confused gaze. “I was Blake. But now I’m Alex. I was a boy, but now I’m a girl. Please don’t hate me.”

The ground shakes and screaming can be heard in the distance, but that doesn’t stop Luke from staring at the young girl with cat ears and a tail in front of him.

“I knew it,” he laughs to himself.

Alex looks at him, her tail curling in curiosity.

“I knew something was suspicious about Blake just up and disappearing.” Luke looks away, still chuckling to himself. “I never considered that you, Alex, would be that same boy. That’s wild.”

“Sorry.” Alex’s shoulders sink. “I’d understand if you don’t want to know me anymore. I know it’s really strange. Imagine being a boy one day and a girl the next! It’s been confusing to say the least.”

“I bet,” Luke nods, looking at Alex’s body. “But why wouldn’t I wanna be your friend? You’re by far the most interesting person I know!” He claps his hands together. “You’re literally an alien, Alex. We aren’t alone in this endless cosmos! That’s incredible!”

Luke stops, smiling, and pushes his glasses up his nose. “But, wait. You said you were born human. What does that mean?”

 The ground shakes once again, this time for a longer duration, causing birds to fly away and trash cans to rattle. Both Alex and Luke hold each other to steady themselves.

“W-What’s happening?” Alex asks, remembering the message from her mother.

Luke holds Alex tighter, almost like he’s trying to protect her.

“There’s someone or….” Luke thinks for a moment. “…or something on a murderous rampage in the city, Alex. Like I said, I spoke to my Dad when you ran off. He told me I need to go home and lock myself in the basement.”

They share a worried glance with each other.

“Hide in the basement, Alex,” Luke repeats, fearing what that might mean. “What ‘thing’ is attacking that my father would suggest that?” He shivers in thought. “D-Do you think it’s another alien race? Maybe they’ve come to take over?”

Alex looks down at the phone she’s still clutching in her hand. “R-Read this. It’s from my mother.”

Luke looks at the phone and reads the message.

“W-What does she mean by ‘horror from your people’s past?’”

“I don’t know.” Alex’s tail stops moving as her body becomes rigid. “L-Luke….” Tears dribble from Alex’s eyes. “Maybe this ‘thing’ has found them. Luke, I’m worried my family is dead!”