She rushed home from work and had Dad cook me a hot meal while I soaked in a hot bath. I got out of the tub and ate the food when it was ready even though I wasn't really hungry. I was still feeling poorly afterward so I went to bed early. I awoke much later in the middle of the night, covered in sweat. It felt like I was burning up on the inside but my breath was freezing cold and my body was wracked with severe and uncontrollable shivering. Burning hunger gnawed at my insides while nausea turned my stomach. It was horrible and it felt like something was devouring me from the inside out.

     I couldn't move and I felt extremely sick but, for some reason, my mind was unusually clear. I could sense Bear and, for some reason, he was hiding in my parents' room. He was staying put there, even though I could sense two very unwelcome guests in the house. These two creatures were far from the friendly kind which made it all the odder that Bear was apparently ignoring them. They also had an unfamiliar feeling to me meaning I had not encountered them yet. What I could tell is that they were on the small side and that was it.

     They reeked of ill will and murderous intent as they crept through the house unchallenged. Their target was quickly made clear as I realized they were making a beeline for my room. I tried to get up from my bed in an attempt to defend myself from them but I could barely move because of the shivering. I watched helplessly as they silently entered my room. From what I could see of them, one was a shapeless, constantly shifting, black mass that was about the size of a cat. The other was some what more defined and stood upright on two legs. It was a little taller than my knees and had long pointed ears and nose.

     "there he is. now remember our job. we need to kill the troublesome human offspring quickly before that... thing wakes up." one of them whispered to the other.

     "Aww, can't I just bleed him just a little. Fresh blood from a living victim is so much better for staining my skin." The other one whined.

     "no! the boss said-" the first one began but the other cut them off and they started bickering. As they fought, I felt something stir awake inside of me and it prodded at me from the back my mind. My attention turned to it and it spoke.

     'do you accept me?' it asked.

     'What? What are you?' I replied. I didn't know what it was but I felt no hostility or danger from it. Rather, it felt fatherly and protective in a way that my guard towards it relaxed.

     'i see i have my answer. i will explain things to you later but right now i need something to eat. i see from your memories that you have a pet. i take it, he's off the menu then, yes?' It said. As it spoke, I felt it's presence spread throughout my body and my shivering came to a stop.

    'Yeah, his name is Bear. I think he might be scared of you though.'

     'sorry about that. now, am i correct to think that the other two are fair game then?'

     'Very.' I could feel the creature smile as I answered.

     'good. then may i have control so i can consume them?'