Youssef opened his eyes slowly, lying on the cold grass in the garden. The sky was heavy with clouds, and dew brushed against his cheeks. He murmured strange, fragmented words as he stared into nothingness:
"Marina… yachts… Daniel…"
He rose sluggishly, his body still weary from the night's transformations. Moving like a thief, he slipped into his house, snatched some food, and devoured it with the hunger of a wild animal. Then, in a swift motion, he transformed into a falcon and soared high into the sky toward the marina.
He landed on one of the harbor's buoys, eyes scanning the boats like a predator seeking its prey.
Suddenly, his pupils widened.
"Oh! It's Judy!" he thought in astonishment. She was standing on the deck of a yacht, glancing around nervously, as if hiding a dangerous secret.
Judy boarded the yacht with a group of men whose faces were unfamiliar and unsettling. The vessel slipped away across the water with quiet cunning.
Youssef didn't hesitate—he dove into the sea, shifting with incredible speed into a massive shark, his gaze never leaving the yacht.
In the middle of the open water, the yacht suddenly stopped. The shark drifted closer, its shadow gliding under the vessel.
Judy's voice trembled as she looked at the water:
"I saw him…"
Before she could finish, one of the men silenced her with a gesture and called for the captain to return to the marina immediately.
Youssef arrived before them, reverting to human form, watching from a distance with a pale face and unblinking eyes. The yacht docked, and only one man disembarked. Youssef trailed him in silence to a secluded area.
Then, danger crept in from every direction. Youssef turned to find the man circling him.
The man roared, transforming into a raging lion, and lunged.
Youssef dodged, raising his hands in surrender.
"Stop! Let's talk! I have no memory!"
But the lion ignored him and attacked again.
In an instant, Youssef became a lion too, and a brutal clash erupted—roars, blows, and claws tearing at the air.
Suddenly, Youssef pulled back, morphing into a German Shepherd in an attempt to flee. The man shifted into a Doberman and chased him, their fight spilling into a busy street.
People screamed. Some filmed, others ran.
Wildlife enforcement officers rushed in, trying to contain the chaos.
In a massive steel cage, Youssef sat hunched over, seething.
"Not again!" he growled.
He returned to human form, gripping the bars.
"Why are you all attacking me? Why all this violence? We're human—we have tongues to speak with!"
In the other cage, the man shifted from Doberman to a small snake, slipping through the bars, then swelling into a massive anaconda that coiled around Youssef, squeezing mercilessly.
Youssef cried out in pain but refused to give in. He transformed into a giant gorilla, pounding the serpent until it released him.
At that moment, the guard entered—only to faint at the sight before him.
The bars shattered. The fight raged on until Youssef broke away from the anaconda. They locked eyes, each filled with fierce defiance.
Then, in a flash, the man transformed into a gorilla as well, smashed through the wall, and fled.
A wild chase erupted through the streets—two gorillas charging, people screaming and filming, wildlife officers in pursuit.
The battle crashed toward the shoreline, and with one final surge, they both plunged into the sea. Cameras and onlookers followed their descent…
And then—they were gone.
No cameras, no divers, no one could find a trace of them or where they had gone.
⸻
In a quiet room, Sarah sat beside Jacob, her eyes fixed on his phone as he played one of the trending videos.
Jacob (in shock):
"Look!"
Sarah (in a worried whisper):
"Do you think he… died?"