Erica was pacing back and forth in the hall of one of the upper floors, surrounded by decayed wallpaper, soiled carpet and the smell of mould. Even now she could still remember her old home, the little town house in the inner suburbs where she lived with her father and cat, she idly wondered if her cat was ok. She used to think that life was boring, now she found herself missing the days where the biggest thing she had to worry about was whether she was wearing the clothes that were in fashion that week. She shivered at the thought that she would never have that life again.

Now she was a monster. She tried not to think that way, to stay positive, but whenever she looked at the others, all she could see was the animals they could become. And the fact that she was one of them brought up all kinds of confusing feelings. Was it them? Or us? She thought. She had always been a human being, and now she couldn't call herself that any more. So what was she? Erica hugged her clothes around her as she struggled with her little crisis of identity and when she looked up she found that she'd stopped outside Jethro's room. Jethro scared her, but she also felt a deep respect for him. She hesitated a moment before knocking on his door.