The elevator reached the ground floor without disturbance, few people going in and out, some of them giving a brief nod or a hello to Jacqueline, which she returned. She thought she was successful in appearing unruffled and [i]normal[/i]. [color=FFA07A][i]As if the people here would notice anything, even if it smacked them right in the face. Fucking idiots.[/i][/color] Jacqueline safely made it outside of the apartment complex and no one gave her a second glance. Thank God for stupidity, she thought derisively; not honestly believing things would continue going so well. Jacqueline shouldered her backpack more securely and took off.

She headed to a nearby park. Sat on a bench. And thought. [color=FFA07A][i]I could go to my brother but that would be an obvious move. I have to go to some district I have no connections to and then get the hell out of this city. My parents,[/i][/color] she snorted [color=FFA07A][i]If they knew they’d just hand me over.[/i][/color] Skittishly, Jacqueline looked around. She thought she had been in her district for too long already. What if her flat was already being investigated? What if she was already reported being missing? Would they think she was a victim? Or would they know…She rubbed at her eyes and headed to an underground station. She wasn’t exactly a fan of those, but desperate times and all that.
 
After the stressful trip, during which Jacqueline kept alternating between bouts of paranoia, outrage, brief hopeful relaxation and false confidence, she finally arrived at a district she may have visited once in her lifetime, if that. The important thing was, that as far as she knew, it was a good place to leave the city from it and go somewhere else. Anywhere else. She was about to leave the underground station she arrived at, kind of in a daze, when she suddenly stopped and remembered her “plan” to “disguise” herself. [color=FFA07A][i]What was I even thinking? If anyone’s searching for me, they will find me, ponytail and hat or not. If they find me…If they don’t…If I get out of here…What does any of it matter? My[/i] [b]life[/b] [i]is ruined. My career…[/i][/color]

[color=FFA07A][i]So, ‘Jacky’ what happened to not giving up control to this BS?[/i][/color] She sneered at herself derisively.

The grumbles of the people around her as they had to force their way past her went unheard by Jacqueline and she could sense a simmering hysteria trying to claw its way up to the surface. She felt herself smile, it was probably not one of her best ones, possibly somewhat unstable. She had to muffle what might otherwise have been maniacal laughter into her sleeve. Without bothering to alter her appearance in any of the meagre ways she could have, she slowly made her way through the crowd, outside, trying not to choke on her wheezing laughs all the while, distantly and vaguely hoping people assumed she was coughing. Without knowing how, she stumbled into a narrow alleyway, abandoned at the moment though there were signs of people occasionally staying there. [color=FFA07A][i]Joining the tramps now, hmm?[/i][/color] A wry smile tugged at her lips.

Jacqueline followed the littered path to a dead-end and stopped, staring at the wall. She tried to make sense of her racing thoughts, to decide on some form of a plan other than to [color=FFA07A][i]get out get out getout getOUT![/i][/color] A sudden sound startled her and before she knew it, the female jumped at its source, a doggy growl turned whimper ringing as she incapacitated the beast, bound its legs with spider silk, spat an acid all over it, bit into the soft tissue of its neck, chomped down on the [color=FFA07A][i]oh so good, fucking hell, divine, no, stop it, [b]FOOD[/b][/i][/color] tenderized meat, swallowed it in chunks, devouring until nothing was left, no meat, no skin, no blood, no bones.
 
With a satisfying belch after the meal, Jacqueline felt her jaw shifting back, had not even realized she had slipped into her [i]other[/i] form at all. She licked the leftover fluids from her face and hands. She glanced to the floor and realized she had been wrong – there was something left, and it was a mess, a big splat of dark-red leftovers. Jacqueline shivered but she couldn’t help feeling smug, it just radiated from her core, warming her all over. Suddenly and unexpectedly resigned, she sat against one of the walls, ignoring the surrounding filth and turned her head to watch the sliver of sky visible from the alley. [color=FFA07A][i]Definitely not human anymore,[/i][/color] she thought, shifting her hand between forms with a simple flex. [color=FFA07A][i]Got over that then, Galloway?[/i][/color]