Glass shattered; a storm of stinging fragments.

"Now."

Skyscrapers passed in a blur of neon, blinding against the night. Streaks of light danced in my vision. Folding my wings, I darted down into the alleyway and landed in the back seat of the convertible.

"Now, Kira! Drive!"

The acceleration flung me against the soaking-wet seat. I huddled down almost into the footwell, hoping I would be protected if we crashed, and relaxed my mind. The images of avian anatomy trickled away like the raindrops running down my skin, rain I could feel as my feathers slowly disappeared.

It hurt. God, it hurt. I hadn't been without the chip in heaven knows how long, and every stab of pain came as a sickening surprise. The glass cuts had been disorienting enough, but bones twisting and re-forming, tendons stretching, feathers melting into skin? This was agony.

We spun around a corner, signs flashing in my face too fast to read. My wings had almost returned to arms; the rain was cold against my back, exposed by my wing-friendly halter top.

I arched my back, stretching my arms behind me to check that they worked normally. To my utter relief, the pain had dissipated. Shaking soaked hair out of my face, I laughed, my head flung up towards the towers and the dark sky. I knew I shouldn't use my powers; I knew they'd eventually turn me into an empty shell, stealing away my humanity, but I was alive, I was addicted, and it felt fantastic. Light after blurred light sped past, turning the rain-spattered windscreen into a constellation of shattered jewels.

Brakes screeched. Kira jerked the wheel aside. I slammed into the car door.

"Shields." She was breathing hard. "The shields are up."

Lightning split the dark clouds, followed by crashing thunder.

"Kira!" I leaned over the seat and reached for her hand. "Chill. You've got this."

She shook her head, blinking too fast, the raindrops caught on her eyelashes glittering in the neon glow. The shields still blocked our path. Behind us, the noise of sirens was getting closer.

"Remember? We planned this. You planned this. Just take out the motors. Use the storm if you have to; hell, I don't care what you do. Just do it!"

"You don't care?" she said. "Well, that's a relief."

Her voice was different. Harsh, not neutral; no cool amusement. As her hand tightened around mine and her features subtly changed, I realised my mistake.

"Two can play at your game."

One finger sharpened and hardened into a claw, a blade pressed against my wrist. Kira's features were unrecognizable now, shifting into those of a teenage boy as the shapeshifter dropped his pretense and readied himself for combat.

Adrenaline shot through my body. I grinned at the familiar icy thrill. Danger had been my obsession since long before I bought my synthetic superpowers, and the zombie apocalypse was the perfect excuse for my favourite pastime: wholesale destruction.

As the rage washed over me, firing up my senses into an intoxicating heightened awareness, my last thought was: If this is what turns me, I won't regret it.

A/N: this is largely unedited, it's just an old scene from my apocalypse AU that I found in my google docs and finished, but I hope you enjoyed it! The MC here is called Cali, and she's probably my most chaotic character yet, which is saying something... It was inspired by the moodboard that I added as 'media' at the top of the page 😄

Should I post my Instagram short stories here as well?