Shifters

Chapter 37

"Hey, are you alright?" One loader said.

The truck driver floated back to conciousness. His head throbbed, but the pain immediately subsided to confusion when he realized with a start  that he was on the damp floor. One man stood over him, with stricken eyes. The back door to the truck was open, another younger man was walking around in there, treating it as a crime scene.

"What happened?" The driver asked, sitting up and rubbing the back of his head.

"You slipped." The loader closest to him stated. "The last truck left a slick spot of oil." He indicated to the black streak just behind the driver and the skid marks of it.

"That's not what happened!?" The younger one rushed forward.

The loader rolled his eyes. "Skippy, here, thinks some dogs attacked you."

"They weren't dogs." Skippy said solemnly. "They were bigger, much bigger. Soon as you opened the door they jumped on you, thought they were going to kill you, but I shouted and they ran off."

The truck driver pondered on his words for a moment, then shook his head.

"No, that's impossible."

"I know what I saw." Skippy wandered back into the truck bitterly.

His older counterpart tsk-ed at him and helped the driver to his feet. "Do you need anything?"

"No, I'm--"

"Look at this!" Skippy leaped out of the truck, carrying a pile clothes in his hands.

The loader had enough of him. "Enough already! Why don't you do something useful and get this man a glass of water! And for God's sake stop going through the shipment and unload the damn truck!"

The trucker was pale faced, staring at the limp textile covered in thick dark fur. "I'm not bringing in a shipment of clothes." He muttered.

Already a few miles away, running like mad through the rich emerald forests, were Kayla and Damian. Their claws scraped over the dirt, their tails balanced them on tight turns and helped them to maneuver through the obstacles expertly. Weaving in and out of brush, twigs, and uprooted trees. Her ears were flat on her head in resentment for leaving behind her clothes. They had just been bought! Only to be abandoned in a torn and furry mess in the truck.

Damian had made the decision when the truck stopped and the trucker came around. They needed to get away quick, and while they both ran fairly fast in human form, they could run twice as fast in wolf form and would get through the forest more easily. So he shifted his shape and jumped the trucker as the door opened. He and Kayla hadn't turned to look back, they pressed forward until the smell of diesel was long gone and even their strong wolfish muscles began to ache.

It was while stretching their legs and running for the first time in hours, that the excitement of being so close to home finally elated them. They ran with lightness and wagging tails. Twice he bumped her shoulder good naturedly, and she would respond with a yip and nip, like excited pups on their way home for dinner.

However, the prospect of going home didn't excite them nearly as much as the sport of hunting.

Kayla picked up the scent first. They wheeled around simultaneously over a hill and to a grassy clearing. Instantaneously, they had switched from frolicking to stiff stillness, their muscles beneath their thick fur quivered in anxious hunger. Their eyes closed in on a herd of deer grazing in the field. None of them had realized they were being hunted.

Damian paced silently, calculating a plan of attack. Kayla crouched low, her amber eyes held a new light, her pupils were large and bright in anticipation, she targeted one fat and sickly female. With a flick of her ear, Damian knelt beside her and saw the target. With her size, they knew she wouldn't be able to run as fast as the others. She stayed in the middle of the crowd, but they could easily herd her out. They only needed to cause a panic. They glanced at each other and licked their chops, it only took seconds to formulate their plan.