Silent Heroes: Wildcat

Chapter 9: Choices

"Okay, Eve."  In my head, Deanna had not spoken with any trace of an accent, but now her voice carried a pleasant southern flavor.  "Your turn."

What?

"Shift back into human form.  We can't very well take you home looking like that."

Oh...umm, okay, but.... how do I...

"I'll talk you through it, don't worry."  She fixed Shane with a stern look.  "Make yourself scarce, would you little bro?"

"Little," Shane snorted, grinning over at me.  "I've been taller than her since I was fifteen and she still calls me little."

"Get outa here, you big oaf!" Deanna snapped, but there was a smile in her voice.  "She doesn't need you watching this."

"All right, all right.  I'm going."

 "And toss me the bag, while you're at it!" Deanna hollered while he retreated into the woods.

Seconds later, a large duffel bag came hurtling at her through the trees, moving so fast I could hear the wind rushing past it.  Deanna calmly reached up and caught it with one hand.

"Okay, Eve," she reached inside and pulled out a pair of jeans and plain white t-shirt.  "Now, I want you to picture yourself in human form.  Block out any other thoughts or distractions and just focus on that."

I closed my eyes and tried to do as she said, but it wasn't easy.  My mind was basically swarming with distracted thoughts.  How could it not be?  This was all just so crazy and fantastic and bizarre.

What if I couldn't do this?  What if I ended trapped in this form forever?

"Relax, Eve," Deanna said, as if reading my mind.  "Don't over-think it."

I re-focused myself and tried again.  I blocked out all the questions, all the fear, all the confusion, setting it aside for later.  I imagined my own body.  My skinny arms and legs.  My narrow hips.  The vaguely oval-shaped birthmark on my left shoulder.  My golden Arab complexion.  My stupid freckles and my stupid thick, curly hair.

I remembered how it felt to walk on two legs.  To have hands and opposable thumbs.  To have lips and a voice-box and a mouth capable of forming complex words and thoughts.

Slowly, my body began to shrink.  I felt a tingling all over my skin as my fur shrank and retreated beneath the surface.  There was a terrible grinding noise as my bones and joints shifted position but, while it felt strange, no pain was associated with the changes.  My ears migrated down the sides of my head.  My muzzle flattened.  My tail was sucked back up into my spine while a mass of curls sprouted from my skull.

The last thing to fade was my night vision and I was left crouching in the dark, half blind, the cold earth biting into my hands and knees and the wind stinging my bare skin.  The forest, which had been so alive with sights and sounds and smells a few moments ago, was now nothing more than a dark, endless void.

Deanna placed the pile of clothes next to me.  "Here you go.  Put these on."

Shivering, I grabbed the clothes and dressed as fast as I could.  I felt strangely off-balance, standing on two legs again instead of four.  I almost face-planted while I was pulling the jeans on.

"Hey, how come your clothes didn't get torn?" I asked, yanking the final piece of clothing—a black hoodie—over my head.  It was brand new and the static made my hair stick out in all directions.   I tried in vain to flatten it. 

"I know the right places to shop," Deanna said with a wink.

"And why can you guys shift so much faster than me?"