Shifters

Chapter 16

WILL

I woke up and immediately started sneezing. I was back in my cell, buried in a nest of gryphon feathers. Probably the weirdest place I've ever woken up, but I guess I shouldn't be so surprised, seeing as I was actually the gryphon not too long ago.

I sat up and brushed the oversized fluff off of my sleeves and out of my hair.

"Hello?" I called.

No reply. Ivy and James were gone.

Had I eaten them?

No, I would have remembered if I had. Cat-girl was probably safe then too.

I stood and walked over to the bars, leaning my head against the cold metal. A draft blew down the corridor and a shiver went down my spine.

What were they going to do to me next? I wondered  tiredly. Did I matter anymore? Did I care anymore?

The faint sound of footsteps came from down the hall. I looked up to see Dr. Edmont striding confidently toward my cell.

"Good morning, Will!" he called.

I didn't reply.

"I've got wonderful news!"

I glared at him.

"We have a mission for you!"

"And what if I don't want to go on a mission?" The words slipped out before I could think.

"What did you say?" Edmont asked quietly.

"What if I say no?"

"Will," Edmont sighed, "I thought you understood. You don't have a choice anymore." He smiled and something in me snapped. Heat coursed through me. In the space of a couple seconds, the gryphon was back.

Edmont stood there, shocked. "Well, I never expected this. This is wonderful. I never thought we'd make so much progress with you after what happened."

I growled at him. I jumped at the cell bars, but they held.

"We've got to get going if we're going to start the mission on time." He turned and walked back down the hall.

The gryphon disappeared, adding a considerable amount of feathers to the existing pile. My vision spun, and I collapsed.

~≈~≈~≈~

I awoke to the same beeping as before. I was getting so tired of that sound. I was sitting in a white chair in a white room. I almost missed the variety of greys in my cell.

I sat up slowly. My ears felt like they were filled with water. I tried to yawn, but it only helped in one ear. I lifted my hand and held it to the other ear. Something felt off. Right behind my left ear, I found a small device, cemented to my skull. I tapped it, and suddenly I heard static.

In my mind.

I shook my head, trying to stop the annoying noise. It faded, thankfully. The device was tiny, nearly unnoticeable. But cool as it was to have a radio directly in my mind, I couldn't help worrying. If they could transmit directly to my brain, how could I know which thoughts were mine?