11

"So, there's still one more important thing I have to show you before leaving for our battle tomorrow," Aiden said.

"What else could you possibly teach me at this point?" I replied, smiling. It was still hard to believe he was back. Last night, he'd told me about his long and dangerous trek back to our base. After he'd escaped without difficulty, he ran the first few miles instead of Shifting, so he wouldn't be detected easily. Once he thought it was safe enough, Aiden had begun using the teleportation technique, cutting the time and distance to get back in half, following a GPS tracking chip installed on his and Ryan's phones, so they'd both know where each one was. However, Ryan hadn't managed to get it working both ways, so he hadn't known exactly where Aiden had been. Along the way, Aiden had conjured sleeping bags and food from any object that he saw. It had taken him nearly four days to find his way back. Multiple times he had to hide out for hours because he'd come across Eastern Militia troops and bases that were scattered all over the many cities he'd gone through.

"My feet were aching for what seemed like forever," he had concluded. "I hadn't changed my socks in days."

"Couldn't you have just Shifted them?" I asked skeptically.

He grinned. "Yeah, but it hadn't crossed my mind."

Aiden had also talked about how weak he'd felt after finally reaching the mall. It was as if Shifting had taken away his strength. Then I told him my thoughts on the Taser, and what it did to us. His shock was no different than mine, but he didn't seem as enthusiastic as I was about destroying Tyler, Kaitlyn, and Brandon. Now, we stood in an empty lobby near the center of the mall, ready to do our last training exercise before the attack.

"Well, all this time, I've only taught you how to Shift inanimate objects: Pencils, books, pillows… things like that. You've never done it on something that's alive."

My heart started pounding with excitement. "You mean that…"

"Indeed," Aiden replied with a smile. "You'll be Shifting yourself into something else."

I felt my interest lessen, but only slightly. "Oh. I thought you were going to say I could do it on another living thing."

"This skill I'm going to show can be used on other living things, but we're starting with you just to be safe," he clarified.

"So, I'll be able to turn into a chair?" I asked, chuckling at the ridiculousness of it."

He shook his head. "Sorry, bud. Living things can't morph into nonliving things."

My face fell. "Why?"

"Think about it," he explained. "Non living things don't have cells, or tissue, or bones, but living things like you do. You'd have to destroy those parts to Shift into a chair, and that's not possible."

I paused for a second, then a realization hit me. "But I can. Shape Destroying. Just by thinking about them."

"Right, Ryan said you knew about that now," he murmured to himself, running a hand through his hair. "Well, if you're so sure, try it on me; see if it works."

My eyes widened. "I don't want to do that. You'd be-"

His fiery eyes bore into mine, forcing me to look away, as if we were each the same side of a magnet. "Do it."

I swallowed, my throat dry. I felt scared out of my mind, hoping this wouldn't spell the end of him. But I knew better than to argue with him. Despite the large amount of anxiety creeping in, I managed to clear my mind, and focus on his entire body. The skeleton, muscles, veins… everything, just like he taught me. I closed my eyes. Then, I made it disappear from my mind's eye, his image fading away into darkness. I shook slightly, and opened my eyes, bracing for the worst. To my surprise and immense relief, he was still there, watching me carefully.

I closed my eyes again, and went through the same process again, putting more strength into my thoughts. But the result was the same. He remained where he was, still as a statue. The only thing my efforts accomplished was making me more tired.

I sucked in a deep breath. "Why doesn't it work now?"

"It's funny about Particles in which they reside. The ones in living things have different properties than ones in non living things. They don't react to your Particles in the way that they could be destroyed."

"But, why though?" I asked.

Aiden shrugged. "Beats me for the most part. I think one part has to do with what cells, calcium, and organs are made of, but I'm not sure."

I nodded. It was still very confusing to me, but I'd long stopped venturing deep into questions about these things.

"So, what living thing will I Shift into first?"

"That's up to you," he replied. "But just try to make it something easy. I'd recommend a wolf. It was the one that I was also taught first."

"And how does it work?"

"Just think of yourself becoming a wolf," Aiden explained. "Your hands, your legs, your skeleton, your organs- yes, those too- all appearing as those of a wolf."

It sounded complicated, but I gave it a shot. I imagined a picture of this wild dog, and attempted to apply it to my body. I tried picturing fur on my limbs, and my nose elongated and senses sharpened.

"Remember," Aiden coaxed gently. "Don't just concentrate on the outward appearance. Also think about your body on the inside."

So, he was seeing what I was doing. Though, it wasn't that big of a surprise; he was one of the Particle sensors, able to detect a Shifter and their actions for almost a mile. I did what he said, and concentrated on my muscles, skeleton, and organs becoming like a wolf's. After a moment, I opened my eyes, not thinking I was doing it right, only to find that hundreds of Particles were encircling me. An instant later, I seemingly shrunk down to Aiden's knee height as a bunch of other changes took place. My feet and hands turned into furry paws complete with sharp claws, and my ears became a little longer, more pointed. The weirdest part was that I could feel all this happening within me. Once everything stopped, I looked around wondering what would happen next. Aiden Shifted a mirror into his hand from one of the broken ceiling lights and held it up in front of me.

I was so surprised that I actually backed up with a yelp. The face of a wolf with sharp cobalt eyes and pointed ears was staring back at me. Shifting into another living thing had definitely worked, though I really didn't think it was going to happen the first time.

That's when I realized that I also couldn't speak normally. Somehow changing into a wolf preserved my human brain, but changed everything else, including my speech patterns. I let out a confused whimper, but I didn't think Aiden would know the answer if he knew what I was talking about. My assumption turned out to be correct. Aiden simply gave an amused smile, shaking his head, as the mirror disappeared into Particles. Then, the sound of laughing caught my ears, and I turned around to see Jam and Lin standing near the cash registers, watching.

And laughing hysterically.

I couldn't blame them; I probably looked ridiculous. In any case, I rolled my eyes and Shifted myself back into a human, which gave me the impression that I was some sort of werewolf. Then I eyed them mischievously.

"Let's see you try."

Jam smirked. "I have. And it's not my thing."

I cracked my knuckles. "Wanna bet?"

Lin jumped in front of us, chuckling. "Guys, it's too late for this. Let's try to calm down."

"Can't calm down," I replied, grinning. "Got an adrenaline boost from all this Shifting."

Aiden laid a hand on my shoulder. "Though, you really should calm down. We've got a big day tomorrow."

"That's another reason why I can't," I replied. Seeing that the conversation wasn't for them, Jam and Lin walked off toward their respective sleeping areas. "I'm so nervous."

"We're going to be fine," he said softly. "After tomorrow, all these months of training and hiding out will be worth it. And the threat, whatever it will be, is going to be no more."

"What will we even do after this?" I asked skeptically. It was something that I rarely dwelled on.

"Probably live here," he responded. "There's plenty of food around. And water. Plumbing somehow still works. We can get by for a long while."

"It's weird that it's all finally going to be over." It felt, at that moment, like the weight of the world had fallen on to my shoulders. All this time, I'd never thought about the end, but yet here it was, right at our doorstep.

Aiden smiled. "Yes, it will. But, let's concentrate on getting some sleep for now." And, with that, he began walking down to our storage room, which served as our bedroom. I followed.

Kaitlyn was sitting in a bare office that'd been cleared out years before they had arrived. Of course, she'd added various things to make it a little more homey. A simple bed sait in one corner, made of a white mattress, blankets, and a pillow. A box with some clothes inside had been put next to it, which had served as her "closet." Besides a desk and some books, that was it. Anything past the bare necessities were considered unneeded, so her room wasn't much to look at. However, Kaitlyn didn't really care about that. She didn't care about much at the moment. Their next big move was happening tomorrow, so there wasn't much point in dwelling on anything else until it was all over.

Or, at least that's what she told herself as she sat on the floor, back up against the bed, lost in the blueprints of the plan. It had seemed complicated at first, but once she learned the role she had to play, she knew she'd be able to accomplish it.

A knock on the door snapped her mind back to reality. Kaitlyn shook her head to get rid of the fog, and made to stand up to open it. It did it before she got halfway, and Tyler walked in slowly.

"What're you doing on the floor?" He asked, a smile playing at the corners of his lips. "Your back's gonna hurt."

Kaitlyn shrugged. "I'm just one of those people who like it down here. Kinda cozy."

The smile broke through on his face, and he reached his hand out to her. She reluctantly took it and allowed herself to be pulled up.

"I don't think I can continue doing this," she said quietly. "It's getting tiring and infuriating listening to Brandon telling us what to do."

"You think it's bad for you?" Tyler challenged with a laugh. "I'm basically his soldier. You haven't seen demanding until he asks-"

"Don't bother saying it," Kaitlyn interrupted, chuckling. "It'll just make you hate him more."

"I guess you know me well," he replied. He looked over at her bed, then tugged at her gently. She raised an eyebrow and smirked, allowing him to pull her towards it and sit down.

"What are we going to do when this is all over?" She asked.

"Whatever we want," he said. "We could probably find a house in Florida or somewhere nice. Run away from the troubles in the world."

"Won't we need to get a job?" Kaitlyn joked.

"We have the power to make money out of thin air. Why work?" Tyler pointed out, spreading his arms out.

"Well, in any case, Florida is one of the states that got bombed. Most areas are still blocked off because of radiation. It would be kind of lonely."

Tyler wrapped one of his arms around her, and she tensed slightly. His body felt warm and comforting, the strength in his muscles undeniable. It was different, him being close like this, but nice, as if he could protect her from anything. "Won't be too lonely if you have someone with you."

Kaitlyn brushed back a lock of her golden blonde hair, and smiled mischievously. "Like who?"

"Brandon, obviously."

She laughed. "Not a chance. He'd be the last person that I-" She cut off, looking at nothing, deep in thought. Then she faced Tyler. "Do you think we're doing the right thing? By going through with this?"

He raised an eyebrow. "The way I see it, there's no other way. In order for everything to play out correctly, they all have to go. None should survive."

"Yeah, but I don't find it easier," Kaitlyn replied, crestfallen.

His soft, dark eyes drew her gaze immediately, filled with compassion and sympathy. She looked into them for a moment, before dropping hers, until they found the Shifter's logo on his T-Shirt: a circle morphing into a triangle.

"I know," Tyler said, his voice a low rumble. "I feel the same. But as great a Shifter's power can be, they're dangerous. We could level an entire city if we wanted."

She laughed dryly. "Yeah, well, we could bring it all back too if we wanted. But I guess it will make it harder for the world to find us if we were in smaller numbers."

He nodded. "That's what I say to myself to not feel so guilty about that night at the school."

Kaitlyn looked down. "I always feel bad about that. It haunts me most nights."

Tyler pulled her a little closer, and she found herself leaning into him, resting her head on his broad shoulder. It almost felt natural.

"So, you know what you're doing tomorrow?" He whispered.

This brought out a small smile on her face. "Definitely. And he's never going to see it coming."

"We'll have to draw them apart. Then their doppelgangers can finish them off." She could hear the excitement in his voice.

"I'd love to watch that," she replied. "Then we can go to Florida; it's sounding pretty good now." Kaitlyn picked her head up and glanced out the skylight at the infinite sky above. The blackness faded into dark shades of blue and purple, dotted with millions of stars.

"We'll be free," he whispered, his breath hot against her ear. "We won't have to be stuck in one place for months on end. We won't have to have anyone telling us what to do. We won't have to be with Brandon-"

Kaitlyn spun around to face him. "You sure?"

"Well, if that's what you want. I can manage to do it." Tyler winked, flashing a white smile.

Kaitlyn smiled warmly at this guy who was quickly becoming everything she wanted in life. "Sounds promising."

Tyler traced a finger, soft and smooth, across her cheek and she felt herself leaning closer. He did the same, until their lips pressed together. He wrapped his other arm around her, and at that moment she felt safer and more at home than ever before. His arms seemed more like strong walls that would protect her from any harm. His body felt perfect and comfortable next to hers. It felt they were together for days, kissing and hugging each other, when Tyler's phone buzzed in his pocket. They disentangled for a moment, while he checked it. A moment later, his expression turned disgusted, and he returned it to his pocket.

"What'd he say this time?" She asked, chuckling.

He shook his head and smiled. "Nothing important."

Tyler pulled her in close again, and Kaitlyn kissed him once more, wishing they could be like this forever.