This one is really short: Chris does his first morph and... *grabs tongue with fingers dipped in superglue to make sure she won't slip.
Chapter 8
I went downstairs as quietly as I could. I went out the kitchen door to the backyard. Presley was asleep in his doghouse. He didn't even notice someone was coming up until I was two feet away.
"Easy boy," I said. Hopefully he wouldn't bark and wake everybody up.
Don't get me wrong. Presley is a great watchdog. Or at least he used to be. We live in a pretty nice neighborhood. When he was a puppy, he would bark at the butterflies flying by. But then I guess he noticed that there was nothing to worry about. And all of the humans are nice to him, so he doesn't really care that much.
As for Presley's looks, he looks a lot like the person he's named after. The top of his head is black, and there's this little black spot that makes it look like one corner of his mouth is always being raised. I didn't name him. My mom is the Elvis Presley fan. Alexis and I just call him Presley. It sounds like more of a dog's name, and "Elvis" just sounds kind of weird. Like my dog should be dead or something.
"Hey. Want to go inside?"
Presley's head popped up at the word "inside." It might be true that cats and dogs don't understand the English language, but they certainly do understand a few words.
I grabbed his collar and led him inside and up the stairs.
When we were in my room, I closed the door. If this did work- and I hadn't been dreaming, then I didn't want to be disturbed.
Then I realized something. I didn't know how to acquire DNA. I sat on the floor and petted Presley in disappointment. That's when I got to thinking, What is like to be a cat? Or a dog? and then I kept thinking. I actually tried to imagine if when they ran around, were they happy, or just energetic? And why did dogs wag their tails? I remembered that when we first got Presley, Alexis kept pulling his tail. Every time she did, Presley would throw a fit and run inside his doghouse. What was it like to actually pull something out of a dog? Especially DNA? I mean, could you feel some sort of string between you and the animal? Could you see it?
I stroked Presley. And how did you morph a stupid dog? Presley was calm now, like always, but now he had a glazed look in his eye. I leaned over to see better. What the heck had just happened? Presley was immobilized. You know, not moving. I could see his fur going up and down, so I knew he was breathing, but what if Presley had just had some sort of sudden heart attack?
Then I noticed something. I felt weird. It didn't last very long, but it felt like, like I had just gained something. I realized what I had done. I had just acquired Presley. Oh, cool, I thought. Time to morph for the first time!
I stood up. Presley was still rigid. I started counting. 1 ...2...3...4...5...6...7...8...9...10. Presley shook his head. He ended up by looking at me pitifully. He raised his head and started forming a little "O" with his mouth. And then he started to howl.
Chapter 9
I dived and landed next to him. I cupped my hand over his mouth and held it there, tight enough that he couldn't bark, but he could still breathe.
"Easy, boy. Good boy. Are you going to be still?"
Presley shook his head, trying to get free of my hand and whined. I let him go. He must have noticed something had happened. I looked at me for a few seconds and backed away. You know why?
Because for the first time in my life, I was morphing.
Later I asked myself how I did it. But I didn't really know. I didn't really care all that much really. All I knew was that my ears were getting longer and hairier, flatter. My almost-sandy-blond hair was turning platinum blond, then completely white. I looked in the mirror behind me. There was a huge black spot on my back. Then it felt like my face was being stretched outward. I focused in front of me and saw the muzzle, with a black nose. I felt something shoot out of my back and turned around again. I noticed that I had a black tail. Now my legs started to shrink. My feet became thinner and almost round. My toes clumped together. And I realized that my heel had formed the hock of the dog's leg. I fell forward. Dogs weren't made to stand upright and all of my unchanged weight wasn't helping.
Now my arm changed. The fingers shriveled up, clumped together, and then shrank. My arms became thinner. An extra toe branched off my elbow. As I got thinner and thinner, there was this tickling feeling. Like someone was brushing feathers against me all over.
And then came the rush of senses. I had been to preoccupied with what was happening to really concentrate on them that much. Presley was howling his brains out and hiding under my bed. I laid down on the ground and covered my ears. You think listening to dogs bark as a human is bad? Try this. Put your TV on mute and then get the volume as high as it can go. Then put your ear right next to the speaker and take the mute off. On second thought, don't try it. You might blow up your eardrum.
"Presley! Would you shut up?!" Alexis ran into my room. "Stupid dog." She made a grab for my neck. I dodged it and leaped to the other side of the room. Now we get to play tag. Tag? Tag? Why would I, Chris, play tag? Because it's fun.
I know it sounds weird, but that dog, my dog, was very happy. I mean, Alexis was right there, trying to catch me to drag me outside in the heat, and the dog mind was thinking it was a game. Fun.
"Where's your collar, boy?"
My tongue stuck out and I started panting. Collar? Why did I need a collar? Collars were bad.
"Come here, boy."
By now, the real Presley had quieted. But not me. I wanted to play tag. I barked.
Alexis sighed. "Where's Chris when you need him? Leave it to my big brother to leave right when his stupid dog starts freaking out." She looked at me. "Come here boy."
I barked again.
"Stupid dog! COME HERE!"
My tail sank. I hadn't done anything wrong. I had only been playing. Having fun. What was so wrong about that? She should have played with me. I had made her mad. And now I was in trouble.
"Oh, listen Presley," Presley? "I'm sorry I got so mad at you, but it's really early and I'm really tired, and I'm going to be really, really busy this afternoon. So let's just go outside, okay?" She grabbed my ears. It was kind of irritating, but I was so low I didn't care. She led me downstairs. Before I knew it, the kitchen door had opened and she had pushed me outside.
"Go on, Presley. And when Chris comes back, bite his butt off. He knows he isn't supposed to let you inside when Mom and Dad are home." Then she closed the door and went away.
Meanwhile, I was low. I mean, down-in-the-dumps low. But then I saw this butterfly flutter by and I took off after it. To the left! To the right. Chris, catch it!
Chris? Who was Chris? Who cared? Right! Right! Right! Up! Me. Chris, duh.
Oh, yeah. Chris. Presley's mind stopped and kind of whined. Not in words, but I could kind of feel it. I had regained control. I looked after the butterfly. Me? Chase a butterfly? Lose my dignity? Good thing no one else would ever find out.
I looked around. Alexis had locked the door. I could hear somebody starting up a lawnmower about four or five blocks away. I scratched the door and faintly smelled blackberry jelly. It was a bit overpowered by the smell of Alexis and the same scent that had been in my room. The strange thing was the smell that was mixed in with Alexis's. It was... I didn't manage to recognize it.
How long had I been in morph? How long had I chased that stupid butterfly? Emphasis on stupid. Might as well be on the safe side and morph back. How had the Power Rangers said it? Demorph.
I wandered into the tool shed and sat there.
You know what? I didn't know how to demorph either.
Okay, Chris. How did you morph the first time? I asked myself. I imagined I was the dog. So just imagine that you're Chris again. Boy. I was sure an idiot. I should have known that right off. Oh, well. Cameron is a lot more stupid than I am.
So I started picturing me. Sandy brown hair. Brown eyes. Kind of dark skin.
When I opened my eyes, there I was. Fully me, fully grown. The only thing was that my clothes were ruined. I decided to leave my shirt in the shed and come back for it later.
It was actually weird. I mean, like actual morphing, it's hard to describe. One half of me felt awe and the other was "What's so weird?". I don't know what that means either. But both sides agreed that I couldn't tell everyone. I had to keep on living life as if nothing had ever changed. Easy.
Right?
I stood on a box and reached up as far as I could. That was where we had hidden the key. Under a flower pot. I got it and jumped down.
When I walked in, Alexis was at the counter, chowing down on a piece of toast that was completely covered with butter and blackberry jam. I almost vomited at the thought of eating something like that.
"Where have you been?" she asked. "Your stupid dog kept barking his head off for some reason."
"I was jogging," I said simply. No details. If she started asking a lot of questions... I wasn't the world's best liar.
Her eyes narrowed. "Then why aren't you sweaty?"
I shrugged. "So I walked about three times as much as I jogged. And I jogged really, really slow. What's the big deal?"
"Nothing. Where did you guys go last night?"
"The Falls. Why?"
"The Falls? The Falls? No wonder I couldn't find you guys."
I don't know why, but right then I kind of got a bad feeling. "Huh?"
"Geez, Chris. Do I have to spell it out for you? I sneaked out last night so I could hang out with you guys and I think mom and dad might know. But if you tell them..." She picked up a jam-dirtied butter knife and pointed it at me. "It's your own fault."
"I'm scared, Alexis. No really. I am. I mean, it's really hard to wash off butter and jam."
"What?"
"What else could you do with a butter knife?"
"Oh, I get it. You were trying to insult me. Or were you trying to make a joke? Never can tell."
"Whatever. I'm going to change."
"Out of the clothes without sweat."
"Uh-huh."
I went upstairs and changed. Oddly enough, Presley had fallen asleep under my bed.
I dragged him out by his collar. "Stupid dog." I muttered. I left him in my room while I went to school that day. I would just have to put him out afterwards. So what did I do with the rest of my wonderful day?
Well, first I went to school. Then the mall.
I had never thought the mall would be... well, full of eavesdropping Controllers.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
I still have Crayak's BIG secret up my sleeve, a Copyright 2001 stamped on my forehead, their first battle on my right foot, the similarities and differences between the new and old Anis getting tangled in my hair, and the need for different names for Hardy and Laurel trying to gauge out my eyeballs. Have a nice day.
Chapter 8
I went downstairs as quietly as I could. I went out the kitchen door to the backyard. Presley was asleep in his doghouse. He didn't even notice someone was coming up until I was two feet away.
"Easy boy," I said. Hopefully he wouldn't bark and wake everybody up.
Don't get me wrong. Presley is a great watchdog. Or at least he used to be. We live in a pretty nice neighborhood. When he was a puppy, he would bark at the butterflies flying by. But then I guess he noticed that there was nothing to worry about. And all of the humans are nice to him, so he doesn't really care that much.
As for Presley's looks, he looks a lot like the person he's named after. The top of his head is black, and there's this little black spot that makes it look like one corner of his mouth is always being raised. I didn't name him. My mom is the Elvis Presley fan. Alexis and I just call him Presley. It sounds like more of a dog's name, and "Elvis" just sounds kind of weird. Like my dog should be dead or something.
"Hey. Want to go inside?"
Presley's head popped up at the word "inside." It might be true that cats and dogs don't understand the English language, but they certainly do understand a few words.
I grabbed his collar and led him inside and up the stairs.
When we were in my room, I closed the door. If this did work- and I hadn't been dreaming, then I didn't want to be disturbed.
Then I realized something. I didn't know how to acquire DNA. I sat on the floor and petted Presley in disappointment. That's when I got to thinking, What is like to be a cat? Or a dog? and then I kept thinking. I actually tried to imagine if when they ran around, were they happy, or just energetic? And why did dogs wag their tails? I remembered that when we first got Presley, Alexis kept pulling his tail. Every time she did, Presley would throw a fit and run inside his doghouse. What was it like to actually pull something out of a dog? Especially DNA? I mean, could you feel some sort of string between you and the animal? Could you see it?
I stroked Presley. And how did you morph a stupid dog? Presley was calm now, like always, but now he had a glazed look in his eye. I leaned over to see better. What the heck had just happened? Presley was immobilized. You know, not moving. I could see his fur going up and down, so I knew he was breathing, but what if Presley had just had some sort of sudden heart attack?
Then I noticed something. I felt weird. It didn't last very long, but it felt like, like I had just gained something. I realized what I had done. I had just acquired Presley. Oh, cool, I thought. Time to morph for the first time!
I stood up. Presley was still rigid. I started counting. 1 ...2...3...4...5...6...7...8...9...10. Presley shook his head. He ended up by looking at me pitifully. He raised his head and started forming a little "O" with his mouth. And then he started to howl.
Chapter 9
I dived and landed next to him. I cupped my hand over his mouth and held it there, tight enough that he couldn't bark, but he could still breathe.
"Easy, boy. Good boy. Are you going to be still?"
Presley shook his head, trying to get free of my hand and whined. I let him go. He must have noticed something had happened. I looked at me for a few seconds and backed away. You know why?
Because for the first time in my life, I was morphing.
Later I asked myself how I did it. But I didn't really know. I didn't really care all that much really. All I knew was that my ears were getting longer and hairier, flatter. My almost-sandy-blond hair was turning platinum blond, then completely white. I looked in the mirror behind me. There was a huge black spot on my back. Then it felt like my face was being stretched outward. I focused in front of me and saw the muzzle, with a black nose. I felt something shoot out of my back and turned around again. I noticed that I had a black tail. Now my legs started to shrink. My feet became thinner and almost round. My toes clumped together. And I realized that my heel had formed the hock of the dog's leg. I fell forward. Dogs weren't made to stand upright and all of my unchanged weight wasn't helping.
Now my arm changed. The fingers shriveled up, clumped together, and then shrank. My arms became thinner. An extra toe branched off my elbow. As I got thinner and thinner, there was this tickling feeling. Like someone was brushing feathers against me all over.
And then came the rush of senses. I had been to preoccupied with what was happening to really concentrate on them that much. Presley was howling his brains out and hiding under my bed. I laid down on the ground and covered my ears. You think listening to dogs bark as a human is bad? Try this. Put your TV on mute and then get the volume as high as it can go. Then put your ear right next to the speaker and take the mute off. On second thought, don't try it. You might blow up your eardrum.
"Presley! Would you shut up?!" Alexis ran into my room. "Stupid dog." She made a grab for my neck. I dodged it and leaped to the other side of the room. Now we get to play tag. Tag? Tag? Why would I, Chris, play tag? Because it's fun.
I know it sounds weird, but that dog, my dog, was very happy. I mean, Alexis was right there, trying to catch me to drag me outside in the heat, and the dog mind was thinking it was a game. Fun.
"Where's your collar, boy?"
My tongue stuck out and I started panting. Collar? Why did I need a collar? Collars were bad.
"Come here, boy."
By now, the real Presley had quieted. But not me. I wanted to play tag. I barked.
Alexis sighed. "Where's Chris when you need him? Leave it to my big brother to leave right when his stupid dog starts freaking out." She looked at me. "Come here boy."
I barked again.
"Stupid dog! COME HERE!"
My tail sank. I hadn't done anything wrong. I had only been playing. Having fun. What was so wrong about that? She should have played with me. I had made her mad. And now I was in trouble.
"Oh, listen Presley," Presley? "I'm sorry I got so mad at you, but it's really early and I'm really tired, and I'm going to be really, really busy this afternoon. So let's just go outside, okay?" She grabbed my ears. It was kind of irritating, but I was so low I didn't care. She led me downstairs. Before I knew it, the kitchen door had opened and she had pushed me outside.
"Go on, Presley. And when Chris comes back, bite his butt off. He knows he isn't supposed to let you inside when Mom and Dad are home." Then she closed the door and went away.
Meanwhile, I was low. I mean, down-in-the-dumps low. But then I saw this butterfly flutter by and I took off after it. To the left! To the right. Chris, catch it!
Chris? Who was Chris? Who cared? Right! Right! Right! Up! Me. Chris, duh.
Oh, yeah. Chris. Presley's mind stopped and kind of whined. Not in words, but I could kind of feel it. I had regained control. I looked after the butterfly. Me? Chase a butterfly? Lose my dignity? Good thing no one else would ever find out.
I looked around. Alexis had locked the door. I could hear somebody starting up a lawnmower about four or five blocks away. I scratched the door and faintly smelled blackberry jelly. It was a bit overpowered by the smell of Alexis and the same scent that had been in my room. The strange thing was the smell that was mixed in with Alexis's. It was... I didn't manage to recognize it.
How long had I been in morph? How long had I chased that stupid butterfly? Emphasis on stupid. Might as well be on the safe side and morph back. How had the Power Rangers said it? Demorph.
I wandered into the tool shed and sat there.
You know what? I didn't know how to demorph either.
Okay, Chris. How did you morph the first time? I asked myself. I imagined I was the dog. So just imagine that you're Chris again. Boy. I was sure an idiot. I should have known that right off. Oh, well. Cameron is a lot more stupid than I am.
So I started picturing me. Sandy brown hair. Brown eyes. Kind of dark skin.
When I opened my eyes, there I was. Fully me, fully grown. The only thing was that my clothes were ruined. I decided to leave my shirt in the shed and come back for it later.
It was actually weird. I mean, like actual morphing, it's hard to describe. One half of me felt awe and the other was "What's so weird?". I don't know what that means either. But both sides agreed that I couldn't tell everyone. I had to keep on living life as if nothing had ever changed. Easy.
Right?
I stood on a box and reached up as far as I could. That was where we had hidden the key. Under a flower pot. I got it and jumped down.
When I walked in, Alexis was at the counter, chowing down on a piece of toast that was completely covered with butter and blackberry jam. I almost vomited at the thought of eating something like that.
"Where have you been?" she asked. "Your stupid dog kept barking his head off for some reason."
"I was jogging," I said simply. No details. If she started asking a lot of questions... I wasn't the world's best liar.
Her eyes narrowed. "Then why aren't you sweaty?"
I shrugged. "So I walked about three times as much as I jogged. And I jogged really, really slow. What's the big deal?"
"Nothing. Where did you guys go last night?"
"The Falls. Why?"
"The Falls? The Falls? No wonder I couldn't find you guys."
I don't know why, but right then I kind of got a bad feeling. "Huh?"
"Geez, Chris. Do I have to spell it out for you? I sneaked out last night so I could hang out with you guys and I think mom and dad might know. But if you tell them..." She picked up a jam-dirtied butter knife and pointed it at me. "It's your own fault."
"I'm scared, Alexis. No really. I am. I mean, it's really hard to wash off butter and jam."
"What?"
"What else could you do with a butter knife?"
"Oh, I get it. You were trying to insult me. Or were you trying to make a joke? Never can tell."
"Whatever. I'm going to change."
"Out of the clothes without sweat."
"Uh-huh."
I went upstairs and changed. Oddly enough, Presley had fallen asleep under my bed.
I dragged him out by his collar. "Stupid dog." I muttered. I left him in my room while I went to school that day. I would just have to put him out afterwards. So what did I do with the rest of my wonderful day?
Well, first I went to school. Then the mall.
I had never thought the mall would be... well, full of eavesdropping Controllers.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
I still have Crayak's BIG secret up my sleeve, a Copyright 2001 stamped on my forehead, their first battle on my right foot, the similarities and differences between the new and old Anis getting tangled in my hair, and the need for different names for Hardy and Laurel trying to gauge out my eyeballs. Have a nice day.