Taylor sighed and smoothed a stray tendril of hair behind her ear... exactly the way I always did. A cold shudder went through me, even though my fur protected me from the night air. Fortunately, my human "owner" hadn't noticed yet that her new cat was trailing her. That was partially due to my stealth in morphing from fly to human to cat and sneaking up behind her and her clique with absolute silence. It was partially due to the fact that Brent hadn't shut up yet and there was no way anyone could focus on anything else.
When I'd heard him mention the construction site in the car, even through my terror at the prospect of life as a fly, I'd been a bit freaked out. Other people were checking out the construction site. Ridiculously, I thought of it as our construction site. No one else had a right to be there. I felt vaguely protective of the spot where the Andalite had died.
Also, it was way too close to my town. I shuddered at the thought of Controller-Cassie prowling around in owl morph. Her eyes would spot me, and her talons would rip me apart.
"Hey, there's a kid," the one named Patrick observed. His red hair glinted in the street lights as he leaned forward, resting his palms on his knees. "What's he doing? He's holding something. Looks blue."
"Looks like... hey, what is that thing?" demanded another boy, slinging one arm around Taylor's shoulders as the group stopped walking.
Taylor giggled a little and leaned her head against his shoulder, then strained her eyes to see in the darkness. "It's a box, Keith," she announced. "I can make out the outline."
My head whipped around. Box?!
"Let's see what it is," Brent said, breaking into a jog. He raised his voice. "Yo!"
The kid's head snapped up and he took a step back. "Who's there?" he shouted.
"Us," said Patrick easily, stepping into the glare of a streetlight. He smirked. "Don't worry, kid, not looking to mug ya or anything. Just let me see the box."
He withdrew another step. "It's mine," he said, a little sulkily.
Taylor caught up with them. "Hey, back off, Patrick," she ordered. "What's your name, kid?"
"David."
"Cool. Nice to meet you, David." Yes, Taylor was definitely the one in the group with the social skills. "Can I see the box?"
"Duh, were you not listening? No. It's mine."
"Give us the box, kid." Keith looked bored. "We're definitely bigger than you, probably older than you, and I'm willing to bet even Taylor here could take you down." He indicated Taylor with a thumb, and smiled at her a little. His smile faded as he looked back at the kid. He grabbed his arm and pulled him into the light. "Give it, Davey-boy."
My heart beat quickly twice, then stopped. The light gleamed on the dusty surface of the cube. There was no way I could fail to recognize it.
I sat down, very quickly, just plopped my kitty hindquarters in the dirt and stared.
"Don't be a jerk, Keith." Brent looked annoyed. "He can't be older than what, a sophomore?" It sounded about right. My age. "That puts us two years older than him. And there are four of us."
"What do you want me to do, tie my wrists behind my back to make it fair?" Keith snapped. "It's not my fault he's a wussy little boy."
"Hey. Excuse me, the wussy little boy is standing right here," David barked. "You're going to talk about me, then talk to me. The wussy little boy might negotiate here."
"We don't need you to negotiate, kid," Patrick retorted. "We can take the thing."
"Hey! Guys!" Taylor waved her arms. "Maybe I'm just more rational, being a girl, but it's a freakin' toy box. Let it go."
No no no, I prayed. I need Taylor to get that! I need it! I can't tail this David kid. I have a plan. Don't screw it up for me!
It didn't look like luck was on my side. The David kid was going to walk off with the box, and they were going to let him. Keith turned away and grinned apologetically at Taylor, a little like a scolded puppy. Brent shrugged, more focused on his search for the remains of the alien ship -- ironically -- to care about a "freakin' toy box." Patrick just looked disgruntled.
David slunk back. I stood up. No way was I going to let this happen. I sprang into action and trotted along after him, then paused in a dark corner and began my demorph.
It was quick. My mind was elsewhere, and I was almost surprised to suddenly find myself a human girl crouched in the shadows of a dark construction site. I felt out of place. I was out of place. That was okay. What I was about to become would be even more out of place.
Grizzly claws sprouted from my hands. Grizzly fur rippled over me. Grizzly teeth, too large for my puny human mouth, bit into my gums.
{Oh, Daaaa-vid!} I sang in private thought-speech, lumbering up behind him in a half-morphed form. {Look behiiiiind you!}
He did. What he saw made him scream. The box hit the ground with a thud, and he was off, running, screaming, waving his arms. Perfect.
I instantly began demorphing, loping back to my hiding place against the wall. The screams would draw Taylor and the boys back. All I had to worry about was tailing them home, and making sure Taylor, not one of them, got custody of the box. That should be easy. Patrick and Keith were idiots, thugs, and Brent wouldn't recognize it as being what he was after.
Cat. Cat. I focused all my drained willpower on the DNA of Fluffer McKitty swimming within me. I felt myself start shrinking.
I wonder what would have happened if David had ended up with the box...?
I shrugged twisting shoulders. Not like it matters now.