45 miles outside of Raleigh
3:22 pm
I had to try it, there was no way I couldn't. I made sure no one was around then I closed my eyes and concentrated on the condor. I shrank down to the size of the bird, my head became the dull read and a beak grew out of my mouth and nose. Feathers began to appear in a 2-D pattern on my skin and then became 3-D. My arms became wings and feathers grew out from them too. My bones became hollow and my lungs grew air sacs.
I was the bird, I felt the urge to find food, but it was easy to suppress. I let the bird brain take over just long enough to get airborne. When I did… it was incredible, I flew higher and higher until I was about one mile over the town. I could see everything as I rode the thermals I felt a sense of freedom that I'd never felt before in my life. I whooped in thought speak.
I flew around for about an hour when I decided to back home. I landed in the meadow from where I started my flight. I de-morphed and headed home. I knew that the feeling of freedom and glee was going to be offset by the missions I would have to endure but for now… I decided to just enjoy the feeling of flight.
I looked in the mirror of my car. I still had the scar from the Attack, Ax told me that scars are DNA based on some level so they stay with you from morph to morph unlike most injuries. As I drove into Raleigh I saw a moving van going in, hardly a new thing but then I noticed that the van's drivers were in military uniforms. That was funny, must be a retiree, or maybe someone here to talk with the Governor. I made a note of it wondering what it could mean.
Raleigh
8:52 am
October 23
I was on the internet searching for data on new animals to acquire when something caught my eye. E-Bay was selling
An Antique Blue Box
Mysterious Runes, appears to be old
Has a large amount of static electricity
Highest bid $200
"Shit!" I said, clicking on the post bid button.
Sorry This auction is closed
"Double shit!" I jumped up and picked up the phone. I dialed Jake's number.
Forgive me if I get any small details wrong it's be awhile, and I can't find any of my books I may have given them away (I did find FF until very late in my life). So if you notice a bad detail remember this is pretty much a coherent acid trip (in torture the enemy will often use drugs.)
Due to extreme violence and some language Reader Discretion is advised.
Raleigh
4:23 am
As you likely know the story of David I will skip ahead a bit, to the time when Jake had been attacked at the mall. I woke up to a knocking at my door. I was at the door quickly and I had my automatic pistol in my hand. (I had stolen it from a local drug dealer by morphing him while he was on his own dope.)
Marco was there in the doorway.
"Shit, what's going on?" I said.
"David's gone off the deep end, he attacked Jake, he's got him cornered in the mall, or" He seemed about to cry. "more like is about to finish him off, you've got to get over there, I'm going to get Rachel."
"Ok, you got it, on my way." I said. I left a note for Anna (in code) flew down my apartment stairs and jumped into my car. I sped all the way there and as I arrived I heard sirens in the distance. I put on a ski mask and made sure that I had covered my car's license with black paper. I then picked the lock on one of the doors using a set of lock picks that, ironically, I had bought at the mall. I rushed into a men's room as fast as I could and made sure there was no cameras around. Then I began to morph.
My face burst outward. My teeth became fangs, my visibility went from zero to a full 200 feet on all sides. I feel to the dirty ground as my arms and legs became the cougars legs. I felt the awesome power of the cougar enter my body. And the instinct…
Land, my land? YES my land!
I nosed the door to the men's room open and I saw David in his lion morph stalking around Jake's battered tiger body.
Intruder, Intruder on land KILL KILL!
Shut up cougar brain! I said to myself. I didn't want the cougar in control, it could fight better, but if Rachel arrived then the cougar may decide to attack her. I didn't think that David had noticed me, so I began to sneak out. David was ten yards away… 9 yards… 8 yards, 7 yards, 6 yards. He turned around and saw me.
(Erik, glad to see you could make it to the party) I looked at the dying body of Jake's tiger. I fought the urge of the cougar to eat it. I stared David in the eyes.
(You have lost your damn mind David! What the hell is wrong with you? I have no idea what you've got planed but it ends now.) David's morph let out a roar and I responded with the cougars patented.
"Rooooow". David charged at me and took a swipe at me with claws bared. I dogged somehow and jumped back then reared up on my hind legs and went for the eyes. David caught one of my paws in his mouth and bit down. It went through the center of my paw.
(Heh stigmata Jesus freak!) David said. I wrenched my paw out remarkably it was still working. I took a charge at him trying to get a hold on him with my claws. I got a hold and clawed wildly at his face. I missed the eyes but opened up new wounds on his face. I quickly dashed back out. We circled for awhile staring at each other.
(You need to calm your ass down David,) I said. (You may not like your current situation, but it beets being dead or infested I can guarantee you that.)
(Fuck you!) He said. He charged at me again and this time bit one of my legs, it snapped in half. Crippled I grabbed his head in my teeth. My fangs sank into the flesh around the right eye socket just missing his brain, the eye flew out and went into my throat. I backed off coughing.
(What's wrong St. Bishop? Got a hair ball.) He said through obvious pain. I coughed up his eye. Both of us circled again. Both of us were now losing blood. I was beginning to feel anemic. Hang on I told myself Rachel'll be here soon just hold on.
(Why are you even fighting me Erik, you know you can't win. I have the advantage in size and endurance. Jake there thought he could beat me and look at him. I can smell the blood your leaving and…)
(But you've only got one eye, I can smell your blood too and you're not doing much better.)
(We'll just see who outlasts then.)
(I don't see Jeff Fucking Probast around here and, David, how long has it been. I've got another 90 minutes in morph. How long until you run out of time, and become stuck as one eyed lion?)
(Don't worry, I will kill you and have plenty of time to demorph.) Then both of our cat ears picked up someone moving above. I looked up, Rachel! David stared at her a bit too long. I used the distraction to charge into his side. I led with my teeth and sunk them into his back and started clawing at his neck. He used his monster head to knock me aside. I hit my head on a column and was stunned.
When I came back to I was still in morph and I saw Rachel fly out an open skylight followed by David. I was weak from blood loss but somehow I was able to stagger back into the men's room to de-morph. I heard the police enter.
"Raleigh PD!"
"Holly shit! That's a fucking tiger."
"Should I call for paramedics?"
"Hell I don't know, this is the first time I've seen a tiger injured."
"Lets find a way to get him to The Gardens." I heard a brief commotion then it seemed the cops had left. Just in case I snuck out in a mouse morph. (Just the other day I had gone to the pet shop at the mall and acquired lots of domestic animals, I even acquired several dogs and cats and learned the frolis maneuver from Ax. I used this to make a unique dog and cat morph that I hoped would be useful for going places undetected.
After I got out of the mall and de-morphed I saw Rachel being attacked by David. He was in a golden eagle morph and had latched onto her owl morph tightly. I got ready to morph into my condor morph, it didn't have much power but I could hopefully distract.
A red-tailed came flying out of nowhere and knocked the eagle clean of Rachel. Tobias? I thought he was dead… no time for that I made sure Rachel made it out safely and got back home.
7:56 am
After I dropped Anna off at school I headed for the hospital. I was in a program that allowed to volunteer at the hospital for credit hours. Lately Rachel and Jake's cousin Saddler had been in the ICU. He was messed up pretty bad, car hit him on his bike at 45 MPH. Bastard was drunk off his ass and was now at the local bar downing Jell-o shots bragging about how his lawyer got him off with a fine.
I had been tempted to go into cougar morph and deal out some justice of my own but I decided against it. I was a warrior, not a murder. As I walked into the hospital I heard an alarm go off. There was a Code: Blue. A heart stopping, I crossed my self and prayed for Saddler because I knew it had to be him. Suddenly all the lights went off. The babies in the ER waiting room where I worked started crying. Suddenly the lights went back on.
"The heck was that?" I murmured. I began going around and dropping off pills and bed pans to various rooms when Doctor Tanya, one of mentors, pulled me aside.
"Erik, you have got to see this, it's it's amazing!" Tanya was not easy to amaze, she had seen a lot of weird stuff as a doctor. We walked up to Saddler's room and, barely visible through the many family members, was Saddler, as good as new. The first thought to my head was to yell alleluia but then a thought came to me…
My suspicions were confirmed when Saddler asked to go to the bathroom at 90 minutes past the power outage. When he got in the men's room I met him there.
"Saddler, we need to have a talk," I grabbed him by his shirt collar and slammed him against the wall, covering his mouth so he wouldn't scream. "Now Saddler, you wouldn't happen to be a little punk ass army brat named David in morph by any chance now, would you." He did his best to shake his head.
"Then I guess we'll just wait here for another 30 minutes and…"
"Erik," Jake said sternly as he walked in. "put him down." I complied, for the sake of respect to the ranks in our group. Saddler quickly turned into David. I stared him in the face.
"What the hell do you think your doing? Where's the real Saddler."
"What that poor SOB?" David said. "Smothered his ass with a pillow lets just say the elevator shaft will be stinking the place up after awhile." Jake looked like he was about to say something unkind but let it pass. He walked out morphing back as he went.
"Great," I said. "now what do we do?" Suddenly an idea appeared in my head.
"We call in the others and figure it out."