Cassie
I checked my watch. Twelve-forty-eight. They should be here by now. I changed the water for a sick badger and paced the length of the barn, like Jake would have done. Jake. Just thinking about him made me want to cry. What made me so sad and angry at the same time was knowing that he had resorted to smoking. But now wasn't the time to think about it. I had more pressing matters like this new mission we had to do today. Where was everyone? As if in answer to my question, I heard hurried footsteps.
"We're here," Rachel said, striding in. Marco followed and Tobias flew in.
"About time," I complained.
((Alright does everyone know what to do?)) Tobias asked, nestled in the rafters.
"Yeah," Marco said. "Crash their party, wreck some havoc. How hard is that?" He paused. "And since when did you become the leader?" he asked glancing up at Tobias.
Tobias shifted uncomfortably. ((Just getting the low-down.)) he said grumpily.
"So let's get going, already," Rachel said impatiently.
"Are you alright?" I asked her.
She seemed worried and nervous.
"Yeah, fine," she said and started stripping down to her spandex underneath.
She closed her eyes and I could see the changes to bald eagle begin.
Five minutes later we were in the sky. We were far apart but still in thought speech range. It was just the four of us. It didn't seem right. I wanted to hear Jake's pep talk or his reassuring voice in my head, telling me that we'd get out of there alive. But he wasn't there with us. It was just the four of us.
((Alright, there's a bit of a cave down there,)) Marco said in my head as we flew over the beach. I could already see people dancing to music and just lazing around, eating a hotdog or licking an ice-cream.
Marco's cave was around a cove close to the beach. It would be an easy run from the cave to the beach, nothing to it and we'd be out of sight from everyone who walked past. Nobody said a word as we flew down to the cave, demorphed and morphed. My wolf senses tingled as I smelled a bear and a gorilla nearby. My wolf instincts told me to pounce, but I knew I had bigger issues than a bear and a gorilla at the moment.
((You guys ready?)) I asked when I was finished.
((Yeah,)) Rachel responded. ((Let's do it!))
We pounded on the beach.