Chapter 23

"Battle morphs, now!" I yelled. I concentrated hard on the leopard inside me, praying for the changes to begin. I crouched further behind the dumpster as I felt soft, spotted fur appear on my body. The short period whilst morphing was when we were our most vulnerable. The changes were happening quickly, but not fast enough. My eyes transformed and my eyesight improved. My ears became round and slid up the side of my face. A long tail shot for my behind. But I could still not feel the power of the leopard inside me! I cried out in frustration. The morph was happening in the wrong order! I needed claws and teeth – not good senses! I willed the morph to concentrate on these points, picturing the more powerful parts of the leopard in my mind. I almost cried out in relief as I finally felt my body become stronger – layers of muscles rippling over my body.

--Come on guys, that's it!-- I said to my friends. --You're doing great!--

--We haven't had any practise with these morphs!-- shouted Ferdie.

--No choice,-- I said. --Use the animal's brain to help you.--

Beside me, I could see the others changing shape, taking on faster and more powerful shapes. Philip's morph was going well – he was almost done. I could see him growing, long, thick shaggy hair which completely covered his huge, bulky body, nearly touching the ground. Enormous curved horns grew out from his head. He snorted. He was a musk ox.

Ferdie was undergoing similar changes to me. His leg and elbow joints suddenly switched direction and he landed on all fours. Long teeth could be seen growing in his mouth. Huge, retractable claws shot out between his fur-covered fingers. Little tufts of fur grew from his ears. His was a lynx.

Asha was shrinking slightly, although not by a lot. She grunted as she fell forwards onto her hands and knees. Course, sandy coloured spread over her body, a light mane working its way from her head to her shoulder blades. Her shoulders haunched up, her hips becoming lower. A dog-like snout was becoming visible from her rapidly shifting mouth and nose. Long, sharp teeth appeared. Her eyes became black and angry. She was a hyena.

I felt the mind of the leopard kick in. It was fairly calm, which was the complete opposite of I felt. But it was wary of the enclosed space it was in. It was used to the huge, open plains of the Serengeti. This also conflicted with my own thoughts. My human mind felt safer behind the bins. The last thing I wanted to do was run out into the open. It was also rather territorial. It didn't like being around other big cats. I glanced nervously at Ferdie, now fully lynx. He growled softly, still under the control of the cat's instincts. I snapped myself back to reality.

--Guys, be careful with the animal's minds. We don't know how they'll be to control. Don't listen to their instincts about being around other animals. Just get ready to do as I say.--

--Easier said than done,-- said Philip. --My ox is going mad in here. Very skittish. Getting angry.-- He tossed his huge, shaggy head, almost impaling Asha's hyena body.

Even though I was terrified and not too sure what I was about to do, I was becoming more confident. My weak human senses had been replaced by the sharp cat's senses. I could now hear every work the Controllers were saying to each other. My sense of smell was also very good. I feared I would be smelling spilt blood before long. But best of all, I was no longer confined to my slow, puny, human body. This gave me confidence. The leopard was a powerful animal; it knew what it could take and what it couldn't.

--Right, everyone,-- I barked. --Get ready to attack. We'll try and make this quick. Get out of hear as quickly as possible. Try and disable the Controllers – stop them from using their weapons. Don't worry too much about killing them. Asha, Ferdie, you guys go for the humans. Philip, we'll go for the Hork-Bajir.-- I gulped. I couldn't believe what I was saying. A day ago, I would have been the last person to get into a fight. And now… But I didn't let any of this show in my voice. I had to make the other's believe this was the normal thing to do. No uncertainties. No turning back. Just in, out, and done.

--Keep out of the way of the Visser,-- Philip advised. He's probably armed to the teeth.--

--Ok, guys, this is it. We're gonna get out of here. I won't let anyone get caught.-- I took a deep breath. --Attack!--