I was mildly surprised to find that the vibrations came in sets of three. I read later that one of the standard-issue weapons for SWAT teams was the M4A1 assault rifle, which could only fire single shots or three-round bursts. Not the continuous streams of death you see in old action movies.
To my snakey "ears," they sounded like a smartphone buzzing on top of a table. It was almost comical. Being shot at, however, was not.
Now the snake was concerned. [We need to move!] I shouted.
[Where?] Tobias shouted back. [If we go out -]
[If we remain where we are,] Ax said in a calm, even tone, [They will simply move on.]
[But they're killing the animals!] Cassie cried. [Rachel, we need to do something!]
Honestly, I couldn't have cared less about the pets. But I wanted out from under this shelf, and there was exactly one place we could go where they wouldn't shoot at us. I hoped.
[Tobias, follow me. Ax, demorph!]
I started slithering. There was a boot directly in front of me. I think that the pant legs of the SWAT uniform were supposed to be tucked in the boots, but I could see where some of the leg had been pulled up out of the boot and left an opening. I could feel his body heat seeping from it.
I raised my head up and forced myself through the opening.
The cop felt it. I felt a long, continuous buzz.
[The human is panicking.] Ax told us.
Too late. I went up their leg, twisting and turning through their leg hairs.
Something slammed my midsection. It hurt. I didn't like that. The snake didn't, either.
I spread my jaws and sank my fangs into their thigh. And this time, I didn't hold back.
"Aaaaah!"
The cop screamed so loud, even the snake heard it. I felt the gunfire stop. I continued up into their shirt.
[Right behind you, Rachel!] Tobias called after me.
[Bite 'em!]
[The humans are running to assist their comrade.]
[Cassie, now's your chance!] I shouted.
[I'm leaving. I'm out!]
I bit the cop in the belly and emptied my venom sacs into them. [Find somewhere safe and morph bird!]
Six sudden buzzes. A hammer blow at the center of my body.
A sudden wetness spread all around me.
Pain. I was hurt.
Turns out a 5.56mm round is more than enough to cut a rattlesnake in half.
The snake thrashed, finally panicking. I felt the cop shudder underneath me. The belly went from being next to me, to being under me.
Daylight. Someone had ripped the cop's shirt and armor off.
The hand of God reached down and yanked what was left of me out from my hiding spot.
I bit. Hard. But I had no venom. All I did was puncture skin.
A blue blur of motion. More sticky wetness.
And then, I was falling. I landed on cold linoleum. Smaller, bluer hands of God picked me up.
I felt wind rushing over me for what seemed like forever. I noticed my tail was missing. The world stopped. I dropped heavily onto carpet.
[Rachel, demorph!]
Good plan.
Easier said than done, though. My brain was going fuzzy.
[Demorph, Rachel! Come on!]
[Rachel!]
Why was everyone shouting? I was right here. I could even see myself. Half a snake bleeding out on the floor.
Dying.
Oh.
Well, that's not good.
Then...panic!
[That's it, Rachel, you're doing it!]
I erupted from the snake's body like all of us enter the world; covered in blood and screaming.
A strong hand clamped down on my mouth. I felt a warm body behind me. I fought hard. I lashed out behind me with an elbow and felt it hit something hard and fleshy.
[Rachel, stop!]
Slowly, like I was waking from a dream, I calmed down. The world came back into focus. I became aware that I was in one of the JC Penny dressing rooms.
Tobias let go of me. I stood up and looked back at him. The left side of his face was swelling up.
There was a rat sitting next to a crow on the bench. Ax and Cassie.
I looked down at myself, whole, healthy, and still wearing the snake's blood and somebody else's. I saw a bloody stain on the carpet the size of my hand. The snake's blood.
My blood, pooled up where I had lain dying barely a minute before.
I felt myself shudder. My hands were shaking. I swallowed hard and looked back at Cassie and the rest of them. "Wait here. Don't morph. I'm going to grab you some clothes."
I morphed dog and crawled under the door.
No SWAT teams in sight. They must have all gone upstairs to check the commotion. I raced over to the men's section and grabbed Tobias a shirt and cargo pants. As Tobias was getting dressed, I had Cassie fly back up to the pet store and steal a dog collar.
Then, Tobias and I crawled under the same circular clothing rack we got Cassie's jeans from. He stuffed Ax and Cassie in his pockets and started shouting for help.
SWAT showed up within seconds. Tobias, thank God, played the part of traumatized mall rat perfectly. SWAT took him to the main walkway, where they were keeping everyone else they'd found hiding in the mall. Just another "survivor" and his pet dog.
The SWAT team kept their voices low, but dog ears miss nothing. I heard them mutter about the cop who'd gone crazy upstairs. Guy said there were snakes in his clothes and started shooting at his own team. They were forced to kill him.
After an hour or so, we were marched out with other shoppers. Tobias covered his face and managed to avoid getting on CNN. Cassie and Ax bailed in the parking lot once Tobias was off camera. I slipped back into the mall in dog morph, stuffed our clothes and phones into a shopping bag, and met everyone at Cassie's van.
"That was -"
"Don't," I interrupted Cassie. I passed her the bag. Her new jeans were in it. "Just don't."
While we dressed, Ax demorphed, then morphed into a coyote. He watched us silently. When we were finished, he said, [I have seen a complex in the center of this settlement, where young humans such as yourselves are known to congregate for many hours of the day. Do you know of it?]
That took us a minute. "Are you talking about the school?" Tobias asked him.
[I believe it to be a center of learning, yes.]
"Did you want to meet there?" Cassie crossed her arms. "It's pretty public."
[I believe it will be easier to avoid discovery than it was at this facility.]
"Wouldn't have seen you if you didn't freak out in the food court," I pointed out. I wasn't in the mood to argue, though. I just wanted to get home and pass out on my bed.
[I was unprepared for the instincts of that morph,] Ax said primly. [I believe you had a similar problem shortly afterward.]
I felt my eyes widen. "Look, you –"
"School is fine," Tobias cut me off and gave me a look. I fought back the urge to punch him. "If you know when we...congregate," Tobias said to Ax, "do you know when we go home? Can you meet us by the football field?"
[Is that the grassy area with the forked structures?]
"Yes."
[That should be adequate.] Ax thought to himself for a moment. [Yes. Please gather any other allies you have and meet me underneath the raised seating. I will be in this morph when you arrive.]
"It's a date," I answered sarcastically. I was more than ready to be rid of him.
Ax turned to leave. Stopped. He turned back around.
[You almost lost your life saving my own,] he said to me.
Cassie was watching me. My hands started shaking again. I stuffed them in my back pockets and nodded in response.
[You and your allies risked yourselves on my behalf, Ax continued. [I will do my best to honor your efforts.]
Well, that was something, at least. Ax trotted off to points unknown. We climbed into Cassie's van, and she drove us home.
I didn't make it to my house before six.
Because I'm not amazing.
