Silent Heroes: Wildcat

Chapter 18: Consequences

The big black horse crashed his saucer-like hooves down one after the other, forcing me backwards.  Several times, the huge creature came within inches of crushing my toes.

What... do you think... you're doing? He demanded, punctuating every few words with another aggressive step forward.  His head was bend forward, ears angled sharply towards his back.

Hey, take it easy, I protested, springing out of his reach.  Hey, watch it!

He had nearly crushed my entire foot that time.

Shift out, you idiot!  Before you bring the entire school down!

Okay!  I said.  All right!  But I can't very well do that when you're trying to turn me into road-kill!

The horse reared up and slammed his hooves down right in front of my face, causing the entire building to shake.  My animal side lashed out in response to the threat.  I snarled menacingly, baring my teeth.  I was about ready to leap forward and tear into his jugular when a blur of movement shot past me.  Jewel planted herself in front of the horse, hissing and spitting, the hair along her spine standing on end.

Hey, back off!

The horse threw his head, nostrils flared.  His ears twitched for a second like he wanted to bolt, but the huge beast held his ground.

She almost caused a riot!  Tearing through this place like some kind of crazed animal!

She wasn't in control!

Then she had better learn to stay in control!

You're aggravating her!  She was about an inch away from ripping your throat out!

The horse stamped his foot.  Don't lecture me, cat.  You're friend is the one that caused this mess, not me.

Well, you were about to make it a whole lot-

"That is enough!  All of you!"

I turned sharply and felt my insides twist uncomfortably.  Kerry was striding towards us, long legs carrying her swiftly down the hallway, straight hair flowing behind her.  She was accompanied by Deanna and a tiny, orange-haired woman I didn't recognize. 

Oh boy, this was not going to be good.  I already knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that Kerry wasn't exactly the forgiving sort.  And Deanna was the one who had told me not to shift in the first place.

"You two!" Kerry snapped, pointing at me and Jewel.  "Back into human form now!  This instant!"

I would have been crazy not to listen.  Closing my eyes, I focused on my human form.  The changes seemed to happen much quicker this time.  Like everything was moving in fast-forward.  My fur receded.  The hair on top of my head grew long and curled.  My face flattened.  My arms and legs became long, skinny and straight.  Before I knew it, I was fully human, sitting on the hard, dirt floor and feeling rather vulnerable without my claws and my teeth and my liquid strength.

At least my clothes had remained intact this time.  My shoes, on the other hand, were a different story.  They must have been torn apart during my shift because my feet were completely bare.

With my hunting instincts out of the way, I was able to observe my surroundings a little more thoroughly.  This whole section of the school resembled nothing more than a huge, circular barn.  Wide floors made of tightly packed earth.  Rectangular doorways that slid sideways to open.  Galloping horses painted all over the walls.