The Phoenix Shift

Ch 12 - Testing

Kayla gulped in a quick breath when she saw what the security guard had brought back. It was a collar. A shock collar. It was a big one, and vile-looking. It looked like it could cause a lot, lot of pain, or maybe even knock her out.

She decided that maybe it might be better to look like she'd complying, to test the waters. She had a feeling that if they put that over her head, they wouldn't let her take it off. It would remove all chance of escape, or of doing anything they didn't like.

The guard came closer, accompanied by a smirking Dr. Feyer. Kayla spoke up. "I'll shift if you want me to. If you don't put the collar on me."

"Oh, but you'll shift even if we do put the collar on you. You'll do anything we ask," smiled Dr. Feyer.

Kayla paused for a second, looking for a reason. "But wouldn't it be better if I was willing to comply, instead of forced?" she tried.

"I think we could manage to make you quite willing. Just a few shocks and you'll be quite willing to obey."

And then it hit her - a realization. Eliza had said, as they were leaving the tunnel about to start their training, that they needed to get better at remembering their powers in a tight situation, and figuring out how to use them. Now Kayla knew how. "If you put the collar on me, it won't fit as soon as I shift. And if you make it smaller so it fits me when I'm small, I won't be able to shift.
And you need me to be able to shift."

Dr. Feyer looked like she'd been told that she'd been told she couldn't play with her favorite toy. The security guard nodded, saying, "That's true. And if we doesn't obey, we can just put this back on for a bit. Shall I go put this on the table, Dr. Feyer?"

Dr. Feyer looked like she was about to object, but Kayla pressed her advantage. "He's right. I don't need that. It wouldn't work anyhow."

Dr. Feyer consented with a frustrated grunt. From what Kayla could tell, she wasn't very good at arguing. Kayla filed that information away for later use, knowing she might be able to get out of things by tricking her. But when Dr. Feyer got a chance to get her cruel revenge, it would not be enjoyable at all for Kayla. She just would have to stop that from happening.

Dr. Feyer drew herself up, bringing back her air of of fierce command and disdain. "Shift. Now," she barked. Kayla shifted into a hawk, drawing a slight gasp from the other scientists in the room. There were five of them, Kayla saw, not counting Dr. Feyer. Every single one had a tablet or laptop out now, and were writing their observations. From the looks of it, they didn't really expect her to be able to shift since she didn't look like a bird. She guessed that they were newcomers and hadn't seen a natural shifter before, only the Raiders that had been experimented on to have a semblance of shifter powers. She remembered Samantha telling her a while ago that the Raiders were stretched thin, and more active than usual, so maybe they were training new people to make up for it.

Kayla shifted her attention back to Dr. Feyer, who was looking at her with a mixture of envy and like she was a cockroach she'd like to step on. Kayla didn't like having to stare up at Dr. Feyer, so she flew over to a small table the scientists had set out, perching on a stack of papers. Dr. Feyer looked disgruntled as her great wings sent paper fluttering everywhere, but the other, newer scientists didn't seem to notice, they were either scribbling notes or looking awed.

Dr. Feyer didn't like feeling outdone, so she straightened her shoulders, stood up as tall as she could, and gave a set of orders to the acolytes. "Minksi! Chaun! Gonzales! Clean up the papers, then return to your offices. Robinson, Markham's been asking me to send him a researcher, go help him with his assignment. Harris, go send for the other subjects, then go to the lab and tell Dr. Clark I sent you."

Dr. Feyer turned back to Kayla, having now busied or gotten rid of their audience. "I'm supposed to test your powers. Show me what you can turn into."

"Haven't I?" asked Kayla, not wanting to submit too easily.

"You know what I meant. Show me what you can turn into."

Kayla shifted into various types of hawks, falcons, and eagles, but not showing most of her power, thinking it was best to still have something up her sleeve. She did mix in a few prey birds, including a pigeon, just in case Dr. Feyer knew that she had been found as a pigeon. Dr. Feyer took notes, not suspecting that Kayla hadn't shown her everything. In fact, Kayla thought, I haven't even shown her a tenth of what I can do.

Dr. Feyer moved on to other tests, such as how fast she could shift and how well she could shift midair. Kayla tried to keep most of her skill hidden, making Dr. Feyer think she was much less powerful than she really was. She accidentally messed up a few times, shifting too fast or to the wrong animal, but mostly Dr. Feyer was kept in the dark about the scope of her abilities.

They were in the middle of testing her coordination as different birds using a set of tennis balls when the door opened, letting in a large group of security guards flanking two small figures. Dr. Feyer smiled her wolfish smile again and strode toward them, beckoning Kayla to follow, which she did mainly out of curiosity, not obedience to Dr. Feyer.

Kayla didn't recognize the two figures, but they looked exhausted and beaten. Dr. Feyer's grin grew wider and she barked a command at the two people. "Shift!"

To Kayla's horror, the two became birds. They were shifters? How long had they been here? Much longer than her, this was her first day. But then she recognized Roxy's distinctive sparrow shape, and remembered that Keaton's shape was a cardinal, the same as the bird next to Roxy. "H-how? They've.... They're...." They got here the same time as me!

Dr. Feyer turned her wolfish smile on Kayla. "You forgot that we tranquilized you, and with a very powerful tranq. You've all been here for nearly a week now, even though you only woke up today."

A wave of nausea rolled over Kayla. A week? I've feeling horrid after less than a day.... But Dr. Feyer's next words made it even worse.

"We're testing the effectiveness of shifter powers in combat. They've fought some of our own operatives, now we'd like to try something new. To test shifter powers for our invasion of the Courtyard. You'll be fighting against each other."

Shock filled Kayla. Fight Roxy? "No. I won't do it."

"Tut tut. Well, for now, we could try something else, but you will fight her, believe me. But first...." Dr. Feyer's wolfish smile grew even wider and more horrible, twisting into a growling canine snout. She faced Kayla, now fully wolf, growling like a hungry bloodhound, fangs dripping with saliva. She commanded one of the guards to fit a weight around Kayla's claw, preventing her from flying; her commanding bark of a shout now even more doglike. Kayla fought the weight, but couldn't get it off. not even when she shifted, because it was elastic, contracting to fit her ankle. The wolf advanced upon her, snapping at her with its jaws, and Kayla only barely managed to get out of the way. She tried to fly as best she could, but the weight held her down, preventing her from escaping. It felt like hours that she fled the wolf, but it was only a few minutes before it was able to pin her down, and she was already covered in scratches and bleeding furrows from where it had almost gotten her. A guard unclipped the weight, and she shifted human, panting on the floor. She stumbled away from the wolf, who was now a grinning Dr. Feyer, her wolflike mouth and nose now seeming even more noticeable. Why Kayla hadn't realized what they meant before, she didn't know.

She fell on the floor, to exhausted and in pain to go further. Two guards lifted her on a stretcher and took her to the medical lab, but she was asleep from exhaustion long before she got there. Her scratches were bandaged, and she was taken to her cell and dumped roughly on the cot, still asleep.

 Kayla woke later in the night, a sound from outside the hallway waking her up. She crept to her door, her scratches burning. She heard the tramp of the guards boots, walking in synch, in what would otherwise be perfect silence. They carried a stretcher much like hers, on which lay Roxy, barely concious. She saw Kayla's face through the small window in her door, and gave a weak smile. Kayla was furious that Dr. Feyer would fight Roxy too, when she was so tired and weak already. She felt herself grow hot as her anger grew. She would break out of here, she didn't know how, and rescue Roxy and Keaton. She would do it tonight, before Dr. Feyer could do anything else.