EverChange

Chapter 8

I sat there. My phone service was cut. That mean everyone else's was cut too. It didn't mean my mother or brother didn't pay. I would get a different message if that was the case.

"Insufficient Funds at this time," or "your account has been suspended with a due of so-so amount."

I felt sick. Looked around and began going through my bag again. I heard movement behind me, but they stopped at the door.

".....Do you have a computer?" I asked whoever they were. "I can't call out."

I looked back to see Lacey and Brandon standing there. Brandon was between me and her, the little girl was agitated and tried to pull away from him.

"I can lend you my laptop." Lacey said, yanking herself free from Brandon's grasp and running to her own room.

Brandon stayed in the doorway. When she came back, he took the laptop from her and slid it across the carpet to me. I was wearing my welcome thin. I opened it, and was greeted by a welcome screen. Logged into guest, found the browser and immediately went to Facebook.

It had been close to two days since either Linden or Roanne had logged on. No new posts, no new links, photos, hangouts-- They were social people. Linden had a job teaching Dance downtown, Roanne played sports and was taking AP art at one of the Colleges. Their pages had people asking where the heck they were.

I checked my own messages. Five family members were asking where we were. Two friends of my siblings were asking the same. One of them sent a link leading to a news sight.

"Monsters Among Us??" The front page was a picture of the dragon trying to burn down the school. Some of the photos were me in my smaller, Wyvern form.

At the bottom of the page, the local authorities were speaking about running more scans for Mutants. More raids. Someone even had video of the fight.

I swallowed a lump in my throat and clicked play. It was twenty seconds long, on someone's phone and showed my wyvern form protecting children when the dragon threw chunks of asphalt. I exited out of it all, erased everything and closed the laptop.

"If anything bad h-happened." I said slowly, scales fighting to over take my arms and legs. I gripped the carpet, my body betraying me. "Stay... human.... We can't get home... if you fuck this all up."

The shift halted, but when I shifted I was off balance. There was a rip, and I was staring at two large holes in the thighs my pants. I felt a tail, and my feet looked like eagle claws. I flexed them, still sitting on the floor. My tail swished back and forth, scales and spines poking up from the top.

"...Linden would have gotten them out." I mumbled, running my tongue over sharp teeth.

Someone knocked on my door frame. "Are you staying up here?" a male voice asked.

"I don't want to go anywhere near that woman." I huffed. Donovan walked in, and I smelled food as he placed a plate on one of the bedside tables.

"Lie down." he said, patting the bed, "I'll fix your tail."

"It'll heal." I said, looking away from him. "I'm not feeling well. Can you leave?"

"I need to check your hip, femur and tail." He said, rolling up his sleeves and walking to the bathroom to wash his hands. My heightened senses caught the smell of meat and marinara. I looked on the plate, some sort of beef dish stuffed in pasta shells covered in cheese and sauce. Deep fried vegetables on one side, and steamed items on the other. A tall glass of water with ice.

"Davis is a big man, and cat bones aren't indestructible." he said, wiping his hands on a towel, motioning to the bed.

"What are you gonna do?" I tilted my head some, making eye contact with him.