Reza shifted into his lion form and bounded past Kerry, who still appeared to be frozen in place.
Come on, Eve! Let's get outa here!
I hesitated for a faction of a second, looking into Kerry's stiff, frozen expression. I didn't know what form I would take if I shifted: my usual cat form, or the huge, saber-toothed tiger. The saber-tooth was dangerous. I had absolutely no control over it. And the last thing I wanted was a repeat of the night before.
Kerry's eyes flickered, like she was about to come out of her furious trance.
Eve, hurry! Reza shouted.
I focused on my usual form and shifted almost instantaneously. I was relieved to find that I was back to my normal size, with no twelve-inch canines to speak of.
I bunched my powerful muscles and sprang forward, following Reza. We sprinted across the sand, shooting up and down the white dunes, kicking up tiny particles that glittered in the sun. Behind me, Kerry shrieked. "What are you imbeciles waiting for? Get them!"
Air rushed past me as at least five people shifted form. A volley of hooves pounded the sand, coming after us.
With Reza in the lead and the horses in hot pursuit, we raced off the beach and into the forest. I took a sharp turn, following a winding dirt path through the trees. I didn't dare look over my shoulder, but it sounded like a whole pack of horses were on my tail.
SPLAT! SPLAT!
As we ran, water balloons began to rain down from the sky. They shattered at our feet and bounced off our shoulders. I heard laughter. The people on the boardwalks were trying to soak every one of us.
Stop that, you fools! Kerry's voice echoed furiously inside my head. This is not a game! These two wildcats have violated the rules and undermined my authority!
SPLAT! SPLAT! SPLAT! The water balloons continued to fall.
I will have you all thrown in detention for this! Kerry raved.
We emerged in a deserted section of the village. Although by the looks of things, it hadn't been deserted for long. The street and the buildings and even the trunks of the trees were speckled with colour.
With Reza still in the lead, we blasted across the main road and into a narrow alley between two buildings, the horses thundering after us. They were gaining on us. I sensed them moving in closer. My heart thumped wildly in my chest.
I have an idea, Eve! Reza said. Follow me!
He picked up speed, his muscles bunching together and surging outward like a coiled spring. They alley came to a dead stop right ahead. Reza barreled toward the wall of bamboo like he was preparing to jump right through it. Then, at the very last second, he slammed on the breaks and made a sharp, ninety-degree turn. I dug my paws into the ground and did the exact same thing, turning millimeters from the wall.
Two of the horses weren't so quick. They crashed head first into the building at the end of the alley, unable to slow their own momentum in time.
Reza laughed. They might be bigger and stronger, but they don't have our reflexes.
We kept running. We weren't out of the woods yet. The other three the horses were only seconds behind us.
We twisted and turned through the narrow streets, constantly changing direction in an attempt to throw the horses off our trail. I found myself focusing hard on Reza's back legs. It was the only thing that kept me from getting completely disoriented. Everything looked the same in here. It was like being in a maze.
We managed to lose two more horses. One of them fell too far behind. The other made a wrong turn and was unable to rotate its body around in the compact space. Kerry, on the other hand, was like a barnacle that refused to let go. Her sand-coloured horse form was tall, but slender, allowing her to navigate the tight alleyways much easier than her counterparts.
Or perhaps she was just dead set on catching us.
You two are in so much trouble! I shall personally see to it that you are never allowed within a mile of any shifter village in the country!
One more turn and we were suddenly back on the main street. Kerry picked up speed, in her element now that we were back in the open. Her eyes blazed as she moved in closer.
Head for the crowds! Reza yelled. I've got another idea!
There was a big group of people nearby, laughing and smothering each other with coloured powder. We cut a path right towards them. As we entered the crowed, I found myself inside a forest of moving legs. I couldn't possibly avoid all of them. I bowled people over. I jumped over the bodies that Reza knocked to the ground. I rammed into people's elbows and knees. I could barely see through a haze of coloured powder.
Kerry's hoof beats quickly faded. She couldn't move through the crowd like we could. Not without trampling someone. She was shrieking at them in frustration.
Move! Get out of the way! I said MOVE, idiots! This isn't- Hey! Who threw that? WHO THREW THAT? I shall personally see to it- WHO THREW THAT ONE?
As we emerged at the other side of the group, I glanced back over my shoulder. Kerry reared and snorted in rage while the crowd pelted her with water balloons and colourful powder. She couldn't get past them.
I released a giddy laugh and caught up with Reza.
I can't believe you did that!
I'm a rebel, Eve. Don't mess with me.
You threw a water balloon in her face!
She had it coming.
And how did you know the crowd would go after her?
Cause she was too clean. They go after anyone who isn't completely covered in powder.
We shifted into human form and ran back to the school, laughing hysterically. I was half thrilled and half terrified by what had just happened. Never in my life had I willfully defied a teacher like that. But, if anyone deserved it well... it was Kerry.
Deanna, Shane, Jewel and Danielle were all waiting by the front entrance.
"Where have you two been?" Deanna asked.
"You're both soaking wet," Danielle added.
Jewel grinned as she took in the hot pink covering Reza's head and shoulders. "Hey, Rez. You look fabulous."
Reza struck a ridiculous pose. "I know, right?"
"All right, knock it off, you guys," Deanna said, while I giggled helplessly. "We should clear out of here before Kerry's see's that you two have been ignoring her entirely unreasonable instructions. Run upstairs and grab your stuff. I'll give you ten minutes.
Reza and I raced to do as we were told.
----------------------------------------
Getting out of the village was no more harrowing than getting in. We took a different route, but it was fundamentally the same. Bumpy roads barely wide enough to fit Deanna's SUV. Dozens of random twists and turns. Hidden passages that very convincingly resembled a series of dead ends.
The car bucked and swerved as Deanna navigated her way through the streets, Shane sitting tense and rigid beside her. Jewel and Reza whooped and hollered like they were on a ride. Danielle grinned at their antics, but I couldn't help noticing that she was gripping the seat in front of her pretty hard.
My adrenaline was still pumping after the escape from Kerry and her minions. I couldn't believe we had gotten out of there in one peace, without a single repercussion. Kerry was probably furious. I imagined her stomping and raging at the other horses she had sent after us, red in the face, all her composure and professionalism thrown out the window. The thought made me grin like crazy.
"Hold on, guys," Deanna said.
The car lurched over the edge of a big hill. It picked up momentum on the way down, hitting random bumps and potholes along the way. The trees on either side of us were a blur of green and brown.
Although I was fairly confident in Deanna's driving abilities, I clenched my seat a little tighter.
"De, slow down," Shane said.
"Don't worry, bro. I know what I'm doing."
The whole care was rattling. We must have been going at least sixty miles an hour. As we approached the bottom of the hill, the car burst through a curtain of leaves and braches. My body was thrown sideways as we swerved onto a quiet country road, tires squealing, a cloud of dust billowing behind us.
"One of these days," Shane grumbled, finally settling comfortably into his seat, "There's going to be a car driving on that spot in the road, and you're going to have a serious problem on your hands."
"Statistically, that's not very likely," Deanna said. "This road is pretty remote. That's why we use it as an exit point."
"The possibility is still there."
Now that we were safely out of the village, Jewel was quick to start questioning me and Reza about our daring escape. Reza was more than happy to fill her in on the details. He told the story with a lot of enthusiasm and arm waving and he embellished just a little. I didn't remember ten horses chasing after us, or running across the roof of the school in order to escape them.
While he talked, my gaze was drawn out the window, to the trees and shrubs flickering past. It was pretty remote out here, but the telephone poles along the side of the road served as a reminder that we were back in the real world.
A small lump formed in my throat. There was nothing at all wrong with the real world. It just felt so dull and drab and uninspiring compared to the place we had just left.
Still, I tried to be positive. I was in good company. With the exception of Isaac, every important person from the village was in this car with me. That was definitely something.
"I can't believe you guys did that!" Jewel said. "Kerry must be throwing a an epic tantrum right now." She closed her eyes and tilted her head back like she was staring off into space. "I can see it. It's beautiful."
"Hey, Deanna?" I leaned over so I could see her better in the drivers seat. "Where are we going, exactly?"
"I thought we'd spend the night in Charleston," Deanna said. "It's the closest major city."
"And then what?"
"Well, that's up to you guys."
By now, Jewel, Danielle and Reza were all sitting up straight, paying close attention to the conversation.
"We can take you all home," Deanna went on. "That's one option."
"No,' I said automatically, and I was echoed by everyone else at the exact same moment. "I can't go home," I added. "I can't. There has to be another option."
"Well, that leaves us with relocating to another village, then."
"Greenland?"
"Greenland is one option, yes."
"Are there others? I thought Greenland and South Carolina were the only Level Two shifter villages in North America."
"Oh, they are," Deanna said. "But, considering the how far Greenland it from here geographically, it might be just as reasonable to go south. There's another level two village in Peru. Way up in the Andes Mountains. It's a bit a drive, but we could get there no problem."
"Peru?"
I had never been outside North America. In fact, this trip to South Carolina was the furthest I had ever travelled in my life. The thought that I might be able to visit another continent had not even crossed my mind.
There was just one problem...
"Wait. What about my parents? Don't they think we're still going to school in South Carolina? What if they want to come visit me or something?"
"We can tell them you signed up for an international exchange program," Deanna said, without missing a beat. "You're already taking Spanish classes, right?"
I almost laughed. I had all of two weeks of Spanish lessons under my belt at this point. All I knew so far was how to introduce myself, conjugate a bunch of random verbs and ask to use the bathroom.
"Are you telling me they don't speak English in this village?" Danielle asked.
"Most people speak English well enough," Deanna said. "It's an international community, after all. But, learning at least passible Spanish would be highly recommended."
"I could learn Spanish," Reza said.
"Me too," Danielle agreed. "It's not all that different from French, really. And Peru would be cool. I've never been to South America."
"Me neither," I said.
"It would be a heck of a lot warmer than Greenland," Jewel said. "That's for sure. And I've always wanted to live in the mountains. Hey, can we go mountain climbing?"
"Can I adopt a pet monkey?" Reza asked.
"Can we go see Machu Picchu?" said Danielle.
Jewel looked at her like she was nuts. "What the heck is Machu Picchu?"
Shane eyed Deanna from the passenger seat. "I do believe we have a consensus."
"All right, then." Deanna popped her visor, pulled out a pair of stylish sunglasses and threw them on. "South America it is."