Preface

I’m running, running from everything I’ve ever known. And you know what, it sucks. I’m cold, hungry and exhausted and yet I have to keep running. I can’t let Him, catch up or it’s all over. But I want to give in, I want to give in so much I can’t stand it. More than anything I would like to go back home and face Him, but this isn’t just about me. The fate of my kind relies on my survival my friends are counting on me to get them out of danger. During all this I wonder what it would’ve been like if I hadn’t gone to the party, the party that changed my life forever, would it be any different? Would I not know what I know now? I’ll never find out, it’s too late to turn back. Feeling my body move from two legs to four I shoot across a road into another patch of trees. Normally I would walk and take in the beautiful sights, sounds and smells but now I gallop as hard as I possibly can to put some distance between Him and me. With my friends near who knew I would still be afraid. But, faithful reader, do you have any idea who or what I am? Didn’t think so, my name is Maya Eldridge and this is my story.

Chapter 1

My story began fifteen years earlier. From birth, I was different; I have the eyes of a wild animal and the personality of one too. I’ve always been a loner, never going to parties or hanging out with anyone, well at least until a month ago. A month ago, on July 4^th, I found out what I really am, and it’s not human. I am one of the last shape shifters in existence, being there are only four of us left. It was on that day that I met Garret, Haley and West. They are like me, not part of society, yet forced to live in it and take on respectable roles. Each of them, like myself, has a second form though no one is like another. Garret’s second form is a black bear, which doesn’t surprise me since he is the school quarterback and he happens to love blueberry pie. Haley doesn’t like to talk about herself much and I’ve never seen her phase but apparently she is a peregrine, she specializes in dancing and is the cheer squad captain. West, well West is a conundrum. He completely alienates himself from others all together, matching his second form of a puma. Me, well, let’s just say you wouldn’t want to corner me in a dark alley. I may be small but I promise you my bite is worse than my bark. At school I’m the girl everyone thinks will commit suicide before I turn 18. But I digress, my reputation precedes me.

Ever since I met them, my life has taken a turn for the better. Together we explored the extent of our powers, learning our limits and expanding them. Just when I thought I would never be alone again, IT happened. I had finally been invited to a party, thrown by Garret for Haley, West and myself. I wore a new dress and went expecting, well a party. What I found was anything but. When I opened the door I found myself face to face with one of the most repulsive creatures I’d ever seen in my life. They were malformed, obviously not natural, with blood-shot eyes and body parts of all sorts of animals. Some had pig’s heads partnered with a grotesque clump of muscles and things no one should ever see. Others were smaller with the heads of foxes and the body of a skimpy rodent covered in maggots and worms. I tried to hide my face but I could still smell them, rank and definitely dead.

                I had no idea what to do, whether I should fight or run, the typical fight or flight response. I decided to run, I had a better chance of beating them if I knew what I was up against. Apparently the mutant’s minds worked slowly because they had yet to process that the “enemy” was right in front of them.  Within several seconds I was gone, disappeared like the wind. A ran for about a mile then broke down and cried. If they were in there that meant one thing, my friends had been captured. This was a worst case scenario; I had never seen this coming, not in a million years. It took me a whole hour to regain my composure and think about what to do next. Good thing I bring a change of clothes wherever I go, I slipped into a port-a-potty nearby and changed into some sensible jeans and a white tank. Pulling my hair back I took off my bracelet- I wear it everywhere, it was a gift from someone, I can’t remember who- and put it away. In its stead, I unclip a small dagger from my bag. I never thought I would have to use it, but then again, I never knew this was coming.

                When I finished I crept back to the house and snuck on the roof, confident the mutants wouldn’t think to guard it, if they thought at all. From there I opened an air vent- Garret’s house is VERY old fashioned- and crawled through it, careful not to bump around too much. When I found an opening I waited to see if anyone was in the room and when I heard nothing, crawled out. Stealthily I moved towards the other end of the room I had entered- Garret’s bedroom- and heard someone talking outside the door. I had no idea whom it was at the time and was curious. Boy how much I wish I’d left well enough alone and just freed my friends. Listening in I heard that my friends were in the closet next to me.  The guards- who, strangely enough sounded like humans - would never expect a prison break from the inside. Before I could remove my ear, I heard them laugh and say that their master was out to get the fourth one and put an end to the shape shifters once and for all because we were all that stood between him and world domination. Apparently their boss could control humans and turn them into these mutants but his powers were useless when used near a shape shifter. With us exterminated, he could literally control the world. I wasn’t about to let him.

                Moving around as quietly as I could I opened the closet and peered inside. I found a rather large fur ball, a graceful yet bedraggled bird and a loathing and quiet lounge cat. Muzzled, they all looked up at the same time with utter horror to find who would torture them next. When they saw me they almost screamed I swear. I managed to cut their bonds and we fled out the air shaft without anyone noticing we were gone. When we regrouped we decided to go through the woods as a group then split up when we reached the suburb between trees and meet up at my house out of town. I lived in a small shack in the woods, my parents died several years ago and left me their “fortune” since my father was actually a billionaire with a feel for nature. I didn’t like to spend their money though so I kept my modest house and never moved. Well now you’re caught up with my story, ready to see what happens next ‘cause I’m not.

Chapter 2

                Now you may or may not have noticed that my friends and I are all indeed carnivores and as such need meat to survive. We wouldn’t be herbivores because we wouldn’t be able to defend our own hides, as is the way of the world. I decided I would go try to catch a rabbit or something. Though coyotes are normally scavengers, I am a hunter. With my animal enhanced speed and human intelligence I’m actually a more efficient hunter than a pack of wolves. I manage to bring down a small deer instead and offer it to my companions while I look for other game, preferably rodents. No offense to all you pet owners, rodents just taste better to me than cows and chickens and pigs. That might be because of my natural taste in food. I’m not a picky eater, it’s just that I have three other predators to feed and they prefer deer over much else. Though Haley would like to share a rodent if I manage to catch any, Garret digs right in and welcomes West to join who declines and offers to hunt with me.

                Now West might not have the best attitude, but he’s a heck of a good hunter. His hazel eyes seem to see everything and even though his hair gets in his face, he manages to get away from most fights with what he wants. Hunting is where we both release our tensions and go full out. We corner a buck and I jump onto its rump to confuse it while West goes for the neck. Within minutes the buck is dead and West is dragging it off to eat. I, in the mean time find a nice little rabbit’s burrow and dig out a couple for myself and Haley. Yanking them off into the undergrowth I bring them back to a ravenous falcon that devours two in one sitting, her personal record. I eat little of my rabbit and offer the rest to Haley, I see the sun’s red rays setting over the trees and decide it is time to find West and call it a day. I pad through the bushes and leaves to find West and hear him breathing in a stout tree with a v-shaped branch. He has turned back into his human form and is simply laying there thinking. I whimper and he sees me under the tree, he looks at me with the scowling, yet quizzical look only West can do and signals for me to climb up the tree.

                 I try and climb but coyotes aren’t built for climbing so I slip and he grabs my paw. I shift to my human self and he pulls me up into the tree. He lets loose the pony tail I put in, “You know,” he says, “I think your hair looks better with the au natural look.”A gentle breeze picks up and I lay with him for a while. Sometimes we just rest like this, no reason really beside the comfort of another heart beside our own. Our breaths synchronize and I feel as if we are one, that together we can do anything. Just like everything though, it has to come to an end. “West, let’s go we have to find the others.” I say.  Obviously he doesn’t want to but he doesn’t want me to abandon him either so we jump out of the tree and make our way back.

                When we get back we find that Haley and Garret are already asleep with full bellies near some brushes. I walk a bit until I come to a nice little alcove surrounded by rocks. I looks perfectly safe so I lay down on the lush gr*censored* and drift to sleep. As I sleep, dreams slip in and out of my mind, some good, others not so good. It is after my last nightmare that I wake up, sweat beading my forehead. There had been a voice, taunting me telling me that I was just a kid and that I couldn’t do anything, not since my parents died. It told me to return and give myself in to Him, the one who hunted us, the one who wanted to end us. Then, I saw Him, it was a clouded image, but seeing Him at all was like a slap in the face. I woke up immediately and couldn’t even think of what I’d seen.

                I leaned up and felt that someone’s arm was behind my head. Turning, I saw that West had somehow moved his arm behind my head in my sleep, either that or I rolled on top of his arm in my sleep. Carefully I got up and shifted into my coyote form, trotting of into the woods to find a place to sulk. Hours later I had fallen asleep again and West found me, my fur was wet with tears and he carried me back to the alcove where he left me to go get food. When I decided I should get up I found I was in the alcove, I figured West would go looking for me. I tended to go off and sulk a lot after a bad dream. What I didn’t know was that he was hurt that I didn’t go to him when I was upset, I went to him for companionship and companionship alone. I waited a bit and sure enough West came back with food. It was a rather big rabbit, but the fact that it was a rabbit meant it was for me. He dropped it at my feet and I swallowed it ravenously.

 After I decided to return to human form and find the others. West followed silently as ever and we found Garret and Haley still asleep. We had woken up pretty early though because the sun was just peaking over the horizon. Sitting down, I turned towards West and told him about my dream, this comforted him but also troubled him. The fact that I was having nightmares was not a good thing. It meant that we would meet Him very soon whether we wanted to or not. I started pacing in a very unlady- like fashion when he shot his gaze into a bush about five meters away. Someone was here, watching us, waiting for the moment to strike. We both shifted and moved on the bush, him to the right me to the left. With the intruder surrounded, I leapt at the bush and caught the spy off guard. He had been sleeping near the camp to keep an eye on us until his boss came. Though I didn’t like to kill, this was one of those times where it was either kill or be killed. He knew where we were and he knew that my house was nearby.

I buried the body while West told Garret and Haley where to go. We would meet up at my house and talk more there. Despite West’s demeanor, I considered him my “beta” and trusted him with my commands as well as my life. When West and I decided to get going he set a harsh pace and I had trouble keeping up. “Come on you wimp” or “Catch up already” were among his words of encouragement. He knew that I was tired but he didn’t relent, we needed to get out of the area fast. At around lunch time we had reached my house. I knew though that Garret and Haley wouldn’t arrive for another day because we gave them a route far off from ours. It was to confuse our pursuers to think we were splitting up so they would underestimate us, that and I traveled best with West while Haley and Garret preferred to travel a bit slower. I had no problem with that, I went into the house and looked to make sure all of my valuables were stowed away underground. For tomorrow, I’m going to raise the roof, then burn it all up.

Chapter 3

                As the hours p*censored* I fill my time with cleaning my house and moving all of my belongings into my fire proof basement where I can retrieve it all later. West uses his time looking though my childhood things, pictures of my family and my old toys. I want to let them burn but West convinces me that I’ll regret it later if I do so I move them underground as well. We leave out two queen beds and the kitchen equipment, all expendable and easily replaceable. As the day wanes, I decide to take a short nap. Curling up in my bed I yell, “West keep watch!” But instead of listening to me he comes in and says, “Not before I tuck you in and say goodnight.”  Sometimes he treats me like a child, but then again he’s a junior I’m a sophomore so I am kind of a kid to him anyway.

serenity gives good advice :D

Shao ~ How old are you now? and no problem :) Glad I could help. 

Xia ~ thank you :) I try my best... I like helping others out :)

o________O Thats a big gap.

But, fair enough I understand you don't want to give personal information out :) I just wanted to know to compare your writing skills with your age.

I'm 15 :D