Take Me Down

8

"The cat's scent is completely gone," Ethan murmured to John. All the men were back inside, sitting down in the office again. The men all seemed extremely tense as they sat around the desk in the office. Ethan's eye kept twitching and Claudius stood as still as a statue.

"You don't think it was a shapeshifter, do you?" Claudius questioned quietly, and John shook his head. He ran a hand through his hair and sighed.

"Shapeshifters may be the most powerful and unpredictable creatures alive, but one thing we all know for sure is that a shapeshifter can not, no matter what, change their gender. It doesn't work for them, and there are visible signs that shows the proof of that." John stated as I sat in the hallway as a moth, listening in to what they had to say.

I understood why they didn't think it was possible; it was super rare for shapeshifters to be female. Peering at Cornelius, I wondered if he considered the thought as his eyebrow twitched a few times while he looked down at his hands. The men sat silently in the office, all seemingly unsure of what to do next.

I decided to check up on Cassie who was now upstairs in her room, the door locked. I flew up the stairs and slid under the door, checking up on how she was doing.

She laid face down on her bed, sobbing sounds coming from where she lay. She seemed almost as upset as someone who had lost someone to death. Her phone buzzed and she glanced at it, sighing and putting it face down on the bed.

"I just wish I had a real friend like my cat Aria." She whispered, more so to herself than anything, then continued to cry into her pillow. Something inside me broke. 

I decided I would do something nice for a change, even though it was very risky. I flew back down the stairs and out of the open living room window. I got far enough away, hiding from cameras and prying eyes. Landing, my little legs bent and slammed together, melding into two appendages as my body lengthened and hair grew from my head. One shake of my head and my face snapped into place. A pair of green shorts and a black tank top formed from the shedding of skin cells. The clothes looked convincingly real, and if I had to take then off I could. They were lightly fused to my body; it would feel like ripping a band-aid off.

Moving from cover, I passed a car window. A younger version of myself stared back in the reflection. My hair was shorter, in loose curls. I lengthened my eyelashes, something I had always been self-conscience about as a teen. I took a deep breath and composed myself, slowing my heartrate and keeping it at a gentle thump-thump rhythm as I walked down the sidewalk. 

What I was about to do next was reckless.  

Walking up the driveway to the house, I knocked loudly on the front door. 

A few moments later, John answered and I half smiled.

"Hi, I just moved to this place and I'm kinda lost. Do you know where a gas station is? My parents must be worried and my phone died so I can't contact them." I spoke in a young voice, as convincingly as I could. I softened my gaze at John as he looked down at me curiously. Almost as if shocked to see a young girl on his front steps. 

"Uh, here. Come on in. What's your name?" He pushed the door wide open and I entered. I peered around, as if seeing the place for the first time. Head tilted back and eyes slowly taking in every object nearby, I waited for John to pass in front of me. He hadn't known the name of Cassie's cat, so I decided--

"Aria," I continued to wander inward, waiting for him to offer up his phone to make a call. Slowly turning around, I pushed a loose strand of my hair behind my ear.

"What a beautiful name. Here, just use my phone." He said as he handed me his phone. I looked around for somewhere to sit down and seemingly spotted the couch. I walked over to the living room as John followed my movements with his eyes. I called one of Avery's fake numbers and put it on speaker phone.