<-My Life->

~Chapter Six~

~Chapter Six~

I woke up in the morning to sunlight streaming through my eyelids. Getting up and blinking slowly, I remembered the outcome of our scouting last night. It went pretty well, actually. Leah, Becca, and Sarah all got out of the aviary without a problem, and we even found a route we could take. It leads behind the exhibits where only employees go, and it leads to a door at the front entrance of the zoo.

After we go through there, we would hide in the shack with the special foods (things like minerals and such), that the animals only get once a week, and that was yesterday according to Kat. It's about twenty feet from the door we'd be coming out of, so we'd have to be careful in that area. Feeling a lot better since we have a firm plan set up, I stretched out my back and neck, hearing a couple cracks.

I shifted into a tiger just to feel around everyone's connection, but no one was in their animal form yet. With that, I shifted back into my regular human form and sat in the peace and quiet. I could hear some birds chirping from the aviary, but that was the only evidence that I wasn't the only one left in this world. I just sat there for about an hour, until I felt a little tap in my brain. I shifted back to a tiger and listened for any messages from the group.

Em?,

it was Kat.

Yeah,

I replied.

Leah, Becca, and Sarah are wondering how they're going to get the right keys for everyone fast enough not to get caught.

Crap. I didn't even think that the guard might notice her keys gone sooner than we hoped. I didn't exactly know how to reply to her, so I just said the first thing that came to my mind.

I really don't know how they're going to do it. I guess they just have to shift back and forth at every exhibit. As for the guard, I can't really make a plan for that. She might sleep through it, she might not.

There was a silence on her end for a couple minutes, which meant she was probably lost in thought.

Okay,

she said at last.

Sighing, I tried communicating with the rest of the group. They were all awake now, and all in their animal forms.

Hey guys. Everyone good and ready for tonight?

I sent out the message to all of them. Everyone started talking all at once I was getting a headache. I caught most of it though. They were saying they were good and ready, but still nervous about what would happen if it didn't work or if we got caught.

Okay okay guys!

I shouted so they'd stop and listen.

There's a good chance we won't get out tonight, but there's also a big chance this will work and we can get out. So how about just for now, we relax through the day and act like the other animals in the exhibits when the zoo opens. Until then, I suggest that we all switch back so we're not in our forms for too long. You all know what will go down if we let that happen.

Yes; like every stereotypical story of the well-known shapeshifters, there is a catch if Changes stay in their forms for too long. No, we don't just simply 'get stuck' in the animal's body we were in. There's an easy way to get out if you're just stuck.

No. With us, we become the animal. We completely lose control of our human side controlling our shift. We turn into that animal permanantly, and without the human/Change logic to shift back in our brains, we're literally incapable of processing the change back. It's terrible.

They don't know anyone who became their animal, but I did. It was my uncle Tom, who was one of the rarest Changes. He was capable of changing into any animal/living organism on the planet. He could change into a freaking amebia if he wanted to. Anyways, that was a long long time ago, and I was only four.

Sighing groggily to myself, I changed back to my human self, getting used to only using two limbs instead of four, and 'dumbing down' my senses, if you wanted to word it like that. Changing back from an animal with high senses is always a letdown. Not having the amazing sounds, sights, and smells flooding through your whole body is really kind of slightly depressing.

Walking down in the back of the exhibit and hiding myself so I wouldn't be seen in case I lost track of time and the zoo opened, I layed on my back and stared at the sky. Just get through today and I'll be home before I know it, I encouraged myself. Hopefully tonight goes according to plan and we slide through easy-peasy.