Broken

Chap23~Fighting

"For shifting back, just think about yourself as a human. Once you've shifted back we're going to do a little bit of fighting stuff."
I did what she said and found myself standing on two human feet again in a matter of seconds. I looked to my left and saw Katie, no longer a little raccoon.
"What kind of fighting stuff?" I asked.
"Just some beginners hand-to-hand combat."
She began teaching us how to throw proper punches and how to block hits.
"Now, I want you to try something. I'm going to start throwing a punch at you, and I want you to shift before I can hit you." She began to ready herself to punch. I knew in a rela fight I wouldn't have this much time. I began to focus and could feel the change this time. It was like a strange sense of nothingness, a moment where I no longer existed, and then it all came back into ultra focus, and I wasn't human anymore. I felt air woosh over me as her fist swung through the empty air human me had just occupied. I ran behind her before she could adjust and strike again. As she began to turn around I ran between her legs, trying to confuse her.
"Good job, Cameron. That would be a really good tactic in a fight. And if this was real, right after running between the legs, you'd want to jump up and attack."
I nodded my furry head in agreement.
"Before you change back, I want you to try changing to another animal, whatever you want. That's something you need to learn, shifting from form to form. If a fox is no longer helpful, you may need a fish, if you are fighting near water and need to get away fast. Just an example, please don't change into a fish here."
I began to focus on a cat. I used to have a cat, but she died a year ago. She was an orange and white tabby. I opened my eyes and found that I had changed into her.
"A cat may not be useful in a fight but nice job Switching like that. That's the name for changing to another form without going back to human first."
I changed back to my human form.
"Yeah, I kind of figured that a small cat wouldn't be the most useful, but the cat I changed into was a cat I had. She died a year ago, though."
"Oh, I'm sorry. I know how it feels. So, are you up to learning some more fighting technique."
"Definitely."
"Ok. Try to punch me and I'll show you how to catch a fist."
"Like they do in movies?"
"Exactly."
I tossed my fist at her and she whipped a hand out and met it, grabbing my hand.
"Ok. Now, we'll slow it down a little. I'll try to punch you, but you grab my fist first."
She began to move her fist toward me, though very slowly. I moved my hand outwards in her direction and missed. My hand swung through empty air.
"That was good for your first try. This time try putting mo-"
Ms. Callaghan was cut off by a guy bursting through the door.
"The alarms are broken! You need to evacuate NOW! Go to the bedroom wing and go to the door straight down at the very end of the hallway. You are the last ones that need to get there. Everybody else is already there. When you get there. Lock and barricade the door. The humans are attacking!"