Shifters [Discontinued]

Chapter 3

"Simon, where are you hiding? Dinner's ready!"

"Coming Mama!"

"There you are baby boy! What have you been doing?"

"Practicing."

"Practicing? Practicing what?"

"Fighting in my animal form. That way if we ever get caught I can protect us."

"Well then I'm very lucky to have you by my side."

...

Outside the bunker entrance belonging to the Chief and higher ranking Protectors, a small crowd had now gathered at the entrance; the Shifters who'd been witness to Josh's earlier cries of panic having followed the boys, in an attempt to listen in on what was being said. The same dark skinned teen who'd encouraged the rest earlier was now the same one who edged further forward to hear better, with a smaller and younger boy following him as well, the two sharing an inquisitive glance with each other.

The Chief's deep voice echoed loudly - though muffled - up into the open world. "Ahh now, Josh. It is Josh, isn't it?" They could hear the introduction being made, more of them crowding round the entrance until they were squashed up tightly together, one of them having to grab a small blond boy as he almost got accidentally pushed down the steps into the darkness.

"No Sir, Simon," came the blond's polite tones.

"Simon," the man exclaimed as if he'd known that all along and was greeting an old friend, "I knew your mother well," he commented, like he were reminiscing on fond memories. "And...your companion?"

"My friend Sir, Josh." Simon's polite tone dropped a little at the man's blatant lie. The Chief definitely hadn't known his mother. No one at the hideout except for him had ever known his mother.

The coolness in his voice didn't seem to go noted by the man however. "Your friend...ah, now, do tell me how I can help you," he continued to speak in a lazy voice, slumping further back into his large chair, sounding like helping was the last thing on his mind.

Simon had the feeling this wasn't going to go well as he and Josh stood before the man in charge, a Shifter of sixty five years who took on the form of a red deer. In his prime he might have been an athlete, good looking even, but now he was fat and grey with the beginnings of arthritis in his hands.

A few feet away from the conversation, Tobi stood around the corner, in the area just outside of the main chamber and out of view of the Chief, pretending not to listen by keeping his eyes diverted but paying just as much attention as he would have if he'd been part of the chatter as well. Although he'd been trained from a young age into following direct orders, he nevertheless was curious as to what these two had to say. Sometimes they'd have Shifters coming here begging for extra rations or permission off work but Simon didn't seem like the type of guy to be after that, and he had been very insistent that they both saw the man in charge.

Simon and Josh shared a look. "Well," Simon began, "he says there's a bad danger coming to our hideout." Next to him Josh nodded his head vigorously and Tobi shifted his gaze slightly so he could get a better view, even more intrigued by this little event at the word "danger".

"A bad danger..." the Chief said slowly, reaching forward in his chair and picking up a chicken wing from the massive plate in front of him. He did not look at all interested and emphasised this by chewing loudly while the boys waited for his answer, then proceeding to turn away from them and reach for a bottle of wine on the shelf behind him.

Simon and Josh looked exasperatedly at each other while they were completely ignored. Was this really the guy they were supposed to look up to and respect? Simon found it extremely hard to keep his patience as this man had his fill in front of him while he himself was still hungry. "How very upsetting," the man finally answered, not sounding at all upset, as he downed another few gulps of wine. Looking back over his shoulder he asked: "Now...what sort of danger I wonder?"

"I don't know, but it's bad, it's so bad," Josh fretted, his whole body shaking in nervousness as he thought back to his vision of the field and the trees, of how ominous it had been. Tobi inwardly winced. He knew those were not the sort of words that were going to persuade the Chief into doing anything.

"Well now..." the Chief sighed, stretching out his limbs tiredly. "What ought we to do?"

"Go away, all of us, now," Josh continued to insist urgently, his voice echoing off the concrete walls of the bunkers. Now Tobi didn't really know the boy, but he knew pure fright in someone's voice when he heard it. A lot of the others thought the senses the guy claimed to have were a load of nothing and maybe they were, but there was no denying that this Josh was most definitely scared.

The old man however shot a disdainful glance back at the boy. "Now? In May? The season for gathering food stocks?" he ridiculed, looking disgusted that they were even suggesting such a proposal. "And where would we go to?" He was merely playing along for show now, Tobi could tell. He had no intentions of listening to anything Simon or Josh had to say.

"Well he's had these feelings before," Simon stepped in defensively, sharp enough to know when they were losing the battle, "and he's been right again and again." Josh nodded silently and earnestly beside him.

Another long pause, and then the Chief was mumbling: "I shall have to consider this very carefully." Tobi smiled thinly and shook his head. That was a lie if he'd ever heard one. It was clear Josh knew he was being played too, as he nervously began darting his head around, as if he were worried the danger he was on about was going to get him right where he stood at that very moment.

Back above ground, a young, skinny Asian teen was daring enough to lean his head down over the top of the entrance, eager to hear the end of the conversation. "...perhaps we'll discuss it later in the summer," was all he caught before the stern face of the Captain was leering down upon him, glaring him away.

Meanwhile Josh was not taking the Chief's blatant dismissal very well. "We can't wait! We can't wait!" he proclaimed, pacing back and forth quickly before making a dash for the exit, knocking past Tobi unapologetically in the process.

The younger boy sent a glare towards the retreating figure but there was no menace behind it. He was brought up as a Protector but the unnecessary bullying he witnessed from some of the others often made his skin crawl. Josh was weird, but he was harmless, no need to get angry and overreact about anything.

Simon stared as Josh tore out of the bunker, a frown on his face as he was dismissed by the Chief. "Well it's been good of you to come...um, Steven," the man grunted, returning to his meal without another word.

The young blond looked in surprise at Tobi still standing there, glanced back to the Chief, took a step away, glanced back once more, before he sighed and finally took after his friend, keeping his head down as he passed the younger boy, Tobi pressing himself against the wall this time to make sure he wasn't shoved again. The expression on his face was dark, Tobi noted, but there was also a glimmer of determination there, behind the blue eyes.

Looking back to the main chamber, Tobi listened. It was quiet and he had stayed hidden around the corner so maybe he could just turn very slowly and creep away...

"Tobi!" the voice shouted out authoritatively and the young Protector froze in his tracks, doing his best to keep his breathing silent. He edged away another few steps only to be cut off again. "Tobi..." the Chief growled once more. It looked like there was no escaping this one.

"Sir?" Tobi inquired, turning his head back.

"What was that all about?" he demanded.

Tobi sighed, walking around the corner so he was in view. "Well Sir–" he started respectfully.

"Your duty as a Protector is to do exactly that, protect this hideout," the man warned, glaring down at the boy.

"Yes Sir," Tobi gave a short nod of his head as the Chief continued to chastise him.

"And those two lunatics had better keep quiet," he ordered, and Tobi knew he was being given unspoken permission to use force if needed be.

No matter how he felt on the matter, Tobi knew his place and nodded once again in assurance. "Yes Sir," he repeated.