Shapeshifter *ON HOLD*

Chapter Five

"Because you have."

Those ominous words whispered interminably in Agnes's mind. The truth struck her like a callous bolt of lightning.

The viredescent eyes. The pang of familiarity. The way she knew all Agnes's secrets.

It all came rushing back, an onslaught of memories threatening to overwhelm her. Everything made sense now.

"It was you," Agnes whispered in wonder.

"Yes," Karmen said grimly, avoiding Agnes's gaze.

"You were the coyote weren't you? The coyote that triggered my Shapeshifting," Agnes wrung her fingers. Karmen nodded, a sigh escaping her lips.

"Then how did you get your powers?" Agnes frowned, squinting.

"It's a long story."

"Tell me."

"No."

"Why?"

"Because I promised."

"Promised who?"

"Fine, I'll tell you to get you to shut up."

Karmen's eyes took on a faraway look, as if recalling something decades away.

"When I was young, I was a poor girl. No money, no food, suffering the merciless invasion of hunger. I was failing in school, and everyone thought of me as none other than a poor kid. They teased me and bullied me, and, I was so frustrated I was going to run away. Then it found me," regret seemed to cross her face abruptly. 

"What did?" Agnes's curiosity was nearly engulfing her.

Karmen inhaled sharply, but just couldn't process the words. She swallowed several times, pinching her arm. Held back in the prison of hesitation, she couldn't speak for a while.

"I...just..." she trailed off, appearing very uncomfortable indeed.

"What found you?" Agnes was submerged by interest.

"I...well...it," Karmen stuttered, eyes darting all over the place,"that's another story for another time."

"What?!" Agnes cried, leaping to her feet,"you can't just tell me half and not the rest!"

"Another time," Karmen repeated. 

"But...but you're basically leaving me hanging off the cliff here! You have to tell me the rest!" 

"Agnes, please. Just stop. I don't want to talk about it right now," Karmen began to walk away, onto the street. Agnes followed, straining to keep up with Karmen's quick pace. 

A few people were watching the stars, or strolling through the park, but mainly there was pure silence. The lustrous street lamps spilled puddles of radiance onto the pavement. The star speckled sky was painted with swaths of purple and blues. Night creatures bustled in the trees, chittering and clacking. The night's scent wasn't very pungent, it smelled like a ray of starlight, a petal of a evening primrose, a fragment of the dark sky.

"I trusted you with my secret, so you should too," Agnes said sharply.

"Not everyone is as naive as you. The world is not a place where trust can be easily earned."

With that Karmen strode on, until she reached the woods near my house.

"I'll leave you here. Have a good night, Agnes," Karmen waved at me, then disappeared into the dark.

"I'm not leaving until you tell me. What found you?" Agnes pressed, infuriation bubbling in her.

Karmen ran, her boots crunching on the fallen leaves, fleeing through the darkness. Agnes sprinted right behind her, the shards of light poking through the branches irradiating her determined face. She was dropping behind, Karmen was far too swift. Only the trenchant calls of an owl rippled out in the night. 

That was when a surge of power hurtled through her.

Hooves thumped the loam where her legs were. Horns weighed down her head. Fur bristled in the wind.

She was one of the fleetest animals on the planet—a pronghorn antelope.

The distance between in her and Karmen were immediately eaten up. Spotting the tired-out figure up ahead, she shifted back to herself. Karmen spotted her.

"Don't come any closer," Karmen warned, fear etched on her face.

"You think I'd listen to you?" Agnes stepped closer.

"Listen, there's danger."

"From what?"

"That..." she pointed behind Agnes.

Agnes twisted her head around, and what she saw was the image of pure death.

I know, such a cliffhanger eh? Please vote if you like it!