The Wild Ones - Part 2 - The Catalyst

6.

"Do you think they're OK?" Max asked, squinting past the bars.

"Well, yeah, probably. I mean, at worst whoever helped them in called the police on them. And if that happens we'll see them coming so..."

Becky turned away from the gate and sighed. The crash landing had somewhat distracted herself and Max, but now they were back to waiting. In silence. Both wary of the other.

Ordinarily Becky was never the bigger person, but she decided to try it out for once.

"Look, Max--"

"Don't," he immediately warned, not even bothering to look in her direction.

"No it's not about that," Max turned to look at her. She avoided his eye line. "You said I did something to you. That I made you say that stuff somehow," she drifted off, clearly trying to run thoughts through her mind.

"Yeah. Something happened," Max took his guard down.

"Can you explain it a bit more?" she asked. Max was somewhat confused at her intense curiosity of the subject.

"Well I dunno. It was like I felt compelled to tell you. No, 'compelled' isn't the right word. I felt comfortable around you. As if I'd known you for years and that I could tell you anything. But it was more intense that anything I'd felt before. Maybe because it was so sudden," Max shrugged.

Becky bit her lip. It was as if she was hearing about a totally separate person, and was both shocked and interested to find out more.

"I didn't do anything on purpose. You know that right?" she said at last.

Max nodded, "I can tell. This has never happened before?"

"I'm trying to think now. I'm literally having to go back over my own life and question when I could have done this. Or what 'this' even is."

"Maybe you emit some kind of relaxant or truth serum?" Max suggested.

"I guess, but why?"

"That's kinda the big question about everything, no?" Max gave a slight smile. Becky sighed and turned away, still locked in her thoughts. "My uncle used to tell me about shapeshifters with other abilities," Max continued, "It's not that uncommon."

"I know. I've heard of a few people around school. They're normally watched over closely by just about every authority figure," Becky replied.

"There was a guy a couple of years back who could turn into a moth. His powers started to leak, as people called it. He began to be able to change his actual human skin, very subtly at first, to blend in with surfaces he came in contact with. Like chameleons, I guess. But then, on the other hand, there was a guy who could change into a camel, but developed super strong hearing. It seems to be fairly at random," Max said, shuffling rocks with the tip of his shoe.

Becky didn't want this power. It was a burden. Shapeshifting to begin with was more trouble than it was worth, but now she apparently had an uncontrollable gift on top of it.

"What happened to the moth man?" she asked.

"He got arrested for burglary. He was found naked in a bank one morning, pushed up against a wall."

"Naturally."

They smiled. Max felt that air of calm surround him again. It was natural this time, however.

"Max," Becky started, before stopping and looking back through the bars of the gate. "You don't have to tell me anything else if you don't want to. I, apparently unintentionally, pried where I shouldn't have. I'm hardly the most trustworthy gal around town. It's cool. What I know stays between us and I won't delve any further."

Max sighed aloud and turned to the gate too. He didn't want her to know any more. He didn't want anyone to. But he felt he had to. To justify himself, the little that he could.

"I have to tell you the whole story; soon. Naturally I didn't want you to know, but if you're going to you might as well know everything. But please know that...I'm not evil, I guess. It wasn't done out of rage or spite. I didn't even..." he drifted off, the words failing him.

The two stared out to the distance. A sharp breeze drifted by and caught them off-guard. They shivered. A few moments later Becky realised she was still shaking. The cold had gone and unease had set in.