The ShapeShifters Book Two

Learning the Trade

"We were morphs too! Why didn't you bring us with us?" Andrew shook Ollie so hard his brain rattled.

"What did you think that guy did to us after you disappeared with Nick?" Rob loomed in Ollie's vision, sadness and hatred in his eyes.

"We had to join him." Andrew hissed. "Otherwise he would have killed us." His tongue lengthened out into a fork, much like a snake. "Now we come for you."

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Ollie bolted up from his bed, clutching his sheets to his sweating body. Clutching his heaving chest, Ollie saw that it was still night. He looked up, realizing that if he was an inch taller, he would have surely banged his head into the ceiling.

Slowly, he lowered himself down the ladder and crept out of the room. The house was cold and quiet, making the darkness ever more evident. A light was on at the end of the hall, and Ollie couldn't help but follow it.

When he reached the living room, he saw Chris sitting on the couch staring at the helmet previously worn in his hands.

"Chris, I'm sorry!" Ollie made the move to leave.

"Couldn't sleep?" He asked gently, looking up at Ollie with a bit of sadness in his eyes. He patted the couch when Ollie shook his head. "Me neither..." Chris trailed off, letting his fingers trace the edge of the visor.

Ollie didn't quite know what to say, but he had the feeling that this was a time to listen, not speak.

"My life was much like yours." Chris said softly after a minute. "I was different, but I never dreamed of how far people would hate me."

Ollie continued to listen, there for support.

"I never dreamed that my own twin would want me dead." Chris sighed and seemed to slump under the weight of his invisible burdens. "I'm sure you've noticed the relative happy mood of everyone here?"

Ollie nodded, not trusting his words.

"Don't tell anyone else, they don't need these burdens as well."

"Then why are you telling me?" Ollie braved to ask.

"Because you're different, Ollie. I noticed it the moment I saw you. You've seen the darkness for what it is, and I also saw that you have potential."

"That's what Hope said." Ollie breathed.

Chris nodded, locking eyes with Ollie. "She is a very perceptive woman and sees things like I do." He looked away again, putting the helmet off to the side. "The others don't think a war will come to us, that we are safe here, but I have seen what Charles has amassed. He will bring war to us, I just don't know when. You have shown us that we can do more than just become one animal."

Ollie was shocked at that revelation.

"Your gloves didn't work against the nightmares?"

"How did you?" Ollie breathed.

"I'm very perceptive."

"I usually get them." Ollie tried to shrug off how much the dream had scared him. He tried hard to pass it off as nothing, but his dreams often held truth in them.

"Take this." Chris pressed a glowing purple necklace into Ollie's hands. "It's a stronger form of protection and should give you a restful night of sleep. Be wary though, only use it at night, otherwise it will start to have effects on you. We might be immune to small effects of Moon Dust, but we are only so resistant. "

"What is the Moon Dust?" Ollie looked at the necklace now in his gloved hands, wondering what was in it that made it terrifying but required.

"Exactly what it sounds like." Chris gave him a very tired smile. "Phoebe could tell you more, but it is a special mineral that reacts with the signals sent through the neurons in your body. Because our bodies function slightly different than normal, these reactions help tame our more erratic nervous system."