A "Winds of Change" Story
"The less we wait, better our chances to be far enough away from here before they make sure I went to class. And with that, we might be able to avoid getting spotted by the doctor or Todd's dad long enough that we won't be sent back."
I thought about that for a second. I'd been around long enough to know almost every inch of backwoods, especially near the schools. Before my sophomore year was up and I got my car, I had scouted the area that Todd had bolted off to many a time while waiting for my Dad to pick me up. I didn't ride the bus home, and my Dad was often later than 5 o'clock to pick me up. So to pass the time, I just explored the woods a bit, making sure that no one followed me.
I nodded and ran out one of the doors that exited the hall and ran towards the gate. As soon as I was out, I shifted to norm, running just fast enough that Michael could keep up with me. We went headlong into the woods, following one of the oldest trails that I remember forging a few years ago.
But still, it was like I had never walked it before. I was nearly overwhelmed by the new scents and sounds. I could literally smell the leaves on the branches, I could hear the kids still playing out in the field near the school, even though we were over half a mile away. It was practically overwhelming, and I had to stop a few times to sneeze the smell of pine needles and underbrush out of my nostrils so I could scent any nearby raccoons.
Michael was having his own problems, too. The air was losing its summer warmth, and a chill was creeping in. He was starting to get sluggish and tired a bit, so I let him warm up against me a couple of times as I stopped to catch the scent again. Raccoons were fairly common in our area, so picking one out with a hint of fur shampoo was no easy task.
Still, I tried to keep hold to the one that I thought was Todd and follow it as close as I could, but as far away from the original group as possible. I had purposefully taken a different route than they had, and was approaching from the east. In fact, I had taken a longer route, and soon I was completely lost. But there wasn't a chance that I was about to tell Michael that. I followed a scent that was a little stranger than most, and something told me that it was Todd. I didn't know, and I wasn't about to ask. These new senses were so acute, and I wasn't about to go against them.
It was after Michael and I had trudged onward for over an hour that I scented something. A zebra. Before I let my instincts kick in, I quickly shifted back to morph and stopped in my tracks. I was met in the back with a solid WHUMPH as Michael and I collapsed into the grass.
"OW! Mano! Give me warning next time!" Michael said, dazed more from the temperature than the collision.
I helped him off the ground and smiled, "Sorry. Thought I'd better change back. I smelled Stripes out there. No use in putting two friends in danger."
"Stripes? Man, all I smell is pine trees and coastal air." he said in some frustration. I could tell he was a little cold.
"You gonna be okay?"
"I'll be fine." He pointed to a ridge overlooking a small pond. "Let's head up there and get our bearings. I think you led us on a wild goose chase. The others headed that way." He nodded in a southerly direction.
"You wanted to go where you wouldn't be seen. I just took a longer route. They went south, probably through some people's yards. I stayed in the woods—"
I was cut off by the rustle of leaves from under the ridge. We climbed to the top and looked down, and my eyes were greeted with a most welcome sight. Below, Stripes—who was STILL in norm, zebra noses must be sharper than I thought—and Jim were frantically searching some of the bushes around the pool. I opened my mouth to call out,. but Michael caught me.
"Let's not let anyone know, ok? We aren't supposed to be out here, remember?"
I nodded assent and closed my mouth as Michael took his hand away. I pondered aloud, "If you were a raccoon, where would you hide?" I saw Stripes' ears swivel towards me and I knew instantly that we were spotted.
Michael saw it too, "Well, damn. Nice going, Mano."
"Would you hush up?" I said, a little disgusted.
Stripes shifted from his norm and called up to us, "Mano! Michael! What are you doing up—"
"We're not supposed to be here," I answered. "If my Dad and Dr. Chin comes by anytime soon, which they should, knowing my Dad, we are NOT up here, okay?"
Stripes gave me a sly smile, "I gotcha. You AREN'T up there." I didn't know what to say to that, but I trusted him enough. "Aren't you guys going to come down here to look?"
Michael answered that one, "We'd better not. If we want to stay a part of the search, we've got to keep out of sight. They'd send us back if they found us. And I'm NOT about to trek back to school."
Jim looked up from his search and nodded quickly, then started thumbing through the brush again. I called to Stripes, "I thought Ms. Kent went with you."
"She did," Jim said, not looking up, "She's searching in another part of the woods not too far from here." I nodded, and Michael prodded my side, pointing over to a clearing behind a small set of trees. There, I could see a small blotch of orange sniffing the ground furiously. I looked above and I could see both Dr. Chin and Michael's dad floating into the clearing that held the lake. They landed, and shifted to morph.
Michael whispered to me, "You think they saw us?"
"No. At least I hope not. I'm also surprised we arrived here before they did. But then again, we were just running with a scent, not really searching." I answered. Stripes and Jim went over to Dr. Chin and Michael's father and filled them in on what they'd found, which was basically nothing.
It was then that I heard the radio crackle for the first time. I flinched at the noise, "Michael, turn it down! Has it been going off all this time?"
"From time to time, yes. Didn't you hear it when you were in norm?"
"No. I was kinda preoccupied." Michael nodded.
The radio fizzled, "Matt? Where are you? I've found David and Jim."
The reply came back, "So have I. Right behind you Harry." The two dropped their radios and met, my Dad coming in through the trees into the clearing. I slunk back behind the ridge and cast my glance upwards. The sun was sliding lower in the horizon, and clouds gathered over head. Michael kept watch over the group as they came together, and I kept watch on the skies. My heart sank as they grew darker, and fell to a record low as the first few raindrops started falling. My Dad always told me it was harder to track in the rain. Slowly, as I tolerated the cold splatters, that had begun falling on me, I trained my attention back below, at the lake's edge. I could hear their conversation from below, and they all concluded that the trail led here.
I felt a little odd. My Dad was no slouch at tracking, and apparently Stripes wasn't either. I didn't think I was, so SOMEthing had to have lead us all to here. A bird fluttered away from a branch in the canopy and I watched it fly off. I couldn't do anymore in the search, at least until my father and the rest left.
Michael poked me, "Mano?" Again, "Uh, Mano??"
"Yeah? What is it?" I said, looking back.
"You're not going to believe this, but Stripes is tipping them off!"
I whirled around, and looked over the ridge. Sure enough, Stripes and his stupid zebra grin was pointing to out position. My father gazed up at me and stared me in the eye, but I couldn't tell if he was mad or not. Instead of running up and throttling me, he turned on the radio.
Our receiver said, "Weren't you staying back, Mano? And Michael, your teachers are going to be worried sick."
I grabbed it and said back, "You know me, Dad. I'm just taking control of my life." I said grinning back.
I saw him sneer, then break out in laughter, "Ok, have it your way, son. You see anything on your way here?"
"Nothing other than a traitorous zebra." I said, growling audibly at Stripes. "Of course you know, this means war." He just stuck his tongue out at me.
"Come on down, guys," my Dad said. "Might as well have you all here." Michael and I strode down the ride and through to the lake. We joined the group, and I put myself as far away from Stripes as I could. I was a little annoyed at him, but there wasn't any animosity. He was too good a friend to get mad at.
Dr. Chin spoke, "So, no one's turned up anything?" Everyone shook their heads.
"Other than a faint scent, Harry, nothing. Like a mixture of raccoon and shampoo." My father said. He sniffed the air and added, "Kind of heavy around here, though. I'd say Todd's been here recently. But things are getting harder to tell with this rain, and the night's going to cut visibility a bit."
I looked about, and an idea popped into my head, "Todd could still be here. Anyone gone across the lake yet?" The pond that was in the clearing stretched from end to end, and the sides separated the clearing into two distinct parts. The only way to either part from the other was through the lake.
Unless you could fly. Stripes and Jim shook their heads in response to my question. Dr. Chin and Michael's Dad quickly took to the wing and floated over the lake, landing on the other side. The doctor took the radio and called through it.
"Ok, Matt? Go ahead and put some feedback through the unit." I wondered just what Dr. Chin was referring to, but just then my father placed a piece of metal against the radio, and a high-pitched squeal emitted from my unit.
Michael quickly turned the sound down, "So that's what that was earlier," He said. "I thought the radio was broken."
My Dad shook his head, "Nope. We've been using loud noises to try to flush Todd out of any hiding places. We've seen a few deer and quite a lot of birds, but no raccoons yet."
The rest of us watched hopefully. I could hear the shrill -beeeeeeeep- from across the pond, but only faintly. Dr. Chin pointed the speaker all over the place, but nothing more than birds fluttered out of the trees. The rain was scrambling the signal slightly, and the monotonous peal of the feedback was reduced to an intermittant, pulsating blast.
It was then that Michael's dad pointed over to a small hollow log that rested next to the lake. Dr. Chin pointed the screeching radio into the log, and almost instantly a small black and white blur exploded from the other end, scrambling up a nearby tree.
"THERE HE GOES!" Michael shouted. I, on the other hand, said nothing. I only ran as fast as I could towards the lake and dove in, shifting to my norm to try to get across as fast as possible. Lions are powerful swimmers in their own right, and I was across in almost no time flat. I did watch as Dr. Chin took a careful shot at Todd with his tranquilizer gun, missing only slightly. The blast of the firearm sent my instincts wild, and it was harder than ever to supress them. I pulled myself up onto the shore, shifting to morph and still shoving those instincts below.
Dr. Chin took aim again, but I stopped him this time. "Mr. Eiriksson, are you any good at catching prey? I know you're not a raptor or anything, and it's raining, but..."
He got my idea, "I'll try my best, Mano." With that, he shifted to his norm toucan and took off, towards the still scampering Todd. I could see the water soaking into his feathers, burdening his flight. With the last reserve of his strength, he caught up to his son and grabbed him in his claws, holding him still and pressing him down to the branch that he was on.
It was only a split-second that Todd was surprised and froze before he struggled away from his father, but Dr. Chin took advantage of the moment. He aimed hastily and fired, the syringe striking Todd in the shoulder. Both Mr. Eiriksson and Todd were thrown off balance, and they plummeted from the rain-slick branch. Todd's father shifted to morph to try to balance himself before falling, but to no avail. He soon followed his son down to the forest floor.
There was a hard, muffled thud as Todd hit the ground. And a thud, accompanied by a sickening -crunch- as Mr. Eiriksson followed.
"Oh... shit." I heard my father breathe on the radio. Dr. Chin and I ran to where Mr. Eiriksson had struck and found him there, in morph, clutching his sedated and still norm son to his chest. One of his wings was twisted painfully around his back and he flinched in agony as he breathed.
"Mr. Eiriksson," I said, slowly, "Are you ok?"
He moaned, "Oh God. OhGodOhGodOhGod...." He held the raccoon to his chest, sobbing bitterly.
Dr. Chin tried to pry Todd from his father's arms, but Mr. Eiriksson jerked away, grimacing as best a toucan can, "I landed ON him, for Christ's sake." He parted his arms slightly and exposed Todd's right hind leg.
It was destroyed, broken in God knows how many places.
The radio called out. It was Stripes, "WHAT HAPPENED? ARE THEY OKAY???"
I took the radio and spoke back, slowly, "Yeah. They're okay."
My Dad spoke up, "What's broken? You can't keep that sound away from these ears."
Dr. Chin responded, "Mr. Eiriksson's wing, and Todd's hind leg. Todd is compound. VERY compound."
There was a long silence, broken only by the patter of the rain.
"Let's get them both ack to the hospital. I think we're finished here." My dad finally said.
I turned my gaze to Todd, and wondered just what the hell to do now. I could only think of one thing.
I looked to Dr. Chin, "You've still got that cell phone on you?"
He bobbed his head in acknowledgement and fished it from a pocket. I flipped it open and dialed a few numbers I knew by heart. The sun was almost gone under the horizon. School had let out long ago, and I was pretty sure that she was working tonight.
A very, VERY familiar voice picked up on the other end: "County Health Services, this is Mrs. Jacobson speaking. How can I help you?"
"Ma?" I said.
"Daniel? Is that you?" My mother said.
"Yeah, it's me. Can you get the rest of the evening off?"
I could hear my mother gasp on the other end, "What is it? What's wrong?!?"
"Todd lost it, I think we're going to need your help."
There was silence, then, "I'll make the time, love. Where should I meet you?"
"The hospital. We're going to take him there."
"Okay. I'll see you there."
"Oh, and Mom? Dad'll be there."
There was a pause, "I see. I'll be there. Bye, love."
"Bye Mom." And I hung up.
Dr. Chin looked at me, "And that was for?"
"My mother has an Inducer Power. I think
that she can help Todd out."
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