So much for subtlety. The bar is real sturdy. Not sturdy enough. And I�m strong, but he�s stronger. And faster. I�ve never seen anyone take Rob down so easily. Rob says he�s half Orc, but I�m betting the Orc half is way bigger than the other part. All of which means I�m in way out of my depth.
�Here kitty kitty.� He says. �Come out wherever you are.�
Asshole. But he�s given me an idea. I�m not the only predictable one here. It�s like he�s taken all his lines from mediocre Holovids and low budget Dreamscapes. So I shift my weight and let out a small whimper. I just hope he�ll stick to the script.
Thump.
He�s on top of the bar now.
Good.
I let it go. The shift runs through my body like a downbeat. My bones bend and twist. The world changes, focuses. My clothes are ripped to shreds around me but I can see him clearly now. Silloutted in the low light, he�s all monochrome in the darkness. An obstacle.
My muscles, so much more receptive in this form coil back and I slam into him. He falls. I land on top of him. My fur is standing on end. I feel him exhale when he hits the ground. Then I�m running so fast I can hardly feel the floor beneath my paws, avoiding broken glass without thinking.
It�s perfect moving as a panther. I hit the door in no time, throwing my shoulder against it and I�m outside. Rain is falling in large cold drops which run off my fur and cloud my eyes. The crowd has mostly dispersed, the ones left fumbling with their umbrellas. A few are probably frozen in shock as I shoot past. I�m not paying attention to them. I need to get out of here, quickly, before this guy catches me or someone calls animal control.
My apartment is on West Street, so I turn left and take off down the block in that direction. You can�t run and look back, especially not in this form, but fast is better. I don�t want to know what�s on my heels anyway. It�s probably not something good.
An aircar pulls by me at breakneck speed. It turns on a dime and the door is thrown open. I�m just about to veer away from it when I hear Maxis yell, �Get in!�
He�s sitting, one hand held on the wheel, in the other hand what looks like a gun. Pointed at me. And firing. Bullets whiz past my ears. I�m jumping when I hear them impact, dull thuds and grunts. My claws latch on to the seat as the door closes behind me and Maxis steps on the accelerator.
Slam. The impact throws me against the back of the chair. It�s only then I wonder how he knew it was me. I mean, the resemblence only goes as far as the eyes. But I�m not changing back to ask him. Unlike in the vids, the clothes don�t shift with you.
�I was just about to call you. But I figured you were still with Rob.� He sounds embarassed. And guilty.
Yup, Rob was like ten feet from me the entire time. Even if I had the equipment for talking right now, I�d probably keep my mouth shut. Maxis is strange. Aside from another Junglestorm baby, I can�t think of anyone who would just sit and talk with me like this: fur and all, like I�m not an animal. And I know he can�t be one of us. No child born with the Junglestorm defect has ever manifested the talent. I know. They did studies. It�s impossible.
So I watch the rain fall against the window until Maxis slows the aircar down and sets it on auto. Then he leans over the seat, rifles around in the back and pulls out a large pullover. He tosses it to me. �Go ahead, change.�
I nod, too shocked to think and wait for him to turn around.