Dragonshift

by Linton Bowers

  “Unless,” I blurted out before any of the zombies moved. “You can give me a better offer than just being untied in my cell. The food you brought me was nowhere near enough.”

  “Oh, I see. You want to negotiate. Very well, here is my final offer. Go back willingly and you get top-notch meals and I’ll have a television and some movies brought up as an added bonus for your cooperation. Is that good enough?”

  “I suppose that could work.” I haven’t came up with a plan that would work. If I could get more food and not have my ass handed to me it was worth a little walk back to my cell.

  Lassiter’s laughter fell from all of his zombies and echoed through the room. “Oh, that’s rich. You shit all over my hospitality and then expect to get a damn television? Beating you up costs me nothing and doesn’t violate my contract. Sorry for your luck, Terry.”

  The zombies chuckled as they all stepped forward. I spun toward the door and it opened just before I reached it. Zombies stood shoulder to shoulder filling the hallway and blocking my path. It was my best bet. I hit the first zombie, but it didn’t fall back, couldn’t fall back. The press of bodies behind her kept her from falling back. Instead, she was pushed forward.

  A hand clamped down on my shoulder and spun me around. Three zombies hit me in the head simultaneously. It was an impressive bit of coordination, but since it hurt like hell, I didn’t spend much time mentally praising Lassiter. In just a few seconds I was swarmed and wrapped up in more arns than I could count on all my fingers and toes.

  Chapter 16

  They dumped me hard on the floor of my cell knocking my breath clean out of me. I rolled around attempting to breathe until my diaphragm figured out it had a job to do.

  Once I drew breath, I flopped onto my back. Everything hurt.

  Lassiter had his monsters beat me until every square inch hurt. Just the act of breathing hurt making me loath the thought of moving a muscle.

  One thing gave me the strength to lift my head through the pain. The strength to roll over and push up to my hands and knees. The memory of telling my turtle the one true power I have. We are never alone.

  While I was alone in that cell, I was part of something greater. I pushed up to a kneeling position and groaned. My muscles felt like pulped plant matter but I demanded they continue to move. The most amazing people I have ever met counted on me to stand up and be there for them. I rose on shaking legs.

  My actions hurt my Tua, the ones I love. Through my actions, I would make it right.

  My left foot raised and lowered taking me one step closer to the door. Agony in my thigh and knee resulted in a groan and eye roll. I took another step and stumbled, catching myself on the wall. Leaning on said wall, taking a moment for the pain to subside. While I rested my hand rubbed at the spot on my chest where the Tua marks lived. I didn’t dare pull again, but the presence of them gave me strength.

  Break time over.

  The door wasn’t repaired from my first escape, so it pushed open. No zombies waited in the hall, but that meant little. This escape I went left since right lead right to a zombie army. The hallway turned then went to another dead end door. Apprehension and deja vu sent chills of fear down my spine.

  I gritted my teeth and pushed down the memories of the beating I took at zombie hands. The door opened into darkness.

  “Fuck,” I mumbled. I knew this dance.

  I took a step back then heard the telltale click of a light switch.

  “I did so hope you would try again,” the voice of Lassiter came from the zombie at the head of a group of hundreds. “This is going to be a lot of fun, Terry.”

  Something large and grey fell on the lead zombie pinning it to the ground. The form on top of the zombie bit into his head and moaned as she chewed.

  “Ah hee!” A large kangaroo at the back of the formation shouted as she leapt into the air. The transformed Roo landed in the center of the zombies knocking a bunch down like they were bowling pins. She boxed any zombie that got into punching range.

  A large black drone floated up from behind the zombies and opened up with twin mini-guns. The drone racked twin line of hell across the zombie formation as it flew from the far side of the room.

  “Heads up!” Amy shouted as she stopped shooting and passed over me. Something fell from the drone as it turned a tight circle and began her next attack run.

  My glasses landed in my hand and I quickly put them on. I was greeted with a closeup of zombie heads exploding while the large drone flew by. It was glorious!

  “We need to go,” Riley said as she stood up and wiped blood from her mouth. “Roo and the machine will keep them busy. Come on.”

  Riley took my hand and ran through the door I used to enter the zombie storage space. Trying to keep up was agony. My legs moved, but not fast enough. A few feet into the hallway and I stumbled then fell on my face.

  “Terry!” Riley pulled me to my feet by my arm like I was a toddler. “Can you run?”

  “No, not really.”

  Without another word the Drop Bear picked me up like a damsel in distress and cradled me in her arms. “I’m not really fast, but I think this will be faster than walking at your pace.”

  Every jarring step she took sent a ripple of pain out from where her arms touched my back and legs and into the rest of me. “Thanks for this,” I said between grunts of pain.

  “You’re welcome, silly. This is what your papa sent us for, so, no need to thank us.”

  “Thanks anyway,” I said. “I couldn’t even begin to imagine what was in store for me.”

  “Oh, that’s easy,” Riley said as she entered the room I had been held captive in. “John Lassiter would have turned you over to Acashia and she would have sucked out your soul and become stronger.”

  “Oh, so, no big deal,” I replied sarcastically.

  “Exactly.”

  “Why are we in here?” I asked. “This is where they were keeping me. There is no way out other than the door we came through.”

  “No, that’s not right.” She looked around with a perplexed look on her face. “The machine said.. oh! There it is.”

  Riley stepped up to a sheet of plywood nailed to the wall. With me still in her arms she awkwardly grabbed the edge and yanked back. Pain echoed through my nerves as the board came free and crashed to the ground. Bright sunlight cut through the dust kicked up by the felled board.

  “A fucking window,” I said. “I’ll be damned. All this time there was a window right there.”

  “Yup, and now we are free.” Riley jumped through the window carrying me to freedom. She ran to a faded green minivan and pulled open the side door. She gently set me inside and I climbed into the closest seat behind the passenger chair. The Drop Bear closed the door then entered the driver’s side, and we took off. Tires squealed as we took corners at over forty miles an hour. Grabbing the seat in front of me I held on for dear life. Every turn threatened to send me flying through a glass window.

  The van skidded to a stop pushing my face into the back of the seat. When the g-forces subsided enough I saw the reason for our sudden stop. Hundreds of Lassiter zombies marched in formation toward us. They were ten abreast and took up the width of the street. Each of the troopers held a mean-looking rifle with all sorts of equipment sticking off of them. Those rifles were raised up in unison with the business ends pointed at our vehicle.

  “I think we need to go, now!” I shouted.

  “Yup,” the Drop Bear replied as she threw the vehicle in reverse.

  The tires barked as they spun on the asphalt. The booming cacophony of weapons being fired was met with holes appearing in the windshield. Riley and I both screamed as rounds whizzed by our heads. I dropped to the floor and Riley lowered herself in the seat. She spun the wheel hard and hit the brakes. The van spun around and she put it in drive. Now rounds punched neat holes in the back glass and through the metal of the rear door. Our screams continued.

  I felt the impact as a round hit my shoulder. Then
another one hit me in the right thigh. The car lurched as we hit a turn at well over sixty. The top end leaned far to the side, and I feared we would tip over. The two wheels on the left side chirped from leaving the ground just barely enough to still make occasional contact, Rilley straightened us out.

  She put the hammer down and the minivan jerked as it sped up. As we came to an intersection she slammed on the brakes sending me painfully into the seat back. The executed another turn, but much slower than punched it again.

  “Where are we going?” I had to shout the question to be heard over the engine and the sound of air whistling through the holes in the windshield.

  “We have to meet up with Roo,” Riley replied.

  “And the drone?”

  A window appeared in front of me reminding me I still had on my glasses. I saw an image of the van from the air as in real time.

  “I am with you, Terry,” Amy said. Another window appeared with an aerial view of a backyard and a large Kangaroo bounding across the lawn before jumping the fence. “I am with Roo as well. We are going to reach the meeting point just after her.”

  “Where is the meeting point?” I asked.

  “We’re going to McDonald’s,” Riley shouted. “Good thing too, I’m starving. Zombie heads don’t taste too good.” She wiped at her tongue then rubbed her hands on her furry leg. “Probably on account of them having already been dead. Worse than road kill. At least with road kill, you expect it to taste bad.”

  “You’ve had to eat roadkill?” I asked while remembering my own recent experience with a long-dead animal. At the time it was the only thing around to eat and I needed the energy to share with my Tua.

  “Long story, but yeah,” her voice took on a somber tone which was unlike the bubbly shifter.

  “So, what are you going to get to eat?” I asked to change the subject.

  “Oh!” She perked right up. “I’m going to get…”

  The vehicle skidded to a stop once more as Riley slammed on the brakes and swore. The view from above continued on past us and I saw the problem. As the drone flew above the fast-food chain, I saw that it was on fire. Several zombies stood with their backs to the flames and fired away from us toward a house. The window changed showing an image from the drone above Roo. The kangaroo was bleeding from a wound to one of her legs and she hid behind the house as they fired rounds at her.

  “We have to get over there,” I shouted. “We have to help Roo!”

  “On it,” Amy said as the camera changed once more and I saw a line of fire from the drone decimate the zombies.

  “The bad guys are down, Riley. Get us over there so we can get Roo. She is hurt.”

  The Drop Bear gunned it and we pulled to a stop in front of the house where Roo hid. I threw open the door and jumped out then fell promptly on my face. The bullet wound in my leg sent crippling pain through my leg when I applied pressure. The wound in my should exploded with pain when I hit the ground.

  “Terry!” Riley shouted. She jumped out of the vehicle and grabbed my shoulders pulling me to my feet which also hurt like hell.

  “I’m okay. Go get Roo.” I pointed to where I though she would be from the image of her in hovering in front of my face.

  “You sure.”

  “Positive. Go get her and let’s get the hell out of here.”

  Riley ran at her slow ambling pace to the end of the house and around the corner. I watched her through the drone camera as she spoke briefly to the injured shifter kangaroo. Then she hefted the woman up and helped her limp back. My apprehension grew as I waited and watched the long journey back to the car. They made it and climbed into the van without being shot at. I called it a win.

  We took off once more with Riley driving.

  “Are you all right?” Roo asked just after she shifted back to human. The woman sat next to me one row back from the driver’s seat and now she was naked. Not only was she naked, but she was amazing. Her breasts were small but perky and her body was toned like a fitness model.

  “You like what you see?” She asked me with a smirk.

  I was just about to reply yes when my eyes caught sight of the bullet wound. “Does that need medical attention?” I asked while feeling bad that she was hurt saving me.

  “No, it will heal. Lassiter didn’t see fit to use silver. I have a feeling that we will not be that lucky again.”

  Chapter 17

  We stopped at a small motel at the edge of town. Riley parked in the back and we went straight to a room which she had the key for. Roo rushed in once the door was open.

  “We’re not staying,” Roo said. “We are showering, getting dressed, and getting out of here.”

  The werekangaroo walked to the bathroom door giving me a good view of her rear end as it swayed back and forth. She stopped at the doorway and looked back over her shoulder at me. Roo’s eye moved up and down my length and she smiled then entered the bathroom. The invitation was clear, but I didn’t follow. She was one of my father’s Tua. If his Tua were anything like mine, then the last thing I wanted was to go into that bathroom.

  “I got this for you,” Riley said as she passed me a shopping bag.

  “What’s this?” I asked as I opened the bag.

  Seeing Riley looking so pleased and receiving something from her made me feel good. Probably the first time since I pulled too much from my Tua.

  “Thanks, Riley,” I said before I looked into the bag.

  “Oh, it’s not a big deal. Just some clothes.” The cute Drop Bear’s cheeks reddened. “Open it up and see if you like them.”

  Inside the bag was a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. The jeans were my size, but the shirt was a little big. The words, Koala Lover, were in blue lettering against the black of the t-shirt.

  I chuckled. “Very nice. Thanks, Riley.”

  “You really like it? I didn’t want to be, you know, presumptuous.”

  “No, it’s great. Do I get to keep it after this is all done? I would really like to if that’s okay?” I asked.

  The pink in her cheeks burned to a darker red. “Yeah,” her smile widened, “of course you can, Terry. It’s your shirt now, silly.”

  The drone of the running water stopped then. “Sounds like Roo is done. Why don’t you go next,” I said.

  “Are you sure?” Riley asked me. Her expression was equal parts hopeful and fearful.

  “Knock yourself out.”

  “You’re the best, Terry!” Riley jumped up and ran to me planting a kiss on my cheek. She giggled, bounced on her toes once, and ran to the bathroom.

  Roo came out a second later still drying herself. Turns out that a wet Roo looked just as sexy as a dry Roo. She went about her business like I wasn’t there, but I saw her looking at me from the corner of her eye. It was hard to tell if she was interested or just evil. Either way, what a hell of a view.

  “You should have gone next,” Roo said as she dropped her towel and picked up a pair of pink panties. “Riley likes to take up residence when she takes a shower. There will probably not be any hot water when you go in either.”

  “That’s all right,” I replied. “A cold shower will probably do me some good right now.”

  A smile tugged at the corner of Roo’s lips. She slid her underwear on the stood and faced me with her hands on her hips. Tan nipples stood erect, looking very suckable. It didn’t matter how many times I saw her nude. I was sure it was a sight I could never take for granted.

  “And why would you need a cold shower?” She asked with a hint of playful deviousness in her tone.

  “No reason, just need to be able to focus better. You know, the whole getting beat up thing kind of knocked my senses a little loose.”

  “Uh huh,” she replies with the inflection of an unbeliever.

  “That was so nice,” Riley said as she walked out of the bathroom. Like Roo, the Drop Bear was nude and drying off. She stood with her arms spread wide and the towel between her hands like a set of dingy white wings. Her eyes travel between
Roo and I. “What?”

  “Oh, nothing,” Roo said.

  I was struck speechless with my eye locked on the Drop Bear. Large breast stand up with the strength of youth with pert nipples, erect and pink. Her stomach flat, but lacked the lines of muscle Roo had. From there my gaze slips of a set of wide hips and down thick thighs, shapely calves, and ends at high-arched feet with perfect shaped toes. In a matter of seconds, Riley has rewritten the definition of voluptuous.

  “What?” Riley asks as she looks down at herself. “Did I miss something?” Her left hand grabbed her left tit and moved it out of the way. Not seeing anything she slides it down her flat stomach to her sex and moves around exploring. “There is nothing here,” she said.

  This caused Roo to laugh as she looked from me to Riley. Judging by the target of her attentions I knew she noticed the reason for my pants becoming tighter.

  “What?” Riley asked again with frustration clear in her voice. “What’s so funny?”

  Riley’s response caused Roo to laugh harder and my cheeks to burn with the heat of embarrassment. I ran past Roo and Riley jumping into the shower. Cold water hit me like a train and doused the fire burning in me.

  Not wanting to face the Aussie women I stayed in the shower for a while. It also took several more minutes than I expected for the water to cool me enough for my erection to subside. The memories of Roo then Riley naked kept running through my mind and no amount of sports think was making them go away.

  When I finished, I paused before drying as a thought hit me. Why not give them a taste of their own medicine?

  I walked out into the room and wiped myself with the towel to remove the water still clinging to me. Disappointment hit me in the face like a trout thwack. Both of the women were gone leaving me to entertain myself in the mirror with my drying exhibition. My abs were impressive, but it was nowhere near as good a show as Roo or Riley’s. I dressed with the clothes Riley gave me and waited.

  Shortly after I was done and flipped channels, the door opened and the Aussie pair walked in carrying plastic bags. The smell of various types of food came in with them causing my stomach to growl. “That’s what’s up!” I said as I jumped to my feet. “I was wondering where you guys went.”