by Olivia Myers
“I was scavenging, looking for food.” The fox boy sat in a chair that was at the small kitchen table.
Emily moved to sit across from him, but Josh remained standing.
“We have plenty,” she started to say but Josh interrupted her.
“You can’t have any of our food,” Josh said. “I’m sorry, but there isn’t enough. We don’t know how long we’ll be here.”
Emily thought about it and he was right. There was no way to know how long they’d be there, but it felt selfish to not share their food. Emily couldn’t quit looking at the fox because he was such a cute boy. But there was also something dangerous about him.
“What’s your name?” she asked.
“Alexander.” He reached his hand out to shake. “How about yours?”
“I’m Emily,” she said.
“I’m Reginald.” Josh said not bothering to come over to shake hands.
“Then why’d she call you Josh?” Alexander asked.
“That’s my dog name.”
“He’s being silly. His name is Josh and we’re both from here. Where are you from?”
“I’m from here too, different high school then you.”
Odd, Emily thought. They hadn’t mentioned their high school.
“Let me at least get you a pudding,” she said and went to the cabinet.
Josh followed and stood just next to her. “I don’t trust him,” he said under his breath.
“It’s just pudding,” Emily said. She didn’t know how good a fox’s hearing could be.
Alexander cleared his throat. “Listen, I'm just trying to survive like you guys. Let me have some pudding and sleep here this evening, and you won't see me ever again.”
Alexander could obviously hear everything they were saying. He’d also moved closer to both of them.
“It’s okay, Josh,” Emily said, reaching for the pudding.
After some consideration and a lot of pouting, Josh finally agreed. “Fine. But you're sleeping in here away from us, and you better be gone in the morning.”
“Sure thing, captain,” Alexander said. “Although are you sure the lady doesn’t want to sleep with me?”
Josh took a step forward while Emily blushed furiously. She thought about cuddling up next to the fox. He was a handsome guy, but she still wanted to cuddle up with Josh more, so she fought back that short fantasy.
“I'm just kidding,” Alexander said. Gesturing between the two of them, he added, “It's clear you're together.”
“We're not together, together,” Emily said before she could stop herself.
Josh jerked his head around to her. There was a look of disbelief on his face, followed by a brief sadness. Then his features turned to anger and he stormed into the back room.
Well, she’d stuck her foot in her mouth on that one for sure. She found she somehow managed to do that a lot. Josh was jealous and all of this was new territory for her. She'd only ever dated timid boys who liked video games.
She held up the pudding. “Here you go, Alexander.”
He took it from her, brushing her hand with his and sending little tingles of awareness through her arm. He smiled at her and she grinned back.
“You can call me Alex, it’s easier. Won’t you stay a while and keep me company?” he asked.
“I should go find Josh,” she said.
Alex’s face fell and she felt a little bit guilty, but she needed to go right her wrong. It was getting dark and they needed their sleep.
“There's a blanket it that closet over there and a pillow on the nap couch in the room over there.”
“The nap couch?” Alex asked.
“This was a child care place. Josh and I assume the children's caretaker needed naps frequently.”
Alex laughed loudly—almost too loudly—at her dumb joke. It made her uneasy.
“Goodnight Alex. We’ll see you tomorrow,” she said and went to find Josh.
The room in the back had held a dresser and two mattresses, but now it only held one. Even weirder, Josh wasn’t there.
“Josh,” she called. “Where are you?”
She didn't hear a response, and then the dresser moved and he stepped out of a hole in the wall, a scowl still on his face. “I’m in here.”
“What the hell where did you put the other mattress?”
“There's a storage area here on the side of the room. I moved the mattress into it, and that’s where we’re sleeping tonight.”
“Why are we sleeping in there?”
“Because I don't trust that fox, and I want you to be safe while we're sleeping.” He came toward her and cupped her face. “I don't want anything to happen to you again. I almost lost my mind when you were taken. Now come to bed.”
When Emily hesitated, he said, “I'm not going to try anything you're not ready for. We’re just going to sleep.”
She took his hand and followed him into the small hidden room. It was actually a really good find. They did need to be safe while they slept. The ceiling wasn’t very high, and it wasn’t a finished room so the wood smell was heavy. It really only fit the bed and the two of them standing beside it.
“Lie down, it’s okay,” Josh said and he moved the dresser back over their entrance and slid a small door shut.
Emily slid her jeans off and slipped under the covers. It felt nice to lie down and stretch out. Josh joined her and the two lay in the dark staring at the ceiling for a long while. Finally, she turned to him and put a hand on his chest.
“Are you sure you don’t want to go lie down with the fox?” he grumbled.
“I’m sure. I shouldn’t have told him we weren’t together. It isn’t any of his business.”
“Well, we’re not. I think would be selfish of me in such a huge crisis to ask you to be my girlfriend. It seems kind of silly, you know.”
“I know,” Emily said and moved her hand down to interlock her fingers with his. “I will, though. Be your girlfriend.”
Josh reached out for her face in the dark and moved closer to her. He brought his lips to hers and kissed her softly at first, but then he pushed his tongue against her lips to get her to open for him. She did, tasting his sweet breath. They kissed for a long while and held each other.
Once they were both good and out of breath, Josh had her turn to face away from him so he could put his arms around her. Spooned carefully in front of him, she fell asleep.
Emily awoke, unsure of what time it was. A loud noise had woken her, like the sound of a door slamming into a wall. At first she thought it was the fox leaving, but then she heard voices. There were at least three people—two men and a woman. She gently shook Josh and placed a hand over his mouth. He awoke with a start and turned to her. She leaned in and whispered into his ear. “There are people in the house.”
He nodded and the two of them moved to the wall to listen. The intruders were talking as they moved through. This time two women moved down the hall.
“The fox said they were in here,” one lady said.
Emily’s heart sank. Josh had been right about Alexander.
“Well they obviously left, so he’ll just have to find them again.” The second woman sounded angry.
“I doubt Alex wants to try again,” the first lady said back.
A man’s voice yelled down the hall, “How hard is it to find two teenagers? This house isn’t that big!”
“They aren’t here, the fox was either wrong, or they left. I don’t think he was wrong. I bet that dumb kid did something to spook them.”
“Let’s go. There are more houses to search.”
Josh and Emily didn’t move for a long time as they listened to the people go away. When they finally thought it was safe they moved back over to their bed and crawled under the covers.
“It has to be the two nurses and the two white coats,” Emily said.
“I told you I didn’t like that fox. We’ll move in the morning.” Both lay down and tried to go back to sleep, but Emily lay awake for a long wh
ile after Josh’s breathing became steady.
***
The strange hole in the wall allowed the two of them to sleep late into the morning. Emily stretched silently when she awoke, already on the alert. She listened carefully for any sounds of someone else being in the house with them.
“Morning, sunshine,” Josh murmured. He sat up and kissed her on the forehead before climbing out of bed. “Anyone around?”
Emily shook her head. “Nope.”
“We’re going to need to move. Our best bet for getting to safety is to get the hell out of this town. That’s our goal. We’ll get out and from there, we’ll find safety.”
“How are we going to do that? There are walls all around us, and they look strong.”
“There must be a way for those scientists to get in and out. We just need to find it.” Josh slid the dresser out of the way. The two of them stood still, listening to see if they could hear anything in the quiet of the house.
Emily nodded, confident that they were alone. “Okay, let’s get some food and things to take with us. We’ll need camp supplies if we have to sleep on the ground.”
“Emily you know we can’t carry anything with us, what if we have to shift. No, we’ll eat what we can and drink a lot of water before we go.”
Emily knew he was right but it didn’t make her happy. They’d be dealing with what they could find and not able to bring comfort with them. She pouted, looking down at her feet, as they made their way to the kitchen. Josh noticed and put his arm around her.
“I’ll keep you warm and comfortable, okay? We’ll have each other.” He kissed her softly.
She nodded and grabbed some pudding. At least there was a little protein in the pudding. Once they’d eaten, they headed outside. Their goal was to make it to the wall so they could walk it until they found a way through. It was at least three miles away so they wanted to hustle.
Outside the daycare, it was eerily quiet. They moved toward the back of the house, looking all around to make sure they weren’t being watched. They didn’t speak because they didn’t want to accidentally draw attention to themselves. They hadn’t even made it a mile when a large dog stepped out into their path and growled. Josh grabbed Emily and pushed her behind him. “I’m going to shift. You stay like that,” he said.
Before he could shift, a little fox bounced up in front of the dog.
Alex. Emily didn’t know who the dog was—likely another shapeshifter. But she would bet anything that the fox was Alex. She couldn’t wait to tell him exactly what she thought of him, the lying sack of shit.
The fox shifted into its human form, and now bore Alex’s handsome face. He was smiling. Reaching down, he gave the dog next to him a pat on the head.
“The nerve of you,” Emily hissed. She rushed forward, punching him on the shoulder. When she pulled her fist back to hit him again, he caught her arm easily and smiled. The dog standing next to him growled in warning, but Emily ignored the dog.
“I don’t mean you any harm,” he said. “I’m sorry about last night.”
“What the hell are you doing here, man?” Josh asked his teeth clenched tightly together.
“Listen, if I didn’t help them, then I’d be in one of those cages. It’s a fox eat dog world right now, but I can help you get out of the city. I felt bad betraying such a beautiful and intelligent kitty cat.”
Emily grabbed her arm away from him. She tried to keep her scowl in place, but it was hard when such a fox was calling her beautiful.
“You don’t even know her.” Josh started forward with his fists clenched, but Emily put her hand on his shoulder.
“Josh,” Emily said, “if he knows the way out, then we should listen to him. We can be cautious so he can’t lead us into a trap.”
Suddenly, the dog shifted into a naked girl. She looked a year or two older than Emily. Josh and Emily were both stunned, but Emily shook it off, and nudged Josh to get him to stop staring at the girl.
Alex handed the girl a sweater. “This is Addie,” he said. “Addie, that’s Josh and Emily.”
“Wait,” Josh said. “Alex, did you shift fully clothed?”
Emily realized she hadn’t even noticed but he had. He was wearing pants, a shirt, and the sweater he’d just given to Addie.
“You learn to bring them with you eventually. I can’t really explain it.”
Voices sounded from behind the trees nearby.
“No time to talk,” Alex said. “We need to move. Those crazy asses are close.”
They chased after Alex and Addie because they really didn’t have a choice. Emily felt her heart racing as she ran. She couldn’t wait to be on the other side of the wall. Right now every part of her was focused on running, on remaining hidden. Once she was on the other side of the wall, she could start figuring out what life would be now that there was no more town and she could turn into a cat. She could make a plan for how she would not just survive and keep her freedom, but how she could live and be happy.
After running for far too long, in Emily’s opinion, the four of them finally slowed to a walk, breathing heavily with fatigue. They were walking along a narrow street, getting closer to the edge of town, but still too far away from the wall for Emily’s comfort.
“So how are we going to get out of here?” Josh gasped.
“There’s a weak spot in the wall. The only reason I know about it is because of this little firecracker right here.” Alex pointed at Addie, who just smirked over her shoulder and kept walking. “It’s apparently been slammed into several times by larger animals. She flirted with a bear and got the location.”
“That seems logical,” Emily said, nodding. This was her life now. Talking animals. Flirting with foxes, dogs, bears. People who could turn into beasts.
They traveled maybe a mile when Emily heard a car. She stopped, trying to pinpoint its location. Everyone else stopped and she knew they heard it too. Emily felt too exposed on the street, and she immediately started looking for somewhere to hide.
“Hide, now,” Alex said.
They all ducked behind bushes and buildings. Emily prepared to shift but didn’t want to if she didn’t have to. The car sounded like it was getting closer. She found herself wondering if the doctors were the ones that stole all the cars. They wouldn’t need more than four, so that didn’t make sense.
The car was a lot closer now and Emily thought she saw a glimpse of it before she got low behind the bush. It would be hard to outrun cars in any form. After the car slowly rumbled past, Josh crawled over to her.
“Do you trust them?” he whispered.
“We don’t have a choice,” she hissed back.
He nodded. “I know, but it’s hard.”
Emily touched his arm. The car had stopped and parked up ahead, and she heard the doors open and slam closed.
“They’re over here! I see them, bring the nets.” A new voice sprang up out of nowhere.
Emily peeked over her bush to see one of the scientists screeching and pointing at the four of them. What were the nets?
The four of them took off running as fast as they could and the car noise was close by again. They were in between houses in a neighborhood so they ran in the yards and across driveways, making their way diagonally towards the wall.
The car that had been threatening them burst through a clothes line and scared Emily half to death. It almost slammed into her, but Josh grabbed her arm and pulled her out of the way.
One of the nurses from the school jumped from behind a house and threw a net over Alex. Alex pulled hard at the net, and the nurse fell off balance. Addie shifted quickly and ran towards the nurse, growling. The nurse screamed as Addie jumped and sank her teeth into her arm.
Josh and Emily ran over and quickly got Alex out of the net. He whistled and Addie came running as they all sprinted towards the next house.
Once again the car came out of nowhere and this time he hit Addie.
“Addie!” Alex screamed and ran to her, ignoring the
two doctors who were climbing from the car. They held nets and what looked like a very scary electric stick.
Addie shifted back to human, surprisingly with all her clothes on, and Alex helped her up. Despite blood oozing from her arm, she moved really fast and they were off again.
The scientists were on foot now. Unfortunately, Emily could hear them keeping pace behind.
“Why are these damn scientists so fast?” Emily asked no one in particular. She was breathing heavily between every word.
“They are trained for this, they’re not just scientists,” Alex answered. “They know people are going to run. The unfortunate thing is now they know I’m helping you.” He didn’t even seem out of breath.
More yelling from behind them let them know the scientists were close.
“We’re almost there,” Addie said.
Emily’s lungs were screaming for relief and her legs had started to cramp. She found herself wondering if she would hurt in cat form, and just like that, she shifted. She didn’t need water anymore. She hadn’t even thought about it. One minute she was running and pain was shooting through her legs, and the next she was a cat and the pain was gone.
She ran right behind Josh’s legs and he paused to pick her up despite her meows of protest. They continued running because the only chance they had of getting away was to keep moving forward.
“Put her down, Josh,” Alex said.
“What?”
“Put her down and let her change back.”
Josh put Emily down. As she shifted, she thought really hard about her clothes. She managed to keep her shirt, but not her bottoms. Good enough. At least the shirt was long.
“We’re going to have to hold them off, Addie,” Alex said. “Tell Josh and Emily where the weak spot is.”
“It’s literally straight ahead,” she said. “If you just keep straight you’ll see it. There’s a small red spray paint spot on the wall, and if you push it, the wall will literally will crack open for you to go through.”
With that, she shifted back to a dog.
Alex grabbed both of Emily’s hands. “I’ll see you when we make it to the other side.”