Orson

by David Delaney

  Through it all, I could hear Elyse talking. She kept repeating the same thing, "It's okay, Orson. You're not alone. I'm here. Try to concentrate only on my voice. It's okay. It's okay."

  "If he doesn't stop soon, I will have to tranq him." I heard a click and knew Mr. Kelly had just cocked some kind of tranquilizer gun. He was preparing to shoot me with a dart full of knockout juice.

  My convulsions stopped. One second I was shaking so hard it felt like my teeth would rattle out of my head; the next second, complete stillness. The only sound I could hear was my ragged breathing. I just lay there on my back, eyes closed, enjoying the coolness of the concrete beneath me. I slowly stretched myself out, testing my joints and muscles. Everything seemed to be in working order.

  "Orson?" It was almost a whisper.

  I cracked open an eye. And immediately regretted it. It seemed like the Sun was in the room with me.

  "It's okay. Keep your eyes shut. Just relax for a minute," Elyse instructed, in her calm soothing tone.

  My breathing was beginning to even out. I could hear Mr. and Mrs. Kelly whispering.

  Mr. Kelly: "That was different."

  Mrs. Kelly: "Have you ever seen or heard of anything like that?"

  Mr. Kelly: "No, never. Maybe we should tranq him just to be safe?"

  I growled. A deep chest rumbling growl and it felt fantastic.

  I could hear, and somehow even sense, Elyse and her parents freezing in place. It was like I could feel the micro-air currents they made with their bodies, and when they stopped moving, I could sense their absence.

  That made me smile. Yeah, you better freeze because the Big Bad is awake, and he is not happy.

  What?

  The Big Bad?

  What kind of random thought was that? Isn't that a Buffy the Vampire thing? I'm pretty sure it was. Oh man, I was a total dork.

  "Orson?" It was Elyse, and she sounded scared.

  That wasn't right. I didn't want her to be scared. I did a full systems check. I was pretty sure I could manage sit up, it was staying up that worried me because leaning back against the magic-zapping bars was out of the question. I took a deep breath. I hoped this didn't hurt or start me convulsing again. I moved, my only goal being not to embarrass myself too much. But I moved with liquid grace. I went from lying flat on my back into a coiled crouch, weight on the balls of my feet, fingertips pressed lightly against the floor in front of me. Whoa. Okay, that didn't seem normal.

  I again cracked open an eye. It still seemed super bright. Light sensitivity had to be a result of the convulsions. My brain had gotten hammered for what had felt like minutes but had probably only been seconds.

  "Hi," I croaked. At least my voice didn't sound menacing.

  Elyse was kneeling in front of the cage, her face tight with worry. Mrs. Kelly stood next to Elyse, one hand resting on her daughter's shoulder. Mr. Kelly was in shooter's stance, a tranquilizer rifle pointed directly at my chest

  "So, on a scale of 1 to 10, how messed up was that?" I gave a weak smile. "Because from this side of the bars, it totally sucked."

  I watched them all visibly relax. The barrel of the rifle even dipped a bit. "Um, Mr. Kelly, I'm pretty sure you're gonna want to keep that rifle pointed directly at wherever it will work the quickest."

  The rifle instantly snapped back up, the tension returning to Mr. Kelly's face and body.

  "Why don't you tell us what's going on, Orson," Mrs. Kelly said, in her best mom voice.

  "First," Mr. Kelly was most definitely not using his dad voice. "Why don't you get out of that attack crouch, shake out the arms and legs? Just relax a little a bit." It was not a suggestion.

  I waited, not long, just a beat or two, before I sat back, resting on my hands, my legs splayed out in front of me. I winked at Mr. Kelly. He did not wink back.

  This was fun.

  Oh, crap. What was going on? It was like someone was broadcasting weird suggestions straight into my brain, and I was perfectly happy to follow them.

  "Mr. Kelly, I'm so sorry. There's something very . . . weird going on inside my head."

  "It's okay, son. It's your animal. He is awake, and he's a son of a bitch," said Mr. Kelly.

  I growled again. I immediately slapped a hand over my mouth. This was not cool. Not cool at all.

  Elyse gasped, her eyes wide. Mrs. Kelly tightened her grip on Elyse's shoulder, giving a gentle tug, making Elyse take a couple steps back from the bars.

  "Oh, yeah," Mr. Kelly continued. "He's awake and ready to rumble."

  "What do I do?" I pleaded.

  "Right now, your animal is playing peek-a-boo. He's not fully asserting himself, but he's letting us know he's there and can assert himself anytime he wants to," Mr. Kelly explained. I was shocked when he pulled the rifle up and slung it over his shoulder.

  "I'm not sure that's a great idea," I offered.

  "Nope. I don't think so either, but your animal does not like having a barrel pointed at him. It's a peace offering. This is where we start to build trust." Mr. Kelly sat down on the floor, legs folded underneath him. He gestured to Mrs. Kelly and Elyse, who followed his example.

  "Orson, are you okay?" Elyse asked. The genuine concern I could hear in her voice put a lump in my throat.

  "Yeah. I'm so sorry I squeezed your hand. I didn't hurt you, did I?" It was taking every ounce of control I had to keep my voice from shaking.

  Elyse held up her hand, "It's perfectly fine. I'm tougher than I look, remember."

  "I'm also, you know, really sorry for scaring the crap out of everyone."

  Mrs. Kelly smiled at me. "I've seen worse." It was a lie. I couldn't tell exactly how I knew, but it was a lie. I appreciated the effort.

  My eyes were adjusting. The room didn't seem blindingly bright anymore. Everything still looked hyper-real though. It was like when you used the HDR setting on your phone's camera app. Colors were bright, details sharp and perfectly clear. I found that I could focus on anything I wanted to and zoom in closer. Seriously, it was like my eyes were two telephoto lenses. I couldn't help myself. My eyes flicked around the room, zooming in on the chairs, the concrete ceiling, Elyse's legs, and the cabinet where Mr. Kelly had obviously pulled the tranquilizer rifle.

  I went still.

  The cabinet door was open, and even though the interior was in shadow, its contents were clearly visible to my new super vision. A high powered rifle, Taser guns, what I assume was a cattle prod, having only ever seen one in movies, and lots of silver ammunition. Huh. A rifle with silver ammo seemed a bit more permanent than the tranq rifle Mr. Kelly was holding. Curious. I decided to see what my other senses could do and opened all of them up wide.

  "Orson," said Mr. Kelly. It was impressive that he could sound so calm given the circumstances.

  "Yes, sir?" I looked at him, splitting my focus between two tasks. It was so easy I almost laughed.

  "Are you doing all right?" he asked.

  I nodded.

  My sense of smell had also achieved the rank of superman status. I was trying to wade through the sensory overload. Elyse's scent was what my mind seemed to want to focus on. She smelled amazing. But there was also the scent of gun oil, cement, plastic, and floor cleaner. Mr. and Mrs. Kelly each had a unique smell, and they kind of overlapped each other in a complimentary way. It must be a couple thing. There was also an underlying something, a sharp coppery smell I thought I should recognize. Oh, yes. Blood. It was blood.

  Mr. Kelly tilted his head. "Is there something you want to share?"

  "I'm experiencing some sensory overload." I pointed to my eyes and nose. "I can see and hear everything and, wow, you know." I focused on Elyse. "Is this how it is for you? All the time?"

  "Yeah. You learn how to filter and it isn't as distracting as you'd think." Her worry for me was pouring out of her in waves. She was literally pulsing with an indigo light. Her aura? It had to be.

  The blood kept trying to distract me. Where was it coming from? I was pretty sure it wasn't the
blood coursing through the veins of the Kellys or my own blood. It didn't smell that fresh. That's a gross thought. No, it smelled kind of stale. My eyes snapped to the floor. Of course, it should have been obvious. The rifle, silver ammo, and a magic escape-proof cage. People had died in here. People who couldn't control their animal. People like me.

  I met Mr. Kelly's gaze. "How many?"

  "Does it matter?" Mr. Kelly asked.

  "You're not sure you can help me, are you?"

  Elyse looked at her father. "Dad?"

  It was Mrs. Kelly who answered, "Of course, we can help you, Orson."

  "Liar!" I roared, springing forward onto my feet. Stopping a fraction of an inch away from the bars.

  Mr. Kelly jumped back into his shooter's stance, the gun pointed at my center mass. Could he hit me? With my new abilities, I was pretty sure I could dodge out of the line of fire, no problem. But I would still be locked in this prison cell. I'm sure there was a well thought out procedure for subduing someone just like me.

  Mrs. Kelly had jumped up when I screamed. She reached out and grabbed Elyse, pulling her back, before she could rush toward the bars.

  "Mom. Dad. Please," she pleaded. "It's Orson."

  "No. It's his animal," Mr. Kelly said, in a very calm, matter-of-fact manner.

  "So, are you going to shoot me or what?"

  The movement was so quick I almost missed it. Mrs. Kelly whipped a second tranq gun, this one a pistol, that she must have had tucked in the waist of her jeans at the small of her back, into a shooting position. An expert two-handed grip. Feet shoulder length apart. She exhaled and fired. I could actually see the dart leave the gun. Oh yeah, dodging that slow moving projectile would be a breeze. I spun to my left and directly into the dart that Mr. Kelly had fired simultaneously from his rifle. I looked down at the neon orange-feathered dart sticking out of my chest. I heard two more pops and two more darts sprouted from my body, one from my shoulder and the other from my neck.

  "Awesome," I said. I fell backward. My head bounced off the floor and then nothing.

  The nothing didn't last very long. At least, it didn't seem like it to me. I was still on my back. The Kellys were brainstorming ideas on what to do next. I kept my eyes shut. I wasn't sure if I could fool them for very long, but I needed as much time as I could buy myself. Why was I acting like a crazy person? Mr. Kelly said it was my animal playing peek-a-boo, but I didn't feel different. I felt super agitated and totally pissed they had shot me, but what other option did they have? Thinking of being shot reminded me I should be unconscious. They hit me with three darts. Darts that I'm positive were loaded with some serious drugs. So why was I awake? Did I even feel groggy? No. I didn't think so.

  I concentrated on my body. Did anything feel off?

  Of course not, I am Ollphiest.

  Oh boy, here come the weird thoughts again.

  Stand up and teach these people why their ancestors were correct to fear me.

  These people? It was Elyse and her mom and dad. I needed to get a grip.

  Enough! It is past time.

  I was about to stand up. I didn't want to stand up. Too late.

  I stood, moving slowly and stretching as I rose. I noticed the darts still poking out of me. I pulled them out and tossed them aside. The Kellys had gone silent.

  "Well, that's unexpected." Mr. Kelly sounded impressed.

  "Three darts? That's impossible," said Mrs. Kelly.

  "Orson?" Elyse whispered.

  "I think I would like to leave the cage now." I grinned and cracked my knuckles. "Please."

  Mr. Kelly started to back slowly toward the gun cabinet. The only thing left in there with any kind of range was the Taser and the rifle that shot real bullets. Real silver bullets.

  Nope.

  What happened next is kind of hard to describe. It was as if all the energy contained not only within the basement but in a five mile radius of the cabin was suddenly, instantly and quite violently sucked into my body. Think of a balloon when you attach it to a water faucet. The second you turn the water on, the balloon expands like ten times larger than its actual size.

  I exploded.

  Not like a bomb, like the balloon. My clothes shredded off me in puff of fabric. My entire awareness rippled, for a split second, and then I settled. I was still looking at the world from almost the same height but I was standing on four legs. Legs that were attached to feet, nope those were paws, with long wicked looking claws.

  "Oh! He's a bear," said Elyse, surprised.

  A bear? Really?

  I swiveled my head in the Kelly's direction. I opened my mouth to respond to Elyse, and I roared.

  It was magnificent. I roared again. It felt good.

  Movement caught my eye. Mr. Kelly was pulling the rifle from the cabinet and Mrs. Kelly had shifted into beast-form. Oh, so they wanted to play. All right.

  "Elyse, get out of here now!" Shouted Mr. Kelly.

  He was slamming a clip home in the rifle; he'd be ready to shoot any moment. Mrs. Kelly let out a hissy cat sound in my direction. I had to get out of this cage. How bad could the magic bars really hurt? Maybe like a magic Taser? There was only one way to find out. I hefted my large right paw and swiped at the bars. I braced for some kind of jolt. Nothing. No pain.

  The bars, however, reacted the way you would expect iron bars to react when swiped by a giant, pissed-off, super-bear. They crumpled like they were made of Legos. I roared again, this time in triumph. I was the Big Bad and there was no one who could stop me. Mr. Kelly fired. The rifle was a semi-automatic. He unloaded five, maybe six, shots from ten feet away.

  I heard Elyse scream.

  I felt each bullet hit.

  And I felt each bullet bounce off.

  I was bullet proof.

  That deserved another roar, but before I could let one loose, Mrs. Kelly pounced on my back. I discovered that even though I was bullet proof, I was not impervious to her beast-form claws. She sank them into my back and it hurt.

  A lot.

  CHAPTER 12

  I roared, but not in the cool triumphant look-at-me-I'm-a-freaking-super-bear way. Nope, it was all pain and rage. I reacted without thought or reason. I stood up on my hind legs, smashing my big stupid bear head into the basement ceiling, cracking the concrete. Mrs. Kelly didn't budge. She hissed in my ear, wrapping her legs around my middle as far as they would reach, allowing her the leverage to reposition her claws in my back.

  I didn't care anymore that it was Elyse's mom, one of the nicest people I knew. I would rip her apart. I would dig my claws into her stomach and crush her head in my massive jaws. I was―

  Stop.

  Just stop. You're Orson Reid.

  You don't bite, maul, and kill people - especially not your girlfriend's mom.

  But I had to get her off my back. I stopped thrashing for a moment and assessed the situation. I noticed there were still a few of the cell bars intact, just to my left. I shuffled backward and pressed Mrs. Kelly into the bars. The reaction was immediate. The magic in the bars jolted Mrs. Kelly so hard she dropped off my back and lay in a semiconscious state.

  "Katie!" Mr. Kelly yelled, firing the rifle as he ran toward his fallen wife.

  Two of the bullets glanced off my skull, the others going wild. It felt like someone had stuffed my head into a bag of dynamite and detonated it. Okay, so I was bullet proof but not completely impervious. I shook my ringing head, clearing my vision. The door. The stairs were directly in front of me, with the door to the main floor wide open. Once upstairs, I had my choice of windows to crash through and then a whole mountain forest to lose myself in.

  I ran, or loped, crossing the room in two quick bounds. I was almost to the stairs, when Elyse stepped in front of me. I skidded to a stop, my razor sharp claws digging into the concrete to stop my forward motion.

  "Orson." It was a gentle plea. Elyse raised her hand in front of her, palm up.

  "Elyse no! He'll kill you!" Mr. Kelly shouted.

  Kill
?

  Elyse?

  Never.

  Elyse didn't acknowledge her dad. She just stared at me, her hand hanging about an inch from my snout. I couldn't hurt her, but I had to get out of this room. My eyes rolled around in my head, my breath puffing from me. Geez, I sounded like a freight train.

  I chuffed at her. Not a growl, not a whine, but a kind of grunt. She needed to move. I chuffed again.

  "No," Elyse said, her hand not wavering.

  I heard cloth ripping. Yesterday I couldn't have told you what would make a noise like that. Today, having heard it twice now, I knew Mr. Kelly had just shifted, shredding the clothes he was wearing.

  Great.

  There was now a second angry shape-shifter in beast-form behind me. I shifted to the right, trying to pinpoint exactly where he was.

  "Dad. Stop," Elyse commanded. "Orson," she repeated, stretching her fingers out just enough to touch my nose.

  I chuffed again.

  "I said no." Elyse arched an eyebrow at me. She slid her hand farther up my snout, spreading her fingers out on my wide head. She rubbed her thumb in a slow small circle.

  I shuddered.

  "It's okay. You're okay."

  I could finally feel the drugs that my body had somehow automatically quarantined. They slowly released into my system. I wobbled, my eyes drooping. Oh yeah, this was some seriously powerful stuff. I moved forward. Mr. Kelly's warning hiss came from directly behind my left ear.

  "Dad, stop. Can't you tell he isn't going to hurt me?"

  She was right. I just wanted to get closer, so she didn't have to stretch to reach my head. I bumped my nose against her waist, and she brought her other hand up. She buried her fingers under both my ears and gave a scratch.