by NB Blackbell
Faith leaned over as if to whisper to her. "It's John He's gone to his brother's place for the week. Apparently, he isn't feeling well, so John wanted to check on him. That leaves me here alone, though, and everything happening in the city makes me nervous." Jasper gasped, "Oh my God! Staying alone would make me nervous too. I'm blessed to live with Isabel. You should stay with us until he gets back… well, as long as you don't mind cats. Nookers is staying with us, too, Isabel's brother's cat. Mischievous little devil, he's so loving." She laughed. Then Faith giggled, "Thank you. I'll give that some thought." She gave her table a quick wipe and said, "I'll be back with your coffee in a flash." Seconds later, she brought Jasper's coffee to her. "Here, you go." Jasper smiled. "Thank you." Pulling out her laptop, she typed. She couldn't help but to keep peeking out the window, hoping to see the strange people whose faces seemed to change; She was so confused about it all. The confusion would probably not be there if she knew what and why she saw this, but for now, she didn't. She watched for a while but never saw what she was looking for. Quietly sipping her coffee, she got back to work.
As she approached the end of her article, she felt a little more relaxed. Suddenly, she heard a whisper in her ear. 'Did you lock them up? Is it complete?' She glanced around to make sure there wasn't anyone speaking to her. By now, she was used to this. These voices in her head rumbled on and on, and it appeared as if she was overhearing a conversation. She slightly shook her head and finished her article, then headed home.
It was now Friday afternoon. Buddy and Jasper were just getting back from a walk in the park. Until now, the sky had been sunny, but the clouds had shifted in the atmosphere, making it look like it would open up and pour down. Jasper yelled up the stairs as she entered the house, "You home, Isabel? You will not believe this! The one night I choose to go out, it rains, or should I say pour! We practically ran home." Looking down the stairs, Isabel shouted, "I made brownies. Did you want some? Maybe the weather will change before tonight. You never know."
As Jasper was taking off her shoes, her phone rang,
"Hello." "Hi, it’s Jake. I just finished the last interview with my patients, and you're not going to believe what I have to tell you! Can we get together?" Leaning against the wall, Jasper responded, "Yeah, if you want to come over, you can. I'm just getting in. I had taken Buddy down to the park." Taking a deep breath, Jake replied, "Okay, I'm heading over in about an hour so." "Okay, I will see you then."
Jasper hung up the phone. She quickly headed upstairs. "Jake's on his way over and will be here in about an hour. Turns out we're not the only ones. There are quite a few people who claim to have seen shifters. I think that's what they call it." Jasper flopped on the couch, then reached over and picked up a brownie. "These look great. I hope they're as good as they look." Smiling, Jasper took a bite.
Jake hesitantly approached the door. He was feeling a little eerie because of the whole situation. It's not every day you uncover something so strange. Gathering himself together, he knocked on the door. "Come in!" yelled Jasper. Jake stepped in and closed the door. "It's really wet out there. I was hoping it would slow down, but it hasn't." He hung his coat and headed up the stairs. Both girls were slumped on the couch. The rain had sucked the energy right out of them. Isabel picked up the remote and switched off the television. "Hey, Jake," she smiled. Jake looked at the empty plate of brownies, noticing that only crumbs were left. "Did you save me any?" He laughed. Isabel grinned, "Of course, Silly. How long have you known me now? Um, your whole life! They're in the fridge." He jumped up and grabbed the brownies from the fridge, shoving one in his mouth. He plopped down into the chair. "I've been giving all this a lot of thought. I can't imagine holding this inside and not having anyone to talk to about it. You must have had a hard time not feeling like you were going crazy when you saw the shift before. I mean, I know we're not, but it feels crazy." Jasper gazed at Jake and said, "It's not like I don't have a bundle of weird things in my life already, seeing a few faces just added to it. Oh, by the way, I was sitting in the cafe yesterday working, and I heard the voices again. They said, 'Did you lock them up? is it complete?' Do you think this all can be connected?" Putting his feet up on the coffee table, Jake laid back in the chair. His eyes had a faraway look in them. "I have no idea," he said. "All I know is that what we saw is real. I have dozens of files of clients who claim to have seen the same thing. I didn't believe them till you said you saw them. I feel terrible about that too." Jasper turned over on her side to see Jake better. "You shouldn't feel bad. How were you supposed to know something so peculiar was real? You were just doing your job."
“Are you guys hungry?" Isabel asked as she sat up. Should I order some pizza, and we can chill with some movies tonight? Both Jake and Jasper nodded. Jake sat up a bit and looked at Jasper. "I noticed when I was going through the files that these sightings happened all over the city. There are even some videos on YouTube with evidence of this. Isabel, you might get a glimpse of what we see if you look on YouTube. Some of them are clear. None of the patients I spoke to know any more than what we do. I thought maybe we could do more research ourselves, maybe do a little sight-seeing throughout the city and see if we spot anything. What do you think?" Now intrigued, Jasper sat up. "I think that's a great idea. I want to know more. We can cover more ground if we split up, but then Isabel doesn't see them like we do." Isabel piped up, "Yeah, but I might this time. You never know. I want to be part of this too."
Jake waved his hand to calm her down. "Chill, we all are a part of this, and we'll all figure this out together." Just then, the phone rang. Isabel leaned over and picked it up. It was Faith.
"Isabel, can you let Jasper know I appreciate her offer, but I'm going to rough it out for the week." Isabel looked at Jasper. "Okay, I'll let her know."
She hung up the phone. "Faith says, Thank you for the offer, but she's all good." Jasper nodded then looked over at them both, "So, once we figure out if there are more of these shifters, what do we do then? I don't know about you two, but I have no idea what to do next." Both Jake and Isabel had a blank stare on their face, then Jake spoke. "You're right, I have no clue what to do next either. This is way out of my field of expertise. I figure we dig deeper first, and if there are more, then we'll figure out the next step. Have either of you considered that this could be a prank? Though I cannot imagine how they could pull it off, but what if?" Jasper sighed, "There's no way in hell that this is a prank. To me, this does not differ from the voices." Leaning forward with his elbows on his knees, Jake interrupted, "Then I have no clue what we're up against. So how about Tuesday all three of us take it upon ourselves to figure it out?" The girls nodded. "I need to cancel my appointments for Tuesday. I'll do that on Monday." Jake leaned back and got comfortable again. "Let's order a pizza, watch some movies and take our mind off this for a while. I don't know about you, but I find this whole thing exhausting." He laughed.
Chapter Two
Chapter 2
A black streak tore across the suite as Buddy barked. Jasper's eyes opened to determine what was transpiring. Buddy's head swung Jasper's way as he sprinted up the bed and started washing her face. "Good morning to you too, Boy, are you yelling at that cat again?" She snickered to herself, "Is he in here being a brat?" Just then, she realized it was Tuesday morning. Today was the day they were exploring the city, watching for more people with the shifting faces. In some ways it was interesting, but also a little eerie. Maybe they could find some answers today, she hoped. She put on her clothes and placed her hair up in an elastic. Jasper headed to the kitchen to see Isabel, who was always up early.
Isabel was out on the patio with her mug of coffee. Jasper took a coffee and went to join her, "Morning Isabel." Isabel glanced over and smiled. "Look at this view. You would never know anything was happening in this city. I watched the news this morning, probably shouldn't have, but I did. They found a couple more bodies this morning in the same place. They killed the victims in unusual ways; however, all of the
m had white hair and a look of terror on their faces. Don't you feel there's something strange about the way these dead bodies are showing up? I mean, they murdered one with a chainsaw and had paint all over his body, his face done up like a clown. The additional two casualties were either drowned or run over by a huge truck. The killer must sit there striving to come up with new ways to kill people. Oh, and get this, they discovered a fellow roaming the streets this morning, they have him in custody. He alleges to have no memory of who he is or where he is from. They have identified four cases this month." Jasper's eyes expanded, "Where do you get all your information from? I'm certain they didn't show all this on the news." Isabel shook her head, "No. Loretta told me. She's been examining the corpses all day."
Jasper’s jaw dropped open. "You mean the city coroner? Isn't that Jake's ex-girlfriend?" Isabel picked up her coffee cup and headed to the door. "Yup! That's who I'm talking about." Jasper, now wide-eyed, followed Isabel in the house. Does she know what's going on?" Isabel shook her head. "No, she said they're connected to each other, and it's undoubtedly by the same perpetrator." Jasper sighed as she grasped the dog's and cat's food to feed them. Both were doing circles around their dishes, eager to be fed. So, she must be okay with your liking Jake, are you guys an item now?" Isabel grinned, "He asked me to be his girlfriend last night just before we hung up. He told me I'm all he thinks about and that thinking of me gets him through his day. I have never felt more alive, then when I am talking to him." Jasper grinned, "I knew it. You two are meant for each other, I could sense it all along." Pouring the kibble into the pet's dishes, she shifted and peered at her best friend. "Jake's a decent man, he has been like a brother to me. I'm glad he found you, and I'm ecstatic for you. Isabel smiled, "Thank you. I think he's the right guy for me, but only time will tell." Jasper nodded then danced off to get ready for her day.
Just as Jasper was finishing blow-drying her hair, the telephone began ringing. Diving into her bed, she replied,
"Hello?"
Jake was on the other end. "Hey, it's Jake. What are you doing?"
Jasper flopped on her back and replied, "I'm getting ready for our outing later."
Nearly dropping the receiver, Jake muttered, "All right. I'm driving, so I'm turning off this phone. I'll be there shortly." Jake hung up.
Grabbing an elastic for her hair, Jasper shouted down the hall, "Jake's on his way! He'll be here soon!" Jasper grasped her bag and started to load it with the material that she needed for the day. She commenced to wonder how many of those peculiar yet eerie people she'd get to see, if any.
What if one of those hair raising people were to sit down next to her? Oh, my God! There were so many what-ifs. A little concerned, Jasper went out to find Isabel. She was done getting ready and now at the table, reading a newspaper while waiting for Jake. "Isabel, how are you feeling about today?" Isabel glanced up and muttered, "I'm a little nervous yet excited to see what you guys saw. I took a glimpse at the videos Jake informed me about. They're so odd. Is this what you guys see?" Jasper looked at her. "Yeah, that's what we see. It transpires so rapidly you virtually can't blink." Placing the newspaper down, Isabel glanced up and uttered, "Keep your phone on today, Jasper; that way, I can text you. We might not want to speak about this in public, especially if it turns out to be something dangerous." Just then, there was a knock at the door.
Jake sat on the doorstep, waiting for the girls. He knew by just knocking they would know it was him. The sky was unsettled. There was a battle going on among the sun and the clouds. If the clouds win, they could be stuck with an extremely wet day, but there was forever a chance the sun could overthrow the shadows, and the day could turn beautiful. Both girls tumbled out the door. "Hey," said Isabel. Jake beamed as he observed her approach him. "You look nice. He smiled then headed towards the car. "So, who's covering where today?" Isabel took in the front seat and put on her seatbelt. "How about someone takes the West Side Mall, and someone watches the square by the courts?" Jake smiled, "All right. I'll examine the mayor's department and the neighbouring part of town." Jasper grinned and declared, "I'll cover the mall." Both Isabel and Jake nodded in agreement. Buddy jumped in, claiming the window seat. He loved it when they went for a ride in the car. Buddy had been to the mall numerous times. It was helpful being so small; people never seemed to care if he went shopping with Jasper. She always brought his bag with her, so he had a place to sit while she did her thing.
Jake dropped the girls at their destination, but not before reminding Isabel how thrilled he is that she agreed to be his girlfriend. This made her grin ear to ear; finally, something in her life felt right. Jake grabbed her hand and softly kissed her fingers one by one, then smiled. He watched as she walked off into the crowd then headed to the mayor's office. He wasn't sure what excuse he had for hanging around there for any length of time but was sure he could think of one. Finding a spot to park, Jake pulled in and turned the car off. Leaning back, he wondered to himself. What Pandora's box had they opened? He never imagined he would see the day people could make their appearance vary. What if reptile people are living among them, and who the hell would believe us?
Jake hopped out of the automobile and continued to the mayor's building, softly waggling his head. Peering around, he noticed a number of people relaxing on benches sipping espresso and chattering. Nothing strange about that, Jake thought. Strolling over to a nearby booth, he peered at the attendant. "I'll have a double, double, please." The fellow quickly made his coffee for him. After paying the dude, Jake hunted for a quiet place to sit, some place he could observe his surroundings. Thankfully, the sky agreed on sunshine, so the day was turning out to be beautiful. Relishing his coffee, he gaped around, questioning if he could trust his eyes. How many of these people strolling by were who they suggested to be? He drew a strong breath and continued to people watch.
Meanwhile, Isabel was relaxing at a little table in the centre of the square. She had picked up a paperback, although it was not her favourite; she didn't want to get distracted when she needed to be alert. The hostess of the cafe in the square had just served her a delicious hot mug of coffee. It smelled like heaven on this exquisite day. Resting and reflecting, Isabel wasn't sure how this worked. It's not like there are rules inscribed for studying humans. She decided she would peek over the threshold of her novel, so she didn't look rude while simply staring. Numerous people marched throughout the square every day; it was the centrepiece of the municipality. It led to several offices and ordinarily served as a businessman's break room. Being from this city, she wasn't a newcomer to the corporation world. She was a second-grade teacher; however, her older sibling Hank operated with the business crowd, being a prosecutor, that is. Isabel recognized some faces as they scurried by in a rush to get back to work. Just then, her receiver beeped. It was Jake texting her.
Jake: "Hey, Isabel, anything yet?"
Isabel: "It's silent here, how about there?"
Jake: "Yeah, here, too, but it's been only a brief time."
Isabel: "Yup, going to sit here and absorb the sun. I wish we were sitting here together, though. It's always better when you are around."
Jake: "I agree, wish I was there too. Maybe tonight we can hang out, I don't want to wait for the weekend."
Isabel: "all right, talk later."
Isabel: "Certainly! I can cook for us all and then we can snuggle up and check out a movie?"
Jake: Okay, sounds ideal. Let me know if you see anything.
Jasper stood, glancing at some clothes hanging by the door of a local store. They marked the price tags fifty percent off and had a charming floral pattern on them. She reminded herself that she was not there to shop; she was there to people watch. Moving on, she peered about. Folks were hurrying through the mall in each direction. There were a few times Jasper did a double take to see if they seemed unusual, but it spun out to be a false alarm. Spotting a place to sit, she placed Buddy on her lap. "What do you think, Boy? Notice anyone who seems offbeat?" Hugging
him, she peered around. There was a lady in a suit. She was tall and was leaning against the pillar. She was chatting to a gentleman who was even taller than she was. Jasper knew it wasn't nice to stare, yet something about them appeared odd. Just then, it appeared, and not only one, but both their faces transformed. Jasper gasped. Not being able to take her eyes off them, she watched. The woman's face hadn't changed back yet, her tongue flickered. Quirking her head to the right, her mouth fell open. What the hell did I just see! She mused the notion of opening up her phone but decided against it. Instead, she sent both Jake and Isabel a text:
Guys, I saw what we were watching for… though this time, I noticed more than one.
She placed her phone down, not bothering to check to see if they have text back. She didn't want to lose track of the couple. They were business folks, just like the man outside the cafe. Jasper seized her phone and held it as if she was staring at it and promptly snapped a shot of the two. She got up and strolled in their direction. Jasper glanced at the woman and questioned, "Pardon me. Are you Melanie House?" The lady looked at her and responded, "No, Sorry." Jasper stared her right in the eyes and proceeded, "Oh, I'm very sorry. I presumed you were her, my mistake." Buddy started to growl; it was something he never did before. Drawing him closer, Jasper turned and stepped away. When she looked the lady right in the face, her irises turned to a silverish colour, and the slits of her eyes shifted. It was weird, and Jasper felt she had enough.