Different (Chapter Two)

Chapter Two 1

President Shelly sat at her desk, listening to the radio she had sitting on her desk. Hushed voices talked and fuzz sounded, but nothing urgent. Sighing, the curly haired president leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes for a doze. It wouldn't hurt to, since there were no reports of the white creature. 2

"President Shelly!" President Shelly's eyes flew open to the call. "The creature- it's right below us!" 3

"Well, do something," she snarled into the radio. Silence stung the air, and no answer came. A crash and a scream of pain sounded. President Shelly sat stuned in her velvet seat. She waited and waited and waited..... 4

"President Shelly?" asked a quiet voice. The President blinked and leaned in. "We're, uh, above Canada right now, down in the snow. We're buried 'bout thirteen feet under. How do we get out?" 5

"Open the top latch of your plane and let the snow fall in. Try and dig your way up." The situation was hopeless, President Shelly thought. The chances of the crew surviving were like a baby kitten abandoned in the snowy forest.6

********7

Scout gave a loud yawn and rolled over in her sheets. She opened one eye and it was raining, again. For the last twenty days, only two had, had sunshine.8

Scout yawned and rolled out of bed. When she looked in the mirror, her curly brown hair was a mess. She started combing her hair until it were no more stubborn tangles. She dressed into a light green t-shirt and dark blue jeans. She put a green headband in her hair and started downstairs. 9

"You look a mess! Your shirt is filled with filth," said Scout's mother sternly. She was a neat freak.10

"Sorry Mum," mumbled Scout, brushing the dirt off her shirt. She didn't care, she never went to school. She brought home fake report cards, fake homework, fake teacher notes saying there was no need for a conference. She was smart anyway.11

"Now shoo off to school!" hissed her mother, and Scout picked up her backpack filled with lunch, and fake stuff.12

She rushed out the door and into the busy city. She switched into a hawk behind a bush, leaving her backpack under it.13

The thrill of flight made Scout smile. She soared over London, almost hitting Big Ben. As she dropped her level a bit, a sparrow passed her.14

Blue and violet eyes.15

Scout's wings stopped flapping for a moment. She streaked after it, air stinging her wings. But she had to talk to it.16

The sparrow dropped elevation and went into a subway tunnel. Scout followed it, and shifted to a robin in midair. The sparrow made a sharp turn and flew over the heads of confused people. Scout made the turn and chased the sparrow up the stairs.17

Rain hit the shifter's eyes and she used every bit of strength to follow the bird. Finally, her beak almost touched it's tail feathers.18

C'mon Scout!19

She shifted into a raven and flew ahead of the bird.20

"Leave me alone!" it cawed as it too became a raven.21

"No, come down with me," she begged.22

"Fine," answered the raven. They zoomed down to where the bush and bag were. Behind a tree, they shifted into human.23

Scout gasped when she saw the shifter. He was a handsome boy with dirty blonde hair and fair skin.24

"You shift too?" asked.25

Scout tucked her hair behind her ears. "Yup. My name's Scout. You?''26

"I'm Gage. Gaggy."27

Scout laughed. "Scoutie."28

Gage blinked a few times. "Okay, why'd you drag me down from up in the sky?"29

"Never met another shifter," answered Scout.30

"Really?" asked Gage. "I've met a lot, but most are now dead."31

"S-say what?" stammered Scout.32

"There's this creature going 'round the earth, and it's prey is a shifter."33

******34

"You okay?" asked President Shelly in the walkie-talkie. "Out of the plane."35

"No," rasped a weak voice. "Snow keeps falling in."36

"Well dig it out you idiot! You'll never survive if you lounge around all day!" snarled Shelly.37

"Well you'd be tired if you were digging out snow for ten hours," hissed a voice.38

"There were fifty people on that plane, enough to dig snow out!"39

"Is that so?" screamed the man. "Well twenty people are already dead and fifteen more are sick!"40

Shelly leaned back in her chair. She lost. "Damn it," she muttered. "We're dead."41

*****42

Scout widened her eyes. "Shifters?"43

"I'm afraid so," admitted Gage. "But would you consider helping me take them out?"44

Scout stared at the boy. "I'd have to leave my family."45

Gage rolled his eyes. "C'mon, you pretend you go to school every day and roam the city for eight hours. And it's not forever."46

"How do you know I don't go to school?" asked Scout.47

"I could read minds." Gage grinned wickedly. "Every shifter has a different power than every other shifter. Like I knew this girl who could make people say what she wanted to. Or one that could turn invisible, a classic. Maybe even control people's movements."48

"How do you figure out your power?" wondered Scout.49

"Takes a bit of heart," said Gage. "I found mine when I wanted to know whether my mum would send me to school or not. It just came."50

Scout turned back to the original subject. "Fine, I'll come with you to help save the world."51

Gage grinned and picked up his backpack. "You're worried."52

"Heck yeah," muttered Scout, picking up her backpack.53

"You think I'm an idiot."54

"Kinda," giggled Scout.55

"You think I'm cute," said Gage slyly.56

"And I want you to stop reading my thoughts!" Scout turned into a huge hawk, glanced at Gage, and then they were off.