Shift - 02

by M. R. Merrick

  “Then we have a deal.”

  “Excellent.” He smiled and shook my hand.

  We walked in silence for a few minutes. The aches in my body began to fade. My muscles loosened up and the pain in my head receded. The cuts on my chest hurt more, but the rest of me had started to feel better.

  We followed the dirt path deep into the forest, and after an hour, the gray clouds faded letting the sun break through. The warmth brought the forest back to life, drying the wet leaves and waking the birds who sang from the treetops. A mild breeze rode the air and brought with it the scent of the revitalized woods.

  Chief and I stepped through an opening in the trees. It was a smaller, more private version of the gathering area back at camp. There were three stumps that sat on the wet earth and the small fire pit in the middle was filled with old, wet ash.

  “Here we are.” Chief reached into his jacket and pulled out a matchbook. He went through several matches trying to light the moist wood, but each burned out before he could get a spark. “Care to help?”

  I smirked and reached down into my soul, pulling at the fire magic inside. I channeled the energy down my arm and into my hand, and the flame came to life with ease. I pushed it forward, and a stream of heat smoldered towards the wood.

  The bark smoked, but the wet, soggy wood resisted the flame. I turned my focus to the flames’ heat, and the temperature spiked. Small flickers of bright ash shot up into the air, but still the fire didn’t catch. I gave the magic one last push, the flame turning into a bright white scorch of heat and the wet logs lit up with a crackle.

  The magic pulled back with ease, cooling and then disappearing. The heat filled me as it moved back down my arm and through my chest, coming to rest at that invisible place in the middle. I picked a stump to sit on and let the heat wash over me. I couldn’t help but smile as the flames crackled against the wood. I was finally gaining some control.

  “That magic never ceases to impress me,” Chief said. “Now as for those dreams you’ve been having, let’s see if we can put some of that power to good use.”

  Chief adjusted himself on his stump. He slipped his shoes off, revealing hairy bare feet, and twisted his legs overtop of one another, placing a foot on each of them in a meditative position.

  “Before we start, I must warn you. If you damage your psyche or you die in the other plane, it is possible for you to be stuck there, unable to return to the physical world.”

  “Great.”

  “I’m very serious. Take caution before you attempt this on your own.”

  “Okay…I got it,” I said impatiently.

  “When your enemy enters your mind, you have the advantage. It’s your psyche, so you are in control. Before you can control this, however, you must first understand it. There is no better way to do this than to step outside of your body. We will try together, but do not be discouraged; very few are able to do this on the first attempt. All you need to worry about now is getting into the meditative state; the rest will come with practice.”

  I slipped my shoes off, taking the same position as Chief. It was uncomfortable at first, but the feeling faded as I closed my eyes and focused on his voice.

  “When you lose your sight, your other senses come to life. They can distinguish things without seeing them. They can touch them without the use of your hands. To step out of yourself, you must enter the meditative mindset. I want you to quiet your mind, hush your soul, and focus only on the life surrounding you.”

  I kept my eyes closed and reached out with my other senses. The forest changed, coming to life in a new way. It reminded me of the first time I entered the sanctuary with Rayna. Magic pounded inside me, and I pushed it aside. I wasn’t playing that game today. Instead of the magic, I focused on the birds, the trees, and the wet earth around me.

  “First, reach outside yourself and feel the forest. Hear it, smell it, taste it, and feel it with more than your body.”

  The birds’ chirping became louder, wet leaves rustled, and the sun’s warmth covered my skin. I could hear the trees swaying in the breeze and smell the moisture fading from the air. A warm tingle moved over my chest and the senses flew around me. Faster and faster they swallowed me until there was nothing else. The woods existed in a new way–the forest didn’t surround me anymore; it was inside me.

  Everything sounded and felt different. I could no longer feel the stump beneath me. I could hear the fire snapping against the wood, but it gave off no heat. The forest air drifted around me, but there was no breeze.

  I tried to keep my focus and ignore how foreign everything seemed, but I couldn’t. I opened my eyes, and to my surprise, I was no longer sitting at all. I was standing in front of the fire. Everything was different. Things were foggy, yet clearer than ever.

  I turned around and a swell of fear filled me. I could see myself sitting on the stump. Legs crossed, eyes closed, and an intense focus written over my face.

  “Do not panic.” I heard the voice in my head.

  I tried to talk but no sound came out. “What the hell is happening?”

  “You’ve succeeded.” The voice chuckled, and I recognized it as Chief’s.

  I turned to Chief but he was still on the stump. His eyes were closed and he was motionless, looking peaceful in front of the forest’s backdrop. I turned, trying to follow his voice, but there was nothing to follow; it was inside my head.

  “I am here.” The voice came again.

  I turned to the cracking of branches behind me and a large white tiger stepped out of the forest. Huge white paws moved the dirt and leaves as it crept towards me. Thick black swirls and stripes covered its furry body and it moved with such power; you wouldn’t think it could have grace, but it carried that strength as though it were weightless.

  I stepped back and my legs tingled like they had fallen asleep. They moved, but they didn’t touch the wet earth beneath me.

  “Do not fear me. It is I, Chief.” The large cat stared at me and bright purple eyes watched with a gentle ferocity. “We’ve achieved what we set out to do. I admit I’m surprised, but we’ve stepped out of ourselves.”

  “How can I hear you?”

  “When we astral project, we are not physically here. Voices are a thing that exists solely in the physical world. When you step out of it, you move to a higher plane: one that exists only for our minds and souls. This is a level of consciousness between awake and dreaming.”

  “Then why are you a tiger?”

  “On this plane, we appear as we truly see ourselves. Your projection is the same as your physical form. You see yourself exactly as you are. Interesting.”

  Everything around me looked the same, but different. The colors were brighter, the smells were more distinct; the world was more alive. “What now?”

  “You’re in a dream state. You can do things here that you cannot do in the physical world. This is all controlled by your mind. This is your astral projection. I have entered it with ease, but in order to protect yourself, you must create a wall to block outsiders. Before you can build a wall, you must first be able to alter your world. Try and take us somewhere else.”

  I turned and walked into the forest, but the Chief’s voice rang through my head again. “Do not walk somewhere else, simply go there.”

  “How?”

  “Just go.”

  I looked at the forest around me and imagined the old apartment. I pictured the old tube television that weighed a ton, the cracked ceiling, and the stained foam mattress that lay beneath it. I could hear the neighbors smashing things against my wall and it startled me as the sound rang through my head.

  The forest didn’t fade. It morphed around me, becoming something different. The trees merged together, the color fading to become yellow walls. The fresh air that filled my nostrils vanished and turned stale. Old stained carpet covered the forest floor and I was no longer in the forest; I was standing in the middle of my old bedroom.

  The old foam mattress I had once called a bed
lay on the floor, my blankets thrown aside. The scarred and faded brown dresser was still missing its handles, and the ceiling had the same cracks I remembered. I stared at the nicotine stained walls and sadness came over me. It was my home…but it was missing the most important piece.

  “We make homes out of what we’re given, but they do not define who we are.” Chief’s thought came through my head. The huge tiger sat in my doorway, his thick face and bright purple eyes watching me with wisdom I knew an animal couldn’t have.

  “You’re still here…”

  “I go where you go, until either I choose to leave, or you make me. This is your plane; try to push me out of it.”

  I tried the same technique as before. I pictured the apartment without Chief. I imagined pushing him out the door and into the hall, but nothing happened.

  “I can’t.”

  “You can. Pushing me out is more difficult than keeping me out, but if you take control of this, you’re one step closer to protecting yourself. You must find me in this world.”

  I changed my approach and reached out with my mind. I felt with my psyche, trying to follow his magic, his aura, anything. The same magic I used to break down glamour reached out and pawed at the air. I could feel his energy lingering around me and I followed it back to his spirit form. It hung in the air and I pushed at it with my mind. I pulled energy from inside myself, but it wasn’t my element; it was a mental ability I didn’t recognize. I pushed that energy against him and he started to push back.

  “Good.”

  I put all my focus into that power and pushed until I felt his energy break.

  “Wait–” his voice came, but it was too late.

  The tiger blurred and faded from the doorway. I stood alone in the apartment with nothing but the sound of the neighbor’s screams. I felt oddly strange and unwanted, even though there was no one else here. Thick silence wrapped itself around me and I didn’t like how out of place I felt. This wasn’t the home I remembered.

  I pushed the bedroom away and imagined the forest again. The ceiling cracked in half, each piece pulling away from the other. It peeled back like wallpaper and became the bright blue sky I’d left. The walls shook before shattering to dust, and thick branches and trunks burst from the floor. The thin stained carpet disappeared beneath dirt, sticks, and rocks.

  Chief still sat on his stump, but the tiger was nowhere to be seen. My physical body sat in its same position, a smile pulling at the corners of my mouth. I looked at peace.

  It was strange looking at myself without a mirror. I recognized myself, but I looked different. Nothing I could place. Just…different.

  I shook the feeling away and closed my eyes, willing myself back into my body. When I opened them again, I still stood in front of myself. I tried again, imagining the walls of the forest collapsing around me and pushing myself back into my body. Nothing.

  I took a few steps back and ran towards my body. I leapt forward and felt a strange vibration as I slid through my physical form. I passed through it and rolled along the earth without touching the ground, a barrier of air carrying my body.

  I watched myself sitting peacefully on the stump and cursed in my head. I was stuck. I started to panic, and as nervousness clutched me, the trees began to shake. The sound of thunder boomed in the air and echoed through my head. The trees collapsed and my heart raced. The world became foggy and this reality crumbled.

  My astral projection was lifted from the ground and I struggled against an unseen power. The ground disappeared, becoming black, empty space. I tried to bring my focus back but it was too late. My body tore through the air, soaring towards my physical form.

  My eyes opened and my body flew back off the stump. Chief’s laughter filled my ears as I hit the wet earth and pain shot through my chest. I reached up and touched my face. To my relief, I felt skin. I was back.

  “One must be careful not to panic.”

  “Would’ve been nice to know what to expect,” I said.

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t think you’d actually project. Very few people succeed on a first attempt. I tried to warn you, but you pushed me out before I could.”

  “It didn’t feel the same this time. Not like it was when Riley and the Brothers were in my dreams.”

  “That’s because you weren’t in the dream world. You were somewhere in between. They were entering your dreamscape directly and making it their own. They decided where you went, how you moved and felt, and what you were able to do. You are lucky to be here and not stuck in the other world after what Darius did.”

  “So if they come back into my dream and kill me, I’ll die here?”

  “There is a chance of that. If that happened, you would be reborn in the dream world, stuck until your physical body died. Then you’d become a spirit.”

  “A ghost? You’re kidding right?”

  “I’m afraid not, but think more poltergeist than ghost. After being trapped in that plane for any length of time, you’d surely go mad.”

  “I think I’ve had enough astral…whatever for one day.”

  We came back through the clearing to the sound of Rayna screaming. Chief and I looked at each other and made a break for the cabin.

  He burst through the door first and I expected to see Rayna rolling on the floor in pain, but she wasn’t. She stood wrapped in a small towel, trying to keep herself covered. Jonathan Winter stood in the living room. He had one hand in front of him, and the other covering his eyes.

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to…I mean, I just want to talk. A chance to explain.”

  “Get out!” she screamed.

  I lunged towards Jonathan and tackled him to the floor. Pain seared through my chest and I did my best to ignore it, but before I could do more, Chief’s hands pulled me.

  Chief grabbed Jonathan by the neck and dragged him outside, throwing him off the porch as easily as he’d throw a stone. Jonathan hit the ground rolling and Chief stormed towards him.

  “What did I tell you?” Chief's voice was loud and angry, but his beast didn't rise. He remained in complete control.

  “I have a right to explain myself to my own daughter,” Jonathan stammered, trying to stand.

  “You have the right to nothing. If and when she’s ready, she’ll let you know. I gave you a direct order to stay away, and you disobeyed me. Again!”

  “I thought the Hollowlights were about democracy and equality, not about orders.”

  “We are also about respect, something you are showing none of to me, or Rayna.”

  Shifters made their way out of the woods and cabins, gathering together and whispering amongst themselves. Rayna stepped out onto the porch with her arms crossed. She’d dressed in a loose pair of sweats, and her body was swimming in one of my zip-up hoodies.

  Jonathan’s blue eyes looked past Chief as she came out. “Please, Rayna, all I’m asking is for a chance to explain. If you want nothing more from me afterwards, I’ll go. I just want a chance…”

  “No,” Chief said. “You will leave. Now.”

  “It’s fine,” Rayna answered.

  “What?” I asked.

  “If that’s what it takes to get him to leave me alone, then let’s get this over with. Nothing else seems to be working.” Rayna was calm, her face composed and her emotions in check. Her eyes locked with Jonathan’s. “You've got ten minutes.” Rayna shook her head and walked back into the cabin.

  Jonathan pushed himself to his feet and brushed the wet grass off his pants and jacket.

  Chief grabbed him by the shirt and pulled him forward. “If you ever pull a stunt like that again, you and I are going to have a problem.”

  “Careful, Charlie, I’m not a cub.” Jonathan said with a growl, and his blue eyes shifted to their cat form.

  “Is that a challenge?” Chief’s eyes were still human, but the beast lurked beneath the surface, power rolling off of him.

  Jonathan froze and let his eyes shift back to their human counterpart. He sighed and shook h
is head. “No…”

  “Then watch your tongue.”

  “I’m sorry…it won’t happen again.”

  Chief released him and Jonathan walked towards the cabin.

  “Chase, get in here,” Rayna commanded.

  Rayna was on the couch. Jonathan sat in a chair opposite her, leaning forward with eagerness.

  “I thought we could talk, just you and me,” Jonathan pleaded.

  “No. Whatever you have to say, you can say in front of Chase and Chief. Your time starts now.”

  “Oh, where to start…”

  “You’ve barged in on me multiple times and attacked Chase to have this conversation. You’ve had eighteen years to figure it out and here I am, so start talking.”

  “Okay…” Jonathan’s eyes moved from Rayna, to me, to Chief, and he sighed. “I'd been in love with your mother for nearly a year. We were planning on eloping so I could escape the Circle and we could be together. A few weeks before we were set to leave, the elders sent me on a mission to investigate some missing kids. Turned out it was a problem with shifters, but not like you’d think.”

  Jonathan adjusted himself in his seat, trying to read Rayna’s response. Her eyes locked with his and her expression was unmoving. Jonathan cleared his throat and continued.

  “The children had been adopted, but what no one knew was they were born shifters. Their parents were killed by none other than the Circle. When cubs start to shift, they have a natural instinct to join their pack, so naturally, the kids followed the scent. When I found them and tried to take them back, they’d already started to change. One of the younger kids bit me and transferred the virus.” Jonathan fidgeted with his hands, his eyes dropping to the floor. “I tried fighting the infection, but I could feel it taking hold. I didn’t tell anyone; the Circle would’ve had me killed. I knew I was going to die, but I wouldn’t let it be at their hands, so I decided to run. I knew it wouldn’t be long before the Circle found out I was missing, so I went to Sarah…your mother. I’d planned to say goodbye, but we ended up…” Jonathan looked up sheepishly and quickly pulled his eyes away from Rayna.

  “Having sex?” Rayna asked.