Shifter

by John Sharp

  Chapter 4 – The Heist

  “It will be five hundred each month, due on the first. If you don’t pay by the seventh I will toss your scrawny ass out,” the burly, balding man in front of me says, as he continues to struggle with the locked door before him. I am in a rundown part of the city that makes my former home look like a honeymoon suite at the Ritz. The hallway is composed of ancient plaster or more likely asbestos with large chucks missing here and there. Wet spots, along with the pungent odor of mildew permeates the walls. Even I, who is accustomed to a modest, rough living style, am appalled by the conditions here. My desire to remain undetected by both the police and whoever sent the men to my former home has a steep price.

  Finally managing to unlock the door he does a hip thrust and the door swings open, creaking loudly. Entering in a wobbling trot that exposes his hairy belly he gestures for me to follow. I reluctantly comply. Like the hallway, the lightly furnished room reminds me of something a fleeing refugee might take shelter in rather than an ‘affordable furnished apartment’ according to the advertisement. The door from the hallway enters into a combination mudroom and kitchen the same color as the hall preceding it, continuing into a small living area with an offensive green shag carpet. On my right side are coat hooks and gouges where coat hooks had previously been. On my left is a kitchen counter with a filthy, white laminate top surrounded by a broken, gold-colored trim. The kitchen is small but would serve well enough if the appliances are working. Gently setting my recently acquired duffle bag down on the counter, I inspect the kitchen appliances. Both the stove and refrigerator are old and yellowed from age. They have bits of exposed rust on the corners like they had just been retrieved from the junkyard. Despite this the refrigerator is cold and the stove is hot. I nod in acceptance. I doubt he would have anything in better condition.

  The burly man just stands there, glaring at me like my brief inspection was a personal insult to him. “It all works,” he declares, crossing his hairy, muscular arms over his large girth. I nod in understanding but continue my inspection.

  Leaving the discolored green tile floor behind me I step onto the matted carpet of the living room. A two-seat plaid, cloth couch is on my right and an old pressboard entertainment stand is on my left. Dust covers its surface except for a clean square area in the center where a TV previously resided.

  Moving to the first room on the left I open the door and find a small bathroom. It has all the basics. A calcium stained tub, a toilet with mold along the edges, and a small sink that is actually in good condition. Satisfied that everything is in working order I move on to the final door. There I find a small bedroom with a new twin-size bed. The new bed surprises me. Perhaps there was too much blood or other bodily fluids on the old one to clean it. I’d rather not know. The only other furniture in here is a single white dresser with peeling paint chips that flaked off like dandruff.

  “It will do,” I tell the man who is now very impatient with me. I count five hundred and present it to him. His eyes bug out at the sight of the money, as if he was surprised I could actually pay him. His temporary surprise fades quickly, replaced by a toothy grin as he seizes the money with fat, sticky fingers. He makes a great show of counting the money before he is satisfied. Handing me the key he turns and leaves. I wait for a minute just to make sure he is gone before opening my duffle bag. A relieved Whisper climbs out, sniffing the air around him.

  “Finally, he’s gone,” Whisper says, stretching out his long, slim body. Swinging his head around Whisper walks to the edge of the counter, his claws clicking with each step. With a great leap he lands nimbly on the tile floor below. Free to explore Whisper sniffs around all the corners, investigating everything. I swear ferrets are more curious than cats.

  Digging in my bag I retrieve a plastic bag filled with the money from my mother’s purse. It looks like a lot of money to me. I’ve never seen more than a single twenty in my entire life but I might need most of it just to get out of the mess I am currently in. Leaving Whisper and my shadow to their own activities I go to the bedroom. Stuffing the money under my mattress, I take off my shoes and change into my boxers, collapsing on top of the bare bed. Recent events and the exhaustion that accompanied them settle into my thoughts like lukewarm oil and my eyes drift closed in seconds. I don’t normally dream. In fact I don’t think I’ve ever had a single dream in the past. So I have no base for comparison on what I experience after I close my eyes this time. Is it a vision, a sending across realities, or simply my first ever dream? It’s familiar on some basic level that I don’t understand. I dream, for lack of a better word, of a young girl kneeling in a castle courtyard who can’t possibly be more than ten or eleven years old. She is tall and slender for her age, with a willowy grace that is expected of fantastical elves. She has shoulder-length, leafy green hair which moves far more than is natural from the passage of air. She kneels before me in a plain, yet elegant, dress that appears to be hand woven from a material lighter and softer than silk. The dress is a soft purple like a flower petal, was offset by the blue hue of her skin. This color isn’t the result of a lack of oxygen but seems natural. Facing her I see that she has eyes similar to my own slit pupils with bright purple irises. Perhaps it’s this alone that makes me feel drawn to her or something much deeper, a connection that I can’t understand.

  The courtyard looks more like a prison than a place of peace. On all sides high, towering walls of black stone loom over the diminutive girl. Walking on these high walls are shadowy sentinels keeping constant vigilance, whether from outside or in I can’t say. Moving closer to her I glide like a ghost, adding to the surreal feeling I already have. This must be a dream. As I near her she suddenly raises her head. We lock eyes, her purples eyes on my bright green ones, and stare intently at each other. She has soft, delicate features that are a clear indication of her youth, with dark blue lips that form an “O” of surprise. Standing up, her eyes widen in shock or perhaps terror of the ghost boy.

  “Wake up, you fool!” She screams at me, her voice high pitched in alarm and I feel myself jolt wide awake.

  I find myself not in my bed but rather stuck in a sticky, soft goo pulling me further down with each move I make. What the hell!

  My small room in my new home is gone. Rather than being in bed I am partially submerged in a thick, orange, gelatinous pool that has an ominous glow. The lake’s glow grants me enough visibility in the darkness to see my immediate surroundings. Off to either side of me are towering trees of bone sunk deep into the orange fluid with leaves of red flesh that move of their own volition. The trunk of each tree resembles a long spinal column, freshly pulled from an unnamed massive horror dwelling in the ocean depths.

  These red leaves each contain lipless mouths that seem to be grinning evilly at me. The mouths are filled with jagged metal teeth. As horrible as the environment is, the immense set of jaws approaching me demands most of my attention.

  The wide open mouth is mind-boggling and the only comparison I can make to bring it into perspective is a large moving cave filled with sharp pillars, each significantly bigger than I am. The orange goo rocks violently as the lower jaw parts and the sticky fluid around it rushes toward me.

  Panic flares in my brain as the madness of the situation overwhelms me. Struggling uselessly against my sticky bonds I only sink deeper, nearly fully immersing myself. Closing fast, that wide, gaping maw fills my entire core with fear. Its foul breath flows over me like a breeze from a garbage heap, assuring me that this is no dream. It smells of old carrion, fermenting in the blistering sun with a tinge of salt and sea. It smells of death. Not knowing where I am or how I got here I do the only thing I can think of; the thing that is most natural to me. I shift. I’ve never shifted myself before, there‘s been no need, but I instinctively know how. I don’t look where I’m going. I don’t’ have time. I have to leave now.

  Slamming closed
upon me with earth shuddering force, the teeth give a violent snap, resonating across realities and rattling my bones. Breathing heavily on the verge of hysterical laughter I look down at my body. From the chest down I can see a thick outline of teeth but beyond that the rest of my body is fully intact. I let out a sob of relief. I shifted just far enough. Shifting myself farther away the monster before me becomes a faint outline, barely visible as if it truly belongs to a dream. The orange goo I was trapped in no longer exists. I am instead encased by hard-packed, dry clay that crumbles as I free myself.

  Completely breaking free I get to my feet, the earth falling from me as I stand. I am still in a different world. Around me is a barren landscape cloaked in shadows, unoccupied except for a few tumbleweeds and skittering insects the size of footballs. The only source of illumination across the barren landscape is a large, misshapen moon in the night sky. It grins down upon me with a sick purple light. I feel uneasy just looking at it. The shape is all wrong like a double yoke egg that didn’t separate during development, with visible cracks in its surface.

  Focusing my gaze through the various levels of reality I find my new home. A worried looking Whisper runs about in the darkness of my room, his white fur gleaming slightly in the night. I am about to return there when my shadow shifts here.

  “Why the hell did you shift?” He demands as he forms a dark silhouette in front of me. He is much darker than the environment around me, as if even the light from that twisted moon is repulsed by his presence.

  “I didn’t…” I start, then pause, considering. Did I? Perhaps in my sleep I had accidently shifted myself. Nothing like that has ever happened before but maybe… As I stand there pondering I feel a tug, like someone tied a rope around my waist trying to pull me backwards, back to the orange goo and those large teeth. It’s clumsy effort. While my shifting is as precise as a scalpel this feels like someone trying to perform open heart surgery with a butter knife. With little effort I stop the pull before it can move me even a little across realities. Scanning around me I quickly find the source. The monstrous head that had tried to eat me is faint but a single immense, gold-rimmed eye the size of a small car is glaring at me. The fierce hate in that stare makes me shiver. The creature didn’t try to eat me like an animal. It had tried to kill me. It might be enormous and it might be able to shallow me whole, but when it comes to shifting I am stronger by far. Turning my back on the eye I address my shadow.

  “I was pulled here by something. Something big. I won’t let it do it again.”

  Not waiting for a reply I return to my world. My sudden appearance startles Whisper, making him tumble out of bed. Scrambling to his feet he launches himself at me in a ferret hug. Scooping him out of mid-air I hug him to my chest. The old clock on the dresser reads 3:23am.

  “Where did you go, Shifter? I was sleeping on you then I fell on the bed when you vanished. What happened?” Trying to calm him down I give a brief account of what transpired as my shadow rejoins us.

  “Let’s go to bed. We have a long day tomorrow.” I look at the clock again. “I mean later today.” Sitting down to breakfast early the later that morning I finish a plate of eggs for me and Whisper. After we wash up I gather him into my duffle bag and head out into the fresh air to get some food, some clothes and some freedom after last night’s events.

  I return nearly eight hours later with a new backpack, two bags worth of new clothes, an armful of groceries, along with a new cell phone, and a rather diminished wad of cash. The clothes and food didn’t cost that much but the lawyer I hired did. He was a lean, professional man in an expensive suit and he almost threw me out before I could assure him that I could afford his fee. Surrendering most of my funds to him I informed him I wasn’t hiding from the law, but I didn’t want to go back to Greenbroch either. To my knowledge I had no criminal charges against me other than my unauthorized exit from the mental institution. I would be more than happy to comply with any investigation that was ongoing. Leaving it to the lawyer I proceed to have a most excellent meal with Whisper in the park ignoring my upcoming financial troubles and my earlier encounter this morning.

  Now those troubles float around in my mind as I put the food away, giving bits of ham to Whisper. Brick suddenly materializes out of the wall next to me, his face taking on the textures of the wall. It makes look like a pock-marked albino teenager and I almost laugh at him. True to my word I told Brick of my new address and I was sure to pick up a lot of quartz for him at a local hobby shop. I also picked up a variety of minerals, including some fool’s gold, marble, and obsidian. I think he might like to try something new.

  “This place is old and tasty,” Brick says, licking his lips with a small black tongue. “They don’t make them like this anymore.”

  “I certainly hope not,” my shadow says, leaning against the wall. “Otherwise the entire city might collapse.” He’s been in a very good mood today

  Although I wouldn’t admit it to Whisper or anyone else, I am growing a bit concerned about my shadow. He’s been getting a lot more active lately, able to interact with this world far more than previously. It’s almost as if all the terrible things that have been happening to me lately have been fueling his strength… feeding his darkness. For the millionth time I wonder what he is, really.

  Pushing my concerns aside I address the more immediate issue; my lack of funds. I can survive for a few months at the most but after that I will be broke. An obvious solution presents itself to me. Since my ‘dream’ I know how I can get extra money to fund whatever I want. I don’t want to do it, but the more I consider it, the less choice I seem to have Tomorrow night. I will do it then. I’ll only take the minimum amount I need to get by. I go to sleep with Whisper at my side as I tell myself the lie over and over again. Only the minimum amount…

  Night. It’s a cool fresh night with a light breeze that flies refreshingly through my copper hair as I stand a good distance away from my goal. Dressed in all black I feel like a ninja about to embark on a dangerous quest. Well, at least the dangerous part was right.

  The large bank is nestled comfortably next to a local police station as if that guaranteed protection from all theft. I stand two blocks away looking at the neon sign filled streets with Whisper in my duffle bag and my shadow lingering in the darkness around me. For the great bank robbery I only brought a few items with me, most of which I hope I don’t need. A pair of gloves, my cell phone wiped clean of all fingerprints, my backpack and my gun. Moving out of sight of the other nightly pedestrians I go into a back alley behind a local restaurant and place Whisper on the ground, kneeling next to him. Touching his fur I focus my sight, finding my goal. It’s done in an instant. I shift us into another world.

  The first thing I notice is that the air change from a refreshing night breeze to a bitter, yet sweet aroma like fermenting fruit. There are no longer large buildings and human made signs urging me to buy things I don’t need. Instead, a lush rainforest sprawl before me with spindly trees that tower far above my head. I feel very small, especially because of Whisper.

  This is the reality I pulled him from all those years ago. He is no longer my cat-sized ferret, but has instead returned to his original size. From head to tail he is about as long as a semi-truck with a trailer attached. Turning his head me he sends me tumbling on the grassy ground. Lowering his head to mine I stare into his startling blue eyes, each now larger than my head. Gently laying a front paw the size of garbage can on my chest he licks my face with his soft pink tongue.

  “Ah, Whisper, cut it out!” I laugh as I struggle in vain to push him off. I think he’s been waiting to do this for a while.

  “Gross,” my shadow says, forming a dark silhouette behind me. “Tell me, Shifter, is his foul from never brushing his teeth?”

  Whisper, hissing at him, pounces, obviously more at ease now that he is his natural size. Laughing as Wh
isper passes right through him, my shadow merely scatters for a moment like a puff of wind.

  “You’re still just a flea infested rat. Hmm… too bad your privates didn’t get any bigger.” Whisper’s ears go flat and a look of alarm crosses his face as he rushes to see if my shadow’s claim is accurate. Shaking my head in amusement I get back to my feet, surveying my surroundings.

  All around me as far as I can see in any direction is a thick canopy of jungle with lush green filling every spot above me, barely allowing the moonlight in. Yet I can see just fine. Around us in all directions are massive white mushrooms, each taller than I am with thin stems that sway in the breeze. On top of each stalk is a large, round puffy head the size of a basketball that radiates a faint white glow from the center of each. The glow bathes the forest floor in a peaceful soft light. I marvel at the variety of the worlds coexisting with ours. Some, like this, are truly wondrous, while others are simply terrifying. For the first time in my life I have to wonder if my ability to see and interact with these others worlds is a blessing and not a curse. Whisper, after confirming his privates are in fact the right size, glares at my shadow.

  “This is my world, smoke cloud. Be careful how you address me.” Whisper warns, his hackles rising a bit.

  “It might be your world, rat, but I can go anywhere and I’m far beyond your ability to harm,” my shadow says.

  Not wanting them to get into their typical insulting match I push forward with the plan. This is Whisper’s level of reality and that means there are watchers here as well. The sooner we get this done the better. Reaching for my gun, I touch its surface and instantly pull my hand back. The cool metal of the gun had changed to a flaky, almost furry exterior. Looking in my bag I see that my gun had twisted and rusted beyond recognition. It hadn’t survived the shifting. Perhaps it was the metal. It’slike it had rusted for a century straight, growing mold. My phone didn’t fare much better. It has become cracked and worn, like it was used to scrub dishes for a decade. My clothes I are in much better condition but every piece of metal on me shows signs of extreme age. My shoes however, are a lost cause and at the first step they fall to pieces. Sighing, I resign myself to buying a new pair upon my return.

  Whisper joins me, gazing into the bag. In silence I turn the bag over and let the ruined items fall to earth. At least the gloves are ok as I put them on.

  “Don’t worry, Shifter. I’ll protect you,” Whisper says nuzzling me, and sending me sprawling again. He gives a soft purr of amusement.

  “You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?” I ask, getting to my feet and scratching behind his large ears.

  “I have been little for far too long. It’s time for you to be the little one for awhile.”

  “Well, if I have my way we won’t be here long.” I direct my vision toward our destination. Scanning the levels of reality I see the bank as a faint outline imbedded in the trees some distance off. I point in its direction and Whisper nods, lowering himself to the ground. In the previous day’s planning Whisper had suggested that we go to his level of reality so if we run into trouble he could protect me. I could ride him for speedy transport. I agreed mostly because I knew it would make him happy and I secretly wanted to ride him. Riding a large white ferret just sounded so cool. I scramble up his fur, getting a good grip on him. Whisper returns to his full height easily, leaving me two meters off the ground. I suppress a roar of glee as he bounds off in the bank’s general direction, my shadow following behind.

  Whisper can’t see into the levels of reality like I can so I give him directions. It isn’t as simple as I first thought it would be. The forest is thick and leaves little room to navigate. Indeed it takes us almost thirty minutes, circling and back tracking, to reach our destination. What seem like daunting obstacles to me don’t even slow Whisper down. He gracefully leaps up cliff walls and dashes around fallen trees, playfully bouncing off a large snake that snaps at us but doesn’t pursue.

  Finally we stand at the bank, or where the bank is in my world. I can see it as a faint outline, the mere possibility of a structure. Climbing down from Whisper I give him a wide smile and a good scratch under his chin. I study the area carefully along with the position of the vault. Walking to a point just beyond the vault door with Whisper at my side I place my free hand in his fur, shifting us. It’s over in an instant. Once again I am in the human world with a ferret in my arms inside a locked bank vault. Houdini would be so jealous right now.

  The bank vault is a large, unfriendly room. It speaks of security with locked safety deposit drawers on the left and a cage directly in front of me protecting row upon row of stacked currency. More money than I have ever seen rests just before me. Just the minimum amount … I tell myself again.

  Studying the obstacle in front of me I place Whisper on my shoulder, preparing myself for this dark deed. My shadow joins us a few seconds later, shifting all by himself from the other world. Forming a dark shadow over me I feel like a school boy who was caught being naughty by his teacher. Deciding to leave me to figure out the cage, my shadow drifts in and out of the lock boxes, occasionally giving slight chuckles at their contents.

  Grabbing the cage I shift it to another world, grimacing at the necessity of it. My original plan was to just take a bit of the money leaving no sign I had ever been here. Now when they arrive in the morning the first thing they will notice will be the missing gate. Perhaps I can bring it back when I am done.

  “Let’s get this done, Shifter. Such activities are distasteful. I don’t see why your kind has interest in green paper,” Whisper says looking at the stacks of bills.

  “I know, I don’t like it either but this will get us food and a place to live. At least until I can get a job.” Though privately I wonder if this wouldn’t be an easier lifestyle, simply taking what I want.

  “Why bother?” My shadow asks as he exits another lock box. “No one can stop us. We should just take what we want.”

  I shiver at his words. Not from the meaning but from the fact I was thinking exactly that.

  “Shifter is not like you, shit cloud,” Whisper hisses. Privately I wonder about that.

  Ignoring their bickering I start grabbing money, shoving it into my bag. Wads of hundred dollar bills fill my bag and my mind spins with excitement and guilt at the sheer amount I am taking. The bag is half way full and I am getting ready to leave when my shadow speaks up.

  “Why not at least fill up the bag?” He says in a sly voice that the snake from the Garden of Eden would be proud of. I ignore him. A few minutes later I am confident that everything is ready to go when my shadow speaks again.

  “Open this box for me, Shifter,” my shadow says. Turning to look I find him condensed on a certain box.

  Going to him I place my hand on the door as he slides out of the way, shifting it. The door leaves reality, creating an open hole where it had been only moments ago. Whisper and I peer in at a black diamond the size of a egg resting on a small display.

  “We shouldn’t take that,” I say.

  “Well, I think we should,” my shadow counters. “I want it.”

  “No,” I say flatly. He grins at me. Ignoring him I direct my gaze into that other world. Taking a deep breath I steady myself with one hand on Whisper the other on the lock boxes. I shift us. The bank fades from view, becoming a distant memory and I am once again in Whisper’s world with the addition of an extremely rusty cage resting on the ground along with an unrecognized square of flaky red that had once been a safety deposit box door. I smile. We did it, everything had worked perfectly. Well I can’t return the cage but otherwise everything went smoothly.

  Remounting Whisper we take off and I can’t help but feel clever after such a successful job. I keep that feeling even as we return to the human world, getting home without a single misstep. I don’t lose my good mood until I get home. Going to my room I check the results of th
e great bank heist.

  The bag has money in it, that isn’t the problem. The problem is that it is stuffed full of money. I had filled it to the brim, actually appearing to have stuffed even more in it like a greedy child shoving candy into his mouth. I frown. I didn’t want to take that much. Even now, though I had clearly taken more then I intended to I don’t remember doing it. Only my shadow’s whispers that I should. And I had done it. Without thought or consideration to my own plans I had obeyed his dark urgings without even a trace of resistance or independent will. To make matters worse, as I collapse on my bed with the weight of my discovery I feel an odd lump in my pocket. Reaching inside I withdraw the black diamond from the safety deposit box I had opened. A feeling of vertigo fills me as my vision seems to swim and dance about. What the hell is my shadow and how much influence does he have on me?