No Choice

by Mel Todd

  “Officer Largo, McKenna, you did excellently. Thank you. The Governor caught your conference and was most impressed. He asked to see you in the next few days.”

  At this point she couldn’t even flinch, just nodded. She was exhausted and didn’t know why.

  “I think at this point, sir, the best thing is for me to go home. I’m still technically on suspension, and I haven’t had time to really process this yet.”

  “True. But we are pushing this through. I would expect to be back on active duty by Monday at the latest. And be aware, you probably aren’t going back on patrol.” He shot a look at JD. “Either of you.”

  She wanted to protest, but it was a battle she would fight later. “Yes, sir.” She pushed herself to her feet. The chair next to her creaked as JD did the same.

  They were waved out, and she headed towards the back door. The reporters weren’t allowed in to the yard which was where they had parked, so they should be able to escape.

  It really bugs me that I feel like we are being hunted.

  Neither of them spoke on the way to the car though she caught the glances from people as they passed. Part of her cataloged them, anger, fear, wariness, hope, and relief. She noted them and moved on, right now dealing with other people wasn’t anything she had the energy or interest to do.

  The soft thud of the car doors closing out the sounds going on in the parking lot, came as an absolute relief and she sagged in the seat.

  “Where to?” JD’s voice was calm, but she sensed stress laying underneath his tone and manner.

  “Home, please. I just need some time to deal with this.”

  He just nodded and started up his gas guzzler and headed to her haven.

  As they approached her neighborhood, he muttered softly. “This isn’t good.”

  “What?” McKenna had been trapped in her own head, running things through, and closed her eyes a few minutes into the drive to reduce distractions. At his words they flew open, and she saw what had caused his reaction.

  “What! Really? Really?”

  “Warned you.”

  “Bite me,” she snapped back as she looked at the news vans, cars, and people clogging up the area in front of her apartment building. “Goddamnit.” The curse escaped, and she wanted to snarl, in fact she did. The sound shocked her, and JD cast her a glance.

  “So, no home?”

  “No,” she muttered. “Can I crash at your house until they get bored?”

  He snorted. “Sure, but it might take a lot longer for them to get bored than you think.” He sped back up turning down a road to head towards his place.

  “Maybe, but at least a day so I can get some balance.”

  “No prob, but we are stopping at the store. I’ve got an idea, but I want to make sure we have food.”

  McKenna shrugged. “Sure.”

  After hitting the store, they head to JD’s house. JD owned a two-bedroom house, though the second bedroom was occupied by his fitness equipment, the couch was comfortable enough for a short while. They hit the grocery store and stocked up, going heavy on the meats and cheese, though JD threw in some fruit. The bill as they checked out was enough to make McKenna wince and arch an eyebrow at him, but he just shrugged and loaded it into the back of the Hummer.

  A few minutes later he pulled up in front of his house, which was blessedly empty of reporters trying to get a story. Groceries put away, they both collapsed in the living room. JD taking his big leather chair while McKenna lay across the couch.

  “So, thoughts?” She asked as she looked up at the ceiling, her mind still fighting with this.

  “I think we should try to change.”

  “What?” That had her jack-knifing up into a sitting position as she stared at him. “Are you crazy?”

  JD rolled his eyes. “No, but we don’t know what triggered it in the first place. Don’t you want to see if you can control it? Because if you can’t I can see some bad things coming down the road.”

  “Like?” McKenna was pretty sure she didn’t want to know. JD could go a bit conspiracy theory sometimes, but he did think things through more fully than she did.

  “If you can’t control the change, you can’t drive. It would be like epilepsy. Lots of pilots, truckers, etc. would lose jobs. If this was a onetime thing, maybe it won’t be such a big deal, but I doubt it. And if it isn’t well, then all of this will disappear quickly.”

  She wanted to, she really did, but McKenna couldn’t dispute what he said. “So, how do we do that? I don’t need to be naked again.”

  JD laughed and winked at her. “Ah, come on, you don’t want me to see you in all your naked glory.”

  McKenna rolled her eyes this time. “Like it does anything for you.”

  “Hey, just cause there is no spark at all between us, doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate a naked woman.”

  “Whatever.” She flapped her hand at him. “So, thoughts?”

  He shrugged. “Remember how you changed back? Why don’t we try the reverse? I mean I have no idea here, Kenna. But I’d much rather control this than be controlled by it. And you know that Kirk plans on using you to further his career.”

  “Oh yeah. The greed in his eyes after the press conference cemented that. Okay, let me go strip. I’m not ruining any more clothes, bras are blasted expensive. Your extra bedroom is now mine.”

  “Sounds good, though word of advice, don’t shut the door all the way. I think trying to open a door with paws might be a bit annoying.”

  “Point.” She pulled herself off the couch and headed that way. JD followed, angling towards his bedroom.

  Inside the room, which reeked of sweat and maleness, she closed the door most of the way and glanced at the full-length mirror. “Great I get to watch myself change.” But the idea kind of appealed to her. Seeing it on others, and then only having the reflection to see what she changed into, the idea of a real mirror was kind of nice. Though the video had been pretty good, there was still something about a mirror up close that had an attraction.

  Fighting back nerves, she stripped and stood in front of the mirror. Looking to see if there was any visible sign of what she could do. But the woman looking back at her didn’t look any different. Long brown hair with the red highlights, hazel eyes, a body with curves and muscles. Nothing great, but nothing awful either. Just a woman starting to hit middle age.

  You’d think there’d be something to scream what I did or something, but I just see me.

  A mental sigh and she closed her eyes for a moment, needing to focus on what she was trying to do.

  A cat, no a cougar, I had paws, everything smelled sharper, I could feel my strength, the instinct on how to hunt.

  In her mind McKenna reconstructed what it felt like when she had been the cat and something clicked, her body ached but flowed. She couldn’t open her eyes until it was over. The pain less this time, more uncomfortable but brief. Like getting her legs waxed, pain but by the time you realized it, it was gone.

  The feeling ebbed away, and she could pull her eyes open. A cougar stared back at her in the mirror.

  Chapter 7 - Animal Magnetism

  There is no doubt anymore our world has changed. The question before us is are these still people? The people we loved and worked with, or have they becoming ravening animals and fallen from the light? These questions need to be asked before we risk our children to this depredation. ~ Pundit on Harvey Klein talk show.

  McKenna sneezed. The odors of the room so strong, information came on the heels of each smell. Male, desperation, sorrow, stale and fresh, the scents surrounded her, but faded into the background as she acknowledged each one.

  How the hell do I know that this room smells of desperation and sorrow?

  With a huff she padded forward towards the mirror and looked at herself. She was not a naturalist by any means, but even from her passing knowledge, she was a huge cougar. Coat had the brown with red highlights like her hair, and her eyes were the same color as her human form. She
made a note to do some research on cougars, but for now she just looked, amazement in her heart.

  Sleek muscles were everywhere, and she knew how to do things that she had never contemplated, how to hold still until prey passed by. That both creeped her out and excited her. A yawn exposed long sharp canines, and the memory of sinking them into the throat of the bank robber flashed into her mind as well as the taste of his blood across her tongue. Lifting up her hand, or paw, she extended and retracted the claws, shuddering internally as the memory of how easily they had cut through flesh.

  A huff at the door had her spinning, crouched low, tail lashing. It pushed open, and she hissed in reaction, the actions automatic and not anything she chose to do. Similar to a flinch when something came near your eye, you just did unless you consciously fought not to. The door pushed open, and a bear stood there on all fours.

  Before she had acknowledged it was a bear, but hadn’t really paid attention to him, this time, fighting down a weird desire to flee she stalked forward, vaguely aware of her tail lashing back and forth as she got closer. His smell, both familiar and strange reached her, and her mouth opened in a weird motion as she breathed in his scent, committing it to memory. It was JD, but different, changed, and part of her knew she’d recognize him by scent in either form now.

  He stood almost a foot taller than her at the shoulder, his fur a darker brown than his hair, but not the black or brown she had seen in pictures of bears. His nose twitched as he craned his head towards her. She fought the urge to back up and allowed him to sniff even as she continued to inspect. Part of her mind noting the claws and imagining the damage they could do to someone to her.

  Stop it, what the hell is my problem. JD would not hurt me.

  The mental snarl pushed the thoughts down but didn’t stop them completely. Refusing to let thoughts and instincts she didn’t understand drive her, she rubbed her face against him, and instantly calmed. Her scent now mixed with his, marking him in a way that she didn’t get, but she relaxed. JD shook his head and huffed a bit louder.

  Dammit, there are some major draw backs, how the hell do you talk to other people like this? Other animals?

  She tried to see if she could make herself speak, focusing on trying to talk. Her tongue and throat did not cooperate. A weird half sound came out and JD sat back on his haunches blinking at her.

  The peal of the doorbell followed up by a hard knock elicited a startled meowing cry out of her, even JD rose on his hind legs to peer towards the door.

  Who the hell?

  She peered around JD to look at the door, but it was solid and didn’t give her any clue as to who it was. She glanced at JD and he huffed again and turned away. The knock sounded again, and a familiar voice came through the door.

  “JD? McKenna? I need to talk to you.”

  Anne Holich’s voice came through and McKenna felt her stomach clench at the sound. With a frustrated growl she head butted JD and nudged the door close in his face. She heard his heavy steps as he headed back to his room.

  She concentrated and this time it was easier and flowed back into human form. She staggered a bit, trying to get her balance back and reorient herself. Moving fast she grabbed clothes and pulled them on, not bothering with a bra. McKenna left the room about the same time as JD, both of them a bit disheveled as they moved towards the door. JD pulled it open, to flashing bulbs from a man standing on the sidewalk just off his property. Anne’s face grimaced.

  “Sorry, I can’t stop him. He’s on public property.” She cast a glance at their disheveled appearance. “Did I interrupt something?”

  “Goddamnit,” McKenna cussed. “Get in here.” She wanted to snarl, but fought it down, glad JD shut the door behind Anne the second she slipped in, even though more flashes occurred as the person snapped pictures.

  Anne stepped in, looking at them with an arched brow.

  "Was I interrupting something?"

  The urge to snarl, to lash out rippled through her, and McKenna had to blink to resist the desire to slap Anne across the face claws out. She glanced at her hand, unsure if she had nails or claws. Clean, short, human nails were attached to the end of her fingers, to mixed relief and disappointment.

  What the hell is my problem?

  "No, you aren’t interrupting sex if that is what you’re implying. We were seeing if we could change again, controlling the change this time." JD said, his voice calm but sarcastic.

  Anne had the grace to flush and bit and nodded her head.

  JD’s calmness annoyed McKenna, and she had to tamp it down again, her stress level rising at how out of kilter her emotional reactions where. She always was in control, she had to be. If you lost control people could see how to manipulate you.

  So, what is going on with my reactions? I like Anne why did I want to shred her?

  Before she could focus on that too much JD and Anne's words registered in her consciousness.

  ".. did that go?" Anne asked as JD moved to the kitchen.

  "We changed, but someone pounded on the door before we could do much about it." He cast a sardonic glance at her. "At least I didn't figure anything out. Did you, Kenna?" Even as he talked he was pulling out ingredients for sandwiches. Creating each on a full baguette, loaded with meat and cheese. He put pieces of fruit in a bowl, and then with a frown pulled out some honey and peanut butter.

  An over whelming hunger swept through her again and she climbed up on his bar stools watching the food as he worked.

  "No? Maybe?" With a force of will she moved her attention to Anne, even as her nose tracked all the food that was going on the sandwiches.

  "Well, you controlled the change, so that is good, right?" Anne asked, leaning back against the wall, her brows furrowed slightly as her eyes flicked back and forth between JD and McKenna.

  "I did change." McKenna said slowly. "I was fully me, but I didn't have time to figure out much more. But I know too much."

  "You know too much? I thought you didn't know how this happened?" Anne's question was a sharp, fast riposte and McKenna shook her head in frustration.

  "Not what I mean. I'm human, I'm not a big hunter, and while I enjoy cat videos, most of my knowledge of big cats comes from Disney movies. I know only the most general info. So why do I know how to pounce, spring, gut a man with my hind legs, how hard to shake to snap the neck? Why do I know what scents mean, and can tell the difference between fear and curiosity? I know too much that is almost as disconcerting as changing into a cat in the first place." She didn't mention that she could smell more now and hear more. That she would talk to JD about later. With no one else involved.

  "I see. Well not really, but that is interesting. You think the virus is responsible for this?"

  "No idea. Heck do we even know for sure it was a virus?" McKenna was distracted by the food JD slid in front of her, and she started to inhale the food, feeling the hunger recede a bit as she ate, not even bothering with trying to talk while she ate. JD slid in next to her and worked on his own meal. Normally she might have eaten a third of a baguette sandwich and JD maybe a half. Today they both finished their own sandwiches, plus the fruit, and JD had naan that he covered with peanut butter and honey that he started to create after the other food was gone.

  That didn't even sound good to McKenna, much less smell edible, so she shook her head and refocused on Anne who stood looking at them with a stunned expression on her face.

  "What?"

  "You do realize you probably just inhaled about 4000 calories, right?"

  McKenna stopped and looked at the remains on her plate, then shot a look at JD. "You knew this would happen?" It didn't come out as an accusation, more confusion.

  "No, I suspected." He sighed and sagged a bit, the stool creaking alarmingly as he did. JD cast a look at both her and Anne and rolled his eyes. "It doesn't take rocket science. There was a wave of heat after I changed, my whole body shifted, and when we got home, and I found food I was ravenous. I suspected it was a massive calorie burn m
y body was trying to adjust to. I assumed if we changed again the same thing would happen. If not, well I didn’t need to grocery shop for a while."

  That made things click for McKenna and she poked at the crumbs on her table. "You weren't kidding about food bills, were you?"

  "No. But then I guess if you don't shift nothing will change."

  She wanted to say it wouldn't be an issue, but already she wanted back in that other form, that other self and see what else she could do.

  "So why did you come over?" McKenna asked Anne, not ready to dwell on the attraction the idea had for her.

  "Ah, yeah." Anne looked a bit embarrassed. "The incident is still being reviewed, though JD you'll be cleared by morning, but stay off if you want. No issues have come up, and no one is really saying anything—granted I suspect half the world is still reeling from what is being revealed."

  "Which is?"

  "You two haven't seen the news?"

  "When? Either I was at the police station or driving, and we both had too much on our minds to listen to anyone else talk."

  "Point," Anne agreed. "This is world-wide, no top age limit, though no one has reported anyone younger than six turning into an animal. And you are still the number one video. A few others have appeared, but there is something about the fact that yours wasn't staged that is pulling in people right and left. Well that and pretty woman stark naked is helping as well. But that is part of why I'm here."

  McKenna got a bad feeling in her stomach. No matter what, she suspected she would not like what was going to come out of Anne's mouth.

  “Word got out about the dispatcher that sent you on the domestic, and how you deal with the woman with no drams or anything. That gave him an idea.” Holich heaved a sigh. “And I’ll deny this if you ever mention it, but it might have some good aspects to it.”

  “And that idea is?”

  “Right now, we’ve had two other officers either reported or have come forward admitting that they changed into an animal. We are assuming by Monday that number will be higher. We want to create a special patrol group within the standard three shifts. We’re hoping for four officers, two cars, of shifters each shift. We know this is global and putting people on leave or acting like this is anything other than permanent is going to get us in trouble. If this works, we’ll pull in 911 too, probably the woman who contacted you, and prioritize your cars to shifter related calls. You at least have some concept what might be going on, the rest of us don’t.”