by Mel Todd
“Trust me, Anne. I don’t have the damnedest idea of what is going on with all of this.”
Anne’s smile had a bitter tint. “I believe you, but you know what it is like to shift, to be an animal. Most of us?” She shrugged. “I don’t think collectively people have decided whether to be excited or freaked the hell out. And that is part of our concern. We don’t want race, well species riots. Not here.”
“Hey, I’m still human,” McKenna protested.
I think.
“I hope so.” Anne voice had a flatness that matched her eyes. “Right now, I don’t care. You’re a sworn officer and I need you to do your job. And I really don’t care if you’re an alien or a cougar. As long as you can appear human, I expect you to uphold your oath.”
The words hit McKenna like a slap and she stiffened.
“We want you to head it. You’re the most recognizable right now. You’ve been short listed for promotion, and a test date has been arranged next week for you to take the sergeants test. I would advise you don’t fail. Even if you did, which I know damn well would be on purpose, you’re still part of this group, you just wouldn’t get the pay bump and someone else will lead."
I should have called in sick today.
It was the only thought that could even form in her mind.
Chapter 8 - Q&A
North Korea has made an official statement that their country is immune to this plague sweeping the world. No North Korean has turned into a beast. South Korea however had reported rumors of more people fleeing North Korea and of midnight sweeps capturing people who are never heard of again. China is still silent, but in an interesting turn of events one of their politicians was seen weeping in front of a spectacled bear in a courtyard in his home. The US is still silent, but rumors are flying as to how this will be dealt with. ~ TNN News Report.
JD and McKenna sat in the quiet room the bombshell still ringing in their ears. McKenna had been slated for the leader of the team. Even though JD had more time in, they wanted to leverage her visibility. Other members were still being selected from people who had changed among first responders. Rumors were a firefighter and an EMT would be joining their small group. Anne Holich didn’t have any other news right then, and she left, giving them time to absorb the information.
“You okay with not getting top position?”
JD snorted. “Yes. Never had any desire to lead, and my mug on every camera?” He waved at his face. “Thanks, but not a chance. I’ll support you, but no desire to be you.”
McKenna waved a hand at him. “You can shift naked in front of everyone, then no one will care about your face.”
“I did, and they still liked you more.”
If she had anything she could have thrown at him, she would have.
“I suppose not much we can do about it until Monday. Not that I’m looking forward to it. Heck, what will the dress of the day be?”
JD blinked. “Never even thought about it. Fudge. Figure business casual? I’ve got one pair of dress slacks that fit. Hey, your first order of business can be kilts for everyone. Then you have less to take off you if you shift.”
She really wanted to make a smart aleck remark but getting out of a kilt would be a heck of a lot easier than slacks.
“I hate dresses,” she whined, not even caring as she dropped her head back on the sofa, sprawling out across it.
“Kilts for the win!” JD grinned, and she had to snicker, that if nothing else it would give her something to drive Kirk crazy over.
“Hmm, you think we still report to Kirk?”
JD paused and thought about it, then shrugged. “He doesn’t have anything to do with a state level, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he used this to stay associated with us.”
“Joy, not even any silver lining.” McKenna heaved a sigh only partial mocking.
“You don’t have to do it, you know.” JD said, his voice quiet, but she had no issue hearing it.
McKenna glanced his way in surprise. “What do you mean?”
“You could refuse, quit, throw a fit. There is only so much they will do to pressure you into this.” His voice had no inflections in it at all, and McKenna sat there frozen.
“It never occurred me, actually.”
“Think about it.”
McKenna settled back into the couch and did, her mind racing in circles, then she started to speak, mostly thinking about loud.
“This isn’t what I’d prefer, at all. I just want to do my job, helping people. But,” she paused working through the thoughts and feelings, “I think this might be important. People seem to be looking up to me, and my job, where I swore an oath, is asking me to do something that involves them. While I’d rather get shot than do this, it’s important and is part of my oath - to everyone. My oath was to people, and now people that I have something in common with are looking at me, watching what I do. How can I walk away just cause I hate the idea of the spotlight? That would be putting my wants and needs over the oath I swore. So, no, I’ll do it. Not going to swear I’ll be good at it, but it is my job, and I’ll be damned if I do anything less than my best at my job.”
She flashed a smile at him as the last words came out, solidifying her thoughts.
“That’s what I thought. I knew you were the right person for this.” JD said, an odd note in his voice.
“You don’t feel the same.”
“Social responsibility was destroyed for me as a kid.” His voice held a note of bitterness, but McKenna had learned a long time ago to leave his childhood alone.
“So? You can quit if you want, or get another position.” She offered, trying not to let her foreboding show. Doing this without JD would suck, but she’d never ask him to do something he didn’t want to.
“Nah. While I wouldn’t do it for society, I’d do it for you. ‘Sides, think of the conniption fit some of my relatives will have when they see me. I’m sure I’ll be receiving hate mail shortly from everyone I grew up with.”
McKenna snorted. “Probably.” She glanced at the darkness outside, then the clock. “Can you run me home? It’s after ten, surely most of them have to be gone now. Maybe I can sneak in the back way?”
“Sure, but I wouldn’t hold my breath on them being gone.” JD stood up from the chair, pulling on shoes.
“I can hope. But I want my whiskey, how you can only have rum I don’t get, and my stuff. I’d like to curl up and zone out, though I suspect I’ll spend the evening researching on line.”
“Yeah. I don’t know what I’m going to do, but I know I want to play with it some more. Want to get out of here Saturday go out to the mountains and actually play?”
The urge to say yes was strong, but practicality interfered. “What about getting shot cause we freaked someone out?”
“I’ve got a friend with a cabin up there. So, no hunters and lots of empty land. If we stay near the cabin and our car, we should hear anyone else coming in.”
“Sure. But let’s get me home first. I need a drink.”
“Fine, fine. Next time I’m at the store I’ll buy whiskey, so you don’t have to be tortured with my rum.”
“See, I knew you were trainable.” McKenna flashed a smile at him while JD just rolled his eyes as they headed out the door.
Anne must have run off the reporter that had been waiting outside, and by mutual unspoken consent, they didn’t turn on the radio, instead watching the city around them as they drove over to McKenna’s house.
The city struck her as quiet, apprehensive, as if it was holding its breath to see what would happen next.
“I get the feeling even more has happened than what we’ve been told.”
“Me too. I guess I’m going to have to get online and find out what is happening. Really rather be an ostrich.”
“I completely understand, but I don’t think we, especially me, can afford that.” McKenna said, a note of wistfulness in her voice.
“Probably not.” JD turned onto her street and stopped in shock. �
�Umm, Kenna?”
McKenna had zoned out, thinking about stuff, and his cuss snapped her back to seeing what surrounded her, and she inhaled a sharp breath.
Her street and lawn in front of her complex were packed with cars and people. Every light in her complex was on, and people were arguing on the lawn.
“They didn’t leave,” she said numbly. Honestly, she had expected to see a few still there, but not like this.
“I think you’re going to have to give in.”
“Give in? Give in to what?”
“Their demands. You’re not going to get in without giving them an interview. So, suck it up and give them what they want?”
If she hadn’t been shocked by the people waiting for her, at least she assumed it was her, she probably would have flipped JD off. But right now, she was trying to steel herself for more of this.
“I said I’d do my job, and this is probably going to part of it, isn’t it?”
“Most likely.” His voice did not reassure her at all.
“Onward, Jeeves, might as well face the ravening hordes now as opposed to later.”
“Of course, milady,” he responded in a bad British accent as he stepped on the gas and slowly moved towards her place. There were two cop cars there, and they had kept the road clear, and an officer flagged them down as they pulled in.
Whatever he had started to say was derailed when he saw McKenna.
“Thank god you’re here. Can you please talk to them and then get them to leave? We’ve got half the city blowing up, and we’re having to dedicate two cars here to deal with all these guys, not to mention your outraged neighbors.”
McKenna blinked, taken off balance. “Do I know you?”
The young man snorted. “No. Officer Bobby Alspect. I just started last year, and our paths haven’t crossed. But trust me at this point every officer on the force knows you by sight. You’re the one they’re waiting for, so please? I’m begging you.”
“See, Kenna, already you got cute young things begging you.” JD teased, and the young man flushed red, even as McKenna groaned.
“Sorry, ignore him. He has no manners what so ever.”
“No worries, I’ve got a brother.” The man flashed a smile and waved them in. Even as they drove in, people started to swell up from their cars and seats on the ground.
“This isn’t going to work,” McKenna fought the squeak of panic in her voice.
“Yeah. I’ll lift you up to the roof. You can stand up there and answer questions.”
“You’re going to let me stand on your precious vehicle?”
“Better than them tipping it to get to you. You aren’t going to dent it.”
“Gee, thanks.” She rolled her eyes, but let him get out first, and open her door. The instant swell of voice and people calling her name crashed into her like a physical force, and she was almost relieved when JD’s hands wrapped around her waist, and without any effort set her butt down on his roof. She scrambled to her feet looking at the mass of people and lights that instantly fixated on her, all but blinding her.
At least this way I don’t have to see any faces I guess.
Her name being shouted in many variations created an intimidation effect, but she forced a smile and surveyed the sea of lights, cameras, and phones.
“Everyone. As I’m sure you know, I am Officer McKenna Largo. As you can guess it has been a long day for everyone, and I’m sure all my neighbors would like to go to bed and forget all this. I’ll give you thirty minutes to ask your questions, and then I’ll ask you to leave and direct all further questions to the Rossville police department. This will be the only not sanctioned interview I will do. Use your questions wisely and enjoy the scoop.”
That had been the only thing she could think of to prevent this from becoming a regular occurrence, and if she had to, she’d rent a hotel room for a few days.
People shouted at her, the words merging into a cacophony of sound that she couldn't interpret anything from. She lifted her hands with a sharp gesture, holding them out over the crowd which simmered down into a murmur.
"I can't hear you when you’re all shouting, so if you want me to answer a question raise your hand, and I'll just point at you."
This is so ridiculous, next time I'll hand out numbers and just pull them out of a bag lottery style. Really people.
"You," she pointed at a guy with a cameraman close behind him.
"Do you plan on keeping being a police officer now that you can shift?"
McKenna looked at him and blinked. "Yeah… I still have rent and food I need to buy, and I don't think anyone is going to pay me just to exist. What else would I do? It's my job."
The reporter didn't look happy at that answer, but before he could say anything—she'd learned from the last time - she picked someone else.
"Why did you change into an animal, specifically a cat?"
"A—I turned into a cougar, not just a cat. B- I don't have a clue. Last I heard the rumors were flying like crazy and I don't know a single fact other than the fact I did shift. Next," she said moving fast, trying to get through this.
"What is having sex as a cat like?"
She heard JD choking where he stood at the door of his vehicle, and she just looked at the man her face blank.
"Serious? That’s your question? Are you stupid? People already asked that, and I refused to answer it then. I don't know, I don't want to know, I don't want to know if someone has the answer to that. Just, grow up. Eww…" She knew that response was not really professional, but neither was the question.
She jabbed her hand at one woman, who oddly didn't look like a reporter.
"Can I come and learn at your feet, so I can also be blessed with the gift of shifting?"
McKenna just looked at her for a long moment, and ignored JD all but rolling on the ground, she finally looked at the woman and gave her the only answer she could.
"No. Next."
Fifteen minutes later, with questions like, 'Are you happy about this', 'Why did this happen', 'Do you have a mate', 'Do you have a pack', and JD's favorite, 'Will you marry me, I know I can satisfy you.' The beat cops chased everyone away, and she hopped down from the roof and looked around at all her neighbors staring out at her.
"A hotel is sounding better and better," she muttered.
"I'll take you if you want." JD said, still fighting a smile from some of the crazy questions.
"Nah, I just might sleep with my gun today. Though after seeing the claws I have, those might be scarier."
"Point." JD followed her up to her second-floor apartment, and she suspected his presence prevented some of her neighbors making comments, which did not hurt her feelings at all.
They stopped at her door and he glanced at it, then her. "You want me to stay?"
"Gah, no. I want to walk around mostly naked, with my whiskey and then cruise websites. You would totally ruin my ability to do that."
Another low chuckle emerged from JD. "Fine, fine. I'll hit you up tomorrow and see if anything has changed."
"Yeah, I know I'll need to get some more food if I decide to change, and then if we make it up to the mountain on Sunday, we'll need to get stuff."
"Yep. Kay, get inside and I'll see you later."
"Yes, mom." McKenna rolled her eyes as she went into her apartment, almost automatically checking for new scents.
She choked as her nose and mind were swamped with information, stumbling a bit.
"Everything okay?"
"Oh, yeah. Fine. I'll see you later." She forced the smile and then shut the door as JD turned away. She leaned back against the door and inhaled deeply through her noise. The scents she had not noticed earlier, her mind too overloaded with worries earlier, assailed her now.
A vanilla scent, something rotting in her kitchen, detergent, perfumes from her bathroom, gas from the open window, stubbornness, worry, all of them wrapped around her, dropping bits of information and implications as her brain cataloged everything as fast
as the scent hint.
This is both cool as hell and freaking me out.
Swallowing she walked in, and headed back to her bedroom, stripping into something comfortable then headed back to the kitchen. The rotting smell seemed stronger as she walked in, and in a second she had identified the garbage disposal as the culprit. It took a minute to run it, the noise so loud she frowned making a mental note to have it looked at. That helped, and she poured her whiskey and headed back to the laptop. Normally she might have headed to her little balcony and sit and stare out at the night to think. But after the questions she had been asked the idea, that someone might be watching her didn't sound as far-fetched as it might have.
With that she sat down and powered up her laptop. She didn't get on it much, really only for email or if she needed to log into work remote. McKenna pulled up a browser, entering her email on one tab, then another and pulled up the local news site, then added on another for worldwide news.
People changing was the only story, and she instantly had a map shoved into her face with the changed shown by dots. That fascinated her, and US still seemed to be the most densely affected, but any metro area had more clusters. However, the numbers seemed low.
The current report seemed to indicate that about 1%, maybe a bit more, of people changed. The variety of animals coming in seemed wide. The question was how many people reported it? She wouldn't have if it hadn't been captured in such embarrassing detail.
Thoughts and ideas flipped through her head, she clicked on a link about the theory behind this occurrence and then clicked on her email tab while she waited for it to load.
Taking a sip of whiskey, she focused on her email and choked on said whiskey as the information registered. Normally she had 15-20 emails, half spam, the rest the occasional friend or newsletter. The number on her email flashed at her. She set down the whiskey and rubbed her eyes and checked again, the number didn't change.
