Kaylid Chronicles Bundled Set

by Mel Todd

  "I need to get my backpack. It has the information about my… family." Charley's voice cracked a bit on the last word.

  "Okay, kid. Go grab it. Swear everything will be okay." Charley nodded and wobbled a bit as the man let him go.

  "She'll be fine. You can let her go." Charley said to the woman even as he spoke to Jessi. ~Get a few steps and run, change into a cat if you can. Get away and I'll grab the backpacks and follow.~

  Jessi quit struggling and looked. ~There, between the back yards, that path leads to a small park. I can get there even without shoes. Meet me. I'll change and give you my clothes and then we can run.~

  ~Jamie, can you create a distraction?~ He asked as he slowly walked towards the bags - three wouldn't slow him down too much.

  ~Of course.~ Then on a private channel, one Jessi couldn't hear. ~Take care of her. I can't live without my sister.~ The thought so fast and quiet, and with so much power, Charley flinched as he reached down to grab all three backpacks. ~Now.~

  Jamie screamed and started to thrash, letting his claws start to grow. All of them had been sternly lectured by Wefor about how dangerous that was, so Charley knew he wouldn't shift into warrior form. The break would not be good to shift with as it would heal funny but all the responders didn't know that.

  "Fuck, he's changing! Stop him! Hold him down, he's a shifter!" Stress and shouts erupted and the man holding him dove for Jamie, starting to talk to him. Even the woman standing next to Jessi looked over, moving that direction in case they needed her. Everyone else dealt with the fire that attacked JD's house.

  Charley and Jessi tore off into the darkness, streaked by blue and reds as they saw the cop cars pulling up. Fear lent speed to his legs and even though Jessi had a good thirty seconds on him he caught up with her. In the distance he heard shouting as he passed her.

  ~Up ahead there are some shadows. Shift there and I'll get everything into one bag.~ They paused in the shadows and Charley turned to watch the path while he shoved everything into his bigger backpack as she stripped.

  A minute later her voice pinged. ~Grab my stuff. I'm ready.~

  He looked down to see her clothes in a pile. He shoved them in and dumped the two empty backpacks over a nearby fence after checking once more that they didn't hold anything.

  ~Ready?~ They'd already slipped back into mindspeak, Besides, as much as they'd need to run, he wouldn't be able to speak clearly if they didn't.

  ~Yes. Jamie? Are you okay?~

  Laughter burbled in their mind. ~They are freaking out! The cops showed up, shouting that it is a cop’s house. The firefighters got the fire out, but his house doesn't look good.~ That caused the laughter to fade a bit as Charley and Jessi moved at a fast lope down the way, scooting through a small park that completely changed their direction. ~They are sending cops after you and I'm stalling, not giving them any information, but they are worried about my arm. I broke it good.~

  ~It doesn't hurt?~ Jessi asked, her tone prickly.

  ~They gave me something, is making me feel loopy, but even so I don't think it hurts as much as it should, but who knows. Where are you headed?~

  Charley shrugged and almost stumbled. He managed to not fall but he focused more on placing his feet correctly and keeping his breathing even.

  ~I don't know. Away for now.~

  An odd wave of sorrow and pride ripped through him, and Charley frowned. ~Is everything okay?~

  ~Yeah. You run and hide. I'll let Carina know you're okay. Just be careful.~ His link dimmed as if a shadow crossed over it. ~They are taking me now. Be careful.~

  ~Jamie, do you want me to come back?~ Jessi asked, slowing her pace.

  ~No, you have to stay with Charley. They can't take him. I'll miss you.~ Then he quit talking but Charley felt an emotion meant for Jessi but washing over him too. He picked up his pace, trying to figure out where to go. How to keep her safe and what to do.

  Is it time for me to give up and let them take me away? Now I've hurt JD. I just want McKenna back. I don't want to be a grown up.

  He started to cry silent, quiet tears as they ran, Jessi a shadow by his side.

  14

  Hiding

  With Halloween only a few months away and Christmas following, costume and toy makers are scrambling to create the new bestsellers of the year, and without a doubt, animals are going to be central to most of the themes. Already cat, wolf, and bear costumes that include tails, ears, and paws are being created for kids. Some of the higher end costumes will include muzzles and knee pads so kids move around on all four “feet.” The famed Teddy Bear maker, GUND, is creating stuffed animal versions of the extinct shifter animals. This should be an interesting year. ~ TNN Market Report

  As they ran the sirens faded and the darkness grew. Finding a quiet construction site they crawled under the fence and hid in one of the big round cement pipes they hadn't put into the ground yet. His tears hadn't lasted long, too hard to run, for what seemed like forever, and cry at the same time.

  The shelter of the cement pipe surrounded them. Jessi made it in and collapsed, her sides heaving, tail laying quiet instead of its constant flicking.

  ~You hurt?~ He really hoped not. He didn't want to try out his first aid skills. He didn't know what he did or didn't know and that made the idea very scary.

  ~Exhausted. Sleep.~ Even her mental voice sounded drained and pulled energy from him. The idea sounded good. The air was warm in the late summer evening. He put the backpack behind his head and closed his eyes, falling into darkness almost instantly.

  When the sound of birds and cars pulled him from sleep, he had an odd pang of disappointment. He'd almost expected to fall into a not-dream, but instead they'd slept solid.

  ~Jamie?~

  There was no answer to his call. Charley closed his eyes and sighed. When he opened his eyes Jessi looked at him, whiskers back and ears down.

  ~We should go. I hear people.~ Even as she talked she rose and stretched and stuck her nose out of their temporary shelter.

  ~Okay.~ Charley didn't move as easily, the animal form so much easier when sleeping in places that didn't have beds.

  He grabbed the bag, once again wishing he had a tooth brush and they headed to the bushes on the far side, slipping under the fence that didn't look like it could stop anything or anyone.

  ~Where?~ Jessi seemed flatter than he'd ever heard her, but he didn't push it.

  ~McKenna’s. I have the keys.~ That he'd checked when he'd repacked.

  ~Won't they find us?~

  ~Yea, but I figured we could sneak in and get food. NO COOKING!~ His panicked thought made them both flinch, but Jessi replied with lots of assent through the connection. ~We can sleep in the drainage ditch in animal form. It should be pretty safe.~

  Jessi didn't say anything, but she shoulder bumped him. The trip to McKenna's took a while. Though in the car it didn't take long at all, walking, by avoiding people and making sure no one saw Jessi, they spent a lot of time in bushes, behind fences, and laying on their bellies in the grass. Oddly the not-memories helped, telling them how to blend into the shadows, when to move, and when to stay still. But either way, the trip that normally took about fifteen minutes by car took over six hours. By the time they got to the house they were starving but fear and paranoia made them watch.

  The thought that normal kids didn't act like this hovered in the back of his mind but he pushed it away.

  We aren't normal kids. Normal kids can't do what we can and haven't been through what we have.

  That helped a bit but still he wished he could talk to Jamie, make sure they weren't hurting him to try and get the information. He didn't think any of these adults would but he still bore scars from one time Gerry didn't think he'd answered all his questions fully. The buckle of the belt had cut very deep. He knew adults didn't always do what you wanted or hoped.

  Lying in the grass at the edge of the property, they looked at the house. From that location they could see both the back and the driveway. All that
sat there were the four lonely cars, looking abandoned. Charley could sympathize.

  ~Let me go up and I'll call you. If anything happens, go home, Jessi. Promise me.~

  Green cat eyes looked up at him. For a moment he thought she'd refuse and he had bad visions of her attacking the social worker as they took him off to a temporary placement.

  ~I promise.~ She said and settled down, disappearing into the shadows in the grass. He sighed with relief, left the pack with her, and with the keys in his sweating hand, he headed towards the back door.

  Climbing onto the deck he peered around to look in the sliding glass door but it looked empty. With slow and careful movements, he really didn't want to drop the keys, he put the key in the lock and turned it, then slid open the door.

  Stuffy cool air flowed out and he sighed. He could sense no one was in the house. The need to get clean, put on real clothes, and get food clawed at him but he couldn't afford to do any of that.

  ~Come on in, Jessi.~ He sent as he headed to the kitchen. He washed his hands as they were almost brown with dirt. Even as he finished, he felt Jessi drop the bag at his feet and head to the bathroom. She came out a few minutes later with one of McKenna's long t-shirts on. They pulled food out of the fridge and sat on the floor eating it, so hungry they didn't even try to talk.

  He listened as they ate, alert to any sound, but he didn't hear anything. They ate until they were stuffed. They put everything back in the fridge then filled the pack with some bars and fruit. Charley stopped long enough to brush his teeth, wash his face, and grab a blanket for them to curl up on. Then they both headed to the door. He locked it behind them so very carefully and then they headed for the ditch, their stress melting off as they reached it.

  Jessi didn't even complain, being more than willing to sleep. Charley laid out the blanket, stripped and then one white wolf and one black jaguar curled up and fell asleep.

  The dream this time was different. Jamie wasn't there and it felt like an arm was missing but they also weren't in the field; instead, it looked like what he'd seen in the movies for army people. There were lots of bunk beds but instead of green, everything was black and red. The beds were all different sizes. Some were really small, like smaller than human Jessi while others were big enough two JD's would fit.

  He and Jessi sat at in two chairs staring out a window. When he focused on it, he thought his heart would stop except, as usual, he couldn't affect this body, this version of him. Outside the window, part of his mind corrected with the words translucent bulkhead, a planet hung in the middle of blackness with stars. The planet had circles around it, made up of bits of things that reflected light. It looked pretty and strange at the same time but he thought he could have stared at it forever.

  “Report to your Commander at once.” The voice seemed to be everywhere but only Charley and Jessi stood up, which meant it had only been sent to them. Leaving the window looking onto space, they turned smoothly and headed towards the small room their Commander stayed in.

  “Reporting as ordered.” The words Charley said weren’t in English. For the first time it dawned on him, as he heard the words come out of his mouth, that they weren’t in any language he’d ever heard.

  The same male, he wasn't human and Charley didn't think he'd ever been human, looked up at where they stood at attention, just inside the door to his office. Against the far wall was a bed that had been collapsed to lay against the wall, giving a bit more space for the large male who worked at a shiny desk that he touched as he looked up and the image on it changed.

  “With your third in the infirmary due to an accident during training, it is inefficient to send you to more squad tactics practice. His skills are such that he will be repaired and returned to you shortly. We have word of your fourth but it may be a while until that Kaylid is ready to join your group. The skill set presented is odd and we are still evaluating its effect on squad and battalion dynamics. Until then you have new assignments.”

  He clicked an area on the desktop and a square light appeared in the link board in his mind. Something he’d never seen happen before.

  “I’ve sent the information to you. I expect your normal excellence with this assignment. Dismissed.” With that he glanced back down at his table.

  Charley found himself walking back to the window with the planet hanging in the center, having no desire to move or leave. He just wanted to look out the window for a while.

  He glanced at Jessi and saw her own confusion. With a half shrug he poked at the light while connected to Jessi. Information flowed up in front of them, in the same place as when they were in the field.

  A grunt from her told him she saw the same thing. They began reading. The words were big, things he didn’t know how to pronounce but he seemed to understand what they said. He could feel Jessi panicking a bit, but that only seeped in via their private channel, the deep one that let him see through her eyes if needed to.

  Assignment: Provide body guard protection to Elentrin ambassadors.

  He didn’t want to examine what that meant but the body, the not-him knew.

  Target Information: Probable population worldwide 970 million. Estimated Kaylid’s created - 1.5 million. Probable deaths prior to arrival .5 million. All Kaylid will be rabid, attacking their families and neighbors. The Ambassadors will be there to rescue them and take their afflicted population away. The commander will force them into humanoid form. You will make sure they remain docile. Examples may be made as needed. The ones that pass examination will be loaded into the transport ships for wiping and training.

  Bodyguard duties will include: scanning possible Kaylid, dispose of any that do not meet basic requirements as directed by Commander. Provide examples of what an uncontrolled Kaylid could do and other duties as requested by Elentrin or Commander.

  Population fragmented into multiple countries and languages.

  Most spoken: Mandarin, English, Arabic, Spanish and French. These will be loaded into your cortex and assimilate over the remaining trip.

  Charley reread that last section three times, each time the words didn’t change. He forced the body to look out the window again and he stared at the planet hanging in the sky, now with a menace it hadn’t contained before.

  Jessi, whining pulled him out of the not-dream. He rocked her shoulder, then shifted into human, pulling on a long t-shirt as she did the same.

  “I thought they were dreams. Weird, kinda cool, but dreams.” He had to strain to hear her, her voice was so low.

  “Me too. But I think maybe I’ve seen that planet in pictures.” Charley wrapped his arms around his legs, resting his head on his knees. “Those numbers didn’t look right. I thought there were more zeros, but it was just something McKenna and JD were talking about one day. In the newspaper. I’m probably wrong.” He closed his eyes, the information tumbling around in his brain.

  “Do we tell someone?” Her voice broke a little and he almost didn’t reply, but he needed to say it.

  “Who? The only people who might believe us, were taken from us.” Those words broke the dam and Jessi threw her arms around him as he cried, her tears mingling with his.

  It took a while before the tears stopped and Jessi sat back, wiping her nose on the T-shirt. “So what do we do?” Her voice thick and clogged from crying. “What if it is important and we forget it?”

  Charley gnawed on his lip thinking. “I know.” He grabbed the backpack and dug until he pulled out McKenna’s phone. They’d carefully kept it off but now he powered it up and typed in the passcode. “We can leave a voice memo. Then when, or if, we think they should know we can use this if we don’t remember.”

  Part of him thought he’d never forget, but then so much of it didn’t make sense now. There were words he didn’t want to understand the meanings of and numbers that he didn’t know if he read correctly. They both talked, putting in everything they remembered, and it took them what seemed like longer than the not-dream took. But they listened to it, making faces
at how their voices sounded in the tunnel, but declared it good. He powered it back off and stretched.

  “Food?”

  Jessi nodded. They pulled on clothes and headed up to the house, being wary as they looked for any new cars but enjoying the cool wind brought by the dark clouds hanging over the Sierra’s.

  15

  Killing Time

  Two large children's clothing lines are rolling out with a new line dubbed "Called Kids" and "Wild Child". This clothing has subtle snaps down the sides and is extra durable so that if children shift they can easily get out of the clothes and it can withstand the damage better. A line aimed at teenagers is rumored to be out by Christmas. ~ TNN Fashion

  They checked out the house as normal but this time the emptiness struck him as safe. They slipped in the back door and Jessi took McKenna’s master bathroom while he went to his. After using the toilet like a human, something he’d never be able to take for granted again, he showered and brushed his teeth. Just these simple actions made him feel better.

  He headed out to the kitchen and pulled out some food for them, even as he frowned at how fast they were going through things he didn’t have to cook. But that was not happening again. Even the thought of messing with the stove until he was much older made him sick to his stomach so chimichangas worked for breakfast. He put two in the microwave and put six more on the counter. That should give them enough to eat.

  Waiting for the microwave, he pulled the phone out of his pocket. After that morning he hadn’t been able to leave it there, so he left it on and plugged it in. It beeped saying it was charging and he left it there, tucked out of the way.

  Jessi emerged dressed in another of McKenna’s shirts, her dark hair wet from the shower. She also looked a bit more relaxed.

  He handed her one of the chimichangas solemnly as he took them from the microwave and put in the next ones. They ate in silence until the food was gone, then Jessi looked outside and sighed.