The Shifters: Katrina

I was lost, confused, exhausted, and seriously, seriously struggling.

I had drifted back toward the ground and lost consciousness about an hour ago, only to wake up as a human. Thankfully, I had been wearing the shifter-friendly bodysuit, and wasn't completely naked. Since then, I'd been walking in the direction of Greenhill, stuck in a forest. My senses were trained on the world around me, expecting an ambush. I couldn't remember how I got away from Iluita, and I had no idea how or if I'd go back, so instead I focused on my family. The lovely adopted group that had been my only reason to do any of this. To keep them safe, to be less of a burden.

They weren't shapeshifters. They weren't afraid of me because they didn't think of me as some reckless kid with powers I wasn't responsible enough to control. They were my family.

I had to see them.

I stomped through bushes and over roots, surprisingly awake as I wandered. Pressure had lifted off my shoulders the second I was out of that compound. There were less eyes watching me, or so I thought.

Eventually, the trees spat me out onto a road. My senses had sharpened, even as a human. There was a lingering scent of gas and unfamiliar people, but another scent that was familiar. It was an ice cream truck that Raymond had taken us to almost every day during the summer when we were younger.

I have to be close to Greenhill.

I followed the trail, acting like a bloodhound as I started to jog down the road. The smell of dairy goodness got stronger as I neared the town, fancy houses of rich families coming into view. I nearly cheered, the streets and how they connected as well known to me as the back of my hand. My house was in another subdivision, which meant I had to go through the town. Posters were taped on every available surface, catching my eye as I rounded a corner on my way home. I slowed down, running my hands along the picture printed in full colour.

It was my student ID photo scowling at me.

Missing was printed in bold letters underneath, before a string of information.

Choking back my own tears, I turned away from the poster and ran. People looked my way, but I was gone in a blur, too quick for them to see my face. The second my house was in view, I sped up, a mix of anxiety and joy in my chest. Deciding that showing up at the front door would be a terrible option, I ran to the side of my house and clambered onto the fence. The back door would most likely be locked, meaning I had to take an alternate route into my home. Jumping with the agility that was definitely a shapeshifter's, I landed on the roof with a barely audible thud. Carefully, I crawled along until I found my bedroom window. The ledge was hardly safe to stand on, so I touched down with my toes and kept one hand on the roof, using my other one to pull up on the window.

Locked.

I bit down on my lip and pulled harder, stronger than I had been. There was a squeak and it moved an inch or two, but got stuck once again.

A blue glow wrapped around my wrists, matching the colour of the apprentice bands, as water filled the edges of the window, lubricating the sides. With another bout of force, the window slid up. Panting, I kicked through the mesh layer, promptly sliding into my room without falling off the ledge. I had been attacked by human hunters who stalked and killed shapeshifters, kidnapped and brought to a compound city of supernatural creatures, told I was one of them and even found proof of it. Their lifestyle had suited me, even if I lived in an isolated room. Their school, the people there -- I'd settled in with it all. However, I was still the troublemaker I'd always been. I nearly killed someone when defending my own pride, and my friends'. Then, I almost lost a fight, only to turn into a dragon and escape.

I had realized I wasn't supposed exist.

Now, here I was back in my old room. Posters, old clothes, makeup and uniforms were strewn everywhere. My backpack and cellphone were on the bed, left here after Koren and the other elites had taken me from my house.

I wandered around, careful not to disturb the eerie peace of the room. A mirror sat in one corner, a full body one that showed my disheveled state. The girl in the mirror wore a tight bodysuit and blue bands around her wrists, her hair a wild mane around her face. There was dirt smudged on my cheek, and a tired look in my eyes.

Then, there was a beautiful blue glow encircling my left hand. Following that was an eye-catching red glow around my right hand, the two of them clashing and swirling around each other.

I turned away from the mirror, scowling. Like every other teenage delinquent, I had a few unwarranted things stashed in my room, which included a few knives. An old hunting knife that I kept in a leather cover was hidden in between my mattresses, which I promptly unearthed. Along with the knife, I grabbed a green hoodie and leggings, as well as shoes that were stuffed in the bottom of my closet. Fixing my hair and face, I wandered toward the door. I was planning on leaving a note, something to assure them I was still alive.

Deep down, I knew I needed to see them. I wanted to talk to them, except that would only hurt me more.

The house was quiet as I crept down the stairs, headed for the kitchen. My eyes trailed to the living room, a flash of the memory of the shifters in there passing through my mind. Rooting through the drawers, I found one of my mother's notebooks and a pen, scribbling down a short message. I didn't get into the details, since if I did, I'd probably turn all emotional and cry. Once the letter was written out, I signed it and taped it to the fridge.

I turned to go, only to see someone standing in the doorway looking like they'd seen a ghost.

"Katrina..."

My adopted baby sister was as white as the paper I'd just written on as she stared at me. The blazer of her school uniform was askew, her white shirt wrinkled as if someone had forgotten it in the washing machine. There were dark circles under her eyes, her entire fierce, confident aura, gone.

"Mia," I breathed. It took everything I had not to run to her. "Forget I was here. Forget it all."

I began to run for the stairs, but she slid in front of me. Tears streamed down her face without hesitation.

"What are you doing?"

"You can't leave," she hissed, "I deserve an explanation."

"Well I can't give you one," I said, my teeth gritted. Don't feel sad. Don't do it. You'll only be a dangerous liability for them.

"Why did you leave?!"

Her scream stopped me dead in my tracks. I had been about to burst through the front door to escape, but the desperste tone of her voice made me freeze.

"You're my sister, Kat. My sister who knows what it's like to be abandoned by the family that decided not to keep you."

I shut my eyes against the memories. The emotions.

"The others... They're suffering. They feel like they've been abandoned a second time. Mom and Mum feel like they failed you as parents!"

My heart throbbed. No, just stop. Don't talk.

"We miss you."

Her voice broke with a sob.

My own was shaking. I knew that even without me saying anything.

"Mia, I love you. I love you all," I sniffled. "But I can't come back. Something happened."

"We can help you," she whimpered. "We'll help you through whatever it is. We always have."

I turned to her, holding up a hand filled with blue glow. It spread up my arms and down my torso until my entire body was covered in the sign of a water shifter.

"This goes beyond you," I whispered, "and honestly, it's beyond me to. I have to catch up with who I am, Mia. And I can't do that here."

"Don't leave me."

My gut wrenched. I walked over to her, wrapping my arms around her. She sighed, relaxing into my arms with another sob.

Seconds passed before I lifted my eyes. Looking over her shoulder, I spotted an empty closet meant for coats beside us.

"I'm sorry, Mia," I whispered, the glow returning to my fingers.

"But I already left."

She began to shout something when I tripped her, holding her up while I yanked open the doors to the closet. Ignoring her pleas, I shoved my sister into the empty space and proceeded to freeze both doors shut.

I am so, so sorry.

I leaned my head against the ice, hearing the faint sound of her screaming my name.

Then, I heard another scream.