The Shifters: Katrina

I took off, ignoring my sister's cries and the guilty feeling in my heart. The screams continued, and the person must've been out of town from how quiet they were. The only reason I knew it wasn't a good sign was because of the shrill pitch -- hell, the regular humans couldn't even hear it. People looked at me strangely as I ran by, part of my face hidden by my hoodie. The knife I'd taken was tucked in my waistband, which was tight enough to keep it in place as I rushed toward the growing sound of a person yelling their lungs out. Just outside of town was a basketball court surrounded by tall hedges, putting the actual court in shadow. In one corner, I saw two figures seemingly fighting against each other. One made muffled noises while the other snapped, their voice angry and disturbed.

What made my heart nearly stop was the serrated blade long enough to be classified as a sword glinting in the sunlight.

I didn't hesitate. Water gathered in the air around me, forming icicles that worked like spears. I didn't completely trust myself to use fire, so I stuck with what I knew. The attacker, a woman with dark hair, barely saw them coming as I shot the icicles at her. She whirled, brandishing the blade like it was a match for me.

"Another shifter. Of course," she spat, "I'll be able to get two kills today. Lucky me."

"Another"? Is she a hunter?

I growled, red glow appearing around one hand without me even meaning to call on it. The pressure of power in my chest built up until I sneered, whipping both fire and ice at the woman. Her eyes were wide as they both hit their mark -- the ice pierced her shoulder while the fire hit her in the gut and burnt some of her clothes.

"What the hell?!" The hunter screeched, seeing the glow on my hands. "What the hell are you?!"

I snickered. "Nothing. I'm nothing, unless you keep hurting that girl. Then, I'll be your worst nightmare."

We glared at each other, squaring off in the dead silent courtyard. The other shifter was sniffling, blood on the ground around her. The sight of it made my own blood boil.

"Fine. You win."

Both us shifters seemed to pause as the hunter slipped her sword into its sheath, crossing her arms. She squinted at me, probably memorizing my face to kill me later.

I growled, and she was set in motion, running from the both of us. Once the sound of her footsteps were only a whisper, even for my enhanced hearing, I ran over to the other shapeshifter.

"Are you alright?"

She hugged her knees to her chest. Small cuts were littered around her calves and forearms, but otherwise she was untouched. A white band was on her arm. "I'm okay. I got caught on my way to the shifter festival."

Iluita. She was going there.

"Where are you from?"

"The Ileial compound. I was supposed to watch a friend of mine duel today, but he's probably already done."

Ileial. That's familiar. Wally, the hunter, mentioned it.

I chewed my lip. I had gone home like I meant to, but I didn't know what to do now. Part of me wanted to run and never look back, but I couldn't leave this girl out here.

"Do you have a form?"

She nodded, her form morphing into something much smaller. In seconds, there was a small tabby cat sitting in front of me looking rather rough.

"So you're not exactly powerful..," I murmured. She shifted back, her clothes still intact.

She could get hurt again. I am not going to be the cause of her death.

"Do you know how to get to Iluita?"

I looked up at her words, feeling guilty. The old troublemaker in me wanted to be snarky, but I held my tongue. The girl seemed fragile, and was weaker than I was. It wasn't fair for me to be unkind.

"I'm from there," I told her softly.

Her hand wrapped around my arm, suddenly perking up. "So you can help me get there!"

Guilt. Indecisiveness. Hesitance.

"Please," she added softly. I knew I couldn't stay here, since this town was still looking for me. But still, I didn't know if I could stand going back to Iluita.

"I'm sure someones wants you to come back."

Come back.

My eyes widened, Shae's voice echoing through my head. I shot to my feet, motioning for her to follow me.

"Let's go, then."

"Thank you," she sighed, "thank you, so much."

"Don't thank me," I told her, walking ahead. "You won't even want to know me soon."

"What do you mean?" She wondered, skipping to my side. Before I could even grunt out an answer, more questions shot from her lips. "Did you really use two elements back there? What's Iluita like? Did you participate in the duels? Why aren't you in the compound? You--"

"Quiet," I snapped.

She froze, her eyes on me. I wasn't looking at her, the familiar cold, calculated mindset taking over as I scanned the bushes around us. I'd sworn I heard someone, maybe just them breathing, but I knew we weren't alone.

There was a curse, and I whirled around just in time to see the hunter from before running at the other shifter. I shoved her to the ground, tripping the hunter using a dirty trick I'd learned in school. She fell hard, nearly stabbing herself with her own sword.

"Of course you didn't give up the opportunity," I snapped.

"Why would I?" She sneered. "You're out and all alone, perfect for the picking. Two teenage female shifters is an amazing prize."

I growled. The other shifter's eyes flicked to mine, and I saw she was shaking with fear. A blue glow built up on my fingertips, my eyes passing to the hunter.

"You shouldn't be here. You should leave us alone."

She rolled her eyes. "Talking won't buy you time," she hissed, charging at me. Her sword swung in a wide arc toward my neck, causing me to duck. My fist lashed out, my knuckles coated in miniature spikes of ice. It connected with her gut, causing her to gasp. The sword, which she was clearly skilled with, switched directions, almost stabbing me through the shoulder before I stumbled out of the way. My foot lashed out, catching her knee, but the hunter didn't fall. Her sword caught the side of my arm, cutting not nearly deep enough to hurt me too badly but enough to make me wince. She smirked, but the expression disappeared as I used the injured arm to deck her across the face. As I did, a wave of power flew out, knocking both her and the other shifter back. The shifter simply fell over, but the hunter was less fortunate. The dark haired woman gasped as her back hit the tree behind her, all her breath leaving her lungs. I grabbed the other shifter by the hand, sliding along the ground using ice to save our energy.

"What do we do now?" She yelled over the noise of us zipping through the trees.

"Nothing much," I told her, "the others from my compound will find us."

They will feel that wave. I know that now. If I fight and hit someone hard enough, the waves will be created, I thought, I wonder what happened when I shifted or used my fire for the first time.

"How do you know?"

I sighed. "That wave that blew you back. They'll feel it."

"Thank god."

No, not at all.

God, please teleport me to a different timeline.