Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-08-01
Features: On the second night, we couldn’t go to the Chapman house because Rachel and Marco had to write an essay. The third day was Mr. Chapman’s birthday. Finally, we gathered again outside the Chapman house on the street. It was just after eight o’clock in the evening. Moe was already out, crossing four streets and sniffing near a fence—it seemed another cat had left some kind of scent there. At least Tobias said so.
“Ready?” Jack asked me. I nodded.
“Are you sure it’s okay?” Casey asked. “If not, we can wait. We don’t have to do this tonight.”
“The sooner the better,” I said. “We all know something’s wrong with that house. Melissa is still my friend, and maybe I can help her.”
“Your mission isn’t to help Melissa Chapman,” Marco pointed out. “You should be watching Vice Principal Chapman. You need to find a way to get close to the monsters so we can fight them as beasts.”
“I know what I’m doing, Marco,” I said. He nodded. “Alright. Hey, be careful. Your opponent is the vice principal. If he finds you turn into a cat and sneak into his house, he’ll make you stay after school for 365 days.”
Everyone laughed, as if staying after school was what I was most afraid of. Marco could be annoying sometimes, but he always made me feel at ease in critical moments.
“I’m ready,” I said. I waved my hand at the dark sky. Tobias flew over, spread his wings to slow down, and landed on the fence next to us.
“How’s it going with the cats, Tobias?” Jack asked.
“You’d have a lot of potential if you robbed houses,” Marco said to Tobias. “You and me rob something, and Jack turns into Spider-Man to catch us.”
“Okay, I’m ready to transform,” I announced. “Absolutely ready.”
Tobias telepathically said to me alone:
I prepared to transform, focusing all my thoughts on Moe. It wasn’t hard—I clearly remembered Moe’s appearance. The day I turned into a weasel, it had almost killed me by falling from a tree. My body had already stored Moe’s DNA, ready for use at any time. I just had to concentrate… concentrate on transforming into every kind of animal. Especially the first time, you don’t even know how to control the transformation process. Not even Casey knows how to do it the first time. As for me turning into Moe, it started with the fur. First, black fur grew, then white fur began to appear. When the fur grew at the same rate, I still basically looked like a human. My arms were covered in fur. Fur and whiskers grew on my legs and face, but the rest of my body was mostly unchanged.
“Ooh, that’s cool!” Casey said. She stared at me, grinning widely.
“Awesome. You look great.” Marco and Jack nodded in agreement.
“Strange, but beautiful,” Marco said. “You could be in a cat food commercial. Maybe sing a little song and dance a bit. Forget Morris the Cat—no one’s better than you.”
I began to shrink. Strangely, my height decreased, my coat piled on the ground, yet I didn’t feel myself shrinking. In fact, I felt stronger. I felt like I was shedding the excess—my clumsy legs, my weak arms—leaving only my essence behind. I didn’t feel like I was made of ordinary bone and muscle. I felt like liquid steel. I didn’t have the fear of the weasel, nor the absolute arrogance of an elephant or an eagle. It was a completely new feeling. Of course, I still had fear, but behind it was confidence. The cat knew there was an enemy nearby but also knew how to deal with it. I felt strong. Yes, that’s the feeling—strong.
At that moment, the experience of a cat began to flood my mind.
“Cats have eight times the night vision of humans,” Casey said quickly. “I checked it.”
“Eight times?” Marco repeated. “Not seven, and not nine? How do they measure that?”
What was strange wasn’t how clearly I could see but what I could see. For example, humans pay attention to color. Cats can distinguish some colors, but they’re not sensitive to them. Like, that thing is red. But who cares? Cats focus on movement. If something moves, even just a little, cats can see it. I stood on the lawn, looking around with my cat’s big eyes. Everything seemed to be moving. I could see each blade of grass swaying in the wind. I clearly saw every insect crawling on the grass. I saw birds on the trees flapping their wings. And, yes, I saw all sorts of mice and squirrels. Twenty feet away, a mouse. I could see every whisker on its tiny nose twitching. If something wasn’t moving, I lost interest. If a little mouse stood still, I’d forget it was there.
“You’re doing okay?” Jack asked me. I heard his voice. But it didn’t matter to me—it was meaningless. The mouse wanted to gnaw open a nut, and the tiny teeth grinding against the nut made a faint crunching sound. I noticed the sound, and I focused all my attention on it.
“Good, at least she’s not running around uncontrollably,” Marco said. Suddenly, I felt something above me—its outline, its shadow, its image. I turned my head lightning-fast, my ears perked up. The fur on my back stood on end, and my tail swelled to three times its normal size. I stretched my claws, bared my teeth, and everything happened in an instant. I was ready to fight. Whoever attacked me would know that Moe wasn’t someone to mess with.
“Hiss”
P101-106