Flying Blind Ch. 02

"Miss Adler, you had best get out of my office. You want my help, then you come back when you're prepared to behave yourself."

Heda turned to follow Madison, who was already on her way out. But before she closed the door behind her, she looked back one more time. "I've met some good leaders and at least one monarch in my day. You're just a bully with a crown." Then she left, but even the door behind her could not completely hide the waves of anger flowing from the Reptile King.

"Well, at least he's not pissed at me this time," Madison muttered, amazed at how quickly and badly things had escalated.

Heda did not say anything, but took Madison's hand as they walked. If Reichert was not going to do anything, then damn it Heda would.

----------- --------------

Saturday night . . .

----------- --------------

"Yes Mom, I already agreed that pissing off the King of Reptiles was not a wise idea. Yes, I realize that I've only been here for a few weeks and . . . yes, I'll hold." Heda rolled her eyes and looked over at her friends, all of who were waiting patiently for the phone call to end. The group was going out to shoot pool as soon as Heda's mother got done chewing her out. Apparently Neil Reichert had called Mommy. "She's got to get something out of the oven and scare one of her cooks half to death for under-cooking one of the chicken dishes."

"I can't believe he called your mother," Joanna said, who was suffering from having her Reichert-bubble burst. "That's so . . . childish."

Peter Smith looked disappointed as well, and his gaze went to Madison, who had finally perked up a bit from her glum listening to Heda's call. "So it's really always been like this?"

"Not the physical stuff," she said, sagging a bit under the weight of her life. "That's new. But the rest, yeah pretty much. For a while, I tried making some noise about it, but Billy was the only one listening." Her face was swept by realization, and she said, "Not that I'm blaming you or anyone else here."

"You should be," the falcon shifter replied. "This is just ridiculous."

Heda looked like she was going to agree, but apparently her mother returned.

"Mom, this is important to me. I am too capable of tact! Oh look who's talking, the lady who tried to ground me for beating her at Scrabble. Yes, it IS your fault that you interpreted that word as the plural of the slang term for 'posterior' instead of the correct definition of 'to estimate the value of something.' Yes mom, the extra letter 's' matters. Mom, I have not jeopardized my entire academic career. I'm just going to avoid dealing with that ass-clown directly. Okay, that might have been . . . okay, it WAS harsh and unladylike. Mom, you showed up at my birthday party coated in insectoid goo after putting down that rebellion, so it's not like you're always the poster-child for feminine virtues. Yes I get to hold that against you forever. I was nine, so you traumatized me in my formative years. Mom, everyone is waiting for me and . . . no, I don't need to talk to . . . Hi Dad. Yeah, she's being difficult. Thanks Dad, I so owe you for this. Talk to you soon. Love ya. Bye."

"Your dad seems much calmer than your mother," Carla said, trying not to snicker.

"Yeah, he needs to be. I love my mother to death, but she's a bit on-edge. Right now, he's carrying on a conversation with absolutely no one just so that my mother thinks that he's still discussing my behavior, allowing us to make our escape."

"Won't she just figure out the ruse and call you cell phone?" Anthony asked, his eyes roaming over Heda's body.

"Good point," Heda replied, tossing her cell into the drawer of her nightstand. "And quit undressing me with your eyes."

"No."

"Undress one of the other girls, besides Madison, or I'll gouge your eyes out."

"I accept your terms." He turned and looked at Carla, who was crammed up against him due to the large number of people in the fairly small dorm room. "How you doin'?"

Carla rolled her eyes, but she had to smile. Anthony could do that to you, namely make you want to hug him and kill him at the same time.

Heda was glad to see Carla smiling at all. She had been captured and tortured by some psychopath who wanted to deliver a message to someone, but Carla had not been told what that message was or who was supposed to receive it. She had been trying to claim her life back one day at a time, and she was going better than most could have expected.

The phone rang again, but Heda just stared at it. "It's not possible. Dad can distract her for at least thirty minutes."

Joanna picked up the phone. "Could actually be for me," she grumbled. After a moment, she looked dead serious. She put the phone down and, "Emergency shifter student meeting," she said, sounding worried. "Everyone required to attend unless they've got a damn good reason."

"Every shifter?" Heda asked. "Aren't there like --"

"Thousands of us?" the blond replied. "Yeah. So whatever this is has to be big."

The group put their plans on hold and headed up to the volleyball stadium where the meeting was to be held. They had all been told at sign-up that if there was any breaking emergencies that affected all shifters, that was where they were supposed to go. By the time they arrived, there was already a sizable gathering.

"Okay everyone," the now-loathed Neil Reichert said loudly as he stood up on a makeshift platform, "a situation has arisen that requires our immediate attention. As most of you know or should know, a shifter named Carla Cowan was abducted and imprisoned by some unknown person or persons. It would appear that this vile creature is not done yet. Another shifter has been kidnapped."

Heda's small group of friends quickly gathered around Carla as if to protect her from the memory of what had happened. It would not work, but Carla admired the intent.

Carla was not going to stay in the background though. She looked enraged. "So the second victim was returned?" she asked loudly, immediately getting everyone's attention. She, if anyone, deserved to speak.

"No," Reichert replied grimly. "We were sent . . . a trophy. No, I will not discuss what it was, but there was a note, and the authorities are convinced that this is the same offender. We believe that shifters are being targeted specifically. Mundanes and even magical humans do not seem to be his or her targets."

"So do we know anything about this guy?" someone shouted from the audience.

"No, not as of yet. Except whoever it is has an intimate knowledge of shifters and our culture, including the ability to identify them somehow. We cannot rule out that he or she IS a shifter, because to be able and capture one of us is not easy for a normal human. Now we do not want to cause a panic, but the Council members have, in advance of their emergency meeting, contacted me to tell me that any shifter who feels it unsafe to remain here at this time will receive assistance in transferring to another institution." He made a pushing-down motion as grumbling began to emerge from the throng. "Please, keep calm. We have a number of universities that have a wide variety of curriculum, and the World Council would continue to support funding --"

"But they aren't shifter schools, are they?" someone else shouted.

Peter looked a bit flustered himself. "This is one of only two schools in the country and one of only a few in the entire world that support our kind, and this is the ONLY one that is able to support such a wide variety of us. How do we go somewhere else? How do we know that whoever this is won't follow us?"

Reichert shook his head. "There is a reason this individual has chosen Four Corners University. If the goal was to just pick off shifters one-by-one, then walking into the lion's den as-it-were would be very dangerous."

"No," Carla said, softly at first and then with much more force, "Whoever it is wants something here . . . wants someone. Every 'message' has a recipient. We need to find out who that recipient is."

"And the authorities are looking into it." Reichert met the audiences entire gaze all at once. "Regardless, the safety of the shifters on this campus is our top concern. The council and I will not allow our kind to be preyed upon."

Heda glowered at him from the anonymity of the masses. 'You'd let Madison get preyed upon,' she thought.

The Reptile King was oblivious to Heda's distaste at the moment. "If you want to change universities, there will be a special representative at the Registrar's Office starting tomorrow to help with the process. If you want to stay, there are a guidelines that must be obeyed. First, no shifter should be out alone after dark, and ideally we would like for you all to at least go in pairs during the daylight as well. If you leave campus to hunt or just stretch your muscles, take others with you who can keep up in your environment. I would actually advise going in groups of three or more, just to be safe. For those remaining, we are going to be starting a 'neighborhood watch' program. A number of you will be asked to head up teams, so be listening for your names in just a moment. If I do not call your name, then find a group and head home. Further instructions will be sent along shortly."

Reichert started rattling off names as Heda and her friends started talking class schedules and so forth. None of them could quite wrap their brains around a serial killer that was targeting shifters, so they simply did the best that they could to deal. It did not help matters that Heda heard her name called out over the crowd. All of her friends looked on with curiosity as she made her way to the podium and the King of Reptiles. She was one of perhaps twenty students, and she was joined by her fellow bird shifter Peter Smith. Her gaze met Reichert's for a moment, and it was not friendly on either of their parts.

"After talking with the Council, your names were put forward as some of the better combat-trained shifters on campus, and you are also leaders. Even those of you who are new here," he continued, his eyes glancing towards Heda, "have shown an aptitude towards leadership. We will need that. Each one of you will be given overlapping zones on campus to keep an eye on and be responsible for. All of you will be given phones with walkie-talkie features for you and your back-up, who you will choose to act as a point-of-contact when you are drawn away to other responsibilities. All of you who choose to remain and accept these responsibilities will be able to get a free completion for one class not directly required for your major. This will allow you to free up more time for keeping track of things. This offer goes for your back-up as well. If you see or hear anything suspicious, contact the Council office. The phone there will be manned twenty-four-seven until this creature is caught." He looked at each one in turn. "Do NOT play hero. If you think you've found something, alert myself or the council. We have no idea how dangerous this man or woman is."

Heda was a little conflicted. This type of leadership was more what she had expected of him. Time to push her luck a bit. She raised her hand.

"Yes Miss Adler?"

"Maybe we can use the radio," she said. "Madison --"

"That DM?" one of the others scoffed, and Reichert was forced to intervene before Heda could threaten anyone.

"I don't see how your friend could help us," Reichert said. "Please --"

"Yeah, how on earth could someone with a popular radio show that could distribute information quickly to the entire student shifter population POSSIBLY be of any use," she said, sarcasm pouring from her mouth. "It's a much better idea to try to get a hold of thousands of people one at a time."

"Insolent bitch," a reptile shifter growled. For a moment, it looked like there was going to be a full-fledged species brawl as Peter moved up to support his fellow avian.

"Stop," Reichert said, his voice so stern and hard that even Heda felt little choice but to back down. "We cannot allow ourselves to be divided right now."

"And we also need to use whatever resources we have available," Heda replied, taking a step back. "Sir."

"I will take it under advisement," Reichert replied.

Heda nodded, a slight gesture of animalistic submission, then backed away towards her friends.

"What happened?" Madison asked.

"I . . . kinda volunteered you to be a communications hub for the Shifter Emergency Network."

"No really, what happened?"

By the time they all got back to Heda's and Joanna's dorm room, Madison had finally accepted that she was getting dragged into this whole mess whether she wanted to be or not.

"Hey guys," Heda said after everyone had gotten settled, "I was kind of joking with Madison about moving in together, but maybe it's not such a bad idea. We could probably get out of our housing contracts at this point and find an apartment or a place off campus."

"Some big kind of communal orgy type thing?" Anthony asked, his face riddled with signs of glee.

"No."

"Let's not discount the idea --" Joanna started to say, then got shot down by a glare that Heda had learned from her mother. "Never mind."

"I can't say that the idea doesn't have appeal," Peter said. "Living together I mean. I don't do the group orgy thing."

Madison was attempting to quietly blend into the furniture, which just seemed to draw more attention.

"What about you, Madison?" Carla asked.

"I can't," the bat-shifter replied. "I don't have that kind of money. I have financial aid and stuff, but my scholarship only helps with on campus housing." The idea of living as part of a close-knit group, in one confined area, might intimidate some people. For Madison and the communal totem animal that shared her soul, the idea tugged at her heart-strings.

"I could pull some strings with my uncle," Peter muttered, doing the logistics in his head. Peter's uncle was the Bird King and was not exactly light in the wallet. "He's a real estate guru. Maybe he could help find us a house to rent. What are there, six of us? Seven if Madison wants in?"

"I really couldn't --," Madison tried to interject.

"Hey, it's just a pipe dream right now anyway," Heda said. "We don't know if any of US can or really want this. But if you're interested and it does happen, maybe we can work something out. Just don't discount the idea before its hatched. Okay?"

Madison just nodded. Heda sounded indecisive, but Madison was looking with her echolocation, quietly evaluating the members of the group. They looked enthusiastic . . . the kind of enthusiastic that lent itself to action. The idea was so tempting, which made the reality that much harder to swallow. She was barely scraping by as it was, especially after having lost out on her last gig thanks to Alvin Hannity.

Eventually they were joined by Billy and Sasha, who did not help matters by expressing an interest in this little commune idea. Hope was a two-edged sword, at least in Madison's opinion.

"You were thinking about applying for more loans anyway, weren't you? I mean, your tuition and all is covered," Sasha was saying.

"Yeah, but --"

Sasha understood her friend's concerns, but she also knew how much this would mean to the girl.

Carla stood up. "I want to go shoot pool," she said, her voice wavering a little bit.

There was a moment of awkward silence, broken by Peter. "Carla, is this really a good time?"

"Whoever this fucker is, he already stole part of my life," she replied, her voice still shaking. "I'm not going to be his prisoner here too."

'She's got more guts than I do,' Madison said, then forced her feet to move. "I'll go. Not much for pool though."

"You can be my lucky charm," Heda said, grabbing her wallet. She refused to carry a purse, despite their obvious advantages in many regards. And just like that, everyone was going. Heda gave both Carla and Madison hugs around the shoulders. "Brave girls," she whispered.

When everyone else was distracted for a moment, Madison turned to the horse shifter next to her and whispered, "Does being brave feel like someone's squeezing your heart so hard that it's going to pop like a zit?"

"I think so."

"Good. Otherwise, I think I'd need to go see a doctor."

---------- ------------------

Later that night . . .

---------- ------------------

"Oh God you suck!" Heda laughed as Joanna flubbed an easy corner shot in their five-person game of cut-throat. Of course, Joanna's goal in playing pool was not to win, but rather to show off her rockin' body and substantial cleavage as much as possible. She was really good at that part. The group of them had gotten a single table at Dizzy's, a restaurant and pool hall close to campus. Joanna was certainly getting most of the boys attention. The few times Madison switched on her echolocation, she had managed to form a topographical map of Joanna's chest without much difficulty. Then she saw Heda scoping the girl out too, and admiration turned to an irrational jealousy.

'Hypocritical much?' she thought to herself. She felt immensely silly about the whole thing, a situation compounded when Heda leaned over and whispered --

"She's sweet, but a bit too bubbly for my taste."

Madison's skin shivered delightfully when those words and that warm breath tickled her ear.

"You know, you could play too," Heda continued, a bit more seriously. "If you want to tell them about . . . you know."

Madison's heart, which had been in her throat, plummeted to her stomach. "I can't --"

"You can," Heda said. "Here, I'll show you what you're missing. My turn," she said, loud enough for the rest to hear. "Madison's going to help."

"I'm what?"

"C'mon." The eagle shifter dragged her friend towards the table, and Madison was pulled somewhat reluctantly towards the table. But objections melted when Heda wrapped her arms around Madison's body and put her in "the position." The bat-shifter found herself the butt of a number of "handling a stick" and "thrusting with the right amount of pressure" jokes, which were both embarrassing and endearing. But mostly, she was very, very aware of the hard body pressed against her back and the strong arms directing her movements. She did not care if she hit the damn ball or not. She just liked "practicing."

"Ready?" Heda whispered.

"Uhm, on behalf of all the guys present, we think you should continue to dry hump . . . I mean 'teach' Madison how to play pool," Anthony said.

"You are such a pig," Sasha said, rolling her eyes.

"Skunk my dear. I'm a skunk. Please get your mammals right." He grinned when she stuck her tongue out at him.

"Can I turn him into a slug?" she asked her boyfriend.

Bill pondered the concept. "Not until you professors sign off on your training."

"Your support as a male is overwhelming," Anthony grumbled.

"I like her more than I like you."

"Understandable. She's got that whole naughty librarian thing going."

"I do not!" Sasha half-shouted, half-squeaked. "Why do people keep saying that?" She looked for affirmation of her irritation from her boyfriend, but Billy was staring intently at one of the HD-televisions hanging on the wall. He had apparently never seen anything quite so fascinating as sport fishing.

"She really does," Madison whispered, then groaned slightly as Heda kissed her neck.

"I love the way you sound when you do that," Heda murmured.

"Are you two going to do it?" Anthony asked, "because I left my video camera at --" Anthony stopped talking as Madison pulled back and came close to sinking the ball. "Not bad. I think she should get another shot."

"You want to keep playing this game?" Heda asked.

Madison knew this was not about pool. She reached out with sonar pulses and saw that Billy and Sasha were both looking at her expectantly. She had allowed herself to get beaten up just to maintain this charade. Would they treat her like an equal? Would they be upset that she had lied to them? Wouldn't it be nice just to be herself?