I was alone in a huge field of grass. The wind ruffled my fur. Strange. I didn't remember getting any First Signs.
Further thought revealed several facts. First of all, I was in norm-shape. Second of all, the kind of grass was a dead giveaway that I was in Africa. Briefly wondering what species I was, I turned my head around to look at myself.
There was nothing. Literally nothing. Behind my head was only air.

My eyes snapped open. I was still in my room. I was also still Unchanged. No way I was going to be able to get anymore sleep. If Changing was stressful, as people said it was, then waiting for the Change was that tenfold. I laughed bitterly to myself. Those who had Changed without expecting it in one rush, twenty years ago, were the lucky ones. Callous I suppose, but still...
I sat down at my workstation and hit the on button on the home-made computer. A VERY noisy fan tried, and failed, to cool the computer enough for it to be on more than five seconds. I flipped the switch again. Nothing.
One block of dry ice later, I was at the computer. The Network was online.
Allow me to explain. A year ago, in my freshman year at high school, a friend of mine by the name of Dave started Music of the Spheres. Technically, it is a band. On the other hand, we did not have musical instruments, and, even if we did, none of us could play a note, at least not well. Music of the Spheres uses floating orbs about the size of your fist in place of drums, keyboards, and clarinets, and computer algorithms in place of musicians.
Most of us couldn't believe our ears when; after having those little robots blare the kind of dramatic sounds that you get in the opening credits a science fiction series; we got a thunderous applause. In fact, I was convinced for the next week that everybody was playing a gigantic practical joke on us. In the year that followed, we turned Music of the Spheres from a simple band into a sort of elite group which primary purpose was simply being a bunch of laid-back, highly intelligent techies. To accomplish this, we developed the Network. With a bit of help from a Technomancer, Dave designed a system of computers that make use of a ghost zone in the radio wave frequencies, much like a remote control. It was technically illegal, but it operated on such a short range that nobody noticed.
The Network originally consisted of the computers of myself, Dave, and the other three members: Tobias, Nikki, and Icestar. No, that wasn't his actual name (Sam), but that's what everybody called him, since his parents are a Cyrokinetic and a Plasma Breather. But I digress.
After a few minutes of searching through all the data gathered by the combined sensors of the Network, I finally found what I wanted. Our Change status.
Still nothing. Hopefully the Change would happen this weekend, but I doubted it.
I hate being human.


I zipped down the street, weaving around obstacles. Behind me, I heard people jeering at me. Strangely, I couldn't make out the words. Usually I was all too aware of them. All of the sudden I lost my balance and crashed to the ground. It felt as if my ear was rearranging itself.
In fact, I was pretty sure my ear WAS rearranging itself. I've heard of inconvenient times to have the Change, but being chased by a couple of jocks was probably the worse time it could happen to me.
I had just staggered to my feet when the first one caught up to me and slammed his fist into my chin. I heard my bones crack. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Nikki sprinting towards me. Thank goodness we lived close to each other. The two Neanderthals didn't see her until it was too late, earning the porcupine-morph a firm punch to the head.
Unfortunately, while Nikki was busy trying to avoid the porcupine-morph's quills so she could get in another hit, the wolf kicked her in the head, then kept attacking her while she was on the ground. No lower than I expected of Spike and Peter.
In the end, Nikki and I finally managed to stagger into the school, leaning on each other slightly for support. I went into the nurse's office to be sent to the Change Doctor, and Nikki went to her Trigonometry class.


I sat in the Change Doctor's waiting room. My parents, both mid-Degree wolves, sat next to me. Or rather, my mother sat next to me, and my father was lying on his belly in norm-shape, one ear cocked towards the door.
All at once, I heard a voice.
Hey. You.
I looked around. No one was talking to me.
Nope.
I got up. "I'm going outside for a breath of air."
My father looked at me. We'll call you when it's time, he projected into my head.
Five minutes of searching showed nothing. I had just given up when I heard the voice again.
For someone who so acutely studies the Change, you don't know much.
I looked around. Still nothing.
I'm in your head.
Oh. Can you hear me? I thought hard.
I AM in your head.
So I'm a split-personality?
Yep.
Well damn. Just what I needed: an instinct-driven side of me capable of completely taking over my body.
Relax. I don't plan on taking over your body. Though it IS technically mine as well.
Sensing that, if my 'other side' was anything like me-
I am.
-the discussion had drawn to a close, I went back inside.
"The news is good. Mid-Degree cheetah morph. DNA shows 80% probability for Norm-shifting, Cyrokinesis, and Technomancy; and a 50% chance for the Biology power group. There is chance of complications arising from...."
The voice continued, but I was no longer listening. I had become aware of a sudden instinct of some sort nagging at the back of my head, and feline curiosity forced me to see what it was.
All of the sudden, I felt a rush of fear. My eyes slid towards the Change Doctor. She was a lion morph.
Lions kill cheetahs in cold blood.
This could be very bad.
Without myself commanding them to do so, I rose up to my feet and fur flowed over my body. My last thought before I blacked out was, THIS IS TURNING OUT TO BE A HELL OF A DAY, ISN'T IT?


Trying to regain control of my body- and receive any sensory imput- was like trying not to drown when you're ten feet under the surface in an ocean of molasses. I had just about given up when I saw a bit of spotted fur out of the corner of my eye. It wasn't mine. It was the sentient side of my instincts. He was also struggling to get out.
I thought that you did this, I thought to him.
Nope. He surged ahead of me. Grab my tail. I did. Blue light flashed all around us, and then we appeared above the sea of molasses. When we hit the ground, it felt as if I had landed on concrete. I wasn't injured physically, but I could still feel. I lay there for a few seconds, expecting myself to sink back, but I didn't. I tapped the surface with my finger. It was frozen solid.