feral pride by cynthia leitich smith chapter sampler

8/10/2019 Feral Pride by Cynthia Leitich Smith Chapter Sampler

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C Y N T H I A L E I T I C H S M I T H


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Tis is a work o fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are eitherproducts o the authors imagination or, i real, are used fictitiously.

Te epigraph that appears on page vii originally appeared inJunglesand is provided courtesy o Frans Lanting.

Copyright by Cynthia Leitich Smith

Photograph on pages iiiii copyright Image Farm Inc.

All rights reserved. No part o this book may be reproduced, transmitted,or stored in an inormation retrieval system in any orm or by any means,graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, taping, and

recording, without prior written permission rom the publisher.

First edition

Library o Congress Catalog Card Number ISBN ----

BVG

Printed in Berryville, VA, U.S.A.

Tis book was typeset in Minion Pro.

Candlewick Press Dover Street

Somerville, Massachusetts

visit us at www.candlewick.com


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For Aunt Linda,

whose encouragement and pride in my efforts

inspires me to roar


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k. . . A LION IS NO A LION IS NO A LION.AS INDIVIDUALS, AS MEMBERS OF A SOCIEY,HEYRE ALL VERY DIFFEREN. FRANS LANING, WILDLIFE PHOOGRAPHER


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Austin News Channel

Transcript: April 21

Anchor:This just in! The following video was taken

with a night-vision camera in Pine Ridge, Texas

(population 7,394), located about an hour southeast

of Austin.

That figure contorting on your screen is believed

to be an actual werecat, caught in mid-shift at Town

Park a public park located in the shadow of the

historic downtown, along the Colorado River. She has

been identified as Kayla Morgan, a senior at Pine

Ridge High, a National Merit semifinalist, a track and

cross-country state champion, and the adopted

daughter of Mayor Franklin Morgan.

The structure in the background is an antique

Western-themed carousel, which was the site of the

death of PRHS quarterback Benjamin Bloom from a

lightning strike back in February. We have confirmed

that Kayla and Benjamin were dating at the time.

If you look closely, you can see other, as yet

unidentified, individuals in the background. It appears

as though at least one of them is a werecat, too.

While shifters have been caught on video before, its

extremely rare and unprecedented in small-town Texas.

The Bastrop County Sheriffs Office has just issued

a statement saying quote Kayla Morgan and


10/38

her companions are suspected of no known crimes.

Nor are they suspected of having any connection

whatsoever to the kidnapping of Texas governor Linnie

Lawson.

Kaylas species has not been verified.


11/38

CLYDE

I WON BE CAGED. Not again. I tense at the crackle o the

police radio. I check the side mirror. Not yet. I rub my eye-

lids, look again. Im not the only one whos reaking out.

Te stink o shock and ear is weighty. I can hear my girl-

riend Aimees heart thudding in her chest.

None o this makes sense, Kayla says rom the back-

seat o the squad car. Its not illegal to be what we are. Why

would ederal agents be gunning or us?

Why wouldnt they? answers Yoshi, whos beside her.

Teyre both right. Its not illegal to be what we are.

But whenever anything goes wrong, anything bloody and

brutal, shape-shifers are presumed guilty. So, what went

wrong this time?


12/38

Behind the wheel, Jess says, Sure, theres the ootage.

Werepeople in small-town America, cue the hysteria. But

the eds were already afer yall beore it went live.Earlier tonight Kaylas shif to Cat orm (and possibly

Yoshis, too) was caught on video. It was uploaded to the

International News Network and beyond. Shes become

the latest poster child or shifers as beastly boogeymen.

Meanwhile, shoot-first eds descended on own Park. Id

already swept up Aimee. Wed taken reuge in a heavily

wooded area nearby. But Kayla and Yoshi were momen-

tarily arrested. A Coyote named Peter and a wereotter

named Evan managed to escape. Darby, a Deer, was

knocked unconscious and lef behind with anya, a Bear.

An elder werecat, Lula Stubblefield, ran into the line o fire

to distract the armed SOBs. Weve all been doing a bang-up

job o avoiding the topic o her death.

Te Cats had just transormed back to human orm

when the Federal Humanity Protection Unit (FHPU)

started shooting. Tere was no time or them to waste get-

ting dressed, and weve been on the run since. Tats why

theyre both buck naked and handcuffed.

Fortunately, shifers have human allies like Aimee and

Kaylas riend Jess, who came to our rescue in her athers

squad car. Her dad, the local sheriff, helped finagle our

escape.

Tat was about an hour ago. Now, its nearly one in the


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morning. raffic on the interstate is light. Aimee flicks a

downward glance. You okay?

I whisper, Its nothing. Well, not nothing,but . . . Shesperched on my lap in the bucket seat. Its not just that Im

a teenage guy. Or just that shes my girlriend. I briefly

bulked up my muscle mass and ur back in Pine Ridge. A

bigger package is part o the deal. Tats not discussed in

mixed company. Again, Aimees not only emale. Shes a

Homo sapiens.

Normally, Yoshi would be listening in and mouthing

off about my predicament. But Kaylas Chihuahua wont

shut up. Peso cant help it, she insists. Be nice to him. He

gets carsick sometimes.

Hes going to ralph all over my lap! Yoshi exclaims.

All Cats are astidious. Yoshis a metrosexual. Tats it!

he says. Jess, pull over. Nobodys chasing us right this sec-

ond. Weve got to get these cuffs off. Clyde, you give Kayla

your shirt.

We shouldve thought o that, Aimee mutters, which

is her nice way o saying that I shouldve thought o that.

Kayla was adopted by the human mayor o Pine Ridge

and his missus. Shes less comortable au naturel than any

shifer Ive met beore.

Yoshis afer her, which is a relie. For a while, hed set

his sights on Aimee.

Next exit, Jess promises, hitting the wiper fluid. Ill


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find a secluded spot.

Aimee begins squirming, which doesnt help my situa-

tion. I ask, Whatre you doing?She checks her pockets. Looking or the keys to the

handcuffs.

You lostthe keys? Kayla exclaims.

Tey slipped, unnoticed, through Aimees fingers

as she positioned hersel on my lap. With my werelion-

wereopossum reflexes, I snatched them in midair.

Check the floorboard, Jess says to Aimee. You prob-

ably dropped them.

Yoshi kicks the back o my seat. What the hell,

Clyde!

Te Cats wrists are restrained behind them. Weve had

a long night. Teres no way Yoshis comortable like that.

He might be suffering rom a little awkwardness o his own,

with no jeans to hide it. But notice how he goes straight or

blaming me.

Because why? Yoshis a senior. Im a sophomore. Hes

been all Cat his whole lie. Afer being raised by Possums

as a Possum, Ive only recently discovered my inner Lion.

Yoshi is Mr. Smooth with the ladies. Me? Not so

much. Hes become Aimees closest guy riend, like I need

that in my lie.

Im not ashamed to be hal wereopossum. Its the ani-

mal orm Ive exclusively identified mysel with or most o


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my lie. But Possums arent considered the sexiest. Or even

sexy-ish.

Im a Wild Card, dual species. Based on grocery-storepaperbacks, it seems like werecurious human girls anta-

size about lean predators like Wolves and Cats. Bears, i

theyre into the husky type. Aimee and I clicked back when

I thought o mysel as strictly weremarsupial. We didnt go

rom riends to more until afer I learned how to roar.

Yoshi kicks the back o my seat again. I squeeze the

keys in my palm. Aimee rushes to apologize. As Jess accel-

erates past the next exit, my girlriend insists shes at ault.

Im pissed enough at Yoshi to let her.


16/38

YOSHI

HOURS BEFORE SUNRISE, fleeing exas in an ungodly

crowded police car, the only thing my riends can talk

about is Wonder Woman. Diana represents one-third o

the DCU rinity, and whos her archenemy? Kayla asks.

Cheetah. Not only a werecat, but a spotted werecat.

At least shes speaking up. A spotted werecat hersel,

Kaylas a lot quieter when shes naked. Sel-conscious, I

guess. Religious. Not me. Im a dashing, cougar-like Cat

mysel with jet-black ur in animal orm. I love my body.

Tis is significant . . . why? Jess asks rom behind the

wheel. Like everybody else up ront, she has her clothes


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on. Shifers are people. Tere are terrific people, terrible

people. Most all in between. Why cant a wereperson be a

villain? Because the hero is Wonder Woman?Wereperson is a sometimes preerred term or

shifer. (I dont mind either one, so long as nobodys

calling me a reak o nature or a monster . . . or insulting

my hair.) Were in no way supernatural, even i our bodies

can perorm a ew tricks that are beyond our human

cousins. Were no recent mutation either. We trace our

evolutionary line back to at least the Ice Age.

Tats not breaking news. Werecats and, or that mat-

ter, werewolves and weredeer and Raccoons and Vultures

(among others) have been common knowledge among

Homo sapienssince the mid-1800s. Some humans, like Jess

and Aimee, are cool with us, but the rest . . . not so much.

Te not-so-much crowd, theyre the majority. Or at least

theyre louder.

Te great thing about being in a cop car is that other

vehicles give us wide berth. I dont like it, though, Aimee

sitting on Clydes lap with the seat belt stretched across

them. Were doing seventy-five miles per hour, and Ive only

got one best riend. Shed be saer back here. Its cramped

but shes tiny, and its not like she has to touch my naked

bod not that Id blame Clyde or objecting. (I am

irresistible.) She could sit on the other side o Kayla. Tat

would press the Cat girl tight against me. Nudity beore

and afer shifs isnt a big deal among werepeople. But this


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is Kayla.I should be getting more credit or not staring at

her rack. Like a ticker-tape parade.

Clyde, what did I tell you? Jess moves to the ar rightlane to let a camper trailer pass.

Dont touch the center console, he replies with a

sigh. Hes such a baby. He keeps playing with the radio,

camera, and light-bar controls. Which, granted, are

pretty cool.

We debated taking back roads (or at least avoiding

tolls), but ultimately decided that I-35 North, the astest

route to Oklahoma, was worth the risks. Not or the first

time, I strain against the cuffs and eel the metal give a bit.

I I had the strength o a werebear, Id be ree by now.

Kayla and I discussed trying to shif ourselves ree, but

trapped in this position, my head bent rom the low ceil-

ing, our arms restrained behind our backs no way. Tats

not superficial, stage-one stuff like ur, eyes, claws, teeth.

We could throw a joint out o socket or puncture a lung

with a rib bone. Weve got it made over humans when it

comes to healing (when our orms shif, we largely reboot

ourselves), but bone and organ injuries are tougher to

repair than flesh.

Werepeople are portrayed as archvillains a lot, Aimee

points out. Cheetah isnt supposed to be anAcinonyx juba-

tus sapiens like Kayla, but I doubt most Wonder Woman

ans put much thought into the difference. Are we still

talking about this?


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Te squad car has been pro cleaned, but some-

body threw up in this backseat within the past couple o

weeks. Im getting a headache, and its not helping thatKaylas Chihuahua wont shut up. Most small animals

panic in the presence o werepredators. Its novel that,

because hes Kaylas, Peso is so comortable around us. Still,

we shouldve lef him in Pine Ridge. I he scrambles over

my junk one more time, I swear . . .

Better an archvillain than a sorry-ass villain, Clyde

chimes in, scratching his reshly grown beard. Hes a

Wild Card shifer, hal Lion, hal Possum (he can choose

between orms).

Staying clean-shaven is key to passing as human, at

least until were out o high school. Passing hiding in

plain sight in human orm is the way most o us survive.

Especially urban shifers, but even country boys (like I used

to be) do their best to act average. Tere are species-only

communities like Wol packs, but Cats are too independent

or that sort o BS.

Besides, Clyde goes on, Cheetah started out as a

pathetic Homo sapienswoman in a cat suit. It helped enor-

mously to reinvent her like that. Tink about it: How could

some random society babe with a personality disorder pose

a serious challenge to Diana?

Tey do that all the time or at least Aimee and Clyde

do they talk about superheroes and sci-fi characters like

theyre on a first-name basis. For hours . . . this has been


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going on for hours. Im finally bored enough to join in.

Youd sign off on a random society dude with a personality

disorder challenging her.Would not! Clyde exclaims. I bow to the awesome-

ness that is the Amazon princess.

What i it was Bruce Wayne? I counter as a trio o

motorcycle riders cruises by. Society dude. Major issues.

I hes Supermans ail-sae, shouldnt he be able to take

down Wonder Woman, too? Tat shuts him up. Im not a

geek, but I hear them jabber about this stuff all the time. It

seemed like the thing to say to score points with the girls.

Besides, this whole conversation is whistling in

the dark talking about anything except whats really

wrong. Were retreating to saety. Wolves would stand their

ground and fight, but Wolves are idiots. Teres a reason

werewolves are the first shifers that humans name among

monsters ofen in the same breath as Count Dracula and

Frankenstein.

It makes you think, doesnt it? Aimee asks, glancing

over at the semi in the next lane.

Shes still retting about whether people assume some

comic-book eline atale is a shifer and what that means

or the media or society or both. Shes like that. Weve only

known each other or a ew months, and shes already

dragged me to three political rallies (textbooks, immigra-

tion, gay marriage). I dont mind. Te women are cute, and

snacks are plentiul.


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Aimee and I, were platonic, but she mightve been my

girl i it werent or Clyde.

Ten again, i Aimee and I had gotten together, Iwouldnt be in this what-might-happen place with Kayla.

No, thats crazy the Aimee part, not the Kayla part. Its

not like I was madly in love with Aimee. I like her a

lot. She can be flaky and exhausting (in a Goth/New Age/

hippie way), but she has this incredible aith in the uni-

verse. Its contagious.

You could say I love her as a riend. I do. I love her as

a riend. So whats my damage? Aimee was the first girl I

cared about as more than booty and, o all the other guys

in the world, she chose Clyde Gilbert instead o me. Clyde.

Gilbert.

What can I say? Tis Cat man has his pride.

Bruce Wayne isnt some random society dude with a

personality disorder, Clyde insists. Hes the ultimatesoci-

ety dude with a personality disorder. Teres a difference.

ell that to ony Stark, I reply, hoping I remember

right that hes Iron Man.

You wish you were ony Stark, the Wild Card

inorms me.

Aimee yawns. Were coming up on Denton, exas, en

route to Jesss aunts house in Pawhuska, Oklahoma (other-

wise known, Ive been told, as Osage Nation). We lef Pine

Ridge not long afer midnight, and its around 4 A.M.now.

Werepeople have more endurance than humans. O course


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Cats relish naps and I sure could use one, but Aimee and

Jess must be exhausted.

Peso barks, scratching the tops o my thighs again. Its all I can do not to hiss him into quivering

submission, but Kayla would have a fit.

In the rearview mirror, I glimpse flashing lights com-

ing up ast rom behind.

Should I floor it? Jess asks, and suddenly were all

wide awake.


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YOSHI

WERE FIVE EENAGERS, two o whom are naked and

cuffed, in a borrowed police vehicle with a small, highly

vocal, constantly-in-motion dog. Plus, Kayla is hugely

recognizable.

Aimee cranes her neck to look. I doubt a high-speed

chase is the way to go.

I have a mental image o helicopters and live V. Tat

would be bad.

Clyde snorts. What? You dont think were getting

enough media coverage?

I ask, Other suggestions?

We split up, Kayla begins. Shifers, jump out.

Humans, say we kidnapped you and orced Jess to drive.


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Play dumb. Claim you dont know anything, and take

Peso home.

At least she agrees that we shouldnt have broughtthe dog.

Bad idea. Jess turns down the radio. Sweetie, this is a

police car. Te back doors dont open rom the inside, and

in case you didnt notice, your windows are barred.

Humans tend to underestimate shifer strength. I bet

we could kick the doors open, but leverage is an issue.

Again, I struggle against the metal binding.

No use, not that Im down with leaping onto the high-

way. Te act that shifers heal ast doesnt mean a semi

couldnt flatten us or good.

Clyde pitches in. I the cop makes us get out o the car,

we can take him.

In cuffs? Kayla asks.

He flashes me a grin and holds the keys up or us to see.

Asshole! Leaning toward the open cage window, I

snarl, You said Aimee lost them!

Aimee swats the Wild Card. Not unny. I elt terrible!

Te cop isnt messing around. Hes pulled up alongside

us. Sensing the heightened tension, Peso starts shaking and

drooling. Hed better not throw up.

Pull over, I say. Clyde, can you knock out that sepa-

rator thing?

Do not disturb the cage, Jess orders him. Youll hurt

yoursel and my dads car, too. She hits the turn signal.


25/38

Panicking wont solve anything. We dont need to give him

another reason to be suspicious, and you can bet hes got a

dash cam.I hadnt thought o that. You speak cop, I reply. You

take point.

Jess pulls over, muttering, No pressure.

Grateul Im the one behind the driver, I angle mysel

to conceal Kayla as much as possible. I release my ur over

my lower hal to mimic a pair o pants. A long shot, but its

dark. Ive got more control than most shifers, even most

Cats. I hope the cop doesnt look too closely. Hes getting

out on the side o the highway behind us. Jess, whatre we

dealing with?

rooper, she replies, glancing at the rearview mirror.

Young guy; his guns out.

His guns out? Aimee echoes. Is that normal? Tats

not normal, is it?

Hush, Jess whispers, lowering her window. Evenin,

Officer, is there a problem?

Hes short, stocky in his crisp tan uniorm. Its not clear

i we, as shifers, have any legal rights. He might shoot

us all, not realizing until too late that Jess and Aimee are

humans.

I tilt my head, trying to study the cop, not sure what

to make o his silence. Ten the breeze slips in. I open my

mouth to sample it and exhale. Hes a wereperson. Tat

doesnt guarantee hes on our side, but it improves the odds.


26/38

A asmanian weredevil, Clyde adds, like species mat-

ters at the moment.

Damn, damn, damn, damn. Te weredevil spitsand kicks at the gravel. Youre them, arent you? Te Cats

everyones talking about. Glowering, he holsters his gun.

We need to talk. Meet me at the next McDonalds, and

dont even think about making a run or it.


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AIMEE

HE MOS AMAZING HING about shifers isnt their trans-

ormations or their animal-trait superpowers or, at least

with certain species, their radiating sex appeal. All o that

pales next to their appetites. Tey have sky-high metabo-

lisms, and they eat more meals than hobbits.

Jess and I stroll into the twenty-our-hour McDonalds.

Te dining area is nearly deserted except or a husband-

wie trucker team nursing cups o coffee, a guy with a soul

patch plucking at a bass guitar, and a pregnant woman with

a sad ace eating apple slices.

Afer a quick trip to the restrooms, we check out the

menu options. Its Monday. Back in Austin, the morn-

ing bell rings at Waterloo High in another five hours.


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I somehow doubt Im going to make it. Well take eight

Bacon Habanero Ranch Quarter Pounders with large

ries. Tats two each or the werepeople, including thestate trooper. Teyd probably be happier with three, but I

only have so much cash and Im not sure how long it has

to last. Plus our vanilla shakes, our apple pies, a bottle o

water . . . I glance at Jess. How bout you?

Diet Coke. I shes taken aback by the size o my order,

she doesnt show it. Want to split Chicken McNuggets?

I do. Addressing the clerk, I add, Well also have an

order o McNuggets

Oh, and a chocolate cone, Jess puts in, stifling a yawn.

Make that two. I like her. We met earlier tonight

when she appeared out o nowhere at own Park behind

the wheel o our getaway car. Jess is calm, easygoing, with a

good sense o humor . . . and human. Its nice or a change,

not being the only Homo sapiensin the group.

Te Cats have settled at a bright yellow metal picnic

table alongside the colorul outdoor play area to wait or

the state trooper. Teyre ree o the cuffs and wrapped in

blankets rom the trunk. Afer a potty break, we lef Peso in

the backseat with the window cracked.

Clyde is across the street at the mega truck stop, pick-

ing up clothes or Yoshi and Kayla.

Male shifers usually shave twice a day, but Cats (their

Lion cousins included) tend to be noticeably less hirsute in

human orm than, say, Wolves or Bears. I hardly ever see


29/38

the boys this urry. Its amazing how ast they can pass or

grown men.

O course, Yoshis almost a grown man. Hell graduatehigh school in six weeks or so, assuming he can yank up

his grades. onights drama aside, Im not worried about

him. Yoshi has style and swagger. He uses his lean, muscled

swimmers build to ull advantage. He used to be that guy

your mom warned you about, but lately hes gravitating

toward something real.

Here goes nothing, Jess muses aloud as we exit carry-

ing plastic trays loaded with ood and drinks.

As we approach the table, the cop jogs over rom the

parking lot, the soles o his polished black combat boots

hitting concrete. I envy Jesss light jacket. Its in the mid-

sixties, not that the werepeople, who run warmer, seem to

notice the cold. Seconds later she tosses a boxed Quarter

Pounder at the trooper. Its a gesture that says (human or

not) she isnt intimidated.

Te stocky weredevil grunts, catching the box. He

sniffs beore he opens it. Were hoping the bee improves

his mood.

By the time Ive unscrewed the cap rom my water

bottle, the shifers have each inhaled hal a burger. Yoshi

breaks the silence. Whats on your mind, Officer?

Te weredevil turns to gesture with a ry at Kayla. Im

wondering how you could be so stupid as to get caught on

video, and this weekend to boot. Your image is everywhere.


30/38

Tere are already websites selling tote bags and Frisbees

with your ace on them.

At the risk o stereotyping, this isnt the first asmanianweredevil Ive met, and they skew cranky. Yoshi, apparently

thinking the same thing, laughs. You dont happen to have

a vicious little sister? Eighth-grader named eghan?

Yoshi Kitahara? Te cop is rowning so deeply it

looks like his orehead might split.

Yoshi spreads his arms in sel-congratulation. Guilty

as charged.

You got the brat home sae! Te trooper offers his

hand across the table. Call me Oliver. Te two shake.

Te lingering mistrust evaporates. It turns out Oliver is

eghans cousin. Central exas werepeople are tightly net-

worked. Everybody seems to know one another within two

or three degrees o separation.

Tis winter Yoshi and eghan were among werepeople

who were captured and brought to a remote tropical island

in the South Pacific to be hunted or sport by billionaires

including magic users and the undead. Yoshi not only saw

to it that eghan survived their hunt. He played big brother

to her through the whole ordeal, and they catch up now

and then over donuts.

I got snatched, too, but since Im human, my captors

decided Id be more useul as kitchen help, and Clyde was

caged he was on crutches at the time. Tis was beore he


31/38

discovered that he was hal Lion. But aferward he ound

himsel among the hunted as well.

Clyde returns at a brisk pace rom his shoppingerrand and hands Kayla the bag. With his Lossum (Lion +

Possum) hearing, he didnt miss any o the exchange.

Shes dead now, Oliver says. eghan. Murdered.

Kayla, who retrieved a plain gray -shirt and black

sweatpants rom the bag, pauses in her effort to slip them

on under the blanket. Clyde sinks onto the yellow metal

bench.

Yoshis the first to respond. What? He covers his

eyes. Who?

Dont know, Oliver replies. It looked like a proes-

sional hit execution style, which makes no sense. Terere

a couple o shifers rom the Austin Police Department

investigating, but it seems like the only case that matters

right now is the governors kidnapping.

Te governor was kidnapped? I exclaim. Te gover-

nor o exas?

Oliver glances rom one o us to the next. You havent

heard about the weresnake?


32/38

AIMEE

ILL SHOW YOU. Oliver boots his phone, fiddles a moment.

With Jess maneuvering the blanket to protect Kaylas

modesty, the Cat girl finishes getting dressed. Ten they

join Yoshi in coming around the table so that they can see.

Its a clip rom an Austin V news station. Te screen

fills with the Serpents head. Its a mottled beige color with

darker brown triangle patterns flaring rom the eyes and

two short horns rising rom the nose. Orange eyes. Ive met

weremammals and werebirds, but werereptiles?

Clyde slips his arm around me, and I snuggle in.

Herpetologists are saying it resembles the Gaboon

viper rom sub-Saharan Arica, Oliver inorms us. No


33/38

word yet on whether this Vipera sapiensis literally venom-

ous, but it might as well be.

Te Snake opens its jaws. Assuming its head is roughlyon scale with a humans, its angs are over three inches long.

I am Seth. Te voice is raspy, lingering on the S.

Believe it or not, thats not the weirdest part. Its that hes

talking comortably as a ull-on Snake. A wereperson in

animal orm has to partly retract the shif to speak at all.

Seth says, Im sure you recognize my distinguished

guest. Te video cuts to show the orty-something gov-

ernor. Her light brown curls are a mess, her mascara is

smeared, and her red suit is rumpled. She stares into the

camera like shes challenging us somehow.

Te Snake takes center screen again. On behal o

shape-shifers everywhere, we have taken the governor o

exas as a declaration o war against the human race. Rest

assured there will be no peace until Homo sapiensaccepts

its rightul role as our subordinate.

With a flick o his finger, Oliver shuts his phone down.

Hit the air early this evening, but on the down low, the

governor went missing on Friday. People are wigging out.

Tere was talk going around that state and local police

would be sent door-to-door, looking to arrest any shifer

they could find. A bunch o cops resigned in protest or

threatened to. We heard something about that back

in Pine Ridge. Now it makes more sense. Oliver adds,

Anyway, the whole operation turned out to be a BS rumor,


34/38

and its just a matter o paperwork beore everybodys back

on the job.

Is there any proo the Snake isnt acting alone? Jesswants to know.

Bear DNA was ound in the governors mansion,

Oliver says. For what thats worth.

No demands? Jess asks, her ice cream melting. No

list o grievances?

Did I miss something? Kayla adds. Did we elect a

Snake as our spokesperson?

Yoshi shakes his head and takes a -shirt out o the

bag. Its a V-neck pink womens XL with sparkly angel kit-

tens on ront. He pulls it on.

Hang on, Clyde says. I thought there was no such

thing as a werereptile.

Tat would make Seth a Cryptid, I reply. Teyre

apparently more common than I thought. Tat Pacific

island Daemon Island that served as the stage or the

shifer hunt? It was run by a different kind o Cryptid,

members o an intelligent, secretive, largely unknown spe-

cies. Furry snowpeople devoted to technology (especially

air-conditioning) and eco devo, prone to amily drama and

bad hairstyles, sel-described environmentalists, whore

ond o eating yak.

Yoshi slams his fist into the center o the metal table,

denting it. Te noise is too big. We all brace or someone


35/38

to come running out o the restaurant and scold us. No

one does.

Sorry about that, he says. Im okay. He takes abreath. Te symbolism o a weresnake sucks. A lot o

humans already believe shifers are demonic. Teres that

ridiculous story floating around the Internet that the snake

in the Garden o Eden was a shape-shifer.

Its not only on the Internet, Clyde adds. And its

been floating around since beore orever. He picks up his

apple pie and addresses Oliver. How bad is the allout?

Oliver draws his gun and looks at it like hes aching to

shoot somebody. Te Snake and the governor could be

anywhere. Te whole states on lockdown.

Lockdown? Kayla asks, stealing the last o Yoshis

ries.

Oliver puts the weapon away. Teyre mostly sym-

bolic, but theres a roadblock on every highway heading

out o exas, at the Mexican border, the docks. SA is on

the lookout. Human bigots are nothing new, but the Snake

has given regular people a reason to be araid. And you . . .

He toasts Kayla with his vanilla shake. Youve become the

most recognizable shape-shifer in exas.


36/38

The Texas Talker,April 21

Op-Ed by Hailey Haluska

The high-profile kidnapping of Governor Laughin

Linnie Lawson by a weresnake named Seth may well

boost her viability as a potential candidate for the

U.S. presidency.

Thats assuming, of course, shes rescued alive.

I have the best job in the world, Lawson was

quoted as saying last month. My heart is here, in

the heart of Texas, serving the fine citizens who sent

me to the governors office.

Despite a flurry of recent gaffes, few doubt Lawson

will run. Presidential hopefuls often deny plans to

seek the nations highest office until theyve fully

gauged their resources, weighed the opposition, and

can capitalize on an opportune news cycle.

The question has always been: How can she hope

to overshadow the dynasties that have dominated pres-

idential politics for the past several administrations?

Supporters admired her brass and boots, but outside the

state, her reputation dwindled. Or in other words, pun-

dits have asked, why take Laughin Lawson seriously?

The kidnapping is a game-changer. Although the

native Dallasite was elected with a more moderate

stance on shape-shifters, shes taken a much harder

line in recent weeks.


37/38

Lawson has become a household name, an inter-

national media sensation in her own right. In the

short term, she may come off as a victim, but as the

living symbol of threatened humanity, leaders from

both major political parties are rallying behind her.


38/38

Feral Pride

Cynthia Leitich Smith

www candlewick com
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