Awoken by Bridget E. Baker

Author:Bridget E. Baker [Baker, Bridget E.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Purple Puppy Publishing

15

Rra

The outrageous pain in my front leg wakes me, and I want to roar so loud that it knocks the roof off the hut I’m lying underneath.

Only the press of tiny, furry bodies against mine keeps me from doing it.

Where am I? Why are tiny lion cubs pressed against me in front and behind? I move carefully, the memory of where I am and what’s happening today finally surfacing as I ease myself away from the sleeping cubs.

Billions of humans are currently stuck in animal form—the vast majority of which couldn’t shift at all until a week ago, when every single Reaper and every single Render on Rra shifted into an animal form. Permanently, it seems. Including all the females, none of whom could shift previously.

They’re all convinced that I’m the only one who can save them.

And I can’t even remember my own name.

She Who Gathers.

The same lion who brought me here is standing in the doorway. I move toward him, whimpering when I’m forced to put pressure on my front right leg. The last time I woke up, I had blood on the inside of my leg as well. I lift it up to examine it, and sure enough, there’s fresh blood dripping from my fur.

What happened? You’re bleeding?

The cubs stir, their tiny noses sniffing as they awaken. Fresh blood isn’t exactly a wonderful smell to present around lions—it draws them like honey calls to bears.

Honey calls to bears? Does it? How do I even know that? I don’t know any bears. Or at least, I don’t think I do.

I shake my head and keep moving toward the door. It’s hard to communicate when I’m like this—I have to really focus. When I woke, I was bleeding. There doesn’t seem to be any danger.

Self-inflicted? His lips pull back to show his enormous teeth—clearly a look of distaste.

No. I have no idea what happened, but I’d never injure myself like this.

Shift and it will heal. None of us have that option, but you can take advantage of it.

Wait. I want to make sure I understand. Shifting heals me?

Correct.

I imagine myself standing on two feet, my shoulders out, my hands by my sides, fingers forming from furry paws. And then, in a blink, I am. And the pain in my front arm is gone. The skin is smooth. Like magic. I suppose shifting from an animal to a human is already magic, but somehow, this feels stranger, injuries disappearing with a shift.

The Pride is gathered.

“I thought I’m the one who’s supposed to gather people.”

The lion makes a rumbling sound—not quite a purr, not that content. He’s annoyed, I realize. He didn’t like my joke, or he didn’t get it.

“I’m ready to talk to them,” I say. “Or, you know, listen to them yell in my mind.”

No one will yell. We need your help.

I wish I knew what to do—how to help them. Perhaps once they’ve explained things more, an answer will become obvious. I follow him down a sloping path and then up a very steep one.

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