Clash of Beasts_Going Wild by Lisa McMann

Author:Lisa McMann [McMann, Lisa]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2018-10-02T04:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 25

Like Old Times

Maria, still in monkey mode, gave Charlie a nervous look. “I’m scared.”

“Still?” said Charlie. “I don’t get it. You’re not going to get stuck as an alligator. That part got fixed, right?”

“I know,” said Maria. She sighed. “It’s not that.”

“Then what is it?” asked Mac.

“I guess I’m scared of the ferocious part,” she said. “I mean, what if I start attacking people like Kelly did with Andy?”

“Oh, Maria,” Charlie said, “you’ll still be the same on the inside. Just like you are as a howler monkey. The animal doesn’t change who you are. It just gives you abilities.”

“Kelly made her own choices,” Mac said. “The platypus spikes didn’t make her hurt innocent people. She decided to use them, knowing exactly what they would do.”

“Trust yourself,” said Charlie. “We trust you.”

“I know,” said Maria. “Thanks for the reminder, though. I do trust myself.” She pressed her lips together, then nodded confidently. She examined her device, took a breath, and clicked the alligator mode. She cringed and waited.

A split second later, Maria’s body morphed wildly. “Whoa!” she cried.

Charlie and Mac jumped back and shone their flashlights on her. Maria flopped onto the ground, her arms and legs growing short and squat and her torso extending crazily. Her face flattened and her mouth protruded, her teeth grew more plentiful and bigger and sharper, her forehead sank and her eyeballs bulged. When she stopped moving, Charlie gasped. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine, I think. Just . . . wow. I think we’ve got our first glitch.”

Then Mac got closer to her and started laughing.

“Dios mío,” Maria muttered, trying to look at herself. “Why are you laughing, Mac?”

“You’re still covered in monkey fur, Maria,” said Charlie, trying not to laugh like Mac was doing. “And you still . . . well . . .”

“You still have a monkey tail right above your alligator tail!” exclaimed Mac. “Oh wow. This is amazing.” He started cough-laughing and held his stomach.

Maria curved her alligator shaped body sideways so she could see herself, and her bulging eyes widened even more in horror. “I look ridiculous! And I’m so . . . so . . .”

“So alligatory?” said Charlie.

“Yes! This . . . this isn’t going to work.”

“Can you go back to monkey mode?” asked Mac, who had stopped laughing by then.

“Yeah,” said Charlie. “Try that. I’ll bet you have both animal features because you went from weremonkey mode to werealligator mode. Click out of both and start from your normal human self. Can you even reach your device?”

“Ay caramba.” Maria was still trying to see her full self and looking worried. “Sooo much alligator.” She moved one clawed front foot to the other, where the device was tightly wrapped around her . . . well, her wrist-like area. She tipped her head sideways and peered at it with one bulgy eyeball, then tapped her claw on the device a couple times. Soon the alligator features disappeared and she morphed back into a more normal size. Then she turned off the monkey.

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