Dreams 5
A Winds of Change story

by: Lance Holloway

	"What do you mean 'get out of here?'" Scottie asked as I woke
myself up.

	"No time to explain," I said grabbing her arm.  I raced for the
door pulling Scottie behind me.

	"Lance!  What's going on?" she yelled.

	I didn't answer as I opened the door slowly.  No one was in the
hall.  The elevator was just down the hall.  I threw the door open, and
we ran toward the elevator.  The door to the room the men were in opened.
They had a look of confusion but determination.  The lion saw us.

	"Stop those two!" he yelled.  The ape pulled out a gun and fired.
I expected to feel the bullet pierce my hide, or Scottie scream.  But
that didn't happen.  Scottie had turned around and the bullet lay at her
feet.  Then the gun flew out of the ape's hands.

	I punched the button for the elevator.  Scottie ran to join me.
Our attackers stood where they were.  The lion signaled the dog to
attack.  The dog obeyed and charged.  His mouth in a snarl.  The elephant
seemed lost in concentration.

	The dog drew closer.  Scottie prepared to bring up a force field.
The elevator opened, and we ran in.  Scottie punched the close door
button.  The doors closed just as the dog reached them.

	"This elevator seems smaller," I said jokingly as I pressed the
lobby button.  It was a large elevator.  Luckily since two stegosaurus
morphs were on it.  But, this time it did seem small.  That's when I
noticed my hand.  It wasn't a hand anymore.  It was a stegosaurus foot.

	"Lance!  You're shifting.  The elevator isn't big enough," Scottie
shouted.

	"I can't stop it!  It's the elephgajdg......" I said as my voice
changed.  I continued to change into a full stegosaurus.  I tried to stop
the shift, but I couldn't.  I was forced to all fours.  Scottie tried to
back against the wall to take up a small space, but it didn't help.

	I had finished changing.  The small cave I was in was cramped.
How I got in here I don't know.  My tail and my neck were bent at painful
angles.  I tried to move, but I heard a noise.  I couldn't turn my head,
but out of the corner of my eye I saw another stegosaurus.  It was a
female, but she was smaller than other stegosauruses.  And she was
standing on two legs.  That wasn't right.  She was packed in tightly in a
small place that I didn't fill.  She was making odd noises.  Why doesn't
she just speak normally?

	The cave shook.  One wall opened.  I was able to squeeze out of
the opening and ended up in a larger cave.  The female that was with me
walked out of the small cave.  She bent down and wrapped her arms around
my neck.  She made those noises again.  I saw some tasty plants near a
wall of the cave.  I moseyed over to them and started eating.  I felt
like I hadn't eaten all day.  The female followed me still making noises.

	Other dinosaurs came over to me.  They were on their hind legs and
making similar noises, too.  They shouldn't be on their hind legs.  Wait!
They should.  I should also.  But, why?  This is what I am.  No.  I
should be on two legs.  I should understand them.  I'm Lance not just a
stegosaurus.  I needed to shift back.

	I searched for the mental barrier and found nothing.  It was like
I was taken through the barrier and dropped off far away from it.  I had
no idea where it was.

	"Lance, can you understand me?" Scottie asked.  I was relieved
that I could understand her again.

	Being that I was not able to talk, I just nodded.

	"Good," she continued.  "Just shift back, and we can call the
police."

	I shook my head.

	"What?  Why don't you shift back?"

	I concentrated again.  I searched and searched for the barrier.

	"Oh no!  You can't shift back?  Why?  You remember the barrier
don't you?"

	I nodded.

	"Then shift."

	I tried again and nothing happened.

	"Well, come on.  We need to call the police."  She ran to a pay phone.

	I lumbered behind her.  I tried to shift to morph form along the
way, but I couldn't.  That elephant must have really hit me hard with
whatever he did.  I didn't even know how to start looking for the
barrier.

	When I reached Scottie, she was just hanging up the phone.  "They
will be here in a few minutes," she said.  "We need to hide somewhere
before those people come down the elevator."

	I nodded.  We both ran to a small conference room down a hall from
the lobby.  It was small but big enough for both of us.  Luckily it had
double doors.  I barely made it through those.

	"Lance, you have to tell me what happened.  The police will want
to know," Scottie said as she closed the doors.

	I closed my eyes in concentration.  I just couldn't do it.  Wait.
I could project myself.  I got as comfortable as I could in the small
room and tried to fall asleep.  Surprisingly, I was out of it in no time.
I then projected myself.  I was still a stegosaurus.  I concentrated and
shifted my projection to that of my morph form.  It took more work than
usual.  I had never tried it in my norm form.

	"Good idea," Scottie said.

	"I don't know why I didn't think of this at first," I replied.

	"So, what is going on?" she demanded.

	"When I fell through your wall, I saw them change a dog man into
a normal dog.  Then they tried to get me."

	"What?  Why would...."  She was interrupted by doors being kicked
open down the hall.

	I poked my head out though the wall enough to see what was going
on.  The lion and ape were searching all the conference rooms.  "It's
them.  We have to leave!"

	"The police will be here any minute," Scottie said.

	"We can't wait for them.  We have to go."

	"And where are we going to go?"

	I didn't have an answer.