Shapeshifters

The melody danced out into the cool Los Angeles night, as lasers flickered over the crowd who chanted “APONIVI, APONIVI!!”

He finally appeared, from beneath the stage directly behind his DJ decks.

Performing here was one of his favourites. The stage was not particularly high nor was it set far back. Emotions, passion and the energy of the crowd was tantalisingly close. He breathed deeply, his eyes scanning the thousands in attendance, their iPhone camera’s forming an ocean before him. In the midst of the pandemonium he couldn't help but notice a hooded figure standing a few rows back, staring blankly. The mysterious figure appeared somewhat gaunt, and unnervingly deadpan. As he focussed in on him, the figure grimaced slightly before melting back into the crowd…weird.

He shook the thought from his head before grinning earnestly at the crowd. With that, he placed his headphones over his ears and got to work, the crowd roaring in approval.

-

“Dude that was sick!”

His manager Delmonte squeezed his shoulder as they walked down the corridor. Security swarmed them and batted back various members of the paparazzi.

“Aponivi, Jack here form the Los Angeles Times, - You never fail to deliver, but what are your comments on the incident that occurred before the end of your set!?”

His manager barked back “He’s not taking questions now!”, before whispering in his ear, “we need to get you to your hotel room man, something happened here earlier, whatever you do, DON’T talk to the press before we’ve spoken.”

-

The lift pinged at the 33rd floor, as he stepped out into the dimly lit corridor. Music blared from his room as he checked the time on his phone, 01.58am.

“Not bad” he breathed, before sliding his key card through the lock and entering.

“Api that was awesome brother!”

Standing before him was Seth, one of his oldest and best friends, his arms wide open. A cigarette drooped from the corner of his mouth as his unbuttoned shirt exposed various Native American tattoos. As the two embraced, three girls in lingerie strolled out of the bedroom on the left, one of them giving him a playful smile.

Seth whispered “Got you a lil surprise”, his boyish charm making it difficult to refuse the offer.

“Not tonight brother, Delmonte said something happened at the show earlier?” Api muttered.

“Ahh don't worry about it man, people do crazy s**t when they take drugs, I'm sure it's nothing.”

“ I'm just tired of the drama that comes with touring” Api sighed as he gestured towards the window. Seth shared an understanding look with him, before sauntering back into the bedroom with the girls.

“Enjoy bro” he called out, before closing the bedroom door behind them.

Api stared at the door momentarily, before striding over to the window and studying the cityscape below. He emptied his pockets, carelessly throwing his phone, wallet and vape onto the desk behind him. The cool breeze caressed his face as he jumped without hesitation.

-

He rocketed downwards before the wind caught him and he effortlessly glided towards the moon. Aponivi was a shape shifter. His alternative form was that of a great eagle and at almost three times the size of his natural counterparts, Api and others like him, were closer in size to a propellor plane when in full flight. Not only this, but many of the skills and senses possessed by the respective animal in the wild, were hightened in the shape shifter.

His tribe were the last of the great shape shifters in Native American folklore. Revered by all and said to have been bestowed divine power by 'Wakan Tanka', the creator and great spirit, shifters took one of four forms; eagles, bears, wolves, or stags.

Their existence remained highly secretive, and had even descended into myth and legend amongst other Native American tribes.

Whilst in their non human form, they were able to occupy the space between this world and the next, protecting humankind from a multitude of supernatural entities that stalked the shadows.

-

Growing up on the reservation, Api and his eagle brothers Kwahu and Koko, would fly high over forests and into the mountains, exploring and patrolling their land.

Seth and his brothers would often join them, in their wolf form, the huge beasts majestically galloping across the plains below, howling and snapping.

Having all this power and freedom came at a price though, indeed the Elders would regularly remind them that they were all that stood against a menacing malevolence. This was not more evident than during their first kill, three Summers earlier.

Several bodies had been found a few miles outside the reservation, pale, disfigured and emaciated. At first glance you could be forgiven for assuming they had died of starvation. The elders were informed and knew that the reality was far darker - this was the work of a soul snatcher, a potent evil spirit. The word was spread amongst the community and all those who could shift were on high alert.

One night, the groups of brothers were patrolling as usual when Koko had spotted an idle 4x4 truck, from high above, it's headlights beaming into the forest. It stood motionless with the engine running, in the middle of the dirt track. In an instant Koko's eyes turned dark and Kwahu, Api, Seth and his two brothers Lye and Maska could see through his eyes - one of the more impressive gifts shifters shared.

Lye and Maska stalked forwards, appearing silently from between the trees below. Seth waited in the brush as a relatively inexperienced shifter, watching on carefully. Lye shifted into his human form and approached the vehicle. He knocked on the driver-side door and a young woman wound down her window nervously.

Lye smiled “Is everything okay miss?”

She awkwardly smiled back pushing a strand of hair behind her ear, “Yeah.. just getting our bearings, are you guys from the reservation, we’re supposed to be meeting Sani…one of the elders for a council meeting?”. She gestured over to the girl on the passenger-side who was sleeping with a jacket over her. By this point, Maska had also shifted into human form and was standing on the passenger side door.

“Here look, I’ve got some documents” the girl muttered, her voice slightly shaking. She reached into the backseat as Maska wiped away the condensation from the passenger side door and studied the face of the sleeping girl. Pale, disfigured and gaunt. His stomach lurched to his throat as he shouted “Lye wait!!”

But just as he did, the girl on the driver-side spun around, razor-sharp teeth lining her mouth and black veins criss-crossing her throat. She grabbed Lye by the neck with frightening speed and tore into his chest. He screamed in agony as he attempted to shift into his wolf form. Seth howled in distress and shot out of the trees as Maska shifted and bound over the hood of the vehicle.

Before either had a chance to reach Lye, an almighty crash echoed through the forest as the roof of the vehicle caved and it’s windows shattered. Api had dived with the swiftness of a falling star, landing on the roof of the vehicle, his enormous talons piercing its roof as the soul snatcher was partially crushed.

Lye, fell backwards coughing up blood as Maska whimpered, attempting to lick his wounds. Seth looked frantically from Api to Lye as Koko and Kwahu landed nearby.

A guttural growl then emanated from the wreckage. Without a moments notice, Seth ripped the twisted car door from its hinges and pulled the Demon from inside. He stood over it snarling, when without warning, it pulled his giant head close and whispered indiscriminately in his ear. Seth’s eyes widened momentarily before he ripped into the creatures throat and its eyes turned from crimson to black nothingness.

-

The next few days were torturous, Lye drifted in and out of consciousness, as elders and the medicine man performed various healing rituals upon him. The atmosphere was thick with despair as the community surrounded the teepee. Seth had been gone for days and was last seen in his wolf form somewhere near the Northern Territory, around 70 miles away.

Miraculously over the next few weeks, Lye’s seemingly mortal injuries improved. However he could not shift again, as doing so would open the deep wounds inflicted by the Demon. Seth eventually returned, vowing never to wait in the wings whilst his brothers or tribe were in danger again.

Despite his pledge however, he seemed despondent during subsequent patrols and became more withdrawn. Api began to miss the charming, charismatic friend he had known all his life and wondered if things could ever return to normality.

-

The rest of that summer had thankfully passed rather uneventfully. Api had been focusing on his music, and had used every possible dollar earned from the fishing and tackle shop, to purchase software and buy more advanced DJ decks. He would perform at local events and even managed to secure several collaborative features with well-known artists. Shifting and tribal life began to pale in comparison to his potential music career.

In the spring of 2020, when he had finally met his would-be manager Delmonte, the stars were aligned for his first viral track… and then just like that, another, and another, and another. He went from local celebrity to national sensation and the new kid on the international scene within months. Avicii, Steve Aoki, and Eric Prydz were just a few of the artists singing his praises.

Then of course, then came the opportunity to tour. Despite protests from his family and village Elders, imploring him to stay and fulfil his duty as a shifter, he decided his destiny lay further afield. There was one person that he could not leave behind though. On the evening before he was due to fly to London he knocked on Seth’s door.

“Hey man look, you know I'm going away until the winter… I was wondering…. you know, with all the stuff thats happened… if you would maybe wanna…”

Seth grinned down at him, “You took your time, I thought you never ask!”

Koko and Kwahu were furious when they found out, not only, as Api suspected, due to jealousy, but also because he was stealing away another valued warrior. The truth was, Api would've taken all of his brothers at a moments notice, but feared the backlash from his parents and the reservation elders. Although he would never admit it, his brothers were far superior shifters and so the tribe couldn’t afford to lose them as well. Explaining this to his brothers however, had not proved particularly successful and they had parted on frosty terms.

-

“Api look at this bro”!

Back in LA, Api woke with a start to one of his team, Jackson, clutching a cup of coffee and pointing at the TV.

Api’s eyes creaked open as he groaned and stretched, before swiping the coffee from Jackson's hand and listening to the attractive news anchor.

“3 people die at an Apinova concert from a suspected overdose. Security at the event described checking on the deceased, who they initially believed were unconscious, before making the horrifying discovery. Authorities are not treating the deaths as suspicious at this time although updates will be provided in due course.”

“For gods sake man, these college kids need to learn to handle their drugs better” Seth quipped as he carried a plate of pancakes to the sofa. Api looked concerned as his eyes darted from the TV screen to Seth.

“What if it's not drugs bro?”

“Honestly, don't overthink it, this sort of stuff happens all the time, remember your’e big time now…” Seth smirked.

Api scowled as a sharp knock at the door interrupted the exchange. Jackson took a sip of Api’s coffee before striding over and opening it.

Delmonte marched in without invitation, clapping his hands,“Come on, chop-chop you degenerates, we’ve got to be in Vegas by 3 PM, let's get some of this s**t packed and sorted please.”

-

The drive to Vegas was tense with both Jackson and Api scouring the internet for more information on the deaths.

“Yo, dunno if this is connected but check this out,” Jackson passed his iPad to Api who hurriedly turned the volume up.

“A young woman has been reported as missing earlier today by concerned family members. She was last seen exiting the Staples Centre where she had reportedly been attending a sold out show for the DJ Aponivi. LAPD are appealing to anyone with information regarding her whereabouts.”

Api studied the face of the missing girl, she looked strangely familiar, the way her hair fell and her slightly quizzical smile played over in his head.

“F**k dude, this is bad, whether it's connected or not, it's all bad publicity.”

As the others tried to offer words of support, Api sank back and rested his head on the window staring out at the baron Nevada landscape.

-

He hurriedly took a sip from his hip flask as he positioned himself on the platform that would raise him up to the stage. He rose, whilst the Vegas sunset illuminated the boisterous crowd, the intro to one of his tracks reverberating around the venue. He chuckled in disbelief, it was still ridiculous to him that all these people had come to see him. He fist pumped in time to the beat, preparing to mix.

Several large screens zoomed in on subsections of the crowd. Some people held up obscure signs whilst petite girls sat on their larger boyfriends shoulders waving glow sticks.

Something else however had captured his attention.

In the background of the left most screen was what at first glance appeared to be two people kissing. Suddenly however the larger of the two began carrying the other out of the crowd. Api used his eagle vision to gain some clarity. As he focused, his heart beat quickened and his mouth dried. He grabbed sunglasses to avoid displaying his panic and immediately shared the vision with his Seth and his brothers. Although they were half the country away, at least they would be able to see that he was still taking his duty seriously.

Whilst he made a half hearted attempt at mixing, Api spotted Seth barging through the crowd making a beeline straight for the supposed kidnapping. His initial wave of relief was replaced with apprehension as images of Lye’s mangled body flashed through his mind.

“Jackson get over here!” Api shouted. As Jackson jogged over, Api gave him a grave look, “Hey man, just keep mixing for 10 minutes, nothing fancy, I'll be back, I need to sort something.” Before Jackson had a chance to protest, Api jumped down from the decks and sprinted backstage. Members of his team look on in disbelief as he rushed out of the venue.

The warm, dry, night air burned his lungs as he sprinted further and further away. Seth brother where are you!?”, each heartbeat pounded in his ears like a clap of thunder. Almost as though Seth could hear him, Api’s eyes turned dark with Seth’s shared vision. He was running, through dimly lit alleyways and car parks, chasing the shadow. As they crossed a suburban street Seth caught sight of the road name. That was enough. Api whipped out his iPhone and frantically search maps for the corresponding street name. Sweat dripped onto his screen as he zeroed in on their location. With that, he ran, jumped and shifted.

He soared high into the sky as his wings flapped powerfully. He traced Vegas strip from above before diverting. And then he saw it. About half a mile away, his telescopic eyes, caught sight of Seth’s enormous form pacing a basketball court.

Api, almost didn't care that the perpetrator wasn't hanging limply from Seth’s jaws. His friend being alive was enough. He swooped in and landed, looking in the direction that Seth was fixated. In the distance he could see a hooded figure running down a well lit suburban street. They knew it was too risky to chase it so openly, without possibly exposing themselves.

Before Api had a chance to turn around and look at Seth, he had changed back into his human form and was cradling the body of a young woman. She had the characteristic marks of those ravaged by soul snatchers. The reality steamrolled them both as if it were a train. They both sat there in silence staring at her lifeless corpse. It wasn’t drugs after all….they were being tracked and taunted.

“Come on bro, we better get back” Seth mumbled as he carefully set her down.

Api rang Delmonte as they plodded in silence out of the basketball court.

“Hey where the hell are you, you’ve got some explaining to do when you get back!!” Api hung up before offering an explanation.

-

Back at the hotel, various members of his team discussed the fallout of him running off stage as if he wasn’t there.

He was currently trending on social media and the conspiracy theorists were out in full force. Was he sick? Had there been a family emergency? Had he grown sick of touring? Was he over dosing?

The more Api read, the more infuriated he became, until he threw his phone at the wall. He shuffled over to pour himself a drink as he looked on at the chaos he had caused. Jackson and Delmonte argued furiously, whilst half of his team had meandered downstairs. Seth had wandered off and Api had never felt more homesick. He thought of his brothers and his tribe, whether he was really fulfilling his destiny and whether this Demon would be the end of him. One thing was for damn certain, he was going to hunt this parasite down.

-

He had been gliding for hours not really sure what he was hoping to see.

And then far below, Seth's familiar and magnificent silhouette bounded through the suburban shadows.

“Seth!!”

Shock and awe washed over him as he noticed something clasped in his jaws. Could this really be? Going toe to toe with a soul snatcher and coming out alive was no small feat. In any case, Seth had not heard him and continued galloping. Api accelerated before landing in front of him.

“Brother” he smiled shifting back into human form.

He looked directly at Seth before stumbling backwards.

Before him stood a great wolf, but it was not majestic and regal. Instead, was a monstrous snarling beast, eyes glowing crimson. It’s mane was matted and decay had exposed various pieces of flesh around it’s snout.

“Seth?” he whispered, as the great beast unclenched his jaws and the body thudded to the floor. To Api’s horror this was not the remains of a soul snatcher, but a young man, pale, emaciated, and partially gored to death.

Nausea overcame him as he looked in shock from the body to the great beast before him.

“Why?” he breathed tears beginning to cascade down his cheeks.

“Stay out of my way happy, I don't want to do this”, Seth snarled as he circled him. His voice sounded twisted and guttural like the Demons they had once hunted.

Api slowly rose to his feet. This had to be a nightmare, how could this possibly be so. As he slowly walked backwards considering how they had arrived at this point, Seth lunged forwards jaws wide. Without thinking, Api’s reactions were triggered and he shifted, rocketing into the air. As he did so, an excruciating pain fired through his leg. He looked down to see Seth’s spearlike teeth clasped around his foot, as blood gushed from his feathers and talons. He shrieked in pain before using his other foot to gouge at Seth’s snout. The scuffle was frantic and violent with both drawing blood and inflicting deep wounds upon one another. Unable to land on his injured foot, Api hovered, intermittently diving and swiping at Seth with his huge wings and beak. Seth’s guttural roars ripped through the desert air as he jumped and snapped at Api’s wings.

Api finally dived onto the beast in an attempt to pin his powerful head to the floor. Before he was able to position himself however, Seth kicked him backwards before rolling over onto his giant paws and whipping around to face him. Api lay exhausted and bloodied his wings flat on the floor, his feathery chest exposed. Seth slowly stalked forwards..

“You’ve left me with no choice...”

He opened his deadly jaws one last time as Api closed his eyes.

CRASH!!

Seth’s enormous shadow was gone in an instant. The familiar downdraft of wing beat blasted them as Seth tumbled 20 feet to the right. Api shifted and raised his head to see both Koko and Kwahu ripping and tearing at Seth. They slashed and bit with a ferocity that mere mortals could not comprehend. Tears once again started rolling down his face. They had seen his vision earlier and answered his call. Pondering his deliverance from certain death he returned to reality.

“STOP” Api screamed, hobbling over to them. Seth lay bloody and motionless in his human form. His brothers abruptly turned to face him, their yellow eyes burning intensely.

“He must face tribal justice" Api breathed before collapsing.

-

He didn’t know it was possible to feel so much rage, pain, confusion and sickness at once. Api paced outside Seth’s house for days, refusing to eat or sleep. The reservation had an eerie silence to it. Many neither believed nor wanted to believe that one of their own could have done this. The outside world remained none the wiser, as the tour was postponed due to what the media reported was a ‘family grievance’.

The medicine man had been searching Seth’s memories and confirmed their worst suspicions. It was Seth that was behind the disappearances and murders. The missing woman that had seemed so familiar, had playfully smiled in lingerie at Api’s hotel the very night she disappeared.

These mysterious members of the crowd had been nothing more than local gang members instructed to befriend and kidnap unsuspecting victims, before delivering them to Seth for a handsome financial reward.

The revelations became more obvious and painful.

Was there more that he could have done?

Was this preoccupation with music distracting him from his truest calling?

Over the following days more memories revealed a great conflict and tragedy.

Soul snatchers in their malevolence were not opposed to using deceit to fulfil their evil schemes.

On that fateful night when Lye was wounded, the demon had whispered to Seth that his brother would not survive unless a debt was payed and a soul was harvested. Seth had begrudgingly and secretly obeyed. In the following days he had disappeared to the Northern territory snatching souls and corrupting his own simultaneously.

Once a pure soul had engaged in this manner of evil, the addiction would begin, infesting the mind. The body would eventually follow as the corrupted creature would descend into darkness taking on a more demonic form. Death and a sacred ritual performed by certain elders was often the only way of breaking the curse, and potent addiction.

Weeks passed as he lay motionless. His brothers, Api, Koko and Kwahu remained close tending to his wounds and wiping the sweat from his face despite the disapproval of many.

34 moons rose and sunk into the dark canvas above until Seth slowly opened his eyes. Not crimson and rotting, but rich and brown.

He gazed up at at them as his lip trembled. One thing was for certain, like Lye he was trapped in his mere mortal form and could never shift again, for the wounds inflicted upon him and his soul were so severe, that doing so would kill him.