Chapter 5
Alex didn’t slow down until he got into some thick brush on the hillside several hundred yards above the rambling house. For a few minutes, he huddled silently under a low shrub, staying in his mouse form. Before he caught his breath, he saw a larger rodent, apparently a desert packrat, scrambling up to his hiding place.
::Is that you, Manuel?::
::Yeah, I think it is. This sure feels funny. Can we change back?::
::Do you sense anything close behind us?::
After a moment, the reply came. ::Not close. I changed a few seconds after you did and barely got out the door, but I think we confused them. They were expecting birds, not rats.::
:Okay.:: Alex moved out from under the bush and gathered his energy to shift back to human form. This was a jolt, different from coming to groun
