Underdogs The First Stories - By Geonn Cannon Page 0,40

jokes all night, so she began to undress.

Pen began to transform first, with Sadie and Beck following soon after. Ari draped her blouse over the back of a chair and arched her back as the first tremors passed through her body. Her fingers curled into claws and slipped off the back of the chair, and she dropped to all fours as her hind legs - no, just her legs - stretched out behind her and then contracted. She heard Beck moaning, and Sadie's breathing was heavy enough for Ari to hear each harsh exhale, but Pen was remarkably restrained.

When Ari lifted her lupine head, Sadie was staring at her through small eyes. Her snout was long and narrow, her ears flared out on top of her head. She was definitely a fox in more ways than one, and she dipped her chin to Ari in greeting. Ari nodded back and slipped into the bag the way Milhous had shown her. Pen sneezed and shook her entire body, then turned and went to the door.

Beck was a gorgeous shepherd up close, prettier than she'd seemed in the parking lot. Ari pressed her snout to Beck's head just below her ears and Beck playfully danced away from her.

Pen opened the back door the way Ari had seen her manipulate the back door of the jewelry shop earlier in the week. When they trotted out into the sunroom, Sadie used a leather strap hanging from the door to pull it closed. Beck passed Ari and she caught a flash of mental communication from her.

Just follow us.

Ari ruffed in response and the four of them left the sunroom in a single file line, Ari bringing up the rear. They leapt the chain-link fence and crossed the street. Pen and Beck crossed a neighbor's lawn, staying close to the house where the shadows were deeper. When they reached a house with the porch light shining, they all moved at a quick lope so they weren't exposed. Ari and Sadie were more careful than the others; a shepherd and a boxer might get a call to Animal Control, but a wolf and fox in a residential neighborhood often led to gunfire.

Sadie's house wasn't far from the edge of neighborhood, something Ari was sure had been intentional when the house was purchased. A rickety white fence blocked a dead-end street. Ari and Sadie went over it, while Beck went through a hole and Pen found a way around the far end. Once they hit the wide open field, Ari opened up and began to run. Sadie took a moment to catch up and then kept pace with Ari as they crossed the field.

As much as Ari bristled at being labeled domesticated, she couldn't deny there was a certain amount of unique freedom to the moment. She glanced over and saw Sadie's mouth was hanging open, her tongue lolling in what looked like a huge grin. Ari barked happily and put on an extra burst of speed, goading Sadie into a race. Behind her, she heard Pen or Beck barking at them, but she didn't care. The bag bounced against her back as they moved down an incline and followed the valley to the south.

She smelled thousands of things, a parade of aromas. Smells like peanuts, salt, sugar, grease clung to the litter people had carelessly left behind, and Ari had to fight the urge to stop and inspect each and every one. The field had recently been mowed, and the fresh-cut grass scent was like a drug to her. Leaves of grass sliced in half, releasing chemicals into the air, and dirt had been churned and sent bugs and fragrantly wet earth into the atmosphere. Ari wanted to drop and roll in all of it. But she kept her mind on task, as hard as it was.

Pen broke off at one point, causing Ari to slow and watch her run a diagonal path across the field. She started to pursue, but Sadie barked a quick, quiet "wow wow wow" and Ari caught up with her again. Beck moved out to one side, forming a quarter-circle as she came up on Ari's opposite side. Ari greeted her with a bark and Beck howled back at her.

Sadie barked at them when they reached the edge of the grass. Quiet quiet. There was a long, rectangular parking lot that was currently empty of cars. The three dogs formed a triangle with Sadie at point, trotting quickly across the pavement with