It was a humid dawn where only the first sun showed on the horizon. The breeze blew into the deep forest where the only sound was the buzz of bugs sucking blood. Jed grunted picking at what felt to be a tick stuck to him.

“Cover me,” he said, picking the glove box for supplies.

“Don’t say another word,” replied Mule, focusing on the flickering light inside the very long tollbooth.

Orange flames emitted off a lighter burning the hairs off a very redneck. The air stunk as the parasite sizzled and popped.

“Let’s hope I don’t mutate due to some disease,” said Jed.

“Don’t be a worry wart soldier, you got the shots, pills, and medicine given to you before your mission,”said Mule, spitting a wad of cured Wormleaf.

“Nope the budget got cut and all we got was one multi shot in the rear.”

“Mmm.mmm.mmm. That cherry pie smells so good it’s giving my nostrils an orgasm,” said Mule, whiffing a gulp of air.

“Ok,” said Jed.

Mule trotted away to the tollhouse, and was leaning his front hooves on the gated window of the long structure.

“Hey why don’t I just kick the door so we can eat this food that’s been abandoned, knock knock anyone home respond already,” Called Mule, taping his hoofs against the establishment.

“Now don’t get us thrown in jail behaving like an ass,” said Jed, yanking the donkey away by the tail. “They probably went to bed and we won’t get let through the gate until tomorrow let's find another way around,”.

The sound of a coin hitting a hole hypnotized them to a stand still. Inside the both past the steamy pie there was noise. Jed turned and gawked at curved claws more than four feet long, gradually revealing round the corner. It suddenly sliced a quick attack causing him to wince.

When he looked back inside the building. The pie once baiting them had disappeared while the paint had been peeled off the jukebox with claw marks. It was a music player built like a tank that sparked to life lighting a backlight depicting a cactus. A needle hit the groove of a spinning record somewhere beneath the cover of a curtain of filth. Dreary stingers began to play with old moans of dying speakers full of soot.

“What an awful choice of avant-garde art,” complained Jed, stepping back. “I like my baselines funky to accompany a dance in a honky tonk joint,”. He finished slapping a leg.

“Agreed man. Ahem yo cat what you are charging for the toll?” inquired Mule.

The floor inside the building loudly squeaked like a chew toy underneath every step of the large advancing cat. The door next to them swung open, and the wind howled with it. Jed flung both of them past the metal gates blocking their big rig truck with no cab from further advancement.

“Let’s hope it suddenly becomes friendly, ' whispered Jed.

The cat hissed, showing golden fangs behind the bars of the ticket booth. It was dressed in a flashy sleeveless wool sweater vest. An intricate knitted fine armor with shark designs woven all over. The feline sprung like a spring toward them, it hissed , spraying a fishy smelling rain through the window.

Mule jumped into the air while Jed’s legs buckled on seeing the large cat clawing towards them. He ran away carrying the donkey. It held something threateningly in its paws. Jed hastily put on his armor with his rifle resting on the truck loaded. Mule kept watch of the tollbooth.

The cat pounced outside into the shadows, slowing the attack to stalk them. Jed’s heart was beating out of his chest as he slapped down his visor. He turned around in frantic circles waiting for the fatal moment. The wind bit at the environment filling his eardrums with static.

“Splash!”

The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

“Heehaw,” exclaimed Mule, hit by a surprise attack out of nowhere.

A burst of liquid had hit his backside and suddenly he was a bull kicking and throwing around hooves wildly.

“Ooof,” Jed said, being thrown aside by friendly fire.

“Moew, meow show yourself you ancient rat,” sniffed the cat from the top of the tanker it had easily climbed. “No matter what you shift too you will always be a slippery untrustworthy creature,” it purred.

“Bang!”

The creature jumped away as Jed’s bullet whizzed above the tank.

“Whatever riddle is speaking about are you alright Mule?”groaned Jed climbing to his feet.

“Not a riddle,” purred the cat playfully from the shadows. “Look at your so-called friend human haha you have been fooled by a master of changing to whatever shape helps its goals at the moment,” smiled the cat, sparking a massive cigar that lit its whiskers in the ditch.

Jed aimed and the cat stuck its head below ground. He turned to hear a sizzling sound at his side. Mule was having reactions to the mysterious liquid the cat had previously hit him with. He had started swelling, forming hives, and one leg had transformed into a goat hoof. Jed fell backwards in shock crawling away while who he thought had been his friend convulsed.

“What is happening?, what are you really Mule?” said Jed, pointing his rifle indecisively.

Mule’s body had disappeared into thin air. A large rat scuttled to safety underneath the big rig. The cat pounced underneath with one leap, and out the other side with another. Jed readied to shoot but his nerves had been stunned into inaction.

“Got yah,” the feline smiled.

On the other side of the big rig it was playing with food between paws with claws retracted for now.

“Put him down at once or I blast,” said Jed, approaching with his weapon aimed.

“Meow let me ask him some questions, I assure you if you shoot at me human I will snap the life from him with my cat like reflexes and surely at least kill you too before bleeding out myself,” said the cat, flaring its nostrils. “Two for the price of one isn’t bad,”.

“Makes sense. Go on Mule, start talking the truth,” said Jed.

The rat wiggled and tried to free itself from captivity unsuccessfully. The cat chomped onto its stogie, while smoking the hostage out of its nostrils. The vermin coughed a fit morphing into a golden haired howling monkey. Immediately after completing the transformation it started to resist.

A smoke screen walled off Jed as the animal fight began. It sounded like a circus in open rebellion. Jed finally got the nerve to run forward. As the smoke cleared the cat held its claws to the monkey's neck.

“Fine you got me,” sighed the talking monkey in a choke hold.

“What is your real name?” asked Jed, switching his aim back and forth between two targets.

“I don’t have one,” replied the shape shifting creature.

“Nonsense if the lies do not stop then you will stop breathing and I will start feasting,” said the cat, pressing further with its claws.

“Why would something that can change into anything ever have a concrete identity,” whispered the monkey shifting slightly to a baboon.

The cat blew out another cloud of smoke and the primate puffed away inside of it. In its place a hornet buzzed away from them flying into the tollbooth. The barrier began to rumble as the gate raised away. The cat bounded after until the door was slammed in its face. It bounced off hard with stars circling the flattened whiskers.

“Curiosity is about to kill the cat. Jed help me defeat this pussy and let's hit the road again,” brayed Mule’s familiar voice from within the nearby building. “Just because I'm a shifter doesn’t make me shifty at heart, hey don't you want to get paid with me,” it begged.

“There’s no fleshy organs inside one of you, just a void but the crust is still mighty tasty,” called the cat, licking its lips as it climbed underneath the structure.

The truck suddenly pulled away stunning both creatures and leaving them in the dust.

”Where do you think you're going, human coward?” the others called in a united front.

“Just run away after me Mule,” sighed Jed.

To himself Jed had reached his breaking point. Sure it was never going to be an easy trip to gun it to payday, but he had hoped it was going to be anyway. All I ever wanted was to be able to retire to a needed life of normalcy but now the shapeshifter will probably turn into a dragon and burn me gulped Jed, swerving towards a crash due to fear.

He corrected course at the last second before he started hitting the steering wheel in rage. Jed shifted into second gear. The smokestacks of the big rig launched smoke, and magma like miniature volcanoes.

There had to be much easier ways to get paid as an outlaw. No matter what though going forward Jed figured he would always be working with shifty characters from here on out. So he better get used to it and welcome Mule back aboard. He could never work an honest official job again due to being hung on discovery. Maybe the real play after turning into a traitor was trying on fake identities, but until then he remained a criminal with limited options.

The sky had become blanketed with overcast clouds that sort of looked purple. The birds were quiet, but the peepers never stopped. The cross stitched passenger bucket seat smoked from a small hole burnt by the first droplet of acid rain. What little of the road he could see ahead looked extremely rough.