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There’s still a way. There is always a way. His ever agile
mind was never daunted by any obstacle for long. What barrier,
after all, could block a shapeshifter?
Clenching his jaw determinedly, he began another change.
This one was so tiny he would never have tried it except in a
building relatively free of predators. This form was almost as
tiny as the parasitic wasp. In a moment he had replaced the
dragonfly with a gnat, still hanging on the ceiling. This is the
last time. He vowed this in silent agitation. This is by far the
last time – at least tonight – that I will go insect. He would need
more power on the way out anyway.
In a twinkling, the gnat crossed the ten foot space of bright-
ly lit hallway to the door. Too small to be noticed or else consid-
ered a speck of dust, he passed the men in black with impunity
and alighted on the doorknob.
In crawling through the lock, he was at once reminded of a
cave, a narrow dark passage with weird hanging protrusions and
sudden drops and widenings. There had been another cave once,
fifteen years ago, but that time he had spelunked with a mother
and father, not alone.
It had not been long after that, while they were still recover-
ing from the exciting day. That the toothy, four legged shadows
descended on the campsite. He learned later the wolves must
have been made to attack humans like that, but it was not at the
forefront of his mind at the time. All he could do, when he saw
his parents dying before his eyes, was run. Run like the little ani-
mal he was. Not fight for his pack, like a predator. Just get away
as fast as he could like a prey-beast, like a little deer.
Focus on the job! It must be age, he decided. That was over,
he outran death as a deer, now he was the alpha predator, and he
was on the hunt of his career. One careless act at this stage and
he would lose his prey, if not his life.
Once he had freed himself from the confines of the lock, the
gnat took flight again. He navigated the near-total blackness of

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