Document Start: 25 December 2007 (Yup, I started this Christmas evening)
Tags: TF, group of friends, anthropomorphics, magic
Inspiration: Came outta nowhere. Almost like a vision. I didn't get a chance to write everything out.

Synopsis: So far, I've succeeded in leading Mike, Adam, Sam, and Joe out into West Forest,
to my "spot." And there I've gotten them surrounded with armed men (anthroes?) from B Squad,
who are there to prevent anyone from leaving. I'm inviting my friends to come with me back into
the anthro realm.


"Guys, I want to thank you for coming with me, I know I was rather vague about things,
but I wasn't kidding when I said this is about the most important thing I've ever done."

"Matt, if you brought us all the way out here just to tell us that you're gay…"

"No, no, it's not as trivial as that…"

"Then what the hell is it?"

"I'll let you know, just hang on! Are all of you still here, did we lose anyone?"

I did a quick head count. Yup, all 5 of us were here. Mike, Adam, Joe, Sam and I were
smack dab in the middle of West Forest. I had a helluva time convincing all of them to
come, but I got it worked out. They watched me impatiently, expectantly. We stood in a
seemingly nondescript part of the heavily forested trail, about a mile from the parking
lots. A park bench was to our left, looking out onto the West River. My reasons to bring
each of them varied, but my goal for them was the same.

We had stopped walking, but I could hear other footsteps. Slowly I saw a few of
my men rise from their positions and advance towards us from the rear; my friend's
backs were to them.

I started, "Once again, thanks for putting up with me, I know I've been a rather boring
tour guide…"

"For the last time, Matt, what the ---- was so important, that we had to follow you all the
way out here!" That was Mike talking. He was an impulsive guy, but he was
impressively strong and pretty badass.

"Well, I actually had a long speech prepared, but for your sake, Mike, I'll get right to the
point: I brought you all here, because I thought you might like to come with me."

A collective "What?" was my answer.

"I brought you here, because I want you to come with me," I repeated. /This is going to
be fun./

Joe was the next to speak. He was dark in complexion, a notoriously absent-minded yet
intellectual individual. He asked, "Well, where are you going?"

"THAT, Joe," I answered, "is the right question. B SQUAD, RISE!" I shouted to the
general vicinity. Simultaneously, all members of B squad stood. They held their riles
muzzle-down, but they had orders to raise them should anyone attempt to run.

"Guys, these are trained professionals," I explained. "Don't try and run, they have orders
not to let anyone leave." All of them stayed silent, to my surprise, but that just made
things easier for me. "So! While we're here, you can listen to my story. B SQUAD, AT
EASE!" They all let their weapons drop to their sides. I guess I underestimated the
effect this appearance would have on the four of them.

I walked to the bench and gave it a few fond pats. A flurry of colorful memories flashed
across my consciousness. I put them back in their archives, then turned to face my four
friends. "My journey started here, at this bench. Yours will, too." I paused, just for
effect. /Perfect./

"For that one Language Arts project they wanted us to find a 'spot,' remember?" At that
Adam rolled his eyes. He had hated that project with a passion. Adam played his XBOX 360
a lot, and outside that and Band he didn't do a whole lot. He was all right, though,
he had the brazen habit of speaking his mind, but he didn't have the pale visage you might
expect an online addict to have. He's carrying a lot of emotional baggage right about now,
he's having some girlfriend issues. "Well, this bench here was my spot."

I took a moment to consider my next words, then I wet my lips and said, slowly, "Last spring
I came here for the third time, and while I sat here writing I was approached by a fox. A red fox,
to be exact. And, um…" I wiped my mouth of spit. /Oh God, here it comes./ "Pretty long story
there, but my point is I am no longer fully… human anymore." /And the truth comes out.../

"Matt, you…" Joe started, but I stopped him. "Yeah Joe, I knew you'd say something
first. But… seriously. Mike," I pointed, "do you remember, freshman year, you said
something to the effect of, 'Matt, you're your own species?'"

"Wait," he thought a moment, "Yeah, actually I do."

"Well, it wasn't true at the time, but now it, it kind of is, and um…" I was grasping for
words. /May as well show them, here goes./ "Lemme just demonstrate, all right? Hang
on… where the hell… ah! Sergeant!" He was standing about 20 feet distant. I beckoned
with two fingers, "Get over here." As he approached, I noticed a few changes on my
friend's faces. Perhaps they noticed the tail. Or maybe the ears. Probably the ears.

When he got to me I whispered to him, "Just model for me, alright? This won't be
hard." He gave a noncommittal motion with his hands, then laid his rifle down. "Guys,
this is Sergeant Lloyd. Lloyd, take your hat off for me." He doffed his camo cap for us,
and oh! The looks on their faces! Pure awe and surprise! "Sarge, the floor is yours. You
may answer any of their questions to the best of your ability."

But no questions were asked. "Oh come ON, you've got to have at least one question:
What is he? To completely answer that, I'd be talking for about a half hour, but to be
concise, he is an anthropomorphic fox. Red fox, to be precise, 'cause you'll see some
Grey, Arctic, and a few other species back home..." /Home. Funny how I use that word to
describe it. But moving on…/

"So, anthropomorphic, is that just something genetic, or…" Sam said. /Dammit, Sam…/
He had spoken for the first time since we'd gotten to the park. Sam was a quiet soul; he
was hardly ever the one to start a conversation. Poor guy, the only video game he
played was Flight Simulator, and we always gave him a hard time about it when the
topic of video games came up around the lunch table. His home life was a mystery, I
had been inside his house a grand total of two times since I met him in the sixth grade,
and around the lunch table when there was nothing better to do we pressured him to
talk about what he does after school. He always would avoid the question, making us
even more curious. I heard a few snickers from the men. "Hey, I said stupider stuff than
that when I got inducted!" I shouted over my shoulder. I turned to Sergeant Lloyd, who
was looking a little red in the ears. "I'm sorry to have to do this, but I've gotta make my
point and I can't do it myself around here. But, once we get back, it'll be easier for all of
us."

"Then why don't we head back there now?" He sounded impatient. "The more we
stand around here the more likely we'll be found…" /Shit, I hadn't thought of that…/ I
turned to my friends, my four closest buds. The ones I had decided to try and bring with
me, out of all the people I knew. I knew these guys wouldn't judge me, I knew they
would hear me out.

So I said, "Guys, it comes down to this: There is a world, similar to our own,
almost a parallel universe, if you will, that is inhabited by beings such as this. At a point
three weeks ago I became part of that world. For the long term. It's a great place, and
there's a lot of things you'll recognize if you come." I put special emphasis on my next
words, "It was the best decision I ever made. For my life, personally, I felt like I was
trapped, I felt completely helpless to change my own life, no matter how easily I
seemed to be able to affect other people's lives, I couldn't change my own life for the
better. This, this new start, gave me a chance to do it, and I am so much better off!
Listen, they will pay for a full ride in their institutions, where I'm enrolled now. I wasn't
gonna be out of High School for another year, but I'm taking their hardest classes in
their highest technical college right now. And if I can do it, you all certainly can!"

I started with Joe: "Joe, they are in sore need of medical specialists. You've been
telling me for the longest time that you want to cure cancer. Here's you're chance!
They'll pay your way through college and you've already got a government lab job
waiting for you!" He immediately expressed his interest in going, so I moved on.
"Adam, Mike, Sam, that applies to you too. They've got spots in college for you
all! Now Adam, I brought you along because I know, and the men will tell you the same,
that this place is the best place to find girls. And to prove that, I have a girlfriend now.
Me! Did you ever think that would happen?"

"Honestly, no…" Adam answered. He appeared thoughtful for a moment, and I saw him bite his lip, then
gave me a nod. That's two…

Mike interjected with simply, "I'm in." Ha! That was easy! He always was a "ladies
man."

All eyes turned towards Sam. He looked to me like he was still trying to
understand all this. Now, I saved him especially for last because I knew, if I could get
the other three to come, he would most likely bend under peer pressure. <this paragraph
is unfinished>

"Here, you want to see my girlfriend?" Sergeant Lloyd made a few impatient
growls. "Just a sec, Lloyd, this won't take long…" I fished my wallet out of my pocket,
extracted the picture from the <add special event here>, and handed it to Sam. "This
was taken at the <special event>, and Lydia is the most caring and loving person I've
met. I consider myself very lucky to be her boyfriend. Now, you'll notice," and here's
where it gets tricky, "my appearance is just a bit different. You could almost consider it
an alternate 'form,' if you know what I mean." Joe was nodding his understanding. He,
of all these guys should know how all that works, considering how fast he consumes
fantasy novels. "Yeah, Joe knows what I'm talking about! But I'm not gonna look like
that until we get there. And," And here was the tough part. "You guys'll end up sorta like
that, too."

"What? Are you…" a clamor rose from them. I interrupted and said, "I know, I
know, I went through this exact same thing! Not too long ago either, I still remember it
pretty good. It was a perfectly normal Saturday, and all of a sudden, wham! I get hit with
all this new stuff, but I made the decision to leave. It was the best decision I ever made."

Sergeant Lloyd made a few more impatient growls. I realized that we needed to go now,
or risk discovery. "Now, time is short- do you guys trust me?" I crossed my arms, "I've
basically poured my soul out in front of you, and I've spilled the darkest secret of my life-
so will you guys trust me? And more importantly, can I trust you guys?"

A strong affirmative was my reply. "OK," And here comes the fun part… "Lloyd, where's
the football?"

<Author's Note: The "Football," in real life, is a leather briefcase containing codes the
President of the United States uses to direct a nuclear attack in the event that he is
away from the White House. I've named our device "the Football" just because both
pigskins are portable, highly secured devices.>

And from there we leave…