Beginning Our New Lives



The reporters that had lined the hall had fallen over; only a few of the cameras documenting the event were still standing. None of them were pointed at me, which was good, as I didn't want my identity to be known. I walked calmly over the bodies of the reporters, opening the doors to the street.

On either side of me, the protestors lay in a pile of their own kind; their signs littered the streets as they had collapsed in a sudden rush of lethargy. Cars in front of the building had piled up, their drivers unconscious at the wheel. Papers flew from open office windows and I could hear sirens of approaching fire trucks and ambulances. For fifteen square blocks, the world had stopped. Only a few animalias walked along the streets, most confused and dazed. I walked briskly down the eerily quiet street and hopped into a cab with its lights off, but its engine running.

"Is it done?" The dog-man in the front asked.

"Yes, obviously," I said. "The virus has been released in Washington, Tokyo, New York, and in several other capitol cities around the world. The plan to eradicate the tumor of this society is proceeding according to schedule." I sighed, tired.

"Excellent," The man turned and grinned at me. "I told you, you would do fine!"

"Frank!" I exclaimed, reaching forward and kissing him. "I didn't know you were going to be the getaway driver!"

"I volunteered," Frank said, smiling. "Kelly, I'm so proud of you." I blushed.

"Flattery will get you nowhere," I said. "Just start driving, smart guy. Let's go home."

"The base?" Frank asked.

"No," I said. "Our real home. I want to see your mom and dad again." Frank grinned.

"Yes, ma'am," He said, pulling out into the non-existent traffic. "Home it is."


It's been three days since then.

Not even three hours after the world leaders woke in their new bodies, the Prime Minister of Canada was thrown out of his office, and the country rose as one; practically begging the leader of the rebellion in Canada to take over. It was the shortest election in history. Since I was the "Ambassador" on his behalf, I was promoted to take his place, and became the leader of the Canadian National Rebellion. The same occurred in the other countries affected by the trigger of the new virus, laws suddenly being changed and equality being enforced. It hadn't quite effected us, though, we had dropped off the radar, for now.

Frank and I were now living at his family's home, which was perfect. It was a place to sleep in, a place to feel safe. A place where we wouldn't have to worry about military raids, about which one of us would be alive the next morning. Frank and I lay in his bed, the sounds of the night silent and peaceful. Frank slept, his chest rising and falling in a rhythmic motion, and I watched him, smiling. I couldn't sleep, for some reason, but that was alright. I was thirsty, so I quietly rose from the bed and traveled to the kitchen. Grabbing a glass and filling it with water, I took a sip. Then, I realized that something was wrong.

A pair of strong arms reached around me and pushed a cloth into my nose and mouth. I recognized the smell as chloroform, and as the world faded from my view, I heard my kidnapper whisper "Sweet dreams", and say my name. Not Kelly, but my name before the virus hit. Only three people knew my real name, Frank and I were two of them. The third I had not seen for two years.

My name is Kelly. I have shoulder length strawberry blonde hair. I have a nice hourglass figure. I am 21.

Two days ago, I became the leader of the rebellion.
        
Two years ago, I wrote and published transformation and transgender stories under the alias of Iceman. One day, I woke up to find that all those stories had somehow come true.


DAY ONE

"Wake up," I heard someone say. I rolled over.

"It's Saturday," I mumbled.

"Wake up, take a look at this," I heard my sister say. I opened my eyes weakly.

"What time is it?"

"10:30."

"Come back in an hour and a half."

"There's a virus running loose," I heard her say. "A new flu."

"It's probably a new strain," I said. "It'll be overhyped, then it'll disappear. Remember H1N1?"

"It's turning people into animals," She said. "Some people are saying it's the end of the world." My eyes snapped open. I've always had a love of apocalyptica; movies, books, anything depicting the end of the world would peak my interests, especially if diseases were involved. And I've always been partial to transformation. I sat up in bed.

"What do you mean, 'animals'?" I asked.

"I don't know," She admitted. "They're sort of animal-people, I guess."

"Werewolves?" I asked. I'm gonna need some silver bullets, I thought.

"No, they're still human," She said. "Or, they think they are."

"So, half human, half animal?" I asked. She nodded. "Are they feral?"

"What?"

"You know, like wild animals. Or do they act like us?"

"They act like us."

"Okay…" I said, thinking. "What else?"

"The virus also changes people's gender."

"Are you shitting me?"

"No, the news was making a big deal about it," She explained. "This flu is affecting everyone, turning everyone into the opposite gender, and I don't want to be a guy…" She looked away, sad and afraid. We were only a year and a half apart, age wise, but that didn't stop us from being close. I knew she was afraid, and I knew what I had to say to calm her back down.

"Are the effects permanent?" I asked. She nodded.

"And everyone turns into animal-people?"

"No, just some. The majority just switch genders," She explained.

"Is anyone immune?"

"No, everyone's getting infected," She looked back at me."I'm scared."

"It's okay," I said, hugging her.

"I don't want to be an animal," She cried into my shoulder. I didn't expect this to happen… this must be more serious than I thought. "I like who I am now."

"Look, I'm your brother, okay? I love you, no matter who or what you are, or may become. But Mary, we might not have a choice," I comforted her. "Especially if it's infecting everyone, and no one is immune. Now, how fast is it spreading?" I asked her. What she said next sent chills down my spine.

"It's already here…" She whispered.


NOW

I woke up in a small, dark room. And I mean it when I say small and dark, I barely had enough room to stand on all fours, let alone stand up. I had plenty of room to move around, though, just not enough to stand in, which was weird. It was also so dark I couldn't even see my hand in front of my face. I paused, trying to gather whatever I could out of my surroundings. Soon, I could hear muffled voices in the background, and I strained to hear them, despite my enhanced hearing. They were getting closer; that much I knew for sure. I concentrated, trying to make out words.

Then suddenly, light. I was blinded momentarily, and as my eyes adjusted, I realized that I was naked, and there were no clothes in this cell. There was a small padded bed in the corner, but that was all. The cell was stark white, and it was big enough for me to move around in, provided I stayed on all fours.

A wall moved open, revealing a window. Curious and frightened, I moved to it. There, I saw five men looking down at me, four with a studious gaze on their faces. One man was talking, and I could barely hear him through the thick plate glass.

"We just received her last night," He said. "She responds to 'Kelly'. She hasn't had a lot of training yet, so she has some… behavioral issues." He looked at me. "Nothing we can't handle, though."

"How soon will her training be complete?" One of the men asked.

"Oh, roughly the scheduled amount of time," The man explained. "Three months, give or take."

"Is she pure?" Another asked.

"As pure as they get," The man laughed. "Her blood work came back positive, there's no doubt that her genes are quite satisfactory. Any offspring of hers would be in high demand. Now we should set the silent auction for three months from today, perhaps starting at $150,000…" said the man as he led the group away. I looked in horror and dismay.

After everything I had been through, I was going to be sold as a bitch for breeding, or worse.

The wall replaced the window, and the cell went black.

I was alone.


DAY 14

I stared out of my kitchen window. The horizon was on fire. Downtown must be burning, I thought. The end is finally here.

"We've got to get out of the city," I said.

"No," My dad replied. "We're staying here."

"We're going to die if we stay here," I said.

"In case you didn't notice, there's a bit of a pandemic going on!" My father snapped, raising his voice.

"In case you didn't notice, there's a fire coming this way!" I exclaimed, pointing to the horizon. "I'm sorry, but I'm more worried about being burned alive!"

"I'm more worried about remaining human," My dad snapped back. "If you want to
go out there and risk being infected, by all means, go ahead."

"What happens when someone sees the lights on in our house?" I asked. "They'll think, 'hey, survivors, they must have supplies!' Then they're knocking at the door, shoving a gun in your face, and taking all our food. Then we're infected AND hungry. What then?" Dad fell silent. "We don't even have any weapons!"

"We never needed them before," My mother said in a small voice.

"It's never been the end of the world before!" I shouted. "Yet I seem to be more
prepared to stay alive than you are!"

"Stop fighting!" Mary said.

"We are not leaving this house," Dad said, angry. "Not for food, not for weapons. Not for anything."

"What happens when the water turns off?" I asked.

"The water's not turning off."

"We've been losing pressure ever since this morning," I said. "We both know that by dawn tomorrow we're not going to get a single drop of water anywhere in this house."

"Well, then, Mr. Prepared, what would you have done?" Dad yelled. "If you're so goddamned prepared, what would you have done?"

"I would have left weeks ago!" I shouted. "As soon as the virus was discovered! But no, you had to say 'they'll be a vaccine,' or 'it'll be quarantined, we'll be safe'. It's air borne! Nothing short of NOT BREATHING is going to stop this thing!" I glared at my parents. "Instead of facing the fact that the world as we knew it was over, you've condemned us all," I pointed out the window. "Hell's coming," I said. "Three guesses what it wants, and the first two don't count."


NOW

I don't know how long I've been here. Five days? Seven? Ten? The only thing I know for sure is that I've got to get out of here.

I'm let out of my cell twice a day, for food, exercise and bathroom breaks. I learned the hard way that I'm supposed to stay on all fours, regardless of what happens. A collar and a harness is put on me, and I get ten minutes of exercise, ten minutes to eat, and five for the bathroom. That's how I can pass the time, by how many times a day I'm humiliated. I'm being treated like an animal, brainwashed, and its working. I can't even remember what color Frank's walls are painted. Soon, I won't be able to remember Frank at all.

I must remain strong. I have to plan, keep my head. I have to make sure that they think I'm becoming a mindless bitch, but I can't succumb to this. Not after everything I've been through. I know from experience that the collar is electrified; one step out of line and an electric current strong enough to momentarily paralyze me runs through my body. So, I can't do anything outside my cell… Inside, the only thing I have is my mattress, which is useless.
Sleepy now… I forget how many days I've been here. Five? Thirteen? Twenty?

I miss Frank.


DAY 27

I smelled smoke.

Instantly, I was awake and up. I was already dressed, a habit I got myself into in case we needed a quick escape. I felt my door, but it wasn't hot. I opened it, quickly moving to find the source of the fire. I didn't have to look far; the basement door and stairwell were in flames. I ran back to my room, flinging a duffel bag of supplies over and out my window, where it landed in the backyard. Then, I ran to my parents room and threw open the door.

A ball of flame erupted and threw me to the floor. I looked inside, and all I could see were the flames. Knowing it was too late to save my parents, I felt my sister's door for heat. It was cool to the touch, so I opened it. Mary lay on her bed, unaware of the smoke steadily growing around her.

"Mary!" I shouted over the flame's roar. "The house is on fire, we have to move!" She awoke immediately and jumped out of bed, also dressed in her day clothes (a habit she picked up from me). We opened her window and she began to climb out. She turned and said,

"What about Mom and Dad?"

At that point, it really, truly hit me that I would never see them again. Pain, anger, and anguish burned through my mind, and it must've showed on my face, because Mary's eyes widened.

"No!" She said. "No, they can't be!"

"Mary, we have to go!" I said, pushing her out. She fell the ten feet, and I followed. Picking up the supplies I threw out of my window, I almost had to drag Mary away from the burning shell that had used to be our home.

The next morning, the fire died down enough so that we could return and scavenge for any supplies that remained. All that was left was ash and some vaguely familiar shapes.

"Did you find them?" Mary asked. I didn't have to ask who she was talking about; she still thought Mom and Dad were alive. I knew we wouldn't find a trace of them; their remains had succumbed to the fire long before we were able to start looking.

"No," I sighed, and coughed. I felt cold and shivery all over, and my hands shook.

"You okay?" Mary asked. "You've been coughing a lot."

"I'm fine, just… smoke inhalation. From the fire," I said. "I'm fine."

We both knew otherwise. We were just too scared to say it.


NOW

What was his name?

Fran? No, that was his name from… before.

Before when?

Before… before the outbreak.

An outbreak of what?

A virus. It… turned everyone into animal people, and switched their genders.

That's impossible. A virus that complicated would never be able to exist.

Yeah… that's true…

Face it, you've always been like this.

Yes… No. No, I wasn't. I remember… Mary. I remember Mary.

If you can remember Mary, then who's Fran?

No, not Fran, not anymore… I can't remember his name…


DAY 29

That night, the first one out of the safety of our house, it was quite obvious that I had the flu everyone was talking about, the one everyone had. The one that was changing the entire human population of Earth. Mary and I had heard and seen posters showing the way towards a shelter for people who were infected and had no place to go. We agreed that in the morning, we'd try and find it; our supplies were finite and I needed help. The highways and freeways were clogged with thousands vehicles left behind by people trying to get out of the city in a hurry; we spent an uncomfortable night sleeping, or trying to sleep, in an unlocked car on the way. I lay in the back, shivering and coughing, sneezing, knowing that every time I did, the more likely that Mary was becoming infected. We both knew I was, and yet Mary stayed, giving me water and some canned goods from the duffel bag. I slept off and on, feverish and shaking.

The next morning, we ventured into the city in search of the "refugee camp", as I called it. It made sense to me; we were all refugees of the virus now. We certainly fit the description; both of us were refugees now.

We saw the camp and walked into the enclosure. With a studious glance, I saw several military vehicles, personnel, and even a couple of helicopters flying overhead. Something wasn't quite right, but I pressed on. Wee couldn't live constantly like we did the night before; until society came back, we'd have to stay in shelters like this, military run or not.

We stood in line, waiting to get in. A military officer held out a sort of breathalyzer of some sort, and read the reading it gave him, pushing people to the left or to the right. Paths led in either direction separated by fencing, and they both led into a larger compound. We stood, listening to people talk of other shelters that only held animal-people, others only holding humans. Even then, in the beginning, they were segregating us.

It began to snow.

"What the…?" Mary said. "It's July!"

"It's not snow," I realized, my teeth chattering. "It's ash."

"What! From where?"

"Could be from anywhere," I said. "The city's burning, that's true… a few years
ago, ash from a forest fire traveled all the way across the ocean to Washington… it could be from here, it could be from Japan, for all we know." I shrugged. "Just another thing to add to the list of why this sucks."

I didn't know it then, but the ash was from the result of the remains of the American government attempting to "contain" the virus through use of nuclear weapons. The ash was actually the start of a nuclear winter.

We were next in line. I stepped up and blew into the breathalyzer. It made a sound, and the military officer glanced at it, pointing me to the tent on my right. I started down the path as Mary blew into the machine. Another glance, and the officer directed her to the left.

"Hey," I said. "Where are you taking her?" I stopped, planning to go back, when I felt arms pull me away. I struggled. Mary called my name. "Where are you taking her?" I yelled.

"Sir, she'll be fine," The officer said. "She's got a different strain of the virus, that's all; you'll meet up with her in the common area." Resigning, I let myself be pulled back and waited for the tests and decontamination process to begin.


NOW

Hope came in the strangest way possible. I now feel alive, strengthened. I'm not giving up.

As I was taken out of my cell, the "trainer" (always someone different), bent down, putting my collar and harness on. As he did, he squeezed my breast playfully, whispering "I hope you choke on your food today, bitch. I've got a message from your boyfriend."

I forced myself to act normal, but my mind was racing. Could he be here, too? There was only one way to find out, and if I failed… well, it would be an easy way out of this place.

As I ate my food, I made sure to take too much and swallow it all at once. It lodged in my throat and I began hacking, heaving, trying to get it out of me. I couldn't breathe! For a few moments too long, I wondered whether he was just taunting me when he said he had a message, and if I had just inadvertently killed myself. The edges of my vision started to fade to black as AI heard someone yell "The bitch is choking!" Someone ran up to me, delivering a rather hasty Heimlich maneuver, causing me to spit out the large load of food I had eaten. I felt whoever it was force my mouth open to see if all of it was gone, and inconspicuously placed some scrap paper in my mouth.

"She's good," My savior said. "Stupid bitch," I heard him mutter, then I felt myself being dragged back to my cell. As the wall closed, I quickly spat out the paper; I had only a couple moments to read it before darkness hit.


REBELLION UNDER FRANK'S RULE AS ACTING LEADER. PLACE WHERE YOU ARE KEPT = FORTRESS, IMPOSSIBLE TO ATTACK. FOR MORE INFO, DESTROY YOUR MATTRESS. EAT THIS NOTE.


I ate the note as the lights went out. I was alone, again, but not as alone as I was before. Frank. How could I have forgotten? He had found me, but couldn't get me out? It didn't make sense…

I ripped apart my mattress. Hopefully that part of the note would be clarified soon.


DAY 30

I sat at a table, shivering. The tests were finished; it was a basic medical exam. All I had to do now was wait for the results. Finally, a military doctor walked up and sat across from me at the table.

"You have what we call Strain B of the virus," He said. "Strain A is only gender reversal. Strain B…"

"Is the species change," I finished. Figures. "Do you know what I'll turn into?"

"No, the results don't give us specifics like that," He said, but the look on his face said otherwise. "But from the looks of things, it seems you'll probably become a canine, of some sort."

I sighed. "How long will it take?"

"We don't know, it's different for everyone," The doctor said. Again, I knew he was lying. You probably have a timeline on the wall, showing the different stages of transformation, I thought. Next, you'll give me an estimate, but it will just be a "guess", won't it? "I'd say by the end of tomorrow evening, you'll probably start seeing some signs of transformation; fur, bones will start shifting, you might have a headache or two. Once the transformation starts, it's usually another twenty-four hours before it's complete. But that's just an estimate, though," The doctor explained.

"Is it going to be painful?" I asked.

"No," The doctor answered.

So it will be very, very painful, I thought. "Can I go now?"


NOW

I'm getting out of here. It won't be easy, but it's doable.

As I was taken out, they saw what I had done to my mattress. I was punished, but that was to be expected. It was painful, and I was surprised how far they went, even more surprised at how far they didn't. They stopped short of taking advantage of me, physically, but God, it was close. I have to admit, I was scared. But it doesn't matter; I finally have a message from the outside.

After I was punished, I was sent back to my cell with no food or water, but with a new mattress. That's when I realized what the note had meant, and I quickly felt for anything weird that could be inside. Soon, I felt a hard, spherical object inside, and I ripped a small hole open to pull it out. As I did, I gasped at what I now held in my hand as the lights went out.

It was wrapped in a piece of white paper; I saw for a split second that there was writing on it. I didn't have time to look at what it said, though, as the lights shut off and I was left in complete darkness.

Quietly, I put the grenade back in the mattress. Lying down, I stared at the ceiling.

I did not go to sleep.


DAY 30

Mary and I met up in the common area.

"They say I'm going to become a guy," Mary said. "What about you?" She asked, looking sad and tired.

"I'm going to become a girl," I said. "And… and probably change into a canine of
some sort." I stared at Mary as she blinked, trying to absorb the information. After a few moments, she burst into tears.

"I don't want to lose you!" She cried. "Mom and Dad are already gone, and now you're going to… to…" She couldn't say it. I hugged her, keeping her close.

"I'm not leaving," I said. "I'm going to be right here, the whole time. I promise you." She cried, and I stared outside as the ash continued to fall in large clumpy
flakes.

"You promise?" Mary sniffed.

"I promise," I repeated. "I'm not going to leave you alone."


DAY 32

"We need to get out of here," I said.

"What?" Why?" Mary asked.

"I was sleeping last night, and there was a struggle," I said. "I looked over and…" I glanced around, making sure no one was listening. "I saw two or three soldiers drag someone away."

"Why?" Mary looked startled.

"I don't know," I said. "But I knew him, he came in a few hours after we did. Strain
B." I sighed. "I don't trust the military," I admitted. "We'd be better off if we could
find a civilian run shelter."

"But they've got food."

"And guns," I explained. "I feel like I'm in a prison, not a shelter." I scratched at a patch of skin on my arm; some fur had begun growing there. Since I woke up this morning I felt sick; my arms hurt and my legs had been aching all day.

"So… what do we do?" Mary asked.

"We leave, ASAP," I said. "There isn't exactly an exit, and I doubt they'd just let us leave, so we're going to have to sneak out." We agreed that we would meet near my bunk, and use one of the kitchen knives to rip a hole in the canvas tent. Hopefully no one would notice.

A couple of hours later, we met at my bunk. I had scavenged a couple of cans of Ravioli, that was all I was risking to take with us.

"Do you have it?" I asked. Mary nodded and handed me the knife. I took it and slowly, carefully, slit a hole through the canvas. It cut efficiently, and stopped when I had made a hole big enough to crawl through. "Come on," I said, and opened the flap up.

The sun was gone, hidden behind a cloud of ash. I had begun to suspect that this wasn't just any kind of ash, maybe fallout of some kind. The soldiers weren't worrying about it, evacuating refugees and what not if it was an actual problem. Instead, they just stood there, trudging through the thick layer of ash. We had bigger things to worry about.

We crawled low, keeping out of sight. I wasn't surprised to see that there were soldiers patrolling the perimeter, and I noticed they carried M-16 rifles with them as well. This could turn deadly…

"Come on," I whispered, and we moved as fast as we could, pausing every once in a while to make sure we weren't noticed. We were almost home free when I heard someone shout, "Hey! You! Stop where you are!"

"MOVE!" I cried, and the two of us ran as fast as we could away from the shelter. There was a burst of machine gun fire, and I felt the bullets whiz past us. Mary held onto my arm tightly as we dove behind piles of rubble and luggage people left behind. "Are you hurt?" I asked her. She shook her head, crying. I checked her over, quickly. She was scared, but not hurt. We got up and continued running, dodging around debris. I looked up ahead and gasped; there was a barbed wire fence. I took off my jacked and wrapped it around my hands. Quickly, I grabbed the barbed wire, lifting it up.

"Crawl!" I shouted. Mary dove, crawling under the space I made. I let go and began crawling myself, wincing as the wire scratched at my face and where my hands weren't protected. The jacket snagged, and I let it go, lifting the wires with my bare hands. I ignored the punctures and the blood and kept going. Finally, I was free. I leapt up and shouted "Run!" at Mary, and we ran into the ruins of the city.

After an undetermined amount of time, we stopped.

"Are we being followed?" Mary asked.

"No," I said, panting. "We're safe." For now, I thought.


NOW

Kelly – I have no idea if you're still alive, or if you're in any mental state to understand this note, but this is real. You should be reading this six weeks after your disappearance, and there is a lot you need to know. I will explain everything after you're rescued, and you will be rescued. Just know that I've taken your place as the leader of the rebellion, for now, and that our plan is working perfectly.

You are being kept in a high security facility we've named a "puppy mill". The purpose is to brainwash and essentially create ideal "pets" for breeding, slavery, and other nefarious purposes. It has its own security force, so it should have an armory somewhere. This grenade should help you get in, from there it should be self evident. Unfortunately, this note and the grenade are the only things we could risk sending in. I'm sure you understand.

Escape. Free any others you can, but if need be, leave everyone behind. We can't get in, but you can get out and let us in. The rebellion is counting on you. I am counting on you. If we shut down this mill, we can get enough evidence to get rid of all of them. But we need you to come to us first. We have a team ready and waiting near the West wall. If you can get to a control room and open the gates, we can do the rest.

Please hurry.

I love you.

-Frank.


DAY 32

We had been waling for several hours around the ash covered ruins of the city. We weren't exactly sure where we were, there wasn't a single recognizable landmark in sight. It seemed like everyone was hiding, living out the apocalypse in their hidey-holes while we had to run from the military. Lucky them, I thought, for what we were seeing was complete devastation of everything.

Then, Mary stopped in the middle of the road.

"I think I'm gonna be sick," She said, then gave a short gasp of surprise. Running to her, I saw a dark brown patch spread across the front of her jeans. At first I thought she had peed in her pants, something neither of us had done since we were four. Then I realized: it was blood. Mary's hands flew to her groin, then her eyes (wide in shock and surprise, possibly even terror) rolled up and she collapsed. I heard a brief popping sound, like popcorn in the microwave. I didn't have to guess what that sound was. Mary's transformation had started. I bent down to pick her up, and as I did, I felt my face push forward, my nose and mouth coming together to form a muzzle. I stopped and howled in pain as bones broke and shifted, my teeth being pushed around and moved, my jaw reforming. After a seemingly endless time filled with pain, it stopped.

Blinking, I felt my new face. It was smooth, my skin was still human, but my face… no one would recognize me, not even Mom and Dad, if they were still alive… Suddenly I felt very tired. Picking Mary up, I began walking again. We thought that the civilian shelters were somewhere on the edge of the city, so I headed in that direction, hoping that our luck would get better.

After about an hour, Mary began to feel heavier. I looked down at her and saw a bit of stubble on her face. Testosterone, I thought.She's changing faster than I am. Well, that wasn't true, my mind was so focused on other things to feel the changes occurring in my own body. I felt my ears slowly moving to the top of my head, and a tail was pushing its way out of my spine. Finally, Mary's weight became too much, and I placed him/her in a stray shopping cart and began pushing her to the edge of the city.

Soon, even walking was hard to do. I limped along, drowsiness and a dull edge of pain clouding my vision. I pushed forward and heard a large cracking sound coming from my legs, followed by a sharp knife of pain. I collapsed, shouting. Hitting the ground, panting, I pulled myself to the curb and looked down at my legs. I stifled a gasp of surprise as I saw my legs bent in an unnatural shape. Then, I realized that it wasn't natural for a human, but quite normal for a dog's leg to look like this. I had now become digitigrade. Fatigue and pain finally caught up to me, and I fainted on the spot, ash still falling around me.


NOW

This is it. It's all or nothing. My future relies on one grenade. The odds are against me, but dammit, haven't they always? I have another hour or so, so I need to fix one small flaw in my plan.

………………………

Shit. I blanked out for a second. I've been getting those more and more over the past few days, I don't know why. They've become more frequent, and longer, I'm not sure how much time I have left.

The major flaw in my plan is where to put the grenade. I'm naked, and the only things I wear are the collar and the harness, so it's not like I have a hidden pocket I can just…

Oh.

Well, that's disgusting. But, it's also the only way I can get this out of my cell. It's gross, it's unhealthy. It's unsanitary.

And it fits. Well, what do you know? Now, as long as none of them decide to play gynecologist…


An undetermined amount of time later, the cell door opened and I was pulled out.
"Time for walkies, Bitch," My trainers said. "Bitch" seemed to be my name amongst the trainers, I didn't exactly know why, nor did I want to know. The grenade felt weird inside me, but thankfully that would only last for a couple more moments.
We stopped at my food. Instead of taking some, I sat down and whined. The "trainer" sighed.

"Okay, Bitch, let's get your shit," I smiled inside. This was working out perfectly.
The place where the "walkies" took place was in the middle of the (aptly named) fortress, in a space about the same size of a football field. I didn't know how many women like me were in here; I'm sure it would be a startling number.

"Okay, hurry it up," The man (it's always a man) said. I grinned. It was now or never. I sat on the grass and reached down, grimacing as I pulled the grenade out. Wanting to be at least semi-sanitary, I wiped it on the grass. Gripping it in my hand, I put my thumb through the pin. Turning around, I pressed the grenade against his thigh. I looked at him right in the eye, waning him to say the first words. Moments passed. He just stood there.

"Speak, boy, I said, pulling out the pin. "Or you'll be lucky if they find anything of you left."

He looked at me, his eyes wide. I could tell that he was smart, he hadn't called for help, hadn't reacted at all. He knew exactly what I wanted, and that was freedom.

"They'll never let you out," he said. "Even if you can leave here, you will never be able to escape us."

"I'll take that chance," I said. "Just remember who's got the grenade." I glanced around, making sure no one had reacted. "In the meantime, take me to the armory."


I managed to find the pin and place it back, so there wasn't any danger of a random explosion. The trainer led me through several hallways, and I did my best to memorize my route. Finally, we stopped at a vault door.

"This is it," He said. "You'll never make it out alive."

"We'll see," I said. "Now, which way is North?" Confused, he turned and pointed towards the way he came. "That way," He said, and crumpled to the floor as I pulled his legs towards me. As he landed, I crawled over him, gripping his head in my hands.

"Asshole," I said. "That's East." With one blow, I knocked him out by slamming his head into the floor. Quickly, I searched his body finding a key pass. Remembering my path, I dragged his body the remarkably short and uneventful distance to my cell. Using his key, I opened it and threw him inside… but not before taking his clothes. It would be another full day before someone found him, if this were ideal. Others would think the slamming, banging and shouting were coming from me.
I changed into his clothes, which surprisingly fit well on my frame, and used his pass to get inside the armory vault. Once inside, I closed the vault door and turned on the lights.

"Ooh, baby," I said, seeing all the guns. "This… this is all mine."


Ten minutes later, I had taken a post in the Southeast corner of the facility. I had now equipped myself with a sniper rifle, and I was taking my time getting rid of the sentries around the various perimeter. I had a few more minutes before the next shift found the first body; I had that much time to get rid of as many guards as possible before the alarm sounded.

The alarm, blaring and shrill, went off in my ears.

"Damn," I said, placing the rifle into the hands of a fallen trainer. Oh well. I always worked best under pressure.


Outside the West wall, Frank's ears pricked up at the sound of the alarms. Turning to his squad, he said, "She's doing it. Everyone, get ready." At the back of the crowd, one of the soldiers whispered to the other, "You owe me twenty bucks."


Using the schematics I found in the armory, the only place that could open up the front gates was the "control tower" on the North-East end of the facility. No doubt that by now I had been discovered, my only hope now was to…
Damn it, that one lasted five minutes. These blankouts are starting to become a liability. Most likely some sort of post-hypnotic suggestion is taking place. Luckily, I have earplugs in case anyone wants to subdue me that way.

I placed the earplugs in seconds before three men, wielding guns, ran out into the corridor and saw me. Thinking fast, I dove behind a cement column as they opened fire. Taking out a .9 mil, I turned as they were reloading, shooting them as them in the head.

"Headshot," I whispered, then raced to their bodies, picking up their guns and ammo. AK-47's. I didn't have enough space on me for any other weapons, with the glock and the sniper rifle. Now… I had my own automatic weapon. Revenge couldn't get any sweeter.

I ran towards the control tower, stealing anything that moved towards me that didn't look friendly, continuously moving to not provide an easy target. Bullets missed me by inches, slamming into the walls, but I kept going
I rushed to the foot of the tower, opening the door (vaulted, again) with the key card I acquired. Moving silently up the stairs, I pulled the pin on my grenade. As I neared the top of the stairs, I looked to see if anyone was occupying the room. No one was.

Sighing with relief, I put the pin back and entered the control room.


Frank's eyes widened as the front gates opened.
"She did it!" He exclaimed. "Everyone, move in, teams one and two, on the ground, three and four, take to the air!" Frank took out his rifle and led the squad as twenty four bird animalias took to the skies, ready to take out any snipers and provide recon support. It had begun.


I sighed with relief as I saw the squadron move into the compound. I had a feeling Frank was in there, but I didn't know. All I knew was that the hard part was over; the cavalry was here. All I had to do was join up with them, I was rescued!

Then, pain. A sudden blow from behind caused me to fly forwards, landing on the controls. Dazed, I tired to get up, but someone kicked me back down. My breath was knocked out of me as I fell to the floor.

"Did you think you were alone?" A man asked. "Did you think you were being sneaky? The laws may have changed, but you're still a brainless, poor excuse for something that tries to act like a human." I rolled over, wanting to see my attacker. His eyes widened, mine narrowed.

"You," We said in unison.


DAY 34

I woke up to a black sky.

I stretched, feeling muscles move and joints cracking. I looked around. Where am I? I thought. I was (as far as I could tell) in an alleyway. I felt a blanket on top of me, and I saw a barrel of fire a few feet away. The ground was covered in a light grey layer of ash, which I realized had stopped falling. That's one thing that's going right, at least, I thought. I shifted, starting to sit up.

"Whoa, whoa, not so fast," I heard a voice behind me say. I looked around, seeing a stranger come towards me. "You've been asleep for the past two days, you need to be careful." I pulled back a bit, wondering who this guy was. He stopped at the fire and pulled out a can of Ravioli. Had he gone through our supplies?

"Here," He said, giving me a fork and the can. "This should help." I pulled back. I didn't trust him. He looked at me, looked into my eyes and said, "You don't recognize me, do you?" I shook my head. Should I? He sighed.

"I'm Mary," The man said. "Our transformations completed last night." I blinked in shock. Then, in one moment, I remembered everything that happened to us after the escape from the military. Mary's jaw changing, my face, arms legs, snapping, fainting on the sidewalk. I raised a hand to my face. It was furred, but also feminine. I looked down to see two breasts. I looked back up to Mary, feeling my hair brush against my shoulders.

"H-how…" I paused, not used to my new voice. "How long was I out?"

"Since I woke up last night," Mary said as he rummaged around in the duffel bag.
"So I'd guess at least two days, maybe a day and a half." He handed me a water bottle, which I took. There was an awkward silence as I took a drink. After a few moments, Mary said, " I found the shelters."

"Really?" I was surprised. "How close are they?" He shrugged.

"A mile or two in either direction," He guessed. "Not far."

"That's great!" I said. Finally, the end was in sight.

"Yeah," Mary agreed, but there was something in here… no, his voice that made me feel like he was hiding something. I let it go, thinking he would tell me eventually.

"Mary?" I said. He looked back to me, his eyes watery. I smiled. "Thank you," I told my new brother. "You could've just left me here."

"I couldn't," He told me. "You're my… sibling," He admitted sheepishly. "I wouldn't have left you on your own."


NOW

"Mary?" I asked, shocked.

"I go by Mark, now" He said, backing up. "Well, this is one messed up family reunion." I pushed myself up, using the dashboard and finally got myself up into a standing position. "No, don't you move," He said, pulling out a gun. I realized it was my Glock, Mary… no, Mark must have taken it as he snaked up on me.

"Mark, what are you doing?" I asked uneasily. He laughed.

"How do you think you got here?" He asked me. "Who do think found your little club, found your home with your beloved 'Frank'?"

"It was you?" I asked, startled. "You set all of this in motion?"

"No, that was a bit of a backfire," Mark admitted. "I would go around finding places where those animalia sympathizers would gather, and call in the feds. What, you think your little club was the first one I called the feds on?" Mark laughed, seeing my face. "No, it was a game for me; my friends and I had a contest to see how many we could shut down. It's just ironic that the one you had to be at was the one that pushed the rebellion forward." Mark grinned. "Then, of course, you had to change everything." His expression darkened. "My employers told me to find you, and bring you here. They saw it as the ultimate irony; the leader of the rebellion turned into the slave she was supposed to be… So I started with the shelters." He kept the gun on me, moving a little to my left. I stared, unbelieving. How could this be the same person I escaped with two years ago? "I moved from shelter to
shelter, then I found your house…"

"You're the one who brought me here!" I realized.

"That's right," Mark agreed, smiling again. "I did, through your club. Turns out a few people came over to the right side after the military raid." He laughed. "I just find it hilarious that the last club to go down brought down the entire inner workings of the government."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"All of this," He motioned around him. "Was funded, created, and provided by the federal government," Mark explained. "Then you had to place your leader in the driver's seat, and now…"

"Now, you're out of a job," I finished.

"Shut up while I'm talking to you," Mark said, his face losing its grin. He turned the safety off the Glock. "Yes, I took you from you're home," He repeated. "I'm surprised it took too long to figure that bit out. And no, I'm not out of a job, we just had to turn to the private sector." Mark grinned. "So, all is not lost."

"What about when the virus hits you?" I asked Mark. "Then you'll become an anamalia, just like me."

"Before all of the blacks lost their rights in colonized Haiti, blacks owned black slaves and plantations," Mark said. "Just because our bodies will change, doesn't mean our minds will. Therefore, it will be business as usual."

"You are such a hypocrite," I said. "You claim that I'm the animal!"

"I don't need to 'claim' anything," Mark said with a tone of finality. "It's already been proven." Mark raised his gun, and I waited for the "bang" that would mark my death.

"Drop the gun!" I heard someone shout from behind Mark. I looked and gasped. It was Frank. Mark looked and saw him.

"No, I don't think so," He said, turning the gun on Frank.

"NO!" I shouted, running and leaping onto Mark. I threw him off-balance as he fired. His shot went wild, smashing into the wall. Frank's didn't. There was a flash of white light, a blinding pain, and then everything went black.


DAY 36

I opened my eyes. Again, I found myself in an unfamiliar place.

"Mary?" I asked, stretching.

"No Mary here," A gruff voice said beside me. "Just us pillow feathers." I looked to my left. There was a dog-man, probably husky, lying on the bed next to me. I looked around. I was in a bed as well, and I lay in hall filled with them; animal people of all kinds sleeping, or talking amongst themselves. I pulled my self up to a sitting position.

"Where am I?" I asked. "Where's my sis… brother?" I corrected myself in mid-sentence. He shook his head, smiling sadly.

"We're all going to have to get used to pronoun change, aren't we?" He said. "And your brother 'aint here, or if he is, he didn't come in with you. What did he look like?"

"He's human," I started. The man interrupted me angrily.

"Now, don't you start," He said. "We're all human, here. Just some of us are more… furry than others. And I know who you mean," He added, seeing my face. "He came in with you in his arms, dropped you off here and then took off without a word."

"He… he just left me here?" I asked. For a few endless moments, I denied it, saw it happening in my mind, accepted it, then denied it again, and collapsed on my bed. "He couldn't have left me alone," I said. "We're family, damn it!"

"Times are changing," My new friend said. "Families are turning against each other. It's the end." I stared at the ceiling. Never had I felt so alone, so scared. So… empty.

"What's your name?" I asked.

"I always liked the name Carlos, myself," He answered. "What's yours, miss?" I told him my name, and Carlos laughed. "That's a boy's name," he said. "And as much as I'd like to say otherwise, you're not a man anymore." I got what he was saying. My gender had changed, so now should my identity; a new name, a new life…

I spent a restless night with horrible dreams of abandonment, and waking moments were spent trying to think of a new name for myself. Try as I might, I couldn't.

I woke the next morning to hear voices coming from a door on the other side of the hallway, three beds down. All I could see were shadows, but their conversation carried quite well.

"Why can't we?" A male's voice, maybe my age.

"We barely have enough supplies for ourselves," Female, maybe middle aged. "We can't have another mouth to feed."

"We can't just leave her here," The male said. "No family, you heard what the worker told us."

"I have to agree with you," Another male, probably the same age as the female. "It's the right thing to do." There was a moment of silence, then:

"Alright, I'll get the papers."

"Lucky girl, whoever she is," Carlos said to me. "The three of them came in here, looking for any surviving family members. The youngest saw someone, wanted her to come live with them. Someone's going to a real home tonight." He looked at me, giving me a look that suggested that he knew more than he was letting on. I turned my head and looked back at the ceiling. I agreed with Carlos; whoever she was, she was lucky to be part of a family, regardless if she had none left.
I watched as a dog-man (probably the young male) walked out, smiling. I watched him, expecting him to go by, and was surprised when he stopped at my bed. He sat down, and I pulled myself up to sit.

"Hello," He said. "What's your name?" There was a moment of panic, and I tried to think of a name. Finally, I blurted out the first name that came to me.

"Kelly," I said. "My name's Kelly."

"Well, Kelly, I'm Frank," He said, and smiled. And for some reason, I smiled too.


NOW

I woke to beeping. I realized at once, of course, where I was; I was in a hospital. I looked around. Frank was sitting by my bed, asleep. I thought for a few minutes, then looked at were the heart monitor wires were. My shoulder was bandaged and in a sling, and my right arm felt bruised. My head felt like it was stuffed with packing pellets.

"Frank," I said. He didn't wake up. "Frank!" I said a little louder. Still nothing. I glance around, and shouted, "FRANK! WAKE UP!" With a jump, he woke up, falling out of his chair. I laughed, then moaned as a sharp stick of pain jumped up into my forehead.

"You're awake," Frank said, getting back into his chair. "Are you okay?"

"You tell me," I said, massaging my forehead. "What happened?"

"I shot you," Frank said. I noticed he had been losing sleep. "In the shoulder. It was a through-and-through, so there shouldn't be any lasting damage."

"And Mark?"

"In custody, along with the rest of the people involved with the mill. We have a long list of people who contributed to the formation of those facilities." Frank explained. "It's only a matter of time, now."

"And me?" I asked. "What did I miss?"

"In the two months…"

"Two months? Your note said six week!" Frank nodded solemnly.

"We had a psychiatrist examine you earlier today," He told me. "You were having a…"

"A blankout?" I asked. It would explain why I didn't remember.

"He called it something else, but that's what it was," He agreed. "She said it's amazing you lasted as long as you did. The methods they used to brainwash these people…" Frank looked away, deep in thought. A few moments passed, then he took out a folder.

"We found this during our investigation," He said, handing it to me. I opened it, and was surprised to see my picture.


SUBJECT: 3189 (KELLY)
STATUS: 09/10/2012 – Subject's development is behind schedule. The dominant personality (troublesome, arrogant, and problematic) is still posing a threat. Instigation of the submissive personality (ideal and attentive) is coming along, there seems to be moments with the submissive personality is in control. In this state, subject is open to any commands or suggestions, fulfilling them obediently. These transitions are becoming more and more frequent; with an increased dose of drugs in food and other messages delivered in REM sleep, the dominant personality should be eradicated by the end of the week.


I looked up at Frank.

"So… these blankouts?"

"Are when you are completely obedient?" Frank finished for me. "A slave? Yes."

"What day is it?"

"Friday, the fourteenth,"

"When did I escape?"

"Wednesday."

"So, if I waited another day…"

"You, Kelly, leader of the rebellion, would be dead," Frank agreed. "And Kelly the bitch slave would be in your place." I closed the folder, feeling sick. "But that didn't happen," Frank said. "Everything happened when it should've. You're alive, and we can help you get rid of that part of your mind."

"No," I said. "You can bury it as much as you can, but you won't be able to get rid of it." I could feel my eyes watering. "I'll still have blankouts, won't I?" Frank stared at me, not answering me for a few minutes.

"Yes," He finally said. "You'll have a few of those, but we'll get past it," Frank reached out and took my hand. Gently squeezing it, he said, "We'll get through this, together."

"Promise?" I asked.

"I promise," Frank smiled. "Together."