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The Victoria Chronicles

**Chapter 05

A New Day**

Vic woke up and found herself in another strange place. This time however in just an ordinary bedroom. Indifference to this fact the bedroom was decorated in heavy tones of pink.

Ugh, Vic thought to herself as she looked around. It's like the inside of cotton-candy.

Sitting up in bed she noticed a draft across her chest as the covers fell from her. Looking down Vic saw that she apparently wasn't wearing any cloths, at least not from the waist up anyway. Had somebody undressed her before putting her to bed? How long had she been out?

Pulling back the covers she was relieved to see that at least she still had briefs on. Getting out of bed however she found that her waist made her less relieved as they started to slide off. Gripping the waistband before they could get too far. Twisting the waist Vic tied a knot so that they fit tighter. Standing up straight she was satisfied that they now stayed up. She was less so about the comfort, but at least they were staying up.

Looking around the surgery room Vic spied another half-naked vixen looking at her. She felt embarrassed until she realized that it was just her reflection in an antique free-standing oval mirror. Stepping up closer Vic took a good hard look at her new form. She had of course seen herself when she was in the veterinary clinic, but she had never seen her new form from the perspective of others like she was now in the reflection of the mirror.

She was covered head-to-toe in orange and white fur with dark brown/black fur on her feet, hands and ears. Long legs extended from her slightly wider hips down to her furry feet. Said feet had hard claws that extended from her toes like a canine, but unlike an animal's paws her feet and legs were plant-grade. Her arms too were long and slender, covered in fur. Orange fur from her shoulders extended down to just below her elbow where the fur changed to a brown/black color that ran the rest of the way to her fingers. Her hands and fingers were slender and dexterous, well suited for delicate tasks, yet she could feel that the muscles as tendons under the surface were tighter, stronger. Despite the otherwise outward appearances to the contrary. Looks to her midsection her waist and midriff were slender and trim, and when Vic ran her hands over her middle she could feel the tight muscles of her abdomen under her hide.

Moving on to her chest she had two when shaped breasts, perhaps medium grapefruit in size. Vic resisted feeling them in any way as she felt it was somehow...wrong? Even though they were clearly a part of her anatomy now.

Atop her shoulder sat a vulpine head with large triangular ears and a long slender muzzle filled with sharp teeth including long canine fangs. Above her muzzle were two emerald green eyes that stared back at her. They were vulpine in shape, but clearly not true vulpine eyes as she could see all the colors she could before, and more. Everything seemed slightly more vivid and in sharp focus.

Vic considered her image for a moment before she heard a voice say, "Admiring my work? Not bad if I do say so myself."

Vic spun around looking for the source before realizing the voice had come from her wrist. "What the hell?!" She said looking down at the bracer on her wrist. The jewel set in the center was glowing a pale green that somehow managed to give off the look of being smug.

"Like what you see?" Percii asked. "I'm not much for biologically, but I'd like to think I achieved what your people seem to consider an ideal body shape."

"I would have been slightly happier if you had managed to preserve my gender!" Vic snarled softly, not sure who else might be within earshot. Her tail thrashed behind her in tune with her anger, the hackles on her back rising somewhat.

"Hey, I already told you, genetics can be twitchy." Percii replied, "There were a lot of conflicts I had to solve. Your gender was a low priority."

"Compared to what!" Vix growled.

"Your life." Percii said plainly.

"..." Vic turned away from the mirror, but couldn't escape Percii's incessant banter.

"Yes, I'm grateful to be alive. But why female?" Vic asked, still fuming somewhat but her anger was tempered somewhat by the fact that Percii and Visalth had saved her from death.

"You are an amalgam of three life-forms. Visalth was merely inhabiting the fox you encountered. That's partly why you are part vulpine. As to your gender, you had an extra redundant chromosome. It wasn't needed for your survival so I removed it. The process was easier to stay female." Percii explained.

"It was easier?" Vic exclaimed, her anger coming back. "I'm a female because you found my X-chromosome to be superfluous! I am a bloody female because you decided to be a goddamned daft lazy ass-hat!!!" Vic growled, barely keeping her voice down and her ears flattened to her head.

"What's the difference? One gender is just a good as the other." Percii said emotionlessly, "Why should it matter what gender you are as long as you continue to live?"

"It's a big bloody difference you damn git!!" Vic nearly shouted, her tail thrashing about behind her. She was so angry right now that she hadn't notice that her voice and accent had taken on a British aristocrat tone. "You can't possible expect me to just accept all of this and be happy about it! You can't just turn someone's life upside down and expect them to just go on smiling like nothing ever bloody changed!"

"Be that as it may, I need to tell you about the various changes that have been made." Percii deflected, eager to move the conversation along.

"I've seen them." Vic barked out shortly.

"Only the visual ones. There's much more under the hood, as it were. There's--" Percii started explaining before Vic cut him off.

"Enough!" Vic snarled baring her teeth to Percii's disembodied voice, "I don't want to hear any more until I have had a cup of coffee at the very least! And even then don't hold your breath!"

It was then that Vic smelled the aroma of fresh coffee coming from somewhere. Snuffling the air she followed the smell to the bedroom door that led to an upstairs hallway. Vic almost left the room to find the source of the ambrosia before realizing her state in clothing.

Quickly but quietly closing the door again she found a bathrobe hanging on the back of the door on a hook. Unfortunately the bathrobe matched the rooms decor. Or was pink with white trim along the edges and cuffs. Seeing no other option Vic took the robe and pulled it on over her slender frame, making sure to close it firmly around her front before tying the belt tight around her midsection.

Now that she was at least decent Vic left the bedroom and followed the welcoming smell down the hall.

"Are you sure about this one mistress?" Percii asked Visalth privately where Vic would not hear them. "She seems very irrational and not very receptive to my advice."

"You have to give her time to adjust Percii." Visalth said. "This is all new and frightening to her. This upheaval has made her confused and angry.

"I don't see how she is going to accomplish much if she is not willing to receive new information." Percii said emotionlessly. "She won't get far if she doesn't know what she can do."

"Percii, life-forms need an adjustment period to such things She will adjust if given time and distance. It cannot be forced on her." Visalth replied.

"I'll never understand biologics and their need to sort out their emotions to outside stimuli." Percii said flatly, "It's just information. You receive it, process it, and then act on it"

"That's just it Percii. She is still processing what has happened to her. Something I might add that she did not ask for and was pushed on her. Under the circumstances she is dealing remarkably well." Visalth explained. "Let her be for a bit. Offer her advice when and if the need arises. If you bombard her with too much she will shut you out as she has just done now. Give her time and kindness and she will be more receptive."

"As you say Mistress."

"Fresh pot is up." Pops said as he poured himself a fresh mug of coffee.

"Thanks Pops." Earle said as he got up to fill his cup.

"After breakfast I want to get the big tractor running so we can plow the east firlds." Pops said after taking a sip from his coffee.

"The red one or the green one?" Earle asked as he put sugar and cream in his coffee.

"The red one." Pops replied.

"Did we ever rebuild the intake-manifold on that?" Earle asked.

"No. that's why I want to work on it now rather than when we need it in a week or two." Pops said sitting down in his chair at the kitchen table.

"Did we ever get the part for that project?" Earle asked.

"We should have. And if not then we will need to order them sooner than later." Pops remarked as he scooped up a forkful of scrambled eggs.

"I wonder how our guest is doing?" Kristine mused, taking the opportunity to bring up the subject during a pause in the conversation. "She's been asleep for an awfully long time."

It was then that they all heard what sounded like soft clicks and taps along the celling as something with claws made its way along the upstairs hallway. They listened as the taps made their way to the stairs and then started descending to the first floor landing just outside the kitchen door. Slowly the door opened a crack and an vulpine eye peeked into the room. there was a pause while the eye contemplated whether to open the door further and venture into the kitchen with the three people inhabiting it before finally being coxed by the smell of fresh coffee.

Vic entered the kitchen slowly. Shyly looking about the room. wishing she could turn invisible, or at least pull her head in further into the horrid pink robe she had tightly wrapped around her form, leaving as little as possible visible of herself.

"Oh, there you are. Are you feeling better today?" Kristine Asked brightly.

Vic thought about this for a brief period before responding. "Comparatively, Yes."

"Well you seem to be walking and talking better." Kristine said, "Would you like some breakfast?"

"Yes please." Vic said meekly.

"Coffee?" pops asked.

"Defiantly." Vic said a little more energetically but still in a low voice. "Thank you."

Pops rose from his chair and reached for the coffee pot. Poring a mug he asked how Vic took her coffee. Vic asked only for cream.

"Here ya go. One fresh cup of coffee."

"Thank you." Vic said thankfully taking the mug. She took a sip and closed her eyes, savoring the taste and smell. Somehow the coffee smelled and tasted stronger than any she had ever had. She had a dark suspicion that it had something to do with Percii's tinkering with her senses. But for the time being the coffee made her feel more human than she had felt for the last few days since her life had taken this strange turn.

What Vic opened her eyes again she noticed that most of the eyes in the room were focused on her.

"What? Do I have something on my face?" Vic asked, trying to pull her head further into the robes fluffy collar.

"I'm sorry dear," Kristine apologized, "It's just that, well..."

"We've never seen anything like you before." Pops supplied, "And they are very sorry for staring, aren't you?" he finished, aiming the last part at Kristine and Earle.

"Ahem, yes. Sorry dear." Kristine said averting her eyes momentarily before turning them back in a much more polite way. "Anyway, are you feeling better Victoria?"

"More or less." Vic said sipping her coffee as pops laid a plate of eggs, bacon and toast in front of her. "Thank you." She said to pops, before continuing, "I'm feeling better physically anyway. Otherwise..." Vic trailed off as she looked away. There was only so much that she wished to revealed about her recent transformation, and right now that wasn't much. These people seemed nice enough, and Visalth did say that she could trust them. But that didn't mean that they needed to know everything. Plus, revealing too much could put this family in danger. Vic couldn't bear the thought of doing that to innocent people.

Before she could think much further on this point there was a small commotion as two children rampaged down the stairs and piled into the kitchen in the usual way of kids that have just woken up with more energy than they knew what to do with. Particularly the younger ones, the eldest being a teenager had somewhat less enthusiasm then that of her younger siblings. Entering the kitchen they immediately skidded to a halt upon seeing a fox seated at the table and drinking coffee. Katie being the last to enter from the stairs was somewhat annoyed that the other two were blocking the doorframe.

"Woooah..." the two youngest said in unison and in awe. Katie the one to have discovered Vic in the barn was slightly less so, but even then the sight of an upright fox sitting at the table and eating food from a plate with utensils was still a sight one didn't normally see.

Vic for her part gave a week little wave, unsure how she should act under the circumstances. "Hi...?" She managed shyly after swallowing a mouthful of egg. One ear was flattened against her head while the other sat upright and swiveled side-to-side nervously while her tail twitched back and forth.

"Oh wow! It talks!!" The eight year old boy said. His younger sister who was five quickly hid behind her older sister, peeking around from behind.

"Kids," Kristine started, beckoning her kids to politely come into the kitchen rather than crowd the doorway, "This is Victoria. She is a guest and will be staying with us for a bit. I expect you to be nice to her, she's had a hard time recently."

The boy came up to the table and stood between Vic and Kristine, still staring at Vic, "What are you?" he said.

"Jimmy! Be nice!", Kristine cried, reprimanding the boy

"No, it's ok." Vic said, taking another bite of her breakfast to give her a few seconds before answering, "I'd like to know myself."

"Don't you know who you are?" Kristine asked.

"I know who I am. What I don't quite know is what I am." Vic responded taking a sip of coffee. She was amazed at how many nuances there was to food now. Not that she'd be thanking Percii anytime soon. "I woke up in your clinic this way."

"What were you before?" Katie asked from the counter where she was dishing out breakfast for the two younger kids before taking some for herself.

"Same as all of you." Vic replied. "Human."

"Were you bitten by a radioactive fox?" Jimmy asked, bouncing up and down a little closer to Vic. This was the coolest thing he had ever seen he had decided.

"No." Vic said calmly.

"Are you a kind of werewolf?!" he persisted. "If you bit me would I become one too?!"

"No and no." Vic said, "And I don't think your parents would like it if anything bit you I suspect."

"Do you live in the woods?"

"No. But I like to go camping from time to time." Vic replied.

"Do you ever step on your tail?" Jimmy persisted.

"Not yet, no." Vic answered, but she did wonder herself now that she thought about it if that might happen at some point. It was long enough to reach the floor, but so far it largely seemed to stay a few inches off the floor when she moved. To be fair, she hadn't really given her tail much thought up till now.

"Do you like having a tail?" the five-year old asked meekly, peeking out more from behind Katie.

"It's...different." Vic replied.

"Can I be a fox like you?" Jimmy said hopping up and down excitedly.

"Probably not." Vic said sipping her coffee.

"Do you have any puppies we could play with?" Jimmy sprung on Vic next.

"No...and technically they would be kits I think." This question caught her off guard. Up till now she hadn't thought about such things, and she shuddered imperceptibly at the thought of bearing such a concept.

"Do you have a boyfriend?" the five-year old asked innocently.

"No."

"A girlfriend then?" Katie chimed in a bit less innocently with a mischievous smile.

"Probably not." Vic replied honestly. Up till now with all that had happened she had forgotten temporarily about Jessi. She was thankful that Jess wasn't involved with this whole mess, but now that she was thinking on the matter she was dreading the conversation that would probably follow. No matter how it went. The chances that she would take it well were very remote considering how things had been the last month.

"Where do you come from?" Jimmy asked, his mother taking hold of an arm and pulling him closer to herself to give Vic more room from his encroaching advancing.

"Jimmy, take your seat and leave our guest alone dear. She's trying to eat." Kristine said trying to propel the boy over to the other side of the table. "No more questions about our guest."

"But I want to ask the fox lady more questions!" Jimmy wined as Kristine rose up from her chair and walked him to his chair on the other side of her where Katie had placed down his breakfast. Katie then took her chair opposite and closet to Vic.

"I'm sure you do, but I think Victoria's answered enough for now." Kristine said pushing him, down into a chair.

Vic finished her meal and wiped her mouth with a napkin. "Thank you for breakfast. Um, what happened to my clothes?"

"Oh, your jeans are woefully oversized for you, and the shirt you were wearing was full of holes and--" Kristine paused glancing briefly at her two younger children, Jimmy was poking at his eggs sullenly after being denied from asking any more questions to what he deemed for the moment the most interesting thing in the room, Vic, "other stains"

"Oh. That reminds me." Pops said picking up a small bundle near the door. "My wife Edna found some cloths for you to wear for the time being. She made a few alterations to make them fit a bit better. She also did what she could to patch up your flannel, the T-shirt was pretty much a lost cause I'm afraid. When you find cloths that are closer to your size she can make any further alterations that may be needed for your, ahem, unique physique. She's always sewing up clothing for the kids or even making her own. You know how kids are always growing." Pops finished with a laugh.

"Thank you." Vic said taking the bundle of clothes. "I think I will go make myself presentable if you would excuse me."

Vic went back upstairs the bedroom she had woke up in and closed the door. Putting the bundle of cloths on the bed she laid them out to take stock of her choices. The coveralls were a simple set of denim coveralls with a slit cut and hemmed above the seat with a strip of denim buttoned on either side of the top of the slit.

Well, that's a clever idea. Vic thought to herself checking out the tail slot. I'll have to thank her for that.

Looking at the other cloths there was a white t-shirt that looked about the right size for her new form. There was also a pink one. Nope. That wasn't happening. Moving on there was two pairs of socks. Looking down at her feet Vic decided to forgo those for the time being, she'd probably just shred them to bits, and there was the issue of shoes or boots. Well, she'd just cross that bridge when she came to it. Her foot-pads seemed to be reasonable tough, and walking on dirt and grass proably would do her any harm.

There was also some underwear in the bundle, but of a lacey sort. Nope! That wasn't happening either. Picking up the bra by one strap and holding it like a dead fish she examined it. She didn't even have a clue how to put it on, best to pass on that. Luckily there also seemed to be stretchy sports top. That would work for now. But the panties were a flat out nope. Best to just go commando for the time being. She was not going to resort to those no matter what strangeness happened. She'd just have to find some boxers or briefs as soon as possible.

After sorting the cloths at her disposal and making her selection Vic took off the bathrobe as started getting dressed. The sports top was snug but comfortable enough, though it would take a bit of getting used to wearing such things. Not to mention getting used to her new chest in general. The rest was pretty straight forward till she got to the coveralls. They weren't complicated, she just had to loosen the tail strap and tread her long fluffy tail through the slot then do up the shoulder straps as usual, then reach around and button the tail strap closed.

Turning towards the mirror Vic surveyed herself. Well, she'd seen worse, it would do for now. Everything was covered, and the cloths fit well enough. It beat going to a store to find cloths that fit considering her vulpine form was sure to cause comment. And her new form look quite good in the donated cloths.

All in all things could be worse.

Heading back downstairs Vic found that the family were still gathered in the kitchen. Pops, Earle, and Katie were getting ready to get to the morning barn chores while the younger children poked at the remains of their respective breakfasts.

"Oh, you look nice dear." Kristine said looking up as Vic reentered the kitchen, "Oh, you didn't like the pink shirt?"

"Pink's...not exactly my color." Vic replied slowly, hoping that she didn't seem insulting.

"Good choice." Katie said over by the sink where she was washing her dish. "Pink is a horrid color, and over used by girls with too much cotton-candy in their heads." She said with a frown.

"I like pink." Kristine said.

"Yes mom, I know. I've seen your pink palace upstairs." Katie said as she placed the dish in the drying rack before turning to Vic. "I'm sorry you had to sleep in there. No one should have to live in that nightmare."

Vic gave a small smile as she suppressed the urge to laugh.

"You don't like pink Victoria?" Kristine asked.

"It's...fine." Vic said searching for a way out without offending her hosts. "It's just my color. It's never looked quite right on me." She said honestly thinking of her past life.

She was saved further colorful commentary when pops spoke up near the door. "Well the three of us have barn-chores to get to, and Victoria, Frank and I went up to your campsite you mentioned before you, erm, needed your sleep. We collected what we could from the site and it's sitting out in the shop where the kids can't get into you and your friends stuff. If you'd like you can come out and take a look to see if we missed anything and take stock of what's left."

"Thank you. I would like to see what can be salvaged myself." Vic said falling in behind the group.

"Bye Vic-tor-ria!" jimmy called out from the table.

"Bu Vix-tur...tor..." the five years old struggled before blunting out, "Bu Vix!"

"Bye Vix!" Jimmy shouted enthusiastically.

Vic, nae, Vix gave a wave as she closed the door behind her and followed the group across the yard.

"Seems like you have a new nickname Vix." Katie said smiling mischievously.

"Meh. I've been called worse." Vic replied shrugging.

"What do you prefer to be called?" Pops asked as he opened the door to the shop and stepped in. "Victoria, Vicky?"

"Generally most people call me Vic." She replied looking around the shop. It looked like most well used garages in so far as it crossed that fine line of organized chaos. Stuff was piled in some sections and detritus littered most horizontal surfaces. At least the workbenches had a fair amount of usual work space.

"Then Vic it is." Pops said, "Although I think it will be hard to break the younger kids from calling you Vix." He laughed before switching gears. "Your stuff we salvaged is on the top of the steel shelving unit right there. Hang on and I'll fetch a step ladder. We wanted to keep the young'uns' out of it."

"Vix will be fine. And don't bother, I think I can reach." Vix said as she bent her legs a bit before hopping up to grab the box. Unfortunately she grossly underestimated her new strength and instead of a short hop to reach the box she instead jumped high enough to reach the underside of the steel roof two-stories up, leaving a small dent before coming back down on the shelves and knocking them over on top of herself.

The resulting crashes and clatters died away to reveal a pile of metal, cardboard, wood, and various tractor parts and other miscellaneous debris.

"Holy shit! Vix, are you ok?!" Pops hollered as he and the others started digging the overburden off the pile.

"M' ok." Vix's voice came out from the bottom of the pile. She was unseen from under the pile except for a tail that waved about in slight agitation. "Just a bit surprised is all. That was bloody unexpected."

"I'll say." Katie said pulling away a crumpled box from the pile. "That was an impressive jump. I think you dented the roof with that leap!"

Slowly they excavated the debris off of the buried fox, forest an ear popped out of the pile, then two, then a head, eventually Vix was freed enough to stop up and shed the rest of the various items that had formerly populated the overburdened shelf.

Brushing herself off Vix looked up at the ceiling before commenting, "Well, that's never happened before."

Vix twitched slightly when a voice within her head cut in, You're going to have to be more careful when you do that. Remember that you are much stronger now than before. Percii said inside her head before Vix slapped a hand over the embedded AI, cutting him off before he couldn't say anything further. Percy had the sense not to say anything more. For the time being anyway.

"What was that?" Katie asked.

"Nothing important." Vix said scrambling for an excuse, "Just an itch on my wrist. Probably just a mosquito or fly."

"Well anyway, here is some of your stuff." Pops said picking up a large box and carrying it to a nearby bench. "You can start with this while I dig up the rest."

"Sorry about the mess." Vix said, her ears lowering slightly in embarrassment.

"Don't worry about it. I can see that you didn't mean for any of it." Pops said dismissing the clutter. "In the meantime, you two have work that needs doing." He said to Katie and Earle.

Vix cocked her ears as she listened in to the animal noises coming from the barn some twenty yards away. She listened for a few seconds before saying, "The mares water bucket needs cleaning. She's not happy with it. The goat is complaining of needing to be milked, and everyone is hungry." She said as if relaying information told to her from someone.

"How do you know that?" Earle said from the doorway. "We haven't even been there ourselves. You couldn't know that. Apart from them being hungry. They always are first thing in the morning, anyone would know that just from hearing the cacophony."

"I...I'm not quite sure." Vix said, confused herself. "I, just seem able to understand them." She said, not quite believing herself."

"You can understand them?" Katie asked confused, "What like, word for word?"

"No, not quite like that." Vix said, still listening to the moos, neighs, and other animal voices from the barn. "More...a general meaning, I think."

Pops looked at Vix then over to the two standing by the door. "Well go on then. You know what you need to get done. Off with you then."

Katie and Earl left to go do their chores. Pops then walked over to the workbench were dicks was standing routing through some of the stuff in the box.

"You can really understand all that?" Pops asked, placing another box down on the work bench and Opening it up. This one contained largely camping gear such as stoves propane cylinders and the like.

"Not a word for word translation, no. It's more like, meetings, intentions. Some of it is just the usual squeaks and squeals and movies and such. But others are sort of, words? The general meaning of what is being said?" Vix said slightly confused. "It's really hard to explain properly."

"Hmm. I think you should really meet my wife." Pop said scratching his chin. "Her mother was a shaman. And she may have some insights for you."

"That... May not be such a bad idea. I'm still getting used to all of this, and any useful insight would be appreciated." Vix said as she spread the contents of the box across the bench.

Over the next several minutes, Vix sorting through the various bits and pieces of wrecked and soaked camping gear she found in the pile and other boxes that Pops brought over to the workbench, sorting into two smaller piles One was stuff that was broken and probably not worth salvaging, such as camp-stoves, lanterns, broken dishes and the like. The other pile was still usable pieces of camp gear and personal items from her and her friend's stuff. Most of the personal items she sorted according to who owned them and put them in their respective backpacks, which thankfully had survived most of the damage and water damage.

She eventually came across her wallet. Opening up the wallet she checked inside at the cash, credit cards, and other bits of miscellaneous paper. She paused however when she came to her drivers license. More importantly she stared at her photo and what she used to look like. Pops came over and looked over her shoulder at what she was staring at.

"Who is that?" Pops asked looking at the ID.

Vix didn't answer at first, still staring at the driver's license in her paws. Eventually she put the ID back in her wallet and put it in her bag. "Just someone I used to know. Pay it no mind." She replied sadly.

"Was he a boyfriend?" Pops innocently asked.

"No, not a boyfriend. But someone I was very close to." Vix Replied honestly as she went back to sorting through more stuff.

"I thought you said they were only three of you camping?" Pop said inquisitively, "Frank and I only found enough gear for three people. Who was this, Victor fellow? Was he also there?"

"He was there." Vix Sad as she packed more soft clothing into her bag. "But he is not there now. Or anywhere really for that matter."

"Did that Smith person shoot him to?" Pops asked.

"Yes... No... Maybe, I don't know. Let's talk about something else." Vix said in growing agitation.

Vix Continued to sort the broken items from the still good items for several minutes more. Her agitation visibly growing as the memories of the last couple of days built in her mind. She was angry at Smith for adducting her friends. She was angry at Percii for turning her into what she was now. She wasn't sure how to feel about Visalth, and her conflicting emotions did not help matters. On the one hand Visalth and Percii had saved her life. On the other hand she was now this strange amalgam of creature and person.

Pops saw that she was getting more and more upset the more she went through the wrecked camping gear. "Are you going to be OK Vix?" Pops said concerned. "This seems to be stressing you out. Maybe doing something else for a little bit would be better?"

"I'm done here anyway." Vix said, stuffing in the last piece of clothing into a Backpack. "The stuff in this pile is all wrecked. It may as well just be thrown into the garbage. All the clothing needs to be cleaned and dried. The rest of the stuff is personal possessions of mine and my friends. I don't wish to impose upon you further, but would it be possible to use your washer and dryer to clean and dry the clothing before it molds, and the rest of the stuff can I store for the time being in a safe location?"

"Sure," Pop said kindly, "I'll throw the stuff in the wash and have Kristine throw it in the dryer when it's ready. Everything else I'll find a safe location to store for the time being."

"Thank you." Vix Sad, gripping pops in a hug, before pulling away suddenly and embarrassed by the show affection. "Is there someplace I can go and get some privacy for a little bit? I need to sort through a few things. Keep my thoughts straight."

"Sure, there's an old orchard just over the hill over behind the barn. Hardly anyone goes up there anymore. You'll have plenty of privacy, and a nice view of the surrounding area as well." Pop said indicating the direction of the orchard.

"Thank you." Vix Send picking up her backpack. "Thank you for everything, I really appreciate this. You and your family have done more than you needed to."

"Just doing what any good person would when someone is hurt" Pop said.

"I know." Vix replied. "But there aren't that many good people who would help a stranger out like you have. Let alone a stranger who looks like me."

Vix noticed a propane cylinder for a camp stove she forgot to check. As she picked it up pops had one more question to ask her.

"So who is this Smith person anyway?" he asked.

Vix stiffened as the name was said. She didn't move or make a sound for a few seconds. Finally she said in a low voice. "He is a monster! He does whatever he wants without regard to anyone." She said in an almost a growl, "And he has taken my friends. And it angers me that I have to stand here and do nothing because I don't know where that bastard has scarpered off to with them!!"

As she said the last bit Vix clenched her hands. One of them was still holding the cylinder of propane. Her fingers bent and dented the metal cylinder as it was compressed by her hand. Finally the metal could take no more and the cylinder burst in a rush of air and propane. Luckily the cylinder was nearly empty of fuel, and there was no ignition source to light the cloud of propane, but it still held enough pressure to cause a small bang the startled the two of them. Vix more so from the fact that she was the cause of the mini explosion.

Dropping the ruptured container Vix backed away from the scene horrified and scared.

"I, i...I need to go." Vix said still backing to the door. She turned and hurried the few remaining yards.

"Wait Vix!" pops called out, noting the terror in her eyes. "That was just an accident. It's ok. You don't need to run away!"

"No! I'm a monster! I need to go!!" Vix hollered as she fled the shop. She needed to get out of Pops' side before he could see the tears forming in her eyes.

Without another word Vix sprinted across the yard. By the time pops reached the door all he saw was a trail of dust and an orange and white tail flash in the sun before disappearing over a hill.