Broadening Ken's Horizons - Chapter 21 - Friends and Memories (Or Lack Thereof)
Please read the disclaimers for the first 20 chapters. Collectively, they apply to this story as well.
Roger continued to peer out the window at the black SUV in Julie's driveway. Finally, the driver emerged from the vehicle. It was not anyone he recognized. The driver walked up to Julie's front door and knocked.
Julie opened the door and a short conversation ensued between Julie and the driver. Julie was smiling as she talked. At one point she pointed over towards Randy's house. When the driver turned to look over his way, Randy quickly pushed the blind closed, peering through the crack so he wouldn't be seen.
Roger continued to watch. The SUV driver turned back to Julie and they talked for another minute or so before they shook hands. The driver turned and headed down the steps as Julie waved and closed the door.
As the man approached the vehicle, he grabbed the door handle but stopped and glanced over towards Randy's house again. Roger was getting ready to bolt towards the closet and hide if he needed to. The driver simply checked his watch, paused for a couple of seconds and then climbed into the vehicle.
Roger watched as the vehicle backed out and drove down the street. He grabbed his phone and called Randy, but got no answer, so he made sure all the doors were locked and went back to the computer room to wait for Randy to return.
I awakened with a start, initially trying to remember where I was before recognizing the ceiling fan hanging above me. Rubbing the sleep from my eyes, I sat up in the middle of my living room floor. Glancing over at a side table, I saw the newspaper that I had tossed there when I came in.
I unrolled the paper and the headline of the day caught my eye. It was an announcement that Doc had perfected a method of transforming humans to furs. Doc's picture was prominently displayed along with the article. He was standing at a podium, making it likely the picture was taken during the press announcement. That explained the 'clinic' Doc was referring to and from which I was released.
I tossed the paper aside and realized I hadn't eaten all day. My stomach was rumbling. I stood up, careful not to hit the ceiling, and grabbed my cell phone and turned it on. Surprisingly, there were no new voicemail messages.
Out of curiosity, I dialed Tank's number but ended up with his voicemail. I hung up and tried Tom's cell phone with the same result. I debated calling Julie but decided hunger was now the first priority. Since I cleared the house of any food before I moved in to Tank and Tom's apartment, eating out was my only option at this point.
I squeezed out my back door, locked it and pocketed the key. I walked out to my car out of habit and stopped short. Standing next to my compact sedan, the roofline even with my crotch, I realized I was going to need a new set of wheels. Plus, my car keys were over at the apartment. Looked like I was going to be walking everywhere for a while.
As I walked into the downtown area, I started running across more pedestrians. Almost everyone, human or fur, did a double take or smiled admiringly as I passed them. Being around others brought a sense of scale to my towering figure.
I found an open restaurant with high ceilings and tall doorways and ducked inside. I grabbed a free apartment guide from a stand just inside the door and was directed to a tall table with a substantial chair. The restaurant was obviously used to serving larger patrons such as myself.
I ordered three entire meals from the menu and flipped open the apartment guide. I found several interesting places that indicated that they could accommodate larger furs. I dog-eared the pages so I could find them and call around in the morning.
After paying for my meal, I was relieved to find that my credit card still worked. To be on the safe side, I stopped by an ATM to withdraw some cash. After pulling a couple hundred dollars out of the machine, I grabbed the receipt and checked the balance. I hadn't been to work for a while and figured my paychecks had probably stopped coming in by now. I needed to be able to put down a deposit on an apartment and have something to live on until I could sell my house. Fortunately, I was OK financially.
I headed towards Tom and Tank's place, still trying to get used to all the stares and looks. Walking by a new car dealership, I noticed an entire row of big heavy-duty pickup trucks and wandered over to look at window stickers. One like Tank's truck, with all the options, had a sticker price somewhere north of $80,000. I could tell that being large was going to get expensive quickly.
As I walked across the parking lot at Tom's apartment building, I saw a familiar feminine equine heading across the parking lot towards the cars.
"Randy!" I called across the lot before he got into his car. Randy glanced up and looked understandably confused, trying to recognize me. Oddly, his face brightened in apparent recognition as I approached.
"I remember you," he smiled. "You dropped off a package for me and raced off before I could say Hi. I was so disappointed. Wait..."
As I got close and he realized how tall I was, it was obvious he had mistaken me for another fur. His face again changed to a look of confusion.
"I'm sorry," Randy said. "I thought you were someone else. Do I know you?"
"You did before I transformed," I replied, smiling at him. I thought I would string him along a bit. Suddenly, his face lit up again.
"Ken?!" he exclaimed and I nodded back. "That is one hell of a transformation. What are you doing here?"
"I came over to see if Tank or Tom are here," I replied.
"They both are. I just left them," he said, then started speaking in a more serious tone. "But there is something strange going on. Can you come over to my place and talk first, before you try to talk to Tank and Tom? Lot's of strange events happened over the last couple of weeks. I need to fill you in."
"Sure," I said, trying to look concerned, though I knew what he probably wanted to discuss.
"Hop in," Randy started as he climbed into his car. Then he realized there was no way I could fit inside. "Oh, sorry. Uhm, can you just meet me there?"
"Sure," I replied. "I know where it is. See you in a few minutes."
"Come around back and we can talk on the porch," Randy said. "My house may be a bit too small for you."
Randy winked as he drove away. I started down the street after him and jogged most of the way. It only took about three minutes.
I walked around back and sat down on the porch as Randy walked out the back door with a couple of beers in hand. He handed me one and plopped down into a chair. Then I was startled to see Roger walk out and plop down into another chair.
"Wow, Ken!" Roger exclaimed. "You've sure changed."
"I know," I replied. "This is all going to take a while to get used to. I already need to find a new place to live and get a different vehicle."
"Well, at least until you revert back to human, right?" Roger asked.
"Not sure. Stewart come up with anything on that?"
"Not that he mentioned, but I can ask him. Did you still want to change back?"
"I haven't decided yet," I replied. "So, Randy said he had some information he wanted to discuss."
"Right," Randy replied, leaning forward in his chair and speaking in a more hushed tone.
Randy related the events that had occurred to himself and Roger over the past couple of weeks. Roger explained about his capture and escape. Randy related the conversation they had with Julie, then proceeded to tell me how his recent visit with Tank and Tom went. Roger concluded with the story of the SUV that stopped by Julie's house earlier in the day.
"Both Tank and Tom indicated that they had simply checked into a body enhancement clinic for a couple of weeks and now they're back home," Randy said. "To be honest, with all the events we've been through, Julie's, Tom's and Tank's stories just don't sound plausible."
"We think maybe they've all been brainwashed," Roger added. "To be honest, we're both confused and still a bit scared. Does any of this make sense to you, or are you going to tell us that you voluntarily checked into one of these transformation clinics on your own and now you're listening to a totally weird pair of furs blabbering total nonsense?"
"No, I believe you," I replied quietly. Randy and Roger both breathed a collective sigh of relief and sat back in their chairs.
"Hey, you two," a female voice chimed in. I hadn't even noticed Julie walk over. She pulled up a chair and sat down, turning to look me over. "Who's your new friend?"
Randy and Roger looked at each other, then both looked at me with a grin on their faces.
"Why don't you introduce yourself?" Roger asked, winking at me.
I stood up and walked over to Julie, towering several feet over her. She looked almost straight up just to see me. I leaned down and took her paw in my hand, giving the back of her hand a small kiss. Then I stood straight up and gave my most stately bow. "It is a pleasure to meet you, ma'am."
"Same here, I'm sure," she replied. "So, do you have a name?"
"It's one you are probably familiar with," I replied. "The name is Ken Hammonds."
"Ken!" Julie exclaimed, jumping up out of her chair and hugging me around the thighs. Then she stood back a few feet to look me over again. "Wow! You're so.... tall. Why did you transform? Did you go to one of those new transformation clinics?"
"I'm honored that you are thrilled," I replied, sitting back down on the porch and crossing my legs. "And yes, I went to the local clinic. Don't you remember us discussing it?"
"No, not really," she replied after a long period of thought. "But I've been a bit out of it today. You look absolutely awesome. I can't believe it. Oh, that reminds me... be right back."
Julie jumped up and ran back to her house. A few seconds later, she was back. She tossed me a set of keys and plopped back down on her chair. "Thought you and Tank might want his truck keys back. I'm glad they didn't tow it off while it sat in front of my house the whole time I was in the hospital."
"Yeah, I heard about that," I replied. "How are you doing?"
"Never better. They said I was lucky someone found me as soon as they did. Randy actually came over and called the ambulance for me. He's a lifesaver."
"Yeah, that was fortunate," I replied, looking over at Randy and winking. "Have you told Tom about all this? I'm sure he was worried."
"Oh, he and Tank went to a bodybuilding clinic. They just got back from that today. I called Tom and he said the office will be back open on Monday and he wants me there if I'm ready to go back to work. I can't wait."
"Great. It's good to be busy, if you're up to it."
"The doctor said I was just fine to head back into the office, no problem," Julie replied. "Well, I hate to just drop in and leave, but I'm tired and need some sleep. You need a place to crash, Ken?"
I looked over at Randy and he winked back at me.
"Sure, I appreciate it. I'll be over in a few minutes," I said.
"OK, I'll leave the back door unlocked," Julie replied. "Come on over when you're ready."
She climbed out of her chair and headed back into her house. She looked about as tired as I felt. I'm sure that Doc had her knocked out like Tom, Tank and I were. Hopefully, tomorrow all this drowsiness would wear off.
"So, I guess the big question on our minds, Ken," Randy finally spoke. "Do you think that Roger and I are safe to go back to our normal lives? I don't really see any reason why this Doctor Phillips would still need to chase us. I mean, he's announced his transformation clinics and everything. I assumed that's why he wanted all of us - to brainwash us to not tell about Tank's and your transformations."
I knew there was more to the story at least for Tom, Tank and myself, but I wasn't ready to tell Roger and Randy that part of it. It still bugged me that they captured Julie and erased part of her memory, though. She wasn't in the room when Doc told us about his super-species project.
"When Tom, Tank and I were captured, the doctor told the three of us that he was going to have to wipe parts of our memories of the ordeal," I explained. "I guess he was doing that to cover his ass so that we wouldn't go out and blab anything to the cops about how we were kidnapped. The only thing I can figure is that the doctor didn't want Julie to refute our stories to anyone, so he also captured her and obviously wiped part of her memory as well, to make it all look clean."
"So, I guess the doctor would probably still want Roger," Randy replied. "He was captured, even though he escaped, and would obviously know enough about all this to run to the police."
"That's what I'm figuring," I said. "Sorry, Roger, but you probably aren't in the clear yet."
"Neither am I, most likely," Randy added. "Given that my cell phone was returned to me, supposedly from my phone carrier. I'm sure they at least suspect me, since someone obviously found my phone taped to the top of one of their trucks. That and the guy apparently asking Julie where I live earlier today."
"More than likely," I replied. "Does Julie know Roger is staying with you?"
"Yes," Randy sighed. "Roger and I took breakfast over to her this morning after she was dropped off. Looks like we both have to hide out for a while longer, Roger. We obviously aren't safe here anymore. Now where are we going to hide?"
"I was going to look at apartments, tomorrow," I said. "Maybe if I can get into one pretty quick, you two could hang with me for a bit until we figure out where everything stands."
"Good idea, Ken," Randy said. "If you don't mind a couple of roommates for a while."
"No problem," I said, pushing myself up off the porch and stretching. "Just keep your doors locked tonight and we'll hope that nothing happens. Tomorrow, I'll get up early and start calling around. Once I find a good place, I'll sneak both of you over in Tank's truck. Have some clothing and stuff packed up and ready to go."
"Uhm, Ken," Randy started. "I think we'd both feel a lot safer if you were in the house with us. That is, if you don't mind."
"Probably a good idea," I replied. "Let me go over and peek in on Julie and let her know what's going on and I'll be right back."
"Thanks, Ken," Roger added. "For everything, I mean."
I patted Roger's shoulder. "Not a problem. That's what friends are for. Be back in a few."
I wandered over to Julie's back porch and pushed the door open. I did my usual crawl through the door routine and stooped once inside to keep from crashing into her ceiling. She heard me come in and met me in the living room.
"Hey, listen, I know I said I'd stay at your place tonight," I explained. "But Randy and Roger wanted me to stay over there tonight because, uhm, we're going to watch a movie and we'll probably be up late. Hope you don't mind."
"Oh, not at all," she replied. "I'm so sleepy, I wouldn't have noticed if you were here. But thanks for letting me know. I'll leave the door unlocked in case you change your mind."
"No, go ahead and lock it. If I need anything, I'll come over and tap on the door."
"If I sleep as well as I think I'm going to, you'll need to do more than tap."
"I have big hands."
"I'm anxious to see what else you have that's big," she winked. "But not tonight."
"I understand," I said, winking back. "See you tomorrow. Randy, Roger and I might be heading out early to run some errands. We'll probably take the truck."
"OK. Let me know when you guys get back. I'm running to the store to stock back up on food. Maybe we can all have a nice cookout."
"Sounds like a plan. Good night."
"Good night," Julie replied, standing on the tips of her paws to reach up for a kiss.
We exchanged a brief kiss and I crawled out the door, hearing her lock it after I left. I walked back over to Randy's and crawled in his back door, much to the amusement of Randy and Roger. It was an exercise I was starting to get pretty good at, but also already getting tired of. I hoped to have that problem taken care of in the morning with a new apartment with oversized doors and tall ceilings.
"I'm afraid I don't have any adequate furniture for you to sleep on," Randy apologized. He was already dressed in a long nightshirt.
"The floor works for me," I replied.
"OK, night-night'" he said, blowing me a kiss.
"G'night, Randy," I replied as he turned out the hall light and clopped off to bed.
I tossed my clothes onto the couch, turned off the lamp and spread out on the living room floor, quickly dozing off to sleep.
Later in the night, I had to get up to take a piss. I reached up and turned on the lamp and carefully got up and stooped my way to the bathroom, crawling through the door. I was getting better at controlling my cock. It was already starting to unsheath as I kneeled down in front of the toilet.
After a really long piss, which I accomplished this time without nearly overflowing the toilet, I reached down to flush. Before I could press the handle, I heard noises towards the back of the house. I figured it might be Randy or Roger but decided to quietly go find out for sure.
I crawled back out of the bathroom door and stood up as far as I could in the hallway. I eased down the hall, trying to keep my hoofsteps as silent as I could.
When I came into the living room, I saw the back door closing with a slam. Stooping under the low ceilings and avoiding furniture made it difficult to get to the back door quickly. I finally made it and swung the door open. I couldn't see anybody in the darkness but heard a vehicle out front pull away and accelerate down the street.
"Roger and Randy!" I whispered to myself. I scrambled back to the bedroom and found both of them in bed together. I squeezed through the door to check on them and found them both quietly snoring under the covers.
I crept back out of the room to avoid waking them and returned to the living room and sat on the floor, leaving the lamp on. I was going to be ready the next time this happened, so I forced myself to stay awake to keep guard until the other two woke up.
No use waking them up and worrying them in the middle of the night, I thought to myself. Once they were up, I figured I would just sneak them out to Tank's truck and take them with me apartment hunting.
In the middle of the morning I heard someone shuffle down the hall to the bathroom and shut the door.
"Damn it, Roger," I heard Randy mutter to himself. "I wish he would put the seat up and flush when he was done."
I blushed a bit, remembering that I was the culprit. I heard the toilet flush and the water run in the sink for a bit before the door creaked back open. The sound of hooves clomping down the hall let me know Randy was about to round the corner into the living room. I put on my most disarming smile for him.
Randy shuffled into the living room, still rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. When he noticed me sitting on the floor, he jumped.
"Shit!" he exclaimed, clutching his chest. "Who the hell are you and what are you doing in my house?"
"It's me. Ken," I said, noticing the look of both fear and confusion in his face.
"The only Ken I know is a human," Randy said as he glanced over my still naked body. "And you are definitely not human."
Whoever had slipped into the house last night must have gotten to Randy and wiped his memory, I thought to myself. I was quickly running out of friends who knew what was really going on. My only hope now was Roger, who had just walked up behind Randy.
"Who is that?" Roger asked once he saw me on the floor.