FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

CHAPTER SIX

Moving Onward

My thoughts persisted on Sandy. The patch of forested area behind the Ingles opened up into expansive farm fields after I crossed over Weaver Rd. It was here my thoughts lingered on the past, what I had accepted, and my future. The pungent smell of chicken feces and other farmland odors was still strong here, telling me that at the very least, some part of the old world had persisted.

I knew it was highly likely, though, that the chicken farms here, just north of Blairsville, were raided and long since gone of their stock; if not gone entirely, then dead from lack of nutrition, though nature always found a way. This was summarily verified as I came across a flock of White Plymouth Rock hens, with one or two Barred Plymouth Rock roosters visible inspecting their charges.

I guess Jurassic Park was right, I thought as I heard them clucking the distance. The rooster closest to me, probably around fifty yards from where I stood cresting a lush green hill, staring me down cautiously. If I was any other beast I may be tempted to hunt them down.

I heard Broosura grunt inside my thoughts. You are a different beast, they reminded me. I was silent as I reflected on their truth, my eyes locking with those of the roosters. I could see them this far away, clearly, like a hawk could see its prey from hundreds of feet away. My stomach grumbled softly. And we are hungry, aren’t we?

You’re entirely confusing, I remarked to Broosura. One hand, sophisticated, and on the other a primal beast. Am I entirely sure I didn’t just make you up in a fever dream?

I heard their laughs at the edge of my thoughts, gentle and forgiving. After so long in the void, I could not even tell you the truth. Though, you are me, are you not?

And I am you, I finished, though did I believe it? I thought I did. It was the only sure thing to grip upon in this strange, absolutely crazy new world. My thoughts then drifted to Sandy, and the pack she was a part of.

I had been standing in the field for five minutes by the time my thoughts had drifted enough to return to myself. I blinked, my eyes having been locked on the roosters so distant from myself, and for a moment I saw the chickens return to a sense of normalcy. My head turned and scanned the area.

There was a heavy, lingering scent of chicken waste in the air. Over the hill to the northwest I could barely make out the chicken coop that had once stored the many hundreds that were now not far from me, free and liberated from their prior captivity. I sniffed deeper, smelling the scent of something else; household and commercial waste, like a trash dump, further to the northwest I could tell. I knew what that was, I had brought trash to the transfer station off of Deep Farm South Rd on more than one occasion before I had bought into a trash service. That was long ago, though, and my mind drifted away from that forgotten time.

Behind me to the southeast I could scent the permeation of water from a healthy stream. There was something else, too, intertwining with the scent of the water, but with all the other smells around me I couldn’t readily make it out. My ears perked and scanned instinctively despite my inability to identify the scent. The sun was rising on the horizon and, despite myself, I still felt the lingering urge to move forward. My head turned, examining the flock of chickens again. Was I hungry enough to hunt?

This could be your one chance for easy prey, Broosura reminded me. I grunted audibly at their insistence.

The chickens had already seen me, so any intrusive movements toward them would likely scatter. I licked my chops as I pondered, my stomach twisting in its hunger the more I stared. I was long enough away that I could probably sprint to catch one or two in my maw. That might be enough for an easy meal. Broosura gently reminded me of the advantages of my body, that I could digest such easy prey, and that I should likely do my utmost to sate my hunger.

Remembering the bag around my neck, I slid it off into the grassy hill I stood on, then proceeded to slink further toward the flock. The rooster began to cry out in earnest a warning seeing such a massive predator approach. I sped up, rising, rushing and in my sprint I opened my maw. Broosura was in full control as my body tilted to the left and right, jaws snapping down on one, two, and three chickens. I rushed back toward my hill, munching my prey with little consideration before my full awareness fronted again.

By the time I regained control, I felt the last of the chicken slink down my throat. Water, insisted Broosura, and remembering the smell of the stream earlier I picked up the bag I set down before, replacing it around my neck and proceeding to the southeast. Upon reaching it, I went through some bushes, along with some particularly nasty thorn bushes that I eventually went around. Bending forward and crouching beside a lonesome tree nearest the bank, I dipped my muzzle into the surprisingly clear and refreshing waters of Little Creek for a drink.

After a few, very refreshing gulps and my eyelids almost closing, my ears shot up. A sound had crossed my senses, one that was barely audible on the gentle wind of mid-morning. It wasn’t the chickens, for the chickens had already scattered far into the northwest. Instead, it had been another sound, like…

A person screaming! I realized, my whole body perking up. I looked to the southeast, seeing as Little Creek sloped back up into a hill that went into a field of uncontrolled wheat grass. Within them were several hay bales left to rot after the apocalypse, and as my head turned slightly and eyes scanned sporadically the view, I noticed one of them moving. There!

In an instant I bolted, leaping across Little Creek with an ease as I relished my body's newfound abilities, running at a gallop as the force of my paws against the soil released loud thuds each time they impacted in sequence further propelling me forward. My tail flew behind me, my eyes locked to the one hay bale I had seen that had been halfway across the field—now with my running gallop it was merely only half that distance.

You may not like what you see, Broosura warned me gently. I took in their advice as my gallop slowed, but the screaming had not. While I wanted to continue moving quickly, I felt them resisting, and as a result my new body refused to go any faster. There will be trouble, they said to me in a way of explanation.

Fine, I relented, approaching the hay bale then, slowly moving around its circumference as the form of one of our kind came into view. What the…

It had a strange mixture of vibrant orange fur that was slowly transitioning grey, similar to how Sandy and their pack looked. When I fully managed to trot, I began to walk in slow steps as my eyes trailed the body of the one screaming and thrashing against nothing—nothing but themselves.

They looked like me in form; they had slightly curved horns, and there was soft patches of brown on their fur along their underside. They were thrashing on their side and rolling to their back, exposing their underbelly, and I immediately saw that they were a he. Their hind legs were trembling controllably as was their tail, meanwhile their forelegs were gripping the sides of their snout as their head thrashed back and forth, which was causing the rotting hay bale to jumble.

What is wrong with their eyes?! I asked Broosura mentally. There was no reply as I felt both of us watching the vibrant greens of a once beautiful set of eyes transitioning to grey, as if the very life was fading. They thrashed more, rolling to their other side, and I immediately saw a fresh pair of bite and claw marks on their haunches. As their screams intensified, I heard their vocal sounds transitioning into something more animalistic and primal.

“What’s wrong?! Can you hear me?” I asked, raising my voice as best as I could over their screams. All at once their voice ceased, taking in a deep gasp as their eyes locked to mine. There was a look of utter terror in them, but it wasn’t directed at me.

“Run!” they said, tears welling in their eyes as the grey mist began to overtake the vibrancy of the green iris’s. “I can’t—I can’t hold b-b-b-b..rrrrr…..rrAAAAAAAA!”

The moment the grey mist overtook their eyes, their fur transitioned quickly to a matted grey, and then their shaking stopped. For a moment their body went limp, the trashing ceasing as they laid as if dead against the ground as their form dropped onto it. My eyes were wide as I watched the sudden progression, my breathing quickened.

What if this is what happened to Sandy and the others, I pondered, my thoughts somber as I observed what I thought was now a corpse. My eyes trailed to the bite and claws marks, then to my own healing claw gashes on my body's shoulder. I looked back, a newfound fear creeping into my perspective. What if this is my fate?

You’re in danger, Broosura warned sternly.

I don’t understan—

My thoughts were cut short as I instinctively jumped back when the body of the poor soul, now grey and menacing, spurred to life. It lifted and twisted unnaturally as its jaws widened as if to strike. By the time it bit at me, it only bit down on air, and by then I was fully prepared for it. It lunged toward me and I roared in warning, lashing my front paw out and easily striking its form down. There was a loud thud and escape of air from it as it impacted, and it took a few moments for it to recover before it stood on all fours.

“What’s wrong? Can you hear me?” the beast stated in a twisted mimic of my prior voice. My eyes darted open at this, and upon it seeing that reaction, it pressed forward menacingly. “W-What’s…w-w-wrong?” it said again, the voice deeper, broken like a cassette tape skipping. It prowled toward me like a house cat stalking prey.

Did you see the bite mark? Broosura finally said, my body moving back a step for each one the grey beast took. Don’t let it bite you. This one isn’t natural. It didn’t change by choice.

And what, Sandy and the rest did?! I replied, a slight panic rising in my chest. What do you mean? This is something more than an animal?!

Yes, Broosura replied, and all my focus suddenly fronted toward the new threat.

“It doesn’t have to be this way,” I growled back toward it. The beast tilted its head slightly.

“It d-doesn’t…. W-what’s wrong?” it replied in the same, twisted mimicry as before.

Unlike Sandy or the pack, there was no hint of consciousness or awareness in the beast. No twinkle or sparkle in the eye that gave evidence to anything before or ever existing. It was just there, a blank greyness, void of thought or, I realized, any sort of mercy. It began to open its maw, foaming at the mouth as it dribbled saliva uncontrollably.

I don’t run from challenges, I affirmed, recalling how I stood up to the Alpha. I won’t run from this. If it wants a fight, then let it.

Broosura’s warning repeated in my mind, but it was softer than before, drifting. I felt my body tensing for battle as I ceased taking steps back, lowering myself as I allowed my natural state of mind to overtake my thoughts. I felt Broosura fronting—it was their body, after all, that I inhabited, or so I was told by them. I was merely a spectator, with little input elsewise but my willingness to not be accosted by a monster. I didn’t know why I wanted to stay and fight, something inside myself told me I should have ran, but that wasn’t who I was now.

I saw it spend a moment observing my new posture, mimicking that as well as its eyes trailed my own. We both began to pace in a circle, bodies pointed toward one another as we side-stepped the invisible boundaries of our new ring of death. I knew intimately that’s what this was, a fight to the death, and there was no avoiding it. I was either going to be prey, or the predator, and in this new world I resented being anything but the predator.

I took the initiative and, with a crouch and buildup of energy, I pounced forward with jaws open. The beasts eyes widened as if not having anticipated my action, screeching out an unholy cry as my body lunged towards its side, faking another attack, then lunged toward it quickly and struck it hard with two swipes of my frontal paws. It slammed into the ground into a roll, but I didn’t let it recover as I trailed it quickly in two leaps.

I landed upon it as it began to emit another screech, my jaws landing on its neck and clamping down as my vision turned red. I wanted blood, its blood, and I tasted it as soon as its voice was cut off by the power of my jaws breaking its neck. I twisted my head, hearing a satisfied snap, and I reared upon with both paws on its corpse and roared in triumph.

This is my kill! I felt myself say in the primal echo I unleashed through the roar. This is my prey!

Blood dripped freely from my maw as I looked around me for challengers, my ears shifting in all directions. The surroundings were quiet save for the wind, not even the birds were singing after I had unleashed my dominant song. Nothing around me moved, not even in the treeline or cresting the hill. Only the tall wheat grass swayed gently, only the treetops yielding softly, as another gust of wind shepherd in a solace around me. Then, and only then, did I hear the birds begin their songs again.

My mind was lost to my primal self as I leaned down and began to bite into the flesh of my kill. I savored the taste of fresh meat, somewhere at the back of my mind I knew it had once been someone, a person who thought and was as willful as myself. Somehow they had been weaker than I, somehow they had the worst luck of the draw. Now, in the baleful monster they had become that had usurped what they were, I knew I had given them a rightful mercy.

In the sliver of awareness that gripped my mind, I watched myself continue to take chunks of sinew and muscle with each animalistic bite into my kill. A part of me felt a slight horror at watching the scene unfold.

What have I become? I heard my inner self ask. Am I monster too? What about the choice I made?

Calm, ordered Broosura as my emotions threatened to overtake me. I felt them move my body at their will, taking in more of the kill, and despite myself I found the fresh meat absolutely divine to my taste buds as it slipped down my throat. This is the way of things, this is what you chose, they continued to remind me as my emotions ebbed. You gave yourself to me, and I to you, and now we are what we should be.

I wanted to protest, to bring up the prior morals of my humanity, but the visions of the green field of grass and my ultimate decision replayed in my mind. I surrendered then, realizing the extent of my decision, and I gave up my futile protest. Broosura was right, I had chosen this. It was either this, or pretend forever I was something I wasn’t, trapped in a body that would have no way of returning to what I once was.

It does… it does taste right, I thought, fronting partially, joining them in the feast as both our awareness sat side by side inside my mind. It was a comforting touch, a warm and welcoming embrace.

See? They said as we swallowed another chunk of flesh, chewing into bone now. This is right. This is what we are. They were in pain, suffering, and we ended that suffering. Now our act of devouring redeems them to the afterlife.

The way they explained it felt nothing but right to me. It made sense, it had to. I relented further, sliding more alongside them as our awareness molded into one another. I regained some control of my functions and, eventually, I felt myself dig in again. I tasted the warm blood and flesh, felt my jaws chew and swallow, and I lifted my head high as I opened my bloody maw. It all felt so right.

I felt myself thrumm, and as I leaned down to take another bite, I stopped as my ears shot to attention. In the struggle to reconcile my moral compass of what I had done and was doing, I had been mistakenly not paying attention to my surroundings. I heard a soft rustle to my left and my head turned in that direction. My eyes widened as I settled upon what I saw.

The Alpha was there, standing proud and tall, just a few yards from me. His eyes landed on mine, but he didn’t growl or contest. He merely snorted as he uttered a soft growl and, from the distant treeline, emerged the pack from before; the Matriarch emerged first from the treeline, followed closely behind by their cub and two older sons. Then, behind them as my eyes focused on her, emerged Sandy.

There was a deep feeling of longing that rose in my chest and, as I quickly looked to the Alpha and noticed them approaching with their pack, I hesitantly moved off my kill and away from it as he approached. His head was low, lower than normal, and I saw something in his expression as if he was making sure I wouldn’t challenge him. Even if I wanted to, I disregarded him with a shake of my head and mane, and my eyes returned to Sandy’s as their eyes locked on mine.

Almost at once we both leapt into a run toward one another. We bridged the distance quickly and our heads met as we slowed, purrs and thrumms emitting from both of us as the feeling of longing and need rose higher inside me. We caressed one another like greeting felines, rubbing our bodies and heads vigorously like long-lost lovers.

I only saw a glimpse of the Alpha and their pack, circling my kill as they allowed the youngest to take from the flesh first, then in sequence the rest. I was so lost in the acts of affection I didn’t notice the Alpha approach a moment later, having a large leg in its maw. We both stopped, looking upward at him as he snorted at me, eyes training on Sandy briefly as he dropped the meat in front of us.

I leaned down to take it in my maw as I heard him growl softly, but without him making a move to stop me, I instead moved my head toward Sandy in offering. She gave a happy yip as she leaned toward me, her maw open and gripping the leg as our snouts touched, and I released the leg into her care. The Alpha turned back toward the kill then, and I was left with Sandy as she took the leg and placed it on the ground, biting into the fresh meat with an animalistic intensity.

Everything to its purpose, and everything to its need, Broosura said to me, and I felt their awareness gently comfort mine. This is what you wanted, wasn’t it?

Yes, I replied, realizing it was what I had always wanted since I laid eyes on her. To be back with Sandy, to see her again. I didn’t know why, nor did I question it, it had simply been a need. I watched her, gently panting as I sat like a proud lion watching their lioness take from a kill. This is what I wanted, I affirmed.

The sun waned in the sky as I watched Sandy eventually join the pack in their feast of the corpse. I moved up to sit beside the Alpha, and to my surprise they regarded me with what I felt was a sense of approval rather than caution. As I watched his pack feast, I felt something lap on my forehead. I sat rigid for a moment, eyes moving up as my head stayed still, and I felt it again and again. It was then I realized the Alpha was grooming my neck and mane.

He’s accepted you, Broosura remarked with some approval.

I sat dutifully there on my hunches as I felt the Alpha groom my wayward mane. I didn’t move for fear of ending the special moment, the moment that signaled that I was no longer alone in the world. I belonged to something, I realized. I belonged to their pack, and the Alpha had approved of my gesture of permitting them the kill.

By the time the pack had their fill, I watched as the Alpha took what remained of the corpse and ate it in solidarity, but not entirely alone. As Sandy made her way to my side and greeted me with a firm headbutt, I watched as the Matriarch began to groom the Alpha as she lay beside him as he feasted. The other two older adolescents sat on the opposite end of the corpse, grooming each other and the cub that sat between them. I looked down to Sandy as she laid at my side.

This feels right, I said with happiness. This feels perfect, like all things should be.

As I laid beside Sandy and our bodies pressed into one another, I laid my head across hers as we relaxed. Comfortable, my mind drifted back toward before, when the person that once was, was screaming, and then screamed its warning at me. Broosura’s warning about the bite replayed in my head, and my mind toyed with the significance of it. My eyes drifted over the pack; they were all grey-skinned like the monster had been, all having the same coloration and milky-greyness of eyes, though all of theirs—and Sandy’s included—had a sparkle of intelligence to them.

Is it possible that their bites could be deadly? I asked my headmate kindly. My mind crafting scenarios to explain everything I experienced. Once such a scenario ate at my mind, pawing at me for attention. What if it was them who bit the poor soul?

Anything is possible, ruminated Broosura softly. I see in this pack the hallmarks of a choice. What I saw in the beast before was slavery in its worst, possible form.

I tasted the revelation on the tongue of my thoughts. It felt wrong somehow, tasted icky and disgusting, but there was truth to it. Mimicking my thoughts, I licked my bloody maw, and I was surprised to find myself continuing the gesture as I instinctually began to clean my maw. If they bit that poor creature and caused it to turn, did that mean they could also bite me and do the same?

My thoughts were interrupted as I felt Sandy move her head, I absently moved my own to allow it. I then heard her growl playfully, and before I knew it she was biting at my shoulder playfully. I leaped up instantly and back, startled, ears front and eyes toward her. She apparently took this as permission to continue, crouching as their eyes and irises widened as if a cat was ready to start its bout of play. The thoughts of the threat of the bite loomed in my mind, I stepped back a step.

Before I could usher in any further thoughts of the moment, Sandy leaped toward me as she elicited a playful growl and ran toward me. I yipped instinctively and turned to run, circling the pack as they absently watched. I saw the Alpha only clance up a moment from their meal before huffing and returning it, the Matriarch rolling their eyes as she also returned to her grooming of her mate. It was the two adolescents and the pup that did not stay where they were.

As Sandy rounded the imaginary circle of the pack chasing me, all three of the Alpha’s children joined in, chasing faster than she as I looked back in alarm. I yipped louder and tried to run faster, my mind somehow set on circling when I screamed at myself to turn any other way. As my circled tightened and Sandy approached, it was the pup that caught me off guard. They slammed into my side with a force I couldn’t have otherwise imagined them having, dislodging my balance and sending me tumbling.

I heard playful yips and yowls as the two adolescents joined the attack, pouncing on both my tail and midsection in my moment of weakness and pinning me. They began to bite into me, not enough to pierce, but enough to elicit quick yips of pain. I flailed, but my instincts were quick to reduce the power of my limbs as I tried to dislodge them to no avail. When I felt the pup firmly bite and pierce my shoulder, however, I screeched a whine.

Sandy was the one who roared in panic, followed by the Matriarch as her presence quickly showed itself near my vision rushing to my aid. She growled low as the poor pup pounced off my shoulder, almost escaping before I saw the Matriarch's maw shoot down and grip its neck firmly, lifting the excited pup up and away from me. I felt the two adolescent beasts lift themselves quickly at a secondary growl from the Matriarch as she took the pup, and them, back to their Alpha and set them down.

I’ve been bitten! I thought in a panic, the memory of the beast from before screaming as whatever infection had quickened its demise undid its very soul. Just as I was about to lose myself in panic, I felt Sandy headbutt me firmly as my eyes focused on them. They moved to my side and began to lick where the pup had drawn blood, and for some reason I began to calm.

W-what happens now?! I thought as my flaring emotions began to calm. Am I…is it…oh no…what if…

Isn’t this what you wanted? I heard Broosura say gently. It doesn’t matter anymore, does it?

But I— But what if— I could—

Despite my calming emotions, my mind was still racing, yet through them as I turned my head, I saw with my one facing eye Sandy gently tending to my wound. She was persistent, comforting, one paw holding me down as she laid down and settled herself on my body. Her eyes met mine as she licked, and in them I found the courage to let my thoughts settle.

No, I suppose it doesn’t, I admitted finally, my widened eyes softening as I took her visage in. There was no hope, anyway, was there?

There is always hope, little one, Broosura comforted. You now have a pack, a home, and a world to call your own. You’ve accepted the choice. Surely you won’t strike back at a pupling in anger, will you?

N-no… No I couldn’t. I wouldn’t. I affirmed, and I was sure I wouldn’t.

Then don’t fight it, Broosura said gently. Don’t try to fight it. As you did with me, accept it. It doesn’t have to be a struggle.

I slowly began to feel a deep tiredness swell in my chest. I yawned wide, and at the display, Sandy yawned too before resuming her gentle licks. She ceased only a moment later, licking her chops, leaning in to nuzzle me. I reciprocated as she laid her head down, eyes focused and attentive toward mine. I felt myself smile, huffing gently before laying my head down. Broosura was right, this didn’t have to be a struggle. None of it did.

Sleep, someone said, and for the first time it wasn’t Broosura’s voice I heard. My head shot up instantly, ears attentive toward Sandy as my eyes set on her. But she was already in the process of falling asleep, gently breathing in her relaxed state. My head turned the other way, toward the pack, and my eyes then fell on the Matriarch’s.

Sleep, came the voice again, and as her eyes bore into mine, I realized something equally exciting and terrifying. Sleep now, the deeply feminine voice said in my mind, as if a command irrefutable by any logic I could bring against it.

I didn’t think at that moment, instead my ears lowered, and my head joined them as I laid it back on the comforting wheat grass. I let out a long huff of air, exhaling the tension, and obeying the voice that had intruded my thoughts. I closed my eyes, relenting to the tiredness.

Good, came the voice again, approving and satisfied, as my thoughts drifted into an abyss.

~~~***~~~

“You’re here! You’re finally here!”

The voice of someone young pierced my mind as the cloudy shadows dissipated from my consciousness. When my eyes opened, I was standing in a field of wheat grass that seemed to span forever. The stalks bowed gently from an imaginary gust that blew, but one that I couldn’t feel, and when I looked toward the source of the voice I saw the same young pup from before. Instead of grey colored fur, however, they sported a vibrant purple that contrasted with a white underbelly. Their eyes were wide, blue in color, and joyful as they looked toward me in anticipation.

“I’m…here?” I asked, tilting my head. “Where is here?”

His expression scrunched as if confused, looking toward his left as I followed the gaze. Standing there was the Alpha, though instead of grey fur, they sported a healthy black coat throughout their body. Their eyes were a stark golden as they examined me with a snort.

“About time you came around, David,” the Alpha said with a cocky grin. “I didn’t believe you would, but Judy said you’d come around.” He sneered, a half-cock to his eyes of amusement. “Or is it Paul now?”

My eyes widened, a sense of joy and elation of familiarity flowing through me. Memories of my human life before flooded me and I stepped forward two paces. “John?” I breathed in disbelief. “John Wilson, is that you?”

I saw him shake his dark mane and head, huffing. “Nah, that was me before,” he corrected, snorting. “They call me Stallion now, or at least the wife does.”

I heard a giggle of a feminine voice similar to the one who had commanded me into dreams. I looked further to the left, and I saw the Matriarch there. She was a vibrant white in fur coloration, a stark contrast to Stallion’s beside her. Her eyes were a beautiful blue. I realized that had to be Judy, and I tilted my head as the word almost uttered from my lips.

“Jewel,” she said, quickly cutting off my attempt to identify her from her previous name. “It’s Jewel now. And it’s so good to see you again, Paul.”

“L-likewise, Miss Jewel,” I said, tilting my head gently.

The surreal nature of the dream flooded my senses as I looked further left, seeing the two adolescent beasts beside Jewel. The first was a deep seated brown, with a black mane and brown eyes. The other was a brighter tone of brown, with a softer chocolate mane and green eyes. They must be who once was Bobbie and Timothy, though they didn’t speak as they shyly looked at their parents. My mind wondered at the impossibility of this vivid meeting, when the most apparent question came to mind.

“Where is Sandy?”

Stallion snorted. “Your girl?” he asked, then motioned behind me. I turned fully around, and standing right close to me was Sandy herself.

Her coat was a beautiful sky-blue, with a mane of white hair and deep-seated blue eyes. The breath was taken from me as she approached cautiously, her eyes sparkling as she gazed deeply into mine.

“It worked,” she breathed, smiling wide. I didn’t find it unnerving at all that her fangs were displayed, I instead found it rather attractive. “I knew you’d come around, Paul. I just knew it.”

“Sandy?” I breathed, moving closer, bridging the gap as our snouts touched. “Why…why I do…what is your name, then?”

“Oh, that’s not important,” she said, a soft blush playing on her inner ears. “I prefer the name you gave me. Sandy is fine.”

I nodded, our snouts rubbing gently. We stood there for a moment in appreciative silence, then I asked, “What did you mean by it working?”

Her eyes softened, twinkling beautifully. “Don’t you remember me?” she said softly, her tongue gently brushing my lips as she spoke. “I said I’d never abandon you. Don’t you remember?”

“You’re her,” I breathed, and my emotions boiled over.

I pressed in as our lips touched, we kissed deeply as our bodies met. Behind us I heard the pup cry, “Eeeewww!”, as the others chuckled softly. So flustered was I that I ended the kiss prematurely, but Sandy persisted for a moment longer, and I was dragged further into the kiss as I adapted to the odd physiology of our new beast-like bodies in the kiss. It felt good, it felt right, and when we broke my eyes remained closed in longing of the departure before softly fluttering open.

“I—...I don’t understand,” I breathed, our eyes locked, snouts close still. “W-what is this place?”

“It’s the Link,” Sandy said, tiling her head as she appraised me. “Or so our ghosts told us. You have one too, don’t you? The one that originally owned the bodies?”

“H-how did—” I started, but she cut me off.

“It’s okay, don’t be alarmed,” she said, bringing a paw up to gently stroke my cheek. “This isn’t a dream. Well, not in the traditional sense. It’s how they used to communicate. All of us here chose a closer connection with our ghosts. And because you’re here too, that means you also did. These bodies? They’re not ours, we’re just guests, free rent and all.”

I chuckled at the usage of the phrase. Broosura had given the strong impression that I was an after-thought in their body. My acceptance of them had meant I could stay. My thoughts lingered on the darker implications of that, of which I had almost experienced, but instead I smiled. I smiled because someone else had gone through the same thing as me, and the voice in my head wasn’t a fabrication.

“Yes, I—...yes, I understand, I had a choice to make, and I chose to work with mine,” I replied, hesitant at first to reveal, but considering the situation the doubts ceased. “I was given a choice. I.. didn’t want to cease to exist.”

Sandy smiled, nodding in understanding. “There is something you should know, though,” she began, gently. My ears focused on her intently as she continued. “You’re one of us now, do you understand? When you wake up, you’ll wake up differently, but you’ll still be there. Your ghost will have full control of you. There’s no going back, Paul. But everytime they dream, we’ll all be here, and we’ll be together.”

I recalled the bite, the fear of it, the warning. I nodded, my eyes briefly sombering as I understood the implications. On the one paw, I saw the evidence even before I was aware of something else. That open-mindedness was perhaps my downfall in this affair. Had I been more cautious and aware, more eager to save what remained of myself, maybe I could have avoided the bite. I turned my head briefly from Sandy as her paw gently caressed my lower jaw, one eye on the young pup.

He was eager and bouncing, looking between his father and me, innocent and not really understanding. I smiled and, in that moment, despite everything to the contrary, I forgave him. I looked back to Sandy.

“Did you know about this before?” I asked.

She nodded as she resumed her petting of my cheek. “We did, we speculated about it. There was…there were reports going back ten years that supported the idea of a ghost utilizing methods that created these Ukentian bodies. They’re ancient, Paul, so ancient that we think their kind existed well into the Permian age. Do you know what that is?”

I nodded gently, but then shook my head unsure. I gave a quizzical fold of my left ear as I tried to remember. My geology and prehistoric history was admittedly not the best up to part with what it should be. Sandy merely chuckled.

“It was an age before the dinosaurs,” Sandy explained. “We…well, I never saw the reports, but the agency I worked for before found evidence of their existence. Some experiments were done, and this Curse Virus as we call it isn’t exactly what everyone thinks it is. It was an inevitability. Those Ukentian’s had planned this well in advance and, well, we tried to understand it, and failed miserably. But we did understand a few things. Do you remember the shot I gave you?”

At the question my mind thought hard back to my memories, to when I was sick and of fleeting awareness. I recalled briefly a glimpse of Sandy before, how beautiful she looked, and her telling me she was going to watch over me. I then recalled the shot. I nodded to her as the memory flashed across my mind.

Sandy smiled. “It was an experimental concoction,” she said. “My own doing. I had some understanding of the curse virus and what it was, and I used some synthetic agents mixed with doses of genetic Ukentian elements to form what I hoped was a vaccine. You were a test subject and, unfortunately, it didn’t work as I anticipated. But it did work in a way I never expected.”

I nodded again. “You made sure we weren’t going to go mad, like that one beast I killed,” I said, recalling the poor soul that screamed as whatever had transformed it.

She looked sideways and tilted her head again, as if piecing together a puzzle. “So that’s who was screaming,” she said, looking back to me. “Stallion back there bit him, he was trying to attack young America there—his chosen name, not any of ours.”

“America?” I said, chuckling as I looked back at the pup. He merely grinned back in return, pouncing a step. I shook my head, accepting it and turning my attention back to Sandy. “So what, instead of going…full feral we go half?”

She nodded. “In a way. We’re still in the bodies, I am, and you will be too. But your ghost now controls it, instead of the other way around before. It starts by the bite and, unfortunately for all of us, we’ve been bitten before. It was inevitable, Paul, and we were surprised you avoided it for so long. None of us wanted to bite you and take what you kept away, not even our ghosts. But…young America, well, he couldn’t wait.”

The revelation startled me, and part of me felt both grief and anger, but it slowly dissipated as I recalled every decision that had gotten me this far. In some way, I already knew the end result. I just never knew the path that it would take me to get here. Once again, I forgave young America. Broosura would likely be happy to have their body back fully, after all.

“Well, what’s done is done,” I said, nuzzling her as she kissed me quickly. “I already knew it was over with the moment I realized what had happened. I think I just accepted everything. If I had been anyone else, well, I think I would have been that beast—”

“Ukentian,” Sandy corrected quickly.

“That Ukentian, yeah. What does that mean anyway, and why does it sound familiar?”

“It’s Cherokee, originally Ukenta,” Sandy said. “It was the word my team for the southeast formulated for the change. It evolved into Ukentian shortly after. None of our ghosts remember what they were, so the word stuck. Does yours?”

“No,” I shook my head. “They didn’t either.”

She smiled, “Thought not. Spending an eternity in stasis might do that to anyone. I digress, though. You do understand the implications of what I’ve said, don’t you?”

I nodded after a moment. “Yeah, I think I do. I guessed as much already. I’m just glad to see you again, Sandy.”

She smiled wider, leaning in for another kiss. “I am too, Paul.”

A throat cleared behind us and, swiftly, I turned. Sandy moved up alongside me as we both looked toward the source. Stallion stood in front of us, the pack all around as we formed a circle. I didn’t know what it meant, but I followed Sandy’s lead. We all gently laid on our bellies, heads up as he observed one another. After a moment, Stallion spoke.

“Now that Paul is up to speed, and we’re glad you’re here Paul,” Stallion said, winking my way, “let’s get to business. Paul, since this is your first time, we use these Link’s to plan out our next steps. Everyone one of us works with our ghosts to share with them our knowledge of the world. You’ll find when you wake you can still talk to us, just…well, you’ll see later. Jewel?”

At that our heads turned to focus on the Matriarch. She smiled at Sandy and me before she spoke. “Thank you my mate,” she said softly, nuzzling Stallion. “Now, Pegalkex has presented to me the idea of heading further northeast, deeper into the Appalachian Mountains. There should be plentiful food supply there and less struggling with other, more feral packs. All in favor?”

I watched as the pack nodded, even young America. I went along with it as I nodded.

“Good,” she said, smiling. “Then, to the Mountains we go.”

The conversation shifted eventually as we all began to speak freely to one another. As I caught up with Stallion on how his family ended up here—they had been given the experimental shot from Sandy too as members of the test group like I was—things shifted toward more comforting things. Stallion and Jewel leaned into each other as their children played behind them, whilst Sandy and I snuggled close.

I didn’t know what was ahead of me, but I knew one thing for sure: I understood a lot more about how I got this way, and I knew I wouldn’t be alone anymore. I just had to prepare myself mentally for Sandy’s warning. As I closed my eyes in the dream of the Link, the fear crossed over with me as I felt a pull from the waking world.

Whatever happened, I had to remember, I was one of them now.

“It’s going to be okay,” Sandy said softly as her voice faded in the Link, providing me the comfort I needed to face what came next.