EXODUS

— by Jeff Karamales

Chapter 26
Things to Come
 

The morning hadn’t started in a way that Halley would have liked. The previous night had been filled with dreams of Wyatt, of feeling his arms around her like they once had. The last dream had been of her and her beloved enjoying a kiss under the stars and full moon, much as they had when she and the Fur had been given leave to use Ásmundr’s yacht. The reality was far less enjoyable as she opened her eyes in waking to find her mouth pressed against Julie Valance’s in a passionate kiss. Her attempt to break the contact had found Halley falling out of the bed to land painfully on the floor, a suddenly awake and very confused savannah cat blinking large, bright eyes at her from above.

“Are you okay?”

Halley started to nod before she realized that she couldn’t move. “Not really,” the woman croaked. An attempt to shift her weight so that she could take the pressure of her limp, half-formed tail sent a lightning bolt of pain up her spine that then spread to all of her joints. Halley whimpered a little with the pain and when she opened her eyes Julie was there to help her up.

“I was having a good dream, too,” the Fur lamented as she helped the woman to her feet.

“So was I.”

It took several tries before the savannah cat simply expedited the process by picking the small female up to set her back on the bed in a sitting position. “What was your dream about?” the Fur asked innocently enough, though there was a sparkle to her eyes and the hint of a mischievous smile tugging at the corners of her feline mouth.

Halley snorted in a mix of frustration, wistful longing and sense of loss. “When Wyatt took me out on a boat. He really was good with boats and could look at the stars and know right where he was…”

Julie’s smile grew wider into a grin. “I can tell by your smell that it was more than just that,” she pressed with a knowing, almost leering look. “Were you two…y’know?” the savannah cat inquired wickedly a lewd pantomime accompanying the question with her paw-like hands.

“Julie! That’s not something you ask!”

“Why not?” the cat replied, her smile turning into a disappointed frown when no more details were forthcoming. “I’ve seen some of the others doing it when they don’t think anyone can see them.” The disappointment vanished to be replaced by another mischievous grin. “That’s what mine was about,” she said proudly before the smug expression faded. “Or would have been but you woke me up by falling out of bed.”

“Should I ask with who?” the woman said as she found that apart from a little bruising to her rump and dignity that she was in passable shape.

“It was with Perry!” the savannah cat informed the other woman in an excited whisper, sitting forward on her knees and paw pads like a teenager that was spilling her innermost secrets to a friend would. “I’ve had dreams like that before,” Julie confided in the same excited whisper. “I like those dreams. They make me feel warm and happy and-”

Halley put her hands up to stop the other female. “I really don’t need to know,” she said as firmly as possible, her own body still yearning for her own lover from the dreams she’d been having. “You know, you could always ask him out. Maybe a date of sorts.”

“A…a date?” Julie asked uncertain. “You really think so?”

“Why not? There’s plenty of things for both of you to do without involving the others. I’m fairly sure the kitchen staff would help you do up a dinner or something for just the two of you.” 

Halley couldn’t help but smile at the reaction from the Fur, Julie’s behavior confirming that the cold-hearted, violent convict was gone and wondered if what she was seeing was the girl that could’ve been had events in her life transpired differently. It was an interesting change from the woman that Halley had first met back on the island bunker.

The pair made their way to the cafeteria, Halley with no little help from the savannah cat, and had their breakfast, Julie piling the woman’s plate high with protein rich foods. “Doctor Dimitri said to make sure you have lots of meats and eggs this morning. He said he wants you full of as much protein as possible for later today.”

“Makes sense. My body is going to need it with the changes I’ll be going through while in the floatation tank.” She seasoned her eggs and scooped a forkful into her mouth before picking up a strip of thick bacon. She wasn’t even through the first bite of the still hot meat when she lowered her arm. “Even chewing is tiring,” Halley told the savannah cat next to her.

The Fur looked at the woman with a touch of sympathy before brightening. “What did they give us when we were getting ready to go into the tanks?” Julie asked before a curious frown formed on her feline face. “Y’know, I don’t remember the floatation tanks. Weird, huh?”

Halley tried to smile reassuringly. “Not everyone that goes into the tanks remembers that part,” the woman replied trying to deflect that line of thinking. “I might when I come out, but that’s only because we’ve changed how things are done a little.” She didn’t want to remember watching the prisoners from Group 1 as they lay in agony on their insufficient bunks, nor of hearing even the strongest of the inmates weeping in pain or the occasional blood-chilling screams that had echoed in the bunker corridors.

“I hope you remember,” Julie said as she brightened a little. “I’d hate to have my best friend forget me!”

“No worries there,” the geneticist said with a heartfelt smile. She dropped her eyes to look at her plate. “You want my bacon? I think I’ll just stick with the eggs for now.”

No sooner had Halley asked her question then Julie had the strips of lightly salted meat crammed into her mouth with a girlish mewl of delight.

Perry joined the two females near the end of their breakfast and helped Halley get situated into the wheelchair that he’d found for the woman. “Figured this would be easier on you, Miss Halley,” the large white and black striped anthrotiger drawled in his soft, gentle bass voice complete with rumbling thrum. 

Despite Julie’s growing relationship to the soft spoken, simple seeming Perry, Halley felt her body clench low at the sound of the tiger’s voice, something in the timber and quality affecting her on a purely physical level. As he sat down she found herself looking at him with a hunger that had nothing to do with the food she’d just eaten. He was as massive as a Fur as he’d been as a human and his muscles rippled under the patterned coat that covered him from head to toes. He was as perfect as she’d once told Wyatt he was and Halley found alien thoughts that he’d sire beautiful kittens for her flitting through her mind as she squirmed a little on the fabric seat of the wheelchair.

“Y-you know what, Perry?” Halley began a little breathlessly. “I think it’d be best if you got me to Doctor Kavalos as quickly as possible,” she suggested while trying to lock down the surge of feelings and desires that sped through her like a wildfire out of control.

“Are you feelin’ awright?” the tiger asked in concern. “Yer ears are turnin’ awfully red and you smell a little different, too.”

The woman recoiled as Perry leaned over her close enough that she could feel his breath caress the burgeoning fur covering her skin as he sniffed the air around her, his pupils contracting to half their size before dilating as he scented her arousal.

“Perry, I really need to see Dimitri,” Halley said with a tinge of fear as she shrank into the seat of the wheelchair. Her reaction to the anthrotiger frightened her as base lust continued to fill her; a sensation that she hadn’t experienced with anyone else since Wyatt Renner. She caught the strange look that Julie gave her and prayed that the savannah cat female didn’t realize what was going on within Halley’s changing body. 

*** 

Dimitri Kavalos was looking over the floatation tank that Halley would soon be occupying and had the medical technician that was assisting run a second diagnostic cycle on the computer that controlled the capsule. As before, all of the checks came up positive. The fine mesh net that would cover Halley was studded with electric stimulators that would fire in preset sequences to prevent muscle atrophy as the woman was undergoing the most drastic of changes while the gelatin suspension maintained a temperature of ninety eight point eight degrees, Fahrenheit, or thirty six degrees, Celsius. Some fluctuations were, according to the materials that Dimitri had reviewed, quite natural and the monitoring program was designed to take fevers into account so long as they stayed out of the danger zone. Should Halley’s temperature exceed one hundred three degrees, Fahrenheit, or thirty nine degrees, Celsius, the medical staff would be alerted, as would the smart phone the Greek carried at all times.

Other subroutines would monitor heart rate, brain activity, which should be minimal as the woman would be in an induced sleep. Other attachments would provide nutrient rich solutions intravenously while still others would carry away bodily wastes that were inevitable. A small camera was installed in the lid of the tank and would visually record the occupant for twenty four hours before recycling, giving Dimitri and the others that would be monitoring Halley’s progress a chance to observe major events in her physical restructuring, and there was also an observation window for direct confirmation.

The technology in use was common enough in hospitals around the world, but it was the first time, at least as far as the Greek knew, where equipment for hyperbaric chambers, extreme burn treatments and induced coma support machines were incorporated into one unit. The tank had cost an almost even six million Euros with the computer, a stand-alone terminal with its own emergency power supply, running almost four million. That Ásmundr had twenty four such floatation tanks in the same room was a testament to his plans of using the units on more individuals in the future and his dedication to the Furmankind Project.

The medical technician, a young man in his late twenties that hailed from Belgium looked up as Halley was pushed into the underground room by two Furs. “We have company, Sir,” the man told the doctor deferentially in English. 

“Please, Phillipe, I’ve told you that you are to call me Dimitri,” the Greek instructed with a smile. “First names here. Ásmundr wants this to be an open and friendly environment.” He grinned at the sheepish nod he received before turning to Halley, curious as to her distressed expression and chalked it up to nerves. “And there she is!” he said with a soft clap of his hands. “Did you have a good breakfast?”

Halley nodded silently before turning to her two companions. “Thanks, Perry,” she told the tiger then turned to the smaller female. “Don’t worry about the party, okay? You don’t have to do any of that stuff when I get out.”

Julie Valance snorted with amused defiance. “Are you kidding? I’m gonna have the best party ever waiting when you get out of that thing! I’m not gonna see my best friend for like over a month and if you think that won’t be reason to celebrate, then your head’s broken!” The savannah cat threw her arms around the woman that was looking more feline-like than she had a few weeks prior and gave her a gentle hug. “I’m gonna miss you, y’know?”

“I’m gonna miss you, too,” Julie said as she returned the embrace with genuine affection, though the hug she gave Perry was far more reserved and she swore her heart was going to explode with the tumble of emotions and physical reactions.

To Dimitri it looked as if Halley were on the verge of a panic attack, though her agitation and nervousness all but vanished as soon as the two Furs left. He approached the wheelchair and knelt down, his hand covering the young woman’s as he regarded her with concern. “Halley?” the Greek asked gently. “Are you feeling alright?”

The woman whipped her head around with an expression that wasn’t dissimilar from a deer being caught in the headlights of an oncoming car. “I…I don’t know, Dimitri,” Halley replied in a soft, tremulous voice. “Something’s wrong….something happened. With Perry…” 

She described in detail, trying to maintain a clinically detached demeanor and calm visage, that Perry had not only been visually appealing to her but also sparked the very alien thought of offspring, and that the presence of the anthrotiger had made her suddenly randy as an over hormonal teenager. 

“Kittens, Dimitri,” Halley said in a horrified tone. “I thought he would father great kittens!” She shook her head vigorously and sent the tears of fear and frustration that had been welling in her eyes flying. “What the hell is wrong with me?!?”

The man patted her hand in sympathy, Dimitri also opting to take the problem that Halley described as calmly and professionally as possible. “From what I’ve studied in the records that Lesko made I can only assume that this reaction is due to the changes that are altering your body. Certain hormones may be more…intense than normal.” He grew thoughtful and looked at the woman. “I know this is personal, but when are you due for next cycle?”

“My period?” Halley absently counted on the hand that the doctor wasn’t holding. “I’m good until next week.”

“Then I’d say that explains it,” the Greek told her lightly. “There’s a chance that the time immediately preceding and following your cycle will cause you to feel attraction to potential mates with a certain level of intensity that manifests in feeling…randy as you put it.”

Halley blinked slowly, her mouth falling open slightly. “In heat? Are you saying I’m going into heat?” the woman asked shrilly, her panic returning ten-fold, “like a real cat?!?”

“There’s a good chance that it’s only temporary, Halley,” Dimitri said in a tone meant to mollify and placate but was still firm demanding the woman’s attention. “I think the others went through it during their changes and eventually their hormones and drives developed a more natural equilibrium. I think the same will happen to you, it’s just that the first time with the drastic changes that are being wrought has made this time a little more intense than you’re used to.”

“I hope so,” she replied as the man gently brushed away a tear.

“If not there are things that we can do that will help lessen the intensity during your cycle, though the most important thing will be your behavior and attitude,” Dimitri informed her.

Halley blinked. “What do you mean?”

The Greek sighed and took her other hand in his strong, sure fingers. “You are a healthy young woman, Halley. Soon to be a healthy young Fur. I know that it’s hard going through all of this and feeling that you’re alone, but you haven’t really been paying attention to your other needs.”

“I’m not sure I follow you, Doctor,” the woman said with a slight hardening of her tone.

“Don’t play coy, dear. It’s unbecoming,” Dimitri admonished gently. “Ever since the loss of Wyatt you’ve been denying yourself the company of others. I know because you’ve been spending more time than is necessary in the labs, and that was before you decided to test the injection equipment on your own. And don’t even bother denying it. I know. I’ve asked around. 

“I realize that it’s painful, but you cannot deny basic needs the way you have been. Humans, and for many of the Furs, social interaction is vital to good health. You should know this yourself. That means companionship as well. You don’t have to be in love to satisfy the urges that your body is craving.”

“But Wyatt—” the woman began, a stunned and scandalized look on her face.

“Is dead, Halley. I hate to be so blunt and cold sounding, but Wyatt is dead. You are alive and there are things that you need to do to take care of yourself, to maintain both your physical and emotional health that you have been completely ignoring or denying outright.” The Greek squeezed her fingers gently in a show of understanding. “If the roles were reversed, would you want Wyatt pining away for you or would you want him to carry on with his life?”

“That question is completely unfair!”

Dimitri nodded. “Yes. It is. But it is no less valid. Would you want him to stop living because he missed you?” The man shook his head. “Spending time with another doesn’t mean that you’ll forget him, Halley. That will never happen, I’m sure. If anything, your memories of Wyatt will be the standard of measurement that you use for any potential partners. Also, not living to the fullest would be a grave disservice to the sacrifice that he made for you and that other girl. He remained in harm’s way after ensuring that you and…what was her name?”

“Aki”

“So that you and Aki would live. Well, not just live, but live!” the man said with emphasis and fervor. “To carry on, to learn, to laugh and grow and succeed. To fail in any of these is an insult to his memory and what he did and the sacrifice he made for you.” Dimitri’s eyes sparkled with conviction. “Both of you.”

Halley sank down into the wheelchair until the last and straightened, her mostly feline features registering anger. “Oh? An insult to his sacrifice? How would you know, Dimitri? How would you know how I’m feeling or that being with someone else would feel like a betrayal of everything we shared?”

“I know because I have been where you are,” Dimitri replied quietly. “I know the guilt. I know about lying awake at night and wishing that I was the one that died and not the person I cared about.”

The confession was like a dash of ice water and Halley paused in her anger to look at the man with confusion but Dimitri was no longer looking at her. He stared at something on her chair without seeing it, his eyes glazed with a faraway look as he saw past events of his own life.

“Her name was Penelope Andopopolous. We grew up in the same part of Athens. Unlike most Greek women she was fair haired and had the most beautiful light brown eyes. She was the girl that all the boys admire and were quite sweet on, but she chose me for some reason. We did everything together. We spent hours talking of the things that were important to us, we argued happily over philosophy, spent entire nights sharing the dreams we had until the sun came up. It really was quite the shock for me to learn that I loved her like I loved no other.

“Penelope was the one that pushed me into medicine. She saw how I was when it came to helping others, of wanting to heal the hurts, care for the sick. It was a struggle, but both of us were finally accepted to the university in Athens. She supported me and kept me going all through medical school. After talking about it we decided to be married when we were finished with the university and took our positions as young doctors out to heal the world.

“During winter break we went with a friend from school to Switzerland on a skiing trip. Penelope was an avid skier and loved the feel of wind and cold on her face as she took a slope. I was little more than an enthusiastic novice, but it was incredible to watch Penelope. We would have stayed a little longer but I was anxious to return to Athens as we would soon begin the surgical phase of medical school and I was excited about learning all of the secrets that I could and wished to study before the next phase of our lessons.

“Unfortunately the valley that we were at was hit by a very sudden and unexpected storm and the coach that was taking us back to Geneva to catch our flight went off the road.”

Halley watched as the events played in Dimitri’s mind, his voice and expression taking him back in time.

“It was cold as the storm raged outside. The snow that began to cover the coach acted as an insulator but without the heaters it also leached all of the warmth out of the passenger compartment. There were two others and the driver, though he died shortly after the crash. Massive head trauma when the front of the coach plowed into a hard packed drift. I was in no condition to help anyone because my leg was broken in several places and I had already lost quite a bit of blood.”

Dimitri paused for a moment and looked up at the young woman with a sort of sad smile. “That was the event in my life that inspired me to develop a universal blood replacement that could be used for anyone without having to type them.” He sighed and his expression again grew distant. “Penelope saved the others, splinted my leg and kept us going. I swear that none of us would have made it without her. Then, just minutes before a road rescue crew made it to us, Penelope fell over in a coughing fit, her lips red with blood. I pulled her to me to see if I could tell what was wrong…but by then it was too late. I found out later that when the coach hit the bank she’d been thrown hard over the seats in front of us…hard enough to break several ribs. They’d broken in such a way that the splinters perforated her liver, spleen and pancreas along with her lungs. She’d hidden the extent of her injuries to help the rest of us. There wasn’t a whimper from her. Nothing…”

The Greek looked up, his eyes clearing as a single tear welled in his right eye and slid down his cheek.

“We were all ready to be married in the summer. A small ceremony on the seaside, just a few family members and friends. Then, in an instant that we couldn’t avoid, all of those hopes were shattered. I was the one that should have undid my seatbelt to get something for us to nibble on, not her. I was closer to our luggage, but she insisted. Doing things for each other was a game we played often.”

Halley squeezed the hands that held hers with a pang of sympathy that was as poignant as any emotion she’d ever felt for her Felis lover. “You do know…” she whispered.

Dimitri smiled warmly, his normal open and caring demeanor shining through. “Yes. I know. But what’s important right now is you. I think that these…urges are part of the normal process,” he said swinging the topic back that had had the young woman so frantic with worry. “The others didn’t fully go through these desires and drives because they were tempered by fear, pain and extreme duress. You are undergoing your changes without the stress that the others endured, and as such you are feeling the full brunt of the two parts of your new being as they begin to mesh or synchronize into the unique creatures that Furs are. Just remember; everything that you experience will help others that may also wish to undergo the transformation process in the future.”

“You don’t think it’ll be like this every time when I hit my time of the month?” Halley asked hopefully.

“No. You’ll adjust to this. The other females haven’t gone into heat as you put it,” the doctor pointed out. “You’ll adjust as well.” Dimitri gave her fingers another squeeze and turned to regard the floatation tank. “Now then. I think it might be time to get you situated. I can already tell that sitting in your chair is becoming uncomfortable and I don’t see any reason for you to suffer any more than you have to.”

“Do you…do you think the tanks will work?” Halley asked as she looked at the capsule-like construct with a different perspective. When she’d been helping design the units it hadn’t quite registered that her actions would cause her to require the use of one and the prospect was more than a little daunting.

“I have full confidence that you’ll be as safe as can be, Halley,” the Greek said as he stood and began the final steps before the woman went in to the unit. “That and you will be under constant monitoring so we’ll know if there are any issues before they become problems. All you have to do is to go to sleep and let us take care of the rest.”

Somewhat mollified Halley gave the man a nod of affirmation and sat silently as Dimitri called in the technicians that would be assisting him. It wasn’t too terrible as the robe she wore was taken away and a sort of mesh sleeve with low power electrodes was put on her, the small modules designed so that her muscles would be stimulated by random pulses of current to prevent atrophy. Other modules in the mesh would work with the sensors that tracked heart, respiratory and brain activity along with the actual physical changes.

Once the mesh and sensor leads were in place, Dimitri retrieved a face piece that was comprised of a sort of foam made from a silicone based material that had three hoses attached to it along with elastic straps. The shell would mold itself to Halley’s face as she continued to lose her human features and the structures of her cheeks, nose and jaw turned into a feline-like muzzle. 

“You know what comes next,” Dimitri told the woman as she was helped onto the contoured seat of the tank, the supporting frame and flexible pads extended from the interior on an armature that made it easier to either insert or remove occupants.

“Yes,” Halley answered softly, feeling more naked with the mesh covering her body along with the thin sheen of fur that did little to conceal her and was still as pale as her head hair had been with only faint darkening indicating where it would eventually be patterned. “I helped establish the protocol so it should be simple. Go to sleep and when I wake up I’ll have almost made it through the major alterations.”

Dimitri nodded with a paternal smile. “And the measures we developed for potential malformations are ready. There is nothing to fear, dear Halley.”

With a resigned exhalation of breath, the woman nodded, her eyes closing as the mask was slipped over her face. The air that hit her nose was slightly chilled and smelled sweetly, like flowers but with a hint of plastic that only enhanced the scent. Halley silently started to count to one hundred but slipped into unconsciousness before she reached five. The Greek physician could tell when the anesthetic gas took hold as all of the tenseness in the woman’s body vanished and her face went slack. The Greek brushed his fingers over the young woman’s forehead much as a parent would a sleeping child before turning to the medical technician that was there to assist.

“Intravenous line,” Dimitri requested as much as ordered. 

As soon as he was handed the line he found the best vein to insert the needle and slipped it into the woman’s right arm and taped it into place with a dermal patch. Once secure the doctor pulled out the steel shaft core leaving the flexible plastic sleeve that remained under the skin. Almost immediately the clear tube began trickling a solution of saline and nutrients into the blood stream of his first subject undergoing the furmankind process by choice. The computer screen that was wired into the floatation tank that Halley would occupy began to flash with relevant data regarding the woman’s wellbeing and visual representations of her vitals as well as the amount of fluid that flowed through the IV tube.

“I’ve got the rest of this, Phillipe,” Dimitri said in clear dismissal. He would call the technician back once Halley was safely ensconced within the tank, but the rest was a little too personal and even though she would be unaware of the rest of the process, the Greek would save as much of the young woman’s dignity as possible.

As soon as he was alone, Dimitri fixed the receptacle to her groin that would carry away urine and feces as those functions would continue while Halley was sedated and in the tank. He mustered all of the clinical detachment he’d honed over a decade as a physician and surgeon and ensured that the receptacle was fit properly to prevent sores that could develop if it wasn’t properly situated. A quick physical exam and check of the computer monitor ensured that everything was ready and the doctor stepped back to the tank and the unconscious Halley.

“I hope that you dream while you are asleep,” he whispered, once more brushing her brow and smoothing the burgeoning fur up and back. “I hope you dream of Wyatt and happier times dear, dear girl.” 

With a slight lurch, hoping that the two of them and the medical engineers had gotten everything right, Dimitri pushed the frame with the woman into the capsule and closed the lid. Once shut the interior began to fill with a sterile, gelatinous fluid that was already warmed to the normal range for a human’s body temperature. Within moments Halley was completely submerged, held in place by the mesh covering. After ensuring that all was in order, the Greek summoned the tech back into the room, looked in at the girl once more. With a heavy sigh Dimitri turned and made his way out of the floatation tank facility to report a successful first phase test to Ásmundr Gustavsson.

— NEXT CHAPTER —

Unless otherwise noted, all material © Ted R. Blasingame. All rights reserved.