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"60 seconds, 59, 58," the controller remarked in his dispassionate cadence.

The man in the uniformed spacesuit from the Captain's chair mentioned as reading off on the mental check list, "Abby, what are the loading sensors saying?"

Abigail, in her own spacesuit, seated in the copilot's chair reclined like the others to face upwards for the coming G-force exertion responded with confirmation of an answer already known to the in the ship's cabin, "No abnormalities. We have green in Locks four through ten. Seals are holding in all sections."

Abby set the diagnostics program with a button to switch to the next battery of tests, "phase initiated."

The voice from control mentioned in his steady voice, "ten, nine, eight."

The Captain announced with command, "Initial ignitors are optimal. Firing engines one through four on mark."

"Two, one..."

"Fire," the Captain announced as he hit the proper button on the arm rest of his chair.

A deep roar filled the cabin that was deafening to anyone outside the spacesuits. The ship lurched from the bracing of the launch pad with a massive blast of fire and smoke from the chemical propellants. Each of the four scientists was forced into their chairs by the tremendous vertical acceleration.

The Captain spoke with a strained voice in the comm system over top of control's notation of speed, distance, and trajectory, "console shows stable. Fuel consumption and integrity disparity nominal."

The ship moved steadily upwards as the engines released their contents in the most controlled fashion. Control listed off the speed and elevations, "2,600 kilometers per hour, elevation 7,000 meters. 2,650, 7500 meters..." There was an interference in Control's voice for a moment. Then another inexplicable momentary loss of communication.

While Abby attempted to confirm any errors in the transmission system, the engineer sitting behind the Captain broke in with a concerned voice, "Captain, there is a warning light. We are gaining an excessive spin to our flight path."

"Jameson! What is the status on the external ports," the Captain demanded with the coming adrenalin rush that the unfolding situation was causing in all the flight crew.

"Clear. Clear. Clear. All fuel veins are detached. All ports show sealed. It's not external," Jameson responded quickly and with the uncertainty of a decent answer for the crew and his captain. The voices from Control were breaking in an out repeatedly with interference.

"I have a sensor malfunction. Wait, there goes a second. Captain, it's the cargo hold. Whatever is shorting out the systems is spreading," Abby added with a fearful revelation.

"This can't be possible... Captain! We are still increasing in speed. This ship is supposed to have leveled off by now," the engineer relayed in a panic.

"I lost complete sensor and camera response to half the ship now. I have no control of any sectors from the cargo hold to the engines, Captain," Abby added another wound to any remaining doubt that the ship could be recovered. Suddenly the communication with Control died permanently.

"It can't be the experimental gravity device. They said that was unpowered but it's the only thing we are carrying," the Captain refuted the reality with hopeless disdain. "Crew. We are initiating emergency dislocation and evacuation."

The systems in the cabin were just starting to blink in interference when he reached forward through the oppressive inertia forces and engaged the cabin detachment system. Lights of blinking alarm revealed themselves through out the ship cabin on all the system screens. The four astronauts braced for a hopeful last chance to break from the disintegrating ship and parachute to the safety of the ocean below.

Abby clenched her jaw and hoped that the system was executed before whatever was happening to the ship took hold of them too. Her eyes strained to keep open as her training expected. She saw the screens flicker and burnout, as if some virus manifested itself into a real creature and was lashing out at everything it could touch.

Her eyes left the dying cabin to see outside of the ship through the front windows. Nothing but the darkest of blue showed itself. Then the force of acceleration began lessening. 'Maybe we managed to disengage from the rocket ship in time,' she prayed. 'Maybe we are going to be OK,' she hoped. Then the electrical virus that was burning through their systems and equipment changed its desire for the metals and plastics it was restrained by.

The screens and the control switches started disintegrating with a gray and black bubbling. But it wasn't a chemical, it wasn't a substance of some unknown type. It was alive.

Abby screamed in panic and uncontrolled fear as her eyes took in the sight of their only salvation, this escape module, was dissolving before her eyes. She couldn't bear the sight any more and closed her eyes. But she heard the others screams. They broke though the spacesuits and through her own sound proof helmet to burn into her memories.

Uncontrollably her eyes lifted open once more to know what would bring her end. Before her, eating through the suit with unstoppable appetite, was the living substance that quickly broke through the limited defense of its polymers and metals. Her mind could not face what was to come and eyes that brought a blackening world in their high altitude deaths gave way to total blackness and silence.

***

Abby's eyes fluttered. At least she thought they did. There was no real way to tell between what is the reddish glow and the yellowish glow.

Reaching with an effort to find some response within her body, she tested them blindly. Not feeling anything, but hoping that if moved far enough they might feel something. Anything. She couldn't even tell if she was laying or standing, or in some horrible contorted position from the fall that miraculously was survived. Without knowing, it focused her fears and anxiety to a point of fevered exertion of her mind. 'I just didn't know, and I can't stay like this! I couldn't let myself die now of all times. My friends may need me. I have to GET UP!' she screamed in her thoughts.

Nothing happened. Nothing changed. The strain took away the soft color in her sight and Abby drew inward, 'what have I become?' It echoed in her head more pronounced with each consideration till even her consciousness was lost.

The color slowly returned to her eyes once more. But somewhat dimmer. She couldn't focus, but control of her mind had returned once more. Time was meaningless for the moment. It could have been a minute or a day that she remained where she was. Unable to interact with wherever her body was.

Concentrating on the simplest of efforts she attempted to breathe aloud. 'I have been dong that so far or I wouldn't have any thoughts would I?' Abby's ears picked up the heave of air faintly. The revelation was a wonder of triumph no matter how obvious the knowledge should have been. Another breath and again the sound made way to my eager hearing. 'I'll be ok,' she consoled herself.

Laying there listening to her breathing settled her mind. She tried to listen to other sounds, and the faint brush of wind against leaves found her. Abby smiled, or went through the effort. Whether it worked or not was debatable.

The breeze brought a sense to her skin. The cool air moving away the warmth from her body came next, then the slim strands of grasses that were underneath her. It took some time, but each sense slowly was returning. Abby could not move yet, but it was enough to know that it might still be possible with time.

Moment after moment, waiting and expecting was how time flowed for her. Hearing, touch, eyes that started to adjust to the green and blue and white above her. Sky and tree and cloud. It wasn't her fingers or toes that first started to work. It was her stomach. Pained with hunger it let Abby know that it has been a long while since she was in the cabin of the spaceship.

Soon, fingers and toes began to respond to gentle probes. Wrapping weak fingers around the grasses, her arms barely moved, but they slightly rose from the ground. She whispered aloud along with her efforts, "if I can just sit up and get an idea where I," then her body was struck like a bell with pain.

What was once a calm almost senseless condition lit up suddenly with all the energy of an electrical surge. Abby's body jolted in a strong convulsion that sent from the ground to sitting. What little her eyes could take in under the moment of great pain, revealed she was unclothed and in the middle of a field. The middle of no where, if it mattered. But at that moment, it didn't.

Limbs and nerves and muscles were no longer in her control and they restricted around Abby to take a curled up shape, wrapping as tight as possible to subdue the pain. But it only grew stronger. Falling to her side, her body raged with uncontrollable exertion and her week voice tried to scream with the change, but all that would come are tears streaming down her face.

Her head pulled back first with muscles that wouldn't do anything but their own will. Facing into the grassy woods with eyes that refused to shut despite great efforts. Arms and legs straightened underneath her but out of sight so their effects were wholly without understanding. Just the pain of muscles surging by unfathomable means.

Eyes forced forward would only allow her suffering in ignorance to continue for a moments longer. That ended when her face began stretch and distort impossibly. Reddened skin was all that could be made out so closely and so distraught as Abby was.

Laying on her side, feeling every inch of her body cry out with the forced contortions brought her to beg for the blackness she knew not long ago, but there was too much happening. Too much that she was undergoing to hide.

Small stands of brown and black grew from her muzzle, coating it with a thin fur. It surely happened to all her body, but that was all she could see. Was forced to see. Small gasping breaths from her strange narrowed chest and the receding pain was all there was left now, as the change settled and completed. Breath came and left. The scent of something unknown touched the air ever so slightly, but each intake of the air held enough to spur the understanding of food and abatement of the hunger.

Abby could barely comprehend the concepts that were taking hold. Instincts that had never existed, grew without restraint and filled a part of the thoughts that swirled and drowned near all else. 'Eat,' the new mind commanded with no regard for anything else. She could not argue.

What was a poorly responsive body before, began to find footing in the soft grass and earth. Though she could not see what was happening, her body could feel. First her legs spread and leveraged themselves to balance on one another. Toes dug into the soil and her back was rising upwards as if to stand. She felt the differences, 'this is...'. Then her arms did likewise in almost the same fashion to the same height, her thoughts melded with the overwhelming instincts begged, 'no, I can't be.'

Her head was carried up from the grass where it lay for an unknown amount of time and took short scents of the air, trying to find the particular scent that spurred this change. This punishment. 'Food is near,' her instincts forced driving out almost all other thoughts.

Her vision focused along the tips of the tall rye field and determined where she would go. She tried to stop herself. Tried to take control of the instincts that were so focused and single minded, but her incomplete recovery from the accident, was a weakness that would not allow this.

Abby drew inward, and the second mind graciously helped her go into that dark quiet place.

***

The cold made her aware.

Abby felt the pull of a void. There was quiet now, and she was expected to fill that space. Retake what has always been hers. The mind that had overpowered her had been subdued, and there was calm, unity once more. Or so Abby felt.

She strove to find herself. Feel and touch the world again. Know that this was all a mad dream. That nothing that had happened was true, but a concussion, a sickness, a nightmare.

She settled and felt as one once more and opened up her eyes, with renewed strength. There was no long nose that stood out. She brought her head up and saw she was in a dense forest. Far off, the shine of light from the moon revealed bits and patches of fields that were not far beyond. A sense of comfort and calm crossed over her and all was ok.

She pushed on the ground below her, and looked down at her body. She had no clothes on her, that was why she was freezing. Her hands though, they were a deep color. In the dark, she could not tell what it was, 'maybe it is just mud,' she assumed.

Her thoughts turned to her crew and friends from the ship. With the strength to see to herself, she brought her mind to that of them. 'They might have came down elsewhere. I am sure that they might be better off than me,' the bitter words escaped unhindered. 'I really should get up and begin to head back where I came from and begin there. Maybe there is some sign that will miraculously appear like a loud car. Wouldn't that be convenient?'

'Just let it be anything that will keep my mind churning instead of trying to understand what that horrible dream just now was about,' she affirmed.

Looking around at her surroundings carefully with eyes that had full vision once more, they caught a glint of reflected light and stark white beside her. Following the unassuming distraction, the focused consideration brought her fears back fully with the realization that a half eaten small boar was right beside her.

Instantly the scent of blood and death made way to her nose in confirmation. An uncontrollable scream fled out her lips and her body quickly backed away on hands and knees from the carcass as far as she could before being blocked by a tree. But the blood, it didn't leave her, the scent, the taste was in the air.

With a slowly determined panic, each hand was brought forward in the scattered moonlight before her for a closer inspection that was unneeded. Both were stained with darkness. Pressing a finger to the palm of the other, a single mark was made wiping away the stain that was thick and fluid. 'It's blood. That... That...' he mind revolted let another much longer scream out. Her hands grabbing anything within reach to cleanse the stain, but dirt and undergrowth aren't a mediocre substitute for water.

Abby stood and stared panicked by the situation and that she was the one who had killed and eaten the boar. Her eyes searched for the lowest ground, where likely a stream was formed, or a small pond would be and raced for it on bare feet that were stung with twigs and leaves.

Her quick pace steps took her down a small hill, then following a damp ravine, lead her to a small trickling stream. Without concern for herself. She knelled down and began gathering up as much water that the small trickle would allow then cleaning the sticking blood off. Thoughts of what had happened to her circled and weaved in and out of her memories enunciated by the effort she made to absolve the evidence.

Placing her face to the water, she drank and sloshed and spit what remained in her mouth. The water was a darker shade than the stirred up silt, but the taste of earth was far better than the taste of what can only be her first meal back home.

'What happened to me,' her racing mind tried to comprehend, 'I can not be changed like this. I have a family. A son. A mother, my father, my friends, my work. My life!' She continued to use whatever water was slowly gathering to continue the mindless cleaning.

'This is impossible.' Abby's thoughts ravenously fed her unstable mind, 'it's a dream. A nightmare. The ship, it crashed. I'm in a coma. That is it. I'm just sick. Unconscious. This is my mind with too much sleep. This is all wrong. It can't be. I'm not here. I'm not here. I'm not here.'

'Quiet,' another mind shouted into hers.

'No, no, it's coming again. I'm going to change again.'

'Witch! I said quiet.' The second mind, a male, interrupted the oncoming ranting, 'I am trying to hunt peacefully thank you very much. I do not need your insanity disrupting me!'

Abby thought of the tone, the words that came to her. They were from elsewhere her mind gathered, 'someone not her. Not the instinct, but maybe someone who could help'

'Yes. That's correct. Now if you don't mind Witch, I asked for quiet.'

Abby stood in shock and eagerness for someone to connect with, 'Where are you. Let me see you, sir.'

There was a long pause and then a reply, 'you won't let me be this night will you? And I have no desire to go elsewhere for my food only to end up wasting the entire night fruitlessly.'

'So that is a yes,' she answered for the man in renewed optimism, 'I am here by the stream. Do you know where that is?'

Silence was all that was coming in response. Abby waited watching along the hill ridge then finally her ears picked up small steps on leaves. The person who came, that could hear her thoughts made no effort to be quiet. Finally a small shadow of a form revealed itself.

She quickly knelled down on the ground and covered her chest in a hasty moment of humility and announced herself aloud, "help me! I was in an accident and I fell, somehow." She set aside the history lesson for the man that came to her rescue for later. For now she wished just to know where she was and to return home again. "Can you tell me how to get home?"

'Where's home,' the dark form asked from above honestly through her thoughts.

"It's in New Jersey. Right next to Manhattan."

'Man hat tan?'

"New York city! Tell me you have never heard of that."

'No. I have never heard any place called that, but I don't leave the valley. So that isn't surprising.'

"Well where are we now then? Maybe I have heard of it?"

'This is the valley.'

"Wasn't it named after someone, or by someone," she protested what seemed like a very beligerant answer.

'If it was, it wasn't by me, or anyone I know that that name would have meant anything.'

Abby stood up uncomfortably, "Come close so I can talk to you without yelling." Her words almost carried the joy she felt.

The figure acquiesced and started down the hill slope, 'as you wish, Witch. But I see no value in this.'

"It's Abigail if you would please. Look I'm sorry about my apparel, or lack there of." She spoke as the figure descend. When it finally came close enough she could make out her fortunate savior better she uttered in shock, stammering, "Oh no. You are a... A..."

'Fox, yes. All my life. Is that a problem?' his voice was whimsically irritated.

"No, this can't be," Abby slipped to the mud and leaves by the stream and stared at the ground completely devastated. "This can't be."

The fox sat before her and quirked his head in confusion, 'it is. Now that you have seen me, and I can't help you get back home since I have never heard of such a place, will you be quiet so I can go back to hunting in peace?'

"No wait," She sprang on an idea, "Stay a moment and talk to me. At least help me with what you do know. Please?"

The fox sighed and rested his head on his paws before her, 'Will you be short? I am quite hungry.'

"Yes yes! I will," She answered eager to find some means to end this ordeal. "First I guess is how can you understand me?"

'You are a witch. How am I supposed to know how you manage it?'

"Are there lots of witches around who can understand animals? Do you know of another?"

'No. Wait. Yes I do.' The fox grinned connivingly.

She missed the expression, "Oh that is great. If you can take me to a witch, I can find out what happened to me to give me this curse. And I can go back to living my life again."

'Curse?'

"Yes," Abby's words were drawn out and pained as she tried to give the fox before her the simplified explanation without having to recall what really happened. "I changed from me, a woman, into this monster not long ago. I don't know what it was, or how, or why, but I don't want it to happen again."

"If I am like a witch, then maybe a witch can help me better; you see," she resolved hesitantly. "Maybe what happened to me, happened to others. That's what I am thinking."

'Well that makes some sense. I guess. It's not far, and I can show you which way to go, then I can get back to hunting,' the fox explained. 'Do you promise to keep silent once I show you?'

She nodded eagerly, "Have you seen any clothes I can borrow?"

The fox shook his head, 'only humans have such things, and they do not leave those laying about in these woods. You will have to ask the other humans I point you too.'

"I guess, I can find some leaves, or something along the way. Thank you please. Take me there."

The fox nodded and looked along the tiny little stream and motioned with his paw in the air, 'you just need follow this stream to the end. There is a small village at the end. It is a long ways to go, but you'll find them eventually. All streams eventually lead to the humans.'

"I understand," Abby considered the long hike ahead of her and the lack of shoes or clothes and the steady cool breeze that filled the air. "Thank you for your help, I will make sure not to disturb you further."

'I doubt that will be a problem,' he remarked coldly in her thoughts. 'Just make sure you go a long long ways before you start thinking aloud for all to here if you would.'

The two parted, and she slowly started to make her way along the ravine towards what she hoped would be answers, and a way home.

Chapter 2 - http://sofurry.com/page/130581/user