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Alex appeared as Irma lifted her wing away and looked at us over her body grinning like a loon. "I knew it. I knew there was an infestation of rattlesnakes around here somewhere."

"And there go the happy feelings." I muttered, my glee evanescing, I glanced at Irma who smirked by raising her lip on one side and winked. Without warning we saw Alex's head abruptly vanish with a startled scream.

"Aaahhh, Irma! Let go, you python!" Irma made a weird ululating noise, she was laughing.

Gasping he was suddenly thrown into view on Irma's back before the end of her tail lifted to pat him on the head a few times and draped across his shoulder.

"I... blame... you... for this, Kim." He panted, slowly getting his wind back.

"That's my girl." She said, and reached her head up to touch her nose to her daughter's.

My brother reached into a pocket of the hazmat suit he was wearing and produced a bottle of pills and threw them at us. "Here. Take two of those each."

"What are these?"

"They'll help put you to sleep. They are even safe for you, Kim. Although for the life of me I don't know why you didn't tell me you were pregnant earlier before I started dosing you with shit indiscriminately."

Kim looked uncharacteristically chagrinned and twisted her head away while she mumbled into Irma's flank. "I kinda forgot."

"You forgot? How does a wo... female forget they are pregnant?"

"Well excuse me mister perfect fucking recall. I don't know what ever could have gotten into my leaking goddamned mind! Could it have been my daughter screaming in pain while her body warped, or my husband and myself growing fucking scales?"

"Hey, hey, easy." Alex soothed while Irma added her own comment which acoustically resembled the lullaby of baby seals being clubbed.

"Look, I told Allie about it and she wants to drag the ultrasound over here to have a gander, okay?"

"Fine." She grudgingly allowed.

A visibly excited Irma put her head down to sniff at Irma's belly and then made Kim giggle as her tongue tickled her as it was dragged across her abdomen.

"Iiiii sssmmmeeelllll ttthhheemmm." She declared.

"You smell them? Them?" We asked, befuddled.

She rumbled, and drew closer about us.

"Eeeeggggssss."

We glanced at each other and raised two scaly and one hairy brow in confusion.

Alex broke into the silence once more as he looked over his shoulder. "Oh yeah, there are a couple more kids waiting outside the door that want to see you three. They said they know you or something."

Kim and I smiled while Irma gave the joyful call of parakeets being sucked into a turbine. Alex walked to the door and slid it open to look outside and then led our twins in. They were both clad head to toe in ill-fitting Tyvek suits and had face shields on.

My wife and I both gave vast sighs of relief to see that they were uninfected. We climbed to our feet to go embrace them. Or my wife stood up anyway, I reached my feet and then noticed something a tad off. I didn't have arms anymore, just four legs. I was a quadruped. Huh, I thought. The world looks funny from here. Just to drive the point home, Kim rested her arm on my head.

I twisted to look up at her. "Haha. What are you? About three minutes away from joining me in the animal kingdom?"

"Probably, but in the mean time I get to do this." She began patting my head. I stomped ahead to greet my other children with claws clicking on the bare wood floor. Behind us we could hear Irma lurch to her feet and bound towards us as well. I stopped and turned back to Kim as Irma passed us calling happily to the twins with her tongue lolling out of the side of her snout.

"Fuck this, can you cut the rest of my clothes off? They feel like their binding my gait. Plus, it's not like I have anything to hide. I felt my dick suck into my body when my organs turned."

"Aw" Kim moaned. "Here I was looking for a ride when this was all over with."

I reared up and put my forelegs on her shoulders to kiss her. "Any time babe, I'm sure it's in there somewhere. It just needs the right encouragement." I breathed into her frill and nipped at it. Her ear twitched and she licked the side of my neck.

Kim turned away to look for a pair of shears as I dropped down, but then stopped and looked down at her hand and twisted her head back to me grinning evilly.

I backed up a bit in fear before swallowing. "Just... just be careful." I pled.

As I spread my legs to steady myself, Kim walked to my side and quickly ripped the belt and the back of my pants apart. Then, extending one claw, she trailed her paw down the backs of both of my legs. Tangling her claws into the material she was not able to pull like she would have before instead she just backed away and ripped the fabric from my body.

Once free I bent my head around to get a look at what I'd become. Apparently with the change in my hip structure I no longer had the posterior of a biped. Instead my body was smoothly joined and starting to extend past my hips. I was starting to grow a tail. I bent my head to look down at the rest of my previously unseen legs. I flexed each of my hind paws and was happy to see that with the opposable claw they were still useful in grabbing things. Large veins ran to powerful muscles giving an idea of the strength that my new awkwardly bent legs contained.

While looking down at my legs I saw what had become of my own genitals. Instead of anything recognizable there was now just a hollow tube leading up into my groin. Ah, so there is where it went; I thought. All of this of course, long since covered in the heavy black scaling. While looking at the movement of my legs I sat back. My rear legs smoothly folded until my new rump was resting upon the ground. It felt odd however, like something was missing. Most likely a tail that was going to be who knows how long.

I rose back to my feet and began to trot back to the twins who were busily looking all over Irma in amazement who lay patiently and sphinx like in front of them. As I paced by Kim, she smacked me in the hindquarters with a paw and growled saucily. I looked up to grin at her. "Oh yeah, we're going to get wild later." She winked as I beamed.

Continuing over I reached Irma and sat on the ground beside her as the twins came around her far side they exclaimed when seeing me. "You sit just like the dogs!"

"Woof, woof." I barked, the edge of a growl in my voice making it more realistic than I'd intended.

"Hey! What's wrong with Mom?" Lucy cried, pointing behind me.

I craned my head back. Kim was leaning heavily on Allie next to the ultrasound machine while holding one paw to her face. She seemed to be having trouble standing.

I twisted my head back to the twins. "She's going to look more like Irma, Lucy. Can you two stay here and keep your sister company? I know she'd like to be around you some more." I caught her eye and she nodded and then flung her head back towards the struggling Kim.

I quickly galloped back to her as she began to bend further and further over at the hips. Just as I slid to a halt next to her leaving furrows in the flooring, she thumped to the ground joining me and Irma as a four legged critter. Unfortunately that was not the only change she was going through at the moment. With one hand still clutched to her face it was easy to see that her snout was finishing as it pushed outward into a pronounced muzzle with two overlapping canines pointed downwards.

As her face finished extending, I saw her eyes enlarge a bit and then move laterally to the sides of her new visage. Done for now, she took a deep breath through her quivering and cavernous nostrils before flicking her pointed tongue out.

"Oh, wow." She said, and then flicked her tongue out towards me again. "I can smell what you ate last night." She turned towards the astonished Dr. Brown next to her and sniffed the air again. "You had a western omelet for breakfast. And yesterday you smoked a cigarette."

The stunned doctor was quick to realize the potential of that sense of smell. "The nose of a bloodhound and the ability to communicate what you smell. Just think what you could do for the medical field! Cancer and disease detection. This is incredible!"

"Congratulations, Kim!" I said, and then rocked back onto my hind legs and landed one hand on her back while my other paw patted her head.

She twisted her head swiftly and caught my hand in her mouth taking care not to break scale. Then crumbling her opposite fore leg she rolled to the ground, flinging me over her back and into the air.

With a loud cry of dismay I slapped into one of upper floor supports and then fell face first onto my snout.

"Why?" I moaned, as I collapsed onto the ground looking through my own hind legs.

She laughed; "You fly pretty good already. Guess you don't need wings."

"You will pay. Not now when you expect it, maybe not tomorrow, but soon. You will pay." I promised her as the room stopped spinning.

She paced over, and reaching up with a forepaw, pushed me over. "I'm looking forward to it."

"Do you want the rest of your clothes off?" I asked her, as I lay on my side looking up at her. "It does feel liberating to stretch your legs out."

She curled her head around to look at her denim clad lower half. As her legs hadn't really grown, merely changed orientation none of the seams had burst except for some on the sides where her hips had grown. However there was a noticeable bulge developing and pushing backwards against the seat of her pants.

"Not yet, let my tail grow a little more. I don't need the whole world eye fucking me while my taco is on display. I'm sure you are just a bunch of deviants with some fetish about scales or another."

The nearby Alex and Brian both choked and made sputtering noises, turning away to hide their embarrassment. More used to her crude behavior I just ignored it. Allie snickered and bent to clap Kim on the shoulder. Serena just muttered questioningly; "taco? Never heard that one before..."

I clambered to my paws and both Kim and I trotted over to Irma on our new four feet. She was facing away from us with her large wings both extended for the twins to feel over. Luke and Lucy were on each side of her moving their hands along the edge of the membranes. Her span must have been 12 feet or so by now, and likely enough only hampered by her impoverished condition.

Now that I thought about it, I felt hungry too. None of us had eaten since last night and I could only imagine what kind of energy burning wildfire our conversions might be. I looked at Kim's normally well-muscled flank. Like Irma's and my own as I glanced at it, all our ribs stood in sharp relief to the sagging pelts draped across them.

As Kim reached the rest of her family I trailed behind and looked at our other four onlookers. Alex read my intention and beckoned the rest towards me as I met them halfway.

"We all look like we're starved half to death. I know the others haven't said anything yet, but what do you think about getting us some food?"

"Well" Serena began, before Brian picked up "We have absolutely no ideas what you would eat. The best thing I can think to do is to grab everything we can carry from your house." His partner finished for him: "Yeah, you obviously have well defined senses of taste and smell. Just nose over everything we bring you and see how your body reacts. Even in the wild, lizards are fairly opportunistic. I doubt you'll only eat meat."

"The caveat to that"; Alex finished, "Is that you are not lizards, and you are not human. This will be trial and error."

Allie spoke up: "Nothing uncooked yet. If it smells good to you, we will cook it if required. We don't need to test your bodies for resistance to shit like E-Coli. Especially Kim." She finished pointedly.

"Sounds good. Would you two do the honors of getting the food?" I pointed my head up at the academia nerds.

"Ah, okay. Where is your kitchen, your pantry?"

"Through the back sliding door. On your left. Pantry is first door to the right of the refrigerator."

"Okay" Said Serena, before turning towards Allie "But don't scan Kim until we get back, we should probably see her reproductive tract as well." Once that was settled they grabbed our wheelbarrow and left.

"Will you be okay for now?" Alex asked. "I need to let my office know that we have a survivor that is conscious and aware of her own identity. While I'm gone, Allie can you please draw a blood sample from Kim, Irma, and Tom? It'll also be important for me to pass along that Kim is pregnant."

I bobbed my head while Dr. Brown agreed to her own task.

Trotting over to my family I circled around them and then sat next to Kim looking on as both twins hung from Irma's head as she lifted them off the ground. It seems that she had grown more. As her body lengthened the malnourished state of it became ever more alarmingly apparent.

I chirped to grab her attention. "Are you hungry? I asked some of the others to bring us food. I don't know what we eat yet, so I asked them to bring everything."

Instead of answering right away she opened her jaws and licked her chops.

"Yyyeeessss, fffooooodddd. Fffiiiirrrssstttt bbbbbbbaaaatttrrooommm."

Sitting next to Kim I was surprised honestly that she had not needed to go before.

"Well, I don't think you'll be able to use a toilet anymore. Would behind the barn work for you?"

"Nnnnoooo llloookkkiiinngggg."

Allie spoke up: "I should probably go with her and collect... samples..."

Irma responded; "wwweeeiiirrrdddoooo"

As she went to get a number of specimen jars and bags along with a bucket, a shovel, and a funnel she answered the barb; "It's not like I like having to collect these things. Last thing I want to do is going around handling new types of shit and piss." She pulled on another pair of disposable gloves over her suit's gloves. Then shoved the larger barn door open enough for Irma to fit through and led her outside.

Kim and I rose to follow as well. After telling the twins to stay put for a minute we went out following just behind Irma's raised and swaying tail. I felt my own begin to shift side to side as I sauntered out. I could see Kim's beginning to twitch beneath her straining jeans. As she strode the motion of her legs and her new growth were swiftly undoing the fabric.

Walking around the side we noticed Alex sitting out on the supply crates with the satellite phone and writing something down. He noticed our procession and raised his hand to acknowledge us.

Kim and I stopped along the side as Allie and Irma headed around the backside, soon after we could hear the sound of digging. Judging by the dirt flying past the edge of the barn it was Irma doing the excavating.

"Alright" Said Kim; "Time for my last set of pants ever, to come off."

She braced herself much like I had as I reached up and ripped apart the back side of her jeans and then curled my claws in and yanked. I yanked again and her pants, followed by the black material of her underwear came free exposing her rump and nascent tail for the first time to the world. Just like my own, her backside had fused after her hips had changed and her hindquarters had grown. As she had hoped her rear was changed enough that no one could see her sex without being beneath her.

Glancing around to see if Alex was watching I stretched my neck out and nipped at her new derriere and then buried my nose beneath her tail to inhale deeply and give her a lick. She craned her head around and grinned savagely at me before turning around and slamming her snout into my own. I felt her tongue draw down the length of my face.

"We will have time later. I promise, our first time will be one to remember." She cooed in my ear causing a tremor to ripple down my back making my tail swing as I danced in place. I could see her own twitching back and forth excitedly as well.

Breaking the moment I heard Dr. Brown from around the corner guiding Irma. "Step forward just a little more. Ok. There you go. That's your new position. No, wait, let me get out of the way! You did that on purpose!"

A couple of minutes later Irma returned around the corner and ducked her head not looking at us as she paced by headed back inside. Moments later a grumbling Allie came around holding three jars of amber fluid and a pair of bags of reddish looking shit. "The bathroom is all yours." She said with the sarcasm I had come to expect from her. "I feel a burning desire for a shower."

Kim led and I trailed as we rounded the corner to find the ground torn up and filled in again with several claw marks around the soil where it had been scraped back. I sniffed, it still smelt like shit to me.

I only had to piss but I saw Kim quickly digging another hole nearby as I just went and found a patch of grass. After I relieved myself I turned to see my wife just finishing and beginning to cover the hole she had made with swipes of her forelegs.

We headed back and ran into the returning Vets as we sniffed with appreciation at the pile of food they had in the wheelbarrow.

On the way back inside I put my head against the door and pushed it the rest of the way open, along with the other side. After being outdoors I didn't like the thought of being somewhere I couldn't see the sky. Apparently I wasn't the only one who felt this way. As the breeze entered the barn Irma moved towards the opening and sat there flaring her still growing wings to catch the wind.

Kim and I sat next to her as we both gave abrupt shivers and felt more than heard the sound of groaning tendons. As I shivered again I felt two new contradictory movements. Twisting my head about I saw my new arms poking out of my shoulders about six inches. My wife was similarly adorned by the hand like protrusions.

Luke appeared behind Kim and Lucy behind me as they reached forward to touch our new wing arms and then giggled when they twitched and the fingers splayed widely. It felt odd being able to sense touch in a limb that I'd only had for about thirty seconds. To say the least.

To add insult to injury my eyes suddenly watered and then spread apart as a dull agony erupted in my face. For the next few minutes I gave muffled groans clenching my fangs as a longer and longer snout appeared at the edge of my vision. As my face distended further into the wedge shape that it was adopting I crossed my eyes to look at it drawing snickers from Kim and more ululations from Irma.

By the time I had done panting and my new face settled the others had finished laying out the food for our inspection.

We both told Irma to go first as she should. Folding her wings and turning around again she lowered her head and stretched her neck out to sniff at each article of food. This she did from one end of the row to the other and then went back the other way while laying her tongue on each item as well.

She raised her head and cocked it looking thoughtful for a minute before pointing a talon at all the meats on display, as well as the wheat products and the vegetables.

All four of the professionals were busily scribbling notes as this went on before Alex indicated for us to take our turn. Both Kim and I went through the same process and indicated those items as well. Kim startled us however when she was going over the arrangement by snaking her tongue out and before anyone could stop her, snatching up a container of left over chicken wings.

She spit the container back out and happily swallowed them all whole before eyeing the rest of us. "What? Fuck off, I'm pregnant." She said, unrepentantly to the rebukes from the medical professionals.

Alex left and then came back wheeling our grill from the side to just outside the doorway. As he lit the burners and closed the lid he addressed us again.

"On that note, and while the grill heats up. It's about time we got a look at you Kim."

Allie pushed the ultrasound forward as Kim walked over the rest of the food and flopped on her side with a grunt. "Have at it, nerds." She said, and then stretched out for them while craning her head to watch.

After several minutes spent waving the magic wand over my mate's belly followed by the two lizard experts groping her and then excitedly pointing at random things on the monitor, Allie announced their findings.

"Congratulations, you are going to give birth to four tiny footballs."

"That's not what we said at all!" Brian protested loudly.

Kim started to laugh before giving a hacking cough. She opened her mouth to speak again, and then blood sprayed from her jaws as her head and neck dropped to the ground. Her elongating neck began to squirm upon the ground as I came around to lay upon her, covering her completely I began to hum to soothe her pain.

Everyone but Irma exclaimed in alarm and backed away from the crimson contagion dragging the twins with them. However our eldest stepped forward and sat next to us looking down mournfully upon her mother. She brought her head down to nudge at her and settled down next to her.

Sometime later Kim settled with the high pitched whistle of a forgotten and uncherished happy birthday balloon springing a leak coming from her mouth as she deflated against the ground. Raising her head Irma made an electrocuted songbird noise back at her and then followed it with several sharp noises of tarred covered pigeons and then a long trill sounding like a mountain wren being shoved into a meat grinder. Kim huffed and then clicked her tongue.

"Kim? Kim! Are you alright?" I asked, twisting my neck in distress.

She picked her head up and then squawked and whistled shrilly at me before stopping. She started again after a moment by cracking open her jaws.

"IIIIIIIIIII UUUuuNNDDDddeessstadddd hhhhrrrr."

"Amazing." Was heard from me and all the other adults at the same time.

"Do you know what this means?" Alex turned on me to ask.

"That dolphins can form complex sentence structures?"

"What? Well, maybe... But... God damn it, stop fucking with me. No. Whatever caused this change might be driving the evolution of a whole new language! This changes everything!"

"And..."

"What do you mean, and? What the hell would do this? For what purpose?"

"Why are you asking me? I left that world behind. Go ask some three letter agency."

"I already have. The only thing I was told was what I told you earlier."

"Yeah that's the world I remember. Everyone only knows one piece of the puzzle. That way no one knows a fucking thing."

Kim stood up on her legs, spat on the floor, and snarled at Alex.

"Ffffuuuukkkk ttthhhhEEEeeemmmM."

"Yeah, I know, you two. But don't you see? Something larger is at play here."

"Ddddoooonnntttt ccccaaaarRRREE, HHHaaffff FFFFaammMiiILLYYYyy."

She curled her head down to nudge at her own stomach and continued to rumble out "aaannnndDDD FFFFUUUTTTuuuRRR."

She twisted around to look at the three by the ultrasound and made a wavering growl at them twirling her head expectantly.

"Oh, right. Well... Not quite footballs" Brian paused as Kim bit into an errant pillow and whipped it at Allie before continuing: "Irma was correct, eggs. Four of them, about six inches long. We could actually feel them while examining you. We know almost literally nothing about what to expect. You are going to be our teacher here, not the other way around. We're all groping in the dark. We don't know how long you'll carry. How long you'll brood. If you even brood. Nothing!"

Serena standing next to him was nodding so eagerly I'm surprised her head didn't fall off. "We'll be learning about a new sentient species right alongside you! Isn't this the coolest thing ever?"

"NNNnnnneeerrrrdddDDD" Kim rasped at her.

Her thousand watt grin dimmed slightly before glowing even brighter. "If learning new things makes me a nerd, then I'm guilty as charged! I'm so excited!"

Kim let her tongue fall out of the side of her mouth and started rocking her head back and forth making what could only be described as a string of sarcastic noises.

Everyone got a good chuckle out of that with Kim and Irma's distinctive laugh rolling over the top of all the other's mirth.

After everyone settled down Irma helpfully reminded us all what we were about to do: She nudged Alex, briefly lifting him off the ground. "FFFFfffooodddDDD. HHHuuunnngggRRRIII." Then followed this with a series of musical tones that had Kim bobbing her head in agreement. I didn't even bother to ask. I knew in short order that whatever changes had overcome their communication patterns and vocal chords would soon be my fate as well.

"Have you two thought about writing down what each part of your new uh... vocabulary means?" Asked Brian.

"Or practicing getting the Alphabet again? I'm sure you could speak just as you used to in no time. I'd imagine it's just a matter of relearning how to use your longer neck to modulate air flow to reproduce normal words." Serena followed up with.

"Normal" I cackled, sarcastically.

Mother and daughter looked at each other while having a quick whistled conversation, then both nodded.

"WwwweeEE WWWiiiiiLLlll PPrrraaacctttiiiiCCCEEE."

Alex asked me if I could understand their new sounds yet. I swung my head negatively, he mulled that over for a moment, shrugged, and grabbed up three steaks and some of the vegetables and turned to the grill to begin cooking.

Allie shooed everyone away from Kim's bloody expulsion from earlier and grabbed a bottle of bleach and a towel to begin disinfecting the floor.

Settling down once again, I walked towards the cushions, and careful not to place my paws upon them, collapsed onto an air mattress. As I relaxed I shifted my wings into a more... What the hell?

Throwing my head back I glanced at my much larger, preternatural limbs and saw that they had substantially grown. Out on the corner of my vision I saw Kim's own wings flaring and then folding to her sides. Both of our tails were now long enough to curl by our sides as the ...

...Just as that last thought entered my mind I felt a burning erupt both in my mind as well as my throat. With a desperate lunge I collapsed with my head hanging outside the door. Bright flashes erupted in a chaotic mass in my field of view. These flashes were not limited to my sight either as with each one I could feel a corresponding burning somewhere in the depths of my mind. As each of these miniscule pulsars erupted within, I noticed a feeling of clarity settling in. Locked inside my own head as my body convulsed, I began to understand.

I understood the purpose for why we were changed. I could understand my wife and Irma. I understood, that despite my heartfelt assurances and all the effort that we had put in we had changed. Of course we have... Why were we not screaming in abject terror as our bodies twisted and warped? Just now I realized how little I even thought of this body all ready. Like it is a form that I've had all along. Completely natural to have six limbs, a tail, and scales.

The frenzied lashing of my agile body gradually came to a halt and with a groan I opened my eyes. To be immediately met by the concerned look from my wife and daughter as they both kept a single watchful eye upon me. Behind them I could see Alex holding both of the twins by the shoulder along with the other adults looking on.

The anxiety of the others was readily apparent by their smell. Kim and Irma were vocalizing over the other to see if I was okay. They wanted to know if I understood. I sang that I did, and then raised my head to expel one last giblet of the shredded remains of my human throat.

The changed half of my family sat down and began by asking me what I thought we should do. Tell them,was my simple response.

Kim raucously agreed, this is what I've been trying to convey to Irma. It isn't right for us to be changed to help, and then not fucking help.

Will they understand, though? Irma asked. Will they understand that we are chosen here to provide balance? That we are the last chance?

All of us have as much choice in the matter as we did in becoming children of the egg...

Gradually I became aware of a poking sensation at the base of my tail and twisted about to glare at the offensive prodding. It was Alex with a broom stick. He set the handle down and leaned on it to ask:

"So, it is obvious that you can all understand and communicate with each other. But to us it sounds like some kind of pissed off zoo. Care to fill us in?"

"MMMuuuucccHHHH ttttoooooo SSsssaaaayyYYY. NNNnneeedddDDD NNNoootttBBBoookkKKKK."

I snatched his stick with my tail and swung it around to grab with a paw so I could pantomime poking at something rhythmically. Glancing up with one eye to see if Alex understood what I was asking for. After a moment, realization set in and he said he'd be right back as he ran off to the house.

I turned back to see that Kim was motioning impatiently for Luke and Lucy to come over to her. As soon as they had, she curled her body about them protectively allowing them to rest against her side as she looked down on them. The emotion conveyed to me by her facial expression, body language, and scent was one of bittersweet acceptance.

Reaching out I nudged her and asked what was wrong.

I feel like I'm losing them. We have been changed, and given brief guidance. We are chosen to help in the decades and centuries ahead. Fuck, Tom... We're not even fully grown into our forms yet and already I feel separated from my children. By appearance if nothing else. How can I raise those who mean everything to me? As I am now?

Her voice lowered until even I had to strain to hear. How can I bear to know that I will outlive them? What parent can look forward to the knowledge that they will outlive their children? This isn't something we asked for Tom. We were thrust into these roles and these... Fucking bodies... Look what we've lost... What our changes mean to those around us...

Easily picking up on their mother's distress the twins from within the coil of Kim's body both reached up to place gloved hands upon the side of their parent's face. This helped to noticeably calm her unease as she placed her head between them, they moved their hands to rest upon her snout.

When can they take these fucking suits off? How long before we know we are no longer vectors? I want to experience the feel of my children once more. The way their skin feels, the way they smell, already seem like dim memories. She finished, plaintively.

Looking down dejectedly at my own fore paws I could offer no response.

Irma stepped in to fill the void:

My greatest fear during my turn was not losing myself but losing all memory of my family. Look at them as they look back at you. Do you see fear? Do you see loss? I see my little brother and sister sensing your sadness and trying to comfort you, and this without knowing our new tongue. I see children seeking to help their mother.

We will get better at speaking the words we had known our whole lives. We will stay with those we love. We will fight for a world that they can grow into their own lives in. This is what we must do now. Unless you know how to undo something that might as well be magic?

I could see Alex returning with several electronic items in the newly repurposed wheelbarrow. A monitor and my notepad were visible.

Soon enough something much more interesting wafted my way however. The steaks. Raw, cooked, or somewhere in between, were too tempting to ignore any longer.

I was not the only one to notice either. Irma jumped to her feet and nonchalantly trod over to the grille and used a wing to flip the lid open. Unmindful of the heat she bent her head in to scoop up one of the sirloins and some of the vegetables before vacating for Kim and me to take our own turns. She had swallowed her share whole before she even turned around.

Kim began to nudge the kids up before I told her I'd bring her own share. With a relieved look she settled back down and began rubbing the top of Lucy's head with the underside of her own, eliciting giggles from the little girl.

I placed one foreleg on the grille and lifted myself up to snatch my portion and threw my head back to swallow. Then bent down again to take Kim her allotment. Trotting back Kim opened her mouth wide as I cracked my own open to deposit her meal in her waiting maw.

"Eeewww!" Exclaimed Lucy.

I smacked my lips and licked the remaining juice from my teeth before giving Kim another adoring peck as she swallowed her food.

"Eeewww!" Luke followed with his own exclamation.

"Yes, eeewww. Why the hell did you do that?" Alex put in his two cents.

I just pointed a claw at the electronics he was plugging in.

"FFFFfffuuuuuuccccckkkkKKKK TTTTtttaaalllkkkknnnNNN."

As we settled down to wait after eating our fill of the food they had brought. Namely, almost all of it. I don't know how we'll be able to go on much longer. The only things left were some rice, fish, and turkey.

Wistfully, we looked upon the spare meat and Serena gave a sigh before scooping the rest up to deposit the remaining meat on aluminum foil on the still hot grill. She used the juice from the steaks to add flavor to the remaining goods.

As Alex dicked around with all my A/V gear, my family drowsed next to each other after finally getting some calories into us. All these clues together made me think that we may very well grow much larger yet.

Alex helpfully snapped his fingers in front of my left eye to get my attention. I tilted my head to glare at him and he motioned to his side before holding out to me the broomstick with a stylus duct taped to the end.

I bobbed my head and creaked my thanks. Instead of grabbing it with a leg I curled my tip about it. Shifting my rear over to the display I then began typing.

H.....e....l...l.o. H..e..l.l.o.H.ell.o. H.e.llo F.i.rdt a.n.d fore.mo.st you.should. know

I stopped to make a change to the unwieldly length of the handle. I bit the end off with the stylus and dropped the rest to pick up the much shorter piece. My tail swiftly became a blur, delighting me with the speed and accuracy I could move it.

This is much better. First, before you hear the rest. Especially given what I am about to tell you. I will say this: I am still Tom, she is still Kim, and she is still Irma. Alex, I remember when I was ten years old you broke my collar bone by jumping off a bed and tackling me.

The other four adults looked at each other with trepidation after reading this. A justifiable anxiety that I didn't think would decrease when they read the rest.

When all three of us suffered through the change of our senses and speech we were imprinted with a simple message. "Welcome, children of the egg."

There are many levels to the message. We think we were changed for a reason like you suspected Alex. The feeling we get is that the intelligence that did this has given us a new purpose in attempting to provide balance to this world.

I halted as I felt Kim's tail on mine and then the feeling of it worming downward to take the stylus from it. After fidgeting with it for a bit and typing a trial string she began in earnest, her tail tip flashing across the touch screen keyboard.

It's simple, because we fucked this world up we had our lives taken from us to provide humanity with a last chance to fix shit. The only thing we know beyond that is what they, those who did this, call us. Children of the egg. We lost our bodies, we lost our fucking lives! To become something else, to become guides. So you better listen to us, those who have had their natures stripped from them. You may start worshipping the time you bask in my presence whenever you like. I would prefer right now.

Kim flipped the stylus upwards with a flick as Irma settled into her place and snatched it out of the air with her tip. She made her own test with the pointer, then continued.

I think we are meant like to act as Mom said. To provide guidance. I have had a chance to think on this much longer and have a couple of suggestions. Whatever else we may be, as these children, we are this. No longer human we are not influenced by the same desires. By being able to fly, we can provide our own transportation. We can hunt, we are not reliant on traditional food sources. I think that we may even be smarter. We are strong, with natural weapons for self- defense. Only time will tell about the fortitudes invested in these bodies. But I suspect these scales are more than they seem.

We turned our heads to look at how this was received. The academics were busily arguing with each other about something, making repeated gestures at us and the monitor. Dr. Brown was holding her arms and looking thoughtful. Alex had his hands on his head and a bemused look on his face.

Kim cleared her long throat, a sound like a distant roll of thunder. It got their attention, spurring them back into some kind of activity.

"Well... I need to pass this on..."

Alex was interrupted however as the whole world seemed to lose its mind. You know, even more than it already had in the past day or so.

First every phone in ear shot began to ring. Unanswered as they were, buried beneath layers of protective clothing. Even without being answered we could hear the crackling of static as the speakers burst to life. The words on the screen disappeared as the monitor began to display a prismatic array of colors before blanking once again.

New words began to appear on the screen in time with a synthesized voice erupting from every speaker that was within our ear shot.

THIS IS MY GIFT

THIS IS MY WARNING

DO NOT HARM THE CHILDREN OF THE EGG

I HAVE LIFTED THEM TO GUIDE

HEED THEIR TEACHING

THIS IS YOUR LAST CHANCE

YOUR WORLD IS MORE UNIQUE THAN YOU KNOW

I AM WATCHING

WE ARE WATCHING

With a bright flash the television returned to our previous typed words and the static filled connection to the audio devices cut out.

A vast roaring noise began to erupt from the east and we all scurried outside to look away from the dying light of the sun. Emerging from below the horizon hundreds of pillars of smoke and fire rose into the sky.

"What are those?" Lucy screamed. Allie, Alex, Kim, and I shared horrified looks. They were ICBMs. Our nuclear missiles were being launched. All straight into the sky. Serena and Brian were holding each other in terror. Luke and Lucy just ran to Kim and hid their faces against her side as her wing extended over them.

Alex's sat phone rang. Yelling to be heard over the sound of Armageddon being unleashed. He listened for a minute before calling out some more information into the phone. After listening for a little bit more he yelled something else about the message and then hung up.

"We didn't launch them. There is no targeting data. Ours, Russia's, China's, everyone's! They're going straight up! That message went out all over the world. Every language, every piece of electronic equipment, everywhere!"

"You're telling me that message was sent an hour ago to get those Minutemen fueled?"

Stunned, we watched. Four adults, two kids, and three children of the egg. We watched the end of one world. And the beginning of another.