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* * * CHAPTER IV * * *

My father knew that something was very wrong. Call it a canine's instinct, but he just knew that something was wrong...

"You... You're not Jamie..." My father uttered, almost in a trance, to my body.

"What do you mean!?" it replied. "I'm standing right in front of you, in the fur!"

"Your eyes... They're not Jamie's..."

Rita then stepped in.

"Alexander..." she said. "What are you doing? That's your son! Right in front of you!!! How is that not Jamie?"

"IT'S NOT JAMIE!!!" he yelled, to emphasize his feelings. He then turned back to my body, saying in an accusatory tone,

"What did you do to my son!?"

"Alex!!!" Rita plead. "What's come over you!?"

"What's wrong with my father!?" My body asked, sounding a little panicked.

My father then grabbed him by the collar and yelled into his face,

"Listen! I don't know who the fuck you are, but you tell me what you've done to my son, or..."

And then Rita and one of her colleagues restrained Alex, pulling him away from my body.

"What are you two doing!?" He shouted.

"It's for your own good!!!" Rita snapped. "Something's wrong with you!!!"

"I'm not the one with the problem!!!" He came back with. "He is!!! Can you see it!?"

Hearing how my father sounded like a raving madman, Dr. Lyons could only give him a sad, disapproving look.

"Please, guys!!!" My dad begged. "Jamie's still inside that pyramid!!! That's not my son!!!"

He was restrained and dragged back to one of the Land Rovers. As he was forced inside the truck, Rita, concerned for "my" well-being, walked up to me and placed her paws on "my" shoulders.

"Are you okay, Jamie?" she asked. "I don't know what's come over your father... I'm so sorry he's treating you that way..."

"I'm fine..." my body replied. "I think that coming back here set him off... I've heard him talk about losing my mother, and it sounded rather traumatic... I don't blame him for being shell-shocked...."

"Huh, I guess you're right..." Rita replied. "Anyway, we should probably get your father back to the camp so that he can be examined... Once again, I'm so sorry that he snapped..."

"Oh, all right... Heh heh... We should probably do that."

Back in the pyramid, where I _actually_was, I was pacing back in forth, wondering what, if anything, I could do. I felt so helpless knowing that my body was possessed by that malevolent spirit... There was so much damage she could do to my life or the people I hold dear! What if she got me killed? Or worse... What if she got my dad killed? Or Ash... Please no!!! This can't be happening!!!

Feeling defeated, I fell to my knees and began to sob. But then I saw some mist congeal in front of me, into the shape of another fur. I looked up, and I was face to face with my mother, er, well her spirit, actually... But, it was her!!! It was definitely her!!!

"Mom...?" I asked the spirit, bewildered. "Is that... You...?"

She slowly nodded her head.

"Hello, Jamison..." she softly said. "I'm so glad to see that you've grown up to be such a wonderful young tod. I can tell that Alexander has done a stupendous job raising you by himself. And... Have you... Have you found love...?"

"Yeah, I have." I told her. "But, How do you know all of that...?"

She laughed slightly before continuing,

"No, I'm not omnipotent... But, I can read your life essence, even though you're not currently inhabiting your own body. His name is Ashes Cinder, and he's a coywolf."

"Are you okay that I'm gay, though?"

Her smile widened before replying,

"Of course, sweetie. I prided myself on being an enlightened person. Only a close-minded fool would think that a same-sex relationship is unacceptable... And I'm so glad that Alexander accepts you for who you are, too, as well as Ashes' parents. You two are so lucky to have been blessed with such wonderful parents."

"But..." I replied. "I'm stuck here... I can't get back to Dad or Ash or anyone right now... I tried walking out, but I appeared to be sealed inside here... Is there anything I can do at all?"

Her smile turned into an anguished frown.

"I'm sorry dear..." she said. "I do not know how you can leave... My body has been trapped in this purgatorial hellscape for the last 18 years... If there was a way to escape, I would have found it by now..."

"Well..." I replied, trying to keep spirits up. "At least we're together..."

"Oh, honey... You shouldn't be here with me... You still have life left to live, dammit! You have better things to do than to be forced to spend time with someone whose life ended long ago... You still have a chance to make this world a better place..."

"But, if I can't get out of here, I might as well be dead like you... What good will it do if I'm never able to get back to my body? You seem to have accepted the fact that you're dead and gone... Maybe it's for the best if I also..."

"No!!!" She yelled, cutting me off. "We're going to get you out, somehow! You said that you were unable to walk out of the burial chamber? What exactly happened?"

"It was like walking into an invisible airbag... I was knocked onto my, erm, your ass when I tried to walk out..."

"Hmm... Maybe... Maybe it's because you were inhabiting my body... That's it! That spirit that overtook your body... I bet she had to take your body because mine was claimed by the pyramid as its treasure and therefore was disallowed from leaving! I'm not sure if this will actually work, but I wonder..."

She looked into my eyes, and I saw that same camera flash effect from earlier. I was now staring at my mother's mummified body while I was now a spirit myself. Actually being alive again, er, undead, actually, she looked at her arms, being able to control a physical body yet again. She then looked back up at me.

"How does it feel to be sort of alive again, mom?" I asked.

"Eh, it's like riding a bike..." She answered, in her usual calculated manner.

"But, now what do I do....?

"That, my son, is going to have to be up to you... I'm unsure as to what the best option is. But, you do now have the power to teleport anywhere you choose. I'm sure you can put it to good use. Good luck, Jamie. And, if you get too stuck, I'll be here. Now get going!"

Feeling strangely pumped, I nodded my head, and I then disappeared into a cloud of mist.

* * *

The full moon hung ominously in the sky, almost looking like the face of a ghost, as "Jamie" exited one of the camp's tents. He silently went out into the middle of the desert and gazed into the moon's face. With a devious smile on his face, he began to recite some chant, in an unknown language, only to be stopped by my spirit suddenly appearing in front of him.

"You!" He replied to me, shocked to see me. "How in the world did you get out of there!?"

"Wouldn't you like to know!" I came back with. "Now give me back my body!"

"Pfft, never!"

"Fine. Be that way. I'll just have to take it back myself."

I attempted to phase into my body, almost like diving into water, but I was somehow beaten back, pushed back outside.

"Weakling." He mockingly replied. "There's no way you can vanquish me. Now leave me alone so I can cast this spell."

"Huh? Spell? What do you mean?"

"You'll see..."

He went back to reciting that strange chant, leaving me to helplessly wonder what was going to happen.

"What the hell are you doing?" I asked, not really expecting to get a straight answer.

I was ignored. He kept on reciting that chant until something horrible began to happen. His clothes rapidly got smaller and smaller on him before tearing and falling off under the stress. His muscles grew to gigantic proportions and were now prominently visible underneath his fur as his teeth and claws grew longer and sharper. Before both of us even know it, he was towering over the weak and dainty little ghost that I was.

Totally frozen, I uttered,

"Wha... What have you DONE to me?"

He let out an evil laugh.

"I am now a werefox, you silly little ghost."

"Don.... Don't you dare hurt anybody!"

"Don't worry, you ghost. I'm not gonna hurt anybody... Not yet, that is! Eheheheh...."

* * *

"Greetings, Alexander! My name is Jacob Lyons!"

The proud old lion outstretched his paw so he could give it a shake.

"Hello, Dr. Lyons." Alexander replied. "I uh, am quite familiar with your work in archaeology. After all, you were the author of quite a few of the textbooks I've read while training to be an archaeologist. It's such an honor that you'd choose me to be a part of your elite team!"

Alexander finally shook his paw.

"So, how do you like Chicago so far?" Jacob asked.

"Well, it's certainly a lot colder than San Antonio... I don't think I'll ever really get used to it."

"Haha... What kind of Arctic Fox prefers heat over the cold, though?" He teased, a little amused that an Arctic Fox, a species adapted for the frigid cold and winds of the northern regions, disliked the mild colder weather of Illinois.

"One who lived in Texas his whole life?" He responded.

"Quite, quite... Anyway, shall I introduce you to your new coworkers?" "Of course! Can't wait to meet 'em!"

He smiled at Alexander and got up from his desk. He beckoned him to follow, and he led him to the building's cafeteria. At the far end of the expanse of the room sat a group of four furs. One was an older female Northern Cardinal. To her right sat a male Snow Leopard with thick glasses, and to her left was an imposing male dragon with shiny black scales. And across from the bird was a Red Fox vixen with a cute mane of ginger hair gathered into a loose ponytail, confidently talking at the group as if she was holding a lecture.

Alexander gingerly approached the group and cleared my throat. The vixen stopped talking as the bird got up and shot me a smile.

"Hi there!" she greeted. "May I help you?"

Flustered, he replied,

"Uh, hello there! My name's Alexander Foxworthy. I'm uh... One of Dr. Lyon's newest assistants. Um, I'm glad to meet you all!"

"Ah!" she answered. "Now that I remember it, Lyons was talking about a new assistant coming to Chicago. An Arctic Fox from sunny Texas. Haha, I can certainly tell that it's your first day on the job! No need to be so nervous, though. Lyons isn't some taskmaster or anything, and you'll find that all of his underlings are very friendly folk. You'll be one of us in no time flat!"

Blushing, I replied,

"Um, thanks!"

They shook paws. She then announced,

"Anyway, without further ado, lemme introduce you to the rest of the team!"

She pointed at the bespectacled snow leopard.

"That's Byron Leopold. He's something of a history buff. But, then again, aren't we all?"

"Hello there!" He replied.

Then she pointed at the black-scaled dragon.

"Thomas Draco. He's a bit of a quiet fella with an offbeat sense of humor. Very good with languages. He's fluent in 4... Wait, that's now 5 languages"

"Heh heh..." He chuckled. "New meat, eh?"

Lastly, she pointed at the vixen.

"And that's Christa Wilder, one of the very best archaeologists and historians in the entire museum. We were just discussing some of her new research a few moments ago, actually. And, you didn't hear it from me, but I think she might even be smarter than Lyons himself."

He made eye contact with the vixen, and she cracked him a warm, inviting smile.

"Hello!" she said. "Nice to meet you, Alexander!"

He smiled back at her before hearing Gena say,

"Now that all of the introductions are out of the way, it's now time to get to work. Dr. Lyons is expecting great things out of you."

And she turned back to the rest of the group.

"You too. The lunch break's over. Time to get back to work..."

The group slowly got up and dispersed. Christa took a little longer than the rest to leave, since she had to put away a bunch of papers and such. And Alexander? He couldn't move. His feet felt like they were glued to the linoleum flooring... They were alone right now... Just the two of them... She collected all of her papers and got up, only to notice him standing idly around.

"Um..." She commented. "Is everything okay?"

He suddenly snapped out of it.

"Oh!!!" He shouted. "Uh, yeah! I'm fine! There's no reason why I shouldn't be fine!!! Please, I'm fine!!!"

She gave me a confused look before leaving the cafeteria. That... Could've gone better... He sheepishly collected myself and left the cafeteria, totally embarrassed...

* * *

"Uh, hello there! Remember me?" Alexander said to myself in the men's room mirror. "I'm that new guy! The one from Texas! Uh... I don't know if you've noticed but I'm a fox, and uh, you're a fox too, and uh.... Fuck... This isn't working..."

He took a deep breath before trying again.

"Hey there, Christa! Uh, I know that we've only known each other for a few days but, I was wondering if you'd be willing to show me your favorite place in all of Chicago! Just me and you! Wait... No, that's too up front...."

He looked at my reflection in the mirror again before giving it another go.

"Hello, Christa! I know that we're new to each other, but uh, when I first laid my eyes on you... FUCK!!!!" He growled and lightly pounded the porcelain sink in front of him.

"How the fuck do I ask a girl I've just met out.....? There has GOT to be a way to do it without me sounding like a creep..."

He drummed my fingers on the sink again for a few moments before saying.

"Hey, Christa. Are you free this weekend? I need to get to know the area better, and I was wondering if you'd be willing to grab a bite to eat or catch a movie or something. Yeah.... I sound pretty desperate, don't I... Dammit.... What do I do!?"

He helplessly looked at his azure blue eyes in the mirror before gingerly walking to the door and exiting the restroom... Only to be face to face with the very vixen that he wanted to ask out!

"Oh! Christa!" Alexander exclaimed worriedly. "What are you doing here!?"

"Just passing by." Christa replied. "By the way, you have quite the way with words."

"You heard me in there, didn't you?"

"I'm afraid so..."

"Urgh... Well, now that it's already out there, would you, uh, be willing to eat out or catch a movie with me?"

He could see the hesitation in her eyes. She was obviously not too keen on taking a tod she had just met on a date... But at the same time, she clearly pitied him. He don't know if it was his sad, pathetic gaze or something else, but he saw her crack a warm smile, not unlike the one she gave him two days ago.

"Uh, sure." She said. "Why not? But, no guarantees, alright?"

"Sure!" He shouted in response, face beaming. "Thank you so much, Christa!"

"You're welcome. But, remember: no guarantees!"

"Heh heh... Roger!"

That weekend, they had their first date. They went out to eat at a cozy, yet pretentious restaurant, not too far from city center, known as The Loop. He didn't know what to expect going in, but it was the most enjoyable night He had for quite a long time. Thanks to Christa, Alexander's arrival to Chicago was a nice and memorable experience. But, would his relationship with her evolve from here? Or would he remain a mere coworker to her...?

He definitely expected the latter to happen... This was just a pity date... There was no way that she would want to go steady with a guy like him, he thought... But, that idea was shattered when she planted a kiss on his muzzle before leaving me off at his apartment!

"Ch... Ch... Ch.... Christa!!!" He shouted, face bright pink. "What.... Are you doing!?"

She smirked at him before replying,

"You're a sweet guy, Alex. Did you know that? Hehe, just think of that as my way of saying "Thank you" for the wonderful night."

He gasped and covered his snout.

"See you Monday, Alex." She said before leaving. "Buh..... Bye, Christa...." He uttered, still stunned that she kissed him.

Feet feeling like they were encased in concrete, I watched her go up to the elevator before disappearing into its doors, leaving me by my lonesome once again...

* * *

After spending many, many hours on the road in his beat-up old Buick station wagon, they finally arrived. Hampton Beach, New Hampshire was our destination. He put the old beast in park and got out of the car, stretching his tired legs and smelling the soothing, healing aroma of the salty sea breeze.

He heard the other car door open and close before hearing Christa say,

"Nice beach... How did you know about this place? I thought you were from Texas..." He turned over and saw her standing next to the car, looking a bit enthralled.

"We'd vacation in New England every so often when I was growing up" He replied. "Ma grew up around here, so she liked to show us where she would spend her own childhood. Anyway, let's go get changed into our swimming gear..."

About 10 minutes later, He was in a pair of swimming trunks and Christa was in a navy-blue bikini. They had their blanket sprawled out on the soft sand, with an umbrella lodged in the ground and a blue and white cooler next to it. He watched the waves roll in and out for a bit before deciding to wade in to the waters.

But, that was no easy feat. Northern Atlantic waters are incredibly cold. Even in the dead of summer, they would chill you to your bone, so getting used to the water was extremely difficult. But, he soldiered on and went deeper and deeper into the water until he was floating in the gentle waves.

Meanwhile, Christa was sitting on the blanket and sipping away at a beer. He figured that her scarlet-colored fur was nice and toasty right now, taking in those rays of the sun.

"Hey, Christa!" He called out. "What are you doing?"

"Huh? What do you mean?" she replied.

"I mean... If you wanted to take a nap, you could've just stayed home."

"I'm basking in the sun."

"Aw, c'mon! Go for a swim with me!"

"No thank you. I'm fine."

"What. Are you afraid of getting your big, floofy tail wet?"

"Uh, yes, actually. Do you even know much time I put into making my fur nice and soft? Saltwater and sand can't be good for it."

"Nothing wrong with letting your hair down for just one day, is there?"

"I guess not... But, I swear to God, I'll kill you if you try anything funny."

He returned to the shore, stopping when the water was at knee height. He gestured her to come in, but she wouldn't follow.

"C'mon! You don't know what you're missing!" He called out.

She apprehensively dipped her right toe in the water and immediately pulled it out when she felt how frigid the water was. He sighed and rolled his eyes. But, she wasn't going to be a stick in a mud! Nope, not at all. He suddenly heard her yell,

"Innnnncoming!"

And she dove for him, knocking them both underwater. Once they surfaced, Alexander caught his breath, body feeling sore all over. Choking a little due to having the wind knocked out of his lungs, he scolded

"Augh! Have you lost your mind!? I could've drown!"

"Aww... Is the silly foxxo afraid of a little water?" She teased.

Irritated, he splashed some water at her. She returned fire. Now smirking, he splashed some more water at her, beginning a fun little duel. She knew it for sure! It was fun to cut loose! Well... In moderation, that is.

After they had their fun, they decided to dry out on the beach. Together, they watched the waves roll in and out, the seagulls foraging for discarded food and children playing various games both in and out of the water. He soon noticed how Christa was holding his hand and leaning against his body. Although Christa could be a bit aloof and too work-oriented sometimes, in that moment, he was sincerely thankful that she loved him so. He wouldn't have left her side for the world...