Devolution: Chapter 3 (rewritten)
Allice Woke and shivered slightly. The land around her was covered in a thin blanket of snow around them, the tree holding up much that would have fallen on them. She shook the snow from her fur then nudged Bentley awake.
"Wake up. It's snowing.", she smiled.
He opened his eyes and squinted them slightly, the white snow blinding him in his sleep induced transe. He shook himself awake, shoving off the snow as well.
"Need to be quiet. I'm getting tired af having to sit in the usual spot and sleep. Maybe we could find some place to...Well live together.", he said weakly.
"Well. We can't live together, mainly because I still don't know you as much as your thought of wife. But I can sure as heck find a place to settle where the both of us could have a nice little hole."
"Ok then. Would you please? Because I'm still tired."
"Ok. I guess I'll search on my own."
"Thank you."
He laid back down and slept, the cold barely bothering him. She sighed then trotted off, prancing in the snow as it crunched audibly under her feet. Her hand had formed more into paws over the few days, weeks or however long she had been out here. They looked more like her hind paws, having a similar shape but keeping the distinct human curvature. In her searches, she noticed her own breath in the air and was overjoyed. She played around, breathing warm breaths and watching the steam rise. She ran forward, looking for a small hole or something again and started to notice that as her breathing increased, whatever she breathed on became melted if it was frozen. But very quickly. Like her breath had become hotter. Se ignored it so and continued running, breathing faster and faster till she stopped running. Her breath was more solid, being of a thick white fog. She experiamented a few times and started to see it getting thicker and darker.
"That is, kinda weird. Whats happening to me?"
She pushed the thoughts of worry out of her head andlooked around her, finally finding the said home. She yipped for joy and a brigth flash scared, causing her to yelp and a flash of flames shot out in front of her snout. Not from her mouth but in front of her snout. The tree in front of her showed visible scorch marks from the small blast, blackened and partially singed from the hot flames. She breathed heavily, huffing a few more flames out. But they were not as large. She calmed down and approached the tree, touching it. But it felt solid. Cold once more. The tree qucikly encased in a very thin layer of ice, becoming white with the frost.
"What on earth is this?"
She sat back, watching her breath once more. It showed only steam now, no flames. She felt warm though, her body accepting heat from an external heat source. The sudden urge of running had overcome her. She panicked, bolting forward. But the heat only heightened. Her breaths became quick and fast, rasping out fire which cascaded down her sides. She didn't burn however. She picked up speed, lifting off the ground. She wished to stop but her legs continued. Her back legs atleast. Though she held her front legs forward, slowly padding them across the solid air. She took a view of what was behind her and her lower half of her body swirled with flames. her back legs having disappeared in the long flaming tail. She continued on though, hovering through the forest. Others seemed to join in, adding to the long flaming tail which trailed behind her. Around twenty people had joined in, all of a fox varient in nature. all had flames swirling around them. She looked ahead and saw the outline of something. It surrounded them all, becoming a type of shield which cascaded over the flames even. It seemed to swirl with energy, passing through everything it touched.Allice stopped suddenly, hovering in midair as the rest continued on. She stayed suspended in midair though, floating. Upon a view of herself she saw that she was still flaming, not feeling pain but feeling the warmth.
"This. It doesn't make sense. I'm scared. How do I get down?"
Her question was answered. The flames flickered to a low level then dissipated. She fell several stories, landing on a set of branch that seemed to break her fall prefectly. As she stood up, something grabbed her, knocking the breath out of her as it kept going forward. The distinct sound of bullets hitting dirt sounded from where she was once before. She coughed and a hand held her snout shut. She struggled but to her disadvantage, whetever had her was more than tripple her size. The ground around them became darker and darker, clouds rolling in above. They were close though. Going the same speed as them and keeping only about three hundred feet above them. Snow began falling rapidly, creating a small snowstorm as the weather tried to blanket the area in snow.The person stopped and punched the ground, making a very deep hole and put Allice in. Whoever it was jumped in just fast enough to cover the hole above them as a muffled explosion sounded from above.
"Who?! What just happened?!"
"Be quiet!"
She stayed quiet and the sound of vibrations from a combustion engine came from above, becoming muffled even more as it travelled away.
"My name is Kezeirick. Your's?"
"Allice...How did you know that I was being chased? I didn't even know."
"Thats because the robots are trying to keep things covered. There was a rare gene that ocurred from splicing genes when they made us into these beasts. It's so rare that the body isn't used to it. It adapts quickly to it, taking a new form in only a few years. After that it transforms in a matter of minutes, assuming full activation of the gene has occured. It can happen to anyone."
"What do you mean?"
"That fire display you did. You brought so much attention to people who didn't know they could use fire like so. They barely know how to control it and are all more than likely going to die if my friends don't help."
"What? You mean I can control this at will?"
"Yes. Try thinking of warmth."
"Ok."
The air became thinner the longer she thought. Slight shivers running up her spine."
"No! Not from the outside. From the inside. Feeling warmth from the inside out."
She concentrated harder, never having felt the feeling before in her life. She thought longer and longer, nothing happening. Then she watched as a memory unfolded in front of her eyes. The memory was quick, taking only seconds to go through a process of months as the robots performed a single process that would have caused her so much pain if she were awake. The needle being entered into her stomach, a warm fluid filling her womb. Then she could slowly feel her belly growing with the children inside of it and then her own water breaking, releasing the children. But it slowed here. She doubled through the full seventeen and a half hours in mere seconds, her mind slowing it. The time finally came when her body gave the natural instincts of the animal control. One after another, the pups of small yelping and crying foxes being taken as she gave birth. The memory finished once the seventh had been born. Her pups. A tear streaked down her cheak and she couldn't think of anything other than that. She slumped down and sat, bringing her paws to her eyes.
"I...I have children...They...They made me have them...But...Their my children!...My pups...My pups...I have to get my pups."
"Damn. I can't have this happen. Not now. That memory isn't supposed to be accessed yet!"
"Wh...What are you talking about?"
"You see, the robots couldn't do this alone. They pulled scientists like me out of society, pitting us all against each other in a friendly competition. It looked fine for a while until we figured out that we all had the same goal. We were making the first human animal hybrid. But the robots wanted it to be done. They explained how damaging we were and that we needed to devolve. I agreed with the robots though, helping them every step of the way and actually giving you the gene. But the gene is very odd in how it distributes through a human body. You were impregnated through this method, having given birth to the seven pups you felt exit your body. But...that memory was not supposed to be accessable for another several years. You are special. And for that, we could use your help."
He uncovered the hole and tossed the crying folf over his shoulder as she cried silently. Once outside, the ground was blanketted in a very thick layer of snow.
"Ok. For now, I'm sorry it had to be done but we needed to run tests. They soon followed the gene's dominance and their bodies changed very much how yours is currently reforming. They produced flames just as you did. But what puzzles me is how you have partial wolf variations. It also explains why you can control the weather this easily. Foxes are fire. Wolves are ice. But it seems that your wolf side will soon disappear physically, but not genetical."
"So. You took them from me why? Why do I not have my children?"
"Ok, ok. Listen. First, they have no father. The gene acted as a sperm which copied your DNA over to themselves and introduced a single of the sperm into over nineteen of the eggs which were sitting in your ovaries. Only seven grew to children though. This is how they came to be. So you don't have to worry about them having some stud father, dead father or whatever. Now. Your pups are actually locked up in a large cell along with the many others there. They are beig taken care of right now like they should be. Though, they are being kept at a newborn state with the medication the robots forcefeed them. Your breasts are still capable. So you will still have the choice of breast feeding them."
"This is all so much. Why are you telling me all the horrible things which have happened to me? Why not the good...?"
"Listen. There is no good which will happen or has happned till those robots are taken down. I have to give you every detail in a summarized description or my boss will kill me. I'm almost done torturing you though. The one you had supposedly hooked up with has been sent to our little camp for now. He will be arriving here shortly as he passes by."
"Ey! Kez! We got a problem!"
"What? Don't tell me, the robots."
"Yes sir. They found Bentley as I was telling him the whole story. This protocol does not work well. They shot him dead. But I threw myself to cover and buried myself like you told me."
"He...He's dead...No...Not bentley."
"Oh great. More emotional damage for the missy here that I personal operated on. You know, I wish that I could connect with my patients sometimes but my job refrains me from doing so and when I wish to connect a little bit to help them relax and finish a job it always comes to something happening. You could have kept your mouth shut."
"Hey! I've had enough...Just...Take me to this camp and I'll go lay down For a few hours, days. I don't know how long this depression will last."
"No. I'm sorry but that is also a part of the news I haven't told you. You need to learn to think like a real flamer fox. You can not lay down till you have discovered how to control your emotions. Now I need you to think of warmth from the inside out."
"I don't want to. I just want to be left alone."
"No. Do it.", he commanded.
"No!"
She pushed him away and he grabbed her arm, pulling her back. She punched him and flames burst from the impact, pushing him back a few feet, clenching his singed chest.
"Good...But...You don't need to hit...How did you do that one though?"
"I...Tought like you told me. If it was to get you to shut up then I decided to do it. Plus. I wanted to hit you."
"Good. Let something other than depression take over. Now lets go. and hey. I'm sorry for having to push you and kill your dreams of...Well...Seing your pups. But we are not powerful enough. Once at the camp, you will be taught of how to use your abilities and will be helped in your transformations. Your body will need lots more nutrition as well. So you will require more food. We will do what we can to take care of everything else. Now lets go."