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Chapter 10 : Past and Present

A streamlined car drove along the N14, travelling from Vryburg to Johannesburg. Jacobus Herculaas de la Rey could not contain his excitement. His daughter was alive! She had been genetically modified by criminals and was now a Hyena, but she was alive! He was all but jumping in the passenger's seat with excitement. The two glasses of double pot-distilled brandy he had after the police had contacted him and his wife had only added to his exuberant mood. It also forced Jacoba Elizabeth de la Rey to drive in her husband's place. Not that she minded. But she was a little tired. They had been driving for three hours. Jacoba, a white furred Wolf with a hint of grey, yawned. Jacobus would have offered to swap places with her and drive but he didn't dare risk driving while under the influence. And his mind was on one thing - his daughter Jana. He would likely not have payed much attention to what was happening on the road in his current excited and slightly tipsy state.

"I am so glad they are letting us see her on such short notice!" chimed Jacobus.

Jacoba smirked somewhat wearily. "It's not like they could have justified_not_ letting us see her."

Jacobus smiled and nodded. 'She has a point!' he mused to himself.

He looked out the window and admired the scenery. He had been talking for most of the trip, and suspected that he was starting to get on his wife's nerves. They had long since left the native grasses and planted native trees of the parks that flanked the N14 outside of Vryburg. They were now on the open veldt, large portions of which were covered in cereal crops. Despite the large areas of cultivated farmland, there was still enough uncultivated land for small groups of Springbok to feel at ease grazing near a cluster of native trees that was a fair distance away from both the road and the cereal crops.

Jacobus knew that Johannesburg was off into the distance, and that they could get there in less than a day. They would probably need to find a hotel or a motel to stay in. That way they could rest for a while before seeing their daughter. It would also mean that they could take their time to talk to their daughter. Although he wanted to get there as soon as possible, he knew there was no need to rush. Still, he was curious to know how long it would be before they got the Johannesburg. He brought his attention back to his immediate environment inside the car, and got out his tablet computer. He brought up a navigational program and used it to calculate how long it would take to get to Johannesburg. After a brief moment, a detailed map appeared on the screen. It showed the street view, the course that they were advised to travel along to the police station where Jana was being held. An estimate of the distance they had to travel and an estimate of how long it would take were in the top right hand corner of the map. They were onlyfour hours away from the outskirts of Johannesburg, but that as a long way to drive non-stop. It would be better if they could find somewhere to have a break, to stretch their legs and to get something to eat and drink.

Jacobus turned to his wife. "We probably should find somewhere to have a rest."

His wife smirked. "We are just coming up to our stop."

Jacobus smirked playfully narrowed his eyes. "You and your logical, plan everything ahead nature!"

Jacoba could not help but laugh. After her laughter had subsided, Jacobus's attention turned to the large, long, tub like vats in the field nest to the road. Several vats were lined up besides one another, with a small collection of silver coloured vats and silos at one end. These were in turn in front of a much larger collection of silos and metal vats connected with numerous metal pipes. It was the algae production facility of the farm. Jacobus recalled the day his grandfather, a tall, heavily built wolf with a particularly patriarchal look and a nature as cruel and as ruthless as a rose petal, had brought him out this way to teach him about farming as a child.

He could almost hear the old Wolf's voice. "Algae is grown in these big vats. They use the algae to make fertilizers, which is what they use to make the plans and crops grow. They also use algae to make energy, mostly ethanol, and to turn carbon dioxide from the farms bio-refinery into oxygen. That's how we keep pollution under control."

Jacobus sighed wistfully. It had been nearly a decade since the venerable old Wolf passed away, and he still missed him. After a few minutes they passed the farms solid state fermentation plant. The plant used fibre materials from the farms crop and livestock operation to make nutrient rich feed for the animals, and enzyme activated fibre which was used in the farms bio-refinery to make ethanol. Jacobus remembered his grandfather saying nearly nothing went to waste on a farm.

"The waste products from one area are used in another so that as little as possible was wasted. Nitrogen from the aquaculture plants was used to fertilize the crops; the co-generator plant uses the bio-refineries yeast by-products to make bio-gas, which is then used to make electricity which the farm uses. Excess electricity is fed into the grid."

After several more minutes they passed the farms various production plants and came to a small town. "Town" was not the right word. It was more a collection of buildings that made up a rest-stop for travellers and truckers. There was a tavern, a hotel across the road, several food shops and bakeries, a small post office, some public toilets and little else. But it was a welcome sight. Being in a car for a couple of hours was oddly tiring, and he really wanted to stretch his legs. Jacobus noticed the car slow. His wife turned off the main road, and onto a driveway leading to a tavern. He was expecting her to turn again and park in the car park in front of the building. Instead she drove past the tavern and around the back and parked in front of a row of cabins. Jacobus looked around as he got out of their car. There another row of cabins further back on the property. Both rows of cabins were separated by a spacious darking area. Each cabin had two outdoor chairs and an outdoor table near to their doors. He was impressed.

"This place looks great! I hope we can get a place here tonight."

His wife yawned and replied "we are staying here tonight."

Before he could answer, Jacoba started walking around to the front of the tavern. He quickly followed her as she went to check in at the front bar. They collected the swipe card to their room from the tavern's owner and went back to the cabin.

After they had turned the lights on, they were pleasantly surprised with what they saw. There was a cabinet with draws near the door, a decent sized flat screen entertainment system, and a computer with internet access. There was a couch facing the entertainment system, and on the far wall was a long shelf jutting out from the wall. It was a table, but could just have easily doubled as a bookshelf or a work station. There was a ladder next to the bathroom and shower which led up to the loft where the cabins second bed was located.

"The reviews weren't exaggerated..." was all that Jacoba could say. Most rural rest stop hotels were not this well furnished.

Her husband smiled and went to the car to get the few things that they had packed. They had brought two changes of clothes, their toiletries, phones, and not much else. Jacoba has sitting on the bed.

"You look like you need to have a nap sweetheart."

His wife of thirty years nodded and lay down on the bed. Jacobus watched as her breathing started to slow, became deeper and settled into a predictable rhythm. Not long after she let out a big sigh as she fell asleep. He was surprised how quickly she fell asleep. He knew she was tired, but didn't realize she was that_tired. He wasn't tired, but he didn't want to keep his wife awake by getting on the net or watching television. And he wasn't going to go to the bar and get a drink! He was going to be the driver when they came back after seeing Jana. Looking around the cabin, he suddenly remembered that he had brought a couple of books with him. They were still in the car, behind the passenger's seat where he had put them. He quietly left the room and got the books from the car. It was a beautiful sunny day with a gentle breeze. The mature aged Wolf felt it was too nice to be inside and so chose to sit outside and read. He opened the black covered book that he had found at a second hand bookstore a few weeks ago to continue reading where he had last left off. The book on disaster preparedness and self sufficiency was humorously dated to say the least! And the many references to conspiracies throughout the book made Jacobus laugh and chuckle out loud several times. Still, it did have a few interesting chapters. The one on raising small animals such as ducks, chickens, geese, and certain breeds of sheep was particularly interesting to Jacobus. But it had way too many references to "the end of the world as we know it" and to the "inevitable crash" for his liking. After a few hours of reading, his neck was stiff and sore. Fortunately he had finished the book. It was as interesting as it was outrageous and absurd. Jacobus didn't know if he would keep it. He quietly went inside the cabin and lay down next to his wife to get some sleep. '_Hopefully my neck will feel better after a snooze' thought the Wolf.

Jacoba woke up three hours after she had fallen asleep. Her husband was lying next to her. She didn't know what the time was, so she rolled over to check the clock on the nearby dresser, but it was facing the wrong way. She frowned and sighed as she got up and walked over to the dresser to check the time. It was 5:18pm! She had slept much longer than she usually did when she needed to have a nap.

Jacoba turned the clock so that it faced the bed and lay down on the bed. She curled her legs up towards her chest.Jacobus looked like he was still asleep. She decided to let him sleep some more. 'Jana's not going anywhere after all...' she thought. She felt nervous about meeting her daughter, who was now a Hyena. Would she be the same person? She was still her daughter, but she didn't know how she would react to her in person. She couldn't afford to offend her daughter. She lost her once, and she didn't want to lose her again.

Suddenly he husband poke without opening his eyes. "What's the time, sweetheart?"

Jacoba jumped and let out a yelp of surprise. She glared at her husband who was trying, rather badly, not to laugh. Anger almost instantaneously gave way to playfulness, and she grabbed her pillow and hit him on the head with it. Jabocus sat up while his wife of thirty years kept hitting him with the pillow, and seized her in his arms and planet a kiss on her muzzle. He lay her down on the bed suddenly, using his body to playfully pin her beneath himself.

Jacobus pressed his cheek against the top of his wife's muzzle. "I'd love to keep playing, but we probably should get ready to go and see Jana."

Jacoba sighed. "True."

The pair got up from the bed with some reluctance. Jacobus grabbed his bag and looked through its contents. Although he didn't feel underdressed in his casual clothes, this was the first time he would be seeing Jana as her new self. So he felt it was best to dress up a little. After a few moments rummaging through his bag he found the bone coloured cargo pants that he was looking for. After changing into them he put on a dark grey shirt, and put on his boots. They were made from a lightweight synthetic material that breathed really well.

He smiled as he watched andwaited for Jacoba to finish making some minor adjustments to her clothing. She was wearing an aquamarine coloured skirt that reached down just past her knees, and a long sleeved business style blouse. Something was not sitting right. Or her fur was bunched up underneath something. Regardless, he didn't have long to wait. After Jacoba had finished dressing they both went to the tavern to get a small meal. They chose meals that were balanced for their species. Sixty percent of the meal was made up of a mix of smoked, seasoned, and roasted meats. The remaining forty percent consisted of a mix of fruits, vegetables, grains and cereal foods. Jacobus had a can of traditional flavoured soda to go with his meal, while his wife chose to have water with hers.

"It always tastes better when someone else cooks it" chimed Jacobus.

"A shame it is so far away from home..." replied Jacoba.

After finishing their meals they went to their car and started driving towards Johannesburg. Jacobus was driving this time. Several times Jacoba reminded him to watch his speed. She was not amused. Jacobus was normally a very good driver. But she could understand him wanting to get to Johannesburg as quickly as possible. She did as well, but she just didn't want to get a speeding fine in the process.

After a few hours of driving, Jacobus decided to pull into the rest area that they were approaching. They probably would not be able to stop for a rest as they approached the outskirts of Johannesburg. He looked in the mirrors, checked to make sure no one was in his blind spot, and moved from the right lane into the left lane to turn off into the rest stop. Like the one where they would be staying for the night after they had seen Jana, it was a small collection of building, mostly hotels, around a tavern. There were even a couple of cafes. Both wolves were grateful to be able to stretch their legs and go to the bathrooms. After their quick stop, they continued on to Johannesburg. The traffic became increasingly heavy the closer they got to the city. They were still making reasonably good time, but it was noticeable slower than when they were out on the open highway.

The traffic was heavier than Jacobus liked, but it was not truly heavy for such a big city. Although he would not admit it, he was becoming increasingly impatient. He wanted to see his daughter. Resigning himself to the fact that traffic wasn't going to improve, Jacobus looked at the map on his tablet which Jacoba held up for him to look at. He preferred to read maps rather than have the cars navigation system give him audio directions. Although the audio was not as annoying as some, it still felt like there was a back seat driver in the car to Jacobus when he heard it. He noted the navigation systems chosen route, and carefully looked for their turn off. 'There it is. Good thing this city is built on a grid pattern' thought Jacobus as he turned the corner. He smiled with joy. The police station was in view! His joy was replaced by concern as they got closer however. There were a lot of media vehicles, scores of reporters and many more media support crews.

With this many people around the police station there was no point trying to find a park on the street itself. Jacobus turned down a smaller side street to find somewhere to park. There was no parking in the small side street either! He was forced to go further back away from the police station. Fortunately he did find somewhere to park. And it was a five hour park!

After parking their vehicle Jacobus exchanged a nervous glance with his wife. "This is going to be an experience..."

Jacoba was nervous, and a little scared. "That's one way of putting it..." she said as he ears flattened on top of her head and her tail went between her legs.