Fear and Loathing - Prologue
#1 of Fear and Loathing - The Series
The events leading up to Fear and Loathing.
"The one thing we know the most about our world is that we know almost nothing. For every discovery we make, we discover also that there are dozens more yet to be made." - Samuel Harsent to his collegiate class, 1995
"With so many religions around, and each one claiming to be the one true religion, who is to say who is right? Maybe they are all right, and more. Maybe there are forces out there - alien, deity, or spirit - that we have yet to discover. The universe is a pretty big place after all. Won't we all be in for a shocker if we ever find out more than we want to know?" - Douglas Almanger, during an interview on national TV regarding his theories on the recent strange happenings, 2008
* * *
My brethren and I are awake once again. Our eyes are open, our ears are hearing, and our minds are absorbing the knowledge of the past. As we look into the future, we see a tangled snarl in the threads of fate and time.
We are not the only ones awakening. Many more are beginning to stir, and to become aware of the problem to come. My breath, as it were, comes in a sigh. There is much work to be done. Soon...
* * *
AP NEWS FEED DECEMBER 2008 - The strange events worldwide have begun to escalate in both frequency and severity. They have had impact as widely-ranging as causing the postponement of the United States Presidential Elections and causing a complete halt in all combat activity in the Middle East over the past four months. Scientists are at a loss to explain the phenomena, however tests are continuing to be carried out.
Several new groups have sprung up, claiming that the events are signs of an apocalypse, while others are claiming they are signs of a more benign nature. The only thing that is certain is that there have been no solid answers as to what precisely is happening, or why. Occurrences as severe as situations that have been described bluntly as breaking the laws of physics have been witnessed. The public opinion ranges from concern to panic in some places, and world leaders are doing what they can to quell the cries for action. As the Prime Minister of England said, "We cannot begin to take action until we know precisely what is happening, as every action taken is not acting as it should."
* * *
I pause in my endeavors to observe what others have done as well. The effects may seem strange to many, but the overall result is that the threads of each one's fate have been loosened from their tapestry. Approaching the tangle ahead, with enough give, we may be able to untie the mess.
I return to my examinations of threads. The weave draws near to the new threads coming into the pattern. I must find a suitable strand before they are illegibly interwoven with the newcomers. Each strand I take hold of lights up to my view and I follow it with my mind. So many to go through... they have increased in number so greatly since we were last awake. I look back along the past of the tapestry. Indeed, it was much narrower when I began to slumber.
Soon I find the thread I desire. It touches enough others to be useful without too much reweaving. As I follow it with my mind, I see the tangles it creates and the threads that fade when they meet it. I continue to follow the thread, seeking where it twines within the tangled mass, and where it goes from there.
Yes, this is the thread. This is your thread. Settling down out of the way of others, I take grasp of the thread, and watch, and wait. And soon enough, we reach the newcomers to the tapestry.
* * *
AP NEWS FEED FEBRUARY 2009 - There is still no official explanation as to what has occurred with the sudden appearance of animal creatures in the world. Even less is known as to why there is pre-existing integration. Public records, employment records, and most people even reporting vague memories, all there as if the creatures have been here all along. Employers have expressed shock at discovering that they have records of the animals having worked for them for years, and in some cases, decades.
Previously empty houses and apartments are suddenly found to have rental records and mortgages spanning back as well. And strangely, neighbors who were certain that the residences were empty suddenly have vague but growing memories of the animal having lived there and interacted regularly.
Many studies are being done as memories and histories come together, and the memory of a time without these creatures seems to be slowly fading from the public consciousness. However even these studies are failing in some locations where the memories have become strong enough that even the written paperwork of the studies are being scoffed at as fictional creations. Scientists who wrote the papers one day wonder how they could have been writing something so ridiculous about their animal colleagues the next.
Most people have now settled into waiting for the rest of their "memories" to recover, with only a few incidents still occurring related to the animals. More news as it becomes available, if we remember. - Footnote: This news item was found to be fictional upon review and was retracted with abject apologies to our non-human neighbors. It is only included for archive completeness.
* * *
She looked at her husband in exasperation. "But can't you see? They haven't really been here all along! They are just animals! God damned animals and they shouldn't be walking around and living next door and working with us!" She had memories of them, however they were very weak. She knew in her heart they had to be fake. She could remember before they were here. She could remember a time before people happily called a tiger or a skunk a neighbor.
Jonathan looked at her, seriously trying to decide if she had gone insane. "Kris, really, what's gotten into you? You've never acted this way about them before. You were ecstatic two months ago when Esbell had her kittens, and hoping that we could have our child soon enough for them to grow up together." He was really beginning to grow concerned. This wasn't like her at all.
Kristina shook her head avidly, "No!! Absolutely not! It's all lies! It's all false! They've done something to us. Why can't you see this?" Huffing slightly as a lightheaded feeling overtook her, she staggered and grabbed a chair for support. The fact that her husband didn't reach out to help her this time did not go unnoticed.
His look was stern. "Kristina, you're obviously not feeling well. If this were just today, I'd say lie down. But you've been this way for three weeks now." He looked down and studied his hands for a moment. "I thought it might just be mood swings, from your new pregnancy. That I could have put up with. We worked hard to achieve that. But now you're beginning to scare me."
He looked up at her again with resolve setting into his gaze. "Kris... I want you to come to the hospital with me. I want you to see somebody, find out what is going on. I want to get this taken care of, so we can live and be happy." He held his hand out to her, then took her gently by the wrist.
Her reaction was bordering on violent. She snatched her arm from him with a feral look coming to her eyes. "NO!!" she screamed, "I will not just make it all happy! I will not accept the lies!" She ignored the placating motions and mumbled words he was attempting, backing away further and looking around. "These abominations will PAY FOR THIS!" she exclaimed, and before he could do anything to stop her, she was out the door and running down the street.
Jon made it out in time to see her retreating form. He truly worried for both her and their new son or daughter that she carried, but this was getting to be a bit much. He decided that she should be okay. It was a safe neighborhood, and their neighbors would always watch out for her. He was certain she would be back soon.
He went to the garage to get the car. He felt halfway guilty for not going after her, but he did have one important errand to run. And with her attitude only growing worse, he had a lot of thinking to do. He loved her dearly, but this was almost too much for him to take, and so his mind raced as he headed to the post office, and afterwards to the store to pick up groceries. Then the errand.
* * *
Kris ran as well as she could with the stomach pains. Wasn't "morning sickness" only supposed to be in the morning? She ducked down a side path between homes to catch her breath amidst some bushes. The whole situation couldn't possibly be right. Peoples' minds were being changed, memories being made where there were none. She was afraid... but humans tend to deal with fear by becoming angry. And this is what she was doing.
She clasped her stomach, trying to avoid the urge to vomit as she panted from her running. Maybe it wasn't morning sickness, but rather how sick she was of the situation. If she worked hard, she might be able to convince herself of that. Finally she dropped to her knees, the battle between fear - an urge to run and remove herself from the problem - and sheer violent rage, consuming her more strongly than any mere nausea possibly could.
She didn't hear anybody approaching, but then these animals did walk very quietly by nature. A small hand touched her shoulder and she looked up in shock. "Are you okay?" asked a young bunny girl, her ears perked in cute concern and her nose quivering. This must be one of the new "old" neighbors.
A vague memory of the young rabbit's name being Jeslin came to Kris' mind, but was immediately squelched by the rage building within her. The memory was false! She had never seen this creature before in her life! She knew that for a fact. Her lip curled in a very predatory snarl and Jeslin rightfully took a step back in alarm. Everything after that was a haze of red rage. No sound from came from either; one by choice, one by force.
Then Kris only knew that she had walked calmly back to her house, still feeling detached, and ready to wait for her beloved husband to come home.
* * *
I sigh in sadness as I see the first thread ending at yours. And the other was such a short one as well. But it is not time yet. I must wait, and watch, though it hurts me to do so. I know it will hurt as I look along your thread and see the terminations of so many more. Some I will be able to correct later, but many will stay cut.
* * *
Jon was in turmoil himself as he headed home. His last stop had been to talk to his lawyer. The paperwork was finished. He didn't have to give it to her of course, but it was now in his possession if he felt the need to. The possibility of separation or divorce had been on his mind for two weeks now, ever since she started going off more violently about the morphs. She refused to seek help, or allow him to help her. She was no longer being at all like the woman he once knew and loved. It tore him up inside, but he would hold onto the papers for a few more weeks and see if things got better.
The first thing that caught his attention as he turned onto his street was the rhythmic flashing and strobes of emergency vehicle lightbars in the fading dusk light. As he got closer, he noted that the majority of them were police cars, as well as one ambulance and one paramedic engine. The fact that the police were setting up portable light stands in the area did not seem to bode well. He was surprised, as this had been a very calm neighborhood for years.
Driving carefully around the scene, he parked in his own driveway half a block down, and walked down around the curve in the street to find out what had happened. Enough of his neighbors had already gathered that somebody should know what was going on. Walking swiftly in the chilling air, he soon was approaching the area. He noted that neighbors were standing behind a police-tape line. Definitely not a good sign, he thought.
Finally he was close enough to have a better view. The police were concentrating on a bush-lined walkway that went between two of the houses to the next street over. He saw a gurney being wheeled towards the ambulance with its occupant fully shrouded in a sheet, and realized with a gasp that the body beneath the sheet was very small. He saw some of the canids that worked on the police force down on hands and knees, or all four paws if they had that leg shape, sniffing around the area. He got a sinking feeling in his gut as he saw the rabbit family that lived nearby gathered together and looking horribly distraught.
"What happened?" he asked one of the onlookers quietly.
"I don't know all the details," the man answered, "but from what I gather, their daughter was murdered."
"Murdered?!" Jon demanded, a bit louder than he intended, prompting several folks nearby turned to look at him querulously.
"Aye," an old desert fox murmured, siding up to him. "She was strangled so hard her throat was completely crushed. I may be aging, but these big ears are still good for something." He pointed to his large ears with a sad grin. "The police are also upset that they can't get any decent scent because of how many people pass this way and how many friends the young rabbit girl had had in contact with her."
"That's horrible!" Jon stated, more quietly this time. "I never thought such a thing could happen in our neighborhood. I..." He broke off as he remembered the state Kris was in when she ran off. She couldn't have! ...Could she?
His thoughts were interrupted by a snuffling near his arm and he turned to see a large German Shepard in a police uniform standing up beside him. "Good day," the dog stated. "Not you, but somebody whose scent is on you, was in this area recently. I'll need your information so we can contact you about this. Most likely we will be contacting you later this evening." Blinking, and somewhat dazed-feeling himself, he gave the dog his information, and then headed back towards home.
Grabbing his paperwork and the groceries from the car, he went inside. "Hey, Kris? Did you hear about the murder down the street? A child was killed."
"Ha! No children were killed, only a damn animal. They deserve such things! One less of the vile things is good," was her tart response. Her venom shocked him, and he wondered more now about the situation. He made up his mind though. With a pained look on his face, he began to extract the papers.
"Kris, the police said that somebody whose scent was on me had been there recently. They'll be coming to question me and potentially that person later this evening." He didn't miss the look that flickered across her face for the briefest of instants. He knew her well enough from their years together. Now he knew she had done it.
With the pain creasing his features, he held the papers out to her. She looked at him questioningly, then almost dangerously, and took the papers as he stepped back. "Kristina, I've loved you all these years. We finally even have our child coming in eight months. But this is more than I can take. That is a divorce notice. You have been legally served. I intended to let you keep the house and your car, and much more than the normal half, as well as paying alimony for the child to come... But now I think you should just turn yourself in. Get help, it's for the best for everybody. You aren't the woman I loved. I cannot love somebody who would stoop so low."
Her look went through a gamut of emotions as he spoke, from pain, to shock, to disbelief, to anger, and finally to obvious rage. He was soon backing away from her, reaching behind himself for the front door handle. "I'll be back in a few minutes, Kris. Stay here, please." And with that, he left quickly, running down the street to get the police.
There were a lot of questions thrown at him that made him concerned about how long they were taking, and he glanced up the street frequently, but his home was too far around the bend for him to see. Three officers finally came with him up the street, but by then it was too late. He found the license plates from his car lying on the driveway, minus the car itself. Questioning into the night, confirmation of scent tracking, and soon Kristina was a wanted fugitive. But she was not at all dumb, and had no intent of being caught anytime soon.
* * *
AP NEWS FEED DECEMBER 2009 - While small outbreaks of violence and speciesism have occurred for decades against morphs and furs, the past six months have been more deadly than the past three decades combined. Entire communities have been gunned down and the rare survivors maimed to the point of having no method of communication.
Law enforcement officials across the nation have been on a hunt for the perpetrators of these slaughters, yet there have been no solid leads as of yet. The only hint, strange as it may be, is an indication from scent-tracking that one of the individuals involved may be pregnant.
As always, anybody with any information on these crimes is urged to contact your local law enforcement, or call the hotline.
* * *
I look at the threads that will meet yours and be cut in mere moments. I look at the future of yours, and the myriad routes that it can take through the tapestry. I look at the tangle coming closer than I like. Stretching my awareness, I find you in your world. After brief council with my peers, it is decided that now is my time to act.
A twist in the nether and I have a body. I watch silently from the shadows as your weapon is used to remove the breath from so many so quickly. Then they are all on the ground, bleeding or dead. So many lives lost to this.
I step from the shadows as you draw your knife. You feel a presence behind you, too close for comfort. You swing your rifle up as your knife clatters to the ground, but you have no chance. Can you not see that I am so much faster and stronger than you? My paws catch the rifle, and before you can get your finger to the trigger, the muzzle nudges against the underside of your chin, the still-hot metal uncomfortable to your bare skin.
You could pull the trigger, still, but I know you will not. You value your own life, and that of your unborn, even though you cast no love for the lives you have just stolen, or the countless you have stolen on any other day...
Continue toFear and Loathing
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