Excerpt from Inertial Catalyst (Archeons, book 5), by James L. Steele
Available wherever books are sold
[cover art by Valentinapaz ]
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Portland
1
ā
It was the nicest city Nipe had ever been to. She and Ekal had been living here since the convention five months ago, and she still marveled at it. They had been to cities in which the people guarded themselves against the Relians, and they had been to cities where the people welcomed them with eager scents. Portland, Oregon, was perhaps the friendliest of them all, and she had been fortunate enough to find a compatible human here.
No matter where they went, people in Portland were so eager to talk. It wasnāt unlike being in the contacted universe again, even with the twinge of fear in some peopleās scents. It couldnāt be helped, as the idea of alien life was still new to them, but it had been so refreshing to find so many people curious and eager to get to know them.
Nipe sat next to Veronica. The fox wore a loose-fitting shirt and a pair of shorts, both black. The shorts she understood, but she did not have visible breasts unless she had a child on the way, so she still couldnāt figure out the purpose of the shirt, and why male foxes werenāt expected to wear one.
Ekal, her raptor, stood on the other side of the woman who had taken them in, watching her drink. Nipeās tail wagged. The human body was still a great mystery to them. Their immune system was barely developed compared to a Relianās, and by extension their bodies seemed entirely unaware of substances it should eject. Poisons, toxins, pathogensāit assimilated them all instead of kicking them out.
Alcohol was one substance the human body should have known not to tolerate. Veronica was fond of the stuff. She liked the hard drinks, the light drinks, the mixed drinks, everything except wine. Right now she was drinking vodka mixed with some sort of flavored syrup while chatting up the bartender.
Ekal had tried some the first time Veronica had brought her here, and the reptileās body had rejected the alcohol minutes after she swallowed. In human society, it was rather poor taste to vomit in the street, but the bathrooms here were too small for a theropod. She had been the butt of every joke in every bar in the city since, but playfulness came from their scents, so they had accepted her unusual limit in good humor. Ekal suspected seeing a predatory reptile humiliated in this way helped a prey species feel more comfortable around her. People often called her a dinosaur, quoting lines from Jurassic Park, and she took it in stride, but she wished humans had a better frame of reference for her species than the velociraptors in a monster movie.
Nipe never became intoxicated. Her body filtered out the alcohol immediately. She had infinite tolerance and thus equal fame in the city. She only drank to be part of the company Veronica kept, and to experience the taste of substances that did not exist anywhere else in the universe, contacted or otherwise.
Veronica was talking to the bartender and a couple others about the movies. People still raved about Men in Black, still laughed at Batman and Robin and The Lost World. They had a new movie to laugh at, Spawn, and the jokes flowed like the beer from the tap. Right now they were talking about Gattaca, which was still in theaters, and a welcome change of pace.
Ekal and Nipe laughed at all movies, and they never tired of telling people how cinema looked from their point of view. They could see the spaces between the frames of film, as well as the zipping of the electron gun on a television. Everything sounded forced and fake. None of the characters had a scent, so the emotions and situations on display felt hollow. The audio always sounded clipped above and below, making every line of dialogue feel as if it came from a far distant place. Many of the people in Portland seemed interested in knowing what aliens thought of movies and TV, but most considered it a fleeting curiosity. They didnāt want to know why it was so easy to trick the human mind through acting, but next to impossible to trick a Relian.
Veronica got up from the bar and mingled with the crowd for a while. She sat down at a table with a bunch of her other friends, cradling her drink. Ekal and Nipe followed. The fox sat next to her, snatched someone elseās drink from his hand, and swallowed half of it. One of Veronicaās friends beckoned Nipe to sit in his lap. She switched places and plopped down. Justin was his name. Ekal scented him from across the table and confirmed the alcohol had gone straight to his crotch, as it always did. Justin had slept with Nipe several times, and his scent was still good, so she allowed him to be close to her fox.
The story of Ekal and Nipeās planet being destroyed, and the two of them were there to witness the antisphere tearing it apart as they fled through a portal to another planet and were trapped there for years until the Archeons Rive and Deka found them, had long ceased to be interesting to the bar crowd. Even the more immediate parts about the Relians seeking a new home here on Earth, and how the conventions were meant to help raptors and foxes find suitable humans to live with so they wouldnāt be settled in some district of one major city. The Relians found it rather telling that Veronicaās circle of friends chatted about the movies instead of something real which happened to the entire known universe.
Space Jam came up once, and that led to television shows for children. Power Rangers generated almost as many jokes as Spawn. One woman cleared space to speak and told everyone about her little girl being so into Ren and Stimpy it was scary. Another man at the table brought up his kids being obsessed with Pinky and the Brain, but he didnāt mind, since he recorded it and watched it while the kids werenāt around.
āWhy donāt you watch it with them?ā Veronica asked.
āThe last thing they want to do is watch their favorite show with their father!ā he said.
Everyone laughed, took a drink to that.
Justin held Nipe at the waist, felt under her shirt. Nipe moved with him, grinding against his hard-on, which was not obvious visually, but he smelled aroused, which encouraged Nipe to grind harder.
This was a near-weekly ritual. She and Ekal suspected Justin had a thing for fur, and that he would have come to live with Veronica just to be around Nipe if he could, but Ekal wouldnāt allow it. The man was good for sex, but not for a companion, and she had told him that more than once, both while he had been sober and drunk. He seemed to understand, though Ekal could tell he did not really believe her.
Nipe reclined against his chest, felt behind his ear, rubbing that spot that drove him wild. The others at the table were still talking about kids these days and the TV they watched. This gradually slid into the music they listened to. Veronica had no husband or children, but she listened to the others at the table talk about what was going on at home.
Justinās scent was now so strong it was all Ekal could smell. Nipe knew it was there, too, and that it affected her mood. On most planets in the contacted universe, it was perfectly acceptable to have sex with a Relian canine in public, even if sex was not a public act within the native culture. Here on Earth, humans considered sex something that must remain out of sight and preferably out of hearing and smelling range of anyone else, even with a fox.
Nipe rose from Justinās lap, wagging her tail. Justin adjusted himself and rose from his seat as he followed Nipe to the back of the bar. Ekal tapped Veronica on the shoulder. The human turned and noticed Justin following a red and white tail. She smiled, raised her glass, then turned back to the group.
Ekal walked after Justin just as Nipe opened the barās rear door. The human was already undoing his belt. He pushed open the door with his free hand. The raptor held it open with her neck and stepped outside. It was cold out here, and a back ally in autumn was usually the last place anyone would want to have sex, but Justin liked that Nipe kept him warm.
The fox was already against the wall, shorts pulled down. Justin pulled it out, clearly having planned this, as he wore no underwear. He held Nipe and kissed her on the neck, burying his face in her fur as the cold wind blew through the ally. Nipe pushed backwards with her hips, telling him to hurry up. Justin felt under her shirt with both hands. Nipe wasnāt sure why; she had no tits to grope, but he seemed to like the nipples under the fur. Nipe pushed her hips back into his a few times. Finally he angled himself and slipped in. Nipe felt instantly relieved. She had been eager for days.
Ekal stood just four feet away and watched. The first time she had done this, Justin had been spooked and almost couldnāt keep it up, but he had come to understand who Ekal was to Nipe, and that nothing happened to the fox without her raptor there to make sure she was all right. After the third time, Justin accepted it as part of the deal, and now he barely noticed the theropod watching them at all. Sometimes he made passes at Ekal when he was drunk enough, but the raptor remained untouchable.
Nipe braced herself against the wall. Sheād been told this was one of the dirtiest places one could do it in human society, but human references didnāt matter much to her. Justin laughed about it. He would rather take her home, but Nipe never seemed interested in taking it somewhere else, so he had followed her lead. She seemed happy to keep their relationship within the realm of bar-buddies, so this was the best place to do it.
Ekal smelled something on the other side of the ally. She turned and scented it harder. A car had parked in the ally, blocking it off. Someone stood in front of it, holding a gun.
āNipe,ā she said. āSomethingās wrong.ā
Still moaning from Justinās last thrust, Nipe looked in the direction Ekal was facing.
A shot fired. Ekal flinched and screeched but did not fall. She looked back at herself. Feathers stuck out of her thigh. She looked back up the ally. The man was still there, reloading the gun.
Justin pulled out and stuffed himself back in his pants as he nudged Nipe toward the door. Two more shots fired. One hit Justin in the leg, and the other hit Nipeās torso. Other shots hit the wall and bounced off the door. The first man ran up the ally, and five more sets of footsteps trotted up the other side. Someone inside the bar pulled the door shut and held it. Justin yanked on the door, banging on it and shouting.
Ekal snarled and screeched at the men and women approaching. She ran around Nipe and Justin and stood between them and the approaching humans. The people wore large coats and ski masks, far too much for the weather, but not entirely out of place either. They slowed their approach, all eyes on the reptile.
She began to feel numb. The sensation began at her hip and worked its way up her spine. Her legs began to wobble, and she turned to Justin. He was sliding down the door, slack-jawed and dreamy-eyed. Nipe had fallen on top of him, eyes already closed.
Ekal managed to stay upright and lunged at the attackers. They leaned backwards as a group, holding position twenty feet away. She turned to the lone man on the other side of the ally, the one who had shot her. He stood fifty feet away, aiming his gun at her again. She opened her mouth and screeched at him.
Another shot. This one hit her in the chest, and now the numb feeling spread from that point. She lost control of her legs and collapsed to the dirty asphalt, which emboldened the people in the other group. They ran along the wall straight to Nipe. Three of them picked her up, and they carried her down the ally to one of the cars.
Ekal screeched and tried to stand, but she was moving in slow motion.
The man who had shot her twice strolled up and stood over her. His coat was thick, and his orange ski mask did not obscure his contemptuous scent. He knelt closer, looking her in the eye.
āDonāt take it personally. This isnāt about you or her. Itās about all of you.ā
Ekal wanted that scent rotting in her stomach. She raised her leg, flexed her killing claw, and slashed the man across the shin. Her claw struck bone. Ekal smelled blood. The man cursed and fell to his hands and knees. Ekal pulled herself across the asphalt, moving in slow motion toward him. A few men and one women were running up the ally from the car, shouting to him.
The man on the ground crawled and turned toward the car he came from. Even drugged up and mostly numb, Ekal was faster. She caught up to him and reached for his face. A claw slid through his skin easily and struck solid bone. He wailed and writhed as she gripped him. Ekal crawled up the rest of the way, opening her mouth. The others had caught up to him and were now piling on top of her. She felt another needle pierce her scales, and now she felt entirely disconnected from herself. The asphalt didnāt feel like anything. Air felt like water.
Someone was pulling his mask off, and another person was pulling him away from Ekalās hand. The mask fell free and dangled from her claws, and they dragged him away, screaming. She had pierced his left eye, and blood was everywhere. They hoisted him up to his feet, grabbed his gun, and walked him to the car. Ekalās hand fell. Her vision felt numb as well, and she slipped away. She felt someone running back and kicking her a few times, and then the ally fell still.
ā
ā 2
The spacetime sphere opened in the alley at six oāclock in the morning, and Secretary Rhine and the tan and grey raptor stepped through. It closed behind them, and Riveās nose took him immediately to the blood on the asphalt, individual splatters marked by plastic cones with numbered pieces of paper taped to them.
On the other side of the alley, a uniformed police officer ducked under the crime scene tape and approached them. CJ turned to face him, briefcase in one hand, faxed documents in the other.
āLieutenant Slim?ā she called.
āMs. Rhine, Archeon Rive. Nice to meet both of you. Iām sorry it has to be like this.ā
CJ met him halfway and shook hands.
āI read your reports,ā she said. āHave you checked all the hospitals?ā
āI had a couple officers blanketing the area, checking all ERs and clinics. Nobodyās reported any eye injuries yet.ā
CJ walked to where half-metal theropod was scenting.
āWe got statements from everyone in the bar,ā the lieutenant continued. āThe blood we collected is being analyzed. Ekal, the raptor, worked with the boys to produce a composite image of the guy she wounded. We have the darts they used.ā
āYes, darts, lieutenant?ā
āFull of morphine.ā
They stopped in front of the cones. Rive sniffed around, crouched low.
āMorphine is a controlled substance,ā CJ said. āOnly hospitals have it.ā
The lieutenant nodded. āWeāre looking at employees of nearby hospitals, trying to find a match to the sketch. No fingerprints were recovered. Everyone at the bar checks out as a regular.ā
āYour report said someone held the exit door closed from the inside. Did anyone see someone come in and leave in a hurry, or without buying a drink or talking to anyone?ā
āNobody noticed. No one saw the cars either. The crime was very quiet. If not for Ekal wounding one of the suspects, we might not have anything to go on at all. Chief called you here because he thought youād want to be in the loop. Any talents this guy can bring to the team would be a help.ā
Rive turned to him, rising to full height. āEkal already told you what she knew from his scent, did she not?ā
āYeah. White male, late thirties, brown hair, brown eyes. Describes half the people in the city.ā
āNot his appearance, his scent.ā
āScent testimony isnāt exactly evidence, Mr. Rive.ā
āA wound like that would need to be treated right away,ā CJ said. āHe must be in a hospital by now. Are you sure nobodyās found anything?ā
āSo far, nobody has called.ā
āIs there a chance hospital staff are covering for him? If they got morphine from a hospital, it makes sense theyād give him care under the radar.ā
āSomebody would notice. Let me take you to the station. You can interview Ekal and Veronica and look over the evidence. Youāll meet the people working on this case.ā
He turned and led them down the alley to a patrol car blocking it.
Rive walked by the officerās side. āHas anyone asked why these people would want to kidnap a fox?ā
āSure we have. Until we know who these people are, itās all wild guesses ranging from a prostitution ring to illegal fur trading.ā
āEkal testified the man she wounded told her not to take it personally. That this was about all of us. She thought he was referring to all Relians.ā
āAny idea what it means?ā Lt. Slim said.
āOne.ā
āWhatās your hunch?ā CJ asked.
āI need to be sure I have all the information before I say.ā
Rive ducked under the crime scene tape, CJ and the officer two steps behind him.
ā 3
Nipe woke up in a large room, cold, thirsty, head swimming. Her clothes were missing. She rose from the concrete floor, scenting the dusty air.
She was in a cage. The vertical bars reminded her of prison cells she had seen in movies and television shows. Four walls of bars enclosed within a larger room of concrete and steel. The bars ended in a drop ceiling with a hatch built into it. She walked up to the bars, which looked pristine.
āHello?ā
Her voice echoed. She smelled nothing alive in here. The vent blew warm air inside. Electricity hummed. She turned around and faced the rear wall. A tripod stood outside the bars, a camcorder mounted on it, plugged in, red light visible on top.
She heard footsteps overhead. Loud, angry voices shouted above the drop ceiling, and the sound of a dog snarling and barking.
Sounds of metal clanging.
Sounds of cursing and snarling.
The hatch in the ceiling opened, and something lowered into Nipeās cage.
āWhatās going on? Where am I? Ekal! Ekal!ā
A large dog kennel attached to a thick rope descended. The door of the kennel was attached to a string leading out of the hatch. The kennel lowered all the way, and now Nipe saw the rottweiler inside. The dog had bite marks up and down her muzzle, some of her fur was missing, and she smelled starved and terrified. At the sight of Nipe, the dog snarled.
Nipe backed away. The kennel touched the concrete, the rope attached to the gate yanked upwards, and the door opened. The dog bolted out of the kennel.
Nipe screamed, dropping to all fours and dashing along the wall. The dog veered for her. The cage was only large enough for her to run three strides in any direction, so she leaped at the bars and tried to climb them. The dog latched onto her tail and shook it. Nipe fell to the concrete and landed on the dog. She lunged for Nipeās arm and clamped down. Nipe bared her teeth and growled at the dog, reaching for the neck.
Now she was speaking the dogās language. The rottweiler let go of the fox and backed away, displaying her teeth. Nipe rolled to all four legs and snarled back. The dog barked at her, fur raised. Nipe raised her fur and barked louder. The rottweiler growled and circled her. She was starving, and she smelled like she had been through a lifetime of this and was alive today only because she had climbed over the dead bodies of everyone she had ever met. Her scent filled Nipe from head to tail. She knew what the dog understood, and there was only one way out of this.
Nipe leaped at the dog. The rottweiler snarled and then clamped Nipeās muzzle. She reached under the dogās jaw with a hand and clawed downwards. It forced the dogās mouth open for a split second, then she held the dogās muzzle between her jaws. Nipeās bite was stronger, and seconds later the rottweiler dropped to the concrete, whining in agony.
Her first thought was that she had shown this dog who was dominant, so she could let go. Her second thought was this dog would wait until Nipeās back was turned and then leap on her and go for the throat.
That rottweiler scent... She hated it. It was a threat to her life, and she had to get rid of it or it would destroy her.
She squeezed as hard as she could. Something cracked in the dogās muzzle, and she urinated on herself. Nipe opened her mouth up and dove for the throat. She tore it free as she jumped away.
Nipe sat on the concrete, back against the bars. She smelled new scents outside the cage and whipped around to face them. Three men and two women stood against the far wall on the other side of the bars. She recognized their scents. She rose to her hind legs and held the bars, still snarling as the flesh and fur worked their way down her throat.
āWhere am I?ā
Nobody answered.
āWhat are you doing?!ā
They smiled. One of them broke away and stood by the tripod. He removed the camera and walked around the cage, watching the view screen.
āDo you have any idea what almost happened?!ā Nipe screamed. āWhereās Ekal? Whereās my raptor? Do you know what happens to me if sheās not around?!ā
One of the men smiled, his scent full of disgust.
Nipe snarled and pounded on the bars. She gnawed one of them and then howled at the men and women. She screamed at the man holding the camera.
āIām prone to reverting! Do you know what that means?! Have you ever seen a fox revert?! I need Ekal! Iāll kill all of you if sheās not here! I canāt stop myself!ā
The man holding the camera clearly wanted to get closer to Nipeās face, but he remained just out of reach.
ā 4
Ekal paced the police interview room, her scent as panicked as her breathing. Veronica sat in one of the chairs, hand on her forehead, eyes closed. The clock on the wall read nine a.m. Rive followed Ekal with his eyes as she paced the length of the room. The other officers didnāt want to be in the same room with her right now, and they didnāt know how Veronica could be so comfortable with a dinosaur pacing like a caged lion. CJ watched through the small two-way mirror, standing beside lieutenant Slim.
āI didnāt smell anyone at the bar who hadnāt been there before,ā Ekal was saying.
āWas it routine to go to the back alley with Justin?ā Rive asked.
āIt happened almost every week. Nipe never wanted to wait. Nobody minded what they were doing.ā
āSomebody knew you three would be out there. Do you know of anyone who would want to take her away, or why?ā
āI donāt know! Rive, if sheās alone for just a fewāā
āThatās why youāre coming with us while the secretary and I help the police find your fox. If Nipe has reverted, it should be you who brings her back.ā
Veronica raised her head from her hands. āWhy would they do this? Where would they take her?ā
āI will look into that. I have a few ideas.ā
āWhat?ā Veronica asked.
Rive turned and addressed the mirror. āThe kidnappers would have to know a fox can revert to her old ways if separated from her raptor too long. They would have taken her somewhere they believe could hold a fox. I want to look at public records of building sales and leases. I also want you to expand your search to hospitals out of the city and state. Partner with other districts and have them visit their hospitals. Anywhere within a reasonable distance for an injury of that type. I have good reason to believe the kidnapperās intent is to force Nipe to revert.ā
āForce her?ā Lt. Slim said to CJ. āWhat on Earth for?ā
Rive walked to the door and opened it. Ekal followed him. Veronica rose from the seat, still holding her head. The metal raptor rounded the corner and looked directly at Lt. Slim.
āWhat makes you so sure of the motive?ā asked the officer.
āYou wouldnāt believe me if I told you the truth, so I will say I was privy to a conversation that prepared me for this. Please expand your hospital search. Tell me, officer, if you had to keep a violent animal penned up, where would you go?ā
āPlenty of buildings in town it could be done.ā
āGive me addresses, and I will need sales records for the previous six months.ā
āWhoa, Mr. Rive, that kind of thing takes weeks to collect and authorize.ā
āWhy?ā
āItās police work.ā
āA reverted fox is more dangerous than an earthquake. This is not some missing persons case youāre dealing with. People will die if Ekal doesnāt find her fox, and that is not a threat.ā
Lieutenant Slim did not look as moved as he should have been. āIāll see what I can do.ā
Rive stepped up to him. āIf we have to, we will scent the whole city on foot until we find her.ā
The lieutenant nodded and yawned. Rive huffed as he walked by him, Ekal following just behind. CJ turned and ran to catch up.
āWhat conversation are you talking about?ā
āThe one that happened just before Deka, Sonjaa, and Kylac left Earth. I heard a man talking about something like this happening. I believe this is deliberate.ā
They turned a corner. CJ was having a difficult time keeping up with the raptors.
ā 5
Nipe shivered in the corner of the cage. She wasnāt cold, but the smell of blood was starting to make her feel good. She fought it by conjuring memories of Ekalās scent to force her lower mind back where it belonged.
She had killed three more dogs over the previous day. All of them had been lowered into her cage via the kennel. Occasionally the hatch opened and water poured from the ceiling. It was the only drink she had besides the blood of the dogs. After the first day, she realized no food was coming; the dogs were meant to be her food. She loathed it, but she relented. Their meat was sour from months of fear and rage. She hoped it would always repulse her.
Occasionally, men and women stood behind the bars and observed her. Sometimes someone picked up the camera and recorded her from different angles. The men and women on the other side of the bars never spoke to her.
It had been hours since the last dog dropped. She could hear them upstairs, snarling at each other, barking, wrestling for dominance. She counted at least six sets of paws above her. She hated the noises they made. She was starting to hate their scents, which made her shiver even more. The last few times she had reverted, it happened so fast there had been no time to think about it. This time it was happening slowly, and she felt herself coming closer and closer to the abyssāplenty of time to ponder what was about to happen.
A man opened the door and stepped into room on the other side of the bars. He had a hose. He turned on the nozzle and washed the blood out of the cage, as well as the panic scat and Nipeās urine and bodily waste. His face was neutral, but his scent was full of terror. He had probably drawn the short straw today, so he got this job.
āYou know whatās happening, donāt you?ā
The man pretended not to hear her.
āPlease donāt do this to me. Once I fall off the edge, you canāt bring me back. Only a raptor can. If I get out of here, I will kill all of you, and I wonāt be able to stop myself. If I escape the building, I will kill anyone in scenting distance, and I wonāt be satisfied until everyone around me is either dead or bleeding.ā
The man turned away from her. He sprayed a turd out of the cage and into a hole in the wall.
Nipe stood up and held the bars. āYou think these bars will hold me? I will get out.ā
The man turned. She gasped and held onto the bars as he raised the stream to her face. Nipe shouted as the water bored into her fur.
āBars wonāt keep you safe! Nothing will! Without our raptors, foxes are the most horrifying form of life in the contacted universe! We donāt sleep until everything around us is dead! I promise youāll be the first one I kill when I get out of here!ā
He walked closer, holding the spray on her muzzle. Nipe held tighter, letting her arm take most of the force.
āI wonāt wait until youāre dead to eat you! Iām starting to like the smell of blood already! Itās making me happy!ā
He aimed the spray back down to the floor and pushed the last of the blood and shit out of the cage. He then turned the water off and began pulling the hose back with him to the door.
Nipe sagged on the bars, panting, looking at him under her arm. āIām not too far gone. Sex would keep me from reverting for a while. Wouldnāt take much. Just undo your pants and get me through the bars. Itāll help me a lot. Please...ā
The manās face wrinkled. He gathered the rest of the hose and pulled it through the door, then slammed it shut.
The overhead hatch opened. Nipe slid down from the bars and stood halfway between biped and quadruped. Another dog was coming. His scent was repulsive. She wanted all those dogs over her head to bleed so they couldnāt hurt her again.
ā 6
Rive flipped through records of condemned buildings in the old parts of town. Some of the records had photographs, and he committed all of them to memory, along with addresses.
It had taken a painfully long time to acquire these records, two whole days since he first asked. He had already read through the statements of everyone at the bar on the night the kidnapping happened. Nobody had seen anything unusual. It was normally such a friendly place. Everybody knew each other, and it was so relaxed and calm there. There hadnāt been any serious crime in the area in years.
In the middle of this room, Justin Isewell sat in the chair. CJ sat across the table from him, flanked by a couple deputy officers.
āAre you sure you donāt remember anyone strange in the bar that night?ā
āThere was nobody unfamiliar that I could see. But I wasnāt really watching. I was more interested in Nipe.ā
āI understand you two are close.ā
He smiled. āIām her favorite. Itās weird for me.ā
āWhy is that, Mr. Isewell?ā
āBecause Iām gay.ā
āOh. I see. If I may ask, how did you become involved with Nipe?ā
āWe met at that bar. I was curious about her. We got to talking. The longer I was with her... Caught me off guard. Iāve never met a woman I wanted to get close to. Something about her. I hear foxes can do that. Iāve done things with her I never thought Iād do.ā He laughed.
CJ smiled. āCan you think of anyone who might want to hurt her?ā
āNobody. I wasnāt the only guy she slept with. Everyone loved her, and I donāt mean that in a dirty way.ā
āWere any of her other partners at the bar that night?ā
āHalf the men in that bar had been with her at least once. Half the women, too. She wasnāt afraid to move things along. Someone knew weād be out there. They were ready for all of us. I canāt imagine anyone who had been with her being part of this. Especially if they knew Veronica. She used to be so withdrawn. Sheād come out and drink, but would usually sit alone.ā
āWhy did she sit alone?ā
āLot of breakups. Lot of disappointment. Most of it I donāt even know about. Then Ekal and Nipe came along. They helped her through that. She recovered, and now sheās joined up with everyone again. Itās like the old Veronica is back. Havenāt seen her in years.ā
The door opened, and lieutenant Slim poked his head in. āMadame Secretary, we have a break. A hospital.ā
CJ stood up. āDid you find the wounded man?ā
āItās worse than that. Heās in critical condition.ā
Rive looked up from the stack of papers. āTake us to him. Ekal and I will identify him.ā
āWhere is he?ā
āSacramento.ā
āThat far away?ā CJ said. āGet us a map of the area. Rive can make a way much faster.ā
An hour later, lieutenant Slim and CJ walked through the doors of the hospital. A doctor and someone in business casual clothing leaned on the front desk. At the sight of two dinosaur-like creatures behind the humans, the two men straightened up.
Lieutenant Slim held up his badge. CJ flashed her ID as well.
āWhatās the story?ā said the lieutenant.
The men shook hands with everyone, nodding to the raptors. The theropods bobbed necks in return.
āCame in by helicopter last night. Wouldnāt say how it happened. His left eye is punctured. Apparently someone else tried to treat the wound but didnāt do a good job. Itās severely infected, and the infection has spread to his circulatory system. The pilot didnāt know him. Was under orders to bring him here.ā
āWhereās the pilot?ā
āIn the break room. Local police detained him.ā
āPlease take me to him,ā said Lt. Slim. āThis is Rive and Ekal. They know the manās scent, and they will tell us if itās the same man.ā
The doctor waved for the theropods to follow. CJ followed Rive. Lt. Slim walked with the business casual man down a different hall.
The doctor turned a few corners, opened a few doors, and then led them to an intensive care room. As soon as the raptors entered the room, they both growled.
āThatās him,ā Ekal said.
āIs he in any shape to talk?ā CJ asked the doctor.
āYou can try, but keep the dinosaurs out of the room, please.ā
CJ stepped inside. Rive and Ekal backed away and stood in the hall.
The man in the bed had gauze over one side of his face. His leg was also bandaged and elevated. His remaining eye was closed. CJ picked up his chart. He had been admitted under the name Calvin Basil, and someone had noted that he had paid for treatment up front in cash.
CJ stood over him and cleared her throat.
āMr. Basil.ā
The man opened his eye but did not speak.
CJ decided to cut straight to the chase. āI know how you were injured. You were abducting a Relian canine, and her raptor defended herself.ā
He closed his eye.
āThe police here took your prints and faxed them to Portland. They identified you as Kevin Parson. You were part of a couple dog-fighting operations in the past, arrested in four states. Soon they will match your hair and blood to a crime scene in a back alley in Portland a few days ago. Did they tell you this wound might be fatal?ā
He lay still for a moment, then he nodded.
āMy name is CJ Rhine. Iām not the police. Where did they take Nipe?ā
He did not speak.
āWhy did they take Nipe?ā
No response.
āWhat are you doing in Sacramento?ā
He laughed weakly. āBecause the nurse couldnāt help me.ā
āWhat nurse?ā
āShe works for us on the side. Gets us our drugs. Makes it easier to deal with the dogs. If I had gone to the hospital right away, I might not be in bad shape. But... Couldnāt risk it.ā He opened his eye. āWill you be my lawyer?ā
āYou might not live long enough to need one. How did you get to Sacramento in the first place?ā
āHe sent a chopper. I paid him cash. Hoping the cops wouldnāt look this far.ā
āWhere is Nipe? Why did you take her?ā
He smiled. āYouāll see.ā
āYou know what happens if she reverts, donāt you?ā
āOnce they have what they need, theyāll abandon the place. Then you can do whatever you want with the bitch. I didnāt want the job, but money talks.ā
āWho hired you? What job?ā
āI donāt know who hired me, but... he paid us a fuckload of money... to... it.ā
CJ looked at his IV. The morphine drip had started.
āThank you, Mr. Parson. I promise weāll be in touch. I hope you recover.ā
āBullshiii... You wan me dead. Everyone duh...sss...ā
His eye closed, and he drifted off. CJ turned and left the room, stopping in the hall. The raptors looked at her eagerly.
āWe heard him,ā Ekal said. āWhat now?ā
āWe let the police and the doctors do their work. I hope he lives so I can send him to prison.ā
Lieutenant Slim was walking up the hall, notepad in hand. CJ led the way to meet up with him, and they stood off to the side as doctors and nurses passed them, doing double-takes at the raptors.
āNothing useful,ā he said. āPilot works for a private company. He was given the order to land outside of Portland, pick up a man, and fly him here. He doesnāt know anything else. I got his employerās number. Weāll call up the ranks, get phone records, see if we can find who paid them.ā
āDo whatever you need to do to tie that man to the crime scene. Rive and Ekal already identified him. Heās in no shape to talk, and heās not saying much anyway.ā
āDid he say what they wanted with her?ā Lt. Slim said.
āOnly that weāll find out soon enough.ā
ā 7
The dogs just kept coming. One every few hours. They seemed to have an infinite supply up there. When the hatch opened, she looked up eagerly for another scent to destroy. Dogs now cowered in front of her; they didnāt even want to fight, only to escape. Nipe had torn the kennel apart when one dog refused to come out, and now they threw dogs down the hatch. Sometimes they landed without breaking any bones, sometimes they didnāt. It was all the same to Nipe now. As long as their living scents were in her nose, anxiety filled her.
She tore them apart, whether the dog was moving or not. She had done this several times, and now a new dog fell from the hatch and landed on his side. He yelped and rose to his feet unharmed, snarling at Nipe.
Blood matted Nipeās fur from head to tail now. She rolled in it after every kill, getting as much on herself as possible. Blood smelled so good. It was the only thing that calmed the anxiety and made her happy.
This dogās scent filled her with rage and terror. She lunged for the dog and grabbed him by the forepaw. She chewed until something snapped. The dog limped away, tail between his legs, whimpering and leaving a trail of urine. The piss was a plea for mercy, and the dog was bleeding, so Nipe backed away and allowed him to live for now.
The side door opened. Five new scents walked in, all of them wearing ski masks. Nipe snarled at them, lunged at the bars and reached through, trying to claw them. They remained by the wall. One of them picked up the camera. He walked around, recording her from different angles. She followed this man around her cage, reaching for him, snarling and yelping. His scent was not wounded, and it made Nipe furious. She wanted it dead.
After a few minutes recording this, the man handed the camera to someone else, who turned it to the cage, while the first man stood before it.
āJust the other day she was coherent and friendly. Now look at her. Do you want this living in your neighborhood? Do you want it near your children? Do you...ā
ā 8
ā...want it serving your food, or working in your office?ā
The man on the tape was shouting over the sound of the fox in the cage in the background. CJ, Rive, half the police officers in the building, Ekal, and Veronica huddled around the tiny television. Most of the humans stood slack-jawed. The fox on the tape was drenched in blood and clawing the air through the bars, trying to reach the man narrating the scene.
āWeāre sending this footage to every news outlet in the country. Someone will report it. Someone will show the world the truth of what weāve let into our homes! You canāt hide the truth forever!ā
Lt. Slim paused the tape.
āThis was delivered to a local news station this morning. They called us as soon as they saw what was on it.ā
Rive turned to the other officers. āI know where they are. I want only lieutenant Slim and Secretary Rhine to accompany me and Ekal.ā
āHow do youā?ā Lt. Slim started to say.
āThe interior matches a description of an abandoned factory I saw in the records. Youāll want to check its history to find out who owns it. Take us there and hope weāre not too late.ā
Rive turned and bolted out the door.
āTo save her?ā CJ called.
āTo save the kidnappers.ā
ā 9
Nipe noticed only one set of footsteps overhead. This made her feel better, but she would not feel safe until all of them were bleeding or dead.
The camera was gone. Nobody had come to hose down the cage, or bothered to clean up the blood. Nipe was aware of human scent above her and around her, and it filled her head with rage that only the smell and taste of blood would calm.
She had two crippled dogs in the cage with her. They didnāt fill her with anger because they were limping and bleeding. One had been bleeding off and on for more than a day. When it stopped, she bit it again, and she felt much better when the blood flowed. They cowered every time she shifted positions and stayed on their side of the cage all the time.
The hatch opened again. Sounds of the last dog scuffling and whining and protesting filled the room. Nipe smelled humans up thereāmore scents that enraged her. She had to find them and destroy them before they destroyed her. She crouched under the hatch and leaped. The hatch was just barely out of reach. She landed, leaped again. The hatch came closer. A dog slid over the opening and fell through. Nipe waited for him to land on the concrete, stepped on his wounded body, then leaped again. Her head peeked above the opening, and she grabbed it with both hands.
She was in the middle of another cage made of chain link fence. The floor was slick in blood, fur, and dog feces. Several men crouched behind the fence, holding brooms, shovels, or long poles. They leaped backwards when they saw Nipe at the hole.
Nipe brought her hind legs up and leaped out of the hole straight for the shovel-holding man. She jumped on the shovel and climbed it to the manās arm and sank her teeth into it. The man howled. Nipe grabbed him and pulled him into the fence. Other men gathered around the cage and began beating her with broomsticks and shovels.
She released the man and snarled at all of them. She leaped at the fence and clamped down on the metal. The links bent and snapped. She spat out the metal. The men scrambled around the room and poured through the doorway. Nipe grabbed the metal and pulled outwards. The fence bent and twisted, and the links started to snap. The human scent became stronger than ever. Rage filled her muscles.
She bit and pulled, opening a ragged hole in the fence, and climbed through, the metal scraping her skin, gouging it deep. She rose to her hind legs and followed the scents.
Nipe found many. Some held knives. Others had guns. They couldnāt use them fast enough, and she snuffed them out one by one. When the last one was dead, and their blood filled her nose, she sat down and relaxed. She smelled nothing in here that could harm her.
Her tail wagged.
ā 10
The patrol cars pulled up to the old factory. Rive and Ekal opened the back doors and then dashed up to the entrance. It had a padlock on the front doors, and Rive and Ekal waited for the policeman to come. He carried a pair of bolt cutters. Lt. Slim clipped the locks, and Ekal threw open the doors. She caught the scent and disappeared inside.
Rive turned to CJ and the lieutenant. āWeāll come back when itās safe.ā
The metal raptor took off after Ekal. Lt. Slim stood by the door and drew his pistol. CJ waited ten seconds, then ran in the direction Rive and Ekal had gone.
CJ followed Riveās tail around a couple corners. She passed a human body, neck torn open, blood dry. Flies covered the corpse, and they swarmed when she approached. She ignored them and followed the sound of clicking claws on old tile flooring.
She ran down a flight of steps and came to an open door just as raptor claws ceased to click. She heard growling and stopped at the doorframe. She peeked around. This basement area had prison bars running from floor to ceiling, and they formed a large cell in the center of the room. Outside the cage, on the other side of the room, stood a Relian canine.
CJ remembered Nipe from the conventions. She had spoken to her several times before she and Ekal found Veronica. Here she was now, covered in blood, hunched halfway down to all fours, snarling at Ekal. Rive crouched on the other side of the room, cutting off her retreat.
Bones, blood, and feces littered the interior of the cage. Skulls, femurs, spines. CJ recognized them as dog bones, some still slick with blood, and some had body parts attached to them.
Nipe snarled at Ekal and swiped a forelimb at her. Ekal lunged and collided with Nipe, sending her to the hard floor. The fox raised her arms and legs and raked her claws on Ekalās underbelly. The raptor was trying to lie on top of the fox, but Nipe thrashed too hard. She wiggled and rolled out from underneath the raptor, smacking her across the snout with her claws as she backed away.
She ran toward Rive. The raptor kicked her with his metal foot, throwing her against the wall. The fox snarled at him. Rive backed away and screeched at her.
Ekal grabbed the foxās neck in her jaws and picked her up. Nipe thrashed and howled. The raptor slammed her to the floor and lay on top of her before she could wiggle away. She held her head down by the neck and lay still. The fox snarled and struggled, but her limbs thrashed helplessly in the air, unable to find anything to scratch or grip. Rive ran up to her, held her wrist with one hand and the other arm in his jaws. Her legs were the only things free to move.
She lay on her fox for five solid minutes. The snarls and screams gradually yielded to calm breathing. Another minute later, CJ heard a voice she distantly recognized.
āEkal...ā Nipe said.
Rive released the foxās arms. Ekal rose, nuzzling Nipeās snout. The fox sat upright. She looked as drained as she sounded.
āEkal,ā she repeated, gasping. āThey had dogs. They wanted me to revert. It felt good. It felt so good...ā
She pushed her muzzle into Nipeās chest. Nipe wrapped her arms around her and breathed her scent.
Rive turned around and looked at CJ through the bars.
āItās safe now. Come in.ā
CJ stepped into the room. āHoly mother of God.ā
Rive folded his hands close to his chest. āA fox without a raptor. This is what they are without us. It can be even worse. I brought back many foxes from the old ways. Before my metal, I was even more afraid than you are now.ā
āAnd theyāre all like this?ā
āMost. Some are more prone to reverting than others. We teach our foxes how to divert these impulses into other things. The result makes them overly sexual, but it frees the higher mind to work. The instincts are never far below the surface. They can assert themselves at any time. A raptorās scent keeps their higher mind active. This is what happens when they revert.ā
CJ looked through the bars at Ekal and Nipe. The fox stood now, leaning on her raptor. Ekal moved, licking the fur on her neck, and Nipe limped with her.
āI killed them,ā she was saying. āTheyāre all dead. All of them are here. They canāt hurt me.ā
āItās not your fault,ā Ekal said, leading her around the cage. āIām here now. I wonāt let you stay that way.ā
CJ backed away.
Rive approached her. āRemember this is what she always was. This was not too far under the surface. Same for all intelligent creatures, but Relain canines especially. Their animal nature is so close to the surface. Itās why we live in pairs. Relian theropods have been helping the canines overcome these instincts for so long the raptors have developed an instinct to help foxes.ā
Ekal led her fox to the door. CJ held still. Nipe paused in front of CJ, scented her, reached up, licked her face, then followed her raptor up the stairs. CJ had frozen.
Rive had walked around the cage and stood in front of CJ. He nudged her with his snout. CJ unfroze and turned to the cage. She walked around it, observing it from all points in the room. She stopped at the spot where she recognized the camera had recorded Nipe. Rive still stood at the door, visible through the bars.
āThe bars are new,ā CJ said. āSomeone gave them a lot of money for this. Itās too elaborate. They didnāt do this for some crusade to reveal the truth, and they didnāt just take the money and run. They were promised something else. They must have been. Rive, this isnāt over. Thereās going to be a lot of questions. Maybe a trial. We wonāt be able to keep this out of the press.ā
āWill you represent her?ā
āI canāt. Iāll be seen as too biased. And who knows how many other people they sent tapes to. Someone will leak it. Even if we tell the whole story, people will only see that, and they will be scared out of their minds.ā
She took a few more steps, observing the cage. Rive followed her with his eyes from the other side of the room.
āKevin Parson told me as soon as they got what they wanted, theyād leave. They hadnāt left. What else did they want? Was the tape the whole point, or was there more?ā
Rive remained where he was and spoke across the room, through the bars, over the dismembered dog remains.
āI believe capturing a reverted fox on tape was the goal.ā
āWhy? What are they getting out of it? What was the point of this?ā
āAs they say here, follow the money,ā said the raptor. āIf weāre lucky, someone made a mistake, and we can find out who gave them funding to do this. Whoever wanted it done also wanted the press to have it in reserve, ready to broadcast at a momentās notice. They want the people to be outraged and scared. It will be used as an excuse for the people in government to make life for the Relians very difficult. Taking this to trial will achieve the same thing.ā
āWhat do you know, Rive?ā
āI donāt know anything. Iāve only heard rumors.ā
āWhat rumors? What are you talking about?ā
āI will tell you when I know the rest of the story. As soon as Ekal and Nipe recover, I want to interview them, along with Veronica and Justin. He said some interesting things earlier, and Iād like to have them on tape.ā
āInterview?ā She glared at him through the bars. āHow can you think about interviews now? Rive, we have a nightmare of legal trouble ahead of us. Weāre talking murder, manslaughter, kidnappingāhow are laws meant for humans supposed to apply to Relians? How far can you take self-defense before it becomes murder? Do the same limits that apply to humans also apply to Relians? Are there special provisions for foxes who revert, and will there be charges for someone who causes a fox to revert, and are foxes responsible for their actions when they do? These are questions that are going to the Supreme Court. I need to prepare casesāI need to get attorneys ready for this.ā
Rive bobbed from the waist. āI believe itās time to learn how the Relians and the humans they chose at the conventions are getting along. The people who paid money to have that tape made have heard, and they are scared. I am sure this incident was planned in order to draw attention away from how well things are actually going.ā
The raptor turned and walked through the door and up the stairs.
CJ stared through the bars. She heard police sirens in the distance. She gripped one of the bars. It was easy to imagine what Nipe had been through. All she had to do was help others feel it, too. She had already thought of three angles for Nipeās defense.
Excerpt from Inertial Catalyst (Archeons, book 5), by James L. Steele
Available wherever books are sold
https://daydreamingintext.blogspot.com/
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