Chapter 12

Lorraine, Dr. Lawrence, and I were walking down the halls of the CDC hospital. CDC employees were moving in and out of patient rooms with armed guards stationed throughout the building. In every patient room was a hybrid, either lying in bed or staring out the window. They were all dressed in bleach-white clothes. They appeared well-fed and well taken care of, but seeing them, there was still a knot in my stomach. They were miserable.

“They don’t belong here,” I said.

“This is the only place where we can safely monitor them and keep them isolated from the public,” said Dr. Lawrence.

“But they can’t live like this. They need access to the outside, they need stimulation, they need care and love. They look like adults but they still have their animal personalities. You met my girls, they’re like kids. They don’t have the fortitude to live in such sterile conditions. At least when these people were zoo animals, they had some kind of natural home. You talked about putting my girls and I in a facility where we can be observed, but I’m not going to put them in a place like this.”

“Considering that all this here is your doing, I wish you could be a little more appreciative as to the work we’ve put in. We’re trying to figure out and understand the cluster-fuck you left us!”

“Look, they at least need some toys or something,” said Lorraine. “They aren’t lab rats to be kept in a cage or prisoners to be locked up.”

“Wait, stop!”

A man’s voice drew our attention and we all turned back to see a doctor at the end of the hall and a young woman running towards us. I recognized her, dirty-blonde hair with the largest ears I have ever seen, and short, but with wide eyes. She stopped in front of me, the fennec fox I had transformed, Lola. We both stared at each other, unsure of what to say. She slowly raised her hand, as if to wave to me, and I mirrored the act, pressing my palm against hers. The last time I saw her, we had been just like this, but with a pane of glass between us.

“You’re the man from before,” she murmured. “I wanted to see you again.”

“And I wanted to see you too, every minute of every day.”

She then leaned in and hugged me, her face buried in my chest. “Master!” she whimpered.

I embraced her, as if trying to shield her from the world and keep her safe in the sanctity of my arms. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry I wasn’t there when you needed me. I’m sorry I forced this life on you. I never stopped thinking about you.”

I glanced at Dr. Lawrence, and the look on his face told me he now understood what I had been talking about. Next to him, Lorraine was wiping away tears as if watching a sad movie. “That is just so sweet!” she squeaked.

“I don’t like it here,” Lola said.

“I know you don’t, but there is a big house being made ready for all of us so that we can live together. It’ll have lots of space both inside and outside, and while it’s being prepared, I’m going to do what I can to make this place more comfortable for you.”

With Lola’s hand held in mine, I moved through the hospital, meeting each and every hybrid I had created, while Dr. Lawrence took Lorraine to do the same. This was my second time seeing them, but for many of them, this was their first time meeting me, yet they all seemed to recognize me as soon as I entered the room. They could tell I was their Master as if with some sixth sense. Those who had seen me at the zoo once they transformed were happier than the others, as they had evidently been waiting for me to come back. Those who were seeing me for the first time had more of an “ah ha” moment, as if meeting me had finally answered some question they had been mulling over or scratched an itch in the back of their mind.

Armed guards were stationed throughout the hospital, but most often around hybrids who were aggressive or dangerous, like the alligators. Apparently, they were known to lash out at anyone who tried to perform any tests.

The most guards I found stationed in front of the lioness’s room, Neija. I flashed the guards the card that Dr. Lawrence had given me and they let me in. The shades of the hallway windows were all drawn and for obvious reason. Standing by the window was Neija, stark naked. All the other hybrids wore the clothes given to her, but she had torn them to shreds. She was just as gorgeous as I remember, with skin like bronze and a figure radiating both strength and sexuality. She had the legs of a sprinter, the ass of a volleyball player, the stomach of a swimmer, and the chest of a porn star.

“Neija,” I said.

She turned to me with a look of bored annoyance, but when our eyes met, she stiffened. I could see it, her brain making the connection by the power of an instinct she didn’t understand. She knew who I was, she knew of our bond. We stepped towards each other, her eyes wide as dinner plates. Stinging pain, it came in an instant, the result of her slapping me across the face and slashing me with her nails. I have a garbled hiss of pain and staggered back, covering my bleeding cheek.

“Get out, bastard,” she cursed.

“Wait, Neija, I’m the one—”

“You’re the one that made me this way, I know. Did you expect me to kiss you? To be so happy that I would throw myself at you? Where have you been? You turned me into this and then you abandoned me, you abandoned all of us. Now you think you can just walk right in and expect us to nuzzle your hand like obedient pets?”

The harshness of her voice and the guilt they invoked hurt more than the cuts on my cheek. Like Betty, she was much more mature and intelligent than the others. She had only seen me once before, yet she knew who I was and hated me for it. “I’m sorry, for everything. I didn’t have a choice. I needed the world to see what was happening so I could get help. I had to do something public, something big, so that it couldn’t just be covered up.”

“So what am I, just the means to an end? You created me so I could make your life more convenient?”

“I created you to make sure that your kind would be kept safe.”

“My kind?! This is not what I’m supposed to be! You decided to turn me into this!”

“You’re right, I turned you into a person, but that means you can now live as a person. The world can’t simply ignore this, ignore us. I’m sorry I dragged you into this, but I am going to take responsibility. I’ll do whatever I can to protect you and make you happy.”

“Live as a person? All that’s changed is that I have a new cage.”

“There is a home being made for us where we can live together.”

“What makes you think I’d want to live with you?”

“Because I love you!” The words came out before I could stop them. I don’t know why I said them, maybe just a pathetic attempt to alleviate my guilt, but it made her freeze. “Not one minute went by that I didn’t think about you, worry about you. I loved you from the moment I saw you, I knew that I would do anything to keep you safe and happy. I made each of you what you are and I will love you until the day I die.”

She turned around and returned to the window. “Get out,” she said, keeping her back to me.

“Neija...”

She turned around, eyes filled with fury. “Get out! And don’t ever say my name. You don’t get to act like you know me.”

I had done all I could, nothing I could say would extinguish her anger. I left the room, leaving her to simmer.

Lorraine and I spent the next two days talking with CDC officials in the hospital, doing everything we could to make the hybrids more comfortable. I made sure they got toys and games, exposure to the outside, and the human interaction that would make them happy. I spent the rest of my time with the girls, playing games with them, having fun with them, making sure they smiled and laughed. I got to know each of them, and over the course of the next month, I would spend every weekend with them to make sure that they were well taken care of. Being in the hospital made it hard for me to get into the mood for sex, so I decided I would wait until later to introduce them all to playing. But outside, things were getting chaotic.

It was happening all over the world, appearances of humans with animal traits. They were showing up in streets, in people’s homes, some of the transformations even being caught on camera. And it wasn’t just happening in the US, but all over the globe. New York was once again struck with weirdness when a mounted police officer in Time’s Square found himself on the back of a big-titty centaur. A lot of people managed to catch it with their cell phones. It was blowing up across the internet, with no one sure what was happening. Most people just assumed it was some kind of street performance or prank, like the 2016 clown sightings.

Then, of course, the true nature of the internet reared its ugly head. Furries claimed that this was just the beginning, leading up to the arrival of their animal-eared messiah. Recorded videos of the confused hybrids, wandering around naked, ended up on YouTube and even porn sites, and not just regular, wholesome porn sites, but dark, twisted sites, where you can also watch an execution or a bloody riot.

The CDC and the WHO naturally sprang into action, taking the hybrids into protective custody whenever possible. When dealing with other nations, it was an ocean of red tape. Almost every country in which these incidents occurred would insist on watching over the hybrids in their own facilities. Other than that, and simply not answering reporters’ questions, both organizations put no real effort into a cover-up. Since it was beyond their ability to conceal, they simply remained quiet rather than try to explain it away. Inevitably they would have to have to acknowledge what was happening, but until then, they left it to the pundits and conspiracy theorists.

It was June, a month since Dr. Lawrence had told us about the CDC’s plan, and I was currently checking out the facility before we all moved in. It was a beautiful old mansion that had been bought from the bank. It was three stories, old, white brick, with lots of surrounding fields and even a forest and manmade pond. It seemed like a location for a Stephen King book, that classic Maine insane asylum. I was wandering down the halls, admiring the remodeling work. Not only had they added fresh paint and given the heating and electrical system an overhaul, they were building extra rooms for all the tenants we would be getting. For the first month, it would just be our two weird families, and then they would introduce everyone from the zoo.

“So, what do you think?” Dr. Lawrence asked.

We were in one of the many parlors and I was checking out the new furniture. There was also a big screen TV against the wall. The house was stocked with other amenities for the hybrids’ entertainment and education, such as computers, arcade games, pool tables, exercise equipment, art supplies, and even classrooms.

“It looks expensive. I can’t help but think I’m somehow going to end up paying for all this in some way. This looks way too good for us, I feel guilty.”

“I’d rather our tax dollars be spent on those girls than building bombs.”

I looked up to one of the corners to ceiling and saw a small device. “That’s one of the cameras, isn’t it?”

“Yep, everything will be recorded.”

“Even when I’m in the bathroom?”

“We’ll tell you how to turn those cameras off when you need to.”

“Good, because the girls and I don’t plan on being celibate while we’re here.”

“Oh, don’t turn them off then! That’s one of the things we need to study most!”

“You’ve got to be kidding me.”

“If this phenomenon continues, how long do you think it will be before humans and hybrids start petitioning for the right to marry? We’ve already had some cases of house pets transforming, so unless all those cases occurred with people who happen to have the same ability, it’s going to keep happening, and a lot of men are probably going to take the same route you’ve taken. Interspecies coupling is what we really want to study.”

“Oh, Lorraine is going to have a field day with this.”

I came home to find Momo and Sonja watching the news on the couch. With this warm weather, they were naked, though not Leah, who was sitting on the floor. On TV, it was another story of an animal transforming. This time it was a bird man appearing in the gardens of Buckingham Palace.

“Hey, girls, what’s up?” I sat between Momo and Sonja on the couch and they leaned against me.

“What’s the new house like?” Sonja asked.

“You’ll like it, it’s really big. There is a lot of open land around it, including a forest. And I checked out the bedroom. Leah, there’s a nice big tank for you to sleep in, right next to the bed.

“Mmmm!” she hummed, slapping the floor with her tail.

“By the way, where’s Chloe?”

“Momo thinks she’s taking a nap. She’s been hiding under the bed since you left.”

“I’ll go check on her.” I went upstairs, and when I entered the bedroom, I heard sniffles. I looked under the bed and saw Chloe, lying in her sleeping bag with wet cheeks. “Chloe, what’s wrong?” She didn’t answer, so I crawled under the bed and dried her eyes. “What is it?”

“I don’t want to go to the new house!”

“Why not?”

“I don’t want to leave. This is the only home I have!”

“Oh, Chloe.” I wrapped my arm around her and pulled her close. “It’s not going to be permanent, just a few months. And while we’re gone, this house is going to get fixed up to give us more room.”

“But I like our house the way it is! I don’t want it to change!”

“Well it’s not just for us. You know our family is going to keep growing. We’ll get a bigger bedroom and a bigger bed so we can all sleep together. Remember how we all snuggled up together during that big storm? It’ll be like that every night. And you know, next month, we’re going to get all the girls and guys from the zoo. The first animal I transformed was a tiny fox, and when I saw her, she reminded me so much of you. Her name is Lola and I can’t wait for you to meet.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, and you know, we can come back here whenever we want. After all, we need to start harvesting our vegetable garden. Maybe you and I could slip out some time. We’ll pick up something to eat and spend a night here all to ourselves. Plus, I don’t have to go into work anymore, so we’ll be together every day. Hell, you may even get sick of me always being around and will want some time to yourself.”

“I could never get sick of Master!” she squealed.

“I know, I’m just teasing. I promise you, we’re going to have a great time, so will you give the new place a chance?”

“Ok.”

“Good, then let’s head downstairs and I’ll cook dinner.”

The next day, we loaded our stuff into the car. All of Sonja’s frisbees and tennis balls took up a surprising amount of room, but I was able to convince her that she didn’t need to bring her sled. Chloe chose to ride with all of her beanie babies in her lap, and next to her, Momo was wrapped in her precious electric blanket, even though it wasn’t plugged in and spring was ending. The three of them were in the back seat, but a lot of our luggage was in the passenger seat. This was so that Leah had room in the very back. Because of her thick salamander tail, it was hard for her to sit in chairs.

“Don’t worry, girls, we’ll come back at the end of the summer.”

“I can’t wait to see this new place! I love going for rides!” said Sonja.

“Cars remind Momo of the vet...” the feline muttered.

We pulled out of the driveway and headed off towards the mansion. It was an hour-long drive, so we’d have plenty of time together in the car. I played music for them through the AUX cord, letting them see what they liked. With the sun shining overhead and the windows open, it was a beautiful day and a great trip.

“Master, everyone is going to be there, right? Elise, Lorraine, Betty, and the pillar men?” Momo asked.

“Yeah, that’s right.”

“We won’t have to take care of any cows, will we?”

“No, there won’t be any cows, don’t worry.”

We reached the mansion in the early afternoon, the massive house leaving the girls with wide eyes. We got there just as Lorraine and Elise arrived. Lorraine had driven with the pillar men in her own car, but Elise and Betty were driven by someone from the CDC in a rental van. It was the only vehicle that could comfortably accommodate her snake tail. Dr. Lawrence was already waiting out front, along with some other doctors from the CDC. As we got out of the car, there was hushed mutterings as they saw the girls and the pillar men.

“Master, they’re staring at us,” Chloe whimpered as she hid behind me.

I turned around and put my hands on her shoulders. “That’s because they’re amazed by you. You’re a living miracle to them.”

“Though I think most of their stares are directed at me,” said Elise, slithering over.

“So, you finally left the house,” I said.

“Yeah, it feels so good to have the sun on my skin.”

“How does your tail feel?”

The mansion driveway was gravel, but a very high-quality gravel, pure stone of all the same mineral with no sand or dirt visible. An old-school Irish nun would look at it and fantasize of all the children she’d force to kneel as punishment for some minor offense.

“It actually feels kind of nice. It seems my underside is tougher than I thought it was. It’s like walking barefoot across a lawn.”

“Did you meet the people who will be watching your farm?”

“Yeah, there are five of them, and they were all really nice. They’ve all had plenty of experience working on farms and around animals, especially cows. They’ll be staying in my house while I’m gone.”

Dr. Lawrence and the other doctors came over to greet us. “Ah, right on time,” he said.

“Damn, so this where we’re going to be staying? This is sweet! Living in a mansion and getting rammed by three guys every night, I finally know what it’s like to be a Kardashian!” Lorraine exclaimed.

“Ugh, it’s like she has Tourette Syndrome,” Elise groaned.

Lawrence cleared his throat. “Moving along ... These are the doctors that will be observing your day to day activities and also performing medical examinations. They fought tooth and nail for the chance to be your observers. You and your pets have opened up a whole branch of psychology, sociology, and biology.”

They varied in age and ethnicity; an old black guy, a middle-aged white guy, an early thirties Asian woman, and white girl who looked like she had just left medical school the day before. To get their names on this case study would redefine their careers.

“This house has its own clinic stocked with everything needed for every test imaginable. We’ve also built dorms for the medical staff where we can view the footage from the cameras in the house. I’ll be around, but you won’t see them outside of scheduled medical examinations.”

“I think it would be best if we did the tests tomorrow. The girls should have some time to get used to this place before you start poking and prodding them.”

“Ah, of course, I just wanted to introduce everyone.”

“Master, can Momo take her clothes off now?”

Great timing, Momo. All the doctors were glaring at me, thinking me to be some kind of pervert. I mean, sure, I am a pervert, but not for the reason they’re thinking.

“Momo, we talked about this. You have to keep your clothes on. Remember the compromise we talked about?”

Momo looked down at her clothes. She was wearing a pair of skimpy shorts and a tube top that showed her stomach. Her tail poked through a hole cut into the denims and she wasn’t wearing a bra. She and Sonja looked like the typical slutty girls to get killed first in a slasher movie. They definitely made the bimbo look work. I knew that these doctors would be watching me have sex with the girls, but that didn’t mean I wanted them to get a free show 24/7. I wanted the girls to cover up a bit while still letting them have the skin exposure that they wanted. The only time I allowed them to be naked was in the bathroom and bedroom.

“Ok,” she muttered.

“You girls go check out the house. We’re going to talk to the doctors.”

“Yahoo!” Sonja hollered, racing past me and into the house.

Momo, Chloe, and Leah followed her, along with the pillar men.

“Betty, can you keep an eye on them, make sure they don’t break anything?”

“Anything for you, Master,” said Betty, as if I had asked her to start playing with herself.

Once again, the doctors shot me a dirty look.

“Momo! Look at our room! It’s so big!”

Momo followed Sonja’s voice to the master bedroom and found her jumping on the mattress. The mattress itself was large as the bedroom from the old house, as per special order. There were bureaus and closets filled with clothes and a large TV on the wall. Huge windows let in the sunlight, illuminating a large fiberglass cradle for Leah. It was lined with thick foam rubber and could be filled and emptied by a hose leading into the wall

“Aw, I can’t bounce very high,” Sonja whined. The mattress was foam, rather than springs, which might hinder playing a bit.

“Come see the bathroom,” Momo said.

The previous owner of the mansion had good tastes. The bathroom was extravagant with alabaster tiles and black marble walls, and along with a multi-directional shower, there was a large hot tub by the window. Momo stepped into the empty tub and walked around in circles several times.

“Now everyone can take a bath together.”

“Let’s go find Chloe and Leah!”

Chloe was wandering the expansive corridors, keeping next to the walls as per her instincts. This mansion was like the grocery store, so large that she couldn’t imagine its construction being possible. It made her particularly nervous, like she was once again just a tiny rodent hiding in the woodshed.

“There you are, little one.”

She turned around to see Betty. For someone with hooves for feet, she was remarkably stealthy. Like the girls, she was skimpily dressed, just a tube top and a skirt. Rather than an affinity for nudism, it was simply that no store sold anything that would fit her, but once she got to her room, she’d find a bureau full of custom clothes.

“This house is too big. It scares me.”

“Don’t worry, once you get used to it, it will feel downright cozy. By the way, where’s Leah?”

“This house is so big! I didn’t know houses could be made so big! I wonder how many trees it took. Look at all these floorboards, they must have taken so many trees! And the windows, all this glass!”

Steve droned on and on as he walked along with Tobi through the mansion. Behind them was Alex with Leah riding on his shoulders. The three of them were following around Lorraine.

“Damn, this place is awesome!” she said.

“Mistress, should we have just wandered off like that?” the fox asked.

“Meh, I’ll just leave all the doctor stuff to those two. I want to find the bedroom. I wonder if Dr. Lawrence installed a sex swing like I asked? Or the liquor cabinet.”

“I wonder how old this house it. It must be really old. Probably older than me! Probably older than mistress! It must have had a lot of people living in it. I wonder if there were any animals like me. Mistress, what do you think?”

“That’s nice, dear,” said Lorraine, not even listening.

After we had all checked the house, we were gathered in the living room. It was larger than my entire house and had the biggest TV I had ever seen on the wall.

“So, is everything up to your needs?” Dr. Lawrence asked.

“This is too good for us. I’m still feeling really guilty,” I said.

“You shut your dirty mouth. I’m finally getting the pampering I’ve always wanted!” Lorraine hissed.

“It’s wonderful, Doctor, thank you,” said Elise.

“So what happens now?” Betty asked.

“Now we’d like to monitor how you interact with each other. We’d like to understand your familial bonds during various activities. We’d also like to expose you to the public in controlled situations, allow people to become informed on what’s going on and study your social skills.”

“So we’ll be going out in public again?” Chloe asked.

“Yes, but don’t worry, you’ll be perfectly safe, and we aren’t simply going to parade you down the streets. Today, just relax, get used to the house, and tomorrow, the fun begins.”

We spent the rest of the day exploring the house and the property. The mansion had been extensively redone, adding multiple bedrooms and bathrooms for the future tenants we would be receiving. We eventually settled in the back patio, overlooking freshly manicured lawns with a forest about a quarter mile away. The doctors had disappeared to wherever it was they watched their surveillance monitors, so we now had the house to ourselves.

“I could get used to this,” said Elise, lounging in a lawn chair.

She had her tail stretched out, letting her black scales drink in the heat of the sun. In a second chair was Momo, lying on her stomach and tanning the backs of her thighs, and in a third was Lorraine with a bottle of white wine she had smuggled into the house, and at the end of the line was Betty. In the shade of the house, Chloe and Leah were watching lines and ants moving in and out of their hill. Alex and Steve were exploring the surrounding fields.

“Ok, you two, this is going to be a long one.” Nearly tearing my rotator cuff in the process, I hurled Sonja’s frisbee as hard as I could.

She and Tobi raced after it, fluffy tails flapping. Down the field, Tobi made a leap for it, but missed. Sonja then jumped, catching the frisbee with a big grin on her face. Rather than simply use her hands, she ran back to me with the toy in her mouth.

“Again! Again!” she panted after dropping it at my feet.

I continued throwing the frisbee, giving the two of them the exercise they so hungrily wanted. Between each throw, I’d check my phone. Panting like racehorses, Sonja and Tobi returned. This time, he was the one carrying the frisbee, while she simply collapsed and rolled onto her back.

“You want to go in? It’s time for the news,” I said.

Sonja simply raised a shaky hand in confirmation, while Momo, Chloe, and Leah perked up.

“Huh, you’re going in?” Elise asked.

“We always watch the evening news together. It’s our family ritual.”

“This is boring,” Lorraine whined, “I don’t care about California wildfires.”

There were three couches in the living room, situated around a coffee table and forming an incomplete square. The TV on the wall made up the fourth side. The girls and I were facing the TV, while Lorraine and her boy toys took up one of the side couches and Elise took up the other. Betty had taken one end of my couch, evening it out with Leah sitting on the floor in the way Chloe normally would. On my side was Sonja, leaning her head on my shoulder and taking a quick nap after all that running.

“Well then feel free to do something else,” I said.

“If you had any coke, I’d do that.”

Elise and I decided not to give her the attention she was craving. A few minutes passed, the scenes of burning forests giving way to commercials for boner pills and diseases that are impossible to spell. A very wet sound drew my attention from my laptop, a very familiar sound. I then heard and male groan and looked over to see Lorraine blowing Steve.

“Elise, please hit your sister for me.”

Seeing what was going on, Elise gave a look at disgust and swung her tail at Lorraine, sending it flying over the coffee table and smacking the dick out of her mouth. Momo, who was about to try and mimic Lorraine, understood that now was not the time.

“Hey, check it out,” said Betty, directing our attention back to the TV.

The news anchors were once again talking about the hybrids appearing, having just received footage of a bear transforming after wandering into a Russian intersection. Then it was back to the predictable discussion topics, such as speculation as to what was happening, what these people were, what the governments were trying to cover up, and the people’s reactions. Things were getting crazy.

We had all gathered in the expansive dining room, sitting at long wooden table that looked like it was worth more than my house. Elise an I had prepared dinner; cooked chicken with rice and string beans. Actually, I was really craving a cheeseburger or some spaghetti and meat sauce, but I just couldn’t, in good conscience, eat it with Betty in the house. The kitchen was the largest I had ever seen, with enough dishes and flatware for an entire army and huge walk-in freezers and food pantries. The girls were in a bad mood, having to sit at the table and eat with silverware. I told them they could return to using food bowls on the floor in a few days, I just wanted the doctors to see that I was treating them like people as well as like animals.

“So, I’ve become aware of a case of gross injustice,” Lorraine announced. Elise and I braced ourselves. “My bedroom doesn’t have a hot tub. Yours does. Why do you get the bedroom with a hot tub?”