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Subject: {ASSM} We Who Are Gathered 1/2 (furry, alternate reality, novel) TBD
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Date: Wed, 11 Apr 2012 11:10:01 -0400
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Abandoned Work - We Who Are Gathered 1/2 (furry, alternate reality,
novel)

    A friend proposed the original concept that inspired this one,
back around 1999 or so.

    It has gone through several major conceptual changes over the
years, until it wound up as this version, which retains the original
idea of someone being 'called' to an alternate reality, with their
body changed to that of a furry.

    The first section, 'The Wizards and the Warriors, is incomplete
and one of the later chapters does need major reviosions to reflect
changes made as I was writing the earlier chapters. Mostly, it is the
speed run scene that needs rewriting.

    'Keepers of the Faith' and 'They Who Search', are essentially
complete.

    A new, unnamed section was to combine the three sections already
written, and move on.

    The separation of duties was deliberate, and served, as it turned
out, as practice, before I expanded the 'Man and Muse' work into what
it is now.

    So...

    After about twelve years of working on it, I've decided to abandon
it. Many of the basic concepts have been modified and expanded, then
worked into 'Marie's Solstice' and the related collections.

    However, the underpinnings of the two realities are significantly
different, even though many of the attitudes of the characters are
similar.

    Naturally, if someone decides to finish it, or use it to inspire a
similar work, I will be...

    Honored.
    ======

    We Who Are Gathered

    _____________________________

    00 - Preface


    Author's Preface

    A transgendered author with an imaginary lover, who dreams of
being a 'real' Wizard.

    A Golden Retriever, a Rottweiler and a Chow Chow who sometimes
play together--and have formed their own 'Pack of Three' when they
aren't guarding their humans.

    A teen boy with a fascination for toys that transform into other
toys, his teen sister, and their younger brother.

    A devout costume designer and his wife, who role play at being a
Black Labrador Retiever and a Golden Labrador Retriever.

    A German Shepherd who dreams of being able to *really* talk to her
human partner.

    And, finally...

    An immortal Irish Setter with a quirky sense of humor--and the
power to make their dreams...

    Reality.
    ===

    01 - Interlude One - Decisions


    Interlude One

    The amorphous cloud of awareness that was 'Tool' felt itself moved
from one place to another and it sighed to itself when it found itself
in the reality where it was given purpose and any questions were
answered.

    'My vacation is obviously over.'

    Purpose was imposed.

    Tool studied purpose and composed itself. [This tool has
questions.]

    There was a timeless wait, then: [Proceed with query.]

    [Question: Rank priorities: Success of purpose, Success of lower
awarenesses, cohesion of containing reality?]

    [Response: Maximize success of purpose.]

    [Question: Compatibility of tool's appearance with containing
reality?]

    [Response: Maximize success of purpose.]

    [Question: Concern for mortality of lesser awarenesses?]

    [Response: Maximize success of purpose.]

    Tool sighed again. This Imposer was unusually impatient. Perhaps
it was a newly created Imposer. It had been a long time since Tool had
been allowed so much free will.

    Tool decided it would be most effective if it took advantage of
this Imposer's impatience and/or newness to being.

    [End Queries.]

    [Response: Fulfill purpose.]

    Tool pondered.

    Tool created lesser tools and studied what they showed it before
absorbing those lesser tools and integrating their knowledge into the
greater awareness of Tool.

    Tool became form and saw itself.

    'Good enough, for this job.'

    Tool pondered again. 'This reon cluster, that the lesser
awarenesses will perceive as I, will need a name.'

    "I am Zarah."

    The female anthro Irish Setter that contained the focused
awareness of the 'creator', Tool, nodded her furred head with
satisfaction...

    Then vanished from the empty reality that was her briefing plane
of existence, to start searching for those lesser awarenesses she
could enlist as aides in her newest project.

    02 - WIP - The Wizards and the Warriors by Jim Mathews 2008-


    The Wizards: Mike & Michelle
    The Guardians: Sally, Blaze & Blackie
    _________________________________________



    1-00 - Prelude One


    Prelude One - Mike & Michelle

    I stopped on the way from my shower to my room, to check on my
mother. She was still reading and when she spotted me she smiled and I
smiled back. "Anything you need before I get on the computer?"

    She shook her head. "Just a good night kiss."

    I laughed. "OK. Only fair, since you tucked me in with one for so
many years."

    I went over and kissed her parchment like skin carefully and
tenderly. "G'night, Mom. Remember, any time you need something, just
speak up or hit the call button."

    She reached and hugged me. "I always do."

    When I started to pull away she held on to my hand. "Who are you
going to be tonight? Mike? Or Michelle?"

    I laughed. "No idea. Probably both by the time I go to bed."

    She studied me thoughtfully. "I'm still not used to you acting
like a woman so often."

    I squeezed her hand in mine. "Sorry I took so long to tell you
about my other life. It's just the way I am, I guess. I can't always
be the man the world thinks I should be, and on the net, I can finally
be the woman I always had inside of me."

    She smiled and pulled her hand free to brush my cheek. "Well, she
looks like a man to me, but Michelle is a charming person. I'm glad
you introduced her to me. I always did want a daughter, and now I have
one to spoil and worry about."

    I blushed and she laughed. "Go. Mike, or Michelle, it doesn't
matter. I'm proud of both of you."

    "Thanks, Mom. That means a lot, to both of us."

    I let go and walked out of her room. Just before I left her sight
I kissed my palm, blew her a kiss and watched while she caught it and
put it on her cheek.

    She went back to her reading as I stood there and watched her
fondly for a couple minutes before I turned away to head for my own
room.

    After I was out of sight I leaned on the wall, sighed and called
on my internal lover and other half. 'Michelle, love? She's so frail.'

    'Mike? Of course she is. She's adjusted. You need to, now.'

    'You're telling an adult man who never outgrew a fantasy playmate,
to 'adjust to reality?'

    I felt her giggle. Wisely, she left it at that while I finished
the trip to my bedroom, where Sally, my Golden Retriever bitch, was
stretched out on the bed and patiently waiting for me to settle so she
could get attention while I was on the computer.

    "OK, Sal. It's your turn, girl. Get over here."

    She rolled to her belly and crawled over to flop back on her side
in a bid for attention.

    I used a finger to push the power switch on the computer and then
I spun the chair so I could bend over and give Sally plenty of petting
while I waited for it to boot.

    Eventually she'd had enough and shifted away to let me know she
wanted to go back to sleep. I laughed at her antics and then turned to
the computer thoughtfully.

    'Writing? Or fun?'

    I decided to catch up on my email, and maybe by then Michelle and
I would have figured out what to do while I waited until my mother's
light went out, and I was sure she'd gone to sleep for the night.

    1-01 - Transition


    Chapter One - Transition

    I was working on another 'Wizard's Way' story when I heard the
distinctive 'click' that told me my mother had turned off her reading
light.

    A few minutes later I leaned back to stretch, and at the same time
the room went dark, except for the area lit by my monitor.

    Startled, I sat upright and listened carefully.

    Nothing. My mother hadn't reacted so she must have fallen asleep
almost immediately.

    I frowned as I thought about what had happened. There'd been no
warning flicker, like usually happened when the power went out. Maybe
the whole grid had gone down this time. It wouldn't be the first time
it had happened.

    I sighed to myself. At least the computer was on a ups this time
and I could do a clean shut down. I was reaching for the mouse when
the buzzer on the ups finally went off.

    Raucous. Strident. If I'd doubted, it was there to emphatically
remind me of the obvious...

    There was no power.

    I shook my head and sighed. There was no point in leaving the
computer on--and after the day I'd spent working in the yard helping
my mother, I needed my sleep more than I did the hour or so of writing
time I could get in before the ups sent the shut down command to the
computer.

    I finished reaching and felt my fingernails hit the mouse pad
before my hand fully gripped the mouse.

    Before I could think about that oddity I heard a low pitched
warning growl from Sally.

    A female voice spoke softly, gently. "Easy, girl. I'm a friend."

    I jerked my head to the right and stared into the darkness. I
recognized that voice. I saw...

    I saw? Since when were my eyes good enough to see in near
darkness? For that matter, what had happened to my glasses?

    "Mike?" The woman's voice was filled with... Wonder. Pain. Shock.

    Before I answered I reached to my left and gentled Sally. "Easy,
girl. It's ok." Her body was tense but she relaxed slightly and
settled at the edge of the bed.

    The scent of fur other than Sally's wafted over my nose. I'd
dreamed of that aroma.

    Saluki.

    "Michelle?"

    Then, my thinking caught up with reality, finally. Something had
gone awesomely, terribly...

    Wrong.

    As I'd recently explained to my mother, *I'm* Michelle.

    Or rather she is me or...

    I clamped down on my panic. 'Michelle' is a construct from my
mind, the woman I need to be, sometimes. She started life as a
character in a story, then became something more as I used her to
discover the hidden part of me I'd never before given voice. During
that process she also became an internal lover, a close friend... A
confidant...

    But still, for all she had become a personality of her own, she
has always been nothing more than a dream, and an expression of my own
thoughts.

    She had no business standing there looking at me.

    She *couldn't* be standing there looking at me.

    "But..." I stopped and tried to start over. Nothing came out.

    She stepped closer. As her scent drifted past me, I could detect a
sharp tang to it that I assumed was put there by her fear. Underneath
that was a scent I realized I was familiar with. Michelle's basic
scent was the same as mine.

    Then, the *impossible* happened. I *felt* a shift in something and
a small ball of gentle light appeared above her hand.

    "Mike?" Her voice was hesitant--and scared. She looked up from her
open palm and we locked eyes. "I'm real. How?" She held the ball of
light up and used her free hand to point at one of my hands. "And you.
You're..." She trailed off when I moaned through my shock.

    My hand was covered with fur. I could feel subtle pressures and
tensions that told me the fur covered my body, too. In the dim light
from the monitor I had the impression it was grey fur that was dappled
with darker shadows.

    When I shifted in my chair, I felt something snag underneath me. I
didn't have to look to know what it was. It was obvious I had a tail
attached at the base of my spine.

    It was about then I realized my ears were more sensitive than they
had been, because they hurt. Oh, the ups. The power was still out.
Carefully, I reached to use the mouse, but my hand shook and twitched
so much I couldn't get a firm enough grip to use it. I finally gave up
trying to shut the computer down normally and reluctantly reached up
and used one of my claws (I had claws?) to shut it off.

    I managed to bend down and fumble with the ups until I was able to
turn it off.

    Silence.

    I could hear the steady click, click, click as the battery driven
kitchen clock marked the seconds. I could hear Michelle's breathing
steady as she focused her skills and began to deal with what had
happened. I heard Sally's heartbeat and breathing slow as she started
to relax.

    My mother! What happened to her? Was she ok? If I could hear the
clock, I should have been able to hear her breathing. If she was
awake, she would have asked me who I was talking to, by now.

    I jerked myself out of my chair, only to stagger into Michelle and
cause us both to fall down. I barely noticed the fall. Somehow I
managed to get myself picked up and into the other bedroom so I could
check...

    She was gone!

    The bed was there. The bedding was mounded but there was nothing
under the blankets. The lack of scent in my nose told me I didn't need
to check the bathroom to confirm she was gone.

    Not a sound. Not a trace. Just... Nothing. Nobody here except the
three of us.

    I fell to my knees and clutched at the bedding. "Noooo...." It was
a moan that came out as a howl of anguish.

    Gentle hands began to knead my shoulders as I cried. A part of me
bitterly noted the fact I *could* cry in this form. Sally came over
and began to lick at my face. I turned and hugged her with a passion
that screamed: 'Don't leave me!'

    Morning light found me still on my knees beside my mother's bed.
Sally had settled where she could watch me. Michelle had settled on
the floor and managed to wrap her arms around me. Somehow she had
turned me so I could cry into her fur.

    An urgent need to piss, and hunger, forced me to move. As I stood
over the commode, the reality finally settled in. My wider field of
view let me see myself in the mirror even as I reached down and...

    I couldn't help it. I started laughing hysterically. In ALL the
dreams I remembered about becoming 'other', having to take a piss was
never something I had to do. Well, I knew a real dog's penis,
unsheathed, would probably let me point it where I wanted it to go. I
guessed I'd get to find out if my theory was sound, by experimenting
with my rearranged plumbing.

    Carefully, I stripped my penis out of my sheath and pointed it
before I relaxed. I was rewarded with a stream that landed in the
commode. I chuckled wryly and with a certain amount of relief. At
least *that* part of my life hadn't changed. When I was finished I let
go and watched my penis slither home. Instead of my usual routine of
tucking things back behind my shorts, I gently made sure my penis was
sheathed properly.

    Once that was taken care of I turned my head and studied myself in
the mirror.

    Just as I'd assumed, I was now an anthro dog, but with an odd
difference.

    I dimly remembered thinking my fur was typical of a wolf. When I
looked closer I realized that instead of being a 'just a dog', my new
body was based on a specific breed. The lines had been shifted and
distorted to make me comfortable as a biped but the breed was easily
recognizable.

    I'd become an Afghan Hound.

    At least the agent of change had honored my dreams. Whoever I was
now, whatever I had become, one thing was certain: I'd been rebuilt to
run. That thought made me wonder if I would be called on to run as I
had never run before.

    I shook myself out of my bemused trance and went looking for
Michelle. I found her standing in the living room. "Michelle? What do
you see when you look at me?"

    Her delicate muzzle turned to face me as she refocused on the here
and now. "I see..." She stopped and took the time to intently scan my
body. "I see something I never thought possible. Your body is that of
an Afghan Hound but the markings are those of a wolf."

    "A wolf?"

    She nodded. "A North American grey wolf."

    I took a deep breath and tried to get some sort of control over
the energy that lurked just below the surface of my awareness. "A
hybrid?"

    She nodded in confirmation.

    I exploded. "Michelle, that doesn't make sense! If I'm going to
become a furry, I should have become a full Afghan Hound. *That's* the
persona I've used the most."

    I looked at her lithe form and smiled sadly. "Or you. I've always
been more comfortable as you than I ever was in any of my *other*
personas."

    She nodded. "I've been wondering about the split. What power could
have split the two of us apart and given us these new bodies?"

    While I thought about it, I went to the kitchen and prepared
Sally's breakfast. I offered to cook some food for Michelle but she
shook her head in the negative.

    I nodded slightly, accepting her refusal, then made myself a small
bowl of rice and fish with some seasonings, before I settled at the
breadboard to eat.

    Once Sally and I finished eating, the three of us headed outside.

    I was so shaken that I barely noticed that Michelle and I were
naked. Clothing wasn't important. There were other, more important
things for us to worry about.

    It was quiet. Too quiet. A car had left the road and hit the brick
wall across the street. I went back inside and grabbed the keys to the
gates. As we walked to the gate, a whine grabbed my attention. Blaze.
The neighbor's dog and Sally were greeting each other through the
fence. Michelle and I went out the gate to get a better look at this
strange world we'd found ourselves in.

    Blaze's morning greeting was the only thing that had been normal,
so far. The street out front was empty except for the crashed car.
When I looked north I realized that the power was still out. I could
see the downtown traffic signals and that there had been a major
accident. The cars involved had burned themselves out.

    Where were the emergency crews? The local ambulance is kept less
than 200 yards from the intersection and the fire station is about 400
yards away in a different direction. They should have taken care of
the accident before now.

    Wouldn't they?

    We reached the car that had crashed into the wall. Gingerly, I
looked in to see...

    Nothing?

    There was no blood, no body, just crumpled metal and shattered
plastic. Reluctantly I leaned through the open window and took a deep
breath through my nose. What I *didn't* smell made me jerk back in
surprise.

    Michelle and I looked at each other and then back at the car. I
shivered. "Are we alone? First my mother. Now, the driver of this car.
It's as if they never..."

    Suddenly, I needed to *know*. I felt myself sprinting towards the
neighbors' front door. My speed was unexpected and instead of having
time to slow and stop, I barely had time to realize I was going to hit
their front door, hard.

    The door held briefly and then slammed open as it gave way. I fell
into their living room.

    There was no outrage. There was no yelling and screaming. There
should have been four people asking what was going on. I searched
their house to make sure it was empty.

    I found... Nothing.

    There wasn't a sign that anybody once lived in it. I leaned
against a wall and shook.

    I was alone.

    Paws settled on my shoulders.

    "[No. Not alone.]" Something reached through my panic and
loneliness.

    I closed my eyes and 'spoke' inside my mind. "[Michelle?]"

    "[Of course.]"

    My breath shuddered as I let it out. "[I'm glad you're here.]"

    "[So am I.]" I felt her wry laughter. "[I'd rather be *there*.
Nobody should pay this kind of price to be with their soul mate.]"

    I opened my eyes. "Soul mate." I nodded slowly. "Speaking of
which, I guess I can claim Blaze. I can't leave him locked up with
nobody to care for him."

    We went out the back door and I opened the gate to Blaze's run.
"Come on guy. It's only me." I could tell he was confused but he
willingly followed us as we left. When we got back in our yard I
started to close the gate and then reconsidered. No. I propped it open
and the four of us headed for the back porch and a place to settle.

    It was time to plan for the future.

    Before we settled, I hesitated and then went to stand beside
Michelle. "No. No plans. Not yet."

    She looked at me and nodded. "A feeling?"

    "Yes. It's time to run. I need to check on two of my friends. If
they made it, we take them. If not, and if she's there, I owe it to
Blackie to take her with us."

    "What about?..." She stopped and I heard her pain. I shared it. We
would be leaving behind hundreds of thousands of animals for whom we
might have made a difference.

    I sighed. "I know. We can't save them all. Enough will survive.
They'll turn feral. So will many of the people who survived."

    Terror tried to take over and I fought it back. "If anyone else is
around."

    The emptiness didn't make sense. A quarter of a million people had
lived in this area. How could something happen and leave only two
people?

    Everyone else had vanished--except for us?

    It was better to hope that others had survived. To think otherwise
would destroy any hope I had of coming to terms with whatever had
happened.

    I reached deep within and found my resolve. "Ourselves first. We
run for our lives. As people realize and throw off the restraints..."
I shivered when I remembered those long ago riots that had happened
nearby. "Michelle? Some choices are never easy, or simple. There are
others I *need* to check on even though I don't think they are here."

    We gazed across the valley and out of the corner of my eye I
watched Michelle's nose wrinkle slightly. "Her?"

    I nodded. "And the kids. Family. The only family we may have
left."

    I took a deep breath. "I'll get the keys to the van. Time. We
don't have any left."

    We emptied the van of everything that wasn't survival oriented.

    Sally was excited. When the van leaves the yard, she has always
assumed she should be in it. I looked wistfully at everything we would
be leaving behind.

    Michelle had watched briefly when I started to toss stuff out of
the van, then she stepped aside and headed back in the house. She had
come back with the case that contained my laptop. "I'll grab the
drives from the computer, the CDs and some basic utensils. You grab
the food and camping gear from the shed."

    Once I had a goal, I was frustrated by the delay in leaving. She
made sense though. We couldn't count on finding everything we'd need
at the Wal-Mart I wanted to stop at before we left town. We loaded the
storage area in the van with enough to last us and the dogs several
months. Once we had the the remaining space packed with smaller jugs
of water I put the six gallon water container and the two three gallon
ones in and strapped them so they wouldn't shift. I briefly considered
loading the utility trailer and taking it with us. An inner feeling of
impending disaster told me we didn't have enough time to load it.
Besides, we needed the mobility of the van by itself more than we
needed the relics of our past.

    Finally, it was time to leave. Sally, of course, bounced into the
van with all of her usual enthusiasm. Blaze hesitated, obviously
uncomfortable with the idea of riding, and I had to gently load him by
hand. Michelle had to coax him out of her way when she settled in the
front passenger seat.

    I opened the main gate and took a last look around before I got
in.

    I fumbled with the keys briefly, then started the engine. The
gauges came alive and while I waited to be sure everything was ok, I
settled myself in the seat and adjusted the mirrors.

    1-02 - Leave Taking


    Chapter Two - Leave Taking


    We left. I deliberately took us on a winding route that let us
check things out. Nowhere did we sense life above the animal level. No
bodies, no whispers of thought to tell us we weren't alone.

    The stops to check on my friends were brief and only proved they
didn't make it. Blackie was glad to see someone she knew. I grabbed
her leash and she joined Sally and Blaze in the back.

    Fortunately, all three of the dogs knew each other and had romped
together in my yard. The only 'discussion' they got involved in--was
about who would sit where, and that turned out to be more of a case of
Blaze settling on the back seat after Sally and Blackie took over the
middle one so they could be close to us, than any differences of
opinion about who 'owned' what part of the van, for now.

    My urgency had increased. Instead of making a quick tour of the
city, I took the shortest route I could to the nearest Wal-Mart. I
parked in front of the doors and we got out.

    We mentally probed the store, carefully.

    Nothing.

    If there were other survivors, they hadn't reached this point in
their plans.

    Michelle's voice was gentle. "We do have alternatives. None of
this is needed."

    I gazed at the deserted store and shrugged. "I know. Partly habit,
Partly a desire to not do anything to reveal anything more than I have
to."

    She chuckled softly. "We *are* Wizards and handlers of powers,
now. Remember?" Then she sobered. "You feel it too?"

    I nodded slowly and faced east. "Something is calling me. Is it
good? Or evil? I want as many alternatives as I can make."

    She walked over and hugged me. "Gas cans and siphons. Weapons, to
prevent other problems. More storable foods and more dog food to fill
the cracks."

    I felt her distaste for the idea of weapons and shared it, but I
also knew we didn't have a choice. Some people would only respect
visible defenses, so having guns would help keep any contacts
peaceful, a lot more than I really wanted to admit.

    "Agreed." I sighed. "I'll leave the van here. I need to run and
discover some of what this body can do. I know the theory. I need to
know the reality." My laughter, for the first time, was unforced. "I
created this body many years ago. Never thought I'd wear it. It's not
even a mile to the RV lot. Just a brisk morning sprint--for an Afghan
Hound."

    I looked at Blackie and sighed. I couldn't take her with me and I
couldn't take the chance of letting her run loose while Michelle and I
did what we had to do.

    I dug out the cable tie-out and hooked her up so she could settle
in the shade. I put a bucket of water where she couldn't spill it and
then petted her gently. "I won't be gone long." She whined and then
licked my hand.

    It was easy to figure out that she too, was puzzled by what had
happened.

    I looked down at Sally. "Girl, I'd better carry you." I bent down
and picked her up. As I straightened, I found my balance, then smiled
when I turned to Michelle. "See you soon. Take care of Blaze and
Blackie."

    She nodded, grabbed one of the extra leashes and hooked Blaze up
before she headed inside the store with him in tow.

    Still smiling, I turned away and started moving. It had been years
since I had done any running or jogging, but the flow quickly
returned.

    As I had suspected, there was something in me that needed to run.

    Sally shifted uneasily at first but I sent her a soothing thought
and she settled into my arms.

    I pushed myself into a run and wanted to shout for the sheer
pleasure of the wind in my face.

    Just less than two minutes after we started, we reached the RV
lot. I paused long enough to set Sally down and then I walked to the
gates while she explored.

    Locked. Now what? Use power and open them? I shook my head
slightly. 'No. I don't have the time to experiment right now.'

    I remembered something from my past and that caused me to study
the fence itself. It was a standard chain link fence. 'Good.'
Delicately, I settled my claws on one of the brackets and squeezed.
When I had the bracket collapsed, I used my other hand to remove the
nut from the bolt. I repeated the process for the other brackets and a
few minutes later Sally and I stepped through the opening I had
created. I was smiling and chuckling to myself at this odd reminder of
my years of security work.

    "Think like a thief." I had never dreamed it would pay off in
quite this way.

    I studied the motor homes. I wanted one that used diesel fuel and
had an automatic. I also wanted as much fuel capacity as I could get,
plus a trailer hitch. I noted the numbers on the one I finally choose
and barely hesitated when I broke the showroom window so I could go
find the keys. Eventually, in a wall mounted box, I found what I was
looking for.

    It was no problem to start it. While I waited for it to warm up, I
went looking for a tow dolly. That led to a search for some tools and
the parts to complete the hitch.

    One tank was about one quarter full and the other three were empty
but I refused to let that worry me. I only needed to get about thirty
miles and I'd be able to fill all of them before I took the next step
on my hastily formed plan.

    While I filled the onboard propane tanks, I relaxed enough to
consider our future.

    At least I *could* see a future for us. As Michelle had pointed
out, for two Wizards, survival would be trivial--if we wanted it to
be.

    After a couple hours of preparations, I was ready. Instead of
wasting time trying to find the key to the lock on the gates, I
searched the shop and found a cutting torch, then wheeled it out.
Cutting the chain was easy. I shut the torch off, moved it to one side
and rolled one of the gates open.

    I glanced down at Sally and smiled. "Let's go, Girl. Time for a
long ride."

    We did the last walk around together, then climbed aboard our new
home.

    It took longer to make the trip back to Wal-Mart than it took to
get to the lot.
    When I pulled into the parking lot, I was surprised to see Blaze
and Blackie running loose and chasing a couple of Frisbees.

    When I saw one of the Frisbees suddenly duck and sail underneath
Blackie as she leapt to catch it, I relaxed and started laughing. It
was obvious that Michelle was playing, and working on mastering her
new skills.

    That thought triggered the realization that we would never need to
use leashes again, an event I was all in favor of seeing happen.

    Sally had her feet on the dash and was whining her enthusiasm
while she watched the game going on. "As soon as we park, young Lady.
You're just going to have to wait."

    She glanced at me, then refocused.

    I laughed.

    Still chuckling after I got us stopped, I went over and let her
out ahead of me.

    I flinched a little when a third Frisbee headed for Sally, then I
ambled off to check out the van while Michelle and the dogs relaxed
together.

    She glanced at me and smiled at the slightly sour look I had.
"Mike, I needed the practice and once I realized I could control the
dogs without the leashes, I decided to turn them loose and let them
run free."

    I nodded absent mindedly. "Figured that out a few seconds after I
panicked when I saw them both loose."

    I leaned in to study everything she'd loaded. "It's good thing I
put the heavy duty suspension kit on this thing. I'm surprised you had
enough sense to leave room for the driver."

    She giggled briefly, then sobered a little. "You would have done
the same, right? Seriously, love..."

    I jerked around to stare at her and she broke off to watch me
calmly. "Mike, it's true, right? We've known we love each other for
years. I see no point in hiding from it."

    I took a deep breath and studied her before I shook my head at my
own actions. "Yeah. Just took me by surprise, is all. You, of all
people know how seldom I've heard the 'l-word' from someone close to
me."

    She walked over and hugged me. Then she kissed me lightly on the
muzzle before pulling away slightly. "Seldom? Try: Never."

    I nodded sadly. "Point."

    I felt something tickle the back of my mind and I shuddered.
"Something's not right." I scanned the area uneasily. "Let's get the
van on the dolly and that pallet of extra stuff in the RV, then get
moving."

    She loaded the RV while I got the van on the dolly and secured. I
was mentally cursing my failure to grab a set of towing lights when
the absurdity of that hit me. We were alone here. We didn't *need*
towing lights.

    I sneezed my self disgust, made sure the van was ready to roll
freely and did a final walk around of both vehicles.

    Michelle had the RV loaded and the dogs inside by the time I
finished and climbed in to settle in the driver's seat. Something was
bothering me but I couldn't place what it was yet so I shrugged it off
as anxiety due to the absurd situation we were in.

    She twisted her head to study me. "The truck stops?"

    I nodded. "We need fuel. The second stop is isolated enough that
we should be able to get what we need without problems. After that, I
figure we can go check on things and then settle for a few days and
reorganize. Should be plenty of small 4x4s and with luck, we'll find
one with a diesel engine. If not, we'll leave everything there and go
on a raid in Las Vegas."

    She must have seen something that told her I was extremely twitchy
for some reason. "You're far too nervous. Any idea why?"

    I shook my head uneasily. "Something is nagging at me. We need to
get on the road. I can't place it but it's critical that we get out of
town soon." The jittery nervousness I'd felt earlier was refusing to
leave. I thought I had been itchy many years ago when I decided to
leave my first life behind. This made that time look like I was calm
and deliberate.

    Michelle's eyes widened suddenly. "Let's go! Now! Forget the
freeway. Head north. Don't stop. Our lives depend on it!" She was so
anxious she shoved at me when I turned to ask her questions. "Move it!
Don't ask questions, get us out of here!"

    I got us moving and once I was on the main street that headed
north, did my best to put the accelerator through the firewall. The
engine noise went from a muted rumble to the characteristic deep
throated roar of a diesel at full throttle, under load.

    Senses alert for anything that might slow us down, I accelerated
until I felt the RV start to sway a little before I stopped
accelerating and backed off to just cruising at the top speed I could
maintain safely. I kept Michelle's urgency in mind and blew through
every stop sign. It was a couple of miles before I calmed enough that
I remembered to ask Michelle what had made her so edgy.

    Before I had a chance to speak aloud, there was a huge 'BOOM'
behind us and the vehicle rocked as a blast of air rushed past and
caused the RV to start swaying from side to side.. I fought us back
under control and eased us down to a slow cruise. I felt an inner
relaxation and I realized the feeling of urgency was gone.

    Michelle was also relaxed, and obviously thoughtful when she spoke
aloud. "So, you do have that power and it would seem that I have it in
a slightly different form.."

    I thought about what had happened. "What power?"

    "Precognition."

    "Oh. Yeah. I see. But that doesn't explain what happened back
there."

    "The corner gas station blew up. Think about it. What can happen
when the underground tank is empty and the power is on?"

    I nodded thoughtfully as I made a turn and eased us onto the
freeway. "If the turbines have power and are running, they can heat up
and burn out. But, they have to have power to do that. Where did
it?..."

    "Oh." I felt like an idiot. About thirty miles north of us was a
huge wind farm. Someone must have managed to isolate this area and
channel all that power into the local grid. I said so. "Do we want to
try and find whoever it is?"

    Michelle was silent a long time before she answered. "I don't
think we should." She fell silent and I sensed she was considering
what she wanted to say next. We were just past the last town in this
area before she spoke again. "Let's fill the tanks and then get back
on the freeway as soon as we finish. Someone has decided that this
area is isolated enough to suit them for whatever future they have
planned."

    I mulled it over. "I have a better idea. A lot of truckers pull
off the freeway and spend the night parked before they head for their
destination. We stop at as many of those rigs as we need to and siphon
fuel until our tanks are full. Then, at some point, I pick a rig that
has plenty of fuel and drive point. I'll use it to clear any
roadblocks. Once we get past the junction and back on the freeway,
I'll dump the rig and we keep going."

    She thought it over. "Turn around. We've passed several trucks. We
get the fuel and cross through the back way. Safer and shorter time
wise."

    I'd already started slowing us down. We bounced slightly as we
crossed the divider and then we were headed south. "Done."

    It didn't take us long to find enough trucks so we could fill the
tanks. It was eerie to see the rigs parked like usual but with nobody
in them.

    By the time that chore was over, we had decided to take a break.

    I headed for the nearest town and we raided one of the stores for
enough food that we wouldn't have to use any of our travel supplies.
Then I turned the controls over to Michelle while I settled in the
passenger seat.

    "Park, I guess. Be a good place to relax and slow down."

    She smiled as she got us moving again. "True. I don't know about
you but I need a chance to unwind."

    I laughed. "I need a nap after some food. All that nervous energy
is about used up."

    It felt strange when we pulled in and found a place to park. I was
used to seeing lots of people whenever I stopped for breaks, and the
windy silence was unsettling.

    Michelle grabbed the Frisbees and took the dogs out for a romp
while I fired up the generator and the air conditioning before I
started getting our food ready.

    It was when I started to fill the dogs' water bowl that I realized
I'd forgotten something when I'd prepped the RV.

    No water in the water tank. I sighed and opened one of the two
gallon bottles of drinking water. We could fill the tank later.

    I was putting the final touches on our plates of food when
everyone returned.

    Michelle was laughing but her voice was tinged with resignation.
"Hot out there. Luckily, there was water pressure and I could soak us
all so we could cool off."

    I winced. "Mmm. Year round fur coats. I wonder if we're able to
sweat? Hope so."

    She sneezed her disgust. "If we can, it's not enough in this
heat."

    "Ok. Oh, did you happen to see a hose out there? I forgot to fill
the water tank."

    This time she laughed. "As a matter of fact, I did find one. It
was after I found it that I figured out that it didn't matter because
I could have gone to one of the houses and used theirs."

    "Huh. Good point."

    I put the bowls of food down for the dogs, then put our plates on
the table before I settled opposite Michelle. "It's finally sinking
in, how much of the old mind set we need to lose if we're going to
survive."

    She nodded thoughtfully, then without saying more, started eating.

    I sighed and reached for my sandwich. While I ate, I deliberately
focused on my food, instead a future I couldn't envision.

    By the time I finished my food I was ready to collapse, and said
so before I staggered to the bed.

    Sleep, in spite of my tension, came quickly--and put an end to
thinking.

    1-03 - The Journey Begins


    Chapter Three - The Journey Begins

    My first awareness was that gentle hands were massaging my back.

    "About time you woke up. I filled the water tank and reorganized
things in the van. Whenever you're ready, we can get moving again."

    I glanced at her and then out the window. Late afternoon. "Ok.
This time, no more stops unless the road is closed."

    She shifted so I could sit on the edge of the bed. "Worried,
aren't you?"

    I closed my eyes in pain. "Yes. Something clicked and I have a
possible working explanation for some of this." I grimaced and got up
to use the bathroom. I left the door open and continued. "Michelle, if
I'm right, there are going to be three very frightened kids who will
be glad to see me, and by association, you. Are you ready to face
being a mother?"

    I was surprised when she started to say something and then closed
her mouth.

    I smiled wryly while I watched her. She shook her head and
gestured. I nodded and headed for the driver's seat. Once the engine
was started, I killed the generator and switched to normal
air-conditioning.

    In the meantime Michelle had stretched out on the bed for a well
earned nap of her own.

    "Yeah." I sighed and focused on the task at hand. It was going to
be a long trip.

    As we crossed the military base, the drive was easy. I took it
slow just in case but I couldn't hide my relief when we finally
reached the northeast gate without problems. After thinking about my
choices of routes, I got on the freeway and headed east. Most of the
vehicles had drifted off the freeway when the drivers vanished. My
careful detours around accidents were few.

    'Rest area'. Habit, and consideration for the dogs, made me pull
off and park at the back. The jouncing as I parked woke Michelle up.
"I lied. I forgot we had the dogs. Habit made me stop here to give
them a break."

    She smiled with some of her usual enthusiasm when she tapped her
head. "I know. Just had to think about it to figure it out."

    Habit also made me start to reach for a leash and then I stopped
and smiled. There was no traffic to worry about and even if there
were, Michelle and I could protect the dogs from harm. "Ok, kids.
Let's go relax." I pushed open the door and waited for the dogs to
scramble out ahead of me.

    We joined them and while they roamed, we took the time to check
out the parked vehicles.

    Inspiration struck. "Let's pull the best RV we can find up near
the bathrooms, after we fill the tanks. If we leave a note, at least
anyone who gets this far will know someone else survived. If we do
that on both sides of the freeway, whoever finds them won't know which
way we were headed."

    She nodded thoughtfully. "We might as well fill the tank in the
van, too. We may need it to scout ahead. What sort of note do you want
to leave? Are you still worried about who might catch up with us?"

    "I thought I'd keep it simple. The date and 'The tanks are full
and everything works. Good luck.'" I sighed deeply as I admitted the
next part. "No names on it."

    She had a one word comment. "Paranoid."

    "Yep. We're here and no one else is. I rest my case."

    She doubled over briefly while she laughed. I sneezed disgustedly
and left her there while I began checking out the RVs. I settled on
one, we prepared it and then I parked it where it couldn't be missed
if someone pulled in. I wanted it obvious that someone moved it after
the disaster.

    We called the dogs to us and walked over to repeat the process in
the westbound rest area. After we finished setting up that RV, I
walked over and studied the deserted freeway. Michelle joined me and
wrapped an arm around me in a gentle hug. "We'll probably never know
what happened. Let's get moving."

    I inhaled deeply and tasted the air. As I was learning to expect,
there was nothing to tell me that humans were ever in the area. A
short walk, some work with the dogs to get them loaded again and we
were back on the road with Michelle driving. She glanced at me and
grinned. "The body is new but the skills aren't. I'm letting your
memories do most of the work."

    I chuckled. "You've logged a lot of miles if you're using my
memories."

    "Enough."

    We fell silent when she started to work us past the tangle of
trucks and cars at the next junction

    Something caught my attention and a half-formed idea bloomed into
full awareness. "Stop. Let me grab that tow truck so we can clear the
road if we have to."

    The tow truck was one used to haul semis. It should have more than
enough power to move anything that might be blocking the road later.

    She slowed and stopped in the middle of the road. I looked at the
cab of the truck and made a decision. "I'll take Sally and Blackie.
This is not the time for me to leave them anywhere."

    I grabbed two leashes and hooked one to Blaze before I handed it
to Michelle. The other leash got hooked to Blackie. Sally, I didn't
worry about. She'd ride in anything as long as I was in it, too. "Come
on, girls."

    It took me some time to make sure the tanks were full and then I
fired the tow truck up and eased it on the road. As I passed Michelle,
I waved. "[Let's get moving.]"

    After she caught up, I focused on the road ahead. Only once did we
have to stop while I cleared the road. A semi and a car had collided
in a head on collision. The resulting tangle of metal was sideways on
the pavement. As I had hoped, I had enough power to move the wreckage.
Once she was able to get the RV past the wreckage, we moved on.

    Just before we reached the final town before the long cross
country trip, I decided to use the old road to bypass the junction.
There would have been little or no traffic and thus less risk of
finding the road blocked. I hit the signal and made the left turn.
When I glanced in the mirror, Michelle had made the turn behind me.
"[Can you handle that setup well enough to get it through town?]"

    "[Shouldn't be a problem since we're going slow anyway.]" She
sounded calm and confident. "[Worry about yourself. You're just as new
to that body as I am to this one.]"

    Trust Michelle to remind me of something I'd rather forget.
"[Female.]"

    "[Yep. Now, go. If you're right, we have some kids to rescue and a
long way to travel before we get to them.]"

    We kept going and I spent part of my time watching the sides of
the road and wondering if anyone else in this area survived. I had my
doubts. If what I suspected was true, there would be only isolated
survivors and most of those would quickly turn feral as they let their
new bodies control their actions.

    Sadly, I knew from history that few people would have the
knowledge or skills to survive in a low-tech or non-tech world.

    By the time we reached the next rest area, I was mentally and
physically exhausted. I hated making the the decision to turn in but I
knew I needed a longer break.

    The tow truck had ridden hard and the strain of leading us through
some pretty tight spots had taken its toll on my nerves. Not only
that, I'd been moving on nervous energy since a couple hours after my
nap and I knew I was fading rapidly.

    I winced as we drove through and started to park on the far side.

    Someone had been entering the rest area when the shift happened.
Worse, it had been a rig. It had slammed into another rig, a gasoline
tanker, and caught fire.

    Every vehicle in the rest area had burned.

    "[Let's go see how the other side looks.]" Michelle's thought
soothed my suddenly jagged nerves and calmed me enough that I could
find the energy to keep going for a little longer.

    I sighed. "[Lead on.]" She pulled in front of me and led the way
while we searched for a place to cross. About thirty minutes after I'd
made the initial decision to stop, we pulled into the westbound rest
area.

    I shut down and climbed out. The dogs leapt from the cab and began
investigating the area. Sally had been to this rest area before, so
she took off for all the areas she routinely checked when we stopped.
Blackie hesitated and then decided to see what she could discover on
her own.

    As I walked to the RV, the door opened and Blaze hit the ground
running. I smiled as he passed me. "Let's get the RVs in position and
take a break."

    Michelle was framed in the doorway and frowning while she studied
me.

    She shook her head slightly. "No. Do the RVs, yes. But after that,
we'd better take the time to relax until we know we're ready to
continue."

    She smiled to soften the blow of her next words. "We share the
same past. I know that you've been pushing yourself to get this far.
So have I. We'll take that break but it's going to be as long as it
needs to be."

    She stepped down and hugged me. "If they're alive, the kids will
be ok. They're independent and know a lot about being alone." She went
on implacably. "Besides, no matter what we do now, we're going to be
doing the rest of the trip in the dark unless we spend the night here.
We can't afford to overdrive our lights. That means a long, slow,
mentally exhausting trip once we get to the junction we need."

    I hated to admit it, but she was right. Even if she was able to
continue for much longer, I knew I couldn't. Now that we'd stopped in
a place that I could feel was 'safe enough', everything that had
happened was catching up with me.

    I chuckled sourly. "I was originally thinking of getting enough
rest to let me push the rest of the way, but you're right. A few hours
isn't going to make any difference."

    I had a sudden thought and looked at it closely. "Oh, hell... If
I'm even close to being right, days or weeks won't matter."

    Michelle pulled back to look at my face. I knew she wanted some
sort of answer, so I gave it to her.

    "Think of going to a few cities other than Las Vegas, then think
about going there."

    She stiffened with obvious surprise.

    "Good. You don't need to tell me what happened. Now, do the same
thing but this time deliberately think of getting there without the
dogs and kids."

    She didn't stiffen this time, she flinched and yipped.

    I sighed. "Yeah. Something wants us in Las Vegas, together. That's
what I was afraid of."

    She hugged me again. "At least we have a purpose beyond survival."

    I sneezed my disgust. "Yeah, I suppose we do. But are we going to
like it?"

    She was pragmatic about it. "Mike, power *always* has a price.
Looks like the bill is coming due a lot sooner than we expected,
that's all."

    "Umm. Point." I watched the dogs for awhile. "I'll pay it. But if
whatever is collecting decides the dogs are part of the payment,
they're going to find out just how angry and unreasonable I can get."

    She turned her head to study the dogs, then hugged me again.

    "How unreasonable WE can get."

    1-04 - Figuring it out - First Attempt


    Chapter Four - Figuring it out, First Attempt

    With the future more solidly in view, my nervous energy finished
leaving me and if not for Michelle catching me, I would have collapsed
to the ground.

    I regained a little of my energy while she held me, then I pushed
away slightly to look at her. "How are you doing in there? Hungry
yet?"

    Before she could answer I smiled lopsidedly and went on. "I know I
am. Let's feed the dogs and I'll figure out something..."

    She looked at me questioningly when I let my voice trail into
silence. "What's wrong?"

    I sighed. "Help me to bed and hand me a couple of energy bars.
Anything except a nap is beyond me right now. You're going to have to
do it all until I recover some."

    We looked at each other, then she kissed me lightly. "I see. I
think I can manage that. Let's get you to bed."

    She got me settled, handed me the opened energy bars and then
started getting some dinner cooking and the dogs taken care of.

    I wolfed the bars and let myself fall backwards.

    I welcomed the darkness of sleep.

    When I woke up I looked around and saw Michelle sitting in the
passenger seat, doing something with my laptop.

    Before I could say anything she turned and smiled. "I'm not crazy.
I've been using it to improve my fine muscle control. The dogs have
been fed and are outside, relaxing."

    She giggled. "Sally reinforced her Alpha position while you were
asleep. No damage to anyone, just a couple of very surprised stronger
dogs."

    I stretched luxuriously, then rolled over and sat on the edge of
the bed.

    "I'm surprised she had to enforce her position after all these
years. Blaze and Blackie have deferred to her since they were puppies.
Any idea what caused it?"

    "No. By the time I could see them, the fight, if it was one, was
over and they were back to normal."

    I staggered over to the table and sat down. "Ok. I'm ravenous.
Whatever you cooked, it smells good. Could you?..."

    She laughed and put the laptop on the dash. "Be glad to. The way
you looked a few hours ago, I was expecting to feed you in bed."

    She waggled a finger at me. "I'll accept it this time, but I don't
want to see you push yourself that far again. There's no need for it."

    I smiled tiredly. "Food, woman. Then I'll argue."

    She reheated some of the food she'd cooked, then brought it to me.
After she set the plate down she went back to the stove and started
cooking some more.

    When I asked her about it she shrugged. "The dogs and I have been
busy while we waited for you to recover."

    "Oh."

    My shakes went away soon after I started eating and by then the
dogs were inside and she was settled across from me.

    I mumbled my thanks around a final mouthful of food and she smiled
tenderly. "You ready to think again?"

    "Mmm." I swallowed and nodded. "A little."

    "Good." She leaned back and sighed. "For once, I can't track your
thinking. You said you might have a reason for all this?

    "Yeah. Maybe. But the more I think about it, the less sense it
makes."

    "Oh?" It was a polite, but insistent, inquiry.

    "Yeah. Someone 'called' me here. And some quirk got both of us,
instead."

    She sat there, and I waited while she thought about it. Finally...

    "Mike?... Who?..."

    I raised my eyebrows. "You're not asking the obvious question
about the reason for the split?"

    "I don't need to. I'm certan it matters, but since we have the
same memories up to that point, I know there's only one real
possibility. 'Balance', of some sort."

    She frowned. "I'll admit I can't figure out why someone with the
power to bring you here also insisted on making sure you showed up as
a Wizard with..." She sighed and leaned forward to wrap her fingers
around my paws. "Enough power control to destroy this world if you
wanted to."

    "Yeah. While we're on the subject: What, or who, intervened and
insisted you be here, too, effectively doubling that capability?"

    I closed my eyes in pain. "And then there's the feeling I have
that someday I'll be called on to run as only this body can, once I
understand how to handle it properly."

    Her fingers tightened momentarily. Then, so softly I knew I
wouldn't have heard her without my new hearing, "Because, love, I'm
the one person in *any* universe who can bring you up short if it's
needed."

    My fingers clenched and she yipped in surprised pain. I relaxed
them, a little, then smiled sourly. "You just made it worse, you know.
I thought I was done making those sorts of decisions."

    I pulled my paws away gently while I considered the absurd reality
we faced. "Someone, I have no idea who, trusts me enough that when
they are in a situation where someone's decision will decide the fate
of an entire world..."

    She nodded encouragingly. "They trust *you* to make the decision
for them all--and they will abide by it."

    "And if I make no decision?"

    She laughed. "That's probably why they chose you."

    I couldn't stop my self-derisive sneeze. "Point. 'No decision',
when there *has* to be one made, is not a thing I'll ever do."

    A sizzling sound distracted us. She said it first. "Let's eat the
rest of our dinner before it burns."

    I took a deep breath. "Yeah. Let's."

    1-05 - Acceptance of the Inevitable


    Chapter Five - Acceptance of the Inevitable

    During the rest of our dinner we kicked other ideas back and forth
while we tried to find any sort of explanation the made more sense
than the one I'd first come up with.

    About all we really figured out was the obvious, that we had no
idea about what was going on.

    Once we finished eating I settled in the driver's seat and spun it
around so I could watch while she poured from a two liter bottle. My
eyebrows went up when I realized she was pouring a lemon-lime drink I
favored. "That wasn't on my mental list of 'things required', but I
thank you."

    Her lips quirked into a smile. "Same mind, same tastes. I figured
it wouldn't be smart to carry stuff that would go bad quickly." She
handed me a glass before she settled in the passenger seat and turned
it so she was facing me.

    We were both silently considering everything we'd talked about
until, with exasperated resignation, Michelle said what we'd both been
dancing around. "Does it matter? Something has happened. Do we need to
worry about the reasons or do we just get on with whatever lives we
have left to us?"

    I sipped at my drink thoughtfully. "We go on, of course. You know
that. I'm a proven survivor. I don't doubt you are, too."

    I sighed deeply. "You're what I dreamed of--but you aren't. Will
it be masturbation?"

    Michelle tilted her had slightly before she answered tartly. "Were
all those internal conversations we had 'mental masturbation'? Does it
matter? I'm here. I'm as real as you are and neither one of us is
quite what we pictured the other as being."

    "Michelle, I can't help it. I don't like being forced into
decisions." I paused and shook my head, then continued venting some of
my frustration. "I don't know what makes me tell you that. For all
practical purposes, until the split, we were the same person. We've
always shared everything."

    I shuddered. "I knew I was never going to be *alone* as long as
you were there, somewhere."

    "[I'm still here.]" Her gentle words in my mind jerked me out of
my introspection. "[Are you forgetting some of the things you designed
into these forms?]"

    As usual, Michelle was forcing me to look at things I wanted to
hide from. "[Power. Functional immortality. Shape changers.]"

    She raised a paw and pointed it at herself, then at me. "Wizards."

    Her tones were light even though her voice got firmer when she
continued. "You invented 'The Wizard's Way'. You developed the ethos
for *my* world." Her smile removed a lot of the sting from her next
words. "You're The Trickster. Alicia. Phillip. D'Ulbrith Manning. All
of them--and more. You are the penultimate Wizard."

    "You helped give *me* life and then, when things changed, instead
of abandoning me, you set me free. We are one and more than one." She
stopped and waited for my reaction.

    "Good points. And with free will, what's keeping you at my side
now that you can choose? You, of all people, know what happens when I
meet people I've developed 'mental' friendships with."

    Michelle stared moodily into her glass before she raised her
muzzle so I could see her tears. She set the glass down and then
unsteadily made her way over to settle in my lap and hug me. "The same
thing that makes you want to check to see if your worst fears are
true."

    She touched my muzzle with the tip of a claw. "The same thing that
makes you openly ask a question that we both already know the answer
to."

    "Love."

    We wrapped our arms around each other and shivered together.
"Mike? I could have been the one to ask it and force things into the
open. Never forget that."

    I sighed deeply but didn't loosen my hold on Michelle. "Together?"

    She nestled into me and got comfortable. "Together."

    I smiled and then reached up and shifted her head so we could,
after all the years of internal conversations, look into each other's
eyes as lovers. "Even if we separate, we will know we have a place to
return to. You and I. We made ourselves for each other. Something has
given us this chance to be our true selves."

    Our muzzles met in our first lover's kiss. It was a kiss that
confirmed we would share whatever future might be out there, together.

    * * *

    With that kiss, something in us shifted. We didn't forget there
was some sort of 'new world' out there waiting to be explored and we
certainly didn't forget about the fact we'd wind up with a family as
soon as we reached our first definite destination.

    Our open acknowledgement of our love and commitment to each other,
combined with the acceptance of our probable immortality, based on
what I'd 'designed in' when I'd first visualized the forms we wore,
reduced our original focus on time to something manageable. The
acceptance also took away any need we had felt to rush anything we
did.

    The goals would always be there. How, and more importantly, *when*
we reached them was no longer an issue worth worrying about.

    In addition, Michelle and I, due to my age, already had plenty of
experience with the idea that no matter how much time we had, there
were going to be things we could never do anything about.

    Simply put, neither of us spent any more time worrying about the
kids. Any decisions about that future could wait until we knew more
about their situation, and if they wanted to join us.

    Although, because of my earlier 'thought experiment' I knew that
their joining us wasn't a 'decision'. It would be inevitable.

    It was already a foregone conclusion that in this world, 'free
will' had some well defined limits. I didn't know how I felt about
that, yet.

    Michelle glanced over at the dogs when one of the bowls scraped
across the floor. She giggled. "I'll be right back. Looks like they
are out of water already."

    She refilled their water and then resettled on my lap.

    While the five of us relaxed, I idly chewed on still more ideas
that might explain what was going on. I figured that I'd be wrong on
some details, but I couldn't let go of the feeling I needed a reason
for it all, to help me make my decisions.

    Eventually, Michelle pointed out a mistake we had made earlier.

    "We goofed. We should have left the tow truck and found some other
way to clear the roads."

    "Oh? I don't see how it makes a difference."

    She sighed and looked out the window. "Anyone who survived may be
thinking about heading for the same places we've picked. They're
obvious meeting points for any survivors. City folks are probably only
going to be comfortable in another city."

    I chuckled softly. "Probably. What's your point?"

    "We're on *the* route to the next major city. If anyone heads for
Las Vegas, they may notice the truck is missing. If they do and they
haven't seen it along the route, they might also figure out someone
had to have used it. If we leave it anywhere along the route, they'll
know at least one person had the same idea they did. If they saw the
RVs we moved, they will be pretty confident they are headed in the
same direction we are."

    "Ouch. You're right. We might as well have drawn them a map." I
thought about it. "We'll leave it at the next town and go on without
it. If anyone finds the RVs in the near future, the scent traces will
tell them in what order we set them up and where we parked while we
were there. That will give them our direction. Not only that, we've
already cleared the road for them. If we want some extra time, we'll
have to go all the way to Las Vegas and make sure the road is clear.
Otherwise it will be obvious we weren't headed there as our first
destination.

    She smiled sadly. "Any reason you insist on remaining so
paranoid?"

    That comment made me stop and lean back to rethink my attitude.
"You're saying I shouldn't be letting myself fall into old patterns?"

    She giggled and the sound sent shivers up my spine. "Exactly.
You're a Wizard, now. Think like one."

    I inhaled and then slowly let my breath out. I was filled with
wonder at the new vistas I could see. "A Wizard's Warning. And I know
*exactly* how I want to give it. We'll do it in the morning."

    I was still tired and Michelle's breathing was ragged enough that
I was able to tell she was worn out, too. We used the bathrooms,
walked for a little while to enjoy the closeness, then went to bed for
the night.

    * * *

    The result of my inspiration was enough to amply frustrate anyone
who had decided to follow us or had decided to go in *either*
direction. We spent the next day using all of the vehicles except one
RV to build a roadblock to the west of the rest areas. It covered both
sides of the freeway. If anyone wanted past, they'd have to walk
around it or find a way to remove enough of it to get through. The tow
truck was on the bottom and all the cars were positioned to either
side of it. As the pile got higher, the vehicles got larger, with the
most fully loaded semis on top of the pile. To make it more
interesting, we drained all of the fuel from the vehicles and left one
of the RVs on the west side of the pile. In *it* we placed a single
five gallon can of gas after we made sure the tanks were empty.

    It was dusk when we finished and I chuckled. "Let whoever gets
this far wonder how and when it was done."

    Michelle hugged me. "Ready to call it a night and relax a bit?"
She let a paw drift across my chest in a blatant promise for the
future.

    I couldn't stop my low voiced moan. After I recovered from the
jolt of pleasure, I turned her to face me and gave her a hug. "I'm
exhausted. Let's see what happens later."

    The return to our RV was filled with a companionable silence.

    The dogs wandered a bit but generally stayed fairly close to us.
Actually, Sally stayed close enough that she could keep an eye on us.
Blaze wanted to play with her but after she rebuffed him a few times
he lost interest and stayed with Blackie as she explored. Even with
all their wandering, somehow all three of the dogs wound up at the RV
at the same time we did.

    Michelle and I chuckled while we waited for the three of them to
get in ahead of us. There was the sound of water being inhaled and
then they found places and settled.

    Once inside we started preparing dinner. A large dinner, even
though we'd eaten a large breakfast, a good sized lunch, and snacked
throughout the day, too.

    One thing I'd done right in my writing was suggesting that
Wizardry used up your personal energy. What I'd missed on, almost
completely, was how much it used, especially if you weren't used to
it.

    We needed to eat far more than we were used to eating if we were
going to keep being so active with our powers. It was either that or
find ways to siphon off some of the energy so we could conserve our
personal energies.

    Theoretically, it was possible.

    I hoped it was true, because if it wasn't, any major workings
stood a good chance of slowly killing one, or both of us.

    We made a ceremony of this dinner by sharing bits of our food with
the dogs and each other. The atmosphere was relaxed but also tense
with the awareness that in a very short while we'd be in bed together
and affirming our shared love.

    After we finished eating again we let the dogs out and drifted
over to settle at one of the tables near the restrooms. Once we were
settled, I reached over and held Michelle's paws in mine. "I'm
nervous. I've no idea how to use this body and I don't want to
disappoint you, Love." I couldn't help my wry smile.

    Michelle shook her head slightly as she laughed gently while
watching my face. "We're even. I just happen to be a virgin, too."

    She shifted subjects. "Mike? We're Wizards. We can choose our
forms, now. I'm in the form you almost always saw me in. I'm
comfortable with it and plan to keep it as my primary form. But
you..." She trailed off and took a deep breath. "You once wrote: 'Ask
me when I can choose.' You can, and I'm asking."

    I released her paws and held mine up so I could study them. I
closed my eyes and remembered what it had been like to be human.
Without opening my eyes I leaned forward and rested my chin on my
interlaced fingers. Then, reluctantly, I opened my eyes and studied
Michelle.

    "As odd as it sounds, I think we were already asked to choose, and
we did."

    I concentrated and 'remembered' where my pants had been left
hanging, in the closet at our old home. I could 'see' the bulge where
my wallet was in one pocket. Gently and unsurely, I mentally 'grasped'
it and shifted it so it was on the table in front of me. It took some
careful work but I finally had a special picture on the table between
us. "I never knew I was that 'handsome' until a friend pointed it out
to me over 20 years later. I could have returned to that body."

    Michelle smiled wistfully. "But you didn't. And I didn't choose to
be a human, after all." She reached for my paws. "Maybe whatever it
was that brought us here let us choose each other. It's not as if we
didn't have others we could have chosen to spend the rest of our lives
with, and they would have been willing to spend theirs with us if they
had been allowed to choose."

    I shivered. "No, Michelle. If I'm close to right, it wasn't their
choice to make. Nor was it really ours. I wouldn't have chosen to live
in such a lonely world as this one is going to be for a long time."

    She caught the intent behind my words and she realized what I was
trying to say. "Someone you care for deeply and who cares for you...
Called you here?"

    I nodded. "And because I was so carefully balanced in my choices,
my male and female sides were allowed independent forms and then
released to do...

    "Whatever they might do."

    1-06 - Adding to the Pack


    Chapter Six - Adding to the Pack

    The evening was warm and we sat at that patio table for a while
longer, content to savor the chance to relax together.

    Eventually we went back to the RV.

    The dogs quickly settled for the night and we grabbed a quick
snack and settled at the table.

    I was nibbling at the last of my sandwich when, for some reason,
something that had been in front of us all along but we'd never seen,
made me freeze in surprise.

    Stunned by the vision I'd had, I looked at it carefully before I
returned to the immediate now.

    "Michelle?"

    "Yes?"

    Don't you see it yet? Forms. Choices...." I looked down at Sally
and whispered: "We're Wizards...."

    Her intake of breath was enough to tell me she'd undertood what I
was hinting at.

    My hand was shaking when I bent and offered it to Sally. "Sally...
For all of you..." I gathered in the power that surrounded us...
"*Choose*!"

    Her tongue came out and lightly touched the back of my hand while
she looked at me and smiled.

    Nothing happened.

    Disappointed, I sighed and leaned back, only to be startled when I
heard a bass voice rumble from the back of the RV. "She's teasing you,
Mike."

    "Who?!" I jerked around to stare towards the bed. I saw two anthro
dogs seated on the edge, grinning at me. "Blaze? Blackie?"

    Blackie giggled. "Definitely. Teasing."

    A paw touched my cheek and turned my head until I was facing...

    A vision.

    Sally, in her new form, that of an anthro Golden, was smiling
tenderly. "Teasing, Mike."

    She bent forward slightly, tilted her head to one side and opened
her mouth in an invitation.

    Mesmerized, I leaned into her and gave her an open mouthed kiss.

    Time stopped.

    Michelle's delicate cough brought us back to the here and now.
Reluctantly, I pulled away from Sally to look at Michelle
questioningly... Michelle!. Oh, no...

    However, she was smiling, and the merriment in her eyes was
obvious. "We're a pack. Packs share. And..." She looked at the back of
the RV. "Three of us and two of you. Life should turn interesting."

    "Umm." At first I was uncomfortable with where my thoughts headed,
then I sighed. There really wasn't a good long term choice for me,
except one. When I really looked at it without all my prejudices and
human bias, I realized it wasn't a choice, not in the long term.

    I turned to study the obviously comfortable Rottweiler and Chow on
the bed. Blaze looked away, then back. Blackie was watching me
intently, as if she was worried about something, then she suddenly
opened her mouth to reveal her still black tongue in one of the happy
grins I was used to. I didn't need to ask why she was grinning.

    I smiled back, then turned back to study Michelle. She tilted her
head slightly and smiled tenderly. "I didn't say 'normal pack'."

    I nodded at the wryness in her voice, then, finally, focused on
the patiently waiting Sally. I took a deep breath and stood shakily
before I opened my arms.

    She smiled and stepped into my embrace. "That wasn't so hard, was
it?"

    I shivered nervously and her arms went around me, holding me until
my shaking stopped. I sighed. "Yes, it was. 'Human cultural baggage'.
All I could see was our old bodies, not the new ones."

    Before our mouths joined again I whispered... "I love you, Sally.
I always have but..." I sighed. "Never in this way. This is going to
take time for me to get used to."

    I felt the others join us in a group hug and gentle cuddle.
Overwhelmed, I finally let go and savored the new feelings instead of
analyzing them.

    Eventually we broke apart and rearranged things so we could get
some sleep without anyone sleeping on the floor.

    I laughed at Sally's grimace when she picked up the food dishes
and dumped the water bowl before putting them away in one of the
cupboards. "This feels strange. Now that I can keep them from sliding
all over, I don't need to use them."

    Blackie laughed at her. "I'm going to miss having an excuse to let
someone else hand feed me."

    Blaze perked his ears in her direction. "There are other reasons
you can be hand fed."

    They stared at each other until she smiled happily. "Are you
offering?"

    He grinned. "I was thinking of making it mutual."

    She nodded. "I think I'd like that."

    I laughed and turned towards the master bed. "I'm going to bed and
try and get some sleep. The rest of you can do what you like but I
need to be ready to drive in the morning."

    By the time I was stretched out and comfortable, Michelle and
Sally had stretched out on opposite sides of me.

    I feel asleep while thinking about the way Sally's new body
pressed against me, compared to the way her old body had felt. There
weren't, I realized, a lot of differences.

    It was a strangely comforting thought.

    * * *

    Morning found me still pinned between the two of them. They had
their arms over me possesively, and I didn't mind it a bit.

    Content, and in no hurry to get up, I went back to sleep.

    * * *

    It was the sound of the door opening and the smell of food that
woke me up again. When I stretched I realized I was alone so I rolled
over until I could look down the length of the RV.

    Michelle was cooking breakfast, and since I didn't see anyone else
I assumed the others had gone outside.

    I sat on the edge of the bed and yawned. "Smells good. Where are
the others?"

    Michelle turned to smile at me. "They decided to shift back and go
for a run."

    "Shift back?"

    "Yes. They talked it over and decided they weren't quite ready to
stay anthro all the time, and then Sally commented that since they'd
arrived here as dogs, it might be wise to stay dogs most of the time."

    I finally shrugged. "I was wondering how they made the change,
more than their reasons, but she makes sense, I guess."

    Then I chuckled. "Always knew she was smart, I have a feeling all
of them are going to surprise me anyway, now they can talk to me."

    Michelle giggled. "You might say that. We've been up for a few
hours, and I joined them for their first run before I headed back to
cook our lunch. Their ability to multitask is amazing. I think the
transfer here gave all of us a boost of some sort."

    "Oh? What were they doing?"

    She turned the heat off, then sat at the table and motioned me
over. I settled and waited.

    "Mike? They were running, making observations about the area while
looking at it as if they would have to guard us, and carrying on a
discussion about what their real purpose here might be later, along
with trying to figure out why they were able to use their anthro forms
without having to think about what they were doing--and they were
doing all of that coherrently."

    I chuckled and shook my head. "Did they come to any conclusions?"

    She surprised me. "Yes."

    "Oh?"

    "They decided they're here to protect and work with the kids, and
that they will pair male to female, since that's the only logical way
for them to pair. You and I are the primary pair, of course, then it
will be Sally with Jason, since they are the oldest and that will let
Blackie team with Stan and Blaze will team with Nadia.

    "It was Sally who pointed out that you and I can take care of
ourselves, since we are Wizards. Aparently she paid more attention to
your musings about power than either of us realized."

    My eyebrows went up. "Apparently she understood it, too, if she's
that confident about our skills already."

    Michelle hesitated. "I don't think she understands it in the way
you and I think of 'understand'. She accepts and believes, and the
others agree with her. If they think it will happen, it will. That how
they shifted back to their original forms. They wanted to be dogs
again, and they were. It's as if..."

    She went silent and shook her head. "It's there at the edge of my
awareness, I think."

    I reached to grab her paw. "What is?"

    She looked up and her eyes were filled with wonder. "A greater
awareness, one that contains... This reality, and has a clear vision
of the way things should be. The dogs tapped that awareness when they
wanted to change, I think"

    My eyebrows went up but before I could say anything, she touched
my lips to keep me silent. "Don't think, empty your mind--and feel."

    A female voice, filled with amusement, spoke in chiding tones
before I could begin my meditation.

    "Now, now, Michelle. There's no need for that nonsense here. All
you have to do is dial *GOD if you want to talk to me--or calling me
by name will work, too. I'm 'Zarah', to my friends."

    Our heads jerked around and we stared at the... Vision of anthro
loveliness who had appeared in the RV. I've always thought Irish
Setters were beautiful, but this one took that beauty beyond my
dreams, to something more...

    Elemental and intense.

    She grinned at me. "Breathe, Mike. I'm as real as you are."

    About then the door opened and two dogs lunged in ahead of Sally,
who was anthro again.

    When they saw who it was, they froze and Sally sneezed in disgust.
"Oh, it's *you* again."

    That disgusted comment took my attention away from... Zarah.

    "Again, Sal?"

    "Remember the bitch the neighbors had before they got Blaze?"

    "Yeah. What about her?"

    "This one smells just like her. I thought we were done with her
but I guess not."

    Zarah smiled. "You are. I used her as a pattern when I created
this body."

    Sally glared at her. "As long as you didn't use her empty head,
too."

    I goggled. I'd always known Sally hadn't liked that one, but I had
never been able to figure out *why* she couldn't stand her. Now I
knew. Maybe. "Sally? Empty?"

    "Yes, brainless."

    "Oh."

    Zarah laughed. "I think I'm smarter than she was."

    She turned back to us and gestured. "May I sit down and join you
for breakfast?"

    I finally shrugged. "I didn't know 'God' needed to ask. Go ahead."

    She laughed again and vanished, to reappear next to me, seated by
the window. "Thanks."

    I sighed. "Would I be correct if I assumed you're the reason we're
all here?"

    "Yes."

    I sneezed my own digust. "I'll keep it simple: How come?"

    "Simple for simple. I'm building a new world, and once I get the
rest of you here and settled, you'll be helping me with it as my...
'Angels' in this reality, 'gods' in your old one, if you want to
approximate the relationship we'll have."

    "That's 'simple'?"

    "It will be, once I explain part of it after we eat."

    Michelle sighed. "That sounds like my cue. I'll serve, then add
more to the pots, since I wasn't aware we'd have company."

    Zarah giggled. "Rule number one: This reality is faith based, for
lack of a better way to explain it. Whatever you want to happen, will,
as long as you believe it will."

    Michelle paused in her move to get up. "If I expect more food to
be on the stove, there will be?"

    "If that's what you want, yes. Just remember, as The Wizards, you
and Mike have special authority that no one else has. All you need is
a strong desire, since you already believe in your powers."

    I winced and whispered: "Absolute power corrupts absolutely."

    Zarah touched me lightly. "Not in your cases. You've already been
to hell and back, so relax. That's one of the reasons I split you when
I brought you here."

    She waited until I faced her, then she smiled seriously. "In a
practical sense, at this level and beyond, there's no such thing as
'absolute power'. There's always someone above you, making the primary
policy decisions that you have to implement."

    I sighed. "Let me see if I understand you. The dictum about 'power
corrupting' doesn't apply any more, because you've decided it
doesn't?"

    "Exactly."

    I winced, and decided to eat what was served while I thought some
more about Zarah's rather blithe attitude.

    Michelle served Zarah, then she and Sally joined us while Blaze
and Blackie went anthro and settled in the driver's and passenger
seats to eat.

    Eventually, though, the food was gone and we couldn't avoid
Zarah's 'explanation'.

    When Michelle started to gather plates and get up, Zarah sneezed
at her. "Don't bother. I'll put them away."

    She waved her paw negligently. "Shoo!"

    The plates and food vanished, then she grinned at us. "All gone.
Now I can start that explanation. There will be more, of course, but
there's no point in my telling it more than once, so you'll hear the
rest of it once I have all of you in one place. What you're getting is
the 'insider story', so to speak, that can't be shared with anyone
else."

    The five of us looked at each other for awhile, then I turned back
to Zarah. "What makes us special, and none of the others you're
bringing to this reality?"

    "You five are the only people who will ever know how to go back
and forth between this reality and the one you came from. As far as
anyone else, including your fellow 'Angels', will ever know, that sort
of 'reality hopping' is impossible."

    Michelle frowned. "That's it?"

    Zarah shook her head slightly. "Not completely. But that's all you
need to know for now. I want you folks focused on the immediate
future, and learning how to use those new bodies and the powers that
came with them."

    Michelle was the one who answered. "Ok. What else can you tell
us?"

    Zarah sighed. "Lots of things, eventually. First is that I don't
have a choice about being peremptory about some things I'll need done.
This body is best described as a carefully crafted tool, into which
I've crammed as much of my awareness as I can. Think of it as a remote
manipulator, designed for use in an environment I can't visit
personally."

    I nodded. "Sounds reasonable."

    She smiled. "Good. Now, in my home reality, I am what can be
described as an autonomous tool. Awareness is hierarchal, and anyone
who is part of the group of realities we live in, can, if they are
from a 'larger cluster of awarenesses', 'impose' specific purposes on
those who are lesser than they are. Think of it as giving a self
programming computer something to do. You want a job done, but you
don't care about micro managing it."

    She shrugged. "Maybe the best way to think of yourselves is that
you five are the 'error control' part of my 'master control program'
for this reality. If I want you to work correctly, you have to know
more than anyone else, about the overall situation, while the rest of
the MCP takes care of specific tasks related to building and
maintaining this reality."

    Looking back, I know I shouldn't have been surprised when Blaze
was the first one to say something. After all, he hadn't been living
with a family that took the time to appeciate him for who he was. In a
strange sense, he'd been a status symbol to them, and if Sally and I
hadn't unofficially adopted him, his life would have been worse than
it had been.

    Anyway, I think all of us were a little stunned by the starkness
of Zarah's assessment and he was the first to react. "Zarah? What do
we get out of this? You get to use us, if we accept things, but you
haven't said there will be any benefits for us. I've been there, and I
don't want to go back to the sort of life that gives me nothing back."

    She sighed. "Blaze, what you all get out of this is family, and
the chance to be yourselves, in any way you choose. That's the point
of this reality. 'We', instead of 'us vs them'. I searched a long time
for a life group that's made up of natural leaders, and even then I
had to cheat a little, by splitting Mike into two parts and setting
things up so he, Sally and Michelle 'added' you and Blackie to their
pack."

    Blaze's head came up and tilted in a way that told me he was
assessing Zarah on some level that would place her on either his
'friend', or 'foe' list. Finally, he sneezed and looked at Sally and
Blackie. "I trust her. I think we should go along with her plans."

    There was more silent communing amongst them before Sally faced me
again. "Mike? Where you lead."

    I sighed and turned to Zarah. "Do we have a choice?"

    She laughed softly. "Yes, you do. But it's my opinion, based on
past experiences in other realities, that you five are the best team
I've ever assembled--you're naturals for this, not people I've had to
train."

    I sneezed my disgust. "Then it's not really a choice, is it?
'Error control' you called us, eh? When do we go online?"

    She giggled. "In about two months. In the meantime, you have some
kids to meet before you show up in Vegas."

    I nodded. "Any specific time we should be there?"

    She laughed outright. "No. You'll know when it's time to drive
over the hill and meet me again."

    She vanished.

    Michelle growled. "I wanted to find out the reason we need the
kids with us."

    I leaned back. "Did everyone else notice how she managed to avoid
all the real questions we had?"

    I got a chorus of disgusted sneezes.

    It was Sally who made the most pointed observation. "Zarah told us
we should be ourselves. If that's true, why did she complicate things
by telling us our purpose here?"

    Michelle and I looked at each other and I wondered if the worry in
my eyes matched that in hers when I spoke softly. "That's a good
question, isn't it? Sally, I'm guessing, but she probably told us
because she isn't afraid to admit she's capable of making mistakes.
That makes the subcontext a complicated one, because traditional gods
don't try to fix their mistakes--they eliminate them and start over."

    Sally's reaction was a whimper followed by a reluctant nod.

    I slid over and invited her to my side of the table, then I hugged
her. "Relax. I'm used to hearing what isn't being said, and one of the
things Zarah didn't mention, that she should have, is that we're
functionally immortal. To eliminate us, she'd have to destroy this
reality, and I have the strong impression she won't do that."

    Sally nestled against me. "I don't understand that part."

    Michelle laughed. "It has to do with being the people who correct
mistakes. Programmers hate writing error routines, and if you've
created a good set, you hate getting rid of them completely. It's not
unusual for the best programmers to reuse their routines by adding to
them as needed, instead of starting over."

    She smiled. "Zarah impressed me as being efficient, so there's a
good chance that even if she discards this reality someday, as long as
we're still useful, she'll keep us around."

    Sally sighed. "I thought I had too much time to think when I was a
dog. It's worse, now."

    I hugged her again, then kissed her. "You'll get used to it, and
remember, you can indulge your curiosity. I won't be holding you back
any more. There's no need for that, now."

    Her head came up quickly, then she tilted it while she thought
about that revelation. "That's true, isn't it!?"

    "Yep."

    She pushed herself away from me and then stood. Her form blurred
slightly, and suddenly she was back in her dog form. She looked up at
me and smiled. "Let me out. I want to go enjoy my freedom for awhile.
Wait for me here?"

    I smiled and stood. "We'll wait. Any idea how long?"

    She shook herself. "No. When I'm ready to come back."

    "Ok."

    She turned to go stand by the door and I let her out. I stood
there and watched her until she vanished in the distance, then decided
to step outside and latch the door open since the weather was warm.

    At last, after I got tired at gazing at the emptiness, I went back
inside and resettled at the table before I studied each of the others.
"Anyone else?"

    Blaze and Blackie looked at each other, then Blackie shook her
head slowly without looking away from Blaze. "Not yet. I won't deny I
miss my former owner, but I'm also glad to be here, with you. We
always did have a special relationship that she never understood."

    I nodded. "Blaze?"

    He looked away and spoke quietly without turning back to face me.
"It's strange, to know I can leave whenever I want to, yet come back
and still have a family that cares for me. Maybe that's why I never
ran any further than your yard when I could get loose. Where you and
Sally are, is home."

    I ducked my head, embarrassed by his sincerety. "Thanks, Blaze."

    After I recovered, I looked at Michelle and queried her with my
eyes.

    She nodded slowly. "We settled it before we left the house. Home
is wherever we happen to be, together. Right?"

    I smiled. "Yes, Love."

    She reached for my paws. "What about the kids?"

    I sighed. "If I understand some of the new rules we'll be living
by, as long as we feel they'll be ok, they will be. Besides, I'm
willing to bet Zarah has already seen them and reassured them that
we'll show up. My guess is that she'll stay with them until just
before we get there."

    Michelle smiled tenderly. "Wishes have power--and dreams will
become reality--to those who believe."

    "Yes."

    I stood again and stretched. "I don't know about you people, but I
feel like taking a walk."

    Michelle stood and hugged me. "I'll join you."

    I looked at Blackie and Blaze. They shook their heads slightly.

    Blackie smiled. "We'll stay here. I want to be hand fed, and...
Other things, if Blaze is willing to explore."

    I raised my eyebrows, then laughed. I was still chuckling after
Michelle and I started our walk. "Blackie has always been strong
willed, and forward."

    Michelle giggled. "I know. And isn't that why she's here?"

    "True, true..." We linked arms and I went on thoughtfully. "And
Blaze has always been somewhat pragmatic in his outlook, if I was able
to read his body language correctly all these years. Blackie will be
good for him, and when she's done, they'll be quite an impressive
team."

    Michelle laughed. "Well, error handlers do tend to be pretty
direct and pragmatic about things, don't they?"

    "Point!"

    We spent the rest of the morning in a shared silence while we
ambled nowhere in particular.

    It was after noon when we found ourselves settled on the south
facing side of a nearby peak, and looking out at the valley below us.

    I took the time to visualize what I wanted, then made a sweeping
gesture at the area in front of us. "A picnic, to share with my Lady
Fair."

    Michelle smiled at my whimsey, then made a gesture of her own.
"Then we should be suitably atired, don't you think?"

    I found myself garbed in a traditional Wizard's Robe, as I had
envisioned it for my stories, and she was wearing the flowing white
gown that was 'traditional' for the women of power in my stories.

    I studied our clothes, then laughed. "Very practical and well
thought out, Love. After all these years, helping my mother with her
clothing design work as a child, pays off."

    She giggled. "It did make it easier, and you had already done most
of the work while you wrote your stories."

    "True. Judging by our experiences so far though, clothing is
definitely going to be optional and either ceremonial or protective.
If things were normal, we should be overheated by now, but we aren't,
even though the temperature is normal for this location and time of
year."

    She tilted her head in a gesture I realized was becoming normal
for her when she was thinking. "That's going to significantly alter
many things in this culture as it develops, if everyone can ignore the
climate."

    I nodded slowly. "Interesting point. Something we can explore
later, if we ever get bored."

    She giggled and slapped at me. "Definitely later! Let's eat!"

    "Yes, Dear."

    We settled on the blanket, and then ate our repast, while idly
making comments and speculating about the world that was, to all
appearances, ours to take care of.

    We reached no conclusions, but we did enjoy the food, and the
chance to finally, after years of dreams, be our true selves.

    1-07 - Inevitable Company


    Chapter Seven - Inevitable Company

    It was getting dark when we got back to the rest area and found
Blaze and Blackie settled at one of the picnic tables while they were
eating dinner.

    Michelle and I settled on the other side and I decided to tease
them. "Well? Mated pair?"

    Blaze met my eyes calmly. "For now."

    I tilted my head slightly to query him and he smiled. "Dogs take
things as they happen. We aren't comfortable with thinking long term,
and who knows? Things could change tomorrow so we'll be happy with
what we have now."

    I nodded thoughtfully. "I think I'll have to learn some of that
acceptance."

    Michelle touched my arm. "We. And I think you already have a lot
of it, or we wouldn't be here."

    "Mmm. Point."

    I smiled and changed the subject. "I made lunch. You can get
dinner."

    She sneezed at me. "Lazy!"

    "Yep!"

    "Just for that..." She sneezed in the direction of the table and
two plates of lasagna appeared in front of us, complete with a
condiment server and the utensils. "Satisfied?"

    I chuckled and shook my head. "I have the feeling I'd better be.
Looks good. Thanks."

    * * *

    We had finished eating and the four of us were sharing the silence
when we heard the sound of a turbine engine approaching, then we could
see the light from a set of headlights.

    I raised my eyebrows. "I admit she's quirky, but that doesn't seem
like Zarah's style, and she *did* imply we wouldn't meet again until
we got to Vegas."

    Michelle shrugged. "So we have company. She also didn't say if
there was anyone else here other than us and the kids, either."

    A flashy race car pulled up next to the curb and two young German
Shepherds got out. "German Shepherds. I bet they're Stan and Nadia. I
wonder where..."

    The car suddenly went through a strange set of distortions until a
third German Shepherd was standing there and stretching.

    "Never mind. If it has something to do with transformations, it
*has* to be Jason."

    I raised my voice. "Over here!"

    They turned and headed towards us.

    Finally they stood a few feet away and Jason spoke up. "Hi, Mike.
Zarah said you'd be here a few days, so we decided to come and meet
you, instead of waiting."

    He looked around as if he could see in the dark and then inhaled
through his nose. "Where's Sally? She was here at one time. Who're
your friends?"

    My eyebrows went up at his display of casual skill. "Hi, Jason.
Nadia. Stan. Sally's off somewhere enjoying her freedom. She'll be
back when she's ready. The Saluki is Michelle, who used to live inside
my head but Zarah decided to make her a real person. The Chow is
Blackie and the Rott is Blaze. I've told you about them, before."

    He turned back to look at them and nodded perfunctorily. "Hi. Good
to meet you at last." He turned away almost as if he was forced to.
"Sorry... I gotta go find Sally. It's like she's calling me or
something. Catch ya later..."

    He shifted into a true dog form and ran off into the night.

    Nadia giggled, breaking the stunned silence. "Ever since Zarah
said Sally was here, she's all Jason could talk about. I think he's
hot for her."

    She turned back and held out her right paw shyly, towards Blaze, I
noticed. "Hi. I've always liked Rottweilers. You look kinda handsome,
ya know?"

    I was overwhelmed by floating pheromones and I sneezed violently
before I looked at Stan and held out my paw. "Hi, Stan. How ya doin'?"

    He spared a glance of disgust for his sister and then turned back
to me and shook paws with me. "Ok. Got any extra food?"

    I raised my eyebrows. "Didn't Zarah tell you that you can make
your own any time you want it?"

    "Really?"

    "Really. Try it. Just like in the cartoons and movies and stuff."

    "Do I gotta say all that crazy stuff, too?"

    I shrugged. "I don't think so but you'll have to find out for
yourself."

    "Kay."

    He scrunched up his muzzle and closed his eyes before he held out
his paws as if he was gripping a sandwich in front of his face. "I
want..."

    It was all I could do to suppress my laughter and I heard an
aborted snort from Michelle when his 'sandwich' appeared.

    He opened his eyes and stared at what he'd created. "Oh...
Yeah!..."

    While Stan ate his concoction, Michelle and I watched what was
going on across the table from us.

    Nadia had settled on Blaze's free side and was engrossed in
petting him lightly. Blackie was wearing a grin and sometimes she'd
lean forward to give Nadia some pointers about what Blaze enjoyed.

    Finally I smiled and turned to Michelle. "That situation promises
to be interesting, doesn't it?"

    She laughed and leaned against me. "No more interesting that the
one that involves Sally and Jason."

    I hugged her. "You know as well as I do that Sally and Jason have
always enjoyed each other's company when they had the chance to be
together."

    She grabbed my paw and pressed it. "So where does that leave Stan?
And how do you feel about the possibility of losing Sally's
affection?"

    I turned and kissed her. "I think I'll work on learning to take a
long term view of the situation. Eventually our age differences will
be insignificant, and that means we'll probably form and reform
relationships in all the possible combinations."

    "You didn't answer my question."

    I sighed. "Right now, I'll miss her, if she decides to focus on
Jason. Their choice though, not mine."

    She sighed back. "I'll miss that, too. We were just getting to
know each other and now... I don't know. I want you to myself for now,
and yet I also don't want to keep you from anyone else."

    "I know, Love. I guess all we can do is adapt as things happen.,
and not make any long term plans other than for ourselves. Sally is
the only one I can see as suitable for me, and that's because I really
do want to explore the new love we have for each other."

    I hugged her again. "What about you and the others?"

    "I'm still mostly you. I love Sally, too. Always will. I'm not
ready to add anyone else, except as family."

    "Yeah. Ok. Know what you mean."

    I got tired of being bathed in three different flavors of musk, so
I raised my voice and addressed the loving triplet. "Hey, if you three
are up to it, there's an older RV available. I can bring it to this
side of the barricade. Nadia? Tomorrow morning you could use it to
start teaching Blaze and Blackie how to drive, while we wait for Sally
and Jason to get back."

    When their heads jerked around so they could stare at me. I
grinned and tapped my muzzle. "I have a functional nose, you know, and
I was young once upon a time..."

    Nadia hesitated, then took a deep breath and faced me seriously.
"You don't mind?"

    "Why should I? Zarah made it clear that we're here to live our
lives in the way *we* want to. That means you get to make your
decisions, and I'll support you, even when I disagree with them."

    She nodded. "Can I ask you for advice... About *anything*?"

    I nodded. "Anything, and if you aren't comfortable with me,
there's always Michelle, or anyone else."

    She thought about it, glanced at Blaze briefly, then flattened her
ears in embarrassment. "I want to, but I don't want to get pregnant."

    I nodded soberly. "As long as you don't want to, you won't. That's
the way things work for us, now." I hesitated, then decided I needed
to give her an option. "Do you want me to help? I can make it so you
can't get pregnant until you ask me to allow it."

    "You could?"

    "My word."

    She turned back to Blaze and searched his face hungrily. Without
turning away from him she nodded slowly. "Please."

    "Give me one of your paws."

    She held one out and I took it. "Nadia, when you are ready for
children of your own, they will be yours. Until then, explore your
sexuality, and life, without fear that children will come unannounced
and undesired."

    I lifted her paw and kissed it lightly. "So be it."

    Then I let go.

    "Thank you, Mike."

    "You're welcome."

    I raised my muzzle slightly and watched Blaze and Blackie. "What
about you folks?"

    Blackie smiled back. "Already taken care of, Mike. We did't want
puppies, either."

    I laughed. "Ok. Now, what about that RV?"

    Blaze grinned. "We accept. Put it at the other end of the parking
area?"

    I laughed. "Consider it done."

    I slid out and stood. "Michelle? Shall we take a walk?"

    She giggled. "Of course. Then, when you're done, we'll go back to
*our* RV."

    I laughed. "Let's go, then."

    She joined me and then I remembered Stan. "Stan? Sorry. Anything
you want to do?"

    He sighed and watched his sister briefly before he turned back.
"Bring your laptop?"

    "Yes."

    "Any new games on it?"

    "Of course."

    "Good!"

    Then he froze and I waited.

    "Mike? If I can make my own food, can I make my own games?"

    I grinned. "Probably."

    He didn't respond so I pointed at the RV. "You're welcome to go
find out. It's your home, too, if you want it to be."

    He was already walking away abstractedly before he looked over his
shoulder and smiled at us. "Thanks, Mike!"

    "You're welcome, Stan."

    I watched him until he went inside the RV and turned the lights
on, then I shook my head and chuckled before I looked at MIchelle.
"So. Looks like we have a family, of sorts, doesn't it?"

    She laughed. "Not the way I pictured us getting one, but yes, I
think we do have one, now. Let's get the other RV over here so 'the
trio' can get some privacy."

    * * *

    I lifted it and she moved it over the barricade, then I set it
down and studied it thoughtfully before I smiled wryly. "All that work
siphoning fuel, and we could have just wished the tanks full."

    She nodded. "You fill the tanks. I'll make sure it has water, all
the utilities work, and the bed is made."

    "Going domestic?"

    She sneezed. "They aren't going to be thinking when they get
inside, so one of us needs to pay attention to the details for them."

    I laughed. "Yet another point."

    I walked around it and touched each of the tank caps and wished
them full, then looked it over and made sure the tires were in good
shape and it was mechanically sound before I checked all the fluid
levels. Once I finished I joined Michelle and settled in the driver's
seat. "Whenever you're done."

    She came up from the bed area and had a huge smile on her face. "I
left the covers turned back. Let's get this thing parked."

    "Not very subtle." I got it started, then parked it where they had
wanted it and shut down. "Let's go back to ours, see how Stan is
doing, then try for some privacy of our own after we eat again."

    She stood and stretched luxuriously. "Sounds good to me."

    I wasn't surprised when we passed the trio as they were headed for
the RV we'd parked. I waved negligently. "All yours."

    It was Blackie who came over and hugged me. "Thanks, Mike." Then
she pulled away slightly. "Things happened. This isn't what Blaze and
I expected, and I still want to settle my relationship with you,
Michelle and Sally. Do you mind waiting for me?"

    I kissed her. "Relax. We'll have plenty of time later, remember?
We can wait. What happens, happens."

    She kissed back and then hugged me again before she let go. "Thank
you."

    "You're welcome. When you're ready, we'll be there."

    She left and we watched her rejoin the others before we resumed
our stroll.

    It was more in a spirit of whimsey instead of being serious, that
I suggested Michelle and I go for an evening jog.

    She laughed and hugged me. "Same minds. I was just remembering
when you were in your twenties and hooked on jogging and running. Now
that we've slowed down, I have a lot of excess energy that needs
expression."

    I chuckled. "Sort of the same problem. Think you know enough to
drive that body safely?"

    She sobered. "I don't think that's going to be a problem. You
didn't have any problems you mentioned, after going to get the RV,
right?"

    I nodded. "I had more problems finding my balance while carrying
Sally, than I did while running. I think all I did was just start, and
let myself settle in to what felt comfortable."

    She smiled. "Then it should work for me, for normal jogging. Let's
go."

    She headed towards the freeway, and I let her get ahead a little
ways while I watched her lithe form, then I chortled at how 'young
male' I was being, before I started jogging, too.

    Eventually I settled at her side, and gestured ahead of us. "You
set the pace, Love, for as long as you want to keep going."

    She perked her ears forward, then quickened her pace slightly,
until she glanced at me. "This will do. Feels like I can do this for
quite a while."

    I laughed. "I'm not going to disagree with that. I've missed those
two to three mile runs more than I let myself feel."

    We ran for awhile in silence, then I had a thought and expressed
it. "I can't feel any problems with my feet, yet. You?"

    She was silent for a ways, then spoke thoughtfully. "I can feel
them hit the pavement, but nothing that makes me think they are
tender, yet. Maybe we should take a break and check, to be sure."

    She slowed to a walk, and we kept going until we felt like it
would be safe to stop without having to worry about leg cramps.

    Eventually we stopped and took the time to look around.

    When I realized where we were, I spoke slowly, and with a little
bit of awe. "Look at that. We've jogged all the way back to the
inspection station, and I feel like I could have kept running."

    We looked at each other and she smiled. "All I had were your
memories of what it was like to run and get the 'runner's high'.
Now... Now I understand why some dogs and people will run their feet
bloody."

    "Yeah. I don't think we were jogging that long, either. I wonder
what we'll be able to do when we run?"

    "No telling, but it looks like we're going to have to redefine
'local and 'distant', quite a bit."

    "Point. You're the expert right now, make us some light so we can
check our feet."

    She did, and then, while it hovered, we knelt and checked each
other's feet carefully.

    Nothing obvious, and neither of us had any tender areas that we
could detect.

    After that she made the light vanish and we walked over to settle
on one of the tables underneath the canopy.

    She leaned against me and snuggled. "Feels nice. However, I'm
hungry and thirsty. You?"

    "Yes, now that you mention it. Who gets to make the silly
gestures, this time?"

    She giggled and pointed at one of the other tables. "I will. Let's
have a Chinese buffet."

    I chuckled. "Smells good. Now, get up, so I can go enjoy some of
it."

    She stood, stretched, then ambled over to fill a plate while I
looked the food over and got my own dinner. Once I had my food, I
decided I wanted to be lazy, so I conjured a couple of chairs for us
to settle in.

    Then we ate and relaxed.

    Michelle heard it first. "I think we'd better move."

    I looked up as I realized what she was talking about, then
hurriedly stood and grabbed my chair so I could move out of the way,
just in case. She did the same on the other side, then we waited to
see what was approaching without headlights.

    The high pitched dopplering of a turbine running at speed was my
first clue, then a car blurred through one of the other gaps and
quickly vanished into the night, leaving behind the memory of a dog's
happy barking.

    Michelle giggled. "Did you see who it was?"

    "No. Heard her, though. I know that bark too well. It was Sally,
and that's what she loves to do when she has her head out the window."

    "Yep. The car had to be Jason. New meaning to joy riding. Matched
pair, those two."

    I was laughing when I walked over to stand and stare off at where
they'd vanished. "I wonder how fast he was going? Way over what the
speed limit was."

    She joined me and wrapped an arm around my waist. "We'll have to
ask them, someday."

    Then she giggled again. "I think someday is going to be sooner
than I thought. They're headed back."

    I chortled. "Sedately, to judge by the sound of the turbine. I
guess they did notice we were here."

    We watched while Jason stopped in front of us and let his engine
wind down. In the meantime Sally had got out and sat on her haunches
by his side, obviously waiting for him.

    Once there was silence, without any fanfare, Jason was suddenly
standing next to Sally and in his anthro form. She went anthro, they
kissed each other briefly, then turned and with arms around each
other's waists, ambled in our direction.

    They stopped, we all looked at each other, then I lost it and
laughed at them. "So? How fast when you blew past us?"

    Jason shrugged. "About 300. I'd slowed down as soon as I realized
you folks were here. That's as fast as I can go if we want Sally to be
able to eliminate my pressure wave. She's working on the higher
speeds, but isn't able to do it reliably, yet. She also created a sort
of tunnel we could go through, just in case. You were in no danger."

    I was smiling. "Only danger we were in was dying of terminal
amusement. We have our own ways of seeing to our safety. Surprised you
kids came back. I know how much your 'passenger' loves joy riding in a
moving vehicle."

    Sally had been watching me with her ears perked forward, then she
visibly relaxed. "We weren't expecting you this far away from the rest
area, and we decided to see if something was wrong, that you'd be here
on foot."

    Michelle giggled. "Nothing is wrong. We decided to go for an
evening jog and wound up going further than we thought we would. We
were relaxing after dinner."

    She gestured at the laden table. "Plenty there if you want some."

    They looked at each other and Jason nodded. "Thanks. Real food
tastes better than the jet fuel I use when I'm mechanical. We were
headed to the military bases to see if we could find anything I can
use that tastes better than what I've been creating. That, and I want
to see what sort of additives and manuals are there."

    Sally giggled and looked up from the plate she was filling.
"Doesn't matter what he uses, we know that. But he's already tired of
raiding the auto parts stores for his condiments. Figures the military
might have something tucked away that has different flavors."

    I laughed. "Is radiation a problem? You could raid the Mercury
test site and maybe even Area 51."

    Jason swallowed the food he was chewing on. "Radiation isn't a
problem. We just think it isn't there, and it goes away."

    Then he ate some more, and it was obvious he was thinking about
something before he spoke carefully.

    "I have some sort of weird connection to all the computers and
stuff all over the world. All I have to do is think about something
and I can access anything like I was remembering it. Area 51 is...
Odd, I guess. I haven't had time to really dig into their computers,
but I do know, sorta, that's it's kind of a hoax, but it's serious,
too."

    I frowned. "Oh?"

    "Yeah. It was a cover for something else. With people obsessed
with it, they never looked somewhere else. I think we'll have to go
there in person to find out what that was. If it's on their computers
anywhere, I haven't been able to find it. Some encrypted areas I
haven't figured out, yet. Maybe there's something in there."

    I shrugged. "Ok. Obviously, it's something for you and Sally to
look into, not the rest of us, right?"

    He looked up. "I don't know. Every time I think about going there,
I get this feeling that the time isn't right. Or, when I think all of
us should go there, it's like I get a feeling we won't be enough to do
the job right. Guess we're not meant to explore there, yet."

    I raised my eyebrows at his casual assumption, then, instead of
saying anything, I filed the information away for pondering later.

    The two of them finished eating, hugged Michelle and shook hands
with me, then both of them turned to face the way they had been headed
originally.

    Sally spoke thoughtfully. "We need to explore some more. Jason
says he hasn't been able to detect anyone yet, except all of us, and
lots of animals."

    Jason was shaking his head. "As far as we know, everything else
I've been able to detect is animals. There's still that one reading
that popped up, then vanished. No idea what it was, if it was a real
reading and not some sort of freak thing while I was still trying to
refine the sensor system."

    "True."

    Then she turned slightly and hugged him tightly as she kissed him
lingeringly.

    They separated and she went dog. "Let's go explore."

    He laughed. "You just want to stick your head out the window some
more."

    "Yep!"

    He turned to us. "Glad everything's ok. We'll be back later.
Thanks for the food."

    He became a race car again, and as the turbine spun up, the
passenger door opened as the window went down.

    She bounced in, flipped her tail clear just before the door shut,
then settled with her head out the window. I noticed what looked like
a modified 5-point harness snake around her, and as soon as it stopped
moving he released his brakes and they vanished into the darkness.

    A few minutes later I couldn't hear the turbine so I grabbed my
chair and resettled in the truck area so I could lean back and look at
the sky.

    Michelle settled next to me and reached for my hand. "What do you
think of Jason's 'not meant to go there yet'?"

    "Makes me think of how we felt when we thought about Vegas with
and without the kids. This world has some pretty definite plans for
the future. Not sure how I feel about that sort of intervention."

    She squeezed slightly. "Well, so far it only happens in response
to a direct query."

    "Uh huh. Handy ability. Wonder if we're talking to the world, or
Zarah?"

    I could tell she was suppressing her amusement when she answered
calmly. "For now, I can't see a functional difference, if there is
one, unless you count how we're supposed to 'access it. One way is
internal. To talk to Zarah, all we have to do is call her."

    I laughed. "Call God on our phone. Speaking of which, we should
probably go the rest of the way to that Wal Mart in Barstow and grab
some phones."

    She giggled. "Watches, pedometers and stop watches would be good,
too. I didn't think we'd have a need to track time, but I'd like to
know how fast and how long we were jogging."

    I sobered a little. "Good points. I used to have a decent time
sense, but I guess it didn't make the transfer with us. What about
you?"

    She sighed. "Something is there, but I can't do anything with it,
yet."

    "Ok."

    I glanced over at where we'd left the food. "Do you realize
disposing of our trash is going to a serious problem?"

    She turned her head and nodded. "Change it back to its component
atoms and disperse it?"

    "Sounds better than reducing it all to energy and disipating that.
Which makes me wonder where we get the components from to make things,
if we aren't gathering energy and transforming it."

    She laughed. "Does it matter where it comes from?"

    I sighed. "Probably not. Just the scientist in me thinking that if
I knew more about the details, I could make better plans for the
future."

    I finally decided to laugh softly. "Unless we come up with a
better solution, reducing things to the atomic level is what I'll do,
once I figure our how to do it."

    Michelle gave me a one sentence answer. "Lots of heat."

    I sneezed. "How... Ordinary."

    I visualised everything gathering itself into a compact mass. Once
it was hovering in the air I closed my eyes and turned my head away.
"Watch it. I don't know if I have enough control to do this exactly
right."

    "Ready."

    I pictured an opaque barrier between us and the food, then I
imagined an intense fire underneath the mass.

    There was a flash that lit up the area, a wave of heat and sound,
then we were in darkness and the cool air was caressing our fur.

    Michelle's comment was mildly spoken. "Didn't get it quite right,
did you?"

    "Nope. Made the barrier wrong. Only blocked light that would have
reached us directly. I'll do better next time."

    She sneezed disgustedly. "Don't worry about it. I would have
missed a lot of things, too. Live and learn."

    It was my turn to sneeze again. "You know something? I just now
realized that immortality doesn't mean we can't get hurt and suffer
pain. I think I'm going to tend to make cautious errors from now on, I
hope."

    She laughed and hugged me. "Come on. Let's jog the rest of the way
to Barstow and do some late night shopping. While we do that, I'll let
you figure out a way to carry everything with us, since we won't be
wearing clothing."

    I laughed. "Backpacks, or harnesses of some sort. No brainer. I'll
let you design them, since you have these protuberences you'll have to
work around..."

    She slapped at me playfully. "Man!"

    Then she started jogging, and I joined her.

    We made the rest of the trip in companionable silence.

    * * *

    Michelle was reaching for the door when I stopped her. "Wait. Let
me try something."

    "Oh?"

    "Yes. Zarah said if we believe, then it will happen, or something
like that, right?"

    "Yes."

    I smiled and stepped towards the doors confidently. "Then I
believe these doors will act like they always do, and open
automatically."

    She frowned. "This wasn't a 24/7 store, that I recall..."

    The doors slid open before I reached them.

    She sighed and followed me in. "Never mind."

    The first thing I noticed was how empty the store was. "Odd. Was
the other one like this? Place looks like half of the stock is
missing."

    "I don't really remember. I was in a hurry. Aisles weren't as
crowded as usual, and that's about all I noticed unless it had to do
with food and automotive. Those were well stocked, as I recall."

    "Ok. Makes sense that all of the clothing is gone. But there's
other stuff missing, too."

    She looked around and walked by my side as we explored. She
spotted the other big hole in the stock. "Mike? No books and
magazines. In fact..."

    She stopped moving and scanned the areas we could see from near
the checkouts. "I don't see anything that would have had a picture of
a person on it, either."

    I nodded. "That makes sense. I hope most of the technical info is
available somewhere. One of us can ask Jason to do some sort of search
so we can find out how much of a tech base we wound up with."

    She sneezed. "Long term project. How are your writing skills and
imagination? Looks like you might be the world's hottest author for
awhile."

    I chuckled. "You'll be just as hot, Dear. And you have the same
skills I do, so you'll be at least as popular as I am. I was wondering
if we'd need printed material, but I think we should. Maybe we can
build a world with 100% literacy."

    "Nice dream."

    I grinned at her. "I believe we can do it."

    "Arrr!"

    Then she sobered. "Pets, sporting goods, then sewing, I think. I
have some ideas I want to experiment with before we do any serious
shopping for things like phones."

    "Lead the way."

    She did, and I wasn't surprised when her first stop was to look at
the leashes and harnesses. She looked at them, sighed, and shook her
head. "No. Webbing is too narrow. I should be able to do something
with this stuff if I have to, but let's check automotive first."

    I shrugged and kept quiet. I had a pretty good idea about what she
was thinking, but I was curious to see how much our thinking was
diverging, now that we wore separate bodies.

    She finally found what she wanted in the luggage area. Light
straps that were about two inches wide.

    "If I pull slowly, and make the stitching vanish..."

    Actions matched words and eventually she had lots of material to
work with.

    Then she smiled at me. "Hold still. I think I'm going to have to
design the harness in place."

    I stood still and waited. "I'll ask the stupid question, since I
think I know the answer already. "How are you going to stitch things
together?"

    "I'm not. I think I can merge the straps until the harness is one
piece. That way you won't have to worry about any seams or buckles
snagging hair when you move."

    I winced. "That's better than what I was thinking. I was
considering making things act like they were glued together instead of
sewn."

    It took several tries, along with a lot of bending and stretching
on my part, but eventually I was wearing a basic harness that we hoped
wouldn't shift too much once I started hanging things on it.

    I sighed. "I understand why Sally and all the other dogs used to
get so annoyed with their collars and harnesses, at times."

    Michelle sighed along with me. "And now I get to find out. Your
turn to do me. I think I'll try pretty much the same style, but we'll
have to adjust it so it clears my breasts. My other option is to
design some sort of bra to go over them and distribute the loading."

    I nodded and started draping straps over her, and 'tacking' them
in place where they met other straps. I'd let her take it off and do
the final merge to make it seamless.

    I was finishing up when I realized we might have another option.
"I wonder if we would be better off if we came up with a waist belt,
and then wrapped the harness around our upper legs?"

    She frowned. "Possible, I suppose. MIght be ok for light duty
work. But there'd be a huge energy penalty over any sort of distance."

    I winced. "Good point. Never mind. At least we should be able to
wear wrist watches. Oh, and goggles are something I want for when I
run at higher speeds. We'll have to design those, and some sort of
muzzle mask. I don't think we want bugs up our noses."

    She giggled. "You can always create a force field of some sort."

    I laughed. "I was planning on it, once I've settled into using
power. Got a lot of more basic stuff to learn and make habitual,
first."

    "Both of us have that problem. I wonder how much of what we figure
out will be usable by the others?"

    "Don't know, but it was obvious Sally has already found her own
solutions. That may be the best for all of us."

    Then I sighed. "I hope Blackie remembers Stan. I don't want him
feeling totally ignored."

    Michelle smiled. "He should adapt ok. I think Blackie's interest
in Nadia and Blaze was likely that of being an advisor to help break
the tension between them. I know it sounds a little cliche'd, but it
looks like we're going to spend a lot of time as het couples,
initially."

    I sneezed. "I was wondering if you noticed that. I suppose you
also figured out that each team is a good match for skills and
personalities?"

    "Yes, I did. But I also noticed that we didn't spend a lot of time
getting to really know Blackie in our old world, so I'm wondering what
niche she and Stan are going to fill."

    I shook my head a bit wearily. "No telling. I expect we'll find
out eventually, and it will be one we never thought of, so I'm not
going to worry about it."

    I held on to the tacked together harness. "Ok. Slide out and you
can finish it."

    She took it off, made the changes she needed to make, then put it
back on and twisted and bent until she had it settled where she wanted
it.

    "You're right. The pressure on my fur is annoying. Hopefully I'll
get used to it quickly, and learn to ignore it."

    I sneezed, then looked at my paws. "Suddenly, I'm grateful that
Zarah gave us opposable thumbs."

    Michelle giggled. "I'm wondering how well velcro and fur will mix.
I'm thinking shielded buckles, but..."

    I sighed. "Trial and error, right? I have a feeling that until we
have some standarized stuff, we're all going to be experimenting a
lot."

    "True."

    She surprised me by frowning before she spoke again. "All that
exercise, and I'm not feeling overheated, or thirsty. You?"

    I took inventory. "Not a bit. Wasn't after that stroll, either."

    "Odd." She felt herself in several places, then froze, tilted her
head almost to her shoulder, and giggled.

    I waited her out.

    She collected herself and turned to gaze thoughtfully at something
in the store before she shook herself and laughed. "We've been here
this long, before one of us noticed?"

    I sighed. "Noticed what?"

    "As far as I can remember, none of us have gone to the bathroom
except you, one time, right after we got here. Before you make a
comment, if you take a good look, you'll notice all the restroom signs
are missing."

    I looked, didn't bother trying to stop my head from tilting
sideways, and took the time to do some intense thinking before I said
anything.

    Eventually I straightened my head and sighed. "I'll think about it
some more, later. For now, the only comment I'll make is 'convenient',
and leave it at that."

    She laughed. "Leaving it for me to note that the laws of physics
we're familiar with, don't seem to completely apply?"

    "Yeah. Plus, I'm wondering if I really needed to go, or if it was
habit that made me decide I had to, so I did. Interesting take on
'faith', if that was the case."

    She hugged me. "And I never had a body before, so I don't have
quite the same habits. Never realized something was missing, until I
realized I wasn't hot, sweaty, and thirsty."

    I chuckled. "Worry about the details later, eh? Let's go
shopping."

    We were looking at the cell phones when I had a strange thought
and expressed it. "Michelle? These harnesses seem to be pretty
comfortable and practical, right?"

    "Yes. I'm thinking that we'll need several designs, eventually,
depending on the use."

    "Uh huh. Ok. So we're agreed that these seem to be a good start on
a basic all purpose harness anyone can use?"

    "Yes. You headed somewhere with this?"

    "Of course. Follow me?"

    "Where to?"

    "Pet supplies."

    "Ok."

    We went back, and after we were in the aisle with leashes and
stuff, I sighed and gestured. "I'm not sure how I feel about that."

    "About... Oh."

    She reached and lifted one of the redesigned harnesses off its
peg, studied it, then sighed and put it back. "The world sems to agree
with us, doesn't it?"

    "Seems that way. Know more when we can check other stores."

    "True. Solves the distribution problem, doesn't it? Never mind.
Lets get back to what's immediately important."

    "Kay."

    When we got back to the phones, she picked up one of the bluetooth
headsets and studied it, then shook her head and looked at me. "Needs
to be redesigned, doesn't it?"

    "So?"

    "Hold still. I'm going to perform an experiment, and you're part
of it. After I'm done, we'll repeat the process with you doing
something similar, using me."

    "Whatever. I think I know what you have in mind."

    She giggled, then held the headset up to my ear, and started
talking to herself while she fitted it to me.

    When she was done, she let go and stepped back. "It looks like it
will stay in place. Shake your head."

    I did, and it went flying.

    She retrieved it and came back. "Ok. Needs a headband that wraps
more. Fixable. How was it otherwise? Comfortable? Could you hear ok
with it in place?"

    I chuckled. "Seemed ok. Couldn't tell about my hearing."

    She smiled and put it back, then made some mods until I could
shake my head violently, and it would stay in place.

    She sighed, and studied me, then spoke quietly. "Satisfied with
it?"

    "For now, yes. You?"

    "I can't think of anything else. We'll have to test it while doing
various activities, later, to see how the audio is in both
directions."

    I nodded slowly. "If we think it will work, it probably will,
right?"

    "Yes, and I'm not sure I like the implications of that. What
happens when someone else wears it, and thinks it shouldn't work?"

    "I see your point. Sounds like another 'worry about it when'
situation."

    "True."

    She turned away. "Do me a favor, and pick out a headset for me."

    "Do you have a color preference?"

    "Blend it with my fur, of course."

    "Right."

    I reached in the display case, picked one up at random, held it
next to her ear, and touched it while I thought about it changing
color...

    Then I adjusted it until it was nestled in place. "How's that?"

    "Feels a little odd, but I'll get used to it. Was my guess right?"

    "Yes. They've all changed to match the design you came up with.
All I did was color match it."

    She was silent for several minutes, then she turned back and
hugged me. "Zarah decided we'd need stuff to start from, didn't she?"

    I hugged back. "Yeah. I wonder if all of us will eventually have
our own 'product lines'?"

    "I hope so. One more test. Fit me with some running goggles and a
nose mask."

    "Ok."

    We were walking past the designer sunglasses display when Michelle
froze, then started giggling as she touched my arm. "Check out the
sunglasses. Someone beat us to them."

    I looked, then laughed. "Fine! We'll find out who did all the
work, later. Let's hit sporting goods. I know what I want to start
with."

    Her giggles changed to laughter. "I should have seen that coming!
Paintball masks, right?"

    "Yep! Inspiration comes from strange places, sometimes, and when
it does, I usually don't argue with it."

    When we got there I grabbed an adult mask, held it out, and
laughed. "I'll worry about streamlining it after we get it to fit."

    She grinned at me. "I think it would be appropriate if you kept up
a running commentary. It might distract me enough I won't lose control
and double over, because I'll be laughing so hard at how silly I'll be
looking."

    "Fine. Do your best to hold still while I fit this thing."

    She shut up and managed to hold still enough I could set the mask
on her head.

    "This is going to take some work... Stretch it here, a lot. Looks
like I should just expand the bottom until I can at least get it on...

    "Yes, I know. You can't see anything now. We can adjust the eye
openings after it fits. Nice to be able to shape it like this. Hope we
get an artist in the first batch. Sculptor would be nice, too. Make
some basic head shapes. Looking a little better.

    "Let me punch holes for your ears. Worry about shielding them
after the rest is done...

    "Hope that 3D scanning software made it over. With that and one of
those 3D printers, we could do a full body scan and make life size
models we could use instead of ourselves.

    I don't know how she managed it, but she held still enough that I
eventually had a decent helmet on her, that she could see out of while
it would protect her eyes and nose.

    "Ok. If you can live with it, I'm willing to stop while we have
something that works."

    She moved her head to check motion restriction, sighed, then
couldn't maintain her act and broke into laughter.

    "I hope that someday, I'll be able to do a free association
monologue like that. They're a lot more impressive from the outside."

    "Practice."

    "Right. Well, it feels like it will work. You can turn around and
check the shelves."

    I turned, saw what I expected to see, then frowned and reached for
a couple of the masks and studied them thoughtfully. "Michelle? Did
you notice that the we now have a selection of masks, labeled for
different breeds of dog?"

    "I did. I don't remember you saying anything about that problem
while you were forming mine. I thought about it, briefly, and decided
people would have to start with a basic one, and custom fit it."

    "Same thing I was thinking. Apparently, something or someone
decided to find a different solution."

    She reached, took her mask off, then studied it before she faced
me again. "As long as we use the same canine form these bodies are
based on, we'll only have to carry one mask.."

    I sighed. "Great. That means more harness design work."

    She nodded. "Body redesign, too. I'd like to have functional hands
in both forms."

    "That would be..."

    I frowned while I studied my hands. "Do you realize we have three
fingers and a thumb, not four and a thumb? No pinkie."

    "We do? Oh."

    She used one hand to feel her entire lower arm carefully. "No
evidence I ever had a dew claw. You?"

    I held out my arms. "You check."

    "Same thing. Nothing. Interesting, but obviously something we can
live with."

    "True, but that's not what I was originally thinking about. Let me
get on all fours..."

    I carefully bent over until I was standing on my toes and
fingertips, with my head lifted enough I could look ahead instead of
down. "Well? How do I look?"

    "Umm... Other than handsome and strangely seductive?"

    I sneezed at her. "Yeah. We can talk about seductive later, after
I've seen you in the same pose."

    She walked around me, stopped next to me and pushed gently on my
back a few times, then went back to stand in front of me. "That's...
Odd. Are you confortable in that position? You felt solidly braced
when I checked."

    "Believe it or not, yes, I do feel comfortable. You going to
explain that 'odd'?"

    "It's odd, because at first you looked uncomfortable, but during
the walk around, I realized your body looks like it's designed to be
used upright or on all fours."

    I dipped my muzzle slightly. "That wasn't part of my thinking in
any of our designs, that I remember."

    "Likewise. It's as if someone who knows a lot more than we do, did
some pretty serious thinking about the compromises, then had a real
good mental image when they were done..."

    "Something?"

    "Can't tease it out. For a moment, I thought I had something, but
then I lost it."

    "Ok."

    I tried walking, and quickly got my legs tangled when I thought
about what I was trying to do, at first, but when I let myself get
distracted, by window shopping and not paying attention to my arms and
legs, I moved more naturally.

    After we strolled a few aisles, I stopped, then took inventory
again.

    "Michelle? I don't want to try more than this sort of casual
stroll right now, but I'm not tired, and I don't feel sore anywhere."

    She ran her hand over me, and I shivered with the sudden pleasure.
"You do that much more, and I'm going belly up. The pleasure jolt
was... Intense."

    She giggled. "Something to remember for later, then. Stand up and
see how you feel."

    I reached and braced myself on a shelf, then managed to get back
upright.

    Michelle walked around me again, once I'd found my balance, then
reached and hugged me. "Any more comments, before I try it?"

    I laughed. "A couple. I feel comfortable in both positions. The
other thing might be important I wasn't able to move easily until I
distracted myself from thinking about what I was doing, and let my
body make the moves on its own."

    "Muscle memory stuff?"

    "Seems like. No kink in my neck."

    I tipped my head back and looked at the ceiling. "No muscle
tension to tell me this should be an unnatural position."

    I brought my head back down, then gestured at my harness.
"Obviously, we'll have to do some redesign so these work in both
positions."

    She put her mask on, started to tilt her head up, then lowered it
and sighed. "Not enough clearance. Should be an easy fix."

    "Ok. Anything else?"

    "Before we head back, I want to get some movies of both of us, in
both positions, moving and standing still, so I can study something."

    "Oh?"

    "Remember that one dog you had, who had that power walk he did?"

    "So?"

    "You were doing it, or something similar. I think something about
being on all fours changes the way your muscles tension, and that...
Changes your body language quite a bit. I want to show it to you later
so you can see what you think."

    "Ok. You going to talk, or do?"

    She took her mask off and handed it to me. "Do."

    I was watching her carefully, but still, when she finally moved,
she seemed to flow into the new position without any awkwardness.

    She made some movements with her head, then turned it to look at
me. "Well?"

    "MIchelle, you're beautiful like that. You're obviously a Saluki,
but you're slightly different than what I remember they looked
like..."

    "Something wrong?"

    I laughed. "Yeah. I'm entranced and having problems focusing on
actually taking the time to study you."

    She sneezed. "Now you know how I felt."

    "Guess so. How does that position feel to you?"

    "More natural than being upright. If I stay in it too long, I feel
like I might not want to go back. Was it like that for you?"

    "I felt comfortable, but more like I could eventually find it easy
to switch whenever I needed to. It wasn't tiring or awkward to be on
all fours, anyway."

    "Umhmm... Well, I'll have to do it sometime..."

    She started to move, managed to get her front legs crossed, and
almost jammed her nose into the floor before she locked all her
muscles and froze.

    I managed to keep my chuckles mostly suppressed, but she must have
heard them anyway, because she glared at me briefly before she
refocused and got herself sorted out.

    Eventually, just as I had, she figured out a way to let her body
do the work, and was walking easily while she drifted through the
store.

    Finally she stopped, then sat on her haunches. "Well?"

    "Sorry about that at the beginning I know I must have looked just
as stupid, until I got myself sorted out."

    "Forgiven."

    "Thanks. Umm..."

    "Yes?"

    "When you're like that, everything about you is more intense. I
saw what you meant about that power stride, but in you it was
something else, too."

    "Oh?"

    "Yeah. I don't know... Call it self confident female, without any
arrogance, but it was more. I've *never* seen a woman or bitch who was
so... Female in every move she made. After seeing you move, I don't
think anyone would ever need to wonder if you're male or female when
you're a quadruped. You can't be anything except female, with moves
like that."

    She thought about it, then nodded. "I'd have to see a female
version of you to be certain, but it was a similar thing with you.
Definitely male, and it was more than the subtle differences we were
used to seeing in dogs and bitches."

    "Ok. Ready to finish our shopping and head back?"

    "Might as well. I'll stay on all fours, so we can figure out where
to put things so they won't be in the way."

    "And you feel more comfortable that way?"

    "For now."

    I sighed. "This is strange. I don't know how I feel about seeing
you sitting there like... A bitch. I know you haven't changed your
body, but it changes the emotional texture of my feelings for you."

    "Nervous?"

    "Partly. More like my early upbringing is making me want to say
being in love with you is wrong."

    "Ah? Then... Never mind. Let's do that shopping. I don't feel any
doubts. Going to have to think about that. We've been more different
than we thought."

    Eventually we wound up with pouches attached to our harnesses that
had swivels so they'd shift and hang correctly no matter what position
we were in.

    1-08 -


    1-09 -

    2009-03-30 23:39:23

    1-10 -

    2009-03-30 23:39:21

    1-11 - The Run of My Life


    Chapter Eight - The Run of My Life

    I looked down and thoughtfully studied my feet. We'd spent a lot
of time soaking our feet in salt water and toughening them. As well,
all of us had learned the habit of running several times a day.
Michelle stayed with the kids while I slowly pushed myself harder and
faster. I couldn't get rid of the conviction that someday I'd *need*
to be able to run with a speed and skill I'd never had as a human.

    "Dad?"

    I stiffened in surprise and looked up at Jason. "Dad?" The rapport
we had before the change had deepened but I never expected him to call
me his father.

    He looked at me steadily. "I think you are." He paused to look at
his sister and brother. They nodded and he turned back to face me.
"We're family, now. You five are all we have--except ourselves."

    "But?" They were uneasy about something.

    "You're scared about something. We've been able to smell your fear
all morning."

    I'd forgotten about that. Our new bodies and abilities didn't let
us keep secrets for very long. "You're right. Years ago, I invented a
world. A world of people like us, the way we are now.

    "I invented a type of power handling that was able to defeat
normal magic wielders." I took a deep breath and let it out. "I called
its users 'Wizards', but I gave them powers and skills that let them
do things most people never associate with traditional Wizards."

    "Michelle was one of them."

    Michelle was standing behind me and she squeezed my shoulder
gently.

    "What he's not saying is that in this world he's become a Wizard.
'The Penultimate Wizard', and he needs to learn how to use the powers
he only dreamed of."

    I looked up at Michelle and whispered: "Running. Can I do it?"

    Nadia sounded puzzled, and confused, when she spoke up. "Dad?
You've been running several times a day, ever since we joined you. Of
course you can run."

    "This running is more than ordinary running. If I'm right, and
able to master the technique, I should have a top speed of..."

    I looked away and thought about words I had written over a decade
earlier. "Well, I should be able to cruise at a minimum of 75 miles
per hour, as long as I want to. As for short distances, I should be
able to briefly sprint at 100. Those are minimums, not maximums."

    I could *taste* the awed silence.

    Jason was first to answer. "The times you've had us pace you with
the car and had Mom ready to grab you if you fell. Practice?"

    I nodded. "I've been trying to figure out how to run and use power
to keep my body from overworking itself." I smiled ruefully. "I've
managed to sort out the breathing and rhythm of movement. Today I'm
going to try slowly increasing my speed and using power to help me
run. I don't want you kids to worry. Michelle and I will be in
telepathic contact and she'll be able to help if I goof."

    The air reeked of my true feelings so I looked at all of them in
turn and smiled thinly. "But, I'm scared, anyway."

    * * *

    Everyone else was in the powerful sports car we had found for this
test. Jason was in heaven. I cautioned him a last time before I handed
him the keys. "Remember, if you feel you have problems, just let up on
the accelerator and let the car coast."

    He nodded nervously and then smiled reluctantly. "I can't believe
you trust me."

    I grinned back and ruffled the fur on his head. "I was the same
way when I had a chance to drive a fast car. I had to know how fast I
could go. I trust the car and I trust *you*. You'll do ok."

    I grinned at him. "Besides, you're doing it with permission. That
always makes it easier." Before he could think of an answer I turned
and studied the miles of road in front of us.

    I sent out a thought to Michelle. "[Ready?]"

    "[Ready.]" I felt her reassurance. "[Jason is still nervous. He's
worried about accidentally running over you if something happens.]"

    "[That's how come I chose this section of the freeway. We have
plenty of room in case there are problems. He'll do fine.]"

    I started out at an easy jog. "[Here goes.]"

    "[Fifteen.]" Michelle's tone was calm. Things would be routine
until I started pushing myself. I sped up and settled at a faster
pace.

    "[Thirty.]"

    I didn't bother answering. That was something we had agreed on
earlier. I wouldn't respond unless I felt I was having problems or
wanted to let them know what was coming. Thirty miles an hour was fast
but once I had settled in and found my rhythm, I felt relaxed and knew
I wasn't pushing myself yet.

    I could feel the easy movements as I ran down the center of the
lane I was in. 'Built to run'. Yes. I could tell that I was capable of
more. Far more.

    "[I'm going to start increasing my speed.]"

    I shifted to what I liked to call 'my runner's stride'. When I was
human, people compared it to a boat starting to plane. Instead of
running on the ground, I seemed to start floating. A slight push on my
rear foot and my apparent stride lengthened. I was now covering close
to 10 feet with each stride and I still felt comfortable.

    It didn't take long before I felt my breathing and movements mesh
and once again I felt as if I could run like this forever. 'Runner's
High'. I hadn't felt it in over twenty years.

    "[Fifty.]" Michelle's mental voice was soft and I could sense the
awe coming from the vehicle just behind me.

    I held the pace and let my body settle in completely.
"[Cruising.]"

    "[We can tell.]"

    "[I'm going to try and slow down.]" I needed to know just how much
trouble, if any, I'd have while slowing down from this sort of speed.

    I took it in stages and was finally back to a normal run.

    When I settled at the slower speed and refocused on regaining my
breath and seeing how my body was doing, I felt Michelle's gentle
laughter. "[Thirty again. We've covered about 5 miles, so far. The
kids are excited and happy. We're all a bit awed.]"

    I studied the road ahead and made my decision. "[Is Nadia ready to
take notes?]"

    "[Yes.]"

    "[OK. I'm going to try running with power. Don't reply to
anything.]" This too, was something we had already agreed on. I didn't
want to know how fast I had run until it was all over. Plus, I didn't
want any distractions that could be avoided.

    I 'reached' and felt my fatigue slowly dissipate. When I felt
fully refreshed, I held onto the power and got ready for my speed run.

    "[Beginning my run with power but I'm going to hit my stride
without it, first.]"

    I let myself take a few more steps. "[Start.]" Now that I knew
what I was doing for this part, I came up on my runner's stride
quickly and with confidence. "[On stride.]"

    Now, I started pushing. I deepened my breathing and started
forcing my legs to scissor more rapidly. I could feel the power
waiting as I surged forward.

    It was exhilarating! This was a runner's high like no other and I
*knew* I wasn't flat out yet. I pushed myself until I felt the fatigue
start to build. Now, the delicate part. I settled into a rhythm and
slowly felt my way towards using the power to leech away my fatigue
while I ran at speed.

    I don't know how long it took but I eventually found a balance
that let me feel like I was cruising again. "[Stable cruise, with
power.]"

    Could I maintain that balance during a sprint? Only one way to
find out. "[Track me. I'm going to try a short sprint.]"

    I waited until I could feel the last bit of my fatigue being
washed away and then, without warning, I went to a full sprint. I
pushed. I strained. I hit my all out stride and settled briefly. Only
when I started feeling my fatigue start to build again did I start
slowing down. This time, it was easy. I let myself slow until I could
use the power to once again wash the fatigue poisons out of my body.

    As I felt the renewed strength, I exulted. I had done it! I didn't
care what my speed had been. I let myself look at the world around me
and realized we'd nearly reached the mountains. I slowed even further
and ran about a mile at a slow jog before I slowed to a stop and stood
there as I let my breathing return to normal.

    Jason stopped the car. The three kids swarmed me and hugged me as
they let their relief show. Michelle was the last to get out and she
took her time so the kids could share this special moment with me. Her
turn would come later. Once, when I happened to glance her way, I
noticed an enigmatic smile on her face.

    I took the time to hug everyone again and then asked 'the
question'. "Nadia? How fast?"

    There was silence as she looked at Michelle, who grinned and
nodded.

    Nadia's voice was hushed. "We don't know. You outran us during
your sprint."

    I looked up and stared into Michelle's eyes as she nodded. "Jason
hit 180 before he felt the car couldn't go any faster."

    "I *ran* over 180 miles per hour?" She nodded and only her eyes
showed that she was as stunned as I was.

    I gave Jason a special hug. "Son, I've never driven faster than
about 120 or so and that was after years of experience. I'm proud of
you for doing what you did, and, more importantly," I held all of the
kids close as I looked directly at each of them before returning my
gaze to Jason, "I'm even prouder that you had the courage to stop
going faster when you felt you were in over your head."

    "I was scared!" He blurted.

    "But you didn't lose control and you didn't try and force yourself
to keep up with me. *That* decision may have been one of the hardest
you'll ever have to make."

    "Let's go home." I looked at my shaking hands and then over at
Jason. He was finally realizing what he had done and I could see him
shivering as he started thinking about what could have happened.

    Michelle settled it. "I'll drive."

    It was crowded but all of us managed to get comfortable. Nadia
settled in my lap and showed me her notes while Stan whispered
questions at Jason.

    I drank about two quarts of water before I felt like I wasn't
totally dehydrated. Obviously, while I could do the running, I would
have to figure out ways to take care of physical needs either during
the run or immediately after.

    I'd worry about that later. Right now, all of us were euphoric
about what had happened.

    * * *

    Once the evening BBQ was over, Michelle and I settled on the porch
swing and watched while everyone else relaxed together.

    Kids being kids, and dogs being dogs, they were playing together.
The kids had stayed anthro, while the dogs reverted to their
four-legged forms.

    Michelle had stretched out with her head in my lap while slowly
rocked the porch swing we'd set up soon after we'd picked out our new
home.. I was brushing her carefully, and trying to ignore her groans
of pleasure at the attention.

    Eventually she'd had enough and took the brush away from me so she
could teleport it to the nail where it was usually stored, before she
sighed and finished telling me what had happened during my run.

    "I'm glad today is over. Once he realized he was having problems,
Jason didn't know if he should worry about you or us, so he took care
of us first. I felt him make the decision to slow down."

    I heard some giggles when the kids and dogs tussled over one of
the knotted ropes they played tug-of-war with. When Blaze suddenly
broke free with it firmly clamped in his jaws, the giggles stopped and
the next round of the game began.

    This time it looked like a mix of 'how many hugs can I get before
I have to let go?', and 'keep-away'.

    "Love? What aren't you telling me?" Michelle had started shaking
slightly after she had finished talking.

    "I was so busy making sure I could take care of you, I never
thought about us and the car. After you slowed down to your cruising
speed and we caught up with you, Jason had time to tell me he'd 'felt'
the car start to get touchy as it reached its limits. It was the car
that couldn't keep up with you, not Jason. Once he pointed it out, I
used our shared memories to feel out how the car had been riding at
180 mph."

    "And?" I shivered while I contemplated what could have happened at
those speeds and with Michelle totally focussed on me.

    "It was the steering and one of the front tires. At 180 mph, a
small imbalance in one of the tires resonated with a loose ball joint
and the vibrations tried to rip the steering wheel out of his hands.
He'd already stoppped accelerating as soon as he felt the first hint
of vibration. Somehow he kept control until we dropped to 170. At that
point the vibrations vanished and he didn't have any more problems."

    "Jesus!" I didn't need to tell Michelle how I felt. I was sure she
remembered the one time I'd been in a similar situation on a
motorcycle at about 110 mph. I'd been a lot older and with years more
experience when it had happened to me. For Jason to react as he had,
with so little actual experience, was nothing short of a miracle.

    She reached up and stroked my muzzle. "By the time the vibration
vanished, I was fully aware of the situation and ready to save us if
the car went out of control."

    I hugged her fiercely as I started shaking. "So I hit my top speed
and almost lost my entire family as well. No more speed runs like
that. Next time we find some way to track me remotely so you and the
kids aren't at risk. Not only that, I just realized that if you were
ready to save yourself and the kids, I would have had to save myself
if I'd done something wrong."

    "Not completely. You were still in your sprint when I was sure we
were going to be ok. At that point, Jason kept to a safe speed and we
waited for you to slow down. It happened so quickly that Nadia and
Stan never realized it happened. All they know is that we couldn't
keep up and they got the ride of their lives out of it. I've already
told Jason they don't need to know exactly what happened."

    I tightened my hug and held on until I stopped shivering.

    Once my shaking stopped she sat up and snuggled against my side.
It wasn't long until Sally shifted to her anthro form and settled on
my other side with Jason next to her.

    Once Sally and I caught up on our hugs, I took the time to
consider the strange path we found ourselves traveling.

    "Michelle? How come you let me take over?" I'd just realized that
under the pressure of survival, I'd once again managed to be extremely
selfish.

    I felt her laughter, more than heard it. "If you must know, I was
too busy learning how to be alive to worry about which one of us was
'in charge'.

    "Remember, I already know how focussed you can be when your
survival is at stake. While you were worryng about *our* survival, I
was busy learning how to live in my own body. Plus, as you may have
noticed, I've been spending a lot of my time learning how to handle
power. Call it a division of labor instead of letting you take over."

    Then she bent her head and whispered in one of my ears. "Unlike
someone else I could name, I knew that you'd eventually realize what
you'd been doing and stop. Welcome back."

    I winced at her reminder of certain events in our past. There was
only one answer I could make, so I made it. "Michelle, I love you."

    Her laughter filled my head while her voice filled my ears. "I've
never doubted it. I love you, too."
======

End: We Who Are Gathered 1/2

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