“I think you’ve had enough to drink,” said Elise, pulling away the wine bottle with her tail.
“You’ve gotten pretty good at that,” I said.
“I know, right? I’m actually starting to warm up to it. I’ve been trying to build up the courage to go outside, but I know that once I get dirty, I’ll never be able to wash it out of my scales.”
“Maybe the CDC can make some kind of condom you can wear on your tail.”
“Speaking of which, have you gotten freaky with that thing yet? The tip of your tail would make a great dildo. Plus, if you two have sex again, he can be the one to take it in the ass.”
“Why must you ruin every conversation?”
“Because I feed on your misery and awkwardness. That sound you make, that groan you do whenever you facepalm, that sustains me. By the power of awkwardness, I shall live forever!”
The ringing of my phone stopped the conversation. I took it out to see who it was, and my stillness caused everyone to become alert. I was staring at my phone, seeing Dr. Lawrence’s name. With countless eyes on me, I answered it.
“Hi, Dr. Lawrence, what’s going on?”
“Things have become much more complicated.”
My heart sank into my stomach. Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit! We’re going to end up in the labs from District 9!
“Define complicated.”
The blood drained from everyone’s faces.
“Well, believe it or not, it’s the kind of complicated that may end up benefiting you.”
My sphincter, having slammed shut like a vault, slightly loosened with a glimmer of hope. I released some of my held breath, prompting others to do the same. “I’m here with Elise and Lorraine, can I put you on speakerphone?”
“That would be best.”
I set my phone on the table.
“Hi, Dr. Lawrence,” the sisters said.
“Hello, Dr. Lawrence!” the girls and pillar men called.
“Hello everyone. Now, to start, I want to tell you the results of the tests we ran on your blood samples. Your sample and Lorraine’s showed no extraordinary traits or components, same with your DNA. As for your pets, we have confirmed that you are all indeed hybrids. Half your DNA is human, the other half is the animal that you originally were. Now here’s the interesting part. We can’t track the genealogy of any of you. Your animal DNA is easy, we can categorize that in our sleep, but your human DNA doesn’t correspond to any known ethnic group or homo subset.”
The girls and the pillar men looked at each other in bafflement. The explanation had gone completely over their heads. I would have to explain everything to them later. Actually, this made a lot of sense. At the zoo, most of the animals we turned had complexions that varied without any sort of pattern, but if their DNA didn’t correspond to any ethnic groups, then of course their skin tones would be random.
“Doctor Lawrence, what about me?” Elise asked.
“Elise, you are the opposite. Your snake DNA, or rather, the DNA that is not human, does not correspond to any known species on Earth. I’m not sure if that answers your questions, but I guess it’s something you can be proud of in a way. Other than that, we have nothing else we can tell you, but we’re going to keep looking.
Now onto the main topic. As I was just saying, things have become complicated, but this may end up helping your case. Normally I would give you the whole “this is classified” speech, but obviously you’ve shown you can keep a secret.” He paused for a few moments. I was about to ask him what was wrong when- “It’s happening elsewhere.”
Lorraine and I exchanged glances. “You’ve got to be kidding.”
“I’m serious, but that’s just the start of what’s going on. Yesterday, a film crew in Alaska was using drones to record wolves for the next season of ‘planet earth’. They saw one of the wolves transform into a woman.”
“Was anyone around? Anyone who could have caused it?” Elise asked.
“No, this was pure Alaskan wilderness. The film crew had to keep a wide distance from the pack to get their shot.”
“So it happened on its own,” I said.
“That’s the most prevalent theory. Others have suggested that perhaps someone in the film crew had a similar ability that worked over a longer range, or that your effective range has increased to the other side of the country, though that’s doubted.”
“So what happened to her? Did you guys capture her?” Lorraine asked.
“Well, we did, initially, but then we came up with an idea.”
“What idea?”
“We sent in a team to sedate her with tranquilizer guns, but as soon as we got close, the entire pack closed in to try and protect her. We had to dope every wolf just so we could grab her.”
“So the wolves still recognized her as one of their own?” Elise asked.
“Correct, and here’s where things get really crazy. She’s pregnant.”
The air was drained from the room, none of us knowing what to say. How was this possible? All the girls were sterile!
“Trust me, I know exactly what you’re thinking. She’s well along, too, just a few more weeks. We believe that since she was pregnant before she transformed, the wolf fetuses are still in her womb, that is, if they are still normal wolves or if they’ve transformed like her.”
“Where is she now?” Lorraine asked.
“We let her go. We left her to wake up with the rest of the pack.”
“What do you mean you let her go?” I asked.
“That was the idea we had. We’re going to let her continue her current lifestyle and surveil her from a distance to see how she interacts with the rest of the wolves. Studying the psychology and group dynamics of these creatures has become one of our top priorities. Before we released her back into the wild, we tagged her with a GPS and a thermometer. This way, we can make sure she doesn’t get hypothermic during the night. Once she gives birth, we’ll sedate the pack again and examine the pups. If they are human, we’ll take them and the mother into protective care, and if they are normal wolves, we’ll wait until she’s raised them and leave them to the pack while we take the mother. She can survive the nights right now, but there’s no way we can leave her out there once the temperature drops.”
“Ok, so how does this benefit us?” I asked.
“Originally, keeping you quarantined was the only contingency plan we could come up with to prevent more animals from transforming. However, if it continues to happen naturally, then the two of you go from being nuisances to godsends. Now the World Health Organization wants to form a contingency plan for if more hybrids show up.”
“What, are they expecting this to become like the X-Men universe?” Lorraine asked.
“Well they believe that it is a possibility. If animals can now transform without a human causing it, then there is nothing to stop it from continuing or the rate of the occurrences even increasing. For this to happen so soon after your trip to New York, we do believe that that is the most likely scenario. In which case, what information about the zoo that has managed to leak to the public may be a blessing, as it will possibly brace the people for what is about to happen.
The WHO and the CDC would like a chance to study hybrids in a lifelike, laboratory setting, to see how they can cohabitate with people. You and Lorraine are the only two people known to be able to cause these phenomena, so we’d like to see how you and your hybrids live together, as well as continue to study your abilities.”
Lorraine and I exchanged glances. “You basically want to put cameras on us 24/7, watching our every move,” she said.
“Pretty much. We’d like to move you to a facility where we can monitor your social interactions and get a much better understanding of the physiology of the hybrids. Our initial plan was to simply have you all live on the farm and install cameras in the house, but with eleven of you, and possibly more in the future, you would probably all get a little too cramped. We’re offering you more room in an environment we can monitor.”
“It looks like you’ll be making porn after all,” said Elise under her breath.
“This isn’t going to turn into a prison, is it?” I asked.
“Of course not. The world is inevitably going to find out about the hybrids, and when that happens, there is going to be a lot of confusion. You can help us get the information we need to fight that confusion and figure out a way to keep things from turning ugly. We want to carefully expose both sides to each other and you two will be the mediators for that. Once containment is no longer possible, we want you to introduce your pets to the world in carefully measured doses.”
“What about me?” Elise asked. “I have a farm to run and I’m not going to leave my home or my cows. Besides, I really don’t want anyone to see me.”
“This is only a temporary measure, a few months at the most. Your cows will be taken care of in your absence. Actually, while you’re staying there, we would like to remodel your homes to better suit the needs of your pets and ensure their wellbeing. Elise, this would benefit you the most, as the facility will offer you proper housing for your condition and an environment where we can thoroughly examine you and try to help you.”
“What about the zoo animals? Where are they?” I asked.
“That’s also what we’d like your help with. They’ll be living with you while you’re staying at the facility. We’re still trying to figure out how to house them to fit their physical and psychological needs, trying to balance the natural environment that they’re used to and the human environment that they’ve evolved to. We’re hoping that we can use what we learn from you to give them proper homes. You guys will be in charge. Whatever you want or need to make everyone comfortable, we’ll supply it.”
While the idea of being under constant surveillance made me nervous, this offer was still a godsend. Truth be told, my little cabin had become awfully cramped with the five of us, and this facility would give us the chance to find some real answers. Hell, just giving the girls a CAT scan would be monumental. Plus, I would be able to see my creations from the zoo again. I had worried about them nonstop since leaving New York, wondering what kind of care they were given. Now I could properly watch over them, and Lorraine could do the same with hers.
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