[Vfw-times] Story: Logs Of A Wanderer Entry 0007

[Wyldesyde]

well, here's the seventh entry in my Logs of a wanderer saga. like all my
works, this can be found on my website, under the fiction section. that's at
http://wyldesyde.tripod.ca/

comments, suggestions, criticism, etc, are all welcomed. frankly, I want
feedback on this, please.

Wyldesyde












Out of the Frying Pan...

***** ***** ***** ***** *****

Log Entry 0007

Begin Recording.

Well, it's been three days since my last entry. Life's been somewhat
interesting the last few days, and, I must say, I'm looking forward to my
life being as uninteresting as possible soon. But, then again, with the
track record I've got so far, I doubt that's going to happen.

Towards the end of my second day of being awake, I actually told the doctor
the whole truth about myself. I had spent the whole morning doing research
on this world, and, even though the temporal differential between dimensions
meant that I was in the late twentieth century here, I decided I needed to
tell someone about it, at least so I could get some time to figure out what
my next move was.

Well, needless to say, after the bout of laughing, then the general
disbelief, I opened a rift, just to the other side of the room, and then he
believed me. The fact I was able to manipulate the view screen on the wall
remotely helped.

It wasn't until the third day that I really started to explore my new body.
Now there's an experience I don't want to relate. Learning to walk with this
tail hanging behind me wasn't fun, and I've got the bruises to prove it.
However, the above-average length fur more than makes up for any
disadvantages, as I don't really need clothing, at least in private.
However, I did learn that, in one department, I'm significantly above
average, if the look on the face of the nurse who walked in on me was any
indication. It was the same female wolf that was there when I came to. At
least she couldn't see me blushing, but those ears where a dead give away.
Thankfully, all she did was wink, and then walk out, closing the door behind
her.

When I woke up this morning, she was opening the blinds, obviously trying to
be as quiet as possible. And she didn't even notice I was awake until I
cleared my throat.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

I chuckled softly as the nurse sat back in a chair against the wall, trying
to catch her breath. I don't think I've ever seen anyone not augmented jump
that high from a standstill.

"I guess I should have told you that trying to be quiet around me one way of
making sure I wake up," I said calmly, trying to reassure her that I wasn't
mad.

"That was payback from yesterday, wasn't it," she asked between pants, as
she slowly recovered.

"Well, if it makes you feel better, think of it as such," I replied,
adjusting the pillows so I could lean against them. I almost sat on my tail,
before I remembered, and shifted it to the side.

As she stood up and headed to the door, she looked over her shoulder at me,
and chuckled. "By the way, Doctor Elig asked me to tell you he'll be by to
see you this afternoon."

"Thanks, Sarah," I said, raising my voice slightly so she could hear me
through the closing door.

As soon as the door closed, I was out of the bed, and into the bathroom. I
stopped in front of the full-length mirror to get a good look at my body.

As I looked into the mirror, I slowly examined the reflection of my new
body. Looking back at me was something that I'm going to have to get used
to. Basically, I'm a 6-foot tall skunk, with the classic black-and-white
markings. One distinguishing fact, though, is that I've got what can only
amount to hair, and its solid black, except for one bit of white that
happens to be directly above my right eye. The whole mess is actually long
enough to be tied back in a ponytail, which is how I plan on keeping it, but
with the white lock hanging loose. Sarah and Doctor Elig both have told me I
look quite striking, but I just happen to like it that way. The next thing
that I noticed was my eyes. Before, they had been a subdued blue-green, now
they were a crystal blue that could unnerve even me if I stared too long at
them. My new physique is nothing to be ashamed of, I'm proud to say. I look
like I'm about 190 pounds, including tail (it ways 15 pounds on its own,
would you believe?), but I figure I'm closer to 250 pounds or so, thanks to
that super dense musculature I've got. And to top it, according to Sarah,
I'm "one handsome hunk of skunk," as she so delicately put it. I guess I'll
have to take her word on it, because she and the doctor are the only people
I've seen since I woke up.

Then comes my tail. I never really appreciated how much trouble one could be
until now. However, there are some benefits. Take sleeping, for example. My
very first night after I woke up, I found that curling up to sleep with my
tail wrapped around me was not only comfortable, but the fur covering my
tail helped muffle all the sounds around me. And then there's the fact that
it just plain looks good.

Turning from the mirror, I went back out into my room, and walked over to
the window. Through it, I saw the city of Vancouver, BC, Canada. Or, rather,
I saw this realities Vancouver. The maps I pulled off of the Internet here
show some similarities with the historical records I have from home, but the
differences show. The city spread out across the land, with nature
integrated into the construction. Every building had some form of flowerbox
at its windows, and the taller buildings had rooftop flower gardens. The
architects of this world are just amazing, even if the year is roughly 2003,
give or take. I'm still trying to find some similar events in the history
between my reality and here to get a more accurate fix. Ah, well.

As I stood there, admiring the view, I heard the door open, and three people
entered. When I turned around, the first thing I noticed was the military
uniforms. The second was the assault rifles the two troopers were carrying,
still slung behind their backs on shoulder straps. They obviously weren't
expecting any trouble.

"I'm General Arkady Mitchell, and you're coming with us," said the Doberman
in the middle, as he stepped forward to stand between the troopers,
effectively blocking the door.

"And what if I don't want to," I asked, leaning back against the windowsill,
my tail against the glass.

General Mitchell smiled, and responded, looking quite smug, "I don't think
you really have much of a choice. My troops are armed, and you've just
recently recovered from a coma. I didn't really need to bring two, but I
wasn't about to carry you out of here if you hadn't woken up yet. Do you
know how long it took us to find out which hospital you were taken to?"

"No, and I frankly don't care. I haven't done anything wrong, so if you
don't leave now, I'm going to hand your troopers their asses on a bedpan,
since I'm out of silver platters," I replied, making sure that my systems
were functioning.  Everything was green. Perfect.

"We'll see," was all the General was able to say, as I moved.

I'm only guessing at this, but from the stunned looks on their faces, all
they saw was a black-and-white blur. I dashed forwards, easily ripping the
rifles out of the hands of the two troopers, knocked both of them flat on
their tails, and made it back to the window before General Mitchell was able
to do more than drop his jaw in shock. I took each of the rifles, and easily
bent them in half, then tossed them to the ground at the Generals feet, then
resumed my posture, leaning against the windowsill.

"How," was all General Mitchell was capable of saying, and he repeated it
several times before regaining his composure.

"How the hell did you do that," he nearly screamed.

"Easily, General, quite easily. You obviously don't know as much about me as
you thought you did." I started walking towards them, not even noticing the
half-inch-long claws that slid out of my fingers. "Now, get out of here
before I loose my temper, and do to you what I did to those guns." Just
then, I felt myself going cold. Oh, gods, I forgot about Ice.

Ice took over, and all I could do was watch. Or, more accurately, I became
Ice. It felt strange, but good. I started stalking towards them, as they
hastily backed out of the room, and started moving towards the elevators.

As they retreated, I heard one of the troopers start whispering. "Uh,
General, are his eyes supposed to glow red like that?"

Luckily, I managed to hold back long enough for them to make it into the
elevator, and, once the doors closed, I felt Ice retreat. That damn
personality shift is more trouble than its worth.

Turning to go back to my room, I noticed Sarah, cowering behind the nurse's
station. From the look in her eyes, she was scared out of her wits. I can't
really blame her, as I was in the same fix. I've never been able to handle
becoming Ice, and each time, it leaves me a wreck afterwards. The only times
I've changed since the incident in the holodome have been under controlled
conditions, where there was no one around I could hurt accidentally.
Property damage, however, was expected. I really did like that couch.

As I walked over to my bed, and curled up on it, I heard Sarah cautiously
enter my room.

"Jason, are you OK?" She was obviously concerned about me, even if she was
somewhat scared. If I were to say anything about Sarah, it's that she's
dedicated to her patients.

I didn't even have the will to answer her; I just curled up and started
whimpering. I know it sounds corny, but it's the truth. It felt like ages
before she walked over to the side of my bed, and lightly started scratching
between my ears, trying to comfort me with her presence alone.

"Do you want to tell me what happened?"

It took me a few moments to collect myself, before I sat up, and faced her.
"What you saw was one of the reasons behind why I ended up here," I replied,
deciding to tell her the whole story.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

I told her everything. And, unlike Dr. Elig, she didn't need a demonstration
to prove the veracity of my tale. After all, she had seen me bend a pair of
assault rifles into scrap. I was quite surprised that she didn't walk out in
disbelief, shock, or fear. After I finished, she just gave me a hug, then
told me to rest, tucked me in, promised that she'd stay outside my door and
make sure I wasn't disturbed. So there she is, sitting on the other side of
the door, while I try to figure out who General Mitchell works for, and what
he wants with me. No luck so far. Hold it, there's something happening
outside my room.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

As I shut down the logbook, and went to the door, I could hear Dr. Elig
arguing with someone, along with the sound of Sarah crying, albeit softly. I
opened the door, only to find Sarah kneeling against the wall, sobbing. From
the way she was kneeling, it was obvious that she had been hit. And there
was Dr. Elig, facing off against a wolverine that was as tall as me, and
easily weighed about 300 pounds. Talk about your classic mismatch.

As I stepped into the hall, the wolverine punched Dr. Elig in the stomach,
winding him, and then moved towards Sarah, obviously intent on grabbing her.

"Who's gonna protect you know? You're mine, ya got that," he muttered to
her, moving closer.

That's when he noticed me. Or, rather, he noticed my fist flying towards him
faster than he could react. As my fist connected with his chest, he flew
across the hall, slamming into the wall hard enough to bruise, if not crack,
his ribs. Obviously winded, he struggled to stand, holding onto a chair
beside him for support.

"This ain't none of your business, stinky, so get lost and I won't hurt
you," he growled at me.

"Hurt me? You won't even see me coming," I replied, kneeling down to see if
Sarah and Dr. Elig were all right.

Sarah just looked at me through tear-clouded eyes, and said one thing.

"Take that bastard out."

That was all I needed to hear. Standing, I turned to face the wolverine,
only to find him holding a switchblade. Activating the force shield
generator, I began approaching him. By now, security had shown up, and was
moving to grab him from behind.

I stopped them with an upraised palm, letting Ice take over. "He's mine."

I could see the reflection of myself in the glass of a picture frame hanging
on the wall. My eyes were glowing a deep red. That, coupled with the faint
shimmer caused by the shield, made me look almost demonic. As I stalked
forward, I could see the security officers backing up slowly.

As the wolverine prepared to slash at me, I made my move. I dashed in, and
started by knocking the switchblade to the ground, then followed up with a
few quick jabs to the ribs. After that, I really let him have it. With the
combination of lefts, rights, and three roundhouse kicks to the head, he
slowly sank to the floor, a bloody, beaten lump of fur.

With a final kick to the ribs, I left him lying there, and went to see how
Sarah was doing. Helping her to her feet, I let her lean on me as we walked
over to the nurse's station, where Dr. Elig was already up and explaining
what had happened to the security chief. As soon as I was sure she'd be all
right, I wandered back to my room, drawing nervous glances from the two
security guards who had been posted to this floor. As intimidating as a pair
of Kodiak grizzly's can be, they were actually scared of me. Well,
considering that I put that wolverine into intensive care in less time than
it took them to lace up their boots, their nervousness was justified.

So much for trying to stay out of trouble. No matter where I go, trouble
seems to find me. As I stood by the window, looking out over the city, I
tried finding a reason why I felt, for once, that Ice had actually been
controllable. Hours later, as the sun slowly sank towards the horizon, I
still hadn't found a reason.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

I stood at that window well into the night, watching the city slowly fall
asleep. The answers I found in my silent introspection only served to raise
more questions. The mystery of General Mitchell seemed unsolvable, and the
only reason that made any sense as to why Ice was controllable was that it
was the right thing to do. Like I said, no real answers, only more
questions. Lets hope that my next few days aren't as eventful. I still need
to figure out my next move.

End Recording.

Log Entry 0007 Closed