Episode 8
“Where would you like to begin,” Dr. Foxfire asked with a
clinical degree of composure. There was an almost playful patience to her
measured manner as she took up a seat facing Gabriel. Much like some careful
spider she seemed completely at ease and ready to control the coming
conversation. Casually she crossed her legs and allowed one foot to bob
slightly back and forth. Her hands were clasped together and rested neatly in
her lap. Eyes of deepest emerald held Gabriel in their entrancing gaze and the
soft white glow of the room seemed to highlight her silver-grey hair until it
almost looked like it was burning.
A whispered voice at the back of his mind told him that the
Doctor was consciously making a point to emphasize a desired image. Somehow she
was subtly dominating the situation, but he couldn’t tell how or why. Gabriel
found himself dizzy with a growing twist to his thoughts that prompted him to
shake his head to try and clear it. “Something happened while you were in your
office,” he mumbled weakly.
Gabriel decided squarely to push aside any of these thoughts
that seemed to blur his focus and seize on the troubling ones that worried him.
“I can’t make sense of things completely,” he explained with a sense of shame
that sparked a small measure of annoyance at his implied weakness. “But as I
became irritated I discovered strange feelings flooding through me that I
cannot explain. With them came powerful impulses that made me want to do
things, changing me.”
Unable to maintain the Doctor’s scrutinizing stare Gabriel
quickly lowered his head and closed his eyes. He was still searching for the
right words, some way to communicate what he had experienced without sounding
mad. But no miraculous method offered itself to temper his tongue with the
words he so wished would provide the appropriate answer. With a sigh he
resigned himself to whatever fate his uttered claim might earn him.
“I am changing into some monster,” he revealed, the very
admission bringing with it a wave of guilt and worry. “The rage and frustration
burned inside me. Before I even knew what was happening I found myself watching
in horror as my body betrayed me. My flesh became furry and my desires darker.
Claws formed and this crazed creature was standing in my place threatening to
replace me with its own control over me.”
When next he looked back up a softer sight was waiting to
meet him. Dr. Foxfire’s entire demeanor somehow now radiated a calming aura
that reached down into Gabriel’s core. He found the fury inside him that
strained against him for release retreating to ease itself. It was like bathing
in crystal clear water, or bathing in the warm sun while a friendly breeze was
blowing.
Gabriel drank in the soothing serenity and paused for a long
moment before he continued. His voice lowered into a hushed whisper when next
he could find the words that waited for him to speak them. “I wasn’t sure that
I was going to be able to regain control,” Gabriel admitted with a diminished
degree of nervousness. ‘I was terrified that along with my body that my very
soul had also been taken from me by that malevolent monster.”
“And yet, you now sit before me once more in control of your
self,” Dr. Foxfire interrupted with professional precision. “What vile taint
did this creature corrupt you with that allowed you to return to your senses?
Hmm, how did you regain control if it has so completely taken everything you
are from you?”
The questions hung on the empty air for several silent
minutes as Gabriel forced his self to consider them. Only a single answer kept
presenting itself to his stumbling survey; he had forced his way back out.
Through determination and focus he had managed to find something calming to
ease his anger back out of control.
“I focused myself to regain control,” Gabriel finally
answered confidently. “I refused to allow that thing to take anything else from
me. There is work left for me to finish and it is something that is worth me
doing right. To give up or try to take the easy path wouldn’t be the right
thing to do. My Grandfather taught me better than that, I am better than that.”
Gabriel peered directly into the emerald enigmas that held him and matched them
with his own piercing perception.
Dr. Foxfire could read the fiery forged determination that
those steely eyes declared. “I am not my father, Doc. And I refuse to lower
myself to be compared with the likes of him or something as inhumane as that
monster.” She had heard enough, and even more than that she had seen into him.
What she found waiting her was a welcome relief, worthy of a trust she hadn’t
found in a very long time. Now it was her turn to sigh deeply before she continued.
“Well done, it is a rare enough thing to find someone
capable of confronting such primal impulses,” the Doctor explained. “When I
studied your test results at first it was a peculiar puzzle that presented
itself. Your very genetic structure has been altered into something else. Now,
naturally there is only a handful of explanations know to cause such a thing.
But unofficially there are some lesser accepted things capable of affecting
someone in such a manner.”
“What are saying Doc,” Gabriel interrupted with an instant
inquiry. “What do you mean by some unofficial explanation?” The simplest answer
presented itself to support the Doctor’s case. It took the form of a bushy fox
tail that jovially appeared behind her to swish about. “Does that answer your
question?” She asked with a coy grin. Ironically Gabriel now found himself
dumbfound and speechless stuttering to recover.
“I was born this way,” Dr. Foxfire continued. “Some might
call me a Kitsune although others undoubtedly prefer the terms abomination,
monster or demon. And while I have managed to keep my abnormal nature hidden
for a very long time it has not been easy. It’s part of while I took up this
duty on some quiet pioneer post. However your current condition is quite
different I am afraid. Clearly you were not born this way; instead something
has afflicted you with this altered existence.
What should be of concern though is the fact that whatever
attacked you is still on the loose. And I can say with some authority that
until recently no similar suffering individual has been known to be residing on
Gallu. If they were here I would have discovered them long before now. Instead
we have an unknown threat that has appeared recently and whoever it is they
seem completely comfortable reveling in their unleashed rage. If something
isn’t done to stop them soon things are going to get worse.”
“How do you mean worse,” Gabriel asked with a growing
measure of concern. He had witnessed first hand how dangerous this thing was,
but he was certain that once it was known the authorities could deal with it. “While
you so far are the sole survivor of an attack,” the Doctor replied reluctantly.
“If this threat isn’t contained and quickly we face a growing one of not just
this mysterious monster. Another like you could turn into a similar creature or
we could contend with the creation of other nightmarish things.”
“Can’t the peace-keepers handle that thing,” Gabriel offered
as an excuse to ease his fears. “Perhaps you should look inside yourself and
consider the answer to that one,” Dr. Foxfire countered. “Fair enough,” he
conceded as he realized that he couldn’t see a few peace-keepers stopping him
with simple side-arms either. “What do you propose we do then?”
“Consider our options carefully,” the clever fox-tailed
doctor confirmed. Gabriel had no real idea what options might be left for them
to consider but at this point he still longed to be able to do something. But
just like the start of any project he couldn’t refute the value of a carefully
crafted plan. “Measure twice, cut once,” Gabriel agreed and waited to hear what
options they had to choose from.
No comments:
Post a Comment