The End of the Innocence

                            By:

                         Fox Cutter

09/07/98:

My sleep was disturbed by the feeling of someone gently
shaking my shoulder, and a voice speaking to me.

I groaned, rolling over and cracking open an eyelid.
Standing above me was the blurred shape of one of the
guards, his canine features lit by the soft light that was
coming through the bars of the door.

"What time is it?" I asked with a yawn, as I reached for my
glasses.

"Two in the morning, your time," he answered back, standing
up and a few feet back from me.

Sitting up, I rubbed the back of my neck. "Why are you
waking me up in the middle of the night then?"

He smiled. "I was just told to rouse you, and to take you to
meet somebody."

"At this time of night?" I asked, pulling my shoes on.

He chuckled softly, "That's what I asked, but the Warden
herself gave me the orders. I think everything will be
explained once we meet whomever it is."

I nodded, stretching my arms out. I had fallen asleep in my
clothing, not that it really mattered much to anyone. "Lead
on, then."

I was taken out of the main prison and into the conference
room that I had grown accustomed to. I had been in it most
every day the past week talking to Rachel. I didn't know
whom to expect now, though.

To my great surprise, it was Oria.

"Good evening," I said to her as we hugged quickly.

She gave me a soft kiss on the cheek before stepping away.
"I've been talking to the Warden and a few other people;
we've come up with a solution for what to do about Rhea."

"Ah," I said with a smile. "Which starts now I presume."

"You catch on quick," she said, flicking her ears. "The
catch is that you have to be her for a day over two weeks."

I raised an eyebrow. "I can deal with that, but why so
long?"

She grinned, "We're going to be putting you in the zoo."

A stunned look crossed over my face. I think I just stared
at her for about half a minute before I spoke. "You're going
to put me, as Rhea, in the zoo?" It was more a statement of
the obvious than a question.

"Right," she answered, placing her paws on my shoulders.
"Prid doesn't have anything close to a lion on it, and there
fore not in any of the zoos. As far as the public knows
you'll be a special exhibit to increase the crowds."

I slowly nodded. "I think I see... they wanted Rhea to be in
some kind of captivity, but didn't think the prison would be
an appropriate place for her."

She nodded. "Right, so I arranged it with the Zoo in the
city around the Hall to put you on display. The shortest
time they would allow it is two weeks. The extra day is just
to make sure you're healthy after so much time as Rhea."

"Ok, I can do that, I don't think it will be a problem with
me or her." I smiled and kissed Oria's nose. "Though how did
you swing this with the zoo? I didn't think we knew anyone
who worked for them."

She giggled softly. "Fox, where do you think your vet
works?"

I smiled, shaking my head. What a strange phrase, but I did
have a vet to take care of me while I was Rhea. It was
apparently someone Oria had hired to examine me after the
curse. I guess it kind of made sense that she would work for
a zoo.

"Come on," she said, taking my hand in her paw. "We have to
leave right away. They want to have it set up by morning,
which means you have to be there tonight."

"Sure," I said as she pulled me out of the door, a pair of
guards flanking us immediately. They put me in handcuffs
again, though in front of me this time. From there we went
into a small room at the end of one hallway. Setup inside
was a teleport curtain.

One of the guards went through first, then Oria and I, and
lastly the second guard followed us though.

The other side was set up outside, the barren night sky
hanging above us. I didn't have time to admire it, I was
escorted to a van, and put in the back. The guards let Oria
sit in the back with me as well, but left my handcuffs on.

"The trip should take only about five minutes," Oria said as
the guards locked the door.

I nodded, "So, how are things going?"

She smiled with a sigh. "Very well, all the paper-work for
the Ship Yards has gone through. We're now licensed to
construct ships."

"We?" I asked, grinning slightly.

She nodded, "Yes, they feel that since you're currently in
prison, that you should co-own it with someone who was free
to run it."

"I can't argue with that," I commented, leaning back on the
bench I was sitting on. "Any other problems?"

She shook her head. "None at all, we've started on the
contract for the five new ships, and the first one should be
ready for a test flight in a week. I'm going to send it out
with Milgrove flying it and a dozen technical people along
for the ride."

I smiled. "Very good, that should work well."

"Yes," she said, cuddling up to me. "How about you, how are
things going in jail?"

I shrugged. "Not to bad, it's pretty boring to be honest."

"Run into Grasion yet?"

I rolled my eyes. "Yep, we're right across from each other."

She groaned, "That must be pleasant."

"Actually he's being quite civil to me. No verbal attacks,
or even slams." I shook my head, "If I didn't know better I
would say he was in awe of me."

"Do you talk a lot?" She asked.

"Some times, I usually respond just to get him to shut up."

She smiled, hugging me close and nuzzling my neck. "Once you
get out you won't have to worry about him any more."

I nodded, kissing one of her ears. "Lets hope."

A few seconds later the truck lurched as it came to a stop.
"I guess we're hear," I commented as Oria pulled away.

She nodded as the door outside opened. We were both escorted
out of the truck by the guards, waiting for us was Doctor
Videa, the vet. She's a doe morph, and was dressed lightly
in some casual clothing.

We were in a back corner of the zoo, a few feet away from a
large unmarked door that seemed to lead behind a open area
that was currently blocked off. The whole place was lit up
like daytime with the overhead lights. Around me I could see
a few other habitats for animals, each of them with a large
screen over it to create a false night inside.

"Fox," Videa said, taking one of my arms as I reached the
ground. "Are you sure you're going to be up to this?"

I nodded, "Yes, I'm going to be fine."

"Good," she said, pulling a small device out of her pocket
and placing it just to the side of my tailbone. There was a
slight shock as the implanted equipment there came on-line.
"Your tracker is turned on."

"I noticed," I commented with a smile, I would have rubbed
there if my hands were free. It was a necessary evil, the
tracker was made to work on animals, and was only turned on
when I was Rhea. The idea was that it would help track me
down if Rhea decided to take over my mind once again.

Pulling on my arm, she dragged me over to the railing.
"Welcome to your new home," she said, and pointed down
inside.

There was a small part of the covering taken away in this
section and I could see down inside. The top was already
open, the lights above filling the large enclosure. Inside
was a large plains area, with a few different types of
grass, some long, some short, and a pair of large trees. A
dried out waterfall to one side looked like it would feed a
moat that separated the land from the ten foot wall that
separated it from the on-looking crowd.

"Oriana brought us as much as she could on Rhea's species,"
she said, then paused and looked at me with the corner of
her eye. "I see you like it."

I started to wonder what she was talking about when I
realized that I was purring. Looking in the back of my mind
for a few seconds I found that Rhea had been peeking over my
shoulder. She did like the habitat; it was a lot like what
she had been wanting. It was her purring that had leaked
through and caused me to do the same.

"Yes, it should do just fine," I answered, looking back up
at her.

She nodded, "Good, now remember, of the zoo staff, only
three people know about you: me, the head keeper and the
keeper who will be feeding you. There's a cave behind the
waterfall; you will be given your food there. You can eat it
how ever you want."

"Ok, I guess I should get down there then, so you can finish
setting everything up."

She laughed slightly, taking my arm and walking me towards
the door. "Not so fast, first I want to run a physical on
you; I want to see what kind of foods you'll need so we can
plan your diet."

"Do you have any idea about how strange this all is?" I
asked Oria, turning my head to look at her.

She started to open her mouth to respond when all the lights
in the zoo suddenly flashed off. Everything was suddenly in
pure darkness, I could hear some shuffling of feet around
me.

Doctor Videa swore softly and stepped away from me. One of
the guards snapped at me, "Don't move, we'll come to you." I
wouldn't have dreamt of it, myself.

"What's going on?" someone asked.

Videa responded, "I'm not sure, maintenance says the
circuits just went out on their own. They'll have backup
lights on in half-a-minute."

I took a couple of short breaths, looking around. My vision
was slowly adjusting to the darkness, and I could just start
to make out the silhouettes of the people around me.

Without warning I was tackled, and sent flying to the ground
on my back at the same time as a gun-shot echoed through the
zoo.

"Get those lights on!" someone yelled, as everyone went to
the ground. I grunted softly, my hands pinned down by
whoever had tackled me.

"Are you all right?" Oria asked, moving around to place her
face against mine. "Did you get hurt?"

I shook my head. "No, it didn't hit me."

She nodded, as a pair of rough paws grabbed my shoulders and
pulled me over a few feet. Oria came with me, still laying
on my chest.

"How about you? Are you ok?" I asked.

She paused for a few seconds. "I'm not sure... I have been
shot though."

"How bad?" I asked, as the lights around us brightened
slightly, giving us some light. I could see one of the
guards had dragged us behind the truck.

One came over and yanked me farther into shelter, just as a
second shot hit the pavement where me feet would had been.

Oria rose to her knees, one paw clasped against her side.
She risked a close look before leaning against the end of
the truck. "Not not too badly, there are no organs there,
and I think it's lodged up against the back rib," she panted
softly.

"Are you going to be ok?" I asked, edging closer to her.

She shook her head. "If I don't see a doctor soon I might
bleed to death. But I don't need to worry about that for
maybe half an hour. Unless it gets worse."

I nodded, looking around. Videa was gone, having ducked
behind something else. One of the guards was with us behind
the truck, the other was a few feet away behind a small
outcropping.

Both of them had their guns out, and were searching for the
attacker. He was quite easy to spot, sitting on a slight
hill inside one of the unused habitats in the zoo. He didn't
even blend in.

"How did you know?" I asked, looking down at Oria.

She smiled. "Lucky guess... this would have been a perfect
place to kill you at; once the lights went out I went into
automatic."

I nodded, turning to the guard who was with us. "Think you
can do anything to stop him?"

He snorted. "No, and I think our radio's being jammed. I've
tried calling for backup, but I haven't gotten a response
yet."

Oria groaned softly, I twisting my head to look at her. She
had her eyes closed, and was breathing deeply. Blood was
spreading on her shirt. "I think she's worse than she
knows," I whispered softly.

The guard looked at her. "Probably, I don't know much about
her anatomy, but that is a lot of blood."

"Can you see any way to get to him?"

He leaned back, and nodded. "Yes, that path there," he
pointed to a hedge-lined path, it led right up to the area
from where he was shooting. "But there's not enough cover,
we wouldn't get ten feet along it before he shot us."

I swore, looking back out at the path. "Do you think he
knows why we're here?"

The guard snorted, "I don't know why we're here. My orders
said this was just a transfer."

I nodded, glancing back down to Oria. Her eyes were open,
but glazed slightly.

Biting my lip I shoved my hands to the guard. "Unlock the
handcuffs."

He gave me a look of disbelief.

"Please do it; I think I can stop him, but I need these
off."

He shook his head.

"Damn it," I swore in a whisper. "I have a tracker on me,
you can find me if you're worried about it. But I think I
can get to him; why I'm here isn't public knowledge, or even
recorded. I think I can use it to stop him."

The guard looked at me, then down to Oria. "She's your mate
isn't she?"

I shook my head, "Not yet."

He frowned, took the key from his pocket and opened the
cuffs. "If you run we'll find you."

I nodded, "I don't plan too go to far," I said, stepping
away. Gently I grabbed the pendant and lifted it over my
neck, then set it in Oria's paw.

The familiar feeling of the transformation flowed over me, a
few seconds later I was on all fours, my hackles up and
growling softly. Pushing Rhea back I gathered myself; I
wanted to do this on my own.

With a burst of speed I ran out from behind the truck and
moving all out I started down the path. One shot came, but
it missed me completely.

Not bothering with stealth I moved down the path till I was
behind the sniper. He wasn't moving, still keeping focused
on the truck. I guess he thought I was just a wild animal.

Jumping over the guard fence I fell the short distance to
the ground. Still moving at top speed I ran towards him;
when just a few feet away I let out a roar.

She saw me then, swinging her gun around, but it was too
late; I had tackled her, sending her to the ground. My claws
dug into her arms and my jaws locked around her neck.

I clenched firmly, just enough to break the skin. Every time
she struggled, I added a bit more pressure. Eventually she
stopped moving, panting softly as blood dripped from my jaws
and down the fur of her neck.

The guards came a minute later, I was willing to let them
take the sniper away. She was going to have some nasty scars
on her neck, but right now I didn't care.

Slowly I padded back down the hill and towards Oria, one of
the guards following close behind me. I stopped just a few
feet away from where she was laying, a medical team already
there, taking care of her.

Very carefully I moved over to the door that led behind my
new home. Curling up there, I waited for someone to let me
in as I watched them rush Oria away. She was going to be
fine, I just hoped that nothing serious happened to her or
the twins.

Eventually someone came and opened the door, escorting me
down into the habitat. I didn't care who it was. Once I was
inside I just curled up and went to sleep, praying that Oria
would be ok.

-----

This story is (c) 1998 by Fox Cutter, hardcopy reprints
limited to one a person, all other rights reserved. This
story may not be distributed for a fee except by permission
of the author, and this copyright notice may not be removed.
'Milgrove' is (C) 1998 by J. 'Packrat' McCoy, and is used
with permission.