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Changes

  I groan slightly and roll over in my sleeping bag. My bladder is demanding relief so I extricate myself from my sleeping bag, careful not to wake Eva. It is still dark out when I step outside, but the sky is starting to turn navy blue and some stars have begun to wink out.

  I breathe in the crisp pre-dawn air. My nose twitches as I head towards the end of camp, a soft swishing sound following me as I find a spot to crouch down and relieve myself.

  “Hang on,” I mutter as something finally registers in my sleep-addled brain. “I wasn’t wearing anything when I went to bed… where did?”

  Adrenaline floods my body as I stare at the fur that is covering me from head to toe. I stumble backwards, my eyes darting down towards my strange looking legs. The joints are in the wrong spots. My feet are longer with only the toes touching the ground and… something long and fluffy wraps around my leg.

  “What. The. Fuck.” I shout. “Get it off!”

  I try to pry the strange thing off of my leg and feel a sharp pain in my lower back. Turning, I catch a glimpse of it jutting from my furry back. I go to place a hand on my mouth and freeze.

  This isn’t my mouth. This isn’t my hand. Please let this be a dream. This must be a dream. It has to be.

  I stumble back towards my tent, only to see something poking its head out and staring at me with familiar green eyes.

  “Eva?” I whisper at the brown furred creature poking her head out. “Is that you?”

  She nods and points at me, signing my name.

  “Yeah, it is me, Sol. Funny dream huh?”

  Eva nods again before returning to her sleeping bag. I slide inside and slip into mine.

  “At least,” I whisper softly. “I hope this is a dream.”

  “Hey, you two alright?” Travis’s gruff voice interrupts my attempts to return to sleep. “Wait— Where did all of this? Fuck!”

  I sigh as I hear the others stirring as well. Various shouts and expletives echo through camp, and I nudge Eva as I sit up.

  “Welp,” I sign to her when she sits up. “Seems this dream isn’t going away for a while.”

  Eva nods and we grab our clothes. Frowning, I notice that my pants are now sporting a hole in the back. Curious, I look over at my boots and my whiskers twitch in surprise… wait whiskers? I decide to ignore the twitching whiskers on my new snout and instead grab my boots which have elongated and changed to match my new feet.

  “Eva, you seeing this shit?” I ask her while holding up the clearly changed boots.

  She gives me a nod and holds up hers which have also changed to match her new legs. Her mouth falls open slightly and a tongue sticks out the side as she silently chuckles. Other than the tail hole and the modified boots, our clothes haven’t changed much with a single exception in that they’re all bigger now to accommodate our fur.

  Fully clothed, we step out to see the carnage and we both start laughing. In the middle of the clearing, a half dressed creature covered in dark grey fur sobs uncontrollably while a massive creature with golden-brown fur comforts them.

  “How much you want to bet that is Travis and Miguel?” I ask Eva as we watch the two.

  “Twenty bucks,” Eva signs at me between silent laughter.

  I giggle and look around for the last two. A nearly solid white creature with streaks of grey steps out of Dani’s tent with two fingers on it’s neck. Next to the campfire, a greying fox with Alex’s old sweat stained ball-cap sits drinking a coffee.

  “You okay?” I ask the curled up Miguel as we approach.

  “Fuck no,” Miguel snaps, his sobs fading as a low growl escapes. “I can’t wake up from this stupid dream and everyone here is acting like this is a fucking Tuesday.”

  “It isn’t,” Travis deadpans. “It is Wednesday.”

  Miguel bolts to his feet at that remark, his fist flying straight for Travis’s head. Tilting his head slightly, Travis grabs his arm and holds him there.

  “You want to know why I’m not freaking out right now?” Travis hisses, barely audible from where I’m standing. “It is because we got a job to do. Once done, then I will breakdown and start crying and shouting about this stupid situation. Now then, take a deep breath, get dressed, and get out of my face.”

  Travis shoves Miguel back, but before Miguel can charge at Travis, I step in.

  “Enough,” I hiss at Miguel. “Pull yourself together before I knock you out and tie you up. Travis is right, we got a job to do and the sooner we get it done. The sooner we can get answers. Assuming this isn’t just someone’s dream. And if it is? Then it will end, but until we are certain.”

  I grab a axe that is lying nearby and heft it onto my shoulder.

  “We proceed as if nothing has changed.”

  Miguel nods and returns to his tent. Travis slouches slightly as I lower the axe back to the ground. I give Travis a nod and he goes to get dressed as well. The white creature, who I assume is Dani, walks over.

  “So,” she says. “I see I am not the only one who is now more fox than human. It’s Dani in-case you don’t know.”

  “It’s me, Sol,” I say. “And is that what we are? Some sort of fox-like creature?”

  “Foxkin,” Eva signs. “Half-human, half-fox creatures that shouldn’t exist.”

  “Foxkin huh?” I say. “Now I wonder how exactly we’ve turned into these creatures…”

  “You all done yapping yet?” Alex calls out to us. “Coffee is ready and the eggs are almost done.”

  “That’s the boss for ya,” Dani says. “Work first, conspiracies later.”

  We head over to where Alex is and each pour ourselves some coffee. Thankfully it tastes the same as before, same with the eggs. Dani tries to cook some pancakes, but even Alex finds himself unable to stomach them.

  “Ugh,” Travis says after he joins us. “What did you do to the pancakes Dani?”

  “Nothing,” Dani grimaces as she tries to not puke. “I didn’t even burn them.”

  “Isn’t it obvious?” Miguel whispers. “Foxes might be omnivores, but I suspect a lot of the stuff we used to be able to eat is going to be toxic to us now.”

  “That,” Eva signs. “Or Dani is just a worse cook now.”

  “That is also a possibility,” Miguel concedes. “But I doubt it!” He quickly amends when Dani raises her skillet in the air.

  I toss my pancakes into the trash bag we have nearby and go to grab my pack. Eva starts to follow before stopping. Her eyes narrow in thought before she dashes past me. I feel my ears twitch in confusion at her sudden behaviour.

  “What’s with her?” Dani asks.

  “No clue,” I say when a sudden shouting erupts from where Eva disappeared.

  “Is that?” Travis asks, slinging his pack on. His eyes wide as his tail twitches behind him.

  Eva reappears, her tail wagging furiously as she charges over towards her. Her boots kicking up small clumps of speed at her speed.

  “Guys guys guys!” Eva shouts. “The transformation! I CAN SPEAK!!!”

  I laugh at her enthusiasm, giving her a quick head pat.

  “Huh,” Alex says as he walks over. “Now that is interesting. Regardless, grab your gear. We’re running late enough as is.”

  We give him a nod and quickly grab our gear. The job is still the job and we still got a day or two left of work. At least the tools have also shifted slightly to allow us to better use them.

  I fall in line behind Travis as we hike back up to the work site. My nostrils flare as I catch a whiff of something new. My ears twitch as faint pulses reach them from the surroundings. Scratching and faint pitter-patter sneaks through in between each jangle of our bags.

  “This is so strange,” Eva signs at me, clearly still preferring her sign language. “It is like we can suddenly hear every noise in the forest.”

  “I know, right?” I sign back at her. “So cool, although a little over stimulating if I am being honest.”

  Eva nods, her eyes narrowing as the sun crests the horizon and shines right into them.

  “Ack,” she growls, rubbing them as she turns away. “That hurts.”

  “Yeah,” I say. My hands rubbing the spots from my eyes as well. “Definitely going to need to invest in some sun glasses or something.

  “Like these?” Travis asks while flipping a pair of modified sunglasses. “This transformation really thought of everything huh?”

  Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  Instead of the normal flat rods, his new sunglasses rise up the side of his head and hook behind his ears. The hardhat on his pack is also sporting two raised bumps right where his new ears would be. Even our packs have adjusted straps with the hip belt being slightly higher to accommodate our tails.

  “Hey Solaris?” Eva taps me on the shoulder. “You notice how fast we’re moving?”

  I look down at our tracks and notice that our steps are much longer than yesterday’s. It also dawns on me that my pack now feels like it weighs nothing, and curious about it. I swing my axe into a nearby log and it sinks nearly a foot deep. My tail flicks behind me as I slide the axe free. The log almost felt like I was cutting butter with how easy the axe moved.

  “No way,” Dani whispers from behind Eva. “Did we get a strength boost as well?”

  “Weird,” Miguel comments. “You wouldn’t really think foxes are particularly strong. Fast? Yes. Strong? Not really.”

  I agree and turn towards Alex who is at the front.

  “Hey Boss,” I call. “You think we can pick up the pace? I wanna see just how fast our new bodies really are.”

  The others glare at me as Alex shrugs.

  “Don’t see why not?” He says and breaks into a quick jog that rapidly turns into a full sprint.

  We give chase and the forest around us blurs as we pick up more and more speed. My heartbeat picks up right as Alex slows down. What should have taken us at least two hours to hike, we covered in a matter of minutes.

  Alex takes a sip of his water as we all catch up, our eyes are wide and our breath is heavy. Yet not a single one of us is winded. I give Eva a wide grin, my new tongue falling out the side of my mouth as I pant.

  “Now that,” Travis says in-between breaths. “Is how you travel.”

  “Bloody hell,” Miguel says. His hands on his legs as he pants, drool falling from his mouth. “We just went what? Twenty miles per hour, if not faster?”

  Dani’s hands flicker in the air as she calculates it.

  “Ten miles in about five minutes. That is roughly… huh. One hundred and twenty miles per hour.”

  “No,” Eva pants, her emerald eyes going wide. “Fucking way.”

  “You mean?” Travis whispers. “We just ran faster than most vehicles?”

  “One seventh of the speed of sound,” Miguel comments.

  “No more mileage logs at least,” Alex deadpans as he swings his axe through a nearby log, slicing it clean in two. “And we should be done by lunch.”

  Grinning, we get out the needed gear from our daypacks and get to work. Alex is right and soon even Travis isn’t bothering to unsheath his crosscut saw, instead preferring to cleave large chunks with his axe. The only thing that still takes a while is brushing, and only cause there is so much of it that even our enhanced physique can’t really speed it along.

  “Whew,” Travis says as we step back from the last log we have to buck. “Can’t believe how much time we’ve saved.”

  “Tell me about it,” I pant. “I still prefer when I was human, but at least there are some benefits.”

  “Yeah…” Dani says as she slices a few more bushes. “This isn’t a dream is it?”

  “No,” Alex says while he takes a sip from his thermos. “Whatever happened, I suspect this might be permanent.”

  “You think they’ll fire us when we get back?” Miguel asks, his tail drooping.

  “Nah,” Travis says. “They won’t fire us once they see how quick we are with trail repairs.”

  “They’re just cut our pay,” Dani jests. “And maybe make us sleep outside.”

  “I swear,” I growl. “If they try to treat us like wild animals, I am punching someone.”

  “Regardless,” Alex interjects. “The job is done and the sun isn’t even done rising yet. So now we have a choice.”

  Everyone sets their tools down and gives their trail crew lead their full attention. Their ears flicking slightly.

  “We can either continue working on nearby trails for the rest of today and take our time getting back tomorrow… or we can pack up and head home a day early.”

  Alex looks at his crew, his ears twitching as his tail flicks in concern. I share a look with the others and we all come to a different conclusion.

  “I mean no disrespect,” I say stepping forward. “But I feel like we should spend the rest of today getting to know our new forms, Alex. ‘Cause I really am not ready to explain our new furry forms to the government.”

  “Yeah boss,” Travis says stepping forward. “I know you want us to keep working, but as I said this morning. I really need some time to come to terms with all of this. We’re not even human anymore.”

  Alex turns to Dani, his tail flicking in annoyance as she speaks.

  “Boss, I know work helps you think, but this is a massive change. I—“ Tears start streaming down Dani’s snout as her tail wraps around her leg. “I can’t boss.”

  Alex holds up a hand before Miguel or Eva can speak. He sighs and shakes his head.

  “How about this?” He proposes. “We head back to camp, eat a warm lunch, then take the afternoon off. Tonight we’ll pack up and hike out. No reason we can’t get back to our vehicles by nightfall with how fast we can move.”

  I grin at the slight concession.

  “Thanks,” we tell him.

  “Don’t thank me yet,” Alex chides. “We still need to hike to camp, and I expect you all to push yourselves as hard as you can.” He pulls out a stopwatch. “I want to see just how fast you all can move.”

  Everyone groans as we quickly toss our equipment into our packs and line up. Alex holds up the stopwatch and shouts as he takes off. We all bolt after him as fast as we can. Everything blurs around us as my feet seem to find footing on the ground I can barely process. As I push myself, I feel an urge to use my hands as well and soon we are all running on all fours. Dust trails flying behind us as we use trees and rocks as springboards for sharp corners.

  Too soon camp comes into view and I try to stop only to go tumbling into a tree… about two hundred feet from where I saw camp.

  “Oof,” I grunt, my body hurting. “That wasn’t pleasant.”

  “Twelve mines in one minute and thirty seconds,” Alex calls from where he tumbled. “Although we need to work on that landing.”

  “Bloody hell,” Miguel gasps. “That’s… 480 miles per hour. If we go any faster, we’d have to start worrying about g force. How are we not dead?”

  I glimpse at the tree I impacted into it. The wood is splinted and I decide to move before it falls on me. A few other streaks in the grass lead to where the others came to their own rough landings. A twinge in my arm reminds me that we didn’t exactly come out unscathed from that crash.

  “Hey Dani?” I call out. “You got any ice packs left?”

  “Just enough for everyone to get one!” She calls as she carefully extricates herself from a thorn bush. “I suspect everyone is going to need one after that bad of a hit.”

  “Yeah,” Eva calls out from where she shattered a boulder. “Everything hurts.”

  “Hey Miguel!” I call to him. “How many Gs did we just experience?”

  “Enough that we should be at the very least unconscious. Most would be dead.”

  “Gotcha,” Travis grunts as untangles himself from the remnants of the campfire. “Don’t go that fast unless we have no other option.”

  “Hell,” Miguel says. “Not even propeller aircraft could keep up with us at those speed and that was us on a winding trail. If those turns weren’t there…” Miguel shudders before continuing. “We might have hit Mach 1, if not higher.”

  “So large boost to strength,” I say, accepting an ice pack from Dani. “Insane boost to speed.”

  “Are we super—“ Travis begins before getting cut off.

  “Nope,” Dani interjects. “Nope. Nope. Nope. I’m sticking with fantasy creatures that shouldn’t exist. We are not getting arrested trying to fight some stupid guy with a gun nor do I want to discover what happens if we go that route.”

  Alex helps Travis fix the ring of stones around the campfire before turning to us.

  “With how fast we’re able to move,” Alex begins. “I suggest we take the next four hours to have whatever breakdowns you all need then we get packed up and head out. I’d like to spend tonight at the bar.”

  “Here, here!” Travis calls before promptly breaking down and crying.

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