Catnip (19 page)

“That was a pretty good run,” she said. She
wasn’t even breathing hard.

“Yeah, you looked, uh, graceful.” Once more
he wondered when she’d started to move like an animal, got a hunch,
and was about to say something when she leaned against him and
kissed him hard.

“Thanks, boyfriend,” she said, and they
continued to hold each other until a gruff bark interrupted their
reunion.

Harry turned his head and saw Doug come in at
high speed. He stopped to pant out a “Wait” command. He stood on
all fours, his tongue hanging out slightly, and then got off his
hands to stand erect. “If you two…two are finished…then come with
me. I found us a place to stay.”

As Doug led them deeper into the forest, he
recovered his breath and explained how things had gone. “When you
got into the car with that lady I chased after it. She didn’t drive
so fast, and I figured she’d take you here.”

Harry was perplexed by his statement. “How
did you know she’d come here? Do you remember this area?”

Doug stopped, blinked, and shook his head.
“Like I said before, I’m not sure. Everything looks familiar…but I
can’t tell you if it’s my real memory or an implanted one. All I
know is that something told me to take you here and I knew where
the lady would be going. Besides,” he added, “that place is the
only inn around here. The next inn is about six miles away and
after that there’s just more forest. There are probably some cabins
we don’t know about, so keep on the lookout.”

Anastasia listened intently to the
conversation. “Yeah, this area also looks familiar to me,” she
said. “I sort of remember other cabins being around. Maybe whoever
changed us has his place up here.”

That had to be the most ridiculous thing
Harry had ever heard of. “There’s no way anyone could be up here
and do that kind of work. You need DNA analyzers, sterile lab
rooms, and how would anyone be able to do what, uh, they did to you
without anyone else finding out?”

Doug stopped in his tracks and swept his arm
to indicate the entire area. His voice took on a robotic quality
much like Anastasia’s had in her session with the late Oleg, only
this was no hypnosis session. “These are the Catskill Mountains.
This is one of the biggest areas in upstate New York. This area
goes into the Allegheny Plateau. Catskill Park has over seven
hundred thousand acres, and it is considered a prime place for
campers and hikers to stay and enjoy the scenery of this
state.”

Doug abruptly stopped reciting facts and
figures, and shook his head as if trying to get rid of a bad
memory. “Did that come from me?” he asked.

“Yeah, it did.”

Doug grimaced and held the sides of his head,
rocking it gently. “Get out, get out,” he muttered, as if to expel
the words on command.

Harry wanted to ask him something, but before
he could get a word out, Doug trotted off to lead the way.

“Hey, let’s go,” Anastasia said.

She took his hand and they followed their
guide. Soon, they came to a slightly rundown log cabin deep within
the woods. Doing a scan, Harry noted only forest and more forest.
This whole area was isolation city. “Is this where we’re staying?”
he asked.

Doug barked out a sound which sounded like
yes
. “There are tire tracks leading down to Esopus Creek,
but no car, so the owner must be out,” he said. “I scouted around
and it seems like a pretty quiet area. There’s a big generator
outside, so the place must have electricity. Maybe it has Internet
connections, too, so you can do your thing.” He indicated Harry’s
computer bag, and then coughed and cleared his throat. “Damn, I’ve
been doing that a lot. I must be out of shape.”

He looked pretty winded, Harry thought.
Anastasia also looked tired. “I guess we all need some rest,” he
said, and he tried the door. Naturally, it was locked. “What do we
do now?” he asked.

Anastasia didn’t hesitate for a second. She
simply lashed out with a mighty kick and the door burst open. “We
go inside,” she said, a tiny grin on her face. “Enter, and be
served.”

They walked in and Harry surveyed the area.
He ran his hand over the wall, found a light switch, and once the
power came on, gave a small “mmmph” of satisfaction. A spacious
enough place, big enough to hold at least twenty people, it was
sparsely furnished. It held a television set in a corner, a sofa
strategically placed in the opposite corner for the best possible
view, and a desk in the center of the room.

Across the room, Harry saw a tiny kitchen
area complete with a range and a refrigerator which lay next to
three large freezers. A bed, a small window above it, and a closet
completed the decor. Out of curiosity, he checked under the bed and
hauled out a large box. “See anything interesting?” Doug asked.

“It’s a toolbox,” Harry answered, and opened
it to examine the contents. Rummaging inside, he found a first-aid
kit, a small Swiss Army knife, and some twine. He also found some
magazines, which featured a variety of shotguns and smiling men
holding up the carcasses of dead animals. Altogether, this place
looked like a refuge of someone who was into hunting. The magazines
and the freezers were a dead giveaway.

Anastasia walked around a corner and let out
a gasp. “Harry,” she whispered, and gestured with her hand to come
over.

His girlfriend’s face looked
almost…
pale
. “What is it?” he asked, and wordlessly, she
pointed to a small alcove and stood there, her body shaking
slightly.

Worried about her reaction, he walked over
and another dead giveaway greeted him, this being a collection of
animals—the real kind, killed and stuffed—that hung on the wall
above a faux fireplace. She kept shivering and he put his arm
around her, his gaze fixed on the wall.

Whoever lived there wasn’t into fly fishing.
Harry saw bobcat, fox, bear and beaver heads along with a couple of
gun racks. Everything was behind a glass plate cover, and the guns
looked totally lethal. The expressions of distaste on his
companions’ faces told him what their feelings were and he wondered
what kind of person got his kicks from shooting animals. “Not
interested in meeting this guy,” Anastasia muttered and kissed him
on the cheek.

Doug trotted over in order to take a look and
grunted softly. “I wouldn’t want to meet him, either,” he echoed
and loped over to the kitchen. “But on the other hand, any port in
a storm, as they say. and I need to chow down.”

He opened up one of the freezers and let out
a whistle. Harry marveled at his ability to do so. He didn’t think
it was bio-mechanically possible, but then again, just
being
here with them
was
the impossible. “What’s in there?” he
asked.

“Let’s find out. Doug opened the fridge and
stuck his head in. “Hey, shooting rabbits or not, this guy knows
how to live right,” he called out. “We got bacon, we got hamburger
meat, steaks of all sorts, and we got beer! Who wants a beer?”

Harry and Anastasia declined, so Doug helped
himself to one and drank it down thirstily, burped, and then
reached for another. “This is good,” he said to no one in
particular. Once finished, he pulled out the package of hamburger
meat from the freezer and tore it open. “Hey, you want some?” he
called over to Anastasia.

“Yeah, bring it on.”

Doug carried the package over and grabbed
half of the contents with his hand, stuffed it—raw—into his mouth,
and wolfed it down. Anastasia took the rest of the meat and nibbled
away. After finishing it, she walked over to the sink and washed
her face off. Harry watched them both eat and offered, “Do you guys
realize you just ate raw meat?”

Anastasia shrugged and Doug replied, “It’s
not like we’re gonna get food poisoning.” He obviously didn’t get
the point and then a phlegmy rattle erupted from his throat. “Damn,
I need some water.”

He went to the sink and guzzled the water
straight out of the tap, then licked his face with an extremely
long tongue. Harry observed his movements and brought out his
computer, his mind rapidly digesting the recent events and
correlating the data. Anastasia searched the cabin and found a
small closet. After rummaging around inside, she came out with a
black T-shirt and a pair of shorts in her hands.

“They look a bit large for you,” Harry
opined.

“I can’t wear these clothes anymore,” she
responded, pointing to her torn blouse and skirt. “I also need a
shower.”

Looking around, they saw that a door at the
opposite end led to a combo bath-shower room that could accommodate
only one person at a time. It had black and white tiles and an
ancient, ripped-up shower curtain along with a small medicine
cabinet above a sink. The place smelled stale and unused, and he
opened the small window to let some fresh air in. Anastasia came
over to join him with a towel in her hand. Her nose twitched along
with her whiskers. “You need a shower, too,” she said, not
unkindly. “I’ll go first and then scout around.”

Her ears twitched and she got an uncertain
look on her face. “Do you smell the bear guy?” he asked.

A laugh came from her. “No, just you,” she
said and then kissed him hard. “Shoo, I need to get clean.”

Harry went back to the main room and searched
the closet for some clothes. Fortunately, whoever lived there had
stocked up on spares, and he found a pair of shorts, a worn
T-shirt, and a beach towel. “I’m finished,” she called out.

She came out of the shower dressed in her
fresh duds and they looked cute on her. He felt like stealing a
kiss and for a change he leaned in close, but she gently pushed him
away. “Later, Harry, get clean first.”

Her tail lashed his butt as she sashayed past
and he watched her hips sway as she sauntered over to the toolkit,
took out a large safety pin and cinched her shorts in.

Reluctantly, he tore his gaze away, and then
the stink of his body odor came through. Inside the shower, he
stripped off his suit and let the water run. The spray was strong
although not particularly hot, but right now he’d have taken an ice
bath if it washed away his stench.

After finishing up and drying off, he put on
the fresh clothes. Predictably, they were way too large, but he
found another safety pin and fixed his shorts so that they hung
around his waist comfortably.

“Can you check on the news?” Doug asked
him.

“You read my mind.”

He found an electrical outlet and booted up
his computer. This cabin also had Internet access which was good.
He needed to check on the news of the search as well as contact
Jason. While he waited for it to load, his girlfriend came in,
washed her hands over at the sink, and said she wanted to take a
nap. Doug also complained of feeling tired. “You go ahead,” he told
them. “I’ve got work to do.”

She kissed him and lay down on the bed while
Doug took the couch and soon they passed out. The computer was now
ready, so Harry first sent off a message to the FBI, telling them
he was okay for the moment and that he was searching for the real
killer. He knew they’d probably be able to trace his IP address,
but…too late now.

Job done, he sent off an e-mail to Jason.

I’m sending you a file. Keep it safe,
okay?

Harry

It was a file with his preliminary
calculations in it, and even though he knew his friend wouldn’t
understand a thing, he also knew Jason would keep it safe from
prying eyes. He just hoped the FBI wouldn’t find out the
destination too quickly.

The real work came next, and he brought up
his file on Anastasia’s DNA matrix. He typed in a few commands and
the result came up. With a sinking feeling, he stared at the
numbers and went through the entire process once more, hoping he’d
made a mistake in his calculations. He hadn’t. The same numbers
came up once again, and he rubbed his eyes and wished things could
be different.

The running, the raw meat, Doug’s speech
problems, along with the fact that he’d physically changed over the
last few hours all pointed to one thing—his friends were both
devolving.

Casting a look at their sleeping forms, he
saw that Anastasia’s body seemed to have shrunk perhaps half an
inch. Her ears had gotten pointier, and her features had become
more feline, with a flatter nose and pointier chin. Doug’s body had
also shrunk, his hands had now become paws, and his snout had
lengthened considerably.

A riot of emotions ran through Harry’s mind.
He knew he was innocent and would be able to prove it. He thought
they’d get away from the real killer, and hoped that he’d be able
to spend more time with his girlfriend.

Now, it appeared both science and Mother
Nature were conspiring against him. It seemed like a cruel joke to
have found someone he cared for and then have her taken away
through something he couldn’t control.

Upset as he was, he didn’t have the heart to
wake them and he didn’t know if he could give them the bad news
later on or not. For now, he turned off his computer, closed the
lid, and walked over to the bed. Anastasia’s eyes opened ever so
slightly, the yellow shining out through slits. “Are you tired?”
she asked.

“I guess I need to sleep, too,” he answered,
hoping his voice wouldn’t choke.

She lazily reached up and drew him down to
lie beside her. “I’m sleepy,” she said in a very quiet voice. “Hold
me, okay?”

“Okay.”

He put his arm around her waist and she
kissed him. A second later, her eyes closed. He lay next to her,
felt the warmth of her body, and heard her heart beating in a fast,
regular rhythm. In contrast, his heart felt like it would stop, his
sense of impending loss was so great. He held onto her tightly, and
a few times in her sleep, she murmured something which sounded like
Nurmo
or
Nurmlev
, but he couldn’t be sure. Then
fatigue caught up to him and he felt his eyes closing. If he
remembered later on, he’d ask her about it.