Thursday April 14th 2005
	I am writing this as I sit atop the lookout. The noonday sun is shining down, warming me. This is the story of my comrades and me. I have tried to recover as much of my journal as possible. The pages I was unable to recover I have rewritten as best as I was able. We have all decided to write our own account of the past year so that there will always be a record of how we came to be here.

Wednesday July 21st 2004
	I slowly pulled my jeep up to Camp Si’s front gate. Looking about, I wasn’t too impressed by the run down looking guard shack and the old barbwire fence.
	"Can I help you?" The guard said as he stepped over to my vehicle.
	"Yes, I am here with a delivery.”  I said as I handed over my id and paperwork.
	“Just one minute, let me call that in.”  
	This courier position was an odd one. My supervisor had come in one day with the announcement of a special assignment. It seemed they needed someone with a top-secret clearance to act as a courier. The contents were very sensitive to pressure changes, so they had to be driven to their destination. I had six months in my enlistment left, so I jumped at the chance of a free vacation. Upon closer examination, I had also found that the shipment was going to my uncle’s camp. I hadn’t seen him since I had joined the Army, so when I was given the chance to go and possibly visit with him, I jumped at it. 
	The MPs approach brought me out of my reverie. “All right, everything checks out. Here’s a map of the camp. I've marked where you need to make your delivery on it. Make certain you go directly there”
	“Thank you.”  I started the jeep and drove through the gate. The barbwire fence closely lined the gravel road as it wound its way through the pine forest for several miles. I glanced at the map. It showed that at the first fork I should take a left, and that my destination was the third building down on the right. All the buildings were ancient; they appeared to have been constructed just after World War II. My drop off location was a squat concrete structure with a large loading area. I pulled around to the front and jumped out of the jeep. I went to the door but it was locked. All of the other doors yielded the same results. 
	“Well, crap.” I said. I checked my watch. It was just after 3:45 p.m. It looked like everyone had left for the day and I doubted that would change until tomorrow. I got back into my jeep and checked the map. There didn’t appear to be any billeting for visitors just barracks and personal housing.
	I got out of the jeep again, pulled the seat forward, and grabbed the package. I didn't really know what else to call it. It was kind of like a briefcase, but much bulkier. It had shoulder straps to allow for carrying it like in a backpack. The metal case was a little too heavy to carry for an extended period of time any other way. I checked the surrounding buildings; all of them locked and empty as well. I was going to have to find a place to sleep and deliver my charge in the morning.
	It figured, I thought. Trust army bureaucracy to screw things up. They check to see if I'm cleared, but not to see if anyone's there. I thought I remembered seeing some people in a park at the first turn.  I get back to the jeep, putting the package in the front seat and drove back to where the road forked. I parked the jeep. Through the trees I could see some soldiers working out.
	The sun was starting to set, and everything glowed in the twilight. There were about fifteen soldiers all working out in the wooden stalls. I couldn't really tell what they were doing. I had never seen this type of aerobic workout before. I was intrigued. I hadn't had a chance to work out for a few days, as I had been driving, and I was feeling restless. I noticed that there were several stalls empty. The last one was occupied, but the two before it were empty. No one seemed to have noticed my arrival. I watched the soldier in the last stall intently. There were several elastic bands tied to his wrists, ankles, waist, knees, and elbows. They were anchored to a ring at one end of the stall.
	There seemed to be something odd about the man, but I couldn't place my finger on it. I figured it was probably just the lighting. I asked if he would mind if I could use the stall next to his. He didn't even look up he just nodded. I took off my BDU shirt, hat, and my package, and set them inside the stall with me. I noticed on the shelf next to me two blue sports bottles. I figured they were there for anyone who was using the equipment so I grabbed one and started drinking.  It tasted a little odd, so I figured it was an energy drink. I then attached the elastic bands to myself, and started imitating the man next to me.
	It must have been a good workout, because the next thing I knew, it was dark. I had totally spaced out. There were several lights around illuminating this part of the park. The man next to me had just finished drinking, and was putting his BDU shirt back on. I was doing the same and was about to ask him if he knew of a place I could get some food, when a woman approached. She was wearing a white lab coat, and looked very officious with her brown hair tied up in a bun.
	"Hello, are you new here?" she asked me. She had a pleasant voice.
	"Um, yeah, I just arrived today with a delivery. The place was closed when I got there, though. I came to this park to look for someone that might help me, when I noticed these guys working out.” I added sheepishly, “I kind of spaced out.”  I noticed she was looking at me with an odd expression. Her next question caught me off-guard.
	"Did you drink from those bottles?"
	“Yeah, I thought the sports drinks were there in case I got thirsty.” She smirked slightly, though she seemed a little worried.
	"Those sports drinks only work if you have had a metabolizing shot. If you don't have one, you can become extremely ill, you might even lapse into a coma. Fortunately for you, I have one with me." As she was saying this I had become extremely worried.
	"If these drinks are so unsafe, what are they doing out in the open?"
	"They’re for the next trainee. He should be here within the hour. Now roll up your sleeve." I did as she said, looking away as she put the needle in my arm.
	"There should be room available in barracks number one for the duration of your stay. Someone there should be able to give you something to eat. I have to be here when the next group of trainees arrives." I noticed that all the other trainees had departed during our exchange.
	"Thank you, I appreciate the help. I hope to see your round. By the way, I apologize for not introducing myself earlier. I'm Corporal Fenton Clay.”
	"Well, Corporal Clay, I am Dr. Leona Ross. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
	I made my way back to the jeep, and drove to the barracks. There were lights on the third floor, but the first and second were dark. I went through the door. The red hallway lights flickered dimly. There were a couple of messages posted on the bulletin board. The first was on the importance of secrecy, which was fairly standard. The second one didn't make any sense to me though. It mentioned seeing Dr. Ross for any problems, or for new uniforms. I shrugged, weird. I grabbed a drink from the drinking fountain before going up the stairs. The shot had really made me parched, and I was itchy. I needed a shower after my workout. I found the third floor vacant. There were sounds coming from a common area at the end of the hall.
	As I walked towards it, the shower room door opened in front of me. The trainee that had been working out next to me came into the hallway.
	“Oh hey, sorry about earlier, I just thought you were just another trainee.” I noticed that he had an unusually deep, gravelly voice. He was very tall, and had very broad shoulders.
	“It’s alright. By the way, I’m Corporal Fenton Clay. The doctor said that I should be able to get some food and grab a bunk.”
	“Corporal, huh? Around here there isn’t much call for rank among the trainees. People call me Beck. As for the room and food, I’ll hook you up once I get dressed.” Beck’s room was at the opposite end of the hall from the common area. He said I could get the room across the hall from his, as it was empty.
	I dropped off my duffel on the bed, and examined my new digs. The room had obviously been remodeled. It was pretty basic, though. A bed, mini frig, desk, dresser, and wall locker; all crammed into a seven by ten space. I decided I’d take a shower after getting something to eat, as I was starving. It only took Beck a few seconds to get out of his bathrobe and into some cloths. 
	“I’m not really a trainee, you know. I’m just a courier.”
	“Is that what you’ve been carrying around? I thought it was your sweetheart.” He laughed; I chuckled.
	“Yeah, but tonight’s our last night together so if you hear any loud noises, just ignore them.”
	“You’re alright, Corporal.”
	“Thanks, everyone calls me FC.”
	“FC? Your initials? That’s cool, I guess. Here’s the common room. There’s some food in the fridge. The cooks stock the fridge three times a day. The green ones you heat in the microwave, the white ones you eat as they are.” His face dropped. “It‘s all vegetarian though, doctors orders.”
	The common room was empty. There was a table and some chairs, the fridge, and a sofa against the wall. Cards lay scattered on the table, and there were several games on a shelf.
	“Where’s the TV or the phone? This is the only army commons that I’ve ever been to without them.”
	“It’s part of the camp rules. You’ll probably be briefed on them tomorrow.”
	“Why’s that? Do you think that I’m being reassigned here or something? I should be leaving tomorrow or the next day.”
	“Not after what happened today you’re not. I’m positive you’re going into the same program as I‘m in. Once you start the injections you have to complete the full set. That’s why I apologized for not paying closer attention today. If I had, you might not be in the mess your in.” I was a bit skeptical, but Beck’s assurances were firm enough to have me a little worried. I didn’t like the sound of accidentally being exposed to some strange experiment
	I grabbed a white plate from the refrigerator and lifted the cover. It was a big salad. It tasted great. While I was eating I chatted a little bit with Beck to find out were everyone was. He told me that there were four shifts. All the soldiers that had been at the park were now asleep.  He had waited because he had figured I would show up, and that he would help me get situated. He then said goodnight and headed back to his room. This was a little weird, I thought. It was only about eight at night and the barracks were dead. I had never run into so many things that just didn’t add up.  But, honestly I was wiped out. The last few days driving must have been harder on me than I had thought.
	I went and grabbed some clean clothes and headed for the bathroom. The hot shower helped the itching, but sapped the rest of my strength. I was out before my head hit the pillow.

Thursday July 22nd 2004
	I woke up about twelve hours later. I had a pounding headache, and as I got up my vision was a little blurred. I shook my head to clear it. The barracks were still vacant as I made my way to the shower. The warm water soothed my skin, and my head quieted a bit. 	I noticed as I dressed that my uniform felt a little tight. I guess that’s what happens after spending three days in a car with only junk food. I grabbed a sandwich off one of the white plates, and headed down to my jeep. It wasn’t there. I was stunned. Why would it have been towed? I doubted that it had been stolen. 
	I would just have to take care of it later. I made my way back to where I was supposed to deliver the package. A Staff Sergeant opened the door.
	“Hello Sergeant, I have a top secret delivery here from Fort Bragg. I arrived yesterday, but no one was here when I came.”
	“Sorry about that. Here let me have that and your paperwork.” I handed the case to him, along with the papers. It took him a couple minutes before he finished filling out the forms and gave me my copy. “It looks like you need to report to the camp commander for further instructions. It’s the building across the street.”
	“Do you think I’ll find out what happened to my jeep there? It was gone this morning when I got up.”
	“That is odd, but I’m pretty sure you’ll find an answer with the commander. Have a good day, Corporal”
	“You too, Sergeant.”
	Well, I thought, at least I had gotten rid of that damn anchor. Things were looking a little better, though. There was a pretty good chance of meeting my uncle at the command office. I didn’t know what rank he held; I just knew he was an officer. I was sweating when I opened the door. The itching was back, and so was the headache. My temples were throbbing, causing my vision to blur. I stumbled, catching myself on the edge of a desk.
	”Are you all right? Should I call the doctor?” the receptionist asked. She was young; still a PFC. Her short brown hair framed her face.
	“I’m fine, thank you. I’m here to see the camp commander.”
	“General Hammond is waiting right inside.” I straightened out my uniform, and stepped to the door. There behind a desk stacked with papers was my uncle Rob. For a brief second I forgot the proper decorum before I snapped off a smart salute.
	“Corporal Clay reporting from Fort Bragg, sir.” I hadn’t really heard the receptionist, so seeing him was a little bit of a shock. I had hoped to see him, but I had no idea he would be the camp commander! My uncle smiled at me.
	“At ease, soldier. It’s good to see you again FC. I heard you had joined up. The uniform suits you.” He sighed and his smiled faded. “Unfortunately we might have a problem. Yesterday you did something that might force me to reassign you permanently to this post. I’m hoping that won’t be the case. It was largely our error.” He sighed. “I have given new orders to the MP’s and to the medical staff to make certain that a repeat incident won’t happen. “He sighed again, frowning, and ran his hand through his graying hair.
	“For now I need you to head over to see Dr. Ross. She needs to do a workup on you to see if the shot took effect. For most of the trainees it took three or four injections for the treatment to take. So I’m hoping that we won’t have anything to worry about. The doctor told me that it would take most of the day to get the results, so why don’t you take it easy. I’ll stop by after 1600 and let you know what’s going on.”
	“Thank you, sir. I do have a question about my jeep. It was gone this morning.”
	“Oh yes, I set up a post policy that all motor vehicles are to be housed in the motor pool. It was towed there this morning. If you’ll leave the keys with my receptionist Becky, she’ll make sure the keys go there as well.”
	“Yes sir.” I came to attention and saluted. My uncle rose and walked around his desk. He put his arm around my shoulders. He had a weary look to his face. “Once again I need to apologize. This should never have happened to you. We‘ll catch up when I see you this afternoon.” I left the office, my uncle shutting the door behind me. I put my keys on the counter. “The general said I’m to give you the keys for my jeep. Can I also get directions to where Dr. Ross is located? I’m supposed to report to her next.”
	“Thank you. If you’re wondering about your jeep, the General placed the vehicle policy to get people to walk more. The camp is fairly small.” She smiled. “Dr. Ross’s office is just down the road. It’s the sixth building on the left, just past the barracks.”
	“Thank you. I’ll see you later.” That had gone way to fast. My head was throbbing so badly that I barely knew what had happened. I had tried to not show how badly I was feeling. I sagged against the building. Sweat broke out all over my forehead, and I started to gasp. I took a few minutes to get myself back together then made my way to Dr. Ross’s office. It took me a while longer than it should have. I was on the verge of collapse when I got there. 
	The offices were empty. I didn’t see anyone, and when I called out no one answered. I took a seat and waited. I must have dozed off, because the next thing I knew Dr. Ross was shaking me awake.
	“Why don’t you get to your room, and sleep there.” She said gently. I was feeling much better, though my right shoulder was a little sore. I rubbed my shoulder, and looked at the doctor. She smiled.
	“I took a blood sample while you were sleeping. I should have the results by the end of the day. Are you feeling alright?” She looked at me closely and pulled a pen light from her pocket. She checked my eyes.
	“You’re really pale. Do you feel itchy? Any headaches, fever?”
	“You took my blood while I was sleeping?” I was a little upset. I seriously doubted it was protocol to do what she did.
	“Yes, I did. You obviously needed the rest, and every minute counts with these tests.” I sighed. “Yes, to all of your questions. I’ve been itchy since last night from your shot, and my head has been killing me all morning.” She looked worried. The doctor ran her hands through her pockets until she found what she was looking for.
	“Here, take a couple of these; they should help.” I was getting upset. The headache, fatigue, and soreness had finally worn my temper down.
	“I understand about the secrecy, but can I get some straight answers? All I’ve gotten so far is a bunch of orders with no explanations. What is going on here? What’s with the strange acting soldiers, and these treatments? What’s happening to me?” She pulled a chair next to mine and sat down. She looked at me calmly and placed her hand on my knee.
	“I know this is unfair to you. It’s largely my fault you’re in the situation your in. Everyone else involved in this project volunteered and were fully briefed. They have at least known from the start that we are a biological research facility. All the rules and orders are here as part of that research. I’m sorry that I can’t disclose any more information to you than this for the moment. The general and I are hoping that the treatment didn’t take with you and we can send you on your way.” She paused. “Sadly, based on how you’re feeling and the symptoms you are exhibiting, it doesn’t look too good.” She shook her head slowly, and took off her glasses. “No one has ever shown signs from one inoculation. I’ve ordered a full workup and a copy of your most current medical records. I promise that I will do everything in my power to help you, but for now it would be best if you got some sleep.” She stood up moving to the door, and I followed.
	“Thank you, again. I apologize for my outburst.” I shook my head. “I’m not feeling myself today, but that doesn’t excuse my outburst.” She laughed at that.
	“You are a serious one Corporal. Go to your room and get some rest. Eat something. You’ll have answers soon.” She pushed me out the door and closed it behind me. I looked at the pills she gave me. It was just an unlabeled blue bottle with some white pills. How she knew what they were was beyond me. I took two and drank some water out of the drinking fountain that was outside the building.
	It was warm out and I was feeling so good that I was tempted to go for a walk. I didn’t know how long it would last though, so I headed back to my room. There were people milling around the first floor, but I was beginning to feel fatigued again so I just headed up to my room and crashed. I remembered that my last thoughts before sleep took me were about how odd some of the people on the first floor looked.
	I woke to someone shaking me. I groaned. My whole body was aflame and itched fiercely. I tried to open my eyes but everything was so blurry that I quickly closed them again. My head pounded and I fought off a wave of vertigo and nausea. I could hear some voices, but my hearing was going in and out. I feel something press against my chest as my muscles started to spasm and then a sharp pain in my arm. Things started to swim and then went black.
	
Saturday July 24th 2004
	When I came too again I felt fine. I was in my room and it was morning. I sat up feeling a slight tingling sensation over my skin, but nothing compared to yesterdays pain. There is a bathrobe similar to Beck’s laying over my chair and a note on the mini refrigerator. I slipped the bathrobe on and picked up the note.
	The note was from my uncle and stated: FC, I’m really sorry about this. I have sent orders to Fort Bragg that you have been permanently reassigned to this base. It appears that the treatments have taken effect on you. Once you have showered and dressed please report to Dr. Ross’s office. I won’t be able to come over for your debriefing as I have been called to Washington. I hope to see you well upon my return.
	Treatment? I thought to myself. Well at least I’m finally going to get some answers. As I showered I noticed that I seemed to be covered with light fuzz. I wondered briefly if this is a side effect of the shot or if I just hadn’t noticed it until now. My clothes felt tighter as I dressed and I had to pull the tabs on my BDU’s to loosen them a bit. My stomach growled ravenously and I inhaled four meals before heading out to Dr. Ross’s office.
	I repeatedly had to pull my pants up as I walked; in the end I just ended up leaving them hanging from my butt. I was certain that I was sporting a nice plumber’s crack. As I walked past the workout area I caught the scent of a strong musk in the air. It was wild and stirred something deep in my mind. I also realized why the trainees appeared different on the other occasions I had seen them. They all were a bit disheveled in appearance, their hair a little shaggy and most with the start of a beard. They also appeared to be stretching the limits of their waistlines and several had suspenders to hold up their pants.
	The cool air from the air conditioner was a welcome relief from the sun and I stopped to drink from the water cooler before knocking on the door. A mumbled response from the office was my only answer, and after a few minutes I shrugged and opened the door. The doctor was busy looking through a microscope and making odd noises as she jotted down her observations. After a few minutes she glanced up at me, her eyebrows rose when she saw that it was me.
	“Fenton,” she said, standing quickly. “I didn’t expect to see you until this afternoon or tomorrow. How are you feeling? Come sit down.” She bustled about the lab as she talked; occasionally picking up a note or diagram before she finally found the one she was looking for. “Hmmm, OK. It looks like the treatment has taken hold on the first inoculation. This appears to be due to several unusual factors that individually wouldn’t have made a difference but together brought about a completely unexpected reaction.”
	“What exactly is this treatment that I keep hearing about?” I ask; my voice sounded rough and deep even to my own ears. I shifted in my seat and my stomach rumbled audibly. I blushed slightly in embarrassment. The doctor looked over her glasses and smiled at me. “Don’t worry, that’s a common side effect. As for the treatment… well it’s the first stage in a biological experiment to create the next generation of super soldiers. We have come up with a procedure to combine the attributes of a man with an animal.” My eyebrows went way up at that.
	“This is of course very secret as religious groups from all over the world would be all over us if they found out about it. The first shot I gave you was for a Vulpes vulpes, commonly called the red fox. Unfortunately the diet supplement you took was designed for the serum Ailuropoda melanoleuca, or panda bear. That‘s why you got so sick. I had to inoculate you with both serums. I was desperate and you were in real danger there.”
	“Wait, so you’re saying I’m turning into a red fox panda bear?” My skin was starting to itch furiously again. I noticed that the hair on my arms had darkened to a reddish brown. I shift again in discomfort as my pants were digging painfully into my waist. Dr. Ross noticed my discomfort and walked over to a locker.
	“Essentially that is correct, though this experiment was designed to change a person into an anthropomorphic animal and back again. That means you’d look like an animal but still retain most of your human functionality. Fingers instead of paws, walking upright, normal thinking, hearing, and speaking, you get the idea. Here.” She threw me a new set of BDU pants and nodded her head to a set of changing screen.
	I went over and slipped my overly tight pants off. My legs were covered in the same hair as my arms, and I could see that my tight black tee-shirt was riding up my growing belly. The new uniform the doctor had given me was an extra large and fit nicely, though I wondered for how much longer. I also noticed before putting them on that there was a strange flap in the rear that I had a sinking feeling was going to be for my tail. They had a pair of black suspenders attached, and I slipped them over my shoulders. Well that should help with the plumber’s crack.
	“For now I‘m going to want you to follow C shift‘s schedule. Your floor mate Beck is in that one. You‘ll need one of these” She handed me a sports bottle from the table that was similar to the ones I had seen at the training area. “As you’re a special case FC, I’m going to have you use these only… don’t drink anyone else’s and don’t let anyone else drink from yours. I’ll have your mini refrigerator stocked daily.”
	I blinked at the use of my nickname as I didn’t remember ever telling her. “I’ll see about getting some new underclothing sent to your room as well.” She said as she eyed the exposed skin of my midriff. I blushed, slightly embarrassed about my new girth. I’d always been on the skinny side. Be careful what you wish for, I thought to myself.
	“What about this weight gain?” I asked huskily, my voice cracking. “How big am I going to get exactly?”
	“Well we put an appetite stimulant in the drinks so your body has enough energy to change, but you shouldn’t get too big as you’ll be burning it off as fast as you put it on. As for your height…Most people one the bear serum have stayed roughly the same height, but on the other hand the subjects that are taking the fox serum have lost several inches. I honestly can’t say in your case.” She smiles, and hands you a sheet of paper. “I think you can should probably eat something and workout some, then head for bed. You can start your schedule tomorrow.”
	I was glad to get back to the commons on my floor. As my stomach was twisting painfully with hunger. I ignored the other occupants and shoveled meal after meal down my gullet. I paused briefly to drink from my sports bottle before resuming the feast. I belched loudly and leaned back in my chair, my stomach distended in front of me. I absentmindedly picked at my teeth with a toothpick. I noticed that the others were staring at me and the twelve empty plates piled on the table. Beck burst out laughing as I turned a deep red.

Sunday July 25th - Wednesday August 11th 2004
	I lost most of the entries from this time frame due to J’s horseplay and a bottle of water. Grrrrr. I’ll try to summarize as best as possible. My new underclothing arrived the day after my visit to the doctor. The underwear was of the white boxer brief type and had the same fold in the rear as my new pants. I also noticed that they seemed to be made of an unusually dense blend of fabrics. The shirt was of a lighter fabric that stretched nicely and was very long. When I put it on it ran halfway down my thighs.
	My fur grew in daily, my belly and head turning white while the rest of me turned a brownish red. About the third or fourth day I noticed that my pants legs were getting caught underfoot as I walked. Two days of pulling up on my pants legs was about all I could take before talking to Dr. Ross about it. She smiled as she always did and handed me several more pairs.
	Upon close examination I saw they weren’t pants at all but long shorts. Before they would have come just below my knees, but my legs were getting shorter while my torso stayed the same height. My girth was another matter. My waist was growing out as fast as I was dropping in height and at the beginning of the next week I had to trade up to a double extra large. They looked a little funny as they were wider than they were tall.
	I remember shortly around that time that I started to waddle when I walked and that I received a bit of grief from the other guys. Jackson, Max, and Ralf were particularly hard on me until Beck stepped in. He towered over the others as he told them off. The guys looked a bit guilty and apologized to me but I was amazed by Beck‘s performance. He was a very hansom man. Tall and broad shouldered, he had clear brown eyes and didn’t have a problem standing up for what he thought was right.
	He surprised me again that night by coming into my room unannounced. He didn’t say anything as he closed the door and walked over to my bed. Leaning over he kissed me deeply. We spent a wonderful night together. The next morning I found that a small furry tail had emerged from my backside.

Thursday August 12th 2004
	I woke in the middle of the night feeling restless. I was sleeping on my side as my tail pushed uncomfortably against my back if I laid on it wrong. My teeth ached dully and the skin on the front of my nose was moist. I got up and went to the bathroom. The reflection in the mirror still startled me as the image looked less and less familiar. While I had slept my nose had started to change and was now a black smudge against the white fur on my cheeks.
	Playfully I growled at myself. The image in mirror mimicked my action; pulling his lips back in a snarl. At first I had just been in total denial about what was going to happen to me, and once it had sunk in that this was for real, I started to feel very depressed. Beck had noticed and took me aside. He said the rest of them had gone through the same thing and I just needed to remember that it was only temporary. That lifted me up a bit and I decided he was right, even though I was still concerned that my transformation was going so much quicker than everyone else’s. The other volunteers where just beginning to grow white facial hair. Each of them sported an expanded waistline as well, though I still had even the heaviest beat by a good margin.
	I checked the clock on the wall. It was just after three. I decided to get dressed and take a walk. I had been through the same areas day after day, but there was a large section of the forest that covered over half the camp. It wasn’t off limits exactly, it was just that our schedule had us pretty busy moving through different exercises, checkups, injections, and so on. I had occasionally smelled the same musk from that second morning wafting from the direction of the trees several times as I passed. No one else ever seemed to notice.
	The barracks seemed deserted as I exited the building. There wasn’t any outside lighting nearby, but my night vision had improved remarkably, making even the darkest shadow reveal its secrets. The sky was clear and the stars shone brightly overhead. I stared in awe at the magnificent display. In the city the sky never looked this clear or bright. The moon’s thin crescent was slipping over the tree line to the West as I reached the edge of the trees. I glanced back momentarily before stepping into their midst.
	Soon I caught that scent again; its heavy musk mixed cloyingly with the odor of the cedar and fir trees. I followed it deep into the woods, several miles to be exact, and I was starting to think I should head back when something caught my attention. I could make out the flickering of light coming from somewhere ahead of me.  As quietly as possible I came over the edge of a small hill and paused in astonishment. A giant boar stood staring at me. Well, I should take that back. He looked as much like a giant boar as I looked like a giant panda. That is to say he stood about six feet tall and had the familiar test subject BDU pants hanging over his large paunch. Those were the only clothes he wore though he carried a Coleman lantern in his left hand, um hoof.
	He stared back up at me, clearly not surprised to see me, and waved his right hoof for me to come closer. “I‘ve been hoping you‘d come and investigate sooner or later.” His voice had the familiar gruffness that all the test subjects showed, though his speech was punctuated by the occasional pig like snort. I made my way down to where he stood and he offered me his hand in greeting. “I’m Stan. I was getting worried that I was going to have to take some drastic measures if I didn’t meet someone soon.”
	“FC. What do you mean? And what are you doing out here by yourself?” He motioned that I should take a seat on a fallen tree. He deftly moved his long tail over his thigh before sitting himself. Setting the lamp down, he dimmed the light, so we sat talking in darkness. I was still having trouble maneuvering my new bulk but I think I managed not to look the complete fool as I sat down next to him. I had to hop onto the tree, though, and my feet hung a couple of inches above the ground.
	“First of all let me explain that I’m not in the military. My brother was transferred here just over six months ago. He had called me because he was so excited. He had been promised that if he volunteered her for a couple months that he would be able to end his enlistment early. Our parents had just died in an accident and I was having trouble with their estate.” His voice had dropped a little and I could tell even in the dim light that his loss troubled him deeply. I gave him time to recover himself before he continued.
	“My brother Jack and I had inherited a large farm and some mountains in Canada near the US border. I had known my father was Canadian but I hadn’t known we owned property there. It seemed we have some cousins living there and taking care of it for my father.”
	“Anyway, once he left I didn’t hear a word from him until one night about four months ago. The call came near midnight and his voice was broken and raspy. I didn’t catch much of it only that he needed help and the name of this base. I had to liquidate most of the estate to get the money for answers. I won’t go into much detail but I finally discovered where this base was but not what was going on here. Any official queries about my brother said that he was MIA in the Middle East.”
	He looked up angrily. His tusks moved as he ground his teeth. “It was an obvious lie. I packed my gear and drove as close as I could before hiking in the rest of the way. I found a way in through the back of the camp.” He looked at me sharply. “One thing about this project is that it barely made funding. I’ve found out since that the entire budget has gone into the actual experiment, with nothing left over for security. They were hoping that the remoteness of this camp and its high secrecy would be enough.” I could believe that. The military was completely backwards at times, spending astronomical amounts on a project and not even bothering with updating the resources that supported it.
	“I watched and waited for days, figuring out the schedules and what was where. I never saw a trace of my brother. I snuck into the barracks for food and I also borrowed a couple uniforms.” He snorted and snapped his suspenders against his furry belly. “I finally got my chance one day when Dr. Ross was called out for an emergency and she forgot to lock up behind her. I snuck into her office and took a spare key. Over the next few weeks I looked for my brother’s file and tried to figure out exactly what this experiment entailed.”
	“That’s when I made this mistake.” He spreads his hands and looks down at himself. “You see I was starting to be noticed, not for an intruder, but because I wasn’t exhibiting any signs of the change. So one night I took a couple of the good doctor’s inoculations, changing her record so she wouldn’t notice. I was thinking that it would buy me enough time to finish looking through the files. I was way wrong.” He looks at me piercingly. “You see it’s true that it usually takes more than one dose of the serum to start the change, but what you don’t know is that once it starts it doesn’t stop until it’s done. Another thing is that those liquid supplements you take aren‘t promoters, they inhibit the serum, slowing its progress.”
	“Wait a second. Why would they want to do that? Wouldn‘t they want this process to go a bit faster?” Beck and the others had been here over a full month before I had arrived. The fact that there was a cover up didn’t really surprise me, but the idea that all the previous test subjects had vanished was alarming.
	“They do that because it’s way to dangerous not to. Unchecked the transformation will go through your system in a week and has a good chance of killing you. I didn’t know this and it almost killed me. The next two days after I gave myself the shots were spent in front of every fridge in the barracks. Fortunately they don’t really monitor the food supply and as I knew the camp schedule I just made sure I missed the soldiers on that particular floor.”
	He grunted, gesturing at his expanded waistline. “If I had taken some of those funny bottles I probably wouldn’t have blown up so much. The rest of the time I spent in a vacant room going in and out of consciousness. When I finally came back to myself I was like this.”
	“So what did you learn? Did you find your brother?”
	“Yes, though not as I expected. He had been in the group before me and had been subjected with a wolf serum. It seems the primary purpose of this experiment was to find the right attributes that will make a good soldier; secondarily they wanted to find out if a person could safely go through this dramatic of a change. And lastly,” he sighed, “Dr. Ross was trying to find a way to reverse the treatment.”
	“What? You’re saying this is permanent? How can she do this? What happened to all the others before us?”
	“They were put in cryogenic stasis. Yours is the last group to go through this procedure. If the doctor doesn’t find a way to reverse the process, the government is going to pull the plug. They’ll file the research for later use and destroy all the samples and test subjects. We‘re almost out of time. I‘ve been sneaking into her lab and it isn’t looking good. The base commander has been called in for an accounting and I have a feeling that we have a week or two before this place is shut down.”
	“I’m going to have to tell the others. We’re going to have to do something before they try to put us on ice.” I really didn’t like the sound of this at all. It didn’t make complete sense to me, but that wasn’t going to stop me from checking it out.
	“You have even less time than you think. Sometime in the next couple of days you’re going to finish your change. This is going to be very painful for you.” He looks at me in sympathy. “For two to three days you are going to be incapacitated by pain. I can see your confusion. You see, the final phase is your bones shifting and settling. Your skull is going to flatten, your snout, um, muzzle will form, your ribs will expand, and your hips will broaden.” He shakes his head. “Once you recover you have a day, maybe two before you disappear like the others.”
	Uneasily I realized that it was starting to get lighter. I could make out more details of the area around me and Stan‘s image was more defined. I started to panic as I knew I had to get back before anyone noticed. I also needed to tell Beck and the others before this last phase hit me. I told Stan someone would be in touch with him before rushing off. My waddling gait took me swiftly from the forest and I met Beck on his way to the showers. He looked at me oddly as I came running down the hall. Before he could say a word I had dragged him to my room and told him what was going to happen. He stood there in silence for several minutes thinking.
	“We both need to take a shower, and you need to eat some breakfast.” He finally said. He smiled and poked my belly.
	“Wh… what about all the stuff I just told you? We need to do something?” The smile faded slightly from his furry face and he gave me a level look. (Well as level as you can when the other person is over a foot shorter than you.)
	“We need to stay calm and act normal. I’ll have the some of the guys look into it. If we need to evacuate we will, but I want as much information as possible.” I nodded dumbly as he left. He was right. I needed to calm myself down and act as though nothing had changed.
	The shower felt wonderful, and breakfast was even better as Beck helped me scarf down my usual eight plates of food. The rest of the day passed slowly for me as I tried desperately to act normal. Towards evening my head started to pound. My jaws ached and my nose felt like someone had broken it with a baseball bat. The last thing I remembered from that day was eating dinner, and then everything went black.

Sunday August 15th 2004
	I awoke at noon on Sunday feeling for the first time in a month totally at peace. My bones didn’t ache, my skin and fur didn’t itch, and finally my arms and legs didn’t creak or pop when I moved. I was lying on my stomach, my arms folded underneath my pillow. I pushed my self up and blinked my eyes open. The first thing I noticed was that I could see my muzzle. I felt my ears swivel on top of my head in surprise.
	I jumped up, grabbing my bathrobe, and ran to the bathroom. Stan had been right. My transformation was complete. Two pointed black fox ears topped my panda head. It was fun moving them about and I played with them for several minutes before I noticed my tail. Its movement in the mirror caught my attention and I moved so that I could see my profile. My tail was a bright red in color capped with white. It was about three feet long and was about a foot in diameter at its widest. It was awesome.
	My stomach, as always, pulled my out of my self inspection and I jumped into the shower. As I dressed I noticed that my cloths were a bit tight, and I could no longer get my shirt over my gut. It rode up ridiculously high, and after a couple tries I took it off completely. My appetite seemed to be slightly diminished as I only had to eat three of the meals before feeling sated. I decided to wait for Beck in his room. I spent the next couple of hours catching up on my diary and playing with my tail.
	Beck entered to an odd sight. Seeing a three hundred and fifty pound panda fox playing with his long tail had to be a world’s first. He stood in the doorway only a minute before grinning broadly and throwing his arms around me in a big hug. “It’s good to see you up and about.” He said finally as he pulled a chair up.
	I examined him closely and found I could tell the changes he had gone through since I last saw him. His fur was denser, and his nose was starting to go black. He looked a bit chubbier as well and sported a new second chin. I noticed that as he sat down he took care not to sit on the stub of a tail coming from his rear. I tried hard not to grin. He looked very similar to the way I did several days ago. My mind returned to more serious matters and I couldn’t help but ask about Stan. “Beck, have you found anything out? Do you no what’s going on here.”
	His expression became very serious. “We’ve met with him and everything he said has checked out. The base is closing days from now and all of us are scheduled to be frozen at the end of the week. The doctor has said she’s got a meeting to attend on Friday. We‘re planning on breaking into the storage facility once she leaves and free the other test subjects. We then make our way as far from here as possible. We‘re thinking of heading to Jack and Stan‘s farmland in Canada. He said it stretches for miles and we can probably support ourselves without ever being noticed.”
	“That’s great news!” I said sitting up. I was excited, but I noticed him frowning. I leaned forward, quirking my eyebrows at him. “What’s wrong? We’re getting out of here and we have a place to go.”
	“Yeah, but we’re going to be stuck like this. I don’t know about you but I didn’t want to spend the rest of my life in hiding.”
	“Well I understand how you feel, but honestly when I woke up today… I don’t know. I just feel too good to worry about anything like that.” I chuckled. “Besides there isn’t anything we can do about it. Unless you have a genie in your pocket?” I raised my eyebrow and grinned evilly at him.
	I made room on the bed and he flopped down beside me. He rested his head on the pillow next to me and looked at the ceiling. I tickled his nose with the tip of my tail playfully. He roared in mock anger and started to tickle me until our roughhousing caused the bed to collapse. We both lay there for some time, panting with laughter.

Monday August 16th - Present
	I didn’t have much time after that to keep my journal up to date. All of us were busy hoarding food and supplies. We grabbed everything we could without being noticed. Friday came faster then any of us expected. I was with the group that was going to the cryogenic storage building.
	We were having trouble getting the door open and I was starting to get mad. There were a lot of people who were depending on us and a stupid hunk of metal was going to stop us? I kicked the door in frustration, not expecting the result. The door blew inward off its hinges as though it had been taken out by a tank mortar. The others stared at me in astonishment as I stood there slack jawed. “Come on, let’s move.” I said shaking myself. 	There were about one hundred and eighty sleepers that we had to pile into waiting trucks. They were understandably confused and out of it. We had to practically carry half of them to the trucks. The other guys were pleasantly surprised to find that a third of the sleepers were female test subjects.
	Everything was going smoothly until we were driving towards the front gate. A huge plume of flame erupted from the camp behind us. The trucks shuddered in the shockwave of the blast. We never did find out what caused that explosion, but the resulting forest fire completely wiped out any trace of Camp Si and our escape. Stan and some of the others still think that the fire had been part of the Doctor’s plan. I wasn’t too sure but felt it was a moot point.
	We found Stan’s truck where he had left it and from there followed back roads as far north as possible. We crossed the border at night and made our way to a valley that both Jack and Stan insisted was on their land. It was a meadow valley with mountains on all sides. A hot springs bubbled up from the western slope of a hill and ran down to a mountain stream. It was beautiful. We found a series of natural caverns that we managed to convert into housing before the first snows.
	The winter passed slowly and as we had plenty of supplies, we spent most of the time getting to know one another. It wasn’t too long before people were pairing off. Jack, Stan’s brother, was elected to be the leader of our small community sometime in October. The future was looking bright for us.
	One day a couple of people stumbled into our valley. Happily, it turned out to be one of Stan and Jack’s cousins, Chase. It took him some time to calm down, but once we had explained the situation he was happy to help us. He was relieved that he and his brothers weren’t going to have to leave their land. When they had learned their uncle had died and passed their land onto Jack and Stan they had been worried. They had never met the two American cousins and were terrified at the thought of having to leave their homes.

	The sun is getting low in the sky as I finish my story. I can hear Beck coming up to get me for dinner. Lately we’ve been unrepeatable. He’s rubbing the back of my ears gently even now… So I’ll pick up here tomorrow.