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Where No One Has Gone Before

A tale of New World Awaiting

by Richard Reid

Yes; children. I'll tell you my story. Sit down; it's a rather long one.

The beginning? Well; I'll start with the Change. When I went from being a human to the Katra you know. Before the Change I was a writer in my spare time. I wrote about people like us a lot, and about people doing what I do for real now. But back then it was science fiction. That's what I was doing the night of the Change. I was doing real good, too; until I fell asleep on my notebook.

The thing I remember most about the Change was my dream. I had never dreamed about my characters before, but it happened that night.

Yeah; I was writing about Katra before falling asleep. Anyway; the dream seemed strange. Mostly because I was all male before the Change; yet I was feeling Katra's female parts too.

What was that; kids? My tail? Well, it was there in my dream but I didn't really notice it.

I don't think I'll ever really know whether it was the dream brought me through the change or if the change triggered the dream. What I do know is that I bumped my head on the dresser, and that woke me up. Of course I reached up to rub the spot that hurt.

At first I thought I was still dreaming; because the first thing I felt was a big, furry triangular ear where I should have felt only hair. I was still half asleep, and I tried to pinch the ear. I say tried; because what my thought actually did was extend my claws.

Now that really hurt. I let out quite a yowl; and that made me freeze where I was. The pain made me sure I was awake, yet I was still in Katra's body.

That thought started me purring.

I was also becoming aware of something nagging at the back of my mind. Just beneath the pain of my ear.

Katra's healing power! I realized after a moment. I reached out to that nagging something ... and suddenly I could feel every bit of my new body. Or see it; I'm still not able to describe my healing sense to others.

No; kids. Not even to others with healing powers. Mine seem to work quite differently from theirs.

I just let the healing sense fill me for a moment before concentrating on my wounded ear. I'd put quite a gash in it, I found. Nearly half an inch long and clear through. I must have jerked my head, or hand, or both when the pain hit.

It wasn't really that hard to fix, though. I just let my healing sense guide me through the process. Stop the bleeding first; then pull fur and blood away from the wound.

That drew on another of Katra's powers. My telekinetic ability. The same telekinetic power held the sides of the gash together as I guided and accelerated the healing process. Healthy cells absorbing damaged ones; then dividing to replace them; with my powers providing the energy. Sounds complicated to tell it; but for me it's practically automatic.

Fairly quick, too. In five minutes the hole in my ear was gone; along with the pain. Good as new except for a bit of missing fur, my healing sense told me.

At this point I decided feeling my new body through my healing sense was good, but I really wanted to see myself as Katra. I rolled off the bed; landing on my feet and bouncing upright.

That was a mistake. When I bounced I bumped my head on the ceiling. In my writing I'd always described Katra as eight feet tall, or 'eight feet plus'. I found I am a little more plus than I'd consciously thought. I found my head hitting the ceiling when I stood until I managed to squat down a little and still walk. Even then I had to consciously keep my ears folded.

I started to reach for my glasses; then realized I didn't need them anymore. I could see perfectly. Better than when I was human with my glasses on.

I had to duck to get through the doorways on the way to the bathroom, but what I saw in the mirror was worth all the morning's pain.

I was Katra as I'd envisioned hir. Skull mostly human in form; except for a muzzle like that of a big cat. My ears also looked like those of a cat; reaching several inches above the top of my head when I could let them stand up naturally.

My arms and shoulders hadn't changed much. I am a bit narrower in the shoulders and my arms are longer and a bit thinner than they had been before the Change; but I didn't lose any upper body strength. My hands are a little narrower, with the fingers being longer and slimmer.

I already knew about my claws, but I extended them for a look. I didn't know much about claws at the time, but they certainly looked serviceable as either tools or weapons. Especially since I could extend anywhere from one to all ten at a time.

As I had felt in my dream, I had gained a fully functional set of female parts, and my male parts had been ... re-arranged. I now had a penile sheath, and at the slightest touch my testicles retracted into protective pockets alongside it.

My legs ... Well, as a human I was a bit over six feet tall. Every bit of the two foot four I gained was in the legs; and I think my torso is a bit shorter now. I could feel the power in the legs I had created Katra with, as well as the extra spring hir digitigrade feet put into every step.

I still have to watch that spring indoors; and I do occasionally bump my head when I forget.

I know most of you kids don't know what it feels like to not have fur, but suddenly going from no fur to having fur takes some getting used to. The first thing I noticed about mine that first morning was its color. Much like a cougar, actually. The same golden tan as that big cat everywhere, except white from neck to waist in front. And my ears are black.

I know you can see what I look like, kids; but this is being recorded for others to hear in the future.

The second thing I noticed about my fur was that it was all mussed up. The sight of my ruffled fur really got to me; somehow. I didn't even glance at my tail as I hurried out the front door. I was half a block down the street before I remembered what I hadn't taken with me. Starting with clothes.

I looked around; afraid that someone had seen me running down the street naked. I didn't see anyone on the street; but there was a train sitting on the tracks a couple hundred yards away. Not unusual; actually. The railroad's crew change and engine refueling station was a couple miles up the track and trains often had to wait their turn.

I looked up the track and noticed another train. One coming from the yard. I spun around before realizing something was amiss.

My sensitive cat-ears should have picked up the sound of the oncoming train, but the only train sound I heard was idling engines. I didn't hear traffic on my hometown's main street a block away, either. That I could usually hear even with human ears.

Only then did I stop to wonder just what had happened to turn me into Katra ... and if everyone else - or anyone else - had changed too.

I jogged back to my house and switched on the radio. The local talk radio station I usually listened to was dead, so I tried another station. Also dead.

A growl escaped from deep in my throat at that discovery. Here I was; the story of the century and the local news media wasn't even working.

Only when I went to turn on my computer did I realize the power was out.

Try the phone; then. At least it was still working. I called everyone I knew locally, and listened to phones ring. Tried my parents in Oregon and listened to another phone ring.

At this point the proverbial light blinked on. I was living a Night of the Comet scenario; with the only known suspect being the supernova. I had stepped outside for a look at it the night before and found it had taken on a greenish color. Strangely captivating; but I had quickly pulled my eyes away and gone back to writing.

That realization left me with two immediate questions. Why had I been transformed instead of disappearing; and had anyone else missed the disappearance? I spent only a few minutes considering them; mostly because my stomach was making itself felt. Not to mention that the only facts I had to go on were that I was furry and alone.

I know now I made the right call based on my own transformation.

I found that my preferences in food hadn't changed much; at least in terms of things I had liked as a human. But there were two scents in the kitchen that my nose just wouldn't let go of. I kept shaking them off; but then I would find myself sniffing the air again; trying to track down their source.

Finally I just followed my tracking instinct and nose - right to an open bag of dry cat food. I tried a bit; locking on with my healing sense to see if the stuff contains some special nutrient I needed as Katra.

It didn't; but the stuff tasted good, and it was perfectly packaged for traveling rations.

I found the other scent that had captivated me a moment later. The open can of cat food in the refrigerator.

Of course when I took the plastic lid from the can my pet cat thought it was dinnertime. Heathcliff meowed and rubbed my legs as though he didn't notice my new feline form. He didn't even flinch when I started purring.

I gave Heathcliff the unscheduled meal he was begging for and opened another can for myself.

I quickly decided I had better add some shopping to my 'looking for other people' trip. And a moment later I added vehicle shopping to the list. I couldn't fit my new legs into my old pickup truck.

No big deal. There were two car dealers within a mile of my house. I jogged out the back gate to the main street.

It was there that the complete and sudden nature of the humans' disappearance was driven home. There was a car stuck in the landscaping of a fast food joint. Running; with its front wheels still spinning in the axle deep holes they had dug. A closer examination showed the doors locked, windows tightly closed, and three seat belts fastened around ... nothing.

At least those who disappeared seem to have gone quickly and painlessly.

I took a moment to regain my composure; then looked along the street towards the car lots. Satisfied that the road was clear, I gave my new body a real test. A flat out sprint up the street. I think I broke the speed limit inside a hundred feet, but at that point I would have welcomed a cop trying to give me a speeding ticket. It would have meant there were still people around!

By the time I got up to my top speed a couple blocks later I knew I wouldn't be able to hold it long. I managed to spare a fraction of my strength for my healing sense, as I wanted to figure out just how hard I could push my new body.

I ended up coming to a stop some distance past the car lots; out of breath and with legs feeling like rubber. Then I flopped down over the hood of a stalled car half panting and half laughing. Here I was; probably the fastest thing on two feet or four and there wasn't anyone to clock my speed.

After a couple minutes my legs had regained enough strength for me to stand and I started back to the car lots.

A little quick shopping showed me I wasn't going to fit my new legs into the driver's seat of any vehicle; so I decided to test out more of Katra's powers.

My powers now, I had to remind myself.

Mental force shields. Useful for many things but most impractical for self defense unless I know trouble is near. The telekinesis I had already found when I healed my ear, but for my next test I needed a source of energy.

A telekinetic siphon to pull diesel from the tank of an overturned semi on the freeway a few yards away and a mental match to light it yielded a blazing fire in mid air. Add a force shield to keep the fire where I wanted it and presto: a perfect source of heat for my powers to use for whatever I wanted to do.

I locked onto a brand new pickup with my powers; feeling the corner of my mind I call my 'design computer' analyze the truck's original design and my new eight foot five frame. After a few minutes I felt my energy manipulation and telekinetic powers kick in to re-make the truck's cab to fit me.

I think it took half an hour for me to turn a conventional extra-cab pickup into one with bunches of extra legroom for me; and even though I didn't modify any of the truck's body the job left me panting almost as hard as after my sprint.

I rested a few minutes in the truck's new seat, then started it and drove off down the street.

I won't bore you with the details of my first foraging expedition. Suffice it to say got home with a truckload of assorted foodstuffs - along with a trailer mounted generator and several freezers - and promptly realized I didn't have the space to put them.

No big deal, really. There were some rental storage units down the street and since it didn't seem like any of the tenants were still around I could simply clean out any I needed.

I was almost ready to test my powers against the first padlock when I paused to think. Whether I was the only person left on Earth or one of a relatively small number; did I really want to stay in Elko Nevada?

I quickly decided that I really didn't even as a base for whatever explorations I undertook in the future. From there it took no time at all to decide I wanted my long term base to be in the area where I grew up. Near Springfield Oregon.

At that point I realized I had been pretty much running around following my nose. What I really needed first was a plan.

As I turned to walk back to my house my eyes fell on the stopped trains. Now there was an idea. If I could run one - and if the track were clear - I could haul almost anything I needed in any quantity I could find. And I remembered the perfect warehouse in Springfield which had its own siding.

Run the train? I already knew quite a bit about trains from my years of interest in them; and my design computer could show me how it worked. The track? I might have to move other trains out of my way; but the stopped train I was staring at seemed to confirm my memory about locomotive safety devices. A train with no one at the controls would automatically stop.

I ran to the locomotive; figuring to confirm that memory with my design computer. I placed one hand on the lead engine - and the results that appeared in my mind almost caused me to stalk off in disgust.

You see; I'd forgotten one thing about train brakes. The primary system operated on compressed air; and after the brakes set the air would eventually leak from the brake cylinders leaving the train with no brakes. No problem on flat land; but there are mountains between Elko and Springfield. And of course there wouldn't have been anyone to set the hand operated brakes used to safely park trains after the change.

In fact I was turning away from the train when I heard a voice in my head. Not my design computer; of that I am certain. One word; in a voice I've never heard before or since. "Clear." And a half felt ... presence.

"What?" I yelled aloud; spinning in an attempt to see who - or what - might have spoken. Nothing was visible; but I still felt the presence. Along with some instinct telling me there was no danger. "What are you trying to tell me?"

"Clear." The same voice in my head.

"The track? You're telling me the track is clear?"

No answer; unless you count the presence vanishing. Leaving behind a sense of satisfaction that faded after a few seconds.

I turned to stare at the engine again; then hurried off for home. Now it was really time for that plan!

* * *

I was back at the train an hour later. My plan was simple. Collect locomotives, some tank cars of diesel for them, empty boxcars, and a few carloads of something else to burn. After all; almost any significant use of my powers requires an energy source and I wanted a readily accessible means of generating it.

Fuel for my powers was too easy. The train I was starting with was a fully loaded coal train. Only question was how much I wanted!

I went easy backing the massive train to the yard so I wouldn't derail anything if I hit another train stopped close behind it. It took me half an hour to cover the three miles to the yard; but pushing a big train too hard is a recipe for disaster anyway.

An hour of switching left me with a train that seemed odd by pre-Change standards. Eight diesel locomotives; of which I only had four running. The others would serve as spares in case one quit or allow me to handle any train I could possibly find stopped in my path with power to spare. Eight tank cars of diesel; an equal number of coal hoppers; and two empty boxcars. And I'd added a couple to my original shopping list. An empty refrigerator car and another packed with fruit - I knew I couldn't possibly eat more than a tiny fraction of it before it spoiled; but I wanted the car and didn't take time to be choosy - two empty gondolas, and an empty flatcar to carry my newly modified truck.

I spent a few minutes playing with the whistle, then. Tried to play a tune and failed completely. Then I made a mistake. A big one. Decided to see just how my train would handle - and gave it full throttle. Seventeen thousand plus horsepower had my light train up to fifty miles an hour seemingly in no time' so I cut the throttle to idle. I was coasting as I rounded the slight curve between yard and town.

What I saw ahead almost made my heart stop. Two pickups on a dirt road that crossed the track. One skidding to a stop just short of the track - and the second plowing into the rear of the first; knocking it into my path.

I don't remember much of the next minute; but it's not something I want to remember. I slammed the train's brakes into emergency - that's as hard as they'll go on - but a train at fifty miles an hour cannot stop in two hundred yards. All I could see was the two trucks and three furry forms in each.

I instinctively grabbed for power - and the next thing I knew I was lying on the floor of the engine's cab.

I ignored rubbery legs and the screaming of my healing sense; scrambling from the stopped locomotive and running the half mile back to the crossing. When I got there, I was amazed to see one of the pickups - the one that had been hit from behind - sitting several yards clear of the track with scrape marks on the road surface showing it had been shoved ... Showed that I had shoved it out of danger with my telekinetic power. The second truck was lying upside down in the ditch, surrounded by five people. All more or less humanoid, but a variety of animal based forms. Coyote. Elk; complete with antlers. Bear. Raven. And bobcat.

"I'm sorry," I panted as I stopped beside them. "I didn't think there was anyone around except myself."

"We didn't either," the bear said without looking up from the truck. "Big Elk stopped when he saw you ..." Now he looked up; trying to wipe tears from his eyes with the back of a black-furred paw. "My wife hit the gas instead ..."

"How bad is she hurt?" I tried to lock my healing sense onto the person still in the truck; but all I got was a hazy picture - and an inner voice screaming that I had severely overdrawn my internal energy reserves. Only then did I notice my heart seemingly trying to pound a hole in my ribcage and just how hard I was panting.

"Unconscious. More than that ..." The bear shrugged, then wiped away more tears.

Sheer force of will cleared my healing sense's 'vision'; but clarity did nothing to restore nonexistent energy reserves. I could 'see' what was wrong with the young wolf-woman but was powerless to help her. A partially dislocated vertebrae in her neck and severely bruised spinal cord.

"Don't try to move her." I knelt down beside the truck. "I can help her ... but I need time."

"You are the one that hurt her," the bear growled. "Why shouldn't I tear you apart?"

"No; son."

The bear spun at the sound of this new voice. "Mother?"

I realized that another vehicle had pulled up without my noticing. The woman who had spoken seemed more owl than anything; though feathers gave way to rust colored fur just above surprisingly human looking hands and feet.

"Can you help my wife; Medicine Woman?" the bear added after a moment.

"I sense the white man has far more healing magic than I, son."

The bear spun again; staring with eyes that seemed as wide as saucers. "A white man? How can that be?"

"We Shoshone are not the only ones with animal spirits; son." She paused. "He is the one who's use of power I felt earlier. I came when I felt it again." Another pause while the medicine woman moved to stare into the bear's eyes. "I sense he nearly killed himself trying to prevent this." She touched the overturned truck with one hand.

The bear looked towards the other truck; then nodded. "If you say we can trust him, Medicine Woman."

"I sense we can." She extended a wing towards the train. I stared in shock as she continued to speak; thinking Wings and arms? "Use your eyes; son. He's either leaving or just passing through."

"I live here," I managed through my panting. "but I will be leaving soon." I pointed towards my house. "Just past the train."

"Why were you going so fast if you live so close," the bear growled.

I flicked my ears. More natural than a shrug in my new body. "Testing how it works."

I think it was almost half an hour before I felt ready to help the injured woman. Every inch of me still felt tired; but at least my powers would obey me. So I reached for the energy I would need ...

Nothing. The idling locomotives were too far away. I spread my search, finding only the medicine woman's idling car within my energy collection range of two or three hundred yards.

With my powers sucking the heat from its radiator and exhaust it was enough. Barely.

Of course being short on energy wasn't all bad at the time. It eased the strain on my already overworked body; and it forced me to go slowly healing the wolf-woman.

I healed her. Her neck, anyway; the medicine woman stopped me when I moved to the wolf's lesser injuries.

The best part of the whole day was when the young wolf opened her beautiful hazel eyes and touched my nose with her tongue.

I had planned never to return to Elko; but when the Indians invited me to come back sometime for a visit I agreed.

I jogged back to my train and moved it as close to my house as I could. I forced myself to put what perishable food I had collected into the two refrigerated railcars. One for frozen food and one for things that needed to be cold but not frozen.

I ate a long overdue lunch while loading; then lay down in my bed for a short nap.

Continued in part 2

Tell me what you think.