"When do you want the alarm set?" Molly asked as we prepared for bed that night, "Officer Howard said your uniform would be ready tomorrow."
"The day shift starts at six and will run from eight to ten hours," I mused, "Best to set it at four thirty. To give me time to eat something before going in."
"An early start... but I'm not too far behind you for the school," Molly answered and set the alarm before rolling back into the bed beside me, "I'm mostly glad things are working out."
"Is it?" I wondered.
"Of course it is," Molly answered, "your dad told the city council what's what and R.A.M. can't just legislate us away. Mrs. Fitzpatrick has been pleased with my work. Officer Howard is keeping you on the force. We have a home. We have friends in the Choir family. We're a lot better off then where we were when I was first transformed."
I nodded to that. Things were better, but things were also different now then they were then. We carried the retrovirus that Eugene Changes and Leona Washburn created within us, and propagated it through the division of our cells. If we gave blood or mated with anyone, they would become tiger people also. Even if we didn't, our children, when we had them would grow up, move out and start families of their own. And we weren't the only animal people in the country. Part of me wondered if some of this was going on around the country, but the people were better at hiding it then Molly and I were.
And if so... what changes would different races of sentient animal people cause? What would happen when the people around Columbia Falls became Tiger people? The people in Peoria a Pride of Lion people? Mile's family and friends into a herd of Gazelle people... or the others. What changes would all of this bring, because human society could not just stand still and act like nothing had changed.
But the biggest fear in my mind was the story Leona had told my father and I when she first arrived at Bandhavgarh Cabin. That Beauregard would decide that since he couldn't get rid of Molly and I the legal way, he would turn to an illegal method.
"They can't make it illegal for us to live here," I nodded and placed a hand on her shoulder, "but part of me worries that Beauregard will decide to break the law, or have someone do it for him."
Molly rolled to hug me to her, "George, we'll be fine... if he decides to try and throw some monkey wrench at us, we'll deal with it when it happens."
"Okay," I nodded and drifted off to sleep.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
I did not sleep well, likely the thoughts and worries of the day coming into my subconscious mind. As I lay there, my dreams were not hopeful...
Molly and I were returning home from a hunting trip in specialized clothing that looked like our stripe patterns, but obviously covered up everything. As we returned to Bandhavgarh Cabin we found it on fire and a mass of people surrounding it, all of them armed with some sort of weapon.
"Mommy! Daddy!" a young tiger cub called out to us, before being restrained by three adult men.
"Let her go! Please!" Molly growled at the men, half angry, half desperate.
"I'm afraid I can't do that," came Beauregard's voice as he came out of the crowd with Frank Rhoer and Molly's blood cousins pulling chains behind them, "because you don't belong here."
I looked to see Officer Howard, Dave, and Mrs. Fitzpatrick being drug at the end of the chains. I lunged forward at him, claws extended.
"Let them go!" I roared at him.
Beauregard caught me by the neck and slammed me on my back is if I were a house cat. I looked up to see six men grab Molly, with another seven on the way. Soon they had her on her back and held out spread eagled on the ground.
"Mommy! Daddy!" the cub cried out out again.
"Can't threaten anyone anymore," Beauregard answered and nodded to a man in the crowd, "you see, I run this town, son. Your little play with the lawmen, the school board, and the city slickers... all of it was for nothing. I am the KING here!"
"Momm..." BLAM! I had turned to the man fire a twelve gage shotgun into the back of the cub's head at point blank range, sending blood and bits of the cubs brains flying everywhere, silencing it's cries for help. I was horrified.
"NO!" I roared.
"Oh yes," Beauregard smiled triumphantly, "and to think, if Molly had done as I said, all of this could have been prevented..."
"We would have been your slaves!"
"So? There are things a lot worse then slavery," Beauregard answered, "I could have simply decided to starve your girlfriend then and there. But I gave you a choice. You made the wrong one."
A couple of men then threw Dave on the ground while another handed Meredeth a revolver.
"You made friends with the other outsider who had no business setting up some frou frou winery in cattle country," Beauregard growled.
Meredeth then fired every round the revolver had into Dave's chest. Mrs. Fitzpatrick and Officer Howard then were pushed forward, tripping over backward over Dave's body.
"And then there was the worst of the worst... natives of this town who committed the greatest act of treason possible," Beauregard growled, "not agreeing with ME."
Frank Rhoer and Nessie were then handed wooden bats with a series of long nails in them. They looked extremely wicked and rusty. The bats were then raised hight and brought down with as much force as possible on Officer Howard and Mrs. Fitzpatrick's abdomens. They screamed with pain as this was done. As Nessie raised the bat to strike Officer Howard again, part of his intestine became wrapped around one of the nails and was painfully pulled out out of him. He screamed as Nessie did little, if anything, to ease his pain.
"Stop this!" I growled at Beauregard.
"I can not," Beauregard answered, "for this whole country must be cleansed. You animal people are only the tip of what has been rotten for years. You liberals and your soft spending ways. Taking away my money! Now... you will finally feel the pinch when the REAL AMERICANS stand up against you. You will pay and then the proper racial order will be installed everywhere, where everyone knows his place. Animals are BELOW human beings. And you and your wife dared to pervert the way the Lord made this world!"
The blood staining the grass made me sick. The cub had been needlessly executed, and likely hadn't ever hurt anyone. Dave was shot dead for being a friend. And now Officer Howard and Mrs. Fitzpatrick were beaten to death in front of Molly and I. Their innards pulled out by the nails in the bat.
The group of men holding Molly then began to move her closer to me. When she tripped over the bodies that the mob had killed already, they let her go and she fell at Beauregard's feet.
"Please," I begged.
"It is too late," Beauregard responded and fired a round directly through Molly's eye, splattering my cheek fur with blood. "It could have been better."
And then Beauregard turned the gun to me, and at point blank range fired.
....
"NOOOOOOOOOO!" I sat up to find myself in bed and all was quiet.
Molly lay peacefully beside me, sleeping. I turned my ears to listen to see if anyone one else might be in the cabin with us. All was quiet. No one else was there as far as I could hear.
"Just a nightmare," I said to myself slowly.
"George, are you alright?" Molly asked as she woke up and rolled over.
"Yeah," I nodded slowly, "Just a bad dream that's all."
Molly nuzzled one of my arms, "Go on back to sleep dear. You have a long day tomorrow."
She had just rolled back over when the alarm went off. I only sighed in response to that.
"I have a long day, today," I sighed heavily and got up.
Molly sat up and turned the radio off. She then got onto all fours on the floor and stretched out her back before getting up on her feet. The two of us quickly got dressed and began our day, and I hopped that my nightmare was only a nightmare.
++++++++++++++++++++++
I did manage to make it into the station on time that morning. I was a little tired from the long walk, but from my years of trying to keep in shape, I had managed. One of the officers that was at the desk during the day had also just arrived.
"Good morning, George," she said in a friendly voice.
"Good morning, Rhonda," I answered in response.
"Your eyes have a nice green glow, that's how I knew it was you," she said with a week smile, "might something neat for you come next Halloween."
"Oh yeah, I'm everyone will like that, five hundred fifty pound tiger scares young children with the reflective lens on his eyes," I said half joking.
Rhonda only shrugged, "All of that is in good fun, and you and Molly have been very peaceful since you've come here. I've never received a 911 call about you."
"I know," I said slowly nodded, wondering how well she could see me in the low light.
"You okay?"
"I didn't sleep well," I sighed, "I'll be fine."
We then made our way in to begin the day. Rhonda went to her desk. I went to Officer Howard's office to report. Officer Howard and Frederick Barnes were both there and waiting.
"I'm sorry if I'm late," I spoke softly.
"You're not late," Officer Howard answered, "How did your appointment go?"
"It went well," I answered, "I'll need to go back in a few months for booster shots."
"Shots for what, I mean besides Rabies, obviously?" Officer Barnes asked sounding more curious then anything else.
"Mostly against the diseases that they vaccinate domestic cats against," I answered, "I can't pronounce all the names."
"Don't worry," Officer Barnes answered, "we got a Burmese and a Dachshund at home. I'm pretty familiar with both the names of canine and feline diseases."
I slowly nodded, and the both of us turned to Officer Howard who was seated quietly behind his desk. A large package was on it.
"Is that..." I asked.
"These will be your uniforms, belts and equipment," Officer Howard nodded, "And you will be expected to put on one of the uniforms before going on duty."
"Of course."
"It should also have a winter jacket in case you get cold," Officer Howard answered, "I'd suggest that you keep it with you. Your fur may keep you warmer then those of us without... but I doubt you're immune to the cold."
I nodded.
"In the meantime, because of Officer Wayne's transformation, he is obviously too large to patrol on his own, even after his training period is over," Officer Howard spoke, "at least until we can get the state legislature to commission a larger vehicle."
I was quiet and looked down, slightly embarrassed as I didn't want to be a bother to anyone.
"As such I will be assigning Officer Wayne as a permanent partner to you Officer Barnes," Officer Howard answered, "And I would like to know where you stand."
"On what, sir?" Officer Barnes asked.
"One George and Molly Wayne? Are you in agreement with Mr. Beauregard in believing that since they aren't human now, they are to be treated like a zoo animal and as less then a person," Officer Howard spoke firmly, "Or are you going to treat Officer Wayne with the respect and dignity he deserves?"
"Honest, sir?"
"It's the best policy," Officer Howard quipped.
"Honestly, I am nervous about having tiger people in our town, sir, and I'm nervous about having a "tiger-lady" teach our children, sir," Officer Barnes answered, "but my son seems to love the "tiger-lady" and... well... they haven't caused a problem, and that's where I draw my line. They've caused no problem, so I have no problem."
"Good to hear," Officer Howard answered, "I trust the two of you can get along?"
"We can, sir," both I and Officer Barnes answered, though it wasn't in unison and I was sure that Officer Howard had some difficulty in understanding the answer.
"Very good," Officer Howard replied, "I'll leave you to get dressed for duty, Officer Wayne, and then the two of you can start your day."
We nodded.
"I'll wait out front for you," Officer Barnes answered, "You may have to lay in the backseat, but I'm sure we can manage."
"And scare the pants off of criminals," I chuckled to him.
He gave a short laugh and moved on.