Facility Sequel - WIP

~Facility Sequel (name needed)

My name is Asheiya Felira. Two months ago, I escaped a
twisted hellhole called the Top Secret Transformational Facility. It was there
that I was stripped of my humanity, transformed into a hybrid of different
animals, and tortured to the brink of death. Not everything about my time there
was horrible, though. I made a friend – Mila. She helped me to escape and paid
for it with the loss of her human body. She is a feral red fox now, at least
physically. Her mind is intact, as is her ability to speak. The facility also
gave me something that many people dream of every day – the ability to fly.
That may have been the greatest mistake they made, as my escape with Mila
became that much easier.

I wish I could say I'm finished with the Facility. But
the war has just begun. They have taken someone close to me, and I WILL make
them pay. I don't want to remember, but I can't push these memories out of my
head. It all started with a reunion...

~One month, one week ago – November 24^th

~A Reunion~

I had to go home. Since escaping two weeks earlier, I had
lived in a small enclosure in the forest near my house. It was further back
from the house than the cave I was first captured in. Although the peaceful
quiet of the forest was nice, It just felt... empty. I needed to see my
parents, to let them know I was at least alive. There was a big risk to meeting
them though. After about a month of living in a gender-swapped hybrid body with
artificial memories, I could hardly remember what my name was before the
changes. I knew my mother would accept me no matter what, but only if I could
convince her of who I was. My father, however, would be problematic. He had a
short fuse, and possessed a need to overcomplicate everything. I expected it
would take much longer to convince him.

Seeing as my parents owned the local zoo, a feral
instinct inside me kept saying it was a bad idea to go see them. The instincts
brought back the memory of a dream I had while I was in the Facility, where I
had been trapped as a feral arctic fox in my parents' zoo. A short time later,
I made the decision, instincts buzzing around in my head, and flew to town. I
needed clothes first. I lost my clothes at some point during my time in the
Facility, but I had never really taken note of it. The bare fur felt natural,
but it would be awkward meeting my parents without any clothes on. The issue
was how I would actually get the clothes. I couldn't bring myself to stealing,
and I didn't want to be seen either.

I flew high above the town, using my enhanced vision to
see the ground below. During the two weeks since the escape, I discovered I was
slowly gaining more of the traits of the animals my body is made up of. I had
extremely heightened senses, my senses of smell and hearing making it hard for
someone to sneak up on me.

I soon found what I was looking for – a Goodwill truck
filled with clothes and other items for those who need them. Well, I did need
the clothes; so what would be the harm in taking a few pairs of pants and t-shirts?

I started a slow descent to the truck, landing on the
roof of the large vehicle. I couldn't sense anyone nearby, so I jumped down and
headed for the back. It couldn't have been better; the truck held a massive
surplus of clothing for me to choose from. But as I rummaged through boxes and
racks of clothes, I realized for the first time that I was more than a foot
taller now, compared to when I had been human.

I eventually found a few pairs of pants that would fit
me, followed by a few plain t-shirts. It was then that I caught the scent of
someone outside. I started to panic, gathering up the clothes I had collected.
The scent was getting stronger, so I ran to the door and leaped into the air,
flying away so fast that I may have been seen as a strange white and brown blur
to anybody that may have been watching.

When I finally returned to camp, I found Mila asleep in
the makeshift den I had thrown together for her. Mila was a very light sleeper
– she woke up a s soon as I landed and set down the clothes. “Nnnh... Ash?
Where have you been the past few hours?”

“Sorry for waking you, Mila. I was getting some clothes
to wear so that I look at least somewhat decent when I meet my parents.”

“Are you sure they will fit? You're much bigger now.”

“They should fit, although they may be a bit tight. I'll
need to make slits in the shirts for my wings, too. But that's a problem for
tomorrow morning. Let's get some sleep, Mila.” I said, yawning. Mila nodded and
curled up to sleep again. I put the clothes somewhere they'd stay dry and laid
down on the wet grass. Looking up at the stars, I closed my eyes and drifted
off into a dreamless sleep.

~One Month, Six days ago – November 25^th,
3:00am

I bolted awake rather suddenly to the sound of a small
animal dying in the talons of an owl nearby. I hit the ground, frustrated with
myself. I was irritated at how easily the smallest sounds woke me at night. I
don't even know now why I had ever tried to sleep at all. Something in the
Facility had made it so that I never had to eat, and rarely ever had to sleep.
I guess it was the comfort of the silent peace sleep provided; that and my
dreams. My dreams often take me away from the hellhole that is my life;
although they usually end back in the Facility as if to spite me.

I had to find something to to do. I wouldn't be able to
get back to sleep without tiring myself out somehow. I went through my pile of
new clothes and put on a pair of pants, holding a shirt in my other hand at the
same time. I took a rough measurement of the size of my wings and cut two slits
in the back of the shirt for them to fit through. It's nice having perfect
visibility in the dark. It makes a lot of things so much easier. After the
slits were made, I attempted to put the shirt on. With a bit of difficulty, I
managed to get it on, testing how much I could move my wings in the slits. I
would have to make them bigger later. The clothes fit fairly well, albeit a
little tight. It took me a moment to realize that, because they were so tight,
they made my more... feminine qualities stand out. It wasn't the fact that it
made my bust look bigger that worried me. It was that people would stare even
more than usual if they saw me. I pushed the worry to the back of my mind and
leaped high into the air, flapping my wings to stay up.

I took to the air and did what I usually had to on my
sleepless nights. I simply flew. The air whipping around me was calming, as was
the silence of the night. Normally, I just flew aimlessly, but I had somewhere
I wanted to go that night. As the location in question came into view, the
streetlights illuminating the entrance, I started my descent. I smiled as I
touched down, looking up at the gate to my parents' zoo.

I jumped over the front gate of the zoo, being careful
not to trip the security alarm I had installed myself a little over a month
ago. Everything had been as I remembered it. All of the familiar habitats,
snack bars, and walkways were the same. I loved my parents’ zoo, for more
reasons than one. I had snuck out more than once for my favorite reason; many
of the animals were allowed to freely roam the zoo late at night after closing.
All the animals were tamed in one way or another, but only to the extent that
they would never leave. Most of them also had to be trained not to act on
predatory instincts while roaming. The largest animal we allowed to roam was a
lioness I had named Akali. She was possibly the smartest of the roaming
animals; and the tamest as well. She was the reason I went to the zoo that
night.

I started on a walk around the zoo, listening to the
chatter of the animals as I walked by them. Being made of four different
animals, I could understand what they were saying and translate it to English.
I had learned that there were three basic animal languages; one for animals
that dwell on land, one for avians, and one for aquatic animals. I had given
them simple names – Aquan, Avius, and Ludian. I could understand Avius and
Ludian perfectly, while Aquan was a little rough. As I walked I realized that
one of the animals, a small bobcat, was walking next to me.

“You’re not like the other animals here. Are you new?” It
asked in Ludian, twitching its tufted ears.

“No, I’m not new… I’m just here to visit a friend. Do you
know where I can find Akali?”

The bobcat perked its ears upon hearing her name. “Miss
Akali? You can find her in the jungle habitat.”

I smiled and scratched gently behind his ears a bit.
“Thank you.” I said and ran off to the jungle habitat. I was excited that I
would be able to see Akali again and hear her voice for the first time. After
an experience with some small birds in the forest some time ago, I had learned
that many animals have adopted the foreign accent of the countries they
originated in. Akali was born in the wild, so I was curious what her voice
would be like.

I sighed a bit as I arrived in the jungle habitat, the
humidity of the place nearly unbearable in my tight clothes. I extended my
wings and flapped them every once in a while to cool the air around me as I
walked. The jungle, arctic, aquatic, and savannah habitats were the largest of
the many in the zoo. After a short time, I realized I was being followed. I
couldn’t believe I hadn’t noticed before, but soon realized the humidity was
ruining my sense of smell. I stopped to look around, sniffing the air and
twitching my ears for the smallest sound. I quickly turned around as I heard
running pawsteps behind me, gasping to see the large body of a lioness pouncing
at me. Despite having the reflexes of two felines, I couldn’t react quickly
enough to stop her.

I was thrown onto my back as the lioness landed on top of
me, made unable to breathe as I had the wind knocked out of my lungs. I barely
had enough time to move as she lunged for my neck, quickly using my hands to
hold her muzzle shut. In her eyes I could see the anger, the bloodlust that
surfaced when instinct took over. She fought against my hands as hard as she
could, growling and tossing her head from side to side.

“Akali! Calm down! I’m a friend!” I yelled, not even
realizing I had spoke in Ludian. She started to calm as she heard the name. I
used my feet to gently roll her off of me, still keeping her muzzle held with
my hands. I let go and immediately jumped up and away from her.

“How do you know my name? I only tell that name to select
friends...” she asked, curiosity in her expression.

“Because I’m the one that gave you that name… You may not
recognize me in this body, but I am your friend.”

Her tail twitched in slight annoyment. “Prove it. Prove
that you are Marcus.”

Upon hearing my real name, so many memories I had lost
resurfaced, although I still remained female within them. These real memories
replaced many of the artificial memories that had been placed in my mind. I
knew how to make Akali believe me. I even know how to make at least my mother
believe me. I kneeled in front of Akali and gently hugged her around the neck,
scratching gently behind her ears. I pulled away slowly to see her eyes wide in
surprise. I had been the only person to ever hug her like that.

“B-But... How can you be Marcus...? You smell of a
lioness. As well as a vixen, a serval, and even...” she sniffed the air around
me again, “...an eagle.”

“Let me explain, Akali. There’s a reason behind why you
haven’t seen me in a nearly a month...” I said, and began to explain.

Animals are very good listeners if you know how to
literally speak their language. It felt wonderful to tell a friend of what
happened in the Facility. I told of Mila and the kindness she showed me through
the changes, told of the horrors I went through after meeting Jason. After I
told of my escape, I started on the events of the two weeks following it. I
scratched behind her ears as I told my story, every detail of every day flowing
freely from my muzzle. When I finally finished with what had happened not even
eight hours before, I realized I had drawn a crowd. At least twenty different
Ludian-speaking animals were sitting or lying down in a circle around me.
Closest to me was the little bobcat from earlier. He had likely heard me as I
was telling the story and gathered the group that was surrounding me. At that
point, they all knew who I really was. But I still asked that they call me Ash
or Asheiya instead of my original name. I soon looked towards the habitat
entrance, the big clock in the center of the zoo lit up as it always had been.
I read the time as about 5:27 in the morning, knowing that I had to leave. I
got up and looked at the animals around me. “I have to go now. I hope I can see
you all again soon.” I said and turned to leave, the group trailing behind me
as I spread my wings.

I ran outside and leaped into the air, flapping my wings
in the night air. I needed to get back to camp and try to get some sleep. I’d
be risking my life and even my freedom only a few hours later...