New Lease
by pj wolfe

Air rushed into Rey's nose, pure and untainted. This forced her to open her eyes, because she'd never breathed in stuff like this before. She coughed once or twice, or tried to. She couldn't swallow, not how she was supposed to, because there was something lodged in her throat. A tube? Another breath of air puffed into her lungs, and she realized something was breathing for her. That was the second thing that occurred to her, followed right after how very white the ceiling was.

She tried to sit up, and she couldn't. There was something not large, but securely wrapped around her chest. She couldn't feel her arms or legs. Her head was immobile as well. Wherever she was, they had her strapped down tightly. It didn't help that when she tried to make some noise, all she heard was muffles. Something was covering her mouth, now allowing it to open. There was another tube in her throat who knows how far down. She could feel something pumping who knew what into her to keep her... alive? Sedated?

Rey heard a door open, her ears tuning toward the sound. Footsteps, then "I'll be with you in a moment." The voice was smooth and dark, and felt like she should feel a burn as it slid into her ears. With her limited visual range, she could only catch a glimpse of the person as they stepped up beside her in the bed she was held down in. "Vital signs are good," the voice came again, and what sounded like a stylus tapping on a data pad. As she became more aware of her surroundings, she noticed a small beeping noise that started to speed up. "Oh my," said the voice, "what are you getting so agitated over?" Then, the owner of the voice leaned over her.

The fact that the face was a wolf's only shocked her for a half-second. Rey hadn't really encountered many of these 'kemono' or whatever they called themselves very much, but those she had seen were a lot more exotic than this guy. Even his eyes and fur color were normal; yellow and black, respectively. Still, the addition to color to what had been sterility was a bit shocking of itself, not to mention the glasses perched perilously on his muzzle. "Good morning," the wolf said. "Or afternoon. Or evening. I really don't know. Though I suppose you couldn't really tell me, either, could you?" The wolf tapped over Rey's mouth with a pen, and a plastic sound came back. She could just see the plastic mask on her nose. "I'm being terribly unhelpful." He straightened up and left her field of vision, moving around to her other side. "I suppose you have questions, don't you? Yes... I can see them now. Who am I? Where are you? Why are you strapped down to the bed?" He leaned further into her view, those yellow eyes studying her. "Right?"

Not waiting for an answer, his head turned, seemingly checking something else about her. "Well this is interesting... 'Why am I so boring?'" He laughed, and it was a rich laugh, enough that she could wrap it around her to keep her warm. "That one is new... but yes." There was movement up above her head, and Rey could see an arm in a white sleeve, no doubt manipulating some kind of touch interface at the head of the bed. "Let's see... 'Am I a doctor?' 'Why am I a wolf?' 'What am I doing here?' Good. Very good. You are asking all the right questions." The sleeve pulled away, and she caught sight of a logo for a flash of a second. She may have seen it somewhere because --

"You saw it?" he asked her suddenly, seeming amused. "Well, that is impressive. Most people don't notice the Green Mesa logo yet." He looked over her again. "Congratulations, you're one of the few."

Wait, was he reading her mind? "No," he answered, "I am not reading your mind. I am viewing the data from the neural net currently attached to your head, and interpreting the data that comes from it." He looked at Rey again, slyly. "I am very good at it. But to answer your questions, at least enough to sate your curiosity, I am Dr. Manuel Loros, and I can tell you right now that you are safe. I do not yet have the authorization to tell you more, not before we've run some mental acuity tests. But don't worry," he said, winking at her. "I'm sure you'll pass those with flying colors. In the meantime, I want you to rest, and to help you with that I'm going to press this button." The blackness that pulled at her was deep and inevitable, but before she was completely submerged, Dr. Loros spoke one last time.

"Have a good afternoon, Rey."

--*--

When she woke up again, she felt strange. It didn't help that waking was like dragging herself up out of a swamp, tendrils of sleep trying to cling to her and pull her back down. She made a noise of some kind, which drew a gasp from somewhere. Rey was glad to know that she could move her head this time, but everything was still sluggish. Rapid footsteps and a door opening told her she was alone again, which was just fine by her.

Rey tried to move all her extremities but they weren't responding as quickly as she'd like them to be. Whatever was clinging to her still had a firm grip, though now she could move her arm up. It seemed like the straps were gone.

The door opened again. "You are a delight, Ms. Torres!" came the voice of Dr. Loros, though his steps were quicker than she remembered. "Would you believe that you're not supposed to be up this early? We thought we had another day at least! Nurse, please..." Whatever he said next wasn't audible, but a second pair of footsteps crossed to her other side, and she dragged her head over to look at that person.

There was a little cotton tail that she saw first, slightly off-white to the blankness of the room. Her uniform was also prim and devoid of color, but for the small Green Mesa logo on her waist, and another on her chest. It was accompanied by a small silver symbol that she didn't recognize. Her face was human, though long, bunny ears dropped over their own weight, bouncing lightly while she was checked screen after screen of what Rey thought was her own status. Another fur?

"Marvelous!" cried the doctor, tugging Rey's head over to him again. "Look at you! This is wonderful! You are very willful Ms. Torres, to wake up for more than a few seconds under this heavy a sedation! And you're able to move your extremities as well. Hm... Nurse, 10 ccs of the sedative. It's the most we can safely use at this juncture." While the nurse was punching up that, Dr. Loros looked at her. "I'm sorry Ms. Torres, but we cannot allow you to be awake at this time. Please do not fight this, as the pain you will experience in a matter of moments will be excruciating."

The doctor was right. It rose up slowly, menacing, little sharp nails poking into seemingly random areas of her body, and only intensifying with every passing moment. When the sedative spread through out her body from one arm and outward, it only dulled the pain instead of completely soothing it. Rey wasn't awake long enough for that.

--*--

Rey roused from another deep sleep, and this time it wasn't sticky. The room was just as white as ever, but she was able to lift her torso from the bed with only a minor struggle, sitting up for what felt like the first time in a long time. Every movement felt different and heavy.

"Good morning, Ms. Torres," came the luxurious tenor. Rey looked up from her legs which looked odd for reasons that she couldn't place to the side, where Dr. Loros sat. He'd definitely gotten the full package, as his fur implants seemed flawless. "Glad to have you finally awake and aware on schedule." He checked his watch, which gleamed in the dull white light. "Plus or minus a few minutes. But just as well." The doctor stood up, adjusting his white coat around his shoulders. It fluttered open to reveal some clothing that looked expensive, like actual cotton. Digging into a pocket, he pulled out a penlight, flashing it into her eyes. "Look up. Down. To the left. Right. Thank you, Ms. Torres. Now, I can see you have some questions, which means..." Hands (paws?) moving toward her head, the wolf doctor removed something. Rey wasn't swift enough to see what as the hatch it came from closed. Behind her was some kind of display that also seemed to be powering down as well.

"No need to have that, as you should be able to speak, shouldn't you?" Rey looked back at Dr. Loros, blinking. "So. Go on. You may experience some difficulty, but concentrate on your words and what you're trying to say."

The advice sounded condescending in the extreme, but for whatever reason Rey's first words came out like mush. She tried again, frowning in concentration. "Whuh-wheh-where... am... I?"

The doctor smiled. "Good. You'll get the hang of speaking. Now, you may have noticed, Ms. Torres, that your body feels a little different than it used to be. And looks different, as well. Believe it or not, this is related to your question." He stood and walked closer, picking up her hand. As she looked down, she realized that what had been her arm was covered in gauze. Dr. Loros took out a pair of scissors and made a cut, starting to unwind the wrappings. "The painkillers may be wearing off in the near future, so you'll probably experience a dull, full body throbbing. If it gets unbearable, please let me know." More wrappings came off, exposing... fingers? They were and they weren't, especially since they were covered in fur, quite like the doctor's own. Rey looked up at the wolf, but he was still unwrapping the arm. "Full body grafts take time, usually we try to make the body grow in its own fur, but what with time constraints, we did a little bit of both."

"I am not at liberty to tell you the exact location, but you are at a Green Mesa facility." He finished with one arm, reaching over to snip at the other. The doctor also didn't speak again, which forced Rey to try and form another question.

"Wha... What... ha-happened to me?"

The doctor chuckled. "A good question, also. Though I should really stop offering so much additional information, but forgive me; I'm a chatty sort. Anyway, you, Ms. Torres, have not been taking care of yourself. Which is quite sad, considering what did happen to you. You may not have been able to remember yet due to the circumstances, but you overdosed."

Blinking, Rey tried to remember. Her whole head felt cottony, but now she was wondering how much of that was due to the operation. "Nothing?" the wolf asked, looking up. "Well, that's probably just as well. Somebody called the ambulance, but you may have expired while they were in transit. Thankfully, somebody was also bright enough to call our ambulatory services." The doctor looked up at the sudden shock in Rey's face. "Oh. Yes, you died."

"I... died?"

"Oh yes," replied the doctor. "A few times, actually. It's been a minor miracle that we were able to keep your brain functioning. It was also hard to determine exactly what kind of chemical cocktails that you had injested, because they'd run havoc on your bodily functions. You'll have to tell me sometime. If you ever remember."

"I'm... dead." Rey flexed her alien fingers, the new claws dull in the light.

"Yes," answered the doctor, clearing away the guaze. "And no. I wasn't there when you were brought in, but due to the extent of your trauma, we were forced to pronounce you dead. Obviously, you are not."

"W-why am... am I not dead? What did you do to me?" Rey said slowly.

Dr. Lobos looked at her, and smiled. "I-- we, really-- saved you. Though the you that we saved is not quite the you that you remember." From a pocket, he produced a small mirror. As he placed it into her hands, it expanded into a larger one.

It was definitely not any face she remembered. For one, it was covered in white fur, and the short, blunt muzzle had a dot of black where her nose was now. Her eyes were almond shaped, and the only thing that she remembered from her own face were the eyes. "My apologies if we did not get the speices that you might have preferred, but you were obviously indisposed. But I think Neovision vision is quite good. How do you like your fur?"

"What?" Rey looked blankly at him, trying to figure out what Neovision vision meant.

"Your fur," the wolf replied, beaming. "I did it myself. Personally, I think it's the best job I've ever done, especially considering the difficult specimen I had to work with. Your limbs were mostly functional, though we had to extend your spine a bit to conform with the species template. That was quite the job, and you should really thank Dr. Bethel whenever you get a chance."

"What am I?" Rey asked.

"Oh. Please forgive me, I misunderstood. Neovision vision is the name for the American mink. Obviously you are now a kemono. The reconstructive surgery was necessary to save your life." The wolf doctor reached over and gently patted her leg. "In addition, I have good news; the new form also comes with a job. Though to be honest, we had been thinking about and possibly made an attempt to recruit you before now, but this has provided us with the proper ability to incentivise you."

Rey blinked. "A job?"

"Oh yes, and a high paying one, at that. I do not believe you were employed prior to your demise, so this should be good news to you. It will also help you pay off your bill." Again, the doctor stopped talking and looked pointedly at her. Rey found that the more she tried to speak, the faster she was able to get the words out, lips now conforming to the movement limitations of her muzzle.

"What bill?" she asked. "Why do I have a b-bill to pay now?"

"Good question! It's a bill for services rendered on a cosmetic, though ultimately life-saving series of surgeries. You start, I'm told, soon after you leave physical therapy."

"You recruited me. Why?"

"I'm told it was your military record that enticed the higher-ups." Dr. Loros sighed and leaned back against the chair. "I don't know or really care to know what specifically drew their interest, aside of you knowing how to kill quite effectively."

"Why that?"

The wolf looked at her, remaining silent for a while. "Considering your future employment, you're bound to have clearance to learn this." Again, he leaved forward. "The zombie outbreak? Green Mesa didn't eradicate it. The company contained it and said it was eradicated, because while being responsible for a zombie apocalypse was bad for business, defeating it was good. You'll be cleaning up the riffraff that remains. Assuming they took someone with your particular skillset, it seems that the ones that remain aren't very nice." The doctor stood. "You may find it difficult to deal with this very sudden change. You'll be given ample time to adjust, of that I have no doubt. Thankfully, you'll also have plenty of people with which to commiserate over your shared circumstance. Now, if you'll excuse me, you still have some recovering to do and I have my rounds to make. I'm just going to press this --"

"No!" The doctor stopped, looking at her. "No. I'm... okay. I'm tired already." It was true: for whatever reason, Rey was exhausted, and lay back against the pillow. "I won't need that."

Dr. Loros stared at her again for some time, but then put down the console he had been at. "Alright. I'll let you get some sleep. If you wake up and require some sort of assistance, simply press the button on the armrest." With that, the doctor left.

Rey stared up at the white ceiling. There was a lot to take in, but it was at least gratifying to know that she was alive... of a sort. She flexed her fingers, and they felt good. Real. She took a deep breath, and tried to relax despite the beeping and the low feeling of discomfort she had all over her body. It wasn't so bad anymore, really. And as she drifted off, she began to wonder exactly who had been trying to kill her.