MultiPets: the Chimera Knight

Katrina Arden wants to become a Chimera Knight, a hero in a world where animals and humans live and work together as one. With the help of a Wearwolf, a canine that transforms into armor, her wish may very well be granted.

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Location: Los Angeles, California, United States

Friday, December 08, 2006

Chapter 2, Part 6: Sanctuary Epilogue

It was early evening when Katrina and Wearwolf arrived at home, still sticky with the blood and guts of the otherworldly creature they fought at the Dryad Sanctuary. Her shoes squelched sickeningly as they walked across the living room floor. The violet goop had since dried and became a purple gunk that made Wearwolf‘s fur stick together in clumps.

“Welcome home, dear,” her mother said, sitting in an easy chair with her Mysticat on her lap and a cup of chamomile tea in her hands. Without looking directly at her, she asked, “Have a good time?”

“Yeah, totally,” Katrina replied, picking at the gunk in her ponytail. “Especially the part where the monster exploded and sprayed its guts everywhere. I don’t think I’ll be eating jelly again any time soon. Of course, the worst part is when you walk home in it and it dries all over you.”

At least most of you is still clean,” Wearwolf complained. You would be dripping with this substance yourself if you were not wearing me. I am covered from head to tail.”

“Is your fur dry-clean only?” Katrina asked jokingly.

I am afraid I do not grasp your meaning,” Wearwolf said, his head tilted curiously to the side.

“Nevermind,” Katrina said.

“I bought doggy shampoo for Wearwolf,” mother said, smirking amusedly to herself. She took a sip of her tea. “But I’m afraid it’ll take something a little stronger to remove Terrasite gel once its dried. I’ve left some turpentine next to the shower for you.”

“Thanks Mom,” Katrina replied with a smile. “I’d kiss ya, but I don’t want to get you all sticky.”

“Much appreciated,” mother said.

“Wait, Terrasite?” Katrina noted. “Is that what the thing we fought was called?”

“I’m afraid so,” mother replied, taking another sip of her tea. “I’d keep that name under your hat for now. It’s going to cause some commotion in the near future.”

“Mind-controlling parasites?” Katrina commented as she and Wearwolf walked to the bathroom. “I can’t see that not causing a commotion. I can see the headlines now: ‘Invasion of the Body-Jackers!’ I‘m telling you, we‘re going to have to find these things and take them out before they get out of hand.”

“Nothing to worry about for now, my dear,” mother said calmly. “They won’t be a real threat for quite some time and official investigations are already underway. The Chimera Knights are going to make this a top priority.”

“Really? Cool,” Katrina remarked before closing the bathroom behind her.

Deciding Wearwolf’s took precedence, Katrina spent over an hour in the shower with him discovering that normal shampoo was more or less totally ineffective against the remains of the Terrasite. She was making good headway with the turpentine when her mother walked in with the cordless phone.

“It’s for you,” mother said.

“Oh, thanks,” Katrina replied, turning off the shower and putting the phone to her ear. “Hel-”

The phone immediately rang, causing Katrina to cringe and nearly drop the phone. She glared at her mother, who was already walking away, laughing. She growled slightly and pressed the talk button. “Hello?”

“Did she do that trick where she…?” Jaime’s voice from the other end began.

“Yeah,” Katrina replied. “I keep falling for that stupid joke every time.”

“That’s so cool,” Jaime said. “Though you really should make sure there’s an actual call on the line before you try to answer it.”

“She only does it when she knows I’ll fall for it,” Katrina said, sitting down on the edge of the tub. “One of the hazards of living with an oracle, I guess. So, what’s so important that you had to interrupt my shower?”

“You’re still cleaning that stuff off?” Jaime asked. “I went straight for the paint thinner.”

“Whatever,” Katrina said. She held the phone between her ear and her shoulder as she took a turpentine-filled rag to Wearwolf’s fur. “What’s up?”

“I analyzed the sample I took of the creature,” Jaime said. Katrina could hear the clacking of computer keys over the line. “Something definitely created it, and fairly recently. Its virobot count is way too high for it to have evolved naturally, even on our world.”

“So it’s man-made?” Katrina inquired. “A genetic experiment gone awry?”

“Humans are the most likely,” Jaime said. “I don’t want to rule out Nymphs - indigenous s entient beings like the Dryad or the Nereid, hyper-intelligent MultiPets, renegade AI, or intergalactic aliens.”

“The usual suspects,” Katrina joked. “Do Nymphs even have that level of technology?”

“Who knows,” Jaime replied. “All available data on them are just speculation and hearsay. They could have hyper-dimensional cities hidden in the trees for all we know.”

“When you say ‘fairly recently,’ what do you mean?” Katrina asked. “A week? A month?”

“Hard to determine with what I’ve got,” Jaime answered. “But I think we’re looking at six months to a year. Maybe more.”

“Six months!?” Katrina exclaimed, straightening up. Noting the phone still stuck to her ear, she added, “Ew…”

“What?” Jaime asked.

“I think I’m going to need to clean this phone off now,” Katrina replied. She ignored it for the moment as she went on. “But six months? Do you realize how much damage body-jacking parasites could do in six months?”

“I only said it was created that long ago,” Jaime explained. “It could’ve been locked up in a lab or something until maybe a week ago. Who knows. The Dryads were probably just the first phase or test or something. I searched the news sites and didn‘t see anything about mind-control parasites like we saw. Not from any reputable sources at least.” Jaime sighed. “I’ll know more when I finish my analysis, but that could take a long time. These virobots aren’t exactly open-source, and my facilities are extremely limited. I’m going to send a sample and my findings to the relevant agencies when I get a chance.”

“Mom says there’s already a government investigation,” Katrina said. “Maybe you should check the government websites.”

“I’ll try,” Jaime said. “I don’t suppose she gave you any other search terms I could use?”

“Terrasites,” Katrina said. “But don’t let that get around. It could be classified.”

“Yeah, we don’t want to escape the wrath of Dryads just to disappear into a black van,” Jaime said. “How do you spell ‘Terrasites‘? Is that like ‘Parasites‘ with a ‘T,’ or does it start like ‘Terror‘?”

“How should I know?” Katrina replied. “You want me to ask?”

“Nah, I’m sure I’ll figure it out,” Jaime said. “I’ll call you back as soon as I find something.”

“Thanks,” Katrina said. She forcibly removed the phone from her goop-covered ear and pressed the hang-up button. She put the phone on the counter and went back to cleaning Wearwolf.

That sounded like a productive conversation,” Wearwolf said.

“Yeah,” Katrina said, scrubbing behind Wearwolf’s ear. “So I guess tomorrow we should find another sanctuary and get rid of the Terrasites there, too.”

That may not be necessary,” Wearwolf said. The Dryad are not without their resources. They should be able to handle the Terrasites on their own.”

“If you say so,” Katrina said. “But I’d really like to know for sure.”

As would I,” Wearwolf said. But I have enough faith in them not to risk your life on an investigation.”

“I know,” Katrina said. “But what I want to know is, do the Terrasites just want the Dryads, or will the come after us next?”

1 Comments:

Blogger Nicholas DeVivo said...

And thus ends Chapter 2, at long last. I've written a lot of stuff since the first post, but there's nothing really anchoring all of it to the main plot. I'd probably be able to write up to those points if I knew how to get to them. It's not that I don't know where I'm going, I'm just drawing a blank on what happens between now and then. I guess I'll just slowly introduce characters and elements until a path presents itself.

In the meantime, and as always, I would like to hear your feedback on my work. Questions pertaining to this peice are:

1. Does the dialogue flow smoothly?
2. The Terrasites will continue to be a threat throughout the novel. Do I need to explain anything more about them at this time?
3. This is the first time the Nereid are mentioned and the term "Nymph" is used. The Nereid and other Nymphs will make appearances later on. Do you need to know more about them right now?

December 08, 2006 4:24 PM  

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