[GearRyu]

Onward to Chapter 4! The writing continues to get more fun as the story progresses. I love to hear what people think about it. Helps me improve as a writer and also lets me know how much you are enjoying it. Well, I suppose the view count helps with that too! Thanks for continuing to read. By the way, I am considering getting into the business of doing commissioned pieces of writing. This is purely theoretical at this stage, but I'd like to get some feedback on that. Well, enjoy!

Chapter 4
?Gummed up, brain dead and can?t decide
You can?t pray enough, you can?t hide
You can be cool or you can cry
Do it wrong
Not at all
Or do it right?
~Kanno Yoko, ?Ask DNA?

Shop if you Gotta
When Cranberry awoke the next morning, she threw aside the plain green comforter and hopped out of bed. She opened the door to her bathroom and looked in the mirror. An expression of equal mirth and discomfort crossed her face as she saw what had become of her. She knew now she was going to regret not finding time to go to the clothing store yesterday. Then again, she might as well have waited, a pessimistic voice opined. Or go naked, she grimaced. Her chest and hips had certainly swelled. It was hard to tell, though, because she had gained at least another five centimeters. Whatever frustrations this might?ve caused, she noticed something which balanced it all out ? for now. Her hair had miraculously dyed itself back to the roots as a cranberry shade. She might have actually felt relieved, even happy with the rest of the changes, if they didn?t make her stand out more than she already did. At least Winter Break had begun. Maybe she would see a doctor about the changes. At the moment, though, she just was much more eager to take a shower and then find some clothes that fit!

**
A little bit later that morning, Cranberry was being stared at again for the same reason as last time, only a bit more obviously.

When she had searched her closet, Cranberry took more time to look over her selection than she did the last time. After trying numerous fittings, she found a red sweater, kept the jeans from yesterday, and grabbed a rain coat. The sweater stopped about her midriff and clung nicely to the swell of her breasts. Her jeans fit easily over her waist and slid down to the swell of her hips, where the split in her jeans from yesterday just widened from the increased stress. That is why she put on the raincoat. It came down to her knees and it pinched her around the waist when she buttoned it. At least it covered the rips and her midriff? even if it didn?t do jack for her chest.

As she pushed through the crowd of people at the mall, Cranberry pretended that nobody was staring at her. She kept her eyes locked on either directories or store signs, never meeting the eyes of another person, whose eyes were probably on her chest, which she was trying to cover with her hands, which was a magnificent flop of an affair. It took a little self-control to not raise her voice and shout or slam somebody, or just barrel through the crowd to get to her destinations as soon as possible. Instead, she let herself get squished by the press of the crowd.

Rows of clothing stores lined every avenue of the mall and none of them worked. Cranberry glanced into a window shop, looking upon elegant dresses of green, black and lavender. Far too fancy. Down on her left, she saw trendy shirts and designer jeans; they?d probably conform to her curves, emphasize her butt, draw attention to her figure. Everything she didn?t want. There was a store on one end for people who spent plenty of time outdoors. A nice dream? not now. Lingerie? No! She didn?t even have time to date! Clothing for exceptionally tall or curvy? No, no? not her, not at all? didn?t a single store in the entire mall sell something decent?!

**
Cranberry?s crusade for decency continued for a few stores more. She finally settled on a large warehouse style place called Cristof?s. She was confronted with dozens of rows of odd-matched jeans, shorts, pants, dresses, shirts, sweaters, coats, shoes, sandals, slippers, hats, scarves, mittens, socks, and choices that she didn?t think had categorizing terms yet. However, amongst the countless rows of new and used clothes, she hoped to find something, ANYTHING, that looked better than the raincoat-sweater ensemble. With a little good fortune, maybe even a new fedora and army jacket.

**
After searching for what felt like hours, Cranberry managed to put together enough clothes to make a new wardrobe. She managed to find a replacement for her missing favorites, but it didn?t feel quite the same. Like losing a family heirloom and buying a replica. This would just have to do.

As she moved toward the checkout counter to pay, something caught her ear. She was about to step out of line when she realized she could suddenly hear it clearly, much more clearly than she should have. She listened to it even as she paid for her bundle of clothing.

?? -the sewers. Yesterday, sewage maintenance staff found a corpse in the waterways. Local police were contacted and an investigation was conducted. According to early police reports, there were signs of some sort of struggle occurring recently in the sewers near Megafrankfurt University. Police say clues indicate some sort of possible gang warfare violence broke out. Similar acts of violence have been conducted in the area previously. No other bodies or leads have been discovered and the supposed gang member remains unidentified??

Cranberry pushed open the door leading into the janitor sideroom where the news was playing. She locked eyes with an underground scene, a sewer, looking very familiar.

?The water supply has since been declared safe pursuant to an investigation conducted by the city. No further developments are to be expected, but citizens are warned to stay out of the sewers. A task that this reporter thinks most people won?t have any trouble following.?

**
?I need to really, really take a vacation,? Cranberry told herself, fidgeting out of her old jeans.

A moment ago, Cranberry recalled the sewer event for the first time, triggered by the announcement. She slipped into the changing room, needing something to distract her mind from flipping out over the realization THAT SHE KILLED PEOPLE! Slam! She left a dent in one of the changing room walls.

?Is everything okay in there?? A monitoring clerk?s voice called out from somewhere nearby.

?Everything is fine,? Cranberry called back in mousy voice. But everything wasn?t fine. Sure, it was self-defense. She couldn?t be faulted for that. They pulled weapons on her. She couldn?t just stand there. And beside, the police weren?t going to look into it any further. It didn?t change the fact that she KILLED people. And she wasn?t in control. She?d never lost control before. But that night? the most hectic parts still returned only as vivid illusions on the rim of consciousness. What she needed wasn?t a doctor, she told herself. What she needed was to take a break, get out of town while Winter Break was going on. Maybe she had been a little too cooped up after all this time. Stress got to people, right? Well, that was fine, then? and as for her growing problem, well, it would stop or it wouldn?t. At worst, she?d just have to see a doctor eventually (later, she told herself, much later).

At that moment, she received a call. Who? ? Oh, Lola.

?Lola? Hi, how is it going?? Cranberry pulled a pair of gaudy striped socks over her large feet. A little snug.

?It?s going great! Say, you?re on Winter Break, right? What?cha got planned? Anything special? C?mon, tell me!?

Shoes. These were big. Too big. She could not wear these shoes by any means. Her feet would just pop right out of them as soon as she took a couple steps. But, no, they fit her large paws perfectly, oh joy?

?Well, I am planning on going out of town. Just, you know, wherever the wind takes me. I know, I do not leave the city often, but I think I need a little change of pace. A chance to stretch my legs?? She stretched them? why were they so long? She knew they had always been long, but this was? okay, these were toned. Very toned, and they curved well with her hips, which were wider than they had any right being, which made eyes go down and up, up and down, d-

?Oh, awesome! Man, I wish I could come but crime never sleeps! Well, that and my work schedule. Darn it. I want to go! Oh, but, hey, if you don?t have a place you?re really dead set on going, why not go up to the mountains? I hear they?re beautiful this time of year. You could probably get some exercise, do some running, do some hunting. It?d be fun!?

?Sounds like it? I think I will do just that. Thank you, Lola.? Cranberry grabbed the army jacket and pulled it over her shoulders. She didn?t feel so naked any more. Just? taking up too much space.

?No problem. Well, I better get back to work! Duty calls!?

**
Upon returning home, Cranberry immediately began packing things. She wasn?t in a terribly great hurry, but she did want to leave the first thing next morning. Now that she had a new set of clothing (and a practically empty account, yay), Cranberry felt a little more at ease. It was while she was packing her toothbrush that she heard a knock at the door.

Who could it be? She wasn?t expecting anybody. Cranberry left her suitcase and padded over to the door. She looked through the peephole and saw a man outside dressed in a delivery man?s uniform. He was carrying a package under his right arm.

?Hello, yes, can I help you??

?Uh, yeah, I have a package for?? The man examined a label on the package. ?Miss Julia Pawis.?

?Oh, yes, that is me. I was not expecting anything. Who is it from?? Her curiosity was piqued.

?It doesn?t say. Um, I have other deliveries. Are you going to sign for it or not?? He glanced back at his truck, which he had left idling.

?Yes, yes.? She opened the door, quickly signed for the package, and snatched it from the man. She caught his eye as he was staring, of course, at her che- slammed the door in his face. She locked it and turned to examine it. Heavy? not that heavy? then again, she felt stronger. What could be inside? She smiled to herself. Perhaps something good on a bad day. She sniffed the package for a scent. Nothing remarkable. In fact, no return address either. Her heart began to beat faster. She could think of only one person who would send her an untraceable package.

She was clutching the package to her chest like a trophy as she walked across the carpet to her bedroom. She dropped the package on the bed, moved her suitcase to the side, and leaned over it. Cranberry extended her claws and quickly ripped the package asunder. Then she reached in, claws retracted, and pulled out her prize.

The sleek polish of a beautiful cherry wood box rested on the bed. Its elegant simplicity invited contact, investigation and discovery. Such a mysterious prize called for a gentle touch, which Cranberry could provide. Her tail swung back and forth, whapping against the artificial orange leather of her chair. Cranberry lifted the box, turned it and spotted a telltale latch.

The sphinx? tail wrapped around her narrow waist and squeezed in eager anticipation. ?How beautiful,? she thought to herself as she unhooked the latch. The oiled hinges slid apart, which allowed the box to open, unveiling the mirrored surfaces of the holojector. Cranberry saw her reflection. The reflection reminded her of the inexplicable changes she had already been through. Instead of admiring her reflection, Cranberry placed the holojector on the coffee table in front of her and waited for the device to boot up.

A metallic cobalt blue pyramid appeared on the space between two of the mirrors, floating in the ether; a band of text slowly revolved around it clockwise, reading ?Prometheus Holotech?. High quality retail. The pyramid expanded, becoming a field of blue. Now there was a message written in yellow block letters, suspended in air, beneath which were two words, one in green, the other in red. The message read, ?View Your Hologram now?? The green word was ?Yes?, the red word was ?No?.
She pressed her choice, then sat back. The words melded together and mutated into black cursive text reading ?Enjoy?, then ?Now Loading??

A few seconds later, the ?Now Loading?? vanished along with the blue field, and the figure of a man replaced it.

He looked familiar. His image was frozen in time, as though awaiting a command. The young sphinx? eyes scrolled over every texture, even reaching out to touch the image, though her finger passed straight through it.

The man in the hologram was not young. Nor was he old. He was middle-aged, though late middle-aged at that. Age had not stooped his thin figure, but it had certainly sapped the vitality from his limbs. He wore a spotless frayed white lab coat, blue jeans, and white dress shoes. The thin man was not especially tall or short, but of average height. His hair was short and salt-and-pepper gray. His face was crossed with a small smile and his eyes were a gleeful green. The figure stood there, his hands in his lab coat pockets.

??? Memories flashed through Cranberry?s mind. That face. Again and again. ?? Father?? she said, with awe-inspired certainty that surprised herself.

As if on cue, the figure gesticulated and began to move, as though freed from stasis. His first words were, ?My dear Julia, I knew you would recognize me.? His voice was smooth and even, with a hint of pleasure behind it. ?Yes, I am your creator? my name is Dr. Felix Noh.? A long uncomfortable pause. ?Well, there it is.? He seemed at a loss for a moment as to how continue.

This was getting a little weird. Was the stress of college getting to her mind and causing her to hallucinate? How she hoped that was not the case or, if it were, that the hallucination would continue.

?I prepared this hologram without knowing when it would reach you, so you?ll have to pardon me for not congratulating whatever success I am certain you are experiencing with your impressive intellect. Yes, most impressive. Have you ever wondered about your own brilliance? It, along with your current state, is the result of the greatest experiment in bio-engineering ever undertaken. An experiment of which I am the sole author.? His smile broadened. ?I imagine you are overjoyed with the transformation you have begun to undergo.?

Overjoyed?! This ?change? had ruined her entire week, her entire wardrobe, perhaps her entire life.

?I can?t predict the exact nature of the transformation, but I can at least tell you how it works. The responses are entirely to your environs and mentality. That is to say, your transformation shall compensate for anything which you might lack.?

Like perhaps the need to fit into her old clothes, or the need to get the incessant howl of her instincts to quiet.


?Just wonderful. If I am still alive to see what has been wrought, I hope to someday meet you in person. With your gift, you will exceed all your cousins. Make me proud, my greatest experiment; my daughter.?

?Proud?? she pulled back her bangs. ?Doing what? I did not ask for this!?

The hologram of her father said, ?Hologram ? End ? End.? The hologram vanished, replaced by the words, ?Replay? Quit??

Cranberry sat and pondered. She sighed, and pressed?

**
Cranberry had already watched the hologram play through twice now. She was on her third viewing, scrutinizing every word, when she noticed something interesting?

?-you are overjoyed-?

Cranberry?s eyes widened. ?Hologram ? Pause!?

She studied her father?s figure. What was on that lapel under the corner of his collar?

?Zoom.? She said, and with that, a grid of hexagons fell comfortably over every contour of the figures on the hologram. She pressed a claw against a hexagon covering the exposed portion of the lapel. And again. And again. Until she could clearly make out the design. She studied it for a moment. Was it upside down?

?Flip.? Rotation markers appeared on the edges of the hologram. She flipped the image over and stared intently. The design looked like some sort of golden spoked wheel, but she could not distinguish it for certain.

She would remember it, though. And perhaps one day discover where it came from. Find her father. Get the answers. Was he anything like she had hoped? She wasn?t sure any longer? but if he was influencing her life, she had to know more about him. With a sigh, Cranberry closed the box and tried a browser search for ?Felix No? and a number of other variations, including the proper spelling, all without results. The man didn?t exist. Well, she would have to think on this one. And she?d have time. Tomorrow, suitcase in hand, she was going to take a very long walk.