Prologue and Chapter One - Saturday
#1 of Through Time and Space
So I decided to pick up the quill and ink again, so to speak. I feel like my writing has improved leagues since 2011, which was the last time I wrote for fun. I hope you enjoy it. There will be action fo sho tho.
I'm not quite sure where this is going, but are we ever sure where we are going? pats bongos Anyway, if you read this, even if you don't comment or fave, you have my gratitude. Reading a piece means that I have captured your attention for more than a couple seconds, and that is probably some of the best praise I could receive.
Prologue
Cass's panting in the night was suppressed by the tangle of cedar and fir surrounding her on either side as she darted down the straight but narrow stretch of cobble ahead. The only accompanying sounds were the soft scuffing of her leather boots across the stones and the near-silent splashing of her tears being sporadically scattered on the stones. Her momentum and the desperate plea directed at her were the only things keeping her from turning around in her tracks. Were it not for these two factors, her escape would have been more difficult than when she had still been bound in irons.
Her panting gave way to ragged gasps before she made any real distance but still she willed herself to continue. She didn't have the constitution for distance running, or any kind of running for that matter. The ferret girl was powered by adrenaline, fear, and the innate sense possessed by all higher vertebrates that her immediate course of action dictated her chances of survival. As if to remove any doubt, a crossbow bolt whizzed past her left arm, and she knew she had to do something quickly before she ended up dead, too. The path up ahead continued until it meandered out of sight. Saying a silent prayer to a deity she did not believe in, she ducked to the left, off the path, into the thick brush.
Behind her, her tears created nearly invisible damp spots amongst the stone and dirt, catching a glint of moonlight every few moments as the canopy above swayed gently in the chilly night breeze. The faint sound of horse's hooves grew louder, swiftly trampling past where Cass had dove into the forest and continuing along the cobblestone road. Soon, the silence of the night spoke louder than any cry for help.
Chapter One - Saturday
Globules of water fell with the apparent force of steel bolts across the smooth pavement, making Cass even more grateful she didn't have to venture outside on the dreary Saturday morning. Wrapping her duvet under her brown-furred arm, she delicately brought her mug to her lips and sipped. A grimace wrinkled her face as the much-too-hot cocoa scalded her tongue. Every time, she mused, blinking and looking out her third-floor window. People scurried about below as the torrent soaked one and all. The bravest of individuals darted across slick sidewalk and muddy lawn without as much as a rain jacket. Setting the mug down and propping her chin on her wrist, the 20-year-old ferret girl contemplated the schoolwork she needed to finish. As she counted off an online quiz, a PowerPoint presentation, and two papers all due within the next two weeks, she silently lamented her fate as a college student. Absentmindedly she took another sip from her cocoa before realizing too late the mistake she had repeated.
The liquid burned all the way down her esophagus before calming to a dull warmth in her stomach. The sensation gave her the impetus to stand, though she was still cocooned in her blanket. She had begun to tentatively roll out of her blanket wrap, exposing her legs to the mildly chilly air, when her phone vibrated on the table. The ferret girl's small round ears perked slightly, and curious, she picked her phone off the table. Thomas Kirkegaard:Hey Cass, it's Thomas. I know you said you wanted to meet up Sunday but I was wondering if you could meet today instead? I was called in to work tomorrow... :( I know this is probably a big inconvenience for you, but if this doesn't work maybe we could do the project together without meeting up or something...
Despite his wording the message as a question, Cass couldn't help but get the feeling she had no choice in the matter. Grieving the sudden and unexpected loss of her sleepy Saturday morning with a sigh, she typed up a reply. Oh, that's too bad. I can be flexible, though. When did you want to meet? Cass hit Send and placed the phone back on the table. She rubbed her eyes and yawned before stepping out of her room, retrieving her phone as an afterthought. The drab halls seemed especially gray this morning as she walked down the narrow hall to her apartment bathroom, which she shared with two other girls. The sound of her feet echoed quietly on the cold tile, the sudden chill of which was simultaneously refreshing and unwelcome. Cass flicked on the light and gingerly placed her phone on the counter before turning on the shower. Thankfully, her apartment was near the complex's water heater, so she didn't have to wait long before the water warmed.
She quickly took off her fuchsia tank top and matching boy shorts and tested the water before stepping in. Warm water with similar pressure to that of the rain falling outside greeted her fur, first being repelled by her natural raincoat but soon yielding under the sheer amount of liquid. The ferret girl grabbed her shampoo and began lathering it into her fur. Her thoughts turned to her project, accompanied by the wafting scent of coconut and aloe. It was a simple enough requirement, really: Give a summary about the shifts in culture that occurred during the start of the Cold War era for her Special Topics in History class. It was just a gen-ed, but she took it just as seriously as the chemistry classes she took for her major. She only hoped this Thomas kid felt the same way.
Cass ran her lathered fingers through her headfur, scratching her scalp and rubbing the back of her fuzzy ears. She didn't know Thomas, to whom she was assigned, at all: he tended not to speak up in class unless engaged directly and he had an aloof demeanor that elicited suspicion from the Junior, a suspicion born, admittedly, of being unable to read him. That meant she had no idea what to expect as far as his contribution to the project. Scrubbing her shoulders and chest, Cass hoped she wouldn't have to pull two thirds of the weight of this project like she usually ended up doing, although at least she could trust the quality of her own work.
She continued ruminating about her project criteria as she shampooed, then conditioned, the rest of her petite frame. All the pertinent questions about Thomas's work ethic would be answered soon enough. She reluctantly turned off the relaxing stream of water and braced herself for the cold air that greeted her naked body, though it was hardly a pleasant greeting. Cass pulled aside the curtain and clumsily stepped over to the towel rack, nabbing a towel and beginning to dry herself. Her legs trembled slightly, shaking off loose-hanging water droplets from her fuzzy calves. Her fur would remain damp even after she finished toweling off, so she wrapped the fabric around her and grabbed her blow dryer. Thus began the tedious but necessary process of making oneself appear presentable.
Several minutes and a multitasked tooth-brushing later, her coat was smooth, glossy, and smelled vaguely tropical. The oils in her skin would do to keep her for clean for the next week. She picked up her phone to find that a message was waiting for her. Thomas Kirkegaard: Well, I'm actually at the library now haha. So whenever you are ready? Or would this afternoon work better?
Her small-clawed fingers skittered across the glass screen as she replied: _Ok. Let me grab my stuff and I'll meet you there shortly. Maybe half an hour?_She remarked to herself that at least Thomas used proper spelling and grammar in his text messages, thankfully. She retreated to her room and tossed her phone on her bed. In a fluid motion, she uncoiled her towel and shuffled through her clothes in her dresser. Today was definitely a function over form kind of day - her weekend mindset necessitated something comfortable, but the weather necessitated water resistant clothing. She compromised by settling on a thick sweater over a modest university T-shirt paired with some sweatpants, which she wore over a pair of calf-high boots. Her outfit of choice wasn't exactly the most attractive ensemble, but dammit if she was going to let this miserable weather ruin a lazy weekend.
The ferret girl began to gather her necessary materials for the project, scanning the room for anything that would be useful. Her eyes caught on her mug of cocoa, from which she had only sipped twice. Its pink ceramic face read "I C43H66N12O12S2C8H10N4O2," a cumbersome but still humorous pun to the Chem major. She picked up the mug and downed the rest of the now-lukewarm beverage. The cocoa was still quite palatable to the self-admitted chocoholic. Cass gathered up her backpack and rain jacket, and, lugging her backpack over one shoulder, brought her cup to the sink.
Her spartan apartment was more difficult than usual to leave due to the circumstances but somehow she gathered the courage to step outside and lock the door. When she made it outside from her third-floor apartment, she was pleasantly surprised that the rain had lessened, though it had not stopped outright.
The automatic doors of the library greeted the ferret as she shook off and closed her umbrella. The open floor plan of the building was simple to navigate, and she had a good idea of where Thomas would be, despite not knowing his exact location. Hopping up the steps in the back of the foyer, she located the cubicles containing group computer work spaces. She found Thomas, or rather, she found his sand-colored ear tips poking out from behind the corner of the cubicle. As soon as she rounded the corner, his almost cartoonishly large ears swiveled slightly in her direction, likely of their own accord. Thomas didn't appear to notice her, however, until she pulled up a chair next to her and set her backpack on the table.
"Oh, hey," the fennec said flatly, before a more expressive "Thank you so much for meeting up with me today, especially on such short notice."
Cordially, she gave a small smile before saying "We had to get it done eventually." Looking at the computer screen, she noticed he had already set up a presentation outline. Not bad. "So what do you have so far?"
"Well, not a whole lot. I figured I could start with the introduction, and I gathered a few sources. Did you want to take on a particular part of the project? I guess I could do the introduction, and I thought it would be fun to talk about emergency planning during the cold war... you know, stuff like fallout shelters and evacuation, things like that."
Cass nodded. "That would be a good idea. Well, since you're taking on the introduction I'll do the conclusion, and in my reading I've come across some cool stuff about McCarthyism and HUAC, so, where does that leave us?"
Although she intended it mostly as a rhetorical question, Thomas began shuffling through his papers. "Well it says in the grading criteria that we just need to have a 10 minute presentation with 3 primary articles and 3 secondary sources. I think we might be set, how about you?"
"I agree. Well, let me unpack my laptop and I can pull my own weight."
Huh. She couldn't recall saying that to a group member before.