Before we reached Clone-Earth, the female panther went into labor; I was taken by surprise. The thin tiger told me that he'll take care of it; his wife, not the panther, had several children before.
With the Lion's Paw on auto-pilot, I paced back and forth in front of her room, waiting for the good news. It seemed to take forever; how long does it take to bring a child out of the womb?
After wearing a hold into the floor, I heard the slap and the cry of the newborn. I ran inside, the mother panther was holding a baby boy. She told me that if I didn't help her, she would have lost her life and her child. It wasn't any problem for me.
"If you'll excuse me, I have to return to bridge. As soon I drop you off, I have to go to those labs in Kenya. I need to know something about my past."
"Your past?!" the tiger questioned. "Why would your past involve where our grandparents were born?"
"I have to make sure that the land it's on isn't on my land. It may be my fault that you race was created."
"How can that be?" the tired panther panted. "You couldn't have been the one? Could you?"
"I don't know, but I got to find out. Did someone manage to copy my ability for their gain?"
"You don't have any abilities that we have?"
"No, but I can morph to blend in with society. My watch allows me to change my physical appearance. Watch!" I pressed the watch and turned back into the tiger form that I was in earlier. Another press morphed me into a lion. Then I returned to me human form. "They may have found out that human and animal DNA could be spliced. If they did, then it was my fault that this is happening. I have to make sure!"
The Lion's Paw entered Clone-Earth's atmosphere, the heat sheild held as it went through re-entry. The ship began to slow as it exited the heating zone. After receiving clearance, the Lion's Paw came to a rest on the air strip it was cleared for. The door opened and the trio of cheetahs were the first to leave the ship. The thin tiger helped the mother panther off the ramp. Tim, Tor, and the pair of lions were the last to leave. I walked up to the doorway and told Tim to take them to a place where their freinds and family can come and pick them up. The door close as the ship slowly raised into the air, I was off to see the labs in Kenya first hand.
The return trip to Earth was identical to the first but this time they didn't arrest me for being a traitor. Instead they told me how to get into the labs of Kenya; it seemed that they actually wanted me to find out the truth or was it more.
The directions they gave me led me to a hugh lab surrounded by several smaller labs. The series of labs were on the land that I own; this was worse than I ever feared. The home that I protected all those years ago was now a hugh lab and several smaller ones. The land's features like rock features were still standing but it wasn't the same to me.
I opened the doors to the closed lab and walked inside. Spider webs and dust covered the ciling and the floor. The walls were discolored by photos of the land, before and after construction. A high photo was hung a wide wall where the lab notes were kept and filed. It was a painting of me with a brass sign that read "Founder". It was confusing; I never found this instute, nor will I found it now.
I pounded on one of the selves of notes; a book fell off and opened to a page when it hit the dusty floor. I picked up the dropped book and began to read it; it was talking how one of their assistants discovered me changing my form to aid my fighting. It was one of the poachers that escaped a week before the death of my friend. He was the cause of this problem, but it was dedicated to me because of my ability.
With the aid of poacher John and funding by the U.S. Government, we were able to create creatures that were part man and part animal. A perfect blend to insure victory and to fight our wars. No longer will human life be sacrificed for victory.
Poacher John discovered this by watching an individual that changed his shape right before his very eyes. Others poachers thought that he was crazy until they found out first hand. John was downwind of the individual when the poachers that mocked him closed in. They killed the lion that was with the individual. In retailiation, the individual turned into a hugh Siberian Tiger and killed all of them. The whole episode was recorded and held in storage.
"I would have never thought that a poacher would actually record this for his benefit. Will they did mention a recoding of it. Maybe I could look at it and see where John stood."
I returned out side and began to search for the spot where he hide. It wasn't hard to find; they labeled the spot where he stood and the spots were the other poachers were before being killed. It also pointed out where my friend and I stood. The white rocks that I used to outline where my friend died were still there.
Night began to overcome the light of day. The stars came out and shown brightly. I deep chill went down spine; I still remembered that night.
"It's been awhile old friend." I told him as he appreared.
"Who are you talking about? I've never met you in all my life."
"Quit kidding."
"I'm not. I have never been your friend nor will I be your friend. I want you to leave this place and never return."
"I'm sorry. I'll never darken these lands ever again..."
I hid back in the lab. It was still hard for me to accept the fact that he had forgotten me. How could life-long friends all of a suddend never met? It was a complete mystery.
I found a vault that held many recording, each label in numeric order. I grabbed tapes 1 to 5 and began watching. Tape 1 was the video of the final poacher attack and the start of "The Animen Project". Tape 2 contain information and the first experiments on "The Animen Project". Tape 3 and 4 were the continuation of the project and it had the first interviews with the first animan. It was a big Bangel Tiger.
The final tape had more information based on the tiger. He was name Alpha because he was the first sucess of the project. It covered his daily attivities and eating habits. Surprisingly, he was acting completely like a human; training was the main reason behind his behavior. He was trained to act human and behave as such. The tape continued to run thoughout the rest of the night even though I fell asleep somewhere in the middle of the program.
The sun rose silently into the sky; the rays woke me up. I looked around and my eyes met the eyes of another familiar face. It was Alpha!
Back to the Story Web Page.