It is a late start the next day. Carla decided to help Soph shower with her having all that fur and being weak after mutating. The first priority is to get Carla back into her skin so she can enjoy that more. Maybe she will take a tumble with me as well. You never know.

Then she needed food, and the Doc wanted a full assessment.

Amanda did say that the death toll remains at six so far, and they are hopeful about not losing anybody else. Lewis has come out of the Mutation Coma, as they are calling it and is recovering. Amanda wouldn’t say what mutations they had discovered due to patient confidentiality, but I could tell she was excited.

Six deaths out of fifteen was pretty good. Sixty percent survival. That drops if you count the fifty percent with the other four volunteers. We must be able to do something to keep improving that, but smarter people than me are working on it now, so that is not my problem.

Eight lives to claw back from the uncaring anomalies. The tab is running.

We had two rooms across the corridor and one door down from each other. The lounge room was busier. Now, there were other survivors up and about. I was feeling crowded. I generally stayed in the cot room, and Soph and the medical team were in her room. The dogs trotted back and forth, although I saw Buck more frequently than Rich. Carla stayed with Soph all morning.

I did some internet searching on my phone, focussed on Labradors and Terrier dogs. I wasn’t a dog person, but I didn’t hate them like cats. If Soph had wanted to bond with a cat, we would have a real problem.

It was lunchtime when we finally got together. I suggested we meet in the cot room as I knew there were no listening devices there. I doubt the place was rigged anyway due to the speed at which it had to be converted.

“We need to agree on where to go next,” I said. “I want our focus to be on transforming Carla, but we need medical assistance for that, and the Navy will have other things they want us for.”

“Testing,” said Carla.

“Testing,” I agreed.

“That is not your biggest concern, though, is it?” Soph said. “Something is really bugging you. What is it?”

I looked at her suspiciously. She glanced pointedly at Rich. Rich, who is sensitive to essence and emotions. “Bloody cheater!” I accused.

“I learned from my Fiance, who is good at these things,” She replied

“What is his range?” I asked.

“Short, like your electro-receptors, but with the potential to grow. Are you not upset? No, you are pleased, why?”

“I am the emotional Neanderthal. Grunt, grunt, smash, smash. I now have two people to interpret my emotions for me, so I don’t have to fucking worry any more. I can ignore it, and you can tell me when I am emotional. Damn right, I am pleased.”

“That doesn’t make sense,” Soph said.

“Does to me,” I replied.

“Bob,” Carla said, “What’s bugging you?”

“I need space. I need to get out of here. It’s too crowded.”

“Do we know how long they are quarantining us for?” Soph asked.

“No, how long was it at the hospital?” Carla asked

“I don’t fucking know,” I said.

“No problem, I will ask Amanda,” Soph said.

“We have to fix Carla,” I said.

“Yes, but it is not going to happen in the next few days. There is time for you to have a break,” Carla said.

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“Where would you go?” Soph asked.

“If I make a break for it, I would probably swim to Auckland and catch a ferry to Waiheke. Waiheke is empty at the moment.”

“You don’t have ID,” Carla said.

“I don’t need it to get to Waiheke.”

“You do if you want to hire a car or bike,” she said.

“My bike is … oh shit. My bike may well be blown into small bits. It was in the cove. It had better not be busted up. Shit, I can hitch or walk. Whatever, I will figure it out.”

“What about us as a group? We are a group. A kickass group. Whose ass are we going to kick?” Soph said.

“The anomalies ass,” I said

“I think the Navy just did that.”

“There is more than one anomaly,” I said.

“You want to go around and help deal with anomalies?” Carla asked.

“What else are we going to do? What else are we qualified to do? I am a Civil engineer. You are a Fitness instructor, she is a… What do you do?”

“I am a primary school teacher,” said Soph.

“Now we are Mutants.”

“Yeah, they are never going to let me in front of a class looking like this,” Soph said, indicating her fur.

“The kids would love it,” Carla said.

“It is not the kids that would fire me,” Soph said.

“We definitely have to change your Mutant name. You can’t be Dogbreath any more, no, you are Furry. Fucktoy, Fishface and Furry. Triple F.” I declared.

“I think he has gone off the deep end here,” Soph said.

“Yeah, but that won’t drown him anymore,” Carla said.

“Wait, You are not the Furry. That has too many weird sexual connotations. You can be called the Mongrel. Fucktoy, Fishface and Mongrel. FFM for short. Hey, there was no need to throw that!”

“Yes, there was,” Soph said.

“He needs time out desperately,” Carla said, “and probably a good fuck.”

“That is not going to happen until we fix you,” I grumbled.

“I am not the only woman in the world,” Carla said.

“You said good fuck. I need an incredible fuck, so yes, you are.”

“Wow.”

“Yeah, wow,” I agreed.

“Back to the Anomalies, if you want us to go around helping deal with them, won’t we need the Navy for that?” Soph asked. “You know, Island nation, Gills, Breathable Skin. Kind of indicates we should stick with the Navy.”

“Solid teacher logic that,” I said. “Don’t forget that Labrador fur of yours is basically waterproof.”

“We discovered that this morning,” Carla said.

“We are already consultants for the navy,” I said, “with expertise and experience with anomalies. You two finalise our contract with the Navy while I do a runner and lay on a beach.”

“That doesn’t sound fair,” Soph complained.

“I am one hundred per cent certain we don’t want him involved in contract negotiations with the Navy,” Carla said.

“Rich is the one you want involved,” I said.

“And my family's lawyers,” Soph said.

“And them,” I agreed.

“How would we contact you? You never have your phone on. I distinctly remember a certain commander complaining to me about that not long ago,” Carla said.

“You can’t get away from everyone if they can just ring you,” I said. “Anyway, you can just pulse me. Keep it simple. I will learn Morse Code while I am on the beach.”

“If it works over that distance.”

“It worked from my home to the hospital. Waiheke is only three times that distance.”

“OK, but if you get there and it doesn’t work, you phone me, and we will work out something else,” Carla said.

“There is still email. Remember that ancient form of communication?” I said.

“Are we really just going to let him go sit on the beach while we do the work?” Soph asked.

“He does his best work sitting on a beach,” Carla said, “or swimming or anywhere alone. Look at what he came up with in a few hours the night before your mutation. It was a major factor in getting you through.”

“I guess,” she said doubtfully. “I want to sit on a beach too. With this fur, I won’t burn at the touch of the sun anymore.”

“But you will get hotter,” Carla said.

“Humpft,”

“One thing is clear,” Carla said, “We want to work with the navy, but we don’t want to be tied to the navy. After this, we need time off so, we will get this sorted and go join him on the beach.”

“Sounds better,” Soph grumbled.

Carla looked at me, “We will need accommodation big enough for all three of us and two dogs. And NO tents.”

“Bloody fussy women.”