Kevin opened his eyes, it took a few seconds to focus. He wasn’t wearing his glasses so anything close to his face was out of focus. Wherever he was the place had cement walls. The florescent lighting gave off an annoying hum and flickered erratically. “Ugh, where am I? What happened?” He tried to sit up but quickly realized his muscles weren’t working very well and he could barely move and had a pain at the base of his neck. “Oh crap! What happened to me why can I barely move?”
“Oh don’t worry about that.” A voice just out of his line of vision spoke. “That’s just the tranquilizer. It’ll wear off soon.” The owner of the voice stepped into view. She was a tall older woman with a hint of a German accent. Her hair was light brown and pulled up into a bun and it had grey streaks throughout. She was wearing a long white lab coat and a light blue shirt.
“Where am I?” Kevin asked with a hint of fear in his voice. “Last thing I remember I was…” He paused. He had been in his werebat form and flying in a mountainous area of southern California. He looked down at his body and saw that he was in his human form and only wearing a pair of baggy shorts. “Why am I here?”
“Oh, my boy, you’re the newest addition to the nocturnal house.”
“Excuse me?” He replied with a shocked tone.
“You’re in the San Diego zoo. One of our hunters caught you and brought you here, now you’ll be in the bat house for the rest of your life.”
“And how exactly do you plan to force me to do that?”
“Look kid, I’m too old for all this mysterious bullshit so here’s the deal. You’re a therian and I work for the collector who runs this zoo. Nearly every animal in here is a therian, they haven’t escaped and neither will you. While you were out cold you were implanted with a micro explosive at the base of your neck. You try to change form during visitor hours, you’ll lose your head quite literally. You try to escape or attack the scientists, same fate. Get it?”
“Uh, yeah. I’m a pet. So what kind of experiments do you do?”
“Depends on the scientist, the therian, and the research they want to accomplish. I’m a biologist myself.”
His numbness was finally beginning to wear off so he sat up and looked around. "So I have to just change into my bat form?”
“Actually not right now. The zoo is closing as we speak, so you won’t have to change to bat form until morning. The zoo opens at 8 am. I’ll show you to your new habitat.”
The scientist helped Kevin to his feet and walked him to the bat habitat of the nocturnal house. The habitat faced out into the African area of the nocturnal house. It housed the Hyenas and lead out to the outdoor area.
“Here it is get comfortable, or don’t, I don’t really care.”
He walked in and looked around, it was similar to the caves he was living in.
“It’s actually not that bad.”
“Ha ha ha ha! Hey guys, we got some fresh meat.” A hyena cackled from across the hall. “Just what we need around here, another bat in the belfry! Ha ha ha!”
“Uh, hey there. My name’s Kevin, I guess I’m the new kid.”
“Hey there Kevin, I’m Lyle, but the staff likes to call me Chuckles. Can’t imagine why. He he he he.”
“Okay, you obviously are a few fries short of a Happy Meal, so I think I’m gonna just hang out and be quiet over here.” He grinned politely before turning around. He took off his shorts and shifted into his werebat form.
“OOO baby take it off!” He heard Lyle joking.
He turned back around to see Lyle in his werehyena form. He was bigger than Kevin had expected him to be in that form and actually looked a bit intimidating.
“Hope you’re stronger than you look kid.” Lyle said his tone suddenly sounding serious. “Because this place will fuck you up, mentally and physically.”

Val had fallen asleep in his outdoor section, something he did often now. The setting sun felt good along his long body. A buzz cut its way through the air however announcing all the large animals needed to retire to their indoor habitats to eat and rest for the night. Val's indoor section was connected to the Nocturnal house down a branch that was usually closed off during working hours. The automatic doors swung shut revealing dramatic cave decoration and glow in the dark insects with "staff only" written in fun zoo paint. After hours they were open and at one corner of the window he would have been able to just barely see the edge of the bat exhibit as the hallway turned if Val's vision didn't resemble a blurred mass of color and rough shapes edged in black. Outside his habitat was turned towards the big cat area it was decorated as a sad imitation of his home with a wide open space he could almost have gotten to half speed in if he ran towards the fence from the very back and didn't mind colliding with it nose first.

Val padded back into the foliage laden back end of his outdoor habitat his paws sure in his direction at every dip and tread in the soil. He was a tall powerful creature, and despite the fact tat he didn't have near the bulk and intimidation of the lions he seemed to hold a magestic regal air that categorized the felines. He held his head high, though his eyes were almost closed, it wasn't necessary to fight to desipher shapes that he already knew day in and day out. He shifted into his human form, nude and uncaring and ducked into his indoor prison. The door outside buzzed and shut heavily. It had no handle or anything but he had long since figured out how to trigger it to open. He sat down in fake turf and passed his hand across the raw meat in his bowl. He could hear Lyle getting excited about something but ignored him for the most part. He picked up the meat, crosslegged next to his bowl and bit into it as black fur sprouted down his long bony spine. His skin was pale and seemed tight against his muscles and lower ribs, he had strong legs and firm arms and no excessive stomach fat to speak of. Scars dotted his body though, incisions marking his organs, chest, and in several spots on his back each one nearly stitched back together again.

After finishing his first slab he was finished, and ignored the second slab of meat in his bowl, he licked the juices off of himself meticulously and sighed exasperated at Lyle's constant noise making. "What have I told you about silence, Lyle? Who are you talking to now? I don't have to remind you there are no other hyenas in your habitat do I?"

“Well ain’t this something? The new kid’s a bat, but the cheetah is the blind one.” Lyle cackled.
“You know that’s just a common misconception, right?” Kevin perked up. “Bats actually have decent eye sight. We just depend a lot on echo location so a lot of people think we’re blind or have poor eye sight.”
“Well thanks for the biology lesson kid.”
“Whatever.” Kevin scoffed. “So how long have you guys been in here?”
“I don’t really remember; I think I we were both kidnapped around the same time. Oh yeah, that’s it. We were in rival tribes in the middle of a territory dispute and we were kidnapped right off the battle field.”
“Damn man that sucks.”
“Yeah, but who’s laughing now, huh Val?”
“Judging by the last ten minutes, you never stop laughing.” Kevin muttered under his breath. He went over to the feeding station and grabbed the plastic cup filled with a thick red liquid. “Great, way to play up the vampire bat thing.” He yelled at the door he had been brought in through. “I can get the blood I need through a freaking rare steak like the ones you gave the cheetah over there.” He didn’t hear any response from the door. “Fucking twits! That’s racism you jerks.” He sneered. “Not really surprising given Eva running show back there.” He reluctantly drank from the cup as he hadn’t eaten in a while and he was captured in the middle of hunting.

It was Val's turn to laugh, though unlike Lyle's his was cold, empty of humor. "None of that matters! We're not rivals and you, boy, you're not on the college campus. You're complaining like they give a damn about your comforts, that's the best joke I've heard and I've had to listen to this guy day in and day out."

"If I have to listen to you banter with him all day as you slowly come to terms with the fact that your freedoms are gone I'm going to do them a favor and tear my own ears and eyes out. Racism...you have food in your belly and all your limbs and both your eyes work fine...for now. Your best bet is not to look any more interesting than any of the other bats you get to hang around with in there."

Val shifted back into his cheetah form and carefully lay down, his movements like that of an old dog with bad joints his long back pressed up against the side of the glass each spot on his coat like a smudge of ink. He faced the opposite of them both but he shifted partway back as he rest his head against the glass. "Instead of wasting our time with complaints why don't you tell us where you came from? I myself am South African, as is chuckles over there. He has absolutely lost his mind so try to take what he says and does with a grain of salt."


Elsewhere:


Roland was not in his forest.

This sole fact managed to drip past the haze of tranquilizer and fall like a solitary eyedrop into cold, sharp realization. The things he'd been watching glide past like bright sunbeams were lights, similar to that which you'd find at a hospital. He had been staring listlessly as they past, glaring into his dark bleary eyes before they disappeared behind him. His captors, wheeling him through the halls hadn't noticed or assumed he was still in a heavy drugged stupor. He hadn't moved yet and couldn't focus enough to think of an action or a word to say so he relied completely on instinct. His breathing quickened and he began to writhe and struggle, each exhale becoming the characteristic huffing of a wild and pissed off grizzlybear. He thrashed and grew in the stretcher, fur sprouting through his sleeves as they ballooned with fat and muscle, causing it to rattle and creak as his weight doubled and tripled. The scientists exclaimed and scattered yelling for a tranquilizer, fighting to push each other out of range of his swinging claws thick and sharp enough to carve slices from their flesh. He got his paws free in no time once the straps snapped and swung to one side crushing several ribs of a man against the wall. He bellowed, beady black eyes glazed as he swayed into motion, first rolling against the broken and screaming man before using him to pull himself past the wreckage of torn bedding and bent metal supports. Rolan moaned and made a beline towards the nearest sign of fresh natural light. All at once he headbutted his way through the heavy doors leading outside just as adart was aimed at his back, footsteps tromping loudly down the hall behind him.

“Yeah, a grain of salt, a twist of lime and a shot of tequila. He he he he!”
“Good one. Well, my cloud, or colony, was nomadic. We had settlements in Arizona, Nevada and Mexico. When one food source got low, we would move on to the next settlement. However not all of us were that good at keeping our presence a secret. You ought to get a kick out of this, Chuckles. Ever hear of the chupacabra? Well, that was my great grandfather. Man he loved to feed on goats.” Kevin’s explained.
“Your great grandfather is the goat sucker of Mexico? Oh that’s too funny not to be true.”
“So what’s the plan for getting out of here? I mean you guys can’t possibly be content with living here for the rest of your lives. You guys must have a plan to get out somehow” He asked.

"Escape is-" Val began.
Bang! The door to the nocturnal house swung open violently and the sound of bare feet slapping against the floor echoed down the hall. A hairy naked man stumbled in, blood trickling down his side where one of several tranquilizer darts had buried itself. He leaned heavily on the window tothe bat enclosure, his hand sliding across the surface with grime and a bit of blood as he attempted to focus his gaze on what was inside the enclosures. He took one step and fell, his head cracking against the ground. ".....pointless."

Roland was not the most handsome of creatures to be seen sprawled in the nude. Heavyset with a thick healthy coating of thick black hair from his hair to his toes. He had earned the title of bear in all his forms.

"What amazing timing." Val said, wonder in his tone. "If a man that big can't bully his way free I'm not sure what you think you can do to escape. We've tried and failed. If you and Lyle want to risk life limb and sanity be my guest but leave me out of it."

Val quieted when the sound of footsteps returned, this time heavy and with friends. The scientists checked the man's pulse and one of them armed with a tranquilizer eyed the three enclosures as they carried Roland out.

Val knocked on his window. "What is that man? A bear? You'd think you'd have this tranquilizing thing down after how many people you've taken and abused."

The man approached Val, and Val stood, opening his eyes properly to get a good face to face look at him.

"None of you are people. You're disgraces against humanity and god, but you're useful. Thats the only reason why we haven't sold your hides yet." Val watched as the man turned and helped the others transport Roland out to be treated and to get his bomb implanted as quick as possible. He didn't bother with a snarky response But the moment he left, he simply opened the door to his enclosure and strode across to the bat enclosure. A beep sounded somewhere within his neck and a red light glowed through the skin but Val's head did not explode in front of all their faces.

"The door to my enclosure isn't locked. Do you want to know why? I stopped trying to live out there. You really ought to stop right now while you're ahead. What are you going to do? Dig out the bomb with a shard of glass? Go out to be shot at by hunters and forced to live primitively in backwards lives, suppressed and hidden? Wake up. This world is owned by humans, our time is done. My plan is to stay right where I am and watch you descend like the rest of us."

Val had lied, partially anyways. They hadn't unlocked his enclosure he had, years ago figured out how to unlock both his and Lyles, and could with time anyways figure out how to access the bat enclosure. The scientists were aware of this however and simply retaliated by putting extra cameras in his enclosure and a sensor that alerted them where he went when he did leave his enclosure. His freedom was an illusion. He'd still explode if he walked out of the Zoo. He'd still get tranquilized and punished if he started unlocking other cages and enclosures. He was still near blind and his body was deteriorating.

He knew however that if he utilized this brand new clean slate of a prisoner he could plot if he wanted to. He could show him how to get around off camera and utilize the weaknesses in the sensing equipment and they could plan. He had no desire to.

The rest of the night was quiet. Kevin had little to do apart from talking to the others which wasn’t doing him any good at the moment, although he did believe that the information that Val had given him was going to be vital to his escape and he did plan on escaping. He shifted back to his bat form and went back into his enclosure as did the rest of the therians. The next afternoon he was surprised when a lab tech came into the nocturnal house and took him into the back medical room.
“You can shift to your normal form now.” The tech told him. Kevin reluctantly began to shift to his human form.
“What are you going to do?” he asked, trying to hide the fear in his voice.
“Nothing too unbearable. At least not this time.” The tech replied. His eyes looking apologetic over the top of his paper mask. “Just some simple blood work and a couple tests.” Kevin lied down on the medical table and the tech inserted the needle into his arm and drew a substantial amount of blood. He put a label on the vile and put it on a rack with a bunch of others that seemed to be filled as well. He then strapped Kevin to the table using the leather restraints attached to the table.
“Now the tests.” The tech said almost cringing. “I need to test your pain threshold. Please keep in mind that I’m only doing my job and I don’t enjoy this. I just need you to tell me when the pain is too much to bear.”
“What are you going to use to do this?” Kevin asked a little bit worried now.
“It won’t be pleasant, but I’m going to use these.” The tech said holding up a pair of electrode pads. “So as not to be life threatening, they will be hooked up to your abdomen. Just let me know when it hurts too much and I’ll turn off the power.”
The tech attached the electrodes to Kevin’s abs. He turned on the machine they were hooked up to and turned a knob and Kevin felt a tingle in his muscles.
“Kind of tickles.” Kevin told him. The tech turned up the knob taking notes as he did. Little by little as the voltage increased, the tingle turned into a sting, then pain. As the tech turned the knob to the half-way point, the pain got so bad that Kevin began to shift uncontrollably between his where-bat form and his human form. He clenched his teeth and struggled against the restraints. “Enough! It’s too much!” He shouted.
The tech turned the power off and recorded the results in his notes. “You did really well, thank you for not trying to kill me.”
“Believe me the thought crossed my mind, but I’m saving that pleasure for your boss.” Kevin growled.
“I’ll be sure not to stand in your way.” The tech replied dryly having heard all the threats before. “Be sure to burn the body when you’re done, to make sure he’s dead.” He chuckled.
“Now the next test. We’re going to test your biology. It’s been documented that therians heal quickly as they shift. The faster you shift between your phases, the faster you’ll heal.”
“Why do I get the feeling it’s going to be less than enjoyable?”
“Again I ask you to remember that I’m just doing my job. I’m going to insert a sharp instrument into your body and then measure the time it takes for the wound to heal.”
“You’re going to stab me?!” Kevin shouted.
“Well, yeah I guess you could put it that way. Are you ready?”
“No!” he shouted again.
“Too bad, here it comes.” He replied as he stabbed Kevin in the leg with a scalpel about two inched into his thigh and jiggled it to make the wound big enough to observe before pulling it out.
“Ahhh, you bastard!” He said this time without shouting. He began to shift as fast as he could and within a few minutes the wound was fully healed without so much as a scar.
“Alright, that’s all for the tests.” The tech said as he undid the restraints. “If you shift back to your bat form, I’ll return you to your enclosure.”
“Fine, but you owe me for that.” He growled at the tech. He then shifted to his bat form and the tech returned him to his enclosure.
After the visitors had all left the zoo, Kevin shifted to his human form. He saw Lyle come back to his enclosure in his hyena form. “Hey man, what’s the deal with the tests here?”
“Ooo, they give you a taste of old sparky? Did ya make it past half way on the dial?” Lyle laughed.
“Barely. What’s the deal? Are they try to make us stronger or break us down?”
“Does it matter? The tests will only get worse from there. Wait till they find genetic weakness in your blood and use them against you.”
“That’s what the blood was for?! I thought they were going to try some stupid idea like cloning.”
“Don’t give them ideas.”

Val seemed to be busy, he was between two of his forms his arched back coated in a trail of the thick dark fur that came down from the nape of his neck his spots were just barely visible against his drawn skin tight and near colorless against his skeleton. "Did they shock you?" He asked.

A spark jolted in the edge of his enclosure abd the door to the outside jerked open. Val let out a grimace but set the panel back into place. "Maybe you ought to let yourself enjoy it, I hear they treat people who are into that sort of thing differently."

"If anything do it for my curiosity." He slipped out through the hatch and shifted fluidly into a leopard as a gust of cool evening air rushed in. Things had settled down since the ruckus of the bear's arrival and he wondered vaguely what kind of inhumane explorations were being done to him. Roland wasn't lucky enough to awaken calmly on an operating table pleasently hazy on drugs. It took a lot to sedate him and even more to restrain him so his welcome was done behind the thick bulletproof glass walls pf his enclosure. His stay wasn't to be in the nocturnal house with the others, the bear enclosure was elsewhere but he was temprarily being held there while they set things up.

Beyond the massive wall marking the zoo from the rest of the world Kylin observed his entryzone and studied the mildly unreliable brochure map he had procured on his visit. With some rough calculations and some overconfidence he chose a pathway that wrapped around the big cat enclosure. If he dug for the garden he could appear right on the pathway. The soil would be soft and pliable there as they changed plants out regularly. Once the hole was dug he could use his rabbit form to drag his satchel through it. It would work perfectly. He just had to make sure he didn't dig past his strike zone and into one of the habitats. He was sure next to the big cat was a hyena exhibit. He genuinely didn't want to get eaten.