Page 2

My name, they told me, is Eva. Short for Evangeline. I like it, and it fits; so whatever name I must really call myself by will go on unremembered and uncared for. I was the lead mercenary under the meticulous instruction of a certain “Sai Reedling” of Ceaos. The mission had gone smoothly until we had been discovered, and the target’s forces unleashed some form of secret weapon.

They explained the following event as nothing short of supernatural. I disappeared.
There was a great, blinding light, as if “the sun sat on us.” (Here I quote Gella.) Opposition literally ceased to exist.
Then, I dropped out of nowhere.

To be honest, I don’t believe half of anything they say.

After they had finished explaining what had become of me in the abandoned warehouse bordering the dense pine forest this had all occurred within, they set about introducing themselves belatedly. They thought maybe that would jog my memory.

They were all mainly human in origin, although Renti had eyes like a hawk’s (not figuratively speaking). Datanyan Beswick, known lovingly as Dat, filled me in on the apparent difference between myself and the rest of the crew. Unlike Renti, Dat and Gella, I was one of the minority citizens of the city. A splicer. Anthropomorphic Mountain Lioness, to be exact. I was not alone. You see, as far back as any of the oldest can remember, humans had been experimenting with the genetics of mammalian (and otherwise) DNA. New sentient species emerged, and eventually blended in with society worldwide. Minutia on the whole matter is undoubtedly on record somewhere, but that’s someone else’s story. You’ve come to hear mine.

Particulars on my own origin and past before the mercenaries was unknown to them, sorry, they said. Just that I had been recruited and was Reedling’s favorite. Yes, wait till you meet him, they practically purred. They exchanged glances that made me uneasy, further cause for my mistrust in them.

Page 3

Whatever strange happening that caused me to appear eighteen feet in the air also, apparently, caused my clothing to vanish, so they scrounged up some replacements for me. Not that it really mattered, you see, fur covered whatever these humans considered indecent, and the black uniform they produced for me was uncomfortable at best. It felt foreign on my body… and I itched at it constantly, tearing it in places with my claws. 
Gella used her field knife to tear a hole for my tail; though I’m afraid she put it too far to the side. It cramps after awhile, and it’s near painful to sit.

Three of us huddled around a small gas-lamp in the warehouse. The power didn’t work, so we just shivered there, cleaning gear as Dat radioed in to HQ from the small office-room he had found.

I tugged at a sleeve with annoyance, lashing my tail as I reassembled a handgun per Renti’s instruction. The shrill squawk of Dat’s radio caused me to flinch.

“Mosquitos, Eva?” Gella was watching me from her fluffy parka.
I shook my head “Dat’s walkie startled me.”
“I didn’t hear it…” Renti grumbled in his gruff voice while cleaning the barrel of a rifle.

I flicked my ears back, picking up what sounds my comrades apparently were incapable of hearing.

“Sai, it’s Dat. Come in.”
“Finally. The drones picked up some electrical disturbance. What happened?” That voice…. I didn’t trust that voice….
“Target terminated, sir. Eva’s safe and en route to HQ.”
“….Eva?”
“Yes, sir. Safe and sound.”
There was a pause.
“Eva! Yes! Good, good… we’ll see you at oh-six hundred then.”
“Aye, sir. Over and out.” I heard a smile in his voice.
He closed the walkie, extinguishing the faint blue light it shed and hiding the devilish smirk he must have been wearing.