Chapter 5: Interlude: The Reporter

Channel 2 Action News Mobile Command Van, Outskirts of Helen, GA

"… and no one knows the exact origins of the humanoid monsters, but there have been sighted in multiple locations in mountainous regions along the Appalachian mountain range, as far north as Maine, and here near the southernmost trailhead at Brasstown Bald, some even appearing as far as here in the sleepy Germanic village of Helen. The aggression level has been stated as, and I quote a local emergency responder, 'all over the map'. Volunteer firefighters responding to calls involving fires have even reported being helped by what they are describing as 'lucid female humanoid creatures with some grasp of English beginning to work alongside them, using powers with water elements to them to fight the fires.

Stay tuned to Channel 2 Action News for updates as this story develops. I'm Rebecca Strand, now back to you in the studio, Dan."

Rebecca waited for the green light on the camera to turn red, signaling the end of her live report. She sighed deeply. She was here for a vacation, sipping adult beverages and floating down the Hooch on an intertube, not caught reporting on an otherworldly invasion of sentient female monsters from God knows where. There had been reports of portals of various sizes, experts (such as they were) referring to them as 'rifts', but she was a gamer, and these were definitely portals.

She'd had to speed 20 minutes to the nearest local station to borrow a news van, and thank the lord that she'd had training as a producer as well as a reporter, as the one provided by the station had promptly been abducted by a monster with the body of a spider who grumbled about something called taming before whisking him off to parts unknown, barely sparing her a second glance. She was relieved that she was apparently not on that particular creature's menu. Amusingly and frighteningly, a female human-looking creature with the ears and tail of a dog had somehow decided to stay near Rebecca soon after and had taken over camera duties. It was all so bizarre that she had had no choice but to just roll with it.

She stepped away from her position in front of the camera, flopping down on the open doorway of the van and holding her head in her hands. She felt something move to sit in the space beside her and gently place their hand… err… paw on her shoulder. "Are you okay?" The girl asked softly, startling Rebecca slightly.

"Um, yeah," she responded. "You're not gonna abduct me or anything, are you? I'm just a junior reporter, I don't know what value I would have to you unless you're hungry, I guess.'

"Nah, I prefer steak and pasta, no offense. You do look quite… edible in other senses of the word, though." The girl grinned as she looked over at her. "Seriously, though, you're safe. After the Arachne, I figured you needed some sort of protection. Your friend should be fine, the pokegirl will likely just show him a good time to keep from going feral and then send him on his way, or keep him to stay tame. Those are girls you REALLY don't want to evolve. Widows are instant death machines. He's doing your world a favor."

Rebecca looked at her new protector. "And what about you? what happens to you if you aren't able to show some poor guy a good time?"

"Or girl," the dog girl stated. Rebecca blanched slightly. The girl continued. "I'd go feral, lose the ability to speak or think clearly, begin running on pure instinct and emotion, and likely plead with you or force you to keep me tame out of necessity before it was too late and I became a danger to anyone else I came into contact with."

"So you'd rape me to stay sane."

You are reading story The Thin Places at novel35.com

"I'd rather not, that's no fun for either of us. Going feral is… well, imagine there was a disease on your world where you slowly lost everything that made you who you are. Your thoughts, your ability to speak, your ability to recognize your own friends, kits, and master…"

"It's called Alzheimer's." Rebecca stated simply. Would that it were so simple as having sex to reverse its effects."

"I, just like the Arachne you met, lost my master when the rifts opened, it dumped domestic, tame, and feral pokegirls alike here, and I haven't been able to see any pattern to whatever is causing it." She frowned intently. "I'm separated from my master and harem sisters, perhaps by entire realities now. This is all new. There have been rumors of otherworlders being dumped on our world before, but those were isolated, single person to single group incidents. Never before has it looked like what you called an invasion."

Rebecca nodded. "So you need me, and are offering your services as protector and producer in exchange for keeping you sane?"

"That's the gist of it. I don't understand how the more… intimate… elements of our society would be handled on your world, so Im unsure of how problematic my offer may be, but rest assured, I would do everything in my power to make it a relationship you can bear."

"Fair enough, I suppose. If it's between you and a humanoid spider, well, I prefer my companions to enjoy being scratched behind the ears. Do you have a name?"

"Master named me Estella." The girl smiled, visually relaxing. "And you are Rebecca Stroud…"

"Strand. It's not a normal last name here, but I like it."

Estella nodded. "Well, any questions for me?"

"Oh, loads. Starting with, can I interview you?"

You can find story with these keywords: The Thin Places, Read The Thin Places, The Thin Places novel, The Thin Places book, The Thin Places story, The Thin Places full, The Thin Places Latest Chapter