"Well?"
I looked at Chris who was clearly waiting for my report. "Reports of transformations I can confirm, but I'm still investigating as to why they happen."
He grinned, "And the claims from the neighbouring town of Cherry?"
"Cherry." I said.
"What?"
"Its pronounced Cherry."
"Whatever," he leaned forward, "What about their claims involving satanic cults and all that?"
"Untrue, Cherry's population has a tradition of fearing the transformation even though no basis for the fear is realized. The opposite actually seems to be the norm. People from Cherry regularly terrorize their sister town often killing Barken's residents."
"Sounds bad, have you kept a control on your temper?"
I laughed, "Whats the matter, afraid I'm going to lose it again?"
He just kept a stolid expression.
"Yes, but it took some doing a few times. Its almost as if I'm reliving the Salem witch trials."
"You remember what happen then don't you?"
I dropped my voice dangerously low, "Of course I do, It wasn't my fault that they would interpret my actions as incriminating evidence against those poor women." I could feel my cheeks get hot, "I saved them anyway, remember?"
"Which was also against regulations."
"Look," I said, "Do you want the rest of the report or not?"
"Go ahead."
I sipped some water, "The records were hard to obtain, but I was able to find out some extensive history of the town, I'm surprised we haven't heard of Barken sooner, its history goes back quite far. Destroyed several times by the residents of Cherry, but always rebuilt. Its tragic really."
"What are some specifics on the transformations?"
"All residents are affected, Not immediately but after living in town from a period of a few weeks to a few months. The human mind stays in control but I suspect certain quirks of canine behaviour affect their mental states. Everyone seems to have an attitude which is more care-free than you would find in any average town."
"You said all residents are affected," Chris said, "You've been there within the time limit…" "One year." I confirmed.
"Have you been affected?" he asked.
"No, standard precautions seem to prevent the transformation from affecting me."
He thought that over, "OK, we still need to know what the cause is. I think you should spend another year there."
"No." I said.
"Why not?"
"Its risky, Barken is a close knit town, almost like one big family, I'm already regarded with a little suspicion because I haven't transformed yet. I can risk another month or two but then I'd better pull out."
"How secret is the transformation among the residents?" asked Chris.
"They actually don't keep a very tight lid on it, but they don't exactly come right out and say it either. Anybody who moves into town is not normally told until they transform themselves. Hence, no-ones really talked to me about it yet."
"You haven't done any questioning?"
"I've asked general questions and put a couple residents under hypnosis for inquiries."
"Do you still have solid cover?"
"Aside from a few suspicions yeah."
"OK," Chris said, "I can get any other answers from your written report. By the way, expect a couple of MIB agents in two weeks."
"MIB?" I asked, "do you want me to keep an eye on them?"
"Yes, although they've never been a threat before, just keep them out of trouble," Chris said.
"No problem there, those guys are usually pretty well behaved," I got up to go.
"Watch your temper."
"Grrrrr." I said and we both laughed.
At the request of the author, this story-plot and its characters are off-limits to any other authors.
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