Welcome to the Madhouse

Welcome to the Madhouse:Chapter One

Chapter One: Inauspicious Beginnings

The wolf whistle was singularly impressive, not only because of its purity of sound and the fact that it then continued on into the 1812 overture, but also because it originated from the thick, brown lips of what looked like an enormous orangutan, dressed in a shiny, white spacesuit, and holding a helmet under one hairy arm.

As Lieutenant Grace Alexandra Lord M.D. stepped off of the Conglomerate space shuttle, arrayed before her in a disorderly, lounging group were a wolfman, two tigermen, a grizzly bear human, and the whistling, male orangutan soldier. They were all enormous in stature, broad of shoulder, attired in combat space suits and clasping space helmets, which presumably fit their massive heads. Each of them stared avidly at Grace, their gazes so alarmingly intense, that Grace felt like she was the next course to be served up on their dinner plates. The sight of their glistening white fangs, exposed in various permutations of bestial leer, sent a shudder down her spine.

These were combat soldiers, with genetic adaptations giving them the enhanced appearance and massive strength of fierce predators. They all seemed to be grinning at her, but perhaps that was just the animal adaptations they possessed. She could swear a couple of them were actually winking at her. Inanely, the little voice in her head wise-cracked that the wolf whistle should have come from the wolfman. Following on the heel of that thought, the man who was genetically enhanced with the attributes of a wolf, tipped back his white and silver-furred head and emitted a yip-yip-yipping yowl.

The initial shock of seeing such a ferocious-looking menagerie, wearing combat spacesuits designed for human soldiers, was not only disorienting, but daunting indeed. At least the intimidating 'incisor' display was short-lived. When the genetically-modified, animal-adapted combat soldiers finally noticed the shoulder bars on Grace's own spacesuit - indicating her rank as Lieutenant - they instantly snapped to attention, becoming serious and respectful, their eyes suddenly staring straight ahead and thankfully no longer all over Grace.

These enormous military combatants of the Conglomerate, who had physical enhancements chosen to make them bigger, stronger, faster, and fiercer, formed a disciplined line. They stood almost shoulder to shoulder, with rank ascending. They all crisply saluted Grace. At full attention, these men were even more intimidating than before, and they towered over her.

Grace examined their faces perfunctorily, not wanting to gawk. They were all handsome men, but two had the facial coloring and eyes of a tiger, one had the silver-grey markings of a wolf, and the orangutan had the stringy, reddish hair and large brown eyes, characteristic of that species, along with the long arms and bowed legs. The grizzly bear sergeant had the large round head, brown fur, and massive build of that fearsome mammal. To Grace, they all looked very frightening.

Grace was about to return their impressive salutes, when off to Grace's right, there came a deafening roar, as if from some colossal beast in horrible agony. She had no time to look in the direction from whence the bellow came, before she was grabbed by a very strong pair of hands and launched straight up into the air. Her duffel bag, which she'd been carrying over her right shoulder, tumbled out of her grasp, as she flew upwards, somersaulting towards the dark, shadowy ceiling above.

Grace was shocked speechless. She sensed a huge rush of air pass beneath her, as something enormous motored through the space she had just vacated. Had she still been standing in that original spot, she would have been trampled!

The question was, by what?

As the low gravity of the space station pulled Grace back down towards the Receiving Bay floor, she was caught by another pair of muscular hands that whipped her sideways, just before the mysterious, hurricane-like force flew by her again, missing her face by a fraction. Grace felt the gale of the behemoth's passage gust passed her cheek. She was being thrown around so violently, her head was spinning, and Grace had to clench her jaws to avoid vomiting. She had still not gotten a good look at whatever was charging at her, when she was flung upwards again, by another strong pair of hands.