6 people are deposited on an island.
The 1st night someone accidentally activates a barrier.
In the tv studio the producers quickly realise that they can't get anybody out or in but the automatic cameras' signals are still working. They decide to relabel the show as fiction.
Now which character do you wish to start with?
Written by catprog on 17 December 2000
Waking up changed
A generic placeholder page for people who wake up on the island changed.
Written by catprog on 03 January 2018
Tigress Taur
White light.
That was all that was visible as he lifted his hand to his face. He felt numb all over, but that numbness gradually transitioned into pain that lingered and throbbed. The brightness filling his vision bled away slowly, and he could drink in the setting he was at…where he was.
A sandy beach. He could see it stretched on for miles, and there were towering palm trees providing shade far and wide. The ocean just barely rolled in, the tide was too far out to be an issue anytime soon. The air smelled fruity and sweet, and the sky was a serene blue color, with not a cloud in sight. It honestly looked like a tropical island paradise; the one people would spend massive amounts of money to get away to.
It was nice, but that wasn’t the issue…it was why he felt…higher off the ground. His hand lifted to block the sun, and he winced, noticing something.
The hand blocking the sun was dainty, slim and with longer nails…it was a feminine one; he distinctly remembered having more muscle mass.
“The fuck?” Even his voice sounded different! Feminine, higher, and even with a dip of honey. He was in a panic now, trying to desperately figure out just what was the reason for this, as he roamed his hands over his body in a desperate struggle to figure out what was going on and why was he suddenly…a she!
Everywhere he touched, he was give more reminders that he was no longer a he; full breasts, widened hips, and lengthier hair. Rushing to the ocean’s edge, he was able to catch a glipse of his reflection in the stilled water.
Her hair was a lot longer; ginger colored as it reached her lower back. Freckles adorned her face, and her skin was a bit paler, showing that even her form was changed far further than wanted.
…and then, she caught a glimpse of it…orange…fur? Another step forward, and she was given a clue why.
Her lower body wasn’t even human!
From the waist down…she had the body of a tiger; like a taur of some sort! Four long, powerful legs, with a swishing, swinging tail, covered entirely in orange fur much like her now ginger hair, and with black spots to reflect the freckles.
It didn’t make any logical sense…and yet, she felt…attuned to the legs, as if she had them her entire life, despite holding no memory of it; it explained how she was able to move about and not even realize they were there. As baffling as that was, she still had to…find some form of rationality from this.
An excuse.
“Okay…not one bit of this makes sense…lemme see…lemme see…m-my name was…Jacob but…it’s…Jamie…now, I guess.” The female name rolled off the tongue. It was mildly worrying. “Where…am I?” Now that was the big question that she had to ponder; where was this place?
Written by AGhostInTheMachine on 09 January 2018
A Human
Her ears picked up movement. She turned sharply, looking towards the jungle, as she felt…acclimated; her eyes were able to see much further away than before, and to see someone emerging from the bushes, holding a makeshift spear. The man in question wore a pair of cloth pants, and was quite lanky and pale. He was absolutely trembling at the sight of Jamie, to which the…augmented female, just turned to face him, clearing her throat.
“Hey, put the spear down; what’s going on here?”
“N-No! You’re another Augment! You’re gonna kill me like the others!”
“The others? Bud, what the fuck are you talking about? I just woke up like this and nothing’s making any fucking sense. Who are you?”
“Y-You’re not…one of them?”
“I can’t be one of them since I don’t know who ‘they’ are, dumbass.”
“…don’t have to be all mean about it.” Despite the shaky exchange, Jamie watched the man slowly lower the wooden spear, sighing and calming down. “I’m Steve…and you?”
“Jamie…also can you make me something to cover with? Sorta getting antsy with my tits out.”
Written by AGhostInTheMachine on 11 January 2018
Getting the lay of the land
Jamie was sort of annoyed with how the cloth bra felt, but…well it worked. Steve had some good craftsmanship if he could craft a bra from plant fibers and nothing more. Currently, the two of them were beginning to trek through the jungle, the man taking the lead with his own spear as Jamie held one herself, though with a slight lax grip…she had never expected to be using one of these.
Though, granted, she couldn’t recall a lot of things.
“So, what is this place, Steve?” She asked, lifting one of her pawed feet and crossing over downed tree, glancing down to it as the man worked to keep himself moving. “And how did I get here?”
“For the latter, you were chosen…by who, we’re not sure. And this place? All we call it is The Island. It’s a massive, ever expanding place that seems to be made up of several different biomes somehow, despite the climate and the location of us.”
“Biomes?” Steve seemed to just point left.
“Keep going that way, it just gets hotter and hotter, and then it becomes a swampy biome. Go the other, and you end up in a temperate forest. And, even weirder, you go north, and you end up in a fucking tundra.”
“That doesn’t make any sense.”
“Yet it’s there; the same for the others. I think this place was…engineered, to be like this; made to be some sort of sick, twisted Island, where they roam.”
“And they, being these…Augmented, right?”
“Indeed; being with grafted animal parts. I’ve seem ‘em; some have bird wings and bull legs, and others are outright centaurs of sorts like you, though less tiger and more horse. The fauna, aside from them, isn’t all that bad…just what you’d expect from each biome.”
“The Augmented are bad?”
“They killed my Tribe of friends. We all washed up on the shore some time ago and formed together, getting things done and surviving until we could find answers…then the Augmented attacked, and started killing left and right. I got out, but I don’t know about the others…now I just roam about, trying not to stick to one place for very long just in case they’re still hunting me.” Jamie honestly wanted to poke as many holes in Steve’s claims and explanation of what was going on…but she couldn’t; it was literally all the information she had to go on regarding what was going on for this island and why she was like this. She had a list of possible options and ideas to consider, some less savory than other, so the Tiger taur decided to take her chances with one thing.
“How…smart, are the Augments? Are they like me?”
Written by AGhostInTheMachine on 17 January 2018
Dumb Creatures
“Not in the slightest. The human and animal sides battled but the latter won out in vicious irony. They’re all insane beasts, and they’ll kill without a moment’s hesitation.” So, scratch that on getting help from the Augments to get her answers; that still left Jamie with a few of them, though not desired in the slightest.
“So, Steve,” She began, sliding her spear onto her back and making sure it was secure with the line of fiber rope. “Say someone wanted answers and an explanation for…well all of this shit; where would they go? I hate to break it to ya but you’re not the soundest guy for answers…perhaps not even valid either.”
“…well that was a low blow, but…there.” They stopped at a cliff, and Jamie’s eyes widened at the sight before her.
A giant, emerald pillar. It was miles away sure, but it stretched high enough into the sky that no matter from what peak someone stood from, they’d always have a clear sight of the pillar; said pillar contained a haunting green glow to it as well.
“That’s the Gateway, Jamie…some of those in my tribe theorized it was a way out of here…a way to get back home, hence the name for it. But, they were never able to confirm it.”
“Why’s that? Did something happen to them all?”
“Just those they sent; they never came back. Some say the closer one gets to the Gateway, the harsher the fauna gets until they can’t survive over there. Some said also that it requires a key lain out somewhere. But, like it or not, that’s the Gateway…if you want answers, you’ll definitely find them there.” The Gateway was huge, though the name made it sound like it clearly wasn’t. With his mind made up, Jamie knew what she needed to do.
Written by AGhostInTheMachine on 22 January 2018
Go for it
“I’m gonna go for it.”
“Jamie! I just told you how dangerous it’ll be! Not only does the fauna get worse out there, but the number of Augments peaks as well! You won’t survive out there!”
“I’d rather find out the truth than stay like…this, forever! Besides, don’tcha reminder that teeny tiny info bomb you just dropped? The part about Augments losing their minds? Didn’t think I’d take that to memory? If I don’t get this…shit, reversed, I’ll end up like those things, and that’ll fucking suck, now won’t it?” The panicked, disheartened look told Jamie that Steve was mulling over it all, and rationally, Jamie had a point.
If she was going to lose her mind, the only means to both prevent that and escape the Island were to press on towards the Gateway, and see what it contained. It either held one, or the other.
“…alright…I mean hey, my friends are already dead. Not like I have much else to sit around for in the Jungles. Let’s take a bit to gear up and prepare, and then we can get moving for the Gateway. If we try to venture now, we won’t make it. I do have an idea, though.”
“Shoot.”
“Some of the more…intellectuals for the tribe I was in were working on a map to reach the Gateway; if we can get back there, we can probably recover it and use it to plot a more logical course.” Jamie was…conflicted; while a map was an assurance to make sure they were going the right way, that meant time would be spent not going for the Gateway and prolonging their time here.
And that, of course meant there were higher risks of Jamie succumbing to those feral instincts she was warned about.
But, on the flipside of that, if they got the map, if it was there, they ran a much greater chance of actually maneuvering to the Gateway safely and even bypassing the Augments present along the way to safely reach the escape.
“…alright, Steve…show me where this map is.”
Written by AGhostInTheMachine on 26 January 2018
Village
The evening sun trickled through the jungle canopy. Jamie did her best to walk through them with her new…legs, trying to adjust desperately to the surreal nature she was exposed to. It’s not every day when your normal walking speed is far faster than anything that could ever be reached before. If it weren’t for the strangeness and terror of the entire situation, Jamie might’ve actually liked the increased speed…might, being the operative word. Still, it didn’t take long to see the village that Steve had supposedly hailed from…or…what was left from it. It was clear the houses were constructed from Thatch of some sort, but said thatch was all over the ground, and the various buildings were in a state of ruin. The air stunk of death, and Jamie had to cover her nose just to attempt and block the overpowering coppery stench from her nostrils.
“Ugh! It smells fucking disgusting here!”
“That’s blood…both from us, and the Augments,” Steve knelt down, plucking a wooden bow from a skeletal hand, drawing the string before tossing it to Jamie; the tigress taur barely catching it. “It wasn’t an easy fight for them. Still, just…stand out here. I think the map makers had a hut around here somewhere. Once I recognize it, I can go search about it for the map if there’s one.”
“…and what if they took it? The Augments?”
“They can’t; most are too feral to even understand what a map is anymore; let alone process what to do with it. The real worry is if someone from the tribe survived, and took the map for themselves to go seek out the safe passage to the Gateway.” Jamie wanted to audibly groan at that information. So, there was yet a fucking’nother possibility that they were screwed…the only consolation was that this time, they were in a place that was driving Jamie nuts!
Driving her nuts…and…making her hungry at the same time. She kept her hand firmly clamped over her mouth as Steve searched around the broken-down homes, before soon calling out to Jamie.
“Hey! I found one of the huts! I’ll get looking for that map, okay?!” Jamie waved the man off as she just…focused…listening now. The smell was getting to her, and she knew it. But…as she stood in the ruined place, she could feel herself…acclimating to the smell, and growing to actually enjoy it…to like being around the stench of blood and death. It made her feel joyed. It made her feel happy…
…it made her feel hungry.
Something caught her attention; a rustle in the bushes. She didn’t have to wait long, as something exploded from it, landing and letting out a piercing roar, as the Augmented female clutched her spear and took up a makeshift defensive stance, even lifting one of her feline lower legs in response.
Written by AGhostInTheMachine on 31 January 2018
Attack
The creature that showed up was…well fucked; it looked like a bipedal black panther, but with human arms, a human torso, and a human head…yet the maw was stretched painfully wide, and filled with two rows of dagger like teeth. It was clearly an Augment, and clearly also, he had lost his mind all together. He rushed for Jamie, and she didn’t know what to do…she just froze.
And then something snapped.
A roar of her own left her throat before she knew it, and her body acted in auto-pilot; swinging one of her large paws for the creature and slamming it against his head with a strangely satisfying SMACK that sent him into one of the trees, smashing through it and causing it to fall onto him with a messy, bloody splatter. She had no idea she had such power in her legs but…it felt surreal and yet at the same instance, empowering.
More of those panthers showed up, all sharing the same form as the man; the difference was the females had their breasts on full display. While Jamie would have enjoyed that on another day, this was not that fucking day. Another charged, and another paw swipe, sending this one’s neck spinning and for her body to fall. The tigress taur mixed it up; swinging her wooden spear at another one and lacerating him across the head just as she swung her paws again for another, cleaving his head in two, nearly. They kept attacking, and she just kept fighting. It was fucking thrilling! This felt absolutely astounding.
She could almost get addicted to the combat, if it meant feeling this emotion time and time again.
“Jamie,” She snapped out of her furious daze long enough to notice Steve, holding not only a rolled-up map, but a bag filled to the brim with books and the like. “I got some stuff, but we should vacate this area. No idea how long we have before more Augments show up. C’mon, there’s a cave we can go to for the reading…you’re gonna wanna hear this.” Jamie was once again begrudgingly listening to Steve…because as she grew less and less bloodthirsty, she began to fret and worry.
She actually liked that sort of carnage…hopefully, she could avoid losing herself to it once more.
Written by AGhostInTheMachine on 05 February 2018
Map Information
“So, what you’re saying…is we’re fucked?” Jamie had a hard time sitting with her new lower body, but she finally got it down after a lengthy process…though her tail kept curling up too close to her body and she felt the urge rising to catch it. Steve tipped his hand a bit, as the man flipped through the various books and marked down spots on the map with a charcoal pencil.
“Yes and no. Yes, there’s something bad coming, but no, it can be avoided.”
“How ‘bout you cut the bullshit and just tell me. Saves us both a lotta time.”
“…right. None the less, the main path we’d need to take to the Gateway is through here,” He tapped his finger along a drawn in river. “Following this river down and making sure to pass these key landmarks such as the mountain with a turtle’s face, the tree in the shape of an eagle, and various other things. If we do that, in total, the trip should take us about a solid two days, not counting rest stops or unfortunate events transpiring. However, there’s a catch.” He tapped the spot closest to the big black shaded in area; the Gateway’s theoretical destination. “If we take longer than five, the opportunity will be lost.”
“Lost how? Augments blocking the way?”
“Try a fucking monsoon. Those making the map predicted that it comes every month, and when it happens, the Gateway’s grove is flooded and rendered impossible to reach for…about three weeks.”
Three Weeks?!?
“So, if we somehow don’t make it there in three days, we’ll be stuck outside of it for three fucking weeks?”
“Correction, three fucking weeks and with Augments trying to hunt us down and kill us. They’re highly concentrated in that area. As a result, if we set up a base camp there and try to wait it out, we’ll eventually be overrun and overwhelmed…the notes here say there are some pretty gristly ones out there; ones that make those Panthers we just came across look like fucking ants in terms of danger. Even with our combined might, we’d die in seconds.” Jamie sighed, rubbing her hand along her face as she just tried her best to calm down over the situation.
Written by AGhostInTheMachine on 14 February 2018
Planing
“…so, when do we leave?”
“Tomorrow morning; it’ll be too dark to travel soon, and we’ll be unable to see the landmarks as we go, and we may end up taking a longer route. At this point, we have some time to spare but not a lot. We can’t afford to get lost, otherwise, we’ll be up shit creek without a bathing suit.” As much as she hated to admit, he had a fair point. Traveling by daytime, by morning, ensured they ran the best risk of survival; the pros it granted Jamie couldn’t even begin to list off. It irked her that they wouldn’t get there sooner, but she didn’t want to get killed out there…even with her keen eyes and sense of smell, she was still deluded by various factors.
One being overstimulation.
“Alright…when are we gonna eat though? I’m feelin’ puckish.”
“We’ll have to eat tomorrow morning. It’s too late to fish and unless you wanna go out and eat those dead Augments, we’re not really in the market for food options.” Another groan. “Hey, how do you think I feel? This is sorta the daily regiment for me. Dinner isn’t a thing I just get.”
“That explains the twig arms.”
“…y’know, you’re a dick.”
Written by AGhostInTheMachine on 23 February 2018
Morning
Another fish was speared and tugged from the water; Jamie pulled the still wiggling trout and impaled it onto another wooden stick that was suspended over a roaring fire; next to a few others as he gradually turned the spit, cooking the fish and preparing them for a hearty breakfast. The sun was just barely rising, and as such, the air was a bit nippy. Jamie, on the other hand, waited patiently by the bank of the water, seated once more on her haunches while she watched Steve cook, her stomach giving off low rumbles as she did…the food smelled amazing; this was no doubt to blame on her heightened senses.
“It’s not a five-star meal,” Steve handed Jamie a roasted trout on a stick. “But, it’s edible. Make sure to mind the bones, otherwise you’ll hurt yourself.”
“Yeah yeah, not like I’ve not eaten fish before.”
“…well, have you?” The question caught Jamie off guard, forcing her to look towards Steve with a bewildered expression. “Do you remember eating fish back before you ended up on the Island?”
“I…no…I just…knew that, somehow…like I knew a lot of things.”
“Subconscious memories; everyone here had those. Sure, we couldn’t remember our lives and how we did things, but we could sure as hell remember how to do basic things like eat, sleep, drink, and even more complex things such as make weapons from flint and rock and string up bows. But, no one could remember who they were or what they did before coming here. They just all recall whiteness, and then waking up somewhere here, though most typically, along the beach. We used to form little parties to go search for people waking up so we could bring them in before the Augments got to them. Most times, we succeeded and they were welcomed into the tribe and giving a life until we had a better grasp of this place, and others were attacked and killed by Augments. A small handful were exceptionally troubling; they refused help and tried to venture off on their own, despite the risks and ramifications that come with such foolishness. But, alas and alack, just because someone’s memories are gone, it doesn’t mean their personality is. If they were a rotten piece of shit, they’ll stay as one here.” Jamie went silent…that was how she woke up, with the brightness and the serene scenery until the truth dawned on her, though it seemed some were more fortunate. They didn’t end up like her, with the body parts and desires of an animal flooding and corrupting their minds…just inches away from the dip in sanity and the delving into the darkness that was savage insanity.
Or in this case, less fortunate; they were dead and by some stroke of luck, she had managed to avoid such a fate.
“So, when do we depart, Steve? Breakfast is fine’n all,” She took another bite of the fish, making sure to toss away any bones or even the eyes. “But I really want get some answers and find a way out of here before I go full feral and savage.”
“Gotcha. I prepped some items first, so we’ll be taking them with us. For now, let’s saddle up, and get moving.” The man was already on his feet, moving down away from the water way and snatching up a leather sack, crafted from hide and leather. Jamie had to momentarily marvel at how deftly he worked, but she had to get her own things together; grabbing her spear and bringing it with her. It’d be a long journey, and a long road, but Jamie was confident they’d make it, and get all the answers.
It was either that…or listen to that little, demented voice in her head that was demanding for her to attack, kill, and then eat Steve. She didn’t understand it and she did all she could not to either. It was definitely not something she wanted to deal with when he was the sole reason she’d be getting home.
Written by AGhostInTheMachine on 03 March 2018
Instincts
The problem was, even if there was no means to remove this…form…Jamie felt she could stick with it; she had done so for the entire journey, after all.
“Jamie! Drop here!” She heard Steve finally, as she slid, feeling the sand hastily transition into soil, and she was able to place herself against a tree, hearing the rush of wings, as they flew overhead and by.
“…we’re safe,” Steve was set down, the man reaching for his bow and nocking an arrow. “And the gateway’s ahead. If we keep on this course, we’ll get out.”
Why leave…? Why leave…when you’re the apex predator…?
Jamie lightly bapped her head to dismiss those thoughts. She had to escape; she had to flee this demented and confusing world or else she’d never find out who did this, and if it could be fixed, with escaping in general being the very least to come about from reaching the Gateway.
Though, sticking around didn’t seem like the worst thing, either…
The duo pressed on, trekking through the forest while staying low and quiet, doing their best to avoid from alerting any additional Augments that they were around…they were there. Jamie could smell them, at this point. They smelled like a mix of things; primal, feeble, meek, strong, frenzied…no two had the same scent. The strong ones were what made her really…hungry. The ones she had killed in the past…they made her feel absolutely alive. Could she cope with the sensation of being unable to hunt then again?
“Jamie! There!” She was jostled from her thoughts from a dip in the path…and at the very end, submerged in water, was the very pillar they had come so far to reach. Right before it, was a small inlet of land, with several strange metal pillars surrounding it. There was not an Augment in sight…which was worrying. It made no sense. But, she didn’t want to look a gift horse in the mouth. There was their escape, and not a foe in sight; it’d be a clean extraction.
Kill the male…and take your place…
Written by AGhostInTheMachine on 13 March 2018
More Instincts
Jamie shook her head, just in time to watch Steve begin to slide down to reach the water, as the tigress taur did the same, though she panicked when the land gave way and she found herself suddenly up to her neck in water.
“Ack! What the fuck?!” She kicked and kicked with her paws, bringing her torso gradually above the water’s surface and allowing her to remain composed, following Steve who was already making decent strides ahead of her. She had no idea how someone with such…weak physique could swim so far ahead.
He has such powerful muscles…they would taste so delicious…sure there’s no fat…but it’s still good meat.
Drag him under the water, and watch him drown…eat him afterwards.
You are the apex predator; THIS is your domain! Not back there!
The thoughts grew worse; the echoes and roars of her inner thoughts jabbing and piercing at her head, as she felt her feet make landfall on the small inlet, forcing Jamie to drop for a moment, clutching her head.
“…me…Jamie! A…kay?” The distorted, muffled voice of Steve just barely reached her ears. She was…fading in and out; nothing made sense…why was her body failing? “Jamie! Look, we’re almost there! You can do it!”
“Fuck…Steve…something’s not right…” Her gaze lifted, and…she focused on Steve intently. This wasn’t the same normal stare she always gave him laced with disdain and twinges of jealousy for his retaining of his human body…but hunger. Primal, feral hunger…to feel blood wash over her teeth, and to feel skin bundle under her claws.
Written by AGhostInTheMachine on 18 March 2018