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The beauty of nature is a wonderful thing, inspiring creativity and peace in most people. There are some who don’t care for living outside the realm of man, but for others, the forest is the only place that’s home. For Thaddeus Lovejoy, exploring the nearby Appalachian Mountains was always a refreshing vacation from his college studies. He would often spend his entire weekend camping in the wilderness, his trusty old Land Rover giving access to the more remote areas, away from the influence of society. Here, he was free.

* * *

Thad bounced along the poorly-dug trail, his truck’s suspension creaking in protest at this trip as he concentrated on the road ahead. This was a familiar trail, he had come up here to camp countless times before, but it was never an easy passage, and required his full attention. He had no trouble finding his pull-off area, where he donned his hiking pack and trudged off down the footpath to a gently-used fire pit in a clearing. This was no new experience, but his mind was on the midterm exam he completed earlier that afternoon, wondering if he had passed, and whether he’d be able to complete his homework. Engrossed in his thought process, he walked right past his camping spot without realizing it.

Several hours down the trail, Thad finally realized something was wrong. “Where the heck is the campground?” he wondered aloud, cursing himself for not paying closer attention to where he was going. Not only had he lost his destination, but he was also far from the trail, and without a map of the area. “I knew I should have brought that stupid map”, he said to himself while fumbling with his compass. He got his bearings and headed south, which he figured would take him back to the truck, or at least a place where he could get a signal on his cell phone. He worried about it getting dark outside, when he spotted a small cabin up the hill from him. Excited, he started the climb to the building, which resembled a wall built in front of a cave as he got closer.

He knocked rapidly on the front door, looking in the windows for signs of life as he yelled into the cabin, “Hello? Anyone home? HELLO!” Finally, after no answer, he carefully tried the doorknob, and found it unlocked. Thad unsnapped the sheath on his large hunting knife and stepped cautiously into the sparsely decorated room, glancing around for the inhabitants. The living room was furnished with a soft-looking hand-made couch and armchair, and a slice of a log for a table. A collection of magazines and books about nature and wolves were scattered around the room, and a painting of several grey wolves hung above the couch. “Someone had a little time on their hands”, he remarked as he pressed his palms into the exquisitely-crafted chair, then stepped around a partition wall and headed deeper into the cave.

A pungent odor struck him as he stepped into the kitchen, the heavy blood smell nearly making him nauseous. He held his shirt over his nose and fumbled through his pack for a flashlight, shining it over the dimly-lit room. He nearly puked when he found the culprit of the stench: A small deer carcass on the table that had been crudely gutted and shredded, its blood covering nearly the entire table, which had a beveled lip seemingly designed to contain such fluids. He quickly went to the next room, containing little more than a large bed, mirror, and closet. Curious, he walked toward the closet and carefully opened it, and was immediately shocked by what he saw. In the closet, a fox stood on its hind legs, about the size of a 5-year-old human, wearing overalls much like a child’s, its muzzle covered in blood. It swiped its forepaws menacingly at Thad, growling and snarling in a high-pitched voice. He suddenly heard something move behind him, and with a sharp blow to his skull, everything went black.

* * *

Thad awoke laying on the couch in the living room, a throbbing pain in the back of his head. Morning light shone through a window, highlighting dust floating in the air. He felt something heavy on his stomach, and looked down at his torso to see the same fox kit sitting on him, wagging his tail playfully while playing with a stuffed wolf. The kit looked up and waved at him, grinning “Hewwo! What’s your name? My name is Skippy. Is your head feeling better? Are you hungwy?” Thad stared at the young fox wide-eyed, too shocked at its ability to talk to process the childish barrage of questions.

“Umm, uhh, umm…” he stammered, wondering if he was dreaming the whole thing.

The fox tilted his head to the side and perked his ears. “Can you talk? My daddy said you’s in big twouble. Didja get lost? I got lost one time, but…” He trailed off and looked up suddenly. Thad tried to follow his gaze, but couldn’t move enough. Suddenly, a deep voice came from behind.

“Skippy, go to your room, I need to talk with our…visitor…alone.” The little fox kit nodded and skipped off to the back of the cabin, happily wagging his tail. Thad looked up to see a 6’ wolf standing over him on its hind legs, holding a large katana sword mere inches from his forehead. The wolf stared at him coldly, standing steadily still. “If you want to live to see tomorrow, don’t even think of moving”, the wolf commanded. Thad stayed put, looking for an escape. Suddenly, several large Dobermans burst through the door, and Thad saw his opportunity. He slapped away the katana blade and jumped to his feet, filled with adrenaline. He kicked the nearest Doberman in the groin, but as he was preparing to kick another, he felt two sharp objects hit him in the chest, followed by a searing pain that ripped through his entire body. As he fell to the ground, he caught a glimpse of two wires running from his chest to a gun handle held by the tallest of the dogs. The current flowing through his body caused him to convulse on the ground, and when he thought he was about to breathe his last breath, the pain stopped. The dogs tied his hands and feet while he was still limp and tossed him into the caged cargo area of a camouflage-painted Land Rover. As he landed in the back, his bruised head hit the back of the seat, and he lost consciousness once again.

* * *

Severe aching all over his body greeted Thad when he woke up again. He felt horrible, but knew he had to stay alert to survive. He opened his eyes and looked around at what appeared to be a standard interrogation room, black walls, steel chairs, steel table, bright spotlight overhead, large mirrored window facing him. There didn’t appear to be anyone else in the room with him, but he spotted two cameras pointed at him. A door opened across from his seat, and two huge, muscular wolves dressed in baggy military uniforms entered the room armed with swords, followed by a taller, yet more refined-looking Doberman wearing a business suit. The wolves stood against the wall behind Thad, one on each side of him, while the Doberman took a seat across the table from them. He stared at Thad with an intimidating expression on his face, then held out a badge to him. “I’m Commander Andrew Tanpaw of the Lupinian Secret Service. Please state your name for the record.” He spoke cleanly with very little accent, his tone of voice quiet yet firm.

Thad glanced around the room, trying not to panic or become nervous. After all, he hoped to get a job with the FBI someday, this seemed like the perfect chance to practice his skills. He stared defiantly at Andrew and smirked at him “You can’t hold me here, I know my rights, I demand a lawyer”.

Andrew raised an eyebrow and laughed loudly, his voice echoing through the room. He collected himself and saw Thad’s confused expression. “You don’t seem to know what’s happening here. You’re no longer on US soil, you’ve stumbled into an entirely different country that I’m sure you didn’t know was here. Your American rights don’t apply here. So, I’ll ask you again, what is your name?”

Thad looked at the snarling wolves surrounding him, then back at Andrew, and sighed, deciding to save his strength for later. “My name is Thaddeus Lovejoy”, he replied.

Andrew nodded slowly, “And, where are you from, Mr. Lovejoy?”

“I’m from Harrisonburg, Virginia, USA, at the base of these mountains.”

Andrew jotted a few notes in a small notebook in his paw. “Now, the important question, what are you doing here?”

“I was hiking to my usual campsite, but I got lost. I spotted that house and went inside looking for help, and then this werewolf-thing attacked me."

“Why were you armed?”

“I didn’t know what I’d find in the house, I wanted to be prepared in case the owner of the place was hostile. I sure as hell wasn’t expecting to find talking animals.”

The commander chuckled a bit “Well, what you found was our nation’s Prime Minister having dinner with his son. He’ll soon decide what to do with you.” He stood up, turned, and walked out of the room, the guards following closely behind him, leaving Thad alone in the room once again. The initial shock of the situation had worn off, and his mind was flooded with thoughts. How could there be a whole secret nation inside the US? How come no one had ever talked about it? He had certainly heard rumors about werewolves and fantasy creatures in these woods, but everyone always assumed that they were myths, and everyone who went searching for the truth came home empty-handed, if they came home at all. Was he going to be executed? Imprisoned? Tortured? He started to scan the room as discretely as possible, looking for a potential exit, but he could find no opening in the room except the door, which he could see was still being guarded.

* * *

While Thad’s mind wandered, Andrew was discussing his interrogation with the governing council. The seven wolves listened attentively to what he had to say. They had experienced intruders before, but they were fair-minded and believed in giving any human newcomers the chance to redeem themselves. Their young captive didn’t seem malicious or threatening, and he cooperated very well with Andrew’s questioning. The Prime Minister, sitting at the center of the table, decided to talk with the newcomer himself.

* * *

Thad put his head on the table and closed his eyes, wishing that something would happen. He hated waiting, even if the ticking seconds were his last. He heard voices outside the door, and when he looked up, in walked the same large wolf he had seen earlier, this time with no guards or weapons. The bipedal canine was wearing very informal attire compared to the others in the building, just a pair of shorts and a black leather vest. He sat down across from Thad and leaned on the table.

“I’m Sir Felix Lockhart, Prime Minister of Lupinia” he said, his voice rough but not unpleasant. He extended his paw across the table. Thad hesitantly shook it, a bit wary of the grey-furred leader.

“I’m Thad Lovejoy, pleased to meet you” he replied politely, hoping to butter-up his captor.

Felix smiled and leaned back in the chair, his tail swishing rhythmically against the floor. “I understand that you’re a student, Thad. What are you studying?”

“Information systems and telecommunications.” Thad wondered if these canines would even understand a field like that.

The wolf nodded and crossed his arms “Have you ever considered a career in diplomacy? We need an ambassador to communicate more efficiently with the human world, and you seem to be exactly what we’re looking for.”

Thad was speechless. He’d been clubbed, tazed, arrested, interrogated, and now he was being offered a job? Not just any job, but a high-profile government career? Something wasn’t right here. “You’re joking, right? What’s the catch?”

“There’s no catch at all. You’ll work for us, communicating with the US government on our behalf, as we prepare to let the world know that we exist. You’re welcome to move here, but it’s not necessary.” Felix laid out the framework of his idea to promote peace and unity between humans and furres. “If you decide not to take the job, we’ll wipe your memory of today’s events and return you to your home. I’ll leave you some time to think about it, just knock on the door when you’ve made up your mind.” With that, the wolf turned and walked out of the room, leaving Thad alone once more.

* * *

Andrew confronted Felix inside the interrogation chamber’s observation room. “Do you really think this is a good idea?”

“Of course it is. The American government continually refuses to take us seriously, so if we get a human to talk to them on our behalf, perhaps they’ll pay attention.”

Andrew smirked, “The only way they’ll pay attention to us is if we shove a nuke up their…” He trailed off as the watched Thad knock on the outside door.

* * *

Thad didn’t take long to make up his mind. These strange creatures had piqued his curiosity, and he certainly didn’t want his memory of this experience erased. He knocked loudly on the door, then sat down on the table. He waited awhile, and was about to knock again when the door opened and Felix walked in. “Have you made a decision?” asked the wolf.

“I have, I’ll take the job,” Thad replied.

“Excellent! Come with me, we have a lot to do.” Felix wrapped his arm around the young human in a friendly gesture and escorted him into the hallway, briskly leading him through the building. “You’ll get a tour of the capitol later, right now we need to get some paperwork taken care of.” They reached a checkpoint, where Felix, Andrew, and some other official-looking furres signed a clipboard before proceeding through a steel door.

Once outside, Thad looked around, expecting to see a human-style city. Instead, all he saw was an ordinary forest, with no signs of development anywhere. The building they had just exited was apparently underground, the door hidden against a hillside and painted to match the surrounding rocks precisely. All he could see was a Land Rover painted flat olive with no license plates. Felix got in the backseat and gestured for Thad to join him, while Andrew got in the driver’s seat and the two lupine guards sat in jumpseats in the rear. They proceeded down the trail and stopped at a clearing on top of a peak with a spectacular view to the east.

Andrew led the group down the steep side of the ridge to another rocky outcropping, waved his paw over what looked like an old beer bottle, and stood back as a door appeared in the rocks and swung open. Thad and Felix followed him into a large, dark room, while the guards stayed outside and kept watch. Andrew pressed a button to close the outside door, then pressed another and the inner doors opened.

Inside, Thad couldn’t believe what he was seeing. He stared down at a large, cylindrical open area, surrounded by walkways and doors on all sides. In the center, there were several elevators, with platforms at every floor, and bridges leading to the outer part of the structure. Dozens of bipedal animals of all ages and species wandered through the building, many of them wearing no clothes. Thad looked over the walkway railing and saw a grassy field ten stories down, where a few pups played tag. Felix walked up next to Thad and waved his paw in front of them. “Welcome to Capitol Peak, Mr. Lovejoy. Government offices are the top four floors, medical is the next two, residential units are the next two, and the last two floors are community shared space, such as school rooms, recreation, and so forth. The bottom floor is the Commons, and beneath it are tunnels to other caves and exits.

Andrew split from the group and went to his own office, while Felix led Thad to door marked “Vacant”, with a word in what looked like Russian underneath it. Felix opened the door and gestured for Thad to enter. “This will be your office, it’s fairly easy to get to. I need you to fill out and sign these papers. It might take you awhile, so just pick up the phone and dial 125 when you’re finished.” Felix turned and walked out, leaving Thad alone in the sparsely-decorated office.

He felt small sitting in the tall desk chair, apparently designed for someone with long digitgrade legs, not those of a human. Similarly, the computer keyboard and phone keypad had much larger keys than what he was used to, and the only pens on the desktop were wide-bodied, like those pens for arthritis patients he’d seen at the office supply store. Hopefully they’ll let me redecorate in here, he thought to himself while leafing through the papers he was expected to fill out. Everything looked fairly standard, except for a few extra fields like Species, Fur Colour, and on the order form for his suit, Tail Size. He completed page after page of forms, including citizenship and job applications, driver and weapon licensing, vehicle registration, and clothing order forms. He finally finished, and called for Felix to rejoin him.

“Alright, enough of the boring stuff. I’ll get these filed away, and you get to go home for now. We need you back here first thing Monday to start your classes, mostly history of our nation and what we stand for so you can accurately represent us. Until then, do not mention your time here to anyone, or even acknowledge our existence under any circumstances. Any questions?”

Thad nodded “How do I get back to my truck?”

”Just follow the trail we came in on, you’ll find it.”

Felix led Thad to the exit, returned his knife, and directed him to the top of the ridge. Thad started hiking north, following a small deer trail that Felix had pointed out to him, his head still spinning from the earlier assaults and the flood of new information. Was he schizophrenic? Had he imagined all this? Perhaps he fell and hadn’t woken up yet. But all the sensations were so real, the smell of the blood on the cave table, the wind blowing over him at the doors, the unusual sights and sounds from his canine hosts. Could he really have imagined them all?

After several hours of aimless hiking, Thad found his truck again, and nearly ran the last few yards to get back to it. He ran his hands down the sides of it, felt the cold metal against his skin, saw the setting sun reflected in the windows. He looked down at the ground and spotted a collection of very large canine paw prints, bigger than any normal dog could make. As he ran a finger through one of the muddy indentions, he decided that he hadn’t been dreaming; this was real. He quickly fired up the engine and started back down the trail to home, wishing he knew more about these humanoid creatures. Hopefully the classes he was supposed to take on Monday would help him understand things better.