My clothes were still in a little pile on the ground in front of me, while I sat naked on my big backpack and stared at the impossible glowing mountain and the improbable glowing lake around its base.

Every few minutes the lake would light up with a bright blue-green glow, which would turn into yellow-white lightning when it reached the surface. That would climb up the mountain like a giant electrical discharge, then when it reached the top a kilometre or so above my head it would change into red or green or purple aurora and radiate out into the sky.

The colours in the sky and the way the landscape had all changed left me wondering for a few moments if I was even still on Earth. Except things hadn't changed so much that they weren't recognizable.

Like even though Lac Côté was gone I could still recognize enough of the former shore to know my campsite was in the same place. Same with Lac Thibault, it was entirely different but the former shoreline was still there.

The mountains were harder to rationalize, like Mont Jacques-Ferron being crushed was very hard to get my head around. And the alien spire sticking up into the sky in front of me was even more inexplicable. On the other hand, Mont John A. Allen was still visible to the north east, though some of the contours had changed during the earthquake.

Looking past the aurora overhead was the clincher though. The stars were the same, I could see familiar constellations in the night sky. And it was nice to know I hadn't been transported to another world, but it meant whatever was happening it was happening here on Earth.

And it felt like the end of the world, but at least I had a front row seat.

As I sat there watching, I started talking quietly to myself.

"A massive earthquake struck Gaspésie National Park?" I asked quietly. "Unlikely, but ok."

I was keeping my voice down partially because I was still shocked and awed, and partially because I hadn't yet got used to the sound of it. It was nice, it sounded pretty, but every time I spoke too loud I felt like I was hearing someone else.

I continued, "My campsite was trashed and I got hit in the back by planet Earth? All right. The lake I was camping beside drained or otherwise disappeared? Fine. The nearest mountain got flattened? Whatever."

Another surge of light from the depths rose up, became lightning, then rippled out into the sky above me.

I watched for a moment then shrugged, "A glowing mountain rose up out of the next lake like it's giving the finger to the heavens? Sure, why not. And now it's shooting lightning bolts up into the sky and powering a brand new kind of aurora? Go for it."

My little fox friend was sitting a couple meters to my left, she glanced at me and commented 'It really isn't safe to remain here big sister.'

"The local wildlife has started giving me survival advice?" I mumbled as I glanced back at her. "Ok I guess that's helpful."

I looked back down at myself and added, "My physical transition miraculously completed itself while I was worrying about hiking in wet boots? You know what, I'll take it."

My eyes remained fixed on the big bushy white-tipped orange-red tail that I'd pulled around and was currently holding on my lap. "I sprouted fox ears and a big bushy tail?"

"..."

"I grew fox ears and a big bushy tail."

I frowned, then gulped and whispered "I'm a foxgirl. And I'm sitting naked on my backpack during what may well be the end of the world, talking to myself and the little red fox who's started calling me her sister."

After a deep breath I sighed, "This might be the point where I have to accept the fact that I've completely lost my mind."

'Big sister we really shouldn't remain here,' the small fox said as she tilted her head slightly.

"We?" I asked as I looked at her again. "Isn't this your home?"

Her ears dipped down as she responded, 'The ground ate my den. And it isn't safe to stay here.'

'You are from elsewhere,' she added as her ears stood up again. 'Is your den far away? May I come with you?'

I blinked a few times as I stared at her and tried to make sense of things. It wasn't hard to understand that her home was lost in the earthquake. And she kept saying it wasn't safe here anyways. The idea that she'd want to come home with me was a surprise, and I had no idea what to make of it.

On the other hand I'd been complaining about being lonely and abandoned by my friends. I hadn't expected to end up talking to local wildlife, but it's not like I had anyone else to talk to.

"Ok," I finally replied. "My uh, den is a long way from here. But if we're able to get back there then sure you can stay with me."

She tilted her head as if to thank me, then reminded me again that we should get moving.

"Ok," I nodded as I got to my feet. "You're right, we need to go."

Before setting out I hesitated again. I was stark naked and despite the whole situation being completely surreal I really needed to have some clothes on. Not that anything in my pack would fit me, but I had to do something.

Now that I was ready to get moving my brain started functioning again, and it didn't take long to make some quick decisions. The legs of my jeans were too long so I pulled out my knife and cut them off. I also cut a slit at the back for my tail. And finally I poked a few more holes in the belt.

I ignored the boxers completely and pulled on my new cut-off shorts. I slipped my tail out under the belt and through the slit at the back, then tightened the belt to secure the shorts around my smaller waist. It wasn't fashionable but it worked. Then I pulled my t-shirt back on, followed by my hoodie. It was ridiculously big on me now but it was warm and soft.

Footwear was the real problem. My mens size-eleven boots wouldn't stay on my small feet, and the spare shoes in my pack were just as bad. It felt wrong to abandon the boots though, so I tied them to the pack. And for now I was going to have to go barefoot.

Finally I had some concerns about the pack itself. It was big, bulky, and heavy. I knew I was a lot smaller than before, and I could tell by looking that my arms and legs had a lot less muscle on them than I was used to.

I cautiously tried to pick up the backpack, and was pleasantly surprised to find it didn't feel any heavier than before. I wasn't going to complain though, I just filed that under the long list of other inexplicable things that happened tonight.

It took me a minute or two to get all the straps adjusted so I could carry the pack on my smaller frame, and I had to be extra careful about the the straps around my boobs. That was the sort of problem I'd only ever dreamed of having in the past, but I never imagined I'd have to worry about it at this point in my life. I definitely needed to get my hands on some bras though.

With the pack secure in place on my shoulders and the waist strap cinched tight I finally started moving again. My little fox friend walked along by my side, and the two of us stayed well away from the lake and the original shore line, even though that also meant avoiding what remained of the trail. We made our own path through the twisted landscape and mangled vegetation as we travelled north-east, before eventually turning south-east.

It was slow-going again for me, especially at first. I took each step tentatively, cautiously. I was almost paranoid about hiking barefoot through the rugged terrain. The last thing you wanted while hiking was a foot injury.

Except my feet seemed fine, it was yet another inexplicable thing. I could feel the ground, rocks and dirt and small vegetation under my feet, but I was able to avoid anything sharp or dangerous almost by instinct. Rather than taking each step slowly and deliberately, staring at the ground as I concentrated on where to put my foot, I could just walk at a normal pace and automatically find the best route.

Even the downed trees weren't much of an obstacle. My fox friend could just duck under them if there was room or she'd hop over them if there wasn't, and I seemed to have no trouble going over them either. One hop and my foot would be on a smooth part of the trunk, another hop and my other foot would be back on a safe patch of ground. I wasn't even slowed down by the weight of the pack I was carrying.

As the two of us continued our trek around the north part of the former lake, I glanced at my small companion and asked "By the way do you have a name? What should I call you?"

Her head tilted to one side as she seemed to ask, 'Name?'

"Yeah," I nodded. "My name's Victoria, but everyone calls me Tori. You can call me Tori as well if you like."

The small fox was quiet for the next several seconds as we maintained a good pace south-east.

After about a half minute my companion stated, 'Tori means big sister fox. Lia means small sister fox.'

I glanced at her and asked, "Lia? That's your name?"

'That is my name,' she confirmed. 'I am to be called Lia.'

Her tone and her choice of words left me wondering if she actually understood what a name was, and I was pretty sure she just made hers up on the spot. But it worked, and it was a lot easier and felt nicer than referring to her as 'fox friend' or 'companion'.

I smiled, "It's nice to meet you Lia."

She glanced back at me and agreed, 'Yes it is. I am pleased to be with you Tori.'

We were both quiet again as we continued south-east. I was positive we were almost at the parking lot when we found ourselves at the edge of a large pond.

It had to be new, I was certain there was no pond near the parking lot before. But the way the landscape had changed, it wasn't hard to imagine the ground sank a bit here and maybe water spilling over from the lake ended up filling the depression.

The edges were a mess of broken and uprooted trees, and after a minute or two of indecision I finally said "I think the easiest way is to just go across it. It doesn't look too deep."

Lia seemed unconvinced, she elected to go around. She picked her way through the roots and branches as she took the north path, while I carefully started wading through the middle. It was only about twenty meters across, and at the deepest it wasn't even up to my knees. I'd expected the water to be cold but it actually felt fine.

That left me wondering if the water was unnaturally warm, or if my transformation somehow made me less sensitive to temperature changes. Either option made me uneasy so I did my best not to worry about it. I met up with Lia on the far side, and we continued south-east.

It was only another five minutes before we finally emerged from the woods and found ourselves at the edge of the parking lot.

There were over a dozen vehicles there. A few cars, some pick-up trucks, a mini-van or two, and the rest were SUVs. Almost all of them showed signs of damage from the earthquake, from burst tires to broken windows.

I let out a happy sigh of relief when I saw my Kia didn't look too bad. The windows were intact and all four tires had air. I hurried over to it and shed my pack, then dug through one of the pockets to find my key-fob.

Lia watched with her head tilted to one side in curiosity as I clicked the fob, but there was no response from the car.

My hope started to fade as I stuck the key in the door and unlocked it manually. When I swung the door open the interior lights stayed dark. The car was completely dead, just like my camera and my phone.

"Damn," I sighed as my shoulders slumped.

It was a major set-back, but it didn't take long to figure out my next move.

"We're going to spend the rest of the night in here Lia," I told my new friend. "It'll keep us safe from anything outside, and in the morning we can decide what we're going to do next. Ok?"

She seemed reluctant at first, but I reached in and unlocked the back door then opened it up and folded the back seats down as flat as they'd go. I had a couple blankets back there and I unfolded them and spread them out over the seats, then tossed my backpack in the drivers door and onto the passenger seat.

Finally I closed the drivers door and climbed into the back, then motioned for Lia to come with me.

After a few more seconds of hesitation, she hopped up into the car with me and I pulled the door closed. I made sure both doors were locked, then I pulled off my hoodie and draped it over the back of the drivers seat. Finally I did my best to get comfy laying across the back seats with the blankets, while Lia curled up next to me.

"In the morning we'll have to make new plans," I told her. "Figure out if it's best to stay here and wait for rescue, or if we should try and get out on foot."

My new friend didn't respond, but I got the sense that she agreed about making plans in the morning.

I finally closed my eyes, and sleep took me almost immediately. I slept deeply, but probably not for very long. It was still dark out when something roused me. My ears twitched to the sound of footfalls, crunching on the gravel outside.

A moment later Lia warned me, 'We are not alone.'

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