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Trixie Belden and the Anthrocon Mystery

Prologue


"Why are we coming down two days early, Dennis?" the pretty honey-blonde girl in the passenger seat asked.

"Well, Mad, I wanted to spend a couple days in Philadelphia, doing a little sightseeing," replied the dark-haired driver. "I’ve lived within two to three hours of Philly for most of my life, and I’ve never done anything concerning the city but come to this convention. I didn’t think you’d complain about it, either."

"I’ll admit that it’s the convention that’s got me a little worried. You hear a lot of weird stories about these, what do they call themselves?"

"We call ourselves furries, for the most part. Don’t worry, I’m not offended. I know the stories you’ve probably heard. Hell, that Vanity Fair article from a while back didn’t do us any favors. They interviewed a lot of people, and then chose the weird end of the spectrum to write about, as if that’s all we’re about. I know engineers, programmers, and any number of other people who you’d never knew were into anthropomorphics. Yeah, some of us like to dress up in costume, but then again, don’t you get that at a science fiction convention?"

She laughed. "No, really, tell me what you really think!"

"Sorry," he answered, blushing slightly. "You know I get worked up over certain things."

"Luckily, one of them is me," she chuckled demurely. "Are all the costumes as elaborate as yours?"

"Honestly, no. Not everybody is willing to spend several years designing a costume. At least I finally got the fiber optics working on it, so that the wings look like they’re on fire from within." He laughed self-deprecatingly. "After all, what else would you expect from a draco-phoenix?"

"Is that the role you play?"

"It’s one of my personas. There’s the draco-phoenix, named Kynsfyr, and for more realistic settings, a meerkat. No real name for him. If I did, it’d probably be from a character I created years ago."

"Why did you work so hard on the costume?"

"I guess for the same reason that any artist works on something - they have to bring this thing to fruition. Amusingly enough, I’ve already gotten job offers for costuming with some of the big special effects houses. Half tempted to start my own, though. Remember how I had you guys so certain that flash-bang magic really existed for a while?"

"Yeah, back when we first met you, after you’d moved onto Jim’s uncle’s old property. All those secret passages you built in, and the trap doors. Didn’t that smoke stink, though?"

"Not really." He laughed. "To change the subject slightly: would you believe that someone already wants to buy this costume, sight unseen, because of all the electronics work in it? I’ve been talking about it, and asking questions, on one of the bulletin boards I visit online. When I described, after I was finished, exactly what was in this thing, I had an offer come in. Sweet offer, too, but I’m just not quite ready to sell it."

They drove on in silence for a little while longer, enjoying the radio, when he chuckled and said, "I’m glad I chose to leave when I did. The traffic has been great. We’re almost there, and the only real traffic around is us and this guy coming up on my left."

As if mentioning the vehicle were a trigger, the car to his left suddenly pressed his front right quarter panel to Dennis’ left rear one, and accelerated slightly. Dennis was thrown into a spin, and off the road. As he saw the tree coming up on his passenger side, he spun to look at the car, which was speeding away as if Satan himself were chasing them.

He only heard two more things: the sickening crunch as his car impacted with the tree, and Madeleine’s shrieks suddenly silenced.

Then there was no more.


Beatrix "Trixie" Belden, Mart Belden, Brian Belden, Dan Mangan, Diana Lynch, Mr. and Mrs. Lynch, Matthew and Madeleine E. Wheeler, Mr. and Mrs. Belden, and Madeleine G. Wheeler copyright Random House

David "Galadrion" Adrian, Shirh Khan (Kaye), Clint "Concolor" McInnes, Evan "Cateagle" Mayerle, Mike "Old Gray Raccoon" Regan, Dorothy "Catspaw" McComb, Keith "FawkesFyre" McComb, MeJeep are used with permission, and are copyright and trademark their parents.

Any others not so mentioned are copyright 2003-2004 Keith E. McComb

Any resemblence to other people, living or dead, or situations is purely coincidental, and no harm is intended.


 Trixie Belden story pageChapter 1

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Author Notes:

The story begins. What happened here?

Next Chapter: What news will Trixie get in Philadelphia?