The Last Piece of Yesterday
by firefox_b

Ray the fox blamed himself for not having seen the trapper's snare; he really should have, but traveling through time and space as his friends the rods had enabled him to do subjected him to numerous distractions. Now he resided in the cage of some moron with a double-digit IQ who wanted his skin for his jacket! The fact that he could converse with the hunter hadn't seemed sufficient to deter him from his original purpose.

"Don't you think," suggested Ray, "that a talking fox might be of more value to you than just a fox you could butcher to make your bloody jacket? Have you considered that someone might offer you a considerable sum for me?"

"Nope," muttered Jim-Bob the hunter. "A jacket is what you're gonna be! A talkin' fox, hah!-'You aren't altogether there' is what they'll say to me if I mention a talkin' fox!"

No, I'm not altogether here, thought Ray. Parts of him were still in the past. He sent his third eye forwards and backwards through time and space to determine where the rest of his consciousness might be residing. He had spent last weekend lost in the fifties, quite literally. There he had met the young Elvis Presley right before his career was scheduled to take off, and had given him the idea and lyrics for a song called Hound Dog, finding it amusing and appropriate that a furry like himself should do so. Elvis had liked the song and asked Ray to seek him out if he ever needed a little help. Existing as he now did in the past, present, and future, Ray decided to call in that favor from the then-future King of Rock-'n-Roll, and summoned Elvis to his aide in the present time.

Well, the hunter never expected to see the young Elvis Presley materialize right in front of him, and the southern boy and future King threw an uppercut at the hunter that decked him quite well.

"You're caught in in trap," commented the young Elvis to the fox as he grinned and unlatched the cage bar.

"Remember those words as lyrics for future reference, my friend," Ray said exiting the cage and giving Elvis a big hug.

"Is there anything else I can do for you?," asked Elvis, looking about.

"Just sing, Hillbilly Cat!," the fox replied. "Show the world your moves!-It's waiting for you back there!" There was a touch of sadness in the vulpine's eyes, knowing as he did of the glorious but short career which awaited the young man. Ray thought about warning him about the dangers of drugs and carbohydrates, but the outline of Elvis was already fading as he began to return to his own time. The fox knew that to interfere with the past might change the time line and present reality, anyways.

Reunited with the last piece of yesterday, Ray turned his trans-dimensional consciousness towards the future. Much work was ahead for him prior to December of 2012 if he was to avert an unfortunate outcome for the human race. One fur might make all of the difference in the world, and he intended to try. The fox phased in and out of visible sight as his burnt umber colored fur shimmered and he began to move ahead through time, his eyes filled with resolve...