literature

What makes a person? Chapter 1

Deviation Actions

Blazefan3669's avatar
By
Published:
1.1K Views

Literature Text

    "Hey, Sean, time to pack up!"  A voice called a few cubicles down.  "Closing time!"
   
    "Yeahyeah, I know, just need to finish filing this and then I'm good."  I called back, putting the finishing touches on the report before me.  I heard some footsteps in heels get closer to me and stop in front of my cubicle door.  I heard the owner of the voice chuckle.
   
    "Workaholic."  She said as I finished.
   
    "Not a workaholic, just don't want any homework."  I stated as I powered down my computer.
   
    "This isn't high school, you know."  Leslie sighed.  "This is an insurance firm."
   
    "Well aware, but it always feels like I'm back in class when things are quiet here."  I said, powering down my laptop and bagging it.  "Like everyone's taking a test."
   
    "Yeah, you would feel like that, having come out of high school just under 6 months ago."  Leslie pointed out as we headed for the elevator.  "How you got a position here is beyond me at your age."
   
    "What can I say?"  I asked with a chuckle as we reached the elevator.  "The boss liked what he saw."  The door dinged as the elevator arrived.
   
    "A scrawny little thing like you?"  Leslie joked with a full blown laugh.  "I'm amazed people can see you at all, you're so tiny!"
   
    "That's not what I meant and you know it."  I said, all humor lost in my tone.  I fixed my gaze on the slowly falling floor numbers so I didn't try to burn a hole through Leslie's forehead.
   
    "Ah, lighten up!"  She said with a playful jab to my shoulder.  "You're too uptight, learn to take a joke!"
   
    "You're telling me to learn how to take a joke?"  I said with a questioning look.  "That's like telling the sun not to rise, you know I can't take a joke for shit."
   
    "And that right there's your biggest weakness, my friend!"  Leslie said with a pat on my back.  "People are gonna poke fun at things you do for the rest of your life, best get used to it now."
   
    "I already know, but that doesn't make it any easier."  I said, failing to keep a glum tone out of my voice.
   
    "Oh."  Leslie said as the elevator finally reached the bottom floor.  "So, different note, how's Misty doing?"
   
    "Same as ever."  I said, half expecting this question.  "Whatever this is being very stubborn.  I have her on a new antibiotic, but this one's giving minimal results."
   
    "I keep telling ya, you have to take her to a doctor."  Leslie stated, sounding very concerned for the first time today.  "They might be able to-"
   
    "I can't."  I interrupted.  "I keep telling you, I can't take Misty to see a doctor.  All they'll wind up doing is putting her on prescription's with side effects worse than what she already has.  I've been talking to people and trying to find ways to help her without resorting to medication that could very well kill her."  I explained as we reached the parking lot.  "You know how many of those have popped up in the 20-teens."
   
    "Yeah, but medication has come a long way in 50 years."
   
    "Not far enough.  Not willing to take any chances with her."  I stated as I reached my car and unlocked it.
   
    "I understand."  Leslie said, though her look said otherwise in bold letters.  "G'night, Sean."
   
    "Night, Leslie."  I started my car and took off for home.

    Traffic was unsurprisingly light this time of night, so I could take the roads at roughly 100 feet up, which were the most straight forward in theory but were always jammed, without any issue.  The one bad part of this was the fact that the quickest Sky Route to my house passed over a decrepit area of the city, and I could see the shadows of the poor souls living there run as I passed, probably afraid I was the police.  That was not something I needed to see when I was already tired and Leslie fulfilled her promise to listen to the "Annoy Me, Please!" sign I apparently have hanging above my head.  So the moment I parked my car and entered my apartment, all I wanted to do was find my room and pass out.

    I grabbed myself a quick snack and then headed towards my room.  Misty was probably already asleep, since it was after 10 at night, but the girl has ridiculously good hearing and tends to be a light sleeper, so it took me approximately ten minutes to walk ten feet.  As it was, I did manage to get into my room with little difficulty, and even managed to make the door close behind me with a barely audible *click!*  Thinking myself a little safer for noise, I got out of my work uniform and slipped into something a little more comfortable.  The moment my head hit the pillow, my eyelids felt very heavy, and my fatigue from a long day made me essentially numb.

    Which is why the arms thrown around my chest soon after laying down scared the bejeezus outta me.  "Budaghi-!  Misty!"  I almost shouted once my initial shock wore off.  I could hear the girl trying to keep from exploding in laughter so as not to wake up the neighbors.

    "Oh my word, did you see yourself?!"  She asked, barely understandable through her pervasive laughter.  "I swear, if I wasn't holding you down, you would've jumped clean through the roof!"

    "Yeah, because you scared the shit outta me!"  I stated, forcing myself out of her grip so I could flip around and look her in the eye.

    Which was my first mistake.  There's a reason I keep her around.  Yes, she's always doing crap like this to me, and getting her to listen to me is more than a little irritating from time to time, but the next few moments perfectly captured why I never just kick her back out on the street.  The moon was full that night, and the light was shining straight through the curtainless window across the room.  And as cliche as it might sound, when the light hit her, all my frustration went out the door at what I saw.

    Misty was a rather interesting character.  Yes, she can be annoying, especially when she plays pranks like this one and sends my food bill through the roof, but one look at this girl with a face you just can't say no to, and you knew she was only playing.  Her demeanor betrayed a sweet, loving and strong individual, one who would never leave her friends, even if push came to shove.  And when I took her in one day about 5 months ago, I could tell she didn't have any friends in the world.  Cold, wet, starving, and with nothing but a moth eaten trench coat to shield her from it, I took her in.

    She had nowhere to go, no one to turn to.  She told me her parents were killed by people for no reason other than they were just in the wrong place at the wrong time.  And me, being the kind-hearted sap I am, I let her stay.  I came up with the story of her being sick and needing treatment so that people wouldn't wonder why I'm never seen with her, and the fact that what I said to Leslie about my thoughts on getting a doctor are my real feelings on the matter made my story convincing to everyone who bothered to ask.

    Misty stays home, she has a place to call home.  Win-win.

    "Now please tell me why you're in my bed."  I said, trying to focus on her nose so I didn't have to look her in the eye.  I didn't need to look to know that she probably took my reaction as I was angry with her.

    "I heard you open the fridge when you got home."  She said sheepishly.  "Since you had to work later than usual today, I figured you could use a little cheering up, so I decided to try this.  Guess it didn't work, huh?"

    "No, no, it's just..."  I started.  "Next time, please try not to resort to pranking me."  I asked.

    "Okay, I'll try."  She said with a fake smile as she started to get up.

    "Where're you going?"  I asked, confused for reasons beyond me.

    "Back to my room."  She answered when she got completely out from under my covers.  "I'm going to let you get some sleep."

    I reached out and grabbed her arm as soon as she was within reach.  "If you want to stay, then fine."  I said, once again refusing eye contact as my face lit up like a christmas tree.  "My way of saying sorry if I sounding angry at you."

    I saw her give me a relieved sigh in my peripheral vision, and she went back around and climbed in behind me.  I felt her slide her way up and close to me, until I could feel her pressed up against me.

    I could feel her warm fur against my skin, her muzzle buried in my neck and shoulder.  And out from under the covers, the tip of a bushy, cream colored tail was slowly wagging in the moonlight.

******************

    56 years ago, in the year of 2017, the United States launched a missile as a test run for a new model.  A fault in the missile's guidance system caused it to find an actual target and take it out; in this case, an experimental nanotech lab that was working on creating nanomachines that could fix broken segments of human DNA.  Needless to say, they were programmed with human DNA specifications.  The nanomachines were released, and their central programming was damaged, causing them to seek out non-human organisms and begin changing them.  Their damaged programming prevented them from completely rewriting the organism's DNA into that of a human, but they would get remarkably close.

    2 weeks after the event, the nanomachines were completely shut down, but not before a new species had been created in their wake.  Canines and felines of just about every species now come in two varieties: your normal garden variety ones, and the semi human "Furries," a derogatory name given to them by people who thought they were freaks of nature.  This is the story of my experiences with them.  I am putting my story out there for one reason, and one reason only.  I'm putting my story out there in an attempt to prove to everyone that you don't necessarily have to be human, to prove that you're a person.
I wrote this one for 3 reasons: 1.  I wanted to try a genre I have yet to touch at this point.  2.  I'm using this to send a sort of "anti-racism" message.  And 3, though this one's kind of a stretch, I've always wanted to write my own Twokinds fanfic, but couldn't bring myself to do it out of respect for Tom.  I guess you could say this is a modern Twokinds story, and my way of doing it.

If you read this and call me a furry or a freak, I will hide/delete your comment.  This was a test, for the most part, and I'm also saying that I honestly care very little what a person looks like on the outside.  I look inside a person's character, and only there will you ever find true beauty.

Chapter 2: eventually.

If I come off as angry or condescending in my descrition, please tell me and don't be mad.  :(  This is just a topic I care about and don't understand why racism exists in the first place.
© 2015 - 2024 Blazefan3669
Comments0
Join the community to add your comment. Already a deviant? Log In