Hey everyone, a little late, but better late than never! This is the short story I wrote for class, we had a 10 page max (after the whole double spaced thing) so I could have done more, but I had to stop it. Now I don't remember what I was going to do, so, I didn't even change it. This is what I gave in. I hope you enjoy it!
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Icy tendrils of water dragged at her, grasping like hands at her limbs, dragging her down into the yawning darkness. She didn’t know which way was up, where the surface was. Her hands clawed at the unforgiving water as panic gripped her chest like a vise. Her limbs felt heavy, the cold turning her body to unyielding marble. Bubbles rushed from her open mouth, bared in a silent scream as water started to choke her lungs.
With a gasp Kat awoke and bolted up from her thin, bare mattress. Her usually tawny spotted fur was dark with sweat and plastered to her body. Her hands shook violently like a Parkinson’s patient. She struggled to catch her breath, chest heaving as the remnants of her dream wore off. She closed her eyes, trying to push back the fear that constricted her heart relentlessly. Once the shaking subsided, she cautiously got to her feet. She grabbed the tip of her ear in one hand, tugging it slightly.
She started to pace restlessly around her tiny room, her feet padding softly on the concrete, her hand constantly tugging at her ear. She could smell her fear in the air from her reoccurring dream, the sweat’s tang piercing her scent glands like a lance. Her feet fell into the familiar pattern, eight steps by five, eight steps by five, allowing the routine to settle her frazzled nerves. She studied her room, running her free hand lightly over the surfaces of everything to calm herself. There was the single door leading into the dark hallway. There on the floor was a small box with the few clothing items assigned to each resident of the center; that is, if she ever deigned to wear them. There was the thin mattress where she slept. Slowly she felt herself calming as the familiarity of the room that had remained unchanged for almost twenty years brought her back to reality.
Her stomach soon unclenched and hunger set in and her stomach started to make sounds like a dying walrus. A grating growl bubbled from her throat, escaping her maw through sharp overlarge canines. Her sensitive ears could hear those in the other rooms of the Feline, known as FEL, wing shifting in anticipation for the start of the day, ready to go and stretch their limbs. Her semi-retractable claws quivered and her tail lashed irritably. A ding from the small device attached to her earlobe sounded shrilly for the mornings wake-up call. What an irritating sound that was. The small circlet piercing her earlobe that worked both as a schedule reminder and a safety precaution for the scientists. If any Experiment tried to leave the grounds, as many have tried, a shockwave coursed through them. It left them barely alive, scorched and defeated. She shuddered at the thought; she’d seen enough of those pitiful creatures being dragged back to know that one could not simply run out of the facility.
A sudden flash of light from the hall caused Kat to hiss in pain as her pupils dilated to slits. Her tail lashed irritably at the idiocy of whoever had forgotten to use to dimmer. She loathed when they did that, it was as if they forgot that this hall was occupied by cat-beings, all of which had a cat’s night vision. It was one of the coveted reasons the scientists continued to create them, always trying for a better combination to make a super-soldier. They wanted a sharper night vision, faster runners, better reflexes, better hearing, better smell, and even flight. They wanted a way to create the ultimate army in order to get ahead in the rat-race. They continued to test the limits, performing test after test to gauge pain responses, brain function, and many other things all in the name of science.
She glanced at the door when the grating of the key sounded, her hand tugging her ear softly. Blinking away spots from the hallway lights she tried to make out who was sent to her, the light behind him making it difficult to see his face. That bothered her, she hated being surprised. She cocked her head to the side when the guard finally came into view. She did not know the broad shouldered man who entered. Though she had expected someone different, she had hoped it would have just been another of the facility’s guards… not a completely new person! A quick stab of panic pierced her chest as she struggled to calm herself. It would be ok… her usual guard would hopefully be returning soon. She willed herself to believe it in order to stop the oncoming panic that made her limbs go weak. It was her own fault though; her last guard was probably still recovering from the gashes on his once-handsome face. He’d startled her, and she’d lashed out at him, claws extended. As much as she hated those who enforced her imprisonment, she needed the familiar faces around, for it helped to keep panic attacks at bay for the most part. Besides, her last guard was not so bad. He treated her better than most, almost as if she was human being and not some thing. Disgust brought bile to her mouth. Just because she came from a tube did not make her less intelligent, much as some may think so. They treated her like an animal! Just once she wished that they could experience what Kat has faced, see how long they’d last. When she looked at her new guard, she guessed that he would be no different from the rest. From the sneer on his face she could tell he regarded her as he would an insect stuck to the bottom of his shoe.
He was at least a foot shorter than her own seven feet, but her lithe frame that was meant for speed was slight next to his ox-like build. She also noticed that he wore arm and neck guards made of thick leather. He also held a thick chain in his meaty hands. She turned around to expose the metal loop attached to the leather collar she wore that chafed the fur underneath. All of the Experiments had them, to keep them from bolting while being transferred.
“Subject FEL-169,” he drawled. Unlike her last guard, he simply used her number, objectifying her further. Her hand dropped from her ear and came to rest on her hip.
“So, you’re Jeff’s replacement, are you?” Kat purred. “What’s your name, handsome?” She tried to butter him up a bit, hoping it would improve his mood. With no reply he yanked at the chain to get her moving. When she paused outside of the room to stretch her back and long legs luxuriously, he rapped her in the ribs with the short black baton attached to his wrist. She let out a slight hiss of pain then started down the long hall, heading for the large common area that at this time was used for breakfast. Instead of continuing straight, the guard led her through a heavily padlocked door. Her amber eyes flicked at him in surprise, then widened in fear as he started to undo the locks.
A stab of horror pierced her gut; there was only one reason that they would be skipping breakfast... Her heart raced and she could feel sweat dampen her brow. Kat struggled to rein in her mind as the familiar signs of a panic attack sunk in. To regain control she reached up and started to tug her ear, then attempted to focus on her instincts. They were screaming at her to bolt, to scurry away as fast as she could from the devil’s lair. The memories of the last times that she spent in those rooms haunted her, clouding her brain. The thought of being submerged in that tank of dreaded water and shocked caused Kat’s spotted fur to bristle along her spine and caused her tail to fluff up to twice it’s normal size in fear. She was not going to let them do that again! They were almost to the lab; she had to act fast before fear rendered her useless.
She jerked quickly out of the guards rough hands, twisting to grab the chain of her collar in one hand while clawing at his chest and neck with the other. Her claws only managed to graze the uniform, ripping long gashes in the front. Wrapping the chain around her wrist, she pulled with all of her might. He quickly got over the surprise of her affront and jerked the chain forcefully, causing her to stumble forward. His hand darted out and gripped scruff at the back of her neck in an iron fist. Her legs gave out on her as mind-numbing terror overtook her, the laboratory sign the last thing she registered.
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Just starting to dry, Kat curled into a tight ball on a chair in the corner of the common room by the heater, shivering and stiff with pain. She stared blankly ahead, rocking on her haunches ever so slightly, her hand tugging at her ear. She barely registered that in some of the other chairs Experiments read heavily pictured books full of childish rhymes. All she wished was that she was in her room on her mattress so she could have a good cry without anyone else seeing. Flutter, a dark winged beauty from the Avian hybrids was one of the only ones who stuck close to Kat, picking anxiously at a loose feather. Her eyelashes fluttered in distress as she reached a hand out to touch Kat’s leg, but then decided against it and dropped her hand back into her lap.
“Do you want to talk about it?” She inquired gently, concern showing in those doe-like brown eyes.
“No.” Kat’s voice was dry and flat.
“It will make you feel better.” It was just like Flutter to believe that talking would make all the pain of the afternoon be forgotten. “If you’d just—”
“I said I don’t want to talk about it!” Kat hissed, ears flattened close to her head and teeth bared in a snarl, her hands curling into claws. Her tail lashed with anger, so Flutter dropped the subject. Kat could still see something like pity in her eyes though that for some reason infuriated Kat. Her hand returned to her ear as she calmed herself.
Her gaze softened as she peered at the quiet Canine-boy sitting on the floor, tinkering with some small round piece of equipment with pilfered tools. His floppy ears and longer, snout-like nose gave him a comical appearance, but his large brown eyes showed a seriousness well beyond his ten years, as if he were Atlas carrying the world upon his small shoulders. Kat hated how innocence was broken in this place of nightmares. Track marks from multiple injections and blood work marred his thin arms, as well as almost healed scars from whatever his latest test had been. He wouldn’t speak of it, but Kat saw the weariness as he glanced at the guards and seemed to shrink when anyone he didn’t know spoke to him. All of the Experiments had their qualms, but few chose to speak of the horrors forced upon them.
“What’s that you have, Pup?” Kat’s tone was the hyper-bright one an adult used with a very small child. Pup always had troubles with language, but put something electronic in front of him and he could find out everything there was to learn about it in no time.
“Nuffin’,” was his only response as he swiped at his nose with the back of his hand. Who knew what went on in that head of his. Kat shook her own head stiffly and released a sigh. Kat reached a hand forward to ruffle his ears when she noticed a small hole in the flap of the ear near his skull.
“Pup? What is that?”
“Wa’…dis?” He held up the circlet he had been working on, exposed wires glinting softly. A wide smile spread across his features, revealing small pointy teeth. “Dis on’y da ‘larm.” It took Kat a moment to understand what he was saying, her eyes blinked rapidly and her hand increasing its pace as it tugged on her ear. Her fingers came to rest on the earlobe device piercing her right ear. Impossible! How could he have managed to get it out? He continued to fiddle around with it. Flutter caught on quickly and leapt down from her chair beside Kat to land quietly beside Pup, her eyes bright with interest. Her fingers darted out to touch the device in Pup’s hands gently, shocking herself slightly on one of the wires and letting out a small yelp of pain before stuffing her fingers into her mouth. Kat rolled her eyes at her, then glanced around quickly at the nearest guard to see if he’d hear the sound of Flutter’s yelp. His head was turned their way, causing a spasm of panic in Kat’s chest. Flutter merely batted her long eyelashes at the guard and gave a giggling smile while wiggling her fingers at him. He grinned foolishly at her then turned his head back forward. Kat didn’t know how Flutter did that. Flutter could commit murder and the guards would still let her off the hook the minute she pouted.
Kat returned her attention to Pup, who was re-clasping the device to his ear, no one would even be able to tell that it had been removed. “Pup, what was it that you just did?”
“T’went bzzzzz. Aaaall da time. No more.” He grinned impishly up at Kat, drawing a small chuckle from her maw as her hand ruffled his shaggy hair affectionately. He had always been able to make her laugh. She ran her fingers over his soft, floppy ears as she thought. The device buzzed…
“Pup, what about our earpiece devices? Are they buzzing too?”
“Ya, bu’ s’ok, dey not bodder me.” He started to hide his tools in the seams of his pant legs. What if the buzzing meant the alarm was active? The dawning of the fact Pup could deactivate the devices reeled through her mind. He probably didn’t even know that was what he was doing; he just wanted to stop the buzzing. She sat up quickly then winced in pain at the jarring of her poor muscles.
“Pup!” she kept her voice low, but could barely contain the excitement in the tone. “I need you to do whatever you did to your earpiece to ours.” Flutter started to bounce on the spot causing her tumble of curls to spring up and down in excitement.
“Oh yes, please do! I can’t stand that beep when it’s time to wake up, I mean, how’s a girl supposed to get her beauty sleep with that thing?”
“Flutter, you don’t understand!”
“Understand what?”
Kat lowered her voice even more until Flutter and Pup had to lean in closer to hear it. “Understand that we can use this to get out of here, once and for all!”
Flutter squeaked a small sound of indignation. “Kat, you can’t be serious, do you have a death wish or something?” Kat glared at her.
“You don’t understand! I can’t take it anymore!” Tears sprang to her eyes and she blinked furiously, she didn’t want them to see her cry! She let out a small humph. “If you don’t want to come, you don’t have to.”
“Fine!”
“Fine. Leave then.” Flutter stormed off in a huff and started to flirt with one of the other Avian-hybrids, turning her back towards Pup and Kat. Kat couldn’t believe that she had actually decided to give up this chance! She looked at Pup who had remained quiet throughout the ordeal. “What about you?” She couldn’t keep the sound of betrayal from her voice. Flutter had been her best friend throughout the past fifteen years. Pups eyes flicked quickly from Flutter’s turned back to Kat’s face, and then he got up and sat in the chair recently vacated by Flutter and patted her hand gently. He was choosing to stay with her. She smiled at his innocent face and placed her hand on top of his.
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Kat took a deep breath in, allowing the crisp fall air to fill her lungs. It was so nice to be outside! She could feel winters chill in the breeze that caught in her fur and played with it like tiny hands. Across the training yard were the Experiments worked their muscles she could see the dark form of Flutter like an angel of death in the air, looping in the intricate dance of a graceful bird. A sigh escaped her maw, she wished she could go over and smooth things over with her friend, but she knew it would only make the leaving harder. Today was the day. It had to be. Her gaze skipped over the drab concrete walls of the facility and came to rest on the fence just beyond the shadows. Her sensitive ears picked up the small hum of electricity like thousands of bees, causing her hand to jump up and tug her ears to rid them of the annoying sound. Pup had pointed out that there was a section by the kitchen that no longer hummed, the circuitry broken. Hope flared in her chest. Pup had tampered with her earlobe device until it had “no more bzzzzz” as he had put it. She looked to her side, where Pup rested like a shadow, his nose slightly upturned and his ears swiveling to catch all the noises coming their way. She trusted his heightened hearing to warn them if anything went awry. She saw his ears prick as they caught something.
“Now,” was all that he said. The guards’ timer had gone off for the shift change, it was their only chance. Kat quickly crouched to allow him to climb nimbly onto her back, his legs wrapping around her thin waist. She took off at a sprint, allowing her stride to open to its full potential and her body to do what it was made for: run. Pup’s weight slowed her down though, more than she had predicted. The shriek of an alarm pierced the air and guards swarmed like ants from their guard tower. Fear caused her heart to hammer in her chest when Pup’s weight slid from her back. Skidding to a halt, she turned quickly to face him. His face was strangely impassive.
“Come on Pup! We have to go!” She yelled. She didn’t care if anyone heard her now. He shook his head. In his hand he held a small black object of which she could not identify. A sardonic grin contorted his features, replacing the usual innocence.
“Game over.” His words didn’t waver like they used to, and were remarkably clear. His thumb pressed a button on what Kat now knew as a remote. Pain filled her entire being and the stench of burning fur clogged her nostrils. She saw Pup call guards over and point to her before disdainfully chucking the remote over his shoulder. “Take her.” He turned and walked away, leaving her charred body smoking on the ground. A ripped uniform came into view as blackness began to overtake her vision. She didn’t understand…
