Chapter three: Lowered down the food chain

... and what a bizarre fate it is...

-3- Lowered down the foodchain

I had several dreams during the time I was out. It was only when I was fully awake... did I realzie they were dreams at all. The bitter realiziation that I was still here, still a prisoner, shattered my sleepy mindset and instilled the now familiar feeling of terror. Scanning the walls I found myself in some form of holding cell. The ceiling had small lights built into it every foot or so and the wall across from me had a camera mounted above a plain door. I watched for a second as the mechanical eye slowly panned around the room with perfect timing. The wall to my left had a poster of a cartoon human being hugged by a cartoon fox. Along the bottom of the poster it read "Be friendly!" in large block letters. Scoffing, I got up and ripped the poster from the wall before shredding it in rage. I was still restrained but this time the chain was much longer and I could walk around the room partially. As I approached the door the camera trained on me and zoomed in quickly. A small red light began to blink within the dome shaped lense and as I watched, it began to blink faster. Tilting my head in confusion, I wondered what this meant. I soon got my answer. A loud electronic alarm blared and the chain that was locked around my ankle suddenly retracted to the wall, taking me off my feet! 

Hitting the ground with a cough I groaned and rolled onto my back, rubbing my aching jaw. I cursed softly and leaned up into a sitting position. The shock of being thrown to the ground quickly wore off and I stood up angrily. Examining the wall I found the chain was held and controlled by some kind of mechanical lever system. It didn't seem to be accessible from this side but I found if I pulled hard enough I could produce a few extra inches of the chain. After several minutes of tinkering with the wall unit I gave up and sighed. Just then I collapsed against the wall clutching my stomach in pain. Streaks of deep tearing pain cut through my belly as I struggled with the effects of hunger. I haven't eaten in... god how many days has it been? How much time passed before I arrived here? How will I be treated? How could I let this happen? Taking a deep breath my stomach pain died down slowly until it had passed. I felt moisture welling up behind my eyes and I shut them hard to try and avoid crying. It could not be helped and I began sobbing quietly. My eyes burned from all the tears I have been shedding lately. Each heavy breath caused a small pain in my stomach that didn't seem to go away. I put my head between my knees and held my legs as tight as possible while I bawled.

A loud electronic buzzing sound suddenly filled the room. "Smile and be friendly!" I jumped with fright as the obviously recorded voice spoke loudly.

Before I could react the door across from me opened. A short thin figure walked in and removed his sunglasses. He was a rodent of some kind, I would say a mouse. Both of the huge rounded ears had several piercings in them and his pink nose held a thick bull ring. He was wearing a wife beater that had a strange colorful symbol on the stomach of it. His fur was a creme color and his sharp two front teeth were pale yellow. He eyed me dissapointed and then scoffed rolling his eyes. I was going to say something but he immediately began to leave, flicking his hairless tail as he turned around. I sat shaking with wide empty eyes and a tiny pouting mouth. What was that? What the hell just happened? The weighted feeling of being judged suddenly hit me and I realized what happened. He didn't want me... Or I wasn't good enough... That didn't bother me in the slightest but it made me wonder, what happens if no beast ends up wanting me? So many questions filled my head and soon my fear gave way to my curiousity. 

A heavy thought creeped into my head. What happened to the Earth? I am unsure how long it took for me to be brought here so... is it even still around? I began to panic, concerned with every conceivable thing that Earth still meant to me. So many good memories have been burried beneath an endless ocean of horrible events, which I cannot erase from my mind. Looking down at my hand I sighed and remembered all the people who I tried to help. All the faces screaming for me to save them, but all I could do was run for my own safety. I felt tears building up again but I forced them back down as I heard the buzzer go off again.

"Smile and be friendly!" The automated voice repeated and I grit my teeth in frustration.

The door slammed open and a big creature squeezed in. I stared with wide fearful eyes as a hippopotamus approached me with a huge toothy smile. I shrunk further into the corner with each step she took into the room. I assume it was female since she was wearing a flowing pink dress and a flowery sun hat. She had on light red lipstick and her purse matched in color with the whole outfit. Her skin was a varying tone from light tan to pink and her eyes were deep brown.

"Well you are just the cutest little man I have ever seen!" She said clutching her huge flabby hands together against one of her cheeks.

"What do you want with me? Just... leave me alone!" My words blurted out without my consent.

"Leave? But I just got here!" She replied giggling a little. "Why don't you tell me your name?" She asked and I shook my head.

"No." I said desperate for any ounce of freedom. "Please... just go away." I said slowly lowering my head until I was cowering.

"What did I do wrong?" She asked in a hurt tone that also sounded frustrated. "If you are scared you dont have to -." I cut her off without looking at her.

"I don't want to be here! I don't want to be anyones pet! I don't want to go anywhere with you!" Shouting hurt my dry thoat and caused a small surge of pain in my stomach.

"Please if you just listen I -." I cut her off again still refusing to look up.

"Go away you fat monster!" The growling in my voice made me sound more intimidating, but I doubt she was threatened.

"FINE!" She shouted shaking the walls a bit and causing me to look up in fright. "But listen here you little s**t! I was nice and I guarantee you that not many others are going to be! I hope for your sake you learn quickly or you won't like were you end up!" She stormed out of the room after filling it with her enraged words.

Part of me actually felt bad. She was being really nice to me and I was a jerk to her. As I sat motionless, still paralyzed from the shock of being yelled at, I began thinking of these beast men in a different light. I made the difficult decision to be open minded and talk with the next possible buyer. I practiced smiling a few times but they faded instantly and I decided it would be better to just not act frightened. What do I do if I am in real danger though? Who will help me and who can I trust? Will I just have to fight alone and be inevitably defeated? Still uneasy from hunger I managed to stand up and only shake a little bit. I entered a fighting stance then threw a few punches and kicks. After getting warmed up I began practice more advanced techniques. Thinking about it, I haven't seen a single beast that was shorter than a typical human. My martial arts would fail miserably, not to mention the fact, that I am so weak from hunger I would probably injure myself. I sat down and tried to ignore the pain in my belly by doing some deep breathing exercises. The buzzing sound forced my eyes to shoot open and I stood up.

"Smile and be friendly!" I mouthed the words as the speaker played them hoping it would give me a bit of enthusiasm.

As the door opened a figure quickly darted in and shut it swiftly. At first all I saw was a tail wagging along the back of a leather jacket and jeans. But soon the wolf whipped his muzzle around and pierced me with his huge red eyes. I froze with fear as his tongue lolled out and he began taking long deep breaths, as he moved toward me. I began to quiver and shake as he approached. He was not as big as the other wolves I have seen, but he was psychotic looking. His eyes had a sharp almond shape and his ears were curved slightly, which gave them the shape of horns. His scruff was poofy and wild with sharp strands jutting out in all directions. He was wearing a opened black leather jacket, with a red shirt beneath and a pair of typical jeans. But those eyes... my god his eyes. He peered at me with portals directly to hell and showed his malice by growling with each elongated breath. My own breathing was sharp and rapid as I pressed against the wall and stared at him wide eyed and tight lipped. He ran his tongue along his huge teeth slowly and made a loud slurping noise as he retracted it.

 

"H-he-hello..." My voice was shrill as I attempted to greet the beast.

"Hello." He said in a loud breathy growl as he drooled a bit. "Your gonna be so good..." The wolf said as his muzzle dripped saliva to the floor and his pupils shrunk slightly.

"Please... I dont want-." He cut off my stuttering words with a booming laugh.

"Oh GOD I love hearing you beg." His jagged voice replied as he raised his claws toward me slowly.

Cowering against the wall I felt my guts twist and I almost threw up. He was about half way across the room as I began to scream. I turned away, grabbed the back of my head, and wailed like a b***h. I begged and pleaded the vicious beast for my life not daring to look up at him. His shadow loomed over me and I cringed, clutching myself harder. A paw gently ran over my head and he laughed again, like nails going trough a blender. The utter despair I felt overwhlemed all of my sense until I was a writhing incoherent mess of tears.

 "Don't worry. You will be dead when I decide to feast on you!" His wicked words spawned morbid images in my mind.

Suddenly I lashed out. Without thinking I threw a straight punch and felt it land against something soft but solid. Not realizing my fist connected with the wolf's groin, I didn't look at first until I heard his pained cries. His gutteral shouting gave way to whimpering yelps as he collapsed to the ground and writhed violently. His muzzle snapped open and closed as he spat curse after curse in my direction. With eyes wider than the walls I watched him as he began to crawl toward me whipping his claws through the air violently. Just as he was about to reach me the door opened and two animals rushed in. They ran over and grabbed the wolf by the shoulders, lifting him to his feet. 

"Let me go! I'll f*****g kill him!" The wolf thrashed savagely throwing his head toward me and snapping his huge jaws shut.

"Stop resisting sir." One of the guards said calmly as they lifted him and pulled the thrashing canine toward the door. 

"I want him dead! Let me go! I want his blood!" The wolfs eyes were pools of lava, burning holes through my cowering form.

"You threatened the human. If you continue to resist we will use force!" The large guard said as the wolf hung from his arms kicking wildly.

"If you go now we wont revoke your ownership privileges." The smaller guard said poking the wolf in the chest. 

At first the wolf didn't seem to care but after a few seconds he took a deep breath and seemed to calm down. After letting the wolf go the larger guard opened the door and showed him out. The smaller guard, a rabbit, wrote some information down on a handheld device that beeped softly when he pressed its keys. Soon after the larger guard, a goat, returned to the room.

"You should have revoked his ownership man..." The goat said in a dissapointed tone as he stood next to his shorter cohort.

"Got him outta here didn't I?" Rabbit man said looking up at his horned partner. "We dont have to do any paperwork either!" He continued lifting the handheld device as if to reference it.

"Yeah but if he gets his paws on a human..." Goat man replied with a concerned tone of voice. "Just the thought of it makes me uneasy." His words were so somber and they shocked me greatly.

"Ya saved this one." Rabbit man muttered as he put away his handheld machine. "That counts."

"You alright pal?" Goat said taking a knee in front of me. "Bet you got him good eh?" He asked smiling at me.

Nodding slowly I couldnt help but smile as he stared at me though his thick curly bangs. He was really muscular and his feet were hooves, not a normal trait amongst the beast men. He had gray wooly hair on his head and short shaggy steel blue hair on the rest of his body. Like the rabbit he wore a sleek black uniform with a white badge on the left breast. The rabbit's fur was brown, white and sort of shaggy. His ears were tied like a ponytail behind his head and the hair atop his head was styled into a flare of spikes. They each had a differing shade of green eyes and the rabbits nose was pink where the goats was black. As I stared examining them, I saw the rabbit man lift his handheld device, which sort of resembled a cellphone but fatter. As he did this the goat sighed and looked away as if something was about to upset him.

"Hey man, give the kid a break." The goat said in a gruff voice as he turned back to his rabbit commander.

"Rules are rules. Plus we kicked the wolf out so I have to be fair." Replied the rabbit as he beeped through his device holding it up to view it better.

"But... look at him? He is so young! Poor guy shouldn't be here!" The goat, whom I was starting to like, practically shouted but the rabbit didn't look up.

"Thats why I am setting it down a few notches. Now go wait in the hall if your such a wuss." Replied the rabbit as he seemed to finish on his little device because he looked up and aimed it at me.

"No wait!" I cried out just before a flash of bright white light caused me to flinch.

It hurt so much. I cant explain it properly without resorting the cliche of being on fire. My skin burned and my head began to ache as I flailed about on the floor. Opening my eyes I caught a glimpse of the two of them staring down at me as I suffered through this punishment. A faint scream arose from me but it soon developed into a full cry of anguish. Breathing heavily I felt the pain subsiding and then vanish as if it was just a thought. Still panting frantically I managed to clutch myself and roll over to face the wall. The sound of the door opening made me cringe with fear, but I soon remembered that they would be leaving. As I lay in the now silent room I still twitched lightly from the phantom pains I was just subjected to. I had defended myself against one of these monsters barehanded, but all I had to remember it by was a brief moment of agony. Without anymore thoughts, I began to cry and slowly rocked myself to sleep. This would be the moment I gave up hope of ever being happy again. Each tear an ocean of my discarded hopes and dreams crashing into nothing on the floor.

Reviews

[Brittanie Bardwell]

I like how the society runs so far. It has a good complex underlying structure that makes the reader interested to read and learn more. The details you use (which I noticed in the other book) are great too. I, also, am a big fan of your use of synonyms instead of the normal everyday words. It makes it sound more mature and yet understandable. Great Job!

[Thatonedawg]

This has been an incredible source of inspiration, I want you to know that! Yeah, writing Iza is hard because I try to make him sound educated and eloquent, but I'm not at all irl LOL! Really it has made all the difference getting to come on and see these notes! TY!

[Brittanie Bardwell]

You have to be educated to write as good as you do :) but I get it. My main bad guy and many of the minions are mean and evil and im not so I have to work hard not to make them nice accidentally.