Upside Down

(29) Never Have I Ever

Chapter 29

Prejudice : Hurts :: Compliments : Nice

"What?"

"Who was it?"

"It was the cats!"

"They did it to us!"

"They will pay!"

I looked around the crowd of my pack members and felt their fury wash over me. A whole family, our friends and pack mates were killed. I knew they were angry, furious even, but this was not the cats.

This is a monster.

"Silence!" I heard my father's voice boom over the growing commotion of yelling amd snarls. "It wasn't the cats."

For a moment, the crowd only held silence until he began an uproar.

"No!"

"It had to be the cats!"

"It's her fault!" Another voice's growl rumbled over the crowd and everyone stopped to look at the man in the back with white/blonde hair ... Hunter's Dad. "That cat, right there! It's her fault they're here! She's a cat! She probably works for them!" Kriss, he was pointing at Kriss and as he pointed everyone's head turned to look at the little black cat I had sat on the picnic table. "We all know that cats are horrible, ill-bred creatures and yet we let one into our territory, into our land and risk not only our lives but our families! A monster killed our pack mates, cats are monsters, that girl is a cat, and that cat is a monster!"

I kept myself back from attacking the man in the first half of his speech, but my dad had to hold me back on the second. "That asshole!" Then as I turned to look at the table where Kriss sat, she was gone.

I stopped struggling and turned my head to see something rustle in the foliage of the forest. Goddammit, she ran! I broke from my father's grasp and ran after grabbing extra clothes from off the picnic table and began sniffing as I ran for Kriss's smell. "Kriss? Kriss!" I called out as soon as I hit the edge of the forest and dove in. "Kriss where are you?" I didn't get an answer but I followed her scent until it suddenly stopped. "Kriss?" I whispered then whimpered as I slid to the forest floor at the base of the tree.

I hadn't really thought of how racist some of the pack would be, I mean of course I knew that when I first brought her here but I wasn't exactly too keen on keeping her anyway. Like Drew had said that day he was all jacked up, I didn't really know pain. I've been sheltered all my life. Sure, I'd gone to school and suffered through the awkwardness of middle school, peer pressure and the basic suckiness of being a preteen all the way to being a senior but never have I felt like I was hated.

I grew up being taught that what I was, was wonderful and a gift to be beheld in high regard and not to be mistreated or abused.

Never have I been called a monster for what I was born like.

Never have I had someone hate me before evening meeting me.

Never have I had someone hate me for being born the way I was.

I couldn't imagine that pain she had been going through or the self-hatred. Kriss should never hate herself. No one should ever hate Kriss. Kriss was just too lovable, too sweet, and yes, she was too fucking adorable for anyone to hate her especially if they just met her!

Why would anyone hate someone they just met.

Okay, yeah when I saw my second grade teacher it was hate-at-first-sight but that bitch was mean and nasty and totally had it comin' to her!

"Meow?"

I looked up into the tree that I sat under and saw a small black kitten peering over the branch of the tree at me. "Kriss!" I bolt up and when to reach for her but she was too high up so I climb onto the closest branch towards me and climbed up to her. "Kriss, sweetheart, come here. I'm not mad, just please come here. I was so worried."

She hesitantly climbed into my lap and rubbed against my hand, purring.

Then she shifted.

Never have I felt someone shift in my lap but let me tell you it's not the most comfortable thing in the world, especially when they squish your baby maker.

I quickly tossed her the extras set of clothes I grabbed which was her shirt she had been wearing earlier ad some shorts that I borrowed from a guy in our pack.

"I'm sorry, Emmie," She whimpered into my chest after putting on the clothes.

"Sh, don't be sorry, Kriss. You're not a monster. It's just some people can't look past people's outter self and see who they truely are." I took my finger under her chin so she would look me in the eyes and see the truth. "And you truely are a fantastic person, Kriss. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise." Then I gentley kissed her forehead making her smile at me then wrap her small skinny little arms around me.

"You always know what to say, Em." She whispered into my chest.

No I didn't, especially when it came to telling her my feelings.

I had no idea what to say then.

[At Night]

Tears streamed down the dirtied face of Allise as she stumbled through the undergrove. She could still see the burning images of her parents' angered faces as she told them the news.

She was going to keep the child growing in her womb.

After six weeks of comtemplation and having the baby growing her she knew she couldn't give it away for adoption and would never get an abortion not matter how terrifying it was the event that lead to her being pregnant. That night will always be scarred in her mind.

Allise didn't want to have a baby, she didn't even want a boyfriend. She was going to go through high school and college and live up sports. Allise loved sports, especially soccor. She knew that a boyfriend and the possibilty of getting pregnant would hold her back and all her plans wouldn't be fair to either of them. So she decided to save herself for marriage if she ever did get married.

But fate had other plans as one night her and her friends went out to the movies. Allise hadn't stayed through the whole movie because she began to feel ill and as she walked out of the movie theatre and down the dark street she could feel someone watching her.

She didn't want to think about that though, the horror and helplessness she felt that consumed her and all that struggling that didn't do a thing.

And now after telling her parents that she was going to keep the baby ... she hoped they'd be glad, proud of her even ... but she knew that was too much to hope for. Both of her parents were very ... prude and Allise feared that if it hadn't been for her friends and teachers than she would have been the same way.

She was so glad she wasn't because never would she ever want to be so terrible that she wouldn't even care for her daughter, that she would be so worried for her image that she would through her daughter out on the streets just because she wanted to keep the baby she was raped into having.

Allise choked back a sob just thinking about it as she delved deeper into the forest not even paying attention to where she was heading until a rustle jerked her out of her thoughts. "H-hello?" She sniffled. Another rustle and she froze, looking around her surroundings. How far had she gone? "Is someone there?"

Another rustle and she turned towards the sound, seeing a shadow the shape of a dog. "Oh, hey there." She whispered and crouched down a little hesitantly. "Come here, sweetie." She held out her hand, waiting for the dog to come to her. The animal moved but not the way she suspected.

It moved up, like towards the top of the trees up. It grew tall, far taller than Allise and towering over her like a skyscraper. "Oh, my ..." The animal or whatever it was leaned forward and Allise could see the muzzel heading for her and feel it's hot breath on her face before it reared back up and roared.

All Allise could do was scream before the monster lunged.