The Beast Within

000

Would death hurt?

Maybe you should have waited. But you didn't know it after all. How could you?

For you it was a completely normal Friday. It was slowly getting dark outside. You should probably walk your dog. The time wasn't for it, but it had been a busy day at work, and he deserved it after being home alone for so long.

"Blaze, do you want to go out for a walk?" You asked your dog. His ears raised up immediately and his tail went crazy with excitement.

"Good boy," you held back a laugh.

Before you went out you left a note in the kitchen. Your parents wouldn't have to worry if they came home earlier than expected and found you missing.

Be right back

It wouldn't be a long walk you decided. Only around the block. It was a beautiful place your parents had found. Perfect with forest on one side and the road on the other. Blaze showed you the way and couldn't stop himself from smelling every low hanging branch. Your eyes were fixated on his ears as they moved and turned when you made small whistles.

Blaze was a pitbull terrier with a dark gray coat. He almost disappeared in the dark. Only the white spots gave him away. Suddenly his head turned. You followed his gaze. A small animal - most likely a squirrel - moved in the dark. Blaze started barking.

"No don't-" he was too strong. He tugged at the harness. Everything went so fast. You knew people said that these moments felt like going slow motion. Not this. All it took was a second. A strong wind blew up your hair. The light from a moving vehicle came closer.

Blaze looked up at you now the squirrel was gone. He knew what was going to happen. You could see the guilt. He didn't mean it to go like this. You knew that.

And then the car hit you.

Now you knew. Death didn't really hurt. Not after the first minutes at least. It was like having your eyes closed. Everything pitch black yet you could see light.

It was over.

And then you opened your eyes. The light came back. The sound, taste and smell and touch. It all came back.

So it wasn't over after all.

"Excuse me, are you alright?" A voice said. You looked up, just to realize two things and a whole lot more.

1: you couldn't see any car or your dog, Blaze

2: the man speaking to you wasn't human

It took way too long to realize; this wasn't your world.

You scrambled back in an attempt to get as much distance to the strange anthropomorphic capybara in front of you. It was dressed as a human, and standing on two legs. It could obviously speak too.

"What is this!" You yelled at the humanlike rodent. It seemed just as panicked as you as it took its phone and started calling someone. You stared at the scene in disbelief.

Only a few minutes after you were picked up by a police car. The questions were almost punched in your face. You answered the simple one:

"What's your name?"

"How old are you?"

But there were also questions you didn't understand like; "what's your race".

Because you were human, and they should know. Not here, apparently. For a fact... You were the only human you had seen yet. And it scared you. More than you wanted to admit. As you drove past the filled streets you saw hundreds of different species. No human though.

They would soon tell you they said. They didn't really. Because what they had told you was that humans were an endangered species with only few sightings. Then more questions came. Where were you from? Did you have any parents? Where were your parents from? You told them, but they didn't understand.

So you just stopped answering.

They provided you with a room for the night and a small amount of cash for clothes as you only had what you had been wearing when... You didn't want to think about it. Or what your parents were going through right now. Or if Blaze was alright. And when you started to think about it, your legs began to shake, and your body felt so terribly cold.

It all felt cold. Everything.

The next day you were taking in for answers. You were tired, and more questions didn't exactly lighten your mood.

Since you were one of the only "animals" of your species who were willing to cooperate somewhat you were given the chance to finish your studies at Cherryton Academy. It shocked you. You had died not even a day ago, and now everything was going back to normal. Or somewhat normal at least.

Everything at your stay at Cherryton Academy would be paid by some Scientific Research Centre who would want you in for some monthly checkups and tests so they could write down more info on your race.

It was fine by you. As things looked right now, you wouldn't be able to go home. You somehow had to adjust to the fact that you now lived in this paranormal world with anthropomorphic capybaras and more.

You had waited for it... the pain at night. You had hoped that this was somehow a dream before death. A waiting line. That when the line was done there would just be dark. And silent. And cold like now.

Two days after your death, you were standing outside Cherryton Academy. You had been given your new school uniform and some newly bought clothes.

"Here goes nothing," you assured yourself, but it didn't come out as anything more than a small whisper. It almost felt iconic for you to say. How many times had you not heard that in movies just before the drama?