Rain pouring, my body drenched as I couldn't see past the empty landscape. It was cold, or was it? I didn't know how I felt, my vision barely encompassing a large building. All I could do was chitter at the prospect of what could be inside here, my warm fur patting the raindrops that managed to reach me. My family was nowhere to be seen; they must've fled back to the hideaway we found a week ago.
I wonder, was it really safe for the young to be there. Yeah, the large bipedal figures didn't disturb the area, but their food wasn't present as well. Wait, isn't that's why I'm here now. I need to find food for the young so that they won't starve, the large bins already emptied by the large moving metal beast. There was something here earlier, a few smaller bipedal animals came in and out of this building, so there must be food inside.
One of them though didn't seem hungry, instead vicious and strong like a snake. That was before I saw them walk into here, I remember now. They tried to hurt me, and I attacked back, clawing one of their bulbs at the uppermost part of the body, it must have been the head. The other threw me against the wall and I ran out of sight so their dinner wouldn't be served. Absolutely cruel and vicious toward a simpleton like myself just trying to scavenge for food.
This wasn't the time to dawdle on such things, sprinting to the movable wall where they walked through, seeing a small chipped part on the bottom. My claws clamped the edges of the hole and pulled but it was strong, being resistant to tugging. Unable to do so, I tried to squeeze my body past the opening but my body wouldn't push through. This obstacle was resilient and held stead-fast, but it had to have a weakness. Whatever it was though, I didn't know and gave up to find another more accessible entrance.
Just then, I found the prize as an invisible wall lay open, the only problem being that it was pretty high up. Scanning the area, I saw a humongous food bin next to a weirdly shaped piece of the building that the bipedal humans sometimes climb down when there's a fire, and a holey floor up there connected to the climbing wall. If it's for the young, I'll have to do anything. Scattering with a running jump, I scaled the large empty bin, running along the run, and sprung to the climbable wall.
My small arms clasped around one of the rings as my body curled around it. The feeling of my strength being sapped away drove a familiar fear into my heart as I swung my body up. Now it was the difficult part, cautiously climbing up each ring until I was below the holey floor. Carefully, I slotted my claws into the holes and let my body dangle, forcing it along until the window was before me. It was painful to a whole new degree, but I managed to set my legs onto the window seal before letting go and crawling inside.
It was like I was on a whole other habitat though, with large platforms with expansive divides throughout the building, various objects set upon these platforms. It seemed like I've been here before, but everything seemed so much larger. From the floor where the movable wall was, lay a straight path to an obstacle with a metal device set on top of it. Next to the metal device was another movable wall but it didn't encompass the entire surface area, instead, being half as tall and allowing people to walk behind the obstacle that spanned across the store.
Sadly though, I couldn't see any food as I investigated the area. Something else caught my gaze as my search proved fruitless, a red gem that I swear I've seen before. It was dazzling, but as I stared at it, the realization of what I am hit me. What the heck am I doing in a raccoon body, my claws, short body, small stature? I...I was a normal human just a few hours ago. And being here, in this store, the cashier in the same spot... was this a dream or something else? It must be a dream; I just need to wake up. Before I could do anything, an ominous glow emanated from the red gem as the colors penetrated my eyes. It looked so beautiful; it was something special.
My eyes slowly opened as the sun gleamed in my room, turning everything into a bright orange color. Another day, another chance to fail again. I don't even know why I acted like that yesterday. As I stood up and got dressed for school, I couldn't help but wonder what I dreamed about last night. It must've been weird because echoes of it still remained in my mind, like an adrenaline rush or something like that. I didn't have time to think about it now, rushing down the stairs and waiting for my dad to wake up so that he could give me a ride to school.
It was similar to how I got up yesterday but my stress of what could happen to school made everything gloomier. So gloomy in fact, that I had to wear a hoodie today so the bruises around my eye couldn't be seen easily. Arriving at school was the same too, except that I was a little bit early. There weren't that many people here yet, which was nice but awkward at the same time. Down the hall of the school where the cafeteria was sat a small group of kids that I sometimes hung out with. They, honestly, weren't that unique and copied how each other acted just so they could fit in. I didn't care though as it's easy to understand the reason behind it, no one wants to be the outcast.
"Hey Lon', what are you doing?" Lon'? Interesting nickname but I guess my name was hard to make a small catchy name for. The person who called me, who was a part of that small group, waved generously in my direction as if showing where he was sitting would make any difference.
I might as well anyways, waving back and walking over to them with my backpack slung over my arm while saying, "Well, I woke up pretty early so here I am." Only half of them, which was only two, looked up at me and immediately saw the bruise around my eye but instead of questioning me, they just smiled. Maybe they thought I did something to earn it, but I know that they were going to gossip once I left. Not like I cared, kids will gossip, but this group never really shunned anyone because of what they've done.
Ashley, who mainly kept the group together, softly smacked the shoulder of a boy next to her who was smiling like a frozen statue at my bruise, not looking away once. Out of everyone in this group, whether that be Rogelio, Maggie, Nelson, or even Finn, she was the nicest and most passionate when it came to her hobbies. They didn't have anything going for them, well maybe Finn, but Ashley was always the leading role in theater with her long brown hair and almost scarlet eyes staring back at the audience. Everyone wanted to be like her, and she must've enjoyed the attention but never showed it.
I don't know if anyone could see it, but her eyes always dimmed after being on stage and her schedule was always busy like a certain other person we all knew in class. As I thought about that person, I looked over to see her sitting down with another group, her eyes almost always dark and lifeless now as she read from the school textbook. I can say on the behalf of everyone that she was the most intimidating person here and also the smartest, hardly talking at all and keeping to herself.
Before I became too distracted, Finn spoke up in a gruff but also weirdly smooth voice, "So London, what's that about," pointing to my bruise. Stereotypical surfer boy with a strong frame and short brazen hair, he wasn't much for starting a conversation.
Actually, I wasn't expecting it as I scrambled to say, "It's nothing, I just fell when I was skating."
A small slip-up as Nelson jumped on that and said, "You, skating? You gotta hop with us next time to chill and chat about shit." I could only give a weak smile and move my head while agreeing. No one else spoke up though, with Maggie and Rogelio keeping quiet with their phones in their face, but I could tell that Ashley knew it was a lie. She knew me more than any of them, as her eyes shot daggers into my soul.
Before she could ask anything, I saw a wave of kids from the entrance of the school and I casually got up, walking over there to see if anyone else came. Thank God the bus came though because I'm not that good at lying in front of someone's face. Out of the bull rush of students, I saw Johndavid and Dominique walking in and completely distracted at whatever conversation they were having on the bus. Just like that, I just fell into what they were talking about and simply moved around the school with them as they finished up, looking at me and almost instantly noticing the bruise.
"What happened London, did you get punched by another vending machine or something?" John said without any sympathy or thought put into his words.
"It's just an accident from trying to skate. Practice makes perfect though," I retorted with a snarky laugh, but Dominique could see through it immediately. He didn't say anything though, scanning the school and putting the information together in his head. I couldn't help but look at where he was observing, looking at the group of boys who 'taught' me a lesson yesterday. A shot of electricity shot through my body as I couldn't help but look at the person who sold me out to them.
The beautiful girl... she was really beautiful but secretly rotten on the inside. I'm like everyone else, you can't help but look at the popular girls, but she specifically called them to go after me or did Jose notice? No, impossible, he sat near the front row in that class, and he was the only one who could've commanded the others to go after me. I guess Taylor could have convinced him, but he's always preoccupied with sleeping during class. Looking back at Johndavid and Dominique, I could see that Dominique found his answer and sighed with resignation.
I don't need a life lesson right now, speaking up before he could tell John or me to do something, "You know that the final exams in a month? How am I going to pass?" Johndavid was in the same boat as me, both of us wallowing whenever we mentioned it, but Dominique always came in second when it came to scores. He was the smartest boy in the school, looking over to his rival who had the dark and lifeless eyes. She readied herself every day for anything, always studying in the cafeteria.
"It's redundant to cast my thoughts on beating Camilla. Though I hold my studies and intellect in high regard, she is simply beyond human ability." Dominique said.
Johndavid couldn't help but state how large that gap really was, saying, "She showed her scores on the Reading Inventory, I didn't even think six thousand was possible."
"Says the person who got two thousand." I said but Dominique seemed to agree with him.
"It is true that two thousand is mediocre, but I, who had the second-highest score, compiled a result of forty-eight hundred." It was almost sad, hearing him say that as with anyone else, he would just gloat in confidence about how smart he really was. Eventually, Grif arrived at school and kept surprisingly quiet today, drawing in their notebook all day with school playing out as it normally would.
Walking home, I took a small detour and walked by the old antique store to see if I dropped anything on the ground. That day, yesterday, I was constantly in and out of pure exhaustion so maybe something slipped out. Or maybe I'm making an excuse for myself as I felt like there was something more here. It could be the weirdness of the owner or just the different things in the store, but I had to come back. Looking around, I saw that the windows up high were boarded up and the door was locked, it must've been closed for the day.
That's kind of disappointing but oh well, I just came here on a whim. While walking away though, A gleam caught my eye near a large dumpster. In the darkness, it shone a light directly into my eyes as I walked over to see what it was. Would've you know it, it was the red bedazzling gem I saw yesterday in the store, but what was it doing out here? Well, it was outside alone and needed a new home. Besides, who was going to look for this gem, picking it up and carefully setting it into my pocket.
The gem was slightly smaller than the palm of my hand and felt smooth but firm to the touch. It must be expensive to buy normally, maybe lady luck is finally starting to give me some relief. Without any more detours, I headed home and did what any kid would do with their free time. Tomorrow was Wednesday so I didn't really need to worry about homework, being lazy and simply dozing off to some 80s cartoon, the gem right beside me as it held my alluring gaze for the most part.
It's a nice landscape, I said to myself as the dream that encompassed around me visually built itself in real-time. That was my first thought, already knowing that I was having a lucid dream. These aren't that common, so I might as well enjoy myself. The colors of this dream were realistic but with some buildings shattered and pieces of rubble and debris floating high in the sky. My clothing was what I was wearing when I fell asleep, which looked kind of shabby. If this is my dream, then I should look presentable in my own eyes. Holding my hand out, I closed my eyes and imagined pieces of the environment crumbing together and forming extraordinary clothing that I could wear.
Finally, with steel-needled eyes, I opened them to see... that nothing changed. What... isn't this one of those amazing lucid dreams that you only get once in your lifetime or something like that? If this is my world, then it should obey me. Maybe it's due to not having enough willpower or determination, as dumb as it sounds? Closing my eyes once more, I created the scene in my head and opened them to see that it remained the same.
Okay, okay, okay okay okay, maybe this is just a mess of a dream. I need to calm down and regain my composure, frustrated that I couldn't do anything. It could be that my subconscious is trying to show me something or has the controls while I'm here wandering, that must be it. I've never personally experienced a lucid dream so maybe that's how it really is. Where am I supposed to look though? Gingerly, I walked down the empty roads, seeing the school in the distance with its architecture partially soaring into the sky, though it seemed to never lose pieces.
Does that make sense, it's like the pieces reverted back to their original position and danced the same walk over and over again. This was something I learned about, the word on the tip of my tongue. Uh, something about geometry, was it called non-Euclidian? That was the only answer that popped into my head as I made my way there. The emptiness seemed eerie though, not a soul or I guess figment of my imagination present like a ghost town. Everyday noises like cars zooming by or music blaring somewhere was absent, and it didn't seem natural to me.
Not only that, but the inside of the houses were empty as well with only a television screen and a couch in the living room, at least that's what I could see through the windows. Then, as I remembered about the gem, I sunk my hand into my pocket and pulled it out to see that it was illuminating a bright red aura. At a glance, it looked almost like a heart with a few LEDs inside of it. Even though it was strange, I couldn't let go of it. My hand seemed to be almost glued to it as my heart began to beat ever so faster.
Just the oppression and feeling of my skin tearing as I desperately tried to pull it away scorned fear in my soul. Eventually, I grasped it with my other hand in an attempt to rip it off only for my clasped hand to let go like nothing was wrong. It was like my body just couldn't let go of the gem but maybe that's just how this dream works. I've had daydreams before that just wouldn't create something I wanted, with the floor jumping up and down and the like... that doesn't even make sense. It makes perfect sense in my head as I experienced it but it's just like you have no control over some variables and the more you think about it, the more it refuses to behave.