A flicker of the eye was all that made him wake. Bright sunlight poured into his blue eyes, and he opened them wide as he could. He spoke.
"What happened?"
He stood himself up, with pain coursing through his body. He noticed a wound on his shoulder, but it seemed healed.
Then he noticed the light brown fur on his body.
He noticed his paws. He noticed his head and face, with feline shaped ears and a black nose. He noticed his clothes, different than the ones he wore today. He noticed a tail on his backside, long and fluffy.
He was an anthropomorphic cat.
Nicki Sheppard gazed at his body silently, with a look of shock on his face. How was he a cat? He was a human!
Human…
*Flashback*
There was blood everywhere, all over the school. All of it was blood of innocent students and teachers.
Why would he do such a thing?
Nicki looked at his best friend, Charlie, who had killed nine students in his rampage. And he was about to kill him.
A pull of the trigger, a loud bam, and all went black.
*End Flashback*
Why would Charlie hurt him? He was depressed, sure, but never would do something that evil.
Why?
As his memories went through his mind, he went over what happened.
My name is Nicki Sheppard. I am 16 years old. I love music and Sonic the Hedgehog. I was shot by my best friend in my school in New York.
Then how was he an animal?
He looked to his left outside of the grassy field he was on, and saw a city. Maybe he would get answers there.
As Nicki walked through the city, he noticed there were both humans and anthros walking around.
Alright, so being an animal is normal, Nicki thought. Funny, this place looks familiar…
A blue blur of light suddenly zoomed past him, leaving a trail of wind behind. Nicki, furious, yelled: "HEY! Watch it, asshole!"
The blur stopped then and there, and turned around. He was a blue hedgehog with a white t-shirt, jeans, sneakers, and green eyes.
It didn't take a quiz show to know who this was.
"Sorry, dude," Sonic the Hedgehog said apologetically. "My bad."
Nicki knew who this was.
He knew where he was.
Was this why he was an animal?
Nicki brushed it aside and walked away from Sonic, without saying a word. Sonic began to say something, but stopped when he saw Nicki's melancholic expression.
The Mobian cat slowly walked away, heading to the Station Square Park.
Nicki sat down on the wooden bench, looking at the scenery of the square. It was so full of nature, so peaceful…He was reminded of home.
Home.
Could he ever go back? Was he dead in his world?
Did it even matter?
His only friend betrayed him. His father may have loved him, but was too busy with work. His mother was dead, due to a car accident.
He had no one.
Nicki stood up from the bench, stretching his arms, and began to walk away, when he saw a white female cat running in the opposite direction.
"HEY, BITCH!"
A black mongoose appeared out of the trees, landing in rational fashion. He had the look of a devil on his face, his eyes red and his mouth in a scowl.
The white cat hid behind Nicki, who was surprised at the situation. He always hated bullies, but the mongoose…he looked like he wanted blood or something.
"Hey! Whisker face!" The mongoose snarled at Nicki. "Hand over the girl and I leave you be…or not."
Nicki glared his eyes at the mongoose. He wasn't going to let an innocent person get hurt.
Not after what happened.
"How's this?" Nicki walked over to the mongoose. "You leave her along, or I kick your ass, and leave like nothing happened."
The mongoose smiled devilishly, and replied: "No." That said, he pulled out a switchblade and nearly stabbed the feline on the shoulder, but Nicki grabbed the mongoose's arm, and pushed him backward, the knife flying out of his hand.
Nicki grabbed the knife, and tucked it in his jean pocket. He walked over to the fallen mongoose and said with an irate tone: "Leave. Her. Alone."
The mongoose got up and ran away, his tail between his legs.
Nicki walked over to the white cat, asking: "Are you all right?"
"I'm fine, thanks," The feline said shyly. "Hey…thank you."
Nicki, unsure what to say, just said: "You're welcome. It's no problem."
Nicki held out his hand. "Nicki, Nicki Sheppard."
"Katie Fiamma…" the cat said with a blush.
The two sat down on the bench, with Katie twiddling her thumbs, and Nicki staying silent. Finally, after at least a minute, or so it seemed, Nicki spoke. "You live around here?"
"Y-Yeah, I live down near the street," Katie said quietly. "Do you need a place to stay?"
Nicki cocked an eyebrow. Why would a complete stranger let him stay at her house?
Maybe it was it was a favor for saving her. Nicki didn't expect to receive an award or accolade, but it seemed nice that someone would be kind enough to let him stay in her home.
"Yes, I do."
All character belong to Sega except Nicki and Katie, who are my OCs.
