Arrival
Arrival
I had been out with my friends watching a movie, Zombies Attack 3 to be exact, and on my way home when it happened. Walking down the street as I normally did, picking at my teeth to get out that one, disobedient piece of food. I turned around a corner and was knocked out with club then dragged into a truck.
The truck took a sharp turn and I woke up as my head banged into the side my cage. That's right; I'm in a cage, like an animal. I had been kidnapped a week ago by two people. I still don't know their names. My vision is clouded due to my abrupt awakening. The stupor from my slumber began to wear off and I became more aware of my surroundings.
The truck's rumbling and shaking got louder as it turned onto a dirt road. I looked through the Plexiglas window in front of me to try and get a better look at my kidnappers through the iron bars of the cage. The dude driving had dark brown hair and was wearing what looked like a lab coat. The chick next to him had long blond hair kept up in a tight bun. She seemed a little up-tight. I reached out of my cage and rapped on the window, trying to get their attention. I yelled, "Hey, where the hell are you taking me!?" but neither of them so much as blinked. I continued this for about twenty minutes, but never even got them to acknowledge me. I went back to sleep trying to figure out what was going on.
I woke up to the sound of my cage sliding against the floor of the truck, just in time to keep myself from getting another lump on my head. The trunk doors flew open and I finally saw the faces of my kidnappers. The dude had a rather large nose and a thick mustache. I could hardly believe he was a criminal because he looked so kind. He took a small key and opened the cage. "Hold 'em," the chick said, and the rather large man turned me over and pinned me down. I couldn't remember the last time I ate, so I didn't bother resisting. A large needle entered my rear-end and powerful sedatives knocked me out
I awakened to the buzzing of an old light. I gazed around at the small room. A small desk on the side of the room had a tray of food on it. There were grapes, bread, and what looked like a protein shake. Also on the desk there was Zoology textbook and a lamp. A small bracelet on my wrist took a measure of my pulse. The walls were painted sea foam green, the door was pure white, and there was a small fan on my nightstand. A small window let a little light through. It reminded me of my room and opened a wound that wouldn't close anytime soon.
I took advantage of their generosity and wolfed the food down not caring about whatever they had put in it. In my deprived state the food was all that mattered. The protein shake was very thick and stuck in my throat as it went down. I lay down on my bed after trying to open the door and went to sleep snoring lightly.
--
For the first time in a while I woke up rested. Someone must have entered the room while I slept as there were Cheerios with milk on the desk were the dirty dishes had been. I began reading the Zoology textbook to take up time. I learned the predatory tactics of a tiger; not that it will do me any good seeing as I'm not a tiger, nor should I ever need to hunt.
I was so absorbed in the book that I almost didn't notice the man enter my room. I was startled and turned around as he grumbled, "Come with me." There was no point in trying to fight him, he was a large man and I wasn't too big for my age as it was.
He led me down a long hallway with a series of doors. The floor was covered in cheap tile, soft lights were spaced in intervals along the ceiling, stainless steel handrails were placed in-between each door. There were cameras everywere. I missed my home.
The balding man and I finally arrived at our destination. He opened the door to reveal a treadmill and other exercise equipment. The man sat down in a chair in the corner and picked up a clipboard and got comfortable. "Get on the treadmill," he commanded, "It's preset so just press the start button."
"Why are you doing this?" I queried.
"To make sure you're healthy," he replied. It didn't make since, but I just went along because it broke the monotony from being stuck in my room and kept from thinking about my parents.
The same routine continued for what I guess was a month. The man led me down the hall to the same room. Then I would jog on the treadmill for fifteen minutes. Later, I would do some reps on the exercise equipment. The man would never talk besides telling me what to do next or when I was done. All he would do was take notes. Then, when they sent me back to my room, I would ponder about why I was there and where my parents were. Have they even been looking for me? Where am I? What are these people doing? All of these questions coursed through my head nightly. After I grew tired of my own questions, I would read myself to sleep. I was almost finished with the textbook.
The reason for the exercise would be revealed one fateful day. Instead of the dude, the chick came to get me. "Come," She said. I got up and followed her without question. I had long ago learned that my questions were never going to be answered. She led me out of the door and then stopped, "I'm going to show you why you're here." My heart skipped a beat. My question would finally be answered. She led me down the hall, much farther than I usually go. We stopped at a large door and went inside.
It looked like a hospital and had a patient to match. The small boy was hooked up to a heart-rate-monitor and had an IV drip in his arm. Something looked familiar about him, but I couldn't quite lay a finger on it. He was sweating and fidgeting around in pain. He was asleep but was still crying out in pain. "My son has a rare disease and we are trying to find a cure," she said breaking the silence, "I'm sorry for kidnapping you, but from what we know, you were the best test subject."
"What test?" I asked worriedly.
"Don't worry; we're just going to expose you to some harmless chemicals, nothing fatal." She lied perfectly. The man or the woman held up a towel to my face and I lost consciousness.
When I came to I could hear voices around me discussing something. My drug clouded mind couldn't quite make out the words so I decided to pretend to still be asleep until my senses returned. I consciously made an effort to keep my breathing even to keep up the illusion. Slowly, I began to be able to decipher the words. By their voices, I could tell that one of the people hovering over me was a woman and the other a man.
" . . .handled it a lot better than the last one." The woman, I think I'll call her Barbara, was saying. Well, that sounded good. At least she wasn't saying I was dying. "I don't know how to explain the side effects though." Wait, side effects? This can't be good.
"I don't know what happened either." The man, Henry, he sounds like a Henry, said. "It's not every day that a kid turns green on you and gets pointed ears".
"Take a cell sample and analyze it," Barbra suggested, "I want to know what went wrong." Henry came up and swabbed the inside of my mouth. I barely kept myself from coughing. Once he got his sample he and Barbara left the room. I waited a bit before checking my "side effects."
I gazed down at my hands and prayed they weren't actually green. Unfortunately they were as green as grass. Well there goes my chance with the ladies. I gulped and cautiously and felt my ears afraid of the truth. They came together in points as sharp as a pencil. Oh dear God I'm a leprechaun. I began to cry. No one would accept me now. I was a freak. And it was all because of those sadistic bastards Barbara and Henry. I heard steps coming from down the hall and quickly wiped my tears and steadied my breathing as I put back up the façade of being asleep. I strained my now pointy ears to hear Barbra and Henry's conversation. Barbra was annoyed, "What do you mean he has chromatophores in his epithelial tissue? Those are only found in reptiles!" She was right; I remember reading about them in the Zoology textbook. "His DNA has become unstable," Henry replied, "it's possible it has rearranged itself to code for new proteins." Unstable DNA? That doesn't sound good. That shut Barbara up but I could tell she was still annoyed. They quietly rolled my bed back to my room, thinking I was still asleep. I was relieved when they left, now I didn't need to fake it anymore.
My room seemed different from before. It smelled different and it seemed that the light's buzzing had gotten louder. As I looked around nothing looked different, so I passed it off as just a feeling. I had mixed feelings about not having a mirror in my room. On one hand I wanted to see how bad it was, and on the other I wouldn't have to deal with my disfigurations yet. I quickly fell asleep; whatever they had done to me today had completely exhausted me.
--
Soft earth crumbled beneath my paws. Light cascaded through the forest around me. My prey's scent hung thick in the air. I put my wet nose to the ground and followed its trail. Then, I saw it. The juiciest rabbit I had ever seen was right there in front of me chomping on some grass. I slowed my gait and prepared to pounce. In one swift motion, I broke its neck in my powerful jaws. I delighted in ripping its limp body into pieces and having its warm entrails slide down my throat. I wondered back to my den, leaving the now empty carcass to rot. I curled up and fell asleep.
I awoke as the creature fell asleep. I've never had such a lifelike dream before. I could still taste the blood as I got up and ate my breakfast. The cold milk could not wash the flavor out. I was almost done with my breakfast when I noticed something different. There was something sharp in my mouth. I felt around with my fingers and found the culprit. Instead of canines, I had large fangs. Oh great, now I'm a vampire leprechaun. Before I could give it much thought, however, Barbara came into my room. I was the first one to talk. "Harmless chemicals huh," I started, looking down at my hands, "would harmless chemicals turn me green?"
"If you come with me," she replied, "we can diagnose you and see what's wrong."
"What's wrong? Are you saying I've got some disease because of you?" I returned, wanting to rip her flesh apart.
"Just come with me so I can see what's wrong. I'm trying to help you." She said in too calm of a voice.
"No!" I refused. In that instant I convinced myself that I had to escape.
I sat in my room plotting a way out of the hell hole. I started out with the things I was sure about. The only time I could get out of my room was when either they brought in my food, or took me to exercise. I decided on the previous. I forced myself to sleep early so I could wake up before they brought me my breakfast.
The sun had yet to rise as I awoke. It was dead silent. I grabbed the Zoology textbook and waited by the door for my prey. After the longest thirty minutes of my life, I began to hear footsteps, soft at first, but gradually getting louder as they approached my room. My body tensed as the door creaked open. Henry entered the room alone carrying oatmeal and a protein shake on a tray.
Blood splattered everywhere as the 876 page, hardcover textbook crashed into his nose, shattering it into pieces. Henry wailed in pain, cursing as I began flogging him repeatedly over the head, taking out all my anger on this not-so-innocent man. I sprinted down the hall, textbook in hand, as the unconscious body fell to the floor. Sweat drenched my body as I found my way out of the labyrinth. I panicked as a siren sounded. I turned around to see Barbara running after me screaming. I ignored her as this was the time to flee, not to fight. With my objective in sight, I burned the last of my reserves of energy and burst out the door.
The brisk air chilled my body as much as it warmed my spirit. My heart soared like a flock of doves. I slowed down my pace and absorbed my surroundings. It was a marvelous sight. Enormous trees stretched on as far as I could see. Shrubbery completely covered the forest floor. Shafts of light pierced through the overcast sky. Suddenly I remembered the gravity of the situation and snapped myself out of nature's trance. I ran to the forest and hid among the myriad plants on the floor. Lying belly-down, my nose rubbing the dirt, I scrambled to get into a comfortable position. My skin blended in perfectly with the various shades of the plant life. Then I realized my flaw, I was still wearing my hospital gown. I hastily took it off and threw it far away, leaving me in just my birthday suit. Well maybe being green isn't so bad.
Barbara stormed out of the building with a flaring temper. I stilled my breath and watched her look for me. Her eyes searched the scene looking for any sign of my presence. Small. Small. That was the only thing that mattered, being small and unnoticed. Small. Small.
After a short while Barbara gave up. I heard hear stomp away back into the laboratory. She had other people to test on. I stood up and looked around to make sure the coast was clear…only I couldn't. Every time I attempted to stand, I fell back onto my hands. I looked down to address the problem. I couldn't believe my eyes. Instead of arms, I had two rabbit paws. My mind began racing as I freaked out. Not only was I green, but now I was a rabbit? I couldn't handle the fact that I wasn't human. Was this just another side effect from the experiment? My heart began beating faster and faster. Ultimately, I passed out.
It was dark outside when I woke up. The stars were just beginning to shine in the sky. I looked down and let out a sigh of relief as I saw my human body. By some miracle I had changed back during my sleep. As I stood up I realized I was still just outside the laboratory. As quickly as I could, I grabbed the bloodied textbook and ran deep into the forest, fearing someone might come after me. After running through the dark labyrinth for a while, I finally found a suitable place to stay. It was a small cave barely big enough for me to fit in comfortably. My Zoology textbook was becoming tattered. I read it for a little, but got bored; I had all but memorized it. I curled up into a little ball on the cave floor and gave away to sleep.
--
The sun broke through the dawn clouds sending its light to warm the earth. Dozens of birds began singing songs to celebrate the new day. I woke earlier and more relaxed than ever before. I walked out of my cave stretching my arms above my head. I walked around, wakening my muscles from their dormant sleep. Hunger hit me like a speeding car. I hadn't eaten in over twenty-four hours and was now paying the price. It was gnawing at me like a starved animal. I began scavenging for food. I came upon a strange bush with small berries. I picked a few and popped them into my mouth. The berries crunched into pieces more bitter than ground coffee. I spat them out and began viciously wiping my tongue rid of the foul things.
I continued my search until an apple-like fruit revealed itself on the forest floor. I eagerly grabbed it and brought to my mouth to eat. The back of the fruit began to squirm in my hand and I immediately cast the fruit down. As it rolled on the ground, I saw the numerous maggots that were eating the fruit from the inside out. My stomach was thoroughly disappointed as it was denied yet another meal.
Unfortunately, my hunt for food continued. I wandered around the forest looking for anything that was edible. I followed the many, wandering deer trails to find even a hint of food. The faint trails never yielded anything but grass. I began to give up hope and paid less attention to where I was going. A loose rock slipped beneath my right foot and I began to fall down a steep hill. I kept on rolling and rolling, constantly getting little cuts and nicks from sharp stones beneath me. Pain coursed through my body. As the rolling came to a stop, I picked out the many thorns and other things in my skin. Red blood was splattered over my green body. After tending to my wounds I looked around at the scene.
My heart leaped as I saw my savior. A large blackberry bush was full of plump sweet berries. I voraciously picked multiple handfuls and popped them into my mouth like Skittles. The dark juices steamed down my face as I chomped down. I smiled in satisfaction as my stomach stopped begging for sustenance. I laid down on a flat rock to rest. A bush started the rustle in the corner of my eye. A rabbit scuttled by, hurrying to find another hiding spot. That reminded me of what had happened yesterday. Could I do it again? I wanted to try.
I began contemplating about what I had done before when I became a rabbit. I had been afraid, very afraid, and all I wanted to do was remain hidden. I sat down and concentrated on what I felt yesterday. For a while, I just sat there. Then, my body began to change. Hair started growing all over my body as I began to shrink. My pointed ears rounded off and moved up to the top of my head. My spine extended to form a small tail coming out of my rear. I became hunched down on all fours as the transformation finished.
My new found form offered me much freedom. I was disappointed however, when found out I was still green. I hopped around the blackberry bush a couple of times, amazed at my newfound ability. My powerful legs propelled me through the air Then came the hard part, how could I turn back into human? I concentrated on what it would be like to be human, hoping that by doing the opposite of what made me a rabbit would make me human. My hypothesis was correct; slowly my body began to reform as a human. Dude, that was awesome.
With my hunger out of the way, I set a new priority. I needed to get to civilization as quickly as possible. I slowly climbed up a tree to gain a vantage point on my surroundings. After the long, arduous climb to the top of the tree, I gazed out upon the horizon. Far away waves crashed upon a sandy shore. I knew that if I followed the coast, I would eventually reach a city. I carefully climbed down the tall tree, careful not to hurt myself. After setting my bearings, I set out for the coast, and civilization.
--
The forest was beautiful. The trees danced in the slight wind. Birds chirped to one another while building new nest for this spring. The fresh twigs crunched as I walked. I enjoyed being in the wilderness, with its pristine beauty and colorful wildlife. I could hear rumbling in the distance. It grew into a roar as I walked towards it. A rushing river revealed itself through the thinning trees. The crushing rapids slammed into small boulders creating thick white foam. Large salmon crowded into the river. A doe quietly drank with its young. The soft sand comforted my tired feet. I cupped my hands and drank the clear river water. The cool liquid sated my thirst. I gathered some drift wood and tried to start a fire. It was the most frustrating thing I have ever done. No matter how hard I tried, I could not seem to get it started. It was a Kodak moment as the sun went down. The beautiful sunset looked as if it had been from a postcard. The full moon slowly crept up, replacing the sun as the master of the sky.
I could hear the rumbling of animals in the forest nearby. A wolf slowly crept out of the bushes and onto the riverbank. It was followed by another, and another, and another, until a whole pack was right in front of me drinking from the river. I lay perfectly still, trying to remain as stealthy as possible. If the pack noticed me, I'd be a midnight snack. My nose began to tickle. I struggled to keep from sneezing, but my body forced me to. Achoo! A mixed wave of relief and fear flooded my body. Every single wolf in the whole pack looked at me. I could see he hunger in their eyes. They slowly walked forward, trapping me in a circle." Oh man. Oh man," I whispered under my breath as I scrambled onto my feet. I raised my fist and prepared for their attack. A savage wolf leaped for my throat aiming to kill. I swung my fist, and a massive bear claw beat the wolf away. One by one, the wolves fell to my massive claws. As the last wolf lay bloody on the ground, I morphed back into a human. I shivered as the brisk wind chilled my now furless body. I laid down and fell into a deep sleep.
Dead wolves littered the beach. My muscles ached as I tried to move around. My fight last night had exhausted me. I trudged over to the stream and took a long drink. As I looked up, the sun was already high in the sky. I began to brainstorm how to get back to civilization. An idea came to mind. Couldn't I just follow the river o the coast? This seemed like a great idea at the time, the river was had a strong current, but no rapids as far as I could tell. I searched the beach for large pieces of driftwood. When I finally found enough pieces for me to fit on, I began tying them together with reeds from the river. After binding the last pieces together, I pushed off into the middle of the river and let the current take me downstream.
The journey was long, but much shorter than it would have been if I swam. At first, the scenery was nice; small pebble beaches were along the shore, long vines were draped from tree to tree, and small fish constantly swam beneath my raft while a gorgeous sunset filled the sky. However, once the sun went down, it became hell. I tried to sleep, but I couldn't get 40 winks. Hundreds of miniscule, blood-sucking, demons swarmed around me, constantly feeding off of me and leaving large bumps as they left. I prayed that I didn't get any disease from these horrible creatures. Dude, I was still itching after they left.
By the time I gave up on trying to sleep, I was near the mouth of the river and the sun was rising. The forest thinned as I neared the coast. Trees gave way to white sand as the river ran into the ocean. I hopped off my makeshift raft and watched float out into the ocean. I looked around. A small road hugged the coast. Besides that, there was pretty much nothing.
"DUDE!" I screamed out in joy as I saw the city. Its tall buildings stood out like a sore thumb next to all of the sand and forest. I started running towards with vigor, eager to reach civilization. I slowed down to a walk when I realized it would take a long, long, Long time to get there, besides, I was tired of running. I wanted to get there fast, but I didn't know how. I could try hitchhiking, but not many people would pick up a green dude in the nude.
It was hot outside and I constantly wiped sweat off of my brow. I smacked myself for being so stupid. Why not just swim? I ran over to the water and jumped in. I was instantly refreshed. There's gotta be a faster way to get there I thought to myself. I smacked myself again and then transformed into a dolphin. Swimming was defiantly a good idea. I swam incredibly fast though the choppy water. I think I almost hit 30 mph! Before long, I was right off the coast of the city.
It was dark by the time I hauled myself ashore, good thing too because no one wants to have their beach day ruined by some green nudist. I walked up the sandy beach looking for some beach store where I could get some clothes. I crossed the street staying as far away from street lights as possible. Much to my disappointment, the majority of stores only sold food. I sighed as I acknowledged my only option, JimBob's Scuba Supply Shop. I thought about breaking in the old-fashioned way, you know by smashing through a window or door, but I decided to take advantage of my talent. I shrunk down into an ant and crawled beneath the glass door and into the dark room. After becoming human again, I looked for any clothing.
The whole place was bright even in the darkness. Fluorescent paint illuminated the walls, magnifying any moonlight that entered through the many large windows. There were multiple racks of hideous purple and black wetsuits in a multitude of sizes. Some cheesy tourist T-shirts were nicely displayed around the room. Colorful bikinis were displayed on headless manikins. I picked out a shirt my size and put it on. It said Beware: Lifeguards on Duty. I thought it was kinda funny and ironic. Then I began my quest for pants. I perused the store multiple times, but never could find a pair of shorts. You've got to be kidding me. I discarded the shirt and put on one of those purple and black wetsuits. It was tight, but a wetsuit is better than a birthday suit. I exited the way I entered; no one would even know I had been there. As I assumed my natural form on the other side I began looking for a place to settle for the night. I walked along the beach until I came upon a hammock strung between two palm trees. I jumped on in and fell asleep looking at the stars.