Written for the 2014 TMNT Mini Bang - organized by Theherocomplex on Tumblr.
Sisters Stick Together
The jeep jangled over the pocked asphalt, swerving around the larger holes, dodging the outcroppings of disjointed crystalline veins branching from the sidewalks. Where there were once trees now stood glass-like structures shimmering in a surreal glow from some unknown internal illumination. Their branches sharp and twisted. Long root-like fingers rose through the asphalt creating ridges and pockets which made driving straight nearly impossible. The Williamsburg Bridge was only a few more blocks away. They were so close to getting out of the heart of the more heavily invaded sections of the neighborhoods.
A thrill of anticipation laced with dread went through her. So close. Almost out. Just as she promised. She glanced in the rear-view mirror at her friend, twisted in her seat, peering nervously out the back, checking again to see if their jeep was being followed. Her thick tail obscured most of her body. But Lisa could read the terror in the rigid way it waved from side to side. The very end vibrating.
"Don't worry, Al," she said and her friend turned around, fear clearly written on her features, "we're almost out of this nuthouse."
Al nodded and sat back, adjusting the seat belt where it cut into her body at an odd angle. She struggled for a moment, then let it be with a resigned sigh. Things like that had been particularly hard on her friend since the change. Lisa wished there was something she could do to make her more comfortable, but it would have to wait. Getting out of the city was the priority.
"Almost out," she murmured to herself and adjusted her fingers along the rim of the steering wheel. A mantra that she'd been repeating since they'd left besieged neighborhood an hour before. She frowned at the color change of her digits. "Not again," she grouched and adjusted her fingers again. They remained the matching grayish tone of the dash and steering wheel of the jeep. She huffed and chose to ignore it. There'd be time to get herself under control once they were north of the city. Time to come to terms with the situation. Their bodies. Their abilities and limitations. What it meant for their families. For their future.
She blinked as the jeep bounced over a particularly deep pot hole. Al gave a small cry of surprise behind her. The pups whined and barked in the cage where they huddled in fear at Al's feet. She flinched and stared ahead at the road, giving herself a mental shake and chastising herself to pay attention. One thing at a time. Get out of the city. Head north. Get somewhere safe. Then, the rest.
A mutant, pink and oozing, tentacles that were once arms flailing above its misshapen head, erupted from the shadows. It dashed across the street, missing their bumper by inches. With a scream of fright, she yanked the steering wheel hard to one side, sure in that instant that the mutant would be hit, and the jeep, shocks already shot, engine overheating, veered too sharply and she lost control. It bumped over the curb and careened into the jewelry store entrance. Glass shattered, bricks and mortar exploded and crumbled, showering down and blanketing the crushed hood. Steam and smoke curled in the air.
Her ears were filled with a shrill ringing. Her tongue coated in the coppery bitter flavor of blood. She managed to lift her head enough to peer over her shoulder to see Al's bright eyes peering at her; filled with concern and manic with fright. She wanted to apologize for crashing. For not listening to her earlier when she insisted the plan was flawed. They couldn't expect to just hurtle through the chaos, hoping no one would pay them any attention as they fled. But she'd only wanted to keep her friend safe. In all the madness that was the city of New York, she wanted only to get her out, away from the marauding Kraang-bots and mutants running rampant through the neighborhoods.
Her mouth was opening and closing but she couldn't hear anything except the ringing. She frowned and blinked, meaning to open her eyes again, to get up and help her friend out of the smashed jeep, but she never had the strength to open them again.
# # #
The sunrise came through the cracked windows, slipping from between the towering apartment buildings, fracturing the light in broken rainbows along the tufts of shag carpeting. She woke to a line of light tracing its lazy way across her eyelids. Giving no heat, no comfort. But waking her to reality and all the nightmares it brought. Her sensitive nose twitched, picking up the varied scents; ones she was grateful for; such as the smell of the wounds scabbing and healing on her friend; as well as the ones she was not; like the faint brittle scent of urine coming off the far walls of the room and the yeasty musk of too many homeless that had squatted here as they did now.
She squinted and rubbed her eyes, her breath catching as her claws pinched her palms. Still not used to those. Not yet. Not at all. Her tail swished, stirring a cloud of dust that made her eyes burn and her nose twitch violently until she sneezed. She covered her muzzle and sat up, checking on her friend while fighting a sneeze.
She crawled closer to where she laid Mona Lisa, or simply Lisa as she called her, last night, upon the rolled blanket in the corner of the small apartment. She crouched and placed her hand, or was it a paw now? – upon her friend's forehead. She pressed her eyes closed. Now was not the time to get morose about things she couldn't change. With a huff, she focused on the temperature beneath her hand. Cool. She twisted it around to touch the back of her fur-covered hand against the smooth plane of her cheek, cool. But was it too cool? She frowned. What was the correct temperature for either of them, now? 98.6 was for humans. And they were not human. Not anymore. She felt the familiar sting of tears prick the back of her eyes and fought it.
No. I will not be a baby. Lisa had been nothing but brave these past few weeks and it was time that I started acting the same.
Her friend moaned and she twisted in time to see Mona Lisa open her eyes. The large lump over her right eye looked mean and painful. Al winced along with her friend.
"Ugh, my head," Lisa said and then her eyes popped. "Oh my god," she groaned and moved to sit up, but Al stopped her.
"Not so fast, not so fast!"
"Wait, are we . . . where," her eyes darted around. "Did we make it out?"
Al shook her head miserably. "We're still in the city."
Lisa laid her head back. A look of defeat was quickly replaced with determination. "Then we'll try again, right now." She moved to sit up and felt the wave of nausea hit her. "Later. We'll try again, later." Then after a moment, "Are you okay? Oh, gosh, I hit that store," the memories flooded back. "I didn't hit anyone did I?"
Al shook her head, ears flat, bright blue eyes glassy. "No, but . . ."
Lisa sat up, slowly and by inches until she was leaning against the wall. She watched her friend pick up the pillow she'd been resting on and hug it tightly to her chest.
"Don't be mad, Lisa."
Lisa shook her head. "Tell me," she encouraged gently.
She hesitated another moment then in a wavering voice she said, "I let the pups go." She hugged the pillow tighter and dropped her head. "I couldn't manage the cage and our bags and you and so . . . I let them out."
Lisa nodded. "You did the right thing."
"Did I? With all those . . . things out there? Those monsters and creepy robot blobs!? What if something happens to them?"
Lisa ignored the way her head began to pound in time with her friend's rising voice, "Al, you know how animals always have a sixth sense about things like this . . . Like when there's a tsunami coming or-or an earthquake. They always find a way to make it to safety."
"There was a park not too far from where I opened the cage," she said with a little hope lacing her words. "And being artic foxes, the winter shouldn't be a problem . . ." she trailed off and looked out into the gloom of the living room.
"See, I bet they already found a den to hide in. I mean, they were doing fine when we found them, right? Considering they'd just broke loose from the zoo with all those other wild animals."
"They were almost hit by a taxi," she said with a pout. Then, "I wish we could have found the salamander you were taking back."
"Well," Lisa sighed and pressed her palms into her eyes and winced as she felt around the lump at her forehead beneath her thick bangs. The critter she had captured was the last thing on her mind, but she couldn't say that to Al. She sighed, "Yeah, me too. But that was right when it all hell broke loose." Al nodded, but still looked unhappy. "Things were pretty crazy. But we made it so far. And we're going to get out, Al, I promise."
Somewhere outside the apartment, there was a crash and a distant howl of a car's horn. Al tensed. Lisa reached out and she scooted over and sat next to her. She trembled and Lisa held her tighter. Lisa looked sideways and noticed the tear streaking through the furry cheek. "Hey, it's going to be okay."
She huffed a soft laugh, "I know." She sniffled, eyes darting about, "I'm such a baby."
"Don't say that. You're doing fine. You got me out of that wreck and found us a safe place for now, that's something, right?"
She gave a half-hearted shrug and her breath hitched. "I'm just . . . it's been so much. These past what . . . six? Six weeks. I-I wish . . . I wish we could just go back in time and never go in the first place." Her hands, now smaller and paw-like rolled into round fists. Her bottom lip beneath a jet-black button nose trembled. She punched her furry thighs. "I should have never touched that canister. I should have never picked it up." Her voice rose as she became more upset, "Look at us! This is all my fault!"
Lisa moved her arm from around her friend's shoulders. She sat on her knees and stared hard at Al, reaching out to take one shoulder in her hand. As she touched the soft fur, the flesh of her hand took on the shade of white, even mimicking the textured look of the tufts of fur while still staying smooth. She gave her a squeeze.
"We've been over this, Alopex. This is not your fault. Do you understand me? If you remember, it was me that insisted we bring it back for the science department to take a look. You didn't do anything wrong."
Alopex nodded, but didn't look convinced. Lisa thought back to that morning. When their lives were blissfully normal. Before everything changed forever for both of them. They both made mistakes, but who could've guessed that such a typical morning could have turned into such a nightmare?
# # #
She stared at the envelope addressed to 'Sandra Mona Lisa Sanchez' and sighed. It was from her mother. The only woman alive who still insisted on writing letters by hand as opposed to utilizing email. Aileen poked her head out of the bathroom, a toothbrush shoved in one cheek. She noted the envelope in her room mate's hand.
"You know it's easier to read a letter when it's out of the envelope, Sandy."
"Not this one," the young woman tossed it back into the pile of bills stacked on the end table next to the sofa. She made a soft grunt of disgust. No, she didn't need to read it to know her mother had filled another three pages complaining that she'd betrayed the family by leaving; taking her scholarship to the City College of New York instead of staying home and helping raise her much younger siblings. She growled and stomped one foot.
Vernon, their roommate, an architecture major and a communications minor at the City College of New York where she and Aileen attended snored loudly and rolled onto his stomach. She sighed and turned back to the short hallway where the girl's shared a bedroom. It was Saturday. No need to take out her frustrations on the boy. Besides he was rather irritating on a good day. The old sour puss. Inside her room, she rummaged around a pile of clean laundry and found her dark hoodie and threw it on.
Aileen joined her a moment later. Her long blond hair reached the center of her back and gleamed white-gold the way hair did when good genes and daily meticulous care came together in a perfect storm. Sandy tugged at her own thick chestnut hair, wrestling it into a messy pony tail. She glanced in the mirrored door of their closet and sighed with aggravation.
Good enough.
"I get that you don't want to talk about it, and that you have talked about it before, because it's no secret who wrote that letter. . . but," she shimmied into a pair of cut-off jean shorts despite it being November, "it would be good for you."
"No, talking about my mother and her issues with me attending college out of the town where she expected me to never leave is actually not good for me. What will be good for me is getting enough decent samples for my research project. Professor Merrick warned me that I'm this close to failing the course," she held up her finger and thumb. "And he has been just waiting for an excuse to fail me, the petty creep. Just because I made that little comment about his hairpiece."
Aileen giggled and tugged at the hem of her white camisole which accentuated the generous curves god had blessed the girl with. "Spider rat, isn't that what you said it looked like?"
"A mutant spider-rat, actually," she smirked and shook her head as Aileen giggled into her fingers like a big kid. She rolled her eyes. "I gotta learn to keep my big mouth shut."
Aileen put her hands on her hips and grew sober. She reached into a pile of neon colored clothing. "Why don't you just let me do this one for you," Aileen asked as she pulled the pink, fluffy, cropped sweater over her head.
"I'm tempted, but no. You have your own to work on . . . what was it, survival of small mammals in a highly populated and polluted environment?"
"Yep! Poor little sweeties!"
Sandra had met her friend the first week of moving to New York when she'd been searching for college roommates. The minute they met, they hit it off. Aileen Lily Lopex was funny and kind and helped Sandra adjust to being away from home for the first time. From being away from a family where she was the first to leave for college. The first to better herself much to the chagrin of a strict Latino father from Guatemala and an old-fashioned Polish mother with deep love for Renaissance-era art but an aversion to technology and girls being independent. Despite coming from a dysfunctional childhood of shifting between foster homes, Aileen seemed to understand her predicament. She'd been nothing but supportive and a source of never-ending sunshiny attitude whenever Sandra needed it most.
That was two years ago. Now they were inseparable. Better yet, Aileen was in the biomedical program just as she was and had done nothing but sail through every class with a perfect 4.0 GPA. Math, sciences, literature, nothing but straight 'A's. And never stressed. She was amazing. The girl had a gift. Multiple gifts, actually. Though sometimes Sandra had to wonder if Aileen had any common sense at all.
Sandy frowned as she watched her friend pull on green-striped socks and pick up a pair of sandals. "Urh, you do know we're going out into the swampy part of the forest preserve, right? To find amphibians for my project, remember? And it's like, freezing outside this morning. Ugh, hopefully they're not all hibernating."
Aileen froze, one sandal already on. She considered for a moment and then kicked it off. "Right! I'm such a goof!" She spun around and reached under one of the twin beds in the cramped room and reemerged with a knee-high boot, then started the search for the missing one. She hefted it up, "Have you, uh, seen my right boot?"
Sandy pointed to the pile of shoes behind the door, the boot was right on top. "You know I think you'd lose your head if it wasn't attached."
"Oh! Thanks," she giggled. "Yeah, I know, right!?"
Sandra sighed and cursed herself for being such a procrastinator, "Well, if we can't find any, I guess it'll be the pet shop for us."
# # #
Sandra picked up the fire-bellied salamander with gentle fingers and showed Aileen. Spindly legs waved in the air and a rounded head moved side to side as twin black eyes blinked up at them.
"Cutey, huh? This little man is coming home with me."
Aileen gave the critter a tiny pat with one fingertip. "I love him to death!"
Sandra smiled. "No way, I saw him first."
"Actually, I believe I spotted him digging in the mud."
"Well, I guess we'll have to let him decide for himself." She held him up to her face. "Okay, bud. The blond or me. Sure, she's got looks and a memory like a computer, but I've got my sparkling personality." She waggled her brows and gave him a wry half-grin.
Aileen giggled.
Sandra placed the wriggling little body carefully into the container. She straightened up and wiped her hand on her thigh. "Aileen, thanks again for helping. If you hadn't spotted him, I'd have been screwed. As usual."
Aileen waved her thanks away.
"Let's head back and get something to eat."
"And he'll be okay in the back, all that time, in that little bitty container?"
"Yeah, Aileen. He'll be fine."
"You sure?" she asked again as she climbed into the passenger-side seat.
Sandra had to stop herself from rolling her eyes and saying something sarcastic. She settled with, "Yes. I promise."
A few minutes on the road and Aileen exclaimed out of the blue, "Oh, hang on! Did I show you what I found?"
Sandra shook her head as she drove.
"When you were looking for the little guys, I kicked into this canister filled with a substance I couldn't identify. Nearly kicked it right into the river, but I grabbed it before it got away from me. Lucky, huh!?"
Sandra froze. She pressed the brake as they came up on a red light. "What?"
Aileen leaned between her thighs and brought up a strange container that had been situated between her boots. The glass tube between the end caps bore a long ragged crack and a green, slimy essence dribbled along the outside. It glowed vaguely in the dim afternoon light. A spattering of icy rain drops hit the windshield.
Her heart skipped and the breath caught in her throat. She cleared it. "What is it?"
Aileen wiped at the luminescent liquid with her furry sleeve and shrugged. "Ew, sticky. I thought about leaving it, because, you know," her voice dropped and her eyes widened, "what if it's some kind of illegal drug like meth or something."
"Meth doesn't look like that," Sandra said flatly, never taking her eyes off the ooze within, not elaborating on how she knew exactly what meth looked like; feeling a strange unease just at looking at the glop within.
She brushed the feeling away. She was not superstitious like her mother. Not her. It meant nothing. This black edge along her vision, the way the hair on the back of her neck stood on end just looking at the odd container, the nagging feeling suddenly at the pit of her stomach. No, it was all just nonsense. She pushed away at the undercurrent of unease. Ignored the natural instinct that ran throughout her mother's line. The instinct that had protected her people for generations as they roved from town to town, living on the brink of society. The heritage her mother had long ago rejected when her family had moved here to America when she was just a teen.
"Oh. It's raining," Aileen said rocking the canister between her palms, bringing Sandra out of her reverie. "I hope that little guy in the back doesn't get too cold."
Sandra ran a dry tongue over her bottom lip, "Maybe we should have the professor look at that."
"Why? It's probably some kid's toy or something. Leave it to me to mistake some play slime with something important or dangerous. I bet that's all it is. A kid's toy," she repeated.
"Yeah, if the kid was an evil genius."
Aileen blinked her blue eyes at her.
"Uh, I mean, I don't think so. Look at the code printed there, it almost looks, hmm, tip it this way. Yeah, that's some kind of weird language, or secret code. Hm, we should definitely bring it in. Just be careful not to get any on -"
Aileen jumped. The container fumbled in her grasp. "Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh! Look!" she shrieked.
"For crying out loud, Aileen! What did I just-" Sandra turned in her seat in time to see three giraffes suddenly dash across the intersection in front of them. Her mouth dropped open as she leaned forward in her seat for a better look. "Holy shhh . . . What the hell was that!? New York City traffic is bad, but this is ridiculous."
The giraffes were followed by a herd of panicked gazelles. A blast of car horns and squealing brakes filled the air as the sleet suddenly came down in sheets and the road was filled with a blur of wild animals rushing through. Aileen dropped the canister back to the floor with a thud and jumped out of the car just as Sandra turned.
"Aileen!? Aileen, what are you . . . Get back here! Are you," her voice dropped to a slow whisper, "nuts?"
Sandra watched, gripping the steering wheel in stunned horror as her friend dashed between the last few gazelles and was nearly hit by a taxi as it swerved to avoid the rush of wild animals in the street. The front end slammed into a light post. More horns sounded from all around. Sandra jumped out of the car and ducked as the frigid water hit her, but before she could do anything else, Aileen was running back, something small and white and furry clutched in both arms held tightly to her chest. She was soaked. Her blonde hair flat against the sides of her face and forehead.
"What are you doing!?" Sandra screamed.
"Get in! Get in! Get in!" Aileen howled as she scrambled back into the car then, "Drive! Drive!"
The blast of an elephant trumpeting had her jumping back into the driver's seat and whipping the steering wheel around; eyes wide. She almost hit a car behind them as she pulled out, swerving around cursing motorists, bouncing over pot holes and through puddles, glancing up in the rear view mirror at the surreal madness they were leaving behind. The air was filled with an alien pinkish glow. The source of the strange light could not be seen, but it bathed the buildings and sidewalks and cars slick from the downpour in a freakish abstract illumination. From the corner of her eye, she spied the round balls of fur squirming in Aileen's arms.
"Aileen!"
"I had to! The taxi was going to run them over! They're babies!"
"They're wild! W-Wolves!"
"No, they're artic fox pups!" One of them dropped between her legs. She shifted around the writhing ball of growling, whining fur still on her lap. "Oh no, no, don't lick that! No! Bad, Snowball! Bad!"
"You named them!?"
Sandra turned her face to see her friend lifting the canister with one hand while wrestling with the artic fox pup under her other arm. The pup on the floor had popped up between her knees and was reaching with its paw up towards it. The green goo spilled over her fingers and Aileen cried out in disgust and shuddered.
"Gross!"
A bright flash of pink light erupted directly in their path and Sandra screamed as she veered around the glowing diamond shape that suddenly appeared in front of them in the road. The atmosphere around them flared to life, electric and sizzling. She felt every hair on her body lift and tingle. She hit the brakes as the wheels slammed into the curb and jumped it. The jolt sent the canister careening out of Aileen's wet grip. She cried out as the cracked glass hit the gear shift lever and shattered.
Sandra gasped as the liquid sprayed over her and hit her arm and side of her face. Then hissed as she felt it start to burn as her flesh roiled and bubbled. Aileen screamed. The pups started to cry and squirm all over her, licking her as her head was thrown back against the seat and her hands clawed the air. Sandra fumbled with the lock and stumbled out from the car and crawled into the mouth of the alley towards a large puddle. Several people ran past her, ignoring her cries for help. She splashed herself with the water, trying to remove the glowing substance from her skin.
"Ah! AH! Get it offa me! GAH!"
Aileen appeared out of nowhere and collapsed on top of her. "Are you okay, oh my god, my hands are burning! Sandy! Sandy!? Are you okay!? Oh my god! It hurts! Oh my god!"
The world tipped as she rolled onto her back and Aileen fell away with a yelp. The sleet poured over her but did nothing to put out the burning feeling erupting all through her body. She writhed along the ground, rolling and crawling deeper into the alley. Away from the jeep and the insanity of the street and the panicked crowds and the impossible pink diamonds appearing in thin air. Feeling and hearing her body jump as it seized and cramped, bones snapping, joints popping. Her breath was stolen as her vision doubled and blurred. Her fingers clawed through piles of garbage as she tried to breathe again. She shook and gagged.
Vaguely she could hear Aileen groaning and crying out between hitching sobs. She tried to call out to her but couldn't. It was hard to see, harder to think. Her breath was stuck between her throat and chest. Her heart pinched and her spine creaked. The intense pain in her lower back made her gasp and grind her teeth. Her limbs splayed rigidly as her spine straightened and she heard her clothes ripping. Felt something long pressing along down the back of her thighs and legs. Felt the surreal sensation of an extra limb thrashing against her calves, hitting her heels.
"Argh! Oh, god!"
Her body felt as though someone had doused her with gasoline and lit it on fire then systematically went about snapping each joint in the wrong direction. Where the rain pelted her, it felt like needles prickling her flesh. Her chest constricted as she sucked in air, panting and gasping. Through the discomfort, she could only think that her best friend was going through the same thing. The part of her mind that remained clear and rational knew she had to do something for Aileen. She had to find Aileen. She had to help her. Somehow.
Her vision cleared and the world came into sharp focus. She blinked and coughed, as her heart rate slowed. The sleet had eased to a soft misting punctuated by the occasional snowflake. She hurriedly crawled forward through the freezing puddles, noticing but at the same time not noticing how her flesh on her arms and hands rippled and looked discolored. Greenish. She couldn't process this. Not what had happened to her. Not now. The pain was gone, but what about Aileen? She pushed aside her panic and terror. She had to find Aileen. She had to help her.
Between a dumpster and several overturned garbage cans, she heard Aileen's soft sobbing. There was a high pitched whining sound following the sobs that Sandra assumed was coming from one of the pups. Sandra moved a can out of her way and called out to her friend. "Ah-Aileen," her voice seemed strained and different, low and huskier, "are you okay? Aileen?" She froze.
Blue eyes, bright and glassy with tears, blinked out at her from the darkness. "Sandy? Is that . . . is that you? Oh my god, wh-what h-happened . . . what happened to us?"
She reached out. Sandra gasped. It wasn't hands that emerged, but a pair of hand-like paws. Covered in white fur. Much like the artic fox pups that Aileen had been holding a moment before . . . in the jeep . . . with the canister.
Sandra took hold of her friend's hands. The fingertips and palms were soft and slightly padded. A sob bubbled out of Sandy's mouth as she held her friend's hands. She stared down at her own. Where once a human hand with four fingers and a thumb would have been was now two fingers and a thumb. The skin was hairless and smooth. And light green. She looked up at her friend's twitching black nose seated in the center of a squarish muzzle not believing this was actually happening.
"I'm s-s-scared," Aileen choked between making the whining sounds that Sandra realized with a start were not coming from the pups but from her friend.
Sandra released Aileen's hands. Closing her eyes, she reached up. She felt a face that seemed to belong to someone, something, else. Not human. Her fingers ran over a slightly stunted nose, missing any outer nostrils, rounded cheeks and the same softly textured skin, smooth and hairless. She gasped and with some amount of fright reached up, expecting to find herself bald. Her fingers found the hair still there and she tugged, afraid to believe any of this.
"Oh," she gasped and then laughed, slightly hysterical, as she fisted her hair tightly in both hands, "I still have hair," she yelled.
"Me too," Aileen said, wiping her nose with the back of one hand and cringing; kneeling before her, so strange and inhuman. "Only I have too much!" Then she burst out laughing only to suddenly break into a fresh bout of sobbing as she fell forward.
Sandra caught her. The girls hugged each other. "Shh, it's okay, Aileen. Calm down. We'll figure it out. We-We'll . . . we need to get back to the apartment, okay?"
Aileen pulled away, sniveling and calmer. "You . . . You won't leave me, right? You won't leave me like this? B-Because . . ."
"No," Sandra shook her head violently from side to side, eyes wide, "Never. You're like my sister, Aileen. I would never leave you behind."
"But . . . I'm a . . . I'm a freak now! My-My life has always been a mess but now, I can't . . . I can't do this. And . . . And you – Ah, god. This-this is all my F-FAULT!"
Aileen broke down again and Sandra spent the next twenty minutes calming her down and promising her over and over again that they were in this together. That Aileen was like family to her. And family didn't quit on each other. No matter what they were challenged with. It took some time, but Sandra was able to convince Aileen that she'd not abandon her. Never.
When they got back to the jeep, miraculously the pups had stayed within the vehicle. The snow started to fall in thicker tufts. The pink diamonds were appearing everywhere. Robots clanged and strode out from the portals, firing at citizens at random. Shaken and terrified, the girls took the less populated side streets in a more circuitous route, making it home without further incidents. Once at the apartment, they found Vernon gone. The apartment was just as they had left it that morning. Only a few hours ago, which now seemed like days ago.
As the numbness and exhaustion hit them as the adrenaline wore off, Aileen sat on the floor before the puppy crate they kept for when they dog sat for an elderly neighbor for extra cash. She rolled pieces of salami into tubes and fed the baby foxes as Sandra slumped onto the couch.
"Maybe it'll wear off."
Aileen blinked at her morosely. Her tail swished. "Like, it's temporary, you mean?"
Sandra nodded. "Let's try showering, and then, maybe drink a lot of water and then . . ."
Aileen just stared at her saying nothing. She slid another piece of salami through the crate openings. The puppies within whined. "I'm so sorry," she said quietly.
"Don't start, not again. This isn't your fault. I don't want to hear about it, okay!" Sandy screamed and jumped to her feet, feeling instantly sorry for the outburst as Aileen shrank back. "Oh, I'm sorry. I'm . . . I didn't mean to yell."
She glanced at the pile of letters, seeing her mother's envelope on the top. She closed her eyes and felt the weight of the situation hit her. The reality. This was not something that would wash off or wear off. They'd been changed. Most likely, there was no cure. The world outside was being invaded by monsters from some cheap horror movie. The world was in chaos and she was far from home. She stared at the envelope until her vision grew blurred with unshed tears. Maybe her mother had been right after all.
"Sandra?"
She sniffed hard and shook her head, feeling a surge of determination. She wasn't going to give up. Not yet. Not ever. As far as her mother and her family back in Tucson . . . they'd have to remain in the dark for now.
"No. I . . . I don't want you to call me that anymore."
"What?"
She crouched down before her friend. "Listen to me. I know you're scared. But you can trust me, okay? I'm gonna think of a plan and get us out of this mad-house. I think . . . we'll need to leave the city. To find a way out of here without getting zapped or-or caught. We have to be careful."
Aileen was nodding rapidly. Ready to trust in her steadfast friend. The one she trusted more than anyone else in the world. Her only real friend.
"I hate to say this, but I think our old lives are over, hon."
Her eyes grew large and glassy but she didn't shed a tear.
"I'm not saying we should give up. The hope of maybe one day . . . but we have to accept reality. What happened to us isn't going to go away and I can't let my family see me like this," she motioned to her body with one hand.
Aileen's shoulders slumped, her enormous tail flipped from one side of her body to the other.
"I want you to call me, uh, Mona Lisa, okay? Lisa for short or-or Mona, whatever."
"Your middle name?"
She nodded.
"Because I dunno if Sandra Sanchez is ever getting back her life. B-But it's still me, so I want to use my middle name, you understand?"
Aileen nodded, slightly bemused. Then her eyes snapped up. "But I hate my middle name. It's Lily. And those flowers always smelled like funerals to me."
Both girls chuckled uncomfortably. "Ugh, okay. Um. Let's pick something else."
"W-Wait, I want to do it like you . . . something that's still me, right? Because I'm s-still me, too, only-only," she worked her paws over her face and muzzle, dropping them in her lap, "different on the outside now."
"That's right. It's still you, Aileen. Inside."
Aileen's bright eyes darted around. "How about . . . Aileenopex, no that's too much like before . . . Hold on, hmm, Pexi? Bluck, no. Um, Ailex, uh, Alopex!"
"Alopex." Mona Lisa nodded as Alopex's face brightened. "Alopex," Mona repeated. "Th-That's really pretty."
"Yeah," she laughed and it was broken with emotion, "Yeah, heh," she sniffled, "I like it."
"Me, too. It suits you."
# # #
Outside the apartment, the pink lights glowed, the sound of machinery clanged and distantly, the sound of gun fire reached them. Alopex paced near the window, keeping far enough behind it so that she couldn't be spotted from below. Mona sighed as she went through their supplies, still feeling her head pounding from the crash during their failed attempt to leave the city hours before.
"What's the matter," Alopex asked as she turned.
"We're out of water."
"What about the tap?"
Mona Lisa shook her head. "I tried it when I went to the bathroom."
Alopex frowned. "When was that? Lisa! You were supposed to wake me up if you needed anything."
"Al, I bumped my head, I didn't become an invalid. I can go to the bathroom on my own. I just . . . I was going to take an aspirin but there's no water."
"I'll go out."
"No."
"I can handle it."
"No way." Mona Lisa climbed to stand, her thick tale swished and knocked into a pile of cans. She cringed at the clattering noise. "Still working on this stupid thing. But yeah. No. You're not going. Not without me. We stick together. Remember? Always."
Alopex relented, looking more than a little relieved. "Okay, I'm not sure I know this neighborhood anyway."
They made their way down to the street level and Mona Lisa pushed open the front door that had been barricaded from the inside by the prior occupants. The street seemed clear. A dusting of snow covered the ground. They slipped down the front stone steps and hurried around to the back of the three story building, creeping down the gangway to cut through the narrow back yard. They popped out on an opposite street. Mona tapped Alopex on the shoulder and moved her head in the direction of a small store on the corner.
"Let's see if there's any water left inside."
They hurried around the back of the store, between a garage and another shop, peering around and making sure there were no violent mutants skulking around or pink blobs with their fake people suits and ray guns. Mona froze as the back door creaked.
"Nuts. I think someone just went in."
"Should we go?" Alopex whispered in a frightened voice just behind her.
"No, but let's be super careful."
They crept to the door and peeked inside. Mona slipped her fingers alongside the edge of the door and pried it open enough to slip through, followed on her tail by Alopex, who held the tip of it in both hands. To keep herself calm, but also, Mona had asked Alopex to keep it still for her.
The interior of the store was in a tumbled mess, cramped with overturned displays, and the bare shelves were littered with the meager supplies not yet stolen. Something moved in the aisle over and Mona and Alopex went stiff with fright. There was a slithering sound and a soft hiss then a popping electric sound like a plug being pulled from an outlet.
Alopex pressed her mouth tightly to keep from crying out and gripped Mona's tail too hard. Mona made a soft sound at the pain which was enough to alert the stranger inside the store with them. The girls turned to flee, heading towards the back door from where they'd entered, just as a Kraang droid turned into their aisle. They fell back with a shriek of fright holding onto each other as the robot raised its gun and pointed at them. The lifeless eyes blazed as it took aim.
Its head jerked violently to one side as a figure soared over the aisle, hitting it square in the jaw with the heel of a boot. Before either girl could make a sound, the cloaked figure threw a volley of swift punches aimed directly into the soft pink middle until it fell back to the floor. The robot body jumped and chirruped as the person gripped the gun, twisted it free from the robotic fingers and spun it around. Using the hilt, the person bashed the invader until the lights dimmed and with a final shudder went dark and still.
Alopex and Mona Lisa exchanged terrified glances.
"Th-Thank you," Alopex sputtered.
The person stiffened, then spun around. The stranger stared at them and then took two rigid steps towards them. Slowly, it pulled the hood off its head to reveal a girl not much younger than them with flashing green eyes and a pale complexion. A forked tongue slipped from between her lips and tasted the air with a languid flip, revealing the girl was no ordinary human.
"Who are you?" the stranger asked in a slightly accented voice. Her eyes narrowed and full of distrust.
Mona moved slightly in front of Alopex. "I'm . . . Mona Lisa and this is my friend, Alopex."
Something creaked just outside the front door and the girl tensed, making Alopex tremble and clutch at Mona's shoulder. The stranger twisted around to see if there were any more creatures coming in through the back. Mona noticed the girl had a short staff strapped to her back. It was knotted and resembled more of a walking stick than a weapon. The noise came again and she wheeled around to leave, stepping over the fallen Kraang-bot.
"Wait! Where are you going?"
"I'm leaving. It isn't safe here." She kicked the bot on the ground with a grunt. "They can sometimes call for help even though you wouldn't think they had a chance. Sneaky little creeps."
"But, wait! Do you know what's going on? What these things are? Can you help us?" Alopex asked as she stepped around Mona Lisa.
Mona, her voice suspicious asked from behind Alopex, "We told you our names, who are you?"
The stranger paused as though considering their questions. "The city is being invaded by creatures from another dimension that want to take our world and make it their own. They're called Kraang," she said over her shoulder.
She took a breath and stepped around the aisle out of sight. Alopex and Mona Lisa hastily followed. She picked up a large messenger-style bag filled with canned goods and water. "I don't think you want my help. You're better off alone. Trust me," she warned but would not elaborate. She inspected a can of beans and tossed it into her bag then adjusted it on her shoulder, smoothing the side of her cape and pulling her hood to sit more comfortably where it bunched around her neck.
"As soon as my . . . fath, er, friend is well, we're leaving the city. In fact, we should be ready to leave any day."
Alopex gave Mona a distressed look. Mona Lisa shrugged as though saying there was nothing else they could do. Ready to get back to searching for water on their own, but the stranger went on speaking.
"Between the Kraang, the mutated humans running around like nuts, the regular humans running around like nuts and the over-excited, trigger-happy military groups storming the city, it's only going to get worse around here. Especially for people like us." She tugged the hood up over her head, casting most of her face in shadow. Her emerald eyes gleamed in the darkness.
"Can we help?" Alopex offered and Mona's breath hitched in dismay. "You . . . You're not human, like us and-and you said your father, er, I mean, your friend, is unwell. Maybe we could . . . I have nursing experience and so does my friend. Please. Please, don't leave us here."
Mona tugged at Alopex's arm. "We don't know this person, she may be dangerous," she hissed under her breath in Alopex's ear.
The dark-haired stranger smirked and from beneath the hood looked the girls up and down. She shook her head and said to Alopex, with a shrug, "Nursing experience, huh. Hm. Why not. The more the merrier, right? Not that I need any help. I've been doing just fine on my own. But it could make things more . . . fun."
She shifted her stance from one leg to the other and pulled the walking stick from her back. She twirled the staff between her fingers.
"My name is Karai." She gave them a short but dramatic bow, and straightened up. The outside light from a street lamp caught her face, illuminating it. With a gleam in her eyes now with slits for pupils and a smile that bordered on feral she added, "And I am most definitely dangerous."
"Nice to meet you, uh, Karai . . .?" Alopex questioned.
"Just. Karai."
She tipped the staff on to her shoulder and headed through the store calling out behind her, "Follow me if you want to survive in this crazy messed up world . . . and maybe have a little fun while you're at it."
Alopex turned to Mona and her eyes were lit with hope. Mona sighed and relented with a brief nod. "I really hope this doesn't turn out to be a mistake." Alopex started forward and Mona grabbed her tail, yanking on it gently to make her stop. She twisted around to see Mona looking at her with a serious expression. "Listen, I'm going to take care of you, Al. You have to trust me. And no matter what happens, no matter who we meet next or what craziness comes along, we stick together, okay? Promise?"
Alopex threw her arm around Mona's shoulders and gave her a squeeze. She nodded. "Just like sisters?"
Mona nodded, "That's right, foxy-girl." Alopex giggled. "And Sisters stick together, no matter what. Now let's find out who this snake-girl's father is. I hope he's not a giant python or something creepier. Like some moldy old rat." Mona shuddered.
"Rats are super cute. But that wouldn't make any sense at all," Alopex started to explain why when a loud crash at the front of the store had them chasing after Karai out the back of the shop and down the darkened alley where she waited, poised on the edge of an open sewer.
"I started to think you changed your mind."
Mona wrinkled her nose, "You're kidding. We're going down there?"
Karai gave her a smirk and dropped into the awaiting darkness where she was swallowed.
Alopex carefully edged her way down and looked up at Mona who stood hesitating at the mouth. "You have to admit, she's got style. And, uh, we stick together, remember?"
She rolled her eyes, "Yeah, yeah. Stop blocking the way so I can get down already."
Alopex grinned and dropped out of sight. Mona Lisa sighed and mumbled, "I don't like this. Her father's probably a giant mutant croc or something." She shut her eyes tightly and mouthed, Geronimo! As she dropped out of sight, praying that their luck would change for the better. Things couldn't get much worse than they already were, could they?