15. Zoey starts to take a step forward only to have Anna hold her back.
"You're not eating him! You hear me." Anna yells as she grabs hold of Zoey. With the feralness flowing throughout her body;zooey continues to walk despite Anna holding her back. I'm appalled as Zoey and her sinister grin get closer and closer to me. Zoey turns around and gives Anna a swift left hook to the jaw, making her tumble to the ground. I see Anna's lip burst, soaking with red crimson blood.
Zoey shakes her fist, getting drops of blood on the ground and turns back to me. Her grin still there and pats her stomach; ready for course #2. Zoey takes a 2nd step, but Anna's hand is firmly on her ankle. Zoey still somehow managed to walk, dragging Anna's tired body with her. If only she didn't just have P.E. I looked behind me and noticed I'm against iron clad bars. They're massive railings that prevent others from jumping off. I seem to fit and might take the risk if she doesn't stop.
Zoey gets down on her pink, white knees and crawls towards me; enjoying this to the fullest degree. I move further and further to the railing and can feel the wind blow against me; almost sending me toppling over. I look at Zoey's eyes. Her demonic, possessed, sadistic eyes stand my ground. She opens her mouth, showing me my early coffin and giggles to herself, licking her pink lips. I see some red spots on her tongue that paint her sharp teeth ruby red.
I decide to accept my fate and sit down on the ground. There was no escaping this. It would either die in her belly or end up as a red splat on the ground below. A good 3 story fall. At least, I would be able to provide sustenance to zoey. I'd be a part of her forever. That's good enough for me. Right?
"Ahhhh" Zoey opens her mouth over me. I look up as she slowly moves closer and closer, inning on me; and soon I'm trapped. I blink and start to cry wet, sorrowful tears regretful that this is the way I'm going out in the world. I hear Anna scream something.
"Snap out of it!" Her voice is frail and she sounds like she's desperate for water. Zoey has me in her mouth and I sit on her tongue. I look at her uvula, my prison, my executioner and feel her entire body breath as she takes a nasally breath. She closes her mouth enveloping me in complete darkness and just when I think it's over; I hear a loud *Wack* and Zoey spits me back out. Hitting the floor extremely hard, I see Anna who appears to have hit Zoey in the back. I also notice that she has an open granola bar in her hand. Anna maneuvers herself holding Zoey in a tight chokehold.
"If you're that hungry…."Anna said with her tired breath, her body aching for rest, "Then EAT THIS." She shoves the granola bar into Zoey's mouth. Zoey chews rapidly through it and swallows it. I look up at Zoey who seems to freeze, dizzily. She rubs her temples and starts panting; exhausted.
"Huh!" I hear Zoey mutter, "My mouth feels dry." She looks at a tired beaten anna and gasps.
"Anna, What happened to you?" Zoey asks as she rushes to help her stand. Anna has a few bruises and a bloody lip.
"You happened." Anna spits out through her bloody lip, "You had feralness you know." Zoey gasps, shocked and starts to pant.
"Anna, Don't tell me….I didn't." Her voice trails off to which Anna quickly replied
"You did." Anna's words shock Zoey's soul. Zoey trembles at these words. Zoey's face flusters pink.
"I told myself I wouldn't…." Zoey's voice cracks, "I didn't hurt anyone else ,did I?" Anna giggles to herself but then winces in pain.
"Ow, You didn't hurt anyone. Except me and well…." points to you shaking, "Him." Zoey looks at Anna with confusion, "Him. What do you mean?" She turns around to see me shivering and shell shocked. Zoey starts crying with tears of joy.
"Anna, You found him! You actually found him!" Zoey takes a step towards me, smiling gleefully. I instinctively step back, still afraid. Zoey looks at me worriedly, noticing my fear.
"Hey what's wrong?" Her voice is gentle and compassionate. She takes another step forward to which I immediately back away. Zoey turns towards anna.
"What happened Anna? What happened while I was out?" Zoey asks. She must have not remembered anything that just happened. Anna looks away and tells Zoey the truth.
"You tried to eat him." Anna said. Zoey immediately covers her mouth, shocked.
"No...You're joking right? I wouldn't do that. He's my pet." Zoey tries to rationalize this and Anna merely shakes her head.
"I saw it with my own eyes, Zoey" Anna said as serious as could be, "You nearly killed me. You only stopped because you ate a mouse boy and a Granola bar. I guess that filled you up."
"I ate a mouseboy?" Zoey lifts up the bottom of her uniform shirt revealing her pink, white stomach. She breathes in and out and I see her stomach grow and deflate with each breath. Zoey pokes it and rubs it; trying to feel around. Anna shakes her head.
"You killed him...Quite brutally too." Anna said to which Zoey immediately pushes down her shirt. Zoey is now crying soft tears. She's desperately trying to rationalize in her mind that this was a dream. That it wasn't by any chance real. Zoey turns her eyes on me, crying and her expression begs me, "Please come here" . I don't move a muscle and Zoey tries to reach for me. I immediately swatted her away. Zoey takes her hand back holding it. Lips quivering.
"I didn't mean too…." She starts off. Her voice is a little shaky but I refuse to believe her. She'd abandoned my trust. She'd made me watch a brutal murder. She tried to EAT me. I'd expected her to be my safe haven, but no I couldn't stand to look at her. The rain is still going on quite heavily and I stand up. Zoey seems to brighten up as I move. I slowly walk towards her while she holds her hands out like a parent wanting a walking child to come into their arms. I continue to walk and see her smile more and more.
There's no way this could be real. It's all a dream; She thinks. I continue to walk, and walk, and walk until I'm right in the vicinity of Zoey's eager palms. I then proceed to walk, going past her and moving towards Anna. Zoey looks down at me, tears frozen, and eyes in disbelief. I move my arms up, urging her to pick me up. She does so while placing me in her uniform pocket.
"Hey…" Zoey's voice pleads, "Don't do this to me." She begs me. I don't acknowledge her, "Don't run away from me, please!" She starts crying again, sniffling wet tears. Anna looks down, unable to face her.
"I won't hurt you. Come back." Zoey is now begging on her knees. I feel guilty, but I couldn't trust her in this state. Not like this.
"Zoey.." Anna said to which Zoey lifted her head, "Maybe It's best if I keep him for now." Zoey's sweet voice can be heard filling with an emotion I've never heard before. Anger.
"What do you mean!" Zoey throws a fit to which Anna calmly replies.
"Look at you zoey. You're wet, cold, and emotional right now. You're not in the best place to make decisions." Anna said to which Zoey clenched both of her fists, angry.
"I'll keep him for a few days until he calms down." Anna said. Zoey stares anna in the eyes and Anna feels spooked. Zoey's eyes remind her of back then. Of when Zoey wasn't the person she was now.
"You won't eat him?" Zoey asks as she shakes her hands of rainwater. Anna replies with 100% honesty.
"I swear I won't. I'm not eaten them for a while." Anna said, but then muttered something, "Not after what I've seen today." Zoey takes a step forward to reach out to me, but pulls her hand back.
He doesn't trust me. Zoey thought, I have to make him trust me again. Anna grabs her soaking wet backpack and puts it on her back.
"You can have him back on Saturday." Anna said to which Zoey reluctantly nodded her head. Anna starts walking towards the door and she looks back at Zoey one more time. I see Zoey still holding back tears, crying. Perhaps this was for the best, for now. Anna then leaves the rooftop leaving Zoey in the now sunny clouds. I just listen to Anna's heartbeat. It beat so softly, so gently. Anna breathes in and exhales an exhausted breath. She then pokes me.
"I'm glad you're ok." Anna said to which I touched her finger. Anna giggles, enjoying this and says something.
"Who knows? I might be able to treat the other mouse boys like this. Perhaps you can teach them not to fear me?" Anna asks me which I beat on her chest. Anna laughs a belly laugh, walking down the stairs and finally reaching the first floor. I hear a loud clang at the top as the door closes and quickly urge Anna to hurry home.
"Don't worry." Anna assures me, "Zoey's not a bad girl. You know this. She just needs a little time to chill out. I'll take you back to her, I promise. When she's ready for you." Anna felt like my new guardian. my new home. Perhaps I could teach her to love me and the mouse boys she had captured. I could possibly be the bridge between mouse boys and catgirls.
"Come on, Let's head home. I hear there's a new Birds vs Snakes special coming on. Maybe we can all watch it together." Anna said as she and I walked home in the bright blue afternoon.