The city was huge, he had underestimated it. Somehow, he didn´t believe the Earthlings were capable of it, or he just didn´t care to check. He thought he would be somewhere in the woods outside the city by now, he didn´t want to fly, not right here, everyone could see him, he didn’t want to be bothered…
He continued walking, slowly, the bag in his hand felt heavy. It was so hot, he wasn’t used to it, the mild temperatures on the space ships, always, and the oxygen was so high on the planet, it made him dizzy.
He sat down hard, somewhere on the side of the pavement. Just relax a little, just close the eyes a bit, it was so hot…
He woke up with a start when he felt something wet touching his hand. Disoriented, he looked around, trying to figure out… he remembered. He walked away, the house, that room, it was suffocating him, taunting him, he had to leave, he had to! It was already dark, how long had he slept? Passed out?
Something wet was touching him again, some animal. There was food in his bag, it must have smelled it. Annoyed, he tried to push it away, but it was desperate. He shoved it away again, trying not to think how he lay there on the street, no better than that, but it was his food.
It started growling, showing its teeth. Not big enough, it was young. Should´ve picked a better enemy, might have lived to see another day.
“You gonna eat that or what?”
Startled, he let go of the bag, trying to figure out if he had heard right. The Earthlings… this wasn´t an Earthling. It was an animal. Did it just…
“Fuck you.” It grabbed the bag and started running, on four legs. It wasn´t fast enough and he had it before it rounded the corner, grabbed on the tail. It yowled, but he wasn´t feeling any pity. Maybe he could eat it. It turned around, biting him in his arm, it even hurt a bit. He punched it in the face and it fell down, not moving. He took it back and started walking in the other direction. Eventually he would be out of the inhabited area, and it was dark. He should fly.
He heard the animal whining behind him, it got up again, blood running out of its mouth. The bushy, brown tail was between its legs and its ears were flat on the head. He sneered, ready to kick it so it would stay down, not sure if he wanted to eat something like that when it got up. On two legs. He hadn´t realized that the front paws had fingers, not as delicate as the Earthling´s ones, but definitely more than paws. He frowned, not sure what was going on.
“You bastard, you punched me! That´s kinda nasty for some junkie lying in the gutter!”
It spit out some blood, still looking rather defeated, but by standing up the whole posture changed.
“What are you?”
It eyed him again, lingering on the bag for a while. It wasn´t tall, not even while standing, not even reaching his chin.
“Says the guy who smells like monkey? You new in town?”
He hesitated for a second, not understanding half of what that thing was saying. Obviously there was more to the Earthlings than he thought. Hadn´t realized there were some with fur. Shaking his head he turned around, walking away. No way he would eat that!
“Hey mister, wait. You wanna know where you can get a fix for that bag?”
He stopped, contemplating. “A fix for what?”
It laid its head on the side, curious big eyes. “You were passed out. Don´t you need something?”
“It was hot. Now piss off, furball.”
It didn´t go. It came nearer. He turned around again, fist ready to punch. “What is so hard to understand?”
It stepped back quickly, hands up but teeth bared. “I haven´t eaten in two days, gimme that! You punched me! I deserve it.”
It growled, not defiant anymore. He liked the attitude. “You wanted to steal. Where´s the compensation?”
It considered it shortly, its tongue licking over its nose. What a disgusting creature.
“What do you want?”
What did he want... get away. Just get away, a hole, something. “Take me out of the city.”
“`kay.” It held its hand out. He shouldn´t give it away. He could get more, he could go back, but it was his and it was a lousy bargain.
He handed it over. While it was eating it was distracted. Not noticing or not caring about his stares. It was confusing, that animal looked like the ones the engineer had in her place, the pets. The anatomy wasn´t like the Earthlings, similar, yes, not the same. It was wearing earrings in its big ears, they were in constant motion, careful… quite unlike the Earthlings. It was wearing clothes, he hadn´t realized. Some short pants, very dirty. The pants were almost useless, ripped to make room for the tail. So much bigger than his had been, swinging slightly while it was eating loudly.
“I´m done. Can you follow when I go fast?”
He was ripped out of his thoughts, it had already started running on its four legs before he had realized what happened. He was faster though. Much faster. He liked running, not confined, not trapped, just moving, not thinking, it was already cooler, still hot, not thinking… They reached the edge of the woods after a while, but the lights from the city were still visible.
“Further.”
“I won´t go in there!”
He kicked it, making it yowl again. “It´s not far enough. You afraid of something?”
It put its tail between its legs again, eyes moving frantically.
“I don´t want to go in there.”
He sneered, kicking it again. This is how you deal with fear. Either you overcome it or you´ll get punished.
“Nothing to be afraid of. Said you´d bring me out of the city. I still see it.”
It was shuffling a bit to the side, looking behind it, to the lights.
“I was never in there.”
“Just trees. Next kick will hurt more.”
Reluctantly, it started walking. He kicked it again, harder, and it started to run. The deeper they got, the quicker they moved. It seemed to have lost some fear, moving fast over the uneven ground, it was better than him, four feet were preferable, it wasn´t a spaceship. It was so much better.
They reached a small stream and stopped. It was cool, almost pleasant, but he was thirsty. It seemed exhausted as well, not used to running. Its tongue was hanging out, panting hard. He lay down on the soft floor, staring at the sky, the stars barely visible. Too much light from the city, even that far out. He started dozing off, feeling a patch of fur on his arm, itchy and matted, still warm. Alive.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
He woke up with a headache, the sun shining directly in his eyes. Groaning, he rolled around, trying to block out the light with his arm. It wasn´t helping much.
“Why is it so fucking hot!”
“It´s summer, mister!”
He sat up, instantly. That animal… he had completely forgotten about it. It was sitting in the stream, washing itself. Desperately needed anyway. Sighing, he got up and started discarding his clothes. Wouldn´t be bad for him as well.
It was watching him, curious.
“Never saw anything like you. Either you got scales or fur or nothing. `s nothing that fits to you.”
“Cause you´ve seen so much?” The water was cold, it made him shiver. Nothing could be right on that damn planet.
“Never left the city. There´s everything.”
He sneered. It didn´t even know more than the gutter it crawled out from. Maybe that was all there is. Gutters are the same everywhere.
“You know that Capsule company?”
It looked up, ears all pointy. “The huge building in the middle of town! Who doesn´t, they probably own the planet.” It started laughing, a weird sound, half barking.
It surprised him. The engineer hadn´t made that impression. The technology was so simple, he couldn´t judge. He…
“Why you ask?”
He shrugged, getting out of the water. It followed, shaking the water out of its fur. Didn´t look much better.
“Hungry?”
Its eyes were gleaming.
“Let´s go hunt.”
It followed without complaint. Hunting was easy, natural, and the animal didn´t hesitate biting the deer´s throat. They were eating it raw, he didn´t want to make a fire, using ki… such a hassle.
“It´s disgusting.”
“And yet you´re eating.” It was definitely an Earthling. All complaint.
“I´m hungry.” It was licking its bloody lips, looking much more fierce like that. The fur was still a mess, the blood didn´t help. It was quiet for a while, trying to lick itself clean. It was almost pleasant. He could stay there for a while.
“What you doing here anyway? Got plans? Or just a random trip to eat raw deer in the woods?”
He stared at it for a few minutes, but it didn’t seem to care. It just blinked a few times.
“You gonna kill me? Rape me? Or what?”
“Continue talking and I might eat you.”
It laughed again, that weird barking sound. It hurt his ears.
“You´re funny. Whatever you are. Did you run away from home? I ran away. My mum didn´t want any girls in her litter, kicked all of us out, would bring our own pups in time she said. Kept my brothers, the ones that had brain, you know.”
“No I don´t. Thought you were an animal.”
It started wheezing, maybe getting a stroke. But it seemed fine.
“Aren´t we all? You don´t watch the news, eh? President is a dog like me.”
“The engineer keeps your people as pets.” He leaned down. It was so hot, he could… he could just take a nap.
“The ones that aren´t smart. Three brothers were dumb, mum sold them as guard dogs. I wanted to keep one, but you ain´t keep your brother as a pet, right?”
Right? What did he know. He had been kept as a pet and he had been smart. Was. Still was. He closed his eyes.
“You okay? Mister? Do you wanna stay in the woods? I´ll leave you, I wanna go home.”
He shrugged, nodding off. Why was it so hot?
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Something wet was on his face. He opened his eyes, the dog was licking his hair. With a grunt, he pushed it away, trying to wipe the saliva from his face.
“You sleep a lot, monkey man.”
“It´s too hot.” Sticky, smelly, bits of bloody meat. He wanted to strangle the damn thing!
“You´re sick. You look pasty and sweaty.”
“It´s just hot!”
He jumped up, looking for the stream. It was cold, perfect, he could wash himself. His headache got worse again, the air… so long and still not used to it.
“What´s your name?”
“Fuck you. Where´s the water?”
It shrugged, pointing away from him. “That way. I wanna go home.”
“And do what? Lie in your own dirt and steal other people´s food?”
It growled, but followed him, slowly. That much easier with four feet. It didn´t speak anymore, just got rid of its pants and followed him in the water. The way it had been panting all day it was hot as well. Fucking summer.
He didn´t want to go back. He didn´t want to stay, anywhere, but it was better here. It was quiet, it wasn´t… a noise caught his attention. Some other animal came out of the bushes, some kind of big lizard. Another one of the engineer´s pets. Maybe it talked, too.
It looked like it wanted to attack. He smirked, it was rather funny. There was some splashing of water, the dog had seen it, too. It started growling, slowly walking towards the shore, ears flat, teeth shiny. Every muscle was tense when it got out, water still dripping from its fur. It got low, ready to attack, and the lizard moved the same moment the dog had its neck.
It was mesmerizing to watch, the perfect dance, quiet, fast. The dog didn´t let go of the lizard´s neck, letting go meant death. He wouldn´t help. He wanted to observe, he wanted to see the Earthlings fight. Finally something he didn´t hate, something pretty, something familiar.
The lizard was struggling, its tail swinging wildly. It left some deep gashes on the dog´s body, still strong on the neck, the teeth biting through the thick skin, slowly, slowly… he heard the crack of bones, it finally snapped. The dog spit it out, panting hard. It looked so beautiful.
They were staring at each other for a long time before it got back in the water, whining and yowling and cleaning its wounds.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
The wind was picking up, finally getting cooler. Some of the trees were bending, almost snapping. He smiled, it was a nice sound. The dog was pressed against his side, whining even louder. He shoved it away, but it came back.
“Are you afraid? Of rain?”
“Never was outside during a storm.”
He was quiet for some time, trying to ignore the dog. He liked the weather.
“So you ran away? Got nowhere to go?”
He looked down, the dog was frantic, eyes rolling. Tried to hide its fear, badly.
“I left.”
He ran away. He ran.
“There was nothing for me there.”
“Gonna be a hermit now? `s not so cool here.”
Oh it was. It was perfect.
“Did you want me to die? With that lizard.”
Yes. No. He just wanted to watch. Just wanted to see how it would fare, if the city vermin could make it.
“Why did you attack it?”
“Dunno. Instinct. I just knew it would… I had to.”
He huffed. That was good enough. He picked it up, flying back to the city, it didn´t even take a minute, the dog couldn´t even start howling again. He had no idea where it came from, he just threw it down in a park.
“Fuck! Flying monkey, the fuck!”
“Fuck the weather, there´s worse things out there, I know.”
The dog eyed him, curious. Irritated. Not afraid. Good dog.
“You are crazy, mister. Have fun running away.”
He jumped, started running, was gone in seconds. How did they all know, all those vermin, all those dumb creatures trying not to starve, they all knew what they were doing. Maybe he should go back. At least something to look forward to. Ignore the engineer, she was bad news.
He had been gone for two days. No one had missed him.
He didn´t leave the indoor garden for a week. Played with the dogs. It was still so hot, the rain made it worse.
Fin.
