Of Beating Hearts Pt. 2
ATTENTION!!!! This is thd second part of my first story! this is for my English Class, once again. I hope you enjoy!!!!
Birds were singing, their songs floating on the air. I breathe in, the air no longer smells of death, blood, and urine as it sails into my lungs like a smooth and loving touch. I open my eyes and see a vast meadow. I see hills of flowing, green grass, the breeze moving through my fur, and mountains, beautiful majestic mountains like in the books I read towering above the Earth as silent guardians of our land, spanning across the horizon. I smile as the wonderful world around me danced with my senses, invoking an emotion of peace within my chest. I hear my name. Turning around, I see Jared running towards me and my heart skips a beat. He jumps into my arms and kisses me. I wrap my arms around him in a loving, protecting embrace. I will never let anything hurt him, and here, nothing can. The husky I love will always be happy now. His fur will shine, his clothes will be clean, and we will always be together.
"Danny," his angelic voice speaks to me.
"Jared, I love you, nothing can ever hurt us again."
"Danny!"
"I love you"
"Danny! It's time to wake up!"
I my eyes shot open to see a husky towering over me. I screamed and shot up in bed, "Jesus, Jared, you scared me!" All he could do was laugh, that saddening, starved laugh.
He just cooed "Awww, but it was so cute!" I just groaned and plopped back down onto the bed. "Get up, lazy butt!" he shouted as he flicked my nose. I sighed.
"I got to get down to the factory so I can get a spot on the work force today. I'll bring us home some food, I promise you." He just frowned and nodded. "Cheer up, k? I'll be home as soon as I can." I kissed him on the cheek and ruffled his ears as I threw on some clothes and walked out the door. I sighed once more as I looked down at the new rip my jacket had received last night. I pushed it once more to the back of my mind and began walking towards the factory.
This factory is located on the edge of the district. I would imagine the other districts have similar ones, but I've never seen them so what do I know? Then again, why else would the humans keep us here unless we had some use for them? This would explain why they give us their leftover food as a reward for a day's work because its supposed to keep us alive. If they had no use for us, they would have killed all of us a long time ago. The factory I work at melts minerals into metal for god knows what. Not that I believe in the concept of god, but it's not my place to say if he is real or not. I imagine the metal we make goes to the other factories to make something vital to human use.
This thought cased me to grin. I liked being smart. I was one of the few furs with a good head on my shoulders. I was one of the few that actually knows what is going on with the world. The reason I am intelligent lies in the fact I have few clothes and rely on the factory for food. I remember back to the times when they would expand the district. I was always the first on scene. I always grab books, papers, anything that will satisfy my thirst for knowledge, and then run out of there before the mobs get there and tear the place apart. I have a collection of books under the floor where Jared and I live. I have everything from dictionaries, to textbooks, to fiction novels, and even encyclopedias. I remember one particular time that really stands out. I was a teenager, I believe. The humans had just expanded the district to a house that had just been abandoned. As per usual I got there first, or so I thought. I took a rock and smashed the window and hopped in, being careful not to step on any glass. I smiled when I looked up and saw a grand book case. I tiptoed over to it and began looking at the books. I knew I had to be quick so I skimmed through the titles. "HEY!" I heard someone exclaim from behind me. I spun around to see a German shepherd standing in rags in front of the kitchen. He growled "This food is MINE!!! I saw it first!"
I just put my hands up. "Whoa, it's all good; I'm just here for the books." I said as I pointed behind me at the bookcase. He just glared at me, "MINE!" He screamed as he flung himself at me. I flinched, but the window to my right burst as a brick flew through and struck the Shepherd, smashing the left side of his face into a bloody mess with a loud yelp. His limp body crashed to the floor. I heard hundreds of voices shouting out side. I turned to run but everything went into slow motion as I saw a think book labeled "History of America 513thEdition." I quickly grabbed the book and took off down the hallway as furs of all sorts began pouring into the house. I kicked open the back door and ran as hard and as fast as I could all the way back to Jared's place as me and him have been the best of friends since we were pups.
I burst through his family's door and sat down. His mother and father were working in the factory so I sat in a corner and opened the large book. I went straight to the index and found a section of the book dedicated to furs. I hungrily flipped the pages until I found what I was looking for. I read on for hours and hours while Jared sat next to me looking at me with a puzzled expression. I stared wide-eyed as the book revealed the past to me. I discovered that furs weren't always furs. We were once stupid, incapable of intelligent thought or behavior. According to this book, we used to be all different shapes and sizes and most of us used to run around on all four legs! Confused, I turned the page and saw a picture of a wolf from the past. Needless to say I was shocked. I couldn't imagine what it would be like to live like that. I swallowed and continued reading. It says around two-thousand years ago people used to live with animals as near equals. Many people would keep these four-legged versions of furs and pets and were generally accepted as members of a human family.
The book stated that this population of humans was unaware of the vast population of people that "knew the animal has a place much lower then that of a person and animals should be disciplined rightly so." Since this view lay beneath the perception of humans, it was allowed to manifest itself into more and more generations of people until it eventually became the general view to discipline animals. With passing years, the discipline slowly but sure became much more severe, until the overall animal population itself was at the edge of becoming endangered. Mother Nature wanted to change this. Animals needed to adapt to their environment, like I have read in some very old science book. This time, animals with each passing generation became closer and closer to the most dominant, surviving species on the planet, humans. It started out with our mental capacity to learn and grow with experience. Later on this would lead to speech and language and then to philosophical/more intelligent trains of thought. At this point Animals are able to walk on two legs, their torso resembling a human torso. Over time, larger animals became smaller and smaller animals became larger. The animals still retained their fur, tails, ears, muzzles, etc. as they were and as they are now, but currently our bodies shape replicates that of a humans.
This says that over 150 years ago the real violence began breaking about against the human-dubbed "furries." During this period of time several furs were slaughtered and left to rot in the streets. This was part of the "Anti-Furry campaign of 4005 A.D." Over the next few years after the slaughtering the remaining furs were rounded up and put into several different districts nationwide. I'm not sure about the rest of the world, but this country sure made it clear that they don't support others like me. Furs are now used for physical labor in trade for gross, rotten, leftover food. It was still food nonetheless.
I snapped back to reality as I realized I had reached my destination. Smoke billowed out of the factory like death drifting through the open air. I grumbled and walked into the gates. When I rounded the corner I saw a mob of furs surrounding the entranceway. I muttered a few obscenities and cursed myself for not being early. Several humans with guns in uniform guarded the tall steel doors of the menacing factory. I was tempted to turn around and go back home to the welcoming arms of Jared, but the thought of Jared brought me to think of how hungry he is so I decided to stay.
I tried pushing my way through the crowd towards the humans, but could only get a few feet into the mass of furs. All of a sudden, we heard a machine gun firing loudly in front of us. All of the furs, including myself immediately ducked and tried to cover our heads. I looked up to see a human male, about 20, pointing his gun into the air. He smiled.
He spoke up, "Thank you for shutting your filthy mouths, the next one of you to make a noise will get a bullet in their head." I gulped and stared on in fear just like every time before. "You will all get a single line right now and give us your name and why you are here." Needless to say everyone complied and rushed for spot near the front of the line. One by one, furs would walk up to the interviewer, and state their name and why they need to work today. Usually it was some story about their children starving. About 60% of the people here would get a job everyone else will get turned away. Finally I was next in line. The woman, a rat with dirty clothes draped over her starved body, spoke with a stern voice, "My same is Melissa Rightworth." The human didn't even look up from his computer screen.
The human scoffed, "This work is barely suited for animals let alone a woman, now get out of here."
Melissa clenched her fists, "It's been almost 3 weeks now since my children have eaten! Dale, my youngest son died early today," tears began filling her eyes, "He died in the streets because of people like you!" The interviewer just waved her away.
"I said get lost, fur!" the interviewer stopped typing and looked up.
"NO!" came the screaming reply of the woman.
Out of nowhere one of the soldiers stepped up and bashed the rat across the back of the head leaving her bleeding, unconscious body lying on the ground. A male fox stepped out from the crowd, "Hey! You can't just..." he was cut short when a loud bang sent a bullet through his brain. I looked up with hate-filled eyes at a soldier who was standing about 20 ft. away holding a smoking handgun and laughing. I wanted to do something about it. I wanted this world to end and a new one to begin. I wanted Jared to never go hungry again, to go wherever he wants. Although, I didn't because I knew speaking up would let me end up like the fox so I just kept with the crowd and stayed silent and obedient. I heard the interviewer call out for the next fur.
I stepped in front of the desk. "My name is Daniel Willard," I croaked.
The interviewer sighed, "Why should be able to work for the people today?"
I stood up tall, "I will work hard from the beginning to the end. I have the love of my life to provide for who is starving and I need to get food to him." The man just scoffed again.
"Next!" he called out.
"Why can't I work?" I demanded to know.
"Too skinny"
"So is everyone else in this damn line, I need to work damn it!"
"So does everyone else in this damn line, you stupid mutt, now get out of here!"
I was furious but then I looked over at the human soldiers dragging away the fox's corpse by his tail and decided to not take action on my emotions. I had to walk about empty-handed. 'Jared is going to be so disappointed in me...' I thought. I can't do anything right. I became angry with myself and walked all the way in tears. I couldn't stand Jared going hungry, let alone me being the cause of him not being able to get the food he needs. I had nothing now but to wander back to Jared's with my head hung in defeat. I knew deep down in my heart that if I couldn't find a way to provide for Jared, he would die.
At this thought I broke down against a wall in the alleyway through which I was walking. I began sobbing uncontrollably at the thought at not being able to be with Jared. It was unbearable. I had to find a way somehow. I wouldn't be able to live without him. I clenched my fist in frustration and punched the ground through tear-filled eyes. I will find a way. He will be happy I swear it.
Please give feedback!!! i hope you enjoyed it as much as i did writing it :3