Hoppers Story - Chapter Two
#2 of (ZOO) - Hoppers Story
Hopper summons the strength and resolve to take up Miss Blackwood's offer of coming to the sanctuary to help, but when he is confronted by a Veterinarian, who asks for a blood-sample - just to ensure Hopper isn't going to introduce parasites or a disease to the captive feral population - his inner resolve snaps and he reverts to a more feral instinctual action - threatening both Miss Blackwood and the startled Veterinarian. Miss Blackwood distracts him, then captures the young, irrational and hysterical wallaby, giving the vet time to administer a sedative, which Hopper quickly succumbs too - and he is placed in a recovery room until the sedative wears off - but when he awakens, he has no memory of trying to attack either of them - his mind has seemingly blocked it out...
Hoppers Story Chapter Two © Cederwyn Whitefurr 10th February, 2012 All Rights Reserved
A few days passed, and Hopper fought with himself, knowing his substitute teacher had given him the name and location of the sanctuary. He was afraid, he'd never been so scared in all his life - as after class one day, he felt the five kilometre walk to the sanctuary - would let him clear his head and work his conflicting emotions out. A part of him longed to find companionship - even if it was a feral - as they did not judge, like anthropomorphic people - and humans. Swallowing nervously, Hopper paused outside the gate, torn between his fears and his hopes, finally summoning the courage, he nervously walked into the lobby and stood before the desk, his eyes almost level with it, until a young woman stood and looked over the desk inquisitively at the trembling wallaby.
"Well - hello there..." She smiled at Hopper, who felt his ears fall flat.
"I...please - may I speak...to Miss Blackwood - it...its important," Hopper stammered, bowing his head and clutching his small paws before him, in an almost child-like way.
With a frown, the receptionist blinked, then touched the intercom on her desk and summoned the requested person. Hopper felt his nerves singing, his longing for nothing more than to turn and flee this strange place - but he held a tentative hold on his courage and just nervously hopped from one foot to the other. After nearly ten minutes - it felt more like an eternity to Hopper, Miss Blackwood come from a locked door and approached quickly.
"Hopper - thank you for coming - please...will you follow me?" She asked, holding out a hand to the timid wallaby.
Hopper refused the hand, and kept a six foot space between himself and Miss Blackwood, as he followed her, his eyes snapping from one human to another, his anxiety rising with his pulse-rate. Miss Blackwood smiled shyly, then opened the door and gestured for hopper to enter, which he did with no small measure of fear. As the door hissed closed behind him, Hopper moaned and trembled, looking at a sparsely furnished office - with an ominous looking door at the far end. Miss Blackwood walked over to the leather chair and sat herself down, before placing her hands on her knees and gesturing to a chair nearby.
"Please...make yourself comfortable - and thank you...I wasn't sure you would come..." She smiled, and watched Hopper's reactions.
Hopper shook his head and cowered back against the door he'd entered, feeling fear prickling his spine. He refused her offer of a drink, even though the sweat around his ears and neck was easily smelt by Miss Blackwood, and she knew he was hot and discomforted, but Hopper needed time and space, she knew that - so didn't push the issue with him.
"Hopper - I...look, I'll be honest with you. I can not let you into the sanctuary's off-limits area - not yet anyway. With..with your permission - I would like to take a little blood sample - just a little, as you'd need to be screened for any parasites or disease - you may accidentally introduce into the sanctuary. I...I need - I mean, I would like...please - for you to sign this consent form..." Miss Blackwood spoke, her voice soft and gentle, as she held out a clipboard and pen.
"I..." Hopper swallowed, eyes widening. "You...I...I can't miss...please - you don't know - " Hopper sniffled, as tears welled in his eyes.
"Hopper, its alright...I know you're scared - but think of what good you could do for us! You can speak with the injured - the sick...you could understand them, and in turn, tell us - how we could help these poor animals! With your gift - we could achieve so much...but none of it will come about - unless I can get just a little blood from you...to make sure you aren't going to introduce something we can't expect. All anthropomorphic animals..sorry - my apologies - people...who come here, have had the test. It's fairly painless, only a few seconds and...and it'd mean so much to me...and the sanctuary veterinarian's. Please - will you help us - help these defenceless animals?"
Hopper swallowed, then nervously reached out for the clipboard, clutching it between both paws, before he placed it on the floor and scribbled his name on the indicated line, before kicking the clipboard back towards her. She retrieved it, then unclasped the consent form and put it in a tray, before smiling at him and rising, opening the other door. Hopper followed, his nerves at full alert - as she led him down a few hallways, finally, ending at what appeared to be an operating theatre. Here, a man in a long white lab-coat waited, standing beside the gurney, and he exchanged pleasantries with Miss Blackwood, before turning to look at Hopper.
"hopper, this is Doctor Mitchell Kale, he is one of the Veterinarian's here - and I've asked him to do the blood-work test. It won't hurt, I promise..."
"Not at all," The man smiled, noting Hopper's growing fear. "My...timid one, aren't you? Its okay - please...just...just don't do anything silly. We won't hurt you Hopper, we just need a little blood sample, to test..."
Hopper's eyes flashed from woman to man and back to woman, as he swallowed and began quivering in swiftly rising fear. He'd always been terrified of Veterinarian's - ever since his earliest memories. He could not understand why - none had ever really hurt him...frightened him - yes, but never actually doing any real, physical harm...
"Sedation..." Whispered Miss Blackwood, as she rose and looked at the Vet, who stood nearby, watching Hopper.
"NO!" Hopper screamed, his fear breaking, as he turned and began clawing at the door, in his terror, unable to even grasp the handle, his claws scratching wildly.
"Hopper...HOPPER!" Shouted Miss Blackwood. "Stop it!"
Hopper screamed, a deep, primal shriek of abject terror, as he spun about and adopted a crouched position - one both Veterinarian and Miss Blackwood knew instinctively - as a posture of a very frightened and potentially...very dangerous wallaby.
"Hopper...please - listen to me - " Miss Blackwood whispered, cautiously approaching, holding her hands out, palms extended, as she strove to capture Hopper's wild eyed gaze.
Hopper growled, a deep, menacing noise from deep in his throat, as he flicked his gaze one way, then the other, his mind searching for a possible escape route. As he bolted past Miss Blackwood, she snagged his shirt collar, and her other hand grabbed his whip-like tail, pulling him off-balance as the vet hurried to fill a syringe. Hysterical, Hopper began thrashing wildly in animal-like instinctual panic - his frightened screams more like feral barks and grunts, than anything even slightly human-like. Changing her grasp to his nape, she pulled it tight, making Hopper temporarily go limp, and the Veterinarian rushed over and quickly slid the needle home into Hopper's nape and depressed the plunger. Hopper squealed and struggled wildly, before his cries slowly faded and his body began to grow weak, his frantic struggles turning into weak, exhausted twitches - then he succumb to the powerful sedative, his body going limp in Miss Blackwood's arms.
"You...my god - what on earth..." Muttered the Veterinarian, as between them they carried Hoppers unconscious body over to the gurney and lay him down. "I've never seen an anthropomorphic creature act with such...such almost animal-like instinct and fear.
Miss Blackwood gently stroked Hopper's forehead, before she lay a hand on his warm chest, feeling his slow respiration and heartbeat.
"Oh, he'll be fine - there's no risk of him accidentally choking on his tongue or something, so there's no need to ventilate him, here...help me roll him on his side..." The vet reassured Miss Blackwood.
Together they carefully manoeuvred Hopper onto his side, then covered him with a light blanket, and wheeled the gurney into a dark room, which they used to help calm animals. They transferred him from the gurney to a thin mattress on the floor, before they left - the vet soon returning with a few empty blood-testing vials - Miss Blackwood following.
"This won't hurt him, will it - " Miss Blackwood asked, looking concerned.
"This? No. Just a few vials won't hurt him at all - he won't even know we did it. I just want to make sure we know what we're dealing with here...as I said, I've never seen such a violent reaction! If he is the one who is supposed to be helping...well - something triggered this irrational violence, and hopefully - the blood work will give us an indication...but I think its more psychological - some repressed trauma or some-such - we'll just need to be careful in our dealings with him. Wallabies are often...fairly nervous and high-strung creatures - but poor Hopper here...my gods - I do not know what sort of thing...could cause such psychological damage...if it even exists. He might be more feral...than either of us realise...." With a sigh, the veterinarian continued drawing his blood samples, then gently massaged Hoppers neck and placed the samples into a small crate. "He'll be under for at least two hours - you can stay with him if you like - just call me, the second he starts to wake up...we don't want to take any chances. I'll go start running these tests..."
Miss Blackwood sat on the floor beside Hopper, gently stroking the unconscious wallaby's paw and sighing, thoughts of what possible trauma, had made Hopper so...violent and frightened.
*
Two and a half hours later, Hopper uttered a feral-like groan, before his eyelids began to flutter open. Miss Blackwood sat nearby, and she put down the book she had been reading and flicked off the small light.
"Hopper..." Miss Blackwood whispered, as she quietly crept closer and gently touched his paw.
"Miss..." Hopper murmured, as he twitched and shivered, fighting the effect of the tranquilliser that still run through his veins.
"I'm here Hopper...you'll be okay...just - just take it easy..." She whispered, tenderly mopping his sweating forehead.
Hopper gurgled and began making rough choking sounds, before Miss Blackwood snatched up a dish and held it to Hopper's muzzle. He clasped her hands in his small paws, then began vomiting helplessly. She knew the anaesthetic sometimes caused nausea and vomiting in both feral and anthropomorphic animals - and as Hopper purged his stomach with great gagging convulsions, his whole body bucking, she laid the cloth against his sweaty neck and waited for him to finish.
At last, he crumpled back onto the mattress, and she wiped his muzzle tenderly, peering at him intently, then felt his paw timidly crawl into her hand, and he squeezed weakly, before moaning and coughing. Encouraged by his show of trust, she set aside the bowl and offered him a tin cup with water and a straw. Placing the straw in his muzzle, she saw Hopper take a few weak sips, before he coughed and trembled. He showed no signs of his violent outburst earlier - or even of any recollection it had even happened.
"What...where am I - " Hopper moaned, his eyes weakly glancing around the dim room, the lighting barely registering.
"This is one of the recovery wards - we often put animals in here - so the darkness and quiet help them recover, and it soothes them. I never understood why - but it works."
Colour slowly returned to the inner ears of Hopper, which was a good sign for Miss Blackwood, and she moved back slowly, letting Hopper relax and gather his strength. A quiet knock on the door made him gasp, and Miss Blackwood turned, before opening the door and glancing at the Veterinarian, who smiled and entered - this time, just dressed in normal civilian clothes, not his white lab coat.
"Hello Hopper - " he whispered, crouching down and glancing at the bowl beside the mattress and nodding to himself. "Feeling okay now?"
"I...I feel...nauseous and..." Hopper moaned, then trembled and pulled the blanket a little higher.
"I understand completely - some anthro's and animals often suffer nausea, cramps and vomiting after the anaesthetic...you were...well - never-mind, I'm sorry we had too - "
Hopper's eyes widened, and his gaze snapped from the man to the woman, before he looked imploring at Miss Blackwood.
"Hopper...listen to me..." Miss Blackwood whispered, as she knelt beside him and lay a hand on his paw, waiting for him to snatch it away.
She spoke calmly and quietly, like one does with a frightened animal, and he slowly relaxed - and stared at her.
"You...you became upset and...hysterical. We had to give you a tranquilliser, to calm you down - but you're okay now, nobody will hurt you...I promise you. Its all going to be alright Hopper - just...just lay back, I'll stay here until you want to leave the room...and..."
"You're fine Hopper - your blood-work come back clean. I...I'll let you get settled first, you've had an upsetting time...so..."
"Thank you Doctor - " Miss Blackwood smiled at him tender, then stroked Hopper's sweaty cheek fur.
Hopper relent, too weak and nauseous to try and pull away from her gentle touch - and a part of him - began to slowly feel comforted, by this woman's compassion and gentle stroking. She offered him the straw again, and he took a mouthful of water, before swallowing weakly and shivering.
"Its alright Hopper...just...just relax - nobody will hurt you...please, just...just calm yourself." Miss Blackwood repeated, placing the wet cloth in a bowl of clean water, then wrung most of the water out and placed it back on Hoppers forehead.
Hopper trembled, partly from fear, partly from growing trust in this stranger - who for the first time in Hopper's life, apart from his beloved Aunt, he genuinely felt he could trust....
To Be Continued....