The Wild Side of Us

Chapter 9 - Welcome to Quarantine

Originally posted: Mar 27, 2021

For the next few days, nothing of great importance happened. Axel keeps his mouth shut whenever we ask about his life in the laboratory. Once in a while, something will slip out of his mouth, but it wasn't a great deal of information like we were hoping for. However, Axel experiments with everything he finds, especially when it comes to hobbies. Scarlet tried to get him into painting and drawing, but he could not hold a brush or pencil without shaking. I, on the other hand, tried to get him into cooking and organizing, even though I was terrible at both of those things. Axel made decent food, and he was a little sloppy when it came to folding clothes. Still, I had to admit he was far better than me. And he had to rub it in.

One thing I learned was that Axel was hooked onto the TV. He seemed to like mind games and intelligence quizzes the best, even though he never knew the answer. However he did have a good memory, for if you asked a question on the show last night, he would give the correct answer in a matter of seconds. He also memorized the way we came to get here. I could use his memory, I figured. Although I would have no idea on what.

One morning I walked out to find Axel drawing shapes on a blank piece of paper, the TV in front of him showing commercials on low volume. Even from some distance, I could see smudged pencil lines and bits of eraser surrounding him. Every few seconds he would furiously erase a line and groan as he redrew the line. His free hand was clenched, shaking as it rested on his leg.

"If it makes you feel better," I told Axel, walking up to him, "no one can draw a perfect shape without a ruler. Even the best artists in the world struggle."

"I don't want a ruler," he snapped. "I'm just drawing lines. Have a lot of time everyday, might as well do something." He continued to draw and erase, groaning quietly to himself. Looking closer at the paper, all he really was doing was drawing straight lines clashing into each other. It reminded me of a stained glass window. But the drawing would be better if done with a ruler.

"You sure you don't want a ruler? Perhaps some colored pencils, too. We can hang it up once you're finished. Scarlet would be proud of you, ya know."

"I'm not some little kid. Leave me alone." I hoped Scarlet wasn't like this when she does her artwork. Because of us, she hasn't had much time to paint or sketch anything. She only had enough time to gather the canvases, paints and paintbrushes. Despite how badly Axel wanted to burn it, she kept Axel's random painting and promised to turn it into something spectacular. It too, was a bunch of squiggly lines painted in different colors. What Scarlet wanted to turn it into, I had no idea. The mind of an artist was one I could never obtain.

I sat down next to Axel and watched the TV, which was now showing the news. Another shooting, another boring event. The same old, same old was showing once more. However, the news spared the time to talk about the protest I passed by the other day.

"Many of the protesters were arrested or charged," explained the news lady, who was a zebra wearing a red dress. "Police state that their prison cells are starting to get full from the previous protests, and that force will be applied if another protest is scheduled. Mayor Longhorn agrees that force is necessary in order for these protests to stop occurring. Here is an interview of him, live right now in the city council office." 

The screen then switches to a male ram sitting in a chair inside an office. He had fluffy white hair, and two large, brown spiral horns poking out on the sides of his head. Below the horns were long pointy ears, the same white as his hair. He had striking green eyes that felt like they were piercing through me as he looked at the camera. From his suit that fit him nicely, I could see he was indeed very fit. Mayor Longhorn. Hardly anyone sees him, let alone talks to him, but everyone knows about him. Most say he shaped West Ferry to what it is today, including all of the protesting and unfair rules. He claims it's all for the better, but a lot of carnivores and omnivores disagree. Herbivores, on the other hand, claim that they felt safer since he was elected. I didn't trust him one bit. The way he keeps glaring at the camera, the way he grins. Something is wrong with him, but I can't lay a finger on what it is.