Chap - 1
He walked down the street, the wind whistling past the buildings that surrounded him. It was a cold night, strange for the middle of summer. as he looked around, he spotted a flash of silver poking out from behind a building.
this wasn't unusual, not since they came. They were big, four-legged creatures, with long heads and a sharp tail. they looked to be made of metal, but no one wanted to get close enough to check. they walked like they are always stepping on something sharp- like the ground was made of needles or nails.
he sped down the street, keeping his head down as not to attract any attention from the creatures, they didn't have a name, as no one had bothered to name them. most people just call them things or creatures. some of the braver ones call them pests, but only if they are sure they are alone.
so he walked, and walked, and walked until he finally reached his home, a small apartment at the edge of the border. He liked it here because over the border was a pretty forest and a nice lake that he could see from his balcony. the city he lived in had no trees or visible water.
When he was a kid he had always dreamed of crossing the border, just for a second, just to fresh air and seeing the water. but that was impossible. the city had forbidden anyone to go outside the border, lest the creatures somehow get out with you.
and yet, something about the creatures didn't seem too bad to him. perhaps it was that he had always seen them, I mean, he had grown up with them. or perhaps it was the fact that they seemed to leave humans alone. He had never seen one attack somebody, only heard about it, from the city. whenever someone was killed, the city always said it was the creatures.
as he looked out into the forest, he thought he could see movement. He ran inside and grabbed a pair of binoculars he had sitting on his desk for display. He ran back outside and peered into the forest. He saw a small brown creature, with white spots on its back. a deer! he had only learned about these in books, let alone see one! he was probably the only person alive who had seen one of these in person! the deer looked up at him, and he could swear it smiled. then it bounded away into the trees and was gone.
he sat there for a long while afterward, looking at the view. He sat there until the sun shined on his face, and the sound of people filled the air, chattering, and rustling. He finally got up and went inside to go about his day. perhaps study the creatures further, who knows.
