"I don't get it." Sunlight beamed through the window, lighting up the room as well as the analog clock showing a time between three and four.
"What do you mean?" she asked as she walked into the room holding two glasses of water. One was set in front of me while she kept the other.
"Thank you." I took a sip. The cup lightly bumped into my snout. I tried to play it off in hopes that she didn't see it. "I just, I don't think it was a bomb."
"Yeah I don't think it was either. I don't know, maybe someone online has made a video explaining what it actually was and how it turned people into furry bait or whatever."
"Woah what?" Furry bait? What does that mea— oh.
"Hm? Oh! Yeah sorry I forgot you just- yeah my bad." She took a drink from her glass of water. "So, it's kn- well, rumoured that the explosion from that place was what turned people into animals."
"S-so, there's more?" I guess that makes sense statistically, seeing as the first person I meet is someone like me.
"Oh yeah. Huge part of Canada was hit. As well as the US, but they're not as, civil down there." The US? From just a small explosion? Cause if we were talking about a nuke I wouldn't be here right now.
"Geez."
"Ohh, that's why you were so confused when I said I went out!"
"Y-yeah, I didn't know it was, normalized." We both took a drink, creating an awkward pause in the conversation.
"Speaking of, you were saying something about that pizza place earlier?"
"Oh... oh yeah, okay. Uh, how much do you know about the place?" She looked off, deep in thought.
"It blew up."
"... That's, it?"
"Yep." Convenient.
"Alright. Well, so. Okay um. Don't ask me why, but, underneath the pizza place was, as I called it, the lab." I never considered the absurdity of the location until just now. Honestly that's kind of impressive.
"The, lab?"
"It was a giant laboratory built below the building where they tested a bunch of stuff. In all fairness it was very well hidden in plain sight and it probably wouldn't have been discovered for a while, if it didn't..."
"Explode?"
"Yeah." My head started aching. Images of the red lights flashed before me again with blaring sirens creating a feeling of tinnitus.
Maya looked off. "I actually remember when it happened. It lit up the entire night sky. As cheesy as it sounds, I've never seen anything like it. Maybe that was obvious but, there was a beauty to it." Beauty. Yeah.
"I don't know. Maybe I'm biased, but I personally don't see it."
"I get that. What were you saying again?"
"Oh yeah. I only knew about that because that's where my, my dad used to work." I found myself holding the cup, staring off onto the textured glass.
"In the lab?"
"Yeah, he would bring me in from time to time and even test on me." Faint memories of getting up some days excited to go out were coming back to me.
"Oh, god. That sounds awful."
"Nah it wasn't as bad as it sounds. It was fun at times. From what I remember." Maybe there were a few times I wasn't happy with one of the tests but I can't think of any. "I can't remember exactly what happened that day but, there were, bright red lights. A-a loud, siren." I found myself tearing up again. "A-and then I woke up on the ground. A-and now, I'm, here."
"Oh my god. You were just, completely out that entire time?"
"Mhm." Not again. In front of the girl you just met.
"Dude, I'm so sorry. I- you can stay at my place for now."
I pitifully drank from the cup. "Thank you. I should go back to my dad's soon though. At least just to check." I was hoping I'd be able to find my phone there.
"We can go now if you want."
"Nah not right now. M-maybe later." I really didn't want to go.
"No worries, I can take you whenever."
"Thank you."
Passing out again, my eyes opened to the dark sky outside. Maya was pacing around the room, eating something out of a bowl.
"Y'know, for only being around for, what, a day? You honestly look like you fit right in."
"What do you mean by that?" I asked in a barely understandable grumble.
"Well, you were curled up in a ball with your tail tucked between your legs and your arm between your ears like you own the place." Her smile was charming and contagious. I felt my cheeks flare up. I put my arm behind me, feeling the tail again. It was such a weird sensation, but at the same time almost came natural to me. "Anyway, what's the story behind that?" She pointed her pinky finger towards me.
"What?"
"Your scar."
"Scar?" I feel extraordinarily stupid right now.
"On your eyebrow?" I felt above my left eye and was met with torn skin rather than soft fur.
"Oh I, I guess that's a thing now. Where's the bathroom? Unrelated." She chuckled and pointed behind her using her thumb.
"Door at the end of the hall."
