Last Man Standing

Doctor's Office

The thunder rolled harder than the waves below him. The rain soaked his gray duster, brand new from the division leader. Neil patted his shoulder, and an annoyed sigh escaped his lips. “Listen X, you ain’t here to stare at the water and be an edgy loner. Get your fuckin’ rifle and be ready to lift off soon.” He said, in that annoying, “holier than thou” tone. He looked down at the rifle at his feet, getting soaked from the rain falling on it. A flash of lightning accompanied by a crack of thunder set him over the edge. An enraged scowl broke across his face as he kicked the gun into the water and climbed the railing…

    “Sir… O-or Ma’am? Excuse me?” The man’s eyes fluttered open as he shook his head. Immediately fully awake, he scanned the room he was in. The stone walls were painted white, and there were a few more empty beds beside his own. To his left stood a mouse, wearing a white tunic over some gray pants. A red cross adorned the front of it. She had brown fur with white and black spots, as if splattered with paint that stained her for life. Her round, pink ears poked out of a messy nest of thick, black curls. She was small in height, but relatively wide around the waist. Though these traits were expected of a mouse like her. 

    In addition to her nervous stance, she held a large stick, presumably to poke and prod at him or defend herself if need be. When the man sat up in the bed and stared at her, her previously pink knuckles turned white from the force she gripped the stick with. “Relax…” The man responded. “I don’t plan on hurting you. I just need to leave.” With a breath of both relief and reassurance, she approached him. “As much as I understand you wouldn’t want to be here, but you can’t leave until you’re healed, or at least a friend comes to get you. It’s just in the nature of helping people.”

    As he expected, her voice was high-pitched, but comforting at the same time. But however nice she was, he needed to leave. “I admire your care and effort, but I am not a normal case for you. I need to leave… now.” The mouse considered her options for a moment. “Listen, I get that you won’t be a normal case, but your body functions just the same as everyone else, but your adrenal glands seem to be working double time, pumping out a chemical I’ve never seen before… Your heart rate is all out of whack… there’s so much wrong with you I can’t even begin to know how you’re still alive!” 

    His face paled. “Y-you checked my vitals? Everything?! Listen to me ma’am, don’t ever tell anyone what you've seen here today. Got it?” The question was more of a demand, as he turned away from her to ask it. His hand went up to scratch his face, and as it did, he realized a grave mistake. “M… M-my mask…” He whipped around to the nurse. “Where is it? Where are my clothes?! Do you realize how important all of those were? Where did you put them?” He looked down at himself, seeing he had been stripped of his tattered clothes and was now in a gown of some kind.

    The nurse hastily pointed to a table on the other side of the room, with the man’s clothing folded nicely on it. Atop the pile were the cloth covering and broken goggles. The man jumped off of the bed to retrieve them, but his legs gave out as he approached the table. “S-sir! You need to stay in bed!” The nurse said, helping the man to his feet. “N-no! I need to get out of here, A.S.A.P.! If you told anyone that I was human, it could spell death, for me and the people of this village."

"Well how do you know? It's not like you've experienced this before, have you?" The mouse said. The man sighed before he spoke. "Not quite, but based off the way humans used to act, and how you all more or less adopted our mannerisms, it's a safe assumption. Now who did you tell?" The nurse put a hand to her chin in thought. "Hmm… the only one who knows is the doctor, but I'm not sure who he told after leaving." 

The human sat up, stabilizing himself on a counter next to his things. He took a deep breath and listened closely to his surroundings. A distant thumping of boots and a rattle of chains filled his ears. "It's just in here, down the hall…" an echoing voice said. "Of course… Listen now, it's not your fault because you were doing what you were told, but I need you to help me out here. There's a group of people coming for me right down the hall. Where can I hide?" The human explained.