Chapter two

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It was late into the evening. The wind blew cool through the air as Jen trekked through the grass, slicing down the tall blades in her way with her sewing needle. She peered out of the grass onto the curb of the street. She'd been walking in the direction of the car that the human who took her sister was in, but she had lost track of it. The car seemed long gone, along with Gabby and the human child that took her. Jen walked into the street and looked both ways. It was empty, no humans were walking on the sidewalk, or cars in the road. There were massive human houses on both sides of the street. Jen didn't want to rest until Gabby was safe and not until she found her, but it was only getting darker and colder outside. Jen kept walking on the side of the road, hoping she would see the car soon. Eventually, Jen started yawning. Usually, she and Gabby would be asleep at this time. Regardless, she ignored it and kept walking, when she heard a sound from somewhere above.

"Hoooo...." The sound startled Jen, who quickly looked up, darting her head around to find the source. She looked up at a tree planted in front of a human's house, where a sort of brownish bird was perched. It was large, and its face looked flat to her. Jen thought she remembered seeing one before, in one of the human children's books, or on their television when she was borrowing while the humans watched it, but she couldn't remember the bird's name. She could remember that the bird hunted small animals, like her. Jen looked at its sharp talons, readjusting themselves on the thick tree branch they were on. The bird began to raise its two massive wings. As the bird jumped off the branch, Jen ran into the grass, hiding before running away from the way the beast was flying in.

Jen ran into a human's garden, right against the front wall of their house. Jen looked around in the air. The thing she was running from was nowhere. Jen was confused. Was it even hunting me at all? She thought to herself. She shook her arms and head and looked up at the human house she had come up to. She decided that it would make sense to rest for a second, and gain food and materials to save her sister with. Jen noticed there was an open vent. Maybe another borrower is already here, she thought, going into the vent opening, and putting her mask over her mouth. She hoped that if another borrower was here, they would be helpful to her. There were no markings of warning or welcome near the vent opening, so there was no way to be sure.

Tim laid on a soft doll bed made of wood and soft, cut-up materials for the mattress. He got out of the bed and stood up. He walked on the plastic floor, out of the room, and into his bathroom. Nothing in the room actually worked, it all being plastic, including the mirror. Tim looked at himself, he ruffled his hair a bit and looked at his teeth. He was still wearing his borrowing clothes, crudely stitched together, oversized shirt and pants, cut up from pieces of curtain and human clothing. It's what most borrowers wore, either made by themselves or by other borrowers who traded the clothes with something, or given as gifts. Tim left the bathroom and looked in his plastic dresser. It had clothes Rebecca made for him, hand-sewn and stitched from wool and craft cloth. He considered changing when he heard footsteps and felt vibrations coming closer to him. There was a gentle knock on the outer wall of the plastic house.

"Hey Tim, I'm just checking in. Are you ready for our night in?" a voice from outside said. It was gentle, just next to a whisper, but it was still loud enough to sound like a normal voice to Tim.

"Yeah, I'm just getting ready," Tim said, holding a wool sweater in front of him.

"Am I good to see you? You're not naked in there or anything?" the voice said with a slight laugh.

"No, I'm dressed, I'm just... looking at what else I could wear," Tim said. Then, the wall of the house moved. The entire side of the house was removed, and Tim saw a massive human face smiling at him.

"Hey Rebecca," Tim said, waving at the human.

"Heya cutie," Rebecca said, putting her hand into the doll house and patting Tim's head. Tim pushed her finger off and smiled. "What are you looking for?"

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⏰ Last updated: Dec 17, 2023 ⏰

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