Claws

Chapter One

      My name is Alexis. I don't have a last name. My mom legally married the cat, and cats don't have last names. And I'm sure as heck not taking HERS. Anyway, today is the day I turn 18. Since I'm legally an adult, and I'm not insane, they have to let me go out into the world. They have provided me with clothes to cover my... ah... added features, and so I'm good to go. This will be the first time I have ever stepped outside of the compound, because of company policy. Even though I wasn't one of their insane people, I still wasn't allowed out.

I take a small backpack of personal odds and ends that I've acquired over the years. Leaving my room for the last time, I run my hand over the doorframe. Walking to the exit, I run my hand over the heavily graffitied concrete walls I've grown up around. Walking through the courtyard to the gate, I let the excitement build within me. I check out, and suddenly I'm standing on the street outside the compound, breathing in my first gulp of outside air. Freedom! I think. Allowing my smile to take over my face, I sprint down towards the town nearby.

Appearances can be deceiving. This town was farther away than it looked. But I'm finally here! But out in the real world, my life suddenly starts to seem harder. I never had to run in the asylum, and I never had to find a place that I can sleep for a night for free. And the moment I say I'm from the asylum, people become wary of me. It probably doesn't help that I look strange, wearing long sleeves and gloves in the middle of summer. And the hat and mask aren't exactly helping. Finally I spot someone who doesn't look afraid of me. I approach him, and notice he even looks... curious. I find the nerve to speak up.

"Hello? Can you help me?"

"Maybe. My name is Adrian. What kind of help do you need?" He asks, his voice implying complete sincerity.

"What I need immediately is a place to sleep tonight. What I'll probably need in the long run is someone to show me the ropes of life!" I laugh, my mask muffling it. The boy smiles.

"Why don't you move into my place? I can give you a place to sleep and show you the ropes. I mean... Not romantically, just... You seem interesting. So, what do you say?" He offers. I laugh off his nervousness.

"It's a deal! It's actually the only offer I've even heard, with my appearance and all," I cringe.

"It's this way, come on." He waves me along and I follow. But in my head I have doubts materializing and piling up. What happens when he sees what I look like? What happens when I break something? What happens if he starts to hate me? What happens if he decides I'm too clueless, or seem too strange, what then? I tell myself that I'm being silly. I just have to be careful and I'll be fine. But my doubts worm their way into my heart, and I feel my tail twitch beneath my long, loose jeans.

We arrive at a tall building like all the others lining the rapidly darkening streets. I glance back at the setting sun, then turn my attention to the building looming in front of us.

"So this is where you live?" I ask.

"Yeah. Fifth floor, third apartment to the right." He replies. He takes out a keyring (which I only recognize as such because the guards would carry them) and twirls it around his finger. Then he pushes open the door and we walk into a lobby slightly nicer than the one at the asylum. We go straight through and go into a small room, where Adrian presses a button on the wall labeled "5". The doors slide shut and we start moving upwards.

"Ahhh!" I shout, bracing myself against the walls. "What's going on?" Adrian laughs at me, casually brushing a strand of long, curly brown hair out of his face.

"It's an elevator, silly. It moves you upward so you can skip the stairs."

"Oh," I reply, feeling a bit sheepish. "I've never been in one before." I stand up and straighten my clothes embarrassedly just as the elevator doors open. Adrian leads the way down to his apartment and unlocks the door. Inside I see a couch with a small kitchenette behind it, two more doors, and a television on the same wall as the door we entered through.

"You can sleep on the couch," Adrian said, kicking off his shoes and putting them in a small cubby underneath the tv. "I have to work during the day, so your just gonna have to lay low here until you can find a job."

"Me? Find a job? I don't think anyone will take me," I worry. Adrian shoots me a sly smile.

"Well, not dressed like that, at least. You've gotta find yourself some new clothes. I mean, you don't need to cover your face like this..." He trails off, reaching for my mask. I shriek and block him.

"No! I'm sorry, but I'm, uh, disfigured. The mask can't come off."

"Really? You can trust me, I won't judge, I'm just inherently curious. Come on," Adrian begs, shooting me another half smile.

"No, I'm sorry, the mask can never come off. My face... It would startle anyone. It even startled the people, uh, where I'm from. And those people are pretty weird, so, yeah! The mask doesn't come off," I finish solidly, slashing my hand through the air for effect.

"Okay, okay. I suppose the gloves are there for the same reason? Uh, not to be weird but the way you're dressed... Is your whole body disfigured?" I reply quietly so that the cloth mask muffles it more than it usually would.

"Kinda." Adrian looks at me sympathetically.

"Were you maybe in a fire when you were young? Or something similar?" He asks. I almost laugh.

"No, nothing like that! It's more like a- a birth defect," I reply. "Definitely more like a birth defect."

"Well, okay, I won't pry. It's really dark outside now, though, so I'm going to go take a shower and head to bed. You can take a shower after me, if you like, or you can just crash on the couch for now."

"I think I'll just crash on the couch for now."

"Okay. Goodnight!" Adrian call back, opening one of the other doors.

"Goodnight," I murmured sleepily. I nestle into the pillows and drift into the comfortable blackness of sleep.