Endangered

Chapter 2

Phil's POV

"Oh my god. We need to get you cleaned up and into new clothes," Dan says, helping me up off of the floor.

He turns a metal hook and water begins to fall out of a metal tube-like thing into a giant white boat that seems to be stuck to the floor. How does all the water fit in that small tube? Why is he keeping the water hostage? Why is the boat stuck to the floor?

"Okay, take off your clothes and get in." He turns around to the boat and leans forward to grab something.

I follow his directions and begin to take off my pants and underclothes, then my shirt. He turns around and sees me then immediately covers his eyes. Why is he covering his eyes? Am I really that disgusting to even look at? Does he not like me? It's not my fault the lake water was dirty.

"What are you doing?" he yells.

"Taking my clothes off. You told me to."

"I meant when I leave. Now, just get in."

I get in the boat filled with water and sit down on the floor of the boat. Dan starts to walk out the door of the room I'm in.

"Where are you going? Aren't you going to stay?"

"No, I'm not. I have to go do other things."

"I want you to stay. I need your help."

"With what?"

"I don't know how to wash myself."

Dan turns back around and comes to sit on the weirdly shaped lake that I climbed in. He takes a blue bottle, pours some of the contents on his hand, and rubs it on my hair. I don't like this stuff in my hair. It feels weird and restraining. I begin to shake vigorously, making sure he can't get me.

"Sit still."

"No."

He puts his legs around my shoulders and holds me tightly enough to rub the rest of the stuff in my hair. After that, he picks up a small black sea sponge on a stick and puts a red liquid on it. Then, he begins to rub it on my chest and I begin to shake vigorously again. He wraps his legs around my shoulders again and I bite his leg, jump out, and start running around his "house". He sure does look angry. Dan jumps up and chases me around the "house" until finally he catches hold of my arm.

"Follow me, right now."

He drags me back to the room with the boat and shoves me in the boat.

"I don't wanna be in here."

"I don't care. You're covered in soap and toilet water. You are going to take a fucking bath right now," he yells.

I sit down quietly and he begins to rub the things in my hair and on my body, then lets me out and gives me a weird orange leaf.

"Dry yourself off," he says, leaving me.

I take the leaf and start to rub it on my body. Once I'm done, I walk out of the room I'm currently in and step into the first room and sit on the floor.

Dan walks in and notices me wrapped in the orange leaf sitting on the floor.

"What are you doing? I left the clothes for you on the toilet seat. Go get dressed and give me the towel."

Towel? I look around, trying to look for the towel he's talking about? I turn back to him, tilt my head and shrug.

"The thing wrapped around you. That's a towel."

"Oh, I thought it was a leaf." I take off the 'towel' and walk into the room I was previously in. I look around and sure enough, the clothes are on the lid to the lake. Or as he called it, the "toilet seat". I put on the clothes and walk back out into the first room to see two strange-looking boys sitting on the long, soft rock. I start to hiss at them. They're trespassing. I begin to meow loudly. They look at me, confused. The two boys ignore me and take a weird-looking plank of plastic and push a button, causing the box in the first room to scream loudly. I take the plank of plastic from the bowl-haired boy's hand and chuck it at the center of the box, making a huge hole in the box. The two boys look at me like I'd just done something wrong. At that exact moment, Dan walks into the room and starts yelling.

"WHAT THE FUCK! WHY IS THERE A HUGE HOLE IN THE DAMN TV? WHO THE HELL DID THAT?"

"I did. I'm sorry. Please don't hate me," I say, tears forming in my bright blue eyes.

"I don't hate you. I just have to go to the store today. I'll call in sick. I might as well pick up Emma on the way to the store," Dan replies, softly.

He walks to over to me and puts a soft hand on my shoulder.

"Um Dan, who's this?" the bowl-haired boy asked.

"This is Phil. I found him trying to get hit by cars. Phil, these are my two best friends, Ian and Anthony," Dan says, motioning to his friends.

"Dan, I thought Kim was supposed to keep Emma until tomorrow," the boy known as Anthony pointed out.

"She was, but she called and said she's going on vacation with that new guy she's seeing and I don't want Emma going," Dan explained.

"Let's go to the store, Phil. Follow me. You two coming?" he asked the other boys in his "house".

The other two nodded. Dan pulled me outside and put me in his large box with seat-looking stumps. He wrapped a wide, thin, grey vine across my chest. Dan sat in the seat in front of me and began making the box move.