The Last Day of June

Chapter Five: Fluorescent Lights

I awoke to find myself blinded from white fluorescent lights. My body felt heavy and unresponsive. I struggled to open my eyes fully, groaning. It felt like I was tied down with rocks as I rose clumsily to my feet.

Scratch that, it felt like I was tied down with metal bars.

Blinking groggily, I jerked fully awake, my frantic gaze landing on unfamiliar surroundings. I hurriedly checked that I hadn't shifted while I had been knocked out.

Paws? Check.

Fur? Check.

...Tiny in comparison to humans? Sigh.

I glanced around the spacious compartment. I had been lying on a clean white counter, a small pet bed cushioning my body. This section of the room seemed to be devoted to veterinary tools. The rest of the apartment looked like an ordinary, cozy home. Textbooks filled the shelves and a stack of them spilled over the coffee table in the living area. Whoever lived here was most likely a college student.

Hearing a distant noise, I shook my head, trying to clear up my ears.

Then a large form turned a corner and loped up to me, panting slightly. The animal's strangely expressive brown eyes narrowed when she saw me and she started barking.

I was used to this. I was here because dogs hated me after all.

What I wasn't used to was hearing a dog speak words I could understand.

"Who are you? What do you want with the Master? Are you a spy?" She shot question after question in rapid succession. With each question she grew ever more suspicious, eyeing me and pacing the area around the counter where I lay. "Answer me!"

I held up a paw hesitantly.

If she was one of our kind, then I could talk to her, right?

"Calm down," I said, trying to sound as believable as possible. "I'm not going to hurt your -- "

"Wait!" The Australian Shepherd exclaimed energetically, a hint of shock entering her voice. "You can understand me? I thought I was the only one...!"

Oops. Maybe I should've played mute instead.

"Um...Meow? Would that work better?"

She squirmed excitedly, her eyes shining. "No, no! Keep talking! It's such a relief to know that there are others like us out there! It gets so lonely not being able to transform all the time!"

Apparently, that had been enough to earn her trust. She stopped fidgeting and sat, looking up at me expectantly. I wasn't about to tell her about Axel though. That'd be something I'd keep to myself for now.

"It is," I responded. I hadn't realized how lonely I'd been until I'd meet another one of my kind: Axel. "It really is."

The Shepherd put her paws on the table, her tail wagging furiously. "Oh! I almost forgot! My name's Bailey! What's yours?"

I decided to use my real name. She's never heard it after all, and with all the different names I'd been given, I couldn't be tracked. 

"June."

"June? Like the month?"

"...Yes."

"Cool!" Bailey grinned just as the sound of pint-sized footsteps scrambled towards us.

"Big sis!" A tiny, black and white Border Collie was bouncing at Bailey's feet. "Who's that? Who's that?"

I stared down at the puppy, confused.

Then I heard footsteps. Human ones.

I arched my back, eyes wide and searching for an exit. My heart pounded so loudly I was sure the dogs could hear it. There was a human. A human who could potentially figure out my secret. Who could also possibly bring about my ruin if the fact got out.

This is dangerous, if he finds out, then...

As soon as the human came into sight, I tensed up. This is bad, this is really, really bad.

I forced my legs to move, running to the edge of the table and attempting to jump off to get to the window sill. The college boy caught me right before I hit the floor,  using a hand to restrain me. I was so unused to being in such close proximity with an unfamiliar human that my senses went into overdrive.

And then he grabbed me by the scruff and on instinct I stilled. Against my will, I might add. It was just pure instinct. I would've fought back if I could've.

"Geez," he coughed out. "What's your problem today?"

I don't know, maybe just a little paranoia, a dash of fear -- though I'll never admit that to you --, and a hint of stranger-danger has me a bit wired.

The human gently put me down on the table, making sure I wasn't about to bolt.

And I wasn't. For now.

He checked on my leg and I hissed when he prodded it slightly, narrowing my eyes at him. He seemed satisfied after his check on me and left the room slowly, closing the door that would've let me have access to the rest of the apartment. And shutting me out from potential freedom.

I'll just find another way out of here then.

Bailey and the pup were staring at me like I was crazy. I was staring back at them like they were crazy.

"What's wrong with you?" The pup asked boldly. "Why're you so mean to Master?"

I furrowed my brow, confused. "Aren't guys afraid of what he'll do if he finds out what you are?"

The Australian Shepherd shrugged, her enthusiasm fading. "Not really. I just wait until he's gone to school to shape-shift. If he catches me...well...I think he'd understand."

"How long have you been his...pet?" I said.

"A couple of years?"

"Do you think he'll really 'understand' that his dog was really a human-hybrid thing that had been watching him for years?" I said doubtfully.

"Well, when you put it that way..." Bailey coughed. "If it ever gets to that point, we'll deal with that then."

The pup had been turning his head from side to side, clearly confused. "What's going on?"

Bailey gave me a meaningful look. "Nothing, Sage. Now, I think it's time for your nap, shoo."

Sage grumbled and dutifully went to the other end of the room, where a pet door was. He pushed through it, disappearing into a separate room.

"What's over there?" I asked, eager to find an escape route.

"Just an old storage room. That's where the Master keeps our beds." Bailey glanced at me. "Why do you want to escape? The Master's kind to us. He won't hurt you. There's only a window in there anyways, you won't be able to reach it."

She was sharper than I'd expected.

"I need to find someone," I said, a pang of guilt in my heart when I remembered Axel. He'd be out of his mind with worry. I had to find him.

Bailey started to walk towards the pet door. "Well, if you change your mind, it's nice here. Better than being out on the streets in the cold. And I heard from the Master that your leg isn't in good shape. You'll be stuck here for a while, so try to get used to it."

She left me alone on the counter, leaving me to contemplate all that had happened in the last twenty-four hours.

I was trapped, injured, and without Axel. I'd found two others of my kind, in danger of being found out by a stranger, and could barely move.

This couldn't get any worse.

Right?

(Side Note: Summer's almost here! I'll have more time to work on editing and writing and drawing nonsense.)