HOPE

Part One

HOPE

My first winter outside the place I had always known as home was my toughest. I almost froze to death and went hungry more often than I care to remember. I learned fast though and have been able to survive on my own and to not be seen often. I escaped the place I was made and was never going back again if I had my way about it.

I wont lie and say that my life on the outside has been all fun and games because it is not. I have a few places I stay when the weather is not nice outside. And it beats being out in the cold snow and rain. When the weather starts to get cold then my fur grows in a lot thicker in order to keep me warm, so the cold does not bother me very much.

I can speak, read, and write in English, Spanish and Japanese but very rarely do so. I do not think there is any reason to let the world at large know of my existence so I go out mostly at night when it is easier for me to hide from people. People would put me in a cage if they knew I existed and I hate being caged.

I suppose I should tell you what I look like and a few other minor details. I am 17 years old and homeless. I stand at 5 feet 9 inches tall and weigh around 145 pounds. I have brown eyes as well and better night vision than any human without night vision goggles has. I am covered from head to toe in orange fur with black stripes and look like a tiger in a human shape.

My face is semi human shaped but strongly resembles that of a big cat with a black nose and slightly elongated feline features and ears that set up above my head like any big cat's ears do. My teeth are extremely sharp and pointed like a cat's. I have claws in both hands and both feet and do know how to use them quite effectively.

My sense of smell and my hearing are far better than any human as well. I am very flexible and could put any gymnast to shame quite easily. I can easily outrun the fastest human and make him look like a turtle when I have to. I have been clocked running at up to 30 miles an hour for short distances. From the time I could stand, to the time I finally escaped, I was trained in combat with various weapons and to fight without weapons.

I have been trained in all different types of combat situations from desert, to jungle, to urban. I was supposed to be a super soldier without the emotional attachment that humans get, but I do have feelings and they have been hurt. The training was tough, but the worst part of the place was the man running it and his group of friends.

On more occasions than I like to recall they would restrain me and take turns with me while I struggled to get loose and get away from them. It is a wonder I never got pregnant as many times as they forced themselves on me. I had no one to turn to until I foolishly fell in love with one of my handlers and had an affair with her. When they discovered the affair she was killed in a most horrible and painful manner while I was forced to watch. I managed to kill a person a few days later and escape that horrible place. To them I was not a person with feelings, I was a sex toy and a weapon prototype. I was not given a name but merely a designation. To them I was simply subject 042501 female. I later chose to call myself, Hope.