My Pet Human {UNDER SERIOUS EDITING}

Explanations All Around

'The only thing I know is this: I am full of wounds and still standing on my feet.'

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~Ben~

The world is different as a human. In a way, I always figured it would be. Gravity feels more lenient, almost as if someone has flicked a switch in my head to make it stop. It takes less effort to move, to function. It's almost a nice feeling. I'm terrified as ever, though, at what's changed. I used to be five foot four and now... Heck I'm only slightly taller than my own pet, who at this scale looks paler, skinnier and sicker than I'd ever imagined before. Without his baggy blue pet's shirt on, I have a full view of his bony chest, slightly greyish skin stretched over bulging ribs. His upper body is laced with whitened scars, some still barely healed. They line his arms and chest like gruesome tattoos. He catches me staring with his weary green eyes and instantly makes a feeble attempt at covering his upper body with his arms. Never in my entire life have I imagined seeing a human for who they truly were: a broken, mangled, walking corpse.

It makes me want to cry.

"Surely you know what you were doing when you..."  Blaine swallows hesitantly, still eyeballing Colton like he's some kind of animal. "floated..." He finishes.

We're all shocked, really, about what has just happened to Colt, but none of us are as shocked as my pet himself. Colton's lips are pursed and the thick veins in his forehead are bulging as he thinks. "I really have no idea, Blaine."  He says slowly, as if testing his voice. "It just happened."

"Master unicorn is nearby." River insists in the background, and for once we all stare at him, brows creased. He'd mentioned a 'master unicorn' just before. Blaine is the least fazed, and reaches out angrily to slap his brother across the head.

"Snap out of it."

River only whimpers in response, mumbling something about a cave.

I train my eyes back on Colton as he stands beside me, head bowed. We've all seen a sudden change in him since we were back in the Kennels. He's not as obedient all of a sudden. It's clear that something happened back there to alter his mind. He doesn't seem keen on spilling the beans though, so I leave it be. Instead, I tug off my polar fleece jacket and offer it to him, the material still slightly wet from the recent rain.

"It's okay, Ben." He starts, but takes the jacket anyway, quickly wrapping the thick material around his bony shoulders. He nods to me. "Thanks."

"No problem."

I find myself staring uncertainly at him again, training my new eyes over his features. Before, I'd never gotten the chance to view my pet in so much detail. I'd always known he'd been tortured and malnourished but even what was left of his clothes carry the same sickly aura of neglect.

A rough hand touches my shoulder and I flinch away instantly, eyes darting to the culprit. To my surprise, it's only Charlene, who's giving me a hard look. A gash on her forehead has dribbled blood down her face and she's got all her weight balanced on one foot, but Malroy's own pet looks otherwise okay. At least she doesn't look as sickly as Colton does.