The Chronicles of Rogue: Chapter Two
#2 of The Chronicles of Rogue
Roguefever Productions
Proudly presents
The Chronicles of Rogue
Chapter Two
*Disclaimer: * I own the character Rogue, as well as the plot to this story.
I looked over my shoulder while walking and saw most if not all of the class, teacher and wolf included, begin to file out of the doorway and follow me, their faces a gamut of expressions, from cold hatred to icy fury, from dampening sorrow to drenching depression. I, apparently, had a fan club of girls unbeknownst to me who had, also apparently, been trying to woo me separately in their own ways. An odd thing about high school females of the human species that I will never understand: the obsession over the emo kid. Not that it matters anymore.
Some might accuse me of lying. I would simply tell them that I never said anything in the first place, leaving truth and lies to be determined, thus immunizing me from any accusations of betrayal.
Some might accuse me of being a "furfag" without honestly knowing my sexual orientation or not, simply out of pure hate of my kind. It doesn't matter. Yes, I am a homosexual. No, I honestly don't give a fuck what they call me.
I stopped in the middle of the courtyard, and turned around. I then started to undress.
I threw my scarf to the side, where it lay in the auburn leaves of fall, as twisted and crumpled as they were themselves. I then took off my sweatshirt, exposing a fur-tight black tee-shirt. It was without a design. I then undid my pants, which got me some odd looks from the humans standing there, and an almost... hungry... look from the wolf. I puzzled over the expression on his face for a while as I kicked off my shoes, now being in black skinny jeans. My legs were triple-jointed, like those of a cat. It was a wonder how I hid them for so long. It did require learning how to walk awkwardly, though.
I kicked my sweatshirt and jeans off to the side and forgot about them. Red flashed before my eyes and my vision went a bit blurry as I lost my balance as if I stood up too fast. I grabbed my head with one of my hands and shut my eyes tight. I heard a pair of shoed feet running at me. The feeling passed, and I opened my eyes in time to see a rather large male human, probably a football player, coming at me, right arm raised at ear-level and coiled back, hand curled into a fist. Noisy human...
He attempted to punch me in an obvious full-front assault, and I clearly dodged it, my hair being disturbed slightly by the gentle breeze that his passing fist made. He stared at his fist, nearly dumbfounded by wondering how on earth I avoided that. Stupid humans. They always think of themselves as the best. It's a characteristic flaw in the species that's only lacking in a select few. It's no surprise that those select few are also people who tolerate furries the most.
To be honest, I didn't want to fight... I was defeated from the start, really. There was no way I could have possibly done anything different and turned out in a better situation than I was in then. I wanted to give up, honestly. But then, I glanced over to the wolf with the smiling eyes as I dodged another "undodgeable" human punch from the same human, who was getting really pissed that he couldn't hit me. The wolf cocked an eyebrow ever-so-slightly... a question, a proposition, a simple curiousness as to what might happen next... it was all of these things, possibly. He was asking me, without words, whether or not I wanted aid. My mind immediately split into its two heavily defined halves that could not be more different.
They bickered for a moment, and I half-listened to my thoughts as another male human joined in the fight, attempting to cut off my movements and grapple me, possibly. Both sides of my mind came to the same conclusion, and whispered to me in a small voice in the back of my mind... when it spoke, all else was silent, all else was still. Just a simple though running behind my eyes that took less than a fraction of a second to relay and understand...
Anyone will betray you...
As usual, my mind's logic was infallible... terribly infallible... my experiences have shown that yes, anyone and everyone will betray you if it benefits them... it is a simple fact of life.
I was in a slight amount of trouble now, two more human males joined in. It was now four to one, in favor of them. I debated whether or not to let the wolf help me... I could always use...it... but it would induce more than one group of people to follow me wherever I go... The scientists, wanting to know what it is and how it works. The police, wanting to jail me for using it to hurt or possibly kill a human being, possibly multiple human beings.
I was in trouble, dodging blow after blow was tiring me out faster than I had thought. They looked more tired than I was, though. Humans had such little endurance. I could, theoretically, climb the tree in the center of the courtyard and rest there, recuperating faster than all four of them, however they would be able to take turns coming at me when I come down and overwhelm me, their recuperation total being higher than mine. I was stuck, with no way out.
I stopped in mid-dodge, accepting defeat and let one of the human's right-hooks catch me in the jaw, sending me down to the ground. My jaw hurt, I heard the impact of my fanged teeth gnashing against each other when the blow connected. I sat up, head down with my legs crossed.
"I give up... I can't get away and there's too many of you despicable," I spat the word 'despicable' out, "humans for me to tire you out effectively..."
They relaxed and stepped towards me, a swagger in their steps as they approached me.
That's it...
The wolf stared at me like he couldn't believe what he was seeing. The jocks continued their swagger-filled walk towards me.
Just a little closer...
The humans started whispering. I heard a dozen conversations at once, and immediately blocked them out...
_ Come on..._
The jocks were in front of my now, and one was bending down supposedly to wrap his hand around me and pick me up by the throat. I tensed.
NOW!
With a hideous screech and unsheathed claws, I flung myself at the human, ears drawn back, lips parted to reveal a ferocious snarl complete with teeth so sharp they could be used as a saw blade. Yes, I sharpened my teeth in fears that this might happen one day. It was somewhat painful, but all the worth it as I bit his hand, my teeth slicing through his flesh like it was made of melted butter.
Immediately a crimson fluid with the tang of iron flowed into my mouth as he immediately started bleeding from the wound I inflicted on his hand. I released and continued forward, twisting my body so I could get at his neck. He didn't even have time to react. I envisioned his jugular, pulsing and beating life throughout his body... oh how I wanted to sever it and watch his life flow freely before his eyes! He still hadn't moved much, it was as if he were in a matrix scene in a kung fu movie. I got to his neck, opened my jaw wide above his jugular vein, and--
Stopped. The red haze in front of my vision cleared as the human let out a scream that caused most teachers to open their doors to look outside while students crowded the windows.
What was I doing? I reeled back as if struck, my mouth dripping his blood which I immediately spat out. Everything was silent after it as he clutched his hand to his chest and fell onto his knees, sobbing from the wretched pain he must have felt. What had I done? This wasn't me... who... who was this... wearing my fur, speaking my voice... tainting my body... I had never intended to...
I whirled around as the passing breeze brought down a few more auburn drops with it... they were the same color as his blood...
I bent over, scooped up my things and ran... I ran as fast as I could, my paw pads slipping on leaves every now and then but finding nothing but purchase to speed my escape otherwise. I ran one block, two blocks, three blocks, I just kept running...
I came to a stop beneath an oak tree in front of my house... my neighbor, an old friend of mine, started shouting at me from her seat on her porch that blasted furries should not be on this side of town, until he stopped, apparently recognizing the color and style of my hair, as well as my belongings...
"Rogue? Is that you?" She asked, squinting slightly in the harsh, midday autumn light.
I remained silent for a while, before I finally spoke... "... Yes, Meredith... It's me... I'm sorry I had to keep this a secret from you for so long..." I stepped forward, walking up to her porch and sitting down next to her.
"Is that blood in your mouth?"
"Yes... but it... it's not... it isn't mine..." I looked down in shame... I had lost control back at the school... I had lost control and it had cost me dearly...
"... You should get going now, sonny..." She said after a moment's silence, as if contemplating a thought.
"I know..." I nodded and stood back up, walking across the yard and into my house after producing the key needed to unlock it. The house wasn't really 'mine'... but it wasn't anyone else's either. It had just been a house that a furry had lived in before I had gotten there, and they were run out of town the day before... Houses that used to house furries were, in this country, proclaimed free to the first squatter that ever so chose to live there, once the furry is gone.
It was small, only five rooms, a kitchen, a bathroom, a bedroom, a living room, and a family room... but I had loved it for the year that I had lived there. I went around the house, grabbing another backpack and filling it with my most prized possessions... memories of my parents, who had kicked me out of the house once I had changed... I still cried myself to sleep at night, sometimes, when I unintentionally thought of something that reminded me of them, of how they jettisoned me into the world before I was ready... a hateful glint in their eyes as they did so... I had loved them, but they hated me now...
I grabbed the football my dad and I used to play with when I was younger, still human... it was half deflated and worn by wear. I took my laptop and charger cord, as well as most of the tech in the house, wireless router, portable radio, et cetera. I packed up my clothes, and found the feather my mother had picked up and given to me on a vacation one summer before I changed. It was beautiful to look at, so many browns and golds. It must have come from a bird of prey, for it was longer than my forearm.
I blinked back tears as I continued along the small house, packing anything and everything of value to me. I also emptied my school backpack of books, and filled it with food and water. It would be a long trip to wherever I was going.
I stepped out of the house that was no longer my own. It had only taken me ten minutes to pack. I walked to Meredith and asked her to return the books to my school for me, as well as an apology. She said she would, and in her elderly eyes I thought I saw a spark of remorse when I told her I would be leaving, but it flourished into a small blossom of pride when I told her that she was the nicest person I had ever met since I had been thrown out of my house seven years ago. In truth, she was the best person I had ever known in my whole life. In the one year she had been my neighbor, she had become a mother-figure to me. For that I was grateful, but it just made the parting worse.
I gave her a quick embrace, and thanked her for all those evenings we spent on her porch, drinking some cool lemonade in the summer and steaming tea or hot chocolate in the winter. She had seen that I wasn't exactly human... but she neither cared to point out that she knew nor did she even bother to ask what I was. She had only seen the lower half of my muzzle, though, whenever I drank the refreshment she provided for the both of us.
I looked into her dim, wise eyes that were the faintest shade of green in front of an otherwise grey iris, and thanked her once more. Then I went back into my house, and got a few of the pictures I hold dear to me, and gave her one to remember me by. I didn't know why I gave it to her... Something just told me that one day, I'll have done something important, and she would want to know that she once knew the cat that did it...
I turned and walked down the pathway, and turned left on the street, towards the forest that was about a mile away. As I walked, I watched the trees shedding their scarlet tears, and wondered if they were weeping for me...