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Neko Mother - Chapter 5 - TG, TF

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Chapter 5

I woke laying on a mattress, covered with a bright pink bedspread. Looking around, I found that the room I was in was small and sparsely furnished. Aside from the bed, the only furnishings were a desk with a hard-backed chair bolted to the floor in front of it and a large mirror on the wall above it. The only openings into the room were a door to the bathroom, another door opposite the bed that stayed locked, and a slot in the wall beside the locked door that would only open for meals and whenever there was a new puzzle for me to solve.

That was my world as I knew it. The only way I could tell time was by the three meals a day and the puzzles in between. The food was decent and always came with a pill I was required to take. The puzzle differed regularly. Form jigsaws to word searches. Sometimes they were metal pieces that I would have to pull apart then put back together. Other times it was a code I would have to break. Whenever the puzzles got too easy, the next batch would become harder.

The first thing I could remember was waking in this place, with its white walls. I was scared. Quickly I became angry, knowing that I had probably been abducted and thrown in here against my will, although I had no memories to confirm that. After yelling and pounding on the walls for what seemed like hours, I settled down on the bed to cry. That was when the first puzzle came through the slot. At first I had ignored it, but after a while curiosity won over and I went and examined it. As soon as I picked it up, a piece of candy came through the slot. It had been so long since I had eaten that I grabbed it without thought and popped it in my mouth. It was root beer flavored and tasted so good.

The candy gone, I went back to looking over the puzzle. It was a simple 30 piece jigsaw puzzle. Was I expected to do the puzzle? My captor had given it to me for some reason. Knowing that I was not getting out of this room anytime soon, I started working on the puzzle. After a short while, I put the last piece in place and leaned back, satisfied with my small accomplishment. I heard something being pushed through the slot again and went over to find a tray the size of the puzzle I had just finished. Examining it I came up with the idea that I was supposed to load the puzzle onto it. Doing so, I pushed it back into the slot and it was taken back to wherever it had come from and a tray of food replaced it. My stomach growled, reminding me that the candy was the only thing I had eaten since waking. Grabbing the tray, I moved over to the desk to eat. The food looked lumpy and a bit gray, but hunger makes the best spice. The food out of the way, I saw there was a pill on the tray. Not trusting it, I left it there and returned the tray.

Time passed slowly with nothing to do. I paced around the room, wondering just how I got here and why I was here in the first place. The sound of the slot moving brought me out of my daze. Looking over I saw another puzzle waiting for me. I picked it up and another piece of candy clanged into the opening. Eating the candy, I moved over to the desk again and began work on the puzzle out of sheer boredom.

This process went on for days, counting by the times I needed to sleep. Puzzles, candy, food. Always with the pill accompanying each meal. After a while, I finally gave in and ate the pill. The sound of clanging brought my eyes over to the slot as a slice of cake appeared. Not believing I picked up the cake. I tentatively brought a piece to my mouth and tasted it. It was so moist and sweet. After nothing but mushy food, it tasted like heaven. The next time the food came, I ate the pill without complaint and it was followed by some sort of treat.

Days blended together, broken only by periods of sleep, with the puzzle becoming more difficult but surprisingly I was able to solve them without much efforts. My increasing intelligence as not the only thing that changed. At first it was little things, like my hair having more sheen, and my skin becoming smoother, but then I awoke one 'morning' to a big surprise.

I sat there on that bed looking at the mirror, my eyes on the reflection of the top of my head. Sitting there were a pair of triangular ears covered with a fine fur the same color of my hair. Moving my hand to the sides of my head, I confirmed that it was completely flat, void of the round appendages that had been there the night before. Moving my hands north, I felt the new ears move on there own, swiveling around to pick up sounds I had never been able to hear before. Movement behind me made me spin around. There, attached to me was a long sleek tail, covered in the same fur as the ears. A quick tug confirmed that it was indeed a part of my anatomy.

“NYA!” I yelled in surprise. I covered my mouth, not believing the sound that had come out of my mouth. Moving closer to the mirror, I started to notice the other changes that had happened. For one thing I was taller, my movements becoming more enticing. A heavy weight on my chest told me that they had definitely gotten bigger. My skin had lost all the blemishes and become silky smooth. The natural color of it told me that I would never have to wear makeup again, not that there had been any makeup provided to me in this place. My eyes had even taken on a slit pupil surrounded by green that almost glowed.

Still examining myself, my ears turned at the sound of a click. Expecting the slot to hold a new puzzle, I was surprised to see that the door, the one that stayed locked at all times, was wide open.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I woke up slowly, the light overcoming the shade provided by the walls around me.  The dream I had been having seemed so real that it took me a minute to get my bearings again. Moving to stretch, I found there was less room in the sleeping bag than there should have been. Looking down, I found a girl curled up next to me. My mind not working quite right for the moment, I tried to figure out who she was. Then the movement of her pointed ears brought it back to me.

“Aaah!” I yelled, throwing the covers off and backing up to the wall. The cat stirred at the sound. Yawning so widely it showed off her impressive fangs, she wiped her eyes sleepily and looked over at me.

“What is wrong, Big Sis?” she asked, her head going to one side.

“What are you doing in my bed?!” I yelled.

“It was cold last night, nya,” she replied, extracting herself from the bedding. “I saw you shivering and thought I could keep nyou warm.”

I had to admit, it was cold and she had kept me plenty warm throughout the night. It was a good change from waking chilled at the start of the day. Realizing where my thoughts were heading, I shook them loose. “That is not the point. You came into my bed without asking.”

She looked hurt at the anger in my voice. I knew that I would not be able to keep my temper up for long, so I looked to side and muttered “Whatever. Lets get some breakfast and get out of here.” She seemed to perk up at the mention of food and went to pick up the bed spread while I moved to my bag to grab something to eat.

The sound of movement outside the camp brought me to full alert. I turned to Mia to tell her to get down when I saw another Neko standing on the wall behind her. Freezing, I watched as more joined her on all sides of our camp. Shit, I thought, how could I let them sneak up on me like that?

Mia took notice of our guests, but showed a surprising lack of fear. What did she have to be concerned about, she was already one of them. From the markings, a single gold band on the tail, I could tell that they were all Little Sisters. All that meant that I wouldn't be changed right away. With a group this size I had little chance of escape.
One of them hopped off the wall into our clearing, giggling.

“Lookie what we have here, nya. A nyuman.” The other cats around her giggled in response.

“Looks like a fun one too. Maybe this one will run so we can play with it.” They were prowling around me just like the prey they thought I was. Looking around for a weapon, I spotted a piece of pipe sitting on the ground. Unfortunately, it was on the other side of the circle of girls around me. I would have to get through them to reach it.

Mia seemed to become concerned with tone of their voice and came over to me. The way she positioned herself, it looked like she was trying to protect me. Kinda funny, since she was so much shorter than I was.

“Ah. This nyuman seems to be claimed already.” One of them said with a pout.
“Maybe she will share him?” another offered, looking hopeful.

Mia looked confused, but then, catching on, stood up and advanced on the group. She stood with authority that even surprised me and said, “This one is Mia's. She found him first and she will not be sharing him with anyone.”

“Ah, Nya. Nyou sure nyou can't share him for a little while?” the apparent leader pouted, but when Mia shook her head, she turned to the others. “Well girls, if Big Sister won't share then we have nyo choice but to leave Big Sister with her playmate.” Although they looked down-crested they game little giggles at the thought of what kind of 'playing' I was supposedly going to receive. One by one, they left, bouncing and giggling all the way.

For a several minutes after their laughter faded, all I could do was stand there, mouth wide open, not believing that I had made it out of the situation. Even more surprising was that they had call Mia a Big Sister. How could that be? I quickly focused my eyes on the end of her tail and, despite the gentle movement of her tail, I saw the double band markings, but something was off. Most of the bands were at most a half color off from their fur, Mia's were gold. Mia followed my gaze and looked back at her tail. She giggled and twitched her tail even more. The sound brought me out of my musing and I saw that the morning was wearing on. Dismissing the mystery for later, I grabbed my backpack.

“We better get going,” I said, hefting the load onto my back and began to walk off. She looked a bit disappointed, but grabbed the sleeping bag and fell in beside me. Feeling that I should show some form of gratitude, I brought my hand up and, after a bit of hesitance, gave her a quick pet. She looked at me, a bit surprised, but I had picked up my pace. I heard her give a giggle and speed up to keep pace with me.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The rest of the trip that day was uneventful. We made better time then I was expecting and reached the town not long into the afternoon.

Coming to the gates of the town I could feel an eerie, oppressive feel to it. Outside the entrance I stopped to tell Mia not to follow me in, but the lack of guards made me think something was not quite right, so I had changed my mind. Now I knew that it had been a good choice. The town was completely empty.

“Where is everybody, nya?” Mia said, breaking the silence that was pressing in on us. Her voice seemed to echo in the dead air. She was looking around, crinkling her nose like there was some foul scent in the air. I could smell it too, but I just hoped that I was imaging things.

I motioned for her to be quiet; talking was the quickest way to get caught. From the way things were left out in the stalls, it looked as though the occupants of the city had made a hasty exit. By the look of some of the food that was left out, it mustn't have been that long ago, which meant that whatever had chased them out could still be around. Moving as quietly as I could, I went to the first shop in the row. Opening the door, I caught a whiff of the stench coming from inside and stopped. Motioning Mia to stay back, I  entered and let my eye adjust to the light, knowing what I would find.

Just inside the door, stacked behind the counter, was a pile of dead bodies. Mia gave a squeak, bringing her hand to her mouth in horror. This was no Neko attack; Nekos did not kill. From the condition of the bodies, they had been there for no more then a few hours. Some had bullet holes while others had been decapitated, obviously as a show to keep the others in line, which lead me to one conclusion.

“Slavers,” I growled through clenched teeth. “Let's get out of here.” She nodded, not wanting to stay near the grotesque scene any longer then necessary.

Not even bothering to look through what was left by the group, we quickly exited through the gates. I kept my eyes peeled for any sign that the slavers were still around. It took a while to get out of the city, and it was not a very comfortable trek either. Both of us were on edge, and Mia jumped at the sound of rubble falling more than once. By the time we left city limits it was getting dark, but both of us decided to keep moving. We just needed to get farther away from the scene before we could bed down for the night.

Making it far enough that we felt safer, we found a clearing in the forest where we could set up camp. Although I usually didn't like to make a fire that could been seen in the night, I knew that we both needed the comfort the heat would give us. I kept the flames to a minimum while making plenty of coals for maximum heat.

Mia sat nearby and was unusually quiet. I knew that she was bothered by what we had seen that day, so I let her broach the subject when she was ready.

“Why would nyumans do that to each other?” she finally asked.

“I don't know,” I admitted. “This sort of thing just defies logic to people like me and you.” Did I really just admit I thought of her as a person instead of a cat? When did that happen?

She whimpered and moved closer to where I sat. When she leaned on my shoulder, I stiffened for a second before letting her continue without complaint.

“I am glad you are with me nyow, Big Sis,” she purred. I muttered about not being her Big Sis, then continued to stir the fire.

Soon, I could tell by her deep breaths that she had fallen asleep. The way she was still purring in her sleep made me chuckle. Staring into the fire, I took stock of myself. Just yesterday, this cat had been one of the enemy. Why was I feeling so protective of her now? It almost felt like there was a connection that I couldn't understand. She was so small and frail looking, but it was all a facade. She could pick me up and rip me in two if she wanted to. Somehow I knew that would never happen, though. Although I hated the Neko for what they represented, I knew that they just didn't have that within them. Their mental state was that of little girls that just wanted to have fun and make new friends, spreading joy and happiness to others.

Shaking my head, I dislodged the thoughts that were invading my mind. I didn't know where they kept coming from, but I could not let them continue. I knew where that path lead, and I was not yet willing to give up the fight.

Looking back at the sleeping form next to me, I couldn't help but smile, even knowing these thoughts would lead me right back again. I moved her gently, trying not to wake her, and laid her in the sleeping bag. Moving back to the fire, I stared into it and shifted through my thoughts some more.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Waking in the morning, I yawned and stretched, scratching my head. Feeling around, my eyes popped open. Where was my hat?! I searched around until I found it a little ways away. Bounding over, I crammed it back on my head. Holding it down, I looked over to where Mia was still sleeping. Sighing, I moved over to the fire, kicking up the coals and started to make breakfast. When I moved on to the meat, I began to hear movement behind me.

“Mornin' sleepy.” I said with a little laugh.

She looked over at me with her eyes not even open all the way. I couldn't help but burst out laughing at the way her nose was twitching at the smell of the grilling meat while her tail moved excitedly behind her.

“That smells soooo good, nya,” she meowed, stretching.

“Well you better hurry and get up or I'll eat it all,” I said playfully.

“Oh, nyo nyou won't,” she yelped as she quickly extracted herself from the bag and raced over to claim her portion. I laughed when she burned her tongue on a piece that was a little too hot. On the whole it was quite an enjoyable morning.

We decided the best thing to do was follow the road and see if we could find another town where we could get some supplies. Mia was full of energy as we walked. She would jump on a car that had long ago ran out of gas, balance on the concrete dividers, and generally act like a little kid. At first it made me worry that her carrying on would bring trouble, but after a couple of hours of walking it began to be cute. She had perfect balance, so she never fell. Some of the acrobatics she pulled off didn't look like they could be done without breaking oneself in half but, she pulled them off with ease.

“Hey, Big Sis?” I looked over to see her in an arc position on a guard rail. Man, was she limber. I stated that I was still not her Big Sis, but she continued unfazed, “I was wondering, where are nyou from?”

The question took me aback a little. Although the Nekos were playful and extremely curious, I had never heard of them asking about a person's past. Most of the time, when it came to people, they changed them then moved on.

I was hesitant to answer, but what was the harm in talking about myself a little? “Up north a ways. It was a fairly small town, but it was home.” I mused about the days I spent there. They all seemed so clear, but at the same time fuzzy. Like a dream you only half remember. “In fact if you walked three days that way,” I pointed a little off the road, “you would be able to see it.” For some reason, no matter where I was I could sense which way was home. It was almost like someone was calling me there.

Straightened herself out, looking in the direction I had indicated. “Could nyou tell me about it?”

I looked at her, curious. “Why do you want to know.”

“Because Mia doesn't know where she comes from.” Her whole body slumped a little, and I could tell that she was sad.

“You don't remember anything about your past?” I asked, shocked at the realization.
“Nya-uh.” She shook her head limply. For some reason, I wanted to go over to her and give her a reassuring hug and head rub, but I held myself back, knowing the feelings were coming from a place I was trying to forget.

“Ok. I wish I could help you there, but most Nekos don't have enough attention span to keep track of their own history let alone others'.”

“I knyow, but it still makes Mia a little sad to nyot knyow where she came from.” She continued to sulk. Again the feelings surfaced, a little stronger this time, taking more resolve to suppress them. Suddenly, Mia's head popped up and she turned to me, smiling. “But nyow I have Big Sis with me so Mia is soo super happy!” She threw herself over to me, hugging me tight.

I blushed, trying hard not to admit to myself that I was beginning to like it when she hugged me, before I pushed her away. “If you promise not to hug me again, I will tell you about my home.” She nodded, taking a step back, her face rapt with attention. As we walked on, I began to tell her what I could remember of my home. About my school life, friends I had, the video games I had like to play. And about my parent, the way we would go camping on holidays from school, the times we would go to the mall to get new cloths and other less useful thing and the fight we had and how I had not seen them since the whole thing started.

All the while Mia gave me her full attention. She laughed when I told her about some of the crazy antics my friends and I had got into in our younger days, and when I got to the part about my parents she looked almost like she was going to cry, but instead told me, “Nyou will see them again. Mia just knyows that they are waiting for you somewhere.”

I appreciated that she was trying to cheer me up, but I knew that the likelihood of me ever finding my parents was slim to none. Even if they were still alive they had probably been captured the day I had run away from home. I pushed the thought aside and smiled back at her, “You're probably right.”

Since the sun was going down by this point, we decided to stop and make camp. This time, Mia actually helped with the preparations, so it took a much shorter time to get everything ready. After a hot meal, we were both too tired to do much else. I begrudgingly let her have the sleeping bag again and curled up next to the fire, falling asleep quickly. I woke slightly a short time later as someone placed the covers over me and curled up in front of me, but I fell right back to sleep, thinking I was dreaming.
A strange dream, and evidence of the darker side of humanity. What could be next for these two travelers.

© 2014 - 2024 BlazorHeson
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xjax1's avatar
put a s after dream sorry im kinda rushing