A day at Market
He picked up a box of goldfish crackers and place them inside of a shopping cart.
The Tiger hummed and sighed to himself. He still hadn't decided how he should prepare for meals this week. He had been trying to eat Tofu more and more, but it always left him somewhat empty, making him prone to snacking when he tried. He patted his stomach. Before he was proud to show off his stomach, back when it was flat and defined, but now his abs seem to be hiding in a layer of fat. His worries increased drastically when he noticed that layer of fat no longer just provided padding and now begun to hang over his waist. His boyfriend had told him that it's fine; that he had simply become more huggable but he couldn't shake the sense of loss whenever he looked in the mirror.
Regardless of what he would eventually settle on, the Crackers would stay in the cart.
The Tiger stepped out of the aisle to the back of the store, faced with produce and dairy.sections side by side. He gave a side-long glance at the Tofu packages, and turned away, not wanting to deal with it today. Looking through the cartons of milk, he pulled them out and read the labels carefully. One always had to be careful when purchasing milk to read the fine print - more than once he took a swig from the jug only to fine that it was "Bull's Milk" Instead. Satisfied, he placed the jug in the cart and continued on.
Feeling like he wanted to go home now, even though he wasn't even halfway done with the trip, he decided to skip ahead a few aisles, and move to the meat counter. Maybe he would treat himself tonight. He scanned the various items, gourmet sausages, steaks and flanks of all kinds, a Carnivore's delight. Except for the pricing. The price of meat has always been a little on the high side, and today proved to be the worst of it. $4.59 per pound? That was absurd! He couldn't afford more than 20 buck for just one part of a full meal.
"Maybe next time" The tiger said dejectedly. He looked into his cart one more time and saw the goldfish crackers. They wouldn't help, they were just a bandaid. Looking at it this way, even buying those felt like another line up of the failure conga line that is trying to buy enough food to survive. The irony that he was only getting fatter and unhealthier as a result just made him sink into the handle of the cart. "I wish this would end right now. This whole store." He muttered to himself.
Suddenly, a loud crash rang out. Not just the tiger, but everyone shot up, and looked around. Many eyes went towards the front of the store, where the only set of windows outside had been. Another bang, and the ground shook for just a moment. There was another loud noise, and the ground quaked again. "Could it have been an earthquake?" The tiger thought. No, it can't, the shaking would be consistent, but it just stops and starts again. The Tiger rushed to the front of the store, leaving his cart behind to get a better look. Another powerful shake and the tiger trips, falling to the ground. He was unable to catch himself, and the entire front side of his body became sore from the impact. He rolled over, facing upwards, and was still dazed.
He was barely able to register the screaming and the continued sounds of what had to be a building being destroied. The tiger looked to the side, and on the far side of the building he saw something black. It was fur, and it was a long, large pillar - that's all he could see before it was pulled back into the ceiling, revealing a large hole in the store top. The tiger's Eyes shot straight up and he panicked, but before he could stand, the ceiling above him cracked. a piece of debris, a metal beam hit him in the stomach.
"Damn." He thought to himself. "If I wasn't so god damn fat, I could-" He cut himself off when he realized the cieling was still collapsing above him. He looked on in horror as the black fur returned, peeking through the cracks. He raises his arms to block the falling debris. Through his arms, he saw something pink. They must have been ... paw pads? Dread filled the tiger, realizing that this black furred pillar was simply another person's foot, only much, much larger. He heard a loud howl, coming from directly above him, and the foot slammed down over his body. His body had exploded into pain, lasting for what seemed like an eternity.
And then suddenly, there was nothing.