6: Grab a Ticket For The Bullet Train
#6 of All Nightmares Must End
(another no yiff chapter to the story, not really much else I can say without spoiling the chapter for you, enjoy) (18 years or over please)
A smell wafted into his nostrils. By any means it shouldn't of smelled good, but it did smell like food. Eyes shot open, hands grasping the first thing he saw and shoving it into his muzzle. A hot dog, not the best hot dog, but it was food, and its flavor almost made the young boy melt in the joy of being able to eat. Another one came to his face hanging off the end of a stick and he grabbed it, swallowing it down as quick as the first before falling back onto the cold hard ground. The rest of the world finally coming into focus, buildings looming over him a large awning stretched over rooftops kept the snow from falling to this alleyway corner.
His eyes glanced around, a large group of people were smiling, dressed in rags and layers of coats, several if not all of them reeking of the stench of an unwashed body. "I.. I'm still alive?" he asked to any who would listen.
"You're damn right you are, you almost jumped into our trash fire, what on earth were you thinking kid?" an old man replied as he moved closer squatting on the ground beside him "Names Bo, who are you?"
He muttered those two words Bo had said quietly to himself "trash fire..." it all made sense, the lack of sleep, the insane hunger, he wasn't running for the light at the end of the tunnel, he just mistook a burning trash can for it. "I, I don't know, I don't remember." he answered his voice sounding convincingly confused. "and, Im Keysha."
The old man laughed a bit and patted the boy on the shoulder "Well, Keysha, you're a lucky girl to be making it out here in this storm without an adult."
He shook his head at the old mans words "Girl, no, Im a boy." letting out a meep as soon as he realized what he had said revealing himself once again as a freak.
"A boy? Well I'll be damned Keysha, you look and sound just like a girl, and with a girls name to boot. Ya had me fooled."
The leopard whimpered some as he scooted back away from the man pulling legs up against his chest and wrapping arms tightly around them burying his face into them whimpering and sobbing to himself, now he would be an outcast and a freak to these people why couldn't he of kept his mouth shut.
"Well, not the first time I've seen a girly boy." the old man said as he eyed the whimpering leopard "I fought in the war just to keep this country alive and come back to see all kinds of queers running around trying to look and act like girls, its sickening...." he would say in complete disgust, even spitting on the ground. "You ain't one of them queers are you boy?"
Keysha was quivering as he was afraid the man had already taken to hate him cause of his gender and appearance. Though it seemed the question old Bo asked might be one chance for him to be safe. Neverously he looked up shaking his head back and forth, "N-No, No Bo, Im not a Queer." he replied, though he had no idea what 'a queer' was. "I-I was born this way, and my dad gave me this name as a joke." he muttered trying to explain it all.
The old mans eyes seemed to grow a flame within them, his cheeks red as his brow furrowed and a scowl came cross his lips, looking as if his head was about to go ablaze. "WELL WHAT IN GODS GOOD NAME KINDA SICKO..." he started as he walked off in circles around the trash fire raising his arms and swearing and shouting.
One of the younger people approached Keysha while Bo was distracted by his own ranting, a young black girl probably no older than Keysha. "Old Bo, He's not right in the head." she said giving the leopard a reassuring smile "And don't let him scare you he's mostly harmless." she would say with a giggle reaching a hand to stroke the pink leopards cheek. Keysha didn't feel so bad with the girl as he did around that old man, she seemed nice, he even found his head nuzzling against her hand, and damned if he didn't begin to purr. Soon he found himself being hugged and petted and he could only return the affection.
"You're a nice kitty Keysha" the young girl would say to him as she rested her head against his, "I'll take care of you don't worry, we can sleep in the same box, and play, and share our food, and..." the girl paused as she burst into a sick cough.
His heart jumped a little as he weakly asked "Y-you alright?"
Hacking a little more into her arm she finally stopped and hugged her new kitty tightly "Im fine, I'm just sick... but I'll be better once the winters over."
Keysha smiled to the girl and held her, the two curled up in a small box together huddled for comfort and warmth, they played during the days, snowball fights, listening to Old Bo's stories, giggling at his rants, playing games of tag, sharing meals when little could be found to eat. Though life wasn't grand and rich like it had been with Johnny before he turned on Keysha it was still good. Keysha and his new friend Sam lived out the winter together surviving the storm and when everything opened back up Keysha had taken his money to the store buying a small feast of hotdogs for these people that had grown to be his new family, whom without he would of never survived the winter.
The sun finally came out and the snow was all but gone, the morning light of late winter hitting Keysha's eyes and he awoke to the tight hold of Sam and a strange odor.
"Sammy, wake up, its morning." he said happily his tail twitching about under the makeshift blanket of coats. She didn't move, nudging her with his muzzle as he spoke louder "Sammy come on girl, its a nice day lets play." he said, still smiling. Though once nudging her again he noticed she seemed rather stiff, and smelled well worse than normal for a person who couldn't bathe. "oh no..." he whimpered beginning to shout "SAMMY! SAMMY WAKE UP PLEASE WAKE UP!"
He tried to move only to find stiff arms held him, tears streaming down his cheeks as he laid his head against the girls chest no heartbeat was heard, and all he could do was yell her name and cry until one of the others came to see what was going on.
"Keysha whats the matter kitty?" an older woman asked as she approached the box him and Sam slept in. A mortified look coming over her face as she saw it all and the smell hit her... "... god" was the only word she muttered.
Keysha cried still whimpering and trying to nudge the girl awake as he had screamed himself till his voice was sore and whispering, and as the lady approached he only found the strength to look back when it had all settled in and mewl out "shes dead."
The rigor mortis grip of his best friends corpse seemed to hold tightly to him until he was helped free quivering and shaking, crying into the arms of anyone who would hold him. This was worse than anything that had happened before nothing could of topped the heartache of loosing this little girl that had been just like a sister and best friend to him. Only to make matters worse there was nowhere to bury her body in the concrete jungle of Orange Grove. They had to hold a short funeral while they cremated her body amongst a trash fire. The strongest person they had amongst them had to do everything he could to hold Keysha back, to keep him from jumping into the fire with her corpse to die with her. And when she was finally ash and the fire died he broke down and cried laying beside the ashes until the wind came to blow them away leaving only the few bits bone and charred flesh that didn't completely burn.
He couldn't sleep that night, he couldn't at all. When the middle of the night rolled around he stood up and got his things together and left walking back into the city until he felt he could no longer go any father and ducked into an alleyway to find a box or empty trash can to sleep in.
Turning the alleyway's corner he came across a man holding a gun in his mouth only to take his own life right in front of Keysha who fell back scooting up against the wall rather quickly as soon as he saw it all. His chest in a quick heavy rise and fall of breath and fear. Though he finally realized what had happened and this was it, the city always took things from him, why not let it take him too.
Crawling forward a hand weakly reached out taking the pistol out of the hand of the body reading something scratched into the guns side "The Bullet Train." He closed his eyes tight and sat down leaning back against the wall placing the barrel in his mouth as he had seen done by the corpse beside him.
"Nothing to live for nothing to loose..." *click*