A false Paradise
There is kind of a funny backstory to this story. I wrote it all in one night and I wrote it for school. My mystery/Horror/Sci-Fi teacher gave my class an assignment to write a 3 page essay on our definition of sci-fi. Instead of doing that, I wrote him an 11 page sci-fi story. I hope he likes it :)
"Argh!"
The loud cry rang throughout the empty house as Derek sat at his computer with his head in his hands. The seventeen year-old massaged the temples of his skull with his index fingers as he looked at the blank screen on the monitor. Suddenly, his face lit up as he was struck with a bolt of inspiration. His fingers flew to the keyboard, a look of relief on his face and then, nothing. As quickly as it had come, his inspiration had vanished. Derek hazarded a glance at the clock. It read 10:47 PM. He groaned loudly as he remembered the past four hours of sitting in the same chair, looking at the same blank screen and just wishing it would somehow fill with words and he could get some much needed sleep.
"How am I supposed to write three whole pages by tomorrow?" he said to no one.
Somewhere in his mind, he was kicking himself for putting the essay off for so long. With a sigh he resigned to his fate and went back to staring helplessly at the computer monitor. Occasionally, he would get an idea in his mind, but he could never find the right way to put it on paper. Finally, after another hour of racking his brain, he decided to take a break and clear his head. Opening a browser, he typed in the URL and was soon lost in the world of Facebook.
He spent some time chatting with people who were online and looking at some people's pictures until he saw a post by one of his friends. It was an advertisement for some website he did not recognize. What really caught his eye, however, was the description of the website. A large grin formed on his face as he read, 'Free full essays on any subject.' Derek was sold and he instantly clicked on the link. To his horror, his screen went black.
"Woah! What just happened!" he exclaimed.
Thoughts began to race around in Derek's head. He began to feel very worried that he had somehow caused his computer to crash. He tried moving the mouse around, nothing. He tried typing furiously on the keyboard, nothing. He pressed the power button on the monitor, still nothing. Derek's feelings of anxiety began to escalade as he could think of nothing else to do when something caught his eye. There was a tiny pinprick of light on the monitor. It looked like a candle burning a mile away. He got closer to my computer screen to try to get a better look at whatever it was. He thought it might have been the cursor so he tried moving the mouse around, but the little light stayed right where it was. Then he thought it could just be something stuck to the screen. He reached a finger out to try and scratch whatever it was off but, to his surprise, when he touched the monitor, his finger did not stop, but passed straight through.
"What the hell!" He yelled, yanking back his hand as quickly as possible.
He stood up quickly, shoving the chair back as he stared intently at the screen. The light was still there, there was no visible difference in the screen but he knew something strange was going on. A storm raged inside of Derek's mind. What should he do? Should he smash the monitor against the floor? Should he call someone and tell them about it? Should he try to touch it again? He simply stood there, brooding over his thoughts for some time.
Eventually, his mind called his body into action and he took a step towards the computer. Reaching out with one hand, he extended his fingers and very lightly prodded the screen. Just as before, they passed straight through, this time; however, Derek noticed something different, a sort of buzzing sensation while his fingers were in contact with the screen. Very slowly, he pushed his fingers farther into the monitor, when he reached the point where he was sure he would hit the back, he felt nothing but the same constant buzzing sensation. Eventually, he had his entire hand nestled into the computer. His curiosity building by the second, he probed deeper into what he came to call, 'the hole'. His forearm was soon inside of 'the hole', followed by his elbow, and finally his shoulder. He was amazed at how deep 'the hole' was and it only fueled his curiosities even more. He reached all around inside 'the hole', trying to feel for any obstructions, but he could feel nothing but the constant buzzing. Not satisfied, he brought his other arm up and plunged it into the depths of 'the hole'. Even with both arms searching, he could feel nothing but empty space. Making up his mind, he leaned over and lined up his head with 'the hole'. Taking a deep breath, he thrust his whole head through in one go. On the other side, Derek slowly opened his eyes. The blackness surrounded him completely but for the tiny prick of light still off in the distance.
Derek slowly inched his way back out of 'the hole' and back into his living room, his previous fears almost completely replaced by curiosity. He desperately wanted to know what was happening and he knew what he would have to do to find out. The only problem was that little voice in the back of his mind telling him to do the smart thing and just walk away. Derek smiled as he came to the realization that simply walking away was never an option. Mind made up, he turned around and approached his computer. He slowly inserted his arm all the way to the shoulder once again. Then he popped his head inside and then, with a little maneuvering, managed to get his other arm through as well. On the other side of 'the hole', his feet pushed against the floor, trying to shove him the rest of the way through. Inside of 'the hole', Derek's probing hands finally found something solid, a flat surface, almost like a floor. Using both his hands and his feet now, Derek managed to squeeze the rest of his body through the small opening and found himself lying on the bottom of 'the hole'.
Tentatively, he stood, having trouble balancing because the ground was indistinguishable from the surrounding space. He took a couple of exploratory steps, making sure to keep the tiny light directly in front of him. Feeling a bit more confident, he picked up the pace and was soon walking at a normal pace towards the light.
He walked, and he walked, and he walked, and the light never seemed to get any closer. Derek began to feel fear well up in his heart. He began to wonder how much farther it was to the light and when, if at all he would reach it. He picked up the pace even more as he felt panic grip him. His brisk walk soon turned into a jog. He kept up the jog for a few minutes and, when there still was no change, he began to run. Faster and faster he ran, trying desperately to reach the elusive light. He ran for what seemed like hours until a familiar sensation caused him to come to a complete stop. It was the same buzzing feeling he had felt when he had passed through the first 'hole'. For the first time since passing through the barrier, he felt a surge of confidence rush through his body. He walked forward, feeling the buzzing sensation increase to the point where it was almost unbearable until, suddenly, it stopped all together. Confused, he reached out with both of his hands as he walked forward and, to his surprise, they met something soft hanging down from somewhere. He inspected the strange object with his hands. It felt strangely familiar as he poked and prodded it with his fingers. He decided to keep moving, feeling more and more of the strange hanging objects as he moved ever closer to the small light.
At last, he came as close as he could to the light and he met a solid feeling barrier. He felt all around it with his hands, feeling the smoothness of it. His hands met an object protruding from the wall right around waist level and the light. Confused, Derek explored this new object with his hands and took a step back in shock when he discovered what it was. It was a door handle. Slowly, he approached the door again and reached a shaking hand out to the handle. Getting a firm grip, he twisted the knob and pushed forward. The door glided open and Derek stepped into a blindingly bright room.
His hands flew to his eyes, shielding them to the glare while they adjusted. Soon he was able to open his eyes and take in his surroundings. The room he found himself in was clearly a bedroom; it had a bed, a dresser, a desk and Derek had just come out of the closet. With a quick glance, he saw that the room was relatively normal. In fact, it looked very close to his room. Upon further inspection, however, Derek began to notice some key differences. For one, all of the pictures and posters on the walls did not feature the usual family portraits and sports teams. All of them had animals instead of people. Not normal animals either, these animals were running, jumping, smiling, and laughing, all on two feet! In fact, they looked like they could be human, if not for the fur. Derek was so entranced and confused by the strange pictures that he did not hear the door open behind him. He was finally alerted when he heard someone say, "What the hell?! How did you get in here?!"
Derek nearly leapt out of his skin as he quickly turned around to explain himself. Any words he was going to say stuck in his throat as his eyes took in the being before him. He was a 5'10" Siberian husky standing on two feet and carrying a backpack in his five-fingered paws.
The husky suddenly looked very scared and began to back out of the room slowly, his eyes never leaving Derek's. Then he heard the husky call out, "Mom! There's a human in my room!"
A more feminine voice rang out from somewhere else in the house, "What? Did you just say that there is a human in your room? But we don't own a human."
The husky in front of Derek backed out of the door and closed it behind him, leaving Derek standing alone in the strange room. He heard some commotion on the other side of the door and assumed it was the husky's mom arriving. There was some inaudible argument and then the door opened yet again. This time, a slender, female husky walked in, obviously not expecting to see anything out of the ordinary by the way she jumped when she laid eyes on Derek. The only thing he could think of to say was "Hi."
The female husky's eyes bulged even more at the sound of Derek's voice. "D-did you just say hi?" she said with a stammer.
"Umm, yes I did." Derek responded and with that, the female husky fainted and fell to the floor.
Hearing the loud thud, the other husky came barging through the door and, seeing his mother lying on the ground unconscious, turned his attention to Derek. "What did you do to her?"
"Nothing! I swear! She just fainted." Derek responded.
The husky looked up in surprise at the sound of Derek's voice. The look he gave Derek was a mixture of confusion and fear. To Derek, it looked as if the husky was getting ready to charge at Derek and tear him to pieces but all the husky did was ask, "What are you?"
The question caught Derek by surprise. "What do you mean? I'm a per- well, I'm a human."
"Well I can see that, I'm not stupid you know. What I mean is, how are you talking? Human's can't talk."
"What are you talking about? Human's can talk. Can't they?" Derek added, not feeling sure of himself anymore.
"No, they can't." Seeing that Derek was not a threat, the husky changed his attitude, "This is amazing! A human who can walk and talk, just like a canine. How did you get here? And who are you?"
Derek took a few seconds to respond, still reeling from the husky's comment. Humans can't talk? What kind of a place is this?
"Hello. Mr. Human, I asked you a question."
"Oh, sorry. My name is Derek. I honestly have no idea how I got here. One second I was sitting at my computer and then, well, you wouldn't believe me even if I told you."
"Amazing, you're really talking. Derek. That's a strange name for a human. Anyway, we need to tell someone about this! I know! Let's go see my Dad; he'll know what to do."
And with that, the husky turned and walked out of the door. Derek remained rooted to his spot, unable to comprehend what had just happened. He had gone inside of his computer, ended up in some anthropomorphic dog's bedroom and was now expected to parade himself around? Derek decided then and there that he would not go anywhere until he at least had a real conversation with the strange husky.
"Well? Aren't you coming?" The husky asked, poking his head back around the door.
"No." Was all Derek said.
"What? Why not?"
"Because I have no idea where I am, what's going on or even who you are. I'm not going to go parade myself around to a bunch of dogs until I get some answers." Derek felt much better after being able to speak his mind but, once he saw the husky's expression, he wished he had said nothing.
"A bunch of, what? Human?" The husky said through gritted teeth, a low growl escaping from his throat. Obviously Derek had struck a nerve.
"Woah there, take it easy. I didn't mean anything by it, I'm just really not comfortable in this place." Derek said, putting his hands up defensively.
"That's what I thought. Now come. I want to talk to my Dad about this."
Derek thought it best not to argue any longer with the husky and simply did as he was told. He followed the husky out of the door, carefully sidestepping the still unconscious husky mother on the floor. He was led through the house by the husky and was amazed at how similar it was to his own home. Eventually he was led to the front door and out into the warm afternoon. It was eerie how similar every detail in this strange world was to Derek's own world. The only apparent difference was the role reversal between humans and dogs. For Derek, that alone was enough for him to want to go home. As the husky led him over to his car, Derek took the chance to ask his name.
"Alan." Was all he said before stepping behind the wheel of the car. Derek moved to get in the front seat but was stopped dead in his tracks by Alan's gaze that screamed 'What do you think you are doing?' That was all Derek needed to slink away to the back seat. Alan turned on the car and they drove in silence for some time. Finally, Derek saw an immense building rise above all of the others. It loomed ominously overhead as they pulled into the parking lot. Alan got out of the car and motioned for Derek to get out as well. Derek was not used to being ordered around in this way and it was making him feel uneasy. He was led into the church by Alan, who never spoke a word to him. Derek decided to keep his mouth shut as well as the two of them walked into the main hall of the church. There were many dogs already there, Derek could not recognize all of the different breeds but as soon as they entered, each and every one of them looked straight at Derek and Alan. Derek got some very strange looks as he came in, but he also noticed how the gathered dogs looked at Alan. It was as if they were in awe of him simply walking down the aisle towards the pulpit. Derek looked forward for the first time and saw a small group of only huskies seated around the altar. He thought it strange that, given the vast variety of breeds in this room, only the huskies are up front.
Alan led Derek up to the altar and walked over to an older looking husky wearing extravagant flowing robes. It was clear to Derek that this was the dog in charge and apparently he was also Alan's father. As Alan reached his father, they embraced, exchanging a hug and a brief muzzle touch. They spoke privately for a few minutes, looking over at Derek a few times before Alan's father walked away from Alan and towards Derek.
"Hello there, Derek is it? Is it true that you have the gift of speech?"
"Umm, yeah, I guess so." Derek responded weakly.
A smile flashed across the huskies face so quickly that Derek almost did not see it.
"It is as I had feared then." He turned away from a now very confused Derek and addressed the gathered dogs. "Brethren! The day of reckoning is upon us at last!"
A hushed murmur swept through the crowd as the priest continued on. "My brothers and sisters look upon this human, what do you see? Do you see a pet? A companion for your children? A loyal and trustworthy companion? No! I implore you to look harder. For this is no ordinary human. This human has discovered the gift of speech; a gift reserved for only the purest of beings until now. I ask you, what shall be done about this, abomination."
Upon hearing the word abomination Derek began to feel uneasy standing in front of so many excitable canines. He heard the priest continue, "My people, the great canine race is in danger!" This comment set the crowd into hushed whispers. "If even one of this lower species can discover speech, who is to say that another can, and another until each and every human speaks to us as clearly as this one does." He pointed at Derek as he spoke. Derek began to feel a very real fear creep into his heart. "When that day comes, the humans will rebel! It is inevitable. So I ask you again, what shall we do about the humans?"
The crowd began to get louder as they were being sucked into the priest's story. Somewhere, a dog yelled out "Take them out now!" and a large roar of approval rose up.
Derek could see where this was going and he looked over at Alan who calmly stared back, expressionless. Derek began to panic as the crowd grew louder and louder. Making a split-second decision, he makes a run for the door. He does not make it far, however as he is tackled from behind by a large Doberman, pinning him to the floor. He begins to feel paws all over his body, pulling in every direction, trying to lift him up. They eventually succeed and Derek is carried above the heads of the masses back to the altar screaming with all the air in his lungs. His cries fall on deaf ears as he is thrown on top of the altar. He tries to get up but is pinned down by a hundred paws. A hole forms in the mob as Derek sees the priest approach him. Fear grips his every sense as the priest slowly and calmly approaches Derek and kneels down. The priest leans his head in and whispers "Thank you, without you, this would have taken much longer." With that, the priest pulls out a long, silver knife from his robes and, in a flash, it is all over.
The priest calmly stands up, looming over his first victim and says aloud, "Now, my people, spread the word of what happened here. Go forth and protect the canine race!" A loud roar erupts from the crowd as they all rush to the exit, leaving only the choice few huskies behind.
Alan walked up to his father and asked, "What happens now dad?"
"Now we wait for the masses to do our bidding, my son. Now we wait."