Chapter 2
#3 of When It Rains
The prisoners went eerily quiet while she giggled to herself in the dark. The dismal chamber which held her seemed to light itself with her cheerful manner. The others knew better though, the giggles were of one that had lost her sanity. She had survived the turning with a cost. If she ever healed her vengeance would be a sight to see. They knew this because there had been others, others that had had been healed and had died for the price of their anger. The prisoners as a unison decided to let this creature be, this sad creature with a broken mind and a broken heart.
The days went by slowly at the institute, slowly the year turned and winter fell away to spring, summer, and fall. The monstrous tended to act like they ignored their pitiful new companion, she didn't speak to them and they didn't speak to her. However, if a caretaker ever traveled to the lower levels in the middle of the night those eerie giggles would be the only thing he heard for hours. None of the monstrous ever interrupted her while she was like this. They saw no point, she was their reminder that the light of the sun and moon was only theirs to enjoy one day in a year. That day was Halloween, as if the scientist sought to mock their existence with the holiday.
Halloween was coming up fast and the talk of the monstrous was excited, even as their inhibitors were readied so they could not escape. Each had a metal collar place around their neck to deter them from leaving. The Collar had a neuro-toxin bottled inside it. This toxin was not deadly in the least. It caused a paralysis of the limbs for hours. The monstrous were never allowed to leave and the scientists did not bother trying to delude them with fantasies of freedom.
The girl raised her head to grin at the man entering her cell. Her eyes were wide with uncharacteristic delight as he slowly eased himself into the cell, a scientist eased himself in behind the guard, the collar in his shaking hands. She giggled at them and slowly stood up making them freeze. "Have you come to play with me?" Every thing froze as the sound of her voice. No one had heard it before but the high, child-like voice was automatically placed as hers. The child had actually spoken, and she had let everyone know her state of mind in that one question.
The scientist slowly and gently shook his head at her, "No sweetie, I have come to give you something." He hold up the collar letting the metal shine in the dim light of the hall. She giggles and stares at the collar. "I like how shiny it is." He scientist smiled kindly at her and slowly eased up to her to snap the collar around her neck, the locks clicking into place. The scientist slowly pushed a combination on the back of it and green button began flashing on the front of it. He gave the guard a thumbs up and together they slowly left the cell while she studied her new item.
It wasn't very long after that the doors all swung open simultaneously as the monstrous were allowed to make their way to the surface through a tunnel at the end of the hall. The girl smiled delighted and followed the crowd of creatures. There were so many different furs. There were wolf-men as big as lions and winged monkey anthros. She giggled in delight and tailed a particularly large anthro. He seemed the peaceful kind, his large feet pounded the ground as her walked with his long nose swinging aver so slightly with each step. She quickly decided that he was an elephant mix. Her wild eyes suddenly rushed ahead to the faint like of the moon. It was midnight of Halloween morning and the monstrous had twenty four hours to enjoy the light of nature.
They all huddled into their own groups to make a party out of this one day as small windows were opened in the dome to allow fresh air to flow in. The more human sized quickly set about finding things to burn, their wings and tails twtiched and waved in excitement as they discovered the piles of firewood the scientists left them. With the bonfire set they began to sing and dance around the firelight. Its warmth welcome after the chill of the holding cells. The more larger furs either wrestled with each other or simply sat and enjoyed the early morning. The girl ran from one group to another her lupine legs unable to stay still now that she had room to run. Her wings waved rather limply behind her as her reptilian eyes explored the scenery.
The grass under her furred lupine feet felt so different than what she remembered vaguely about her past. The wind felt and smelled different to the furry lupine-like anthro. Her forked tongue flicked out to taste the scents better. Her small pointed ears moved to each sound she heard. She felt so alive with all of her new senses. She felt something touch her leg behind her and turning she saw nothing, She turned quickly and seen the tip of a tail. She chased the fluffy tail until she caught it, she mouth became full of both fur and feathers and biting down on it made her painfully realize it was her own tail. She giggled again and began to run, just run and run on all fours to feel the wind on her furred muzzle.
A few watched her out of amusement a few out of vague worry. She ran about like a child that got let out a cage after hours of just siting in there. A large lupine anthro stood up on his hind legs and acted like her would go settle her down when a feline anthro stood and laid a gentle hand on his arm. "Let her be Jared. Her brokenness will let her have at least some joy in this desolate place." The lupine man turned on his feline brother anger in his eyes. "Why should we let her stay broken? Her deranged giggles keep me from sleep at night almost as much as her silence makes me wary during the day." The feline man shook his head at Jared slowly, "Let her be, all of us here pity her situation. There is nothing we can do." Jared growled lowly at him. "We should at least try to wake her up." The panther growled lowly, "What would you do if she turned violent? Jade couldn't handle her situation and when she was healed she-"
"Don't bring up Jade!" Tears stung in Jared's eyes at the name of the beautiful tigress anthro. He as well as most of the other men had fallen for the women. When someone had been stupid enough to shatter her illusions and force her mind back together she had snapped. Reality had come back with a force and she had sought vengeance on her creator. Her life had ended swiftly because of her anger and ferocity. The feline anthro looked at his friend sadly, pitying his loss. " Let the girl be, Jared. Her illusions mask her pain." Jared relented finally and sat down as the girl decided to tackle a smaller monkey anthro and have him dance with her by the bonfire.