How It All Fell Apart
(Gary's Point of View)
The manager got up
here roughly an hour after the cleaning worker left, and I told the other ten
of the possibility that a twelfth anthro came through in time with us. When I
mentioned the unknown passenger, Timler became nervous.
"So it's true." He
muttered, "I thought I had miscalculated."
"What's true,
Timler?" I asked.
Timler took a shaky
breath to calm himself. "I can tell how many people follow me through time. I
didn't think it was possible to sneak onto the ride until you managed to, and
that was shocking enough for me."
"And you're scared
that two anthros snuck into the rift." Friz guessed.
"Exactly. I don't
know what he looks like or who he is, but he could jeopardize our mission to
stop the end of peace between anthros and humans." Timler said nervously.
"Speaking of which, Regir, do you remember how anthros fell into being the
lowlifes of society?"
"It was a tragic
event that began sometime this year." Regir recalled. "Crime rates had been
astonishingly low, with the only crimes being committed were by sociopaths and
kleptomaniacs. Basically mentally unstable people and anthros were the ones
committing crimes. I found that shocking, honestly. When I was born, some would
commit crimes over the pettiest things or just 'because they wanted to.' It was
horrible, but the world at this time was utopia. We were just recovering from
the biggest arms race gone wrong, and folks were reluctant to be 'that guy'
that ruins others' days..."
(Regir's Point of View
in the Original Version of the Timeline, Approximately a Month After the
"Current Events")
I had just regained
all memories from my past lives for maybe my fifth or sixth time of being
alive. A shocking news report had spread globally, and the world was falling
into turmoil over it. A gang of anthros had begun going on a rampage, setting
fires and committing all sorts of crimes. The last straw for this group was
when they began raping humans "because why not," as they put it. The military
got involved, and, after an intense gunfight between the gang and the military,
where more humans died than anthros, a passionate humans v. anthros debate
broke out everywhere after the identically named trial: Humans v. Anthros. The gang of anthros were quickly convicted, but
the debate was over whether the anthros should get the death sentence. That
particular punishment had been abolished for a full half millennium, so to even
speak about it when these anthros got convicted started an outrage in which
people began choosing sides. Most chose the side of their own race, and racism,
a concept thought to be extinct at this point, quickly resurfaced. As the
debate heated up and the trial continued, it was ultimately decided that the
leader of the gang be hanged and his followers were sentenced to life in
prison. Anthros were outraged. Riots overtook the streets. Neighbors turned on
each other. Lives were lost. Chaos ensued. A human army of anthro haters began
to massacre the anthros to "keep us in check" and the anthros didn't know how
to fight back. It wasn't long until Pinnacle and Nethermost were split into two
vastly different societies. Pinnacle was immaculate. Everything was always
shiny and new, and anthros were scarce. Nethermost was anthro dominant and most
buildings were overgrown or had holes in them from the riots and "police
actions." I still to this day scoff at this borrowing of a term from the twenty
first century that prevented nuclear war before. I myself lived in a fairly
decent building in the Nethermost suburbs, and my life was sustainable with no
complaints other than "Why does it have to be like this?" Before I reset my
life this time, I became an anthro rights activist my word spread fairly
effectively, and many heard my call. Pinnacle was the only city that refused to
hear me, and, after a decade of fierce activism, Pinnacle was the only
remaining segregated city. This never changed, leading us to the present. My
name was different then, so I'm thankful I always change it. How weird would it
be to be eleven when this year I would turn twenty in my past? I just prayed
that I didn't run into myself. That would be disastrous.
I relayed a
paraphrased version of this to my friends, leaving out the personal woes and my
involvement in reuniting the rest of the world in anti-segregation, replacing
any notion that I did it with the ever useful term "this guy."
"So one group
pretty much screwed up anthro rights for everybody in Nethermost?" Friz asked,
bewildered. "That's pretty brutal."
"You have to keep
in mind that the death sentence was brought up for this group when before even
psychopaths and other murderers never got executed." I explained. "If I
remember correctly, it happened around October of this year."
(Gary's Point of View)
Just then, the door opened, and I snuck
out while questions were asked. I was greeted by an anthro rabbit in her
mid-thirties. She had white fur and long blonde hair. She wore what you would
expect a manager of an inn to wear, and she had a friendly demeanor. I accosted
her, saying, "There you are. I was beginning to worry she forgot to call you."
"Who, Hilda? She
just takes her time." The manager said with a chuckle. She was forcing herself
to be friendly, though I knew better.
"You're wondering
why we needed you, if I'm right." I asked. "I can tell you don't actually want
to engage in casual conversation." She gave me a quizzical look, and I
continued. "I'll cut to the chase. We need a place to lay low, and you're gonna
let us stay here for free under the alias I gave Hilda. If anyone asks, we
don't exist. Got it?" She only nodded. "Good, that'll be all." She walked out
of the room. I went back into the bedroom and told the others that it was
clear. They all came out of the room and Nick, Ghast, and I gazed out the
window at the peaceful scene while the rest talked about the tragedy that would
be upon us before the year was up. Judging from the season, it was summer, so
that gave us roughly four months at most to fix all of this. I was lost in thought
until Nick yanked me back to reality.
"I wanna play
ball." He said with longing. He was referring to the group of children and cubs
playing with catch with a tennis ball. Ghast wanted to as well.
"I don't know,
guys." I said. "You have powers that might flare up at any time, and I've never
even seen what Ghast can do. I don't trust it."
"Oh, come on, Gary!
I've never been able to play before. Too many responsibilities in the healing
ward." He complained.
"Not to mention you
became a necromancer." I reminded him. He looked visibly ashamed of that, so I
caved. "Fine, you can go." I conceded, "However, I must issue an ultimatum. You
are not to use your powers. If you do, this will be the last time you can play
with the locals." My persuasion powers poured into this warning, and Nick and
Ghast nodded with genuine fear. "Also, come up with a fake name. Ghast, you can
use whatever you want. Nick, since we're brothers, your last name must the same
as my fake name's last name."
"And what's that?"
he asked.
"Robinson." He
nodded, and I dismissed them. It was quite obvious that I was becoming the
level-headed authority figure that would keep us sane, and I was okay with
that. What I was not okay with was that mysterious passenger that followed us
here, and I was determined to find him. My only hint, unfortunately, is that he
looked to be a hyena when I saw his shadow.
I watched as Nick
and Ghast emerged from the hotel, getting the attention of the group that were
playing with the tennis ball. They waved in a friendly manner and let the two
newcomers join their game. The goal was to keep the ball off the ground while
passing it around. The game was going well until one of the humans dove for the
ball to prevent losing a point and skid on the concrete on his bare elbow and
knee. He cried out, and I saw the blood that was beginning to emerge from his
wounds. Nick rushed to his side in a panic, trying to figure out what to do. I
saw his healing instincts kicking in, and he was fighting the urge to use a
healing spell. He eventually looked towards where I was, asking with his eyes
for guidance. I then realized that my power had revoked his ability to even use
his powers willingly...