Chapter 5: New Life

The woman was sitting at home reading a book when something crashed into my window. “THE HELL?!” She jumped back, startled. The woman quickly ran into the kitchen and grabbed a metal pan, then slowly walked out to see what had come in. She peeked around the corner to see the boy who was in that alley with his mother. He was panting and sweating heavily. She slowly walked over to him, then his eyes darted at her. “Nice lady!” He exclaimed, “I am so happy I found you. I am scared, I-I…” Ferral was in a complete panic. That’s when she heard police sirens circling the area. Clearly, the meeting with the paramedics didn’t go very well. As she watched him, the woman noticed something she hadn’t before. His hands, feet…they were these beast-like claws. And on top of his head, he had beast-like ears. He continued to mutter, “I’m scared,” curled in a ball, and rocked back and forth. It broke her heart. Just from their first encounter, she could tell that, whatever he was, he wasn’t used to being outside like this.

Ferral had a million things on his mind and barely understood any of them. The woman walked closer, putting down the pan, and knelt in front of him. She stroked his head, “Hey, you’re okay. You’re okay.” He seemed to calm down a little, and tears began to roll down his face. “Nice lady,” He started, “I do not know what is happening. Why is water coming out of my eyes? Why does my heart hurt? Why were the people mad at me?” He had so many questions, so she tried to answer them as best as she could. “That ‘water’ is called tears, and what you’re doing is crying.” She told him. Ferral looked at her, confused as he rubbed his eyes, “Crying? Why am I crying?” He asked. “If I had to guess, it’s because of the death of your mother.” The woman responded. “Because of Mother? Because she is asleep forever?” He asked. The woman nodded, “Yeah. Now, why are you scared?” He sniffled, “They called me a freak and a monster. They were all around me, so I had to fight. Cars chased me, so I ran and came to you.” He looked down at his hands and started to cry harder, “They all said I was a monster. Mother said I am not….I am not, right?” He asked.

“Of course not,” She responded, sincerely. “You were just scared, that’s all. It’s not your fault.” Ferral sniffled and wiped his tears, “You are a very nice, Nice Lady. What is your name?” He asked. It hadn’t dawned on the woman that they never actually exchanged names. “My name is Clare,” She responded, What’s yours?” “93-” He paused for a second, “Ferral. My name is Ferral.” He said. Clare smiled, “Ferral, that’s a very nice name.” Ferral smiled back, “Thank you, my mother gave it to me.” Clare got up and walked to the broken window, looking outside to see if the police cars were gone, but she had a feeling that they were still patrolling the area. She looked back at Ferral. She knew she couldn’t send him back out; they would find him and arrest him, so there was only one thing Clare could do.

“Do you wanna stay here for a while?” She asked him, and he looked at her with surprise. “R-Really?!” He asked. Clare nodded, Ferral shooting up off the ground and hugging her, wrapping his arms tightly around. “THANK YOU! THANK YOU SO MUCH!” His voice filled with joy. She was stunned by how strong he was; she could barely breathe from how tightly he was hugging her. But Clare smiled and managed to get one arm out to stroke his head. “You’re welcome.”

Afterward, Clare asked him if he wanted anything to drink, and he said this dark, fizzy drink, which she assumed meant soda. “Sorry, I don’t have any of that.” She told him, “But, I do have some orange juice if you want that?” He tilted his head, confused, “What is that?” He asked. She headed to the kitchen, took out the carton of juice from the fridge, and poured some into a small glass. She handed it to Ferral, who sniffed it before taking a sip. His eyes widened, and he chugged the rest down. “THAT WAS SO GOOD!” He exclaimed, “Can I have more?” Clare chuckled, “Something tells me you’re just gonna want the whole carton.” She put the carton down on the coffee table in front of him, and he grabbed it and started chugging it down. She laughed, “Guess I’ll add orange juice to my Saturday shopping list.”

She stared at him, examining his animalistic features. What IS he? He looked human but had the claws, ears, and even a tail of an animal. Out of curiosity, she asked him, “I don’t mean to be rude, but what ARE you?” Clare asked, and he looked at her, putting down the empty carton. She was actually afraid that she might’ve offended him. “I am a wolf and a person put together.” He answered, rather calmly, to her surprise. “So, you’re some kind of genetically engineered half-human half-animal hybrid? That’s incredible.” Clare responded. He drank more of the juice before responding, “I do not know what that first thing you said was. Only that you said it was incredible.” He replied. “Hybrid means you’re just two things mixed together, and genetically engineered means you were made by science.”

“Ooohhhh,” He smiled, “Yeah, that’s me.”

He must be some kind of secret government project or something, Clare thought. “Where are you from?” She asked. Ferral shrugged, “I do not know. Mother always called my home “The Organization,” and I lived in my box.” How he can say that so casually baffled Clare. “I see. Are there others like you?” She asked, “You know, animal hybrids.” He scratched his head, “Yeah, but I have never met them. The only people I know are Mother the people who dress like Mother. The people dressed like Mother always hurt me. But Mother, she always made me feel better.” So that’s it. This “Organization” must’ve tortured Ferral, and his mother was sorta the only one who cared for him. “One more question, what’s your mother’s name?” Feral tilted his head, “Huh? Oh! Her name was Ms. Amber.”

So, his “mother” isn’t his biological parent. To think that he’s lived this long with hardly any knowledge of the real world and only one foster parent. It amazed Clare that his personality is the way it is. This Ms. Amber must’ve been an angel to have molded Ferral into what he is now. However, there were questions for another day; he must’ve had one exhausting day. “Alright, it’s getting pretty late. I think it’s time for bed.” With that, Clare turned the couch into a makeshift bed, gave Farrel some blankets and a pillow, and before she knew it, he was knocked out.

Clare lay in her bed, staring out the window, pondering what she was gonna do with Ferral. *Do I let him live with me for good? Do I try and take back to this…Organization?* If they WERE torturing him and trying to potentially turn him into some kind of weapon….what about the others? He said there were more, but he feels like the one they must have high expectations for him if they let him out. Are the others like him, as tamed as him? All Clare knew was that she needed to keep him safe and keep him by her side. While she looked out the window, she suddenly remembered…there’s the broken one in the living room. She let out a long sigh, “Damnit,” She muttered before looking up at the ceiling. “It’s definitely gonna be an experience having him around.”