A New Life: The Facility

Both Carter and James start walking down the hall, I follow behind. The two seem like they know one another, they’re talking normally, as if nothing is wrong about this whole situation. It’s almost infuriating, How can these guys be so calm about this.

Carter turns to me. “So, how long have you been up? Few Days?”

I shake my head, “No, I only woke up this morning.”

Carter nods, “Ah, so you must still be a little weirded out by all of this huh?”

“Yeah, it’s… it’s all a little much to be fair, I don’t know if I’ll ever get used to it.” I reply.

James chimes in now, looking at the both of us, literally. “Oh I know what you mean, when I woke up like this a few weeks ago, I freaked out. Could you imagine waking up, and then seeing in two different directions at all times? I was horrified!” He chuckles, “I brought myself here, I couldn’t bear to let my family see me this way.” His smile sinks a little. “But I’m sure once more people get accustomed to this massive influx of Changed, I’ll go home and my family won’t mind one bit.”

Carter jabs him on the shoulder lightly. “Now that’s the spirit! You’ll be outta here in no time, your sub species isn’t a violent one, so you should get your pass soon enough.”

I take this option to ask a vital question, “Pass? What’re you two talking about?”

Carter turns to me fully, walking backwards now. “Ah, you probably don’t know! Anyhow, the short of it is, if you don’t cause problems, we’ll give ya a pass, saying that you’re ready to get back into society. It’s like a diploma, or a doctor’s note.” Carter points to the badge he’s wearing, with the same human hand and paw logo on it. “When I wear this badge, the one thing on my mind is making sure you guys are safe and comfortable. Based on the changed’s subspecies, they might become overwhelmed with instinct from their animal counterpart. So could you imagine if someone with giant claws thought you looked like dinner? We wouldn’t want that!” He laughs and continues, “However, if we can prove that you guys still got humanity inside ya, we’ll send you back home, and you can live your life like it was.”

I suppose he makes sense; it lines up with what that Vet guy was telling me earlier. I still have questions. It’s my turn to speak, “You said you wanna keep us safe and comfortable, but this place seems more like a prison than somewhere where we can be safe.”

Carter turns back around and nods, “Yeah, I’ll be honest with you Lyla, this place ain’t in the best shape. Actually, and I’m sure you already noticed, this place used to be a school. Turns out after the whole, metamorphosis thing, the school shut down and the R.C.C. started borrowing the place. Some of the staff are still here, changed like you guys. I heard from the higher ups that parents wanted to keep their kids regardless of changed status, some whole families were changed. We try to be respectful to those affected, we don’t force people to come in here.”

“That’s a little eye opening, if they don’t force people to come here, how did I end up here?” I ask. Carter stops, pondering my questions. His face turns to genuine confusion. “Hmm, that’s… a good question. Do you remember coming here?”

I shake my head, now things aren’t making sense again. “No, I don’t remember coming here at all.”

Carter gives me an expression, the same confusion I have. “That’s odd… He says, It could be your changed confusion. But once I drop you guys off, I’ll grab your file from the office and take a look at it for you. Maybe you came to us while you were amnesiac? Someone did that a few days after their change.”

I shake my head, “I have a vague memory of what happened, just promise me once you get the information, you’ll let me know.” I tell him. Carter nods and gives me a grin. “Of course, I wouldn’t be helpful to you guys if I didn’t. Should be easy.”

Carter starts walking again. “Anyways, we gotta get you guys to the cafeteria, it may be a school, but they actually seem to make some decent food here.” Raising an eyebrow, I ask, “What’re they gonna feed us? Some kinda dog food?” Carter laughs, “Nah, that wouldn’t fit James’ diet would it?” James responds, “they actually feed us real food, we’re still people ya know.”

“I know, I know, just seems with the shitty building and the prisonlike rooms we’d be eating like animals too.” I say sarcastically.

“You make a fair point Ms. Possum, would you like me to give you something from the trash?” Carter snaps back. I give carter a glare, “Really?” Carter responds, “You started it, ha ha!” He laughs. Despite this situation, Carter’s been the most human, human, I’ve met so far. I can’t help but brush off his comment, he’s just being an ass.

Carter stops us in front of a double door leading into the cafeteria, “Looks like this is where we part ways guys.” He says, “It’s been nice talking to you Lyla, I’ll be sure to take a look at the file for ya.” He gestures to James, “He’ll be your guide from now on, I’ll come find you two when I get a good look at the file, James’ll show ya the ropes.”

James nods, “I’m sure everything’ll be fine.” Carter pats James on the shoulder. “Nice, Stay outta trouble you too.” Carter then grabs the door, and opens it, letting us walk into the cafeteria.

Entering the cafeteria, I’m come face to face with 50 other people who have met the same fate as me, people who’ve been turned into animals. Groups of people, Bears, wolves, Cats, Dogs, Sheep, Goats, Racoons, Squirrels, you name it. There’s not a single type of changed I didn’t see. Honestly, it’s a lot, maybe a little too much. That same freezing feeling is starting to creep up my legs again, working it’s way through my body, causing me to stop moving altogether. Just before I can’t move anymore, James grabs my arm, and pulls me out of it. “Come on,” he says, “Let’s go get in line.”

We start working our way into the line, moving slowly, as people are served food from the same setup used in school. Now, instead of feeling like a prison, I feel like I’m back in high school, now I just feel embarrassed. While I’m standing in line I feel a sharp pain come from behind me, I jolt, and realize that someone had stepped onto my tail, this is the third time I’ve gotten hurt from this stupid thing, I think it’s the one part of me that’s pissing me off the most.

Looking back to see who’s behind me, I notice a small rodent creature in a sweater about waist height standing behind me, looking around. They’re looking up at me, their beady eyes being obscured by the fur on their face.

They speak to me in a stammering voice. “I…I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

I rotate to face them, moving my stupid tail out of the way. “It’s alright,” I respond.

“I’ve… I’ve been such a clutz lately, I used to be able to get around okay, but now I can barely see anything. The doctors say that I’ve become a mole.” The rodent stutters out, clearly embarrassed by the situation it’s in.

I sigh, this person’s got it worse than me. “I’m sorry to hear that, I… I don’t know what to say.”

“you don’t have to say any..anything.” the mole responds. “I’m just lucky I didn’t wander into traffic. This is probably the safest place for me. I’ll be more careful miss..”

I respond once more. “Alright… Take care then.” The mole gives a happy nod, as if our small conversation was the best thing that happened to them today.

I turn around, again, following James. I don’t even know what to say to that person, jeez, imagine being them. I’m glad I can still see.

James and I continue through the line, finally, we make it to where the foods being served. It’s real people food, and not the crap they sell at schools. However, the dry erase board says that they’re doing subs today. So, I guess I’m getting a sandwich.

Once we grab our sandwich, they give us an option between a water bottle, and one of those little milk cartons that they normally give out at schools. I’d rather take the water, too many spoiled milks in school ruined my appetite for anything in a small carton.

I absentmindedly follow James to the table, on the way, I can spot some more changed at the tables. Now, I’m noticing there’s people who’ve been turned into foxes, deer, rabbits, and even someone who’s been turned into a mountain lion. I didn’t think this would be the first time I saw a mountain lion in person, but I guess this is it.

Sitting down at a relatively empty table, I sit across from James. He still kind of weirds me out, being that he’s ya know, a chameleon. But since I’ve seen an Ark’s worth of changed, it’s not as bad as it was when I saw him through the crack in the wall.

As we unwrap our sandwiches, James decides to break the silence. “What’d you pick out?” he asks.

“I got roast beef.” I respond.

“That’s an odd choice, I don’t think I’ve met someone who actually enjoys roast beef.” He says.

“Yeah, well I used to make ‘em all the time in college.” I reply, “It’s a comfort food I suppose.”

We sit in silence for a bit more before I chime in. “What’d you decide on?”

James, responds. “I got a vegetarian option.” He says.

“Why’s that?” I ask? “Something to do with you being a lizard?”

“Nah,” he says, “I just don’t like lunchmeat.” He responds.

“Gotcha.” I reply. I move the sandwich to my mouth to take a bite, before I realize that… I… I don’t know how to fit this in my mouth. I’m so used to doing things how I normally would, I didn’t account for the fact that my face is different. Sighing, I move the sandwich around, and finally find a way to eat it comfortably. It still tastes like I remember, so on the bright side, some things about me didn’t change.

Sitting in silence with James, it’s hard to find something to talk about with him. I don’t really know him all that well, but the fact we’re in this weird situation, I don’t know if I should ask him about what he used to do before this.

But I guess James had the same thought, since he started the conversation again. “What’d you do before all this?” He asks.

I shrug, “I used to work at a supermarket.” I reply. “It wasn’t anything special, I just stocked shelves and worked to pay off my student loans.”

James Nods. “Sounds like you we’re living the real college kid life huh?”

I glance up from my sandwich, “College kid life? I’ve been done with college for a few years now. How old are you anyways?” I ask.

“I’m 26, I just never finished college. My dad used to be a house painter. I took up the business a while back.” James replies.

I nod, “Gotcha, the family business was more important then huh?” I say.

James shakes his head. “I didn’t want to. My dad passed away 6 years ago, I had to drop out of college.” James looks away. “I ended up taking the family business over, and I’ve been painting homes since then. I’ve been the man of the house up until now.”

Jeez, this isn’t how I thought it was going to go. “I’m… I’m sorry for prying.” I say.

“Oh it’s fine, I asked first.” James pauses, before continuing. “It’s just me and my sister now, My mom didn’t handle the loss of our dad very well. She’s out of the picture now, said I’m old enough to take care of us both.”

Concerned, I ask. “Is your sister going to be fine while you’re here?”

James nods, “She’s 20, I’ll be gone for hours at a time. However, when I woke up like… this, she was at school. I left her a voicemail back home telling her I’d be back sometime soon, and I also left a note. I wanted to call her once I got here. But I never got the chance.”

“Why not?” I ask.

“Well, I left my phone at home, and when I got there, I asked to call, and they said they’d do it for me.” He responds.

“That’s odd.” I say. “Why wouldn’t they let you call?” I ask.

“Beats me.” James says. “I asked again and they said that I’d be able to go home soon, so not to worry.”

I set my sandwich down, and shake my head. “That doesn’t sound right, we should find a way to get you a phone.” I say. “We could always ask Carter.” James says. “He’s been the guy who always gets me every morning, so I’ve gotten pretty chummy with him.”

James reaches for his bottle of water, “but enough about me, what about you?” He asks. “You got family?”

“Kinda.” I say, “I lived with some friends of mine, away from where I grew up, but I didn’t talk to my parents much.”

“Why? You guys estranged or something?” James asks, going back to his sandwich.

“No,” I say. “My parents were always very busy, they had me at a young age, called me their “happy little accident”. They both worked a lot, and I grew up with my aunt until I was old enough to start taking care of myself.” I go back to my sandwich, trying not to think about my parents. I just realized now that the first thought when I woke up here wasn’t what my parents would think, but what my friends would think. God, I’m selfish. I start talking again. “I know my parents cared about me, my aunt Jessie always said so. She used to tell me about all their plans while my mom was still pregnant with me. She said my parents were so hellbent on making sure I grew up with nice things, that my dad and her decided to quit their dream of starting a restaurant.”

“Sounds like your parents really loved you.” James replies.

I sigh, “Maybe as a kid. I stopped taking their calls when I moved out. Once I was gone they just kinda… forgot about me. Started following their dreams again. Even tried dragging me into the family business too. Pretty messed up huh?” I look up at James, who’s now done with his lunch, he takes a drink from his water bottle and says, “there’s always time to reconcile, once we get outta here you can go see them.”

I take the last bite of my sandwich and reply, “Looking like this? You kidding me? What a way to come back into your parents lives, hey mom and dad, I’m a possum now. How’s things?”

James chuckles, “Better to come back a possum, than to never come back at all.” I let out a defeated sigh. “Maybe. Once we get out of here I’ll think about going to see them. I’ll be in the area.” I say. Looking up from our conversation, a good amount of people have vanished from the cafeteria. “Where’d everyone go?” I ask.

“Probably outside or wandering around the building.” James says. “It’s that time of day where we can just wander around. They have workshops and stuff for us to do.”

“So… free time?” I ask. James nods. “Yeah, everything is scheduled, but they’re laid back about doing it, the only thing we really have to do is go talk to the psychologist every week.” I raise an eyebrow. “They have a shrink here?” I ask. James stands up, grabbing both his plate and mine. “Yeah, they usually ask about instinct and stuff. It’s not that big of a deal, if you’re not acting like your sub species, you’ll be out really fast.”

I shake my head, I guess it makes sense, a shrink. But I’m not really one to talk to some doctor about my problems. Just doesn’t seem right, that’s what my friends are for. James walks away, dropping the plates at a little stand next to the trash. “Come on,” he says, “Let me show you around.”

I stand up, grabbing my water bottle. “Sure, let’s go.” I say. We both turn to the door leading out from the cafeteria and start walking the facility.

James walks me down the hallway, and into a massive room. Inside is a massive pool, and a group of changed people lounging in the water, and swimming. Some people are sitting on reclining beach chairs outside of the pool, reading books.

“This is the pool room.” James says. “I don’t come in here very often, it’s sometimes crowded.”

“Dang. They’ve got a whole ass pool here huh?” I ask. “That’s impressive.”

“It used to be a school, some things don’t change.” James says. “Come on, there’s still more to see.” James walks me out of the pool room, and back into the hallway. We keep walking down the hall, and turn into another room. This one, is filled to the brim with books of all kinds. “This is the library, it’s still completely intact from before all this happened. Reading a good book is a nice way to unwind, at least, that’s what some of the people in here say.” James says, smiling.

“Nice, I dunno if I’m much of a reader though.” I say. The room looks nice however. It seems like a good place to relax if I need some peace and quiet.

“You don’t really strike me as the reading type.” James chuckles. “I’m not much of a reader myself, I used to read a lot of comics when I was younger.”

“Sounds like my childhood.” I reply. I walk around the library, looking at the books. All manner of genres, mystery, fiction, nonfiction, even some textbooks line the walls. Some of the horror books are mixed in with the mystery ones, I recognize one of them from when I was in high school. I poke inside, and thumb around the book for a moment. “Man this one brings back memories.” I say.

I turn around, and James is already outside of the door. I set the book back on the shelf and rush a little to catch up to him as he takes me around the facility more.

After a few minutes. We both reach a set of double doors. Opening the doors, we enter into a massive gymnasium. The room is currently occupied by some changed playing a game of basketball. There’s some people sitting on the bleachers, talking to one another.

“This is the gym. But, I’m sure you already knew that.” James grins.

“Yes, I’ve seen a gym before.” I laugh.

The gym seems spacy, pretty big for what used to be a normal school. I don’t think I’ll be seeing myself in there anytime soon.

“You play anything? Before all this?” James asks.

“I used to play Tennis.” I say. “Something my parents wanted me to do, said it’d be fun, and it wasn’t like any of the other sports.”

“Gotcha, you still play?” James’ expression showing interest.

“No, I haven’t played since high school.” I reply.

It’s true, I haven’t touched a tennis racket since I was in high school. I lost interest when I got older. Never really had a reason to play.

“Well, that’s a shame. I didn’t play anything.” James says, putting his hands on his hips. “I used to be really good at cards though, played that with my family all the time. Everyone thought I was cheating!” James laughs.

“Come on,” he says, there’s still some other places we need to go.” James walks out of the gym, and back down the hall. I start following again. Soon enough, we make our way into a room at the far end of the school, it’s filled with a astounding amount of art supplies. As well as more changed, painting, sculpting clay, and even taking pictures.

One of them, a person who’s been turned into a cat, snaps a photo of us. The flash blinds me for a short moment, rubbing my eyes, I look up and the cat is handing me a polaroid, with James and I on it. James is smiling, but I look like a deer caught in the headlights, despite looking identical to a possum.

“Here you go!” the cat says. “Something to brighten up your day!”

“Thanks.” I say, taking the polaroid from the cat’s paw.

James grins, “This is the art room. It’s where they hold workshops for most of us here, they’re optional of course. But sometimes I’ll come in to draw.”

“Do you paint?” I ask.

“Only houses, my artistic talent is relegated to flat colors on a wall, rather than anything else.” James laughs. “Only one more place to go.” James Says. Leading me out of the room and back into the hall.

We walk for a while, until reaching another set of double doors, farther into the secluded part of the school. “What’s this place?” I ask.

“You’ll see.” James says, opening the door. We both walk into a large auditorium, with a projection screen playing a movie on it. Some old fantasy film I can’t remember the name of.

“I’m sure I don’t have to explain this place.” James laughs.

I grin, “it’s an auditorium. Turned into a makeshift movie theater I suppose?”

“You got it. We can watch some movies whenever we want, they’re always playing something different every time I come in.” James says. “You like movies Lyla?”

“Are you hitting on me?” I ask.

“What?! No no! I’m just making conversation.” James says, taken aback.

“I know, I’m messing with you. I used to watch a lot of movies with my friends, but we never went to the theater very much.” I say.

“Oh, I see. Well, maybe we can make some new friends and try to rectify that.” James says with a grin.

“Maybe.” I say.

We both leave the auditorium. I spend the next few hours just wandering the rest of the school with James, for a moment, things seem normal. Like this whole ordeal never happened. Sure, I’m wandering a school with a relative stranger, but as we roam the halls and point out some of the people we pass, it feels like things went back to the way they were. But, as we walk back to where my room is, the realization of my current situation falls on me once more. I can’t help but get a sinking feeling when we stop in front of my room.

“It’s getting late, they’re probably going to start asking us to hunker down for the night. I hope you had some fun on your first day Lyla.” James says.

I force a smile, “Thanks, I’m glad you showed me around.”

“You okay?” James asks.

“Yeah, I’m… I’m fine.” I respond, lying through my teeth.

“Okay, well… if you need anything. you can just talk through the wall.” James says.

“Yeah, I know, I might take you up on that.” I respond.

Suddenly, the PA system activates. A man’s voice comes through the speakers lining the halls. “Attention residents. It is 9pm. If you’re not in your rooms currently, please make your way to your rooms. Lights will shut off in 15 minutes. Thank you and have a good night!”

“I guess we better go to our rooms.” I say.

“Sounds like it.” James responds.

I open the door, and I walk in. Closing the door behind me, I can see James wave me goodbye as the door closes. Now, I’m back in my room again. Where this whole debacle started. The light coming through the window is dimming. With the sun setting, and the doors closed. I’m left with my thoughts once more.

What a surreal experience this all is. I still can’t get over it. Walking around, sitting in the cafeteria, doing normal things. For those few moments throughout the day, it felt like things were normal. I was spending time with my friends, walking around. All familiar feelings. But everything surrounding it, felt off. Like some kind of fever dream I can’t escape. Even now, looking at myself in the mirror once more, I see… me. But a different me. Spending all day like this, I’m not as taken aback by the inhuman form I’ve taken. But still, it feels like a part of me is… well… lost. Something about me that I can’t get back, something about me that I know isn’t going to come back.

I walk back to my bed, and sit on it. Staring into my hands. They’re mine, but they’re new. I look down to my side, and I see a tail, something I’ve never had before. Another reminder that I’m not who I used to be on the outside. Thing is, I know I’m still me on the inside. I know what’s inside my head hasn’t changed. I know that despite my outward appearance, I’m still me. I don’t know if I’m ever really going to get used to this. I look down to the foot of my bed, and I can see the piece of wall I pulled out this morning, protruding out of the concrete.

Slowly, I move to the end of my bed, and lean my arm over the front of the bed, and pull the piece of wall out. I hear the sound of footsteps coming to the hole in the wall.

“You… need something Lyla?” James’ voice calls from the hole in the wall.

“I guess.” I say, “Have you… gotten used to this whole ordeal? Ya know, not being human anymore?”

“I mean… not really.” James responds. “I still sometimes see myself and get taken aback. But it wasn’t like... the first time I woke up like this.”

“What was it like?” I ask. “How did you deal with it?”

“Well… I guess it was like any other day, I didn’t really realize what had happened until I looked in the mirror when I went to shower.” James responds. “It was mostly silent, just, freaking out inside of my head. I wandered around the house to make sure that My sister wasn’t like me. But, she was gone by then. When I looked at the note on the fridge to see where she went, from the writing, I don’t think anything happened to her like what happened to me. I panicked after that. I threw my clothes on, and opened the door. I saw someone walking down the sidewalk, I called out to them since… they were in a similar situation.”

“What was that like?” I ask, “Meeting someone else like you for the first time?”

“Well, It was both a bit of relief, and a bit of a shock.” James replies, “They were… a dog, I think. Some kind of dog. I asked them what was going on, and they told me they knew as much as I did. Said that someone told them about a place where people like us could go, to find answers, and understand what was going on. Work through it you know? I ended up following them, but they got cold feet when the buses showed up. The bus took us here. That’s when I met Carter. He was one of the first people to greet us off the bus. Think he knew I was a little more freaked out than everyone else. So I guess we became friends, turns out he was the guy assigned to waking me up every morning too. One could call it a coincidence, but I think it’s something more.

“What, like divine intervention?” I ask.

“Maybe,” James says with a chuckle. “Who knows. All I know is that as long as I give you the same kindness Carter gave me, we’ll all make it through.”

“You think… this happened for a reason?” I ask. “Since I brought up divine intervention, It’s strange how some people changed, and some didn’t. Why did it happen to us?”

“Maybe, it’s because we’re special?” James replies.

“Maybe, but I don’t think I’m very special.” I say.

“It could be something to do with our personalities. Maybe we’re so much like our sub-species in personality the world made some kind of “correction”? That could be a possibility.” James replies.

I lie on my back. “It could be. I dunno, this whole thing is just surreal. It’s scary.” I say.

“You’ve got every right to be scared.” James responds. “It’s not everyday something like this happens.”

“I know… I guess I’m just having trouble processing it all.” I reply. “I froze up when I first saw myself this morning, like it wasn’t me, but it still was at the same time. Like a… uh…”

James pauses for a moment, and then finishes my thought for me. “Like a caricature?”

“That.”

“I know how you feel, heck, all of us here know how you feel. You’re not alone.” James says.

“Yeah, but It’s still weird to see people who… aren’t people. It’s like strangers, but worse.” I say.

“You have a problem with strangers?” James asks.

“No, I guess it’s the same feeling when you’re a kid, people who are older than you that you don’t know, they look scary, and menacing. That’s what weird about it, that’s what’s scary. Now, I’m older, but that feeling is back, because I’m staring downs someone who used to be a human, but they’re now some massive animal I’ve only seen on TV.” I reply.

“They’re still that same person on the inside though.” James responds.

“Yeah, I know, I had that thought about myself.” I say. “Still though, what happens if I’m not? Like, this isn’t over?”

“What, you think we’re going to change again? Lose our humanity?” James asks.

“I mean, it’s not out of the question is it?” I say. “We’ve changed once, what if we change again?”

I turn to my side, bringing my legs up to my chest. For a moment, I feel comforted. But, the unease of my situation still keeps me lucid enough from falling asleep.

“I think you’re thinking too hard about it.” James replies. “It’s only been a couple weeks, and people haven’t changed again. Personally, I don’t think we’re going to change again, Lyla.” James says.

“Well, I hope not…” I pause for a moment, chewing on James’ words. “Thanks for talking to me.” I say into the hole in the wall.

“Of course, we’re friends, aren’t we?” James replys, I can feel his optimism radiating through the wall.

“Yeah, we are.” I say, smiling.

“Good, you turning in?” James asks.

“Yep, talk to you tomorrow.” I reply.

“Talk to you tomorrow!”

I pick up the piece of wall from the floor, and slot it back into it’s home on the wall. Spinning myself so my head hits the pillow, I grab the starchy blanket from the bed, and then pull the covers over me. It’s less coverage than I’m used to, but because of the fact I’m covered head to toe in hair, it does it’s job just fine.

Lying in bed, I replay the day through my brain. Waking up, freaking out, meeting Carter and James, exploring the facility. It doesn’t feel like I did a lot. But, I can’t help but get tired at the thought of everything I’ve done today. Maybe it’s just the fact that my brain is fried from this whole ordeal. Whatever the reason for my extreme tiredness, I find myself drifting off into sleep quickly, as my vision dissipates, and the soft sound of my breathing is all that remains.