Coping with Our New Lives



Coping with Our New Life

"It was a virus," I said. "At least, that's what they tell people." I led Frank down the stairs. He looked scared, his eyes shifting left and right, his ears perked in fear, listening for any sign of danger. I sighed. "Calm down, boy," I joked. "No one here is going to kill you."

"What if they find us?" He asked. "You don't even have your collar on!" I shook my head.

"This place was set up in the first months of the virus," I said. "They aren't going to find us."

"They", of course, referred to the government. Ever since the virus was first "accidentally" released two years ago, people changed, literally. The virus somehow changed people's genetic makeup, causing them to switch genders. The majority of people received animal characteristics; creating cat, dog, and bunny people. Think of an anime catgirl, and you're right on the money. Which was weird; why not any cow people? It seemed the virus was choosy amongst the four species, because after a year, not one person was untouched. The world went to hell and back, people shifting, changing…

Now the birds won't sing, and the cars won't go
     There's a lump in your throat, there's no songs on the radio…

I smiled. Sons and Daughters, I thought. The 88. One of my favorites. I could feel my tail swishing behind me as I heard the song play.

And tell all your sons and daughters, they don't have to grow up like you
     They're not supposed to…

Where was I? Oh yeah, the world ending.

Well, eventually, the virus ran its course, and those still alive picked up the pieces of the world. Governments restarted, and centers were built, and finally, society was back up and running. But like everything else in the world, it had changed.

Degradation and sexism now ruled. Humans had all the power, while catgirl
were immediately trained to be maids, housecleaners. Bunny people were waiters/waitresses, or hosts/hostesses. Dog men were primarily trained for the military. Frank had only escaped that because he was "too skittish".

As for me… dog girls were to be used for breeding.


We entered the basement, the music blaring in our already sensitive ears. Frank gaped at all the people.

"How long has this been here?" He asked, amazed.

While the governments may be run by sadistic perverts, there were groups of people that did not agree. Obviously, we were the ones to be hunted, the ones who could revolt and overthrow society. And we realized that to attempt this was suicide, so we didn't. All we were people who didn't care about the new social classes, about species, and we came here into this basement, as one group, and had some fun, like we did before.

We were only here to party.

Throw your babies in the water… Let your hair down like you used to…

I explained all of this to Frank, and he seemed to relax. Humans, cat's, bunnies, they all jumped and thrived under the party lights, dancing to the band's music. I smiled. The group that they gathered to play tonight was pretty decent.

They don't have to grow up like you…

"What if they find us?" Frank asked, still worried.

"They haven't yet," I said. "Now, calm down," I said, and as I faced him I put my hands around his neck. He smiled, and bent down, kissing me lightly on the lips.

They're not supposed to…

My parents died during the outbreak.

There was a fire in my house, and I barely escaped. My sister (at the time) got out as well, but then she turned into a he, and remained human. While I slept, he put me in a shelter for people like me, and I never saw him again. Frank (who used to be Fran) found me, and his family took me in as their adopted daughter. The thing with Frank just grew from there. Since I'm a girl now, I suppose there's nothing wrong with it… and we are in love.


After awhile, the band changed songs and began playing Less Talk More Rokk, by Freezepop. This one was a regular favorite amongst the crowd. We cheered, and danced to the beat. Frank and I moved closer.

"Thanks for bringing me here," He said.

"No problem," I said back. "I'd knew you'd enjoy it." We kissed, and as we parted I whispered, "Happy Birthday."

The music is loud, the night is so young
            All over the world, we wanna have fun
            The music gets louder, please don't call the cops
            All over the world, we just wanna rokk


Then, we froze at the precisely the same moment as half the people in the room. Our new, sensitive ears picked up a sound. It was strange, almost… stealthy. Our eyes widened at exactly the same time.

"The government," He said.

"They found us," I agreed. I pulled him towards the back, towards a secret exit I helped build, just as a loud "thunk" could be heard as something was thrown from the staircase.

"Cover your ears!" I yelled, but it was too late. An ear splitting high-pitched sound emitted from The Scrambler, a military device that produced a sound so highly pitched that only animal-people could hear, like a dog whistle, only several times more painful. It tuned everything else out, and we reached the bathrooms as a squad of military-dressed men in full combat gear swarmed the place, knocking several people unconscious as they pushed through the crowd.

"Come on!" I felt myself say. Running into the guy's bathroom, I jumped into one of the stalls and broke some of the fake plaster that covered a hole in the wall that led outside. I pushed it out of the way, and waved Frank over. We had seconds before the military found us. Frank boosted me out the window, and I pushed myself through, escaping the painful shriek of The Scrambler and landing on the soft grass outside. I turned to the opening.

"Frank, pull yourself out!" I shouted, reaching out my hand. Frank had one arm through when two soldiers burst in and dragged him away. "No!" I screamed. I saw them pull him away, out of the room, and I knew without a doubt that they were going to beat him to a pulp. Crying, I turned and ran away from the building, quickly fastening my collar around my neck. Hopefully I could make it back home before someone decided to investigate.

Oh, what was I going to tell his mom and dad?


I was still thinking this thought when a cop car pulled over.

"Excuse me, miss," The officer said. "Do you have a reason why you're out here, by yourself? Where's your contact?" He asked, referring to my ears and tail. That's another government policy I didn't like; dog-people (and only dog-people) had to have a "contact", someone with them in public at all times that could vouch for the person's identity. Of course, I was alone, and I could be arrested if I didn't come up with a good excuse. I looked at the officer. He stared at me, loathing and pity in his eyes. As he stared at me, I knew that I shouldn't have worn such a short skirt. And my tank top was too revealing, I know, but it was Frank's birthday, and damn it, I had to give him something. I decided to use the tears already running down my face to my advantage, and played the "good girl last and alone" card.

"M-my master asked me to go get groceries," I stammered. "B-but they wouldn't let me pay for them, so I, I had to put them away, and they called me a bad girl..." I let my tail drop and more tears flow. "And now I'm lost and I don't know which way to go!" I watched as the officer sighed, obviously trying to figure out what to do. Then, he turned, and motioned me forward.

"Come here," He said, motioning me forward. I leaned over, giving him a good view of my cleavage. He saw this, and reached out, as if to touch them. Don't even try, buddy, I thought. Instead, he read the tag on my collar.

Hi! I'm Kelly!
     If I'm lost, return me to…

The officer sighed. "Come here, Kelly," The officer said. "I'll give you a ride home."

Hook, line, and sinker, I thought.


The officer dropped me off, and I could tell he pitied me. That was fine, pity was better than hate. He must have been a nice person, before the virus. People like that were far and few between, these days. I walked up to my house, and opened the door, still scared at what I'd have to say to Frank's mom and dad. I stepped in and gasped.

"Frank!" I exclaimed. His nose looked slightly broken, and his right eye was puffy. His lip was split and blood ran down his face from a cut on his forehead.

"Kelly," He said, reaching out for me. "I thought they got you too…" Frank hugged me, and then started to cry into my shoulder.

"What's wrong?" I asked. How badly was he hurt?

"The only way they would drop the charges was if I joined the military," Frank cried.

"Oh, no," I moaned. "No, Frank, no. You didn't!"

"I had to," He said. "I had to. I start training on Monday." I tried to blink back my tears, but sadness and anger took over. The stupid government, the stupid society...

"You did nothing wrong," I said, stroking his ears. "You did nothing wrong."

"I love you," Frank whispered.

"I love you too."

And we just stood there.