THE ANIMAL

I was a teenager when they took me.

I don’t remember the aliens who did the abduction. Those memories are gone, taken.

All I recall from that day is the smell of lemon trees and the feeling of another’s embrace that I assume was my mother.

Then…

Light…

Pain…

A cold table…

A gas mask over my face…

Darkness.

When I woke up, it was night. Everything was blurred. All I could make out was a glowing orb that slowly came into focus. It was a torch, stuck in the ground, blazing.

I felt the ground under me; dirt. I was outside. I looked behind me and saw…a cave?

I whipped my head around, looking for any sign of my parents. I tried to call out for them but...I couldn’t remember their names, what they sounded like, their faces. I couldn’t remember my own name. I only knew these were things I once knew that somehow seeped out of my brain like air from a balloon.

A sharp panic bolted me to my feet, and I started running. I didn’t know where to go, only that this was not a place I wanted to be. There seemed to be a line where the dirt ended and-

SLAM

I ran into the glass headfirst. Blood spurted from my nose, and I clutched my face in pain.

“MOOOOOOOOOM,” a booming voice resounded from somewhere above me. “One of the humans just slammed into the glass. It was sooo funny!”

I looked up, and to my horror and confusion, I saw a giant creature that looked like a hammerhead shark only with arms, legs, and most importantly, a voice.

The creature must’ve been twenty feet tall, but I wasn’t measuring at the time. I was processing how this giant shark could not only exist, but talk. And how could I understand it?

The shark poked at the glass and blinked with those far-apart eyes.

“MOooooOOOm. He’s so cute! Can we take him home??”

Only then did I realize this giant…was a child.

When his mother came into view, she was three times his size, a gigantic humanoid hammerhead shark who held a handbag and wore a sensible summer dress. She stopped her son from tapping the glass and gave him a light scolding.

“The animals are for everyone to enjoy, dearie. Now get a move on; we’ll miss the Ragnatiger show.”

She took his hand and led him away from me.

I tested my hand against the glass and took in the long glass wall that went all around me and disappeared into a large cave in the corner.

It's...a cage, I thought. And that shark said I was an animal...

Just then, people started appearing at the entrance of the cave, other humans, except they were dressed in furs and carried spears and clubs, which seemed wrong to me for some reason. But I couldn’t remember why.

I looked at the blood on my hands, and everything went blurry again.

The last thing I saw before I fainted was a man rushing to catch me.

How nice, I thought. I wonder if this is my dad?

-o-o-o-

When I came to, a man with kind brown eyes stared back. He was large and broad-built, with a graying beard and a wide smile that greeted me as I woke up.

“Hey there, Bobby.”

“Wha…” I blinked the fog out of my brain and took in my surroundings. I was inside what looked like a torchlit cave. Not a shark-person in sight…for now. “Wh-where am I?” I stammered.

“It’s okay, Bobby.”

“Who are you?? How do you know my name?”

“It’s on your furs.”

I looked down and realized I wasn’t wearing cloth, but furs.

I looked at the walls and realized they were covered in crude stick drawings I didn't understand.

“My name is Lionel,” the man said. “And you, little one, must have questions.”

I did. And he did his best to explain everything.

As best as he could tell, this was the planet Sphyr. Home of the Sphyrnadons, a race of anthropomorphic shark aliens who delighted in capturing various “primitive” species from different planets in the name of “preservation.”

“And you, Bobby, and the newest exhibit in the zoo. You’ll be getting a lot of attention in the next few weeks.”

“And…this is where humans live?” I ask, gesturing to the cave.

“Oh no. See, all of their images of Earth are from long, long, long ago. They still think humans live in caves, and the space pirates that kidnap and sell us to them don’t bother making corrections. But don’t worry, just do what I say, and the Zookeeper will leave you alone.”

“Why can’t I remember anything?”

“Right…” he pauses. “They always do this to the kids. Bobby, you’ve got something in your head called an ‘omnichip’. It will allow you to understand every language in the galaxy but also suppresses your memories. It allows the Zookeeper to give us orders in his tongue.”

“Can it be taken out?”

“I’m afraid not. But don’t worry, we’ve all got them too. Only ours haven’t suppressed our memories of Earth since it would be too damaging for adults."

“Then…do you know how old I am?”

Best he could tell, I was fourteen.

-o-o-o-

“MEET BOBBY,” the Zookeeper said to the tourists. “Our newest addition to the human habitat! Humans raise offspring together in caves to protect them from the harsh environs of the frozen planet, Earth.”

The Zookeeper was a hulking Sphyrnadon with a circular hat and a bucket of bright orange sludge with a label on the side that read "Nutrimush."

It was my second day at the zoo.

The cave in our exhibit had areas that weren’t visible to the public, and I curled up there, closing my eyes to try and wake up from the dream.

Lionel came over and put his hand on my shoulder.

“You gotta go out there, kid.”

“...I don’t want to…will they hurt me?”

“Not if you make them happy.”

“How do I do that?”

“First step is to go outside.”

He took my hand, forced me up, and marched me toward the cave exit and into the main area of the exhibit. I remember the crowd of Sphyrnadons, towering over us with cameras that flashed and blinded me the second I stepped out.

“Oh look!”

“So cute!”

“I want one!”

“He’s sooo tiny!”

The Zookeeper smiled, scooped a handful of nutrimush and held it aloft.

“Time for a trick, human,” he said in a low, guttural growl that shook my bones.

“Do something!” Lionel said behind me. “He wants you to do a human trick for your food.”

To this day, I don’t know why I did it. It just seemed to come naturally.

I climbed a rock that was jutting upward and, with the utmost precision, did a backflip off it, landing square on the ground.

This was a mistake.

The crowd went wild. Nutrimush showered down on me in bright globs; the other humans ran out to grab like ravenous pigeons. The shark people, including the Zookeeper, applauded and shouted.

I was a sensation.

And I would be expected to do it again.

-o-o-o-

The human exhibit was outdoors, fenced in with strong glass and steel bars. The cave had just enough room for us to sleep, but it was cramped and uncomfortable. They wanted us outside, lounging on the grass for the customers.

It wasn’t only Lionel and me in the cave. Five other humans were there, their spirits so broken they barely spoke or did anything at all. Most slept all day, only dragging themselves out of the cave for feedings and shows.

The only one whose eyes still had light was Lionel. He was the de facto leader of the group, and the humans just did what he told them to do; their own will was long sapped.

He let me ask him all kinds of things about Earth, what it was truly like. He showed me the drawings on the walls. I didn’t understand what I was looking at then; they were all just stick figures and strange boxes. I know now they were trying to draw cars, houses, refrigerators, distant memories of a distant planet.

The shows were the most important part of our day. Every now and then, the Zookeeper would come around with a group of tourists, and we would need to be out of the cave and doing “human tricks” like making wooden tools and pounding rocks onto other rocks.

If you didn’t perform, you weren’t fed. And I was expected to perform more than anyone. I didn't want to, but Lionel was always there to drag me out of the cave and push me in front of the crowd. At the time, I thought it was for my own good. After all, no flips, no food.

“Will you be my dad?” I asked him one day before a show.

He looked taken aback for a moment, but then smiled and said, “Sure, kid. No, go out there and get us some mush.”

From that day on, I had a father.

But every night, I cried myself to sleep alone.

-o-o-o-

A month later, a new arrival was thrown into the exhibit. She was petite, almost my height, but her eyes burned with a determination I had not encountered before. When she looked at me, I knew her soul shone bright.

“Welcome!” I said. “My name’s Bobby, and youuuu’re…”

I squinted at the nametag on her newly minted furs.

“Caroline,” She answered. “Nice to meet you, Bobb-

“One minute!” I interrupted. I ran away to my flipping rock. A few customers had approached with buckets of mush, and that meant only one thing. I did my little trick then rushed back to her.

“You have to do that a lot?”

I pointed to a sign that had been put up a few weeks earlier. A giant cutout of me with a speech bubble that read “I’LL FLIP FOR FOOD!” right next to a mush dispenser.

“It’s…it’s not too bad,” I said, still a little dizzy from the flip.

“Well…” she lowered her voice. “Hopefully you won’t have to do this too much longer.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, I’m going to get us out of here. But I’ll need your help.”

-o-o-o-

It turned out Caroline hadn’t been abducted like the rest. She had ‘volunteered’ as a specimen but was actually a part of a human resistance movement forming on Sphyr. Apparently, humans were being kept in zoos across the planet. She had broken them out and gotten them off-planet before. She aimed to do the same for us. But first, the Zookeeper and the tourists needed to be distracted so she could organize the humans.

I did my best to show off anytime a Sphyrnadon was around. Not just flips, but cartwheels, handstands, you name it. I must’ve been a gymnast on Earth because all I had to do was tell my body to flip and it did, as if it had access to secret memories. While I diverted attention, Caroline told the other humans the plan.

It was a straightforward plan. The back of our cave was a border of the zoo. The resistance fighters would blow a hole in the back and lead us out into the wilderness of Sphyr. Getting out would be the easy part. The hard part would be surviving in a world of megafauna that made us look like rats.

The prospect frightened me. The zoo was all I knew. Sure, the performing was tiresome, but I wasn’t being hurt. Not yet anyway.

When she had finished her task, she came back to me.

“You’re the only one I’m taking, Bobby.”

“What?”

“The other humans, they… they won’t survive the journey. But you,” she looked at me. “You deserve to have a future, Bobby. I’m gonna make sure that happens. Okay? But please…”

She glanced in Lionel’s direction.

“Don’t tell him. Okay?”

“But he's...Why not?”

She cast her gaze to the side. She looked…sad. Or maybe just disappointed.

“There’s nothing to be done for him. You’re the only one we’re taking.”

That night, when I began to cry, Caroline came to my side and held my hand. It reminded me of the only embrace I could remember.

She stayed with me till I was sleeping.

-o-o-o-

It was the day before the escape.

Lionel was painting another strange box on the cave wall when I came in from a show. I was covered in mush and devouring it. It was surprisingly delicious. They flavored it with things “humans” love, like mammoth meat and proto-cactus fruit. To be honest, I still crave it sometimes.

“Bobby?” Lionel said, narrowing his eyes at me.

“The other day, what were you talking to Caroline about? I saw you two whispering in the corner.”

“...mush,” I said with my mouth full.

“Uh-huh.” He came over to me, put his hand on my shoulder, and lowered his voice. “You know Bobby, I think of myself as the leader of this little tribe we’ve got. It’s important that I know what’s going on, for the good of everyone. And that includes if my people are trying to leave. You know why?”

He looked around to make sure no one else was listening.

“Because I want to leave too. I’ve been planning an escape for all of us for years, but the timing has never been right. If you and Caroline figured out a plan, well, it wouldn’t be right to just leave me behind, would it? Are you planning on leaving your father behind? Your tribe?”

No, it wouldn’t be fair, I thought. And before you judge me, please remember that I was a kid and just…wanted everyone to be happy and free. I didn’t understand why Caroline had said Lionel couldn’t be helped. And it didn’t seem right to me to leave the others either.

But then again, I promised Caroline I wouldn’t tell. And my body recoiled at the thought of breaking her trust.

I sweated the decision all night before waking him up just as the sun rose.

And then I told him everything.

-o-o-o-

Everything was ready for the escape. All Caroline and I had to do was wait for the resistance to blow open the cave, then run for our lives.

Caroline wasn’t happy that I’d told Lionel, but he talked to her while I did a walking handstand, and everything seemed to be alright.

I was going to be free. I tried to calm my nerves, but I didn’t know what it was like to be free. It scared the hell out of me.

And if everything was giant in this world, what chance would a kid have to survive? I came close to calling off the whole plan and spending the rest of my life flipping for mush.

But I swallowed my fear and for the first time looked up at Sphyr’s night sky and let it wash over me.

The minutes ticked by and I waited for the sound of an explosion.

It never came.

Instead, screams.

The exhibit across from us was filled with Ragnatigers from Ullarock, beasts with razor-sharp teeth and multi-colored fur that glistened in the light and glowed in the dark. Meaning when Caroline walked out of the cave, she had a full, glowing view of her resistance fighters being torn to bloody shreds by the creatures.

We had been betrayed.

“Come on out!” the Zookeeper yelled. Then I watched in terror as his giant hand reached into the cave and closed around Caroline. He pulled her out, and I rushed outside, as if I could do anything to save her.

“Bad human,” the Zookeeper said. He wasn’t alone. He had friends with him who were watching the Ragnatigers tear away at the resistance fighters. “Let’s see how long this one lasts, for science!”

The other Sphyrnadons laughed hysterically.

I watched helplessly as the Zookeeper lowered Caroline into the exhibit.

I didn’t see the carnage that followed.  Lionel wrapped his hands around my eyes. That would be the only good thing he did that day.

He didn’t block my ears, though. I still hear her screams in my dreams.

-o-o-o-

You tried to kill me once, Ivan, as many have.

When you slammed my head through a car window and almost murdered me, you joined a long line of humanoids and beasts who have tried to do the same. 

Like you, they all failed.

Like you, all they did was push me toward the edge, where calm men are most dangerous.

Now the time for recompense is near.

I will take your spot, I will take your title, but I will not take your dignity, for there is none to take.

Now let me tell you how the story played out.

Pay attention. You may learn something.

-o-o-o-

The next day, Lionel acted as if nothing happened. When the tourists started gathering, mush in hand, he came to me, arms akimbo, and pointed toward the cave exit.

“No,” I said.

“You have to, Bobby. Because your father told you to.”

“Why did you do it!!?” I yelled as tears welled in my eyes.

“Because this is MY CAVE, Bobby.” Lionel roared. “Out there we will have nothing. Here, we have all the mush we can eat, as long as you keep doing your job and behave. Do you understand?"

He grabbed me by the wrist. hoisted me up and dragged me outside. It hurt, but I kept my face stolid. He wasn’t going to get an admission of pain from me.

He pushed me to the center of the exhibit, and there they all were, the giant crowd, their hands full of mush.

“Go on, Bobby,” Lionel said behind me. “Behave.”

There comes a point in every person’s life where they must choose, for the first time, whether to fight or fly.

Guess which one I chose.

I was quick enough that Lion didn’t see the rock coming. It hit him square in the nose, and he screamed from the pain.

Then I was on him. I wasn’t a trained fighter; I was a boy who didn’t know he was capable of violence. Not until he was pushed to the edge.

My punches were clumsy and unfocused, but they found their mark all the same. And when my fist met his flesh over and over, I understood why he did it. I understood the feeling of having…power. This was the feeling he betrayed me for. I resolved to take every last drop from him.

I rained down blows until the other humans pulled me off, leaving a bleeding, crumpled Lionel in the dirt.

And let me tell you…

The mush rained down.

And there was a new leader of the tribe.

-o-o-o-

It would be a year before I escaped, but that’s a story for another day.

All you have to know is I grew up in captivity because of men like Lionel…because of men like you, Ivan.

Like you, Lionel was a patriarch, a leader of a tribe; he had power, however small.

It didn’t matter that the Sphyrnadons saw us as rodents. It didn’t matter that he’d spend his life in captivity.

He had a little power. And freedom wasn’t worth the trade.

That’s you, Ivan.

You are a specimen kept behind glass to be gawked at by a public, serving men who could care less about you. Sure, you have power, sure you have adoration. 

But you are as trapped as I was in that zoo.

Chained by your grudges, chained by your hatred of M'caan Troy, chained by your own country.

I have also been a specimen. An exhibition. On display and dancing for food.

But there’s an important difference between you and me.

I had the courage to escape. You are still a tethered beast, performing for mush.

If given the opportunity to free yourself, you wouldn’t. You would stay right where you are, and ensure everyone who surrounds you is trapped as well. You tried to do it to Dawkins. You’re doing it to Kenny right now.

You want their souls to be as corroded as yours. You want them to fear freedom itself.

Because you fear freedom, Ivan. And you have let that fear rob you of friends, of family, of love. Eventually it will rob you of everything.

I would normally say that it’s not too late for you, but it is. Like Lionel, your brain has been washed clean. Nothing to be done.

But I suppose I have Lionel to thank for one thing.

Because of him, I am not frightened of men like you. I see you for what you are: a coward in bear's clothing.

It’s a shame.

The Russian Bear could’ve been a great man.

Instead of a caged animal.