This choice: Continue with this storyline • Go Back...Chapter #5The Road (to Recovery) by: Unknown Layton got some intermittent, restless sleep, but the frostbite thawing on his face hurts too much for him to really get any rest, so he eventually just opted to lie there in bed, pondering his situation. He had gotten extremely lucky. He has come across tons of bodies over the years, from people who’ve simply getting caught outside during a blizzard. Getting rescued by this benevolent society was probably the best possible outcome he could’ve hoped for. Still, he were quite baffled by what he had seen. First off, why exactly were these mutants given animal characteristics, and why were they all born female? Second, did they really expect him to… impregnate some of them? He was a person, not a walking sperm dispenser. Before he could consider this further, though, another of the women suddenly slid open the door and walked into his hospital room.
When the wolf nurse he met earlier said that all the women here were ‘like her’, he thought she meant that they’d all look like wolves. This one, however, resembled an entirely different animal; not even a canine, but a full-fledged grizzly bear! She was also much, err, heavier then the wolf was; in a good way, of course. She definitely had a pear shape, with huge hips that were wider than her shoulders, though her bust left nothing to be desired, either. She was also about 6’5”, or about a head taller than he were. Squeezed around her curvy body, she wore a long, white blend coat over a familiar teal pencil dress, with a red first aid symbol printed on the right breast. She also wore round-rimmed glasses and a white nurse’s cap. She smiled as she closed the door behind he, walking over to his beside while holding a cardboard clipboard.
“I am Velia, the chief physician in this informory. Your doctor asked me to assess your condition and go over your options,” she said, sitting down on a wooden stool by his bed, which creaked beneath her size. “Please, give me a moment while I look over his notes.”
“... okay,” he nodded, and sat silently for a few moments while the bear read through her clipboard. “Hey. I, uh, left my gear out there when I fell,” Layton says, remembering the stuff he dropped. He really wanted to get it back before some wanderer grabs it; a lot of that stuff had sentimental value. “It shouldn’t be that far from where y’all found me. Is there any chance anybody here found it?”
“Not that I’ve heard, but our scavengers are very talented. I’m sure one can find it for you, no problem,” the bear looks up from her clipboard with a smile.
“Oh, great. Thanks!” He nods, impressed by how selfless these mutants were.
“Well, let’s not be too hasty. They don’t work for free,” she frowned, and he sighed. Of course. Nothing in this world is free. “While you are recovering, you will be provided with food, shelter and medical care for no charge, as you were technically brought here against his will,” she explained slowly, as if picking her words carefully. “If you want anything beyond that, though, you will have to pay your dues.”
“How am I supposed to do that?” He asks, furrowing his brow. “I can’t even walk.”
“Well, I don’t want to seem forceful, as you are still recovering and all, but I want to emphasize; your seed is a… very valuable commodity here. I recommend you leverage that ‘asset’ as best you can during your stay,” she says, “but we can just put a pin in that for now. Right now, I want to ask you some questions about your situation.”
Layton sighs, leaning back in bed. “Alright,” he nods, “ask away.”
She looks down at her clipboard, preparing her questions. “First of all, there’s the obvious; where are you from? Are you aligned with any factions?”
“Uh… well, I’m sort of just a drifter. I mean, I used to have a home, but it was… attacked,” Layton frowned, recalling some painful memories. He try to avoid going into detail. “Nowadays I just wander around on my lonesome.”
“Mhmm. So there’s no one looking for you then?” She asked.
“Doubt it.” Layton shakes his head.
“Alright. So you will be staying here for the entirety of your recovery, then,” she nods, writing it down on her clipboard. “So, do you drink? Smoke? Use drugs?”
“Nope,” he says simply, shaking his head again. She runs him through all the generic questions he had been expecting, and it wasn’t long before he grew bored. As she talked, though, he began to have another concern. Layton couldn’t help but notice that his face was still beet-red, with blisters and swelling in a few places, making jim like slightly like a mutant himself. “By the way… my face isn’t going to look like this forever, right?”
“Oh, no. However, you will want to try to avoid going outside too much in the next few weeks, to prevent the damage from worsening,” she explained. “Now, how is that leg of yours doing?”
“Uh… it’s fine. It... hurts whenever I move it,” he said, awkwardly. There wasn’t much to say. He’s pretty much just been feeling fine overall, though his face sort of hurt.
“Mhmm…” She nodded, looking down at her clipboard again. “Judging from what I’ve heard, I think you qualify to be loaned a wheelchair during your stay here. You know, in case you want to explore the town.”
“Oh, let me guess. You’re going to ask me to do you some ‘favors’ in return, though, right?” Layton rolled his eyes.
“Hehe! No, no. It’s free of charge, as long as you bring it back eventually,” the bear chuckled, amused by his cynicism. “If you’re proposing a roll in the hay, though, I certainly wouldn’t be opposed to the idea.” He was a little taken aback by this, but the way she was acting made it obvious she was joking. Velia stood up, and eventually made her way to the door once she was finished taking her notes. “Alright, eh, Layton, is it? You just wait right here. I’ll be back to show you how to use your chair.” With that, the door closed again, leaving him alone in the room once more.
As he laid there, staring at the ceiling, he thought; if one of these women end up asking him for a ‘favor’ or two… really what’s the harm?
┄┄┄
A few hours later, he emerged out of the front doors of the infirmary, rolling around in a specialized wheelchair designed for the snow and debri of the wasteland. It was sort of embarrassing, but he tried to remind himself that it was just temporary. As he expected, the community in ‘Furtown’ was very small, but very close. Along the outskirts of the city were huge concrete and scrap metal walls, with armed sentries atop constantly on lookout for raiders. If he had to take a guess, the entire ‘city’ was about two million square feet in all, about the size of a large shopping mall. The space was used well, though; around a hundred women lived out their lives within the walls of the small town.
He was baffled by them as he rolled past. Each ‘anthropomorph’ he saw seemed to be based on a different animal; he passed rodents, felines, marsupials, equines, creatures of all shapes and sizes! They seemed just as fascinated by him as he was by them. As he passed, he frequently caught them staring at him, or whispering to eachother excitedly. He wasn't sure if they were surprised to see a human, or just surprised to see a male. Either way, he was moderately embarrassed, being the center of attention as he travelled through town. Eventually, he decided he had to stop wandering aimlessly, and actually get something down in the brief window of time he could go outside before it got too cold.
One of his most pressing concerns was convincing a scavenger to go retrieve his stuff for him. He might have to do some ‘convincing’, but so be it. Then again, he was also getting pretty hungry. Perhaps this might be time to try out the local cuisine.  indicates the next chapter needs to be written. |
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