//------------------------------// // Chapter 68: What is This? // Story: The Last Human // by Blackdragn18 //------------------------------// I opened my eyes a small amount, quickly closing them again to protect against the harsh light of my surroundings. After another second I opened them fully. The source of the harsh light was a large strange rectangle hanging from the ceiling, inside it had several long glass cylinders giving off a bright white light. Once my eyes had fully adjusted I decided to sit up. After I was fully upright I began to get a look at my surroundings. I was in what seemed to be a hospital room. Like most the walls were a sterile white, the floor was made up of white tiles. There was a large window behind me with the shades down and closed. In front of me on the other side of the room I could see a sink. It seemed higher than the pony ones I had usually seen. How did I get here? Last thing I remember I was beating up those idiots. Bob, do you have any idea what’s going on? I listened for a few seconds waiting for his response, but the only voice in my head seemed to be my own. Bob? Before I could try and piece things together the sound of the rooms door opening was heard. I turned in time to watch it slowly open. Then some strange voices became audible. “I don’t know why he’s taking so long to wake up, it was only a minor concussion.” The voice sounded feminine. “Well he needs to wake up soon. The griffins are getting more aggressive, what are we going to do without our ultimate weapon?” That was a deeper masculine voice. Then something I never thought I’d see entered the room. Two humans walked in. One was obviously a nurse, she was probably five feet tall, and she had long brown and was in a strange red outfit. The more interesting of the two was the male. He was likely a good 6’5”. He had short brown hair cut strangely so that it made the top of his head look like a block, he had a short beard and a somewhat aggressive look in his eyes that made me uneasy. He was wearing long black trench coat. “Sean!” The man looked at me in surprise before suddenly running up and hugging me. I was caught off guard for two reasons. Firstly because this strange man somehow knew my name, and second because he was considerably larger than me. I don’t get how seeing as I’m around 6’2”. “Get off of me!” I shoved the man away. “Who do you think you are?” “Sean, don’t you recognize me?” The man looked at me with an almost unnoticeable look of concern. “No, of course I don’t.” I glared at him before turning my hand into a blade and pointing it at him. That’s when I realized why that guy was so much bigger. My arm looked much smaller, looking over the rest of me I realized my entire form was smaller. I was wearing cargo shorts, a black t-shirt, and black socks. I was in my old child form. “What is this!?” “Sean, calm down.” The man walked towards me. “Take another step and you’ll be choking on your arms.” I glared at him. “Now tell me, who are you?” “What? Sean, it’s me, your father.” The man looked at me worried. Instead of having the calming effect he was clearly going for, that statement only angered me more. “Lies! My father died centuries ago.” “Wow, that hit to the head really scrambled your brain.” The man chuckled. “My brain is fine. The humans were wiped out centuries ago by the griffins. I watched you all die.” “What are you talking about?” “Don’t play dumb.” “Sean look outside.” He pointed to the window. Keeping my arm pointed at him I slowly gripped the string connected to the blinds and yanked it. As it raised I gasped. Just outside of the window there was an entire town. It was my old town. The buildings were all intact, clean, and brightly colored. The streets were smooth well-kept cement and stone tiles, and at the far end of the town the two large gate doors were intact and visible. The most shocking part was how full the town was. With people. They were walking around the streets, some simply walking around, some were speaking to humans inside shop windows, exchanging money and merchandise, and children could be seen running through the streets. “See Sean, we’re not dead.” I heard the man say as he walked behind me before putting a large hand on my shoulder. “That was probably just a bad dream.” “No.” I turned to look at him. “This is wrong, you’re all dead, and this town is empty and crumbling.” I began to breathe heavily. “Calm down.” The nurse spoke up. “This is wrong.” I knocked the man’s hand away. “How is this possible?” I then realized it. “Changelings.” “What?” The man looked at me confused. “This is all some elaborate trick made by you insects. This town is fake, and all of these people are just you idiots in disguise.” “Sean what are you Agh!” I grabbed the man by his throat. “Shut up scum.” I then tried to drain his changeling magic. But nothing happened. “What?” I dropped the man and looked at my hand. “You should have reverted.” “Sean.” The man gasped for air looking at me. “What is wrong with you?” “No.” I shook my head before looking at the window. “Don’t do it.” The man attempted to grab me before I smashed through the window. There was a loud shattering sound as the glass broke around me, the people around the building all looked in surprise as I reached the ground and slammed into it, my regeneration fixing my legs. I looked around before running up to a woman and knocking her over. I grabbed her face and tried to drain her magic, but nothing happened. “No. You’re not changelings.” I backed away from the woman. “What is this?” “Freeze.” A male voice shouted behind me. I looked behind me to see three men in blue outfits standing and looking at me. Two of them had strange metal objects in their hands. The third one was glaring at me. “Sean, we need you to calm down.” “Or what?” I smirked at them. “We’ll have to take you down.” The man said darkly. “Ha!” I kept my confident look. “You can try.” Then I began to transform until I was in my adult form. Smiling as the men looked at me in surprise. “Let’s see who goes down.” “Take him down.” The man shouted to his friends. “Remember, no lethal damage.” “Ooh, bad handy cap.” I smiled turning my arm into a blade. “I’m not going to be following the same rule.” “Fire!” I smiled as the two with those metal objects pointed them at me. What could those possibly do? Then one of them made a loud bang and there was a sudden pain in my leg. I fell back, kneeling down. “What was that?” I looked at the healing hole in my knee. Before I could react another bang was heard and I felt pain in my arm, looking over I saw there was another hole, as it healed I stood back up, only to be shot in the chest and fall back over. This process repeated five more times before I heard clicks. After healing I looked up to see the men holding their apparent weapons, they pressed a button and small metal rectangles fell out. I saw this as a chance. “Hurry!” One of them said reaching to grab another rectangle. “Oh no you don’t!” I began to charge at the man, he screamed in fear as I got within a few feet of him. Just as I was about to swing and decapitate the fool I felt something stab into my side. I looked to my right to see the third man smirking and holding a different rectangle with metal prongs pressed into my side. “Game over.” The man said with his thumb over a button. “Oh please, what can you expect to do with that?” Then a painful shock went through my system knocking me out. “He attacked those men!” I woke up to shouting. Sitting up I realized I was in some sort of room. It was apparently late because the room was dark, looking out a nearby window I saw the sun was setting. Looking around the room I saw very little that impressed. There was a bed in the corner, on the wall over the bed there was a painting of Bolas. The rest of the room was simple and painted blue. In another corner near the door there was a desk with some papers on it, I got up and walked up to them. “I’m aware of that officer.” I heard the familiar voice of my alleged father. “Then why is he here safe in your little mansion? That psychopath should be locked up in prison!” I picked up one of the papers on the desk. It appeared to be a sheet of math problems. In the top left “Sean” was scribbled. These all seemed fairly simple, but for some reason I couldn’t solve them. They were basic addition and subtraction yet the solutions escaped me. “He was under a lot of stress. He had just woken up from that crash and was confused.” “That doesn’t matter, we have laws here! Assault, property damage, attacking an officer. If he weren’t your son he’d be locked up right now.” I looked to the door of the room. I walked to it and twisted the handle, swinging it open. The door opened up to a hallway, the hallway was long with several doors along it. Following it I eventually came to a flight of stairs leading down. “Well unfortunately for you officer, he is my son. Besides he’s also our final weapon against the griffins.” “Just lock him up until we need him then.” “Why would he help us if we do that?” Once I reached to bottom of the stairs I was able to see a living room, as I entered it I was impressed. In against one of the walls there was a fire place, facing it was a long black couch, to the side of the couch was a black recliner. Above the fireplace a large TV was hanging from the wall. “You know what, fine! Defend him, the people will turn against you eventually, then that walking freak show you call a child will be locked up in the cage he deserves.” “Not while I’m still in power officer. Turn the people against me and over throw me if you wish. But until that day you will not touch Sean.” Then there was the loud slam of a door, after a minute I heard footsteps and my “father” walked in. “Oh, Sean. You’re awake. How do you feel?” “Fine.” I watched him carefully. “That’s an interesting new body you’ve got there.” He looked me up and down. “Good muscles, though the outfit and hair are a bit feminine.” “Whatever.” I shrugged. This time the man was keeping his distance. “You still seem a bit out of it.” The man took a step towards me. “I’m fine.” I glared at him as he took another step. “If you say so.” He looked at a nearby clock. “Your mother should be getting home soon.” “Right.” I raised my hands making air quotes. “My mother.” “You’re still convinced we’re not real?” “Yep.” “Alright.” He pinched the bridge of his nose. “Maybe a good night’s sleep will help you.” “There’s nothing wrong with me.” “Sure. Well humor me, just spend a few days here and see if it comes back to you.” “Is the electric field still up?” “Yes.” “Then I have no choice.” I crossed my arms. “That’s the spirit.” Then the sound of a door opening was heard and a woman’s voice came from around the corner. “I’m home, there was some commotion at the market.” After a second a woman in a red coat walked into view. She was about 5’4” she had long black hair, she was rummaging through some red bag. When she looked up her eyes widened when she saw me. “Sean!” She ran at me, hugging me before I could get away. “Get off of me.” I glared at her. “What?” She looked at me in surprise. “I said let go of me. I don’t like strangers or for that matter friends hugging me.” The woman let go of me and backed away. “Sean, what are you talking about? You’ve always loved hugs.” “Lies. How do you even know who I am?” “A mother can recognize her son even if he looks different.” “So you’re my supposed mother.” I crossed my arms again. “I have to say, I’m not too impressed.” “What?” The woman looked at me confused and a little hurt. “I’m going to bed.” I turned and walked away. “Wake me up when I can leave this place.” “It’s ok honey. He’s not himself, I think that crash may have caused a bit of amnesia.” I heard the man tell his wife. “Sean, wake up.” I could hear a woman’s voice. “What?” I opened my eyes. Looking to my right my heart sank when I saw it was the woman claiming to be my mother. “What do you want?” I sat up from the bed, I had been forced to revert to my child form to fit in the tiny bed. “It’s time for school.” The woman looked at me with a friendly smile. “I have no need for school.” I stood up, transforming back into my usual body. “Since when?” “I have already received a sufficient education.” “When did this happen?” She raised an eyebrow at me. “Centuries ago.” “Oh, you’re still convinced this is all fake.” She smiled. “Fine, if you can pass one small test I will not force you to go to school.” “Very well.” I crossed my arms. “What is this test?” “One minute.” The woman turned and walked to the desk. She picked up the sheet of math problems and returned to me. “If you can solve all of the remaining problems in less than ten minutes I will let you stay home.” “This isn’t my home.” I quickly corrected her. “This is a prison.” “Whatever you say dear.” She then handed me the paper and a pencil. “Well get going, you have ten minutes.” “Fine.” I grabbed the paper. “Let’s begin.” I glared at the building in front of me. It was a good sized building, it was two stories tall, and the walls were painted red with a white trim. There was a shot column on the top with a bell inside. It looked just like your stereotypical and ridiculous schools. There were several students walking towards the building, all of them caring themselves with the same amount of regret. “Have fun.” The woman said as she turned to walk away. “Doubtful.” I had been unable to complete the math in the set time. Just like last night the problems looked completely foreign and impossible. While I could have simply killed the woman afterwards I determined it would be easier to follow her order. Perhaps I could figure something out while away from my “parents”. The loud ring of a bell was heard, I sighed and walked towards the school. “Stupid desk!” I wrestled with the idiotic design. The desk was a combination of wood and metal, for some stupid reason the chair was forcefully linked to the wooden desk with metal. Who thought this was a good design? The most annoying bit was the fact that this waste of space was too small, it was clearly designed for children. I was only able to fit half of my body into the small chair. I was getting strange looks from the children of the class. “Sean, would you please quiet down?” The teacher looked at me with an irritated look. “Would you please get some bigger desks?” I snapped back. “Why don’t you go back to looking like yourself, instead of that strange transvestite you are currently dressed as?” “Why don’t you go hang yourself?” I glared at her. “That’s it! Go to the principal’s office!” The teacher pointed to the door. “Make me you waste of space.” I glared at her, my voice deepening. “Why you little.” The teacher returned my hostile look. “Whoa, what’s going on in here?” I male voice said, then a bald man walked in. He was a reasonable height, shorter than me but still reasonable, he had a large stomach and a shiny round head. “I’ll tell you what’s going on.” The teacher then pointed to me. “That one has been nothing but rude all day.” “Maybe I wouldn’t be as rude if you weren’t so annoying.” I countered, my voice deepening more. “I want him expelled.” The teacher told the man. “Oh no, what will I do without this vital waste of time?” I said in mock concern. “You see that?” The teacher turned to the man. “Nothing but attitude.” “I see that.” The man nodded. “Sean, would you mind coming with me?” “Anything that gets me away from the air waster.” I stood up and followed the man as he exited the room. I heard several students whispering. As I passed the teacher I exchanged a glare with her. Once I left the room the door slammed shut. I looked to the right to see the bald guy waiting. “Come on.” The man turned and began to walk down the hallway. This entire hall was pure white, the walls, floor, even the glass cylinders gave off a white light. “So who are you anyway?” I asked as I followed him. “I’m the principle.” The man soon stopped at an office door, he opened it and gestured in. “Please, come in.” “Whatever.” I walked into the room, the principle closing it behind me. “So, want to tell me what that was all about?” The man walked around a desk and sat down. “What’s there to tell? I was minding my own business trying to fit in your excuse for a desk when she got upset and threw a hissy fit.” “I see.” The principle nodded. “Well Sean, we have rules at this school.” “Whoopy.” I spun my index finger in a circle. “Is there a point to that statement?” “Yes, one of our rules is that all students respect their elders.” “Well that rule doesn’t apply to me.” “Why is that?” The principle raised an eyebrow. “I’ve got a good 835 years on the hag.” “Really? Last I checked you were only six years old.” “Yeah, that’s what you fakes were told.” I rolled my eyes. “Fakes. What do you mean by that?” “I mean that you’re all some elaborate trick, none of this is real. I’m only here until I can figure out a way to get home.” I looked at him bored. “Your home isn’t too far away, it’s just a short walk away.” “Wow, you’re dumb. That’s not my home, I don’t even live in this town.” “Really? Then where do you live.” “I don’t have to explain myself to you.” “Fine, I give up. Until further notice you’re suspended from school.” The principle sighed. “I apologize, but your attitude is just not up to school standards.” “Oh no.” I said bored. “Please, give me another chance. What will I do without this to waste my life away?” “I’m going to have to ask you to leave.” “Sure thing.” I turned to the door as I opened it I looked back. “Before I get out of here I’ll have to visit you.” My voice deepened at that last part.