Dear Diary.
Today, I became adorable. Also a freak of nature. But an adorable one. I look like some sort of vampire cat. With hooves instead of paws. Also, I'm gonna rename you. Saying 'Dear Diary' sounds like something from a tween flick for girls.Hello my Inanimate Companion. I'll call you Cellie. Like Cellulose, the plant fibre? Clever, right? I think it’s clever!
Hi Cellie! I’m Robin! The sun is in the sky and my eyes are killing me. I need to find some shades or something... On the bright side, I don’t seem to need my glasses any more. They won’t fit my new head anyway, and I don’t know how to work hooves enough to try and rig a work around. Actually, that’s gonna make finding shades hard too. Well, I’ll work on that bridge later.
Besides; these eyes are huge. Like ‘half the size of my new head’ huge. And they are some sort of weird salmon colour. Right, right, it would help if you knew what I looked like. Sorry, Cellie.
Okay! I’m about four feet-ish (optimistically), not including the hair. I’m quite sure how long I am… maybe the same? I mentioned the eyes, but they are cat eyes. Mostly. They have a little hint of a diamond like shape to it. I’ve got four legs, fur, a tail and a pair of wings I have no clue how to work. They are too small to fly with anyway. No hands though, which is a bummer. My fur coat, er, pelt? Hide? I’m not sure about the terminology. Need to look into that. But it’s a faded dark blue, I guess? My hair and tail don’t really make sense. They are mostly reddish orange with darker steaks through it. The wings are weird, bluer than my fur, and webbed like a bats.
So I still have fingers, in a sense. That fact that they are webbed and wings make them hard to use. And where they are. And the size. But whatever. Oh! I have these neat fangs too! So I kinda look like a vampire version of something. The new ears are annoying, though. They twitch and shift around a lot at every little sound.
I wonder if I am a vampire… I don’t really feel like I need to drink blood, and water doesn’t scare me. Nor does garlic, onions or sunlight (aside from being bright.) Perhaps I’m a legendary Daywalking Vampire Cat with hooves!
Yeah…. No.
More likely, I am an odd ungulate species. I don’t think I look like any of the common ungulates I’ve read up on before. I also say odd because Homo sapiens sapiens don’t turn into another species overnight. Well, they are not supposed to. Don’t look at me like that, Cellie, I know I’m a living contradiction of that point, but still. I feel I got the short end of the stick…
Oh, right, sorry Cellie. Let me explain a few things. You may have noticed that I’m sorta sporadic and all over the place? I swear I have a good reason. Well, aside from the turning into a cryptid one. I woke up this morning like this, still wearing my boxers, but I’m alone. Not like ‘everyone already went out’ or the ‘there’s no one else in the house’ alone. Like ‘there’s no one around period’ alone. When I peeked out the windows, the neighbour’s cars were still in the driveways or parked on the street. Everything seemed unnaturally still.
Of course, after I got over the initial transhuman freakout, and the ‘how in the world am I supposed to walk with these?’ (I fell out of my bed. Honestly, I was in the 6 foot percentile. My bed didn’t seem high before and don’t get me started on the stairs), I started up the computer and checked the net.
Speaking of, I’m calling the computer Darcy. Related: it’s really hard to type without fingers. I’m hunting and pecking right now. I got a pair of socks, pulled them over my hooves and stuck a pen in each one. It’s been working but it’s really annoying when I twitch for a key combination like the shift for caps and realize I don’t have the fingers to reach it.
Maybe my wings will be good for something. They twitched sometimes too. Something to practice.
Hmm… tangent: I’m typing this for you on Darcy to print out on paper, so I guess I should address both you and Darcy?
Anyway, I checked the net and tried to get in touch with people but nothing. CTV and CNN didn’t have anything, the local news sites were dead (well, deader than usual). None of my forums had any posts in them for hours. There were no updates on the manga sites either. The weather network page was down. The email servers were having issues. I checked on a few major cities I could think of, their webpages and twitter if they had any. Nothing. Even the gas price app I had hadn’t been updated, and that was user maintained.
Cellie… I don’t think anyone is left. I left posts on a couple forums, tried sending out emails to everyone, texting, calling… I don’t really have much hope someone’s going to respond anytime soon.
But let’s not dwell! My street looks pretty empty; it’s pretty creepy to be honest. Nothing has changed, even though it’s getting pretty late in the day. And since I can’t just stay in the house chasing my tail all the time, I’m going to have to do what might be a really stupid thing. I’m heading out to look around. Walmart’s not too far from here, and it would be the easiest way to figure out if there really isn’t anyone around anymore.
If it turns out it really is the worst case… I can start grabbing stock. I’ve read enough books to come up with ideas and plans. I’ve had a while to think about this, and I won’t bore you with the freak out details. Anyway, I’m heading out Cellie, you and Darcy can watch the house while I’m gone.
Also, I only chased my tail once!
Maybe twice. Um… three times, tops.
It helped me work out how to walk with the new body. I should see if they have any books on animal anatomy. I mean, I still have my bio books in the basement, but those wouldn’t be all that helpful for this in particular. Anyway, that’s not important. See you in a bit, Cellie.
The walk to Walmart took a good twenty minutes. Normally it would have taken about half that time to cover the distant. Fortunately for him his earlier dalliances got him relatively familiar with the way his new legs worked and he was quickly working out the rest. His gait remained stiff and mechanical, but it got him moving. There were still a quite a few rough patches where he stumbled or tripped, hooves catching on places or where he just misjudged distances and the length of his new stride, but he was making progress. He kept to the grass when he could, finding the pavement a bit harsh on his new hooves. Grass was more forgiving when he fell anyway.
Robin squinted from under the shade the ball cap he wore provided. It wasn’t the best fit but it had been the best he could do. In fact, he had fully dressed himself, to the best of his abilities, before leaving. A short sleeved shirt was around his chest, forelegs through the sleeves, the buttons undone because he had no idea how to get hooves to work on them, the shirttails over his barrel and towards his flank. A pair of old shorts covered his rear, worn backwards so his tail could slip out the zipper. A lanyard around his neck held his wristwatch and a small pouch holding his wallet, phone and keys.
As ill-fitting as the arrangement was, it at least said he was no mere animal. All he needed was a sign saying ‘I’m intelligent, or in the very least someone’s pet!’ for others to see.
Robin was becoming increasingly certain his efforts were a waste of time. Despite the number of houses and streets he passed, it was silent. No hum of vehicles, active radios or televisions, no voices of any sort. Stoplights still ran, almost mockingly in the face of the empty streets. Stubbornly, he continued down the road, keeping his eyes focused not on the street, but on the store.
The few cars in the lot gave Robin mixed feelings of both hope and despair. Swallowing nervously, he resolutely continued to his destination, mentally preparing himself. The automatic doors slid open on his approach, the sound of his hoofsteps subtly changing as pavement became vinyl tile. He winced slightly at the light intensity but his vision adjusted with only minor blurriness and he looked around.
No one was there. No costumers roamed the aisles he could see, no workers in their blue shirts and vests could be seen either.
“Hello? Anyone here?” Robin called out a few times, slowly ambling the length of the storefront, going past the registers, the service booth, the McDonalds, the bakery, deli section. Each repetition or his call was louder than the previous, until he was yelling.
“Hello! Somebody! Anybody!” Robin’s yells had gotten frantic in his search. His walking speed built, becoming a slow unsteady trot as he became more and more frantic, hooves beating on the ground. “Please! Someone be here!”
He slipped, hooves and vinyl tile not the greatest combination for traction on top of unfamiliarity with his limbs, tumbling to the ground, jaw and muzzle striking painfully, body sliding a few feet. It was fortunate that he didn’t crash into any of the shelves or counters. Still, he was dazed for a moment.
“Augh,” Robin groaned as he pulled himself together, pushing himself upright and on his haunches with his forelegs. His wings where hanging limp at his side under his shirt, his fall had knocked the hat loose as well. Tears were leaving moist streaks beneath his eyes. He rubbed his face with a hoof, almost poking his eye out. “Gah! Damn it all! Hurt yourself some more, why don’t you?”
He was more careful the second time, rubbing at both the tears and his throbbing eye. Muttering under his breath, Robin slowly calmed down. “Stupid floor… making my eyes water. Stupid bright lights. At least I can cry, that's something.”
With awkward motions, he brought the pouch up to his head. Without hands or manipulator appendages on his limbs, he had to resort to using his mouth and lips to open the Velcro pouch. Fumbling slightly, he pulled out his phone. It was a bit difficult to aim with a muzzle in the way, but big eyes had some advantages.
One swipe got the phone out of standby. He missed a few times, but he got the assistant loaded shortly after and the device chirped.
“Send an email to Self,” Robin instructed.
“What would you like the subject to be?”
“To Cellie.”
The phone chirped again, filling in the line. “What would you like the message to say?”
“Hey Cellie,” Robin started. He closed his eyes. “I’m at Walmart. No one’s here. No one at all. I guess I was right. Everyone really did vanish. I. I don’t have a plan. I didn’t have a plan. Man I feel stupid. And scared…”
He trailed off. After a few moments the phone chirped again. “Would you like to send this message?”
“Message,” Robin said, swallowing the lump that built in his throat. The phone chirped and picked up where he left off. “Sorry about that. Okay. I’m going to pick up a few things. Groceries I guess. Maybe some batteries? Can power keep going without someone to say go? I don’t know. Food, the books I mentioned. Maybe some shampoo for all this fur. I guess the pet aisle? Suddenly I’m glad no one is here. That would be embarrassing.
“Okay, I have a very rough plan now. I’ll come back here tomorrow, Cellie, after I figure some stuff out. Long term plans. Oh, and remind me to download that Wikipedia database. I don’t think the net will last. Long term. Right.”
Robin looked up at the closest register sign. Number 8. The majority of the thoughts running through his head questioned how right it would be to just take things. From what he could infer from all he saw, it had been about a day since the world was active.
His pupils dilated at the realization. The sites he checked had global access. They were still running, but no one seemed to have touched them. Cities hadn’t put anything out in almost a day. News was behind. And this was the kind of news that should, would be major breaking issues. But nothing.
His phone chirped, unnoticed by him aside from an ear twitching in its direction.
It was as if everyone vanished. Vanished without leaving a trace. Just puff. Either vanished or taken. Spirited away. Leaving him behind as some sort of demon spawn creature. Devils sometimes had hooves, didn’t they?
“Damn it, Robin!” he snapped to himself, stomping the ground. “Pull yourself together! You can’t be the only person left. You’re not that special to be the last of seven point ‘nuff billion people! There are others! There has to be!”
“I’m sorry, that command was not recognized,” his phone chirped. Robin blinked, startled from his mini rant. He blushed slightly from embarrassment, ears folding back, wings shifting slightly. The phone continued, oblivious to his reaction. “Would you like to send this message?”
“Send,” he ordered. The phone chirped and the message vanished from the screen. A few moments later, the phone vibrated again, alerting him that an email arrived. Robin carefully started putting the phone back in his pouch. It might be a bit strange at first, but taking from the store without paying wasn’t the issue anymore.
He needed to figure out a few things, but he’d work on surviving, figuring out what was going on in the world. Things like where everyone went, just what exactly he was, was their anyone else.
“I’ll make a list when I get home,” he announced, closing the pouch. He frowned at it. “Actually, I should give you a name too, phone.” Rocking his head from side to side, Robin bounced ideas around. There was Cellie the general record and companion, Darcy his computer, so his phone should be… “Ellen. I’ll call you Ellen. Thanks for your hard work.”
Walking a bit more carefully, mindful of his previous spill, Robin headed towards the trolley bay, thinking about how he would carry things home without hands, and exactly what he needed. Some shades for sure. Particularly since he left his hat behind back where he fell. He sighed. He’d have to pick that up before leaving. Maybe some food would be good. He had been approaching the ‘need to go grocery shopping’ point for a while. Maybe he could find a bag he could use somewhere in School Supplies.
He paused midstep, his eyes locked in the direction of the bay. At one cart in particular: the motorized cart, sitting beside the wall, plugged in and charging. He looked back at the service desk were he knew they kept the keys. Finally, his eyes dropped to his hooves contemplatively. “I think I just had a marvelous idea.”
Hi again, Cellie. I’m back from my shopping trip!
Um… bad news first. It looks like I really am alone. I didn’t see anyone anywhere. Everything seemed to be still running though. Which is neither here nor there.
The better news: I got food, I got a one or two books that looked useful, and I got new shades. I picked up some clothes I think Might fit, but, to be honest, clothes on fur is a bit warm, and chaffs in places. The zipper was riding up under my tail something fierce. I might need to work out a better solution for that issue for next time. Too bad I can’t sew with hooves…
Anyway, you should look in the garage! I got wheels! Well, it’s just one of the motorized shopping carts, but still. It took a while to figure out how to work it, but my hooves/legs (I need an anatomy book to figure out what to call my limbs) have an extra joint just before the actual hoof that lets me wrap around things better.
Plus, I found one of those fancy red wagons in the kid's section when I was looking for clothes that might fit. I always wanted one of those. This one even has decent guards on the side and stuff. I tied it to the back of the trolley and drove it home.
As for plans... I’m not sure. I set the wiki stuff to download. I’m going to hit Walmart again tomorrow, hopefully to get better stuff. I don’t know how much charge the trolley hold. One of my neighbours had an ATV. He uses it in the winter to plow his driveway. I think I remember which house is his, so I’ll see if I can get that tomorrow. If I can drive that, I’ll have reliable transportation.
Need to get gas, figure out how low power might last, hit the library for some better books. I should probably figure out what I can eat. I had beans and bread tonight. Actually, I should add getting a generator and solar panels to my list. I don’t think I can work a can opening with hooves. Even the electric one was a five minute hassle. But I think I should be an omnivore, but I need to take a better look at my teeth. Most hoofed animals are herbivores though.
Then again, most don’t have wings or look like I do. Pretty sure these are predator/omnivore eyes I have. And I read somewhere that intelligent life was more likely found in omnivores. I’m obviously intelligent. As in I retained everything.
Um… what was I saying again? Right. I might go to Canadian Tire too. It’s not that much further from Walmart. Library, Walmart, Canadian Tire, the neighbours place.
Ah! I forgot the shampoo! What if I get fleas! I won’t get fleas right? They are species specific I think. Or ticks… And I don’t have fingers to get rid of them. Maybe I need to practice some more, sweep the house, make sure it doesn’t harbour bugs. Actually, I don’t know what my blood type is anymore.
Hell, I’m rambling. Sorry Cellie, I’m beat. It’s not even that late! Anyway, I’m turning in early. I’ll see you in the morning.
Oh, by the way, Cellie, I was looking over what I wrote earlier, adorable is relative. But I'd like to think I'm good looking. For a furry quadruped.