0_PIM
The pen was a bouncing jumble of fur, metal tech, and squeaking. Its rusted hinges threatened to give way with every vibration. Pim’s brothers and sisters leaped all around him. With a shake of his head, the tiniest of them all could only crawl out of the way and join Pim hiding in the corner.
They were the same every day, and they were always disappointed.
Nobody wanted mutts. Even smart mutts.
Nobody wanted part fur, part metal, and all noise.
He looked across at his brothers and sisters; they calmed down now, realizing once more no one had approached their pen.
They were not wanted.
Then Pim saw him. A sharply dressed man who stared at him, contemplation etched on his deeply wrinkled forehead. The shopkeeper beside him hurriedly looked through drawer after drawer.
“I have it here. I swear I do,” he muttered.
The man said nothing, his foot tapping slightly on the dirty floor.
“Davey, get out here. You cleared my papers; where’s the contract?” As the shopkeeper’s words grew louder and louder, his face changed from pink to bright red. “Davey! Get out here now!”
No one came.
The suited man never took his eyes off of Pim.
“Davey, I swear, if you don’t get out here right now!”
The shopkeeper’s shouting grew even more desperate, his face flushed and his chest heaving in and out. “I swear, we don’t owe that much.”
The man ignored the shopkeeper and edged forward. “What is it? It looks like a fat dog crossed with a rat.”
“Never seen a walrat?” the shopkeeper inquired; his tone was suddenly different, so very different. That caused the tiny bundle next to Pim to cover his head once more.
“Dumpy little thing,” the man said. “I don’t care how you do it; just get those credits.”
Large hands reached over the pen fencing, and his siblings began jumping up and down, trying to be spotted first.
This man, though, had his sights set on the smallest, Pim’s little brother.
“The Techean created them, cross between a walrus and a rat. Good at depths, and smart. Don’t know why they domesticated them here, but they did. I like them, they sell well as pets.”
“Son’s birthday is in a few days; this will suffice. I’m taking it.”
“Hardly worth anything, that one,” the shopkeeper grumbled. “Doesn’t even try to market himself.” He went to another pen and chose a long-haired white rabbit. “This is one of our most cherished frishon adairs. Several thousand credits.”
“I don’t want anything worth thousands of credits.” Something in this man’s eyes echoed what was in Pim’s heart, overwhelming sadness. Pim sucked in a breath and almost choked. “He’ll most certainly kill it in a few days.”
“Kill?” The owner’s face paled, and his breathing became even more rapid. He repositioned the rabbit so the man could no longer see it. The man didn’t care. His fixation was on Pim.
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The young walrat watched as he picked up one of his brothers with such rough hands, he let out a whimper and tried his best to flee.
“Sir, you have one of Artem’s smartest creatures in your hands; why would he kill it?”
They had all heard the words kill, death, and the end.
The man met the shopkeeper’s eyes with his own. “They are odd; a walrat, you say. Smart?”
“Extremely smart,” the shopkeeper replied, his hands trembling. “That one is best out of the litter.”
When his brother’s eyes met Pim’s, tears welled up inside his own. “No.”
Pim sucked in a breath and puffed out his chest in an attempt to make him seem the better choice. He had to make a stand now or he would lose his brother. He could not let him die. His brother really was the best of the litter.
Pim’s tech looked awful against his drab coat, whereas his brothers were all shiny and pure. He edged forward, slow and low.
This was his choice, and he made it with only one thought in his mind. His brother needed to survive.
“Pim, Pim!” his brother cried out, as tears flowed down over his soft white fur. “No. Bite him and flee . . .”
Pim nudged the man’s other hand with his nose, bringing the attention back to him.
“Very smart,” the man agreed and put the dark-furred kit aside to pick up the interested one.
“Be thankful,” Pim said. “Live long and well, brother. Live for all of us.”
***
Pim was jostled about as the man walked, crammed into a very small box with a window at one end.
Pim tried his hardest to stay close enough to the window to get some fresh air and see what was going on outside. He’d sat at the edge of their cage for a long time, viewing anything he could from the outside world.
The breeze carried aromas of something moist and musty. Images flashed by at breakneck speed.
Slowly, he said. Please slow down.
The man, on the other hand, did not slow down.
Pim was thrown inside a car, and it filled his perspective. As his back leg twisted awkwardly under him, he let out a growl.
“Don’t have any notions in there,” cautioned the man who had taken him.
Pim slid to the rear of his box. There was nothing to see now, save the back of the man’s seat.
Everything vibrated around him, followed by acceleration. Were they flying? Pim could sense it, but he didn’t know how. This was strange since the man wasn’t walking anymore, yet it was quick, so fast. Pim retched as his stomach somersaulted.
“You had better not be sick in there!”
Pim concentrated deeply into himself. Words from his mother came to him as he travelled through the birth canal and entered the world. “You must endure for the sake of all of us.”
He endured. He gulped the bile down, which burned his throat as it passed. He then pushed himself to step into the corner, curl up, and pull up his HUD, noting many variations.
Identification: Pim
Age: 42 days
Weight: 6 lb
Weight: Adult ??
Species: Walrat
Bonus: None
Mod Capacity: 8
Mod Capacity in Use: 0
Stat
Current Points
Description
Mods
Quality
Dexterity
4
Governs agility and movement.
Front Left and Right Leg Mod: 0
Cost: 0
Mental Power
4
Governs swiftness and fortitude of the mind.
Brain Mod: 0
Cost: 0
Perception
8
Governs an individual’s senses and connection to the world around them.
Brain Mod:
Cost: 0
Strength
4
Governs physical strength and damage dealt.
Back Left and Right Leg Mod: 0
Cost: 0
Toughness
4
Governs the body and internal fortitude.
Basic Organelles:
Cost: 0
His leg was swollen but not broken. He stretched it towards him, then softly licked it and preened the fur as best he could to get it straight again so he could look his finest.