The Chosen Outsiders

Wolfy's POV Chapter 5

I glared up at the screen before us. The captain had a painfully monotone voice. Everyone around me was still and silent, focusing all their attention on the man before us. With a slight eye roll, I decided to pay attention. "...as you all know, we are headed into space." he stated boringly. "You are all part of a NASA experiment for human society living in outer space. If this experiment is successful, we won't have to worry about the end of earth, because this experiment's success will have proven that we can survive here. If it fails.." and with this he trailed off, pausing for 'dramatic effect', before continuing. At this point he was simply explaining schedules and ship mapping and things that I didn't care about. I soon got lost in my thoughts, desperately wanting to get back to our dorm so I could write my first log, when a felt something brushing against my leg. I jumped in shock, my hands lighting aflame, as I stared downwards. My eyes met with a small bot's. It was sitting on all fours, had a silvery glint to it (considering it's a metal bot. Not a surprise), its eyes were wide and bright golden. The thing was small enough to fit around my shoulders, and it had what looked like two round ears on the top of its head, tiny antennae, and a long tail. It resembled a lemur, in a way. I tilted my head and it made a small purr-like noise, rubbing against my leg again. I bent to lift it in my hands, slipping it into the backpack I carried everywhere with me. Luckily, the other two didn't notice. They wouldn't notice until we got back into the dorm. Finally after what felt like forever, the boring monotone man on the screen stopped talking and the lady who introduced him dismissed us back to our rooms. The walk back was made in silence, the only sound a slight buzzing in the background, until we made it in our dorm. Diane shut the door and exhaled softly while Rain settled on the ground. I sat back on my cot, tossing my bag to one side only to hear a mechanical whimper coming from it. The others looked up abruptly. "What was that?" Rain said curiously. "I dunno. Maybe it was your imagination. Since you're so anxious and all." I said quickly, dismissing her. Diane, on the other hand, wasn't so easy to dismiss. "I'm picking up some kind of technology sensory from your bag, Wolfy." She said cautiously. I glared. "First of all, it's called a 'tablet'." I snapped back. "And second of all, what have I told you about unauthorized scans on my stuff?" She seemed to ignore my second statement as she continued with, "No, it seems to be a... a bot, or AI of some sort." With a low growl, I reluctantly pulled my bag into my lap, opened it, and lifted my new robot companion from it. I pet its metal head gently, to which it responded with that mechanical purring noise. "This. He-" I trailed off, tilting my head for confirmation (I didn't know their pronouns yet!). The tiny thing gave a small nod, showing it can understand English, and I smiled. "He wandered up to me in the meeting place. I decided to keep him." "Woah," Rain replied, shocked. "You're smiling. I don't think I've seen you smile before besides when you get those really rare snack foods you like-" "alright! I get it. So can we keep him?" I interrupted, glancing at Diane warily. The AI sighed a bit. "I guess. He is kinda cute." She replied, tilting her head and smiling when the little robot tilted his head in response. I patted him again, inviting him up to my shoulders, which he curled around almost instantly. I gently ran my fingers along the side of the robot's cheek with a small smirk. "His name is Toby." I said softly. He acknowledged the name by nuzzling my cheek affectionately. "He's my little companion. If anyone takes him from me I will burn them alive." I continued. Rain and Diane exchanged a look, unphased by my violent words, and nodded in agreement. "Okay." Rain said. Diane glanced a small clock in the corner of the room. "It's late. Well, if we were on earth time, it'd be late. We should get to sleep." She said, settling on her cot. "Good idea." Rain agreed, following suit. I was already sitting on mine, so I patted the spot beside me and Toby slid down to where my hand had been. I laid back, pulling out my tablet to start on my log, tapping the letters in quickly. I had always been a fast writer, after all. As I wrote, Toby, curled against my side, and falling asleep (at least I thought so. His little mechanical whirring noises resembled sleeping..).

-Journal Entry (private)- Day 1 -

so far, the day was uneventful. Unless you count this whole stupid space experiment thingy. I miss being able to write with pen and paper. This is dumb. If I don't get a chance to work on my artwork I swear I'm going to burn somebody. Thankfully, now I have Toby to confide in. He will forever be my companion. I put all my trust in Toby and I just met the little bot. I feel like we will have many adventures together. Anyway about these journal entry things. I'm most likely going to keep them private until the end of my own line. I hate telling people things about me so there's that. I guess I could put a little bit in here. My name is Wolfy. I am a genetic hybrid made for the use of being some pet for some messed up mad scientist. I enjoy art, space, and dominance. I hate being under others' authority. Also I have trust issues. Real name's a secret, occupation before this space adventure's also a secret. I am friends with Diane and Rain. I guess I trust them more than other people and I just realized I am rambling on here and no one's even going to see it. I'm wasting my time. That's all for today then.

~Wolfy

----SUBMITTING JOURNAL ENTRY----

I straightened up slightly, careful not to wake Toby, and set my tablet aside in my bag before pushing said bag under my cot. I rolled to my side, cuddling the small robot close to my chest, before attempting sleep. It took a few hours, seeing as I'm not very well accustomed to falling asleep quickly, but I eventually drifted off. Another day's journeys waited ahead of us, so I might as well sleep it all off and prepare for tomorrow, yeh?

Besides, if anything was going to happen, it's most likely going to happen sooner rather than later. I had a foreboding feeling about this whole ordeal and I wasn't planning on trusting anyone with a lab coat or an I.D. lanyard anytime soon.

--------

A/N: it took me a whole day to think of the captain's message (and it's super lame haha I wanted it outta the way so I could introduce tobe-ster) and a little over thirty-three minutes to write this chapter. I've been anxiously waiting to write this for weeks. It's currently 2:30 am CST as I'm writing this and I am exhausted but that's ok because humans are scientifically proven to be more creative at night anyway lol. I'm going to bed now so don't worry about me (@SeafarerAD and @rainymaine I'm looking at you -_-)

~Admin "Sleep Is For The Weak" Wolfy