Midnight Eyes ✵ Phan

*18*

When the ambulance arrived, there was no time to feel panicked. Dan's head hung low in defeat as he watched Phil be piled onto a creaky stretcher and into a manic ambulance, surrounded by nurses. For now, he had retracted his ears in but with the stinging sensation in his skull, he knew it would not last long.

He followed the men and women into the ambulance, his eyes never drawing from the pale man- who had been with him for so long now- whose eyes would no longer open due to the exhaustion. 'Will he be okay?' Dan croaked out, his eyes still on Phil's pale skin as the nurses began to work on him, an oxygen mask soon around his face. For what, Dan wasn't too sure. He wasn't sure what any of it was. He just knew that if it was to save Phil, he wouldn't interrupt. So, when a quiet shush came his way, he followed orders and busied himself with watching the work of the nurses, a red flush returning onto Phil's gaunt face.

It wasn't enough to bring Dan any sense of reassurance. His face was still no better than a dead man's and with his most likely slowing heartbeat, maybe that was exactly what Phil was. The ambulance, veered to the side- turning the last corner to the hospital- causing the nurses to all pause their work to recover. Dan almost spoke out, urging them to go on but it was clear that in the jolting vehicle, their work would not do much good. Anything but good in reality.

The ambulance finally pulled into the hospital and Dan felt his ears almost peeking out as the relief flooded into him and distracted him from the looming fear that had trailed him throughout the journey. He wished that he hadn't been so stupid as to leave the apartment without a hat. He hadn't done that before. Ever. It was just so late and Dan was tired and worried. In reality, he really had no excuse. It didn't change anything. Dan was going to be caught. Torture or death were the only two paths he could take.

'Sir, you have to leave him to us now, please wait in the waiting room.' Dan nodded and reluctantly left Phil's side as they hustled him onto a stretcher and pulled him through the large doors. Dan swallowed thickly, that was most likely the last time he would see Phil. He didn't even get to say thank you.

He held back the tears in his eyes, blinking repeatedly and walked into the waiting room. At least he could hope that he could keep his ears retracted for long enough to hear some news about Phil. That would be enough for him. He could only be glad that his tail had been tucked away in his pants. His ears were hard enough to hide. A tail, it was near impossible.

Ten minutes passed until his nightmare. He could feel his ears poking through. He tried to bury them behind his ears as his breathing picked up and his panic overrode him. He breathed in and out frantically, tears threatening to spill as he watched the nurse, begging her to just tell him that Phil was alright so he could run. Not that that would do any good. Running would be a death sentence.

Staying was a death sentence.

Dan could no longer hide his ears behind his hands, they were too big, his fingers just couldn't cover them. The first thing Dan saw was the man next to him scrambled from his seat, fearful of the tear-stained Neko on his left. Then was the woman on his right, screaming 'That boy's growing ears!' Dan wanted to laugh at the stupidity of the woman, of course, he was growing ears.

Dan didn't laugh. Not when Phil was getting surgery on the other side of those large, iron doors.

The nurse was the first to approach him. 'Please, don't harm us. Just, please wait there.' Dan scoffed, his eyes wide. Don't harm them? What did they think Nekos were? Dan looked around, dazed, to see all the people trembling at the sight of him.

What did people teach others of his kind? What did they say to ensure these reactions from people? 'I. I'm sorry. I don't want to harm any of you; I'm just waiting for someone.' He pleaded, looking wildly around for any sense of someone approaching him. Maybe he was something to be feared. With the adrenaline pumping through him and the fear thick in his veins, he would gladly claw down someone's arms. But, these people, what they shouldn't have done is expect that.

Dan hadn't learnt the lesson just yet. People fear what they don't know, whether they are told to or not.

'P-please, just wait there.' The nurse held her hand out as if he really was a rabid cat. He almost did fight back. He didn't, if only for the sake of his life. He had been trained well by his parents. Fights would get him nowhere. He, at least, knew that.

Dan followed orders, waiting, his jittery limbs not pausing their shaking until the nurse was back, two men- doctors most likely- whose muscles were prominent by her side. 'Can you please escort this...this out of the building.' The 'sir' had been long since dropped and Dan had reverted into his so repetitive state of self-hatred. When no one thought well of him, how could he think well of himself?

It was impossible. So, Dan reverted back to his old self. One that had been trapped in a shack, waiting for something else. The fate of waiting is always much more terrible than one with an ending.

Dan swallowed thickly as the two men, whose tall frames loomed over Dan's, grabbed his arms and began to drag him out. 'No, please! Just tell me how he's doing. I can't leave him here alone!' It was as if Dan knew it would do nothing. He gave no name and the nurse gave him no pity.

He was a Neko, he didn't deserve pity.

The two men held him down whilst the nurse paced, a phone in hand. She held to her ear as if a lifeline and when she hung up, she looked up, sighing in relief as she saw that Dan was restrained.

Dan almost relaxed too. Almost. Maybe he would if it weren't for the van rolling up before them. And, if he had thought the doctors were bad, these men were worst. Bodybuilders at the least. Dan didn't even comprehend running, these men would grab him in an instant.

He was passed from man to man like a gift- one that no one wanted in the first place.

Without a second passing, he was shoved into the large van and the door was slammed behind him. He was left in the dark, not a single light- no window. He couldn't see. He was no better than a blind man. He relied on sound- the rev of the engine and the rumble of the tires against the road. Then, he leant down, feeling what was beneath him and then, either side of him. At first, he only felt metal, the rough scrape of the metal uncomfortable under his fingertips.

Then, with a sudden jolt, Dan was thrown against the wall. With no seatbelt, he couldn't hold his place as they veered around the corner. He groaned as his head hit the cold, harsh metal but was glad that he felt no blood but, then again, without his sight, his senses were untrustworthy. For all he knew, a concussion was already in act.

He hoped not. If they were going to take him, he would at least like to have his wits about him.

The car, after five minutes of much calmer driving, paused. Gruff voices came from outside before silence fell once again and the car was moving. It continued to happen, every five or so minutes, what Dan assumed was the driver left and swapped with another.

Dan could only deduce that their destination was private. Only the final driver could know but then again, why didn't that person pick him up in the first place. An odd system was in play here, one that Dan couldn't comprehend. One that Dan was afraid of.

When the door opened, Dan wasn't sure what to think. The sun was down by now and the starlight was hidden by a thick layer of clouds and there, in front of him, was the sign he had been dreading his entire life.

ZOO. Was written in large letters across the entrance. With a special Neko exhibit. Was printed much smaller underneath but enough to advertise this zoo's purpose. Many zoos used Neko's to attract customers and although the cost of buying one was high, the income made by the flood of customers was enough to pay that off.

And now Dan was a part of it all. He could do nothing about it. He gave up before his first step. The coward. He had always been a coward.Although, he was a coward that survived and if this zoo was his means of life, he would take it with open arms.

Only he didn't realise that living in zoo did not mean life. It was a conscious death. A conscious, painful, death.

word count: 1550

published: 27.06.17