A rough life for a human pet

Taking a stand

I look to Melda, Heth, Scarlet, and Felix as we move forward with the other Flita. The plan we discussed last night should hopefully go well. At least I hope it's going to go well.

It's just a small group at first, those we have already spoken to and helped before. Then, as we walk around the city other Flita, with hopeless eyes, stand to join us.

Many are skinny and weak. We won't do well in the fight. But it's not about fighting. This is about showing how much us Flita are struggling.

I know I shouldn't really be here... I have a home with Draino. He must be worried about me, but I can't just sit by while my kind are dying.

Even as we walk past, some don't react. Either too weak and sick to join us, or worse. It's one of our hardest years for the cold.

It wouldn't be an issue if we could keep warm. But that requires money, a resource we don't have. That we pretty much aren't aloud to have.

I've been the victim of that myself. Nearly freezing to death after losing my job, then my home.

It's not right!

There's a lot of snow around, some of it thick. Honesty, it's kinda hard to walk through, slowing our pace. For a change, though, the sun's out, shining slightly through thin clouds.

It's as though this is supposed to happen. It could be stormy, but it's not.

"Are you okay?" I ask a Flita, shivering against a wall.

His clothes are thin, and I can tell he hasn't eaten well in a while. His eyes meet mine and move through the group.

"My landlord kicked me out as he wanted to sell the land my home was on... I have nothing... no where to go," He states sobbing, and I lean down, placing an arm around his shoulder.

Fury fills me. This isn't new, but it's still horrible to see. Flita losing their homes even if they still somehow manage to pay.

"It's horrible! We can't let them away with this." Felix responds, meeting eyes with him as Melda moves over to another Flita.

She's injured. It's not deadly, but she clearly hasn't had any kind of medical care. A bad gash on her arm that Melda is quick to clean with the little liqour we have.

Sewing supplies are cheap. Thread and needles are easy to get with just a tiny amount of money. But yet we still had to go scavenging for what we've got.

"This is gonna hurt, but it won't heal properly if we don't close it up," she states, giving a small piece of sanded wood to the women.

She groans as she bites down. Melda pushes the needle into the deeper parts of the cut, pulling flesh together before tying it off. Then, another layer on the skin to complete close it.

The woman breathes heavily and then lets out a deep breath as she gets up.

"Thank you," she responds as Melda wraps a cloth around the freshly closed wound.

Melda smiles and pats the women on the back. I hate that cause of lack of money, we can't get medical care. It has to come from the Franus, which means asking them for help.

"You should join us, we are heading to the government building to force the Franus to notice our issues," Melda states, happy with the first aid she's done.

I bring my hand up to my neck for a moment. I can feel the metal of the collar through the scarf. A reminder of my place in this world.

I snap out of my daze as I notice Heth watching me with an intense gaze. He's never really liked me, somehow knowing there's something strange about me.

"It's good Melda can patch people up! Those supplies we've been able to find have been pretty useful." I stumble Heth sighing and heading into the building.

This business is closed, and the door locked. It's not hard to get inside, though. Especially not with a lock pick expert like Heth with us.

"Only take the essentials. We don't want to draw too much attention!" Melda quickly reminds Heth and I as we head through the previously locked door.

Everyone nods in agreement, knowing if we mess up now, we won't get another chance. I hold the door open, closing it as Heth moves past me.

We head our separate ways as we look for supplies. Boxes of matches, a few sleeping bags, and some packets of soup.

The water we have so far should be fine, but I grab an extra bottle just in case. Heading back to the center of the room, I see Heth looking at a tent. It would be really helpful, especially in treating injured or sick flita.

But if we take that, it'll be too obvious. We can't take expensive stuff, even if a tent would help keep the cold out.

"We need to go," I mumble, gesturing for Felix to come over.

He sighs, reluctantly walking back over to the side door. He opens it first this time, and I head through with a small bag of supplies.

We wouldn't have to do this if we just had money... if the Franus weren't pretty much trying to kill us off.

As soon as we're out, I pass the bag to Scarlet, and she looks through. She almost seems disappointed looking at what we got but smiles slightly as she starts rushing back to base camp.

"Would have been nice to get more food or medical supplies. But thanks you two, I know we can't push things too much, " Melda states as she sets up a small fire.

Putting the stove overtop, we wait for the water to boil. It's cold out even with the fire, and part of me misses Drainos warm home.

But then I remember how much I hated it there. The confinement and the control... I don't exactly want to go back to that.

I hope this all works out and we can get better treatment.

The plan succeeds as the Flita are desperate to be heard, and the guards are overwhelmed at the gate. Our diversion tactic had them distribute staff to the gates as we expected.

It's not before our massive protest group has made it to the capital building. We have walked past many shocked and even concerned Franus, but none of them seemed to bother trying to stop us.

1067 words

Written 30 June 2023

Edited 29 and 31 December 2023

Published 31/12/23