81 Helping Pets
[Pov Clone]
Grunt in dissatisfaction had now gotten his shots after visiting the vet with the help of Theodore's clone. After the visit, he took Grunt, BreadWinner and Icy to the Butchers to get an assortment of meat before heading to the bakery where he got a fresh loaf of seeded bread.
Theodore got himself 20 spicy chicken nuggets, fries, Daves single cheeseburger and Apple Pecan Chicken Salad from Wendys. With the food in hand, he walked to the park.
They sat down at a bench and enjoyed their meal. Breadwinner didn't eat anything, despite Theodore's attempt.
Just when he was feeling frustrated he heard a voice "He said that he wants to save it for his owner"
Icy, Breadwinner and Icy looked towards the voice and a small speaker on Grunts collar.
"Was that you boy?" Asked Theodore
"I'm not a kid, and the names Grun- Grey," Said Grunt now grey
"Well it's nice to meet ya Grey you can call me Theo or Theodore"
"Nice to meet you," Said Grey lowering his head
Theodore stroked it and smiled "Can you fill me in on what's going on?"
"I was going to kill a lot of humans because of my past but Icy convinced me not to but be a hero for other pets. After that, I said we should as we would be the first super pets to fight. As you saw I lost"
Theodore took a moment to understand what he just heard.
"Can you run through that again, please? Step by step"
"This morning all super pets knew about each other through the mental illusion that let communicate like a chat room. In that, I announced my plan to take as many human lives as possible during the run. Icy caught me with my RPG on my shoulder ready to do what I had planned. I told Icy that I had lost my purpose in life. So I asked him to give me one, if it's good I won't kill the humans. He said, Hero. He said that the community can create a help using the connection. We build evidence and report it. He also said I could deal with monsters as I wish"
Theodore rubbed behind Icy's "You really are something special"
After rewarding Icy he went back to the subject "So pets are becoming super pets. This is gonna cause some trouble. I recommend you guys stay low. You guys need to make a safe house of sorts. When it becomes public you'll run into people in power wanting to take advantage of you. Did all pets become super pets?"
"No"
"How do you know it's not all?"
"The pet that made an illusionary chat said that our brain waves differ from them"
"Wow, that's nuts. So what are you gonna do now I doubt you have a place to stay?"
"I survived hell, sleeping outside in the rain is considered a break"
"You can stay with us. Icy did after all convince you to be a hero as his family I should take responsibility"
Grey shook his head "No, I can't"
"You can, for now at least until you get your group together. I can provide you with some help when it comes to reporting it and I can help with finding your group a place to stay"
Icy barked at Grey before giving him a pleading look.
"Fine but let me stay in the garage. I'm not ready to be under the same roof as other humans. Even now my body jolts every time you touch me"
Theodore awkwardly removed his hand "Oh sorry"
"No, continue if I can't recover then It would hypocritical of me to help other pets in their struggle"
Theodore let out a small laugh "Haha"
"Why are you laughing, this is a serious matter"
"Sorry it's just that you're surprisingly Nobel for someone with the stereotypical villain look"
"The nature of humanity, its essence, is to feel another's pain as one's own, and to act to take that pain away, there is a nobility in compassion, a beauty in empathy, a grace in forgiveness. John Connolly"
"Wow, where did you learn that from?"
"My first night of freedom I slept outside a charity shop that had that quote on the door"
"Hahaha" Theodore laughed hysterically
"What is it this time?" Said Grey with some anger
"You weren't going to kill those people," Said Theodore confidently
"Yes, I did! I stood on the roof of that build ready to launch a rocket at those people"
"Then why did that quote stick with you. Did it give you comfort or was it a guideline? You used the chat room for the opportunity to see that quote come to life. The hero speech didn't stop you but something simpler than that, it was Icy's sincere attempt to understand and provide help. You wanted to experience what humanity looked like"
Grey looked away as he collected his thoughts before replying "Your right but also wrong. It was because he showed me what I wanted to see that I stopped but if he didn't show humanity it would have panned out differently"
Giving an awkward laugh Theodore tried to lighten the mood "Hehe it's a good thing he succeeded"
Grey stood up and graciously thanked him "Thank you for the food but I think I need to go search for a place to stay"
"I said you can stay at our place," Said Theodore, as he stood up, went down on his knee while giving Grey a much-needed hug.
"I'm an old dog I don't need a hug, I need nutrients and a lady to reproduce now unhand me before I start getting angry" Grey struggled to get himself out of Theodore's hold before eventually giving up
"You're staying at my place till we get your group a safe place to stay" Said Theodore
"Fine," Said Grey disgruntled tone
They sat back down before Theodore threw the ball and Icy ran to fetch it back.
While playing fetch Theodor asked "I think our pigeon friend has something to say can you translate what the pigeon is saying for me"
Grey gave a nod
Theodore then listened to the pigeon called Artemis or Arte for short. Arte told him how his human has been living on the street and is barely surviving on the food he finds in bins. He recently got sick real bad from eating some leftover taco's he found in a bin. He's been bedridden and needs some proper food to get him back to health.
They went out bought some food consisting of tinned meats, tinned soups, noodles, ramen and lots of dried fruit. He bought him some necessities like a thermal blanket, an electric camping stove that doubles as a battery, and a $50 smartphone.
If this was his old world many would say buying a phone would be excessive but a smartphone in this world gives the homeless more of a chance to get back into society. There are several apps now existing to help them, for example, Sheltered is an app that pings local shelters that have space or apps that help the homeless get jobs and evens bank accounts.
The integration of these apps in homeless peoples lives has greatly decreased the number of homeless people over the years. There are charity's that now exist simply to provide homeless people with phones.
After buying everything they followed Arte to find his human. They got to a bridge with many tents set up underneath and a shallow river running down the middle. Theodore and his group walked through weaving in between tents. A putrid smell flowed through the silent and depressing air.
"Danny you obese piece of shit. Shit away from the area" Shouted an elder women
"Fuck you bitch I fought for this country and I'll shit where I want" Shouted Danny
The voice of a young man then shouted "We know your purple hearts are fake Danny and ain't no way your fat ass got through phase 1"
"Fuck you why don't you carry me out if you don't like me" Shouted Danny
"Because we'd need a crane just to move one your lumps or gravity to stop working" Shouted a young women
"Hahahahah" The camp burst into laughter as one after another they ripped into the man named Danny
Theodore and his group finally got to a small blue tent. Arte cooed and knocked on the tent as he call for his human. There was no response so he pulled a zipper at the bottom and entered to check.
A few seconds later he came out and told them he's asleep. Theodore then pulled out some paper and wrote a note "These are just some things to help you get back up on your feet. I've taken the liberty to install some helpful apps on the phone. Get well soon for Arte's sake please"
Theodore stealthy opened the tent and place the bag of stuff down before catching a glimpse of a 20 something Hispanic man sleeping in a sleeping bag. Saying their goodbyes to Arte they made their way home.
