Chapter Text
Anomalies were a common thing. genderless creatures whose main purpose was to consume and spread. at first, it was hardly an issue. animal attacks were rare and seemed like a non issue compared to many other things. but then, they multiplied. the media hid it for as long as they can, spreading the message that “its under control!” by the time people truly realised it was too late. masses of anomalies plagued the streets, and it was estimated that 1 in 10 civilians were deemed an anomaly.
so where does intern fit into this?
not exactly an animal, but not exactly an anomaly, cast aside by society, their co-workers and even their friends, they were deemed an anomaly by law, but showed morals, and a sense of justice they were smart though, and they had the perseverance to keep trying. masses and masses of denied job applications were returned to them. but they kept trying, and trying and *trying* until they landed a job in a small hospital on he outskirts of town. how did they get the job? not even they knew, but they jumped at the chance.
they could still vividly remember their first day. clutching their ID in hand, they walked through the door, only to immediately get stopped. a cat, not much shorter than them stopped them with a pistol to the temple.
“i swear” the cat started, his tone full of venom. “you creatures just don’t stop trying..”
intern froze, unsure of what exactly to do. its not like they could speak, all they would come out are gurgles, which was more embarrassing then helpful. they also doubted the cat knew sign, not many people did. as the cats fingers brushed the trigger, someone interrupted them.
“now now agent, thats enough”
the voice came from a deer, shorter than them both but his mere presence screamed authority. the cat, who intern assumed to be called agent, lowered their gun. “but Dr Harlow, sir- my job is to-“ agent was quickly interrupted by the Dr, who raised his hand.
”yes yes- your job is to swiftly eliminate anomalies. but this ones with me”
Agent stared at Dr harlow for a hot second, glancing between intern and the imposing deer. “you can’t be serious” agent laughter humourlessly “its an anoma-“
”im well aware of what it is. its the new hire.” intern cringed slightly, being referred to as an it hurt more than they cared to admit, but its not like they had a say in what happened.
intern took this as a chance to glance around. the walls were mainly blue, with a few dying plants in pots. ‘i wonder’ intern thought ‘how can they keep patients alive if they couldn’t even keep plants alive?’ they looked around some more, spotting a dog with glasses and a sheep working at reception, the dog looked tired, whereas the sheep seemed more awake and helpful. what a strange duo to have on reception. they were snapped out of their thought process when the doctor tuned to them and spoke, softer this time as if talking to a child. “follow me”
they silently followed the deer, taking note of the looks they got from the clients and staff alike. they noticed two workers behind the from desk, both of which looked away when they caught their eye.
soon, them and the doctor reached a small staff-only room, with only them in it. intern swallowed nervously as the Dr began to speak. “i don’t take kindly to your type.” the doctor said, intern looked away, they should have known that this was a plan. a plan to lure them in and swiftly-
“but im willing to give you a chance. because naturally, im curious” the Dr started “what makes someone like you think you can work somewhere like here?”
intern lifted their hands as if to respond, but got stopped by the doctor. “it was a rhetorical”
intern looked back at the doctor, and then looked away again. they didn’t necessarily understand sarcasm, or anything deemed to be ‘humanly’ in that matter. “i trust you’ve taken the pills i sent?”
intern nodded. they had been sent a container of pills to their home to ‘stop his urges’, they hated to admit that the pills worked. they nodded slowly, their gaze still not reaching the doctors eyes “not much of a talker, eh? your training will begin tomorrow. we need to see how well you can perform in different segments of the hospital”
a month had passed since then, and honestly, intern struggled. they couldn’t work on the front desk as patients would avoid him at all costs, and they couldn’t work in the patients rooms either, as they would scream the moment they saw them.how desperately they wanted to just be a normal animal, then maybe they wouldn’t be stuck as the janitor. it was late at night now, most of the staff had left the building. intern was mopping the floors, tired from the long night. they hadn’t even noticed anyone sneaking up behind them.
“what are you still doing here, anomaly?”
the voice made them jump, letting out a small surprised ‘eep’, spinning to face whoever was there. they immediately recognised it to be agent, who was the last person they wanted to see, without dr harlow here to protect them, they were completely at agents mercy.
“well? are you going to answer me?”
intern scrambled to pull their phone out, furiously typing something. agent cocked his head, his hands resting on the holster of his gun. intern finished typing, and used text to speech to say. ‘i’m finishing cleaning. i cant speak, sorry’
“hmm… should have figured something like you wouldn’t know basic communication” this caused intern to grumble, turning back to mopping, agent continued. “no response, hm?” he walked past intern, his tail swaying behind him. intern watched it for a second, before returning to mopping. “…want some coffee?” Agent called out, momentarily stepping out from reception. intern froze for a second. coffee? they assumed agent hated them. he probably did, but if so, why offer them coffee? intern hesitantly nodded, leaning the mop against the wall. agent nodded, going back to reception. soon later, he returned with two cups of coffee. “lets go to the staff room.”
intern followed, sitting on one of the seats in there, agent sat across from them “this dosnt change anything, i still think you’re a nuisance.” agent paused, thinking for a moment before continuing. “but… you’ve not attacked anyone yet, so maybe.. you aren’t that bad..”
intern took a small sip of the coffee. it tasted of nothing, but they’d expected that. nothing really tasted of anything, one of the disadvantages of being an anomaly. agent spoke again. “…i should have shot you by now.” he paused “it would be so easy to just.. end you. right now.” intern swallowed nervously, looking away. “but i wont” interns ears twitched “you remind me a lot of myself when i first started working here. nervous, shy, a loner” intern huffed at the words, but they knew they weren’t wrong
“i suppose…i respect you” agent looked away. “through… i have a question. how are you so tame? every other anomaly goes for the kill. immediately”
intern paused for a long second, before pulling out their phone, and typing. against rolled his eyes, taking a longer sip of his coffee. soon, intern finished what they were wringing, and played it out ‘i take pills that stop the urges. even if i don’t take them i can still control myself. i’ve never killed another animal’
agent took a few seconds to digest what they said. “but have you eaten another animal?” intern looked away shyly, nodding. agent sighed “it’s what’s expected of you.”
intern typed something out again ‘it was desperation. i couldn’t buy food. i didn’t even have a house. i found someone dead in an alley and took a chance’
agent hummed, standing up, leaving his mug on the table. “i have no more questions. goodnight, intern… make it home safe.” he walked out the room, his shoes clicking against the floor as he left. intern watched him go, they didn’t know if their relationship changed for the better or for the worse, but they sure hoped it was for the better. they thought for a moment. they should really get home, it was late after all.
they left the staff room, noticing that agent was already gone. intern didn’t know how the cat escaped so fast, but they didn’t question it. they left the building, locking the door behind them and walking to their car, climbing in and turning it on, pulling out of the car park. as they began to drive home, they analysed their surroundings. there weren’t many cars on the road, and the stars in the sky were visible. they thought back to agent. he was the first person to be somewhat nice to them, which was nice, they found themself appreciating agent, even if he still disliked them. before they knew it, they had reached their apartment. they walked inside, shielding their face from the people on reception, and swiftly entering the elevator, pressing the button to their floor.
they didn’t like elevators, they made them feel lightheaded, but they had to tough it out. the elevator dinged as they reached their floor. they walked down the hall for a minute, and took out their key, walking into their apartment. they walked to the kitchen, opening the fridge. it was mostly filled with raw meat, it was the only thing they could really stomach, due to the fact they were made to tear people apart. they closed the fridge. they weren’t hungry anymore. they walked to their bedroom. walking to ther bed, flopping down onto it. their ears twitched, singing from the warm comfort after a long day. fatigue washed over them, and they found themself asleep after only a few minutes.