Chapter 28: Chapter 27

As I was Eating dinner in dad’s lap, I heard a familiar sound. Looking over, I saw dad holding the rattle. Seeing that it was brought with us, I frowned.

 

“Do you not like it?” Dad asked.

“Nuu.” I said.

“Well, I’ll keep that in mind.” He said, putting it out of sight.

“Ba bu.” I thanked her.

“Don’t worry about it.” He said, bringing another piece of soft bread to my mouth.

 

Chewing was fun. I didn’t get to chew food much at mom’s that often. It was probably due to the constant surveillance of the maids. As I was thinking this, Dad asked an unexpected question.

 

“Abby, what’s three plus ten?” Dad asked.

 

Though I wasn’t able to verbally answer, I held out three of my hands to give the answer.

 

“I see, very good.” Dad said.

“Mu.” I replied.

 

It wasn’t hard, though given that this isn’t earth, I don't know the education level.

 

“You know Abby, you are smart.” She said.

“Ba.” I agreed. To be honest I was more concerned with my food than these little questions.

“You know, babies your age don’t know how to do math.” He said.

“Mn.” I nodded. At least on Earth that was true.

“…” Dad didn’t say anything.

“…” I continued to eat my food.

“Wow, okay you kind of are dumb.” She said.

“Ah?” I looked up, confused at dad's words.

“Sorry for saying that, but if you know that babies can’t do that, why did you do that?” He asked.

“…” She has a point. Why did I do that?

“I know that it’s fine if you do that around me or your mom, but you need to be careful around others. You act far too smart for your own good.” She explained. “Though I suppose it’s too late to go back now. If your behavior suddenly changes they might realize that something’s up.”

“Ah…” I said, only now realizing my mistake.

 

How did I not realize that? Everyone knows that babies are dumb. What was I doing at this age back on earth? Looking back, I couldn’t actually remember. Was I an only child? Now that I think about it, who raised me? Have I ever seen another like myself? What even was I? Looking up at dad, I started to worry. I’m already not a human baby and at least one person who shouldn’t know that knows. How much longer until others realized this? Would I still be safe if they do? What about mom and dad? Will they be alright? Dad at least had a bow and many knives, but what about mom? She’s losing her eyesight and may already be blind. When was the last time I had seen her with her eyes open?

 

“Don’t worry about me or your mom, we’ll be fine.” Dad said, reassuring me.

“Ba…” I looked up at her.

“For now just try to worry about yourself. I know that it may be hard but you need to be careful of your surroundings.” He said.

“…” That much was true. After all, it was due to my negligence that my necklace fell off.

“Ah no, the necklace was my fault.” Dad said.

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“Ah?” Wait what?

“Yeah, I didn’t realize how much you move around in your sleep, and the latch was kind of weak, so that was on me.” She said.

“Ah?” That just brings up more questions. Firstly, how did you even know about that?

“That’s because I’ve been keeping an eye on you.” He said it as if it was as simple as that.

“Bu…” I started.

“Of course I would make sure that nothing happened to you.” She said.

“Au.” I said.

 

Well, to be honest, when I was in captivity, I was always under watch, and since Dad didn’t keep me locked up in a room, I didn’t see this as a problem. As if sensing my acceptance of this, Dad patted my head.

 

“You’re a good girl.” He said.

“Mu!” I agreed happily.

“Now, what of your mom?” She asked.

“Mu?” I asked.

“Well, she’s been working really hard and I think she deserves a reward for everything that she does.” He said.

“Au!” I agreed.

“I was thinking about doing some shopping.” She said.

“Hu?” I tilted my head.

 

Shopping huh? I never went shopping myself, but from what I heard from my captors, it was quite enjoyable. Though that being said, I'll need to wear that necklace and will be unable to move by myself.

 

"Well, I say that but, we won't be going today." Dad said. "I just wanted to let you know ahead of time."

"Ah." I nodded.

 

That makes sense. After all, it must be late in the day given that I fell asleep near lunchtime. Now that I think about it, why didn’t dad wait for me and mom to wake up before leaving? For all I know she did, but I suppose that doesn’t matter since I’m already here. That aside, another question was floating in my mind. Can dad actually read minds? For a while she has been responding perfectly to everything I’ve been thinking. To test this, I asked dad what time it was, in my mind obviously. Instead of answering however, dad brought the bread to my mouth again. Unable to resist, I happily munched down on it.

There wasn’t much to do, but as I was able to be myself, time didn’t seem to pass slowly. Between my regular exercises, I watched dad work on cleaning tools and fixing things around the house. I'm, not sure how, but she managed to get plenty of things done when I wasn’t looking. I suppose living out of town helps you work fast. Thinking back to when I got killed, I wondered if I was in a town. The place was big, so I wouldn’t be surprised if we were in a town. Regardless, things on Earth didn’t matter to me anymore.

As night fell, Dad laid me in my crib and put out the few candles that were lit in the room. In the next room I heard the crackling of the remaining firewood. Because of it, I was nice and warm, but since it wouldn’t last until morning, dad made sure to cover me in blankets. It had a nice weight, and the blankets were just as soft as the ones at mom’s. Though I was comfortable, I wasn’t sleepy as I had rested during the day. Because of that, and the upcoming shopping trip, there was lots on my mind.

I hadn’t really been outside for very long. Aside from when dad first picked me up, and when she dropped me off at mom’s I couldn’t remember any other time I’ve been outside. I was excited to see the town. Even in my past life I didn’t venture into cities much. Aside from those deadly metal speed wagons humans called cars, there wasn’t much easy food for me. There were of course dogs and the odd bird that I managed to catch, but it was much easier hunting away from human settlements.

Thinking back to when I had been caught, I frowned. After fighting a snow bear, I headed into a nearby town as I heard of a hunting preserve that humans kept many large animals in. There were apparently lions and monkeys in this so-called zoo, and I was curious about how they would taste. Before I could even make it into the outer city, I was trapped in a metal box and gassed. When I woke up, I was chained in what would become my room for the duration of my life. I should have expected that some humans would get in my way, but I was riding the high of killing a large snow bear.

Becoming sad, I opened my eyes to the dark room. I thought that mom would come over and visit, but given how busy she was, I should have known better. Blinking a few times to better adjust my eyes to the dark, I looked at the curtains partially covering the windows. Light could very easily make its way in, but the room seemed oddly dark. Thinking that I saw some movement, I turned towards the door, but it was nothing. The wood in the fireplace was no longer popping, and I heard nothing that sounded like any sort of rodent.

Left with my own thoughts, my mind wandered and I wondered what would be the best gift for mom, when we went shopping. I didn’t know what this world had in the way of goods, but if we had things my way, a bear's fur would be perfect. If we got lucky we might find someone selling a snow bear pelt. Are there even snow bears around here? I would need to ask dad in the morning.

 

“Abby?” Dad suddenly called out.

“…” Knowing that I was sposto be sleeping, I kept my mouth shut.

“Abby, I know you’re awake.” Dad said. “I can hear you blinking.”

“Au?” How?

“What’s the matter, can’t sleep?” Dad asked, looking down on me with amber lights shining through an angular faceplate.

“Ah?” Did dad always look like this?

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