Holiday at the Genetic Park 6

Holiday @ The Genetic Park 6


I walked with my new friends, slowly feeling better about myself. I still thought I was the cause of all this, but…

"So, what are you guys planning today?" I asked.

"Well… me and a few others were going to check out a few places," Rosie admitted. We all agreed that sounded pretty cool, and Rosie asked me if I didn't mind if she went. I shook my head, confused as to why she was asking me. Rosie left to find her friends as Amanda ran up to us.

"Keegan, Mitch told me you were in the hospital wing," She told me. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," I told her. "Thanks for asking, though." Amanda nodded and Mitch pulled me to the side for a moment.

"She and I have some plans for the day," Mitch told me. "Do you…"

"No, no, go ahead," I told Mitch. "Don't let me stop you." A few minutes after the two of them left, a similar situation occurred with Joe, and soon it was just Marcus and me.

"Well? I suppose you have something to do to?" I asked her.

"…No, not really," Marcus replied, and I could tell that she was hiding something. I didn't want to push it, so we continued walking. And, as if it were just my luck, someone else came running up to me.

"Keegan!" A female anthro mouse exclaimed. "Keegan, wait up!" My blood
froze. Why now?

"What is it, Brit?" I asked. I saw Marcus' confused face, and said, "Brit, meet Marcus. Marcus, Brit."

"Hi," Brit breathed, then continued ignoring her. "Keegan, I've been looking for you everywhere!"

"Yeah?" I asked, indifferent.

"I need to tell you something."

"Okay?"

"Alone."

"Marcus is a friend," I snapped, and she flinched.

"Okay, okay, I… I needed to tell you that you were making a huge mistake."

"How so?" I crossed my arms, impatient.

"It wasn't Frank that … attacked you," Brit said, still furtively glancing at Marcus. I snorted.

"So it was Frank's identical twin who tried to rape me?" I said, getting angry.

"N-no, it just… he didn't mean to!" Brit rephrased. I shook my head, and she could tell I didn't buy it. "It was the alcohol, it mixed with the nanites in his body
and made him erratic," Brit told me. I laughed.

"I researched this place, nothing reacts to the nanites," I told her. "Plus, the doctors told us in the beginning that alcohol doesn't affect the nanites, so let's just cut the bullshit, okay? Why are you really here?"

"We miss you, okay?" Brit exclaimed. "All of us."

"I've been gone for a morning. Try again."

"That's the truth!" Brit told me. "When we heard you weren't accepting visitors…"

"That's a lie!" I shouted. "The door was wide open for you guys! Other people came to see me, even Marcus came in!" I told her, motioning to the vixen. "Why
didn't you?"

"J-Jon said you weren't…"

"Jon," I snarled, feeling my claws unsheathing. "Well, you tell Jon to go fu-"

"Keegan," Marcus said, lightly pulling me back. I hadn't even realized I was advancing closer to Brit, who looked scared for her life. "Calm down," She said. I took a deep breath.

"You tell Jon and the others that until they stop acting like the assholes they are, I'm staying the hell away."

"Where will you go?" Brit asked me, a little confused.

"With some of my real friends," I said, grabbing Marcus' hand. "I'll see you later, Brit. C'mon, Marcus, let's go." I practically dragged Marcus away from there. My vision was clouded with red and I vaguely thought back to when I went "feral" on Mitch and Joe on the first day. Eventually, we stopped at a small lake and Marcus stopped.

"Keegan, you need to breathe," She told me. "This anger and stress isn't good for you." She led me to a dock, where we sat in silence for a few moments. I stared out at the water, wanting to feel like the calm waters, but only feeling conflicted and turmoil inside me.

"I… I just…" I began. "I just need someone I know who I can trust."

"What about your friends?" I shook my head.

"I don't think I can trust them anymore." I said.

"Well… you can trust me," Marcus said, putting an arm around my shoulder. My hormones started acting up again and my eyes watered. Instantly, I found myself crying into Marcus' shoulder. She held me close, letting me cry it out.

"That's right," Marcus said, patting my back lightly. "Just let it out." Over the next few minutes (or hours – I'm still not sure how long I was there with Marcus), I told her everything I didn't tell the others; how depressed I felt, why I didn't go back to the others with Brit, how helpless I felt and how pointless it seemed to try and act like everything was okay. Marcus listened to it all, and for that I was grateful.

"I think I know how you feel," She told me. "When my fiancé left me, I… I figured it was all my fault, that I must've done something wrong and… it took me a while to realize it wasn't my fault, not completely. Most of the blame is stuck on her, but I'll be the first to admit that I'm not perfect. And neither are you," She added before I could say anything. "So, you're not to blame for this. Neither is the alcohol, I don't care how much… Frank? I don't care how much he drank, that's still not an excuse to go and try to rape one of your best friends." Marcus held my shoulder. "You did nothing wrong, okay?"

I nodded, smiling. Maybe Marcus is right? I thought.

"I want to hear you say it," Marcus said.

"I-I did nothing wrong," I repeated. She smiled. "I did nothing wrong," I said once more, giving Marcus a hug. "Thank you," I whispered to her.

"No problem," Marcus said to me. "That's what friends are for, right?" We heard someone running down the dock and someone hugged me from behind. I turned, startled to see Mitch, Joe, Katie, Amanda, and Rosie shortly following.

"You guys!" I exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"

"Mitch wouldn't stop worrying about you," Amanda said. "We decided to check up on you, to see how you were doing." The others nodded, and I figured they were thinking the same thing.

"But what about your plans?" I asked.

"Those can wait, we've got two weeks here," Rosie said. "They're not going anywhere."

"Friends are more important right now," Joe told me, and arm around her girlfriend's back. I looked at Marcus, who only gave me a see? What did I tell you? look.

"Well, I'm fine now," I said, standing, giving Mitch a hug in return.

"Liar," He told me. "We can see the tear tracks in your fur." I blushed.

"I guess I'll have to wash up," I laughed nervously, feeling like crying again. Happy tears this time, not sad ones. Mitch gave Amanda a playful glance and everyone backed up a bit. Suddenly I was very conscious of the water behind me.

"Mitch…" I started, and suddenly, I was flying backwards into the water.


Everyone laughed for a few moments, watching the water for Keegan to come up. Nothing happened, and worried glances started to go around.

"Can Keegan swim?" Joe asked.

"Uh-oh," Mitch said, leaning over the water to see if she could see any sign of her.

Suddenly, Keegan popped up, taking a gulp of air as she pulled Mitch into the water. Everyone laughed with relief as they realized it was just Keegan getting revenge.


We popped out of the surface, trading water. I laughed, and it felt good.

"That wasn't funny!" Mitch shouted, spitting out some water. "I thought you were drowning!"

"Nope!" I laughed. "Just waiting for the right moment." I swam closer, singing the theme to JAWS.

"I'm getting out of here," Mitch said.

"Well, look what the cat dragged in," Amanda said, leaning over the edge of the dock. "Do you want me to help you up?" She asked Mitch, reaching out a hand.

"Yes, please," Mitch said, grabbing Amanda's hand and pulling her in as well. We all laughed, and soon everyone was jumping off the dock into the water, clothes on and all. We all learned the hard way that Rosie could make a
very big splash if he did a cannon ball. And, for the first time since last night, I felt like was with a group of people I could trust. I felt like I really belonged.


That night, after we had dried off and changed, I waved goodbye to Rosie, who escorted me to my cabin. I stood at the doorway, vividly remembering Frank breaking the door down. The repair men did a good job while we were out, they had replaced the door and everything. I walked in, feeling exhausted. I paused for a moment.

"Where were you?" Brit asked me, clearly anxious. I closed the door.

"With friends," I said, and I could tell that hurt her. I started walking to our bedroom.

"We were looking for you all over the place," Brit said. "We really missed –

"Stop lying," I snapped, angry. "You never looked for me, so stop trying to pin this one on me." I sat down, stripping. I didn't care what Brit saw, we were both girls now, after all. "Just answer one question for me: Do they think I'm to blame?"

There was a pause.

"Yes," Brit replied. "Frank convinced them you came onto him." I sighed. Just my typical night.

"I'm going to sleep," I told Brit. "I've had a long day." I lay on the bed, curling up in the sheets.

"Aren't you going to -?"

"Talk? No," I said. "No offense, but everything I say, you'll relay back to Jon, who'll tell Frank," I told her. "You guys share everything, don't think you can hide that." Even though my back was to her, I could tell that hurt her feelings. Truth was, I didn't really care. She was part of that group, whether Brit liked it or not.

"Fine," Brit sniffed and closed the door, mercifully leaving me to sleep.


The next morning, I awoke to someone knocking on the door. Groggy, I sat up, noticing Brit's sleeping form in the bed across from me. I got up, deciding to make breakfast as an apology to her last night. Trying to stay awake, I blinked myself awake as I opened the door. I stared in surprise.

"Get ready, get dressed, and come out with me," Tania said to me. "We have to talk."