What freedom means.
Something I'm mulling over. enjoy.
I was woken by a pounding on my door. I looked at the clock and noticed that it was about twenty minutes after I had fallen asleep. The pounding abruptly stopped, and I heard a quiet tingling of what must have been the landlord's key ring. I groaned a bit, trying not to whimper as my beaten shoulder started to throb once again. The door opened and three male humans walked in. One was a police officer, one was the landlord, and one I had no idea who he was. The officer pulled out a taser and commanded me to not move. Not wanting to get a shock (which I've gotten before by a previous Master many, many years ago), I complied. "Where's your Indenture, Morph?" the officer asked me. "My... l-left leg. Bracelet." The landlord was nervous, and the third human smelled concerned. The officer pulled the thin sheet off me, and there was the bracelet that marked me as property. The third human held a reader close to it, and it beeped once. I was having a hard time keeping myself upright, so I asked if I could at least lie down with my back facing downward. The officer refused, but the third human asked me where I hurt. "Left shoulder. Not sure what I did." "Lay face down. I am a doctor, and I wish to examine you."
I sighed, and grunted as I moved to comply. I felt his hand moved along my back and through my fur, emitting a yelp when he hit the injured area. The officer started at this, but quickly realized that I was not going to injure anyone. He then started examining my small cramped apartment with interest, looking in the cooler, the pantry, everywhere. The doctor continued. "Relax. I will warn you, this will hurt, but it's required for me to determine how badly you are injured, and if we need to transport you to a clinic." I groaned. "Why? My Master will be displeased if I do not report to work tomorrow. I requested time to heal, but he refused. He did give me some painkillers, but my shoulder still hurts." I heard a noise as someone left the room. The doctor started to gingerly poke the shoulder blade, and I winced in several spots. The Doctor stood up as I heard the person returning and hand the doctor something. He looked at it, and nodded. "Morph, you require treatment for your injury. We have your Master's information from your Indenture, and we will take care of contacting him regarding you. You will come with us." I slowly got to my feet, and started to put on the coverall which Master required me to wear when I was out in public. The doctor shook his head, and instead handed me a kilt and a light shirt from my meager belongings. They all left so I could dress, and I heard them talking quietly enough that I could not hear what they were saying. I did manage to catch the Doctor thanking the landlord for calling them to report me, and that they would be in touch with him. He stated that he would lock up after we left. I managed to get to the front door after getting the pouch in which I kept my identicard and keys. We went down to the patrol car and they helped me get in the back seat.
It was a short trip to the clinic. The doctor explained to me that Master had given me painkillers for a human, which was why they did not work. We got there, and I was shown to an examination room after having an X-ray of my shoulder taken. While I was waiting there, the doctor was on his phone talking to someone, apparently about me. His end of the conversation got more and more animated as time progressed, and finally he said goodbye and slammed the little flip phone shut. "I do apologize for that, but your Master is... adament about you working tomorrow, and insisted that your injury was not severe. However, I have the authority to override him in this matter, and I just have." He looked confident. I looked at him sideways. "Why? Was it something I did? I did tell him that the container was too large and heavy for me to lift, but he insisted that I move it by myself." The doctor sat down in one of the remaining chairs and chuckled. "No, it was nothing you did. I am a medical inspector in charge of Morph welfare. I acted on an anonymous tip tonight that someone may have been abusing his Morph, and also that a morph might have been living illegally. The former we've almost proved." His voice suddenly turned formal. "The latter... well, we need to talk after we get you fixed up." At that moment, a nurse came in with the X-ray, and the focus turned once again on my poor shoulder.
Two hours later, I had been given the proper medication and a bottle of painkillers that would work, had my left arm in a sling and the shoulder trussed up so that the strained ligaments could heal. However, I was now being grilled over why I was living in a studio apartment, and how I was paying for it. I explained that Master told me that he did not have a proper place for me, and gave me a set amount of money every month to pay for rent and food. They seemed to accept it, but insisted that they call him again, at midnight, to make sure of this. Master was quite angry at this, and demanded to know why the hell he was being woken in the middle of the night to deal with this. The doctor explained that he was making sure that everything was OK, and that they had received a call about a Morph living alone. Twenty minutes later, I was driven back to my appartment, and was instructed to not go to work the next day. If Master wanted to argue the point, he was to call a number on a card they had left. I took my pain pills, and went to sleep.
I woke up the next morning to pounding on my door again. I was very groggy from the pain medicine that I took the night before, and was mildly surprised to find the landlord there instead of who I was expecting. He explained that Master had called about twenty minutes ago and was coming over to either drag me to work, or to beat me senseless until I could no longer work. The landlord had called the doctor from last night, who was coming over as fast as he could to pick me up. Apparently, they take abuse complaints seriously. He helped me pack up my meager belongsing into a single battered case. He then refunded the rent I had paid him two days previous, stating that he would deal with Master about it later, after he had calmed down. The doctor approached, and bundled me and my case into the car. we left just as I spotted Master's car pulling around the corner.
To be continued...
I was woken by a pounding on my door. I looked at the clock and noticed that it was about twenty minutes after I had fallen asleep. The pounding abruptly stopped, and I heard a quiet tingling of what must have been the landlord's key ring. I groaned a bit, trying not to whimper as my beaten shoulder started to throb once again. The door opened and three male humans walked in. One was a police officer, one was the landlord, and one I had no idea who he was. The officer pulled out a taser and commanded me to not move. Not wanting to get a shock (which I've gotten before by a previous Master many, many years ago), I complied. "Where's your Indenture, Morph?" the officer asked me. "My... l-left leg. Bracelet." The landlord was nervous, and the third human smelled concerned. The officer pulled the thin sheet off me, and there was the bracelet that marked me as property. The third human held a reader close to it, and it beeped once. I was having a hard time keeping myself upright, so I asked if I could at least lie down with my back facing downward. The officer refused, but the third human asked me where I hurt. "Left shoulder. Not sure what I did." "Lay face down. I am a doctor, and I wish to examine you."
I sighed, and grunted as I moved to comply. I felt his hand moved along my back and through my fur, emitting a yelp when he hit the injured area. The officer started at this, but quickly realized that I was not going to injure anyone. He then started examining my small cramped apartment with interest, looking in the cooler, the pantry, everywhere. The doctor continued. "Relax. I will warn you, this will hurt, but it's required for me to determine how badly you are injured, and if we need to transport you to a clinic." I groaned. "Why? My Master will be displeased if I do not report to work tomorrow. I requested time to heal, but he refused. He did give me some painkillers, but my shoulder still hurts." I heard a noise as someone left the room. The doctor started to gingerly poke the shoulder blade, and I winced in several spots. The Doctor stood up as I heard the person returning and hand the doctor something. He looked at it, and nodded. "Morph, you require treatment for your injury. We have your Master's information from your Indenture, and we will take care of contacting him regarding you. You will come with us." I slowly got to my feet, and started to put on the coverall which Master required me to wear when I was out in public. The doctor shook his head, and instead handed me a kilt and a light shirt from my meager belongings. They all left so I could dress, and I heard them talking quietly enough that I could not hear what they were saying. I did manage to catch the Doctor thanking the landlord for calling them to report me, and that they would be in touch with him. He stated that he would lock up after we left. I managed to get to the front door after getting the pouch in which I kept my identicard and keys. We went down to the patrol car and they helped me get in the back seat.
It was a short trip to the clinic. The doctor explained to me that Master had given me painkillers for a human, which was why they did not work. We got there, and I was shown to an examination room after having an X-ray of my shoulder taken. While I was waiting there, the doctor was on his phone talking to someone, apparently about me. His end of the conversation got more and more animated as time progressed, and finally he said goodbye and slammed the little flip phone shut. "I do apologize for that, but your Master is... adament about you working tomorrow, and insisted that your injury was not severe. However, I have the authority to override him in this matter, and I just have." He looked confident. I looked at him sideways. "Why? Was it something I did? I did tell him that the container was too large and heavy for me to lift, but he insisted that I move it by myself." The doctor sat down in one of the remaining chairs and chuckled. "No, it was nothing you did. I am a medical inspector in charge of Morph welfare. I acted on an anonymous tip tonight that someone may have been abusing his Morph, and also that a morph might have been living illegally. The former we've almost proved." His voice suddenly turned formal. "The latter... well, we need to talk after we get you fixed up." At that moment, a nurse came in with the X-ray, and the focus turned once again on my poor shoulder.
Two hours later, I had been given the proper medication and a bottle of painkillers that would work, had my left arm in a sling and the shoulder trussed up so that the strained ligaments could heal. However, I was now being grilled over why I was living in a studio apartment, and how I was paying for it. I explained that Master told me that he did not have a proper place for me, and gave me a set amount of money every month to pay for rent and food. They seemed to accept it, but insisted that they call him again, at midnight, to make sure of this. Master was quite angry at this, and demanded to know why the hell he was being woken in the middle of the night to deal with this. The doctor explained that he was making sure that everything was OK, and that they had received a call about a Morph living alone. Twenty minutes later, I was driven back to my appartment, and was instructed to not go to work the next day. If Master wanted to argue the point, he was to call a number on a card they had left. I took my pain pills, and went to sleep.
I woke up the next morning to pounding on my door again. I was very groggy from the pain medicine that I took the night before, and was mildly surprised to find the landlord there instead of who I was expecting. He explained that Master had called about twenty minutes ago and was coming over to either drag me to work, or to beat me senseless until I could no longer work. The landlord had called the doctor from last night, who was coming over as fast as he could to pick me up. Apparently, they take abuse complaints seriously. He helped me pack up my meager belongsing into a single battered case. He then refunded the rent I had paid him two days previous, stating that he would deal with Master about it later, after he had calmed down. The doctor approached, and bundled me and my case into the car. we left just as I spotted Master's car pulling around the corner.
To be continued...