Chapter 3

The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man who lives fully is prepared to die at any time. - Mark Twain

Tony picked at his thumb that was peeking out of his cast. He sighed slowly as he heard the elevator doors open wide in front of him. He raised his head to confirm he was on the 3rd floor that was labeled the “technical support" and walked quickly inside before the doors slammed onto him. He scanned the room in an effort to find the easiest path through the crowded area but noticed no one was at their desks. The clock flashed inside his right eye to confirm the usual time for lunch was at least two more hours away. He could hear the clicking and tacking of the keyboard off in the distance and began to walk towards it. He peeked over the side of the metal wall to see his boss typing away frantically on a mechanical keyboard. She was wearing her usual bright pink baggy shirt with pink sweats. Upon furth inspection, she was typing on two keyboards with both her feet and her hands. Her head twitch back and forth from the six monitors that covered her metallic cubical. She looked very similiar to humans because of how her features were those of a simian or a tail-less monkey.

Tony cleared his throat before speaking, “How's it going Krista?" She slowed down her typing before slowly realizing that someone had spoken to her. She slowed down to a stop and looked up.

“Hey Tony, good to see you here. Did you manage to find yourself a space yet?"

Tony shook his head, “Not yet. I was thinking in the basement or someplace away from people."

Krista tossed her head back and laughed loud enough to echo through the entire floor. “No, you are staying here with us. Being equals and all that. A couple of the girls found an empty space for you if they moved all their trash. I've already talked to them about cleaning up this place but the cleaning department refuses to send anyone." She waved her left hand in the air dismissively. “Something about no one willing to pick up the disgusting stuff we leave behind." She stood up and walked around to exit her metal box. She pointed to a large area that was covered in trash of all assortments that was being held in by metal walls. “You can go ahead and move there. Just need to clean it out." She pointed against the wall next to the area of a large slot in the wall. “That's where the actual trash chute is that will take everything to get recycled." She turned her full attention to Tony and stared at his cast. “What the hell happened there?"

Tony said “fuck" under his breath because he really didn't want to explain everything. “I'd rather not say anything and just get to cleaning."

Krista held up a hand and passively said, “Wait". She went to her desk to grab a metal cylinder and quickly took a deep breath through the device. “I'll help you clean up while I take my smoke break." She waved her free hand towards the cast, “You can explain to me how you got that or I stop helping."

Tony groaned loudly before he said, “Fine" and walked towards the pile of trash. Tony picked up several bags and tossed them down the chute before he noticed Krista was standing still with her hands on her hips. The look she gave him was 'well, come on it already'. Tony grumbled under his breath before he started to tell her. Tony threw several bags of trash and stepped aside as a wall of trash was thrown towards the chute. Tony stood holding the chute door open while he talked. “I had a dream about how I had my first actual sex with a woman since I woke up. It made me feel like this was something that could go on for a while. The problem is that the experience was with my ex and someone whom I thought I was madly in love with. She was the red Dracor I told you about." Tony rubbed the back of cast against his forehead before he continued. “That's when I woke up and", Tony paused to brace himself. “I punched the bed until my hand broke."

Kumbukani rubbed her eyes for the fifth time that afternoon while she rode the bus. Her mind instantly wandered to how she had acted around the human yesterday and she started to hit her forehead softly against the pole she was leaning against. She asked herself softly, “How could you do that to yourself girl?". She rested her head against the pole with her eyes closed before opening them again to find a pair of yellow eyes staring into hers. She focused a bit more as she gathered her thoughts to see a male Leopcord coyly smiling at her. She knew this was a smile of a male that wanted something and stunk of a salesman. She raised her head off the bar to notice this male Leopcord was in a black business suit. She smiled at him weakly before asking, “Can I help you?"

The male Leopcord produced a card with the best all knowing smile he could summon. “I think I can help you."

Kumbukani looked down at the card and sighed in disgust. He was one of the many “studs for hire" that helped handle a woman's or man's “needs". The card practically spelled it out for her but disappeared as the male Leopcord quickly grabbed the card from her hand.

“You see, I help people like you with a problem. I am sterile so getting pregnant isn't an issue and free of any STD's. I go in for weekly blood tests and sometimes daily, depending on the client's request. I am free all this week if you would like me to answer a call." The male leopard anthropomorphic's smile held an animalistic and lustful look as he stared at Kumbukani's chest.

Kumbukani placed a hand against him and gave him a shove backwards to give her space. “No thank you." She heard a ping sound go off as the bus stopped which made her body lurch forward slightly. She sat her lower half down to try and snuff out the smell she was emitting. Her face changed and her ears perked up as she heard a familiar voice. She watched a female Mandapen get on followed by Tony. Her smile vanished when the male Leopcord took up her view.

“From the smell of it, I think you just changed your mind. Why don't you let this leopard take care of your needs?" He brushed a hand softly against Kumbukani's shoulder.

Kumbukani brushed the hand off her shoulder with malice and force to match her disdain. “I will say this once more, NO. Now please leave me alone." She walked towards Tony and the Mandapen before she felt a firm smack on her hind quarters. She reflectively kicked a leg but didn't feel a connection which made her look back.

The male Leopard was smiling coyly and shrugged his shoulders. “I can handle girls who like to play hard to get." Kumbukani saw him pull his hand back and start to swing before she saw a blur out of the corner of her eye. The blur was a body that led by a boot which connected directly to the male leopards chest. His face went from shock to pain as he flew backwards. She looked up the leg to notice that it was attached to Tony.

Tony's face was red as he grunted out, “The lady said no" before he put his leg down. She could hear him take a couple of deep breaths before she felt the bus come to a complete halt. The speaker's overhead mechanical voice spoke, “Does the hurt individual need medical attention?"

The male leopard gasped for several minutes before he rose to his feet. He shook his head, “No but I sure as hell would like to leave." Kumbukani could have sworn the look he gave Tony would have killed him on the spot if he could do it. The doors quickly opened as the Leopcord left the bus and he didn't take his eyes off of Tony.

Kumbukani breathed a sigh of relief as the bus started up again and looked over as Tony sat down shaking. She was taken back by the sight of her rescuer's shaking hands and shuddering breaths. The Mandapen appeared and started to talk to him slowly before she could even speak.

Mandapen spoke softly to Tony in a familiar tone, “Take deep breaths with me." Kumbukani watched her take deep breaths and felt a little twinge inside her chest. She started to speak before Tony spoke.

“What the_...._ hell is_....._ happening?" Tony slowly took deep breaths as he spoke and felt his right eye lid start to twitch sporadically.

The Mandapen took Tony's hand into hers as she spoke softly, “You are just having an adverse reaction with your implant. This happens to Kim almost every time she gets too excited after she's taken some painkillers. That's why we plan things out if she's going out on the town with me." She looked over her shoulder at Kumbukani and asked Tony, “Do you know her?"

Tony shook his head violently up and down quickly as he took slow deep breaths. “Yes_....._ she's Kumbukani." Tony looked directly at Kumbukani and said, “Sorry_..._ I meant_...._ to introduce_...._ you two." Tony took his hands from the Mandapen and pointed a finger at her while he looked at the leopardtaur. “This is_..._ Ren. She's the_...._ regular_...._ waitress_..._ at the_..._ food joint_..._ I was_..._ telling you_...._ about." The leopardtaur shook Ren's hand when it was offered to her.

“Nice to meet you Kumbukani." Ren stared at Tony's eyes, “Maybe you should stop by sometime and try our duck. It's the newest addition." Tony laughed in between gasps before Ren clicked her teeth at him.

“Is he going to be okay", asked the leopardtaur. The leopardtaur looked Tony over before she noticed that his left hand was in a cast. She walked around Ren and picked up the casted hand. “What happened here?"

Tony shook his head and laughed once. “This is_..._ just a result_..._ of a bad_..._ dream." Tony's breathes and gasps started to space out more as he spoke to the leopardtaur. “I was really_...._ angry and I_..._ punched the pillow_...._ It was the_...._ most logical_..._ thing to do_..._ Wouldn't hurt_..._ anybody." Tony's breathing started to soften when Kumbukani placed the hand against her cheek.

“You shouldn't do that, idiot." She noticed Tony's breathing become passive and start to sound normal to her before she let go of his hand.

Tony's face became red in contrast to the pale color that it was just moments ago. “Sorry, I guess I wasn't really thinking when I kicked that guy."

“What were you thinking?" Asked the leopardtaur.

“My..." Tony stopped then started again, "That I should be the one smacking your sexy rump and not him."

Ren laughed out loud which broke the spell between the two. Kumbukani straightened herself upward and tried to hide her redness from the two before she coughed to gain her composure. “So, what are you guys doing on this bus?"

Ren stopped herself from laughing before she wiped away a tear, “We are just sharing a ride until I stop at the restaurant. And Tony here", She hooked her thumb towards him, “picks up his robot helper. The council ordered him to see a mind bender and now has to get a 24/7 shadow."

Tony grunted as he got up and walked over towards the door after saying, “It's my stop". He quickly exited before she could get a good look at his face or even stand up.

“That was weird", the leopardtaur whispered to herself. She looked at Ren as she stood up and gave her a puzzled look. Ren slightly shrugged followed by a laugh before she pulled out a clear looking rectangular box out of her pocket which was her phone. Ren laughed loudly then looked at Kumbukani.

“Why don't you come by the restaurant tonight? Tony will be there after he gets finished with his errand." The panda put the phone away and grabbed hold of the overhanging bar.

The leopardtaur took her time to respond as she slowly realized she was being asked a question. “Sure, I need to stop by my apartment but I'll stop by to get something to eat." She stared at Ren for a little bit as she wondered how she could be so forward. She stopped herself and realized she was trying to be nice to Tony's friend.

The bus came to another stop after a long silence between the two and Ren waved goodbye as she exited. “I'll expect you tonight then. I'll reserve you a table." The bus continued after a few minutes and she leaned her head against the pole yet again as she tried to absorb what she saw in the short trip. She couldn't understand why Tony acted that way. She went through several ideas in her head before she finally came to the resolve of wanting to ask Tony directly. She rubbed the bridge of her nose and sighed a bit more before opening her eyes again as the bus came to a stop. She walked directly out the door and into the cool summer's night. It was a memorable day, and Kumbukani knew that she would never forget this day as long as she lived.