Project X (Ch. 2)
Trey wakes up finding he isnt where he remembered. Finding a less than likely stranger with him. Getting to know the person he will spend the next month with.
Trey woke up wrapped in what had to be gods tightest possible embrace. It was warm. He could feel everything, but his hands and feet were still patially numb. He looked down and noticed he had been wrapped up in 5 layers of blankets and there were a couple hot water bottles lying around.
He looked up and saw a ceiling fan hanging from a wooden crossbeam. Trey was scared shitless.
"Hello?" Trey unknowlingly asked into the house.
"Holy shit you're alive," he heard an unfamiliar female voice say in shock, "You've been unconscious for a day. I thought you were dead."
"Who are y-" Trey started as he looked toward where the voice came from. He stopped when he saw who said it.
She was an anthropomorphic snow leopard. She had flowing brown hair that easily went down below her shoulder blades, bright gray eyes and a small snout. She was wearing a black long sleeve shirt, and dark blue skinny jeans. He looked down a bit more and noticed two sizable lumps on her chest.
"Sorry." Trey said as he looked away, embarrassed.
"Oh.." she thought as she realized what was happening.
"Who are you?" Trey finally asked after an awkward silence.
"Me? Oh yeah...um. I'm Gabrielle." She stated.
"Thank you...so much," Trey responded, "My name is Trey, by the way."
"I noticed that. Your wallet was full of identification." Gabrielle mentioned.
It took a bit before Trey got his bearings. He was on a queen-size bed in a bedroom the size of his apartment. The interior walls were a two-tone blue. The floor seemed a soft carpet, almost looking new, and it had a large double glass-pane window with black curtains.
"Do you live here alone?" He questions.
"Yes, I do. Though I get the occasional visit from the province with what I need to survive. About every month if you were wondering." She responded.
"The province?" Trey pried.
"Yeah. They give me what I need, and I give them their research in the form of journals. It's a take and give." Gabrielle explains casually.
The wind was still whistling, and it brought back his memory of the plowed pathway he fell onto before passing out. Gabrielle gets up and moves out of the room, closing the door on her way out. Trey unbundles himself from the blankets. Sitting on the edge of the bed, he rubs his eyes and moves the curtains out of the way to look out the window.
It seems while he was passed out, the blizzard managed to drop a copious amount of snow. He had to guess it being nearly two meters (~6 feet).
After going through his bag to fetch fresh clothes, he found out they were either all still partially frozen or soaked through. Sighing, Trey went to the door and opened it to ask if she had any spare clothes by chance.
The door opened up to a corridor of which his room was at the back end of. There was two other doors, each on either side of the corridors start. He walked down the hall.
It opened up into a large living room. It was well furnished and had a nice laminated spruce hardwood floor. It had nice tall walls with a chandelier hanging from the second floor ceiling. In the corner of the living room is an L-shape staircase leading to the second floor. and leading to a below ground floor as well. A bookcase sat in the nook of the stairs. It too, had large windows covered with black curtains.
Gabrielle was laid back in a recliner reading a book. She looked very elegant and comfortable. Trey approached her.
"Hey, uh, Gabrielle...do you have any spare clothes I could wear in the meantime while mine dry off?" He asks.
"Go have a shower first," she said, "After that we can get you new clothes."
"The bathroom is the first room on the left." She says her tail flicking toward the hallway.
Trey thanked her and opened the door revealing a spacious bathroom with a toiler, hamper and sink along the left side along with a standing shower and what he assumed to be the bathtub, but looked more like a jacuzzi. The floor was marble tile, walls just a flat white and a grey slate ceiling.
He wasted no time stripping down and getting in the shower, turning the water to a comfortably warm temperature. He grabbed the shampoo-conditioner and massaged it into his hair. Washing it out he looked for body wash and found an untouched bottle.
As he was washing everything off the water turned ice cold.
"Holy shit!" Trey yelled louder than he meant to.
He head a giggle and apology quickly rise from elsewhere in the house.
He got out and dried himself off. Opening the door he found what seemed to be fresh clothes. He grabbed them and moved to the room he woke up in. Finding all the covers that once covered him thrown about the room. He needed to do some cleaning.
Putting his damp and dirty clothes in the hamper, he put the clothes Gabrielle had laid out for him. She hadn't given him any undergarnments to wear, which was understandable.
Walking out to the living room holding the hamper, Trey found Gabrielle still indulged into her novel.
"Hey, where's the laundry room?" He asks her wanting to run his clothes through a cycle.
"Just down the stairs, the washer and dryer are right down at the bottom around the left corner." She giddily replied.
"Thanks." He replied.
Trey worked his way down the stairs and to the washer and dryer. Putting in the detergent and starting the water he began to put his clothes in the dryer. After putting the fabric softener in he headed back upstairs. Sitting down on a recliner he figured he would ask a couple questions to Gabrielle.
"Why did you save me?" Trey questions.
"Why wouldn't I?" She returns with a caring tone.
"Thank you, again," He sighs, "If its not too personal, why do you live alone in this big of a house?"
Gabrielle sighs, closing her book and setting it down.
"I was told I would be too radical of a difference from what people are used to seeing that I wouldn't be accepted. The governmemt feared that after I turned that I'd be met with aggression. So they set me up out here in the middle of nowhere. At least until the country accepted the fact that the couple of us anthros existed now." She casually explained.
"What happened to turn you into something to beautiful and elegant?" Trey half flirts and questions.
She looks away, a bit embarrassed.
"I took part in what they've publicly called 'Project X' willingly," Gabrielle stated, "They told me they would be splicing my genes with a critically endangered animal as a means to perhaps boost the population if possible, as well as enhance the human body."
"In return, they promised me most of what I asked for in return until society accepted us as the next step." She continued, Trey immediately feeling bad for throwing the paper away so soon.
"So has the project succeeded?" He pries.
"Yes, and no..." She quickly says, "I can see, hear, and smell better as well as jump higher, run faster and resist cold more than when I...was a person..." She trails off.
"But the attempt to help with animal population was a fail. All other anthros and I can not reproduce with ferals of the same species." She stopped.
Trey apologized, getting up noticed a clock reading 10:37pm.
"It's late, you should go get some rest," Gabrielle politely chimed, "You're probably exhausted from being nearly frozen in that storm."
Trey had to admit to himself, he felt drained. But he liked to push himself hard. Harder than healthy.
"No, I'm alright. Besides, I just started a load. I can't just leave that be." He replied.
This made her laugh. A sound he liked very much.
"Okay tough shit," She retorted, "Go on to sleep. I can make sure your clothes come out spledidly."
Trey sighed, feeling himself start to lose strength though he had only been awake for maybe an hour if even.
"Alright, I'll go sleep." Trey said defeatedly.
Gabrielle grinned. "See you in the morning." She reacted.
With that, Trey worked his way back to the room. When he got inside he flopped down on the mattress, grabbing the warmest looking comforter he could find and bundling himself up to pass out. He gave the room one last look over. Everything was still everywhere and unorganized. He would clean it in the morning.
He closed his eyes letting his tired body drift off into sleep.
Trey woke up feeling energized. He slid his legs off the bed and looked around the room. He noticed a new nightstand by the head of the bed with an alarm clock on it. He also saw a laundry basket with all of his clothes in it, folded and organized.
With a grunt he pushed himself off the bed and grabbed an outfit to wear. Putting on a white thermal layer and baggy, thick blue sweatpants. After dressing himself he headed out of the room into the living room.
Finding his way to the kitchen, he opened a cupboard and grabbed some cereal and a bowl. He filled the bowl with cereal then poured in the milk- the only way it should be done. After eating he went back to the living room, grabbing a book from the bookshelf. Sat down and began to read.
After a few chapters he got bored and put the book back, checking the window to find it rose another inch. He sighed.
Music suddenly seeming to come from below the floor. He walked downstairs and realized when he started his laundry he had completely missed the door right at the bottom of the stairs. Was he really that tired?
Trey turned the knob and opened the door into what seemed to be a personal gym. He found Gabrielle doing cardio on a stair climber. She was wearing a red sports bra and a pair of red gym shorts. Both which accentuated her slim figure and good curves.
"Morning, Gabrielle." He said, startling her.
"Oh, hey!" She hastily replied almost tripping but catching herself, "I didn't know you were awake."
"I woke up about an hour ago, yeah," Trey babbled, "If I knew this was all out here maybe I would have brought more clothes."
"Well, I think you brought more than enough." Gabrielle claimed.
Was she trying to flirt with him? Should he shoot back? It was the perfect time to. He decided against it.
"What? Nothing to say?" She prodded, "Cat got your tongue?" She said sticking hers out while perking up her ears and face into a friendly smile.
He sighed, looking at the ground.
"Did I hit a soft spot? Aww sorry." She laughed, putting her paw on his shoulder.
He turned and looked into her beautiful gray eyes but couldnt keep his gaze long before he had to look away, a tear forming in his own. 'Cat got your tongue?' was the last thing his mother asked him before she passed of illness. He never got to answer her. Trey regret not saying anything often since then. Wishing he hadn't choked up on the words 'I love you.'
Her face quickly turned sad and she apologized profusely, hugging him.
"I'm so sorry...was it something I said?" She asked desperately trying to make him feel better.
He decided not to fight it anymore and hugged back.
"No, it's alright." He said trying to hold back his emotions.
Wanting to be alone at the reminder of his past, he went back to his room, closed the door, turned off the light and laid in the bed face down. Here, in the dark he didn't need to worry about being judged for being emotionally taxed by something that happened 10 years ago. With that thought he put his face in the pillow and cried.
"Trey, are you okay?" He heard her ask from the other side of the door.
She came in the room seeing his face buried in his pillow. Trey calmed himself down and sat up, facing Gabrielle. Concern in her face.
"I'm fine, yeah. Just stressed more than normal because of the situation," He started, "I should be fine in a couple days."
Trey got up from the bed and checked the window, seeing it covered by snow completely. He felt his hand get out between both of Gabrielle's paws.
"Okay well," She inquired, "Remember I'm here if you need to talk."
"Thanks, Gabrielle." He answered, smiling.
Her fur was soft, he paws warm. He appreciated the gesture, noticing she had seemed to drift off. He coughed which pulled her out of her trance.
"Oh, um...sorry." She stuttered.
Trey laughed saying it was fine and gave her a nudge on her shoulder. He was over the little issue he had a bit ago. Now feeling better thanks to her bouts. He went out to the living room and found his phone on a table charging. With a fresh feeling of relief he went over and grabbed it, seeing it had been drained completely. He can wait until it was charged before trying to contact someone.
Gabrielle walked out from the hall a couple minutes after him. She said it was a speed charger so it should be good to go in a half hour. Also stating he should have signal out here. If not she had internet and gave him the password. He thanked her and decided to take a nap on the recliner. He felt a couple of muscles in his legs relax as he kicked up the leg rest and leaned back into unconciousness.
Trey woke up about an hour later, smelling the scent of oranges had now filled the room. Looking around he noted the curtains had been pulled back and that lit candles were now on the window sills. Looking to his left he saw Gabrielle sprawled out over a loveseat indulged in he book as always.
"You really like that book, don't you?" Trey guessed.
"Look who's awake, mister hibernator." She teased.
"Haha real funny," He sarcastically remarked, "That's a yes then?"
"No, it's alright. Nothing special," She explained, "Just nothing much else to do around the house when it snows like that." She continued.
He looked around and noticed she wasn't wrong. There wasn't a TV, computer or video games lying around. All she really had to do was read and relax. Wondering what else she did besides workout, read and sleep his eyes darted around looking for something else, a board game or something. He finally decided to grab his phone and try messaging someone. He turned his phone on to see he had no signal. Typical. He asked Gabrielle for the WiFi password and decided to message Paul about the situation.
"Hey Paul. It's Trey. I know I'm on vacation and all, but I won't be home after 2 weeks. I uh, had an unfortunate incident." His message read.
He sighed, turning to Gabrielle. Asking if she had any earphones for him to use.
"Yeah, they're just in the drawer under where your phone was." She replied happily, grabbing and throwing them to him.
"I appreciate it." He acknowledged.
Trey afterward went and binged watched a few videos with his new found entertainment source. Catching up on news and some playthroughs he had fallen behind on because of his expedition. With his phone on low battery after hours of binge watching, he decided to plug it back into the charger and let it be for a while. Turning around he came face to face with a sweatered up Gabrielle.
"I'm going to go and try my best to shovel off the back deck, wanna help?" She questioned.
"I just got low on battery, so sure as hell I would!" He chirped back excitedly.
Trey got on his winter gear and grabbed a shovel from downstairs making his way to the back door of which was in the kitchen. He could see she had already cleared the snow off of the door itself, leaving only the feet of snow on the deck itself to be pushed off into neverland.
The snow leopard heaved as she pulled the door open, struggling to pull it out as it had frozen over since her last trip out. Finally with a loud crack, the ice snapped and the door bursted open, inviting the freezing cold in with it. Gabrielle wasted no time, practically diving into the snow and started to shovel away, throwing it all to some pile she had off the side of the deck. It seemed while he was catching up on his lame news, she had been hard at work already clearing easily half the deck.
"Your back must be hurting." He mused.
"Yeah, but it's not like I haven't done this before." She proudly boasted.
"Go inside, I got this covered. Don't want you hurting yourself." He commanded.
"I'll be fine." She started before Trey told her to go in and relax.
Gabrielle sighed defeatedly and headed inside, leaving Trey alone to his thoughts in the cold. It was a clear sky, and by association- very sunny day. Which to Trey meant everywhere he looked, the snow glistened brightly like a cars high beams set to maximum overdrive. Now that he was outside, he could see they were in the middle of a large clearing in the middle of the woods. He looked at the roof and saw large solar panels covering each and every angle, explaining the power all the way in nowhere.
A couple hours later and he was nearly done with the other half of the deck. His back ached, his lungs burned and his forehead was drenched in sweat. The only thing he wanted now was a shower. As he lifted the last big of snow and ice from the deck and whipped it aside, he finally went back inside. Finding the heater's embrace his face immediately felt hot from the temperature difference. He felt a paw land on his shoulder.
"Yikes, and here I thought you would have up and left first chance you got. Took you long enough." She smiled playfully.
"Leave without any of my gear? Never." He admitted.
She put her paw on his chest and grabbed his left hand with the other, looking up into his eyes.
"Thanks for letting me relax and doing the heavy lifting." She said winking.
"Anytime." He replied.
Getting out of his gear he decides to go and look to see is Paul responded yet. Grabbing his phone, Trey checks his messages seeing a reply from him.
"What kind of unfortunate incident?" The message read.
"I went to camp since the forecast showed nothing bad. I got caught out in that nasty blizzard. Managed to hide out in a cabin and I'm snowed in now. Dont know when they owners will come back." He typed tying to cover where he actually was concerned he might be labelled a whistleblower.
"I'm sleeping in the bedroom tonight if that's okay with you." Gabrielle chimed in.
"Yeah, go ahead. I can sleep out here on the couch." Trey answered.
"Such a gentleman. But just know the other side of the bed is open if you change your mind." She offered.
"I'll be alright, thanks." He persisted.
"Okie doke, goodnight." She said before heading off to the bedroom.
Trey, exhausted waddled his was over to the bathroom and had himself a shower before heading back out to the living room. He grabbed a book and opened it, using the light on the table to illuminate the pages. As he felt himself drifting off, he grabbed the blanket from on top of the couch and laid himself under it. Feeling tired, he closed the book and put it on the table, checking his phone to find no response. Plugging it into the charger and turning both his phone and the light off, let himself drift off to sleep.