《Anima Animal》


 Tall Grass

    Underwater, all he can see is blue while bubbles of air float up towards the surface, a teenager would be calmly floating around. His eyes were completely still and kept on looking upwards at the light hitting the water from the surface. The boy, after a moment of peace and quiet, started panicking, realizing that he couldn¡¯t breathe underwater. His heart would start beating faster, stress and anxiety filled his head. As he started flailing around, trying to swim upwards and grabbing at his neck, he took a deep breath, and his eyes widened. With a shook expression on his face, after taking a few more breaths his eyes would relax and so would his posture. Finally, his heart rate would slow down, and his calm demeanor would return. Sensing a presence behind him, he turned around but nothing was there. As he turned back around with a confused expression on his face a huge silhouette of a sea creature could be seen, his eyes would widen once again, his arms and legs weremoving around rapidly in the hope of getting away. The large sea creature swims towards him with extreme speed and opens its mouth, almost taking a bite out of him, as the boy suddenly woke up in bed and noticed his phone ringing. It was Tyler, his best friend. The dark-skinned boy got out of bed and threw on some clothes, his usual dark blue T-shirt with cargo pants and light blue puffer jacket. As Tyrell grabs his black sneakers he goes downstairs. His mother could be seen making some breakfast in the kitchen, his little sister Nila was laying on the couch watching tv.


    ¡°Hey mom, I¡¯m going out to chill with Tyler. You need anything from the deli or the store?¡± he asks as he walks through the living room, petting Nila on her head as he walks by.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry Ty I don¡¯t need anything. I''ll call you if I need some groceries later though. And don¡¯t forget to eat since you¡¯re always skipping breakfast because you got something to do.¡±


    ¡°Heh, alright mom. Love you, and stop being lazy and do something productive Nila. If dad comes back from a double shift again and sees you doing nothing, he¡¯s going to be pissed.¡± She sticks her head out above the couch and sticks her tongue out as Tyrell walks out.


    It¡¯s a normal day in New York, a few clouds in the sky and the sun shining as bright as ever. The streets were filled with people. Sounds of the city could be heard everywhere. Tyrell walked past a sign that read ¡¯The Zoo¡¯ pointing towards an underground railway station. As he shook his head and kept walking, he came closer to the hub and eventually saw Tyler.


    ¡°Yo Ty! What''s good, what have you been up to? I texted you but you didn¡¯t answer.¡± He said, giving him a fist bump and a small smile.


    ¡°Yeah, I saw. I was sleeping so I couldn¡¯t answer.¡±


    They both started walking down the streets of the city and crossed a few shops while talking about the exam tomorrow. Tyler looks at him with a disappointed face and asks


    ¡°So, did you study for the exam tomorrow? Or did you sleep through the whole night again?¡± Tyrell rolled his eyes.


    ¡°To be honest, I did try to study but I just fell asleep after five minutes, but an attempt is an attempt. You know my dreams are peaceful except for the end of them and I¡¯m a deep sleeper, so you probably knew what my answer was going to be already huh?¡±


    Tyler chuckled and nodded his head in response. They both started laughing. All of a sudden, an alarm and the breaking of glass could be heard from around the corner, the local jeweler was being robbed. A lady with a bag ran around the corner and down the street towards Tyrell and Tyler. The woman stops right in front of them. Tyrell, after realizing what was going on, took a few steps back. The woman puts the bag down and crosses her arms with clenched fists as purple aura covers her body. A large cheetah came out of her aura and began growling aggressively at Tyler and Tyrell. Yellow tall grass sprouted around them.


    ¡°She has an anima, MOVE!¡±


    Tyrell grabbed Tyler and jumped out of the way. The woman grabbed the bag and got onto the cheetah¡¯s back, it started running away and picking up speed. They jumped across a few cars and pushed people away when landing on the ground.


    ¡°It¡¯s an anima user!¡±


    ¡°One of them is attacking again!¡±


    ¡°This is the third time this month!¡±


    People started to yell and scream, as they made it around another corner an oryx bashed into the cheetah as it flew across the street into a wall. The woman fell off of the cheetah¡¯s back with small wounds and tried to stand up. The oryx shook its head and blew its nose. A police officer walked towards the oryx and makes a finger gun gesture with his hand, as blue aura would cover both of them and the oryx would dissappear in it. Tyrell and Tyler ran towards the action.


    ¡°Oh shit, he whooped her ass. What if she gets back up and tries something else? Should we help?¡± Tyler suggested.This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.


    ¡°No Ty, we don¡¯t want anything to do with the violence anima users inflict on the city remember? Besides, what are you going to do? You don¡¯t even have an anima.¡± He started walking the other way.


    ¡°But you do.¡± Tyrell stopped walking and turned around, with a mad expression on his face as he


    ¡°Both of us know that I will never use my spirit animal. We discussed this 233 million times already, I¡¯m not using it for violence. And you know why.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯d be using it to save people¨C ¡°


    ¡°Cut it out. I¡¯m not doing it, end of discussion. Let¡¯s go, Carmen wants to meet us later and I wanted to get something for her.¡± Tyrell started walking off, Tyler looked at his hand and clenched it, catching up.


    The pair walked across a construction site, one of the workers put his palms together as brown colored aura was released. An African Elephant slowly arose out of it, slightly shaking the ground as it put its feet on the ground. Yellow tall grass like before could be seen sprouting around the construction worker, as the animal started helping the workers with the construction. More animals could be seen around the site and city. Tyler watched as the animals helped the humans, scratching the back of his head and sighing. Garbage men being helped out by their squads of rats and mice with cleaning the streets and owls flying around in the libraries dusting the shelves and helping people find books. Tyrell came across another jeweler on the other side of town and looked into the shop window, seeing the owner and a big crow taking care of the products inside. Tyler looked at him and giggled.


    ¡°At this point just grab one of those rings and propose to her bro. I¡¯ve been third wheeling when chilling with y''all two for years now.¡±


    ¡°We aren''t official yet so stop complaining. My dad always tells me that you need to know someone as good as possible, before actually getting into a relationship with them. But that doesn¡¯t mean I can¡¯t give her a little taste of what it would be like.¡± Tyrell smirks and keeps looking into the window.


    ¡°Your dad is smart, not that I wouldn¡¯t expect that from a doctor. I guess you¡¯re right. But I''m going to keep teasing you until you guys stop playing around.¡±As Tyrell kept looking, something finally caught his eye. His eyes lit up and he ran into the jeweler. He inspected the item and looked around the store a little bit more. It was quiet and empty, the owner looked at him and cracked a small smile.


    ¡°Well, hello there, welcome to Jewel¡¯s Jewels! What can I do for you?¡± The crow would let out a few cries of happiness as it flapped its wings and jumped on the woman¡¯s shoulder. Tyrell chuckled and pointed at the pendant he chose. The crow flew over and grabbed the necklace out of Tyrell¡¯s hand, flying back over to the counter and giving it to the owner.


    ¡°Thank you darling. Return for now.¡±


    She grabbed her own necklace out of her shirt, giving the pendant on it a small kiss. Indigo colored aura surrounded her and her anima as it disappeared into it.


    ¡°So... It¡¯s pretty quiet for a jewelry store. Just a calm day?¡± Tyler asked as he grabbed his wallet and card.


    ¡°Well, you know how people look at stores owned by anima users. We all get less customers because-¡±


    ¡°Because they¡¯re afraid. Right?¡±


    The owner got startled by Tyrell¡¯s answer and her eyes widened.


    ¡°W-Well, I guess you¡¯re not sugarcoating it at all. I didn¡¯t expect someone so young to understand the problems we¡¯re facing on such a level. Anyways, that¡¯ll be $70. By the way, I love the pendant you chose, is it for your girlfriend?¡±


    As he grabbed the money and put it on the counter, he grabbed the pendant, his eyes sparkling with excitement.


    ¡°Nah... Not yet. But I''m getting a head start. I hope you get a few more customers in here ma¡¯am, have a good day.¡±


    Tyrell walked out with a huge smile. The two teens would continue walking through the city. Buying a few snacks on their way. Checking his phone, Tyrell saw another text from Carmen and chuckled as he replied.


    ¡°So, are you going to tell me what you bought or keep it a secret?¡± Tyler asked.


    ¡°Nah you¡¯ll see it around her neck soon enough. Can¡¯t take the risk of her finding out before I give it to her because your dumbass told her.¡±


    ¡°Alright, alright fair enough. But at least tell me you taught about it as good as possible before you actually bought that thing. Actually- knowing you, that was probably the only thing on your mind.¡±


    As he looked over at him, Tyrell nodded and shrugged. Eventually they passed Tyrell''s house on their way back and kept walking towards the end of the street. Children were playing football on the side of the street and one of them accidentally shot the ball at Tyrell. As it flew towards him his eyes would widen, not having enough time to dodge due to how this all happened in one short second. The ball hit his face, as he almost fell down due to the impact, he caught himself and managed to stay standing. The kid who shot the ball ran towards Tyrell, tears building up in his eyes.


    ¡°Sorry! I¡¯m so sorry! I didn¡¯t mean to. It was an accident for real!¡±


    It was clear that he was scared, terrified even, after seeing Tyrell¡¯s sharper teeth. Tyrell picked up the ball and took a step towards the kid. Tyler watched and chuckled. The kid closed his eyes expecting the worst, but nothing happened. Moments passed and he opened his eyes, seeing Tyrell bending over towards him trying to hand him the ball. The kid slowly grabbed it and gestured a friendly nod. He ran away towards the group of children looking at what was happening. Tyrell rubbed the spot the ball hit him on and put his hands into his pocket. A few seconds later he heard a yell from down the street.

 Bushes and Patches

    ''''What''s up guys!'''' It was Carmen. Tyrell threw a peace sign and Tyler waved with a smile on his face. The short girl, wearing a white cap and an all-black tracksuit quickly made her way to them. She gave Tyrell a hug and Tyler a fist bump. They started walking towards the city center.


    ''''How you doing?'''' Tyrell asked Carmen with an arm around her neck and a smirk.


    ''''I''m good Ty. Just a bit nervous about the exam. I mean i studied but, what if i try my best and still fail? I''ts just a scary thought.''''


    ''''Oh c''mon Carmen we all know that you won''t fail. You work too hard for that. Have a little faith alright? Because i do. But...If you do fail, I''ll give you a few hugs to cheer you up." He started chuckling. She playfully slapped the back of his head and kissed her teeth.


    ''''Shut up. Even though your peptalk worked you''re still annoying.'''' Tyrell grabbed the necklace out of his pocket and swung it in front of Carmen''s face.


    "This is yours. And don''t start that ''don''t buy me anything'' crap again." As she saw it, she gasped and grabbed it with no less than stars in her eyes, making small noises of excitement. She immediately started hugging Tyrell and he hugged her back just as passionately. Tyler laughed and slapped them both on the back of their necks.


    ''''Hey lovebirds we''re here. Let''s go get some sandwiches and go home because looking at you two makes me nauseous. It''s like looking at an old married couple." He sticks out his tongue and starts to run into the city center, knowing that would piss Carmen off. She started chasing him, clenching her fists with veins popping up out of frustration.


    ''''You''re dead when I catch you pendejo!" Tyrell laughed and walked the center in with them looking at Tyler dodging Carmen''s punches and slaps. She calmed down after a while and they walked towards the Deli. They ordered their sandwiches and walked out of the city center. Tyrell was eating his shrimp sandwich and got the usual disgusted look from his friends. He kissed his teeth and tried to ignore them, but they looked at each other and laughed at him.


    "Why do you eat so much food with fish? It''s like you''re a marine predator catching their prey when you eat, plus your teeth are crazy sharp. And doesn''t that make your breath stink?" Tyler asked, getting closer to Tyrell''s face, flaring his nostrils.


    ''''Shut up and let me eat my sea food alright? I''m not complaining about you always gulping down your food, almost without chewing. You don''t even enjoy anything you eat that way so don''t judge me and check yourself." He said as he ignored him again. Carmen shook her head as she listened to the conversation and grabbed some chewing gum, putting it in Tyrell''s pocket.


    "Not you too. Don''t gang up on me with that smelly breath shit." They all started laughing again. As they passed an alleyway Carmen heard someone yelling and stopped walking. She grabbed Tyrell and Tyler''s shoulders and pulled them back.


    "Damn Carmen- what''s going on? Why''d you pull my shit back like that?" Tyrell said, looking at her and Tyler confused. She started walking towards the sounds as the boys walked behind her, now with confused looks on both their faces. As they got deeper into the alley, they saw the silhouette of two people having a conversation. Carmen squinted her eyes to see what exactly was going on.


    "Look don''t make this harder than it has to be. The only thing you gotta do to stay unharmed is give me that purse. I ain''t gonna ask again." A black man with an afro mohawk and a jacket with claw marks on them was mugging a woman. He had a knife in his hand and pointed it at her neck as he was grabbing her purse. Tyrell, knowing what Carmen was about to do, grabbed her shoulder. As she turned around, he was shaking his head to stop her from taking action.


    "I know what you''re thinking. But let''s call the police instead so we all get out of this unscathed. We don''t get involved in violence, remember? And I especially don''t want you in danger..."


    Carmen sighed and grabbed Tyrell''s hand and smiled. She let go and started running towards the man. Tyrell facepalmed, Tyler reached for his phone.


    "Hey, get the fuck out of here!" Carmen would be screaming out while coming closer. As he looked at her the mugger ripped the woman''s purse out of her hands, sprinting towards the other side of the alleyway. Tyrell, being torn between contacting the police or going after the mugger, ran towards the woman to see if she was okay. Tyler and Carmen went after the mugger to try and get her purse back. The mugger saw a fire escape and jumped over the railing, running up towards the rooftop. Carmen was right behind him, as she slid underneath the railing and clapped her hands. A pink aura bursts out of her body covering the staircase as she ran up as well. A few small bushes and patches of grass grew out of her aura onto the base of the fire escape and the bushes started shaking aggressively. A small amount of big honey badgers jumped out of the bushes and started running with Carmen, one of them started climbing up the staircase from the side of it. The mugger got closer to the rooftop as one of the badgers jumped towards him through the fire escape''s openings. He fell down onto one of the stairs and avoided the honey badger''s biting and scratching. Tyler, after contacting the police, stopped at the bottom of the staircase and clenched his fist, looking down and grunting out of frustration. The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.


    "Guys I contacted the police! They''ll be here in a few minutes. Don''t worry." He said, looking at the woman whose purse had just been stolen. He gave her a thumbs-up with a nod. The mugger got up and ran up the staircase again while still dodging all the attacks from Carmen''s vicious honey badgers, Carmen was close behind him. As he got closer to the rooftop, one of the badgers would be there waiting for him, biting at his face and trying to grab onto him. The scratches would cause a few cuts on his arm as blood ran down his body, but the bites were narrowly dodged. He jumped to the side and grabbed the edge of the rooftop, pulling himself up, as the blood dripped from his upper to lower body. Once he got up on his feet the mugger would run towards the other side of the rooftop''s edge and Carmen would jump onto the rooftop a few moments later, as her badgers also arrived. As he reached the other side of the rooftop, a police siren could be heard getting closer. He looked at the wounds and looked back towards Carmen as she still approached him. The badgers would be aggressively grunting and rattle-roaring, walking next to her and growing more unpredictable by the second.


    "Th-this ain''t over yet you hear me?! I''ll get you back for this, y''all know you shouldn''t mess with the Carnivore''s business. We run this part of the city!"


    As he was distracted, one honey badger snuck up on him from the side and bit the side of the purse, taking it out of his hands. The mugger would kick the badger away and take a leap from the rooftop. Carmen''s eyes widened as she ran towards the edge and saw him falling at a fast pace. The mugger would put his open hands next to each other and intertwine his two thumbs, in the midst of the fall. A light grey aura covered him, and a strong gust of wind was released around the area making the windows of the buildings close by shake. A big vulture would spread its wings as it came out of the aura, peeking its head out and opening its mouth to let out a hissing sound and grabbed onto the mugger''s shoulders. The large bird would fly upwards, now flying above the rooftops. Tyrell and Tyler would run out of the alleyway, looking at the mugger making his escape. The police cars would drive into the street as the mugger''s vulture flew into the clouds, slightly separating the clouds as it escaped with its user. Carmen sighed and walked back to the other side of the rooftop and clapped her hands again as her badgers slowly disappeared into her pink aura. Except for one.


    "Thank you, mi beb¨¦s. You guys had my back so go relax. But you!" She said to a fully black honey badger, coming up to her and rubbing its body against her leg, proceeding to sit next to her and look up with their tongue out of their mouth.


    "I know, good job on getting the purse. Here you go, Scuro" She grabbed a peppermint out of her pocket and bent down, Scuro ate it and licked her hand. She clapped her hands again, her pink aura surrounded both of them and he disappeared. She walked down the staircase and walked out of the alleyway to speak with the police. A tall, muscular policeman in a navy-blue jacket with a logo saying ''SAUF'' on its shoulder and bulletproof vest walked up to her.


    "Ma''am, may I ask what happened here exactly?"


    "Me and my friends tried to stop someone from hurting that woman over there. We tried to do the job you guys are supposed to do. He was an anima user." She said as she pointed at the woman, looking at the policeman and noticing the logo. She squinted her light brown eyes and tilted her head.


    "Thank you for your cooperation. Anything else i should know about the user?"


    "He had a mohawk and a jacket with a claw mark on it. Or kind of ripped into it, I guess?"


    "Shit. Carnivores probably. I''ll take it from here, try to stay out of trouble. Alright?"


    "Yes sir." Carmen said in a sarcastic way, saluting him and rolling her eyes. Tyrell ran towards Carmen and embraced her with both of his arms bringing her in close and tight, being afraid of the possibility that she could''ve been hurt. He then let go of her and looked her straight in the eyes, smiling with still a somewhat worried expression.


    "I''m glad you''re okay. I was worried, especially when I saw that crazy guy jump off from there. I thought he beat your ass for a second."


    "Don''t worry everything is alright Ty. I really appreciate you looking out for me though."


    "Phew okay¨C Now, that was really dangerous Carmen! He had a knife and for all we know he could''ve pulled a gun out on you. You could''ve gotten hurt or even worse. We didn''t even know if he had an anima or not and what it could''ve been if he did. You know how I am when violence is involved. I don''t want either of you to be close to it. I want you to promise me you won''t do something reckless like that again and just call the police next time."


    He put his hand on both their shoulders, looking at them seriously, yet afraid of the possibilities his dear friends could be exposed to.


    "C''mon Ty that woman was in danger. I couldn''t have just sat back and did nothing. What if we kept walking and she got hurt, and we could''ve done something about it but didn''t? Look, I understand what you mean and yes, I promise that I won''t do something reckless like that again. But please understand me too when I say that sometimes we need to help people however we can." Carmen said as she and Tyrell both looked at Tyler.


    "You guys know I won''t. After all someone without an anima is not very useful in fights anyways. We were lucky he just had some kind of nasty vulture, but he could''ve had a huge mammal type spirit animal too. So, I promise you I won''t do something stupid." He said, showing them how he''s crossing his fingers.


    "You always do that when you promise me something. I never know if I should trust that or not."


    Tyrell said as he laughed it off and shook his head. He gave Carmen a hug and patted Tyler on the shoulder. The three started walking back into the city. They passed the street Tyler lived in, Tyrell gave him a fist bump and Carmen waved Tyler goodbye as they kept on walking. Tyler put the keys in the door, looking back at the two of them walking away. He sighed, his smile changing into a frown and his eyelids lowering, showing a sign of exhaustion.