This is Part 2 of Kyp the Granger, an original composition by Conzul. Use with permission.
If you wish to read Part 1 (the Prologue), you can find it here.
If you wish to read Part 3 (the Conclusion), you can find it here Kyp the Granger
Part II
Chapter One
The Second Awakening The cage was cold, wet, and hard to stand in, even with six legs. The years past had shown Kyp that he was replaceable, so he understood clearly that he must survive, no matter what the humans did to him.
Turning gingerly in his metal cage, he wondered again why he tried to hang to life for so long. His was now a world of torture and neglect, of electrified prod-sticks, and sneering beings in dull uniforms.
The vague memories of the freedom to move as he pleased, as well as the faded grayness of his youth on Homeworld, barely sustained him anymore.
His will to survive was growing more reflexive, less meaningful.
Why keep at it? The humans would keep him here until he died, he knew that. He had seen it. Other grangers, some more fit and healthy than he, had come and gone. Most died in the arena; some were put down because they couldn't form a nest anymore; and others were vivisected for study.
Kyp was beginning to feel old, and that was a Bad Thing. Six years had given him some experience and shown him some things. He had undergone a slow, independent evolution on his own. The ability to walk on walls was no consolation here, however, since he lived in a 4x4 iron pen in a damp dungeon under the arena. Alongside a handful of other rotting aliens, he awaited his fate.
He had made it so far, though....for which reason?
Was his destiny to manifest itself somewhere else, finally free of these ignominious chains? He had wished so for ages and ages, but thought he knew that that would never be his lot.
There was a merciful rule here, at A.T.C.S. - if the starting builder survived for the first five minutes of the skirmish, a special door would open and the granger could leave to live another day. Kyp had been doing this two-to-three times per week for about five years now.
He was unique. His handlers would brag to others about him, but he was never treated any better. If his fortune in the arena had built anything inside of him, he did not know or feel it. He had to watch members of his race die nearly every day. They always gave the humans a run for their money, but the margin varied.
Sometimes, he would have time to look around briefly at his handiwork, large aliens muscling past him, the portal waiting open for minutes or more. More often, though, he would find himself three or four minutes in waiting at the door, with gunshots echoing behind him, and the gloom illuminated by flashes and sparks. Occasionally, he'd get a hot plug in the rump, and it would take hours to heal. His diet was not conducive to wellbeing, especially since it was close to the same fabrication that the humans gave to their canine underlings.
He had just made it back from a match several minutes ago, and it had been a close one. The hatch had opened for him just as the tide was turning. Once in "safety", a few taps from the technician's prod had sent him across the dirty floor and into his box. But...there was something different this time....
Oddly, the handler hadn't used the shock button on his prod, which wasn't like him since he was mildly entertained by Kyp's by-the-book reactions. What could be causing this new display of clemency? Kyp had come about as his cage had snapped shut, wondering what was going on. Surprised, he had seen the techie squatting down and peering at him intently. After a moment, the human had said,
"Someone's taken a specific interest in you, Kyp my little pug-ugly...."
After another moment of passing his eyes over Kyp, he had gone on.
"It seems that you're excused from combat for a few days. Your survivability has payed off,
I think. Somebody thinks you're interesting now. I wonder, what will happen to you?
Standing, he turned and walked slowly for the door, deep in thought. As he left, the room was left in darkness.
It had all happened in a minute, and Kyp was still going over it now. To his left, a cage of dretches stirred, and then went still.
Kyp could not understand very well what the words meant, but he knew that the human had looked at him with curiosity this time, not the usual condescension.
Was this a good sign? It could be....Whatever its significance, it lit in Kyp a rare flame of hope, an experience that shook him from his doldrum. His memory stirred.
He was a Granger from the Homeworld. He had matured, and left dormant in a comet to serve the Hivemind. He had made a nest years ago on a green planet, a planet unlike this one. Something had happened in a sweet-smelling cave, and then he had been captured and brought here. And now, something was happening that might take him away from this dreadful place, or so he hoped.
The Girl. Suddenly he remembered her face. It had been covered by curiosity, much like the handler's face tonight. It had also been bright and - Kyp searched for a feeling -
cheerful. But she was human....this was all so confusing. Thinking about it, Kyp realized that when he was young, he had no enemies, nor had he wanted any. The human girl must have been the same way too, he pondered. In retrospect, they had met each other at the crossroads, both awakening to what they were, and both having since come to mourn what they had lost at that point. After her maiming, Kyp was sure that the girl would hate all aliens as surely as he hated all of the humans that he had met since his capture.
Kyp did a half turn, vying for a more comfortable position as he lay down to sleep. Change was coming, and tomorrow would bring it.
