The Otherkind -

Prologue

There is a girl, aged three, who is unlike anyone you’ve ever met. She has just arrived at a shelter home, along with other children who are different like her. Her room is painted brightly, stripes of pink and blue across each wall, as if to make up for the dark reality she’s living in. Her home has few windows and sits in the countryside, leaving each of the children curious as to what happens in the outside world. They have been taught well never to set foot outside these walls, for if they do they could be seen. Humans don’t like things they don’t understand, and for people like Eris, that can be dangerous.

Eris is one of millions of people who aren’t quite human. They are rejected from society for their differences, despite being mentally the same as everyone else. They are hunted down and killed, live in zoos, or are even kept as exotic pets by some. They were forced into hiding as things continued to get worse for those who others considered freaks. There are many different types of these people, and some are different in such subtle ways that they can live in the outside world with little effort.

Eris was born with obvious feline characteristics, having a tail and ears resembling those of a cat atop her head. Many of the other children have similar features, tails and ears alike to those of various animals, scales or fur where human skin should be, horns, wings, or small things like odd eye colors or claws. They are hidden away from the world for their own protection, but even safe houses are in danger. If even a single freak gets spotted through a window or stepping outside, their home could be under attack in mere hours.

As a result of her world’s ideals and rules, Eris doesn’t live the normal life she should have. She will never go to real school, go to theme parks or museums, she will never eat at restaurants or go on vacations. She doesn’t play outside or go to parks like other kids her age do. All she knows are the walls of her home and what she can see out of the small windows that allow her a glimpse of what it’s like to be a normal person.