"Freedom Town" by "Squeaky" Chewtoy

Ravenn had just gotten a job at the elementary school in Freedom Town. His wife, Ermine, also had a secured job in the town as a clerk in a pet store. Today was moving day for them, from their old town to a new one. But there was one thing that was odd about the couple: they weren't entirely human.

Ermine and Ravenn were the second generation of a human and animal hybridization. These hybrids were affectionately termed "Furries," after the "furry" art movement of the twenty-first century in which the subject matter involved anthropomorphized animal characters. Both Ermine and her husband were half human and half fox. But their coloration was unusual for foxes; Ravenn had an entirely black pelt with red eyes and a red tail tip, while Ermine was completely snow white with the same unusual red eyes and tail tip. Others of their kind also existed, and of breeds other than foxes. The truth was that they were accidents of genetic engineering, a by-product of medical research. Their creation in laboratories by bioengineering had long been outlawed(along with all other forms of animal experimentation) but this did not stop them from breeding on their own. Thus, as a part of the second generation of Furries, Ermine and Ravenn had never known a laboratory, having been birthed by natural means.

In their current town of Lafayetteville, Ermine and Ravenn had known nothing but tolerance for their species. This was the town in which their species had originated, and many Furries still lived there. The church, temple, and coven leaders of their town preached love and acceptance of everyone, without regard to their religion, sexual orientation, the clothing they wore, the color of their skin, or whether or not they had fur. The move from Lafayetteville to Freedom Town came with some uncertainty. Would there be such tolerance there? Surely there would be, otherwise why would it be called Freedom Town?

That morning, Elise, a human friend of Ermine's, came to help the couple pack. When the packing was finished, they sat on the porch steps to have tea.

"Well, well, moving to a new town. That must be exciting for you," said Elise.

"Oh yes," Ermine replied. "We both have jobs there and a house, so we should be pretty stable even from the start."

"Well that's good," said Elise. "Any friends there in Freedom Town?"

"Not yet. I imagine I'll get along well with my co-workers at the pet store though. I've talked to the boss and he seems like a nice person. He says the other workers love animals, so I should get along with them just fine." Ermine finished the sentence with a lighthearted giggle.

This made Elise giggle as well. "Well god luck to you then. I hope everything works out all right."

Soon it was time for Ermine and Ravenn to leave. Ermine and Elise said their goodbyes, and Ermine and her husband headed out to their new town.

But when they got to their new home, they were met with chaos. Two large groups of people were gathered on their front law, one crowd on each side of the path to the door. News reporters were among each group, videotaping interviews with people on both side. On the right side there were men and women holding signs with phrases such as, "Welcome Furries," "Promote Peace and Tolerance," and, "Promote Furry Rights." On the left side of the walk, however, was another crowd whose messages were far less than friendly. The signs which they carried were painted with hateful, slanderous words, saying "Furries Go Home," "Don't Let Freaks Invade our Neighborhood," and "Spawn of Science is Spawn of Satan." As they drove up to the house, the hateful signs were the only thing that Ermine and Ravenn noticed. They were shocked.

Ravenn stepped out of the car, and Ermine followed him. "What is this?" Ravenn demanded.

"You are unnatural creations," replied one of the protestors, a tall man in the robes of a Catholic minister replied. "You are inhuman, unholy, and we don't want you in our town!"

"You're wrong!" a protestor on the other side shouted. "They're half human, isn't that enough?"

"It's unnatural!" shouted another protestor from that hate group. "We don't want freaks of science corrupting our town!" From this point, the argument turned into mudslinging, and obscene insults were hurled from each side.

Then a little girl stepped forward.

The girl, young and pretty with long blonde hair and a powder blue dress, approached Ermine and tugged lightly on her tail. "Excuse me? Can I pet you?" the child said quietly, looking up at the snow-white vixen with wide eyes.

Ermine and Ravenn both looked at her and smiled. "Why certainly, child," said Ermine, as she bent down so that the little girl could pet her on the head. It warmed Ermine's heart, and Ravenn's too, to see such innocent kindness in the midst of their situation.

But then the little girl's mother spoke up. "Jenny, get away from her! She could bite you."

"But she's a nice puppy lady!" the girl protested. "I asked her if I could pet her and she let me!"

"That doesn't matter, you know what our pastor said. They're unnatural and inhuman. That means they're dangerous."

"Excuse me madame," Ermine cut in. "I've never hurt anyone in my life, and the churches where I come from tell us to be tolerant of people who are different. I don't see understand why you don't want us here, so maybe you could explain."

"You're freaks!" the woman replied. "You're unnatural creations. If it were up to me I would have destroyed the lot of you Furries as soon as they invented you in that lab."

Ermine was taken aback. She looked to Ravenn with tears in her eyes, and he held her close. "I don't know about any of you, but I'm an educated man," said Ravenn angrily. "I've learned about all of the prejudice that your country has dealt with over the years. I thought that the stupidity of calling your fellow human beings 'inferior' was over with. But I guess not."

"But you're not human!" came a voice from the hateful crowd.

Ermine hugged Ravenn tighter, her tears flowing faster. "Do you want to go back home, honey?" Ravenn asked her quietly. She looked up at him and nodded, too tearful to speak. "We're leaving!" Ravenn shouted into the crowd. "I'm not going to deal with this stupidity!"

Ravenn and Ermine get back into the car and headed home. As they left there were shouts and cheers from the hateful protestors, and a disheartened silence from the peaceful, tolerant side. They drove away, leaving Freedom Town, never to return.