Pridelands (Box Set)

Pridelands (Box Set)
Excerpt from Darren's Surprise
Jade Buchanan
All rights reserved.
Copyright ©2013 Jade Buchanan

Stifling a yawn with the back of his hand, he surveyed the loft. A bunk bed was sidled up against the wall beside him. A single bedside table was arranged on the side closest to the stairs, nestled between the dresser and the bed. A large area rug was the only decoration in the middle of the room. Across from it, a very small double bed was set up, the covers strewn about as if a wild animal had slept there the night before.

He tensed, spying the results of his late night.

Sheets of formerly white paper littered the floor. Sketches covered the three walls. It appeared as if he'd gone on some drawing binge last night.

Picking up one piece of paper, he studied the drawing. Anthropomorphic cats sprawled along the page. A head here, a hand there, a full body just barely traced out.

The next sheet he picked up had the same theme as the first. On this one he'd focused on an ear, the pointed tip, the hint of fur shading the delicate slope. He'd drawn the ear from the front and back and every other angle he could possibly imagine.

The next sheet portrayed various tails, some rough and some more detailed. There was one covered in crescent shaped spots, and another that had a hint of stripes.

Every sheet he picked up had the same theme. He'd even used up several sheets just drawing eyes. The corners tilted up in amusement, narrowed with heat, wide with surprise.

Turning his attention to the walls, he realized he'd gone into even more detail here. A planet was stretched above his dad's bed, hints of trees and mountains sketched out in minute detail. Around the planet, he'd obviously started and halted several prototypes, because small shadows of round globes circled the larger shape.

He had no idea where he'd gotten this inspiration from, but he wasn't going to complain. It was some of his best work recently. Apparently he only needed to come out to Bumfuck, Nowhere, to get plenty of material for his next project.

The bunk bed wall and the wall by the stairs were covered with various drawings, some of his past work that had been up for years. He'd done that over a decade ago. It'd been so long he barely noticed it anymore.

Darren scratched his belly, looking down at his chest covered only by the freckles he'd cursed since junior high. He was barefoot, his feet peeking out from under the worn and faded jeans. They were a size too large on him -- courtesy of his rebellious teenage years when he'd been in love with a certain rapper/male model. God, that man was gorgeous. Darren sighed in remembrance. He'd jacked off on more than one occasion to pictures of the underwear model.

Hell, at least his own tighty-whiteys weren't showing above the waistband. Come to think of it, he wasn't wearing underwear. His pants were in danger of falling completely off, hanging precariously from his narrow hips. Darren sniffed, trying to remember when he'd last had clean clothes. The jeans he'd originally found in a forgotten cupboard set along the wall beside the stairs. He hadn't realized he'd left clothes behind but he was grateful for it when his previous jeans just about stood up and demanded to be washed.

Making his way down the stairs into the main room of the cabin, he looked around to see what kind of trouble he'd gotten into out here. His dad was going to tear a strip off him. He was still mad about the two walls in the loft, and Darren had done that in his teens.

Directly across from him were more anthropomorphic cats, drawn up and around the front door. Hell, he'd even drawn on the back of the door itself. He was so screwed when his dad saw this.

Cats of every species… some covered in stripes, some in spots, some furry with tufts of fur along their cheeks. The majority of them resembled lions, though, sleek and beautiful cats. With one single big cat front and center dwarfing the others.

Make that cat men, since every one of them was anatomically correct, especially the large lion creature in the center of the wall. He blinked, impressed despite himself. He'd definitely been more than generous when he'd been shading in the cats' nether regions. Good on him, it'd obviously been way too long since he'd been laid.

No way would he get away with that in a movie. Lordy, he still considered himself lucky every time he got a job on another film. The last thing he needed was for some bigwig to see this display and he'd be laughed out of Hollywood for being a perv.

Not that there weren't a fair share of pervs in Hollywood, but he prided himself on being above the rest of the riffraff.

He turned to view the wall to his left, behind the ragged couch. The two windows interrupted the mural, but it was still impressive.

A massive warship sat high within a galaxy of stars. He'd paid special attention to each constellation, meticulously drawing every tiny detail.

This was by far his best work.

The warship was shaded intricately with blue ink, each hatch set apart from the sleek lines of the ship. What appeared to be weapons stood out from the simple style of the rest of the craft, bulging along the sides and at the front. The entire top of the ship was open, the hint of glass reflecting back at him. Shapes were present behind the glass, but he couldn't quite make them out.

"Not bad," he murmured. "A race of alien beings inhabiting a large planet. A ship carrying space explorers from Earth crash lands. Suddenly the cat-like aliens take the humans prisoner, binding them and using them as slaves."

He snorted, laughing at himself.

"Yeah, sounds familiar. Planet of the Apes, anyone? Strike one for Darren. Although it wouldn't be too bad to be used as a sex slave by some of these big guys. Talk about wishful thinking."