Through the fog, a boat rocket in the murky waters. A middle aged man, with a line cast out, sat on the edge of his vessel, a pipe in his mouth. He was lightly equipped, with only a rifle and a backpack with him. He could hear thunder in the distance. Faint, but still there. He felt a tug on the line. Jolting the line, he reeled it in, revealing a well sized bass. He unhooked it and tossed it in with the rest of the fish he had caught.
His name was Atticus. He was the sole survivor of his family. Monsters had attacked their home a month ago, and he barely managed to escape with his life. His wife and two children weren't so fortunate. He still had chills thinking about it.
Suddenly, he heard a rustling in the swamp grass. In one swift motion, he dropped his rod and pipe, picked up his rifle, and laid flat on his stomach, his sights set on the source of the noise. Taking deep breaths, he steadied himself, trying to prepare for whatever lay in front of him. None of that made much difference when he felt the boat shift behind him.
He jumped and turned around, pulling out his knife. Pointing it, his eyes widened when he saw what it was. In front of him stood a yellow human-like fox. With ice blue eyes, it stared into him, chilling him to the bone. His arm shook as he tried to keep his cool. He inhaled. "G-go away! Whatever the hell you are, just leave me be!" He waved the knife around to try to intimidate it.
The creature simply raised an eyebrow. With a flick of its claw, it knocked his knife onto the floor of the boat. A bead of sweat ran down his face. He scrambled to the far end of the boat. The creature sighed. "You humans are so pathetic. Sometimes I wonder if you're even worth the effort." It walked up to him. "I'd have more challenge fighting a Goblimon."
He grit his teeth. "I am not pathetic!" He lept to his feet and tackled it, socking it in the jaw. With a grunt, it tossed him off, but he managed to land on his feet. He took a fighting stance, fists at the ready. The fox smirked and did the same.
He knew a little bit of martial arts skills, but besides that, he'd had some experience from bar fights. The only difference was he was fighting on a boat against a fox-man thing. He made the first move, striking with his left fist at the fox's head. It dodged, leaning to the left and uppercutted, causing him to stumble back. He shook his head, spitting blood out of his mouth. He thrust forward again, towards it's chest. It blocked, then tried to counter. Anticipating this, he blocked it and gave it a punch to the side of the head, sending it tumbling to it's knees. He kicked it in the shin, knocking it to the ground, gritting its teeth in pain.
"Had enough?" he growled.
The fox chuckled. "Not bad...for a human." In the blink of an eye, it flashed to its feet and kicked him square in the chest, sending him backwards and onto his back.
He groaned, trying to get up, but his body hurt beyond belief. The fox stood over him. He closed his eyes, waiting for his inevitable death.
…
For a minute, nothing happened. He opened his eyes and saw a hand being offered to him. He looked up into the fox's eyes and, tentatively, took it's hand.
"You know, I'm impressed," it said, pulling him up. "You actually managed to put up a fight. Maybe this might work out after all…"
He rubbed his head. "What the hell are you talking about?"
It chuckled, and for the first time, he noticed the femininity in its voice. "What I mean is that I think you're capable of being my Tamer."
Tamer. The word sounded familiar. He thought for a moment, then remembered what his son had told him.
"Tamers are people who have Digimon and go around saving people! That's what this game is all about! I'm a Tamer, too!"
He smiled inside, remembering the sound of his child's voice. But the happiness was quickly replaced by sadness, then by anger.
He looked at what he assumed to be a female. "Wait a second...you want me to be your partner?"
She nodded. "That's right. I've been looking for one for a while. I'd almost given up hope by the time I found you."
He was dumbfounded. Why would a creature, this Digimon, or whatever they were called, want to join him? The same kind of beast that killed his family?
He frowned. "Now hold on just one damn second. I never asked for this."
She raised her eyebrows. "Since when does life listen to you?"
He tried to argue, but realized that she had a point. He sighed and held his head in his hands. "I mean...why me? Why should I go with some...thing?" he spat.
The fox scoffed. "How polite of you."
He glared at her. "Your friends weren't very polite when my family bled to death!" Venom oozed from his words, and his eyes seemed to be on fire.
She was surprised to see such ferocity from a human. She looked down at the floor. "I...I had no idea…"
He rolled his eyes. "Why the hell would you care? You obviously don't care about humans."
She turned her head to him. "Because you remind me of me."
Turning his head, he saw the sadness in her eyes. A pain that couldn't be understood by the average person. The pain of someone who had lost something precious to them…
"You...lost your family?" he said warily.
She nodded. "When I was very young. I managed to hide and survive, but…" Tears started welling up in her eyes. "I couldn't do anything but watch them die." She began to sob uncontrollably, her face contorted with rage and hurt.
To Atticus, she no longer looked like a strange being that was out to kill him. For that moment, she looked like a child whose parents she would never see again. His brain couldn't decide what to do. But his heart did. He walked over to her and embraced her, stroking the soft fur on her back.
"Shh...it's alright...you won't have to be alone anymore…" he whispered softly.
She was shocked, but her feelings were so clogged that she couldn't react. She clutched his shirt, crying into his chest. With his head bowed, they lied holding each other on the rocking boat, the bull frogs croaking nearby, and crickets chirping softly.
Thanks for reading! Tell me what you thought was good, or what I could improve on!