David sighed softly as he sat at his desk, flipping through his daily paperwork once more before his shift ended. His paperwork mostly consisted of check lists that he had to mark off daily, making sure everything was accounted for and everything was in place on the campgrounds and at the station, such as inventory. Gwen sat at the opposite end of the desk, reading through some trashy magazine as she usually did to pass time.

Today was no different for them as any other day was.

David and Gwen no longer worked at Camp Campbell. A very hot Summer came through with no rain for weeks caused a very traumatic forest fire, destroying almost all of the camp. Thankfully, even though he was concerned about the wildlife that called Camp Campbell home, nobody had been hurt. Campbell's schemes and scandals had been also uncovered, forcing the camp to be shut down and his betraying role model locked away forever.

It absolutely destroyed David at first, feeling like a part of him was now gone forever. But he had still wanted to be connected to nature as he always had been since he was a little kid, so he now works as a park ranger for a wildlife preserve and campground. It's not a Summer camp, but it's the next best thing...He guessed. Gwen had no luck finding any other job ( typical ), so she stuck with David and took the job as well. Gwen was David's best friend, anyways. He couldn't handle losing her too.

The weather outside was horrible. They had nobody visit the reserve today.
Usually they'll have a few campers on the weekends or a few hikers during the week, but nobody came today...Or even the past week. Nonstop rain and winds... David was beginning to get concerned about flooding in the area.

He looked up at the small clock above the entrance of the station.
It was nearly midnight; their shift was almost over and they could go home.

He sighed once again.

He remembered never wanting his shift to end at Camp Campbell.
Nowadays... He just wanted to go home.

Especially on days like this when nothing happens, nothing interesting. Sure, he had Gwen to talk to, but it was hard to talk to her after she's stuck her nose in the same magazines for hours. Otherwise, he just sat and waited for his shift to be over so he could go home and sleep and then come back the next day to do the same thing all over again.

Times have really changed for him.
He wasn't as happy with life as he used to be.

"You okay?"

David suddenly snapped back into reality. He looked over at Gwen, who had looked up from her magazine after a while, assuming she had finally finished it.

"Oh," David said, sitting up a little in his seat.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Why?"

She gave him a small smile.
"You sighed twice in a row. You only do that when you're thinking about something."

"Oh..."

He looked at her and shrugged.

"I guess I was just thinking about how much things have changed. As in... Nothing interesting really goes on anymore. I miss it," He said.

"I kind of miss it too," Gwen admitted. Sure, she has more time to herself now and she can read more magazines and watch as much more trash TV then she used to be able to, but other than that... Work wasn't interesting anymore.

"But hey, it's not all bad, David. You still have campers that come around here; they enjoy the same things you do. You can make more friends with strangers here," Gwen said, neatly putting her magazines aside.

"Right... But I don't know, It's just... Not the same..."

He fondled the end of his bandanna, his Camp Campbell shirt he's had since he was small, that he still wore around his neck to this day. Gwen was right, he needed to move on. But it was hard, knowing so many memories were destroyed and gone forever...

"Come on, let's start closing up," Gwen said, standing up from her seat.

"It's almost time to close. We should get home before the weather keeps us from doing so. Maybe it'll clear up by tomorrow and we'll have some people visit us."

She felt bad for him. He got on her fucking nerves sometimes, but that didn't mean she didn't care about his well being. She knew Camp Campbell was pretty much David's life, and it had been completely ripped from him forever. She worried he'd never be able to move on...

"Yeah... You're right again." He stood up.
"Maybe I'll try a little harder to make more friends here. This is my new chapter in life, I'll have to make the best of it."

"That's the spirit," Gwen said to him with another smile, receiving one in return from him.
"I'll sweep if you mop," She said, heading towards the closet where they kept all the cleaning supplies.

Just as David was about to speak again, a noise caught him off guard.

"Did you hear that?"

Both of them paused.

The sound of the rain outside beating the roof harshly filled the room to replace their silence.
Then the sound came again. Both of them turned to the front door and realized... It was a knock.
One more filled the room before it completely stopped.

Gwen scoffed and looked at David.

"Jesus... Who the Hell is out here during this weather and at this time of night?"
It kind of freaked her out, it was extremely ominous. David didn't feel any different about it.

"Maybe somebody got caught in the storm and they need help!" David said, turning to her with his eyes wide.

"David no! Nobody comes to the fucking station at this time of night!"

"But what if it's urgent? We can't just ignore it. We're still on duty."

"... Fine, risk your life opening that door. It could be some park ranger serial killer for all you know!" Gwen said, grabbing the broom handle for defense.

David swallowed a lump in his throat. That didn't make him feel any less nervous. He carefully approached the door. The door had a window, but the night sky and harsh weather made it impossible for him to even see through the glass. He swallowed roughly before turning the handle, and slowly opening the door.

Wind and rain came through the door, making David wince. The air was chilly.
He opened his eyes and to his surprise... Nobody was at the door.

He felt himself grow cold out of fear and nearly slammed the door shut before he noticed a box at his feet left in the rain in front of the door.
It wasn't a small box, but it wasn't a big one either. He looked around once more before he carefully picked up the box and took it inside, kicking the door shut behind him with his boot. He could feel movement inside of the box and nearly dropped it.

Instead he sat it down and backed away. He looked up at Gwen, who looked confused.

"This was all that was out there... I didn't see anybody. It must be some sort of packa-"

He was cut off by a noise emitting from the box, something that sounded like some sort of whimper.
There was obviously something alive in the box.

Gwen suddenly was hit with all the bad memories of almost every platypus she's ever came across and lifted her broom stick to smash the box to pieces.
"It's probably some wild animal ready to bite our faces off!"

"G-Gwen stop! We don't know that!" He said, quickly getting in between her and the box.
"We have to at least open it. Somebody brought it to us for a reason." The anxiety was obvious in his voice.

Gwen grunted, refusing to put her broom down.

"Fine, but you're doing it."

David emitted a nervous sigh.

"O-okay.. Here I go..."

He turned and approached the box once again. He got down onto his knees in front of it. The noises were a lot more clear up close, despite them being muffled by the cardboard it was trapped in. It sounded like... a puppy? No... A baby? He couldn't tell, but there was only one way to find out. Gwen was intently watching behind him.

He gently grabbed the side of the box, and he carefully opened the cardboard flaps that concealed whatever was inside.

His eyes were immediately met with magenta ones.

David and Gwen gasped.

A very small baby girl looked up at David with very wide, bright, curious eyes. Her curly green hair was brushed back neatly, and her tiny pale body was bundled in a small pink blanket. She couldn't have been more than 4 months old, much too small to be on her own, and much too delicate to be sitting out in the cold rain in a cardboard box.

There was something else next to her that was completely tangled up in a blue blanket next to her. Whatever was under the blankets seemed to have been what was making the squeaky, frustrated whimpers and cries from inside the box. David carefully uncovered whatever was under the blankets, and it revealed another baby was inside.

It was a small caramel colored boy. He had thick, curly black hair, and his arms and legs helplessly kicked and thrashed at the blanket that was trapping him. His squeals of frustration filled the room. Once he realized he was free, he stopped squealing and he became still. He opened his eyes, looking up at David. His bright, almost piercing green eyes had almost the same amount of curiosity the girl's next to him had.

Both Gwen and David stared back at the babies in front of them, in both awe and disbelief.

The babies would have seemed perfectly normal... But they weren't. These babies had...animal ears.

Both had a set of tiny pointed ears atop their heads. So small, the babies could barely hold them completely up.
David had seen similar ears on wolf puppies...

He also saw a small envelope tucked neatly under one of the blankets. He reached and grabbed it, and ripped the envelope open to find a note.

I didn't know whether to take them to an orphanage or a wildlife preserve. Please, take care of them.

That was all it read.