Feral

I woke up about two hours later and stayed in the barn, waiting for the rain to stop. When it finally did I walked for the rest of the day, in the end bedding down in the lea of a hedge which looked at least reasonably dry.

The next morning I cracked open my eyes, looked up into the sky and groaned.

I really didn't want to get up. I'd been on the run for the last week. Hadn't I earned at least one day off? A shiver rippled through me as I realised just how cold I was and that my back was soaked through. I leapt to my feet, almost collapsing as both my legs cramped simultaneously and rubbing my arms furiously, trying to warm up. Winter isn't exactly the best time of year to sleep rough, and I have fur.

I took a furtive look around and took my shirt off, shaking myself all over to get rid of any lingering moisture out of my fur. The shirt was looking very sorry for itself, covered in blood, gore and general moisture; it wasn't the most pleasant thing to look at and had seen far better days. I rooted around in my backpack and after digging past layers of Sophie sized clothes, I don't know why I was still carrying those around, I pulled out something wearable and pulled it on. So that was my morning routine, take off anything too fetid to keep wearing and find something new. Perfect.

I stuffed my old shirt in my bag and pulled out a water bottle, draining it in one and then realised I was hungry. I would have thought that that stag would have lasted me longer, but then again I'd been active. I pulled out my map and glanced at it. Not a forest for miles, so I had no chance of catching an early breakfast. And it wasn't like I could stop at a super market. Maybe I could pick off a farm animal, but people might get suspicious and I didn't like the idea of leaving so obvious a trail.

I slipped my backpack on and dropped onto all fours. I wasn't going to get anywhere standing here moaning about how long a walk it was, I'd deal with each problem when I got to it. I tried to ignore the fact that home was still a hundred miles away.

Four hours later I was wishing I'd stayed where I was. My feet hurt; all four of them, and my pads were doing nothing to help, if anything it they just made it worse and I knew better than try to scratch them. I was still hungry too. The landscape I had been travelling across had had sweeping fields, rolling hills and more farms than I knew existed but not one place to find a meal beyond a few scraggily rabbits, and I speak from experience when saying hunting rabbit is not worth the effort.

I paused to listen to whether anyone was nearby and, when I couldn't hear anything, sat down angrily with my back against a stile growling to myself. What now, find a drive-through or maybe just raid a fridge? I could see a line of trees in the distance but really I couldn't be bothered to get up to find out; it was just another border along someone's bloody field. A shame because I really feel like mauling something right now.

A shadow past over my head and I looked up to see a bird circling high above my head. I glared at it suspiciously; I wasn't believing anything I saw in the sky was a bird anymore. It was too far away for me to see properly but it was circling me and I was fairly sure I didn't look dead yet. I closed my eyes and made doubly sure I couldn't here anyone sneaking up on me, which I couldn't and I couldn't smell anyone either. Maybe it was just a condor and I was being paranoid.

I heard the bang a split second before something lanced into my shoulder and I roared in anger, leaping forwards onto all fours and lashing my head back and forwards to see where the shot had come from, growling all the while. My chin brushed against the dart and my growl intensified as the wound burned, I took the dart in my teeth and yanked it out, wincing from the pain and growling all the louder as I spat it away.

I couldn't see anything that could have fired but I still snarled at the nearest empty space, scanning for movement, any movement, I just needed one twitch to latch onto and then I'd have them. Nothing stirred, the hedges rustled in the wind but I couldn't see my shooter, couldn't hear anything either. There was another bang and I threw myself to one side, landing in a ditch but dodging the dart that embedded itself vertically into the ground a couple of inches away.

I started running, I could see a line of trees in the distance, if I could reach those I would get some cover and be safe. I was still straining to hear the shooter but all around me was silence save for a few surprised birds, a third shot boomed above me and I accelerated, hearing a tiny thump as the dart hit a few inches behind me. I glanced up, the bird was still circling above me but there were no guns, a small part of my mind suggested that it might be the bird shooting at me but that was stupid, only humans had guns.

I burst though another hedge and snapped my attention back to the ground to stop myself falling into a ditch, digging my claws into the earth for traction and darted left as another shot splashed into a nearby puddle. That little voice was still screaming that I was being attacked from above but that was ludicrous. Nothing attacks from above. Or at least nothing attacks with a gun from above anyway. I sprinted along the edge of the field, where I was being attacked from could wait until I could get to where was I going to hide.

Another hedgerow loomed in front of me and I dived into it, snagging my claws in the branches and dragging myself to a stop. I crouched down low and checked to see if anyone was hunting me, nothing moved but I had no idea who was shooting at me. I began skulking along the line of the hedge, pausing occasionally to double check for something following me.

There was a loud woomph as something landed in the field a few dozen yards away and I whipped round to face it, dropping flat on my stomach to make best use of the shadows. The 'thing' didn't make any sense, my eyes were telling me it looked like a human but it was furling huge black wings behind its back and my nose was screaming "Wolf!" not to mention a little aggravating voice at the back of my mind yelling "Eraser you dolt!"

I readied myself to spring but something stopped me, and it was probably for the best as the Eraser turned to reveal a long hunting rifle held in the crook of its arm. I felt a growl rise in my throat which I quickly silenced. He was the one that got away, but the gun would hurt and I wouldn't be able to reach him before he fired.

He looked round once more in frustration and shot wildly into the hedgerow, hitting a good hundred yards away. I bared my fangs and twitched my tail in amusement, now if he'd only walk along the hedge. The thing spread its wings again and began to run away from me, labouring into the sky and then was gone. I checked above me and saw it still circling above me, that would get annoying but I had more pressing issues to attend to. My stomach growled. And that was one of them.

I skulked off towards the forest. With any luck the thing would get bored and fly away, that annoying little voice didn't believe it though.

Half any hour later I was growling to myself even though I was supposed to be hunting. There was nothing in the blasted wood, it didn't even deserve the word forest, and so far I hadn't seen tracks for anything bigger than a rabbit and those barely deserve the title of food. I paused suddenly as I caught a scent on the wind; it smelled almost like… chicken. Barbecuing chicken to be precise, sure that meant someone was cooking it, but I was hungry enough not to care. Besides being a tiger stops people complaining when you take their food, though that little voice was kicking up a storm about my plan.

I followed my nose to a clearing and lurked in the shadows watching what looked like a perfectly normal family making a barbecue lunch. I was surprised it was lunch time, maybe I'd slept late. Two adults were busying themselves around a smoking grill and a little girl was happily playing around the edges of the clearing, I briefly considered changing my menu but decided against it. That annoying voice was making enough of a fuss already.

"Hey," the girl said, suddenly right on top of me and making me crouch down in surprise. "What are you supposed to be?"

I froze for a moment and then roared, sending the girl running screaming, "Muuum!" then leapt after her, landing about an inch short of her and only because that voice ruined my pounce.

"What the heck is that thing?" the woman screamed as her husband pushed her roughly behind him and brandished a toasting fork at me.

"Get to the truck!" he roared as I looked at him quizzically, wondering if he was going to try anything, surely that voice wouldn't protest to a little self defence. He began to retreat, not taking his eyes from me and I snorted in displeasure. Oh well, the grill was at least left unprotected.

I stood up next to the barbecue and speared a few choice pieces of chicken on my claws, keeping a careful eye on the man and his family in case they tried anything funny. They didn't look like they would; it looked more like they were barricading themselves in their pickup. I swallowed a piece of meat whole and then realised that the man was pointing a shotgun at me.

I moved quick as a flash, leaping over the grill and kicking off it, sending hot coals flying everywhere and sprinting towards the man who flicked the safety off his gun and took careful aim. The gun roared and I felt the buckshot tear into me as I leapt into the air, partly I'll admit to get the weight off my legs, and bared my teeth in a silent snarl as I soared at him. He didn't flinch, just reversed his grip on the gun and swung it like a baseball bat.

The stock smashed into the side of my head and I slammed into the man, losing all control and bouncing of the side of the truck then collapsed in a heap on the floor. I vainly fought to stay conscious but my vision was greying out and blood was flowing freely into my eyes. My head was pounding, mostly because that little voice was screaming its head off but I still tried to get to my feet, growling all the while as the blood throbbed in my ears and my legs burnt.

I tired to take a tentative step and my legs gave out instantly, leaving me lying face down in the dirt and my next attempt didn't even get me off the ground. My growls petered out, fading to a dull rumble as the blackness took me and a bared my fangs at the man as he loomed over me, a last gesture of defiance as I fell into unconsciousness.

That voice was still yelling at me.