Here's the next chapter!
Disclaimer: Sam Fennah owns Satellite City. Not me!
Now, let's continue our story!
Chased and Captured
The next morning…
"Ugghhh," Gavin groaned as he opened his eyes and slowly sat up, putting a hand to his head as he did so. "What…happened?" he asked himself as he looked around and saw that he was on the floor of his room, and that the sun was starting to rise.
Suddenly, his eyes widened as the memories of the previous night flooded his mind. The nightmare, the blackness of his hands, the transforming room, his screaming. He then let out a gasp as he looked around at his room. 'Oh thank goodness, everything's back to normal,' he thought with relief as he slowly got up from the floor, before he headed over to the nearby bathroom. 'But what was that?' He thought with confusion as he started up the small shower and got undressed, revealing he was somewhat muscular. 'And how did I do that?'
He had many questions about what had happened and about his nightmare, and no answers whatsoever. 'It was just…so weird,' He thought as he stepped into the warm shower and started lathering himself with soap and shampoo. 'It was like I was altering reality.' He then rinsed himself off, making sure to get every bit of cleansing liquid off him before he stepped out of the shower, turning it off as he did so.
"I'll…I'll think about it later," He said to himself, deciding to not worry about what had happened for the moment. His stomach then growled, prompting him to leave the bathroom and get dressed in a new outfit. He still had on his necklace, but was now wearing a light green t-shirt, black shorts, and his sneakers. He then made his way to the kitchen, and pulled out some chocolate chip poptarts, before putting them in the old toaster on the counter.
As he waited for the poptarts to pop up, he took inventory of his current food stock, and sighed. 'Looks like I'm going to have to do some shopping after breakfast,' He thought as he leaned against the counter.
A couple minutes later, the poptarts popped up, and he quickly grabbed them before putting them on a paper plate. He then grabbed a bottle of water as he waited for the poptarts to cool off a bit, and drank some of it.
Once the poptarts had cooled down, he started quickly eating them, drinking water to help wash them down. 'Mmmm, delicious,' He thought as he finished the tarts and water, tossing the plate and bottle in the garbage before he headed to the front door. Once he left his crummy apartment, he made his way to the stairwell and down to the ground floor.
As he walked out of the building, he was unaware of two pairs of eyes watching him. The owner of said eyes shivered as they looked at him, and grinned, before they started following him.
"Okay, so I need to buy some milk and water bottles," He muttered to himself as he walked down the sidewalk, typing a list on his phone. "What else?" He continued to write out his list for several minutes, before he rounded a corner and spotted his destination in the distance, which was the ASDA store. The chain was the UK's version of the American Walmart.
As he walked, he heard the sound of a bottle rolling against the pavement in a nearby alley, prompting him to pause and look into it. 'Is there someone there?' He thought as he looked into the dirty alley, which had a couple dumpsters in it.
After several seconds had passed, he shrugged, and went on his way, thinking 'Must have been my imagination.'
Once he'd left, there was the sound of shuffling, before a large figure could be seen moving in the shadows. That had been quite close. The figure grinned as they moved from shadow to shadow up to the rooftops and continued to follow him. Too close. He'd almost ruined the hunt before it even began.
Eventually, Gavin arrived at the ASDA store, and entered it, grabbing a cart before he started going down the aisles. As he walked down the aisles, grabbing the things he'd put on his list, his mind brought up the creature he'd seen in his nightmare. 'What the heck kind of creature was that?' he thought as he went down another aisle. 'I've never seen anything like it. She was…kind of cute. In a weird, sort of scary way.' He then shook his head. 'What the heck am I thinking? She isn't real,' he thought as he grabbed a loaf of bread and put it in the cart, before turning down onto another aisle, this one having miscellaneous items on its shelves.
As he walked down the aisle, he noticed that there was a large set of colored pencils and a massive notepad for sale, and grabbed them, an idea forming in his mind. He then went on to the next aisle, and grabbed a few cans of ravioli, before heading on to the dairy section, where he grabbed some milk, both regular and chocolate.
After a few more minutes had passed, he'd gotten everything on his list, and went to the checkout lanes to pay for his things. "Your total is $95.58," The male cashier said to him after scanning everything and bagging them.
Gavin sighed at hearing that. 'That's a bit more than I wanted to spend, but I need all these things,' He thought as he swiped his card and typed in his PIN number, before tapping the "No cash back" option and signing his name.
"Have a good day sir," The cashier said as he handed him his receipt.
"Thank you," Gavin said in response as he grabbed all his bags and started slowly walking away to the exit. 'Come on! Don't break!' He thought pleadingly as he walked out the doors and onto the sidewalk, bags swaying this way and that. 'I should have brought my bike cart,' He thought with a groan as he walked down the sidewalk to his apartment. 'Would make this a lot easier.'
Eventually, he reached his apartment complex and entered it with some difficulty, unaware that he was still being watched by four eyes. The owner of these eyes grinned as they watched him go inside the building.
The Hunt was close to starting.
Gavin sighed happily upon entering his apartment and shutting the door behind him. 'Thank goodness none of the bags broke,' he thought as he walked into the kitchen and set the seventeen bags on the floor. 'That would not have been good.'
He then proceeded to put everything away, except for the colored pencils set and notepad. Those he picked up and brought to his room.
When he entered his room though, he froze upon seeing that it wasn't quite the same as how he'd left it that morning.
His window was wide open, and his sheets had been removed from his bed, with them now on the floor ripped to shreds. His pillow had been torn apart as well; the cotton strewn across the bed.
"What in the hell?" He said upon seeing the mess. "What happened here?" He then noticed something on the bed among the cotton, and walked over to it to get a better look.
A dirty white piece of paper sat there, its edges torn up, as if ripped from something. There was writing on it, made of black letters that had jagged edges.
It read:
Hello prey,
You have one hour to pack your things and leave the premises. Do not attempt to call the authorities. If you do so, I will kill you immediately.
Now pack and leave.
And remember, I am watching you.
"…What the fuck?" He said with confusion as he stared at the letter. "What kind of messed up shit is this?" He looked at the letter for a few more seconds, before shaking his head. "This has to be a prank. A bad one."
*FWOOP!*
*THUD!*
"Holy crap!" Gavin exclaimed as he stared at the letter, which was now pinned to the wall by a large black and white knife that had come flying through the window. "Okay, not a joke! Not a joke!" He said, his arms shaking with fear. He then ran over to the nearby closet, and pulled out two extra large blue and black duffle bags, before he began taking everything from his closet and dresser and placing them in the bags, also putting the drawing utensils in them.
It only took him a few minutes to empty the closet and dresser, and he then moved on to the bathroom, before heading to the living room. Once done with those rooms, he headed to the kitchen, and put the few utensils and pans/pots into the bags, as well as all dry goods. He then ran back to his closet and grabbed the large cooler on the floor, before he turned to head back to the kitchen.
'Maybe I should take the knife and letter,' he thought as he turned his attention to the weapon stuck in the wall. He walked over to the weapon and grabbed the handle, before pulling on it hard.
After several seconds had passed, the knife came out of the wall, and he put that in the bag as well, while he folded the note and put it in his pocket. He also gathered up the sheets and pillow on the bed and floor, and put them in a trash bag.
Returning to the kitchen with his things and a trash bag, he opened the cooler, and after putting the ice packs he kept in the freezer inside the cooler, started emptying the small fridge into it.
Once he had finished emptying it out, he grabbed all his things, including the notepad, which was now in his backpack, and trash bag, and left the apartment. He quickly walked down the hallway to the stairs and headed down them, stopping only when he reached the front desk.
"Hey Mr. Clemmons," He said to the old man behind the desk, whose wrinkled face made him think of a bulldog or bloodhound. "I'm moving out. Got a better place to live at."
"Good," Clemmons replied with a smile as he reached out for the key, which Gavin gladly gave him. "Let me get the paperwork and your deposit." He then turned around, and began rummaging through an old filing cabinet. He rummaged for a few minutes, before smiling upon finding what he was looking for. He then bent down to a small safe, and opened it, before grabbing a small envelope.
"Here you go," Clemmons said as he turned around and handed him the envelope and a couple documents. "Just fill this out, and you're good to go."
"Thank you," Gavin replied with a smile as he started looking at the documents and signing them.
After about ten minutes had passed, he finished signing the documents, and handed them back to the old man, before taking the envelope. "Have a good day Mr. Clemmons," He said as he pocketed the envelope and, after grabbing his things, walked to the front door.
"You too Mr. Woodring. You too."
'I wish,' Gavin thought as he left the building and went to the left, looking at his phone as he did so. 'Thank goodness. I had 5 minutes to spare.' He then turned left into a small alley and walked over to his bicycle. Said bicycle was red and white in color, with a blue star at the front right above the black tires. "Good. It doesn't appear to have been vandalized," he said to himself as he looked it over. "But what about the cart?" He was referring to the large wagon attached to the rear of the bicycle. Said wagon was quite large, and black in color, with white stripes on the sides and on the thick wheels. "It looks good," he said with a smile. He then started putting his things on the cart, making sure they were in it snug before he grabbed some straps he had taken out of the wagon and started putting them on top of his things, making sure they were tight and holding them down.
Once he was sure everything was secure, he started walking his bike to the end of the alley, unaware he was being watched from above. 'Okay, so where am I going to go?' he thought as he reached the street and got onto his bicycle. 'Deeper into the city, or out into the country? Hmmmmmm.'
He sat there for a couple minutes, thinking deeply, before he started pedaling and turned his bike to the left. 'The country it is,' he thought as he pedaled down the street, while his watcher started following him, grinning as they quietly jumped from rooftop to rooftop. 'Haven't been there in a long time, and I could use a change in scenery.'
And with that thought, he started pedaling a bit harder, wanting to get to the countryside as quickly as possible. His watcher grinned even more as they watched him go.
The Hunt was on.
An hour later…
"God dammit!" Gavin groaned as he rode through the countryside, having just remembered something important. "I forgot to tell work I'm quitting." He sighed at that. "I'll have to call them later and let them know." 'Well, at least I shouldn't have to worry about that threat now,' he thought as he rode his bike down the paved road, which was devoid of traffic. 'And I guess I could thank whoever sent me that threat. I have been wanting to have a new start.'
*VROOM!*
"Huh?" He said as he looked behind him. Driving behind him in the distance was a big motorcycle. As he looked at it every once in a while, it getting closer with every glance, he realized that something was off.
Specifically, the driver and their passenger.
As he turned the corner on his bike and went down the hill, he looked back behind him, and his eyes widened with shock upon seeing the driver of the motorcycle as it came around the corner.
The motorcycle itself was black in color with red and orange flames etched all over it. A strange, four eyed skull held the headlight in its mouth, while the sidecar was red in color with bat wings etched on the front around another matching skull.
The driver and passenger looked…well, alien. The driver had green scaly skin, and a flat face, with a round black nose like that of a pug's, while two large deer ears stuck out on either side of its head, a short tuft of black hair between them. Its four long arms held onto the handlebars, each tipped with sharp white claws, while two long legs ending in dog-like paws tipped with sharp black claws sat on the brakes. It was wearing two pairs of black goggles on its head, and a white trench coat that flapped behind it in the wind.
The passenger was shorter than the driver, and was covered in black fur, with white stripes running along its arms and neck. A pair of black horns curved on either side of its head, which looked like that of a hounds. Two large floppy ears hung on either side of its head underneath the horns, and sharp white teeth stuck out of its mouth. Two large arms held onto the front of the sidecar with a pair of white-clawed and spotted paws. It also wore two pairs of black goggles on its head, and a black leather jacket with silver studs on its shoulders.
"What the fuck?!" Gavin said as he immediately turned around and started pedaling as fast as he could. "What are they?!"
He then heard a gruff male voice yell out from behind him. "Hey prey! Give us a good hunt!"
'What the fuck?!' He screamed in his head upon hearing that. 'They're hunting me?! Oh, I gotta get away from here!' With that, he started pedaling as fast as he could, while the two creatures started laughing at his attempt. 'Come on! Gotta…go. Faster!' He thought as he looked behind him and saw that the creatures were much closer than before, being only three car lengths away from him.
As he began to panic, he noticed that his hands were starting to turn black again, making his eyes widen with shock and worry. "No! Not again!" he exclaimed as his hands became completely black, and the darkness started spreading over his bicycle. "Not now!"
"Hey! What are you doing?!" The gruff voice said from behind him, making his heart pound even harder. "Stop that! That's cheating!"
'Like I know how to!' he screamed in his mind as he continued to pedal, the motorcycle getting closer and closer every second. When Gavin glanced back at the motorcycle, he felt his blood run cold. The black-furred creature had pulled out two sharp knives that looked quite similar to the one that he'd encountered in his room earlier, and was holding them in its hands with a grin on its face.
The darkness soon covered the entire bicycle and the wagon full of his things, and he felt it start to change. The spokes and suspension became black in color, with a gold cross star on the mudguard, while the handlebars became a bright purple. A speedometer appeared on top and in the middle of the handlebars, while a large round headlight appeared above the mudguard. He felt his seat elongate underneath him, and then felt it go up against his back, becoming soft to the touch. The pedals stopped turning as the gears morphed into a large engine that roared with life, two large exhausts shaped like long, sharp-clawed arms pointing straight behind him. His feet were now resting on black foot pedals connected to the brakes, and the rear wheel had a matching mudguard to the front.
"What the fuck?!" He exclaimed as he looked at the former-bicycle-turned-motorcycle with wide eyes. He glanced back at the creatures, and his eyes widened as he saw that he was starting to put some distance between them. He also noticed that his wagon had changed as well. The wagon now looked more like an enclosed trailer, with black walls and a ceiling surrounding his things. Yellow swirls and designs of various skulls covered it, while the wagon looked to be a bit smaller than before. "Oh my god!" 'This works!' He inwardly exclaimed as he increased his speed. "See ya suckers!" He yelled out as he got further and further away from them.
"Fuck!" The gruff voice yelled angrily as he sped away. "Step on it man! We can't lose him!"
As he sped away, Gavin began talking. "Why are they hunting me?" he asked himself. "What do they want with me? What are they? Why did the darkness change my bicycle to this?" His eyes then widened even more as he realized something. "Wait, is that why they're after me?" he said as he glanced down at his still-black hands. "Because of this? What could they want with it?" He asked himself, confusion on his face as he drove towards a large bridge that crossed a decently sized river.
He had just reached the bottom of it when he heard a loud "VROOOM!" making his heart race even more as he looked back. "Oh no!" he said upon seeing that the creatures were coming quickly towards him in the distance, having greatly increased their speed. He went to increase his speed, but was shocked as the speedometer fell to 0, and the motorbike started to change back to a bike. "Oh come on! Don't change back now!" He said as the handlebars turned back to black while the rest of the bike changed back to a bicycle. "Dangit!" He then started pedaling up the bridge as fast as he could while looking back constantly, and saw that the trailer was changing as well, with it slowly shrinking down.
He was about halfway to the middle of the bridge when he realized that his bike was getting smaller. "No. No! Noooo!" he exclaimed as he was forced to get off his bike due to its increasingly small size. The bike and trailer quickly shrunk down to the size of a backpack before they combined with each other, the bike melting and morphing into straps on the trailer box. "Fuck!" he exclaimed as he quickly grabbed the metallic backpack and slung it on his back before he started running, too scared to stay there and try to figure out what had just happened. "They're sure to get me now," he said as he ran, looking back and seeing that the creatures were quite close to the bridge. His eyes then landed on the edge of the bridge, and a crazy idea popped up in his brain. "This is so gonna hurt," He said to himself as he reached the middle of the bridge and started pulling himself up onto the bridge wall, his hands turning back to normal as he did so.
As he stood up on the bridge, he saw that the creatures had reached the base of the bridge, and then looked down at the water below him. "Well, here goes nothing," he said before taking a deep breath and stepping off the bridge.
*SPLOOOSH!*
'Brrrrr!' he thought as he felt the cold water of the river surround him. 'Cold!' He then started swimming away from the bridge, remaining underwater for as long as possible to avoid detection.
Eventually though, he needed oxygen, and he raised his head above the water to take a breath. As he did so, the gruff voice he'd heard earlier called out "There it is! Let's get it!" prompting him to turn around as he swam backwards.
There standing at the top of the bridge, was the black creature. It stood on two legs that were covered in the black and white fur and had a long thin tail waving about behind it that ended in a scorpion stinger.
"Oh no," he said upon hearing that. "I better move faster," he muttered to himself as he took a deep breath and started to dive under the water.
Suddenly, he felt a large pair of clawed hands grab him by the legs and pull him under. 'What the fuck?!' He thought as he tried to kick off the hands. 'There's another one?!'
The creature was undeterred by his kicks though, and pulled him against its body, with him feeling some cold metal pieces on it.
'Let go of me!' He thought as he struggled, trying to get away from the aquatic creature that had hold of him. 'Let…go!'
Unfortunately, the creature was much stronger than he was, and held him close to their body with their arms, their hands holding him tightly and covering his mouth. The creature pulled him down deeper into the water and started quickly swimming away with him, away from the others.
'I need to…breathe!' He thought after several seconds had passed as he started to feel his lungs ache after having held his breathe for so long. "Mmmmmm!" He groaned, pointing at his mouth and then at the surface, not sure if the creature would listen or not.
It did though, and he found his face breaking the surface, prompting him to gasp as he took in another large gulp of air, before he was dragged underwater once more.
'What the fuck has today been?' he thought as the creature swam away with him. 'Getting threatened with my life. Getting hunted by odd creatures. And now I'm getting abducted by an aquatic creature that is stronger than me and bringing me to an unknown location to do who knows what?! This day has suuuuuucked!'
The creature periodically let his face break the surface as they went, but only so that he could get a breath of fresh air, dragging him down before he could get a glimpse of his surroundings.
This continued for probably a couple hours, but he wasn't sure. What he did know though, was that he was getting quite cold and hungry.
'Okay, how far away is this place I'm being taken to?' he thought, before he felt himself getting lifted above the surface. As he opened his mouth to take another breath, he suddenly found himself getting flung through the air. "The fuck?!" he exclaimed as he felt himself fly through the air and then land on his stomach on the ground. "Oww!" he groaned, before his heart started to race as he realized that the creature might still be there, and he quickly got up off the ground. He immediately looked around at his surroundings, and saw that he was on a small riverbank that had a forest at the back of it. He then started running towards the forest, but was stopped by something that sideswiped his legs out from under him, making him land on his back and on the metal backpack.
"Owwwwwwww," he groaned with pain as he tried to sit up, only to feel a clawed hand press onto his chest, preventing him from doing so. He quickly looked at the clawed hand, and his eyes widened upon seeing the owner of said hand.
The creature had four limbs, and was standing on the rear two and one of its front ones. Its rear legs were well muscled, with thick thighs, as were the front limbs. Its mostly smooth skin was colored a deep blue, with a paler blue belly and chest, while pale blue dots studded its body like stars. Its rear limbs ended in large, draconic feet that ended in five toes tipped with long, sharp, curved white claws. Its front limbs ended in hands with six long fingers that were tipped with the same sharp curvy white claws. A black tuft of fur started approximately where its crotch was, continuing on to a very long tail that was covered in black fur, but sparsely, letting him see the skin underneath. Three small golden orb piercings sat in a row on top of each other above the crotch tuft. Three pairs of GG-cup breasts topped with large black nipples sat on its chest, while on its stomach sat two pairs of DD-cup breasts, tentatively identifying it as a female. Gold chains pierced the nipples and crisscrossed across the chest and abdomen. A thick and well-muscled neck led up to her head. Her head had a somewhat short muzzle that ended in six slits for her nose, and had several round gold piercings on her chin, on her lips, and a couple small gold hoops in the slits. Her mouth was surrounded by skin colored a faded white, and the left side of her mouth had gold hoops running through both upper and lower lips, increasing and decreasing in size as they reached the end of them. A prominent ridge ran from the middle of her top lip and up her nose for a few inches, while other prominent ridges replaced her eyebrows, with the faded white color on her eyelids. Her two large eyes were a bright blue in color, while her cross-shaped iris' were pure white. Multiple gold round piercings lined her eyes, while a couple hoop piercings were in the ridges above her eyes. Two large batlike ears stuck up on either side of her head, the tops lined with short, fuzzy, white fur, and the bottoms lined with gold hoop piercings. Two long black dreadlocks hung between her ears over her face, while more dreadlocks hung off her head and neck, with the dreadlocks disappearing once they passed her chest, with the rest of her hair looking long and straight.
'Holy…shit,' he thought with shock.
"Listen well human," The creature growled in a female voice laced with a Bronx accent, revealing her razor-sharp white teeth. "If you attempt to run away from me, you will be punished. Got it?"
"Y-Yes ma'am," he replied quickly, not wanting to anger the female creature.
"Good," She said as she lifted her hand from him, allowing him to stand up.
When he got to his feet, he found that currently, she was about 5 feet 4 inches tall. "Um, so now what?" he asked her.
"You're coming with me," She stated, before she turned around and started walking to the forest on all fours, prompting him to quickly follow her.
'What the fuck have I gotten myself into?' He thought for the umpteenth time as they entered the forest.
The creature walked at a rather brisk pace, forcing him to walk quite quickly to keep up. "Can you slow down a little please miss?" he kindly asked her as he nearly tripped over a fallen tree branch.
"No, and don't ask me again," The female creature replied with an ever-so-slight growl, causing him to sigh and frown upon hearing that.
'Greeaaat. Just greaaat! I'm following an unknown creature through the woods to an unknown destination,' He thought as he followed her. 'And if I try to escape, I'll be punished by the creature. God, what has my day become?'
A couple hours later…
He sighed as he stepped over another fallen log. 'How much farther do we have to go?' He thought as he nearly tripped over a stone. 'I'm a bit cold from the constant breeze, and I'm hungry.' As he regained his balance, his eyes landed on the female creature walking in front of him. 'I kind of wish she'd say something,' he thought as they walked down the hill they were on. 'Would at least make this trip more interesting.'
As he took another step forward, he felt his foot go out from under him, the rock underneath his foot flying off behind him as he fell forward. "Woah!" He yelled as he fell down the hill, rolling and tumbling the rest of the way down.
The creature watched him tumble down the hill, and a small smirk appeared on her face for several seconds, before it disappeared as she continued walking down the hill.
"Owwwwwwwwww," he groaned once he came to a stop at the bottom on his belly.
"Come along human," The creature said as she walked by him. "We still have a long way to go."
'Oh come on!' He thought as he slowly got up from the ground and went after her once more. "How long exactly?" He asked her as they started heading up another hill.
"Another few hours," She replied with a huff.
'Greaaaaaaaat,' He inwardly groaned upon hearing that. 'More walking. And I doubt she'll stop for a break.' He then slipped on the leaves and fell onto his face, prompting the creature to turn around and look at him. "Seriously?" he said as he got up, moreso to himself than to her.
As he dusted off his hands, he started after the creature once more, who had resumed walking once he'd gotten up. His stomach then started to growl, prompting him to sigh as he shoved his hands in his pockets. 'No way in hell am I asking her for a snack break. She'd just say no, probably. I can make it without eating for a few more hours.'
Four hours later…
'Okay, I made a mistake,' he thought as his stomach continued to growl loudly with hunger, cramping badly as well. 'Should have asked for a snack break.' "Hey, how much farther we got to go?" He asked the creature, who had remained pretty much silent the entire trip. "I need to stop and eat."
"We're almost there," The creature replied as they reached the top of a large hill and started heading down it. "Then you can eat."
"Oh thank goodness!" he exclaimed with relief, before he remembered something. 'Wait, I have no idea where we're even heading to. It might not be a good place for me. And I have no idea what she even wants with me.'
They walked for about twenty more minutes, before they came to the top of a big hill, and he saw it.
There, sitting on a large flat hill, was a tall house. Said house was two stories tall, and had light brown brick and stone walls, and a dark brown shingled roof, with a tall chimney on one side. Several windows with black shutters were on the front, while a nice wooden porch surrounded the brown front door and a large brown garage sat on the right side of the house.
A couple nice bushes sat in front of the porch.
"I'll be honest, I didn't expect such a fearsome creature to live somewhere so…homey," Gavin said as he looked at the house.
"Hmph! Don't judge a creature you know nothing about human," The female replied with a huff and growl.
'Right,' he thought, deciding it was in his best interest not to say anything else, not wanting to make the creature potentially angrier or annoyed. 'I wonder if there's any other creatures in the house?'
She led him to the front door, which had a gold-colored lever doorknob, and opened the door, before stepping to the side.
'So, I have to go in first,' He thought as he looked from her to the door, before sighing. 'Alright. I hope this doesn't end badly.' He then stepped inside the house, the creature following him and shutting the door behind her.
They were now in a large, white-walled hallway, with gray tile on the floor, a large brown wooden chest on the floor against a wall, and multiple paintings of nature hanging on the walls. A large set of black stairs wound up one side of the hallway to the second floor, while three black open doorways could be seen, with one on either side of the hallway, and one at the end of it.
The creature then headed to the doorway at the end of the hallway, prompting him to follow her. Upon entering the doorway, he found himself being led to the right down another hallway that matched the first in terms of coloration and wall décor, glimpsing a large kitchen before the next hallway as he went.
The female creature led him to a large black door located towards the end of the hallway, and tapped on it with her claws.
"Who is it?" A non-nonsense sounding, somewhat deep, British male voice said from within.
"I've returned with the source," The female replied.
"Good. Bring it in," The male voice said once more, sounding a bit displeased for some reason.
"Yes Ludwig," The female replied, before she opened the door and stepped to the side, gesturing for him to go in.
'Well, here I go,' He thought as he sighed, before stepping through the door.
He found himself entering a small office that was dimly lit, with light orange walls and ceiling. Two large curved bookshelves sat against the back wall, filled with a couple small books, two small shadeless lamps that lit the room, and some statues of animals. White blinds were shut over the two nearby windows, and the floor was covered in a nice rug with spiral patterns on it. A large mahogany desk sat in the middle of the room, with lots of papers and some writing supplies on top of it, as well as an ornate silver picture frame facing towards the back wall. A large black office chair sat behind the desk, with two more chairs sitting in front of it.
Standing in front of the chair was another weird creature, presumably the one called "Ludwig." He looked to be about 9 foot 6, and was rather gangly and humanoid in appearance, with a skeletal frame, bone-colored skin, and long, lanky limbs. He had fiery orange-and-red hair that splayed out from the top of his head and ran down the back of his thin, foot-long neck like a mane, and swayed about on its own accord. His face was gaunt and skull-like, with beady orange eyes with a black cross iris set in deep black sockets, sharp cheekbones, and a chiseled but flat nose that appears to be no more than two slits. His mouth stretched from ear to ear, full of red needle-like teeth that locked tightly together, giving his mouth the appearance of being flayed open like a Cheshire cat grin. A smaller set of outer teeth interlaced where his lips met at the middle, making his mouth appear pretty small.
Going down his neck were four blood-red slits, from where multiple white quills jut out like fish bones, the largest being on opposite sides of his head, curling around his head and neck like a collar. From the neck down, he had broad shoulders and a narrow waist. His two arms ended in hands with five fingers and thumb tipped with black claws, and he had very long legs that made up much of his height and were digitigrade in shape.
He was wearing a long black and yellow-striped coat with a large collar, loosely-tied waist belt, and four long tails hanging down past the edge of the desk. The collars, cuffs, and waist belt were solid black. Underneath of all of this he wore a black and yellow damask-patterned vest with red buttons, a red cravat, and rust-colored dress pants that splay out at the ankle. A red handkerchief sat in his breast pocket. Most of Ludwig's outfit, his coat especially, appeared worn and faded with age.
Gavin came to a stop in front of the desk, as did the female creature, who'd shut the door behind her.
Ludwig looked down at him with a frown mixed with a disgusted look. 'What's with the look?' Gavin thought as he looked back at Ludwig, feeling very nervous.
"Any trouble collecting the simian Celia?" he asked the female creature, who shook her head.
"Nah, not really," She replied with a shake of her head. "Just grabbed him when he jumped in the river to escape two of our kind."
"Did you recognize them?" Ludwig asked Celia, who shook her head again.
"No, I did not," She replied.
"Mmmmmm, you are dismissed for now Celia," He said after several seconds of silence, revealing his mouth was much bigger than it appeared. "But later I will want a full report. Tell Hyzenthlay to come to my office in twenty minutes."
"Yes Ludwig," Celia replied with a nod, before turning away and stepping out the room, leaving Gavin with Ludwig.
Gavin gulped as Ludwig's orange eyes looked at him, feeling quite nervous as he looked him over.
"Sit simian," Ludwig stated firmly. "We have much to discuss."
'Did he just call me a "simian?"' Gavin thought with widening eyes as he sat down in a nearby chair, setting his backpack at his feet. 'I'm no monkey or ape!'
Ludwig was silent for a couple minutes as he stared intently at Gavin, making him feel quite uncomfortable.
Finally, he spoke. "Do you know why you are here simian?" He asked him.
"Not really," Gavin answered him honestly and with some frustration. "But I would like to know what all this is about, and why I've been threatened, chased, and captured."
"Of course you do," Ludwig said bitterly. "Well, simian, I will tell you only a few things," he continued as he sat down in the chair. "First, I am part of an ancient race called the Kivouachians. The Universe we now live in is but a remnant of what once was. It is a remnant of our home, the Kivouach. It was a place of extreme conditions, most of which you simians could not begin to comprehend, but we adapted to them, and thrived."
"…Okay, but what does that have to do with me?" Gavin interrupted.
"Do not interrupt me simian!" Ludwig growled at him, clenching his hand slightly. "I was getting to that."
'Wow, he does not like being interrupted,' Gavin thought with widened eyes as he stayed silent.
"Our home also had a large amount of antimatter in it. I presume you know what antimatter is?" Ludwig asked him, prompting him to shake his head. "Of course you don't," Ludwig said with a sigh, frowning at him.
'Hey! It's not my fault I don't know what it is,' Gavin inwardly yelled at him. 'My college major was Zoology, not Physics!'
"Antimatter is matter composed of the antiparticles of the corresponding particles in 'ordinary' matter," Ludwig explained, talking to him like he was an idiot. "An antiparticle and particle, such as a proton and antiproton, have the same mass, but opposite electric charge, and other differences in quantum numbers."
'Okay, that makes sense,' Gavin thought upon hearing this.
"When this universe came into being, practically all antimatter was destroyed," Ludwig continued. "Because when matter and antimatter come into contact, they annihilate each other, releasing energy. Our beloved Kivouach was gone."
'That sucks,' He thought sadly. 'They lost their home when ours was born.'
"We have lived on the Earth ever since, watching you humans as you evolved to what you are today," Ludwig said with a frown. "I was put in charge of the remaining Kivouachians, and for over 2 billion years I have been making plans to bring the Kivouach back to glory and make our world anew."
'Two billion years?!' Gavin thought with wider eyes as he stared at Ludwig. 'He's that old?!'
"And you will help me," Ludwig said to him, making him arch an eyebrow.
"And how exactly am I going to help you?" Gavin asked him, having felt a lull in the conversation. "I know nothing about advanced physics."
"Quit interrupting me simian!" Ludwig snapped, standing up as he glared at him. "You interrupt me once more, and I'll-!" He took a deep breath, calming himself, before he spoke once more. "Just, don't interrupt me."
'Yes sir!' Gavin thought as he quickly nodded his head. 'Dangit! I made a mistake!'
"You are going to help me because of what you can do," Ludwig replied as he sat back down. "Haven't you been wondering how we knew where you were? How Celia was right at the bridge when you jumped in?"
'I would like to know that,' Gavin thought as he nodded.
"It is because last night, you began sending out waves of antimatter," Ludwig said matter-of-factly. "Waves that only Kivouachians could sense. They told us your location, and what you were."
'…..What?' Gavin thought, blinking several times as he tried to comprehend what he'd just heard. 'I was emitting antimatter?!...Could the black stuff on my hands be antimatter?'
"You continued to emit them throughout the night, and most of this morning," Ludwig continued. "But you stopped several hours ago. Now, the antimatter you sent out should have reacted with the matter it ran through and caused widespread destruction. But it did not, for some unknown reason, which defies all science. I intend to find out how you are safely emitting antimatter and harness it."
Gavin was quiet for several seconds, making sure Ludwig was done speaking, before he spoke. "So let me get this straight. I have the ability to emit antimatter, and that's how you found me, since apparently only you guys could sense it. And you're going to use me to make your kind a new home?" he said.
"That is correct," Ludwig replied firmly.
"Fuck!" Gavin cursed as he leaned back in his chair. 'This is crazy. This is super crazy!' He thought as he sat there. 'I can control antimatter!' "So, what happens now?" He asked Ludwig.
"You will reside at this house, under watch by other Kivouachians," Ludwig replied. "I will send instructions to them about the tests, and periodically come by to see you in person. You will listen to their instructions, and help us."
"And if I refuse?" He asked, prompting Ludwig to frown.
"Then we would use force," Ludwig replied honestly. "And trust me, we are quite good at forcing people to do what we want," he said, making Gavin's back crawl as Ludwig stared at him.
"O-Okay," he answered nervously. "I'll comply."
"Good," Ludwig said, before he turned towards the door. "Hyzenthlay, come in."
"Yes Ludwig," A soft, British female voice said, before the door opened, and a new creature stepped in.
This creature stood 2 feet 11 inches tall, and looked extremely similar to a red squirrel, minus the four large breasts sticking out from its chest and belly that were topped with red nipples. Her fur was an unkempt reddish-brown with a creamy white underbelly ending just beneath her jaw and just before her tail. Her fur was littered with large white swirls, most notably on her shoulders, thighs, and cheeks. She had two long, striped white pointed ears that appeared to twitch often, and a long, bushy reddish-brown and white striped tail that twitched occasionally. She had a very stiff fluffy tuft of reddish-brown and white striped hair growing towards her left eye that trailed down her back and ended at her waist. Her eyes were greenish-amber in color. Her pupils were more similar to a human's than to her fellow Kivouachian's. Her mouth was tiny, and her muzzle was tipped with a small pink nose and equipped with a scraggly clump of whiskers on each side.
She walked on her two large, rear legs that ended in large paws with five toes and long black claws, while her arms were held close to her chest, with five fingered, black clawed paws at the ends.
"Hyzenthlay, this simian will be staying here," Ludwig said to the Kivouachian, who looked at Gavin with interest and surprise. "Take him to a room and get him situated. And tell Celia to come to my office."
"Y-Yes, Ludwig," Hyzenthlay replied with a nod, before turning to Gavin. "Follow me," She said to him, before she headed over to the office door, prompting him to get up, grab his bag, and follow her out.
Well, this was an interesting chapter!
Can't wait to write more!
BTW, which story of mine do you guys want me to update next? I'll do my best to update whichever one is mentioned the most. Note: One Piece, Loonatics Unleashed, Courage, Zoophobia, TMNT, Raya, and Star cannot be chosen.
Thanks again to PyroFox117 again for help!
This is PuzzleMaster1998 here, signing off!