The two said nothing after the incident with The Hunter. Fang was utterly stunned by Asher's sudden display of courage, and he couldn't seem to get the event out of his mind. What if The Hunter decided to take revenge? He had taken revenge on Fang by imprisoning him in this goddamn place over a stupid poker game! If The Hunter had gotten that mad about something that small, there was no telling what he could do to Asher…

Fang leaned against the bars of the cage, and looked over at Asher, who was peacefully napping in the middle of the floor. He looked almost harmless just lying there, save for the few little teeth sticking out of his snout. "Sleep well, I guess." Fang sighed, and tipped his hat at the sleeping wolf. Just as he was getting ready to whip out his pistol and start polishing it, a faint noise echoed through the hallway. Footsteps!

"Huh?" Fang whirled around, and stuck his head through a gap in between the bars to see who was coming. He half expected the person to be The Hunter; clad in his army attire with the large rifle gripped in his hands.

Boy did it surprise Fang when a woman appeared! She was heading over to the cage across from his, where she bent down, and took out a shiny brass key. Wait a second. A key? Was she going to release them? It was then that Fang took note that the woman was wearing almost the exact same outfit The Hunter did; a camouflage tee, those khaki pants…maybe it was just a uniform. Though, unlike The Hunter, she had a bandana over her head to match her shirt.

The woman unlocked the door of the cage with a flick of her wrist, and pushed it open with a slight shove.

"Tchtchtch! Come on, you damn deer!" She swore at a big brown creature moving toward her at a sluggish pace. It limped over to the cage door, and walked out into the hallway, shaking violently. "Agh, must have hurt yourself. Only good for the gun." With that, she pulled out a small handgun from her pocket.
She's going to fucking shoot that deer! Fang could only watch as the deer turned its massive head toward the gun, and blinked for the last time.

BOOM!

The deer fell over on its side with a loud thump, and moved no more.

The woman shook her head, and as she put her gun away, a squirrel darted past under her feet. "HEY! YOU AIN'T GOING NOWHERE!" she cried out, and stepped on the squirrel's fuzzy tail. A tiny shriek came from the squirrel, and the woman grabbed it by its legs. "Just for that, you don't get to go outside today! It's beautiful weather, after all." The squirrel was hastily thrown back into the cage, where it hit the wall and slid to the floor.
Ow. That's gotta hurt. Fang winced at the squirrel, who was now twitching on the ground.

"HEY! WE GOT A SKINNER HERE!" The woman yelled in an ear-splitting cry, and her words bounced off the walls like they were made of rubber. After a few moments, someone replied. "OKAY, JANE! WE'LL BE THERE IN A MINUTE!"

Hm. A skinner? What the hell is that supposed to mean? Fang thought, imagining what kind of horrible things it could be when Jane slammed the door and startled him. "Well, now I don't have to take anyone from Cage 26." She turned around, and headed over toward Fang's cage with a smirk on her face.
"Aha, now Cage 27…the boss said to watch out for you. Says you are…" She flicked Fang on the nose, causing him to pull his head back into the cell. "…special."

"If I were you, I would look for someone else to piss off right about now." Fang glared at Jane, and rubbed his nose in pain. He was in no mood to fight her at the moment.

Jane stared at him like he was some kind of newborn puppy. "Oh? You give threats? That's soooo cute!" She giggled at her sarcasm in that annoying girly voice. "You know, I would shoot you if I could, but the boss said specifically not to…yet. I'm quite the sharpshooter!" Jane winked, and fingered her pistol anxiously.

"Hmph." Fang snorted, and motioned to the dead deer lying outside in the hall. "You call that a sharp shot? Please! You hit it in the back!" The weasel rolled his eyes. Well, he should know. After all, he WAS a sniper, right?

"You think I'm THAT stupid? A weasel thinks he can beat my skills!" Jane unlocked the door, and threw it open. She stepped in the way, blocking the doorway so Fang could not escape.

"Yeah, I can pretty much blow your fucking brains out right now." Fang grabbed the pistol out of his belt, and cocked it right in front of Jane's face, ready to shoot her right there. Jane gasped as if she was running out of air. "H-he…never told me you could…but you are…a…"

Fang smirked at her as she tried to grasp the right words to say. "Now if you could lead me to this 'outside' place, that would be great." His trademark fang glistened evilly, and Jane backed out of the door. "Su-sure thing, weasel!"

That's better…. He thought, and walked nonchalantly out of the cage. As he stepped out, Jane slammed the door behind him, and gestured for him to follow. Fang looked back over his shoulder at Asher, who was still asleep after all of the ruckus Jane had caused. It would be best for him to stay here. He's probably been 'outside' before anyway.
"Over here, weasel!" Jane called from halfway across the hall; she walked fast, no doubt.

"Don't call me weasel!" Fang spat, and caught up to her, waving his gun at Jane so she would not forget he had the weapon. "Call me Fang. Fang the Sniper."

Jane nodded quickly, and started walking again.

As they walked, Fang noticed that the cages they passed had all been emptied, save for a few animals that lay dead on the floor. They must have been rejected as the deer had…illness, injury, deformities…Fang hoped he wouldn't die here, even though he felt quite confident at the moment.

When the two reached the end of the hall, there were two more halls on either side. Jane started to walk left, but Fang wondered what was on the right side. He thought he heard some squeals and yips, but he wasn't sure. "Hey, what's down that hall?" Fang pointed his pistol to his right.

"Oh. Well…you'll find out soon enough." Jane was hesitant about revealing anything, so she kept on proceeding to the left.

"Hmmm. Interesting." Fang listened as gunshots were fired, and the squeals subsided before he tagged along behind Jane.

The hall didn't last very long before Jane fumbled for her brass key again. "There's a door up here, wea-"

She met Fang's glare and corrected herself.

"…uh, I mean Fang." As Jane finished, she reached the huge steel door, and clicked the key into its slot.

Better remember that…I need a key to open doors…

Jane carefully pushed the heavy door open with a grunt, and light flooded into the hall. Fang shielded his eyes from the brightness; it had been days since he had seen any source of light.

"Here you are." Jane guided Fang outside, and quickly jumped back into the building, where she slammed the door shut.

There was no exact word to describe what Fang saw before him.

A small field stretched on in front of him, cut off by a steel wire fence that surrounded the width of the slaughterhouse. The grass was lush and green, with the occasional flower budding here and there, and huge pine trees lined the outside of the fence. This was nothing like the inside of the facility! In fact, Fang concluded that he would rather be kept out here instead of some dingy cage, and he understood why this must have been a privilege to see.

But, he was not the only one outside. There were quite a few other animals playing, greeting, and even celebrating in the field. Some formed groups and met with each other near a specific flower or weed, and started talking. It puzzled Fang, for these groups were not made of the same animal. Cougars met with rabbits and woodpeckers, moose met with bears and herons, and there were even snakes meeting with mice! It was quite a strange sight indeed, but not one animal resembled Fang in the least.

Wait. Wasn't this area free of any supervision? There weren't any guards around. He could escape right under that Hunter's ugly little nose!

Fang tucked his pistol away, and made a mad dash toward the fence, expecting to jump it. "I'm getting out of this damn hellhole!" He didn't care what animals he shoved aside; he was going to be free!

He came up toward the fence, and jumped onto it, the thought of escape clear in his mind.

As he touched it, an overpowering wave of electricity shot through his body, and Fang fell into the grass, stunned. A porcupine nearby shouted at him and laughed. "Heh! Didn't you know that fence was electric?" A group of birds and lizards snickered with him.

"Aughh…" Fang struggled to get up, and grasped the fence for support.

ZZAP!

Another shock sent him to his senses, and back into the ground. Maybe it was best to stay here for a while. When his vision came back to him, Fang stared out at the pine trees circling around the field. They seemed to be mocking him with their size, towering above him like he was some sort of ant.

It was then that he noticed something in a tree on the other side of the field. Something purple and white….

The something seemed to notice Fang, for it leapt from tree to tree over to one closer to him. As it came closer, Fang could make out its shape…so familiar…

It was the voice that gave the stranger away.

"Nack!"

It was his sister's unmistakable nickname for him. But why, and how, did she know where he was?

"Nic?" Fang answered weakly, and looked up at the tree above him.

There she was, in all her glory. Dressed in her khaki shirt, her own brown hat and belt, and her heavy boots, Nicolette stared back at him with her crystal blue eyes that even shined like crystal itself. It was then that Fang noticed that they glittered with tears.

"Oh, Nack! Look what they've done to you! You are in a slaughterhouse with God only knows how much time left to live!" A single tear dropped down from the branch she stood on, and hit Fang in the face.
"Wait…how did you know I was here?" He asked, and sat up a little, despite the pain from the shock of the fence.

"I followed you to the Mystic Ruins, seeing as you were up to something. I had no idea that that gem was all a ruse!" Nic sobbed hysterically, like she had never before in her life. "When that evil bastard threw you in the truck, I knew he was no good! He drove you to this forest as I rode in the backseat with you knocked out cold. I-I had to jump out the second the truck stopped so I wouldn't be seen…I've been living in these trees for days wondering if you would come out here." More tears streamed down her face as she watched Fang stand up with the aid of a boulder next to him.

"Nic! It's dangerous here! You can't just play hero and rescue me! It's more complicated than that. I promise…I'll find a way out." Fang didn't know if he was speaking the truth.

"But I don't want you to die, Nack! You are my older brother, and I want to help you!" Never before in his life had Fang seen Nic care so much for him.

"No, Nic...just go back to Station Square!" He shooed her off with a wave of his hand, but she wouldn't go away.

"But I-" She tried to protest.

"Go!" Fang yelled up to her as a little tin bell rang back near the facility. Jane appeared in the distance in the doorway of that steel door. "COME BACK IN YOU DAMN VERMIN!" Animals herded toward the door, and crawled back inside the building.

With tears in her eyes, Nic looked back at Fang, and disappeared among the trees.