Grey clouds started to gather on the horizon, masking out the afternoon sun. Why did they have to be let outside on such a gloomy day? The air was unpleasantly sticky; a sure sign it would rain soon.
"Ahhh…I feel like a king, Asher." Fang lay peacefully under a pine tree, surrounded by a crowd of creatures that shoved each other out of the way just to have him within their sight.
"Well, everyone hated that Jane with a passion. Nobody ever thought they would see the day when someone of our type would stand up and get rid of her." Asher's bright yellow eyes gazed out toward the dozens of others watching them. The fauna seemed to pile up even more as the seconds rolled on, just staring back at the two under the tree.
None of the other animals dared speak, until a young woodpecker weaved her way out from between the sea of animal legs. She was shaking with pure excitement, almost like she was ready to blast off from that very spot!
"Uhm, sir!" The woodpecker directed her question toward Fang. "Is it true that you killed off Ms. Jane?" All eyes shifted to the solitary woodpecker, and back at Fang to see how he would answer.
"Why yes it is! Who else would have exterminated her, hmm?" The weasel replied, and reached for his gun. "And I did it with THIS!" He quickly snapped out the pistol, and the crowd recoiled in fear. After a few moments, everyone was 'oohing' and 'ahhing'at the weapon.
"DON'T SHOOT ME!" A timid rabbit scampered off into a nearby bush in terror that Fang would actually shoot him.
"Aw, c'mon! I'm not going to hurt any of you!" Fang yelled over to the rabbit, but he got no reply.
"Can I see it? The almighty machine?" The woodpecker batted her eyelashes in a begging manner, speaking of the weapon Fang had in his possession. "PLEASE?"
All of the other animals started chattering away with mixed answers:
"Let the young one see it!"
"No! It's much too valuable! Keep it with you!"
"She could kill herself!"
"IT IS HOLY!"
"Errr…" Fang was about to say something when Asher tugged roughly on his belt, and dragged him behind the pine.
"Fang, listen…you have gotten WAY too ahead of yourself! You are letting your guard down with this whole 'popularity' jazz!" Asher's voice shook with worry in a way Fang had never heard before.
"Relax Asher! I'm not going anywhere for a long while, especially with this gun!" The weasel waved his pistol at his friend's face. "I can protect myself see? It's my JOB to snipe out people!" He carefully stored the gun away in its pocket.
"But I don't want to lose you like I did my brother! One minute you could be standing here alive, and the next you could be on the ground lying dead!" The wolf whined pitifully, trying hard to make Fang see his logic.
His attempt was no use against the stubborn weasel. Fang just rolled his eyes, and turned to face the crowd again. The clouds grew darker, and it started to rain.
"You don't care, do you? You only care about this power you have over the whole damn slaughterhouse!" Asher jumped in front of Fang's way in one swift leap to try and stop him. He bared his teeth and growled, intending to show that he meant business.
"Oh,
so THIS is what you think I did? Shot Jane to gain trust in everyone?
Oh please!" Fang pushed Asher out of the way, aiming to get back to
his audience.
Suddenly, the wolf clamped his jaws onto Fang's
glove in anger, and tried to pull him back behind the tree.
"AUGH SHIT, ASHER!" Fang cringed as he tore his hand out of Asher's mouth. He barely glanced at his wound, but he could feel his glove getting damper from the blood the cut leaked. "WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT FOR?" A nasty glare was cast in Asher's direction, and the rain grew into a pouring torrent. The wiser animals from the crowd turned and herded back into the building.
"I was trying to knock some sense into you! You aren't listening, so obviously you DON'T care about us! Only do you care about yourself!" Asher's fur stood on end, and he snarled viciously. Thunder boomed overhead and lighting laced across the sky, scaring the rest of the crowd back into the safety of the facility.
Seeing it fit to follow the rest of the animals, Fang trudged off toward the door of the building, clutching his hand in pain. He did not dare to look back at his friend, not after he had so brutally snapped at him.
Fang stepped through the doorway and down the hall, leaving Asher outside alone in the raging storm.
---
It had taken a long time for Fang to fall asleep. The pain of his hand and the burden of his cellmate kept gnawing at his mind, even though they were sleeping on opposite ends of the cage.
He had no idea what was going to happen within mere hours.
---
He thought he heard footsteps in the middle of the night, but maybe it was just a dream…
No. It couldn't be. They were getting louder and louder…
Fang rolled over onto his side to drown out the noise. "Uggghhh, keep it down please."
When he spoke, the footsteps halted for a few minutes. Then they started to fade away…
What the hell was going on?
"Huh?"
Fang sat up, and opened his eyes. "Asher if that's you, then can
you-"
He glanced around the cage, only to notice that the wolf
was nowhere to be found.
"Asher? Asher where are you?"
No
answer. But the footsteps…they were faint, but still nearby.
Fang
stuck his head out of the bars of the cage, and stared down the
hallway.
"Oh hell no."
But, oh hell yes! It was The Hunter's camouflage attire that gave him away as he walked down the hall.
And who was that black furry thing he was carrying in his arms?
"Oh my God."
Fang had to do something, for he realized that Asher was the one being carried away. What was The Hunter going to do to him?
"Need…to…kick down this door!" The rattling of the cage's door echoed through the building as Fang tried endlessly to knock it down. Some animals woke up from the racket, and turned to watch what the weasel was up to.
It took several tries, but eventually the door fell down, and Fang scampered down the hall.
I've got to see what he is going to do with Asher…but I can't let myself be seen or heard. I'll need to follow that bitch…
The
Hunter reached the end of the hallway after a few minutes, unaware of
the weasel a few steps behind him. At first, Fang thought he was
going to turn left and go outside,
but when The Hunter turned to
the right, that was where Fang remembered something.
One of the first days he had been here, Jane had been hesitant about saying exactly where that exact hall lead, and he thought he had heard gunshots coming from that direction before.
No.
For a few moments, Fang watched the burly man walk down that hall with Asher struggling in his arms. He felt guilt start to creep through him about that afternoon. How could he have ruined their friendship? That might have been the last time he would have ever spoken with him…what if The Hunter was going to…
No.
The man came to a door on the right side of the hall, and opened it with a loud creak. He stepped inside, and lugged Asher in with him.
No.
Totally ignoring if he would be seen or not, Fang dashed down the hall to the door, where he stopped to stand in the doorway. The room inside was pitch black, until The Hunter clicked on a small lightbulb that was dangling on a cord from the ceiling. This room was small and empty; the only things in it were the blood stains on the concrete floor, and a few boxes off in the back of the room. It reminded Fang of their cage, except without the bars.
Totally clueless about Fang's presence, The Hunter slammed Asher onto the floor in a violent toss. The wolf got to his feet, and cowered up against the wall of the room, shaking and whining softly. Why was he not fighting back?
Fang could only watch as The Hunter turned to face Asher with a rifle in his hand. It seemed to shine in a way that mocked Fang's gun.
NO.
The man aimed it at the cringing wolf, and lay his finger on the trigger.
"NO!"
That one gunshot painstakingly tore away at Fang's emotions within the course of a few seconds.
Asher gave a short yelp, and fell to his side with a thump. The Hunter lowered his smoking gun and smiled a twisted smile at the now motionless wolf. Upon hearing Fang's shout, he turned to the weasel and spoke in an almost evil voice that matched his grin.
