It's been quite a long time since the last story post, hasn't it? Well, since the last chapter I've published, I had another story brewing, one that's slightly more unique than the others, and one that has a society of dogs and pups. Hope you enjoy the first chapter of Bounty Hunters!
Never trust demons. At least, that's what I've been told. Ever since pups and dogs roamed the earth, there always were demons among the canines. They were once worshiped for their overwhelming power and strength, and, in turn, they swore their loyalty to protect their followers. Many demons granted magical powers to their most loyal followers to help the demons protect their people. As the generations came and went, powers were spread all across each tribe, giving birth to many unique and different powers. This all changed when tribes started to fear and hate demons, arguing that the demons made them all inferior. Tribes attacked their own protectors with their powers and soon the demon race started to diminish. As a last hope of survival, demons from all over the land gathered and fled, rushing to the unknown lands. The tribes cheered as they vanquished the demons from their land and created the world we live in today.
However, this isn't the end of the story. Many demons have reentered our society, coming in as seemingly normal pups and attempting to live normal lives among us. After the discovery of the infiltration of demons, many groups were formed called the bounty hunters, the most popular group of them all being the PAW Patrol. Because of the fear spread across the world, many will pay high amounts for demons to be caught and slain, making it one of the most sought after careers. Even if a group can capture and slay a single demon, they would be able to live luxuriously for the rest of their lives.
Who am I? I'm just a Dalmatian named Marshall that hates demons. At least I think so. Though there are cities of pups outside of my village, my village is one of the only standing tribes that exist to this day. Because of our descent, as young pups we were taught that demons were evil and must never be trusted. However, let me tell you about the incident that changed my life forever.
"Don't go too far, Marshall!" my mother called from her hut.
"I won't! I'll be fine!" I responded as I ran towards the town center. I've always been known as the pup with no friends, as well as the clumsy one. It really isn't my fault though, I just haven't been given a chance to meet anyone. I walked around the older dogs gathering, discussing plans for gathering food, growing crops, as well as what to do with the forest. Ugh, the forest I thought as I rolled my eyes. Rumor has it that there is a demon living inside the forest right outside of the village. Though many dogs have tried searching the forest, many come back telling tales of strange and creepy occurrences happening inside the forest. I don't believe in these, after all, it's just a forest. Right? Anyways, I hopped along the path, towards my favorite place by the lake to catch some fish passing by. Don't worry, I don't eat them, I just like to talk to them. Luckily for me, they usually just swim around me as I tell my jokes and rumors I've heard around the village. Sometimes, I even bring them a few bread crumbs if I find any.
As I plunked myself down right beside the lake, I looked down into the water. Strangely enough, there were no fish. Curious, I looked up and down stream. Nothing. Strange, usually there were fish along this river. I wonder what happened. Suddenly, my head started to hurt. A flash of something came to me. It showed me following the river downstream to find fish. My vision soon returned to me. That's my power for you, I guess. I can see flashes of the future, something I named foresight. I rolled my eyes at the stupid vision I had. Walk down the stream to find fish. But then again, what better things can I do? I followed the stream down the current, staring intently into the water hoping to find some fish. Eventually, I followed the stream until I hit the border where the river flows into the forest. I only noticed because I walked right into the tree, causing me to fall over. Stupid foresight. As I rubbed my head, I looked deep into the forest. There, I saw lights in the river, lights that looked like fish!
I quickly ran over to them and felt excitement as I saw a school of glowing fish swimming downstream. I followed them as they swam, telling my stories and jokes as I always did. Sometimes, I thought I heard them laugh in response. Soon enough, I was met with the river's end. I watched as the fishs' glow disappeared as they went into a narrow cavern, one I couldn't follow them into. As the last fish swam away, I gave a deep sigh. Now it's time to head home. Suddenly, I froze. I realized that I had walked deep into the forest, and it was nearly pitch black. I frantically looked around, but my vision was near black as I ran in a direction, hoping to find some opening or light. My heart was pounding and tears started to form. I'm lost. I'm going to get eaten by the demon. I promised that I wouldn't get lost. Soon, my legs were too tired to run. After slowing down, my legs collapsed, and I shriveled up into a ball crying. My cries echoed through the trees, resonating throughout the foliage. After a few minutes, I felt a small touch on my shoulder. It must've been a leaf. Then I felt another poke. I got up immediately.
"Who's there?" I shouted into the blackness. I glanced around, trying to see who was there.
"Are you the demon that lives in the forest?" I whimpered, slowly moving backwards. If so, please don't eat me, I thought. As I looked around, I saw a small blue dot radiating in the distance. Light! I ran towards it, and as I got near, I could see that it was a small blue ball of fire just floating in the air. I admired it, and stuck my paw to touch it.
"Youch!" I yelped as the flame brushed my paw. Right, fire is still fire. I licked my paw where the flames had touched, giving out a small whimper. Yet, I could hear a faint sound, almost like someone laughing. The flame soon started to move, and I followed it. It guided me around the trees and through the brush, hopefully taking me out of the forest. Soon enough, I could see a light other than the blue wisp. It was the sky! I ran as quickly as I could towards the light and jumped out of the forest. I landed on the grass on my back, smiling as the sun shined down on my face and belly. The sun was setting, and the sky was turning yellow. I got up and started to make my way back. However, I gave the forest one last glance. There, I saw a figure in the shadows. It looked like a pup, perhaps female. She might have been smiling? I stood looking at the figure. She must've noticed I was looking at her, as she took off into the forest with the blue sprite following behind her. Was that the demon that everyone was talking about? If so, why did she guide me out? If we can't trust demons, then why did she help me? I pondered these questions as I pawed my way back to my hut.
"Welcome back, sweetie" my mother called as I walked through the door. "I have dinner ready if you want some."
"No thanks. Hey mom?" I called out.
"Yes, Marshall?" she replied, sticking her head out from the kitchen doorway.
"Do you know anything about the demon living in the forest?" I asked innocently. Suddenly, I heard a crash in the kitchen.
"What about the demon, honey?" my mother asked, this time with a stricter voice.
"Well, I saw something in the forest today, and I was wondering if it could've been her," I responded. My mother went silent. I slowly walked into the kitchen. There, I found her with fire in her eyes. I could feel the heat radiating from her body.
"Don't ever go near that forest again. Don't be like your dad." My mother scolded, her fire blazing as she spoke every word. My dad? She's never talked about my dad ever.
"What did dad do?" I gulped.
"He did something that was completely unforgivable! He wanted to help demons instead of killing them! Do you know how ignorant that dog is? Never follow in his footsteps." my mother hollered. I stood there with a surprised expression. My mom noticed and calmed down. "There, there. Go to bed, sweetheart. Just forget what I said."
"Yes mother" I responded as I pawed my way into my room. As I set my head down on my pillow, I could hear my mother leaving the hut. I wonder where she's going.
I woke up to the dogs in the village hollering. It didn't sound good, so I walked out to see what was going on. It was still night, most likely almost to dawn. I watched as many dogs had torches in their mouths, and they looked angry. I watched as they gathered and stomped their way towards the forest. I gasped as I realized what was happening. I observed as the villagers threw their torches into the forest, lighting the trees on fire. Soon, the forest was ablaze in a ball of fire and lit up the night sky. I ran out towards the forest as I noticed that one of the villagers was breathing fire towards the trees. My mother. I knew what had happened. She must've told them about what I saw. I watched as the forest burnt to ash, the trees slowly blackening. That pup inside. What was going to happen to her? Suddenly, I saw a small burst of blue flame on the opposite side of the forest, just out of sight from the villagers. It looked like it was trying to fight off the fire that was spreading, but soon that flame became engulfed by the rapidly spreading fire.
My vision suddenly switched and I could see myself running, running away from this horrific scene with a bag around my neck. I knew what I had to do. I needed to run away from here. That pup saved my life, yet it meant nothing to the others. I packed up my belongings and quickly sprinted out the door, not looking back. Tears started to form as the village slowly vanished from my sight with only the glowing fire visible above the horizon. I didn't know where I was going, I only knew that I didn't want to be there.
Demons aren't the monsters.
We are.