Chapter 1
Stuck
I woke from the blackout and yawned tiredly. Then I remembered what happened. The animals had caught me. I stood up to run, but my left front shoulder was aching. I glanced at it nervously, because there was a dark red matted to the side. It was dry, but the wound felt sore and tired. I lapped at the gash until the stain was gone. It felt a bit better. Now I was awake and my eyes had adjusted to the darkness of their den. There were bars all around me. I was in a cage. My parents had warned me about a cage, because you could get trapped in them. Too late to think about that now, though. I saw two other cages next to me. So these animals have been hunting other animals besides me! The creature in the smaller cage was a bird. It had big wings, and was a grayish-blue color. It was hopping in circles and jumping in the cage, as if it wanted to get out. Well, everyone wants to get out of this situation, but there's a slim chance that that'll happen. I checked out the next cage, which was bigger and had a wolf. The wolf was light gray with white splashes. It had its paws over its head, like it was upset that it had been caught. Their scent was proving they were both males, so I could probably get along better with them. I wanted to start with the wolf, because he looked like he was having a bad time.
"Excuse me? Sorry to bother you, but I would like to get to know you a little bit better, since we're all stuck together and we'll be here for a little while." I said nervously. The wolf lifted his head to me.
"Well, if you want to know me so badly, my name's Wolf O'Donnell. I'm trying to think of a plan to get out, 'cause they've wanted me for a long time. So shut up, and I might think about getting you out." He growled at me, but with a sense of kindness. "Yes, okay." I whimpered back to him, but Wolf had already lain his head down between his paws. I spun around to face the bird, who was still hopping in circles, and he seemed to be enjoying it. "Hello, I'm Fox McCloud and I was wondering if we could get to know each other better, so we won't be alone in this place." The bird stopped hopping and he ruffled his feathers.
"Why hello there, Fox. My name is Falcon Lombardi. It's very nice to meet you." He answered coolly. I nodded my head in thanks, and I turned back to Wolf. When he finally realized I was watching him, he pricked his ears and he tossed his head upward to look at me. "What do you want, softie? I don't have time for kiddies, but I'll let you slide." He demanded annoyingly. "Um, I just wanted you to meet Falcon, my new friend..." My voice trailed off. My mother told me when I was younger that I needed to learn to make friends so I could be allied in bad situations. If I had Falcon and Wolf, I could be safe from the animals that caught me. Wolf matured voice smashed my thoughts. "Oh, you've made a friend? Well then, nice to meet you, Falcon. I hope you have fun with Fox. Playing games and singing songs, probably?" Wolf's remark hung in the air. "No, we'll be enjoying our time here while you 'think' about how to escape." Fox responded. Wolf's eyes widened with bewilderment. "Enjoying? You think getting mutated will be enjoyable? You and that Falcon better be crazy to think to enjoy being changed for the rest of your life! I'm going to be the hero. I'm going to get all of you foolish amateurs out of here, if it's the last thing I do!" Wolf snarled back, and he stood up, revealing his power and ability to me. He was showing that he was the boss, no doubt about it. His expression changed from ambition to annoyance. "What's the matter, scared?" He snapped at Falcon and me. "N-no..." I stammered. "Good." He replied. He turned his head to the side and fear came out of him. "I-I'm too late!" And light streamed through the den entrance.