"Are the weapons loaded?"
A room built utilizing an underground cavern surrounds them. Water drips off stalactites, creating a pulse that echoes through the chamber.
"Yes, Mistress."
In the center of this room lies a deep circular pit with walls polished and smoothed, made from the same white marble as the cavern. The jaguar, crouched atop the edge of this pit, chuckles and stares at the layer of glistening sand that fills the bottom, an insatiable eagerness oozing from her form. "Well, then…" Her voice changes into an abrupt yell. "What in the hell are we waiting for?" A spark of rage fills her eyes as she glances up at a bison standing over her, a spark that quickly subsides.
He says nothing but signals to two sheep. They stand behind a sheet of glass in a metal booth perched upon pillars high above the pit. They nod and begin poking at hidden controls.
Doors embedded into the walls of the pit, opposite of each other, slowly begin to open with a metal screech. Through one, sharp yelps of pain and frustration can be heard before a zebra appears, prodded along by a group of sheep wielding sparking pokers. Through the other, the yelps are replaced by roars and, rather than a zebra emerging, a lioness. As soon as the two are fully within the pit, the doors slam downwards and locks click into place.
The jaguar grins with satisfaction. From her crouched position, she looks up at the bison. "The cameras are rolling?"
"Yes, Mistress."
The zebra and lion, after a brief moment of shock, after their eyes adjust to the blinding stadium lights beaming down upon them, spot each other.
"Henry?" The lion shouts, running towards the zebra. "Henry, holy shit. Are you okay?"
The zebra breaks into a run as well. When they meet, they embrace. "Yes, yes. I'm fine. Confused, but fine."
The jaguar raises herself from her crouched position, looking up, again, at the still significantly taller bison. "Sweet, isn't it?"
"Oh yes. Certainly."
The couple break from each other and take in their surroundings. They spot the duo standing above them.
"Where in the fuck are we?" The lion shouts, walking towards the jaguar.
Henry follows and asks, in an unsteady voice, "Please, what is it you want with us?"
The jaguar grins. 'They may be the best ones yet.' She glances at the numerous cameras mounted at regular intervals upon the wall of the pit. 'And I'll get to relive it over and over.'
"Answer me, you bitch!" The lion screams, now right below the jaguar. She looks up at her, breathing hard, sheathing and unsheathing her claws.
'Oh, so good.' She muses. "You are quite the feisty one, aren't you?"
"I swear, if you hurt me or any of my family…"
Henry begins to sob and grabs onto his mate to support himself. "P-Please, just let us go."
The jaguar considers them a moment, grinning, her fangs gleaming in the light. "Would it make you feel any better if I promised that neither I nor my associates are going to hurt you?"
"A-a bit, yes." The zebra stutters.
"Good. You have my word."
"Cut the bullshit and tell us what you want."
She laughs, her fangs gleaming even more. Glancing at the bison, "they want to know what I want, Cordarius. Is it really what I want, though?"
"No, mistress. I would say it's not."
"Hear that? It has nothing to do with what I want. I don't want any of this, actually."
"Cut. The. Bullshit."
"Fine." The jaguar sighs sarcastically. "I'm here to collect a bit of data. Just a bit. And then this whole ordeal will be finished with! Simple, nothing to it."
Henry continues to trimmer against the lioness, but it has lessened, a small spark of hope beginning to shine. "What…" He clears his throat. "What ordeal?"
The jaguar barks a laugh. "You're right, my zebra friend, we might as well get on with it!"
Next to the Jaguar, Cordarius holds up a hoof above his head and moves it twice.
"Alright, here's what I want you two to do. Go back out to the center and look deeply into each other's eyes, alright?"
They both stare at her, eyebrows arched. Puzzled. The lion speaks. "And why the hell should we do that? What could you possibly get fro-?"
With an abrupt movement, the jaguar pulls, from beneath a white coat, one that contrasts the black of her fur, a pistol and points it at the zebra. "I'd suggest you do as I say," she states calmly, a grin stretching across her face as the last syllable leaves her lips.
Henry's will shatters and he begins sobbing again. The lion gives the jaguar the look of death before pulling him against her. They begin walking towards the center.
"Good, good." She says aloud before whispering to Cordarius, "Wasn't even that difficult of a command."
The couple arrive and do as requested. The lion looks into Henry's reddened, puffed up green eyes and he into the worried grey ones of hers, feeling a mixture of slight embarrassment and a lot of pride at how calm she is compared to him. She takes a hold of his hooves. They lean in, and give each other a quick, nervous kiss.
"Henry, I love you."
"I-I love you too. No matter what happens."
"That's very good you two! Now, I want you to keep that position. You. Lion-."
"The name's Whisper."
"Whatever. You're going to feel a small thump on your back. Don't react to it. If you do, I'll be forced to kill your mate. It's only going to be a small pain and then it'll all be over." The jaguar chuckles. "Simple!"
Whisper glances over at the jaguar, wide-eyed and confused.
A shot rings out, echoing through the cavern. Whisper and Henry jump. "I said keep your positions!" The jaguar screams, lowering her weapon away from the ceiling, a bit of dust and rock falling from where the bullet made impact.
Through her grip, Whisper can feel Henry's trembling. They continue to look at each other, she trying to keep a brave face but failing and he looking at her with pleading eyes, eyes that have a question residing behind them, a question that asks what he had done to deserve this, what either of them had done to deserve this.
On the ledge, raises his hoof above his head once again and waves it once.
Whisper flinches as something impacts the area just below her neck, right where her shirt no longer provides cover. A few breaths pass and nothing happens. They continue to stare at each other, a bit of nervousness and confusion mixing together and multiplying. But then something shifts, it shifts like a top losing velocity upon its tip. Slowing, slowing, and then inevitably falling.
Henry watches in terror as he sees her pupils become dots and her breathing become stuttered. She lets go of his hooves, he attempting to catch her as she falls to the ground, and lands on all fours. For a moment, she looks up at him, "Henry-." She lets loose a pained sigh. He feels a shutter crawl through her body. "Henry, run. You have to run."
"Wha-? Wait, what do you mean?"
Whisper bares her teeth, a soft growl emitting from between her jowls.
"Whisper?"
Her face contorts into one of rage.
"No…" Henry breathes.
And she launches at him, a loud roar shattering itself against the cavern walls. Adrenaline blasts its way through his mind and he barely manages to dodge the savage predator.
"Did you see that Henry?" The Jaguar shouts. "Did you see how quickly she changed?"
Whisper lands, a cloud of sand thrown into the air, sparkling in the light, and quickly turns around. She begins to slowly walk, body hugging the ground, towards him. He had heard about this, everybody had. The chaos of the serum, what it could do to any animal who came into contact with it. It had been banned, made illegal. Anybody caught with it could face life in prison.
"Did you see what it did?" The jaguar's voice rings out in mania. "It's like a switch! And switches are easy to flip! Anybody can do it!"
Whisper draws closer as he continues to back away. "P-p-please, no. Dear, please." He falls to his knees. "Oh my god, Whisper, my Whisper. C-Can't you- Oh, no. Oh no-no-no-no." His sobs are harder than previous, the syllables barely come to him.
The Jaguar watches the scene with hunger in her eyes. The lion about to pounce, the zebra's mind about to shatter. But, despite this, he isn't running. She finds it rather interesting.
"Y-You're in there. I kn-kno- know you are." The lion pounces again. Henry rolls but is too slow. Claws dig into his leg and he's halted. "Whisper!" He screams in pain. "Please!" The lion uses her grip to pull him under her, he yelping, his limbs flinging out in all directions in an attempt to escape.
The Jaguar's laugh cracks through the cavern and she begins shouting in a rhythm. "As easy as-a switch! Easy as-a switch!" After each sentence, she claps her paws together.
The zebra kicks Whisper in the jaw with one of his front hooves. For a moment she is stunned and he manages to loosen her grip. He begins to stand and run before another heavy paw smashes into his back and he falls flat against the ground.
Henry frantically rolls over, tears streaming down his cheeks, and looks into the unemotional eyes of the shell of his beloved. He looks at them, filled with dread but at the same time understanding that this isn't her, that she cannot fight what she's about to do. He does this and a calm peace flows into him, it flows into him and, as she lunges, maw agape, his mind has filled itself with this peace. The last thing he hears are the snapping of the cervical vertebrae within his own neck.