Talk of the train coming into town had been flying around for the past week. For the humans, it meant provisions. For the dogs and wolves, it meant work and agony.
But what could I do? This damn shock collar was strong enough to completely paralyze me and there was no way I'd be able to tear through the muzzle either. These humans had dealt with me long enough to know which metals I could break through and what could hold up against my powerful jaws. There was no escape for me. I was a captive slave to the humans. I used to resist everything; I would growl at a simple glance from a human. But my self-preservation quickly squashed those actions, that and this damn collar cinched around my neck. I could feel the metal prongs digging warningly into my neck as the human led me into another corridor.
It was still late in the evening and I knew the train wouldn't be here until around sunrise. Although, I didn't have long to think about where we were going. A surprised yelp escaped my lips as I was quickly tugged into a cramped office. A large man sat in a worn armchair, smoking a thin cigarette. A woman stood at his side, a leashed burly dog at her side. The smoke drifted throughout the room and into my sinuses, causing me to sniffle a bit. I was guided to stand in front of the lounging man.
"She's our best. Hasn't lost a fight yet. I think she's more than enough to settle the debt," My handler spoke confidently. I stiffened in distress.
Damn it, they're trying to bargain me off! Who the hell is this guy?
"This bitch is the best you've got?" The large man asked sarcastically. I growled under my breath and the burly dog snarled back.
"You saw the videos that we sent you!" My handler defended, his grip tightening on my leash.
"Yes well, I'll decide how good this bitch of yours is myself." The man snapped his fingers once and the dog hurdled straight towards me, his jaws poised to kill. My handler didn't have time to react. The dog tackled me, causing my leash to be ripped from the handler and began attempting to rip my throat out. His teeth were snapping but I held back his neck by digging my paw into his throat. I tried to bite back before I realized I still had the muzzle around my jaws. Growling in frustration, I heaved the dog over my head with my hind legs and flipped onto my feet. Blood dripped from the claw marks on his stomach and I could feel the liquid running down various parts of my body. I went to my left, carefully stalking around him. He turned sharply, trying to always keep me in his vision yet he knew not to make the first move. He was well trained.
I began to quickly jog my circle around him, causing him to pivot more quickly. Suddenly, I shifted and turned the opposite direction. He confidently turned with me thinking I would only fake once. Immediately, I faked again and sped quickly to his exposed side. I ripped my claws from shoulder to hip then quickly sprinted away. He yelped in pain and I stood across from him, crouched and panting lightly.
He turned to me and snarled viciously, charging towards me. I jumped to the side and he followed me, then I quickly rolled back the way we had come and slashed the side of his neck. His teeth grazed my legs as I pulled my claws away from the wound and rolled again to get to my feet. Before I could though, I was tugged roughly back and felt claws tear through my stomach. I swiped my paws across his muzzle and he cried out in pain and released the leash that he had used to trap me. I quickly rolled to my feet and growled.
This time, shock did not hinder him for long. He charged once more, attempting to slash me with his claws. I shifted out of the way, but then his head smashed into my own in a vicious head butt. My vision swam as I shook my head, delirious. He was unaffected and tore his claws from knee to ankle on my hind leg. I yelp and then jumped away. As I landed, I stumbled slightly on my injured leg. My exhaustion was quickly catching up with me, my wounds from last night now throbbing with sore and tense muscles. I pushed my pain to the back of my mind and replaced it with adrenaline.
Finally, I snarled once and then quickly began a haphazard, random zigzag toward him. He charged towards me once again. We clashed in midair, my claws ripping brutally at his throat and his jaws clamped around the scruff of my neck. I let out a quick squeal as he shook his head, ripping around the thick skin and then tossed me roughly across the room into an end table.
"This is the best you've got? This bitch isn't worth anything!" The fat man rumbled with laughter, the growling of his dog advancing towards me. "Kill it, Rock." The fat man commanded while taking a drag on his cigarette.
I waiting until the dog had his jaws poised over my throat before I acted. I swung my head around and slammed into this neck, effectively throwing him into a jagged piece of the broken end table. The wood punctured through his jugular. His blue eyes widened in pain as blood gushed out from between his jaws, he trashed for a minute before becoming still, his body limp around the stake. I stood on shaky, exhausted, and injured legs. Giant puffs of breath pushing through the metal muzzle. The three humans in the room were still, blinking in shock at the outcome. My handler cautiously walked up to me and grabbed a hold of my dragging leash. I tensed and growled at him before being silenced by a jolt of electricity.
"I think she will be adequate payment. Put her on the train coming in this morning." The large man stood. He dropped his cigarette butt onto the ground and left through the door with only his female assistant. His dog's carcass lay across the room, seeping blood into the carpet.
/ / /
Hige walked through town, rubbing a finger under his delicate nose to stop a sneeze. This whole city was like an abandoned attic, filled with dust and grime. Every alley way was stacked with trash and he had yet to see a human walking out on the streets.
Wonder where the others ended up last night.
As Hige walked into the large train station, his thoughts were answered. Toboe and Tsume were curled up on a bench. They were exhausted and hungry. But they wouldn't be if they had just ate some of the food Cole had offered. It would be rude to let it go to waste. Especially in a town like this where they seemed to hide their food. Cole said they could get food here, but Hige didn't see or smell anything. The humans milled about below, inspecting cargo and checking off lists.
"Hige?" Toboe questioned as he sat upright. Tsume slowly awoke next to him.
"Word is, they'll give us some food here," Hige told his sleepy companions.
"What about…?" Tsume grumbled incoherently.
"Kiba, you mean? I don't know. He never did come back," Hige answered. They were quiet for a while, Toboe wearily rubbing the sleep from his eyes. Suddenly, the smell of wolf wafted through Hige's nose. He walked over to the balcony, wondering what was going on. Toboe and Tsume follow him with bemused expressions. Zali handed over his wolves to a human who strapped them into harnesses connect to a trolley of cargo.
"What are they doing?" Hige asked.
A whip cracked and the wolves pushed, hauling the cargo up the ramp. Their bodies shook with effort and their tongues panted heavily. The three wolves looked on in horror and disgust and then noticed Zali beside them.
"What the hell is going on down there?" Tsume demanded. Zali gave him no reply as they all watched the dogs collapse in exhaustion and then viciously swallow down scraps of almost rancid meat. Gramps was too exhausted to even fight for his share of food. Suddenly, a snarl ripped through the station. Every head whipped towards the street entrance and Zali clenched his fist around the railing. A female wolf was dragged in hissing, growling, and occasionally yelping in pain. Multiple humans attempted to wrangle her, but she struggled like a wild mustang. Her coat was matted with dirt and blood and the metal clenched around her mouth glinted brightly in the light.
"Tsume, what are they doing to her?" Toboe asked almost pleading with his friend.
"Start talking, mister," Tsume barked to Zali.
"The train makes a quick stop. It gives the humans and us a chance to eat. It's the only way we can all make a living out here. We work for them and they feed us," Zali explained.
"Scratching each other's back. Just like you, Tsume. You used to do the same thing," Hige said.
"I may have used them, but I was never used by them," Tsume snapped.
Toboe stared at the scene below him, his eyes wide.
"And her? Why the hell is she here? What happened to her?" Hige exploded with questions.
"She fights dogs for the human's entertainments. She's not a part of my pack and is not my responsibility," Zali answered looking down at the struggling female, his eyes almost showing pity.
"So wolves are entertainment now?" Tsume snarled.
"Your opinion doesn't change a damn thing," Zali scolded. Toboe gasped, causing the other to whip their head in the direction he was staring at.
"Gramps is in serious trouble!" Hige exclaimed, eyes trained on the stumbling old wolf. He fell once, attempted to rise to his feet and then collapsed, unmoving onto the ground.
Zali groaned as a shadow flickered and Kiba emerged from an entrance. Kiba stood rigid, staring at the dead wolf and then at the still struggling female being shoved into a tiny metal cage. She snarled once before let out a great squeal and fell heavily on the cage floor, her body spasming erratically. With a great roar, Kiba charged.