Humanity dominated the globe for many millennia. Dominating politics culture influence economics and above all war and military. What mankind lacked in strength, speed, sight smell made up for numbers, and a mind for war. While the Herbivores relied on their sheer numbers and the Carnivores relied on their strength, speed, aggression, and some their ability to fly. There was only one point in history that the animals outdid mankind in war and slaughter and that was The Herbi-Carni War. However, this was superseded over time. Countless wars, conflicts, atrocities. But what really brought the world to its knees was the two World Wars and the Cold War which almost ended in a third.
Those two World Wars made everything the Herbivores and Carnivores did to one another look like nothing more than a tiny drop of blood in endless oceans of it. However, humanity's dominance slowly came to an end. During the 1980s a massive fertility crash happened. Although humans continued to be born it was in increasingly smaller numbers. As with each new generation after that, both males and females became increasingly sterile and barren. As a result, fewer humans are being born each year. Some human nations adapted helping many animal families migrate along with programs to help preserve the nation's culture while allowing the animals to keep theirs as well. It was called the torch program as in passing the torch.
Other nations such as the UK China Russia parts of Europe and even a few states became increasingly isolationist and human supremacist. Even so, human nature took hold and war broke out during the 90s. Causing an even further decline in the human population. WW3 almost happened but the animal nations and species came together soldiers who surrendered were spared and treated fairly as many of the animal soldiers felt the same they didn't want war many knew at this point most human soldiers were drafted. Families and soldiers were reunited while the politicians and corrupt warmongering officers were publicly executed, and the nukes were taken and utterly scrapped for good. Many animals have mixed feelings about humans on one paw humans caused many atrocities on the other paw many humans threw themselves into the worst horrors borderline unimaginable horrors to stop it. No animal can wage war to such horrible extent like a human. But it was also humans who raged wars for good reasons in rare cases such as during the 60s when segregation was abolished and the combined militaries of both East and West utterly hunted down both terrorist groups and black-market groups along with monstrous predators both devouring and sexual in nature.
However, those brighter times are gone. In 2008 the recession hit all nations hard, human and animal alike. However, for the human nations, it was far worse. The UK despite being isolationist heavily relied on trade for a good part of its food even with farming and canning programs, food began to run out. A few months later the UK utterly collapsed. Food getting scarcer too few people to maintain jobs and infrastructure along with political division boiling over. Anarchy began to take hold as the military slowly collapsed as supply lines began to strain and buckle. Many veterans who were denied their benefits denied and cast aside saw an opportunity to get vengeance on those who left them to die. Often killing off corrupt officers along with hunting down fleeing politicians trying to hide or escape.
Among the collapsing nation were heroes both old and young vets taking up arms to protect people trying to escape the gangs and warlords. One of the most famous was known as The Pathfinders. Young kids and teens who scouted and mapped out escape routes and safe houses. Using their small size and speed to navigate and avoid dangers. However, most were volunteers, many who lost their families, and were now doing their best to stop others from losing theirs. Others were ordered by gangs or groups who dragged them in.
Clerk ran as fast as he could as he helped a vixen despite the UK being human supremacist there were animals albeit very few only a couple thousand or so at most. Clerk, however, held no such views and did his best to help others escape equally. Both Clerk and the vixen hid in a nearby ruin as they rested, she asked him. "Ki,d why are you helping me? You are human? You supposed to hate us?"
Clerk shrugged his shoulders. "Why should I? You've done no wrong to me you're just trying to escape this hellhole like everyone else." He drank some water from his canteen.
The vixen then asks. "But why are you helping me?"
Clerk closed his canteen and unraveled the arm sleeves of his dirty tattered shirt revealing horrible bruises and cigarette burns all along his arms. "I know what it's like to suffer horrible pain and abuse I refuse to let others suffer it as well. I've heard stories of what my old man does to those he sees as lesser beings myself included." He offered a handshake. "Clerk Reed."
The vixen shook it. "Ton just Ton most of us beasts don't have last names like you humans do."
Clerk showed a weary kind smile. "Nice to meet you, Ton."
Ton looked with concern at his filthy abused and bruised battered state. "Clerk, how old are you?"
Clerk sighed. "Eight."
Ton's eyes widened with horror, but she calmed down, a sad smile forming on her black lips. "Clerk come with me back to Zebuth City. I'll take care of you."
Clerk was shocked. "Really but I've never been to an animal city before let alone a nation besides I have a duty here. I can't desert it. If Britain's soldiers of yore stood their ground and did their duty so shall I."
Ton shook her head she unbuttoned one of the few top buttons that his shirt still had revealing more bruises and his skinny frame. "Kid the food here is running out. I don't want you to starve to death and if your father is as twisted as he is you need to get out of here. I can help you even try to give you a home."
Clerk could see the sincerity in her eyes he smiled. "Alright, Ton I'm in. Let's get out of here."
He did his best to lead them through. They eventually came across an old research facility. Clerk grabbed his pair of binoculars and looked out a broken window he saw a few miles ahead clouds of some form of toxic gases likely taken from the very facility. Hanging on a rack was a CBRN suit clearly made for humans, not foxes. Even so, Ton had little choice the fitting was painful her ears were crushed flat against her skull as was her tail, and her snout barely fit in the respirator as she had to look downward to keep her snout from being hurt. As for Cle,rk he improvised pulling out several large cotton rags and a scarf wrapping it over his nose and mouth. Ton was beyond worried but through the gas was the quickest way out as with each day that passed more routes were closed off either by rubble or by hostile gangs.
The two sprinted across as fast as they could pot shots from both makeshift firearms and crossbows fired at them and they narrowly avoided it. The gas was utterly agonizing. Clerk could feel it eating through his skin and even bits of his flesh his vision became blurred as it stung his eyes the agony got worse as the fluid in his lungs turned to acid. As the gas slowly dissipated the two escaped to another nearby ruin now close to the docks just two more miles. As they rested Ton took the suit off. She caught her breath then began to tear up as she saw large painful blisters lesions and ulcers form all over his skin from head to toe. Blood dripped out from his eyes, mouth, nose, and ears as he coughed up more blood, and then with a choke and a wet smack on the pavement, he coughed out a thin small piece of lung.
He steadied himself; the pain was unbearable, but he had to bear it Ton was counting on him. After some more coughing and hacking, he continued onward. "Come on Ton let's not wait around in this hellhole let's get out of here."
Ton said nothing, she was horrified by his condition and the effects of gas, but she knew he was right they had to keep moving. They were only half a mile away from the docks when they got ambushed but this was no ordinary gang this was the gang of Clerk's father. His eyes widened in horror then narrowed into pure hatred for the man who abused him every single day and the woman who gave birth to him but also abused him as well. He drew his shiv and shouted. "RUN TON RUN!"
He sprinted into the fray weaving between crossbow shots Ton dodged as well trying to save him but his behemoth a monster of a father both figurative and literal. Almost seven feet tall over 400 pounds of muscle he was always a large mean cruel man but after the collapse, he could freely get steroids and other enhancing drugs. He scowled coldly and hatefully at Clerk thinking the little shit had the balls and audacity to stand between him and his prize.
Clerk got in some good hits. His shiv tore into flesh and muscle as he wildly hacked away and stabbed away but the monster grabbed him by the throat he shouted to Ton again. "RUN!"
Ton wanted to do something but as she tried to save him a meat hook was slammed into his throat with a sickening crunch and squelch. The hook tore right through his Adam's apple and vocal cords as his own blood soaked his shirt everything began to get dark he was dropped aside like nothing still barely clinging to his shiv. Ton broke entirely but his sacrifice bought her just enough time to escape. As he hit the ground the darkness closed in and it all faded to black.
He woke up and looked around he still felt the warm stickiness of his blood yet the place he found himself in was dark and foggy was it hell purgatory or oblivion what was this place? He looked and it got a bit brighter but not by much around him was a dense fog but what he could see were shadows of large dead trees skeletons a mix of British and German lying about along with trenches and machine gun nests all overgrown with dead vines. He heard clopping and then he saw her. A massive feral Shire horse black as the night. His jaw dropped no one has seen a feral horse in at least fifty years or more let alone one so large. He backed up against a dead tree as it approached him but the horse was careful she placed her head to his her neck wrapping around him. It was so strange and eerie her fur was soft yet hard at the same time her body warm and cold at the same time. She then bucked her head gently causing her reins to fall into his hands then her legs folded carefully a high-quality saddle on her back.
As he got a better look he saw the fur near her hooves was white and red not the typical pure white he had seen in old photos and her mane was also a perfect straight pattern of white and red as well. He got onto her saddle and she carefully got up as he held her reins. The high-quality leather was smooth yet firm in his hands. Soon the horse began to let out an aggressive neigh he then saw his father charging him he was terrified but the horse brutally stomped the man who killed him her hooves utterly crushed him smashing his head and chest with a horrid sound not too far away from a watermelon going squish. Then his mother charged from behind only for the horse to kick with full force from her rear legs. His horrid mother went flying her life coming to an end as her body went crunch against a large dead tree its branches impaling her and its hard trunk shattering her back and ribs.
In the physical world, Captain Connor and his two other crew members Saun and Declen were sent over as part of an expeditionary force to help evacuate civilians. Ireland was one of the few human nations to adapt having a decent-sized animal population for most of its history seeing them as fellow Irish rather than separate peoples. Mixed crews and units became increasingly common however the crew of Connor's FV101 Scorpion all three of them were human not out of speciesism but merit itselfand his two lads all scored the highest enrolling as cadets when they were ten to twelve and had been studying training and absorbing knowledge from Ireland's best of the best both human and animal alike.
Their beloved Scorpion became known as The Morrigan her fast speed and darker improvised camo made her a menace to the enemy gangs. The force grew into a mix of both Irish and British soldiers along with various patched-up armored cars trucks and a few technicals. The gangs though ended up teaming up thousands in number armed with NLAWs taken from slain soldiers. The Morrigan went ahead as always scouting out for danger using her speed and small size to do hit-and-run attacks. But one of the warlords came out into the open he fired an NLAW as did two more of his gang the first one was dodged but the 2nd struck her left track and the third her engine. The molten metal and shattered bits of engine and armor struck Declan in the head and chest killing him instantly he lay dead slumped over at the controls.
Connor and Sean were enraged and began firing both to survive and avenge their comrade their brother in arms. Both swearing, cursing, and raging but kept their focus. The rest of the force arrived with guns blazing. The gangs were beyond numerous they were everywhere in the ruins the rubble and even the sewers. For months already they had been fighting cut off from supplies reinforcements and help often scavenging supplies from the slain both friend and foe alike. Internally Connor and Sean both felt betrayed was this a rescue mission or a suicide mission it reminded both of them of the Siege of Jadotville.
As the last of both sides fell ammo for both the 76mm cannon and machine gun ran out. As the last few gangs approached with satchel charges, a rifle and machine gun could be heard picking them off with superb accuracy. Two soldiers stepped out both were men in their Middle Ages middle thirties and late forties. Both wearing old filthy S.A.S gear their patches though worn showed with pride and defiance. In one soldier's hands was a Lee Enfield MKIII and the other a Bren LMG they slung their weapons on their backs and raised their hands slightly showing they meant no harm. They helped Connor and Sean out of the wrecked Morrigan. The two tankers and troopers shook hands. "Captain Connor and this here is Sergeant Sean."
The lead S.A.S trooper smiled. "Nice to meet ya lads which it was under better conditions. I'm Oliver that there is Duncan."
Duncan shook hands his Scottish accent recognizable. "Aye glad you two survived thrown away and abandoned into the meat grinder like us huh?"
They all nodded. They took what they could from Morrigan's wrecked hull and then stayed together scouting forming a squad of four. They exchanged stories with Oliver and Duncan telling stories of their service in the deserts and how they were the only survivors of their platoon. Along with how their benefits were denied and they became homeless as addiction and trauma took hold. Both were abandoned by their respective nations. Now it was just four lads two heartbroken young men and two bitter scorned middle-aged men. Now a squad of four trying to get the hell out of these forsaken isles.
As they scouted near the dock areas they saw Clerk lying dead at first glance. Connor rushed on over horrified by what he sawthe others followed. Duncan being a combat medic went to check and to his shock, his body was still warm and his pulse and breathing were there it was faint but there.
"HOLY SHITE THE LAD IS STILL ALIVE!"
He got to work doing what he could mainly focusing on stemming the bleeding coming from the jagged hole in the boy's throat. He gritted his teeth as he rolled him to the side keeping the blood from pooling inside further. "What kind of monster does this to a damn kid?!"
They looked at the abandoned meat hook it clicked in Oliver's head. "It must be the bastards of the black market butchers a few miles from here. We'll get them later right now we must focus on saving the kid.
A few hours went by and slowly but surely Duncan stabilized Clerk. He breathed a sigh of relief but also still felt pure hatred for what happened to the boy. He saved his life but could not save his vocal cords they were so badly damaged and gouged out that they were beyond saving all it took was a tiny pull to remove the last one still hanging on. He also did his best using gauze and creme to ease the pain of the blisters and lesions all over the boy's skin.
Oliver returned covered in blood meat hook in hand it's clear he found the one responsible and used the very same meat hook to kill them in turn. "Turns out it was his own damn father and mother no worries lads I took my sweet time with both of them. How's the lad?"
All three gave approving nods Duncan spoke. "He's stable but he'll never speak again." In his gloved hand were Clerk's vocal cords and Adam's apple or what was left of them.
Clerk slowly woke up the agony was beyond horrible he felt as if his throat was gutted which it was. He slowly and with heavy shaking tried to get back up Duncan eased him down.
"Easy lad easy I just spent several hours patching you up."
Part of Clerk wished he was dead at least when he was dying and going into shock everything was going numb. He felt not just agony but was very dizzy and weak due to heavy blood loss. He tried to speak to Duncan to ask why he saved him. But nothing came out except coughing as a bit of blood from his lungs and a bit of blood from the hole in his throat dripped out.
Connor put a hand on his shoulder. "Chin up lad we're not leaving you to die."
Connor picked up Clerk and now the squad of four became five. It still got under all their skins they knew they could help him heal at least partially but it hurt them all to know the lad they took as their own would never be able to speak ever again for the rest of his life. The cruelty of his father forever left him silent as the grave.