Tsume's Possibly Neverending Book of Possibly Unfinisheds

[Tsume Rokaro]

Wonderless
The Middle Years

"And the world was delivered into chaos and despair."

It was a shot in the dark. Thinking that they were being threatened in any kind of way was ridiculous. The creature that was presenting itself to them lived on the other side. They were weak, frail. Each one was as fragile as the last, glass in their hands. That this one was actually proving a challenge was preposterous.

"Come on you monsters! You took my sister. Why am I any harder?!" The stocky character before them was far more than they'd bargained for. He was well built, one of those guys that usually drove out here in one of those skas and worked out in his free time. This one walked, swung a blazing white staff that whistled through the air, and threw things...be they objects or otherwise. He was new. A challenge.

Clan-mates were being struck, some of them never to return to the hunt. It was such great fun! The clan swirled around him, hands curled into claws as their laughter, sharp and grating, cracked and writhed in the air. This one...this man...was a new toy.


Darkness had fallen and his white stick was the only thing keeping him alive. There was nothing left to throw and the dark was so completely engulfing that he could see nothing but the clawed hands penetrating the dimming glow of light his chosen weapon. The circle of his vision within the light was slowly shrinking.

It was only now that it was dawning on this man that his plan was a very bad idea, to say the least. The kalur were proving more of a challenge than he'd thought. He'd heard the horror stories of people fighting one of them. They all had so much trouble, but he'd dismissed it. He was strong and he had endurance. He could easily take a handful of them without incident. Or so he thought at the time. He was not prepared for the numbers facing him. He'd been prepared for five, six...not the two dozen or so that faced him. He'd struck down at least a baker's dozen already, but he was still sorely outnumbered and slowly, he was being outclassed.

The monsters, shadows of the men they once were, held so much fury. They were slowly changing tactics on him, he could feel it, see it. There was a new note in this shift that made the hair stand on end up and down his spine. Something other than the dwindling cackles told this man that the kalur were enjoying the weakness they were finding in their new toy.


'Come on Reeth...you can do this...' Reeth's mind was whirling now, placing hinted images of the animals dancing around him. He couldn't see them though, he had to keep reminding himself of that. He swung left, right, a full 360 spin. The glow of the staff was dwindling ever closer to nothingness. Darkness. The ring was getting closer and closer to hugging him tightly in a death grip.

There was an audible crack with a call of pain follow closely on its heels. With a startling revelation, Reeth realized that the call was his own. The pain was excruciating, originating from somewhere in his left arm. Where exactly, he couldn't pinpoint. Sinister cackles snapped and popped around him, skipping just outside his lifeline of light. They were circling him like sharks, clicking teeth and cracking knuckles grunting and whooping as their dance reached a fever pitch.


"Stupid, stupid, stupid plan you made. We'll enjoy you, this one promises that." It's voice was grating, full of a wild nature that he simply was not used to. Reeth could no longer see how these things could have ever been men.


He swung to his left. Retaliation for the fresh bite mark residing at the point of his shoulder. Red streaked down his arm, though the swing caught nothing but air. There were no bones cracking for him, no skulls breaking as the force of a swing traveled up his arm. All the while, their laughter taunted him, burning the air. It was twisted with years of insanity delivered by the harsh reality of this side. It shook around him, breaking his spirit little by little.

Was that breath on his neck? Another hand trying to claw at his flesh? He swung the dim staff wildly now, the creatures backing off as he slowly but surely lost his composure. He stood stock still, ribbons of blood glistening down his arm, back, anywhere the light happened to fall. Each breath came more briskly, more ragged. The cyclone was losing the power of the heated sea as it moved over land. Another crack broke the air and his legs buckled under him, his right leg being the source of this injustice. As the light flickered, hinting at its soon-to-be demise, the kalur came closer, cackles following in their wake.

Then he saw it. His self-proclaimed saving grace. Racing across the wasteland, the ska's whirring fan and engine screamed across the sandy earth. He swung the dying lighted staff wildly, hoping that it was taken as a signal by some soul inside the machine. Hoarse screams that would never reach anything above the grating engines were uttered in desperation. He could feel the creatures hesitate as the machine turned it's glowing orbs of light their way. "Die beasts..." He murmured darkly as their eyes flashed doubt and hate.

The ska's beams of light could not penetrate the darkness completely, only looking like orbs as the beams only making it a few feet from the bulbs. It was not unusual for these vehicles, not unlike a tanks spliced with cars, to simply run over kalur and all manner of other creatures in the wasteland. It's large fans blasted heat into the beasts that tried to come up behind. It was simply a mass of protection for the people inside.

As the machine neared, the monsters snarls snapped around his head. "No..." Reeth only had time enough to gasp out the words as the creatures fell upon him. The staff was shifted aside as it beat against the side of one. One scream, unerring in its chilling power, encroached and overtook the deafening sound of the now idling engine.

Headlights landed on the gruesome scene. Once human creatures glowed slightly in the pale beam of the overhead flood light. Blood decorated their scanty, tattered and dirty clothing and black greasy hair. All the while, their yellowed eyes shone with the light of animals, the developed mirror like backing in their eyes reflecting light easily. It was the bloodied mass behind then that was so horrifying.

The ska paused for more than a minute, its precious living cargo undoubtedly frozen at the sight before them. It was almost as if the world around the kalur had fallen into states of rigor mortis, stiffening as if the solution of stupidity, cunning, rage, and hunger had sapped the life from the surrounding world.

One of the creatures, nails long and brown, took one step forward, standing nearly erect though still hunched slightly. His sharp ears, pointed and grayed as the rest of his body seemed to be, picked up the breaking of the state as life was once again forced into action. One person inside had only recently started breathing again, having unconsciously held his breath. The gasps of the others inside the ska shattered the silence behind the thrum of the machine's now rattling engine.

He cracked a wicked grin, yellowing teeth flashing behind the hair that hung in his face. Sadly, they weren't close enough to see the euphoric light in his eyes at the possible thought of more meat. His eyes were pleading with them to stay, to stay and be food for the masses of animals that lived in this dump. Animals like them that had been forced to fall this low, to eat the others that weren't strong enough to defend themselves.

In a split second, the other creatures lurched forward, bodies poised for sudden encroachment on the vehicle. Each one was ready to dine, to feed. More than one body was a bonus they couldn't refuse. It was the way this world worked, the laws of this land behind the towering walls.

That same instant put the peoples' minds into gear. The idling engine roared to life, the fan suddenly forcing out the stagnant air out the back of the ska. With a near frantic nature, the flood light was shut off as the machine spun on a dime and screamed across the earth towards the glowing of the nearest city. Towards the walls of home...

With a brief snort, the remaining kalur looked around them. The crumpled bodies of the kaliidos, weaker creatures working for food and protection, surrounded them. The bulk of their hunting party was gone, all of it but themselves. They had numbered well over twenty-five strong, not including the remaining six ringleaders left alive. These creatures had never seen such speed as was once in this man, never thinking that this kind of creature existed, one that could opposed them without guns or trucks.

Their eyes fell to the crumpled mass at their feet. Really, one man was about enough to feed six.

With snarls and snaps between them, they fell to dine, furious at each other and the meal itself. The fact that they were completely clean of pawns added fuel to their rage. Even if other strong kandiir had been wiped out with the kaliidos, it didn't outweigh the fact that they'd have to hunt for themselves rather than reap the goods of a pawn's hunt.

Snaps and cracks coupled with the sounds of tearing flesh and cloth drifted into the black abyss of the clouded night sky. The flickering of the staff was all that remained to light the scene. Nothing but bones with scraps of meat that had been missed and torn cloth remained of the once proud-of-himself man, bloodied sand aside.

The staff flickered for the last time, its light gone as the death sunk into the nothingness.

"And that's how it is out there.
Hell in a casket."
ﭏ

 

[Tsume Rokaro]

Chapter 1
Neogenesis

If there's one thing this world is bad about, it's understanding the differences in people. It's like that old movie...Equilibrium I think it was. Where feeling is illegal. It's like that. Time has pretty much ended. I mean, the people that were vacationing in the old US or other countries were all trapped there as the world fell into chaos.

By that time, my local friends and I had common international friends that were here on a whim to visit. It was all fine until the police rolled in with crisp, new, ugly uniforms and a tank that was screaming for us to move into our homes and stay there. Yippee house arrest? What were we supposed to do? Act like heroes and die? Pfft, yeah right.

We didn't know it, but this wouldn't end here. The world powers were changing hands and these new hands weren't too happy with one another. Three world orders were being formed and the world was not going to be better because of it. It was a time to be thankful that you'd graduated... and to hope like no other that you how more cunning than you gave yourself credit. Things were changing and it was gonna get nasty.

But, that was then, this is now. This is the story of our survival through chaos.
******

It was raining again, pouring down like the sky was trying to wash away all the trash and stupidity in this dreary city. I could see the water running down the carbon colored panes and hear it on the patter on the roof of my tiny little loft. It was infuriating to not be able to go out today. Some fool had left a gate open and kalur had swarmed the city. That was days ago though, and they were still catching more of them.

My sister was probably about to go crazy, not being able to play on her rooftop. She loved the rain more than I did, so much more. It made her feel more alive than normal...made her feel her wings with a most acutely stronger sense. It made me feel like running, as if those fields and woods from back then were right there with me. I could jump the smaller gaps between roofs and pretend I was jumping that little stream of a creek that used to be behind my house. It was thrilling. To not play in it was so very painful for us.

My mobile sent off a whining sound, that ringtone was great, but the sound always made it feel like my ears were burning. I reached for it, stopping for a moment to note the long white fingers that were reaching for the small phone. It was thin, just like the rest of me, and colorless, just like the rest of me. Ugh. I always found myself missing the subtle slight tan I could get in a summer of play. It always made things better, the sun.

Time to get down to business though, messages were important these days. It was one of the few things left loosely monitored. I mean, they only spot checked people in a text. What was there was the most uplifting thing I'd seen in weeks.

"Come on sister, lets go play! It's raining after all. :3"

I had to laugh. If there was anything Loska knew how to do, it was convince me to do something. Especially if it involved something, anything, fun. She could set me up to doing it, to going out on a limb with her. It was just like her ability to make someone feel better, less troubled.

I grabbed a light hoodie and pulled that on, leaving it unzipped to allow for how hot I'd be after a bit, and tugged on my boots. The had the best traction on wet metal and tile I'd ever seen, not to mention they looked awesome. A quick glance in the mirror and I knew, just knew, that my shoulder length, ebony hair was going to be unmanageable after this. Heck, I didn't even know what we were doing yet.

The ID card and its stupid red cord came off from around my neck and my tagged choker collar replaced it. A short silver blade was tucked gently on my right side as I geared up. On came the long gloves, the ones that went up to my elbows, and I was almost set. Next, came the illegal part. Prying up a board under the edge of my bed, I pulled out the last remnants of the old world. I grabbed my favorite toy and strapped it on my right arm, over the gloves, finally tugging down my sleeves. I put some food and clothes, simple stuff into the bag and it was consequently swung onto my back. I was ready.

In under a minute, I'd slid out the bedroom door, threw open the window to the back alley, and launched myself onto the fire escape. Having nothing to hold it in place, the window slammed shut behind me, it's trigger lock latching behind me. I was free for the moment.

Long strides carried me to the rail of the escape as I readied myself for the insanity I was about to commit. Before I knew it, my mentality changed and I was racing across the escape, blowing passed the other closed windows of empty apartments. It was only a short time before my feet hit the opposite railing and I was flying through the air, rain hitting my face as I nearly barked out a few much needed laughs. Saki was back into flying.

I could almost feel the soft earth beneath my feet as I hit the next roof over. I knew it was that nasty tar paper and the like, but it was still invigorating. Just being so utterly free was bringing out the animal in me. I felt like I could run for ages, probably could too. And that's how this journey began, with a jump and a stone's throw out of here.

******

One last jump. After nearly an hour, I was one jump away from the fire escape of my sister's building. My breathing just a little impeded by the distance I'd traveled and the now icy rain that was seeping through my jacket, I backed myself against the far edge of the building's guarding lips as I slid a foot back and forth on the black top. It was slick, unlike normal. How great.

"One, two, three." My voice sounded hollow, but somehow more lively with the slight air of the butterflies in my stomach. That quaver was something I cherished. It meant that I was still human in some respects, unlike most of this backwater world. Nobody ever felt anything anymore. No crying or screaming. No one tearing their hair out because it was literally a pain in the a** to live like mindless zombies who move through life with the flow. People like Loska and I actually tried to live, much to the dismay of just about any figure of status or authority on this planet.

That was just the tester to my jump countdown. now for the real thing. "One" The butterflies fluttered mercilessly. "Two" A mirthless laugh following it. "Three!" And off I went, racing to near demise. I could feel my most excellent boots slipping little by on the rain soaked roof. It was unsettling, but so was the thought of launching off this rooftop. I kept telling myself that this was the joy of free running.

The edge raced to meet me, standing just a foot higher than the surrounding roof. In seconds my foot was on its way up and over the ledge. I could feel the butterflies trying to escape, but it was too late. I was on the edge for a split second as I felt the muscles in my legs tighten. Then, I was flying across the gap, the escape drawing ever nearer. There was one thing that bothered me though...my foot had slipped ever so slightly on the ledge.


It hit me like a ton of bricks. I was descending too quickly for my own good and there was too little horizontal movement to be home free. I'm sure that, at this point, the "Oh s**t" factor on my face was pretty visible by now with this new revelation.

[Note: Okay...I know there is an severe over use of 'I' but really, do you always talk to yourself in third person? I don't....See? Look....I. Okay....end rant here. biggrin (It bothers me that I used it ('I') so much here...)]  

[Tsume Rokaro]

Chapter 2
Revelations

There went the first level I was aiming for, too far to reach. And the second. I so slipped a little too much on the jump, that much was not glaringly apparent to me. I was still getting closer, just not fast enough. I was almost within range, the bar just barely out from my fingers. It might as well have been the hat that bully dangles above your head when they take it. You know, just before they throw it at their lackey who does the exact same thing? It was that close, only this time, I couldn't jump to nab it from them.

One more flight gone, totaling three misses. My hands reached out and snagged the rusty lip of the bottom grating of the third level, making me thankful that I had good gloves. I let my body's weight drop downward, pulling my legs up to clear the railing as I released and landed with a thud on the fourth level. Rusty flakes fell to the next level down, undoubtedly falling on my head too. It'd be proof of my mistake, most likely. But, at least I could walk away and tell someone about that mistake. I could just have easily been a splatter on the pavement below.

I could almost feel the paws holding me up, all four. And the ears perking with the tail hung at half-mast, more nearer to drooping because of the unplanned landing and the extra adrenaline that was coursing through my veins. I knew it had to be blocking some sort of pain in my hands, that was a rougher catch than I'd meant to make. It was a thrilling feeling, as always, but the fact that I was full on out like that was worrisome. I must have been doing something so very instinctually stupid that the wolf in me was reminding me that, though we had wings, we couldn't fly with them.

With a shake of the head (and of the furry four-legged body) to not only clear it but to get rid of the water threatening to run into my eyes, I started my ascent of the escapes. One, two, three. I paused at my preferred landing pad, noting that I'd made it plenty of times in the rain with worse shoes and that this time was some freak accident, moving on after the thought passed. I still had ten or so flights of hard metal stairs to go and Loska was probably getting tired of waiting on me.

******

Time and time again, I was reminded of how much the people of this world had lost when the walls went up. People on the outside were turned into monsters. I remembered reading that book a friend wrote and the monsters he'd created. The people out there weren't much different, except for the part where they ate as much of you as they could. Or maybe the ones that literally sap the red life out of you. Living Draculas.

I stopped by a window on my way up, five flights from my destination. I peeked in, seeing the bland room that we so easy to find these days. You could decorate, but what was the point when all you did was work and get scanned by the government's machines? All that you could really hope fir was death being soon and quick. There was no way to live and there was nothing to watch on tv. The people that had mobiles couldn't really talk on them, the calls were monitored so you couldn't gripe about how much you hated the lifestyle anymore.

An older woman looked up at me, staring with those blank eyes I'd been so used to seeing. I shuddered involuntarily but I didn't bother shrugging away with that shy glance. There was a brief flickering in her eyes that told me she'd almost rather open the window and chat with me. At the same time, there was that feeling that she hoped I was a renegade kalur that was hungry enough to bust through the window and eat her. It's not like most people knew what they looked like anyway. The 'lucky' few were usually so badly scarred in some way, that they either didn't want to talk about it or they were nearly driven mad by the nightmares. Every shadow held one of them, everything that moved in the corners of their vision was one.

She continued staring, never making a move to shoo me on or let me in, and I simply looked at her. The older generation was just...that way. They all looked so tired and sad. It was the random members of my generation that were thriving in this place for the most part. We never got ahead in the workplaces because of age, but we were always less likely to walk in front of one of those people from the outside and let them eat us without a fight. We hid weapons, bash-talked the government, and really lived for the fun of things. The generation that was around after us were just, too young to get it yet.

I tore my eyes away from her, knowing in the back of my mind that she'd probably come open the window after I left, just to see if I was real. With a few quick steps I skittered up the stairs and on up another platform. Down below I heard the slightly older window open with its distinctive squeak. I kept moving without even thinking. It's not like I had any desire for her to talk to me. She could just as easily turn me in if she found out I left ID at home. (It was a high crime these days for some reason.)

******

I kept my head down, only looking up when I came to the crest of the last flight. There was a reason I only had ten flights to travel. The collapsed stairs facing me were really quite interesting. With the right kind of jump, you could make it up there just fine. It's just, no one but us and a few other hiddens understood what kind of just that was.

I balanced carefully on the railing shifting my weight to let me crouch with my back to the open space. I left my hands on the bar, should I happen to slip again, for some reason, and readied myself. Eyes on the target, my body launched itself in a upward direction, shifting forward all the while. It was kinda like watching a cat leap across a space, paws stretched out to catch the ledge should it partially miss its mark. And, just like a cat, I didn't really miss my mark. I grabbed the grating, feeling my body hanging from the waist down. A perfect landing that no one ever thought of. After the first few times, you didn't really fee the jarring pain anymore and it got to where you could jump just about anywhere.

Swinging my legs up, I stuck the grooves in my boots into the tiny spaces in the grating and let my body shimmy up onto the flight. I traveled up one more flight like that and then grabbed the silver knob on the door. Just like another friend of mine I did and about face, shifted my weight back and kicked the door open all at once. It was pretty comical to watch, and, on doors that stuck like locks, it opened them without a hitch. Once inside, I was home free once again.

******

One-thirty-one, one-thirty-two, one-thirty-three... Loska, why the heck did you have live so far up? Oh wait, dumb question. I stopped stalking passed the doors and started running down the corridor, aiming for one hundred and forty-five. And by aiming, I mean aiming. I knew she'd be about as close to the door as you can get without it busting you in the face when someone threw it open, so this was a game of cat and mouse. We were both the mouse and both the cat.

I threw a jump against the wall opposite and down from her door and shoved off from there. It was no longer such an awesome thing to see anymore. When you can't do something, it looks awesome, when you can, it's just normal and you don't really get why people 'oooh' and 'aaaah' over it. Her door came at me with a nice speed in mind and I was ready. I grabbed the knob and twisted the already open door without losing any of the momentum of launching off the wall and flung the door wide. And there she was, standing right where I knew she'd be, the only thing new was the look on her face. I instantly assumed the role of cat and she the role of mouse and the play ended in a massed heap of two laughing girls.

"Hi Loska." I grinned, playing it up with a childish voice as I sat pinning her to the floor. She shot a fake pout at me before breaking into a grin with a giggles tied to it. I flat out laughed until she prodded me in the ribs and pulled a move on my that had me on my back. "Pinned you." The grin turned to a smug smirk as she held me down, her forearm resting lightly against my collarbone.

After a bit of squirming, we were both free and standing by the window. It was time to join the counter culture. The rain came down harder than ever and I knew she was feeling about like I was, though the wings were probably more prominent than the paws at the moment. "So, where to today?" I asked tossing around a quizzical look for the benefit of some random onlooker that wasn't even here right now. She knew very well what I was thinking.

"There's a group at South Park and one near the old Barrlett Reservoir." It came out as a murmur, somehow fitting with her silver white hair and her black and gray attire not unlike my own. It was always kinda funny how things worked out. Loska's hair was always that way since ever were little kids. We still had photos stashed away in draws that showed two clashing, yet fitting, hair colors atop the tiny heads of a pair of toddlers. Other than that and our eyes, which were like silver and gold, we weren't really that different.

"Well?" her voice was more impatient this time, as I obviously got lost in thought. (not that she could get too mad at me, she was just as likely to do the same.) "Hm...?" Her eyes rolled in their sockets before she shook her head in slight dismay. "I asked if you wanted to meet with theirans or family." I balked, eyes widening as I just stared at her. Like she had to ask, of course I wanted to see my family. Sure, I didn't mind the like minded, feeling community, but family was ALWAYS preferred.

With a fleeting giggle, she slid the window open, gesturing in the general direction of the Reservoir. "Family it is." She laughed as I glared holes through her. She knew I wasn't really mad, but merely perturbed that she could have tricked me like that.

And with that, she leaped out the window, hitting the long pole that sloped to the next building and sliding down with ease. I followed with a half growl, ready to run of the energy that was coming with the alleviation of stress that came with she and the rest of my family.

******

We leaped from rooftop to rooftop, sliding across the tiny penthouses still left in the city and giggling at the looks that must have come to the residents' faces as the sounds of feet clanged or skid across the roof of their lovely place. Every now and then we'd leap and swing through the skeletons of old billboards that were once used to advertise all kinds of products that are now quite simply banned or otherwise. There was always that hint that there would be a kalur around the corner, one beating at the bush to fight, but we never saw anything and dismissed the thoughts to paranoia.

She slid down a sloped roof dropping off into nothingness and landing with the characteristic hollow thud of a dumpster. Still on the crest of the roof, I nearly fell, a gasp coming from where she'd landed. With a half run, half slide down the roof I landed on the ground, hand on the silver blade as I eyed the surroundings. That's when I saw them, two 'foxes' sitting on a wall just across from us.

One of them sneered a grin while the other hung his arms lifelessly of the edge as he sat back on suspected haunches. If there was one thing more rare than someone that wasn't hating the world around them (or simply not caring), it would have to be one of us. We were about as common as a wasp in a beehive really. There used to be a lot of people like us, rather large communities be they online or elsewhere, but something along the lines happened to make us disappear. We didn't know what it was, but the therians were disappearing, predator and prey alike.

The rain ran down my hair and slicked over their bare shoulders. These were the creepers that you never really wanted to see down a dark alley. Tough guys that thought they owned part of the alley or street the trash happened to lounge on during any given day. We could tell by the looks on their faces and the tense feeling that permeated the air, that these wanted more than just a romp with a few canines. They were looking for just a little more than that, not that we felt like giving it.

It was becoming more and more clear that people like us were not suited for the monotone climate that was force fed to everyone within the safe walls of the larger cities. Spice was what added to our lives and things were just too, routine to keep us remotely satisfied. Why do you think Loska and myself were roof jumping in a free runner's dream? It's not like roof hopping and wall scaling wasn't dangerous, after all. Those that were born in this time were tame and those that were from before were like caged animals, driven low out of fervent, burning necessity.

Then things started happening in a flash, there was a real snarl coupled with a blur flying through the air at one the shorter guy with red hair and a fire emblem on his jacket. Obviously, this was not something friendly. With a very human yelp, the he toppled forward off the wall, the other guy jumping down without a second thought. The blur stopped for a moment, having missed its targets, to reassess the situation.

That's when we realized, all four of us knew what this was. The wild, yellow eyes and the dead look to the skin was a give-away that we couldn't miss. A kalur, in the flesh. A hungry one no less. In half a second, that silver blade was in my hand, hooking back passed my pinky and settling along my right forearm. I could see Loska's rune bearing rapiers appear in her hands. The idiots that were attacked in the first place, drew up weapons too. The redhead armed himself with a dagger he'd obviously been coveting and the other scrambled to grasp a broken pipe.

The creature rocked back on his haunches, its hands flexing, shifting from fist to open hand. We were in for it now. It sized us up in seconds, clearly overconfident in his own fighting skills. (It occurred to me belatedly that they were almost always men, these kalur.) A blacked tongue snaked out of cracked, gray lips as it leaned forward. In a split second, it was right there among us, spinning with claws hands ready to touch flesh. The redhead and his darker haired friend split to the left and right respectively as he cleared the middle of the alley and closed on Loska.

I threw the blade, the whirring sound of the air passing through tiny holes in the blade got it enough attention to let Loska motivate out of the way. But then things fell to me, being that I was weaponless and that screwballs one and two weren't feeling ever so chivalrous, things fell to me getting eaten. Before I could blink, I was on the ground from some impact and the thing was pinning me, its mouth tightly clamped on my right arm. (Let me tell you now, that one hurt.)

There was nothing left to do. I could feel the blood seeping out as the teeth slid around the 'toy' on my arm and found skin. No matter how hard I hit the damn thing, it wouldn't let go. In fact, I could feel it's claws digging into my other arm and scraping at my right side. This wasn't helped by acknowledging that he was at least one hundred pounds heavier than myself. That's when things slowed down to a snail's pace. I could see everything at once with hyper clarity. Fun stuff.  

[Tsume Rokaro]

Chapter 3
A Primal Family

There was something more, I could see the stunned look on orangy's face and the horror-struck look on Loska's. That, coupled with the hungry look in the kalur's was almost too much for me. I could feel life building, coursing inside, but something told me that it just might not come to pass. But, as with everything, fate had other ideas than what I was thinking.

A big smack knocked the thing's head from my arm, its jaw snapping into an odd position with an unsettling crack. I could hear others coming, just as fast as it was, and I knew that this was going to get ugly. Orangy and his buddy were duking it out with a pair while Loska had her hands full with another. Great, this one was mine. I could see others waiting their turn, rejoicing in watching the brawls continue before them. It was guessed that, as soon as one of us was freed of a beast, another would most likely take its place.

In that brief moment he was being befuddled with whatever Loska had thrown at him, I worked up enough leverage to knock him back, letting me at least get into a semi-crouched position. Pulling back the trigger lock on my 'toy', I felt it click free. Release of the lock and the panel raised slightly as a blade the length of my forearm shot partly out of it's casing on the upper side of my arm, extending about a foot off from my wrist straight outward past my finger tips. It was such a lovely inverted wristblade.

With a deft swing, the blade came inches from his waist, tearing at the scanty cloth. He stumbled back, surprised at the sudden appearance of a new complication. Then he sneered, his face cracking into a wicked grin. Things shifted again, the rain seeming to hang in the air as if frozen in time, though we were whirling through it. Monsters were dancing around us, still others watching, bemused that the hunt had become a match of skill versus power.

A shrill, frightened scream flew down from above. I looked up (everyone did I think...) with just enough time to see the monsters on the stairs up stop dead in their tracks as the door slammed shut, its deadbolt undoubtedly sliding into place. I could tell from the way the two tensed before springing back into the fray that they were disappointed and angry that their prize had eluded them through a portal to inside.

I almost had to laugh at the thought of what the person had seen. Opening the door and stepping out to leave only to look down and see two ravenous beasts ascending the flights of stairs. Then, to look down in stunned horror as four people clearly fought for all the were worth against a horde of others. It was such a wrong way to start off an afternoon that it was almost comical.

In that brief pause, my sister and I shared worried, yet hopeful, glances before we kicked it in gear and backed against the wall. The better to defend ourselves, really. We were shoulder-to-shoulder, swinging blades like there was no tomorrow.


How long had it been? Five minutes? Ten? I couldn't really tell at this point. It could very well have been an hour from the way my body felt. I was tired, the monsters faster and still strong as of right now. How they did it, I will hopefully never know. Some of the kalur had moved off to other places, tiring of the fight but too lazy to help out it seemed, but there were still four, maybe five left between us. A shining, wailing hope was headed our way, though it was still far off.

Apparently Miss Scream-and-Run had called the right set of coppers and they were headed out to take care of the clean up. Now, it wasn't that we weren't grateful that relief was coming our way, but it was almost better to be found dead than to have to explain why we were armed with illegal weapons, without ID cards, and holding our own against these things that were clearly better than us. (The wouldn't understand that running would have been the end of our lives to begin with...) The police, or the sharku as they were called by the corps of the underground, were never the people you wanted to meet. All of them were government goons that excelled at being royal pains that didn't ever look at your point of view because you were simply a 'civilian' that obviously didn't know what they were doing. It was always like that. I'd never met one that was any different who didn't walk among us, nor did I ever meet anyone that thought of them any differently. (They even thought about each other that way, which my crowd always found hilarious.)

I swung hard to the left, snarling as I really cut loose on this ones. I think he blinked and I was on top of him, my blade buried between ribs half way up his ribcage on his left. I can only assume that my sister and I had separated enough to allow room for one of them to pin us at this point. Before I could enjoy the rush from this move as his spark of life sputtered out, there was a shriek and I was knocked sprawling. The cold stone bottom of this street was soon soothing my hot face as something landed on my back, trying to rip at my hair.

Orangy's dark haired companion yelled something that sounded more like some sort of twisted curse mixed with a bark and apparently sent the one me flying because the first thing I saw when I got up was the dirty fire-haired kalur slashed him up good. What was most stunning was that this one was actually a she, as crazy as that was. Her eyes were a stunning red-purple, and her skin was more akin to my tone than that of her little pack, though it still looked closer to dead than mine. Those eyes though, held a furious light, primal and sharpened with time and hate.

Her teeth clicked together in the most unsettling way, like I imagined Spitz would do from Jack London's novel The Call of the Wild, all metallic sounding yet still totally rapid and organic. The eyes, clicking and stance made my blood run cold. I had obviously done this one dirty. It was the first time I'd even seen that these things could and did have family, as hard as that was to say in conjunction with them. At the very least, I'd stolen a son from her, if not a mate, and she was pissed about that little fact.

She leaped my way, arms spread to wrap around my torso and let her teeth find something, anything, soft and warm. Midair, as I dodged to the left against the wall, a shot rang out and blood spattered down on my head. She landed atop an overturned, rusted out trashcan as she whirled on me, a mass of fury, red hair, and hurt pride. My eyes turned back in time to see another sharku fire at her and a third aim at me.

I don't know how, but I slid down and out of the way of number three's bullet and both his and number two's shot landed hard in Mrs. Furious. I scrambled to my feet, booking it down the alley in a major way. Loska was right beside me and orangey had definitely hightailed it out of there upon cop arrival.

My sister ducked down a tiny side street and I blazed in on her heels, breathing hard simply because I was scared witless. They were shooting at us. The street came to a blocked off dead end at the city sector partition and the gravity of the situation started to really sink in. Hurried footsteps echoed from the street other alley as the city's finest dirty dogs chased us down.

"Up here." Loska's voice was low as she called from the roof of the building to our left.

I gave her a look that clearly said 'how the hell did you get up there?' and she pointed to the dumpster on the right and a broken column that rested on the building I needed on. With a glance over my shoulder, I scaled the dumpster, sliding a little on the slanted surface and skittered up the column. In a matter of seconds, we were both rocketing across the rooftops again.

"How long did that take?" I breathed the words out as I leaped down from another rooftop.

"Probably, fifteen minutes? Check a watch." I could almost hear her eyes rolling in their sockets.

I clawed a silver moon out of my left pocket, clicking it open for a moment to reveal an onyx face with twelve white roman numerals etched into it along with small, moon scratched in just off from the center. I never really understood what it was that I'd liked about pocket watches, but when a friend of mine flashed this one out, I had to have it. I'm sure I was the biggest pest in the world as I tried time and again to buy it off him. He eventually just gave it to me as a present. (I found out later that he'd pretty much made that himself, casing and all.) It'd only been around twenty minutes, but it had felt like an eternity.


We slid down a pipe onto the low roof of another building, running across another pipe and into the skeleton of a half burned warehouse. The rusting beams were our brief playground as we slid down some or hung from others, eventually dropping to the floor. It was like a second home.

The Barrlett Reservoir used to be a massive man made lake where fish once thrived and the tiny local fishing industry was in high demand. Many warehouses were erected along the southeastern coastline to accommodate for the repair and maintenance of the crafts out fishing or the trucks that deliver everything. With the rise of Eternal, the world power that controlled all of the Americas, this place had, for whatever reasons, been left to decay after a series of protest fires set them ablaze. Now they were literally skeletons of their former glory, holding rusting parts and the occasional craft, be it a floating skiv or a long dead cranz. It was our hangout now, since they were almost literally empty.

Loska and I crept across the cracked concrete floor towards an unusual grate. It was slid open halfway, signaling that someone was here. Who exactly was still open for debate. It could be family or another paws group. (Some groups just hung out here, permanently away from public eyes.) We were fairly certain that family was here though. That or someone was sloppy in leaving...

For the second time today, I was attacked. A blur of sandy brown hair and a loose cloak swept me off my feet. I fought back the urge to squeal in surprise as the movement morphed into a too affectionate bearhug that could very well leave bruises. I heard Loska's low squeal as Askan undoubtedly pulled the same move on her that Mathais just used on me. Both men chuckled at their vertically challenged counterparts as we hung limply in the hugs. (What else could we do? They'd pinned our arms to our sides.)

After a minute or so of struggle and faux protest, Loska and I were released, free of charge. Sa'kin, Isa, Fe'nai, and Senari were all standing there, each and every one choking back some volume of laughter. It was still mildly embarrassing for any one of us to be greeted in such a manner and hilarious for the onlookers. If we hadn't been late, no one but Loska, Askan, and Mathais would have seen it. It was always like that... We came early to avoid the eyes, everyone had at least one place that they'd meet to avoid the embarrassment of at least one of the people in a couple. It was really a pretty funny concept.

"Go ahead, laugh. Like you don't do the same thing." I rolled my eyes and listened to the flurry of laughter that ensued. It wasn't like they weren't acknowledging that it was true. I could tell by the slight edge in the laughter that the understood that much.

"Where to now?" The voice came from my fire headed younger sister. She could very well have been older than me if I didn't know better. She was taller and quite possibly more confident than any of us. Definitely more confident than me, anyway. She was dressed in more green favored apparel today with tan boots that, on one side, obviously concealed a dagger if you were looking for it. (Or simply knew it was there in our case.) Our little Irish sister. Isa was able to make me smile at just about anything, really.

"Yeah, we got bored waiting on– Holy heck! What happened to you two?!" Fe'nai's eyes were huge as she caught sight of the tears in our clothing.

I could feel Mathais' eying me down for a moment, but it wasn't like we'd been trying to cover up anything. The cold was beginning to seem through the tears in my shirt so I quietly zipped up the hoodie and shivered, feeling rather uncomfortable under all the scrutiny of eight pairs of now anxious eyes. Not that I blamed them for being curious and a good deal concerned. Rips and tears with a teensy bit of blood wasn't exactly the trend, nor was it at all normal. I'm sure their minds were jumping to muggings, random attacks, bad falls and the like. Not kalur issues.

Loska shifted on her feet beside me, looking down like I was. Now that I was really paying attention, it was easy to see that she'd been torn up too. A nice long flap of her pants, from the bottom of up to her knee was free flying and there were minor places playing up and down her back. Lovely. Askan was staring with wide, worried eyes. Flustered about that, as usual.

"Well, you guys will never believe this...but...we saw kalur in the city." Loska's voice was nervous, though she was able to grin a little at the light on everyone's face. They were stunned.

The next thing I knew, they were leaping off the beams and platforms to circle around us tightly. A billion questions were flying passed our heads at the speed of light. There were hands on our shoulders and hugs and more questions. We couldn't possibly get a word in edgewise to answer anything. Excitement, that's all that could really make our family this...crazy. It felt like being crowded by animals. Those that were theoretically tame, though truly wild inside. That's family for you.  

[Tsume Rokaro]

Chapter 4
Upheaval

If there was ever a better story to hear, my friends didn't know it existed. They hung on our every word, barely interjecting with a Saki this, or a Loska that. They visibly tensed each time we paused. It was really quite entertaining to watch as a myriad of emotions played across everyone's face in a strange menagerie of grimaces and wildly lit smiles. Each individual expression was there only for a second before it flashed to something else. Their excitement played tag with horror.

Somehow, the eight of us ended up sitting down in some form or fashion. A few of us adorning boxes or some random fallen beam while the rest of us crouched on the floor. I watched everyone closely now, seeing as how Loska was the one speaking to the crowd at the moment. (I probably should have been listening, seeing as how I didn't know her perspective on the whole ordeal...)

My eyes fell to Fe'nai and Senari at first. Their appearances were nearly polar opposites but they were still very much alike. Same facial features, interests, you name it. It was really pretty interesting really. I vaguely remembered a time when they were really identical to and outside party, though the present overshadowed the past experiences. Their shifts showed the differences well enough.

Fe'nari had very long, nearly white, blonde hair that reached down to the pockets of her pants while Senari had short, wispy black hair that barely passed her chin. Fe'nari was bordering more gothic tastes in apparel and Senari liked the entire color spectrum, more specifically the bright colors. Senari's eyes were also almost painfully blue while her sister's were a nearly black slate gray. Other than that, their minds and mannerisms were really alike, with the odd quirk to each of them.

Even after thinking on all the intense differences and similarities in their personalities and appearances (which outweighed the differences to my knowledge), they both had the most peculiar look on their faces. One mixed of utterly stunned confusion that managed to be relieved and worried at the same time as confused. I had to choke back an acute onset of laughter at that point, getting a slightly odd glance from the two of them.

My eyes fluttered to the left, landing on Sa'kin. My lovely little oriental brother sat with one arm around Isa's, his free hand resting lightly against his gripping hand. His dark eyes were flashing their nearly perfect black moons of irises as they widened in surprised blinks. He was always one to sit there silently with a 'Whaaaaaat?' look on his face and a slight tilt to his head. His smooth, black hair became more and more disheveled as his head slowly tilted further and further to the right getting ever closer to a fully vertical position. His mouth parted into a silent 'eh?' as he just looked from Loska to myself and back again. We appeared to have thoroughly confused him, that thought bringing more giggles that I had to swallow.

Isa, on the other hand, looked like she was about to burst out of her skin. The story was the adventure of a lifetime and, for once, she'd missed it entirely, never having even imagined it. We had walked away from a fight with one of the most vicious fighters in the known world and we did so with enough grace that we only had a few scrapes to show for it. I could only imagine that she wanted to have been there just to see it.

Her green eyes were lit from behind with a feral light as she jumped a little where she sat, her fiery red-orange hair fluttering and reminding me of my encounter of the third kind with the kalur. Sa'kin let go of her arm, pulling his arms up against his chest and looking at her with the strangest of looks that clearly showed that he had non idea what was going on with her.

Loska was with me on this one, that it was an 'aww' type of moment. We'd always thought that the two made a cute couple, being adorable in many, many, many respects. It had never really worked out that way, sadly, but it always came to my mind. They had adjacent rooms in the quarters building and the door between them had long since ceased being closed because they were constantly bothering the other. It was improbable to say that it could never happen, but cute and unlikely all the same.

I ran my eyes back across the group, ignoring the burning eyes I could feel to my right as my eyes bounced left. Askan was locked in a frivolous staring battle with Loska, a worried look crossing his face at every mention of a swipe at her. His lightly brown hair was tied back in a ponytail, as usual, giving him a more casual look while brilliantly displaying his facial features. Those features were acutely twisted into a look of worry that almost gave him the look of a pouting puppy, albeit a big puppy. It was really very endearing.

Loska caught my eye, being to my immediate left. She was still excited, though it was thoroughly turned down due to the washing of the more familiar, secure feeling of our home away from home. She'd long since finished telling her part by now and was now engaged in talking to Askan. After a short time, she managed to somehow get him to calm down. Their conversation ended with a nod and a hug, though the other girls in the group seemed to appear to expect more than that.

With a sigh, I closed my eyes, thinking on things. I couldn't avoid the eyes to my left any longer, they were practically burning a hole into the back of my head. If there was one thing that Mathais did very well, it was use those piercing blue eyes to his advantage.

I turned my head, wincing a little as I looked at him. It was a little like Askan's look to Loska, only a little more intense. (By intense, I mean that he could totally stare a hole through you and make you feel a little guilty.) I grinned a little, but the effect on him was minimal. From sandy brown hair right down to his toes, the whole look was just a little intimidating in the acute worry. I had the vague feeling that he'd never let me go out alone again if he had his way.

"Sorry...?" My voice made me sound even smaller than I felt, my eyes instantly dropping to the floor. I could tell off a sharku or and one of the high and mighty government loving goons, but I could not manage to spit something out straight to him when he cheated like this.

The corner of his mouth twitched a little, still staying slightly pulled down. Bah. I was in trouble, there was not doubt about that. My mind spun off in different directions and left me reeling as I tried to right the thinking. It was my first reaction to a friend when they were like this, just intensely magnified. I quickly forced the thoughts into a 360, having trained myself to do that after all the years of friends telling me quite the opposite of my overactive imagination.

Without a second lost, he shook his head, sighing slightly. (Most likely because of the fact that he couldn't lock me in a closet so that nothing could get at me again.) He hugged me for a minute, before holding me out at arms length, looking me up and down slightly.

"You have rust flecks in your hair." His slightly accented voice was followed by and uneasy, half mirthless chuckle as he moved to dust it out of my hair.

"I knew it!" I growled slightly, shaking my still amazingly wet hair in a very canine move. If there was one thing I was certain of, it was that I'd gotten that shower of metal. Great. I brushed my hand through my hair, watching the little brown specks of metal shower the ground. Fun.


We didn't know it, but trouble was headed our way. How could we know that the world was shifting yet again when we were here in our secluded ruin oasis?


A new sounding siren reached my our ears. It was one that we'd never heard before, for once. Rather than the air horn-like sound of the tornado sirens that was so common here in the bowels of Tornado Alley, it was a more whining sound. One that grated on sensitive ears and felt like it should be shattering glass.

I winced, knowing full well that the rest of my family was doing the same. It was painful after all. I shot a glance at my white haired sister, about to ask her if she knew anything about it when another siren went off. It was closer this time, drowning out the words that came in the form of normal leveled speaking. I nudged Mathais and scrambled closer to Loska, eyes wide and worried.

"What is this one for!?" I had to yell to be heard over the wailing even this close to my targeted listener. I kept my hands off my ears so that I'd be able to hear her undoubtedly yelled reply, though I was planning to slap them tightly against my skull as soon as she finished speaking.

"I dunno! It's new to me!" To my surprise, it was Askan that replied for her. With a few confused blinks, my hands found my ears and clasp tightly to them in a futile attempt to keep the blaring noise out.

It had been nearly five minutes of agony at this point, sitting and hoping the sound would stop. I'm sure everyone thought that we should maybe move to a different locale. Sa'kin had even inched over to the tunnel, only to find that the sound was simply amplified by it. He moved back to rest his head against my shoulder as he tried to blot out the sound. Somehow, we inherently knew that there was no point in trying to go anywhere. Sirens were now blaring all over the city from the sound of things.

Then...as abruptly as they had began, they stopped. In stunned silence, we slowly lowered our paws and hands, looking about as if we'd been dazed. The ringing wouldn't stop in my ears but I knew it was the abrupt loss of sound as the nerves in my ears adjusted to few if any vibrations in the air around me.

I was reminded of lines from a song then, one of my favorites really. It was appropriate for the situation, at least.

"Sunrise always burns my eyes.
But I'm not tired,
No, I won't sleep for hours.
The city's old and full of ghosts
I can see their skulls,
It makes no sense at all.
Is anyone here alive?
Is anyone here alive?"

The world felt dead, like the life had been sapped from the very air we breathed. The only one's that were even alive were us. I could hear my heartbeat pounding in my ears as I slowly got to my feet with the rest of the group. I couldn't hear anything else other than the uneasy breathing of the seven people around me and myself. No sirens. No cars. No people. Nothing.


And then, all Hell broke loose. The air felt like it pulled away from us for a moment, like we'd be thrown into some sort of vacuum and couldn't breath. A massive explosion rang out behind us. I ducked involuntarily as the shock wave from the blast blew passed, nearly knocking me off my feet and succeeding in doing so to the twins.

Still half crouched, I turned my eyes back in horror and peered out the ruined roof and wall of our shelter. The Macin building, a major branch of the half-cocked banking system of this city was burning from what had to be the 40th floor to the 50th. Black plumes of smoke rolled skyward as I shuddered where I stood.

Another blast from deeper in the city and we all shrunk closer to the cracked floor in reaction, though there was obviously no danger to ourselves. I saw the twins curled up, heads and necks covered as Sa'kin clung to the Isa's arm. Isa was, in turn, staring at the sky with a fearful, pleading look. Loska's silver eyes were wild, my own gold ones undoubtedly matching hers. She flung a look at the burning building in out sight, staring on with horror plastered on her face. I followed suit, staring at the flames we'd toyed with all our lives consumed the condemned building.

I heard the other's moving off, heading for the tunnels in an attempt to find some kind of safety elsewhere, but I couldn't move. My legs refused to move, even as the animal inside me screamed for me to run, howling it's disapproval at my rebellion. I felt a hand wrap around mine and tug a little. My eyes spun around to look Mathais in the eyes as the terror spell wore off and gave way to self-preservation. With a little more prompting, he tugged me in the general direction of the tunnel entrance. I slid in, followed shortly by him as he slid the grating on after us.

******

We all ran into the darkness, the patter of boots on concrete was somehow both terrifying and reassuring. There was something about the darkness and the sound of no one other than people you knew running with you, that helped force down part of the fear that was bubbling up in your throat, threatening to choke you. To mask the that tight feeling in the pit of your stomach that made you feel like you were going to puke. Not a total cure to the fear, but enough of one to leave you functional.

Every now and again, I could look through to adjacent tunnels and see others like us running for what felt like our lives. It was a synonymous feeling that carried through in the way they moved. I would sometimes share a glance with one of them as fearful met fearful in the brief time that our eyes connected. I didn't know where they were headed but we had another place that was safe. We would get there faster if we roof jumped, but that didn't exactly feel like a life continuing option.

[note: Okay, I know that this was a little 'Mrr' to begin with, but I needed to get the charrie looks out of the way. I think you'll like chapter 5, thought.]  

[Tsume Rokaro]

Chapter 5
Blissless Nonreunion

After a few hours of running through the near endless maze of tunnels below the city, we arrived at the place where the proverbial X marks the spot on our treasure map. We scrambled up through the final grating that stood in between us and safety, closing it securely behind us.

I looked around at the overgrown jungle around our heads. It was once a world renown zoo called "The Menagerie", though it was now nothing more than an empty shell of it's former glory outside city walls. Normally, being on the wasted side of the wall was a bad thing. This was one of the few exceptions we'd found. It was completely enclosed in a more than formidable cage of barbed wires and once electrical cords. The whole place was an abandoned fortress. The animals had been set free, for the most part, by good hearted people as the walls went up. A kalur couldn't get through the heavy, casted gates of the entrance without the help of a tank and a few hundred shells at point blank range.


Askan slammed the iron grate closed behind us, the click of him latching it securely giving me a reason to breath a sigh of relief. I slipped my significantly smaller hand out of Mathais's and tottered to the corner of the opening enclosure. It was ironic how this used to be a wolf den, at least it was to Loska and myself. I collapsed in a tired heap on a pile of surprisingly alive, soft grass, heaving a sigh as I just lay there, staring at the ground between my feet. The wrought iron of cage was cold against the back of my neck. This was not the fun day that I'd expected to have.

I felt another thump beside me and a heaving leaning against my right shoulder as Loska flopped down beside me. I didn't have to even catch a glimpse of her to really know who it was. I was vaguely aware that I wasn't able to see her because my eyes had dropped shut, so I forced them open to look over everyone.

The twins were curled up, not three feet away and Isa and Sa'kin were collapsed to their immediate left. Askan and Mathais took places on either side of us with a heavy sigh. We really were worrying the heck out of them. My sister leaned over and bit my shoulder a little, uttering a halfhearted 'nar' before letting go. Before I could really even try to think, everyone was sleeping and the rhythm of their breathing was enough to send me off to sleep too.

******

Explosions and gunfire rang out around her head. The girl's pale blonde hair swirled around her as the burning sky came into focus. It was only after a moment, that she realized the fire wasn't in the sky at all, but rather the earth onto which she was looking. With some effort, she sat up, her head having been tilted back to reverse the sky and earthly positions.

All around her, there was burning ruins of the city. Or was it the wastelands? It was all one and the same now, the wall clearly crumbled to her left and right.

"Wonderless."

"Wonderless."

"Wonderless."

"Wonderless"

"Wonderless."

"Wonderless."

"Wonderless."

The words were all around her, swirling in a painful masquerade of sound. She heard a thousand different dialects as she rose to a full, upright position. Each voice, male and female alike, no matter the language, they all said "Wonderless." "Wonderless." "Wonderless."

The voices grew louder, drowning out the cracking of fire and the sound of the bullets flying through her. It was all-consuming. Her hands found her ears, blotting out the surprisingly calm voices as she started to scream. With a startling realization, she found that the voice was familiar, not something strange. In an instant, she knew that this was a dream. That fact made it no less frightening.

Her eyes flashed a pale blue, melting from brown into the liquid gold they were supposed to be. Her pale blonde hair burned and darkened into the black it was meant to be. Tan skin gave way to a paler, more contrasting color. It was her, Saki. She was herself now, though try as she might, she couldn't force the dream to stop. She couldn't control her body here. Just like in life, where she was fairly submissive in her general actions, she held little power over most strong lucid dreams.

A shadow at her feet caught her eye, it's form wrenching and writhing as the voices that had long since faded whispered in the back of her mind. It came from behind.

She turned, expecting to have her curiosity satisfied. She was suddenly hit with the cold truth. Kalur and their sanguine counterparts the Takanten were there, tearing at bodies and each other. As thier battle raged, faces were revealed. Familiar faces. Sa'kin was being devoured. The twin's half torn forms being crushed as a mini war raged above them. Askan was being drained, his hands, though clearly weakening in their grip, tearing at the takanten's hair as it stole his life. Loska and Isa were stone cold as they lay crushed. Mathais was there too, resting none too peacefully beside them. Crumpled corpses of the creatures surrounding them were indications that they had not gone down without a fight.

She screamed, Saki screamed as if it would save them, bring them back. It was only when she looked at her feet that the horrors became so much more painful. At her feet was her own body, broken and battered like the rest of them. Missing flesh and glistening, red bones were what hinted at the truth.

Her screams became more pronounced as she ran, terrified at what she'd seen. Tears streamed down her cheeks as the horror scene played on. More creatures, some young and alive, others old and dying huddled in corners of the waste, hiding from the explosions. Tanks rolled in, blasting their hiding places and adding to the din of wails that came from both sides of the wall.

She curled around the wall, streaking into the city like Hell's hounds were on her heels. The farther in she went, the louder the voices became. "Wonderless." "Wonderless." The words were now forming vapors around her, swirling as she ran past. The vapors formed actual words, like a screen saver that made a negative star field with black words forming the stars. Wonderless was all around her. The buildings were even made of the black words. "Wonderless."


And then, there was nothing. She fell to her knees, curling up in black nothingness. She was safe and the voices were gone, but there were still the memories. She cried and cried, creating the only sound in this void.

"It's alright. You don't yet understand, but you will in time." A cold, yet somehow musically soothing voice came to her, halting the tears of pain and desperation.

She looked up to see a young boy, not more than twelve, looking down upon her. His crystal blue eyes eye piercing, though not in a way that made her uncomfortable. He was dressed all in white, a black trim circling the collar and cuffs of his long-sleeved shirt and and pants. He wore black gloves and a black set of dull finished shoes.

"Ix’nec, yin'ma in'sii." His voice was the cue to close the curtains. She dreamed no more.

******

I woke with start, feeling tired and stiff from some strain that I was, as yet, unaware of. It felt like I'd been running for days. Even yesterday's strains shouldn't make me feel like that. I let my head tilt back until it rest against the iron bars again, letting myself stare at the near black sky. My internal clock said it was morning, but the clouds were barely broken by the early sun. It was only ever really sunny in the cities.

I was in that half-waking state where everything was basic. I really had to think about moving, blinking, everything. I probably sat there for a good ten minutes trying to either work up enough sense to stay awake or to fail miserably and fall back into dreamless bliss.

Dreamless bliss...Then it hit me. My eyes flew open from their half closed state as it all came back to me in a wild blur. All the words and the scenes–Wonderless, the kalur, the takanten, explosions, fire, crumbled walls, death, destruction, family. I'm sure the gasp that undoubtedly came from my lips was audible even to the people on the other side of the wall. My hands flew to my mouth as I watched my family. They didn't even stir.

Fear welled up inside me, threatening to cut off my air supply. Each breath came quicker, shallower as I tired and failed to rationalize my thinking. Without even checking, I assume that they had all long since been taken from me. I expected the placid world to shatter, crumble beneath me. To open my eyes into the fiery Hell I'd been in moments before.

Then I noticed the gentle, wispy plumes of white. Small, short-lived clouds that hovered just around each lovely member of my family. The crushing weight on my chest and the lump that had formed in the back of my throat subsided somewhat, at least allowing me to realize they were alive, though still locked in their own dreams.

I shifted a little to my left, leaning back against Mathais' still sleeping form. He didn't budge an inch, though I vaguely thought that the slightest touch would make him disappear. That even the tiniest vibration would break reality into hundreds of tiny little pieces that couldn't be put back together.

Loska shifted, her silver-white hair revealing a slightly disgruntled look underneath the wildly spread locks. My fingers brushed aside the few that were in still in her face. I knew that she was probably picking up on my discomfort. Over the years, she'd become more and more sensitive to others, particularly when she was asleep (oddly enough). It was when she wasn't really blocking everything out... I was a special case. She'd always picked up on things and, as the sense became stronger, so too did her perception of the way I was feeling. (It was a lifelong thing partly, now that I think about it.)

I found my fingers trailing through white, laughing a little to myself as a distraction. People always complained about getting white or gray hairs. Loska was completely set, from the day she was born, to never have to fret about that. Every strand had always been a pure white.

As I combed through her hair, I felt her shift into my hand a little. It was like petting something and it enjoying the feeling. I couldn't really blame her really. We all liked the way it felt; even our shy Sa'kin thought so. Her brows unknitted somewhat in response to my lightening mood as she drifted back into deep sleep. I could only grin, my mind put somewhat at ease to know things were still the same.

It was blatantly apparent that I needed to get away from here so I could think clearly. Every time I blinked, that my eyes were closed for even the briefest of seconds, the scenes came swirling back with too vivid clarity. I could see their mutilated forms, broken and torn as the beasts fought over them...us. There was the thought that separation might make the images a little less vivid without so many reminders around. That maybe, if I could finish dwelling on it, my family wouldn't have to know about such a horror story.


I rocked forward, detaching from the rather warm bundle we had going on there. It was a slight shock to lean into the cold air, it's tendrils finding their way into the slits in my jacket as I silently thanked my hair for drying out overnight. As I moved, the grass crunched ever so slightly underfoot, making me wince. Sensitive ears on this bunch.

I felt an iron grip tighten around my wrist and a groggy mumble come from my left. Stupid sensitive ears...

"Wha...? Where are you going?" Mathais' slurred words worked their way out through his slumber's mild hold. He was a light sleeper too, though the runs from yesterday were still clearly heavy on him. I had a feeling that he and Askan had stayed up awhile, just in case something else happened.

"Just going out to think, love. No worries." I nuzzled his hand, tempted to n** at the slight scent. There was something about his smell and not just his, but everyone's that was just...alluring somehow. Although, with him I was slightly biased anyways.

His grip loosened and the hand finally crossed back over his chest. I vaguely heard a mumbled 'be careful' before he slipped back into sleep. I was kinda glad that he hadn't offered to be an escort of sorts this time. I needed to think, alone. Not that I wouldn't mind a tiny bit of company on any other morning. It's just...seeing them right now only made me think of the corpses and that was not something I wanted to see any more vividly.

******

I crouched a little and felt the gravel just beyond the enclosure as it crunched under my hands and feet. I launched from my runner's position into the general direction of unknown cages and exhibits. It was a day to really be alone. A day to shake off my chasers that were friends (As they would undoubtedly look for me if I was gone too long.) and take a moment for myself.

[note: Okay....so the Wonderless thing...see....where that repeats over and over with different alignments...that's supposed to be sporadic and everywhere....but I can't get it right on here....

I've been told that it worked out well...but I was trying for and achieved something better in the original doco.]  

[Tsume Rokaro]

Chapter 6
Not-so-simple

I bolted passed yet another exhibit, ducking through the fencing of the one adjacent to it. I was beginning to realize just how large this place really was. That was the twelfth enclosure I'm blazed through, and they were huge. I was, however, well passed the point of really being found unless I wanted to be. I'd ducked under logs (and over them) as well as skipped through rough looking streams and jumping little brooks and dried moats. I rarely, if ever, actually set foot on the gravel of the path save for when I left the Varg (the underground word for wolf) enclosure we'd been staying in.

And, I enjoyed that fact. The wind felt lovely in my hair, the black satin trailing out behind me as I booked it over the earth under my feet. It cooled my gradually warming skin and played tricks with my mind, seeming to whisper hidden languages that sometimes uttered Wonderless. (Whatever the hell that was...) It was exhilarating.

I slid to the side in a crouched position across from the most darkly beautiful place I'd come across in recent years. I was staring that a glassed over dome, the shell of a once undoubtedly gorgeous avian house. The bare claw-like branches of trees now out grew their glass prison, projecting into the skyline like jagged spines on a dragon. There was hanging moss on many of the branches, each clump a dark green, almost black tinted and hanging like frazzled hair. It was dreary, but somehow looked very inviting.

I passed the sign titling the building as “The Bird Parade” before leaping through the half fallen doors at the entrance. I jumped more, nearly empty streams and tons of educational signs as I searched for a good place to settle. I bounded off the path and delighted as dead greens and browns blurred passed me as I ran through the underbrush. It was a thrill that I really needed as it was almost blocking the gory scenes of the dream. The smell of the damp earth and woodsy vegetation was almost randomly intoxicating as it worked its was through my brain. I was now intensely aware of just how much I had missed that smell.

I paused to catch my now ragged breath, staring up at the broken, dirty ceiling of the dome. Then, I saw it. It was the biggest tree I'd ever seen. Even from this distance, I could see that the trunk, at that height, was probably wide enough to engulf a small car. This one was draped with vines that looked to be as thick as my thigh in addition to being heavily mossed. It was at that very moment that I knew exactly where I was going to park my butt to think. At the top of that massive tree. (Or at least above the high, milky glassed roof anyway.)

******

My breath caught in my throat, held in place by my awe. I was at the edge of the clearing around it, the most likely large canopy appeared to have blotted out all life under it save a few small plants and grass. There was probably ten feet between me and the base of it, showing off it's glory. The tree towered above the surrounding forest-like contents of the building.

The forest was making my head light, forcing my invisible tail to rise to a veritable flag status and my paws to dig shallow ruts in the ground. I could even feel the large, black satin wings flexing with anticipation and the burning desire to soar. I felt like I should break out of my fake skin any minute, exposing the larger, winged wolf form. It would be so appropriate right now, if that happened.

Even though no one could see these parts of me...I knew they were there, like they were flesh and bone. I could feel every feather of the wings, each and every hair that was blown by the wind. The earth under my four feet...everything like it was my true form. I could feel my pointed ears perk in anticipation or delight, and the tail wagging with joy. It was such a natural part of my being that I'd come to accept it as a simple fact. Loska had similar feelings, though her form was larger than mine by a little over an inch, the wings originating from a larger scale than mine.

I cracked a wicked grin, staring up at the gargantuan tree that I now recognized to be a vastly misplaced oak that the owners of this place had to have flown in from somewhere. I was thoroughly impressed at this point. The hanging hair of vines was a mystery, though I did remember seeing some that were very much like them hanging from trees in a little hideaway behind the house I stayed in as a kid. Loska and I played there all the time, swinging on the largest one that, at the time, was about as think as my arm.

I was going to climb this puppy. However, I had one teensy problem. The lowest hanging vine was at least as high up as three times my five-foot-five height. Okay, so it wasn't such a big problem, I just had to work my way up the vines snaking their way up the trunk. Not a big deal. At least, that's what I was telling the part of my brain that was telling me that they were wet and slick in addition to the fact that humans were not very good climbers for the most part. Stupid, stupid common sense. Sometime it was such a butt to deal with.

I started running from where I was, hoping to use the momentum to propel me part way up without too much effort. My right foot hit a gap in the bark and the other found a nice ledge on a winding vine. Up one length of Saki without trouble. My hands pulled me upwards just as quickly as my feet could push me up. I was encroaching on the jumping level, though I was beginning to lose momentum now.

I tried to speed up, this time moving both hands and feet like a squirrel would when it ran up a tree. It was awkward, but I was faster. Up one more foot and I leaned back a bit, pushing off from the tree with all limbs. In seconds I was rocketing up in a diagonal motion towards the target vine. My arms were outstretched, ready to catch hold as soon as possible.

This time, I had no mishap, no slip or miscalculation. I snagged the vine, swinging my legs around it and twining the vine around my right leg, giving me a lifeline of sorts. If I fell, I'd have to unravel a bit before plummeting to an uncomfortable landing 15 feet down. I felt like I was on something. That was simply how high my spirits were.

Climbing commenced, dragging me up and up. I swapped vines a couple times before I had to actually get off on a limb. I was most of the way up to the ceiling now, though there was still climbing to do to be passed it. I stood on the surprisingly thick limb, eying the broken crystalline roof. It was a landmark for me. Setting my jaw, I climbed on, jumping from limb to limb. Every now and again, I tottered forward or had to grab a smaller branch for support to keep from back tracking, but it was good time, really.


Skipping from branch to branch was dangerous, to say the least. I was pretty high up now, sitting probably 100 feet off the ground and still not high enough. I still had at least another ten feet before I was securely above the glassy dome. That was all I really wanted.

I was sitting there, staring at my goal. Each breath came as more of a pant, jerking back in. I had the vague suspicion that half the air that came out went right back into my lungs. My body was screaming that this climb was a long one, though I'd shortened it considerably with speed. (Muscles were protesting that too, actually.) I was now in awe of this flying house. It was much larger than it appeared from the outside. Far larger than I'd anticipated, anyway. This tree was phenomenal too. Even though it wasn't far to breach the glass, the tree towered above the dome.

I shimmied my way up, gripping the bark like a lifeline while hoping that there actually was a next handhold, rather than a smooth place in the gnarled wood. Each pull I made dragged me closer to my goal of the open air. I was well above the top, though it was now very clear that I have farther to go if I wanted to sit comfortably.

I planted my feet on the branch where I know stood, springing up to snag the limb above me. As my legs dangled below me, I was abruptly glad that free running was a 'trick' sport for pleasure. I'd probably not have been able to hang there like that if it wasn't for my background in it. My body swayed back and forth, gaining momentum with each motion. It wasn't long before I had enough power behind the swinging to dismount, completely detaching from the branch as my body moved forward feet first. I landed on another branch, getting another way to travel upward. I felt like I was playing that game Okami when you make Amaterasu climb the tower. Up and up forever, dodging places you couldn't cling to.

Then I found it, the perfect place to relax. It was a nice wide branch
with some appealing cousins around it. I could have slept up here without worrying about falling if I leaned against those. A scaly body slithered its way against the trunk of the tree, it's snake-like head facing me with glassy black eyes. With a screech, it spread it climbed the trunk and leaped away with leathery wings spread wide to catch the breeze. Slivin were not friendly, though they weren't dangerous either...just creepy looking. I rolled my eyes and took a seat.


I was far enough away that I could think clearly without seeing flashes of my family dead at my feet. That was something at least. I thought hard on what I'd seen, closing my eyes only to force them open moments later. Every time, I could see it all so clearly. The kalur and the takanten battling, the deaths, the strange families that were hidden, buildings dissolving into words... It was all there in vicious flashes.

“It's not real...” I mumbled the words, the shallow voice sounding hollow and weak with fear. I could keep telling myself all I wanted, but it wouldn't make it any less terrifying. What was more was I couldn't figure out what the heck any of it meant. I wasn't too afraid of the other kind, but I was afraid of losing my friends. I wasn't afraid of Wonderless...why would I be? It was a word I'd never really heard of before, if I'd even heard of it. Kalur didn't cause explosions like that and I knew no boy that looked like who I'd seen. He somehow reminded me of Mathais with those eyes, but he was already in the dream so I didn't think he could have two roles. It made no sense.

My head shook, flicking water that was slowly condensing all over me. I turned gold eyes to the horizon where black clouds loomed. A flicker of lightening flashed there, so distant that I probably wouldn't hear the comforting rumble of the following thunder. The smell of rain drifted to me as I looked on, staring blankly into the dark clouds. The dream swirled on inside, making uncomfortable knots in the pit of my stomach and turning the butterflies into bats, big bats. It still didn't make any sense.

A cool breeze brought the almost lemony, electric smell of freshly cut grass that I'd always associated with rain. The familiarity calming my nerves and pinning the bats into bug displays. I closed my eyes now, clearing my mind like I'd done so many times before. Picturing myself in a pure white room, one that was dead silent and very bright. The world melted away around me. It was always occurring to me that this white was uncomfortably bright and always something I wanted to put away, though the symbolic meaning of it being as blank as an unused piece of paper was always more necessary than I cared to describe. I called in black paper, each individual piece covering the white, overlapping to keep it got.

Then it was just me in a black room. I took a deep breath, feeling my lungs fill as fully as I could get them. My inner self closed her eyes, relaxing in the darkness. Every muscle tensed and then fully relaxed, all anxiety was washing away. I opened the dream, moving it from the forefront of mind to somewhere farther back in a tightly locked box. It was safer to leave it there for now. Somewhere I couldn't pull up every other second to scare the living daylights out of me. I could deal with it later.


A nagging thought was there though, one that concerned the boy. I was given more details as I filed it all away. He was blond. So blond that it was nearly white, being not much darker than his pale skin. The eyes were blue, very deep yet light blue. They stared into my soul and manged to be perfectly calm, gentle...kind. There was something familiar about all this. Even his clothes seemed vaguely familiar, like I'd seen him in a movie, but I couldn't place him anywhere.

It was then that another dream drifted to me. Eric... It was from the dream I'd had where I'd first started thinking differently. I was just really becoming aware of myself when I caught a glimpse of him in a dream, the first real look I'd had at him. A time before that and he randomly appeared in a dream for the true first time, though he was so far away that I couldn't really see him well. Since then, he'd speckled countless dreams, pointing out things. This was the first time he'd ever said anything to me.

He was right when he said that I didn't understand. I was completely clueless to what the dream meant or who he even was. (I'd began toying with a thought that he might be my guide, at some point.) It was strange though, how he just appeared like that...and always in the black darkness that I was so used to creating. And he knew Telvan, a language that a handful of us had learned. That handful being Mathais, Loska, myself, and a few other friends. It was the underground basis, though it never made it to the sharku or anyone else unless they were a part of our world. “Ix'nec yin'ma in'sii.”

“He'd told me, “Goodnight little one.”” Surprise coated my voice, low as the sentence was. He was important...and I knew that now. I don't know what it was about that sentence that made that click in my head. I was about to delve further when a yell caught my ears, faint though still there. The wind carried a howl and my name now and I knew that I was missed.

I began my descent, not caring to yell back. I couldn't project very well, as my family knew by now. I'd just be hoarse for nothing. They were simply going to have to the freaked out until I got down, that's all there was to it. I heaved a sigh and started to jump down to another branch, careful to avoid any slick moss. Somehow, the air had managed to form droplets on everything, making things a little more tricky.

Reaching the level of the dome's roof, I paused, staring back over the horizon again. Eventually my eyes traveled upwards to the cloud line. It was closer now, moving in from the southwest at a fair pace, seeming more ominous than before. It wasn't even close to raining on us yet, but the electricity in the air was telling. It was going to be a big one. Lightning flashed again, drawing my eye to the center of the masquerade.

A cloud of slivin, thick and black, flew their way to the trunk above me, clinging to the roosts like they'd be shaken off by the tree. I knew that the storm was coming, and not just the kind that rained down on you either. Something told me, nagged at me, that there was something big on the horizon of our lives. I didn't know why there was that thought of a coming war for us, but it rang in my head.

Thunder reached my ears as I hit the twenty foot mark. My eyes traveled upward again, seeing the slightly darker clouds roll in. I jumped for the vine ahead with a grim look. I needed to be away from solitude now. I simply didn't feel safe here, even if the electric fences that ranged the area around the zoo still worked thanks to the wind turbines that were never dismantled when the place shut down. It just didn't feel as safe with a storm coming in. Another rolling crash of thunder and I was on the ground, running to the doors, to my family, as lyrics played in my head.

“There are no raindrops on roses and girls in white dresses and sleeping with roaches...”

[note: I just thought of this...but...I'm sorry to anyone that doesn't like Panic at the Disco or Kill Hannah...there will be lyrics scattered sparsely throughout. (And yes, I know I haven't given credit to them yet....I intend to do that at the end of the story...whenever that comes to pass.)]  

[Tsume Rokaro]

Chapter 7
Stormy Skies

The song started playing harder now, screaming in my head liked standing beside the speakers at a rock concert. Blaring. Despite that, my heart was winning the sound battle, pounding on the drums with extra force. I couldn't figure it out. Why was I so afraid? There was no reason that a storm should scare me, none at all. At the same time, my mind was screaming that this was going to be bad, very bad. But it made no sense. There was no rain here, not yet anyway. There was only distant thunder.

A single voice caught my ears, coming from just ahead. Then another voice joined it. Fe'nai and Senari were here. I couldn't see them through the trees, but I could hear the edge in their voices. They were worried because I'd disappeared. It was becoming clear that Mathais had either kept his lips sealed on this or he'd forgotten as he drifted off again. The latter seemed more likely at least. With an exasperated sigh, I ran on towards the twins. I was not looking forward to the worried faces and the shock at my unfounded terror.

“Holy crow! Where have you been?” Senari's eyes were like saucers, flashing in the half light as the clouds slowly ate up the daylight that should be illuminating the area. Fe'nai's eyes matched hers, standing out as much as her sister's. Both had a displaced look, like they'd been literally rolled out of bed too early and had fallen back asleep on the floor. At the same time, there was relief behind the fear and it was coming in like the tide.

“I was out thinking...I told Mathais” The last part was added as a disclaimer of sorts, meaning that I didn't go off with the intention of abandoning, scaring, or otherwise worrying them. I sounded out of breath, but they seemed to attribute it to my having run up to them. For that, I was deeply grateful. I panted there, waiting for them to make a decision on where the heck we were headed to meet with the others.

After a few collective minutes, I rolled my eyes as they just dropped their heads and sighed. “Come on, where are we headed?” I took a few steps forward, closing the gap between us and hanging an arm over both of them while simultaneously tugging them towards the entrance. I was not up to staying in the middle of a giant metal dome with glass panes. For some reason, that intensified my fear.


We started running back to where we'd come from, the girls quickly turning me towards a new locale in the same general direction we'd come from, though with a different destination. The thunder was not so distant now, and the air was becoming thicker, more heavily charged. I could almost feel the electricity coursing through me, making the hairs on my arm stand up under my torn jacket. It was exhilarating and terrifying.

I was suddenly reminded of the story of the old Japanese Maneki Neko, or Lucky Cat. I remember the story of a wealthy feudal lord was taking shelter under a tree near Gotoku-ji temple during a thunderstorm. The lord saw the temple priest's cat beckoning to him and followed; a moment later the tree was struck by lightning. The wealthy man became friends with the poor priest and the temple became prosperous. When the cat died, supposedly the first Maneki Neko was made in his honor. There were others, such as when an old woman was forced to sell her cat, or when it killed a snake, but that was the story I had learned too many times over. It felt like that....the lightening coming in and we were the tree it was targeting, unsettling.

“Turn left up here.” I was surprised to notice that Fe'nai had to yell the direction. The wind was seriously picking up now, the whirring noise to my right was all I needed to know that a massive turbine was spinning at a blurring speed. It was loud enough to drown out normal speech, but subtle enough to be attributed to the wind from running. My inner wolf started to bristle as she ran, every hair shuddering with the growing number rolling of snarls. I didn't feel like a lucky cat. I felt more like a caged beast that was straining against the binding chains of reality. I could, at this time, appreciate Rika and Rokura's ability to see the future. I'd be so much more relaxed to know that this was going to be alright.

The world was almost black now, even though it was midday. The clouds were obscuring everything, though there was no rain yet. “No raindrops...” I should my head at the truth behind the words. There weren't any yet, anyway. I could feel it coming. There was a burster above our heads, it just hadn't loosed it's fury on us. What was more terrifying was the knowledge that the long standing Tornado Alley through what used to be the States, had, in recent years, been expanded to include much of where we were. This city was well north of Old Arkansas and it's neighbors, instead being closer to where northern Missouri would be now, and it was still in the heart of the Alley. That was also unsettling.


Another crash of thunder crashed overhead, the sound reverberating through my chest and competing with the rhythm of my heart. I heard a gut wrenching creak, a telling sound of metal under strain. One glance showed the turbine listing precariously towards the inside. I heard one of the others gasp and I jerked my head in the direction of a safer place before taking off again. I knew that they were just as worried as I was about that coming in and making a entrance for the kalur and their cousins. It was the last way we wanted to go.

They followed, eventually overtaking me and scampering into a bear exhibit. I followed suit as rain followed in on my heels. The straining sound turned into cracking, the sound of a giant metal piece breaking off. It crashed to the earth, the metal blades cutting into the ground like it was butter. I could hear another scream over my own, though I was unsure of who it was. It was almost instinctive for me. When things like that were too close, I lost it altogether. It was frightening and tornadoes were always a worry for me.

I was tugged into a cave, only now noticing that I was standing in the middle of an enclosure in the rain with my hands over my head as I was crouched there. “Come on.” It was a family member at least... There was one more comforting thing though, there was no cracking of stone, no giving way of the wall. “It must have snapped off at the top of the wall...?” Loska's voice was quiet in the cave, a quaver was there though, hinting at anxiety. We liked storms and rain, but not the ones that threatened to kill you.

I felt the larger hands on my shoulders shift to my arms, somewhat pinning them to my sides as they let me down into a sitting position on the cave floor. For some reason, somehow, there were tears finding their way down my face. My jaw set, but they were still there, being evil traitors to feelings that were no longer there. I wasn't scared...but my tears said otherwise. At least, that's what I kept telling myself. Terror was welling up in my chest, having had unpleasant things associated with storms like this.

The hands stayed on my arms as I just sat there with my head down. Tears dripped down to splatter my already damp jeans. “Come on...that wasn't so bad.” Mathais was the one holding me. I suddenly couldn't remember who I'd thought it was that had pulled me in. Had I really thought it was Askan? I looked up a little, gazing at him blankly in the dim cave. (Which was growing ever dimmer as the rain turned into a literal downpour.)

“Come now...” I could feel the tears coming more readily now as I was overtaken by the feeling. He tugged me against his side, letting my head rest against his shoulder. I heard everyone settling on the cave floor. Loska rubbed my arm a little, or so I guessed since it wasn't Mathais, before leaning back rather uncomfortably against Askan. The exhausted, yet distant, charge was still swirling around us as the storm raged on above us. “There now, it was nothing...” He was still trying to make the tears stop, but I just couldn't respond. They just kept coming, the dream flickering on the edges of my mind. It was only then that I realized that everyone was really in quite close proximity to each other. There was no more that a foot between any one person and another. In fact, there was generally zero space between them.

I don't know at what point I fell asleep again, but it was sometime deep into the storm amidst the flashes of light that entered the mouth of the cave and the rolling thunder that made it feel like my heart was going to stop. And it was well after I'd stained the sleeve of Mathais' shirt with fearful tears. This time, no dreams plagued me. There was no death following me. No cryptic words chasing me down the alleyways in a inescapable masquerade. Just a silent blackness that didn't intrude on me...stayed hidden. That was the most comforting thing thus far.


I woke up, the sound of rain still pattering away outside, as hard and heavy as before minus the wind. There was a gnawing in my stomach that wasn't fear or self-pity. It was the sheer essence of hunger. My half-lidded eyes tugged themselves open, looking at the near pitch black world. It had to have been nearly night outside, if not already well into it. I could see dim plumes of breath from everyone, even myself in the partial light. I was glad that there was some perk to behind used to the darkness behind my eye lids.

My gaze shot up to Mathais' face, wondering at how, even now, I was afraid of those eyes somehow. He was well asleep, like the rest, and I couldn't see them, but I knew the feeling of being under them. Something nagged me in the back of my head, saying that I was just being stupid, but I couldn't help but think about it.

I caught my breath as I started to shrug away from my place beside him, inching ever closer to the eight half-stocked bags. I knew a little too well that there was food in at least half of them. We never left our houses without backup in case we were mugged or couldn't get back to the waking world in time to catch a meal. I made it away without waking him up, leaving him leaned against the stone cemented in the middle of the floor. But, that was as far as my luck went.

Without paying too much attention, I stepped lightly around another stone, almost (but not quite) missing a crack in the worn floor and stumbling. I was quieter than I thought, seeing as how the rest of the group didn't shift a muscle, and I would have recovered had there not been a slight change in direction. I stumbled a little to the left, tottering nearer the group rather than farther from them. My foot caught on Sa'kin's leg, tugging it out of place to kick Senari in the head. This set off a chain reaction of Her raising her head into Fe'nai and then swinging her arm into Isa's side. The resulting cries of dismay woke up the other three just as I came to an abrupt stop after a somersault over the pile of bags. (It was really a wonder I didn't crush anything inside them.)

Through the half woken grumbles there were a couple of growls among them. I'd managed to wake everyone up for no reason, it seemed. I cowered where I sat, expecting some harsh statement, but they just kind of congregated around the bags and, consequently, me. “Sorry...? Was hungry...?” My voice rang out, startlingly awake now from the rush of the misguided steps.

I could almost hear eyes rolling in their sockets. A rumble of thunder reached our ears, rolling lightly as if there were no other way to do it. Gentle, slightly muted thunder. Everyone gave an exasperated sigh but set about opening bags and taking inventory. It was clear that no one had eaten anything yet, not since we left our houses it seemed. There was something about hiding and adrenaline that made the mind for get about such trivial things as hunger...

It wasn't too much longer until we had various things pulled out to make at least one meal to suit us. A half-dozen packs of instant noodles and half that number of instant rice later and we were set, tucking in the stuff. We always had a multitude of things that were instant, carrying the necessary water to make at least two things. It was faster and enabled us to not have to worry too much at least. It was enough to last us to another good meal, be it at home or on the basement floor of some building where the underground had a greater essence and presence. We could last and that was all that really mattered.

Outside, the rain picked up again, the clouds dumping bathtubs onto the earth. We heard something pop a little too loudly, my imagination chalking up a tree being split in two in the downpour. The resounding crack of thunder was lovely, echoing around our silent forms and making the broth from our food ripple in the cups. The storm was telling us that it was not through with the city yet, and this was a good time to get comfortable where we were. It's not like we could go anywhere right now.

“I wonder how much damage this will do...” Isa spoke through a mouthful of rice, her second helping of the night. She didn't look up, instead nabbing another bit of rice with her chopsticks before they found her mouth again. A few of us had stopped to ponder what exactly had happened concerning the turbine and what could have been happening on the other sides of the zoo. Contained concerned gasps left a few lips, the realization of what could have happened sinking in. There could be breaches across the grid where the outside could touch the inner world.

I was glad that I was finished eating, the dawning of this information releasing a cloud of butterflies that fluttered mercilessly inside me, tying my stomach in uncomfortable knots. I'm sure my eyes were the size of basketballs by now. Isa wasn't totally aware, the collective conscious feeling was setting in, but she didn't say another word. She simply put down her chopsticks, the bowl of rice half empty. This was not a thing any of us had thought of, or had ever wished it to come into our minds.


Everyone other than Loska and myself were soon digging through their bags, grabbing weapons for minor protection should be jumped in our sleep. Fe'nai pulled out a set of onyx sheathed daggers, sliding one into her left boot and the other securely against her right side. Senari grabbed a switch-blade adorned with a silver-flecked handle as well as a couple kunai that were gently tucked into a pocket. Isa's weapon was a little less concealed, pulling out a wakizashi and a small tanto. One resting from her belt and the other barely tied to her wrist. Sa'kin's weapon was actually very interesting, being a rather small, modified pistol that we all knew was much more powerful than it should be. (It's funny how he had the only truly deadly long range weapon and he was perhaps the kindest of us.) Askan produced a sizable arsenal of throwing stars that hid in various places all over his body, some of them carefully concealed, as well as a double ended knife that curved around in a near pinwheel shape. Mathais' weapons were also interesting, ranging from several feather like daggers to a long wooden staff with metal clasps on the end.

I looked to my white haired sister, my eyes tightening in the corners
as concern breached calm. “Well, better safe than sorry...” She murmured to me, not meeting my gaze. I knew that the grim feeling in the cave was weighing on her as she slowly locked herself away enough to function. I looked at my family again, memorizing faces and clothes. If this was the last time I saw them when the weren't fighting, I was going to remember it with glaring clarity.

Everyone laid down to sleep, clutching the most useful weapon they had, Sa'kin being the only one to not have multiples. We all huddled together somehow, being close to everyone adding a slight bit of security to the dreary night. It was the first time in awhile that the rain lovers had been unhappy that it was pouring. We couldn't hear anything coming until it hit the cave floor, the rain was drowning out everything but the wind. This made the night darker than before, more dangerous. We fell into restless slumber.  

[Tsume Rokaro]

Chapter 8
Advent

The day had consisted of nothing but sleep, from one exhausted sleep to the next with little pause between. I don't really know why, maybe it was the sudden silence, but I was wide awake. The darkness encroached on my mind, seeming to blot out all my senses. The deafening silence blared, the ringing in my ears felt like it should be drowning the low, deep breaths beside me. I knew that it was only tinnitus , where the ears perceive sound in the absence of it, but it was still unsettling as always.

I liked being able to hear what was around me. It was a first alert when I couldn't see in ink stains like tonight. (Or was it morning now?) I felt the familiar rush of adrenaline as my mind went into overdrive over why I couldn't see what could be out there, watching. What was more, last night's thoughts trickled into the mix, making the fear feel ever more justified.

A part of me said that this fear was irrational, pointless. An entirely different part rationalized that this was always how it went. I was wide awake for no reason, meaning that something was about to happen. I wanted to be wrong on that account, to be able to drift back into blind sleep where I only had to worry about dreams.

“Stop. Listen.”

It was like a voice sounded clear as day, alleviating the ringing altogether. I didn't literally hear the words, but it was a feeling that it was my cue to do so. My right hand tightened into a fist, my ring finger resting on the slightly stiff dial that was the trigger to bring out the blade. I had re strapped it to my arm, the now warm leather bindings resting on bare skin rather than the outside of my light sweatshirt, and tugged my torn jacket back over it. It didn't feel like enough protection, even if I could use it well. Even so, I felt a little better knowing I was armed rather than defenseless.

I strained my eyes in the general direction of the cave mouth, trying to penetrate the darkness, though failing miserably. Instead, my ears took over the job, pushing farther than my sight could ever go. If there was one special talent I had, it was hearing the smallest sounds. The cool air shifted in a slight breeze, rattling leaves on the trees and scattering twigs across the cave floor. Or was there something I was missing?

The tell tale scritching was too shamelessly regular. There was also a slightly hesitant click of nails on stone. Every muscle in my body tightened, a strangled gasp escaping my barely parted lips only to be crushed as those lips closed with the setting of my jaw. The clicking stopped, almost as if it'd never started, only to hear the sounds of feet receding to the soft earth outside.

I wrenched my hand up, giving Mathais a good shove before prodding Loska. Everyone was awake now, grumbling about being woken, once again, by their black satin headed sister. “There's something out there.” My voice was muted, hushed as if I were speaking to an ever sleeping babe, but the urgency and tension carried through. I saw everyone tense, hands sliding to weapons with Sa'kin flipping off the safety of his pistol.

By now, my friends were straining their senses too, trying to pick out the tell tale signs of life other than ourselves. There was a faint squelch of something in the mud and a more audible sniffing sound. I heard other sounds too, more sniffing and the tiniest sound that seemed like cloth rubbing against itself. I couldn't be certain, but I prayed otherwise. If it was what we thought we were hearing, this was going to be one hell of an encounter.

The sounds started clicking now, claws tapping lightly on the stone. I leaned into a crouch, using my left hand to slowly spin the dial. The blade slowly emerged, barely making low clicks as it edged into place, locking into the fully extended position. With each click that was made, the clicking stopped for just a moment as other clicking speed up to meet the other source of clicking, or so I was assuming.

My left hand edged for the spot my blade had been, feeling the empty sheath. I was immediately less secure. I'd left it in the alley when we had been caught in the fight with the kalur and I was one weapon short. My hand was shifted out of the way as my sister's gloved hand pushed something into the casing before tying something to my back belt loop. I was confused for a moment, pulling out the identical blade from it's resting place. I ran my finger over grooves that were undoubtedly my name scratched lightly in kanji on the handle, telling me it was mine. She must have picked it up for me after I'd thrown it. The bag clinked slightly as I moved, hinting at hidden throwing stars. I couldn't help but be glad that she had me covered this time. I looked back and gave her a smile, eying the dual runed blades in her hands. She was ready to go down with the ship, as was I and everyone else, not that was very comforting.

The moon was apparently still out, light began shining in from the entrance. I could only assume that the clouds had been obscuring it from the world, literally too thick to penetrate. Long shadows were cast, revealing startlingly human forms with disheveled hair and ragged clothes. That was just what we saw in the shadows. I could only guess too accurately what was headed our way. At least four of them looking for us, smelling us.

We shrunk into the darkness left where the light didn't touch. I watched Mathais with wide eyes as he left the staff setting in the open, only enough of the end remaining for both his hands to have a sure grip on it. We were in for a fight either way, might as well get the first jump.

He swung up and over hard, aiming to smash whatever was in the way against the wall. The creature not having time to move out away from him, was bashed stoutly on the side of the head. The other animals jumped back, baring fangs as their comrade dropped lifelessly to the ground as my dear friend twirled the staff in a lethal blur. He was much like a character from his story, being adept at cracking skulls with that thing.

He was rushed from the left, being in the exact wrong position to block off the attack. A shot rang out as a bullet buried itself into the neck of the kalur followed by the sound of crunching bone. It dropped as lifeless as the hunter before it. I just knew that the spine was severed; Serin was deadly accurate with that gun. A third lunged, the butt of the staff nailing his windpipe and knocking him back with just enough force to knock him off balance.

I rushed out between Mathais and the wall, running the thing through with my toy. Just as quickly, I pulled back from my finishing, pressing back against the wall from where I came. I was only just level with his side and a good body length from the kill. A growl was welling up in my throat, threatening to burst free, but I knew it'd do no good. The creatures would probably laugh at my attempt and keep coming.

The others ones hesitated, as if trying to figure out whether or not we were worth messing with. I didn't blame them for a second. We were killing them off one by one. Their gaunt forms swayed slightly, like they were leaves in a breeze. In an almost drunken fashion, the shambled backwards into the open. Seems they were smart enough to know that we were less guarded out there, vulnerable.

I saw Mathais' fingers twitch beside my head, loosening their grip on the long bone-breaker of a stick. The hand raised, motioning for the rest of the group to move forward. He knew as well as any of us that they weren't just going to let us leave. We'd have to send them packing. The shuffling behind us brought out everyone, their weapons at the ready.


Isa drew her blade, a cross look on her face that clearly displayed her displeasure at the how situation. It wasn't unlike a scaled up version of the look you'd get if you called her by her full first name, Isabella. (She'd whack you pretty hard for that, too.) I watched the twins ready their weapons too, holding them in a more menacing way. With everyone in line, save Sa'kin and Askan, who were a few paces behind us, we pushed forward.

At first we took slow but purposeful steps forward. Needless to say, the speed increased. Step, walk, jog... Soon we were running at them, Loska, Isa and I pulling slightly ahead of the others. My blade nicked the wall beside me before I reached the mouth of the cave. I was running as hard as I could now, barely noticing the spark it made. Loska flew in first, being the fastest, slashing one of the now stunned creatures to pieces before whirling on another. I heard a rogue snarl from her as Isa hacked at another. The growl that had been brooding in me so long ripped loose as my arm moved left before quickly zinging right in a slash across the throat of the one in front of me.

Mathais and the twins arrived almost instantaneously after that, the blades tearing flesh as wood cracked against any bony part available to it. He whirled amongst the ramshackle group of kalur, becoming a feared cyclone that both parties avoided. I heard the gun shots from Sa'kin, clipping off those that were trying to either get at him or at our backs; I couldn't tell which at this point. There were also throwing stars periodically flying through the air and finding foreign flesh. Askan was managing to throw them even though he had his blade out in the heat of battle. (Loska was right. He practiced too much.)


The fight wore on, biting at our still tired muscles. There were more than we'd noticed out here, coming in screaming. Each one seemed to be howling for a different reason, calling for help or screeching revenge. They swarmed us, doubling up to break us off from the group. I heard Sa'kin spout off a cry that was in his own language and totally beyond me as he ran across the gap between us and into the heart of the ball we'd formed. He was clearly out of ammo to use and needed a little extra protection since long range fighting was now out of the question for him.

There were only a few left now, their skin slightly darker than mine in the moonlight. Their eyes flashed the familiar glow of golden green as light reflected off the backs of their eyes. All of ours were doing the same thing, glinting as if we were just as wild as they were. We were kan'rasu in every sense of the word, having been born before the world changed. We were the caged animals. The animals that were trapped and place in a circus so that all the mangy people could come and poke sticks through the bars and laugh at our roaring.

They backed off a bit, noting that we were a sizable group that had less than life threatening slashes. Their forces were either dead or streaming from too many minor slashes to count. Others were swaying as the life in them waned, blood flowing from too many places that were far too important. I heard Loska's growling mingle with my own as Sa'kin's picked up from a murmur to a throaty sound that shook the air around him. We were paws, therians, in addition to being kan'rasu.

They circled us like sharks, growling and baring yellowed, sometimes broken, teeth. I look at them with a steeled gaze, the moon most likely sapping the color from my golden eyes, melting them into a metallic gaze. I could only guess that my companions had the same look in their eyes as the watched the hands of monsters clench and relax in rhythmic patterns. We were cornered, backs to each other now, and we hated it.

Everyone was know holding a blade in their hand, the silver glistening with a luscious red coating. Even Sa'kin had pulled out a faithful switchblade. The hatred burned in our eyes and fluttered down our blades. If it could be seen, a red aura would undoubtedly radiate off our shoulders and writhe as if we were demons, monsters as much as the monsters before us. Such was the nature of the trapped beasts that must fight for their very lives.

The kalur took one step closer to us, each one not realizing the true weight behind their mistake. In an instant, a single second, we were upon them, slashing and stabbing our way through them. Terror cried out in the ones left untouched as the fled the way they'd come. In a fit of rage, we chased them, shamelessly fueling a foreign feeling akin only to bloodlust. They would regret finding us, ever setting foot inside the walls of our wide, wild sanctuary that was this fallen angel of a zoo. Many had breached the walls of our safe haven, but few would leave without a healthy respect for this place.

Askan became a blur, spinning away from our group and slashing as he went. Loska took a more direct approach, ducking in too close to be blocked off before she could deliver a fatal wound. Mathais became a black angel, hacking at them with the daggers that were so disguised as pinion feathers, they looks as if they'd never cut butter. Instead, they cut clean, leaving a perfect trail of red flowing down with gravity's hold. Sa'kin's switchblade carried on as an extension of his arm, jabbing in straight lines to maim as he went. Senari and Fe'anai dashed creatures to each other, stepping out of the way to as the animals lunged to let the other sister end it. And then there was me, whirling in and using my sharp hand, turned all presented to me to ribbons.

Before we knew it, they were running, screaming terrified nonsense that occasionally sounded like words we should know. More often though, it was simply an annoying sound that made our blood boil. We gave chase, willing them to take us to the place they'd come in. We would drive them out and then seal the place for good, never letting another creature set it's filthy soot dipped claws on this soil.

[note: The end of this chapter is...well, might be strange. I finished typing it up at 11pm one night and posted it for the first time on Gaia at 11:30pm (recently). If it sounds weird...tel me and I'll attribute it to me being tiiiired and I'll fix it. But, that's all I have so far. Chapter 9 is still in the works.]