I saw this in a game once; where they carry an unconscious dude and throw him into a trash compactor, only for the dude to escape and to go on a murderous rampage. I’d probably find out what it was seeing that I had well over a million games on the MacroSD card I gave to Liger… but… well… yeah… I don’t really have intentions of killing these people who like me, are just trying their best to survive.

Although I don’t have the faintest clue where the group had taken me, their camp is easily describable as ‘safe’, and maybe a little bit ‘extra’ I’m sure in part to their never-not-serious leader Alphonse.

Ugh, just what I needed. Another Do-Good McDougal... just like Lie-ger.

In the confines of a makeshift tent strung out of a tarp and twine, I awoke to the sound of handcuffs ratcheting over my wrists and the firm glare of the Leader who introduced himself and the rest of his merry band.

At times when the wind picks up and the sides of the tent flare, I can make out the perimeter of the camp to be surrounded by trees and massive nests of barbed wire. This alone was reason enough not to immediately attempt an escape for I had never seen a synthetic forest in my entire life, so by default; navigating one would be out of the question.

Well, that and it seems that when I dove from beneath the bar in my first incident of being fired upon that I had been hit right in the midriff by a bunch of wooden splinters that are now likely to be infected.

Izumi…

By now I’m sure she’s scorned my name a million times. I’d come to accept giving anything as recompense so long as she’s still alive.

“Izumi? Is that your name? You keep mumbling it beneath your breath…”

That voice…

It was the woman from before, she’s come to do her hourly check-in.

“Not talking yet? You do realize we could have killed you on the spot or left you to those Soldiers. A little gratitude wouldn’t pain you, unless you want me to stick those splinters back in your gut.”

Turning over on my cot facing the tent’s inner wall flapping gently in the breeze, I hid the hairpin I had been using to pick the lock beneath the 40-gal trash bag functioning as my blanket.

“What’s a Beastkin like you doing on your own anyways? Shouldn’t you have some fancy entourage keeping you locked up in a well embellished bunker? Or was the posh life too much for-.”

“Shut up…” I hissed my rebuttal, tugging tightly on the handcuffs. “Don’t try to guess my life or my motivation. Just give me some medical supplies and I’ll leave!”

“I don’t think you’re in any position to give demands, but okay. We didn’t recover the Supply-Crate in no part thanks to you... What were you so desperate to get out of there?”

Truth be told I hadn’t the faintest clue what Izumi needed or even if I did, how to use whatever equipment or medication… not to mention; if her self-diagnosis was accurate in the first place.

What I really needed was that heartless metal bastard, Liger, but you know… look where that got me.

“It’s not for me, it’s for my friend-.” I started, only to fall silent on a pained and lengthy sigh.

“Oh, so there’s more little Beasts like yourself? I thought Mythos-Class Beastkin were made in a very finite quantity… that’s what you are, right? Let me guess; you need D.N.A Stabs?”

Perhaps there is a silver lining, although you’d need a microscope to see it when it comes to my upbringing. As a part of a drug trial, I had a sub-dermal D.N.A medication implant embedded at the base of my neck. Ever since the surgery, I had nearly no need for the life-saving Stabs every Beastkin slaved away for in the hopes their human masters would oblige.

But…

It’s not a perfect miracle. I noticed my fingernails stopped growing about a week ago; one of the first symptoms of Genetic Deterioration Disease. Every few years, I needed a booster shot, and well… those never existed for anyone but myself and the rest of the Beastkin in the trial.

“Just what exactly are you anyway? Something from the deep sea? I’ve never seen incandescent markings on a Beastkin before, and as a Chief Nurse whose career was explicitly treating Beasties, I should have seen-.”

“I’m an Oni, alright? Now will you leave me alone already. I need to plot my escape before you talk my ear off.”

Stifling a chuckle, the woman set aside her rucksack before motioning to remove my plastic blanket.

“You’ve got quite the mouth yourself, you little brat. I thought I’d squeeze you for an apology for nearly strangling me with those moves of yours. I’m not going to lie, you made our Leader Al a little jealous.”

“Lady, I have a friend bleeding out on god-knows-what rooftop and not even those Soldiers would help my cause. If you’re really a Nurse than help me find my friend because right now she’s all that matters to me because I promised Izumi I’d return!”

“My, my, now the cat’s really out of the bag. You were trying to get supplies for your friend? Maybe if that story proves true Al may decide to let you go. Where did you say this Izumi was? On a rooftop?”

“Like hell I’d tell you! Especially not when I haven’t any guarantee you wouldn’t just take all our stuff and kill us! Besides, like I told you; I don’t even know…! Ugh!!! This is soo freaking hopeless!!”

Turning back onto my side, I felt a ping in my wrist travel the entire length of my arm until a burning pain settled in the base of my heart. Just what was I to do? Have I not given it my all? Do I even want to know the answer to that?

“Maybe you’re right. Maybe everything has been pointless long before the undead came along, but you know something? If we do make it through all this we have decades ahead of us where anything can happen.”

“Spare me the platitudes. I’m sure I have documentation of every single one of them somewhere inside my head.”

“Well, have you had your first kiss? Fallen in love? Sipped fine wine on some beach with an unpronounceable name in a foreign country? Made passionate love on that same beach beneath the moonlight and then lose your clothes forcing you to walk back to your hotel naked?”

Rolling my eyes, the lady’s oddly specific bucket-list shook me to the core with rage.

“I’m not ‘that’ kind of Beastkin, Lady… but you’re right; maybe I should be grateful for making tons of ‘love’ and drinking bathtubs of booze. I’ve been in many high-rises where the virtual rooms can summon ‘The Beach 2.0’ where islands float in the air and where you can breathe underwater. Those were my client’s favorite, you know? Nothing like simulating real water when they’re getting off to that auto-erotic asphyxiation shit. Unable to die, but you damn sure feel everything down to the full six-inches!”

With every work marked with spite and sarcasm, the Lady found herself at a loss of words. Simply, she excused herself and left me to my devices and innermost thoughts.

“You know what I hate the most…?” I mumbled to myself as I forced the hairclip into the handcuff’s locking mechanism clattering against the splint on my wrist. “People. People who take one look at me and figure; oh, you’re one of those fancy Beastkins- like a pet cat! A pet cat lives a life never knowing need or want, well, if it’s lucky to have a less-than-braindead Owner that can remember to feed and water it. She must be spoiled rotten! Tch. What’s even worse is when they hear the truth, they ‘say’ and apologize as if it means anything, or you know; they just up and leave. Fucking bitch.”

“I didn’t leave.” The Woman stated as her arm pierced the tent flap. “I went to bring you those pills you were carrying in your pocket. I figured you needed them.”

The Diketrophine…? Oh- shit!

Hastily, I tossed the hairpin to the side of the cot only for it to slip beneath the support bindings.

“Sorry about that, I forgot to bring you some water to wash it down! Silly me.”

As quickly as she came, the Woman left once more queuing a mad scramble to remove yet another of my many hairpins from my bangs.

Success!

Now if only I had any smaller ones, it would fit the lock better! C’mon damnit! I’ve done this so many times before I’m failing myself!

“Hi again!” The Woman’s voice boomed as she stampeded through the tarp until she was looming over me with a glass in hand.

Yipping, I inadvertently sent the hairpin flying into the air.

*clink… drip!*

Shit… The hairpin just had to land in the tin mug…

“Hmm…” She hummed suspiciously. “I suppose I don’t blame you for trying to escape, but those handcuffs are there for our safety. You jumped me without warrant I might add, so until you settle down those shiny little behave-yourself bracelets they aren’t coming off.”

Systematically, the woman proceeded to remove all the various hair clips I collected over the years, setting them into a long pouch on her rucksack before offering me the mug.

“If I behave myself, will you let me go? I don’t want to cause you guys trouble, I just wanted whatever was inside that Care-Package. The military wouldn’t help me, so I went after it myself… then you guys showed up and fucked it all up...”

“Here, lean up, I’ll help you drink- your lips are so badly chapped you must be dehydrated.”

“No, I wont drink. I don’t want anything from any of you. I don’t need anything that you could possibly hold over my head. Just let me go and point me in the direction of the Care-Package. I’ll figure it out from there. My friend is waiting for me…”

As a long sigh permeated the air, the Woman rummaged through her pockets until she procured a small beige tube marked with the icon of a bumblebee and a single pill of Diketrophine.

“Come, come, don’t make me stick an I.V in you. Take your medication, I’m sure you’re past due; it’s been four days since our little incident. If you cooperate, I’ll give you a little of my lip-balm! The stuff is like miniature tubes of gold these days!”

“W-What?!” I lurched upright, snagging my broken wrist on the handcuff.

“Lip balm? They don’t make the stuff anymore, right? Bad analogy? I thought to give you some as an olive branch…”

“No- what you said before; I’ve been out four days!? Where the hell are we!? What the fuck happened!? I don’t need any damn painkiller, I need to get back to Izumi!”

Taking the pill in between her fingers, the woman eyed the neon colored triangular tablet. “So that’s what this pill is… Suit yourself, don’t mind if I do!” And with a flick of her thumb, the Diketrophine disappeared.

“You’re in the middle of a forest and in our camp. I’m not sure what answer you’re looking for because it’s not like this place is named or on a map, and as I said before; we’d have to trust you to cut you free. Repeating irrational desires aren’t gonna help your cause- ah…”

And with great prejudice to the ill-adjusted, the Diketrophine claimed it’s victim.

“Wow… just… wow…” The Woman teetered before collapsing on the ground, muttering inanities.

In the commotion, the Leader of the Survivors entered swearing up a storm.

“Ora!? For fuck’s sake what the hell are you doing on the floor you dumbass!? Maya and Revi can’t split wood for shit, and I threw my back out doing it all by myself-!” He then turned to me with an ugly glare. “The fuck are YOU looking at you little shit-stain?!”

Stating bluntly; “My powerful painkillers are in her left pocket of her trousers.” I then turned over on my side spitting a small bobbypin from my inner cheek.

“Eh? Seriously?” The man brayed as my memory came to serve me mention of his name. “How is it our Prisoner is less useless than you, ya dead-beat!? Ora, C’mon now! Don’t make me reach into your pockets ya little perv!”

Shuffling about with a heated face, Ora began to giggle uncontrollably as the Leader Al swiped at her trousers.

... Almost...!

As I continued to struggle with the non-standard locking mechanism, a pain in my wrist began to surface along with the call for the little miracle fix.

“Wow, these things really blow your dick off!” Al chortled dabbing the pill on the tip of his tongue… and then continued to chortle until it grated on my nerves. “What were these called again!? With just a teeny dip I feel like I’m eighteen again!!”

“Why should I tell an old man like you?” I grumbled, sucking the pin back into my cheek as I felt a hand place itself on my shoulder.

“I’m twenty-eight, you cantankerous little…! Ah, fuck it, I feel like I could split this entire forest in half! Smell you later, Shitter!”

Just like that, Al left me with the idiot child rolling about on the floor in a puddle of drool.

“Ora…?” I called curiously as her eyes traced something invisible crawling across the rolling ceiling blowing in the gentle breeze. “C-Could I trouble you for one of my pills now? My wrist is beginning to throb rather badly.”

“Oooh~!?” She called in a sing-songy rhythm. “Lemme put some lip-balm on you first- oh! Wait! Water! I was supposed’ta give you waaaaatttteeeeerrrrr~!”

I found myself soaked to the bone for Ora took it upon herself to empty not only the mug, but her the entire contents of her personal canteen upon my face.

“*ACK!* I didn’t ask to be waterboarded!?!”

“Sorry! You’re mouth-hole keeps moving all over your face! G-Gee! You look really funny! Cute- but funny! What kinda’ Beastie did you say you were again!?”

“An Oni…”

“Whassthat!? Like… Onigiri!? Sounds foreign… I thought all Beastkin were made in Ol Merica?”

“Most of them are to my knowledge, yes. I’m sure there’s some collaboration from Japan and Neo-Japan on Eden. I’m not the best person to ask for a history lesson and you’re in no condition to listen anyway-*hurk!*,” Out of nowhere, another wave of pain hit me like a physical brick tumbling up my backside. ”Would you hurry up and feed me the damn pill already?!”

“Ohrigh’!” Ora exclaimed. “Let me get you s’more water!”

Again, I found myself alone.

THANK…

THE FUCKING…

STARS… -for the time being!

Without wasting my precious moments of silence, I immediately began to work the lock until I felt the click of the spring latch reverberate into my teeth.

“Finally! Okay, now where’s my shoes and my- ou-ouch!”

Having only freed the cuff bound to the cot, the second metal band spun around my bandaged wrist that had been set with some sort of splint.

“Okay, fuck my shoes! I don’t have time for this!”

As I dipped beneath the tarp’s rear wall, I found the ground completely smothered in dried pine-needles.

“Okay, fuck my soles! I need my damn shoes! Ugh!? Where are they!? This tent is a mess!!”

In my haste to toss over the piles of blankets and miscellaneous recess discarded about the tent, I knocked over the empty mug near the cot.

*CRACK!*

“FUCK!” I squeaked, throwing myself through the back side of the tent taking the entire covering with me only to be blinded by the piercing rays of daylight.

“H-Hey!” A voice shouted in the distance, followed by the camp igniting in an uproar.

Unable to contain my thoughts, Izumi’s weary and weathered expression denied the pain from ascending any further than my calves. If finding her meant endlessly wandering through this bed of nails, so be it. But it seemed the forest itself would have me otherwise.

*BIFF!*

Unable to perceive the tree in front of me, I found myself turned on my backside nose up facing the sunlight peeking through the synthetic pine trees pulsating with a faint pattern of circuitry.

Pretty…

So bitter… and pretty…

All to be suffocated by the green tarp still bound to me, deflating in the wind.

My flag has fallen… How have I been defeated so easily? Is my will worth nothing?

“What the hell are yer doin!?” Ora squealed as her silhouette hunched with palms on her knees. “I leave for one sec and ya manage to go berserk!? The hell!?”

“If you’re not going to let me leave… If you’re not going to let me save my friend… Just do me one small favor…”

I rolled those dark words salted with tears in my mouth for a few seconds before deciding to swallow.

“Kill me…”

“Huh?” Ora didn’t hesitate for a moment as my grotesque request permeated the air for the others to hear. “I told you already; you’re in no condition to look for your friend! You said so yourself; you don’t know where she is!”

“I’m not asking! I’m telling you- just fucking kill me!!”

“You’re not letting me finish! I asked Revi to fly his little remote toy airplane thingy to search for your friend!”

“It’s not a toy!” Revi protested. “It’s a U.A.V; well… sorta… I mounted a nice camera to my model Blackbird. Once my laptop charges on the Solar-Bank, I’ll be able to launch a mini-sortie… of sorts. With so much ground to cover, it’s the only viable means of rescuing your friend.”

Then, a hand much stronger than Ora’s pulled me from the ground while removing the tarp from my head. Once again, the blinding light concealed the features of my surroundings. That is, until I fell prey to the shade of a body towering over me.

“I thought you said this one wouldn’t be trouble, Ora?” Al spoke in a sardonic tone, though Ora remained inattentive. “Ora?” He called again, but the woman had fixated on her fingertips, jittering with medicinal glee.

“Alright… Revi, see to it that Maya figures out what Ora has taken and that it’s out of her system by noon tomorrow. And you with the deadpan glare-!”

He was referring to me, but I wasn’t having any of it. The satisfaction of a preemptive blow to the jaw easily overruled the pain of striking with my broken wrist… or so I thought, hence ‘preemptively.’

“YEAAAAOOOOOWWWW!!!” We howled in unison.

“The hell was that for!?”

I’m sure in time, he will figure out the answer, but first- duck and cover!

The sound of rifle fire popped into existence from the tree line in no discernible direction from at least three different sources. By the slow shot pacing, they were hunting rifles, but it didn’t seem that anyone valued their lives other than myself as I was the only one balled up in the pine needles.

“What the heck are you doing on the floor? Get up! That’s just Maya hunting game for tonight’s Dinner. You’re welcome to join if you promise not to deck me in the jaw again… I’ll forgive you this one time since it’s reasonable after the incident with the Soldiers that you’d have a little shellshock.”

It is said a small act of kindness can melt steel beams… wait…

No…? It’s a simple act of kindness blooms into butterflies-… No, uh…?

You know what?

It was already hard enough to stomach the poached squirrel staring back at me out of the depth of my soup bowl, let alone concentrate hard enough to remember ephemeral platitudes that proved to do nothing other than piss me off in the past.

That and, I couldn’t get over that Al could and probably ‘should’ have struck me back, but he didn’t. He offered me a seat around the bonfire with his rag-tag family of sorts, and even a warm meal with a promise that we would survey the city with the assistance of Revi’s UAV so long as I behave myself… whatever that entails.

“Soooo~ Beastie girl with the strange markings, are you gonna tell us your name?” The rabbit eared girl Maya hummed gleefully as my mental image of a humble bunny destroyed itself with each bite she took from the indiscernible lump of fleshy game-meat. “I’ve never seen such a tall Nymph-Class before.”

“That’s cus she’s not a Nymph ya dumb!” Revi snickered between slurping noises. “Nymphs were never exported from Eden! Pretty sure they’re Neo-Japanese exclusive. Custom-Nerd-Midgets and their pointy ears could never survive in a shit-hole like this. Our Beast-Friend here is TOUGH! I mean she took down Ora completely unarmed, right… err?”

Upon receiving an unexpected nudge, I found my shoes overflowing with watery broth.

“Else…” I murmured as the tension in the air rose to combustible levels.

Then, something unexpected happened.

On either side, an arm fell upon my shoulders.

“Welcome to the Family, Else!” Maya and Revi cheered.

“Oh, and sorry about your shoes- I’ll dry those out right away!”

Back in the tent that hours ago once served as my prison, I laid my head back on the cot, clinging on to the image of my shoes tied to the end of a stick near the edge of the bonfire.

“Family…”

For all the trouble I have caused them, these strangers are willing to accept me, along with whatever baggage, just as I am?

This unanticipated shift in mindset drove me to restlessness. If I can find Izumi -FUCK LIGER- we can manage on our own! Surely these people will except my friend of little mind! God- I can’t sleep! This is too good to be true!

This is… Too good to be true… Mmm…

Far in the distance, a gentle rumble shook the earth and after some seconds had passed, it left me wondering if it had even happened.

“What was that?” I whispered to myself as I gazed through my fingers masking the small hole in the tent revealing the stars. Again, the ground shook, this time setting my nerves on edge.

“Was that an explosion?”

And upon the third time, I found myself standing outside the tent to the murky silence of the campgrounds.

“Where is everyone?”

After I paced around the embers still gently crackling in the wind, I doubled back to my tent assuming everyone had gone to sleep.

*Ahn~!*

OR SO I THOUGHT!?

Just who made that vivaciously lewd moan? Anddd~ guess who’s about to find out!?

As I crept through the darkness, another breathy gasp peaked and rolled into yet another until I could distinguish a soft grunting noise emanating from the central most tent.

“Oh-ho-ho!? Al and Ora are getting their rocks off? Dummies! I hope they don’t intend to bring up a kid in this shit-hole. Not wearing a rubber would be irresponsible! Maybe their new addition should remind them- eheheh!”

Now that I am without the ability to blame such mischievous behavior on the Diketrophine, I would be accepting full responsibility if I’m to be caught peeping.

If that is; Maya and Revi hadn’t already been shoulder to shoulder lying flat on their stomachs, tails wagging in unison beneath the very edge of the massive tent.

“Hmmm… what to do…” I whispered inaudibly as their feet kicked about, setting a light bulb off in my head.

Had I forced my way in or grabbed one of the two suddenly, surely I would have caused a stir so instead; I grazed a finger over Maya's foot until she backed out with eyes set to accuse Revi.

“OH-*MPHM!*” She caught herself mid huff. “I-It’s not what it looks like! W-We’re not doing a-anything weird… R-Revi? R-Right Revi?”

“Mayo~, what’s wrong? Ora’s making those stupid faces again- *HURK!?*”

Nearly turning white, Revi expression went from horror to unadulterated guilt.

“Y-Yo… Else… C-Care to join us?”

“Sure do! Fill me in on the Deets!” I snickered, diving between the two Beastkin before lowering my voice to near silence. “Are these two dating? What’s Ora’s cup size? Does Al have a big pickle?”

“Err… You don’t really have to whisper…” Revi’s voice buzzed in his throat. “Our Great Leader and his Mistress are wearing Ear-Buds; see how they’re pounding away to a rhythm?”

Sure enough, even as Ora tied herself into a pretzel, they were going at it around 60 to 80bpm!

With a whine, Maya nudge me. “Ora’s got double D’s. I’m so jealous having these stupid mosquito bites.” I then caught her gawking at myself. “Uhguu~ even you got bigger cans than meee~ and I’m a Rabbit; most Leporidae-Class Beastkin in the fashion mags have huge knockers- so why am I the one with ill-fate?!”

“If it makes you feel any better; I’m pretty small for an Oni. We still have some growing to do… I assume?”

Generating a moan all of her own, Maya buried her face in the nook of her elbow. “Speak for yourself; I’m 34 in Human years!”

“I’m 21 in Human years.” Revi snickered, his eyes tracking the two lumps thumping away beneath the bed sheets. “How old are you, Else? I hope you didn’t click past the age gate in joining us here. This is somewhat of a past-time for us since neither of us get any action these days.”

“I’m 18 in Human years and uhh…” My eyes darted between the two inferring the obvious.

“Are you kidding? We are practically Brother and Sister!” The two sneered in unison.

“But you’re not even from the same Caste!? Is it a Carnivore / Herbivore issue? What’s the deal? I think ya’ll would make a cute couple!”

“Gag me!” Maya retched as Revi rolled his eyes sarcastically. “Like she said; mosquito bites!”

“Eh, you perma-virgins are no fun. I’m going to go back to my tent.”

*RUMBLE*

There it was again! The strange tremor from before! But neither Revi or Maya paid the ominous sensation any mind.

“You guys felt that, right?” I winced as I curled back, sitting upon my ankles. “That’s not the first time it has happened, what gives?”

“If I had to bet, ruptured gas line.” Revi shrugged, turning to Maya who had yet to return from beneath the tent’s folds. “Why, you scared? Want some company back at your tent?”

With a shit eating grin and a nudge of his brow, Revi’s not-so-subtle suggestion forced out a trickle of restrained laughter.

“You’re not so sly for a Fox. Sure, why not? Let’s go! I haven’t gotten my rocks off in weeks!”

Judging by how Revi’s mouth fell agape, my response was anything but expected, and after a ten-second-long deadpan glare, he began to fizzle and stammer helplessly.

“Y-You’re not kiddin,” He choked with his throat thick with timidity “j-jokes on me, eh!?”

“You’re adorable. No, I wasn’t kidding, but we really should be going to sleep. Maybe tomorrow, maybe…”

Damn…

How can I let myself get carried away at a time like this?

Izumi is still waiting for me, and again, I allowed myself to become distracted.

How much longer do I need to wait until sunrise when we can use the Drone?

Tomorrow can’t come any faster…

But…

It doesn’t need to… I have one more Diketrophine tablet and a heart throbbing full of grief.

Tonight isn’t the best of nights for a midnight stroll with the fog seeping from the humid undergrowth, but I do have an advantage in the form of two bashful eyes reflecting the faint starlight.

“Hey Revi… lets make a deal…” I grinned weakly, sealing away the anxious fire burning away at my insides. “How attuned are you to your instincts? Foxes are nocturnal, yes? Let’s go for a walk, we may just stumble upon my friend…”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea. Can’t it wait? My Drone is really zippy- it can survey a-.”

Watching the movement of Revi’s mouth, I found an opening. Half a tablet for myself and the rest… well, you can figure what happens when you force a kiss on someone mid-sentence. After a brief befuddled expression, the ‘feel-goods’ visibly kicked in as Revi pressed forward for another peck.

“Nuh-uh. You can have whatever you want AFTER we find Izumi, so say whatever you need to this pervert.” I rolled by eyes, hinting to Maya who had been kicking her feet in tandem the moaning emanating from within the tent. “Don’t let her in on this, it will be just us.”

Just us…

I’ve heard that before, tch. I’ll save that unsavory memory for another time. Tonight, we Beasts dance beneath the Moonlight!!