BEASTARS - Night of the Lepus

A Privilege

   TRAIN STATION.....

   Legosi and Haru were standing on the platform. waiting for the train. It was packed and Haru had to sit on her husband's shoulder just so she wouldn't get lost in the crowd. The train emerged from the tunnel and came to a stop. The car doors opened and after the passengers unloaded, they boarded. 

   Legosi set Haru down after the doors closed and the train sped off. They shuffled their way through the other passengers to find a seat. They found two empty ones in the corner by the door that led to the engine room. Legosi yawned loudly, showing his dentures. Some of the other passengers stared at him. Haru slipped her fingers through his. "Almost there, Legosi." she said, kissing it. Legosi blushed a bit. "Yeah." he muttered softly. 

   Off towards the horizon, the planet Venus glowed brightly in the evening sky. The last shades of orange from the sunset were disappearing and the night was prominent.

   The train was only two minutes from the next station, where Legosi and Haru would get off. Haru was catching some shut-eye, leaning on the wolf's arm. Legosi just sat there like a statue, staring out the window across from him. He then heard what sounded like shouting and chaos in the next car at the other end. That was when the door opened and a large metallic can was tossed in. It dispersed a cloudy gas that quickly filled the entire car. The passengers started screaming. "What the hell?!" Haru exclaimed. She and Legosi  quickly stood, the latter removing his T-shirt and ripping it in half. He handed one piece to Haru. "Cover your face!" Legosi ordered as he covered his muzzle. He felt a burning sensation in his eyes and nose. It was tear gas. 

   The other passengers were either laying or sitting on the ground, clutching their faces. Through the pain, Legosi forced his eyes open and saw two masked animals storming their way through the other passengers. They were wearing gas masks. Both were male herbivores. Legosi wasted no time. He wrapped the shirt around his fist and punched out the two windows behind him. The roar of the wheels on the tracks was deafening, but a majority of the gas was ventilated from the car. 

   Haru, whose eyes weren't stinging that bad, removed the shirt from her eyes. She gasped. "Watch out!" she pointed behind Legosi. One of the masked assailants, an American elk with shed antlers, grabbed Legosi in a sleeper hold and brought him to the ground. Legosi tried to break free, but it was impossible. The other assailant, a mountain goat with shaven wool, quickly fled through the other door and into the engine room. The door leading to the next passenger car burst open. In ran a familiar face.

   "Noc!" Haru exclaimed. Noc's face streaming with tears from the gas and had his gun drawn. Legosi was very near unconsciousness. "Let him go!" he ordered, aiming at the elk's head. The elk stared at the stork through his mask. "Not til his dead." he said in a muffled voice. Noc thought fast and shot the elk in the shin. He screamed in agony, letting go of Legosi to grasp his leg. Legosi gasped for air. Just then, the train accelerated to a much faster speed, causing everyone to stumble. "The engine!!" he exclaimed, hopping to his feet and entering the engine room. 

   The engineer laid dead on the floor with his throat slit. The mountain goat was standing at the control panel, his mask removed. He had pushed the throttle all the way to the max and broke the handle off. Right as the mountain goat noticed him, Haru entered. Legosi turned to see his wife standing there. "Haru?!" he asked in confusion. When his attention was diverted, the mountain goat lunged at Legosi with a bayonet. Legosi dodged the would-be stab and grabbed the mountain goat's wrist. Legosi's muzzle was met with brass knuckles and he was knocked to the floor. He raised the bayonet high above his head, ready to stab. 

   That's when Haru reached into her purse and pulled out a can of pepper spray. His mask no longer on his face to protect him. the mountain goat clutched his face in searing pain as Haru had sprayed him in the face. He dropped his bayonet, which she quickly picked up. She placed the tip of the blade to his neck. "Don't fuck with my husband!" she exclaimed. Through the intense pain, the mountain goat scoffed. "You're a traitor to your own species." he huffed. Haru frowned. "You're an embarrassment to yours." she replied coldly. Her legs were kicked out from under her, when the mountain goat swung his leg to trip her. Though blinded, he felt for her neck and began strangling her with both of his hands.