Trackstar Antelope

Trackstar Antelope Volume 26

I break into a sprint, across the pathway and over to my building, only there, I can claim my safety. I'm done for tonight, and I'm not gonna be afraid of something I'll probably never come close to.

~~~

I open the door to my dorm room, and see my four friends, all comfortably sitting at their desks, doing some schoolwork.

"Oh, Jamel. You're back." Sona says. "How was your evening?" he asked me. I look around the room to see my four dormmates. Over the course of this week, I've grown to learn more about them. At first, they feared carnivores; not from who they are, but what they're capable of. Since then, I've shown them my ways, and how I've become friends with carnivores. That there's nothing to be afraid of, except for those who want to harm them. I don't expect them to make friends with every carnivore they'll ever see, but maybe, just maybe, they'll be ready in the future.

"I think I might go to bed now." I tell them. "I'm absolutely beat."

I have a lot on my mind that I need to process... I'm sure I could probably work things out tomorrow.

Chapter 231: The Awful Auction

I wake, without a bed, except my surroundings seem different. It's dark, but I see that the room seems a lot smaller, and I'm surrounded by nothing but red drape. I stand up and notice there's something in front of the drapes.

Bars. Steel metal bars. I'm surrounded by four walls of bars and red drape. I also notice that I'm barely clothed, only wearing my underwear. What's happening here? I notice a streak of light fills the "room" from behind. I turn around to see a small carnivore looking at me. He turns around and I hear him say "Yeah, he's awake. Should we start now?". I walk over to ask him a few questions.

"He'll fetch a good price, I bet." What's he talking about? The small carnivore moves away from the drapes before I had the chance to ask where I was. The drape falls flat, encasing the room in darkness. Suddenly, my surroundings begin to move, as if the room were on wheels. We roll for a little while, and I can tell that I'm somewhere completely different.

Outside of the room, I can smell cigarettes, tobacco, and alcohol, a very bad scent for herbivores. I can hear a lot of animals talking, but I can't make out any conversations. I hear floorboards creak, as someone walks past.

"Is he ready? I can tell this is going to be big." The voice says. I hear something banging, like a gavel. "Good evening, gentlemen." The voice says this time on a microphone.

"I believe we've found the grand prize, the sale of the year. Everyone, make sure you're ready, you have a tissue, or even a bucket on hand, because you will not be able to control your saliva."

The red drape is thrown off, and floats away. I'm not in my room anymore. I'm in a cage. There's too much to take in at a first glance. I'm on a stage, but I can tell that I'm not in a performance. I look to my left to see the voice of the microphone, a very sketchy looking canine of some sort. I look ahead to see about a hundred animals, all sitting comfortably in the seats ahead of me. After a quick scan of the room; they're all carnivores.

"We can see you all drooling with excitement." The voice says to the carnivores. "Here he is, gentlemen. A 15-year-old Blackbuck Antelope taken fresh from the streets. Perfect meat condition, grown straight from the country. Athletic build, as well." A loud holler of excitement erupts from the carnivores. This isn't a stage performance.

It's an auction.

I hear all sorts of obscene comments, that make me feel even more worthless. They call out about my almost naked, slender, athletic body. Is this all I'm destined to be in the long run? Just a piece of meat for some carnivore to enjoy? No matter what I do, no matter where I finish, I'll always just end up on a plate?