Horizon

Chapter 13

"Am I going to get another knife in my chest?" I asked as I followed Thomas into the brightening forest. The sun was rising slowly, and the ground ahead of me was starting to appear more clearly.

"No," answered Thomas. He almost looked like a dog, which was dragging their owner to see the mess they had made in the kitchen.

"Can you at least give me some context before you show me?" I asked obnoxiously.

Thomas slowed his walk, and answered, "Well...to put it bluntly, we're not the only anthros in the DC area...but you had already guessed that, didn't you?"

I admit I had my suspicions, but Al and Thomas kept referring to them as "the owner" of the property so much that I figured that it was actually a man. I should have listened to my gut, when the knives were being thrown at me.

"I figured," I answered. "But why keep that from me?"

"These anthros aren't like you and me, Hank. They're more...focused. They have a goal...a purpose...and they're going to stop at nothing to achieve that goal."

"What's the goal?"

"I'm sure they'll be able to explain it better than I can. I didn't want to meet them until you were ready. That wasn't going to be for a while."

"You said I was ready tonight," I argued.

"Yeah, you are...but that's because within a few days you've already successfully broken into one of the most secure buildings in the US...and you did it like it was nothing," Thomas replied.

"So you've met them before?" I asked.

Thomas nodded. "Yes, I know them."

Thomas and I kept our comments to ourselves as we climbed over the fence. Once over, he led me further towards the area where I had seen the bear tracks.

"So...if it wasn't a bear..." I started.

"Just wait," Thomas snapped, turning his head back to me.

The tracks that I had seen started to turn into more of a trail that went deeper into the land. The grass and dirt turned into a heavily used walking path. Whoever was occupying the land must have been doing so for a while.

Thomas started to slow to a stop once we reached a more open area of the forest. It looked like any glade in the wilderness. Light grass covered the ground as the trees opened up to let the sun in.

"Wait here," Thomas ordered, as he ran his hindpaw through the grass.

I looked over at Thomas, curious as to what else he had been hiding from me. "This isn't all of it. What else are you declining to tell me?"

Thomas looked at me for a couple of seconds, and replied. "Well...I see no harm in telling you now."

"Well go on, then," I pressed.

"You're kidnapping was real. We only told you that it was your plan, just to gain your trust," Thomas explained. "It was the only way to get you to come with us. After the police found out where we were keeping you, we decided to get a fresh start..."

"...by taking my memories, and letting me think I could trust you," I finished.

"Exactly," Thomas replied looking downward. "You were too rare not to keep from the government. Your father was going to use you, so we took you instead. It was the only way we thought we could keep you alive."