A loud crack could be heard as John kicked a door open to a fairly large house, with the small wolf pup, Aura by his side. "Looks pretty clear huh?" He asked Aura, looking down at her with a smile.
Aura trotted into the house, clearly curious to find out what's in there. John followed closely behind her, looking around very cautiously after closing the door behind him. As he looked around the house, he couldn't find anything that spelled danger.
He walked over to the kitchen and began searching around in the cabinets and chuckled a little when he found a lot of cans of dog food. "Hungry Aura?" He asked with amusement, grabbing one of the cans.
Aura was already stood right next to him after he said that. Amused, John grabbed a bowl and emptied the can into it before setting it down in front of her. She sniffed it a little, but began eating it as if she was starving.
While Aura ate, John began searching through more of the house, opening every door to see what they were dealing with here. Eventually, he had searched every room and didn't find anything eventful, but he was very happy with this house and decided it would be he and Aura's home for the foreseeable future.
A few hours had passed and it was now dark outside, starting to snow heavily. "Looks like we beat a storm Aura." John cooed as he sat on a chair and pet the wolf pup asleep on his lap. "Think we're all that's left? Maybe... we'll find people... some furs to settle in with or somethin'." He said softly, but the hope was clear in his voice. "We'll see what happens I guess..."
John rested the back of his head on the chair he was sitting in and continued to gently stroke the sleeping Aura. He began to think about Earl and Suzie... and the promise he made to himself, to find and kill their murderers... that was still near the top of his to do list... but his priority now was to possibly find more furs and help them, and if he's lucky... find a community of them that would take him and Aura in. But he knew it wasn't likely... why would the furs trust a human after all they've put them through?
He slowly closed his eyes and listened to Aura's steady, peaceful breathing among the sounds of the heavy snow outside. The sounds slowly lulled him to sleep on the chair, he and Aura's first night in their new... probably temporary home.
-
One whole month had passed and John and Aura remained in that house the entire time. John had fortified all of the windows and doors in order to keep the rabids out, he has found out how best to survive... remain silent. These Rabids seemed to be attracted to sound. But his most basic rule was to avoid them at all costs, the only real weakness he knew off right now was getting a bullet or a knife through their green eyes. Anything else, they seemed to... adapt, or evolve in a matter of seconds in order to survive... John has never seen anything like it.
Aura had grown very large during the month, which John found very unusual... she was about the size of a full grown labrador now... and she just kept getting bigger. But John had trained her well and she follows his every command.
The winter storms have started to grow worse and worse and in order to stay warm in the house, John has had to scavenge for fire wood to use in the house's fireplace. Both John and Aura were currently sitting in front of the fireplace, John was eating from a can of beans while Aura was chewing on a raw rabbit leg.
"Think we should go out and scavenge for more? We're runnin' kinda low." John asked Aura as he scooped up another clump of beans with his spoon and ate it.
A whimper could be heard from Aura as she ate... almost as if she was growing bored of the rabbits they were hunting.
John nodded. "Yeah... maybe we can hunt a deer? That ought to change things up..." he suggested.
Aura barked in response to that, apparently she liked that idea.
He chuckled and reached a hand over to start stroking Aura's head, rubbing her ears a little. "Well looks like we've got today planned out then." He said with a smile, putting his empty can on the ground and standing up. "Let's go hunt us some deer." He said as he began walking up the stairs.
John entered his bedroom and reached under his desk. During this time, he has managed to find a good collection of guns and weapons. He slid out a duffel bag from underneath the desk and unzipped it, pulling out a large sniper rifle, an M24 that he found not too long ago. He also grabbed his desert eagle and a black kabar from his duffel bag, putting them in their usual holsters.
Before he zipped the duffel bag closed again, he noticed something at the bottom... his old dog tags that he got from serving in the military... he shook his head, quickly zipping it closed and sliding it back under his desk.
With his guns retrieved, he quickly put on his boots and grabbed his black jacket before heading down the stairs again to see Aura waiting at the door patiently.
He walked over to the door and unlocked the many locks he put onto it before slowly opening it, immediately feeling the cold of the outside washing into the house. He took the first step outside, his feet crunching under the deep snow as he began heading in the direction of wilderness, the most likely spot to find deer.
Pretty soon, Aura had locked onto a scent and started to slowly lead John in its direction, both of them being sure not to alert it of their presence by stepping too loudly. John already held his sniper rifle, ready to take the shot if he saw it. It didn't take long to find some tracks that weren't already filled back up by the snow and he confirmed it was indeed a deer they were tracking.
Finally, he saw the figure of the deer in the distance in between some trees. He and Aura immediately went low while he thought about how likely it was that he would hit his target... it would definitely be a tricky shot... but he decided to do it anyway and slowly took aim, aligning the sights on his scope with the neck of the deer. He gently placed his finger on the trigger... and pulled, sending a bullet zipping through the air towards the deer with a loud bang.
John watched with relief as his aim was true and the bullet killed the deer instantly, with no pain. He looked over at Aura with a proud smile. "Good girl, now let's go grab it before the rabids come for the sound." He said, petting Aura's head for a moment before standing up.
He threw his sniper's strap over his shoulder as he began walking towards the now dead deer, picking it up and carrying it over his shoulder when he reached it.
He and Aura started the walk back home, with dinner now retrieved. But on the way... he spotted something odd... more tracks in the snow. Tracks that have clearly been there for a few hours due to them almost being filled back up with snow. He took a closer look at them.
"These are fur prints... looks like some sort of canine..." John muttered to himself with surprise as he began looking around to see if he could spot this fur. "...We should track them Aura... think you can catch the scent?"
Aura was already on the case before John could even ask that question, she quickly picked up the scent and began leading him in its direction. He was a little nervous to see that Aura was leading him into the town, where rabids likely were... but he was determined to find this fur.
Suddenly, he stopped in his tracks when they walked a little into town and he heard distant voices among the sound of the heavy snow. He slowly inched closer, with Aura now following his lead. He dropped the deer for now so he could grab his sniper with both hands again in case this was a threat.
Eventually, the voices led him to the nearby gas station... what he saw upset him. There were a group of humans surrounding a fur that one man had pinned against the wall. The fur appeared to be a female wolf fur... the one John was tracking.
"Boys... think you'll judge me if I took this bitch? Haven't had some pussy in so damn long, I honestly don't care anymore, fur or not." The man pinning her laughed.
The other men laughed to that while the wolf fur began to tear up. "N-No! Please, don't!" She pleaded while desperately squirming to break free.
"You're mine now little bitch~" the man whispered into her ear with clear lust, making the wolf fur tear up more and begin sobbing.
John already had the sights of his sniper aimed at the man pinning the wolf fur, he wasn't going to let this happen, not a fucking chance. He aimed in a way that didn't risk hitting the wolf fur and took a deep breath before pulling the trigger, hitting the man right in the abdomen and causing him to immediately fall to the ground with agony, clutching his wound as it bled profusely.
The other men looked around with clear shock as this happened, pulling out their weapons, but John quickly pulled out his desert eagle and shot a few of them in the head before they could retaliate. The one man that John didn't shoot, Aura was already locked onto, growling viciously. She lunged at the man and latched her teeth around his neck, mauling him on the ground while he gurgled on his own blood.
John slowly walked towards the man he sniped in the abdomen and looked down at him with a scowl, desert eagle in hand... his eyes widened when he saw a thick scar on his lip... this was the group that killed Earl and Suzie.
"Argh... the fuck... you son of a bitch!" The scarred man yelled furiously, coughing up some blood.
John didn't even speak a word to the man, instead letting out a loud whistle... a whistle all too familiar to Aura. She slowly walked towards the scarred man menacingly, dropping the throat of the man she just mauled from her maw as she began growling viciously in the scarred man's direction.
The scarred man stared at Aura with horror and began shaking with absolute fear... right up until Aura lunged at him and began to maul him relentlessly, filling the air with the sounds of his screams until... silence. Earl and Suzie's deaths have been avenged. John slowly slid his desert eagle back into its holster while turning around to the wolf fur he just saved... only to see her passed out in the snow from shock.
He sighed and threw his sniper's strap over his shoulder again before kneeling down next to the wolf fur... becoming almost hypnotized by her beauty. He looked at the white markings along her body with interest, wondering what they were for. Eventually, he came to the decision that he couldn't leave her out here... he had to take her with him.
He gently and carefully lifted up the wolf fur, carrying her bridal style and standing up fully, looking back at Aura. "Think you could drag the deer with us?" He asked her, pointing to the deer he left a few feet away.
Aura immediately followed his command and trotted over to the deer, clenching her teeth on one of its antlers to begin dragging it back to the house... John was convinced by now that Aura simply understood english. He began walking back to their house, still carefully holding the wolf fur in his arms.
It was a good thing they left when they did, because only minutes later, he could hear the rabids arriving to where they just were, beginning to feast on the human corpses they left behind.
Eventually, they made it back to their house. John entered first and gently layed the wolf fur down on the sofa before heading back out to help Aura, carrying the deer in. Once everyone was inside, he closed the door and latched every lock, then turning around to face Aura.
"You're such a good girl." John chuckled, kneeling in front of her and rubbing in between her ears, and seeing that her mouth was pretty covered with blood. "We're gonna need to wash you up later though." He said with amusement.
Aura let out a whimper in response to that, making John laugh a little more.
"I know you hate baths, but come on... you're filthy." John said with amusement before standing up, averting his gaze to the wolf fur still unconscious on his sofa. "We should get started on the deer first though... have a meal ready for her when she wakes up huh?"
Aura looked up at him with what almost seemed like concern in her eyes.
"What? Think she might react badly to me because I'm human...?" John asked before nodding with agreement. "I guess you're right... we'll take things slow, make sure she knows I'm not a threat." He said with conclusion.
Aura still looked at him with what seemed to be worry, but she began walking over to her favourite corner of the house to lay down. He was really beginning to think that Aura could understand him... he let out a soft sigh and dragged the deer carcass over to his kitchen where he took off his heavy gun belt, setting it on the kitchen counter and began to use his large kabar to skin the deer and carve out whatever good meat he could get.
He then carried many chunks of raw venison over to their large fireplace, setting them down on the metal cooking tray above the fire to slowly cook them. "Should be good to eat in a few hours... but you get to eat this raw so, here you go." Said John, throwing a pretty large chunk of raw venison Aura's way.
Aura caught it in the air like it was nothing and began to feast on it, clearly enjoying the change in food. She began to tear the meat apart with her very sharp teeth, devouring the whole thing within a few seconds and whimpering when she realized she was finished.
John chuckled a little. "Don't worry, I'll carve out some more for you later." He said with amusement, looking back to the fire and watching the meat cook. He wondered if the wolf fur has ever had a meal like what he was about to give her, he knew that the fur slaves have only ever been fed the bare minimum of what slave owners could give them... he sighed as he thought about it, only becoming more sympathetic to the furs for what humans have put them through.
After a few hours, the meat was finally cooked enough and John began to set a few chunks of it on plates... which was when he heard a small groan from behind him. He turned around, and realized that the wolf fur was beginning to stir.
He put the plates down and moved to her side, preparing to explain what happened. He watched as her blue eyes fluttered open and she began to look around with clear confusion, holding a hand to her head.
"Uh... Hey." Said John with a soft, clearly slightly nervous voice.
The wolf fur immediately flinched to the sound of John's deep voice and turned her head to him, instantly on the defensive when she saw that he was human. "Get the fuck away from me!" She shouted aggressively and fearfully, lunging from the couch and shoving John out of the way as she backed away from him. She backed up into a wall and extended her claws, they were a little small but they were definitely sharp enough to do some damage. John knew they were only small like that because of malnourishment.
He quickly recovered from that violent shove the wolf fur gave him and stood up, holding up his hands. "Hey, calm down, I'm not gonna hurt you." He said with the most calm, assuring voice he could muster.
The wolf fur began to look around desperately for something she could use... until she spotted John's belt on the kitchen counter with his still holstered desert eagle. She immediately made a run for the gun.
John cursed as he spotted what she was running towards. "Shit, wait!" He shouted, running after her.
Aura was asleep but she woke up to the commotion, growling when she saw the wolf fur running for the gun.
The wolf fur reached the belt and quickly pulled out the gun, turning around to point it at John, but he made it to her just in time and tackled her to the ground, yanking the gun out of her hand. "Can you just listen dammit?!" He exclaimed, moving away from her with a sigh before unloading the gun so that it wouldn't be a threat anymore.
Tears began to brim in the wolf fur's eyes and she shuffled back to the kitchen counter again with fear, now that she didn't have any sort of plan. "P-Please... don't k-kill me..." she mumbled with a shaky voice as she began to sob.
"I'm not gonna kill you, I'm not gonna hurt you... I just want to help you." John replied with a soft tone, kneeling next to her... he knew it was pretty stupid to be this close to her since she could use her claws and teeth on him if she wanted... but he had to establish some trust here.
The wolf fur slowly raised her head to look him in the eyes with her teary ones, clearly very confused. "Wh-What...?" She asked with a voice that showed her confusion. A human wanting to help a fur? That was unheard of.
"I found you out there, those guys almost... did something to you... I stopped them before they could." John explained with a soft sigh. "I hate the way furs have been treated... and I know you must be terrified right now because I'm human... but please believe me, I'm not a threat to you. I promise."
The wolf fur began to remember everything that happened, she was almost raped by those men... but this man saved her... she remembered that now. "You... you saved me..." she muttered to herself, almost with disbelief.
John let out another soft sigh. "You needed help... I was just lucky to be there to stop them." He replied. "Look... I'm gonna offer you some food, water... maybe even a warm bath if you want, looks like you need one... but if you wanna leave, I won't stop you." He explained with a slight smile.
The wolf fur was beyond shocked to hear what this man was offering her... never in her life would she have expected to meet a human like this. "I... I don't know..." she replied, clearly not knowing what the hell to do right now... should she take his offer, or get the fuck out of there?
John nodded with understanding. "Well, the choice is yours. Aura and I hunted a deer earlier, I have some cooked venison for you if you decide you want it." He said with a soft smile as he stood up to walk back over to where he left the plates.
"A-Aura...?" Asked the wolf fur, clearly she hasn't noticed the wolf in their presence yet.
"Yeah. Aura, go say hello." John replied with a chuckle. The wolf fur almost jumped out of her skin when she saw the wolf walking towards her. "Don't worry, she's friendly... well... to people she likes." He said with amusement.
Aura began to sniff around the wolf fur who was now shaking with fear, but when Aura gave her a lick on her face... it seemed to calm her down almost immediately and she even giggled a little when Aura kept doing it. She slowly raised a hand, gently beginning to pet Aura's head with nothing but awe now, her fear was completely gone.
"I've... never even pet a dog before... nevermind an actual wolf..." mumbled the wolf fur with slight amusement.
John smiled a little to that as he picked up the plates and began walking back towards them. "Well, first time for everything. She likes you." He said with a chuckle.
"...I wonder why." The wolf fur replied with slight sarcasm... since she was pretty much a descendant of wolves.
John chuckled a little to that as he now stood next to the wolf fur, offering her the plate. "Looks like you haven't eaten in days... please." He said with a soft smile. "I'm John by the way."
The wolf fur was immediately attracted to the amazing smell of the cooked venison and she stared at it, her mouth pretty much almost drooling to the sight... she has definitely never had something like this. She slowly took the plate and looked up at John with slight fear. "I... I can eat this?" She asked cautiously, fearing that she may be punished if she did like her slave owner would if she did something even slightly wrong.
John nodded with nothing but assurance. "Yes, you can. Enjoy." He replied kindly. "And you don't need to ask stuff like that... I'm not enslaving you... you're free."
That made a small smile slowly form on the wolf fur's face and she looked back down at the plate. "I... I'm Ren..." she replied, telling him the only name she knew before beginning to dig into the venison, her eyes widening to the amazing taste of the meat.
John smiled to that. 'Ren' he repeated in his mind as he began walking back towards the fire as Ren ate.
Ren was finished with her venison within minutes and let out a sigh as she realized there was no more... but she was shocked with how good it tasted, it was probably the best meal she has ever had... and it was given to her by a human... she looked over at John who was now seated on the couch, eating his own venison.
Ren slowly looked to the ground and let out a soft, quiet sigh as she began thinking... should she really trust this man? As she was thinking, she suddenly felt Aura lick her again. She looked into Aura's eyes and Aura seemed to look back at her with assurance, almost as if she was telling Ren that John could be trusted.
Ren slowly formed a smile and petted Aura's head, gently rubbing her ears. "If you say so..." she whispered very quietly to Aura with a small giggle before looking back towards John. "Um... thank you..." she mumbled quietly and nervously.
John glanced at Ren and smiled a little. "No problem. You want something to drink?" He asked kindly.
Ren did need something to drink but she was far to nervous to say yes... so she slowly nodded her head and hoped she wasn't going to be punished for this.
John returned her nod and kept his smile as he stood up and fetched a pretty big water canteen, handing it to Ren. "There you go." He said kindly before walking back to his couch.
Ren immediately gulped at the water as if she was extremely dehydrated, which she was. It was all finished within a matter of seconds.
"Y'know, you don't have to sit on the floor over there." John offered with a kind voice, hoping to gain some trust.
Ren lowered the water canteen and looked over at him as if she was calculating in her mind... it would be nice to sit on something comfortable after all that time on the road, walking endlessly after her car ran out of gas. She slowly stood up and cautiously stepped closer to John, taking a seat on one of the chairs furthest away from him.
John understood why Ren chose to sit furthest away from him, so he wasn't bothered by it. "So um, you headed somewhere?" He asked curiously, just as Aura hopped up onto John's couch and layed next to him with her head rested on his lap.
Ren was clearly made uncomfortable by the question... was she really going to tell this human that she was off to join a group of the fur resistance? "U-Um... I... I-."
"Sorry, I shouldn't have asked... that was a little too forward of me. You don't have to tell me anything you don't want to." Said John with an assuring smile.
Ren let out a small sigh of relief to that and nodded slowly. "Th-Thank you... but... maybe l-later." She replied honestly, she was still in the process of trusting this man... perhaps she would tell him soon.
He nodded with understanding to that and looked out the window to see it was getting dark. "Well uh, I have a guest bedroom... you can get some sleep if you like." He offered.
Ren was clearly excited by the idea of sleeping on a comfortable bed. "Y-Yes please." She replied with slight nervousness.
John smiled and stood up, Aura immediately following him. "Come on, I'll show you." He said, walking towards a set of stairs.
Ren took a deep, nervous breath before slowly following behind John. 'This is where he kills you Ren.' She thought to herself with slight fear, but her heart was telling her something else... that this man was in absolutely no way a threat to her, but something else entirely. She decided to trust her heart, even though she had no idea what this man could possibly be other than a human and a threat.
John led Ren to his guest bedroom and opened the door for her to enter. "If you need anything, I'll be in that room." He said with a smile, pointing to his bedroom door.
Ren nodded in response to that and slowly stepped into the bedroom, taking a seat on the bed. "Thank you John..." she mumbled very quietly while avoiding eye contact.
"No problem, Goodnight Ren." John replied kindly as he slowly closed the door behind him.
"Goodnight." Ren said quietly as the door closed fully, consuming her in darkness. She looked outside at the snowy weather for a moment before letting out a soft sigh, laying down on the bed and covering herself with the sheets, pleasantly surprised with how comfortable this was. It almost felt like she was about to sink right to the floor. But she was too tired to care right now and fell asleep within seconds... hoping that her heart was right.
-
Ren was awakened by the sound of something moving around in a different room and... was that splashing? She looked out the window to see that it was the next morning, and that the heavy snow seemed to have stopped. She let out a long yawn and sat up on her bed, stretching out her limbs and realizing how well she slept, she felt very good after that sleep.
She slowly stood up, stretching even more for a few seconds before walking towards the door, cautiously opening it. "John...?" Ren called out a little nervously.
"Bathroom." John called back in a slightly strained voice to give Ren his location.
Intrigued, Ren walked around the house and eventually found the bathroom and was... pretty amused by what she was seeing. John was currently knelt beside the bathtub while trying his best to keep Aura in as he scrubbed her with soap and warm water that he heated by the fire.
"Uh... she hates baths." John chuckled, just before Aura moved around violently, causing a large splash of water to wash all over him, making him curse under his breath.
That actually made Ren chuckle a little. "Yeah... I can see that..." she said with amusement.
John chuckled a little and took off his now sodden shirt before going back to bathing Aura... causing Ren's eyes to widen comically as she stared intently at his body, shocked with his muscular figure... 'Fuck... looks like his abs have abs..." she thought to herself with shock... clearly this was a very pleasant sight for her.
John didn't seem to notice Ren's staring as he was mainly distracted with keeping Aura in the tub, which was very hard to do since she was a very big wolf. "Almost done Aura, just calm down!" He laughed, continuing to scrub her.
"H-Here... let me help..." said Ren in a slightly dazed voice. She knelt next to John, providing some support to keep Aura in the bath, but she secretly only did this to get a much closer look at his body that her eyes were glued to.
John nodded with appreciation as Ren helped him, still not even noticing her staring as he scrubbed Aura more. Aura actually had what seemed to be a look of betrayal on her face when Ren helped him bathe her.
Eventually, John had scrubbed Aura enough so that she was now very clean and now caught a glance of Ren staring at him before she quickly looked away, her cheeks now reddening. He smirked a little to that as he helped Aura get out of the tub where he began drying her off with a towel.
"All clean, see? It's not that bad." John said to Aura with amusement, to which she responded with a slight growl... clearly her mind about baths has not been changed.
Ren stood up and cleared her throat nervously as she peeled her eyes away from John's muscles. "Um... I-I'll go make some b-breakfast if you w-want." She offered nervously, looking for an excuse to get out of there.
"Oh, sure. We have a lot of food, make whatever you want." John replied kindly as he continued to dry off Aura, which would probably take a while.
Ren nodded and quickly left the bathroom before her eyes could glue themselves to John's muscles again. She went down the stairs and to the kitchen where she began looking around for something to make for breakfast while screaming at herself in her mind.
'You are not attracted to a fucking human you dumbass!' Ren screamed in her mind... but she could barely even convince herself of that... was she really attracted to John? And if she was... would she even act on it?
-
John finished off drying Aura after about ten minutes and he looked at her with an amused smirk. "All done, now let's go see what Ren's making." He said with amusement, smiling to himself when he spoke her name.
Aura looked up at him as he stood up, almost as if she was suggesting something with her unamused expression.
"What...?" John asked with confusion as he noticed Aura's expression, but then his eyes widened. "Oh, you think I like her, huh?" He asked with a chuckle.
He swore that Aura just rolled her eyes before standing up and walking out of the bathroom, following the smell of whatever Ren was making.
"... Maybe." John mumbled to himself with amusement as he followed her out of the bathroom, heading to his bedroom to grab a new shirt.
A few minutes later, John walked down the stairs with a new white shirt on now and headed to the kitchen where he was greeted with the sight of Ren on her knees in front of Aura, petting her head with a smile on her face.
"Looks like you two are best buddies now." Said John with a chuckle, crossing his arms.
Ren looked up at John and kept her small smile. "Maybe... I've only ever had one friend... I have no idea where she is now." She replied, her smile turning into a frown as she thought about her lost best friend.
"Oh... I'm sorry to hear that." John said softly.
Ren shook her head and slowly stood back up. "Her name was Mia... we were separated a few years ago by our slave owner when he caught wind that we were best friends..." she explained, tears starting to brim in her eyes. "It's as if whenever we got something good... humans just wanted to tear it away from us..." she sobbed.
John listened to Ren fully very sympathetically, frowning as he listened to this story.
"She was the best... always found a way to make me smile and always saw the bright side... even if there wasn't one, she would make one. She was fearless too... she wasn't scared to act herself around the male fur slaves with us, even if our owner was standing a few feet away... it just wasn't in her personality to act any different than how she was supposed to." Ren explained in between her sobbing.
John let out a soft sigh and leaned against one of the walls. "Sounds like we had a similar best friend." He replied, looking to the ground.
Ren looked up at him curiously with her teary eyes, clearly intrigued for him to explain more.
"His name was Jack... and he was a wolf fur. He was a fur soldier... well, he was forced to be one... but when I served, we became friends... I didn't care what the other soldiers thought of me being friends with a fur, he was a good guy and that's all I cared about." John explained, starting to sound sadder and sadder the more he talked about Jack. He started to explain the story of how he died.
Two years ago
Exactly two years ago now, the most recent fur rebellion took place which was led by the dragon furs, and it has been called simply. 'The Dragon Rebellion'. Some have even called it 'The Dragon Massacre'. John fought during this rebellion... much to his regret. But it was because of him that... some of them even survived at all...
John was pinned behind some cover while heavy fire was rained down on them by some furs. He was crouched next to a wolf fur... Jack.
"Our bullets can't even pierce their hide! We're fucked!" Jack shouted with fear, realizing that the dragon fur's hide is way too strong for bullets to pierce.
John shook his head and peaked over his cover for a second, seeing that the hundreds of thousands of dragon furs were starting to close in on them, perhaps they really were fucked... but suddenly, John and every other soldier heard static on their comms, meaning something was interfering with their link.
"F.E.O inbound. We'll take it from here. Our new technology will pierce their hide like a knife through butter. ETA two minutes." Said a feminine voice on everyone's comm link.
"New technology?" John asked himself with confusion.
Just as he said that, helicopters could be heard approaching them in the distance, presumably F.E.O. But a grenade was suddenly tossed over his cover and John cursed under his breath when he noticed it, grabbing Jack and getting as far away as possible before the blast sent them flying forward a little, now out of cover.
John coughed a few times and realized that they were no longer in cover, but luckily there was a small building ahead of them, so he grabbed Jack and dragged him in... unaware that Jack had just taken a back full of shrapnel from the grenade.
John only noticed the large amount of blood gushing from Jack's back when he got into the building. "Shit, Jack?!" He exclaimed with horror. The wolf fur was already unconscious from his wounds... and he knew that this was probably it for his best friend... none of the human medics would care enough to treat a fur. "Shit man, stay with me!" He shouted pleadingly.
Jack's eyes slowly opened, and he weakly shook his head. "Nah man... this is it for me... promise me John... don't change... and get the fuck out of here... live... your life..." he mumbled very weakly before going completely limp in John's arms... Jack was dead.
John already had tears in his eyes, but he nodded with the limp wolf fur still in his arms. "I promise Jack..." he said with a shaky, devastated voice.
Suddenly, one of the human soldiers rushed in, and John knew him all too well. A man who hated the idea of fighting with furs. He scowled in his direction and reached for his side arm, but before he could, the man shot John in the shoulder, causing him to yell with pain.
"So, my grenade got him huh? Good." Said the soldier with a chuckle.
John held a hand to his bullet wound and looked at the human soldier lividly. "That was you?" He growled under his breath.
"Fuck yeah it was, I ain't fighting a war with no damn furs." The soldier replied. "And I sure as shit ain't fighting one with a fur lover either... so you can join em'." He said with anger, now pointing his gun at John's head.
John scowled even more, knowing that this may be it for him... but suddenly, before he could do anything, a scream of agony could be heard from the man and John's eyes widened when he saw a huge claw piercing through the man's chest and lifting him off the ground.
He continued to watch with absolute shock as the claw was yanked out of the man's chest, letting him fall limply to the ground, dead. He then stared up at the very very tall, female dragon fur. She had red and black scales and horns that curved downward a little and she had purple eyes. She looked down at him, wiping the blood off her claws.
"A human was about to kill you... and you have a dead fur in your arms... why is this...?" The dragon fur asked with a very demanding tone, clearly confused by what she was witnessing.
She only came in here because she saw John and Jack running in and was ready to kill him... only to see, well... this. Which confused her a lot. So she decided to ask before just killing the human.
John sighed and was about to explain... but he realized something. "Look... you guys need to get the hell out of here... F.E.O are on their way and they said they have a new technology to pierce your hide... please, don't let this turn into a massacre." He said with a pleading voice.
The dragon fur seemed surprised by this... was this human trying to save them... or was he just trying to get them to leave?
"A massacre for you humans, yes. Why would I trust you, human?" The dragon spat angrily, still staring down at him with a scowl.
Just as she asked that, a very strange, intimidating noise could he heard outside. The dragon fur looked out a window and her eyes widened with shock to what she saw... F.E.O had arrived... and they were firing thick, red lasers out of the red eyes of their helmets which was piercing through dragon hide easily... just like John warned...
"In the name of the elders..." Mumbled the dragon fur with absolute disbelief to what she was witnessing, tears forming in her eyes.
John managed to catch a glimpse of the now constant red hue outside of the F.E.O's lasers and he listened with sadness to the agonizing screams of the dragons being massacred like wheat in a field.
"Listen... you can still save some of them... if you go now..." said John with a weak voice as he lost blood from his bullet wound. "Get as many dragons as you can and get back to fur territory... I'll lead them in a different direction, buy you guys time to get away... but you need to hurry."
The dragon fur glanced down at John with her teary eyes from watching thousands of her people being killed like they were nothing. "Why...? Why are you doing this...? You're human..." she replied aggressively with a sniffle.
John smiled a little as he looked up at the very tall dragon fur. "Because you and your people don't deserve to die... you only want freedom... and freedom is your right, just like it is ours... I hate how my kind treats you... and now that I have an opportunity to help, I'm gonna take it... after all... I did just make him a promise." He explained, glancing down at the dead Jack still in his arms.
The dragon fur just stared at him for a moment and knelt in front of him, sighing softly as she slowly placed a hand on his shoulder... right where his bullet wound was... "Thank you." She said, barely above a whisper before standing back up and leaving the building through the back to do as John said.
He smiled a little to that as he watched her go, but he suddenly realized that there was no longer pain on his shoulder. He looked at it... and was stunned to see that his bullet wound had completely healed... "What the...?" He muttered to himself with confusion.
He decided he would think about it later. Right now... he had to throw off the human army and F.E.O... he would fulfill his promise, to the dragon fur... and Jack.
Back To Present
Ren listened to John's story with complete shock, her eyes widened a little as she listened very intently.
"And after that, I did as I promised and led the armies away from where the remaining dragons were going... but seeing all those dragon bodies... with those scorch marks all over them..." John said with a quiet, sad voice as a tear shed from his eye.
"...I'm sorry John." Said Ren, genuinely feeling sympathy for John after hearing that story... and now trusting him a lot more...
John let out a soft sigh. "You're the first person I've ever told that story to." He said with a slight chuckle as he wiped away his tears.
Ren looked to the ground as John said that... clearly she was pretty surprised... did he not have human friends that he could've told it to? She decided not to pry. "So... some dragons survived because of you...? I thought they all died that day..." she replied curiously.
He sighed and shook his head. "They didn't survive because of me... that dragon girl was the one that got them to safety... I just... helped I guess." He said, standing up and offering a hand for Ren to help her up off the floor.
She slowly formed a smile to John's answer before gently taking his hand, allowing him to pull her up to her feet. She was very surprised with how easily he did it. "Well... if it wasn't for you... they wouldn't have made it at all... right?" She asked with a kind smile, still with her fingers latched around John's rough hand.
John slowly returned Ren's smile and chuckled a little. "I don't know... I guess..." he said with amusement, only now noticing the breakfast Ren made.
She seemed to have cooked some bacon and sausages over the fire that John scavenged a while ago, it was now on plates and waiting on the dinner table.
"I just... found them and cooked it... I hope you don't mind." Said Ren a little nervously, averting her eyes to the ground again.
He chuckled a little and gently patted Ren's shoulder. "Of course I don't mind." He said softly before walking towards the table. "Smells great." He said truthfully, taking a seat.
Ren sighed with relief and her smile returned as she took a seat across from him at the table. "Glad you think so... I took extra care with it." She replied happily.
She watched eagerly as John picked up a fork and speared a piece of bacon and half of a sausage before eating them both, chewing for a few seconds before swallowing. "Damn that's good." He complimented with a chuckle before repeating the process.
Ren giggled a little, clearly relieved as she also began eating her own sausages and bacon, but she frowned when she heard a whimper from Aura and remembered that she made some for her as well. She reached over to the middle of the table where a bowl sat with a few sausages in it and she set it down in front of Aura, smiling as she began eating them.
"I'll have to go hunt again with her later, that girl eats almost too much for me to keep up with." John said with a chuckle as he finished up his breakfast. "You can tag along if you like." He offered.
Ren immediately nodded in response to that. "Sure." She replied excitedly.
John smiled to that and realized something. "You killed any rabids?" He asked curiously, wondering if she's ever had to defend herself from them.
Ren's smile faded a little from that question. "Um... no... I've been able to avoid them so far... I've had a few close calls but... I've still been able to get away from them." She replied.
John nodded to that. "Hmm... you're gonna need a weapon from now on, do you know how to use a gun?" He asked with curiosity. He thought she would since she went for his desert eagle when she woke up but he had to be sure.
Ren slowly shook her head. "I... I've never used a gun before... I just saw yours and... at that moment I thought my life was on the line and, well, I panicked... I probably wouldn't have even known how to... shoot you with it." She replied a little nervously, thinking back to when she tried to shoot him.
He was a little surprised to hear that and he chuckled a little. "I'll be right back." He replied, standing up and heading up the stairs of his house.
Ren watched him go and waited for him to come back, very curious to find out what he was doing. Eventually, he came back with a different gun in his hand.
"Alright, I'm gonna teach you. From now on, this is your gun." John said with a smile, holding up the tan coloured heckler and kosh handgun before he sat back down and pulled out his kabar. He began to carve something into the handle of the gun and after a few seconds, he offered it to Ren... with a full magazine still in it. He seemed to trust her now.
Ren looked at him with surprise and slowly took the handgun from him, surprised with how heavy it was. She looked at the handle to see that John had carved what looked like the face of a wolf into it, which made her smile a little.
"Just carry it around with you for now, I'll teach you when we're outside, maybe we can even do some target practice." John explained with a smile.
Ren slowly set the gun down on the table... if John was willing to give her a fully loaded gun... she had no reason not to trust him... this human was telling the truth about everything. "Thank you John... really." She said, genuinely grateful.
John nodded, keeping his smile. "No problem." He replied.
Ren began thinking... now that she knew John could be trusted... she could tell him where she was going. "John... I..." she started, growing very nervous before taking in a deep breath. "I'm trying to get to Montreal..." she mumbled quietly and nervously.
John looked at Ren with slight surprise, he wasn't expecting her to tell him where she was going, not yet at least... but he began to wonder... why on earth was she trying to get to Montreal?