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KLoC: Chapter Four

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Chapter Four: Savage Monsters

     

    I can say I hadn’t really considered where I was going when I had left. It had been a sort of sudden decision and well, the city was crowded. I decided to take my chances though. I’d try to avoid them and if I ended up meeting one face to face…I’d figure out something hopefully.

    The one place I definitely knew I wasn’t going back to was Cedric’s house. He had pushed me too far. I kicked at a small stone along a sidewalk as I trudged on. I didn’t need his dumb house anyway. I could find Spork and move in with it. I shuddered. Maybe living on the streets would be better, or finding a different crew unit, just not…Spork.

    Through some back alleys I could see the cars of the main roads stopped at a light. It was fairly damp today. Seemed like this area had damp weather regularly. Made me wonder if they were around any large bodies of water.

    Qwuedeviv have a sort of heightened sense for weather which is kind of necessary because we have to move from place to place in order to keep from freezing or overheating.

    I had walked down several streets, all the same dreary colors for quite some time. I was in an unfamiliar portion of town, but that was okay with me. I wasn’t scared to wander, not really anyway. Point was I was traveling and this was better than listening to dumb ‘ol Cedric.

    All was going well until I heard a strange snarl. That was…suspicious. I angled my radar system to pick up the sound again. Caught some commotion to my right so I redirected myself in that direction. Saw a glimpse of something that looked blackish. Well, I was feeling a little uneasy about the whole thing so I decided to hurry along. Better to be on my way than lingering.

    I could still hear something—like the patter of feet. Was I being followed?

    I checked all around myself again but didn’t see anyone. Kinda wished I had some of my crew around with me right then. They are not the most fun bunch, but even I had to admit that when dealing with scary things in my general region, the more the better—even if they were just there to distract them. That was the beauty of it actually. I was their commander therefore they would protect me while I fearlessly pressed onward into the unknown. They weren’t here now though, thus I was on my own. They were going to be in big trouble if I ever did find them. Deserting the commander like that, had they no morals? No principles? No honor amidst war?

    I moved at a steady pace—not too fast, not too slow. The intent of not retreating in a full run was obvious for a Qwuedeviv. You see, many creatures have something called hunter’s instinct. Well, I’m not sure if it’s actually called that, but that’s what it is. Hunter’s instinct was the, well, instinct, to chase a running creature that seemed suitable “prey.” As much as I don’t like to admit it, Qwuedeviv tend to be suitable prey for more than our fair share of creatures—especially when we send our stealth units into their territory or cross over on a dare to sabotage stuff. Anyway the main point being, there was also a chance that this alien planet of Earth might have some creatures who likewise would find us to be on the menu.

    Growling. This was odd at best. Streets didn’t growl, buildings didn’t growl, the sky sometimes grumbled when a storm was around. I looked to the sky, several dark gray, fat clouds seemed to have moved in. Being the well educated commander that I was, I happened to know that such clouds often indicated rain, and rain sometimes came in the form of a storm, so it was within reason of speculation to say that the sky had perhaps growled at me.

    Another growl. And certainly not from the sky. Scratch that theory; this was not a sky type of growl. Many growls exist in the world. The growls of the grumpy sky, the growls of a hungry tummy, the growls of the predator with the hungry tummy…

    “Uh…hello?” I mewed and curled my tail close to my side.

    Several growls. Forms began emerging around me from various places that I hadn’t even noticed before. They were all blackish and growly. They walked on four feet, had long muzzles and spindly tails. Actually they looked similar to a species we know as the Qwujakuhl. They were a type of canine. Sharp teeth, lots of fluffy fur and giant spider legs. These guys didn’t have spider legs, but they did still look vaguely Qwujakuhlish.

    My fur stood on end as I began a gradual set of steps back. The beasts did not seem friendly nor did they seem ready to discuss things diplomatically. One on my right suddenly barked and sent my fur and fluff into a more intense uproar as I jumped. That set everyone else off on a rampant bark and charge.

      Ditching all chase preventives I took off at an all-out run. After chase has been initiated, it’s generally the best policy to move like this. I dashed across a street, narrowly missing a car. I wasn’t sure if the beasts chasing me did likewise or if they came upon opposition with the cars. I’d have actually preferred the latter but I could still hear much barking.

    The whole not being seen by Humans thing became very little a concern as I moved swiftly. If anyone was taking any notice of me, I wasn’t sure. It was the least of my concerns unless they intended to help. I jumped at a fence…and promptly rolled on my back. Didn’t even come close to clearing it. Noticed an entrance at that point and redirected my route to that easier option.

    Next was an obstacle course of black trash bags, cans, dumpsters, strewn about cardboard and wet papers. This is when it’s handy to be a cat. We’re pretty good at blazing through difficult paths when there’s no alternative. I got through the obstacles with ease and found myself greeted by a giant dividing fence. It looked to have some kind of sharp wire at the top so climbing certainly wasn’t an option.

    I paced back and forth along its length. There was no time to turn back now. The barking beasts were already too close. That’s when I spotted a segment of the wire that looked to have been damaged. It was tweaked just enough that I could possibly squeeze through. I might scratch my fur or uniform in the process but…no time to wonder about that.

    I dove at the little opening and kicked and squirmed and thrashed as I tried to pull and push my way through. I was definitely stuck. The opening was just a little too small. I yowled and struggled fiercely; the beasts had arrived and were making a leap towards me. The top wires raked my back. I mewed and still pushed onward.

    I felt the hot breath of the violent beasts and then a sharp pain shot through my tail. Captured. I screeched, feeling myself be tugged in the opposite direction. The beast’s grip loosened as one of the others barreled into it. I pushed forward as forcefully as I could. The fencing scraped the entire length of my back but at last it gave way and I tumbled through to the other side.

    The beasts barked and snarled, lunged at the bent fencing and snapped at my tail. It didn’t look like they could fit, but I wasn’t about to take any chances. I plunged on, creating as much distance between myself and the horrors as possible. My back ached, my tail tip throbbed and I was incredibly thirsty.

    I didn’t know where I had run to by the time I finally slowed. Central city was quite a ways behind me and the area I was in now was a lot less crowded. I suppose it would probably have been considered rural or uh, something like that.

    My legs protested for a break with every step. My throat was dry, my back felt like it was on fire and my tail…the fur was all rearranged and it hurt to move it. The cool grass felt nice at least. I could see a structure in the distance and headed towards it for reasons I wasn’t quite sure.

    Looking back now, it seemed to be buildings that had been getting me into trouble. Probably should’ve stayed away from the cities all together.

    Suddenly I heard voices behind me. I shook my head to try and clear my thoughts. No one should have been able to have snuck up on me.

    I turned in a sloppy battle stance and nearly lost my footing. I was exhausted.

    “Smiley?”

    The taller figure stopped and tilted its head to one side. A smaller, vaguely pinkish figure that had been bouncing at the other’s side came to a stop likewise. Its humming ceased as well. Took me a moment but then I realized the taller of the two was Spork.

    “What…what are you doing here?”

    “What am I doing here? This is the way to the school.”

    I stared blankly. “Right.”

    “I work there.”

    “Ohhh….right.”

    “Are you okay?”

    “Yeah just…just a rough day. I’m gonna lay down for a moment.” I patted the ground and then flopped down in the grass. Felt wonderful to be off my feet finally. I purred quietly, letting my ears flop to the sides and relax.

    “What happened to your back?” I heard footsteps move towards me.

    Hrm?” I opened one eye and tried to look up at Spork without moving.

    “Your back is all clawed up. Torn through your uniform.” It knelt down beside me and promptly jabbed my sore back with its fingers.

    I mewed sharply and tucked my tail close beside me in case it decided to go after that next.

    “I was attacked by a swarm of wild, barking beasts.” I nuzzled my head low to the grass as if to hide from the creatures that could be lurking anywhere. “The fence clawed my back. I had to drag myself under it. They bit my tail.” I gave a sorrowful glance to my tail and suppressed a few tears. “There was too many of them. I didn’t have a chance…”

    Spork’s ears perked up. “Dogs. Earthians are fond of those disgusting beasts.”

    “I’m tired.”

    “You’re hurt.”

    “Meoooow.” I gave my shoulder a lick. It had also sustained a cut.

    “What are you doing out here anyway?”

    “I got kicked out…”

    Spork sighed and stood back up. I’m assuming it wasn’t happy. Couldn’t tell because it had that blue helmet with the rainbow visor on again. It wore that to school, to disguise its face.

    A loud buzzer sounded from the building I had been heading towards. The pink Qwuedeviv beside Spork began fidgeting and looking in that direction a lot I noted. Spork eventually waved it on with a flick of its tail.

    The pink kitten gave a happy little bounce, slowed to try and salute at me with a floppy sleeve and then scurried off towards the school.

    “You can’t just lie here all day.” Spork turned to the left then to the right. “I’ve got an idea. Follow me.”

    I wasn’t in the mood to play Follow me. I also wasn’t in the mood to point out that I was the commander here and if anyone was going to be following anyone else it should be Spork following me. I lifted my tired self up from the cool grass and limped a few steps until my limbs felt better then trotted after Spork who had ventured off the main road’s path and headed up a slight hill. There were a few sparse trees, rocks and shrubs but it was otherwise fairly open and grassy.

    Spork had stopped behind a few largish rocks where a fallen tree trunk lay. It had been there for awhile from the looks of it. Moss covered the top as well as some sparse grass.

    “You can wait here.” It indicated the log with a flick of its tail. “You’re small. Should fit.”

    I kinda would’ve preferred to lay in the sun over in the grassy patch, but I assumed Spork would only whine about how I’d be spotted for sure so I went ahead and crawled into the old hollow log and flopped down. I looked up at Spork who was watching me from the best of what I could tell.

    “You should go unnoticed if you stay here and be quiet.”

    That said it turned and left. That was totally cool with me though. I’d happily take a nap in the log. It was actually quite cozy once one got accustomed to the hard floor so to speak. I tucked my limbs neatly beneath myself and curled my tail beside me. Yes, it still hurt, but this was one of my favorite ways to sleep in the absence of a cardboard box.

    A question that would have been worth asking. What was I waiting for exactly? How long would I be waiting? Would I know when it was time to be done waiting? My eyes slowly drifted shut. The day would always be there to worry about; my nap in a log would not.


Rough Draft Chapter Four.
That means it was before it went through editing and all that, so some typos here and there are to be expected from the actual book. I had sort of lost my manuscript for awhile. If anyone was wondering why there was such a huge gap before I posted another chapter.

Prologue: Book 2 Cover -Prologue
Previous: KLoC: Chapter Three
Next: KloC: Chapter Five




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xenomega101's avatar
Dogs the earth's most

Common and deadly creatures

And the most efficient =3