Anthro- Chapter One

Chapter One of my book, Anthro

“Infiltrate, find the control center, and destroy all memory data.”

“And if I fail?”

“We don’t know yet…”

The pounding sound of his quick footsteps resonated off the walls as he sprinted down the dark corridors of a large-business building. His breath came in quick puffs, shallow and rough on his lungs. Sweat dripped down the sides of his face, matting his fur down against his dark forehead. A gripping sense clung to his heart, pumping throughout his veins as he got nearer and nearer to his destination. He slowly snapped a communicator shut on his wrist, reached into his pocket, and pulled out a red laser-light. Aiming the light at a nearby camera, he blinded the lenses with the simple touch of a button. Using the same light, he silenced a ceiling alarm.

Hearing the soft pads of another set of feet, he rolled to the side of the hallway, in the darkness where nobody could see him. As the dark figure passed him, he aimed a silenced handgun and shot a tranquilizer, dropping his target easily. Once again, he stepped into the light and took off running. His grey fur was still dripping with sweat when he reached the heavy metal door. He rested his paws on the door and felt around for anything that might set off a trigger-alarm. In the reflection on the door, he could see that his green eyes were filled with anxiety. His pointed ears stood up straight, twitching to even the slightest noises, and his bushy tail waved behind him.

“Burdock, I figured I’d see you here.”

The grey wolf turned to see a strong, red fox grinning in his direction. He brought his handgun up and pointed, a deep growl rising to his throat, “Desian, don’t interfere here.”

The red fox’s face twisted as he let out a deep laughter. “Oh, but I cannot let you do this, Burdock.”

Burdock sidestepped, dropping into a roll as he fired his simple handgun. Desian easily dodged each bullet that Burdock shot at him, dancing across the floor in small glides as each golden killer hit the ground. Burdock dropped his handgun and ran at Desian, throwing a punch at the fox and shouting out a battle cry. His life was for his species and his species alone.

In the corner of Burdock’s eye flashed a  blinding light, causing Burdock to stop and cover his eyes. In moments he heard the loud bang of a shot. The last thing Burdock saw before he blacked out was a pool of red, gathering at his stomach and slowly building around him. “Desian…”

“Sorry Burdock, but you can’t win this one this time.”

Several Years Later

A white female wolf stepped out of a sleek, black car, her deep, blue eyes scanning the area around. A black dress clung to her torso, fanning out from her waist until it hit her ankles. Strapped to her ankles was a pair of black heels, and around her neck hung a silver necklace with a howling wolf pendant hanging from it. Her brown hair was pulled into a long, tight ponytail. A black anthro-dragon stepped in beside her, smiling brightly. He was dressed in a white suit, fitted specially so that his wings could still fan out behind him. His golden under-scales shone in the moonlight, bright and brilliant. The pair walked inside, arm in arm.

The sounds of dance music flooded the couple’s ears as they stepped into the building. Several others were dancing on the floor; all of them were teenagers. The white wolf, known as Rayne, began to dance with the music, letting the sound take over. Her boyfriend, Skarii, joined her shortly after. Bright green, orange, and blue lights flashed around the floor, revealing the pair’s faces.

A table draped in a black and white cover was adorned with different bowls of punch and plates of sweets. Small, round tables lined the walls for those who didn’t want to dance. In the centers of the tables stood black vases of white roses, surrounded on four sides with white candles. Rayne moved from the dance floor to one of the tables and sat, dragging Skarii with her. They smiled at each other in the candlelight’s gentle glow. Soon, a multi-tailed, black and white Keynari  joined them. A red stripe of fur separated the black and white like a fence, which was a characteristic of the Keynari and his twin brother. His name was Fox.

Fox set two cups of punch in front of the couple, grinning like a jackal as he joined them. “You two can’t ever be pulled apart, huh?”

Rayne looked at Fox and smiled, “I don’t think so. What are you doing here, silly Fox?”

Fox shrugged, downing a cup of punch in a few, large gulps. His tails fanned out behind him, flicking slightly ever-so-often. He was dressed similarly to Skarii, except that his suit didn’t have holes for wings. His hair hung back behind him in a ponytail. To Rayne and Skarii, Fox was like a brother, no matter the difference in blood.

Time droned on and the three sat together, chatting away about the rest of their final school year. “Just a couple weeks left,” Skarii said, smiling. “Then we can get out of this place.”

“See, I don’t understand why they held prom today. They should have held it after school ended,” said Rayne.

“Eh, perhaps a little fun before school ends is more appropriate than the wait,” said Fox.

The conversation continued on with similar subjects, every once in a while bringing a chuckle from one of the three. They were in good spirits, even if they didn’t join the dancers for the majority of the night. Towards the end of the night, Fox pulled Rayne and Skarii out of their chairs, pushing them out onto the floor. Rayne giggled at first, but when the music slowed to a gentle beat, a blush rose to her cheeks. Skarii offered her his paw and they stepped into a slow waltz.

All eyes were on the two as they did a variety of spins and dips, taking up the floor in the middle of a dance circle. Rayne became nervous as the crowd watched, but Skarii reassured her with a squeeze of her paw, and they glided on.

Suddenly, a man dressed in black ran into the building, carrying a package in one arm and holding a gun in his opposite paw. Rayne and several other females let out shrieks, and their dates took them as far from the man as possible. Fox quickly rolled from behind a large group of lionesses and took a stance in front of Skarii and Rayne. A couple small clicks and Fox was holding a pistol up, aiming at the man in black.

“Fox,” whispered Rayne, her voice shaking, “He’s so much older than you are.”

Fox shook his head, never turning to look away from the man in black. “Age doesn’t always equal experience.”

Skarii wrapped his arms around Rayne’s waist, pulling her close and nodding to Fox, “Your gut feeling was right tonight.”

The man in black removed his mask to reveal his lupine face. Grey fur clung to him and pointed ears rose straight up. He took one look at Fox and snarled, “Put the gun away kid.”

Just like Fox, all of the other teenagers’ eyes were frozen on the strange, grey wolf. Fox spoke up, his voice strong and unwavering, “Explain what you’re doing, breaking into our school prom, and I’ll lower this gun.”

Skarii was reaching into his pocket, touching the cool metal of a small switchblade’s handle. His muscles tensed, preparing for the worst. The grey wolf’s brows lowered over his green eyes as he frowned, dropping his voice slightly, “I’m just hiding out here. My name is Burdock, and I work for a special organization. All I can tell you kids is that if you want to live, I suggest you leave this building now.”

The teenagers flooded out of the building, some of them scared of the man himself and the others terrified of his words. Skarii, Rayne, and Fox stood their ground, still and silent. Burdock’s eyes remained on Fox’s, and he growled, “I told you to leave.”

Fox kept his gun pointed at Burdock’s chest. “We’re not leaving.”

Just as Fox finished his sentence, a red fox tackled Burdock from the entrance of the building. Burdock fell with the fox. The pair snarled and bit at each others’ necks, their paws a flash of grey and red. The group of teenagers watched, unable to determine who’s side was best. Suddenly, Rayne twisted from Skarii’s grasp and ran towards the fighting pair. “Rayne! Stop!” shouted Skarii, but Fox swung his arm out in Skarii’s way.

“Let her try this,” said Fox.

Skarii could only watch as Rayne flung herself at the conflict. A few short moments later, Rayne dragged a struggling red fox off of Burdock. Burdock lied panting on the floor, blood dripping down his chin. Rayne brought her paw down on the back of the red fox’s neck, knocking him unconscious. With a deep growl, she dropped the fox onto the floor, breathing sharply.

“Now, Burdock. Explain yourself,” she growled.

Author's Note

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