Anthro- Chapter Six

Chapter Six of my book, Anthro

RAYNE’S SLEEPING QUARTERS

 

Rayne awoke to the sound of yelling, which was in the form of several male voices. She sat up and rubbed her eyes with the edges of her furred digits (fingers), taking a quick look around the room to observe her surroundings. She was sitting in a surprisingly comfortable, twin-sized bed that had a plain, gray comforter to go with black pillows. The floor was carpeted with tan, and a darker brown rug covered the middle of the room. Her bed, if she was facing the door to the hallway, was on the left side of the room in the furthest corner from the door. To her far right, directly parallel to her, was a simple wooden desk. Atop that desk sat three journals and a box of pens. There was also a small refrigerator. Along the same wall, there was a bookshelf, completely empty. A sticky note stuck to the side of the topmost shelf. Directly parallel to the foot of her bed was the wooden door.

 

The small, white wolf pulled herself up onto her hindpaws, walking over to the desk first to observe the journals. She opened the front cover of the one on top of the stack, finding a note in Fox’s handwriting:

 

“Rayne, I know you like to write, so I left these here for you. You can write whatever you want in them, but if you have anything to say against the Order, I don’t recommend writing that in here. If you do have anything against the Order, however, you are free to speak to Burdock about fixing the problem. He is very free about listening to anything that the Order’s members have to say. By the way, don’t forget to check the note on the bookshelf.”

 

Rayne closed the notebook and made her way to the shelf, peeking at the note that was left there this time:

 

“You can pick up any books you would like to keep on this shelf in our library. �"Burdock”

 

The yelling continued down the hallway somewhere. Rayne opened her door and stepped out, following the noise until she came upon a door similar to her own. When she peeked in, she found that the yelling wasn’t out of anger, but out of cheer. Fox evidently heard the young wolf, for he looked up and stood from where he was standing. The rest of the furs that were hanging out with him continued their merriment. Fox left the room and shut the door quietly behind him, looking Rayne over. “Have a good rest, sis?”

 

Rayne nodded, because admittedly she had a wonderful sleep. “Yes, I did. When did you take off?”

 

“Well, I was scratching between your ears and about thirty minutes after you fell asleep, when I knew you were good and out of it, I left the room,” said Fox.

 

“Thanks Fox, I didn’t think I could fall asleep in a place so strange to me. Uh... what’s going on in there?” asked Rayne.

 

Fox pointed behind him and Rayne nodded. The vulpine let out a chuckle. “Eh, the boys and I are having a little break after a long day of work.”

 

“Wait! It’s already been an entire day?”

 

“Pretty late, you slept like a baby.”

 

Rayne shook her head slowly. “I’ve never been one to sleep so late. I suppose I’ll have to catch up to the schedule. What exactly do we do here for work?”

 

Fox shrugged. “Well since you’re the first female to come in here, we don’t truly have a job for you yet. I mean, you don’t really know how to shoot a gun, and if it weren’t for that, you’d be doing the exact same thing the men do, but under the circumstances. Well, you understand, right?”

 

“I suppose I understand. So I have to figure out what I’m doing? Perhaps I should speak with Burdock. Where do I go and find him?” Rayne asked.

 

“At about this time he’s usually in the library, studying different species of anthropomorphic creatures,” Fox answered.

 

Rayne smiled at Fox and then began to walk down the hall. Her pace quickened when she felt like she was still far from the library. Then, she completely stopped. “I don’t even know where the library is in this place. I really should have asked Fox.”

 

“Don’t worry about it kiddo,” said a voice from down the hall. The creature came closer and Rayne saw a large owl. The owl smiled and lifted his wing. “I’m Li, a simple name for a bookworm like me. I work in the library and Burdock told me to find you. He has some things he wants to tell you.”

 

Rayne followed Li down the winding hallways until the owl opened a door and stepped in. When Rayne entered the library, she looked all around in awe. Towering bookshelves lined the walls, filled with books of all sorts. Several different species sat at tables placed in open, well-lighted areas to read. A large desk with four computers created the center of the library. A support column sprouted straight from the middle of the desk, on which was a paper labeled, “Information and Search”. Another desk was to the right of the door, on which sat a computer and a laser-scanner. Li walked over to the desk and sat, getting busy with checking books in from a box beneath the desk.

 

Rayne looked around and found Burdock sitting alone with a small pile of books near his left paw. The one on top was titled, “Birds: Flight and Anatomy”. Several similar books were piled up below it. Burdock was reading one called, “Everything about Turtles”. Rayne walked quietly over to the table and sat down directly across from Burdock. Burdock looked up from his reading and smiled. “Exactly the young wolf that I wanted to see.”

 

“What did you want to see me for, sir?” asked Rayne.

 

“Don’t be so formal. Just call me Burdock.”

 

“Alright, Burdock, what did you want to see me for?”

 

“It occurred to me that you may not be able to do the same work as the rest of the anthros you see here. Fox told me that you had never really used a gun, and the fact that you tackled me instead of shooting at me proved his statement. I had a feeling that you could be useful in recruiting that dragon and perhaps intellectual matters, but for now we are in a waiting period. To prevent you from becoming bored, I have asked Li to allow you to work in the library. You can read as much as you want for as long as you want in return for replacing the books that are checked back in to their rightful places. It know it is only your first day here and you are confused as to why you are here or what the purpose here is, but you’ll find that in time, it will all make sense on its own. In the meanwhile, I’m leaving you here to do as you wish. You may buy some books to keep permanently on your bookshelf if you wish. Goodbye for now,” said Burdock.

 

The gray wolf stood, picking his books up in one furry arm, and walked from the library. Rayne also stood, but instead of following Burdock, she took herself directly to the fictional books. After she skimmed over a full bookshelf of books, she walked over to the nonfiction books. One book caught her eye quickly. “The History of Anthro” was sewn on the jungle-green cover in gold threads, and the pages were also sewn in.

 

“That’s odd,” said Rayne, “Anthro should be anthros, the plural form.”

 

She took the book back to her seat and opened the front cover. A watercolor picture of a wolf similar to Burdock was the very first page in the book. Written in beautiful handwriting in the corner of the page was, “Shevan: A Fearless Leader”. Beneath the title was the letter “B” in print. Rayne turned the page and saw the title again. It was written, “The History of A.N.T.H.R.O.” instead of “The History of Anthro”.

 

“That’s odd. The cover is different from the title page.”

 

Rayne slowly turned the page, sliding the tip of a claw very softly along the other side of the page. At the top of the page was a large, bold number one. Right beneath the number was another picture of the wolf from the watercolor page at the front of the book. “Shevan,” whispered Rayne.

 

Her eyes drifted down the page, reading:

 

“The wolf depicted above is Shevan, whom we all have to thank for the survival of the anthropomorphic citizens. His courage in the war against the human kind has kept our kind alive. But, dear members of our beloved Order, shortly after the war, a new threat came to be. A young, red fox by the name of Vixen made contact with the humans. She told them that she would use all of her power to help them regain control of ‘beasts that walk like humans’, in return for a share of the glory. A contract was signed, one which would live on in their families forever. Long ago, however, this threat was destroyed when the last of Vixen’s family died. The following pages are the written proof of the story we have unfolded above…”

 

Rayne closed the cover of the book and looked around. Nobody had left their tables yet, and Li was still busy checking books back in to the library. The young, white wolf’s heart was pounding heavily. “So the Order has dealt with a heavy burden,” she thought. “I wonder why they didn’t tell me about it.”

 

She opened the book once again, pouring over the pages for several hours. As she began to drift to sleep, something soft tapped her shoulder. Rayne jolted up, looking behind her, and saw Li. “The library is closing now, Rayne,” said Li. “You can check out your book if you would like.”

 

Rayne nodded and stood up, following Li to the checkout desk. The owl looked at the book for a moment and smiled. “What an interesting choice this piece of absolute rubbish is. I still wonder why this ludicrous thing was put on the shelves of the library in the first place. It’s just a child’s tale to excite the young ones. None of it was really true, but…” he paused, “If you really want to read it, be my guest.”

 

“So all of that was a bunch of lies? What about the written proof? Shevan’s letters and the original copy of the contract aren’t real?” asked Rayne.

 

Li shook his head. “Vixen never existed and there was never a war between us and the humans. You really should get to bed and close your eyes to rest. Would you like to check the book out or not?”

 

Rayne shook her head. “I really don’t want to now, thanks. Goodnight Li.”

 

“Goodnight, little wolf.”

 

As Rayne left the library, she couldn’t help but look backwards at the owl. Li looked exhausted, as though he hadn’t slept in days. He put the book in the checkout bin and pulled a coat over his wings and shoulders. He then left through a back door in the corner of the library. “He’s an owl. What is he doing working in a daytime library? Can’t they find anybody else to work here?” thought Rayne.

 

The young wolf began to walk back to her sleeping quarters, mind filled with hundreds of thoughts on the cruelty done to Li and how much she missed her beloved husband, Skarii. As she rounded the corner into the hall that her room was connected to, tears dripped from her eyes. “I really miss him; I can’t wait for him to be here with me,” whispered Rayne. She then opened her door, stepped into her room, and lied down on her bed to sleep.

 

BEHIND THE LIBRARY

 

“Li, you were supposed to make sure that she didn’t read any of our historical books! What were you doing?”

 

Li smirked, lifting his wings in a defensive shrug, “Hey, I told her that all of it was rubbish! I told her it was a fantasy and that she needn’t worry about it. I’m sorry, okay? You really should have me working during the night hours. My natural sleeping pattern is completely disrupted. You could have a 24-hour library!”

 

“If we did that, the silly new girl would be able to read anything she wants whenever she wants! Do you really think that it is a good idea to let her snoop around? If she reads enough books about our history, especially ones similar to the one she got her paws on today, then she’ll find out that you lied to her,” said the owner of the first voice. He hid in the shadow of the building; he was not letting the moonlight hit him for a second.

 

“I’m sorry, okay? I won’t let her read anything else like that again,” said Li.

 

“Good. If she does, we won’t be able to take her with us.”

 

“I understand. It won’t happen again.”

 

Li walked across the open area and spread his wings. Moonlight hit him, causing him to shine with a beautiful luster. In just a few moments, the owl had taken flight.

Author's Note

Please review to the best of your ability.