Zemblanity

Episode 34: Fate

Since the creeture outbreak, the authorities have really been cracking down on the case. Turns out, there were lots of local creeture citizens in the Clover Town area. Most of them being innocent children.

At first, each and every found creeture were being hauled off and immediately executed without question. Now, things are taking a different approach. Due to some citizens starting riots over the few handful of executions of innocents. The authorities knew something had to change.

Some new laws were now being enforced.

Violent creetures were to be treated and charged just like any other criminal. Any orphaned children creetures were to be sent off to special creeture orphanages to seek adoption or until they are aged out.

Minor creetures were now allowed to attend public schools like everyone else. Not every citizen agreed of these new set laws, so some riots were still a daily issue.

Lilly and Drake feared for Rosie since she had started elementary school now, but they knew they couldn't shelter her from the world forever. And she excelled in school. She was one of the top of her class.

Every day, Drake dropped her off at school and awaited for her out front the school doors to pick her up. While Rosie was in school, Drake worked a warehouse job. And Lilly had her own small baking business from home.

One weekend, Lilly went on one of her daily walks with Rosie and took a safe pathway through the woods that Drake lined out for them.

"The flowers are so pretty, Mommy!~" little Rosie spoke as she picked one and handed it to her sweetly.

Lilly knelt down so her child could place the flower in her hair, "You are just too sweet!!~", Lilly said enthusiastically as she scooped up the little girl and hugged her.

Rosie hugged her back, "Mommy, let's go explore!" as she hopped down and ran ahead.

"W-Wait! Rosie!" Lilly spoke as she went after the fast child.

Suddenly, Rosie came to a halt, "Mommy, do you hear that?" the little girl asked.

Lilly finally caught up to her, "H-Hear what...?" she said while catching her breath.

They both stood there for a moment to listen. This time, they both heard the noise once more.

"It kind of sounds like...a puppy?" the mother said aloud.

Rosie immediately became excited, "If we find it can be keep it!?~ Please, please, pleeease?" the little girl begged with her big brown eyes.

"Fine. If we find it, we can keep it." Lilly gave in.

The girls looked around the area.

A little ways ahead, they saw the back of an old house. And a few feet away from the house was an opening in the ground with bars over it. The girls both looked down the opening and saw a grey wolf cub at the bottom with his ankles chained down while whimpering in pain and then passing out from exhaustion.

"Mommy... The puppy looks hurt..." Rosie pointed out with a frown.

Lilly knew she couldn't just leave the wolf cub there, "Okay, sweetie. You stay here and I'll try to get the puppy out. Be my lookout?"

"Mm-hm." Rosie replied with a nod.

The bars were so old that Lilly luckily didn't have much trouble yanking them from the ground. She then grabbed some nearby rope from behind the house to tie to a tree and slowly make her way down the opening.

Once she got to the bottom, it immediately smelled of death as she quickly covered her nose and mouth.

Lilly scanned the room for a moment to check for other survivors.