The Overgrowth

Chapter 14: The Anthropomorphics

"Where are we going? I didn't exactly volunteer to go pick berries for you, ya' know," I complained.

"Hush. We aren't going to get berries, fool. What the hell do you think you're doing away from the tribe?" the female wolf asked.

"You already know I'm not in a tribe," I replied.

"Bullshit. We're going back, and you're going to sit down in front of the council and explain to them the error of your ways."

"Really? Did you not realize you were in a quarantine zone? Do you not know that my brother and I pulled you out of there?" She sighed and sat down on a tree stump.

"Why were we in a quarantine zone?" she asked.

"I volunteered for research. You...I have no idea," I replied. Jason startled us both when he caught up to us, Chelsea scrambling behind him. My brother was gasping for air, trying to say something, but couldn't get it out. He gave up and pointed back towards the camp.

*****

The camp was burned to the ground. Ashes and blood stained the dirt beneath us. The smell of-what I guessed-burning flesh permeated the air. Brian was stuck to a post by a spike. On the verge of death. He coughed up a bit of blood. Chelsea took her knife and shoved it through his throat, ending his misery. We sat in silence until the she wolf spoke.

"Damn the forgotten," she mumbled.

"The forgotten?" I asked.

"An Anthropomorphic tribe," she replied.

"You guys...fight each other?" Chelsea asked.

"Some of us. The Forgotten tribe and us fight, but we're allies with the rest of the tribes."

"So, what tribe are you from?" Jason asked.

"I'm not from a tribe. I came in as a mercenary and they hired me. I never fought like I was supposed to, so they sent me to get supplies outside of Arkansas," she replied hesitantly. She sighed. "I always wanted to join a powerful tribe unlike the one I was hired by. The Forgotten."

"We can trace them," I said. I pointed to tracks that I noticed when we entered. The wolf nodded her head and took off. Leaving us behind.

"What the hell?" Chelsea yelled angrily. We started to follow the tracks.

*****

We went up a hill and saw another quarantine zone. Sure enough, the tracks led to it. The tribe members met us at the gate. They were bringing in an injured fox. It looked as though he was stabbed in the appendix and he was unconscious. The two dogs dragging him were exhausted; must've come an extremely long way. The gate opened and two black furred male wolves stepped out. They had military weapons.

"What do you want?" one of them asked.

"We want to speak to your leader," I replied.

"She's already in a meeting. Some she-wolf came in asking to join us," the other replied. He had fiery orange eyes, but they were soft and calm looking.

"Yeah, we know her," Chelsea said quickly. The first wolf went back through the gate, but the fiery-eyed one stayed.

"You seem familiar," he said quietly to Chelsea. She grinned.

"I've been getting that a lot lately," she said.

"No, I mean it. Are you from a quarantine zone? I notice you're wearing defender armor," he said.

"Yeah. I was a defender, but I don't really like to talk about it," she replied. "Anyways, I'm Chelsea." She held out her hand. The wolf had a look of complexion on his face.

"Um...I'm Martin. Nice to meet you." He shook her hand. She jerked back and gasped. She could see it in his face. She knew him as well. The other wolf came out and told us to follow him.

Their leader was also a wolf; white fur and bright blue eyes.

"Make this conversation quick. What do you want?" She asked harshly. It was silent. I was thinking of my next words. Then I spoke.

"We'd...we want to join." She laughed.

"You think I'd let a few humans and some fox in rags join us?" she asked.

"In rags?" I asked. "These aren't rags. Clearly you didn't live in the time we all did," I said. I realized I was being kind of a smart-ass, but I didn't care. She started to tap her fingers on her desk. She didn't have paws. Just hands with fur on the palms instead of those bumps that caused me so much pain.

"I like your confidence. How skilled are the humans? They usually fight like shit," she laughed.

"We're very skilled," Chelsea said quickly. The white wolf stopped tapping and looked up at her.

"Really? I doubt it," she said. She stood up from the chair she was sitting in. "I'm Lucy. Welcome to the Forgotten. If you die, we probably had no use for you anyway." I noticed the she-wolf wasn't in the room we were in. I later found out she was put in confinement for killing some of their men.

"Why are you in a quarantine zone? Did you take this over?" Jason asked.

"I guess you could say that. The mutants took it from the humans and we took it from them," Lucy replied. Jason nodded. We walked out of the central building and Chelsea ran towards Martin.

"Dad, meet Martin. He's my husband," she said. I didn't know what to say. Martin smiled. The pain came back into my feet and I collapsed. It was a bit too much to handle and I guess I passed out because I woke up in the quarantine zone's clinic. My hands and feet were in bandages and I my clothes were gone. Luckily, there was a blanket over me.

"Archer, I don't see why you want him to have this surgery," I heard Martin say. "It'll cause him more pain than before."

"For a short time, Martin. The paws are forever," Archer replied. They both walked into the room.

"What the hell is going on?" I asked.

"I'm helping your problem. It's an initiation surgery. When the canine Anthropomorphics are born or reanimate, they always have those damn paws that cause them so much trouble. When they join The Forgotten, they get a surgery. When those bandages are taken off, You'll have black hands and feet with no pawish features. Other than the fur, that is," Archer said.

"Reanimate?" I asked.

"You know, all the humans that consumed too much of that chemical. Like you and me. We all became this or turned into a psychotic freak tree worshiper."

"Wait, you mean you were all humans?"

"Yes...you thought we were animals?" he laughed.

"Well, that's what we were told in the quarantine zone," Martin said. Archer nodded and laughed. I felt weak.

"I wouldn't stand up if I were you," the goat said. "It'll be hell on earth for you if you do."

I turned over on my side and fell asleep again.