animal jam - the first fox (book one) under editing

;Chapter Sixteen; (UNDER EDITING)

"All the Alphas and the phantoms know but they just don't have the heart to tell her. To tell her that her mom was raised by phantoms, to tell her that the phantoms have her heartstone, to tell her that she is a demi-phantom."

What? That's all I was thinking in my head. Over and over and over in my head. What? What? What? A low growl escaped my mouth as I whipped around and ducked under Marty and Percy's tent flap. Once I entered, the leopard and the phantom froze.

"What?" I said out loud.

"Look, Amelia-" Percy began.

"No, shut the Zios up Percy!" I snarled. "I don't wanna hear your stupid excuses."

Percy scoffed and got up. "You're the one that lied to me!"

"Oh yeah? How would you feel if everyone was lying to you!"

"At least you're a real animal!"

"But I'm still supposed to be evil! And how couldn't you tell me that my mom was raised by phantoms!"

"We just didn't want you to be hurt!" Marty interfered. We just didn't want you to be hurt. My heart burned inside. Marty had said the same message that Mira had said when we'd fought. A flashback hit me:

"HOW COULD YOU!" I screamed. The bird was taken aback. I marched over, grabbed the tiny book from her and waved it in her face. "HOW COULD YOU NOT TELL ME ABOUT MY FAMILY!" A small crowd was gathering at the entrance.

"I-" Mira stuttered.

"No!" I growled. "You lied!"

Mira was gathering tears herself, "I just didn't want you to be hurt..."

Mira... Right then and there, I burst into tears. I fell to my knees and covered my face with my paws. Marty gave Percy a look then kneeled down.

"I'm sorry Amelia," Marty helped me get up.

"Uh huh! Yeah! Sorry is always the answer! Sure!" Percy sneered. My ears twitched. I raised my muzzle to the air. I gagged. I sniffed the air again... Danger...! I whipped Marty and Percy behind me just as the corrupted wolf ripped into the tent. I thought Marty got rid of it!
"I thought you got rid of it Marty!" I exclaimed.

"I-It must've escaped," the leopard stuttered. I got into my fighting stance. Marty realized and warned, "Amelia, no! You're not ready!" Suddenly I got angry. Marty didn't know what I was capable of! I'll show him! As the corrupted wolf lunged, I brandished my sword and swung it at the beast, stabbing it through the ear. The wolf whimpered but quickly recovered. It snarled and lunged again but I sprang over it and cut off one of the spikes on its back. The wolf whipped around and scratched my pelt. I gasped and held in a scream. Marty growled at the wolf and bit into its back. The wolf turned to Marty and howled, pinning the leopard onto to the ground instead of him pinning it to the ground.

"Marty!" Percy screeched, running forward.

"No Percy! Take all the others and go!" Marty cried. Percy's eye flushed with tears but he didn't let it show. He glided over to me just as the wolf bit into Marty's neck. Percy grabbed my arm and pulled me out of the tent. We ran over to Genie and Revelon's tent and woke them up.

"We have to leave now," I gulped. The two girls glanced at each other and shrugged, following us out. As we passed the boy's tent, I took a peek inside. Blood was staining the walls, green fur was everywhere, and the corpse of Marty's body was sprawled on the floor. The wolf was next to it. Its paws were on top of the leopard's chest, sniffing him to make sure he was dead. The results were correct. Yes, Marty had died tonight just to save us. Genie screamed. Revelon stayed calm and tried not to cry. The corrupted wolf shot its head up and noticed us.

"Run!" I yelled, running into the brush. I heard a howl as the wolf dashed out of the tent and began to follow us. We ran for miles and miles and just as I thought we lost it, it jumped out once more. I groaned and growled at the wolf. The corrupted animal seemed to laugh and lunged at me once more.

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Greely sliding the sword back and forth, practicing when it was time to go. He looked down and didn't talk to any of the other Alphas. When they reached the portal to teleport each of them to the phantom castle Greely got nervous. He didn't want to die. The wolf knew that Amelia must be dead but Mira? Wasn't she immortal or something? Greely guessed that he would have to move on from Amelia. He sighed and tried not to get all weepy. Greely was the last one to jump into the portal. When he did, it was cold but then he felt himself warm up. He opened his eyes and the phantom castle stood before him. Liza was giving out orders. Everyone decided on her for the leader... well for now. Before Liza the Alphas decided on Amelia. It was a two out of four. Gilbert and Liza didn't vote for Amelia but the fox got more votes than anyone else. So if they did find her, Greely knew that she would be an amazing leader.

"And Greely... you go with me," Liza swooned.

"How about no for an answer?" Greely rolled my eyes.

Liza twitched. "Fine, I'll just go with Gilbert and Graham."

So they all separated. Greely checked many rooms but most of them looked the same. He saw some phantoms, but once he did, he slipped into a corner. Greely kept on searching, keeping track of the way he went. Finally, he reached a huge room. Black goo was everywhere.

Somebody had killed phantoms. Greely turned around and noticed a smaller room connecting to the bigger room. It looked like a cell. He entered it cautiously and sniffed the air. It smelled like... like a fox? Greely's eyes widened and he sniffed even more. A fox was definitely here. Greely's fur prickled. It might've been Amelia but you can never be sure. Huge vines lay on the floor. Greely picked them up and tugged at them with his teeth. When the vines loosened, he pulled them off and chains were revealed. He recoiled back into a metal door.  There was a huge hole in it. Like somebody had burned pushed fire through with his own paws. The wolf padded back into the bigger room and noticed a trail of blood leading to the outside. Greely shivered and decided to follow it.