Horizon

Chapter 38

I shouldn't have taken the lead; that's for sure.

I never considered myself to be a leader. I mean, sure...people would probably say that I had the qualities of a leader, or that I was a natural-born leader. I never thought so, and I certainly didn't sound like one.

"So umm...what do you think?" I asked nervously. My confidence was completely gone.

Avery looked at me curiously. She could tell that I was out of my element. Heck...we all were. Thomas stayed quiet. He twiddled his claws and gazed at the wooden designs that were etched into the table.

"I like the plan; but isn't it a little risky?" Avery asked. "Challenging Talon for his leadership is one thing, but what happens if the other anthros don't accept you as their leader?"

"They have to," Thomas interjected. "There are no arguments when it comes to the results of a challenge. Once there is a clear winner, everyone in the colony accepts it, and moves on. Talon is not exempt from that, and he's been challenged before."

"So the anthros are just going to sit there and watch as someone tries to kill their leader?" Avery pressed. "That's absurd! No one's going to do that!"

Thomas nodded, "It is...but that's what happens. In this kind of fight, anything goes. You can sneak attack, you can use any kind of weapon, and you can take the fight anywhere you want. There is only one rule, however, that everyone follows. No one can interfere with the fight, once both challengers have accepted it. Does that make sense?"

Avery and I nodded. Challenging Talon was definitely the smartest option in my mind. Kyle wasn't close enough to the colony to take Talon's place. The anthros would not have accepted that. By creating a change in leadership, we would be able to remove Kyle from the equation. We'd have control of the colony, and we'd focus on finding somewhere to lay low for a while.

"Do you think Talon will accept?" Avery asked.

"I'm sure of it," Thomas answered. "If one of us openly challenges Talon to a fight, it will make Talon look weak if he does not accept. He'll accept the challenge, if he wants to keep his anthros in line."

"But what if he doesn't?" Avery continued. "I think I might have plan, for if he—"

"Umm, I'm sorry to interrupt, but I think you all should check this out," Lucas said, as he peeked into the kitchen. To be honest, I had completely forgotten about the two humans that were also in the house.

"What is it?" I asked with a little concern.

"The green...thing...is speaking again," replied Lucas.

"You mean Talon?" Thomas guessed.

"Whatever you call him," Lucas continued. "He's back in front of the camera."

Thomas, Avery, and I got up from our seats, and trudged over to the master bedroom. There, Kit was resting against the headboard of the bed. Thomas hopped onto the bed, startling Kit for a few moments as he got comfortable.

"Did Ian leave?" Kit asked, looking around the room.

Lucas gave Kit a stern look, and grumbled, "What did I say?"

Kit immediately closed his mouth, and focused on the television. Lucas and Kit must have been hiding somewhere, while everything with Ian was going on. It must have been scary, knowing that there was anthro that could have killed them in the house for so long.