Rural
Warfare

Hollers,
shots, and screams surrounded Brolath. Chaos ruled the humid fields
of the trailer park.

Brolath
didn't see where the gunshot came from, only that it had clipped
Rorgh in the shoulder hard enough to slap the Lupiad to the ground,
but not hard enough that it stopped him from getting right back up
and drawing his own pistol.

Outnumbered
by at least ten,
Brolath mentally calculated the humans, who were kicking over tables
and ducking behind vehicles to dig themselves in. Here
to protect their comrade? Or perhaps they don't want him talking.

Only
one way to find out.

In
one quick moment, Brolath wrapped the claws of his left paw around
Pat's neck and pulled him up, while also sweeping his pistol along
the length of the road. Brolath alternated between the primary
trigger of his pistol, which launched bursts of lasers only visible
by sudden pop of scorched metal or fried flesh; and slapping the
secondary fire button on the side with his thumb, which sprayed out a
hailstorm of darts attached to powerful electrical cells.

Despite
Brolath's aim being to suppress the combatants, he managed to get
two of them taken out of the picture: a shirtless, tall human's
face got the worst sunburn of his life when he stared straight into
the invisible laser; while a chubby human caught one of the darts
straight on his chest and fell to the ground convulsing until he went
deathly still. The cell darts were designed to be less-lethal when
used against Regulians, it was extremely likely that they were
significantly more lethal against smaller and weaker humans.

Catching
his arm around Pat's neck, Brolath slapped the still-hot barrel up
against the human's temple, forcing him to scream as his flesh
burnt slightly.

“Listen
here!" Brolath barked to the remaining humans, still great in
numbers and hiding behind their cover. “I am an officer of the
Regulian Guard and we're taking this human in for questioning! We
have no quarrel with the rest of you."

Brolath
looked over to Rorgh, who was sticking out from a lamppost, sweeping
his gun along the enemy's position. Brolath slapped his tail
against the dirt with a sharp thump and Rorgh's right ear twitched.
Quietly, Rorgh reached down to his tracking beacon attached to his
hip and pressed the silent alarm.

“HE'S
CALLING FOR HELP!" one of the humans shouted.

“Shit!"
Brolath cursed quietly. “GO!"

Kicking
Pat's legs out from under him, Brolath slowly dragged the human
behind him as the shotguns drummed out. Rorgh darted behind his
Captain towards a trailer while Brolath provided cover and fired a
vicious stream of lasers that created a line of scorched metal across
a pickup truck.

Behind
him, Brolath heard Rorgh kick a door open, just barely audible over
the wild chorus of gunfire.

“GET
DOWN! HANDS ON YOUR HEAD!" Rorgh screamed from within the trailer
as Brolath drew closer, dragging his hostage along with him. “Good!
Now behave!"

Pat
groaned as Brolath banged his legs against the short staircase
leading into the trailer and slammed the door behind them.

If
a Sirian real-estate agent was selling this trailer, they would
describe it as cozy. All it had were two cots on one end and a tiny
kitchenette on the other. Despite the small size, there was another
door opposite the one they had come in that lead back out. Rorgh was
standing by the cots, peering out the windows on both sides while two
human children lay
face-down
on the cots, sobbing.

Slamming
Pat on the ground, Brolath slipped up beside his partner and examined
his shoulder wound, digging into it with his claws.

“Fuck!"
Rorgh growled, slapping his Captain away just as Brolath pulled out a
small pellet. “The fuck's the matter with you!?"

“About
8 millimeters
in diameter," Brolath pinched the pellet and rolled it between his
fingers. “The metal walls of this trailer should hold out until
reinforcements arrive."

“Great!
Assuming I don't die of lead poisoning or whatever humans make this
shit out of!"

Wet
green eyes looked up at Brolath from the cot and the child went back
to hiding his face as soon as Brolath looked down.

“It's
okay," Brolath hushed and patted the child on the shoulder. Brolath
couldn't tell whether it was a male or a female. “We're here on
behalf of the Emperor, here to protect his most vulnerable subjects.
It's just like an action movie, okay? The good guys always win!"

“Captain!"

“Wha-!?"

The
windows shattered as an automatic burst popped off. Brolath ducked
over the child's body as he took cover, shielding him or her from
the falling glass.

When
the barrage was finished, Brolath could hear something over the
ringing of his ears that sounded very similar to their rental car,
except larger and angrier.

Carefully
peering out the remains of the window, Brolath's heart sank. A
large truck, looking almost like some of the pre-invasion Earth
military vehicles, kicked up dirt behind it and started rumbling
towards the trailer.

“MOVE!"
Rorgh screamed, beating Brolath to the punch.

Holstering
his pistol, Brolath scooped up the two children, hoisting the tiny
creatures over his shoulders while Rorgh kicked the rear door open
and lead the way, dragging Pat kicking and screaming along.

As
soon as their boots landed on the dirt, Brolath veered to the left,
towards the woods leading into the swamp while Rorgh turned right and
took cover behind a mobile home.

“GO!"
Brolath screamed as he put the children on the ground. At first they
stared blankly but after roaring and baring his fangs, the two kids
ran off into the woods, screaming.

The
truck crashed deafeningly as it slammed into the trailer, flipping it
over and causing it roll until it collided with another trailer down
the line. Brolath was lurking behind a tree with his pistol drawn
when the truck's occupants came into view: two humans, both holding
sub-machine guns and reeling from the truck's airbags slapping them
in the face.

Brolath
took down the driver, igniting his neck with a laser blast, the
flames spreading across the airbag. Rorgh
did the honors on the passenger, whose clothes it turned out, were
very flammable, and he instantly ignited into a raging inferno.

Darting
out from cover, Brolath unleashed a line of fire at where he assumed
the humans still were, leaping behind the car-wreck and rejoining
Rorgh behind his cover. A bullet ricocheted off the dirt a mere
second after Brolath took cover.

An
annoying vibrating sensation started to hum against Brolath's hip,
his datapad. Ignoring it in
favor of the popping of bullets against their cover, Brolath took
over hauling the hostage and led the way beside the flipped over
trailer and along behind another home.

An
enticing home greeted them. It looked like a particularly paranoid
individual had kitted out his mobile home with steels plates and had
it placed in a small lot surrounded by other homes that would prevent
another siege truck from charging it. The surrounding homes would
give the humans additional cover but reinforcements were on the way.

“There!"
Rorgh barked as he fired behind them, covering for Brolath as the
Regulian made his way to the door.

Naturally,
the doors was locked but Brolath had an emergency lock-pick
on him in the form of his laser pistol. One pull of the trigger and
the latch popped off with a tiny explosion.

Kicking
the door open, Brolath swept the area with his pistol. His keen eyes
spotted movement, a hand reaching for a rifle laying on a table, and
Brolath fired. A brief scream and the smell of burnt flesh filled the
home before giving away to a quick moment of silence.

Except
for that damned datapad vibrating.

Rorgh
shut the door behind him and barred it shut as best as he could with
a chair. Pat sobbed as he banged his head against the floor and the
acrid smell of urine began to waft up from his pants.

The
vibrating of the datapad soon changed into a specific pattern.

Brrrrrt.
Brt. Brt. Brrrrrrt. Brt.

Cursing
sharply, Brolath pulled out the datapad and flicked it on. Proclath
appeared on the screen, wearing a white Guard uniform that matched
his fur and a round cap atop his head with a black visor.

“Captain
Brolath! What the hell are you still doing in that trailer park!?"

“Getting
shot at! We've got the suspect and we need those reinforcements at
once!" Brolath shouted.

The
air hummed as Rorgh fired his own laser pistol out the window.

“By
the Emperor, cub! You're getting a shit-ton more than that, get out
of the AOE immediately!"

“What!?
We're under fire here!"

“King
Hrolar got word about a gunfight in Louisiana and he's mobilizing
the Kingdom of Earth's air force for a suppression mission ASAP!"

“What!?"
Rorgh turned away from the fire-fight with his maw hanging open in
shock.

“Order
him to call it off, this is Regulian Guard business!" Brolath
roared.

“We
can't!"

A
chill ran down Brolath's spine. A
suppression mission was, on paper, about maintaining order but the
Regulian military tended to do that through the use of firing lasers
and shells from lift-copters until all signs of enemy combat stop.
Under
normal circumstances, the Guard can act on behalf of the Emperor and
override any lesser noble's orders, but
only if said delegation is declared in advance or comes with an
official writ.

As
the mission was meant to go under the nose of the Claw and Brolath
had ditched his planned meeting with Minister Shalth, Brolath had
neither of these.

“Get
the Emperor on the line with him!"

“The
Emperor is performing his imperial duties in the harem and cannot be
disturbed!"

A
news notification flashed across the datapad announcing that the
Emperor would be showing imperial dominance to an
Equuleian
soldier
captured in battle tonight.
Full details would be released after the mating.

Proclath
cleared his throat, “Your captive is getting away!"

Looking
away from the datapad, Brolath caught sight of Pat shoving the chair
aside and throwing himself out the broken door.

“Shit!"

Brolath
charged out and tackled the human into the dirt a few feet away from
the trailer. A barrage of gunfire rang out and Brolath felt a cloud
of shot whistle past him.

“COVER!"
Rorgh screamed
as he stormed out to join his Captain, firing his pistol wildly at
two humans that ducked behind trailers. Rorgh helped Brolath up to
his feet and then continued providing cover as Brolath secured Pat
and dragged him into the maze of mobile homes again.

There
it was, that awful pink mobile home again. Brolath slammed Pat up
against a neighboring trailer and peered out from behind cover.

Something
flashed by the window and Brolath nearly fired before confirming the
target. Thankfully, he did not.

The
old woman from before stuck her head out from the kitchen of the
mobile home and screamed, “You boys be careful with those BB guns,
ya hear!?"

Brolath
noticed the woman's eyes were staring off to the right. At first,
Brolath thought it might have just been her poor eyesight but in a
flash of realization, Brolath charged around the corner.

“Oh
God, no!" a young man was there, armed with a bolt-action rifle.
Faced with the physically powerful Regulian mere inches away, he
could not bring himself to fire before Brolath's fist crashed into
the side of his face.

As
the first human hit the ground, Brolath saw another one across the
road with a shotgun and fired a dart that struck him and discharged
right as he fired, slicing open a wide hole in the tail of Brolath's
coat and cutting the side of his leg.

Hissing,
Brolath continued forward as Rorgh followed up behind with Pat in
tow. The green car, the “Cirrus," was waiting for them, seemingly
unharmed by the recent chaos. Brolath took cover behind the vehicle
and fired wildly, until his pistol started to overheat, while Rorgh
threw Pat into the back and got in the driver's seat.

Brolath
hopped in the side as Rorgh struggled to use the key, the car making
that horrible wheezing noise as it tried to start. Leaning out the
window and firing for cover, Brolath noticed a few dots of flames
emerge from behind a trailer that his laser did not create.

“Adjunct,
get us out of here!" Brolath barked as he shot a human wielding a
bottle with a lit rag sticking out of it .The bottle flew a few feet
towards them and burst into flames across the pavement.

The
car finally roared to life and Rorgh hit the gas, skidding out as he
tight a tight u-turn. One of the bottles exploded just behind them as
they charged away from the battle.

The
Imperial Anthem was humming across the skies, announcing the incoming
arrival of the air force. It was a standard suppression tactic to do
this, the public reason was to install patriotic loyalty to obedient
citizens and to strike fear into the heart of disloyal rebels and
make them throw down their arms in fear. In reality, it was a way of
saying, “We're on our way and there's nothing you can do to
stop us."

Brolath
sighed with relief when the sign for Lafayette Gardens was behind
them. Shortly after, a fleet of ten lift-copters floated by, ignoring
the crummy green car far beneath them in favor of their target.

“Look
at all this trouble you caused us!" Brolath sneered at Pat
menacingly as empty trailers flashed by. “If you don't help us
out, you're looking at some hard time!"

“Oh
God, oh God, oh God, oh God..." Pat chanted desperately.

“Oh,
a proud Regulian came marchin' down the street,"

“Long
live the Emperor, kneel
and kiss his feet!"

“But
he tucked his tails and ran,
lest he end up dead,"

“When
he came across the
Southern
Militia, led
by
Major Ted!"

The
crowd of rebels raised their canteens for a toast just as the truck
skipped over a pothole in the road. Abel took a chug in honor of his
comrades and their dream, it was just coffee but it tasted sweeter in
the occasion.

It
was not glorious, crammed in the back of a tiny cargo truck with
several other people, including his friends from back home, but this
was how the war was fought. Despite the high Abel was getting for
putting his life on the line for a better world, he was exhausted and
so were Gure and Hada, the latter of whom was barely managing to stay
awake, leaning against her upright rifle while sitting down.

They
were supposed to be in bed tonight, the actual operation not
occurring until after the tournament was over. However, Remy had
picked up chatter that talked of a serious gunfight occurring in a
trailer park about a hundred miles in the opposite direction and the
local forces were being diverted there to maintain the peace. As a
result, the operation would likely encounter minimal resistance and
Red was sent to the hotel to wake Abel's crew up and get into a
truck parked around the back entrance with the guns.

Lobo
was in the front, just past a curtain and driving the truck.
Checkpoints didn't question Lupiads as much as humans or
Vulpeculans.

Arthur
and Arnold were sitting on one end of the truck, lost in some inside
conversation between the two, while Slick was with Gure and Hada,
trying to teach them a thing or two about explosives.

Red,
on the other hand, was sitting next to Abel, sniffing him intently.

“You're
scared, smoothy," she whispered low enough so that the other
round-ears couldn't hear.

Abel
burned as she did this, feeling a little awkward being judged for
something that he had no control over.

“Stop
that," Abel grunted.

“Stop
what?"

“Sniffing
me."

Laughing,
the Vulpeculan popped her black, wet nose against his cheek and took
a deep sniff. Abel pushed her away as she chuckled.

“It's
rude!" Abel snapped. “I don't need you rubbing it in, okay!?"

It
was embarrassing to admit, but Abel was flashing back to his
childhood again. Of games played with his classmates, the majority of
which were Regulians, cubs of Generals and nobles who took parts of
Earth and its populace as their war trophies; which revolved around
scent or tracking something down by scent, which naturally, Abel and
the other humans around would always lose.

It
was the first time he realized what the Regulian order meant:
demeaning humans until they knew their place as lessers. Even as an
adopted member of nobility himself, Abel would never truly be part of
them.

“I'd
trade our sense of smell for your sight any day," said Red as she
waved her fingers in front of Abel's eyes. “You guys all call me
Red, but I don't even know what that color looks like."

Any
sense of inferiority Abel was feeling diminished and made way for the
same awkward feeling he had around Red when he first met her: of an
alien that truly was equal to him, not beaten down into inferiority
nor had delusions of superiority. Despite the feeling being a
positive one, it still confused Abel.

“They
have surgeries for that," Abel whispered as the back of his neck
burned, “my Father had them done."

“Too
expensive and my former Master didn't see the need of his pretty,
little Vulpy to have such a thing, so long as she laid in bed when he
asked of it and spread her legs."

A
lump formed in Abel's throat and
his thoughts went wild.
He
couldn't imagine what she had been through, here he was angsting
about being born in a rich, occupier's family and she was a former
slave.
What
could he, a spoiled rich kid, say to help her?

“Since
you're wondering, I killed him," Red said casually.

“I
wasn't-!"

Red
tapped the tip of her nose. Abel sighed.

“I
don't mind talking about it, really. He was a Regulian and he was
so proud of getting a Vulpy of his own with a bonus he got for being
an officer in the invasion of Earth."

“I'm
sorry," what
else could Abel say? He felt sorry for the Vulpeculan and as much as
he had been demeaned as a child, he'd never had anything like that
happen to him.

“I
told you, I don't mind talking about it. Any pain he caused me was
undone when I chopped his cock off."

“What!?"

Red
adjusted her flatcap and winked, “Made sure to show it to him
before I slit his throat. He was too petrified to even scream and I
was able to sneak out of his manor without alerting the guards. Just
happened to meet up with Arnold at a bar I was hiding out at the next
day and he recruited me."

“That's..."
Abel cleared his throat, “...I hope if I was in the same situation,
I'd be as strong as you."

“Really,
it's nothing," Red took out a serrated combat knife and ran her
fingerpad down its blade. “Once you ruin a monster like that any
attempt they have at terrifying you is comical. I have no bad dreams,
no flashbacks, and if I were to find out this is all a dream and I'm
still chained up next to him in his bed, I'd chop his cock off
again and this time for real."

“So,
lets make a deal?" Red chuckled. “I'll stop sniffing you and
you stop thinking I'm some delicate, wilting flower that will get
traumatized at your obvious attraction."

“Oh!"
Abel gasped, his face turning red. He felt like a fool, needing his
own strange emotions explained to him. “Shit, was I doing that?"

“Water
under the bridge," Red shrugged, “even Arnold treated me with
kid's gloves at first, right?"

“Damn
straight I did!" Arnold nodded. “Don't underestimate her, kid!"

“So
yeah, don't be afraid to try out your moves on me, cutey," she
punched Abel lightly in the shoulder, “Vulpies are tougher than we
look. Maybe I'll show you one of these days."

She
winked at Abel and he was left even more confused than before. He was
attracted to Red, he could admit that now, but his moves were fairly
lacking. Regnath was right earlier, he was a virgin and his dating
experience was just as lacking, having
difficulty connecting to people in an intimate manner. Most humans,
aside from the ones in his program, were alien to him to the point
where Abel sometimes felt like an oppressor just like the Regulians;
while dating an alien meant either submitting to a more powerful
alien or taking a slave; the Regulians loved their power dynamics.

It
was made even more confusing by his bisexuality. Humans tended to
like pigeonholing
people into one or the other, being a largely monogamous species
whether straight or gay. Regulians, on the other hand, were strictly
polygamous, having one primary mate and expected to mate prodigiously
with other mates and consorts, regardless of gender.
Even
though there were plenty of bisexual humans, Abel had a fear of being
seen as Regulian for expressing his sexuality that way.

But
right now Abel was feeling stronger. Red was giving off signals,
wasn't she? This was his chance.

“You..."
he exhaled sharply, voice squeaking, “...can smell me. It's
sexy."

The
entire truck burst out laughing, Red included. Abel felt a little
small and leaned back against the wall, wishing he could just
disappear.

“S-sorry!
That was mean of me," Red managed to blurt out between fits of
laughter, “I'm going to have to teach you some lessons, smoothy."

Red
tapped her nose against Abel's cheek, ending the conversation and
leaving the young human more confused then ever.

Thankfully,
a sharp ringing noise broke the tension and there was a click beyond
the driver curtain. A shriek of harsh static cut through the air,
forcing everyone to wince in pain.

“Hon!"
Arthur cried out above the noise. “Run the decryption key!"

“Fuck!"
Lobo growled over the static and began punching several buttons.
Eventually, the awful noise abated.

“Lokralich
here,"
Lobo grumbled.

“Lobo!"
Remy shouted over the radio. “I've been calling for a whole
minute, what the fuck is wrong with you?"

“Sorry,
forgot about the decryption key," Lobo snarled, “what a pain in
the ass."

“You
want to get captured? We can switch
over to an unsecured line," Remy somehow manage to audibly sneer
over the radio.

“No,
Remy."

“Then
stop your fucking bitching and get used to the goddamn decryption
key!"

Slick
reached over and tapped Abel on the arm.

“Know
how Arnold said Remy's only a pain in the ass while working?"
Slick whispered.

“Yeah."

“Well,
Remy never stops working."

“I
HEARD THAT!" Remy shouted.

“Alright,
alright, knock it off!" Arnold shouted and then leaned past the
curtain. “Go ahead, Remy."

“Union
Biotech's manifest sheet has been updated, the truck left an hour
ago."

“What!?"
Arnold got up and pushed past the curtain, grabbing the radio
receiver from Lobo. “Where is it?"

“Probably
going down the same planned path, in which case you're estimated to
intercept in about ten minutes."

“Shit!
Pull over there! Everyone out!"

The
truck bounced violently as Lobo swerved to the side. Abel slipped a
black baklava over his face, as did everyone else, before leaping out
the back into the humid night air.

“Captain,
there's no time to prep the explosives!" Slick shouted.

“Plan
B!" Arnold barked back.

“Aye
Captain!" Slick saluted, grabbing a chainsaw from a box in the back
of the truck and pulled the cord, walking down the street toward a
patch of trees.

“Abel,
Red, Lobo! Take position on the other side!" Arnold
continued dishing out orders. “Everyone else, hide the truck and
get ready!"

Gure
and Hada began throwing green ghillie nets over the truck, making it
look like one of the many weeping willow trees in the swamp on the
side of the road. Meanwhile, Abel was following the two aliens across
the road, ducking into the foliage.

“Warm
your guns up," Red whispered and slapped Abel on the rear, “that
means you too, cutey."

Gulping,
Abel checked his Ruger Mini and pulled the charging handle. Red was
using a loaner that Abel had smuggled to the tournament, an SKS,
while Lobo had some kind of carbine that looked like a metal box and
had its magazine laying on top of it, just underneath the sight
rails.

“Nice
gun," Abel whispered to Lobo.

“Liberator
77," Lobo rubbed his paw along the side of it, “the last rifle
made by a free Lupus."

“Nice."

“You
think you can use that thing, human?" Lobo whispered. “On a
something that's not made of cardboard?"

“Yeah,"
Abel swallowed. It was very easy to fire at targets, but something
moving was a different story. Still, Abel had been preparing for this
day, “gotta do it to free our home. Good people need these Smart
Antibiotics, don't they?"

Lobo's
hackles raised, sticking up like little black needles in the night.

“Wouldn't
normally take orders from Glass, but..." Lobo cut himself off with
a sigh, “...yeah, the resistance needs them too."

“Glass,
who's that?"

“Never
you mind."

Distant
headlights veered towards them, down the road. Slick silenced his
chainsaw, ran away from the pile of tree trunks he left on the
pavement and slipped back into the shadows, joining Arnold and Abel's
friends.

“Follow
Lobo's lead, smoothy," Red whispered as
she slipped on a pair of non-reflective sunglasses to hide her
reflective, predatory eyes; which Lobo followed suit with.
“Don't fire unless we say so."

A
large semi-truck came rumbling down the road, the nightly shipment of
medical supplies for the war effort. As soon as its headlights
spotted the fallen trees across the road, its engines squealed when
its brakes were fired and the truck came to a screeching halt.

“Alpha,
go!" Lobo hissed and took point, emerging from the foliage. Abel
and Red followed close behind, keeping their guns ready as they
approached the truck. Abel could just barely make out the shadows of
the other team going towards the driver's side.

Two
Regulians were in the truck cabin, both of them looked female,
lacking manes. They didn't notice the rebels approaching, not until
Lobo smashed open the truck window and threw a small grenade in.

Abel
winced and feared seeing nothing but a pile of gore left after the
bomb burst, however the Regulians looked fine, just a bit shocked as
the Lupiad pulled the passenger out. An awful scent filled the air
and Abel realized that the grenade had been a stink bomb so they
couldn't record their scent. It smelled something like licorice and
Abel could only imagine how bad it smelled to the aliens.

“No
sudden moves!" Lobo barked and shoved the Regulian against the side
of the truck. Red slipped a pair of plastic ties around her wrists
and dragged her over to the side of the road, planting her on her
rear in the dirt. Abel kept his rifle trained on her the entire time
until he was convinced she wasn't going to resist.

Hada
grabbed the driver while Arnold ordered them to open up the back.
Abel kept watch down the road as Lobo began rooting around in the
bottom of the cabin, searching for a tracker to replace with a clone
that would mislead anyone paying attention.

The
bushes rustled with the wind, but Abel's mind kept playing tricks
on him: seeing triangular ears poking out of the woods, a tail
sweeping out from a bush, anything that would lead him to believe
they were surrounded by Regulian forces. His heart felt like it was
going to stop any moment and he wanted to be done with the mission.

A
metal door flung open and Hada suddenly cried
out, “Captain! We've got a problem!"

Abel
left his guard post and slipped around back just as Arnold joined
Hada, who had a pistol aimed at the back of the Regulian's skull.

Arnold
aimed a mag-lite into the back of the truck and Abel's blood went
cold as the cargo was revealed. There were cardboard boxes that
proclaimed to be full of Smart Antibiotics, but they were sandwiched
between metal cages.

Their
worst fears were revealed when they stepped up into the container and
the crown of an emaciated human popped into sight. There were eight
of them, all stuffed into small cages and they were groggy, not quite
realizing we were there.

“What
the fuck is this!?" Hada screamed at the Regulian, cocking her
pistol. “What the fuck is this!?"

“Can
I speak?" the Regulian driver calmly spoke. Her face was as cold as
ice, even for a Regulian.

“Best
have a good explanation for this," Arnold hissed, wrapping his
fingers around the bars and looking down on the human with pity.

“They're
test subjects for
a new form of Smart Antibiotic specially trained to seek out human
pancreatic
cancer," she said, not looking up from the floor of the truck at
any point, “we're sending them to Regulus so that they can be
tested, examined and the drug approved. They're saving lives."

“Did
they volunteer?" Arnold asked. “The Imperial government plan on
letting them go after those tests?"

The
Regulian took a second to reply, “Their families were
well-compensated."

“Good,"
Arnold nodded before smashing the cage lock, the door swung open
slowly. “We're letting them go."

“Captain!"
Slick hissed as he came into view. “We don't have enough room for
them and the drugs!"

“Quit
complaining and get these poor sons of bitches in the truck!"
Arnold cursed as he went around unlocking the cages.

Slick
didn't object, hopping in and helping the first human lean on his
shoulder as he pulled him out of the truck. Gure
and Arthur joined in to help while Abel and Red stepped back out.

“You're
going to regret this," the driver hissed, finally showing some
emotion.

“You're
lucky I don't blow your brains out," Hada growled as she threw
the driver onto the side of the road, next to her friend. Hada kept a
close watch on the two of them, training her pistol back and forth
between the two.

Lobo
slipped out of the truck cabin, slamming the door behind him and
quickly stepped over to the truck they drove in and grabbed Slick's
chainsaw, revving it up and sinking its blade into the fallen trees.

“Give
me a hand over here!" he shouted to Red and Abel.

The
two of them joined the Lupiad and helped roll the remains of the
trees off to the side of the road, eventually making the road look
somewhat normal.

By
that time, the test subjects had been loaded into the back of the
rebel's truck and Arnold approached the three.

“We're
gonna have to split up. You guys drive this truck back to
the safe-house
in Metairie."

“Fuck!"
Lobo cursed, throwing the chainsaw back into the truck. “Are you
serious, Captain?"

“Dead
fucking serious," Arnold's eyes looked like intense white beads
in the night, “I'm not about to chose between the drugs and the
people, we need to save both. Besides, you've got the dummy tracker
in place, yeah?"

“Yeah,
just don't trust those things," Lobo kicked his boot against the
truck's tires.

“Any
objections?" Arnold looked over to Abel and Red.

Red
was already halfway into the truck, her fluffy tail darting into the
cabin.

“N-no
sir!" Abel stammered out.

“Good,"
Arnold patted Abel on the shoulder, “you did a good job. Not bad
for a first time, alright?"

A
fierce shriek rang out, quickly followed by two loud pops. Arnold
wasted no time in shouldering his rifle and jogging over to the
source, with Abel and the others close behind.

“Hada!?
What the fuck did you do!?" Abel heard Gure scream before he saw
him grabbing Hada's wrist, the very same hand that carried her
pistol.

“She...she...they
attacked me!" Hada shoved Gure to the ground and fired another
round at the dirt.

Arnold's
flashlight revealed two still Regulian bodies, one with a shot
straight between the forehead and the other with two bullet wounds in
the chest. Yellow flames reflected in their eyes from the beam of
light, almost as if they were still alive, like their souls were
still trapped inside.

This
was the first time Abel had seen a dead body, let alone one that one
of his best friends had created. One
second they were alive and defiant, the next they were gone.

One
less oppressor,
Abel thought to himself dismissively, but he had trouble breaking his
eyes away from the corpses. A lump, a strange sensation of guilt was
building up in his chest.

“What
a waste," Abel muttered to himself.

“Fuck,"
Arnold cursed and pointed towards Abel, Red, and Lobo, “you three,
get moving. Take the freeway back and don't stop."

“But
what if-" Abel began.

“No
time for questions!" Arnold barked, pointing to the shadows around
them. “We're in the middle of bumfuck nowhere, but who knows who
heard that? Get moving!"

Abel
nodded and ran towards the truck, swinging himself up and sitting in
the passenger seat. Lobo was already in the driver's seat and Red
was laying down casually in the sleeper cab. Abel stuffed his rifle
in the back, behind his seat.

“What
a shit-show," Lobo spat as he started up the truck.

Something
tapped at the driver's window and Lobo rolled it down. Arthur poked
his head up and kissed Lobo on the side of his muzzle.

“Be
careful, hon!" Arthur said before disappearing into the shadows.

Lobo
said nothing and put his foot on the gas.