August 1st

Scarlett

There were others like me. That was all I could think of. Firstly, why would someone want to do that to anyone else? What happened to me was a tragedy and the idea that someone would do what the Qarri did to me was unthinkable. Not really unthinkable, but it was still horrible. I would go fight them, but there’d be a third member of this time I really don’t want to get hurt. Rubbing my belly, I sent a silent prayer for the baby’s safety. There was the strand of black fur that Quentin had. I decided to examine it some more.

Something most people don’t know is that there’s a faint difference between the fur of a female vulpine human and a male vulpine human. That difference was etched into my mind when I touched the fur of a male vulpine hybrid who was a fellow experiment with me. The experiment killed him, but I felt his fur. It was slightly courser and thicker. Hence, I could assume that the culprit was male. Unfortunately, that’s about all I got from it.

Quentin looked at me expectantly and asked, “Got anything, Scar?”

I shook my head. “Other than the culprit being male with black fur, I’ve got nothing.” I tried sniffing the strand, but it didn’t yield much. All I got the smell of was some exotic wildflowers. That could be literally anywhere at this point. I hit my head against the wall. I was worthless at the moment. If only I could’ve held off on getting pregnant until these threats were over. I looked at my husband and said, “I’m sorry.”

Quentin shook his head and said, “You did what you could. At this point, we’re just waiting around for something to do.”

It was at this point that I realized something. The wildflower smell on the strand of fur was different from that of the wildflowers nearby. I sniffed the air again, this time noticing the faint differences and now knowing what scent came from the intruder. Motioning for Quentin to follow me, I started tracking the scent.

Outside of the house, I guided Quentin through the woods, both of us procuring our guns for this. Branches would get in the way along with brambles, but we were determined. We needed to find whoever the intruders were. I had no idea why we were being spied on, but it couldn’t be good. The sound of alien birds chirping made me nervous. Knowing this planet, it could be the Corvonians or possibly an ostrich-sized duck or something. The planet’s sun was starting to set, casting an eerie blue sheen over everything.

Finally, we arrived at the outskirts of a camp. Quentin and I hid behind a tree as we hear the sound of claws against tree bark and talking. Since all the voices were in clear English with only hints of regional accents, it meant they came from humans, whatever the subspecies.

“I can’t believe they made us come all the way out here!” a whiny high-pitched female voice complained, accompanied by the sound of a tail thumping angrily on the ground. “It’s so humid and there are mosquitos everywhere!”

“These aren’t mosquitos, but rather an alien species that fulfills the same ecological niche,” a rather neutral male voice said before being accompanied by the sound of claws tapping against glass, which I knew from personal experience. I could assume that he wore glasses that were starting to slide off his muzzle. He continued, “It’s utterly fascinating how there are some roles that cover over across all worlds.”

A grunt was heard a bit further from them. “Kids these days,” a gruff male voice said. “We were made into mutants, a superior subspecies with heightened senses and agility. We weren’t made this way to frolic around and act like kids on a vacation with their parents, but to be warriors and spies. So, are we going to do that job or are you content to just look like foxes for the hell of it?”

The other two voices sighed. “Yes, sir.”

“Sounds like we’ve got two young and inexperienced mutants and one actually dangerous one,” I said to Quentin as my ears twitched.

“Guns or no guns?” Quentin whispered as he tapped his gun.

“I say no guns,” I replied. “Only one seems to be much of a fighter. The other two can probably be easily subdued.” I eyed up the female mutant and said, “I call dibs on her.”

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Quentin turned to face me and asked, “Are you sure? You are pregnant after all and I don’t want the baby to get harmed.”

A chuckle escaped my throat as I crouched down. “Trust me, that girl can’t touch me.” With that, I dashed after the female mutant.

The sound of crunching leaves alerted the enemies, but it didn’t matter. By the time they turned, my fist already connected with the female’s muzzle. She fell to the ground. She wasn’t unconscious, just stunned. Before the inexperienced male could react, I could hear him grunt and knew that Quentin got him.

The experienced male, caught off guard, turned to face us. He was surprised, but he was ready. He drew his claws and stared at me. Pointing a clawed finger at me, he smirked and said, “I know who you are! You’re Scarlett Rose Campbell! Daughter of the illustrious Samuel Campbell who was abducted by aliens and mutated into a vulpine form. I know from sources that you were always your father’s favorite. It’s said that while you were abducted, your father wouldn’t stop searching for your, hoping to find you. He was unwilling to accept your ‘death’ and kept looking. It must be great being rich and having everyone obsess over you. You have probably never known true suffering!” His smirk grew devilish as he asked, “Are you ready to find out?”

“She has known more suffering than you ever have!” Quentin shouted as he walked up to the experienced mutant with a pistol drawn. The barrel is pointed directly at the vulpine. “Scarlett here hasn’t had an easy life since she was abducted. Instead of her jealous and psychotic sister, she had to deal with aliens stealing her human appearance, being made a slave, and almost being culled until I freed her! So unless your standard is outrageously high, I say that you back down!”

The vulpine scowled as he backed up to a tree. He growled and shouted, “You thought I had it easy! My father was a drunkard! He beat me as a child over the most minor of his so-called offenses! You should’ve seen the look on his face when I grabbed the bat and started beating him! Growing up taught me that the strong always take from the weak and they must or else the weak will try to beat you down! Ended up in prison for defending my honor and was saved by the benefactors! They gave me this power that I can know use to take you down!”

The vulpine looked at me and offered his hand. “Join me, Scarlett,” he said as if he seriously thought I’d accept it, “and we shall claim our rightful place in this world of predators and prey!”

I scowled and pulled out my own pistol at him. “Never! I’m on the side of justice!”

He chuckled as he raised his arms. “On the side of justice? That’s rich coming from two people who attacked me on sheer suspicion!”

I pulled out my handcuffs to cuff him, saying, “Your fur was in my house so you’ve been breaking and entering. It’s easy when you’re the only one it could’ve been from.” However, before I could put the cuffs on, he took advantage of me lowering my gun to grab it. He was about to lift it when a gunshot rang out and blood hit my face. I got out of my daze to see him hit the ground gasping while clutching his bleeding chest.

Quentin whipped out his communicator and announced, “We are one mile northwest of our home near an encampment. Meds need to treat one downed vulpine, the other two can be brought in for questioning.” The sound of armored transports could be heard approaching, letting us know that the officials knew what happened.

The first transport arrived, and paramedics came to start treating the experienced vulpine, putting him on a stretcher before rushing him to the hospital. Another transport arrived, this one with soldiers. They apprehended the two inexperienced vulpines and handcuffed them. As they left, Quentin and I were alone. It was shockingly easy, yet at the same time unnerving. Who were the benefactors? Why were we targeted? And how did he know so much about me?

Quentin put his hand on my shoulder and said, “Let’s head down to the station to interrogate. Whether or not the strong one survives, we have two grunts who are probably more than willing to rat out their boss.” He moved his hand from my shoulder to my own hand, intertwining his fingers with mine. My heart no longer fluttered when he did so, but the feeling of peace and warmth filled me still.

We walked into town and went past the new houses being built. My business was booming, but that wasn’t important at the moment. Though seeing families settle into their new lives was fulfilling and made me feel joy knowing that we were building a civilization here.

We reached the newly constructed police station. While there were only two officers so far, I knew it’d get bigger as the settlement expanded and as people would be born. Quentin walked up to the front desk and flashed his badge. “Mayor Quentin Smith here,” he announced. “I’m here to interrogate the two new inmates.”

The receptionist nodded and pointed to the restricted area. “It’s in the restricted area past the officers but before the holding cells,” she said before looking back at her computer screen. We nodded before walking down the hall.

I looked into the offices as we walked back. The two cops, both burly men who were probably jocks in high school could be seen laughing by the water cooler. To be fair, the settlement was so small that, realistically, they wouldn’t have much to do.

“This place sucks!” one of the cops complained as he looked at the water. “Coffee is overpriced! There are no bars anywhere!”

The other cop replied, “Just wait until the harvest comes in. We’ll be drowning in booze soon! It’d be like being twenty-one again!”

Quentin and I walked past as our focus was on the interrogation room. Whatever the truth was, we were ready to find out.