Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ Like Dogs ❯ Chapter 1

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

Power.
It has pulled the stings of everything living for centuries. It whispers sweet nothings into the ears of the naïve and gullible; it turns once kind beings into raging beasts. It tears apart friends, families, and societies without care or remorse. It is born from the seed of doubt, nurtured in the womb of fear, and fed from the bosom of greed. After it grows on the thoughts of ignorance supplemented with greed. It runs its course of life, successfully ripping its way into the world, and then dies with every promise of reincarnation. For every century or so it sets its eyes on one species. It causes mass mayhem and chaos that nearly results in the extinction of an entire race. Last century it was the humans, this century it’s the witches.
The witches have been by far the messiest. The humans had caused the most gore, but they had at least managed to keep it within their own race. Many other beings do not associate themselves with the humans, for their numbers are as great as their ignorance, and they can not be trusted. They have no sense of honor, and no compassion or tolerance. They would turn on us even if we had helped them, or they would seek ways to control us. So in their fear, they kept their wars within their own, and so long as other species remained neutral, they bothered no one else directly.
As human as witches look, they are not as ignorant of their mortal, magic-less counterparts. They are much more calculating, precise, and cautious in nature. It is instinctual for them, for their numbers are but a fraction of the humans. To aid themselves, they have pulled every willing and even unwilling ally into their war. Cunning beings that they are, the witches understand the ignorance of the humans, using them to do their dirty work. And as being that look like humans, and that have power to do things they do not understand, the humans simply follow the witches orders. The war has spilled into the cities and streets, between the witches and their spells and the humans with their machinery…I’m not even sure what the war is about. My kind had been pulled into it long before I was even born. For as long as I could remember I have been a servant of the war. I was a guardian, bound to serve my master until either she or I died. Her safety was what I breathed for, far beyond the importance of my own. Her voice was my guide, and I lived by her command. She was my world, and the sun only shown in my world when she praised me.
Master is a high-ranking witch, something like a second-in-command to the leader of Master’s tribe. Her safety was of utmost importance to the war, second to only Mariposa herself. If I ever failed my job, it could probably cost us the war, and that was unacceptable. Not to mention, failure at my job would mean Master would be dead, Master had picked me out of the kennel and I have been with her ever since. She is a bit stern, but she can be very kind other times as well. I didn’t mind it, it was rare that Master was unhappy with me. If Master died, I simply would cease to be.
It was one of our responsibilities to check on the status of the prisons and prisoners every now and then. Making sure that they were functioning properly, that they were not too full, and signing off on the execution papers. Prisoners were taken for many reasons, more then I care for really. Sometimes they were caught for being a nuisance, others were for information. In our earlier time together, it made been our job to catch rouge criminals and bring them here. How I missed hearing the command to bring down the frightened wrong-doers and subdue them for Master. There was one time that we caught a spy and Master interrogated him. She let me have a leg when she was done. My master can be very kind indeed.
“We have a new one ma’am,” the human sniveled. Personally, I never liked humans. They always smelled bad and were sneaky. I’ve always thought of them like fleas, parasitic creatures that multiplied quickly and became annoying if not allowed to populate too much. Not that I had fleas though, Master‘s wards protected me from that. But no wards protected the world from the human race, and the Great Creator made a place for everyone on this world. So the flea-humans live on, licking the boots of the witches and following commands. A race that weak needs to survive somehow.
“What is it?” my Master asked. Without waiting for an answer she took the clipboard the human offered and skimmed it over. I licked my teeth as I sat next to my master and blinked slowly at the human. He gulped and tried not to look at me. Stupid human, I could smell his fear.
“A Wolf, my lady,” he said quietly. My ears perked. I had only seen others of my kind at the kennel long ago. Was this a rouge Wolf? “He came quietly, almost too quietly. We didn’t even need sedation.” Masters aura flared.
“You left him awake the entire transport?” she snapped. She was already taking long angry steps to the holding cells. I trotted behind her, my nose working to scent the newcomer as my ears tracked the human stumbling behind us.
“He was very cooperative-” he stuttered.
“Fool!” Master growled. I fell back a step even though Master was not angry with me. That she was angry at all made me want to give her space. I have seen what she can do when she was angry.
The door into the special quadrant flew open on its own, Masters mere aura pushing the metal until it bent to her will. She skimmed the clip boards on the front of the cells until she fell upon the one she was looking for. I hesitated at the door, the room felt…wrong.
Master banged her hand on the cell door of a white Wolf, almost three heads taller then I. He laid on the floor, back legs out to the side and propped up on his elbows. I could see the physical prowess of the muscles in his shoulders and thighs, beefy muscling stretching all the way down to his enormous paws. I sniffed at the cage, staying behind her and out of her line of vision. The Wolf smelt distinctly male, and of the outside even though his fur shone snow white. He looked at Master and then down at me. The Wolf’s golden eyes looked seasoned, as if he had seen many births and deaths, many summers and winters.
“Where did he come from?” Master asked the human.
“The north, my Lady.”
Master shook her head slowly, turning her gaze on the human and boring down on him with her height. “I want it transported to the Western territory, specifically site number one-three-five. He is to be sedated and restrained as protocol calls for at all times, understand? Have Olaf contact me directly once he has been received. ”
“Yes ma’am!” the human sputtered, “right away!” Master gave the Wolf one last look before walking past the human. I made to follow, but he spoke. It was a clear, distinctive sound that could have whispered and still commanded my attention.
“You are owned, a disgrace.” I blinked and turned to the Wolf. He was staring at me, his golden eyes shining in a disappointed gleam. “You wear a collar of witches blood. Tell me young one, have you seen the mountain?“ I cocked my head as a sign that I did not understand.
“Kala!” I nearly jumped out of my skin, embarrassed that I had been caught off guard. I trotted to my Master, head and tail low. I had not been paying attention to Master, to my heart and soul; I set my ears back and hunkered down my body in apology. I heard growling behind me and chose to ignore it. I had a master to listen to, the old one did not, he did not understand the shame in disobedience, and I cared not to explain it to him when Master was in this kind of mood. She glared at me for a second and walked back out the way we came. I left an extra bit of distance between us, but followed her anyway.
As we neared Master’s black truck, the back door popped open on its own. Before we could climb in an alarm sounded. I could hear the electricity in the building being redirected somewhere in the far corner. I turned towards the building, putting myself between any threat and my Master.
“Kala, come.” she called over the beeping. I made to follow behind her but stopped. I could hear the claws scrabbling on the tile floor. I stayed put, I knew what was coming. “Kala,” she called again. I put my ears back and lowered my head, turning to look at her while taking a step back. She had to understand, I was not disobeying without cause! Before I could whimper to her there was a bang, and the door we had just exited burst open. Master yelped, and threw her hands up, throwing her power at the door frame that had came hurtling towards her. A mass of white fur hit me like a rock and I was tumbling backwards. I dug in with my claws in attempt to slow my momentum, I didn’t want the threat near Master. I was laid out on my side, paws scrabbling on what I could reach on the ground. From my peripheral vision I could briefly make out a mouth full of pearly whites. I bucked hard and shook my head, attempting to throw off the weight on top of me.
“Witch blood,” he growled, the sound shaking the marrow in my bones. His teeth snapped at my neck and I ducked just in time to feel his breath hot on my neck. I gagged as my collar suddenly dug into my throat, pulling as far back as my anatomy would allow. He began to shake like a savage dog, jerking my head around with it and covering me in saliva.
Pew, pew, pew. A yelp sounded and the weight was gone as if it had never been there. I scrambled to my feet, looking around for the old Wolf as I ran to the truck. My nose told me Master was safely inside.
“Find the mountain young one, banish the witch blood,” the old one growled from the other side of the truck. The human guards came running out with their guns ready. More then likely there was silver in those guns. The old one must have figured it out too , because he took one glance at them and spun on his haunches. I saw the muscles in his croup bunch for his take off and I loped around the truck and started to chase after him. Suddenly every nerve in my body felt like someone had scrubbed it with metal wool. My jaw tightened and I slid to a stop. It was my Master’s call by the collar, and she only used that when she was not happy with me. As I stared after the Wolf and the humans feeble attempt to shot at him, my collar continued to throb, sending uncomfortable vibes throughout my body. The light breeze carried the scent of my Master to me, who had gotten out of the truck by the smell of it.
“Kala,” she barked low and stern. I spun on my heels and trotted to her, my head, eyes, and ears down although I was having trouble getting my hackles to do the same. I could feel her staring at me and I did not dare look up. I could not bear the look I could only imagine she was going to give. “In.” I climbed into the truck and laid on the floor. Usually Master would let me lay on the opposite seat, but today I didn’t feel like pushing my luck.