From the Shadows

Blood Hounds

"What'll it be, Drew"

"It's eight in the goddamn morning. Give me a coffee"

"Coming right up"

I sit patiently at the bar as I wait for my coffee. I look out the diner window and see cars driving by, and Furs going about their business. I look back as a coffee cup is placed in front of me. I see the bartender walking away as I take a small sip of the coffee, slightly burning my lip. I quickly put it back down as I sigh. It takes me a while to finish it all. As I finish it, I put the cup down and place five dollars under it, and stand up. I slowly walk out the door as a bell dings. I ignore, and simply walk outside.

I step on various puddles as the sky above stays a gray color, with small drops drizzling down. Like mist. Cars drive by, like usual. This time they're less frequent, and the amount of Furs walking around drops as well. I ignore, and continue walking. I keep my paws in my jacket pocket as I hear a tire screech in the distance, and looking back I see various armored cars quickly drive down the street, with two armored vans following behind. The cars stop as one of them crashes into a building.

I take a step back as I see various Furs get out of the vans, with rifles in their paws. Some Furs in the armored cars crawl out as they are shot dead, but some retaliate. A shootout breaks out as numbers on both sides drop, quickly. Eventually, the shots stop, and the Furs on the enemy side slowly walk over to the wreckage, but all three of them are shot. Two dead, by one Fur with a pistol.

"The AFC is eternal, motherfuckers!" The survivor shouted

I don't do anything as I stand there. Shocked. Eventually, police cars arrive at the scene, aiding the last survivor. I still stand there during that time.

—------------------------

The car stops as an operative opens the door for me. I get out of the car as I look at the massive building in front of me, and there I see Colonel Paul, walk up to me. I greet him by shaking his paw, and he does the same with me.

"Sorry for calling you here on such short notice, Cowommander Davidson" He says to me as we both walk inside the building.

"Don't be, it's not like I have a life or anything" I reply.

"You and your jokes, Davidson. Come now, the Officer wants to see you"

"What does he want?"

"Like I know. You'll have to see for yourself.

I walk through the halls of the upper floors of the building with Paul walking right beside me. There at the end of the hall I could see Major Officer Antonov, standing patiently there for me. I could see the various features he had. An eyepatch on his left eye from the Great War. His fur being a black color. He wore dark boots with a dark suit. Average clothing for a Fur like him. Once again, I greeted him by a pawshake.

"Medics came by this morning" He said to me, a stern look on his face.

"And?" I asked

"Alex is dead. He was shot in the aorta. A fatal shot. No medicine or amount of operations could help."

I stood silent for a second.

"Call a meeting, now!" I ordered.

About an hour later, the main meeting room was filled with about 10 Furs, including me, each of them having their own roles in the UFN. I sat down on my chair as Antonov stood up, speaking to all.

"Gentlefurs, we all know why we've been gathered here. Major General Alex was shot and killed earlier this week. He was being transported by Downtown Pittsburgh, scheduled to make his appearance here in this building. Unfortunately, he was killed as we know." Antonov explained

"We have a survivor, Antonov." First Marshall Lupis spoke "We have him in our cells"

"What's our move, Davidson?"
I sat silent for a second.

"I say we interrogate the survivor. He must know something about the attack. Am I wrong?"

"You're not" Lupis replied "I agree with Davidson. We have the survivor in custody. I say we interrogate"

—-------------------------

A loud clack, and a loud creek. The rusty metal door slowly opened to reveal a small cell. Gray walls. A small window near the ceiling. Inside was a small Fur. His fur was burned, with bruises all around him. A bandage near his abdomen. The door stood open as I walked in, and the Fur didn't even raise his head to look at me. I didn't speak for the first minute there, and neither did he.

"What's your name?" I asked. No reply for a second.

"Philip"

"Philip? That's a nice name"

He didn't reply to that. Only sat there.

"You know something. The AFC. You work for them, don't you?"

"Shut, the fuck, up"

Silence.

"You might as well kill me now. I'm going to die anyways. Besides, I'd rather be dead than live in your hell"

"Why do you hate the UFN so much? We've done so much for you"
"You? You've done so much? Are we going to forget how you exterminated all of humanity? How you created a world where everyone is supposed to believe your lies!? There are thousands of Furs dying out there each and every day! All because of you! And yet, you want us to think that you're the good guys? The ones who make everything perfect? Well, fuck that"

Another long silence. No expression on my face.

"I'm not from the AFC." Philip spoke out. I immediately became concerned "I'm from the UPS. They sent me to attack the convoy"

"You're from the UPS, and you attacked us? The United Protogen States haven't engaged in any conflict ever since The War To End All Wars. What do they want?"

A shrug of the shoulders was my reply.

"I was just sent to kill the guy, alright? I know nothing about the UPS. I was just told to point and shoot"

I thought to myself for a whole minute there again. Soon after I walked out of the room and closed the door behind me.