Of Beasts and Bullets: Prologue

    Winter; a time where all life seemingly fades and dies amid the cold, clawing air.  For the Plains Tribe, this time of year was riddled with death and hunger.  Food had run terribly short this year, and it showed.  Elders were dying, as were children and babies.  Hunting parties were forced to wander farther away from their home territory in search of prey.  The party was growing smaller by the day;  each victim dying of cold and starvation.  A famine was sweeping over the largest tribe in all of Gaia, and there was nothing they could do to even ease the suffering.  Amid the dead vegetation, far to the south of the territory, a young female was determined to bring food back to her large family.  Her fur was a burnt orange with ginger stripes winding down to the tip of her tufted tail, and her dark brown mane was thick and flowing as the wind combed through every strand.  Her golden eyes were focused, eyeing a large hare as it hopped around the dry grass.

    Just a little closer. She took a careful step forward, keeping an eye on her target.  She was so close, she could taste it; just the thought of eating made her maw quiver in anticipation as drool dripped from her jowls. When the hare was a straight shot ahead of her, the hungry youth charged and gave chase.  She whizzed around trees, ducked around bushes, and swerved to avoid large stones.  She ran until she could go no longer;  She had lost the only prey left.  She roared in frustration slashing her claws at a tree,

    Why!? It’s not fair!  A loud crack shattered the chilling air, catching her attention.  She looked toward the sound, nostrils flaring as the metallic stench of blood wafted along the air.  Without a second thought, she rushed toward the scent to find her target; dead from a wound to the head.  She examined the body from where she stood in the brush before emerging to snatch up the kill. POP!  Without warning, a strange object enveloped her; she was caught in a net. Two strange creatures stood over her eyeing their new catch,

    “What do you think it is?” one asked as he poked Mariah with the muzzle of his gun, “Looks like something out of Hojo’s lab,”  To this strange creature, his words held no meaning; they sounded like some foreign language as her instincts screamed at her to run.  The second human let out a frustrated sigh, striding away to a small truck.  He got into the drivers’ seat, waiting for his younger partner,

    “I have no idea, but it looks like it’s gunna die soon. Let’s go,”  The younger monster groaned,

    “Well we can’t leave it here.  How about we give it to Dr. Connors? I’m sure he can-“ He was cut off by his superior,

    “Jayden, it’s going to die.  What part of that don’t you get?”  Jayden growled, pulling out a switch blade,

    “Well at least let me cut it free before we go,”  The superior got out of his truck, pinching the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger,

    “If you let it loose, it’ll kill ya.  Hold on….”  He reached inside the vehicle and grabbed a radio,

    “Base, this is second class Soldier, Kennedy. Do you copy?”  There was a long moment of static before a voice responded,

    “Second class Soldier Kennedy, this is base.  What’s the situation?”  Kennedy, smiling grimly, responded,

    “We’ve caught an unidentified creature; looks to be a large, feline-like beastie. Jayden wants to know if we could take it to Doctor Connors,”  There was more dead air before the voice came back,

    “I’ll notify Connors immediately.  Get the thing loaded and return to base,”  With clumsy hands, the second class Soldier hung up the radio and trudged over to Jayden,

    “You get the head, I get the tail,”  The young carrot top winced,

    “Why do I get the head?”  Kennedy chuckled and lifted the feline’s rear off the ground,

    “You afraid it’s gonna bite ya?”  Jayden’s chocolate eyes burned furiously at Kennedy’s snarky comment,

    “No, but- Nevermind!”  He hefted its upper body up, and they both carried her to the truck.  She groaned as she was roughly tossed onto the truck bed. The young huntress was too weak to even lift her head.

    As the trees whizzed away from the trio’s sight, the truck rumbled along a worn down stretch of highway.  The forest was swiftly slipping away behind them and the cold scent of steel quickly replaced the smell of her homeland.  The wilds, her home, was slowly fading into the horizon.  The hours dragged hopelessly by as the air began to sting and burn her lungs.  There was a heavy, loud musk of smoke pressing against the clouds,

    “Midgar City,” Jayden said in a hushed whisper.  He shook his head, causing his sunset curls to bounce around his shoulders.  Kennedy, who had pulled into a dank parking deck, chuckled half-heartedly,

    “Not a pretty sight huh?  Ever since Shinra made that power grab, the sky’s been blocked by exhaust and god knows what else,”  He sauntered to the back of the truck, opening the bed,

    “Damn thing’s still alive,”  As he and Jayden heaved her out of the truck, the faint squeak of wheels echoed down the concrete corridor and into the parking deck.  The wheels, rusted and worn, were attached to an old gurney.  The gurney was being pushed by a young man in a lab coat.  His hair was a deep blond, almost brown, and was slicked back with what could be too much hair gel.   His glasses were wire frames, bent and even broken in some places;  the broken sections were held together with a mediocre taping job.  He stopped in front of the duo, obviously irritated that he had been awoken after his shift,

    “Put her d- watch her head!” he barked as Kennedy and Jayden placed Mariah’s limp form on the gurney,

    “Relax, Connors.  She’s not gunna feel anything,” Kennedy hissed as the irate doctor rushed out of the deck.

    Lights; it was everywhere, blinding Mariah.  Her head was spinning, her stomach was churning, and her mouth was dry.  There was something off about this light;  it was a hazy shade of blue, like the sky.  She was finally waking up from what felt like mere seconds of unconsciousness.  In the back of her mind, she could feel someone petting her. Someone was petting her!  Mariah lurched, struggling to get to her massive paws, much to the shock of whoever touched her,

    “Woah there, girl!”  Doctor Connors shouted as he grabbed the scruff of her neck, “Take it easy. You’re safe,” Mariah growled at him, managing to sit up.  Her mane was disheveled, her fur was somewhat matted, and her eyes throbbed with the pulse of blue that threatened to send her under again.  She scanned the room before her;  thick, steel bars obscured the blindingly white walls.  She was in a cage.  She let out a snort as she continued to observe her surroundings.

    Something smells…Good, Mariah’s sensitive nostrils flared at the smell of grains and meat.  In the corner of the cage was a small dog bowl, and in it, was what Mariah guessed to be food.  Drool slowly filled her jaws and dripped onto the cold cage floor.  Connors chuckled softly and stood, walking to the front of the cage,

    “Figured you’d be hungry,”  Using a long stick, he pushed the bowl of food closer to her. Mariah, overwhelmed by starvation, quickly devoured every piece.  She looked through the bars of her cage, staring at the young doctor with pleading eyes,

    More?  He laughed, reaching through the bars and patting her large head,

    “No, silly! You can’t have any more tonight,”  He smiled, “Now….  What’s your name, pretty girl?”  The creature opened her fanged maw, reluctantly sounding out syllables with a primal and hoarse voice,

“Ma…ri…ah….”