Chapter 20

Autumn twisted in her sleep, her back paws reaching up to scratch an itch on her shoulder.

A vague thought pushed through the haze, pulling Autumn from the land of sleep.

Drowsily opening her eyes, Autumn blinked, once, twice, and then again.

'Oh no,' she thought, panic beginning to set in. 'Not this again.'

Wildly looking around, she relaxed slightly when she caught the sleeping form of Ember. Padding over, her soft paws were silent on the cold stone floor.

"Ember," Autumn called out, "You won't believe what happened."

"Huh?" Ember muttered, peeling an eye open confusedly.

Looking around quickly, Ember took in the dark, damp surroundings and the iron bars that loomed over their heads. Outside, cages stretched down a long corridor, most empty, but some filled.

With a dry sigh, Ember gloomily replied, "At this point, I'm not even surprised."

"Where in Everlife do you think we are? Wait, the real question is, how long have we been asleep?"

"I don't know, but my stomach is telling me weeks," Ember sighed, "Let's get this door open and find some food."

Autumn's stomach growled in agreement. She quickly pictured her humanoid form in her mind.

With practice, shifting had become a second nature to her, but as much as she loved her wolf form, it wasn't very practical when it came to opening doors.

Autumn narrowed her eyes in frustration. "I can't shift back, Ember."

Ember's eyes filled with surprise, "Did they drug us?"

"Seems like it," Autumn growled, her voice laced with anger.

"It's one thing to put us to sleep, but it's another to mess with us while we're sleeping. If I find out who did this…"

"Find out who did what?" A strange voice rang out.

"You filthy adventurer, if I get my hand-"

"Paws," Autumn corrected.

"Not the time, Autumn."

"It's always time."

"Ahem. If I get my paws on you, I'll make sure-"

"Make sure you'll erase me from existence? Well that sure would be interesting, wouldn't it?" The strange voice spoke again, the scratchy sound akin to nails on a chalkboard.

"FOR GOODNESS SAKE LET ME TALK," Ember yelled. "And for your information, I was going to threaten your food supply."

Autumn gave a little gasp, "How evil!"

"I'll share some with you," Ember promised.

"That's more like it," Autumn grinned.

A hooded figure emerged from the shadows of the room. Leaning towards them, he rasped, "Two little pups, all alone in this cold, dark, cell. It's almost like they're begging me to take them away, right?"

"Where have I heard that line before?" Autumn questioned, "And who are you talking to?"

"I think he's a little…lacking in the smartness aspect," Ember whispered.

To their surprise, the hooded figure received a response. Dozens of rat-like bandits filed out from the shadows.

"Cough-cough-when was the last-cough-time you showered?" Ember shouted.

Their faces were dirt covered and beginning to turn red out of anger. One of them, more rash than the others, rolled up his tattered sleeve and marched towards the cage.

"See if I don't turn you two into meat paste," he gruffly muttered.

"Did I tell you to move?" The strange voice spoke once more.

With a quick wave of his hand, the man's shoulders were relieved of their burden. Blood spurted into the air, like a waterfall of red.

Looking around, the figure grinned, pulling down the hood of his cloak to reveal a horrifying sight.

A large scar ran down his face, crossing his eye and reaching past his nose. Burn marks scored his face and, when Autumn took a closer look, they marred the skin of his hands as well.

Autumn gasped, a thread of compassion hitting her.

"What…happened…?"

The stranger laughed, or rather, screeched, "What happened? What happened, you ask?"

"Never mind, I'm starting to regret asking," Autumn quickly replied, her mindset quickly adjusting.

'Everlife is where all sympathy goes flying out the window. Here, it's survival of the fittest."

The figure ignored her snide remarks, "It's all because of your kind! You spirit animals are mistakes! You should've never existed!"

"I'm starting to think you have selective hearing," Ember snarled.

"You spirit animals think you're so strong, with all the adventurers begging to contract you. It's a blessing, really. Yet in return you murder, plunder, and destroy."

"And you're saying that adventurers have done nothing of the sort?" Ember growled, her patience running thin.

"Exactly!"

"I think you're forgetting all the times adventurers have stolen us from our homes, stealing the resources we desperately need, and forcing contracts upon us with little regard to our opinion."

"Face it," Autumn sneered, rolling her eyes, "You're just like all the other adventures, greedy two-faced liars with a superiority complex…"

"Except," Ember continued, "You don't have any power to flaunt. Instead you steal from your own kind and justify your actions with flawed reasoning."

"Yet, the death rate of adventurers is still much higher," the figure argued.

"It's only higher because you humans are like rabbits that never stop breeding."

"You'll see," the stranger vowed.