Hi folks, welcome back to Storytime! It's installment 10 of Blur! We're going back to Dylan and Wyn, to meet their newest friend.
The newbie made my Cuddles squee, and then draw pictures.
Dylan was feeling pretty good about herself today. She and Wyn had managed to capture one of the creatures working in their sector. A scavenger, but one that intel showed paid regular visits to the same building where Dylan had met Autax a few weeks prior.
Right now, the thing was sleeping off the numerous tranq darts it had taken to make it drop, but it should wake soon.
Dylan watched it on a screen in their mobile control room—it changed irregularly, and could land them in anything from a cramped van to a McMansion. It looked mostly like a wolf. If that wolf stood 8 feet tall at the shoulder. Its snout was longer and more delicate, almost like an anteater, and its paws had long, slender talons. Its fur was a glossy black with red highlights, just like its eyes. It moved lithely, like it had more muscle and sinew than anything should have, and it had given them some runaround before they finally cornered it, thanks to some well-placed snipers.
It even twitched in its sleep like a wolf. Or a dog. Dylan almost snorted at the thought of keeping it as a pet. This creature was intelligent. And it could swipe a person's hand off in a heartbeat, if you were foolish enough to let it.
Dylan wondered how it would speak. It had growled and snarled and shouted at them during the closing of the trap, but with her blood pounding in her ears, her adrenalin up, and all of her focus on that precognitive blur, she hadn't really had the ability to listen. Besides, how it sounded throwing a set of slavering, breathless curses was probably not how it sounded the rest of the time.
Dylan resisted the urge to kick Wyn, as hir snored in the chair next to her. She'd done her own napping while Wyn kept watch, after all. Though she was pretty sure her own snores didn't shake the building.
She grinned to herself and refilled her travel mug. She'd swiped this one a couple of places back, because white text on a red background read "Cup of Tea", and she'd decided it would be perfect for her new coffee mug. She was easy to amuse, it kept life from getting too boring. Especially without Becca.
Ugh. There she went. It'd been a whole few minutes this time, before that wire of taut, red hot fire had thrummed itself through her stomach again.
At least she knew Becca was alive.
She even understood why she couldn't just drop everything and try to get to her. That one note was all she'd persuaded anyone to do. That, and keep a scout on watch, in case a clear opportunity somehow showed a way to get her free without everyone dying.
Dylan just hoped Becca understood, and would keep herself safe. If any of the many, many nightmare scenarios Dylan had imagined ever happened to her…she didn't know what she'd do.
"Oh thank fuck," Dyl murmured as the creature woke, rolling off the cot into a sprawl on the floor as it tried to stretch.
Now Dylan did kick Wyn's boot, "C'mon, yon beastie is awake, time you were too."
A few minutes later, the creature was making its way steadily through three meal trays and a gallon of water. Wyn and Dylan faced it through opaqued glass, waiting for it to finish so they could show themselves
They sat either side of a middle-aged man, with thinning red hair and a rusty beard—they were there to listen only. Any questions or comments must go through him.
He'd introduced himself, with a tired smile, as Jimmy Drennan, and told them he was the current best they had at whatever the hell social science this was. That, plus the comms in each of their ears connecting them to a research team, was what they had to work with.
When the creature was finished eating, it took a final few laps at the water, then leapt back onto the cot and sat, facing the glass.
When it spoke, its voice was low and pleasant, with the barest rumble of a growl in the lower registers. Strong, slightly yellowing canines and incisors teeth flashed as it spoke.
"I can hear you, you know. Thanks for the food. And the drink. Not for the chasing me down to fill me with whatever that awful stuff was though," this last came out almost as a hiss, the mouth pursing in displeasure.
Jim pushed a button and the glass became clear.
"I did wonder if you could hear us. And if you could understand us. You have similar ear shaping to some species here who have excellent hearing," Jim spoke mildly, dropping the compliment as if it were offhand. "Sorry for the necessity of the drugs, we assumed asking nicely wouldn't work."
"It might have. Given the correct reasoning. And yes I understand you. We all did before we got here. They have quick methods of teaching."
"Really? So you're not so enamoured with your masters, then?"
The creature gave a growling laugh, "Not so, no."
"Well. Perhaps we can begin again, then. My name is Jim, or Jimmy. To my left is Dylan, to my right is Wyn. What name do you have?"
"None anymore. A number. A 'designation'," its teeth clicked together as the last word became a snarl. The creature shook its head as if to clear it. "Once I was named Vuuk. This is how you begin to know one another?"
"Vuuk. Thank you. Yes it is, we exchange names and often a physical gesture, like so," motioning to Wyn, Jim demonstrated a handshake, a hand to the heart and a nod, and a bow. "Different cultures attribute different preferences and meanings, but these are some of the ones used most often."
Vuuk stood on all fours, almost brushing against the ceiling, before folding its front legs at the knee, and bowing its head low over them, "This is a way we show greeting and respect," Vuuk paused. "A way we used to."
"Thank you for sharing that with us. I will offer you some clarity and openness on your current situation, before we continue. We need information on Autaxis and any other leaders. We need weaknesses in their troops. Ways to remove them and rescue our people. We have others already working with us on the inside. What you tell us and how you are with us will dictate your fate, but we won't kill you if you give us no reason to.
"While you're in this cell you're monitored at all times by video and audio, and also by certain nanite-sized implants be inserted into you as you slept. These are to help us ensure your health, help tell us if you're lying, and give us warning of any major incoming moves or shifts in mood. Do you understand? I ask that question not because I doubt your intelligence, but because I wish to ensure we understand each other."
"I understand."
"Good, thank you. My first question is, simply, why did you join them?"
Vuuk laughed, "Simply? Simple to ask, perhaps. Hm. Perhaps also simple to say. But to explain? No. Let me begin with the simple, then. I was tired. Tired of fighting. Tired of seeing my people taken and changed—no, we didn't look like this to begin with. I didn't know what to do anymore. I dug grave after grave after grave until it seemed like I was the only one left. They either took us, or we died. My family. My friends. I buried or lost them all. So when they took me, I welcomed it. I thought the pain would end. I thought the monster they made would stop caring.
"I was wrong. I still cared. I just couldn't stop myself from doing what I was ordered. I couldn't even kill myself, their grip was so tight. Eventually I gave in. They still don't trust me. They broke me but they know I hate them. That's why they made me into a scavenger. I pick away at things to find anything useful left in the destruction. Then I report back, on command."
"When will they know you're gone?"
"I don't know. Sometimes it's days, and I went there last yesterday. But it could be hours. We'll all know when though. That's when I'll stop talking and start trying to rip this place apart trying to fulfill the command. I'm sorry for when that happens—please, kill me if I risk hurting anyone. Until then, I'll tell you whatever I can."
Jim nodded, "Then let's see what we can get. And later, we'll see what we can do to help you."
Vuuk nodded and curled up comfortably on the cot, tucking its tail and all four paws beneath its body and looking at the three humans with dark, intent eyes, red cores flashing in the light.
Thanks for reading! See you next time.