CVF: Chapter One
Beginning of the Fall
Another cold night, it's always cold. Nothing's been the same, and it's always getting worse.
The wolf tried his best to keep his hoodie on top of his head to keep his ears warm but the strong wind kept blowing it off. Growling to himself, he turned into the wind bracing against the harsh weather. The breeze rustled his light grey fur, traveling like water flowing through his head fur up to his ears, the grayish color becoming lighter until the very tips of his ears were white. Every ally way was met with locked eyes; he didn't want anyone to jump him. A few shots rang out in the distance causing the wolf to twitch slightly. He finally reached his destination, his 6 foot 4 stature causing him to duck under the doorway as to not hit his head. The white paws of the wolf pushed the door open, a high pitch convenience store bell rung twice as he entered.
"Bad weather tonight huh?" The horse behind the counter greeted. The wolf gave a half-hearted smile.
"Yeah. Windy." His stomach became heavy; skin tingled as he could feel himself start to perspire. No one else was in the store with him, which he liked, it made things easier and a lot less difficult. Milk, a few veggies, a pack of ground beef, and some chocolate were all he needed. He collected it all up in his arms and made his way to the counter. Carefully he placed all the items on the shelf which was scanned and totaled up.
"OK your total comes to $22.65," the clerk punched some numbers in the register.
"Alright one sec," the wolf reached into his jacket and withdrew a pistol, placing the butt of it on the counter, his finger on the trigger pointed at the horse. The horse's eyes fixated on the weapon, his hands on top of the counter. They locked eyes, and everything went quiet. It was too quiet for comfort, the wolf felt as if the horse could hear his heartbeat. He thought he could hear his shaky breath until the horse tilted his head slightly, cracking a smile. Quiet laughter from the horse broke the silence, a slightly nervous laugh.
"You really think you can get away with this?" His laughter got a little louder. "There's surveillance ALL over the store!" Using hand motions to emphasize his point, he pointed out the cameras in the store. The wolf made sure to get a good hard look at every one before returning his blank gaze to the horse.
"You know just as well as I do that those cameras don't matter anymore." His facial expression never changed, but the laughter from the horse silenced. "Things are falling apart and a store robbery is the least of our city's worries. So it's best if you just let me put this stuff in my bag and you give me what's in the register so we both move on with our lives." They stared hard at each other, the clerk knew his options. The wolf saw the twitching of the horse's fingers.
"Don't make me do it." There was another brief silence. Ringing filled his ears as he watched in slow motion as the horse lunged for something underneath the counter. A bright white light emitted from the gun sending a projectile through the air, striking the horse in the shoulder. Followed by another bullet that hit the horse straight on in the chin. One more shot was fired that grazed his face as he fell to the floor. Three shots, three hits. The wolf peered over the counter, looking down at the horse who struggled to breath.
"I didn't want to do that," the wolf repeated, "I'm sorry." As he packed his stuff carefully into his bag he could still hear the very faint sound of the horse choking for air. Since he had a little more time now, he went to the back of the store and grabbed a few more groceries to fill his bag. Once it was filled, he walked out the door taking a moment to look back at the scene before finally leaving.
"What a long walk," he thought to himself as he fumbled with his keychain trying to find the right key to his place. Finally the right key slid into the lock and he turned it, opening the door with a slight creek. A welcoming warm air pressed against his body as he entered the room, he felt a little better. His home was a small one. One bed and one bath, enough for him and his girlfriend. Closing the door behind him he heard movement in the kitchen. Instinctively he dropped his bag onto the floor and placed his hand on his gun, tensing up. That is until Katrina poked her head around the corner smiling.
"Alec! Hey baby how'd it go? Did you get everything?" The snow leopard made her way towards Alec, her hips swaying as she walked. She was wearing one of his shirts that were too long for her. He didn't answer and just sighed. She knew what that meant.
"Ugh I'm sorry babe..." Her smile faded. She wrapped her hands around Alec, placing her head on his chest. She was nowhere near his height, standing only 5 foot 7. He put a paw on the back of her head and rested his chin on the top of her head.
"I'll get you a drink ok?" She stood on her tiptoes and gave him a quick kiss before retreating back to the kitchen, taking the bag with her. Alec plopped down on the couch with a sigh, watching Katrina walk back to the kitchen. Eyes fixated on her backside, the leopard's puffy light blue tail lifting up the shirt slightly showing off her violet thong. Feeling slightly better, he tilted his head back and watched the ceiling fan spin around and around. The spinning of the fan putting him into a type of trance, his body started to relax. He continued to watch the fan until his view was obstructed by Katrina's face smiling down at him. She wrapped around the couch and straddled him, a beer in her paw. Handing over the beer Alec drank half of the beverage off his first gulp, puckering his face a little.
"Something wrong?" Katrina asked concerned. Alec fixed his face with a smile shaking his head. In truth, he hated light beer, but he appreciated her getting him a drink so he downed the rest of it. Finishing the last drop he placed the empty bottle on the floor so he could wrap his arms around her.
"What?" Katrina noticed a certain look came across his face. He pulled her in close and planted a kiss, making sure to tease her tongue with his. Every time she tried to bring his tongue into her mouth he withdrew, making sure she didn't take the upper hand. Once he felt the bulge in his pants start to grow, he withdrew leaving Katrina flustered.
"How about we take this to the bedroom," he smirked, grabbing a handful of her ass. Katrina whimpered.
"Or we could do it right here..." She whispered into his ear while grinding against his now rock hard member.
"It's been a long day, I'd rather do it somewhere comfy," Alec started lifting himself from the chair only to be stopped by a flustered Katrina.
"Ummm, no," a wide toothy grin spread across her face. Alec gulped; he could feel her claws digging into his shoulders.
"You've been gone all day," her claws traveled down his shirt, "you've kept me waiting." Her claws snapped the button on his pants. Two of her fingers found their way into his boxers, they traced over the head of his penis. Rubbing the head of his penis drew pre-cum out from the tip, Alec quietly moaned as more of her hand made its way into his pants until her entire paw was wrapped around his shaft. She continued to stroke his shaft as her other paw worked off his pants. Slipping through the opening of his briefs she freed all 7.5 inches of his length, her hand unable to completely wrap around the girth of his penis.
"There it is," both of her hands continued to work his shaft as she played with the base of his cock with her tongue. His meat throbbed as her warm tongue licked up and down, his legs twitching with each teasing lick.
"Fuck babe," he gritted his teeth, the anticipation causing his cock to swell to its max potential. Katrina finally had him where she wanted him, her mouth stretched wide to engulf his swollen head. The warmth of her tongue coiled around his cock as she continued swallowing more of his meat. Once she began working down to the base, a sudden knock on the door startled them, causing Katrina to stop with his entire cock in his mouth. Whoever it was could come back later he figured. But the pounding only got louder, and a muffled yell from behind the door made Alec want to investigate.
"Babe go to the bedroom, I'll be right behind you," Katrina removed his cock from her mouth and made a pouty face before retreating to the bedroom.
"Don't leave me waiting too long," she lustfully grinned. He smiled watching his lover resign to the bedroom. The knocking on the door never ceased as Alec stuffed his dying erection back into his pants.
"God damn it Alec open the bloody door!" A voice erupted. Bobby? Alec lunged his way at the door, frantically trying to unlock it.
"For fooks sake man open the do-" With one click of the lock the door flung open and two figures fell through the doorway on top of Alec.
"Bobby? Justice? What the fuck are you guys doing?" The black panther got off from the floor and hastily shoved the door close locking it tight. Then he slid down the door breathing deeply trying to catch his breath. Bobby, a 5"8' dingo, pushed off of Alec and pressed an ear to the door.
"Guys seriously! What're you doing?"
"It's finally happened mate, everything's gone to shite. There was a large protest going on in the main shopping center a few blocks down that we were checking out. Someone fired a shot, people panicked, then... Fuckin' a, bullets flew," Alec was standing in disbelief. Was he really hearing all of this right? That's when he heard faint gunshots outside the window. Bobby nodded and Alec rushed towards the window, pulling apart the curtains. What greeted him was the view of total chaos. Furs were flipping over cars, breaking into the house across the street, it was a riot. He didn't see anyone firing a weapon but he could hear gun shots.
"Hey dumbass! You not wanna stand by the windows?" Justice scowled at him, his yellow eyes glaring. Alec closed the curtains shut.
"Alec? What's going on?" Katrina emerged from the room with a blanket wrapped around her, obviously worried. "Bobby? Justice?" She wrapped the blanket around her even tighter.
"Babe go back into the room and get some clothes on, I'll explain everything later," she nodded in agreement and rushed back into the room closing the door behind her. He turned to see Justice and Bobby turning over his furniture and pushing it towards the door.
"What the hell are you doing now?" He shouted.
"Setting up cover, if those arseholes are breaking into buildings I sure as shit aren't gonna let them in easily," Bobby withdrew an automatic pistol, taking cover behind his couch.
"Jesus Christ Bobby! The fuck you get that from?" Taken aback, Alec was surprised his friend was carrying a weapon. Bobby quickly checked how much ammo he had in his magazine.
"Got it off the body of some poor tosser," he grabbed Alec and pulled him down behind the couch. Justice was set up at a different angle behind a chair to the left of them, holding a regular .44 caliber pistol. Alec jolted at the sound of heavy banging on the door. Bobby started shaking a little.
"Honey stay in the bedroom alright! No matter what you hear don't come out." No response. He hoped he had heard her; he didn't want to yell again. The window Alec was looking out of earlier shattered, sending glass flying throughout the living room.
"Here they come," Justice murmured. Wood splinters flew at their faces. Alec turned his head to avoid the shards flying at his face, and then a bright white light filled Alec's vision. All he could hear was ringing and the faint sound of gunshots. He hadn't even focused his vision back on the door before letting of shots from his gun. The intruders never stood a chance; blood covered the walls as the three of them filled each of them with holes. He wasn't sure who he had shot in the chaos, but he knew every body that stepped through the door was now on the floor. Silence. Everything was muffled by the ringing in his ears; Bobby was still looking at the door, his finger tensed around the trigger. It seems that the rest of the mob got the idea and retreated back into the streets. Justice quickly jumped up to slam the door shut, kicking a limp body out of the way before closing the door. Having been forced open he couldn't close it all the way. He stepped over the bodies and made his way back towards Alec.
"Hey buddy," his muffled voice called out. Justice placed his hand on Bobby's shoulder. "You good?" Bobby nodded then sighed putting away his gun. The next sounded they heard was the coughing of one of the intruders. Alec peeked over the couch, six bodies laid on the floor, one of them, a fox, was grabbing at one of his dead partners gasping for help. Alec slid around the couch, his hearing now back to normal. He observed the bodies, he found what he assumed was the first one through the door. It was riddled with bullet holes, a shot from one of their guns had almost completely torn off his left arm. Only a few strands of flesh held it onto the shoulder. He stepped over the body in order to reach the fox who was still grabbing at his dead partner, his other paw laid on his chest where a bullet had blew a huge hole where his lungs should be. A scared expression filled the fox's eyes as Alec mouthed "I'm sorry," before firing another round into the fox's head.
"OK we have to get the fuck outta doge," Justice holstered his weapon, "we don't want to be here when angry furs with guns come marching through." Alec nodded.
"Gotcha," he put his weapon in the backside of his pants, "gather up whatever you can, we leave in two minutes. I'll get Katrina," his friends nodded in agreement, and then rushed off into the kitchen. Alec took one last look at the body before making his way towards the bedroom. Upon opening the door he heard quiet sobs.
"Babe? Why are you crying?" He carefully sat down next to Katrina pulling her close. Sniffling she looked up at him.
"I don't want to leave our home. This was supposed to be our new start; those thugs will ransack our home," she sniffed.
"It's ok; we started over once we can start again. I'm right here with you, Justice and Bobby are going to take us away from here to Kev's place until things calm down alright? I'll keep you safe. But we NEED to go." He grabbed her by the shoulders and gently rubbed them. With a nod of the head and a quick sniffle, she got up from the bed and embraced Alec.
"Hey guys come on! Save it for later we gotta bolt," Justice urged them on.
The group was able to find an abandoned car after weaving through alleyways, avoiding any sort of conflict. They found the car with a hole through the windshield with a large blood stain on the driver's side, but no driver. Now they were making their way out of the city along a back road, it was very early in the morning with the sun barely peaking above the horizon. Justice was driving the car with Bobby in the passenger's side. Alec and Karina were in the back, Katrina sound asleep leaning on Alec's shoulder who was staring out the window. Deep in thought, Alec couldn't sleep. The riot seemed pretty serious. He hoped it wouldn't escalate into something worse.
"We're almost there," Justice mumbled, breaking Alec's train of thought. Justice was looking at him through the rear view mirror. "We just need to find that damn dirt road his house is on," he grumbled. Bobby was keeping a sharp eye out on the dense forest to their left that lined the side of the road. Kevin, or Kev, had bought a small house in the Espe National Forest from an elderly couple. Alec and the rest of the group had questioned the purchase. Wondering why he would move a few hours out from the town to live alone in the forest. However, now they were glad they had a place to get away from this mess.
"There! There it is!" Bobby shouted pointing to the now visible break in the trees. Startled, Justice braked too hard jolting the sleeping leopard awake. Katrina hazily looked around.
"Sorry there," Justice turned the wheel of the car. The road went from smooth to bumpy as they turned onto the dirt road.
"S-okay," Katrina mumbled rubbing the sleep from her eyes. "Where are we?" She looked around once more noticing the tall trees before looking up at Alec.
"We're almost to Kev's place," he replied brushing a strand of her hair that hung down onto her face.
"We'll be on this for about five minutes," Justice spoke up from the front of the car. Katrina nodded and stretched her back. The road they were on wasn't completely flat. It would rise just high enough to obstruct their view of the continuation of the road before flattening out our dipping back down. Alec and Bobby looked out of their windows subconsciously keeping an eye out for anything suspicious. They knew they were getting close when the road they were on flattened out. Suddenly the car lurched to a stop as Justice slammed on the brakes. Alec looked out the front windshield to see a canine dressed in a dark green long sleeve shirt and black pants standing in the middle of the road with an assault rifle pointed at the car and yelling.
"All of you put your fucking hands up!" Even with all the windows rolled up they could hear his commanding voice belting at them. Everyone in the car had their hands up, while Alec held one up with the other firmly grasping his pistol that sat in his lap. A tap on Alec's window startled him, but not as much as the barrel of a rifle pressed at the glass. A deer with small antlers dressed in similar garb motioned for him to raise both his hands. Alec let out a sigh of frustration, raising both hands into the air. The deer tapped on the window once more with his barrel motioning downwards.
"Open the door," the deer took a step back, "slowly." Not wanting to cause any harm to his group, Alec reached down and opened the door just like the deer had asked. "What are you doing here," he asked sternly, the rifle still aimed at Alec.
"We're here to meet up with Kev, we told him we would be coming," Alec replied.
"Are you Bobby?"
"Actually that's me!" Bobby spoke up from the front seat. The deer glanced over at Bobby who gave a friendly wave.
"And I'm assuming the rest of you are Justice, Alec, and Katrina?" Alec nodded in reply. Instantly the deer lowered the rifle with a big grin on his face. "Hey Markus lower your weapon! It's them!" The canine down the road lowered his rifle and dropped his shoulders in relief. The group in the car put their hands down in relief with a collective sigh.
"Sorry about that, Kevin wanted to make sure only you guys came through here. Mind if we hop on for a ride back?" The canine made his way to the car in a relaxed manner.
"Sure! Hop on the side it's not too long is it?" Justice rolled down his window making it easier to communicate. Alec closed the door so the deer could step onto the side of the car.
"Nah, 'bout a minute by car." The canine hopped on the other side and they were off. Alec was able to get a better look at the canine now. His golden fur was unmistakable, a retriever. "By the way I'm Chase. And of course Markus," he nodded towards the canine.
He was right, not a minute later and they reached a road that split off to the right towards Kevin's place. There it was. A wooden two story house in the middle of a dense forest. As they approached, Kevin's unmistakable fur pattern of a tiger emerged from the house with open arms. Alec noted he must have been sitting by a window waiting for them. Justice pulled up to the left of the house. The two strangers hopped off the side of the car to greet him. The rest of the group followed behind them, taking a moment to stretch their tired muscles.
"There they are!" The tiger laughed in his deep voice. His yellow eyes beamed as he went to great them. Bobby reached him first, embracing the six foot tiger in a friendly embrace. Kevin could have easily snapped Bobby in half with his hug; he was the most muscular out of all of them. He went around the group giving each a warm embrace as if they were family, ending with Katrina. "Nice to see you all made it here alright. Sorry again for the not so warm greeting earlier. Can't be too careful right?" Kevin laughed again.
"It's alright," Alec waved it off.
"Good, good. Come on," Kevin motioned for them to follow. "There's one last person inside I want you to meet. Oh and by the way," he stopped at the door to turn and face the group with a smile. "Who's the crazy one now?" He winked before opening the door.
It looked like any other home on the inside. Right at the front door was the stairs that lead up to the second floor where the bedrooms were. Off to the right was the kitchen and dining room. To the left was the living room where along the back room was a spare room that Kevin had turned into an entertainment room. In the living room the couches had been pushed against the walls to make room for the giant table placed in the middle of the room. On the table was a bunch of equipment including a computer, microphones, a ham radio, and a bunch of other gadgets Alec didn't recognize. At the table a lynx sat with his back towards them, tinkering with some of the equipment.
"Alex!" Kevin belted out. The figure turned with a tentative smile on his face.
"Oh you must be who Kev's been talking about," The lynx got up from his seat. He was about average height for a male, around 5 foot 11. He had a lean muscular build. As he shook Alec's hand his green eyes behind the glasses quickly glanced up and down the wolf. As if he was a robot scanning an object. Once he made his rounds he stepped back looking over the group once more. "Well... Nice to meet you all, glad that you're staying with us. More bodies the better," he awkwardly nodded as if he was agreeing with himself. "I'm gonna get back to working," he turned on his heal and sat back down in his seat.
"You get that thing to work yet Alex?" Kevin asked, referring to the radio.
"Uhh... Almost," Alex stood up to move around the table, tampering with some wires. "I was fooling around with some code earlier. Seeing if I could run some sort of program that-"
"So no?" Kevin interrupted.
"No." Alex's ears flattened.
"I would rather you get that up and rolling before fiddling around with something else," Alex nodded in agreement. He shuffled to the right and began working on the radio. Kevin turned towards the group. "Anyways!" He clapped his hands together, "I am gonna get cooking, Chase will show you to your rooms. Markus you'll head back out to the trail and Chase will follow behind later," Markus nodded.
"See you all later," Markus headed back out the front door.
"Come on, I'll show you all where you're staying," Chase nodded to follow as he headed up the stairs. "Bobby, Justice, you two are together straight down the hall to the right, last door."
"Aw man, we have to sleep together?" Justice tilted his head back and moaned.
"Aw you don't want to sleep with me?" Bobby wiggled his eyebrows. "After all remember back in high school when-"
"Shut your mouth," Justice growled shoving Bobby down the hall. The dingo laughed, extending his middle and index finger towards Justice as he backed his way down the hall.
"And you two are same, except to the left," he pointed past the two who followed his gaze down the hallway. "This middle door here is a bathroom, but your room is the second master bedroom in the house so you have your own. Get comfy; I'll get your bags," Chase started down the stairs but was stopped by Alec.
"Just leave them by the door," he whispered in the deer's ear. Chase grinned.
"Not a problem pal," he winked before making his way back down the stairs.
Katrina opened the door to the bedroom, eagerly flopping onto the king bed with a sigh. Alec followed her inside, laughing at her eagerness.
"Alec come to bed," Katrina stroked the empty sheets next to her, "we never got to finish what we started back home." A devilish smile came across Alec's face. Without saying a word he made his way to the bed and on top of Katrina. Their lips locked and he became instantly hard, his pants tightened as he pulled Katrina as close as he could get. Her hands traveled up his body slipping under his shirt, moving it the farther she went up his body. Once it was removed, he grabbed her and spun her around with her now on top. He followed in her steps removing her shirt without any pause. His hands slipped around her back as he sat up to get better leverage, fumbling with the bra strap for a moment before letting it fall off her. Once her breasts were free, his mouth traveled down her body until her reached her left nipple where he gently suckled on it. Katrina let out a quiet gasp as his tongue circled her erect nipple. She rested a paw on the back of his head urging him on as he moved to the right one. Instinctively she grinded against him as she became more aroused until she couldn't take it. She shoved him off of her, taking Alec by surprise as she traveled down his body. The iciness of her nose making Alec shiver as it tickled his body. Her teeth clamped on his zipper and pulled it down as her paws worked to unbutton his pants. Once his pants were loose enough she took no time in removing his pants to get to what she wanted. The musk from his manhood filled her nose as she gently stroked it while her other paw played with his sack. She then went down using her tongue to play with his balls, her paw still stroking his twitching shaft. After being together for three years, she knew how to make him squirm. After she had paid enough attention to the swelling orbs in her mouth, her tongue traveled up his shaft slowly; finishing with a quick flick that caused Alec to shoot pre-cum out of his shaft. Katrina giggled to herself.
"Wow I haven't seen you this close to finishing so soon since our last vacation," she teased as her finger circled around his urethra, more pre-cum emerging from his meat.
"W-well I didn't get to finish at home, so I'm a little pent up," he clenched his teeth; his hands clutched the pillow as he felt her mouth wrapped around his cock. She was barely able to fit him in her mouth, the 7 inch circumference of his cock proving difficult for her.
"God damn..." He mumbled.
"Oh no, not yet," she only wanted to get a quick taste of him. It had been a while since she had given him head so she decided to treat him. She got off the bed to remove her bottoms while Alec lay erect on the bed staring at the ceiling. The wetness of her panties showed that she was ready to go as she removed those as well. Alec was still wearing his boxers she noticed, so she quickly grabbed them and yanked them off. His cock whiplashed and slapped against his waist, twitching slightly.
"I hope you're ready babe," she sat on top of him, grabbing his cock placing it at her entrance.
"I know I am, it's you I'm worried about," he leered taking a hold of her hips slamming her down on his length. Katrina let out a yip as she buried her face in his chest, moaning from pain and pleasure.
"You fuckin bastard," she muttered into his chest, barely audible.
"That's what you get for teasing me like that," he snickered. His cock was hugged by her warm, quivering pussy as she continued to breathe heavily. Finally once the pain had subsided, she sat up biting her lip feeling his dick pulsate inside of her. The dimension of his cock combined with her tiny stature caused slight bulge in her abdomen. For some reason Alec loved seeing that, just knowing he was doing that to his lover turned him on even more. Katrina started slowly grinding against him, letting his dick swivel around inside of her, letting it hit all of her spots. Alec let out heavy breaths as he watched her hips start to move up and down, his length repeatedly slip in and out of her warm nether region. Her large butt making soft tap as it made contact with his groin. The grip on her butt became tighter as Alec's sensitivity became higher, his claws slightly poking out digging into her flesh. He knew he was getting close, but he had to hold out until he felt his partner finish. With one swift movement he spun her around so he could watch her ass bounce up and down, the beauty it almost mesmerizing. To brace herself Katrina placed a paw on each of Alec's legs, her claws scratching his thighs as she continued riding him. Her breaths got heavier and her pace got quicker, Alec could feel her starting to reach her orgasm as her pussy tightened around him. Alec squeezed her left cheek spreading it in the process, his right hand moving closer to her tailhole. Katrina bit her lip as her climax became closer, then Alec grinning sheepishly pressed a finger against her anus until it accepted it. Not expecting this, Katrina gasped leaning back with her back arched as she orgasmed, muffling a scream. As soon as this happened, he inserted another finger to intensify it causing Katrina hit her peak. Alec removed his fingers as Katrina lay back on top of him, still shaking from her orgasm. He knew she was exhausted so he took control by grabbing her legs behind the knees and brought them up to him and started thrusting. Katrina let out a mix of a gasp and a moan as the thrusting started.
"Almost there babe," he growled into her ear. His balls contracted as his thrusting got faster, the urge to cum hitting him hard. With a low grunt and one final thrust he buried himself deep inside of her, shooting his seed inside her still quivering vagina. All of his muscles tensed as he bucked his hips up, his primal urges taking over as he bit down on her neck. Katrina couldn't hold her weight any longer, her weight falling on top of Alec forcing him to relax his hips causing them to collapse onto the bed. His cock slipping out in the process, shooting the rest of his cum onto the stomach of Katrina.
"You, you asshole," she muttered, "You got it in my fur..." She rolled off of him into her spot on the bed. "But I love you," she uttered quietly before falling asleep. Alec turned his head towards her smiling.
"Love you too babe," he whispered before rolling over. He wasn't surprised Katrina drifted off so quickly. Sleeping in the car isn't exactly the most efficient way of getting your rest. Alec however wasn't feeling tired, it was still mid-afternoon. Quietly he swung his feet over the side of the bed and retrieved his clothes from the floor. Careful not to step on any squeaky floorboards. He observed his girlfriend as he dressed, admiring her beauty as she slept. He continued in his silence as he slipped on his shirt before opening the door discretely, being careful not to make too much noise. The canine wasn't at ease until the door shut behind him, Katrina still asleep. He noticed the bags sitting next to the door and made a note to thank Chase later. Alec made his way down the stairs to the first floor where Alex was still slaving away at his electronics while Kevin worked on cutting up veggies.
"Hey Kev," Alec entered the Kitchen outstretching his arms. The tiger briefly glimpsed over at Alec before returning to his chopping.
"Hey there Alec, settling in alright?"
"You could say that," Alec replied with a sly smile. Kevin looked over at Alec who was suggestively wiggling his eyebrows. He shook his head with a laugh.
"You wasted no time huh?"
"Nope," Alec made his way over to the table and took a seat in the chair. The wolf observed Kevin as he furious chopped vegetables and lit the stove.
"So here's the thing," Kevin spoke up after a moment of silence, "if you all are going to stay here, I expect you to pitch in one way or another." He never took his eyes of of his duty of prepping.
"Seems fair enough," Alec acknowledged, tracing a nail along the wooden table in no particular pattern. "What'll you have me do?"
"Your dad was in the navy right?" Alec nodded. "Ever teach you how to shoot?"
"Yeah he took me out every now and then."
"Great. In the entertainment room are some dark clothing and a few more weapons. Change, grab yourself a gun and go switch with Markus. He's been out there since yesterday's sundown."
"Not a problem," Alec grunted as stood up. He made his way to the entertainment room turned armory, passing Alex on the way there. The lynx briefly looked up to smile before returning to the radio. Kevin did a pretty good job of the place. There were a few makeshift gun racks with various weapons on them, with clothing neatly folded up on top of the pool table. A few of the racks were empty, presumably where Chase and Markus' weapons went. Alec picked out a dark black long sleeve shirt and black cargo pants. Unflattering, but they did the job. Once changed he passed on picking out a new weapon and stuck with his pistol. He wasn't sure where the other two would be along the trail, but he figured once he got within hearing range they'd call out to him.
"If Kevin was right about one thing, it sure is beautiful out here," Alec said to himself as gravel crunched beneath his feet. Rays of afternoon light poured through the trees as birds chirped in the distance. Even though it was pretty out, he was dreading the night. Whenever Alec and Kevin would chat on the phone, Kevin often moan about how cold it could get at night even with having fur. As he continued down the trail he started to feel good about this place. He was confident that whatever was going on, this was the place to ride it out.
"Yo Alec over here!" Chase's voice called out snapping the trance the wolf was in. He hadn't even noticed how far he had walked. Off to the right of the trail was a walkway too small for cars to travel along that lead to a small clearing in the trees. There the two of them had set up. Alec made his way over to Markus and Chase who were sitting next to an ashy fire pit.
"Hey Markus I'm taking over, you can head back now." The retriever breathed out a sign of relief.
"Thank Christ, finally I can get some rest," using the butt of his rifle Markus stood up, slinging his pack over his shoulder with a yawn. "See you all later," he waved over his shoulder as he walked past Alec back down the trail. Alec dropped his pack next to Chase, plopping down onto the ground.
"So how long are we out here for?" Alec asked taking a look at his surroundings. The deer shrugged as he whittled away at a stick.
"Uhh I'd say just after midnight. We kind of chance it and hope that no one travels down here later than that. But now that you guys are here we'll be able to have a twenty-four hour watch!" He exclaimed. Alec took another look around.
"Couldn't we just knock down one of these large trees and put it along the path? That way no cars can get through." Chase paused mid stroke of his knife to look up in thought.
"Huh. I suppose so. You're a smart one you know that," he wiggled his stick at Alec. The two chuckled and Chase finished his stroke of the knife sending a wood shaving flying. He paused once more to take notice of Alec's choice of weapon.
"A pistol?" He asked, concerned at the lack of firepower. Alec looked down at his weapon before picking up to show Chase.
"It's small but it packs a punch," he smiled at Chase, "it's not the size, it's how you use it." The two shared in another laugh.
"Seriously though, my rifle has to carry at least three times the amount of bullets as yours."
Alec shrugged. "Probably. But I can guarantee I'm more accurate than you are." A smug smile came across his face.
"Oh really now?" Chase piped. "That sounds like a bet to me."
"Maybe it is maybe it isn't," Alec innocently leaned back against a tree, putting his hands behind his head.
"Oh it is so on. When we both are back at the house I'll set up a shooting range to see who's better," Chase played along.
"And what do you want if you win?"
"I don't know yet," Chase tapped his foot on the ground in thought. "But I'll let you know when I do." The two passed the time by chatting about past relationships and what type of animal hybrids would be the most terrifying. As the day grew darker the two of them gathered fire supplies and dumped them in the pit. It wasn't cold enough yet, but decided to gather what they needed while they still had light. They were on the topic of zombie outbreaks when Chase silenced Alec.
"Hold up," Chase put a finger up to his mouth in a shushing motion. The two sat there in silence. The sound of crickets chirping filled the air. The wolf didn't hear a thing.
"I don't hear any-" Chase held his finger to Alec's mouth.
"No listen again." Alec focused all of his attention to listening. At first nothing. Then the two of them shared a look as the unmistakable sound of a car bumping along the dirt road grew louder and louder.