Ruins of the City

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This is mostly all that is left of the city. Ruins of concrete, brick, wood and steel lay about in a scattering of rubble. Some anthros and humans are buried or trapped here, some alive, most dead.It's our duty to find the survivors.

I glared angrily at the Fox. He and his gang could fend for himself for all I care. I leaped off him and sprang back several feet. My neck snapped around as a bullet shot near Coax. Immediately I scanned the skies and the building tops for the shooter. When I didn't see them I took a sideways glance at the fox before turning to my group. "Coax," I said loudly. "Berry. Take cover now." I raced away from the buildings, praying a bullet wouldn't take me. My mighty paws bounded over the concrete. I slid down and rolled under a slab of concrete that was only a foot or so above the ground, just enough space for me to squeeze into. I waited anxiously for the continuation of the metal rain of bullets...

I pulled back the pin putting a bullet in the firing chamber. I poked the barrel around the corner and felt the dust fly off the stone as another bullet pinged.

Quickly i spotted the flashfire and pulled the trigger.

With a cry a canine fell from the spot he was hiding at. Coming to a dead slump on the ground.
"We should probably move to better cover for now. There are probably more of those bandits."

"I know we wont get along but at least you could come with us till we are out of the city. Then you'd at least be a little safer. Then you can decide what to do ok?" I said I backed into a doorway and watched for other bandits.

I lay hidden under my slab of concrete, listening to the bullets rattle overhead. I heard the fox speak. I debated my options quickly. Should the bandits come here, we would be out numbered and out gunned at the least. if we went with the fox...who knows. I didn't like either option. The choice between certain death or enslavement or between uncertain death and/or enslavement were not very motivating. I snapped at myself then rolled swiftly out from under the concrete. I made my choice. "If you or any of your gang hurts or even attempts to hurt any of my pack or myself, you will be killed instantly," I snarled at the fox as I ran towards him. "Is that understood?" I said pressing myself against a nearby doorway.

"No worries if a single of my pack attempts anything I will kill him or her myself. " I said as I motioned the couple of wary females to follow me inside the crumbling shelter.

"Kkk Kkk" I whispered, ordered a 'Shoot to kill' order. I ordered one of my foxes to scout out a route out of the city.

A few minutes later my scout returned with news. "There is a lot of movement to the north and the east. Mostly armed bandits. Obviously not sitting idle making smores. " my scout said

"Ok Coax and what ever your name is, we will be heading out of this city in 10 minutes ok? We will be leaving immediately after that. Please get yourself ready."

Berry blinks and looks around. "uh.." She was lost in what was going on. She gets up "my head hurts to much!" She frowns unhappily it seemed like she was alone. She sighs and starts to walk around the city. "I'm sure I'll find someone if I walk around..." She giggles lightly and smiles.

"Wait did anyone see Berry?" I asked as I noticed she was gone.

I grabbed my rifle and looked to Coax and the other female. "Did you see where she went? She wont be safe alone. No offence but with those bandits out there she will be open game for them. "

[[ Sorry that this took so long, I thought it went through weeks ago. ]]

Looking around, Coax realized that the Fox was right to worry. She wasn't in sight, and though the scent was fresh, is was just a residue, suggesting she wasn't anywhere near. "No, I haven't," Coax said, peering around their concreat safe-house. "But that's not my problem." And with that, Coax launched out from behind the slab on all fours, sprinting swiftly around buildings and piles of bricks and away from the others. And, despite the scouts report, she kept her eyes on the north.

"If you want a place to shelter in, we reside in the mountains not to far from here. " I said to Coax as she dashed away.
"Ok well lets get going. Sorry I don't know your name Coax's friend but if you wanna come back with us I will gladly let you reside in the mountains. They are probably the safest place to go at a time like this." I said

"Ok. Is everyone ready?" I said as I checked my ammo and prepped to go.

Berry blinks as an arrow flies by her head. she screams and runs away "i'm scared!!"

"Pack go back without me I am worried about berry. So ill stay behind and look for her." I said.

My pack unwillingly left me as I exited through an alternate doorway and I navigated down an alley way following the smell of berrys fur.

The smell soon became stronger. "Berry? Berry?" I whispered. almost as if it was in response an arrow glanced off of my shoulder, bouncing off the metal pad inside he strap.

"Berry are you here?" I whispered.

I looked quickly from the fox to others and saw Coax take off. I glanced at the fox. "Cover me," I said quickly. I leaped out of the door frame and landed neatly on all fours. I bolted after her. My claws dug into the ground and I skittered sharply to the left to avoid a large shattering of glass. I couldn't see the light shimmering on the shards until I was right on top of it. The slivers would slice my paws to shreds and I had to jerk hard to the side. I clawed frantically to stay upright. I couldn't and I fell. I felt my shoulder grind into the dirt and catch on a slab of concrete. I flipped over onto my back and rolled over the concrete slab my shoulder caught. My legs flew into the air and I tasted gravel in my mouth when it crashed into the ground. I came to a stop a short ways away and lay on my side. I panted heavily and didn't move. I quickly assessed the damage I had done to myself and concluded quickly that my shoulder was either broken or dislocated and I couldn't move it at all. I was covered in cuts and scratches and I think I chipped a tooth. I closed my eyes. I hoped that the snipers thought I was dead and wouldn't shoot me. If I moved I would be dead.

"Forget berry she'll survive. " I muttered as I heard a sickening crunch as the other female went after Coax.

"Forget my orders, you go without me ill stay behind." I said to my pack. I slid quickly after the other female, that was not to keen of me, landing next to her seeing that she was somewhat injured. With a dislocated shoulder and quite possibly broken bone. "Whatever you name is you should be fine. I don't care if I have to carry ya out myself I aint leaving ya behind." I said as I rolled out a first aid kit, offering a pain pill to her. I don't know how severe this injury is, but this should help a little. I said as I offered to check her shoulder.

"I am sure you don't trust me but believe me when I say I would not kill ya. I can try to re-align the bone. If its bad enough I can set it. Of course if you can't walk I can carry ya. Its up to you. I wont force you to do anything. "

Coax skidded to a stop at the sound of screaming not to far away, and muttered some unsavory words. She knew who it was the second the words reached her ears. Poking her head out from behind a crumbling building, she spotted Berry, running in her direction. At the last second, she stuck her hands out from behind the wall, one to cover the cat's mouth and another to wrap around her and pull her into the safe place and out of the open. "Don't make a sound," she whispered harshly into her ear, scanning the buildings for the barrel of a sniper rifle. Not seeing anything, she removed her hands, glad that the gash on her forearm hadn't started bleeding again after using it. Stepping back, Coax got a good look at Berry and relaxed, satisfied she wasn't hurt. "Look, I've got something I need to do. You can come with me or I can help you find the fox and Sylvia, but either way, once I've gotten what I need I'm heading back to them. Or you can go off and do your own thing, it doesn't matter to me." She said in hushed tones. "What will it be?"

I shifted the bone back into place, not waiting for response, I wrapped her, and injected a acute pain killer that would help her move. Wrapping some twin and sticks together I made a sling for her. "It will take some time to heal, but you should be good for now. " I said.

I heard a pinging sound followed by the sound of a rolling piece of hollow metal. Then it bounced down landing beside me. Introducing itself as a grenade. Obviously no time to return to the sender, I instinctively bent down covering the female who's name I still didn't know. A loud rushing wind synchronized with a razor wind of metal and heat impacted my back. Shredding my body armor and ripping into my body, slicing thru my flesh. Leaving one piece sticking outta the concrete next to the creature I was covering.

I felt the blood and my fluids gush out and I collapsed from the pressure of the blow, unable to move my body hardly at all. I couldn't help but gap for air. "Ouch. " I muttered with blood bubbling outta my mouth, coughing.

I lay still while the fox adjusted my shoulder. It would be alright, I healed fast. He put it in a sling while I lay there. I wouldn't need it long a week or so. He didn't give me anytime to talk before he injected me with a pain killer. I felt adrenaline slice through my limbs. I reacted badly to drugs. Before I could stand up a sharp pinging noise got my attention. My heart stopped. A grenade. I felt a heavy weight on me as the fox threw himself over me. I buried my face in the ground and closed my eyes. The blast was deafening and I felt his weight get off me. I lifted my head and looked at him. His skin was shredded and his fur was matted in clumps. Surprising myself, I bit back the urge to cry. "Ouch," he said. I sat up, my shoulder numb. "Try not to speak," I whispered. I carefully took off his shredded armor and his shirt so I could look at the wounds. I ripped the shirt into strips and bound his wounds as best I could. I turned my attention to his pack and dug into it. I found several rolls of gauze and as carefully as I could I rewrapped his shredded torso. I spoke softly to him, attempting reassurance. "It'll be ok," I said. "It'll be alright. It's just flesh wounds." When he was bandaged as best as I could I slipped him a shot of morphine. "Sleep boy," I whispered. "It'll be alright." I gathered him up in my arms, my hurt shoulder forgotten. I held him against me and stood up. I walked off the clearing, hoping whoever shooting at us would have mercy on us this once. We made it off the field and I kept walking. I knew where to go.

Barely able to move i muttered. "If you need(cough,cough), you can use this." I said as i motioned to my old pistol on my holster.

Internal bleeding was imminent, barely consious, but yet alive.

I looked down at him in my arms, held close against me. His face was pale and his eyes dull. I had faith that he'd be alright. He wasn't going to die today. Or tomorrow. Or the next day. He spoke slurred, the morphine starting to go into affect. I was glad. It would take his pain away. "No," I whispered. "It won't be needed. Not this time." I carried him farther away from the city. I looked down at him several times to make sure he was still breathing. Farther we went, the rubble turned to trees. I looked down at him again and surprising myself I gently started licking the top of his head. I kept walking. "Hold on," I whispered. "Hold on Andrew."

I blinked one last time, the fading due to the morphine. " thankyou." I closed my eyes for a needed rest.

~Sylvia to the Caverns~

Ok... I can't wait any longer. ]]

Coax darted out from behind the building, sprinting through the rubble-filled streets, jumping over anything in her path. She silently prayed that the snipers- or whoever they were- had packed up or gone to sleep or something- anything, that would keep her alive and well. After covering a long distance unscathed, the building began to thin out and give way to a more Suburban area. Home, she thought, pausing with her hands on her knees as she struggled to regain her breath. Where is home?

"It's got to be somewhere around here..." Coax panted, standing up straight. But, as she swung her head from side, the piles of ruble and fallen trees was barely distinguishable. Hesitantly, she started down the street, re-building the fallen neighborhood from all the years of memories she had. Each house reconstructed itself in her mind, down to the very last details in the shutters. Slowly Coax found her way to her street, and eventually to her house- or, what was left of it. There was no door to open, just half a standing house and huge, jagged pieces of wood, brick, and plaster. Quickly the anthro picked her way over it into the other side, now without a roof, but at least a few of the walls were standing. But she found what she was looking for quickly enough, an array of medicines from the broken cabinets, some packaged foods, a compact black hand gun from under her mattres, one box of appropriate amo, and finally the stuffed dog she'd slept with sense she was a child. It all went into her back pack, which was a little damp and dusted with plaster after all the exposure, but still functional.
Coax climbed back outside, glanced back at the ruble that used to be her home, and turned to go, leaving the neighborhood behind and trying to cover as much distance as she could before nightfall.

--Coax to the Plains--

Soul laid hurt in the ruins of a old house. She could barely move. She tried to closed her eyes and few times but when she did, she heard the screams of her family. She could see everything crashing down. Soon weakness overtook Soul and she fell in to a nightmare filled sleep.

Sylvia returned from caverns and looked around the ruined city. Nothing had changed since her journey. She limped up an old piece of rubble and looked down, searching for her friends.