A Prey Among Predators

Dark, gray hues.

That is all Nolan sees once the zooming sceneries slow to a halt.

Frozen, he gazes ahead: The room is massive, made out of concrete, with fluorescent lights shining from the ceiling high above.

The restraint against his back then slides off, causing him to fall backwards. With a squeak, his muscles stay tense as Miro’s arms guide him backwards into a cage.

Nolan tumbles into the cage and scrambles into the corner, where he pulls himself into a ball and stays still. His ears are flat against is back; his foot is slamming against the metal floor.

Thump, thump, thump, thump…!

He keeps his large eyes out in the front of the cage, where he spots the dangerous man’s shirt and pants through the bars.

Thump, thump, thump, thump…!

The shirt then pulls down like an elevator descending; Miro’s face comes into view through the bars. His cold, grey eyes pierce straight through him.

Thump, thump, thump, thump…!

“Your friend is feral,” Miro speaks up in a soft, accented voice.

Pat halts his thumping. His expression does not falter despite the fact surprise springs through him.

“I heard you’re his friend.”

Nolan senses his muscles pulse, slipping out their tightness. His breathing resumes in shaky inhales and exhales.

“Can you...help him?”

Nolan blinks at him. He squeaks out, “What?”

“Your friend is feral. I heard you’re his friend. Can you help him?”

Shock grips him; his eyebrows slant upward. “My friend...Carter?”

Miro nods, his eyes becoming warmer.

“He’s...a feral?”

He nods some more.

Nolan blinks tears of fear away. “He’s…like a...bear…?”

Miro holds a pleading look. “You’re his friend. You can help him. To turn back to himself.”

Nolan shakes his head. “But-but if he’s like a bear...he’s...he’s gonna attack me…” He takes in a sharp inhale. “...and not...remember me…”

“If you’re his good friend, he will remember you.”

Nolan stares at him, lost with watery eyes.

Miro gives him a look of concern. “Do you want your friend back?”

Panicking between the options, Nolan blurts out, “Why are you doing this to me? Why did you make him feral?”

Miro casts his eyes down, hurt displaying from them. “I’m sorry.”

With a squeak, Nolan hugs himself and turns his head away to the corner.

“I was pressured to,” he hears Miro confess in a gentle tone. “In order to be welcomed to my team. Everyone is small. I am big.” He huffs. “I had to belittle big species to be welcomed.”

Nolan rotates his head back to him with a frown.

“It was wrong.” He lifts his eyes back up at him. “That’s why I’m not mauling you. They think I am.”

Nolan freezes, his eyes snapping wide open in realization. Subtle hope rises in him; his expression softens.

“Where’s Carter?” Nolan whispers to him.

“In the room next to here.”

Nolan gapes at him as his mind spins around his answer. “I...I want...to help him.”

With a nod, Miro unlocks the cage and opens up the front as he stands up. Nolan crawls out and climbs up to his feet.

Miro wraps his arm around his shoulder to guide him to the left, where a heavy duty door is situated on the other side. With the touch of a predator, Nolan can’t help but shudder. Trepidation crawls under his skin, making his heart slam against his chest and sweat to form.

The door nears them, spinning ominously in Nolan’s sight.

Nolan squeaks.

Miro reaches out to the handle with his free hand and pushes it down before pressing against the door to open it.

Nolan whimpers as he is brought into the room by the soft force of Miro’s arm. He cringes with his head turned away, tensing up for physical danger.

However, all senses of danger stay the same. Nolan turns his head forward as he feels Miro slowing down their ambling.

The room they are in is small, yet holds the same theme as the door: gray and practical. To the left is a control panel with numerous buttons and levers. Above the panel is a large window that stretches across the wall; it displays a dim room.

Nolan follows Miro to the control panel before stopping in front of it to his right. Miro leans over the protruding panel and peers down through the window before glancing at him and nodding toward the window.

With a gulp, Nolan follows Miro’s movements and looks down through the window as well.

On the other side of the glass is a deep room below the room they are in. Large lights flood the bottom, which is a duplicate of a Boreal forest with large evergreen trees, shrubs, fluffy grass with scattered boulders, and a stream. Wandering around the open glade by the stream is a hulking grizzly bear; its fur sways as its thick muscles move; its claws dig the grass at each step; its black, beady eyes show no sign of intellect or will.

In horror, Nolan gapes at the animal. His eyes glisten with tears.

“That’s...Carter?” He turns to Miro.

Miro nods. “Yes.”

He then takes a microphone attached to a small stand from his other side and holds it out to him.

Nolan stares at the grill of the microphone. Fear grips him as flashbacks flood through his mind: the bear’s deafening roars, the way it pounced on the penginmimi and bit him; how it threw Brett as a red wolf off of him with such strength—

“He’s...he’s going to…”

Miro gazes at him with concern. He places the microphone down between them.

“...attack me…”

Miro shakes his head. “He can’t get up here. And if he does attack you, I’m here.” He holds out his hand, displaying his set of thick, short curved claws from his fingernails.

Nolan freezes at the sight, terrified.

His claws then retract, allowing him stretch his hand out in a comforting manner.

Nolan lifts his eyes up at him in fear.

Miro gazes at him with compassion. “I won’t hurt you. I’ll protect you.”

Nolan flicks down to Miro’s innocent hand. He takes his palm in one hand then turns to the microphone. He taps on it with his free hand.

Feedback bounces back before the amplified sound of his tapping echoes.

Nolan leans toward the microphone and forces out in a settled brittleness, “Carter? Carter?”

The bear gives a quick roar of irritation.

Nolan pulls away with a grimace. “I-I don’t think I can do this.”

Miro squeezes his hand. “He’s your friend.”

He peeks at him. “But he’s...not himself…”

“Try again.”

With a trembling sigh, Nolan leans closer to the microphone. He taps on it, then opens his mouth to speak.

“Okay, what are you doing, fuzzbutt?” Nico’s voice blurts out.

The two let go of each other and whirl to their left, spotting Nico marching into the room.

Panic springs onto Miro’s face as he backs away from him. “I was just about to—“

He slams into the edge of the panel, forcing him to grip onto the panel to maintain his balance. His palm hits a button.

The entire window slides down, shifting the air of the room.

Miro peers behind his shoulder at the sight and gasps.

A proud smirk forms on Nico’s face. “Good.”

He then flounces over to Nolan and shoves him across the panel. Nolan rolls across the narrow panel before slipping off over the open ledge.

“AHHHHHHHH!!!” he screams as he plummets into the faux forest.

Through the descending ledge, Jesperi peeks down over the edge and gives a wave. “Bye-bye!” He giggles through his large grin.

Nolan crashes into a large shrub, spraying leaves in all directions. The shrub shakes and his head pokes out with erect ears. Nolan snaps his head around, his eyes taking in every aspect of his surroundings.

Staring back at him is a glade surrounded by evergreens. The air is crisp and fresh; the leaves and blades of grass are vibrant. However, breaking the illusion of the forest is the dull, domed walls and ceilings taking place of the skies.

Nico clasps his hands behind his back and gazes down at his work through the open space. “Now let’s see how nature is really supposed to work…”

To his right, Jesperi giggles some more with his hands over his mouth. On his other side, Miro stares through the open space; his face is expressionless, but his eyes radiate concern.

The tight sense of danger lurking nearby holds Nolan in place. He stays still, not moving a muscle or blinking an eye.

He hears a huff from the bear.

Nolan whirls his head to the source in a swift motion.

The evergreen trees on the other side of the glade ruffle before the grizzly bear lumbers into sight.

Nolan keeps his frozen eyes on the large animal. It turns to him, making deadly eye contact. The bear begins to trudge toward his direction.

A gasp is caught in his throat. His heartbeat rises; sweat prickles his skin. His whole body tenses, maintaining his frozen stature.

Step by step by its large, furry paws, the bear nears him.

“Carter…,” Nolan pushes out under his breath.

The bear slows its plodding as it decreases the distance between the two.

“I’m...I’m Pat…your friend…”

The bear sticks its thick snout at him with a snort.

Nolan lowers his eyes down at its large, black, wet nose, slightly leaning away. “We would do everything together—”

The bear gnashes his fangs at him.

“AH!”

In a heartbeat, Nolan zips out of the shrub and darts around the glade’s perimeter in a zigzag fashion. His ears pull back behind him due to the wind he collects; his tail displays pure whiteness, easy to target.

The bear rushes after him, pounding the ground and gaining speed through large strides. It then springs from its hind legs with outstretched paws, pounces on Nolan, and smacks him against the ground with its fangs sinking into his right arm.

Nolan squeals and screams, writhing in pain and panic. “AHHHHHH!!! AH-AH-AH AHHHHH!!!!!!! AHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!”

The bear tears its fangs away from his arm to let out a ground-shaking roar.

From the control room, Miro yells, “I CAN’T TAKE THIS ANYMORE!”

He lunges over the control panel and hops through the space, plunging out of view.

The bear begins to swoop down toward Nolan once again before a large eurasian lynx drops onto its back, its big paws hanging over its shoulders, and pulls it away from Nolan.

The bear lets out another roar and swings its body from side to side in an attempt to shake off the restraint. Instead, the lynx whirls back into Miro, who is now holding the angered bear with his arms clasped around its thick torso, sitting down.

From above in the control panel, Nico shouts at him, “WHAT? MIRO, THE HECK ARE YOU DOING?”

Miro shakes his head with his eyes squeezed closed. “NO! NO! ENOUGH!” He snaps them open and stares at Nolan. “PATRICK!”

Nolan is sitting up on the grass, staring at the scene. His eyes are glassy; his mouth is slightly open; his face is red; his hand is over his wounded arm. It is as if he is a statue.

Miro grunts and shifts his shoulders as he attempts to contain the thrashing bear. “Patrick! He needs you!”

“You’ve done it, Heiskanen!” Nico bellows from above.

Next to him, Jesperi gives a two thumbs-down. “Boo!”

Nico then whips away from the view the opening space gives from the room. His teammate follows after him.

The bear lets out another short roar and twists its body. The sharp movement forces Miro to squeeze it in place.

He gazes at Nolan through the strands of hair that is over his eyes. “Quickly! Before they come down here!”

Nolan flicks his wet eyes up to the beady eyes of the bear. He blinks. A tear rolls down his blotchy cheek. His fingers wrap around the skin by his wounds, pressing them deeper.

“Carter…,” he pushes out.

The bear gives one last thrust before slowing its movements into sways. It huffs and licks its nose, panting.

“Carter…,” he continues in a brittle voice, “it’s me...your friend...Pat…”

The bear lets out a quick roar.

“You-you befriended me,” he sputters; his body relaxes. “We would eat out together...and-and play hockey together...you would…” He lets out a sheepish chuckle, glancing down. “...poke fun at me for being a herbivore…”

The bear aims its small, black eyes at him. Its body is calm.

“I lied to you...saying I was a bear. But...you found out…” Nolan’s small smile fades. “...I was a rabbit… And I lied because I thought...you were gonna treat me bad… But you said—you PROMISED—you weren’t going to treat me...bad…” He dips his head. “You didn’t care that I was a prey...you cared that I was your friend...and that I was safe…” He lifts his head as a tear slips down his cheek. “Carter...please...come back…”

The bear hangs its head. Its eyes close before it swings its head, huffing, and puffing, like as if it is battling against an internal force.

The faux forest scenery then disintegrates around them.

Nico storms up to them; he throws a pointer finger out at his teammate. “Alright, Miro, you’re going feral—” He swings his finger to Nolan to his right. “—Pat—”

Jesperi pounces on Nolan, pinning him onto the ground on his back. His fangs are out and his large ears are pinned back as his golden, furry tail swishes behind him. Nolan stays frozen with his terrified eyes up on the predator.

“—you’re turning into a nice dinner, and the bear—”

Nico steps up to Miro and swipes at his arm with his clawed hand, forcing him to let go of the bear with a jolt. The bear crashes onto the smooth ground on its back.

“ —stays here.”

The bear roars as it flails its thick arms and legs to get back up. It rolls over onto its side before letting out another roar at Nico.

Nico shoots it a disgusted look before turning to the others. “Okay, let’s go!” He reaches his hand out to Miro’s closest wrist to grab onto it.

Miro whirls to his hand and swings his large clawed hand at it.

“AHCK!”

At the sharp pain, Nico grabs onto his bleeding hand and stumbles back near the bear.

Behind him, the bear rises to its hind legs and pounces on Nico. Right as he slams against the ground, Nico morphs into a wolverine. Being smaller than his human counterpart, the wolverine spins to face the looming bear and exchanges fierce swipes and bites with each other.

Miro hops to his feet and darts to Nolan, only to come face-to-face with Jesperi, who is straddling his prey.

Jesperi yips into his face with narrowed eyes and ears squished outward as his tail flicks.

Miro nabs Nolan’s wrist and gives it a tug. Jesperi jabs his face closer to him just as he whirls down into a fennec fox.

With a frown, Miro lets go of Nolan and steps back. His eyes are on the fennec fox hopping toward him in a defensive manner. The small animal darts back to Nolan, standing up top of his chest. Miro takes one step toward Nolan; the fennec fox screams and bounces back to Miro.

Resolve sparks in Miro’s eyes. He lunges at the small animal and tackles it onto the ground as a lynx. The golden animal is squished in between its massive paws as the large cat rolls around to the slowing momentum of its dive.

The lynx stops on its stomach, its paws pressing against the small canine. It lets out a weak squeak, its fur tousled.

Keeping its sharp, small eyes on it, the lynx rises back into Miro. He lifts his foot up to place it on Jesperi’s chest, who lies in place of the fennec fox. His hair is disheveled, bruises are on his face. He groans.

Nolan gazes at the injured predator in the possession of the friendly predator to his left. Calmness washes over him, letting him push himself into a sitting position.

A pained roar sounds from in front of him.

Nolan snaps his eyes in front of him, his ears facing front, attentive. Lying on its side, tending to a matted arm is the bear. It lets out whines and huffs.

Nolan scrambles up to his feet and rushes up to him. “Carts—!” He is instantly held back by two arms being wrapped around his torso. “AH! AH-AH-AH AHHH!!!” He writhes and flails himself in Nico’s grasp.

Nico holds a smirk at him, tightening his grip around him. “You’re mine, bunny boy.”

Nolan halts his thrashing and stares ahead in a moment of realization. He then disappears.

Nico’s eyes fly open; he holds his arms out and looks at them, confused. “What—?” He then peers ahead.

Streaking down the room is a small, sand-colored eastern cottontail rabbit; its tail is showing pure white fluffiness.

With a frown of determination, Nico dashes after it, spinning down into a wolverine.

The distance between the two decreases as the wolverine strides behind it, its long fur whipping behind it. The corner of the room nears the rabbit with the springing lunges it takes. It halts at the bent of the wall and digs its paws at the metallic ground.

The wolverine locks its sharp eyes at its trapped target and brings its paws underneath it, midair, ready to lunge at it.

Suddenly, the large grizzly bear gallops in front of it. It stands on its hind legs and unleashes a quaking roar.

Annoyed, the wolverine growls and throws itself at the large animal. The bear simply bats it to the ground. The wolverine pops itself onto its four paws, only to be squished against the ground by the bear’s massive paws. The bear, now sitting now, keeps its paws on the twitching animal.

The rabbit stops its fruitless digging and turns around. It holds its dark brown eyes on the fight; its ears are pinned back; its tail is the equivalent to a handful of cotton balls.

The wolverine relaxes, stopping its thrashing, and reverts to Nico. The bear responds by swiping its claw across his face.

Nico gasps and tenses, shooting a hand to his bloodied face. He squeezes his eyes shut and relaxes as he soaks in the sharp pain.

Nico lays in between the bear and the rabbit. The bear climbs down onto its stomach and lays its head on the ground. It huffs with weary eyes and small, droopy ears.

The rabbit gazes at the scene; its ears rise back as the whiteness of its tail diminishes. It hops to the bear’s face and peers at it. The bear ignores it, keeping its soft exhausted eyes on the ground. The rabbit then flops over to its side and drops its ears, fur against fur.

On the other side of the room, Miro gazes at the scene, horrified. He rushes toward it.

The bear gazes down at the small animal laying by its side. Intelligent life seeps into its eyes as expression grows on its face. It then whirls down back to Carter. He lays on his stomach without any clothes.

Sensing a shift of presence, the rabbit peers up at the familiar face.

Carter cracks a sweet smile. “You...trust me.”

The rabbit stares at him. It wiggles its tiny, pink nose.

Carter pulls himself up into a sitting position, his legs criss-crossed. He holds his arms down to the small animal, his open hands’ sides against each other.

The rabbit gazes down at the arms. It rises to its paws and hops into his arms. Carter straightens up and cradles the rabbit against his chest. He smiles down at it, its soft fur against his skin.

A shadow then casts over the two. He peers up.

Miro looks down at them with concern.

Carter’s eyes instantly narrow as he clutches tighter to the rabbit. The rabbit wiggles in his arms and pats his paws against his chest. Not having his eyes falter, Carter guides the rabbit back down onto the ground by his bare feet.

The rabbit hops back into Nolan, appearing between the two.

He whirls to Carter, hands out to him. “Carts, he’s good! He helped me!”

Carter jabs a finger against his chest. “He made me feral!” He glances down at himself. “And naked!”

Miro simply hands him his clothing containment bracelet. Carter clasps it around his wrist; his street clothes materialize over him.

Labored growls sound from behind Carter. Nolan lifts his eyes up. Fear takes over his face; he backs up. Miro gazes ahead while Carter looks behind his shoulder.

“That won’t be necessary to give back.”

Nico shuffles over to them, a fresh scar adorning his face along with messy hair and teased fur. He scowls at Carter. “You’ll be turning back into a bear.”

Carter stands up, giving him a disgusted look.

“But first—” Nico flicks his eyes to Miro. “—we must deal with the traitor.”

Miro crosses his arms with a serious look.

“‘We’?” Nolan asks with furrowed eyebrows.

Nico peers ahead to the other side of the room, where Jesperi is dragging himself to the first aid kit hanging on the wall.

He turns back to them. “Me.”

Miro holds fierce eyes at him. “I may have turned against you, but at least I’m not as bad as a cheater like you.”

Nico halts, stunned. The other two gape with wide eyes darting between the two as their muscles tighten to the sensation of keeping their distance from Nico.

“Pheromones,” Nolan mutters.

Nico smirks at him.

He whirls to him. “You use pheromones!”

Nico steps up to Miro, reaching out to his folded arms.

“Coach was right!” Carter barks at him.

Nico swipes at Miro’s arm, forcing him to unfold them with a cry. “He was, but the good thing is that everyone else was dumb enough to not believe him.” He unclasps his clothing-containment bracelet and holds it up. “Which works for me.”

“Freeze!”

Nolan, Miro, and Nico gaze ahead as Carter turns around to do the same. The four policemen stand in the doorway.

Nico drives his narrowed eyes at them and growls as his fluffy tail flicks behind him.

“Pheromones are present, sir,” Officer Dubois informs the captain in the middle.

With a hint of haughtiness, Captain Skinner announces, “Activate our brand new pheromone negation device.”

Simultaneously, the four reach to the side of their holster and press down on one of the many boxes screwed on their sides. They then advance into the room.

Nico’s jaw drops as they cross his field of pheromones. He stares harder at them as they near him. Captain Skinner and Officer Dubois approach the four as Officer Dubé and Officer Kopacka march pass them, deeper into the room.

“You two are under arrest for assault, kidnapping, unwillful implementation of the feral state, and also now, the usage of pheromones,” Captain Skinner states with hands clasped behind his back.

He stands by Nico as Officer Dubois brings out a metallic collar and latches it around Nico’s neck.

Nico growls at them, baring his teeth. “I have that ability for a reason!”

The captain shoots him an austere look. “Save it for the judge.”

Officer Dubois then takes out another collar as he approaches Miro and fastens it around his neck.

Nolan gapes at Miro being led away by the officer. The officer takes Nico’s shoulder into his other hand and guides the two down to the doorway.

Captain Skinner steps up to Carter and Nolan. “Are any of you two hurt?”

Nolan keeps his eyes on Miro as he becomes smaller toward the doorway. “Officer! He’s innocent!” He holds a hand out in front of him, toward Miro.

“He is until proven guilty, but for now, he’s a suspect.” The captain glances at Carter’s gashed arm before looking at him. “That arm’s got a nasty scar, don’t it?”

Carter gazes down at it, unconsciously cradling it with his healthy arm. “Heh...yeah…”

Captain Skinner turns to Nolan, spotting his punctured skin on his arm. “So does your arm.” He glances at the two. “You both look all scuffed up.”

Nolan dips his head, tracing the skin near his wounds. “Yeah…”

Passing by the group, Officer Kopacka carries an injured, collared Jesperi in his arms as Officer Dubé follows him.

“We’ll take ya both to the hospital,” Captain Skinner tells them.

Nolan lifts his head. Carter stares at Nolan’s wounds with guilt.

“But we’re gonna still interrogate you kemonomimis.” He turns around. “Let’s go.”

He then strides after his two officers. Nolan and Carter exchange looks of worry before following him.

Notes