Lost Souls divided The cold rain that pelted me was the only thing I felt when I arrived as a free man into the world. As soon as Eagle was gone, so was Stripes. Just like that, his promises to stay together were broken as he ran off into the rain and towards town.I only chased him for as long as I could see him before I was forced to find shelter. The relentless waves drowned the roads and hammered against the windows of the cloaked houses. I had never felt this cold or numb before. I could see my warped skin under my drenched fur plastered to my shaking body. My fingers and toes had lost their feeling long ago, the skin peeling from itself when I forced them through the flooded roads towards the nearest house.The veranda was being brutally beaten when I managed to drag my feet through the pouring water cascading down the stairs. Rain was being blown with such force that it was misting through the flapping flyscreen on either side.The veranda was lined with wooden board

A Not So Silent Night After that night, I didn’t see Stripes again. Everything was finally normal. Stripes' belongings were packed away in a box and stored in a cupboard to most likely never be looked at again. The family photos always felt a little bit empty without him, but it was as if he never existed in the first place.I always prepared myself for him to come flying up the stairs each week that passed, ranting on about how we had ruined him, but it never came.Stripes was gone.Even though we were a family now, I still couldn’t bring myself to call these people ‘Mum’ and ‘Dad’.What if they didn't want me, like my real mother; or tossed me into the back of a van, like Stripes? I didn't want to get too attached, just in case.Royce and Rolf had the same issue, but only because they still had their parents around. The man with the black fingers who had been at the Base doors before my Hunt turned out to be their ‘father.’ Gerald was the one who found the twins out on

The bloodthirsty prisoner Instead of waking to freedom, I woke to everything around me darkened so I couldn’t see my surroundings at all.I wasn’t in the cage anymore. Instead, I was lying on cold tiles in an empty room. To my right and left, thick glass walls had been placed, but each had six tiny breathing-holes drilled in. Each one was only big enough for a finger to pass through, so escape was not possible. I did notice that there was the faint outline of a door in the right side of the glass in front of me. There was nothing blocking my path to a vast aisle of tiles that was brightly lit between this row of rooms and the next across it. If I could get to that door, I could get out of here.I looked down at my broken arm, to see it had been cleaned and shaved. There was no blood, only stitches, where the bullet holes had been. A thin, white webbing had been anchored to my arm to strengthen it and alleviate any pain.With tender steps, I went to inspect the glass door

The Dead Wolf If I had to describe being eaten alive, I would say it didn’t really feel that bad.I was anticipating it to be a lot more painful; with the screaming and bone breaking, but it was actually quite the opposite. I couldn’t see anything at all; perhaps that’s why it was so relaxing?Being eaten alive was relaxing; never imagined I think of it like that.I could feel the whole left side of my body was peeled open and disembowelled. My guts were quite soft and comforting to lay in. They acted as a warm blanket under my face and aching ribs while my exposed spine bathed me in blood, as it was pierced with the female’s sharp teeth.Instead of mauling me, she was nibbling along either side of my spine, which only made the blood cascade over my back and swamp the guts piled at my ribs.I must have looked like a mess just lying here. Half of me spread on the floor, while the other half was being held in by what was already beside me. And the blood! I could feel it all

The Blood Oath When night set in, the rest of the family went to get settled down somewhere secluded. The transparent, blinking barriers overhead also subdivided the town so that no-one could pass through, meaning that I could finally make use of some time with Sylvia.Sylvia agreed to join me to follow the water’s edge around, each of us marvelling at the colourful rocks running all the way to the end.The sea spray from the waves was refreshing on my fur that was chilled by the crisp air. The sky was dusted with glittering stars and blinking beckons from the shield that protected us. There was no sounds of death and destruction tonight. It was peaceful and perfect at last.We followed the break-wall to the very end, where we sat to take in the beauty of the ebony waves crashing against the rocks and the moonlight basking over the depths in the horizon.Sylvia huddled closer to me and let her side press against mine. My stomach dropped and my heart skipped a beat from the