The Breeders

Vanadium

"1716." I whipped my head to the voice, heart racing.
"It's time you come back to us." I shook my head, words not coming from my mouth as the voice drew closer, footsteps following right next to it.
"It's been too long. You are not free from consequences." A hand touched my face as the voice was in my right ear now.
"Nor do you have a choice."
•
•
•
The scream that came from my throat echoed through the bunker, my hands flying to my face as my heart rate was skyrocketed. I had to make sure I was still in the bunker, eyes darting everywhere, over each surface. Over each spiderweb, book, desk, hand rails, and, most importantly, my shit.
Then someone was busting open my door, sword in hand.
"Boss!!" Mottie was right behind Doll, a bat in hand.
"Are you okay??!" I nodded, hand on my throat to try and rub away the feeling creeping up my back.
"Yes-" I coughed, throat hoarse.

It was a few days later, Cassie having been cautious but apologetic since our last encounter.
"What happened? Was it a spider?" She glanced around the room, claws out and teeth bared.
"No- just a fucking horrible dream." My hands moved to my head now as I stood, the jitters not leaving.
"What was it about?" Doll lowered her sword and I side-eyed it.
"I'm more concerned where you found that." She waved me off, trying to get me to spill. I looked to the side, chewing my lip.
".. they found me." And those words caused a rush of hugs to suddenly envelop me.
"Okay, alright, cut it out." Someone nuzzled into my shoulder, another in my arm, and one in my back as reassuring words filled my ears. Then I realized not many people were surrounding me. Doll, Mottie, Mark, and Sam were here. But that's it.
"Where is everyone else?" The crowd stepped back, except Mark. He stayed close with a hand on my forehead to wipe away sweat.
"They went to refill some canisters. I looked at them, eyebrows furrowing.
"Excuse me? Why wasn't I notified?" They glanced over to each other, scratching at various body parts to avoid eye contact with me.
"I mean, we figured it was okay. None of us heard anybody else in the vicinity." I listened for others, scanning their features.
"Journey and Jackis?"
"Infirmary." Doll knew the system.
"Everent?"
"Same thing."
"Be'eal?"
"Went with." I listed off the members, Doll or someone else was quick to respond with their location. After I listed everybody, I clenched my jaw, sighing as I pinched the bridge of my nose.
"You sent out three humans with only two shifters?" Mottie waved his hand.
"They're close enough, it'll be fine." I stared at him, then spot at Doll.
"Damaell." Her ears perked as I used that name. "Do you remember the last time I had a nightmare about the Fornics finding me?" Her heart sank, I could tell from the light leaving her eyes.
".. Max was taken." Mottie flicked his eyes to me, eyebrows furrowed.
"And you didn't tell anyone else about this?"
"Everyone figured it was coincidence, but now it's been three for three. I'm not going to let it be four for four. Bring everyone back. Now." Doll was the first to leave, Sam following and same with Mottie. Mark watched them leave while rubbing circles into my back.
"It'll be okay. We're all here for each other." I still had this wrenching in my gut, so I held his hand, squeezing it a little bit.
Something bad was definitely going to happen.

•••

We spent the majority of the rest of the day pairing up everyone into small groups to go out and collect food/ replenish resources. I was with Mark and Doll, my scent needing to be covered the most. The other groups weren't as small, about three or four to each. Even the cat and the raccoon had joined to scavenge. My group's task was to find things like herbs, vegetables, and fruit.
The fruit part was easy, but a bunch of the plants were more or less inedible to canines than humans so that was an issue.
And then there was the fact Doll kept nipping at bugs.
"Ma'am. We are in the outdoors. Quit it." She nipped at Mark now, scratching a bug bite.
"Sir, just because your blood type repels bugs doesn't mean all canines' blood does." I smacked a mosquito that landed on my arm.
"Quit it, the both of you." They immediately went silent, trying to glare at one another through the fog of the bugs. It was weird they hadn't heard it. There was a shuffling a few miles north of where we were. It wasn't like a normal sound, more like someone moved unintentionally. And then I heard another, closer sound. And they still didn't hear it.
"Boss?" I stuck my finger up, listening closer. Unfortunately, there wasn't anything else as the cat shifter from earlier met up with our group, holding a couple more vegetables that she somehow found.
"Hey! I found some stuff here for you guys." I smiled at her, taking the vegetables to put them in a bag.
"Okay, so, the others wanted to meet up by the waterfall down the road a bit. Say they found somebody familiar?" I glanced over to Mark and Doll, eyebrows furrowed. Something kept wrenching my gut and I really didn't want to go check out this waterfall.
"Who did they say it was?" The cat looked to the left, thinking. She gestured with her hands that it was at the tip of her tongue, patting her head a few times to get the point across.
"Some.. Max!! A Max fellow!" The collective glances at each other made the cat shrink in on herself. "I'm.. guessing they were important?" Doll was the first to move, sprinting in the general area of the waterfall.
The cat tried to hold her up, but eventually just ran after her as my body tried to move.
It juttered forward, sputtering out as I couldn't even take a step.
"Hey, what's wrong? Aren't you excited to see Max?" Immediate memories flooded my head and I tried to move again. Again, it failed.
"Mark. There's no way it could be Max. Either they're dead.. or worse." His hand was quick to be placed on my hip as a kiss landed on my neck.
"It definitely smells like them." He stepped back when I didn't respond, chewing my lip.
"Damaell. Mottie. Be'eal." I could hear chuffs of confirmation on hearing my voice.
"Get everyone back to the bunker. Now." I grabbed Mark by the arm as my engine flickered to life. I started out with a light sprinting but then barreled towards the bunker.
I tried to stay at the entrance, but Mark ushered me inside.
"If your gut is right, you need to get inside Boss. I'll stay and help everyone inside." I nodded, sprinting to the infirmary to get Journey, Jackis, and Everent onto the lower levels.
As I ushered them to the lower levels, some more of our groups trickled in.
Sophie, Ganter, and Mottie trickled in first, huffing from running.
"What's wrong??" I only ushered them down, thinking to tell them later.
After them came Be'eal. Then Cassie. And then Janette.
I ushered them down too, not answering their questions.
I waited for a few minutes for everyone else. A few seconds later, Kalia and Laila shot down.
"Hey, sorry! Some scary people came after us!! Thank you for letting us in!" I patted Kalia on the back.
"No worries! Just make yourself at home!" I tried to sound confident, but Doll still wasn't back with Sam.
I couldn't wait any longer, a wrenching steeling it's way into my stomach.
"Boss!" The footsteps behind me got closer as I sprinted. I listened to see where my family was, locating Doll's voice soon enough as she ranted and yelled at whoever held her captive.
I could also hear Sam, struggling with whoever was holding her too.
"Wait! You can't!" I shouldn't have- he was right. I should have just let them take away my sisters, two women who have been with me growing up.
Sam was a little younger than me, about 37. She joined our group as a teenager- her mother kicking her out of their house for not supporting the new and upcoming dictatorship. For not sharing the ideals that humans and shifters were just so different. But, her mother was half shifter and her father was human. Sam was a full-blooded human being though, her younger sister getting the full shifter their mother had. Of course, she also shared the same ideals but didn't want to get kicked. We've been kickin it together for a little over twenty years.
And then there was Doll. She was here before I was, but just a kid like me. She's older than me in human years, but as a shifter she was far younger. About 26, actually. So, still young but rounding out. Only a couple years ago I was told her name was actually Damaell and to never use it unless a serious situation. Don't get it wrong, it's not her deadname. Doll is her nickname she prefers, but is still okay being called Damaell should the occasion arise.
I've known these women at least 25 years! There's nothing I wouldn't do for them- same with all my family members.

So. When I see one face down into the dirt, pants halfway down their legs and about to be violated by someone who should be dead?
My knee immediately greets their face first. And then it greets them two or three more times before I turn on someone holding down Sam. And my elbow greets him. Multiple times.
"Boss!" The tone croaks my heart as I shove my foot into the bastards face, crushing his nose enough to break it.
I felt a burning under my skin as people snapped out of their trances.
Mark was already helping Sam up as I released Doll from her restraints. Within seconds I had something in my hand and was beating the shit out of the bastard who had his hands on Sam.
Anybody who tried to stop me got whacked with whatever was in my hands.
I didn't survive this long for no reason.
I didn't even realize I was just aimlessly beating the last bastard until someone finally took the damn thing out of my hand.
My chest was rising and falling haphazardly, a familiar iron taste in my lungs and the tip of my tongue. That dangerous crimson was dripping off my face, landing back on the body it had come from, or maybe it was a different fucker. Either way, I didn't care as I saw the graveyard under me.
"Boss?" The slowness that I turned my head seemed to put off the three members to the side and behind me.
"I think you got them, sugar." My sleeve swiped across my brow and airways.
"They fucking deserved it. Are you okay, Sam?" She was shaking, tears falling down as I asked the question. I went to hug her but she just put a hand up.
"When.. when you're clean.." I nodded as I stepped back again.
"Of course. Apologies about my outburst."
I had Doll and Sam walk in front of us, Mark trying to stay in step with me, but I made him stand a bit in front of me as well. He only sighed in response.
"Is it because I took off my shirt? Is that why you want me to walk in front?" I rolled my eyes shoving him a bit as we fell back.
"We need to talk when we get back." His eyebrows furrowed as he tried to get me to fall back a bit more but I wasn't going to lose my girls.
"Actually, why don't we talk now?" I whistled to the girls and pulled them close once they were in arms reach.
"What's up?" Their voices were low as I felt faint all of a sudden.
"Did you know.. I used to have the most gorgeous black hair?" They looked at each other like 'tf?'and waited for me to continue.
"It's true. It had the same texture, same curls, but just black." I let my deep dirt blonde hair down. "It turned blonde in the Fornics, right before I escaped." I sat them down on a rock as they listened intently.
"Hey, you know you never told Mark how you escaped?" I furrowed my eyebrows, turning to him as my hair went back up.
"Really? I could've sworn.." I blinked as my eyes started to sting.
"Anybody else's eyes hurt?" Doll rubbed her eyes as I explained how I escaped. I nodded as everyone else started to rub their eyes.
"C'mon. Let's hurry ba.." I got up but immediately had to sit back down. What kind of shit..
"When did it get foggy..?" I stood back up, grabbing Sam in my arms as she struggled to keep awake. Mark's nose twitched and he made a face as he scooped not only Doll, but me and Sam. Tears started to steam out of my eyes as dread pooled my semi-conscious stomach.
"Mark.. Mark run..!" I could only feel his shallow breathing as Mark tried to hold his breath. I think he made it a long distance before I finally gave in.
And heard a gunshot.