𝚆𝙾𝚁𝙻𝙳 𝚂𝙾 𝙲𝙾𝙻𝙳

War Demands Bloodshed

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Screams and gunshots reverberate throughout the halls of the motel. Volkov shot straight up from his slumber and immediately directed his attention to the main door of the motel room.

Amaria slowly lifts her head up from out of her own sleep before glancing at the analog alarm clock that sat upon the nightstand next to her and Benjamins' bed. It was six in the morning.

"What... what's going on?" Amaria then groggily asks as she lifted herself up in her place on the bed. Benjamin softly shifts in his sleep at Amaria's stirring.

"Whatever it is, it is not good..." Volkov responds as he suddenly rises to his feet.
"We need to leave, now." The wolf then says as he then quickly walked to his suitcase by the nightstand.

Amaria's ears perk up as muffled screams and another series of gunshots finally register to her. Amaria sharply turns her body over to the still slumbering man in her bed and begins to frantically shake him.

"Ben! Ben, wake up! We have to go!" Amaria begs as she shakes Benjamin awake.

Benjamin slowly opens his eyes and looks up to Amaria.

"Huh...?" He tiredly asks as more shouts followed by another bang registered to him as well.

"Shit..."Benjamin mumbles to himself as he suddenly sprug out of the motel sheets and races over to his sneakers that rested by the bathroom door. At the same time, Amaria hops out the bed and runs over to the door. She gently grips the knob and twists the door open. She slowly pulls it open and peers her head out and down the hallway.

Amarias' eyes widen as she observes a squad of militia men outfitted with all black military style tactical gear and a large battering ram from down the motel hallway. Amaria retracts her head from the doorway just as the militia men prepare to breach open a hotel room and shuts the door.

"There are guys raiding the place!" Amaria squeals softly in terror followed by the sound of a door crashing open as she pressed herself against the motel door.

And suddenly, as the words left Amaria,  after the sound of shouting, another series of gunshots reverberates throughout the hallway, causing the three to jolt in surprise.

"Oh, god." Amaria shudders. She then races over to her clothes on the floor.

"Any way out of here without halls?" Volkov asks, reaching for his wallet on his nightstand.

Benjamin looks around before spotting a large curtain of the room. He yanks open the curtain, revealing a slide glass door that led to a path around the building.

"Found one." Benjamin says with a grin before reaching for the locking mechanism.

Amaria fumbles her clothes in her arms while reaching for her suitcase packed under the bed. Volkov's ear flicks as he shot a glance over to the door, racing over to the door of the room, and hastily locks it.

At the same time, Benjamin swings open the glass door. He then turns his body back around to retrieve his suitcase.

Suddenly, the knob of the room shakes violently.

"Open up, anthro!" A loud voice booms from the other side.

Amaria then sprints out of the room through the glass door. Volkov hops over the bed and follows suit.

"1, 2, 3!" The same voice yells before the motel room door violently flies open. Benjamin yanks the curtain closed before the militia men stormed into the room and takes off with haste behind Volkov and Amaria. As they sprinted down the backside of the building, a militia man emerged out through the cloth of the curtain. The soldier shifted his gaze side to side before spotting Benjamin turn the corner of the building. The soldier takes off after them, bringing a radio up from his vest.

More shouts and gunshots can be heard from inside the motel as the three raced across the west side of the building. Throughout the motel, the militia seemed to know what rooms had anthro tenants inside.

Volkov eventually makes it to the corner of the motel's front west side. With Amaria hot on his heels, she follows Volkov out and through the parking lot. Benjamin lags behind. He turns the corner of the front side, seeing the lot filled with black utility trucks. On the doors of the truck, the insignia of the militia was plastered across; an anthro handprint with a red X symbol.  Behind him, the militia man halted his pursuit upon seeing Benjamin escape once again from his sight. He then brings his radio back up to his mouth.

"Tangos, outside, over." The militia man says.

Benjamin raced through the sea of vehicles, attempting to keep pace with the two anthros ahead of him. He slides over the dew-covered hoods of vehicles and weaves through empty lot spaces. Volkov and Amaria turn past a utility truck, disappearing from Benjamin's sight. As Volkov and Amaria emerge from the other side of the trucks, two militia men spot them as they raced across the lot towards Benjamin's vehicle. The militia men click off the safety of their M16 rifles and take off to intercept them. Amaria and Volkov eventually make it to Benjamin's car, crouching behind it. Amaria shoots a glance behind her to find Benjamin not there.

"Ben..." She whimpers, gripping the neck of her tank top.

Volkov keeps his hand on the driver door handle, panting softly.

Benjamin turns the corner of the trucks and spots his car and the two anthros. As he runs, he thrusts his hand into his jacket pocket, fumbling for the alarm system of his car keys. His car beeps, signaling the car was unlocked. Volkov then swings open the driver door and climbs inside, Amaria doing the same. One of the militia men had noticed the doors opening and raised his rifle. He aims the sights directly at Benjamin as he sprinted across. A shot rings out. The bullet cracks by Benjamin's head, causing him to lose his balance and stumble down to the asphalt next to the passenger door. Amaria gasps out in shock as she witnessed Benjamin fall, not knowing if he was hit. Volkov felt his heart plunge.

Benjamin recovers his composure before crawling to the passenger door. He lunges for the passenger door handle and swings it open. He threw his keys to Volkov as he climbed in. Volkov catches the keys and thrusts it into the ignition. The engine of the vehicle turns over and Volkov throws the car into first gear.

"Hold on to your seats." Volkov says, the tires screeching against the asphalt before the car rushes forward onto the grass surrounding the parking lot grounds. He whips the car to the left, putting the tree line to his right. The two militia men halted in their tracks and took aim. Several shots rang out, the bullets ricocheting off the roof of the car.

"Jesus!" Amaria yips out, lying on her side in the back seats.

Another shot rings out. The bullet connects with the upper left corner of the back window. Glass flies forward as Amaria shrieks and shields herself. Benjamin keeps his body low in his seat, his heart practically beating out of chest.

Volkov brings the car to second gear, approaching where the earth met the road. He swerves onto the road, the tires screeching as they burned onto the asphalt. He then throws the vehicle back into first and begins to race down the road.

"How did they know we were there?" Benjamin pants out, slowly rising himself in his seat as the car sped down the road.

"Someone must have tipped them off." Volkov answers, keeping his eyes locked on the road, putting the car back into second and then to third, the engine roaring as the car sped down the hilly road of the forest.

"You think it could have been the motel owner?" Amaria asks in a shaky voice, her tail puffed out in fright.

"Yeah...he gave us a pretty negative attitude last night." Benjamin then answers, running his hand through his hair anxiously.

"This... militia has more power and control than I thought." Volkov says, bringing the vehicle up into fourth gear, the engine calming down.

"Where do we go now?" Benjamin asks, looking over to Volkov.

"North." Volkov answers, tightening his grip around the steering wheel.