ROTWOTA: Book 2 - The Falling City of Anthros

The Monster Unleashed

June ran and ran as fast as she could, except she didn't even know where her own house was from here. But luck was all she had at that point.

But soon, she did reach what seemed to be a clearing on the other end of the forest. June plowed her way through only to stumble onto train tracks. Luckily, she wasn't hurt and she got up quickly and looked to her left to see a familiar engine coming.

It was Johnny Cuba, and he was coming with a rather unfamiliar train including a strange coach with works unit written on it. June waved him down and he slowed down for her to reach him better. "Hey kid, what are you doing out here?" He asked. "Nothing, just, I need to get back to my house." June panted as she hoped into the back of his cab with both a new and familiar face. "Hey kid, what are you doing out here this late?" Asked Kyle as he helped her up into the cab.

"How did you not hear her, Kyle?" Asked Lexi, the snow leopard firewoman who was also technically Kyle's sister. "I get that she may not know what happened, but I can't understand how you didn't hear her when she's that close!" She said. But before the two got into an argument, June suddenly caught wind of what Lexi had said.

"Wait? What happened?" She asked. Lexi and Kyle than paused and looked at one another as if they had a slip up admitting something they shouldn't have. "Well....I don't want to scare you, but your family house just got burned down a few minutes ago." Said Lexi, who was rather nervous about saying so.

"Wait? WHAT!?" June shouted. "Listen, we don't know much, we just have to get there fast and meet up at the small hospital your family should be at if they're ok." Said Kyle as he pumped Johnny Cuba up with coal to puff him faster.

But as June sat down while the two siblings continued working to get the engine moving faster, she knew the results that were waiting for her.

She was already too late.

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E was nearly out of breath as he began walking his way through the forest. The guards were easy to take care of, but all he hoped was that June would manage to save her family and he just had to make it to her in time as well.

But since E was so exhausted, he had to lay down for a little. He was confident he wouldn't fall asleep and that he could continue moving soon enough.

*SNAP*

The sudden snap of a nearby branch made E jump. He sat up and looked around for the possible threat coming his way. But he suddenly felt a prick in his arm and before he could see what it was, his whole body suddenly went limp. As soon as E was paralyzed, he could only move his eyes left and right but could also hear what was going on around him.

E heard the sound of footsteps coming his way, and then he heard the voice of that same man, or rather girl. "Don't worry. We're getting you back. Just try and stay very still and don't resist." She said. The unknown female stuck a needle into E's neck and suddenly he felt an intense pain in his head before he blacked out and spawned into some sort of strange dream.

All sorts of memories full of humans he didn't recognize accompanied by the influence of a strange voice that was eerily similar to his.

"You are more important than you realize."

"They did this to you."

"You were never meant to be on their side."

"They need you. We need you. Come back to us."

"STOP! STOP! PLEASE! GET OUT OF MY HEAD! LEAVE ME BE!" E yelled.

Suddenly, everything seems to fade away leaving him in complete and utter darkness. But there was something else he could see that was coming into distance.