NOTE: Here's a short description of what happened two months after the infection: These soldiers move in and the government puts the city under strict new rules (curfews, regular door-to-door checks, and so on). No one is allowed to exit the city and the walls surrounding it are guarded day and night. All jail sentences were made more severe and Capitol guards were permitted to kill on contact when ordered to.
TUNDRA POV: A MONTH AFTER THE INFECTION
The cells are dark. There's only three other animals here at the moment, and the two guards that are talking with Doggy barely make any noise, it's just a low murmur. They caught a suspicious lady in the street who's out after curfew, and we've had to lock her up for 'defying the Capitol's orders'. There's not much else to do here, and the pen flies toward the edge of the desk and skitters, just missing the edge. I pick it up again and flick it at the computer with no remorse. I should be working, but with the weekly guard check-ups going on and driving us crazy, I might as well get some downtime.
The Capitol started putting the cops under pressure. We only go home or take a break if we're dead, injured, or told to, and there's definitely never any holidays.
A scuffling noise starts behind the doors that lead to the cells, but no one notices it but me and I sigh, getting up from the chair. As I unlock the door, the scuffling noise keeps going. It sounds like scraping now. What could that be?
I eventually pass through a long hallway of cells and stop at one of the more shadowed, faraway ones. Inside the cell, the inmate's sharpening a small knife on the rusty bars. Judging by the wicked edge it's got, he's been doing this for a while.
"Hey," I say, clearing my throat, "You aren't allowed weapons in here."
He blinks at me with innocent grey eyes. "I'm not supposed to be here," he says, flicking his red tail and giving the bars another scrape with the knife. "Well, last time I checked, yes, you are," I say back to him. This statement makes him glance at the knife with uncertainty, as if contemplating whether to run me through, until he returns his gaze back to me. "So what? Can't you let a fox have a little fun? All I was doing was going out with a bang."
"Excuse me, you're in here for drinking and driving."
"And...?"
"And you need to give that to me," and I reach for the knife. He snarls, but hands it over anyway. I try to tug it from his hand and struggle because he's still holding on tight to it. I manage to wrench it off him, leaving him to stay in the cell. Out of the corner of my eye, he leans against the cell wall and sighs. "It sure sucks when you're taken out of a cage only to be shoved into a new one. Five days, okay? If I could go at LEAST five days without being faced with this crap, I'd be over the moon."
I ignore him and continue down the hallway.
"Hey, cop. How old are these cells exactly?"
"A bit of a history buff, are you?" I joke sarcastically over my shoulder. "Fine. I'd say about 50, 60 something years?"
A bang suddenly rings out. I whip around to discover the fox, who's kicking at the same bar he was sharpening the knife on.
"Wait, what are you--" I barely get enough words out before I can fully scream for backup, because he gives the bar one last kick and it snaps. He wasn't just sharpening the knife--he was carving a nick in the bar to break it.
He starts running toward the emergency exit at the end of the hallway, the opposite way to where I'm heading, and he then turns to look at me with his stupid, self-satisfied grin. "Adios, amigo. Au revoir!" I don't have any of my weapons. I feel helpless as he runs away, and I can't chase after him either, because Doggy then enters the room. "Hey, what's-- HEY! WHAT IN THE WORLD IS GOING ON?!"
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For those who don't know, Tundra is an OC of mine. I'll be adding illustrations later.
For now, a short bio on her:
Name: Tundra
Species: Donkey (I know this may not make sense as the name and animal have to start with the same letter, but there's a reason behind it, don't worry)
Sexuality/Gender: Straight
Pronouns: She/Her
Traits: Confident, Suspicious of others, Trustworthy
Likes: Walks, Sword Fighting, Reading
Dislikes: Swimming, dark spaces
Skills: Sword Fighting
Job: Police Officer
Police Partner: Currently, no one has been assigned to her.
Romantic interest: Currently none
YOU ARE READING
The Afterward
ActionIMPORTANT NOTE: Be sure to play or watch Piggy to get context because the story relies heavily on events in the Piggy games. After the infection, chaos ensued. Not that anyone says much about it. But deep under Lucella, there's trouble brewing. The...
