The Fox, Red

086 - Trust. No. One.

I remember this feeling. My body is numb. I can't move any limbs but I'm aware that they are there and what's around me. I can't see clearly. Everything is covered in a haze as my eyes try to adjust to what's going on. It reminds me of the hunting lodge where they kept me drugged for a time to keep me from using my abilities.

This feels much different though. I'm more... aware of what's going on around me. I hear talking. I can feel what's under me shifting around. I'm in a vehicle. Did the person who met me in the driveway have one? I don't remember seeing it. Was he the one who did this to me?

I close my eyes to try and listen. Everything sounds like it's underwater but the voices are there. I pick out a few sentences here and there.

"Don't you think this was too easy?"

"We're going to be treated like kings for this!"

"Remember, we are doing this for the world."

I can't piece together everything or what they're talking about. They're just excited about something while being nervous about another. I roll forward as we come to a stop. The doors open and slam shut. The door next to me opens as I feel someone grabbing at me. They run around trying to drag me out of the vehicle. I'm dropped, I'm rolled, and treated with no respect. I have no way to fight back. I have no way to voice up. I also have no idea what they are doing!

I'm propped in a corner as they discuss something. I'm going to have to do something. At the hunting lodge, they gave me something that brought me back into some functional state. I don't think these folks want that.

Someone comes up and grabs my face, looking into my eyes. The grey fur is blurry but I can tell it's another rat like the others. The smeared colors made it hard to see details, I could see the grin on his face and the excitement he had at seeing me. Their intentions came through as he shouted to the others, "We have found him! We can end him and his destruction here!"

There's a roar of screaming and cheering as his words reach their ears. I hear clamoring and violent excitement. The yelling only increases as I feel myself being dragged. The environment changes. I go from inside to somewhere outside. What little I can see tells me this is a courtyard. I'm dropped again while so many faces pass by me. Everyone wants to get a look before something happens.

The call comes from the rat that seemed to be in charge, "Grab him and get him steaked!" I'm jostled and thrown around. Something heavy hits me from behind. My arms are twisted around and strapped to something hard and sturdy. I have no control over what's going on with me. I can feel my spine moving in ways it shouldn't as I'm shuffled around again. I'm leaving the ground as the strain on my shoulders increases.

Something begins to burn my nose. A smell that I recognize from day-to-day life. It's gasoline. The fumes don't help with the spinning of my head. The smell of gas is quickly replaced by the smell of smoke. There's a flare of light underneath me that begins to slowly grow.

One voice rings out above the others quickly hushing the rest to just his, "Today! We bring a demon to its demise! The impending destruction that this fox would bring will be avoided and we are the first to bring him to judgment!" There's yelling and celebration from the many blurs in a crowd gathered around me.

One thing I have learned in the year is that I've been dealing with this magic inside of me. Adrenaline is one hell of a drug. And when that gets pumping, and it gets amplified, it's almost as if nothing else can touch me. The blurry vision fades. My hearing and senses begin to come back. My body is forcing the drug to be suppressed. This is the absolute basic instinct of any animal. Survival.

I can feel the heat from the fire reaching my face. The bottom of my feet are feeling the heat but with my head clearing up, I have no fear. Fire is a basic element. As basic as it can get. And one of the first that I learned about. I focused hard on this element because it can be so destructive. Absolute control of force and power was a must. I could not use it carelessly. It could harm others. I could harm myself. My understanding of it runs so deep that I don't have to focus. It's almost instinct.