The Protectors; Book 3

The Will to Live

Dex's POV:

We landed on the planet. Immediately there were signs that Foxete had been here. Namely a giant crash site with a blood trail leading out of it towards a village. I'm gonna go off on a whim and say that it was her. If it was her, she's bleeding out and needs medical attention. Naturally, I bring Illoha and Keeva with me. A medic and an Ex-General. Makes sense. We follow Fox's blood trail to a nearby village, but it stops before it enters the town.

"Maybe they found her and carried her?" Keeva proposes.
"Yeah. She may be in a hospital nearby." I nod.

The three of us walk into town. The locals were very welcoming and friendly, but they said that they had never seen a fox hybrid in their village. They offered to send a search party to help us find her. We agreed happily.

"Where do you think she went?" Keeva asks.
"Knowing Fox? She's hiding." Illoha sighs.
"Hiding?" I ask, "Why?"
"She's afraid." Illoha laughs, "She doesn't want these people to sell her out. She's waiting for us."

I pause. That doesn't sound like Fox. Sure, she would refuse help, but this is life or death. She's probably scared for her life.

"Let's go check the woods." I propose.
The girls nod and follow me.

Foxete's POV:

I stowed away on a ship. I tried to get communication to the crew, but I couldn't reach them. Freddy followed me, so I stowed away on a ship confidently there. The crew was nice enough. Now they're taking me t0 the closest planet that will help me. Maybe. Veemos. If I can convince Kreko not to kill me it will all go great. I got minimal medical attention on the ship. Enough to get me to survive until we reach New Keekos.
I just have to hold on.

Illoha's POV:

    Fox isn't here. We looked everywhere. She couldn't have gone far in her condition. There were signs of a ship on the outskirts of the forest where her blood trail stopped. The villagers confirmed there were people there. She must have asked for a ride. She needed help bad.

It's been almost a day. Dex wants to keep looking until we find her. I think we should just wait until she contacts us, but I don't have much hope. I already mourned her death 5 months ago, I don't want to mourn again. Ru has been relentless. He goes out everyday with Dex. He has his own armor and everything. The Yizel's sent us armor with our symbol on it. A star over a sideways crescent moon. It's on every piece of armor. Foxete's designs of course.

Ru and Dex emerge from the woods. They had been looking for the past 2 hours.
"Anything?" I ask.
Ru glares at me, "No."
The tension between the two of us was visible from miles away.
"We'll find her soon." Dex breaks the tension.

"I hope so."

Foxete's POV:

The people aboard the ship drop me off on Veemos. My vision is going slowly. I can barely stumble into New Keekos before passing out from lack of blood.

"Who are you?!" A guard asks.
"I need an audience with Kreko." I cough from my knees, "Captain.." I gasp for air, "Captain Foxete Vixeon."
The guards look shocked.
"Contact the Protectors." I command, "But first, I need medical attention."

Everything goes black.

Kreko' s POV:

It's been a few months since my daughter left. She'll return. She always does. How do I regain her respect?

"Sir?" A guard breaths heavily as he barges in.
"How dare you just barge in?" I ask.
"I'm sorry sir! There's a hybrid girl in need of dire medical! She said her name was.... Fox something..."
"Foxete Vixeon?" I gasp.
"Yes." He nods, "Do you know her sir?"
"Show me to her. Give her medical attention immediately! She's the key to everything." I smile.

The guard guides me to Foxete's bedside. For a girl who normally looks sickly and malnourished, she looks even worse. She has barely any fat on her body. You can clearly see her rib cage. She has a large scar across her right eye and another lighter one across her nose. She has bags under her eyes and bruises everywhere. That's just ignoring the broken bones on her x-ray and the bullet would in her side.

"Let's fix her up." I smile, "And contact my daughter. Tell her we found Foxete."
"Yes sir." The guard bows his head and leaves.

I touch Foxete's shoulder gently, she flinches.

"You're safe now, Foxete. I promise." I whisper.

(800 words)