A Child's Antlers

Chapter One

Antler: Seven Years Ago

A kid with the antlers and ears of a deer, along with some of its facial features, is the least you would expect in previous generations. But that deer kid being on the run from bounty hunters would be more believable.

Before yesterday, I lived in a house by myself. Now, however, I am alone in the woods with a large sack on a dogsled and my chipmunk friend for company. Chippy, as I call him, perches on my shoulder, happily munching away on an acorn I gave him a few minutes ago.

I look around in the morning light. I think I lost him.

But then I hear a twig snap in the distance, and my ear twitches at the sound. I inch my way out of the clearing and back into the thick brush. I can smell the hunter with a nose Papa called cute. The hunter's scent consists of smoke and apples.

"Oh deer kid," the hunter calls through the woods. "I have some snacks for you to munch on!"

Never trust a hunter. Papa's top words of advice ring through my head.

Something falls, and my ears perk up. I can see the hunter about twelve yards away through the bush I'm crouched behind. A rotten apple rolls on the ground by his feet. Then another one. My eyes follow his footsteps as they lead to a suspicious shallow pile of sticks and leaves. Papa told me never to fall for one of those, but I forgot what he called it.

A death pit, I think?

I stay crouched in the bushes, waiting until the hunter leaves.

I walk along the deserted forest road. This is the furthest I've ever been away from home. Chippy is still perched on my shoulder, chittering to me every once in a while.

Suddenly a pair of hands grabs me off the trail and into the bush. I kick, confused and upset, before the person drops me in front of them, crouched down like me. He's a hybrid, like me, with horns poking out of his shaggy black hair, the back legs of a goat, and black fur and goat ears.

The man puts his finger to his lips and crouches me down. We roll further into the bushes, further from the edge of the road. My ears naturally perk up as I hear unfamiliar voices.

"Well, I saw that deer kid today," one of them says, and I realize it's the hunter from earlier.

"What deer kid?"

"She had golden brown hair?"

"Never seen her."

I look at my new friend, worried, but he just focuses on the people, so I do too. As they come into view, I notice rifles strapped to their backs. A few minutes later they both leave, and I can't smell or hear them in the distance anymore.

"What's your name?" the man asks, looking at me with kind pink eyes.

"I.. Don't know.."

"Why don't you think about what you could name yourself?"

I think for a minute. "What are these things called on my head?" I ask, brain malfunctioning.

"Your antlers?"

"Antler," I repeat, liking the name. "What's your name?"

"Satyr."

After awhile of walking, we make it to Satyr's camp, and then I realize that Satyr can be no older than maybe eighteen, because the rest of the people here look to be about his age. Most of the people here are animal people, but there are a few humans here too, all doing their own thing.

"I started this group for hybrids a few years ago," Satyr explains as we enter through the wooden archway. "We're in a nature preserve, which means the bounty hunters can't get us. As far as we know, there's no one outside the group that knows about this location."

Chippy chitters in my ear, which twitches with the sound. I pull an acorn out of my pocket and give it to him. My dogsled bounces on the gravel behind me as I pull it along.

"How much stuff do you have in there?" Satyr asks, a smile playing on his face.

"Everything I own," I say, defending myself.

"How would you feel about sharing a cabin with another few of our members?"

"Sure!"

Seemingly happy with my answer, Satyr then leads me to a big cabin that has a sign that says Group: Blue, the words carved into the wood. There's a small garden and a creek with a watermill on the right side of the cabin. Satyr knocks on the door and a few minutes later a girl with blond hair, blue eyes, and skin a slight shade darker than mine opens the door. She has the ears, antlers, and forehead pattern of a deer, just like me!

"We have a new member," Satyr says, his face all business. "They were wanting to share a cabin with some of our current members. Can they stay with you?"

"Of course!" the deer-girl says excitedly. "I'm Woods! What's your name?"

"Antler," I say bravely.

"That's such a cool name! Would you like to come in, have a look around, and unpack your things?"

I nod, excited, and follow Woods inside, leaving Satyr at the entrance with my sled.

"You can meet the other groups later," Satyr calls after me, closing the door.

"Are you new?" Woods asks.

I nod. "Satyr found me on the road this morning."

"Well, I'm sure you will be very happy here."

"What's this group called?" I ask, curious. "Like, I mean, overall?"

"It's just called the Hybrid Tribe. This is my group. I think the other members are out playing right now."

"Why are there different groups?" I ask.

"We kind of separate the hybrids based on what type of family they're from."

"Family?"

"Like, family of species."

I nod again.

"There's a group for every color of the rainbow, plus black, gray, and white. The main groups-"

"What does that mean?"

"I'm getting to that. The main groups are, like, the bulk of the members. I think there's about fifty to a hundred members in each of the main groups, with the other groups only having about twenty or thirty each."

"Oh."

A moment of silence passes.

"How old are you?"

I count the years. "Nine?"

"I'm fourteen," Satyr says.

"Are there hybrids older than us, too?"

"Yes, lots."

"Will I get to meet the other members soon?"

"Yes, tomorrow morning there's a clan reunion ceremony. But now, it's late, so you should get some rest."