Wolv

26 - Collared

I'm dead. I'm dead, I'm dead, I'm dead!

Bang!

Nope. Definitely not dead. Crap, that was loud! What was that?

Bang!

Ouch! Son of a-- "Stop it!" I growled, and the metallic clanging stopped. Something shuffled around next to me, and the floor beneath me suddenly pressed into me as though I were in an elevator, and I tensed. I felt like I was dangling in the air for a moment, until the ground dropped out beneath me. I followed suit, slamming down onto the floor once again.

"It's awake!" a gruff voice called out sharply. I groggily opened one eye and peered around.

That's odd. The sky above me was fluorescent orange, criss-crossed by black lines. Dark orange ripples pulsated through the air, making stange flapping noises as they tore through the sky like waves.

"Where...am I?" I moaned, and tried to raise my head. It felt like someone had tied a sack of bricks around my body though, making every move unbearably slow. "Hello?"

"Shut up!" Metal clanged loudly right next to my ears again, and I cringed at the sudden noise. Someone laughed at my reaction, and another clang rang out.

What is going on? I blinked my eyes again and tried to focus. The oddly undulating sky above me made me want to vomit. Am I on another planet? No, that's stupid. I squinted my eyes, trying to make sense of the images I was seeing. Maybe I AM dead.

Huh. This is actually pretty disappointing.

The sound of a zipper being opened entered my ear drums, and light spilled onto the orange sky above me. I lifted my head up ever so slightly, just in time to see the silhouette of a figure zipping a canvas flap shut behind him.

Shoot! I rolled over and pushed myself into a sitting position. Black lines still crossed my vision, every direction I looked.

I wasn't dead. I'm in a cage. As the rest of my senses began to wake up, my vision began to clear as well. The strange, fluorescent  undulating sky above me wasn't in fact the sky; it was the orange fabric of a tent, rippling in the wind.

I was on a table, in a cage, inside of a tent.

I looked down at the ground below. The dirt in the corner of the tent bore the impression of my cage. They must've lifted me up onto the table when I woke up.

Fascinating. I need to get out of here! Now!

I raised my paw and clawed at the cage hopelessly. I could see the primitive latch that was holding the door shut, but I lacked the dexterity to open it.

"Hey!" I launched myself at the side of the cage. The metal rattled, but didn't give out. "Is anyone still there?" I stared at the zippered entrance of the tent expectantly, waiting for someone to come in.

"You can't ignore me forever! Hello!!!" I shouted, and bashed the side of the cage again. Dang it!

Inhaling deeply, I threw my head back and let a howl escape my jaws. When I got no response, I resorted to barking incessantly. C'mon, you bastard! Show yourself!

Deep down, I hoped that no one would come. I really didn't want to see any of the people who'd caged me here, but being left alone in a cage was stressing the crap out of me. I had no idea what was in store, and waiting around for it to happen was just making things worse.

"Hey, calm down in there!" A chillingly familiar voice called out from outside the tent. On the other side of the door, the shadow of a person materialized. The figure bent down, and the zipper jingled as fingers grasped for it and pulled it up, opening the canvas door.