Amalgam Nation [This could possibly shock you, you've been warned.]

Chapter Three

Chapter 3.

The choking smell of petrol and sweat plugged my nostrils, I woke choking for a fresh breath of air. I could taste the metallic tang of blood on the breeze, not mine. I tried to silence my cough and glanced at the open doorway, nothing in view, just yellowing grass. I looked down at my babies sound asleep unaware of any change in the environment, I gathered them closer to my body. My arms ached with the smallest of movements, my body was wrecked after the trek here and the excruciating labour, but even as I tried to remember it it was all becoming a blur.

Again the scent of old blood and sweat, I heard the rustle of fabric and a creak of leather. My heart jumped into my throat, something was definitely out there, frantically I scanned the room for weapons, something to protect myself with but apart from the old couch there wasn't anything in the room besides rotting curtains and ivy travelling up between the floorboards to decorate the far wall. I didn't even have a scrap of clothing to cover my body since I'd used my dress to wrap the bloody afterbirth. My eyes jumped back to the doorway, what were they waiting for? I eased the sleeping babes from my arms onto the dusty couch, tucking them next to the arm. I crouched in front of them, the pain in my groin and back felt like liquid fire, blood trickled down the insides of my thighs. The scent of the birth had possibly attracted scavenging animals, or dogs... But that wasn't what I had heard, humans and amalgams wear clothing.

I needed an escape plan, a way out, but I could barely stand let alone run out of here carrying babes. Why would anyone come for us? It wasn't unusual for amalgams to have secluded births, it came with some species, it was supposed to be safer to introduce the pups when the mother is back at full health in case they did need protecting from the rest of the pack for some reason.

So if it wasn't another amalgam and I couldn't pick up the scent of an animal, they must be human?

The clink of metal on metal pulled me from my thoughts. My ears pricked towards the sound, to the left of me outside and below the window ledge, another shuffle near to the front door, I could see the shadow now. My blood pounded in my ears my pulse racing, I was trapped in here! My breath caught in my throat as I began to panic, I wanted to jump to my feet and attack, to protect those that are mine.

I began to growl, a low menacing warning. I could hear the sound of them breathing, frantic, fast breaths.

"Now!"

In the window and door came cans that bounced off the opposite wall and rolled back towards me. Pungent yellow gas hissed out of the cans sending them spinning closer to me, I crept back standing over the pups on the couch, my head swam for a moment, through blurred vision I saw them coming. The pups erupted in high pitched squalls at the sounds, it tore at my heart to know they were upset. The gas began clouding, around the top of the room, the air became itchy and harsh to try and breath in.

"What the fuck are you doing?!" I screamed at the first blob of dark green and white that came at me. I crouched low trying to keep myself between him and the pups. Snarling, I swiped at his face and kicked out awkwardly off balance. That man raised a steel pipe and caught me across the side of my neck, throwing me to the ground. I felt my teeth tear into my upper lip and lights exploded behind my eyes, I clasped a hand to my throat trying desperately to take a breath, gasping for oxygen I scrabbled forwards on my hands and knees. The first human was bent over the couch, another male clambering through the window, a third female was at the door, each wearing gas masks and a dark green uniform of some type. The boots each wore were far too new looking to be from the time before. These humans came from somewhere new, a new breed? They're not trying to kill me either.. They want the babies?! I would never let them take my children while I could fight against them.

Coughing more than actually inhaling I clawed at the first mans leg, he held my nude pups in his arms. He turned to look at me, he snorted and kicked his leg from my grasp as though I was no more than a particularly persistent weed. I went to raise myself from the ground, to pounce on him but a swift black boot to the chin had me almost back flip, suddenly flat on my back I looked over my still huge belly at the woman that stood at my feet. My mouth was wide open, just trying to ingest some kind of air, choking on any I managed to ingest. My vision was swimming in and out of focus, I raised my hand to her, as a woman surely she wouldn't take my babies...Not without me.

"P-please! No!"

The other men were leaving, they had one of my wailing babies each, I cried out to them, spittle mixed with blood spattered to the floor. I tried to will my body to turn, my legs wouldn't push hard enough to move me, I felt like my body was weighed down with concrete, I growled and snarled so frustrated and helpless, those are my babies! My eyelids flickered, the woman at my feet laid a full bodied kick into my side, I felt my eyes rolling back into my skull. I heard her footsteps as she retreated out of the house, the den, the fucking 'safe place'.

 I howled to my pups, I called to them as their cries got further and further away. I didn't think that I was alerting every other being in the vicinity that I was in pain and harmed, I screamed for help I yipped and barked for my pack. I couldn't even move to the door to see what direction the humans left in...

I howled with all the emotion I could muster, the pain screamed out of my voice, the hurt the inhumanity of it. I called to my family I yelped and pleaded for help. I struggled to take in enough breath still. I laid on the floor... I listened to the answering silence. Tears pooled in my eyes, they ran down my cheeks, stinging the scrapes on my face. Moaning in pain I curled on my side, holding myself, I felt my heart break at the thought of telling Flynn about our perfect children and how they had been taken, how it would hurt him just as much as I was hurting now. My chest felt like it was ripped open, raw and bleeding, like part of my heart my lungs and ribs had been torn away as my children had been. Crying to myself all I could do was wait, someone would come. Friend or foe, I couldn't give a fuck anymore.