I'm Not an Animal (Slow Updates)

Chapter 12

"Tora, get up." Ruby shook me gently.

"Huh?" I rolled over. Ruby went to slap me, but I gave her a high-five and said, "Don't."

"Come on, Tora. We're leaving soon. Here." She put a bag down next to me. I looked at the contents; food and water bottles. I lifted the bag and put it in my satchel. Then I climbed, unsteadily, to my feet. I picked my cloak up from the ground and walked over to Ruby.

"How will this help?" I pulled it on and tied it tightly under my chin.

"So, it's dark, right? We sleep in the dark, so we cover ourself with these."

"Oh. Okay."

"Breakfast!" Zaki appeared at the door and the girls that were still changing screamed and covered themselves up. Zaki cried out as the half-naked girls started laughing small objects at him. I burst out laughing and picked up a small glass elephant, then threw it at Zaki. The trunk slammed into his eye and he yelped in pain.

"You weren't even getting changed! Why would you do that!?" He screamed at me, clutching at his eye.

"Cuz I can." I turned away to grab my bag. Zaki just shook his head and walked away. "Hey, Marion!" She looked up, smiled and walked over to me.

"Wassup?"

"What crawled up Zaki's ass?"

"Oh, his attitude? He hasn't smiled properly for a few days. He's been dark and low."

"Why?"

"An Officer killed his parents and his elder sister." Officers and Officials held the same ranks, only Officials were females and Officers were males.

"Oh." I ran to the door and rushed into the hallway after him. He spun around at my presence and nearly slapped me. I tripped and fell on him.

"What the-" Zaki looked up at me. I burst out laughing and he started shouting at me. I shook my head and turned to look into his eyes. As my blue eyes met his brown ones, I felt electricity run through my body. We both slowly stopped talking to stare into each other's eyes. Then my eyes fell on his wrists. I pulled him to his feet.

"Zaki, why did-"

"I have reasons."

"No, Zaki. No matter how bad you feel, that will never be the true answer." I ran my fingers over the scars in his wrists. He shivered. "Is it because of your parents?"

"You know?"

"Marion. Look at me Zaki." He turned his head away. I reached out and grabbed it, pulling him back to face me. "Zaki, I told you what happened to me."

"I know." He whispered. "And that's what makes me feel so weak. You were strong enough to power on. And I wasn't."
"But you are, Zaki. You just have to realise that." I took a deep breath and recited a quote I'd once heard. "Never be ashamed of a scar. It simply means you were stronger than whatever tried to hurt you." I let go of Zaki's wrists. He looked me in the eyes, his bottom lip quivering. Then he spun and ran, shifting into his Lion form to crash through the hallways.

I turned down the hall to go to the kitchen. A side door branched off into a room with a ComScreen. I walked in, shutting the door behind me. The ComScreen was on, and I could hear people talking. It must still be linked to the central Society Computer. One of the small screens was on. I pressed a button to make the call one-way, so I saw everything that happened, but I was not seen.

The first person I saw was a male Enforcer. They are one rank below Officials and Officers. He was talking to someone, and it looked like I had come in halfway thorough their conversation.

"So, we have to get rid of them?"

"Yes." Alyssa. She walked into the view of the Computer, and I breathed in sharply. For a minute, I was fearful that they had heard me. But they continued there conversation.

"How, though? How can you even be sure it's them?"

"I put a tracker on the Lion boy, you dolt. He lead us right to them."

"I'm not an idiot!"

"Stop acting like one, then. And as for how we'll get rid of them, I have that sorted out, too." She turned to look at the ComScreen. She walked right up to the camera on the top. The Enforcer grinned. Alyssa pressed a button and a hologram of myself was projected out behind her. I took a step back and my doppelgänger did the same.

"Fire."

~#*#~

"Zaki! Zaki, we have to leave, now!" I charged into the kitchen-dining room and skidded to a stop in front of Zaki. He stood up.

"What happened?"

"We have to go! Alyssa is going to burn us out!" As if on cue, there was an explosion from above. I heard the crackling of flames. Then we were running.

We charged down a back route and climbed up a ladder to the top. It was so painfully slow. Zaki stood at the top, counting us off.

"Where's Amani?"

"I didn't see her!" Cried Ruby. She changed into her Rainbow Lorikeet form and flew down she pipe. When she came up two minutes later, she was crying.

"Well?"

"Amani's dead! She must have choked on the flames or something, but I prodded her and she didn't move!" Ruby wiped away her tears, spreading ash over her face as she did.

"We'll mourn later, but we have to go!" Zaki quickly drew the sign of the cross on his chest, then spun around to stand at the front of the group. Then we were running, again.

Flames burst up on either side of us as we ran.

"Are we even going the right way?" I screamed over the smoke.

"I don't know. We just have to get out of this fire." Explosions erupted in front and behind us, and a few people screamed. I saw boys and girls, women and men fall to the ground. About five more people dropped. There were only twenty-four of us left, now.

"How did they find us?"

"They put a tracker on you when the Officials were chasing you."

Zaki turned his head to face me. "Tora, they never touched me!"

"Then how-" my eyes lowered to my satchel. "My Viewer!"

"Quick, smash it!"

"No! I'm not breaking it!"

"Fine, then turn it off! Everyone," he raised his voice, "double back! Double back!" We whirled around and ran towards the fires. They kept burning up the way we had been running, which meant the Officials thought we were still travelling that way.

Marion burst into a coughing fit, falling to her knees. "Marion!" I cried, scooping her up. I wrapped one of her arms around my shoulder, and Ruby grabbed the other side. "Marion, change into your animal form." She coughed again, falling. "Marion, shift! Now!" She groaned and shifted, then I cradled her in my arms. I pulled out my water bottle and ran some water into her mouth. She swallowed it quickly, then I grabbed a cloth from my satchel and soaked it, laying it over Marion. She started to breathe a little easier.

We kept running, back past the hideaway. We hadn't been running for twenty-five kilometres before my legs gave out beneath me and I fell. The hundred kilometre run yesterday had truly weakened me. The flames rose around me. I dragged myself to Marion and curled around her tiny body, keeping the smoke away from her. I poured more water over the cloth, covered her. I tired to stand, but I was too weak.

I was going to die.