Generation Fur

Prolouge

The trees blurred past at high speeds. Shapes jumped about in the trees, and the surrounding area seemed to only show an endless darkness that made up the grounds for the kingdom-wide event that happened every month.
Glowing yellow, red, and green eyes were shown looking back at the one carrying the camera, making it seem like they were looking out for the one holding it, but really they were making sure it was still attached for the hunt.

They all seemed to disappear for a second, just a second, then a howl was heard, and they were back to running. Another running shape was seen in the distance, it was humanoid, and looking back constantly, the whites of their eyes reflecting a little light towards the camera. They swerved left, right, and then disappeared from view, having fallen forwards. The camera was steadily getting closer and closer to them until finally It stopped about ten feet away. The person got up from the ground and looked around with fear.

Then they stepped unknowingly towards the camera, more sets of glowing eyes appeared behind the person shifting their gaze to look in the camera direction and not at their prey, the video shifted for a second, and when the person took another step closer the camera sped forwards and up before curving down as a human scream filled the night. Then the screen started to melt, but it wasn't heat or a malfunction. Everyone saw the body laying on the ground because the camera was looking directly at it.

The humans eyes were still open frozen in a state of shock and fear and then a light flashed and the human turned out to be what looked like a poor farmer. His chest torn open, his throat ripped out, his face cut and marred enough to make him unrecognizable to those that didn't know what he had been wearing. It was a missing person who's picture had been nailed to a notice wall, and now it was no longer needed.

The screens all around the continent sorted something like this twice a month, an event that everyone had to watch. It automatically turned on the TV's to show, and would not turn off until it ended. Everyone watched it, everyone had to, or they would either be killed or face the same fate. And those that watched did it with mixed emotions: glee, anticipation, disgust, anger, or some other emotion that has never ended in all the years that the event's been shown. It was the second hunt of the month.

I have been watching that since I could understand what I was seeing, and now, with the others in my house piled around in the living room. We all did the same as we have done for the past twelve or more years: we sat there, unable to do something and wanting to do something.

The videos were the kingdoms way of making the humans in the rural parts of the country fearful and obedient. It's what the King did to keep us in line, to show us that if we did anything wrong or just if he wanted to, he could put any one of us there. And there was nothing we could do about it.

"Daniel will you please go and open the door for everyone to leave" I looked at my mom, and I saw her fear. The fear that that would become any one of us. I got up and opened the door for everyone as she said, the spring air came wafting through the open doorway, and like magic everyone started moving again.

Some left immediately, some hugged mom, and thanked her for letting them over, as we were the only ones in this town that had a TV. A mandatory requirement by law required at least one house in five to have a working Television, under the punishment of immediate execution. Most took the extra food left over along with them and thanked mom for letting them come over.

Once the last person left I looked at mom to see the threat of tears in her eyes, she was thinking about father. Who had been taken and then put on TV as the prey, and killed in the exact same way as the others. I was too young to understand who he was, but mom told me that he never screamed, he fight as hard as he could and as long as he could before they took him down. I closed the door, walked over to her, and hugged her meaningfully.

"Oh honey, you should never have to see this. You could never have had to see anything related to this, this tyranny" she hugged me harder. "You should never have to go through this every time on your birthday week."

"You can't control it mom. It's just something that happens now" I said to her at she pulled back, "I just have bad luck is all"

"No you mustn't think like that " she said, "we have to stay strong."

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Two more years went by without any problems and then something new happened. A platoon of Fur Kingdom soldiers came by demanding all male children below the age of fifteen and above the age of ten to come forwards. In my village, as there aren't enough of us to call it a town, there are only a few kids in that age range, I was one of them. Everyone, though reluctantly, lead their kids forwards and I stepped up to join the line of ten other kids that were in my age group.

One of the furs came forwards and started to go back and forth among us. Most of the kids had their heads bowed and their eyes to their feet, and only three had their eyes forwards and looking straight in front of them as told how to look strong by their parents... including mine.

I saw them push back everyone else but the three of us and then two more guards came forwards and grabbed each of us by our shoulders.

"If you resist coming, we will kill everyone in this pathetic little place of yours and make you watch as we burn down your houses and kill your people" one of the soldiers said to us. We were far enough from our parents that they couldn't hear us, but close enough to the other lucky kids to make their eyes widen with fear.

The three soldiers pushed the three of us towards one of their trucks and I looked back at mother to see her crying, she couldn't do anything or she would be killed and she knew that I would be unable to be saved or run back to them. I smiled at her to try and let her know that I'll be fine, but that only caused her to cry harder. We were thrown into a black metal box with no windows, attached to a equally black truck. Then the doors closed and the trailer started to move away from home.