The Prison of Deviants

Chapter 8: Theo in the Canine District

Shon leads me into the canine district. So far, all is well - nobody's paying attention to us. I might actually pass...

"Shon, who's that?"

The black man who presented in the dining hall when I first saw Shon approaches us. I freeze. Shon grows worried too, but answers as calmly as he can:

"Oh, hey, Jared! Nothing serious - it is a fellow canine. A fox. I met her in the dining hall_"

"You think I'm that dumb?" Jared's yellow eyes shimmer with incense, "She's the vampire you asked me about, days ago. Who's authorized you to bring her in?"

"We... We were authorized_"

Shon raises a hand and motions me to stop, so I hush. He turns back to Jared with puppy eyes:

"Jared, please, let us pass. Theo only wanted to see how felines get chased away by canines in here. I told her how funny of a sight it is, and she got interested. Please..."

"Shon, you know I have no rights to give you the authorization," Jared replies. "Get her out of here, while it's still time. If Terry's men see you, you're going to get in big trouble."

"But Terry's men don't know her!" Shon insists. "We'll just say she's a fire fox."

"Those cheap tricks won't work here, Shon. Trust me, lead her out of here. It'll keep you away from unnecessary trouble. I'll give you one chance. If I come back and she's still here, I'll be the one to punish you."

Despite Shon's pleas, Jared walks away and disappears through the canine crowd that are walking around (They have a free hour, apparently). Shon heaves a sigh:

"So much for our sneaking operation..."

"We can still make it!" I try to reassure him. I really want to get into the feline district. "Let's go near the feline district. We might catch the sight of some felines sneaking in."

"But Jared said_"

"Shon, we'll be fine."

I smile at him. I guess my eyes kind of resemble the ones of a tiny raven fledgeling now, asking for a favour. Shon cannot resist them, so he finally surrenders:

"Okay, but we must be fast."

We continue our way through the hall, trying to not come across any other canines. We are already close to the gates of the feline district when we hear a sly, charming voice from aside:

"Hey, Shon, who's that girl?"

Shon freezes and makes me halt too. A red-eyed woman with red bob hair approaches us, dressed in the clothes of an overseer - a black jacket and slim black trousers. She's barefoot, like all inborn deviants, and has red claws on her hands and feet. I can tell she's not a vampire, and it worries me all the more - Shon has said the only red-eyed canines are fire foxes, so she must be the one. You can't really fool a fox. They are one of the smartest deviants - they can immediately tell when you're lying.

"Oh, hello there, Lady Clara!" Shon smiles. Sweat begins to pour off his forehead. "No one... just a friend. A human infected by a fire fox."

"Oh, really?" Clara looks at me. I try to give her a confident smile, but I'm not sure if I'm managing. I glance at the feline gates and calculate the distance so that I can run for it as fast as possible. Clara, however, crosses my way, with a frown on her face: "She doesn't look like a fox at all..."

"Oh, yeah, well..." Shon grows more worried, "She's newly-turned_"

"She's a vampire intruder!" 

Clara's fangs appear and her claws grow. She wants to plunge on me when Shon dashes at her and pushes her off my way, trying to restrict her movements:

"Theo, run!"

"Get off me, you fool!"

Clara now attacks Shon. As a newly-turned werewolf, Shon can't really control his powers. He is a simple human unless the full moon shines in the sky. So, it is easy for Clara to scratch him, and, to my greatest dread, burn him right on the chest.

"Leave him alone!"

I want to jump in to help, but Shon stands in between me and Clara and takes another hit:

"Get away from here, Theo! I'll be fine!"

He's bleeding from those burning wounds, how can he be fine?! Yet, now that the commotion has started, the canines from all over the place are advancing towards us. If I don't run for it now, I'll never have another chance.

"You violated the law, you will be punished!" Clara snarls at me. "As for you, Shon, I'll take care of you myself - you attacked the canine headwoman!"

She's the canine headwoman? Goodness! 

The canines are advancing. The guards have already changed into their bestial forms - werewolves, foxes, wild dogs, coyotes... They're all onto us. Shon's still battling Clara to distract her but is already bleeding hard, to the point that if he's not treated immediately, he'll die. What should I do?

The feline gates... They're open. There's still time. If I can find Knut, he might help Shon. He's managed to reverse my transformation, after all.

"I'll be back, Shon! Don't worry!"

I yell at him at full force to encourage him. Yet, I am worried and frightened myself, at the sight of the blood and the burn marks all over his body. 

Clara notices I intend to run, so she shouts:

"Close all the gates! Don't let her escape!"

I run as fast as I can. The gates are closing right before my nose. I jump through, but the left door hits my shoulder. It hurts like hell. The gates shut with a bang behind me.