Wild by Nature: Animal Bites #1

Chapter 1: Cherry

Sphinx hummed quietly, tapping her foot on the floor as she worked on her homework.

"Hey, can ya stop fuckin' hummin'? I'm actually tryna be productive here!" Ash shouted from the couch.

Sphinx looked over and glared at her brother.

"I ain't bein' loud! If you was really tryna be productive, hummin' wouldn't bother you!" she shouted back.

"Now you're bein' louder! Shut up!" Ash growled.

"I only got loud 'cause you got loud!" Sphinx said, trying to calm down.

"Both of you, please be quiet!" Della yelled from the staircase.

Ash and Sphinx looked at the otter.

"Why are ya doin' your homework on the stairs? Are ya reta—"

Sphinx threw her textbook at Ash before he could finish.

"It's comfortable to me," Della said. "Didn't you say you were trying to be productive?"

Thud

Thud

Thud

Sphinx and Ash looked at each other and nodded toward to the door to try and get the other to open it.

"Open this door before I call the cops, kidnappers!" a familiar voice screeched.

Della sighed and gathered her homework and backpack and headed down the stairs. Sphinx got up, tossing her pencil behind her haphazardly, and went to the door. Della held her hand out of habit.

"Cherry! Wonderful to see ya," Sphinx said dejectedly when she opened the door.

"Della, sweetie, there you are! Come to momma!" Cherry said to the young otter.

"Mom, I've told you several times, Della is safe when she's with Sphinx and clearly she likes her or else she wouldn't keep following her home," Nick tried to negotiate.

"Don't try to tell me off, boy," Cherry snarled.

"Momma, I want to stay with Nicky," Della said.

"Sweetie, you don't know what's good for you yet. Now, come on. We're going home," Cherry said.

Della looked up at Sphinx sadly.

"Do I have to?" she asked.

Sphinx kneeled down and put a hand on Della's shoulder.

"I'm sorry, kid. Cherry's ya mom. I ain't really got authority over her," Sphinx said.

Della nodded sadly and gave Sphinx a hug before walked out the door to Cherry. Nick ruffled Della's hair as he passed her and went inside Sphinx and Ash's house. Nick duplicated himself and one clone walked over to Ash and plopped a wad of cash onto his head. Ash threw up a peace sign and the clone went back to the door where Sphinx still stood and fused back into Nick with the other clone.

"Sweetie, you've gotta stop coming here," Cherry said to Della.

"Momma, I want to come here! Sphinx and Ash are funny and they let me eat whatever I want for dessert," Della said with a grin.

"Like I said, you can't make that decision yet. You're only 83 years old," Cherry said.

Della pouted as Cherry led her to her car. Nick and Sphinx waved to Della before heading inside.

"Aren't ya ever worried about Della?" Sphinx asked Nick, leaning against the closed door.

"Always. But my mom always took better care of her over me so I'm not too worried," Nick replied.

"Hey, sis?" Ash called.

Nick and Sphinx looked over. Ash was watching TV and the news was currently reporting a huge car accident on a nearby freeway.

"Alright," Sphinx sighed, cracking her knuckles, "the cops an' firefighters are gonna need some help. Let's go."

Ash turned off the TV and ran over to the front door. Nick grabbed three duffel bags of basic first aid stuff and tossed one to each twin. Sphinx opened the door and the three headed out.

"I see smoke in that direction. Which freeway was it on the news?" Sphinx said.

"Interstate 14, the Chilexo exit. That smoke's from the accident," Ash stated.

Nick climbed on Sphinx's back piggy back style and she took off running with Ash not far behind. The two used their immense speed to clear six blocks in about 3 seconds to make it to a close highway bridge. Sphinx and Nick dashed up the bridge and landed on the wall that ran along the freeway. The two reached the pile up in about 6 seconds total. When the twins hopped off the wall, Nick jumped off of Sphinx and landed near a group of cops.

"Hey, guys. What can we do for you?" one cop said.

"The question to be asked is what can we do to—"

Nick was interrupted by Ash, "We're here to help with the accident."

Nick growled quietly as Sphinx joined the two.

"Ah, that's great! We actually could use some help with the cars. When some of the back ones hit, a few got buried. Think ya can handle that?" the other cop explained.

"I can handle that. Sphinx, you and Ash start collecting citizens and take care of them until ambulances arrive," Nick said, taking off his glasses.

He hung them on his shirt and split himself into three clones. One clone took out a sharpie and wrote #2 and #3 on the other clones' shirts. #2 took the sharpie and wrote #1 on the first clone's shirt. They gave each other a thumbs up and jogged off to the pile up. Sphinx and Ash were pointed to a large group of people sitting near the highway divider. Sphinx did a quick count.

"I got 15," she said.

Ash nodded. "I bet you...this month's electricity bill that I can take care of seven people first."

Sphinx thought to herself for a second. "Alright, you're on."

Ash smirked as Sphinx went to the furthest right person but his eyes widened when she said, "Good luck with the broken ribs."

Sphinx walked over to a beetle holding her son.

"Please, take care of him first," the beetle said.

"Don't worry, ma'am. We got enough supplies for everyone," Sphinx reassured her. "So what pain are we in?"

"I have some cuts and all he's been saying is that his head hurts but he won't let me check it out," the beetle explained.

"Hey, kid. I gotta look at your head and make sure you're okay. Is that fine with you?" Sphinx asked.

The boy snuggled further into his mother's side.

"What about if I give you a lollipop?" Sphinx said, pulling a blue one from the duffel bag.

The mother nodded an okay and Sphinx offered the candy to the boy. He looked at her warily but then grabbed at the lollipop.

"If I give this to you, you have to let me look at your head, 'kay?" Sphinx said.

The boy nodded and took the lollipop with a smile. Sphinx gently turned the boy around and slowly combed through his hair, looking for any injuries. As she approached the top of his head, she paused, her eyes growing wide.

"What is it? What's wrong?" the mother asked.

Sphinx moved her hand down and pushed the boy's hair out of the way to reveal a piece of metal about the width of a finger sticking out of his head.

"How did that happen!" the mother cried.

"I can't remove this ma'am. I'm sorry. He'll have to wait until the ambulances arrive but I'll make sure he's one of the first ones looked at," Sphinx said.

The mother nodded worriedly and Sphinx moved over to her to clean and bandage the cuts on her head, face, and neck.