The Shipment

It was the chatter that first awoke me. The last thing I remembered was coming home from foraging in the forest near my home, my community. I was just about to enter the house when suddenly my face was covered by a sweet- smelling odor and my conscious began to fade. As I slowly regained conscious, I heard the chugging of a train all around me. As my eyes began to focus on my surroundings I noticed I was inside a moving, metal room. I had occasionally seen trains when I would sneak past the boundary lines set up by my community. But from what I actually knew of trains, I can only assume that I was indeed inside one of the cars. But what I did not understand was why was I in long clothing that fully covered me. I think I once heard someone call it a Burqa, or some such name. And why was I bound and in a cage without any recollection of even getting put into this predicament?

You see, my community lives in isolation from the outside word. The ingenuity and machinations of those outside our community bring fear to us. Most people we observe use it for entertainment, but the are those who use it for evil. We want to remain a good, natural people, which is why we set up the boundaries and restrictions we have. But many, like myself, grow curious about the world around us; and so we venture out late at night when our chances of exposure are minimized. But we are usually very good about covering our tracks and staying hidden from most, save a handful of people we trust and trade with.

“I can’t believe they actually exist!” I heard a man say from the other side of the door ahead of me.

“Not so loud! You have any idea how hard it was to get this one? We’re lucky that the chloroform actually worked. I’m worried though that Rickey might have tipped off some of the others. Damn idiot should never have been given the tracking gear. ” Said another man, his voice low dangerous.

“So what do you think the reward will be?” the first man asked.

“How should I know? We were given a job, and we accomplished it. All that’s left it to hand her over to the client and hope that Muslim dress-thing won’t give away what she really is.” The second replied.

As the two continued their conversation, I began to wriggle my hands and feet free. Suddenly I felt the train pick up speed and the momentum of the sudden increase pushed me back against the wall, cage and all. It also threw one of the men through the door, sending him sprawling onto the floor. The man had short hair and was on the younger side. From what to remember from magazines and seeing hunters in the wild, he wore what looked to be a bullet proof vest , a grey t-shirt and military pants. There was a pistol holstered on his left hip.

“What the hell is going on!” the voice of the second man bellowed. He looked through and saw me and his companion. He was bald with a grey beard and his face wore cracks and wrinkles. But for being an older man, he was build remarkably well and was in the same attire as a the other, but instead of a pistol he had a rifle.

“You forgot to lock her door too? For crying out loud.” he chastised the other, and offered a hand to help the younger one up, only to realize that he was unconscious from the fall. By now I had successfully undid my bindings and due to the baggy nature of my outfit I was able to hide it. But then the train bucked again and the older man lost his footing and his face smashed against the bars of my cage. As this happened, his necklace slipped out of his shirt and at the end of it was a key. One that would hopefully free me from my cage. With my tail, I quickly shot it out and yanked it off his necklace. Both men groaned in their unconscious state.

After quickly freeing myself from the rest of my bindings, I fumbled with the key and managed to unlock the gate. Thank goodness it was the key I needed! Quickly I stripped out of the outfit for better mobility and was hit with a welcome breeze against my fur. Unencumbered, I made my way to the front of the train, hopping from train car to train car. When I had finally made it, I saw a man clutching his chest and struggling to breathe as the train sped towards a cliff with big orange signs reading ‘Construction area ahead’.

Even though these human men had captured me and planned to give me to some kind of human authority, something inside of me couldn’t just let them speed off a cliff to their death. I grabbed the man in front of me and lugged him as quickly as possible to the back of the train where the two hunters and I were originally. I set him down with the others on the last car and quickly looked for a way to disengage our car with the rest of the train. Time was running out and I heard the train smash into the sign that I saw. Then I found a crowbar, and quickly jammed it between the cup links. As the last of the tracks came into my field of vision, by some miracle I was able to separate them and the rest of the train went careening off the cliff as the debris from the construction sign slowed our car just enough to stop a few yard from the edge of the tracks. The young man finally came to as I was in the doorway about to leave.

“W-what happened?” he asked, holding his head. Then he saw me, free and exposed.

“Oh man….oh man…” he said, shakily reaching for his gun. I raised my furry, clawed hands to in a gesture to calm down.

“I saved you and your friends lives. Let me go and we’ll call it even…” I said, unsure of what to expect next. He simply sat up and looked at me.

“You can speak our language…wh…what exactly are you? I wasn’t there when they captured you, so I’m only now getting a good look at you. I thought we were transporting a baby bigfoot. But…you look nothing like a Bigfoot. You kind of look like a furry elf with a tail and claws. You’re eyes…they glow in the dark…” he stammered, obviously confused.

With a deep breath I stood up against the moonlight and said:

“I am an Autumn-born Quicaldatis, my name is Dia-Lynnara.” Then I left…and they didn’t pursue me.