{"sf1_id":1213646,"sf2_id":"JewVLEM1","title":"Alcatraz Ch. XIV ~ Scopophobia","author":"Djynnerate","words":3787,"posted_at":"2017-07-20T02:54:00.000Z","tags":["Cat","Dingo","Drama","Dystopia","Fox","Friendship","Future","Golden Retriever","Gray Wolf","Hyena","Jackal","Military","Mutt","Post-Apocalyptic","Sci-Fi","Teen","Teenager","Teenagers","War"],"url":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/1213646-alcatraz-ch-xiv-scopophobia","original_url":"https://sofurry.com/s/JewVLEM1","image_url":"https://cdn.sofurryfiles.com/submissions/thumbnails/67/0c/670cf84e-9b3d-4a67-8287-3fbaef3e6138","description":"#18 of Alcatraz\n\nlong night, thumbnail later :P\nBTW sorry the spacing is screwed up, it looked fine in editor and idk what that was all about","content":"I had no clue where I wanted to go with last chapter, and I think it turned out good.\u0026nbsp;\n\nI actually didn't have anything planned but Caine vs Lynx and then Tai meeting Lynx.\u0026nbsp;\n\nRoss dying was just a whatever thing because I had no plans for the character and Lio's theme is trauma and rehabilitation\u0026nbsp;\n\nBut that comes later on :)\u0026nbsp;\n\nEverything else was just me thinking up whatever and then putting it on page, and that's what I usually do\u0026nbsp;\n\nI may or may not give Lynx a different name. It's like calling Tai cat or Marshall wolf or Riddick hyena,\u0026nbsp;etc\u0026nbsp;\n\nPlus her face is kind of supposed to be an enigma\u0026nbsp;for a long while\u0026nbsp;and that gives everyone a basic glimpse of how she looks like\u0026nbsp;(her species, that is)\u0026nbsp;\n\nIt'll take heavy editing and if your\u0026nbsp;notif\u0026nbsp;box blows up sorry\u0026nbsp;\n\nAlso SORRY for the hiatus I could say I was leaving off the first major chapter in silence but really it's just laziness :P\u0026nbsp;\n\n///\u0026nbsp;\n\n\"Your friend is in here, sir.\"\u0026nbsp;\n\nMarshall followed the nurse through the wintergreen hall, hospital smells invading his sensitive wolf nose.\u0026nbsp;\n\nThe nurse waited outside the door without indication it was Caine's room, so Marshall looked in just a moment.\u0026nbsp;\n\nAs expected, the dingo was there, machines hooked up to him, in his gown, a tube in his throat...\u0026nbsp;\n\nIt was disgusting.\u0026nbsp;\n\nMarshall walked in anyways, hearing Caine's breathing amplified through the machine.\u0026nbsp;\n\n\"You alright...?\"\u0026nbsp;\n\nCaine shook his head.\u0026nbsp;\n\n\"I'm assuming the,\u0026nbsp;er... Lynx, whatever she calls herself, did this to you.\"\u0026nbsp;\n\nHe nodded, and Marshall couldn't tear his eyes away from Caine's throat.\u0026nbsp;\n\nWhatever was between them had evaporated after the years, blown away by fear and professionalism.\u0026nbsp;\n\nCaine picked up a notepad and pen on his bedside table and began writing something.\u0026nbsp;\n\nHe handed it to Marshall when he was done.\u0026nbsp;\n\nI want you to kill her\u0026nbsp;\n\nMarshall was slightly unnerved, but she was the enemy, after all... The eerie message was just that, and seeing what she'd done to\u0026nbsp;him made it all the worse.\u0026nbsp;\n\n\"We'll get her. Don't worry about it. But... Can't you talk?\"\u0026nbsp;\n\nCaine\u0026nbsp;grabbed the notepad again and scribbled something else down, this time showing it to Marshall and not giving it to him.\u0026nbsp;\n\nShe cut my tongue\u0026nbsp;\n\nMarshall's heart jumped.\u0026nbsp;\n\nHe'd previously believed it to be the delicate nature of Caine's neck and chest that stopped him from speaking, but...\u0026nbsp;\n\nNo, it couldn't have been....\u0026nbsp;\n\n\"The stab wound\u0026nbsp;I\u0026nbsp;saw was nowhere near your tongue, it was meant to kill, not disable.\"\u0026nbsp;\n\nCaine shook his head wildly, in anger, and tore off the page they'd been using, tossing it to the side.\u0026nbsp;\n\nMarshall watched the haunting messages flutter to the ground.\u0026nbsp;\n\nMaybe if they weren't on\u0026nbsp;there\u0026nbsp;it wouldn't have weighed as much.\u0026nbsp;\n\nFuriously scratching out his next message, Caine's chest began to rise and fall, his teeth clenched, protecting nothing else in that cavity.\u0026nbsp;\n\nHe shoved it at Marshall, the wolf taking in the dingo's ferocious look before what he'd written.\u0026nbsp;\n\nNot\u0026nbsp;the Jinn operative.\u0026nbsp;Opera\u0026nbsp;\n\n///\u0026nbsp;\n\nTai...\u0026nbsp;\n\nIt was a gentle voice, in the back of my head.\u0026nbsp;\n\nMore the breeze of the mist of dreams, the\u0026nbsp;neverending\u0026nbsp;fog, the...\u0026nbsp;\n\nNo, we'll be here forever if I start...\u0026nbsp;\n\nTai...\u0026nbsp;\n\nLouder this time, what was-\u0026nbsp;\n\n\"Tai!\"\u0026nbsp;\n\nI jolted to my other side, eyes wide, staring up at my squad leader.\u0026nbsp;\n\n\"It's 11:00, Tai.\"\u0026nbsp;\n\n\"I-is it?\"\u0026nbsp;\n\nWe both looked over to the digital and what was already true was confirmed.\u0026nbsp;\n\n\"Well?\"\u0026nbsp;\n\nI looked back over to Jake, stark blue eyes staring back at me.\u0026nbsp;\n\nHe was wearing what\u0026nbsp;I\u0026nbsp;would and maybe I'd subconsciously modeled myself for him; a polyester tank top and gym shorts.\u0026nbsp;\n\n\"We've been running sims the past hour and... I get it if you want to sleep but...\"\u0026nbsp;\n\nHe sat down on the edge of my bed. Jake wasn't the yelling type, after all.\u0026nbsp;\n\n\u0026nbsp;Compassion was odd...\u0026nbsp;off,\u0026nbsp;really, for me.\u0026nbsp;\n\nI understood it but it was odd to experience it.\u0026nbsp;\n\nPart of me wanted to tear up a little,\u0026nbsp;haha...\u0026nbsp;\n\n\"You usually get up at 4 in the morning.\"\u0026nbsp;\n\nI avoided his gaze, sitting up in bed to occupy myself.\u0026nbsp;\n\nMaybe it was eyes in general that I was attracted to.\u0026nbsp;\n\nNot the\u0026nbsp;organ\u0026nbsp;but, they really were windows to the soul for me.\u0026nbsp;\n\nYou can glance at the eyes and see what someone's intentions are, or what they're about.\u0026nbsp;\n\nBut I still couldn't tell with Trojan, could I...\u0026nbsp;\n\n\"I was just... Tired. That's all.\"\u0026nbsp;\n\nJake looked out my window, the thin layer of snow and frost creeping on it.\u0026nbsp;\n\n\"Anything happen last mission that I need to know about?\"\u0026nbsp;\n\nFirst mission, more like...\u0026nbsp;\n\nHe stared me in the eyes this time, and I had no will to let go.\u0026nbsp;\n\nYes, there was something I needed to tell him.\u0026nbsp;\n\nSomething very important-\u0026nbsp;\n\n\"I don't care what it is, I'm here. I was in China for 3 years, I've seen it and done it.\u0026nbsp;If you want to talk...\"\u0026nbsp;\n\n\"I understand.\"\u0026nbsp;\n\nHe nodded and reached over, ruffling my tuft of hair.\u0026nbsp;\n\nWhy was I so damn short next to them all...?\u0026nbsp;\n\nWatching him exit, it wasn't a\u0026nbsp;nobrainer\u0026nbsp;that I wasn't supposed to...\u0026nbsp;\n\nTell about the girl with the mask.\u0026nbsp;\n\nI'd almost forgotten it in my sleep, but it and the fear and complexity of the thoughts returned, much to my discomfort.\u0026nbsp;\n\nI could have died at any moment there... And all she wanted to do was talk.\u0026nbsp;\n\nShe'd killed the coyote in front of me, I couldn't even remember his fucking name...\u0026nbsp;\n\nAnd she just wanted to talk.\u0026nbsp;\n\nBut from her little exit... It appeared she was going to come back at some point.\u0026nbsp;\n\n///\u0026nbsp;\n\nWalking down the steps into the weight room, I guessed my grace period was over.\u0026nbsp;\n\nMy body was screaming for exhaustion, yesterday's adrenaline not holding it over.\u0026nbsp;\n\nFeeling the readiness, I wondered what the hell happened...?\u0026nbsp;\n\nI figured\u0026nbsp;someone\u0026nbsp;would be in here to train with, Reyna usually got it all done around 6 or so, and then worked with me whenever I woke up.\u0026nbsp;\n\nTo my surprise, she was here, and destroying the punching bag...\u0026nbsp;One of the few we hadn't had to patch up already.\u0026nbsp;\n\nShe didn't notice me and I didn't think the jackal was omniscient for once.\u0026nbsp;\n\nI was a little less scared of her.\u0026nbsp;\n\nWatching her, the blur of black, I'd nearly forgotten in the few days of break I had what was so terrifying about her.\u0026nbsp;\n\nShe noticed me standing still on the stairs and tripped up, catching the bag to stop herself from falling.\u0026nbsp;\n\nIt was the first break in grace I'd seen from Reyna, and I would take care to remember it.\u0026nbsp;\n\n\"I... Figured we could get in a bit of training. It's been about 3 days.\"\u0026nbsp;\n\nShe carefully nodded and motioned for me to join her.\u0026nbsp;\n\nI walked over to the center of the weight room, and felt the tension and nervousness from her this time.\u0026nbsp;\n\nWhich meant the pain could be less or worse.\u0026nbsp;\n\nShe took a deep breath and exhaled but it was hardly audible.\u0026nbsp;\n\nI avoided her eyes, and put up my guard, and the two of us began to circle.\u0026nbsp;\n\nI bridged the gap almost immediately with a jab, and it was lost by a swipe that came without hesitation.\u0026nbsp;\n\nShe started off her own attacks with a kick for once, getting straight to the point without battering me.\u0026nbsp;\n\nI was forced to block\u0026nbsp;the roundhouse\u0026nbsp;and the force made me stagger to the side, then\u0026nbsp;the other leg swept mine, I'd forgotten I wasn't standing right either...\u0026nbsp;\n\nI fell to the ground and this time one black furred hand was around my throat, the other drawn back to pummel me.\u0026nbsp;\n\nI winced, expecting fully for the poised piece of hell to smash my face in, but instead, it withdrew.\u0026nbsp;\n\nOur eyes met and I tore away quickly.\u0026nbsp;\n\nHer fist lowered slower than I would have liked, and she got up.\u0026nbsp;\n\nNo hand was offered.\u0026nbsp;\n\nWhatever we'd built... Whatever I'd like to\u0026nbsp;think\u0026nbsp;we built was broken by a moment I still knew nothing about...\u0026nbsp;\n\n\"I want you, for once, to take me down.\"\u0026nbsp;\n\n\"W-... Take you down?\"\u0026nbsp;\n\n\"Do to me what I have just done to you. Put me in an unfavorable position.\"\u0026nbsp;\n\nI got to my feet, still unsure of what to do.\u0026nbsp;\n\n\"When I appear off balance, sweep me and use your weight to push me down. Your hands can be anywhere but I personally use the wrists and throat.\"\u0026nbsp;\n\nI nodded slowly, looking at her deft feet.\u0026nbsp;\n\nIt seemed a little impossible but little impossibilities happened every day here in Global 201...\u0026nbsp;\n\n\"...Alright.\" We resumed our stances... No, it was only me. She was standing with her hands by her side.\u0026nbsp;\n\n\"You aren't going to...\" \"This is simply technique. You can apply this at a later date.\"\u0026nbsp;\n\nI gave a slow nod, and suddenly felt self-conscious.\u0026nbsp;\n\nI didn't want to punch her, or really do anything to harm her...\u0026nbsp;\n\nI mean, who the hell wants to punch their crush in the face?\u0026nbsp;\n\nAwkward emotions swarmed in my head like a disturbed wasp's nest.\u0026nbsp;\n\nBringing my leg behind hers, I nearly fell over, and we stood shoulder to shoulder, me trying to get the right angle, under a silent observer.\u0026nbsp;\n\n\"...Am I using the right leg?\"\u0026nbsp;\n\n\"The one closest me, yes. But you'll get nowhere unless you do something with your hands.\"\u0026nbsp;\n\n\"Right...\"\u0026nbsp;\n\nBracing the side of my shin against hers, I'd noticed she'd been sweeping me sideways sometimes and simply changed directions to pin me.\u0026nbsp;\n\nMy hands quivered and I forced myself to stop as I grabbed her shoulders, pushing with my leg and pulling her towards...\u0026nbsp;\n\nNo, nothing was happening.\u0026nbsp;\n\nShe was standing still, unfazed.\u0026nbsp;\n\n\"You're going for something\u0026nbsp;Muay\u0026nbsp;Thai, it looks like, but that's going to require\u0026nbsp;your hands to...\" She went on and I listened in relative distraction.\u0026nbsp;\n\n///\u0026nbsp;\n\nHis phone rang, and the giant wolf hand\u0026nbsp;forced its\u0026nbsp;way into his pocket, clearly not made for an animal like him.\u0026nbsp;\n\nMarshall answered it, looking at the moon overhead.\u0026nbsp;\n\nHe was in his\u0026nbsp;Vevous\u0026nbsp;apartment, one of many the GRA had set up for him, but this one was his home for now, at least until he was reassigned.\u0026nbsp;\n\nHe'd thought about it and if things calmed down, just maybe...\u0026nbsp;\n\nMaybe he could switch squadrons. There was no chemistry for his, some of them already hated each other-\u0026nbsp;\n\n\"It's James.\"\u0026nbsp;\n\nMarshall looked at the cell's screen again in confusion, but this wasn't the\u0026nbsp;shiba's\u0026nbsp;cell.\u0026nbsp;\n\n\"You're home, I take it?\"\u0026nbsp;\n\n\"Yeah. I figured I'd call you.\"\u0026nbsp;\n\n\"Good to know you're safe. You know about Caine I trust?\"\u0026nbsp;\n\n\"Of course...\"\u0026nbsp;\n\nThere was a pause, neither of them knowing how to feel about the\u0026nbsp;grievous\u0026nbsp;injuries.\u0026nbsp;\n\nAfter all, they were hardly even\u0026nbsp;acquaintances\u0026nbsp;with him anymore.\u0026nbsp;\n\nJust used-to-be's.\u0026nbsp;\n\n\"Well, I just wanted to know you're alright. Go spend time with your family\"-\u0026nbsp;\n\n\"I'm sorry about what happened at the airport, Marshall.\"\u0026nbsp;\n\n\"Not like you would have known.\"\u0026nbsp;\n\n\"I... It was dumb of me to take your squadron, I should have picked someone more experienced...\"\u0026nbsp;\n\n\"Well, Tai is our only...\u0026nbsp;fresh\u0026nbsp;Janus member. All of the others are dead or dying, last I checked.\"\u0026nbsp;\n\n\"Beggars\u0026nbsp;can't be choosers... You didn't happen to take any casualties, did you?\"\u0026nbsp;\n\n\"We were lucky.\"\u0026nbsp;\n\nA sigh of relief from the other side of the phone.\u0026nbsp;\n\n\"I was praying...\" James cut off and was speaking to someone else for a moment.\u0026nbsp;\n\nMarshall realized he'd been standing in the doorway and dumbly staring out of the window.\u0026nbsp;\n\nSitting down on his bed, he waited for James to come back.\u0026nbsp;\n\n\"Sorry about that, Sam was\"-\u0026nbsp;\n\n\"No, James, you need to be with your family right now.\"\u0026nbsp;\n\nThere was a pause, the\u0026nbsp;shiba\u0026nbsp;perhaps surprised that he was being called 'James' for the first time in...\u0026nbsp;\n\n\"Well.. Nice speaking to you I guess. Night.\"\u0026nbsp;\n\nThe wolf's finger hovered over the button-\u0026nbsp;\n\n\"Oh! One more thing. You still there?\u0026nbsp;\n\n\"...Yes?\"\u0026nbsp;\n\nA pause from James.\u0026nbsp;\n\n\"I wanted to inform you before anyone else did, there's a new recruit due to your squadron in a week.\"\u0026nbsp;\n\n\"...What?\"\u0026nbsp;\n\n\"Yeah, I know it's early\"-\u0026nbsp;\n\n\"Kyle was early, what the hell is this? We're about a month in, one live mission, and you're adding\"-\u0026nbsp;\n\n\"I don't make the rules... Okay, maybe I do, but this was a request from Opera.\"\u0026nbsp;\n\nOpera...\u0026nbsp;\n\nMarshall recalled what Caine had told him in the hospital, and opened his mouth to speak but closed it.\u0026nbsp;\n\nIt would be him next if he said anything.\u0026nbsp;\n\n\"You still there?\"\u0026nbsp;\n\n\"...Yeah.\"\u0026nbsp;\n\n\"I got a dossier coming your way, they didn't want me to discuss him over the phone.\"\u0026nbsp;\n\n\"Let me guess, he's some 18 year old that could shoot a damn gun and so they promoted him to fucking GSS,\u0026nbsp;and then because I hate kids on my squad they sent him straight to\"-\u0026nbsp;\n\n\"He's 25, actually. And he's a\u0026nbsp;veteran.\"\u0026nbsp;\n\n\"Veteran? At 25?\"\u0026nbsp;\n\n\"He was at Glasglow.\"\u0026nbsp;\n\n\"...Oh.\"\u0026nbsp;\n\nThere was another excruciating pause and Marshall decided to hang up before anything more was said.\u0026nbsp;\n\n///\u0026nbsp;\n\nEveryone was crowded around the terminal in the server room, and I stood on my tiptoes to see over Rochelle's head.\u0026nbsp;\n\nJake was scrolling sideways through the list, and I assumed he had been for at least a minute because that was how long everyone had been staring at the screen.\u0026nbsp;\n\n\"So they're all listed according to difficulty?\"\u0026nbsp;\n\n\"Yeah,\" he said. \"Hellsberg\u0026nbsp;was first,\u0026nbsp;Vervous\u0026nbsp;was somewhere in the middle... Damn, how many of these are there?\"\u0026nbsp;\n\nThe pictures and previews and stingy words began to fade out of view and into blur as the wolf pawed at the touchpad faster.\u0026nbsp;\n\nIt was another ten seconds before the screen finally hit the end and it almost scared me. Everyone leaned in to see better and Alvin unintentionally blocked my view, so I moved to Reyna.\u0026nbsp;\n\n\"What's it called?\"\u0026nbsp;\n\n\"...Operation Alcatraz.\"\u0026nbsp;\n\nJake raised his eyebrows at Alvin and something passed between them.\u0026nbsp;\n\n\"Won't be doing\u0026nbsp;that\u0026nbsp;anytime soon.\"\u0026nbsp;\n\n\"Christ, it looks like a\u0026nbsp;hellscape...\"\u0026nbsp;\n\nI still couldn't see well over Kyle, and gave up, joining the short club with Rochelle.\u0026nbsp;\n\nMaybe I was just tall in Gibraltar, then.\u0026nbsp;\n\n\"Digital recreation of Jinn-controlled Kauai... During the 2129\u0026nbsp;hurricane\u0026nbsp;that battered both sides in the decade old battle. Solo.\u0026nbsp;Recommended\u0026nbsp;stealth. Kill all Jinn operatives, including specialists.\"\u0026nbsp;\n\nAs Jake read the description I got a glimpse of a dark gray sky that was fading into night even, debris flying in what had once been an urban street, trees down on houses and armed men on porches.\u0026nbsp;\n\nYour regular\u0026nbsp;hellscape... For sure.\u0026nbsp;\n\n\"Alcatraz is code for something, right?\" Rochelle asked impatiently, and I moved to let her see as much as she could.\u0026nbsp;\n\n\"Anything designated Operation Alcatraz is a suicide mission. In places like Hawaii, in this simulation,\u0026nbsp;soldiers would island hop atom bombs because the planes would be shot down.\"\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\n\nReyna spoke up to my surprise, and we all grew silent.\u0026nbsp;\n\n\"Let's try it!\"\u0026nbsp;\n\n\"Solo only.\"\u0026nbsp;\n\n\"...Oh.\"\u0026nbsp;\n\n\"Damn, if we could just throw Tai and Reyna at it we'd have it done in the hour.\"\u0026nbsp;\n\nI didn't know who said that last bit, but it was probably the most memorable bit of praise I ever received.\u0026nbsp;\n\n///\u0026nbsp;\n\nRubbing my eyes, I leaned over in bed, one hand on the snow colored sheets, careful not to expose myself to the air, and cut out the lights.\u0026nbsp;\n\nRolling back over, I put one hand under my pillow, giving it some measure of prop.\u0026nbsp;\n\nWhat measure of comfort I had was overshadowed... I couldn't get over what happened yesterday.\u0026nbsp;\n\nWas I...\u0026nbsp;\n\nWas I supposed to feel bad?\u0026nbsp;\n\nI'd shot someone. Several people. I mean, they were going to kill me and Rochelle and Harper, but... Those were souls and souls had weight on your own.\u0026nbsp;\n\nI wondered if any of my teammates was religious.\u0026nbsp;\n\nI could see Alvin going to church, maybe Kyle, but everyone else seemed too into themselves.\u0026nbsp;\n\nI never got an education in God or anything, but I never got one in science and I think about so much that the latter can't explain.\u0026nbsp;\n\nAnd magic's bullshit.\u0026nbsp;\n\nThere's\u0026nbsp;gotta\u0026nbsp;be\u0026nbsp;someone\u0026nbsp;that made things how they are...\u0026nbsp;\n\nEven without worshipping or learning or anything I felt limited, bound by it. It came to me that I might have to abandon the prospect of religion if I was going to kill... And not be miserable later.\u0026nbsp;\n\n\"Tai.\"\u0026nbsp;\n\nI fell out of bed in shock, my pillow and sheets coming with me, banging my head on the floor. Again.\u0026nbsp;\n\nStanding up too quick and backing into the wall, nearly banging it again, I saw a cloaked... Kabuki mask.\u0026nbsp;\n\nIt was silent, I had nothing to say. Fear coursed through my veins.\u0026nbsp;\n\n\"I\u0026nbsp;said\u0026nbsp;expect me.\"\u0026nbsp;\n\n\"T-this early?\"\u0026nbsp;\n\n\"GRA wouldn't expect me just one day after all\u0026nbsp;that\u0026nbsp;happened. Some douche is trying to kill me so we'll have to make this quick.\"\u0026nbsp;\n\n\"What do you want?\"\u0026nbsp;\n\nI surprised myself. I hadn't stuttered.\u0026nbsp;\n\n\"Well you don't have to be\u0026nbsp;rude\u0026nbsp;about it,\" she said, falling onto my bed and making me jump.\u0026nbsp;\n\nI couldn't remember her name...\u0026nbsp;\n\nShe looked over at me, the mask terrifying and paralyzing at the same time.\u0026nbsp;\n\nShe sighed.\u0026nbsp;\n\n\"Long day. Sorry. Like I said, some douche is trying to kill me.\"\u0026nbsp;\n\n\"But... What do you want?\"\u0026nbsp;\n\n\"This is for your benefit, kid.\"\u0026nbsp;\n\nShe sat back up and opened up her cloak\u0026nbsp;to fetch something from an inside pocket.\u0026nbsp;\n\nIt covered her head to toe and then some with the hood, the mask, gloves, and tail sleeve doing what the rest wouldn't.\u0026nbsp;\n\nIt was burgundy, a shade of rust or stale blood, maybe. Underneath she was wearing a black polyester shirt. If it were any lighter I might have been able to see a bit of fur from my angle in the moonlight.\u0026nbsp;\n\nShe realized this and jerked away violently, turning her back.\u0026nbsp;\n\nIt came to me there was so much padding in the cloak, obviously it was her only armor besides the mask which itself was porcelain maybe,\u0026nbsp;probably some weird steel factors in it, but...\u0026nbsp;\n\nShe was thin underneath, it added most of her mass.\u0026nbsp;Surprisingly\u0026nbsp;thin.\u0026nbsp;\n\nNot malnourished Gibraltar thin, nowhere near where I was, but it didn't even look like she had much muscle.\u0026nbsp;\n\nAfter what seemed like an eternity in silence and fear, she pulled something out of her cloak.\u0026nbsp;\n\nShaking it, it made a rattling sound and I recognized it as a pill bottle. I inwardly groaned, I'd had so many weird drugs since I got here. I got an inkling of a headache and an entire bottle got shoved down my throat by Marshall...\u0026nbsp;\n\n\"I know what you're thinking. You'll thank me for this someday.\"\u0026nbsp;\n\nWould I?\u0026nbsp;\n\nI reluctantly took the transparent container, looking at the contents. It was packed to the brim. \"What are these for?\"\u0026nbsp;\n\n\"Take them once a day and you won't die.\"\u0026nbsp;\n\n\"...What?\"\u0026nbsp;\n\nShe gave a huff.\u0026nbsp;\n\n\"Please\u0026nbsp;tell me Marshall told you about the downsides of Janus, I don't want to break it to\"-\u0026nbsp;\n\n\"That I'll die?\"\u0026nbsp;\n\nShe stopped talking a moment and looked out the window.\u0026nbsp;\n\nFor a moment the mask had no meaning, it was just a piece of porcelain.\u0026nbsp;\n\nRemorse from a killer.\u0026nbsp;\n\n\"Yeah. It'll prolong your lifespan, we stole them from GRA and made them better a year or so ago.\"\u0026nbsp;\n\nI looked down into the bottle, she'd handed me the cap separate.\u0026nbsp;\n\n\"Go ahead and take one.\"\u0026nbsp;\n\nI downed one, noticing it was identical to the ones Marshall gave me, metallic and red/blue.\u0026nbsp;\n\nThe red seemed a bit more prominent.\u0026nbsp;\n\n\"Damn, I thought you'd give a fight.\"\u0026nbsp;\n\n\"What?\"\u0026nbsp;\n\n\"I mean, yesterday I killed a guy in front of you, which incidentally is when we met. I'm from Jinn. I break into your room and give you some weird pills. And you just take them, no problem.\"\u0026nbsp;\n\nI stared into her... Well, her eyeholes. I couldn't see her real eyes, just a reddish tint that was eye\u0026nbsp;shaped.\u0026nbsp;\n\n\"What's your name?\"\u0026nbsp;\n\nI screwed the bottle back on, and realized she'd sat back down on my bed again.\u0026nbsp;\n\n\"...What do you mean?\"\u0026nbsp;\n\n\"What do you go by?\"\u0026nbsp;\n\n\"Lynx.\"\u0026nbsp;\n\n\"Your real name, I meant.\"\u0026nbsp;\n\nShe shrugged.\u0026nbsp;\n\n\"I don't have one. Same as you.\"\u0026nbsp;\n\n\"But Lynx isn't a name, it's a species.\"\u0026nbsp;\n\n\"Tai...\"\u0026nbsp;\n\n\"Tai\u0026nbsp;is\u0026nbsp;a name.\"\u0026nbsp;\n\nLynx looked for a moment like she was going to lay down but stopped.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\n\nI could understand her exhaustion but for someone in enemy territory she was very comfortable.\u0026nbsp;\n\nIt reminded me oddly of Riddick.\u0026nbsp;\n\nThe odd sense of calm, not the enemy territory part.\u0026nbsp;\n\nAt least not until later.\u0026nbsp;\n\nI didn't want to ask her why she was still here, that sounded incredibly rude.\u0026nbsp;\n\n\"Can I... Uh... Get you anything?\"\u0026nbsp;\n\n\"Don't worry about it, kid.\"\u0026nbsp;\n\nWe remained silent again, and I looked at my pale fur in the moonlight, straight-backed.\u0026nbsp;\n\n\"Can you take off your mask, please?\"\u0026nbsp;\n\n\"Why?\"\u0026nbsp;\n\n\"It's making me uncomfortable.\"\u0026nbsp;\n\n\"...It takes a lot not to go off on people like you.\"\u0026nbsp;\n\nI looked over at her and my heart jumped as the mask tilted its head to look at me, distorted grin hiding something vaguely alive.\u0026nbsp;\n\n\"I know you don't understand\u0026nbsp;why\u0026nbsp;I have this piece of shit on my face. No one does.\u0026nbsp;But don't ask me to take this off. Don't ask me what I look like. Don't ask me my name. Don't ask me anything pertaining to that.\"\u0026nbsp;\n\nLynx stood back up and walked over to the window.\u0026nbsp;\n\n\"Or I'll rip your fucking guts out.\"\u0026nbsp;\n\nTurning to see my expression, she laughed.\u0026nbsp;\n\n\"I know you're tired of people messing with your innocence. I'll stop.\"\u0026nbsp;\n\nMy clutch on the pill bottle faltered and it fell onto the bed, scattering the capsules across the spread.\u0026nbsp;\n\nI heard the window open but didn't look up, heart still pounding.\u0026nbsp;\n\nIt closed very quickly.\u0026nbsp;\n\nI breathed a sigh of relief and began putting the capsules back, putting one hand over my heart to feel the steady but quick throb.\u0026nbsp;\n\nFinally getting them up, I screwed the cap on.\u0026nbsp;\n\n\"I was being serious, by the way.\"\u0026nbsp;\n\nI nearly fell off my bed again, and the window was\u0026nbsp;closed.\u0026nbsp;\n\nMy breathing was audible now, and I childishly pulled the covers up to my chin, not daring to put the pill bottle on my bedside.\u0026nbsp;\n\nPlease, just let it be a nightmare...\u0026nbsp;\n\nAll of it...\u0026nbsp;\n\n///\u0026nbsp;\n\nI had to actually start using OneDrive and Word Online (which I recommend because it's pretty much the latest version of MOW for free) because apparently my\u0026nbsp;license\u0026nbsp;on my office applications needs to be renewed.\u0026nbsp;\n\nI didn't buy them in the first place they came with my laptop\u0026nbsp;\n\nBut in the newest version, for whatever reason there's no webpage view. Which means I have to break syntax and trust I don't go over one line when it displays 2 most of the time.\u0026nbsp;\n\nIt's whatever I guess but sorry to the OCD people\u0026nbsp;haha\u0026nbsp;\n\nI would ask you to check out the Alcatraz playlist in the journal above this chapter, if you would.\n\n  \n  \n\n","series":{"name":"Alcatraz","previous":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/1201166-alcatraz-ch-xii-cordite.json","next":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/1225049-alcatraz-ch-xiv-hyacinth.json"}}