The Hunted
As you can probably guess by some of the rhetoric, this was written back in 2008 when I thought it was dangerous to elect someone just for the promise of change and nothing else. So I wrote this little cautionary tale of what happens when electing someone whose entire campaign is promising change as well as what happens in a situation where there is the argument of "X is the reason we aren't in a utopia" and you're a part of the next group deemed a threat once the original threat is dealt with.
There was a time when everything made sense. When you could look at something and know exactly what it is. Where the good guys were always good and the bad guys were always bad. A time when we did not have to run and fight for our very survival because we were not desired. How I long to have those days back again. But it all changed the day they... we made him our Leader. He promised so much and above all else he promised that with him leading us all that we would be able to live a happy and prosperous life.
I find myself being lifted off the ground and thrown against the wall. I crumple to the floor and spit out some blood before looking up and seeing one of them. A Hunter. A person who has fallen for our Leader's propaganda that the only way that they could all be happy is if they get rid of all the people like me. If it was anyone other than a Hunter I would be fine. But against them my only choice is to run. To fight a Hunter means death. I turn around and try to get away from him as fast as possible, making my way up to higher ground as well.
There was a time when we were the good guys. When I was rewarded and sought after to help alleviate troubles and to make things better. I was trained to fight the bad guys and I had gotten very good at it. We helped them make the Hunters, taught them how to fight those of us who were bad and used their power to hurt others. But once all of the bad guys were gone, once all the major crime had vanished we were no longer deemed appropriate for society. So he turned the very ones we helped to train on us, told them that the world's problems will all be solved if every last one of us is dead. Being labeled as one of the villains of society simply because we do not fit in with our Leader's view of an ideal society was something that hurt many of us. No one wants to die simply because one person has convinced everyone else that they are no longer desired.
A loud sound comes from below and I fall over, my hands clutching at my ears as the sound permeates and causes me severe pain to the extent I almost don't even notice as my body crashes back into the ground below me. The pain is almost unbearable but intentionally left at a setting that is far below that which would drive me unconscious. But I have to keep moving. If I stop I'm done for. I struggle to get back on my feet, glad that nothing was injured in my fall back to earth. But as I finally am able to stand and start to move forward again I feel the pain in my head suddenly stop and the large hands of the Hunter grabbing my tail. Before I can respond or do anything to try and get free of the Hunter I am lifted from the ground and swung by my tail in a circle until my head crashes into the concrete wall, leaving a bloody little indent in the wall.
I manage to catch my hands on the ground and send a surge of electricity through my body and through my tail. It is rather painful to use it in such a manner but I have no choice. I raise my right leg and at the same time pushing up towards him with my hands. To not get electrocuted he lets go of my tail. Since I was too far away for my right leg to even have a chance to hit him the leg passes through nothing but air without him even having to move. I rotate myself forward to try and get in a closer attack with one of my fists when he retaliates by slamming his own fist right into my gut and slamming me back on the ground. I respond quickly by grabbing at his arm and then pulling him forward before using my legs to propel him over and off of me. With my legs over my head I push off the ground again and jump right back up to my feet where I begin to run in the opposite direction that I had thrown him. I can hear him starting to stand up and knowing I need more time to get away I decide that I'll have no choice but to use that. I pull out a small ball and then jump in the air again while rotating so that I can face him without having to slow down to turn. I know full well doing such a maneuver will leave me vulnerable to an attack but I throw the ball at him and once finished with my flip I continue to run away, seeing the walls around me go white from the light of the flash grenade.
As I quickly scale the nearest wall towards some sort of escape I have to keep the eye closest to him closed as blood is flowing over it and trying to force my eye open will only cause me more pain. I scramble into a nearby window and quickly will up the other ability I possess and create a smokescreen in front of me. I jump into the black mist and instantly find myself in a room about a mile away. It won't take them long to be able to track me but I need time to get myself cleaned up if I'm to have any chance to get away. I run to the bathroom and flick a spark of electricity at the television to turn it on to know how long I'll have before I have to keep moving again. Once in the bathroom I splash some water on my face from the sink and then stare into the mirror to inspect my wound. I can see the black fur of my face and the white fur on my muzzle and ears although unlike normal there is now a streak of red going down one side of my face. I take a nearby cloth and begin trying to clean the wound as best I can while putting my other hand on the socket to try and suck out as much electricity as I can just in case.. It doesn't seem like anything that is serious though I will need to clean it better once I am able to keep it from getting infected.
"A fire spread throughout the downtown area of the terrorist city Foznetal earlier today. Nearby firefighters were instructed to make sure it does not jeopardize any settlement outside of town. After about five hours later the fires had gone out. An estimated twenty thousand Arrol were cleansed and thankfully due to the dutiful efforts of the firefighters not a single person was harmed. A spokesman for the Leader was asked his comment on the event and said that the cleansing of so many Arrol is a big step towards ensuring the prosperity of everyone."
"No," I cry softly as I fall to my knees.
The Sanctuary is gone? The last place that we could feel safe has been burned down and they're celebrating it? How can this be right? Why are they celebrating genocide? The absolute destruction of an entire people should be an unforgivable act and done only by the worst of people. Then wouldn't that make the very people I used to serve bad? Doesn't that make the leader a bad person? No, it can't be true! I can't allow myself to think of such thoughts. But it is something that must stopped. But how? To fight a Hunter means death. I must find a way. If I must become the very thing they are saying we are in order to stop them from doing something far worse than I could ever do. The news report might be a lie, something sent specifically to my television to make me act rashly. I wouldn't put it past them. It's a fairly common tactic by the Hunters to try and send false information to make their target angry. An angry Arrol cannot control their abilities that well and is easy to take down. Foznetal could never burn down so easily without an accelerant or if all of the Arrol were already dead beforehand. But it's only a matter of time before they try to do something to make it a reality. Are we the bad guys simply because there needs to be someone responsible for us not yet being prosperous? When we are all dead, are the Hunters next to be the sacrificial lamb? No, the Leader wouldn't do something like that. There must be a reason for all of this madness.
The television suddenly turns off. They're here. I must get away now. Knowing I can get at electricity they'd know that unless the power's cut off I'd have an unlimited supply. I grab a couple of small pieces of cloth and shove them in my ears. It'll be uncomfortable having them in there and my hearing will suffer while they're in there but it also is a way to not be incapacitated by that sound again. I can't use my smokescreen in here. It won't help me the slightest bit as they'll be able to trace the exit and get a Hunter there quickly. As things are there is the chance they think I've already left the room and thus less certain of my location if I go by foot. I run back through the apartment and open the door to get into the hallway where I can try to make my escape but am stopped.
The Hunter is right outside the door and as soon as it opens he thrusts a dagger forward with one hand and grabs at my back with the other, pushing me towards him and the blade. I can feel it enter me and almost cry out but I refuse to give him that satisfaction. Instead I push my head towards him so that my head is resting on his shoulder and start to summon up all of the strength I have.
"I will become death itself," I whisper into his ear before sending every ounce of my power into an arm and then sending it all right through him, creating a fist sized hole in his chest.
He lets go and stumbles back a step or two before falling down, never to move again of his own will. I move myself to lean against the nearby wall and grab the dagger still inserted into my body. I pull it out as I start to slide down the wall. Must keep pressure on it to slow the bleeding. The Leader is a good person. I have to find some way to make him see what he's doing is bad. I must force him to stop this slaughter with whatever it takes. I feel so tired. So much blood. My eyes start to close on their own accord. To fight a Hunter means death. I must stay awake. If I fall asleep I will. If only things were different. If only things were back to the way they used to be. Hard to think. So tired. I think I can hear someone coming towards me. Most likely more Hunters. Why did this have to happen? What did we do to deserve this? Was it a crime to believe in someone who promised nothing more than change? Can't stay awake. I'm sorry. Our Leader. I must.