Page 17 of Wild Omega

Zazu

Who am I? What am I? Noise I’ve never heard before tumbles through my head. All I know is the burning rage inside stems from the feeling of loss. I lost something, but I don’t know what.

I’m sure it has something to do with the new threat the others brought to our cages. No, not a threat. A female. One who smells so strongly it’s like she burned away the cloud in my mind. And she makes unique sounds, high-pitched and strung together pleasantly.

But not even a female’s presence can change the reality of pain and darkness that consumes me. Cold air and icy floors alternate to numb my skin. Light and darkness flicker.

The only time I’m warm is when I’m fighting.

Theotherswho bring food moved us out of our familiar territory, and I spent a long time swaying on my feet while the walls rocked and rumbled around me. More recently, the men loaded us into small but quiet cages to wait. I recognize this pattern; it means more intruders wait nearby, ready to challenge me.

I snarl as anothershoves a biting rod through the bars, and I skip out of reach by stepping back into the shadowed tunnel. I know this place. New scents linger here, but it’s familiar enough. Bright lights pulse overhead, matching the sound whooshing near my ears. The tang of blood fills my nostrils, heightening all my senses. A real threat lurks nearby. I cannot tolerate that.

I growl deep, making my chest pulse with the noise as I stalk forward, scanning every shadow for danger. Light frames one end of this darkness, the smell of an enemy invading my territory growing stronger with each step.

He’s here, the one I must silence. One like me.

My knuckles pop as I crush my hands into fists, but the roar of many voices soon swamps even the noise between my ears. I quiver, every sense on high alert as I approach the light.

Voices ring out in crazed howls, and one pitches louder than all the others, echoing. “And from the blue door, the kicking master from Grom Kennels, Zazuuuuuuuu!” The garbled collection of sound is meaningless, except for the last drawn-out one. That’s the one they always use for me.

The owners of the multitude of scents streaming through the opening shout and stamp again. They know an intruder’s here too. I’ll make sure this marauding one never comes back to threaten what’s mine.

But why did he come? And what exactly is mine to protect?

The new female? I smell her sitting out there beyond the mesh. No, she isn’t mine. The superior fighter lays his claim every moment with that continuous warning rumble in the room where we sleep. If I challenged him, I would die, no doubt about it.

Then what is mine?

Whatever it is, I won’t let the threat prowling in the opposite tunnel steal it. The light overhead changes, and I tense, ready. The gate keeping us apart slides open and I run, leaving behind the uncertainty and the strange thoughts. All that matters is dealing death before he does.

That’s what I’ve always done.

The threat hesitates, lifting his nose to investigate the female’s scent. I snarl and swing for his chin. If I defeat him, perhaps the territory superior, or the other one who smells of death, won’t kill me if they ever find me without bars between us.

My opponent rocks back with a cry, his scent thickening with anger and pain. He charges in, pummeling my chest wildly. He’s off balance, so I spin and lash out with my foot, catching his side. Bone crunches under my heel and I roar with triumph as the intruder staggers back, yelping.

Enter my territory and challenge me? Never!

I leap on him and dig my fingers into the tender flesh around his neck, snarling and straining. My arms burn with explosive heat until the would-be predator stops thrashing.

I growl into his face once more to make sure he’s no longer a threat and then release him. Wind rushes through my mouth as I gulp for air, the scent of people so strong I can taste it. Are all these beings part of my territory? No. My instinct tells me even if they aren’t enemies, they don’t belong either.

I stumble back from the prone body, pressure building inside my skull. Why was the one lying on the floor my enemy?

I spin around, searching the area. The bitter-smelling cruel one perches nearby with the new female at his side. The territory superior and the death one won’t like that.

Baring my teeth in warning, I pace back and forth. The cruel being sitting on the mesh’s far side brings only pain with his biting stick and heavy hands. We’d all tear him limb from limb if we got the chance.

The colors flashing overhead change, telling me the threat’s gone, but my body still throbs with warning. I slink away from the blinding lights and back into the familiar shadows of the tunnel. Pain runs down one arm, but pain always clings to me. Cold pain, hot pain, biting pain. Pain that flares from the inside every day I’m kept behind bars.

The wall slides shut behind me and I pace back down the tunnel to my place.

“Well done, Zazu.” Theotherreveals his teeth and I leap at the bars, wanting to tear his jaw out. Blood still sings in my ears, howling for me to spill this tormentor’s life force. He’s the real threat.

He laughs at me, the sound infuriating since he’s out of reach. “Let’s check his wounds.”

The barrier between us opens and I fling myself forward, aiming for his gloating eyes. But he’s not the only one here. I can hold my own against nearly anyone, but a group in this tight space is a different matter. One grabs my arms while another trips me, sending me crashing to the floor.

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