FIRST REASSEMBLED ENTRY

My head feels like it’s drowning in conflicting thoughts right now. A lot has happened today, or at least I think it’s been about that long. That detail really doesn’t matter now. What does matter is how I ended up here. The moment we’ve all been fearing finally came, and it’s ended disastrously.

I can hardly write with all this jostling.

	Frankly I should be trying to sleep instead of maintaining my little journal, but I’d be lying if I said I could rest under these conditions. I need all the energy I can get for the plan, but I’m far too uncomfortable for that. And as strange as it is, writing has become oddly comforting for me. It’s probably because it’s the only control I seem to have left lately.

If my mind is swimming in today’s events, I might as well let it overflow onto these pages. Could clear things up a little.

	Guess I should begin from where things started going wrong. It was… maybe a bit before noon judging from where I remember the sun. I was trying to catch up on sleep while the others drove. Not like we needed a navigator when our only map was useless here. I didn’t expect to wake up to an alarm clock like the old days, but the burning smell I woke up to was still a surprise. I briefly considered I was one of those heart attack symptoms you hear about, but instead the lack of motion told me it was a different issue. The van must have broken down, again. Confirming my suspicions, I spotted Sandra’s fin bobbing from behind the raised hood. A sight that had become increasingly familiar as the rusty hunk of junk had been failing more often.

	Lowering the hood in a futile effort to clear the lingering smoke, I could see Sandra’s face through the windshield. She looked surprisingly worried, wiping black stains from her arms. It was muffled but I heard her call out, “Get whatever tools you can from the trunk, this is going to take a while.” For a second I thought she was talking to me, but I spotted a poof of wool pop out from underneath. Catching onto who she was really talking to, I decided to lend a hand anyway. I crawled down to the back row with Bon to fish out our “tools” for the arriving sheep. There were a few real devices mixed in that bag, but a lot of it was homebrewed, including such interesting objects as a single scissor blade duct taped to a metal rod (?). Their exact purposes are still unknown to me, but our local shark mechanic managed to jury-rig our van into working for that long with them.

	Hoisting the bag up, Bon spoke up in a concerned whisper, “I do not like this. Even one like me knows it should not smolder like that…” Still a little groggy I tried to reassure her, “I’m sure it’s fine, she’s probably fixed worse.” I could tell the lioness beside me wanted to say something, but she was interrupted by the door opening. Elizabeth poked her head in, “Has a-anyone seen the to-,” but she stopped when I held the sagging bag never meant for holding such heavy items towards her. “Oh, t-thanks.” she replied before grabbing the makeshift toolbox. Her arms shook as she noticeably struggled to support the newfound weight. “If I’m up I might as well help.” I offered, gesturing to take the tools back again. 

	“Please you d-don’t have to. I’m sure you need the sleep…” the ewe protested, but I was already shimmying my way out of the van at that point. I lifted the tools out of her hand with a little effort and tried to reassure her, “I’m fine, you can take a break.” Heba, lounging in the middle row with what little roadside pamphlet reading material we had, yelled out, “If you keep handing out maternity leave, you’re going to be the only one left working!” Before I could shut the van door behind me I could hear Bon start to defend my ever-so-fragile honor, “A true mother works even carrying her child, right little one?” The sheep looked back at me instead of the lion in confusion, but I could only give her a sympathetic look. I guess it was her shift as the mediator right now.

	Doing my best not to get dragged into the upcoming argument I toted the bag out to Sandra. The air was noticeably cooler wherever we were now, especially considering it was the middle of the day. The dirt road was surrounded by steep hills with dense woods sprouting from them, rising like natural walls around our rundown vehicle. A glance through the dark windows besides me revealed Skylar trying to ignore the dreadful haired creatures surrounding her with another squabble. Something she was getting a lot more experience with lately. Turning back to the aquatic autoworker I tapped her on the shoulder to pry her away from whatever she was toying with. “Oh you’re ba-” she started, but gave me a sideways glance when she realized I wasn’t covered in fleece. “What happened to Elizabeth?” Still half asleep I restrained a yawn as I told her, “She can take a break, I’ll help out.” Far more awake than I was at the time, she answered me in a concerned tone, “This is the absolute worst time for this hunk of junk to break down, so you better be ready to help.”

	To this day I still don’t know anything about carburetors or fuel lines, and as such I failed to absorb much of Sandra’s diagnosis while I handed her tools. As the time ticked away and the engine finally stopped emitting smog, I started to grasp how broken the thing was. I’m far from an expert, but the amount of duct tape Sandra had rigged into the machine couldn’t have been standard procedure.

	When Sandra’s musings about what might be happening in the engine fell into frustrated mumbling, I made an effort to try and make small talk, but the tension setting in lead to mostly silence. The occasional concerned expression from the mechanic was surprisingly sobering. As far as we knew, anyone might be out looking for us. Was it a minor issue for local police a state over, or was it a national manhunt? My train of thought was derailed when the heat radiating from the engine eventually died down, reminding me of the real temperature. Cold winds rumbled down through the hills, sending stray orange leaves scattering. I didn’t think it was that bad, but I could swear Sandra was restraining a shiver whenever a strong wind blew by. I guess that explains why Skylar, the only other coldblooded one here, was tolerating staying inside the van. It didn’t help that most of the clothes we had were pretty thin, especially the few outfits in Sandra’s size.

	While the shark in question was coaxing out another chunk of rust, I broached the subject, “Sure is getting colder as we travel…” Likely seeing straight through to what I was getting at, she gave me a huff, “It’s fine, I can handle it. It gets a whole lot colder up in Massachusetts.” Although I was a bit surprised she let slip where she was from, that didn’t stop me from pressing the issue. She could be stubborn about anything she wanted to, but if this was a problem I needed to know. “You probably had more than a baggy T-shirt in Massachusetts.” I ventured, any pretenses gone. In response she pulled herself back from the engine to show me her serrated teeth, “You think I can’t handle myself?”

	I had to pause for a second and reconsidered my approach. My response was made as gingerly as I could manage, “Do you want my jacket?” She simply leaned over me with her extra height, “I said I can take care of myself.” But by then I had built up a resistance to her browbeating, so I continued anyway, “I’ve got the most clothes that fit me, I could definitely spare a jacket.” After a moment of silence she turned her head back to the engine before sighing, “You know it wouldn’t fit.” Without turning back to me she got back under the hood. 

	She was right, my jacket definitely wouldn’t fit her, but I still had an idea. Slipping off my jacket I got on the tips of my toes behind her. Moving quickly so she couldn’t protest, I swung the sleeves around her neck and tied them into a little knot. Probably thinking I was trying to grab her neck, something I really should have considered when sneaking behind a shark, she grabbed my shoulder before turning around again. Only when she felt the added cloth around her, she looked more puzzled than angry by the time she turned back to me. It certainly wasn’t ideal, the camo jacket draped around her looked more like a cowl than a proper garment. Instead of biting my head off, she loosened her grip before her expression softened. “You knucklehead, stop fooling around and get me the Allen wrench.” As I fumbled around discerning whether I was looking for a real tool or one of our bootlegs, I noticed she hadn’t made any effort to remove the jacket.

	It was a little chilly without the extra layer, but nothing difficult. Time went by swiftly, but even with a little extra insulation it didn't stop Sandra from looking increasingly desperate. After probably half an hour, she slammed the hood in frustration. I was going to ask what the issue was, but she beat me to it by yelling, “The damn thing is busted beyond repair!” Unsure I asked her, “Not even if we stay the night to keep working on it?” Sandra didn’t have to hesitate to answer me, “Unless we find a tree growing vintage car parts, this thing isn’t moving an inch.” Mulling over the implications of losing our temporary home I looked through the windshield. Sandra must have been louder than I thought, because we had four pairs of concerned eyes looking back at us.

	It didn’t take long for everyone to get whipped up into a panic. Just like that everything in the van was being torn apart and salvaged. Elizabeth, resisting the sweeping urge to immediately start packing her things, politely suggested, “Someone might s-stop by and help us!” but it just reminded everyone being near the van was asking for more trouble. We’d be sitting ducks. Skylar scrambled with what was left of our provisions, carrying more than her stature would suggest, while Bon busied herself with the tarps we hadn’t had to use as bedding in nearly a month. Sandra was doing the heavy lifting with some of the bags we got from the gator women, and Heba was searching through the seats for anything that could have rolled away. That didn’t stop her from giving the shark a look, “Did you shake Anon down for his jacket or something?” It might have been genuine, but I’m guessing Sandra pretended not to hear the snickering as she moved more stuff around. I busied myself trying to sort the essentials out of the junk in the back.

	In the hurry I was twisting on my other jacket when I grabbed my notebook from the few other identical ones Cass had thrown in for me. Only recently however, did I realize I grabbed the wrong one, leaving my old journal in the van. 

It really doesn’t matter now, but damn if it doesn’t make me feel like an asshole leaving records of what we’ve been doing lying around like that.

	Looking past that, we were moving in a scramble to pack bags into makeshift travel bundles before we departed. While it really wasn’t that much divided between the six of us, we didn’t exactly have real gear to lug any of it around. Once we had our awkwardly balanced luggage in tow, it wasn’t long before we were trudging our way up the slopes into the dense woods. We had to leave whatever we couldn’t carry behind, stuff like our recently used “toolbox”. 

I didn’t think any of us would miss that terrible, rusty, repainted-in a-hurry clunker, but writing this now has me heavily considering it.

	There wasn’t much conversation as we walked. None of us had to speak to know what we were all thinking, “How the hell are we getting anywhere now?” Then, and even now, I’m trying to stay positive, but at that point the effort started to become noticeably strained. It felt like we were transported back to Florida, wandering like hobos. The rolling terrain and twisting hardwoods battling for sunlight hardly mattered, the real difference was the falling temperatures. It wasn’t a problem for most of us, and even Skylar was wrapped in at least three T-shirts. Something we could afford to do with more clothes in her size range. Sandra had to settle for my makeshift wrap. It looked more like a terrible cape on her, but mercifully no one brought it up. From what I know about her, another joke from Heba would have prompted her to throw the thing off rather than acknowledge the awkward attempt for warmth. So maybe traveling in silence was better.

	Hours went by as we vaguely followed our cheap plastic compass. While small talked emerged at random intervals, it petered out quickly. I began to feel detached as time went on, it was difficult accepting how suddenly we were back to traveling by foot. I’m sure something of note was said by one person or another trekking through the fallen leaves until the sun set, but I can’t remember it. My efforts to recall that slogging hike seem to have been eclipsed by what was to come.

	Once the sun had disappeared and the light began to rapidly drain away, we eventually decided to settle down for the night. As soon as Elizabeth suggested it, she was met with little resistance. It seems growing used to riding along the roads rather than walking hadn’t done our stamina much good. My legs were aching, so I can only imagine how bad the smaller sheep had it. Or especially the recovering lion I had to help stay upright not all that long ago. Equipped with a branch as a walking stick, Bon had managed the trip surprisingly well. Altogether though, everyone looked pretty miserable.

	I remember I was helping Bon sit down when she spoke up, “The night grows cold, we should make a fire…” Looking up expectantly at Sandra, she must have already been expecting the inevitable veto from the shark. However, after a pause filled with the wind-blown rustling of leaves, she relented. “If we make a small one, then maybe the smoke won’t be a problem…” Before she had finished Skylar’s antennas bobbed to attention, her large yellow eyes apparent in even the low light. “I’ll get started finding tinder!” Picking up on her enthusiasm Heba perked up, “Figures the fire ant would be a pyromaniac.” Already heading past the tree line she called back, “Shut up, just because I don’t use disgusting fur for warmth doesn’t make me a pyromaniac!”

	I was perched next to Bon, resting for the moment as I watched the ant’s amber orbs flicker between the branches… It took a second for me to realize she had just shimmied up a dead tree as easily as if she was walking. Whether that was an insect thing or maybe another old girl scout thing, I didn’t ask. Prying off a wilted branch with a dry snap, she called back contrastingly casually, “You know, there’s a reason why people like me are considered the world’s ‘natural builders,’ we’ve got the intellect to make homes instead of living out in the open, covered in hair…” Continuing her rant about species that would get her thrown out of a fair amount of public spaces, I figured it was time to get up and help her get more firewood.

	Instead the lioness next to me put an arm on my shoulder, “Come, rest a moment with me. You could be of teaching me more, yes?” With the look she gave me, I’m half convinced she was flubbing her English just to get me to stay. Life on the run clearly hadn’t hardened me much, because I caved in. We made small talk while Heba and Skylar gathered firewood and Sandra started stacking a neat pile. Elizabeth was scouring our bags for wherever our solitary box of matches had been displaced in the rush. For a bit there, the mood had lightened again. Even with the echoes of species-based arguments drifting in courtesy of our wood gatherers, it was nice. Before I knew it, Sandra had positioned the last odd branch to her satisfaction.

	Vigorously rubbing her hands together for warmth, she called out to the sheep half buried in one of the bags, “You find the matches yet?” In response she emerged with the tiny red box, “Yeah!”. With a strike of the match, the minuscule orange glow illuminated the hyena returning from between the trees. Peering at me from the flickering shadows she gave me a look for sitting beside Bon, “How come you two get to sit on your asses while everyone gets this fire going?” Even if she had a grin on her face, the sardonic tone made it clear this wasn’t a purely comedic observation.

	“Oh, I’m sorry I was just ta-” I started to explain, but Bon was already pushed against my shoulder, flashing white fangs in the growing light. “He was helping Bonolo, like the kind one he is. Unlike you!” Already cranking this argument to eleven, Heba returned just as abruptly aggressive, “He’s the only one not carrying a kid around wherever he goes, he should be the one working!” I wasn’t able to get a word in as Bon authoritatively wrapped an arm around me and pointed accusingly with the other while shouting back, “You have no right to speak as such, you perturb all of us instead of helping!” Before I knew it, Heba was marching forward to get face to face with Bon. Mercifully the confrontation was interrupted by Sandra getting up from the fire, “You two have GOT to stop fighting already!” While glares darted between everyone but the helpless sheep, someone I found myself relating to, silence enveloped the area. With my ears straining for the next word, I realized it wasn’t perfectly silent.

	There was an indistinct snapping of twigs and rustling of leaves echoing out from an indeterminate distance. Even without a light breeze to cause them. Now looking at each other in a completely different kind of tension, Sandra spoke up much more quietly, “Where the hell is Skylar?” We had been roughly positioned in a three-way standoff, but we quickly turned back to back, looking around us.

	While I couldn’t see any sign of Skylar or her eyes glinting in the dark, I could still hear the movement. “Skylar?” I ventured, but there was no answer. Instead the rustling grew louder. Closer.
 
	In a split second, spotlights were shining down on us from every direction, blindingly white. Such a flood of light instantly reduced visibility worse than the darkness before it. All I could see were vague silhouettes all around, whether they were people or trees became difficult to distinguish. Either way, we were surrounded. I almost imagined a helicopter descending on us with a loudspeaker giving orders, but instead the air remained still and uninterrupted. I was frozen in place trying to comprehend the situation, but before I knew it an arm wrapped around me and tightened. Just like that, the owner bolted with me in tow.

After that things only become more of a blur. 

	There was a lot of shouting coming from different directions. Some I recognized, much of it I didn’t. Blindly I kicked my legs to keep up with my mysterious helper’s(?) pace, but in seconds I felt pin pricks across my back. A numbness spread from where the sharp jolts landed and nearly as fast my legs grew heavy, difficult to move. The one pulling me forward wasn’t spared as I heard her cry out about the same time. I recognized the voice as Bonolo while we both tumbled into the ground.


I can only vaguely remember lying in a tangled heap before the overwhelming light turned to total darkness.


	I can’t recall anything other than vague memories of motion before I woke up in the same place I’m writing this. A metal box on wheels. Bumping and shaking with every divot in the road. Now of course, I hadn’t figured that out immediately.

	More specifically, I came to consciousness unrestrained and rocking around on the smooth metal floor. My first memories were of the cell I had held originally, prompting a visceral reaction that was equal parts fear and adrenaline. Even with my head in a fog, I shot up to examine the space, struggling to stand with the shaking ground. There were two long featureless walls at either side, with two shorter ones at each end, the room was long and rectangular. I tried to calm myself by placing a hand against my racing heart… This was too different to be right back where I started. So where was I?

	Looking around however, I realized I wasn’t alone. Laying on the ground, limp and jostling with the occasional bump were two women. A lion and a hyena.

Of all the choices to stuff in here together…

	Of course, I wasn’t lamenting that at the time. I actually found myself relieved just knowing I wasn’t completely alone again. It was a more concrete reminder this wasn’t some strange flashback nightmare. Something I hadn’t experienced in weeks. Pushing away thoughts of the past, I Immediately bent down to make sure they were alright. I watched for a moment to verify they still had the telltale rise and fall of breathing. Trying to listen for it as well, I realized a consistent droning was covering up any noise, not too dissimilar from hours riding in the van. The motion, the featureless room… Did they just throw us in the back of a truck or something? Without restraints, or hell even benches or something?

	Looking at the fallen pair another detail slid through my brain, we were still dressed like before. In fact, as I felt my clothes, I still had my pen and journal stuffed underneath. What the hell was happening? This obviously wasn’t the police that had grabbed us. We would at least have handcuffs in that case. Memories of the last night’s events were coming in waves. Recalling how I tumbled to the ground, I felt my back where the sudden numbness started. I struck a small object beyond my line of sight. I reached to grab it, and with a twinge of pain it came loose. A neon dart… I have to assume a tranquilizer. This was becoming too much, I needed someone else to help me piece this together. 

	My attention shifted back to the comatose women I was kneeling over. Could I even wake them if they were tranquilized like I was? I hesitated before reaching down to the one closest to me, Bon. The first idea that struck me was to delicately tap against her cheek. It was a little strange pushing through her dark blonde fur to reach skin, but I ignored the sensation. Regardless, she didn’t react in the slightest. I tried again with a little more force, but she didn’t stir. She was out cold.

	As stupid as it was, my mind defaulted back to movies for inspiration. Only I was missing a bucket of cold water, and the idea of slapping this poor pregnant woman wasn’t appealing. Running a gambit of similarly useless ideas through my head, I made the same mistake I had a couple nights before. Underestimating the dozing lion.

	As far as I was concerned she was totally catatonic, but that notion was shattered when a beige arm pulled me to the ground. My immediate panic was muffled by the large cat smothering me in her sleep. Even if she was still pretty thin, she had the height advantage over me, so my protests went largely unnoticed. The furred bear trap seemed to find me an improvement over the cold metal floor, because she aggressively nuzzled her cheek against me. It felt like she was trying to maximize skin contact with me rather than the rest of the room.  Why me? Why now?

	I tried to wriggle free, but she planted another arm around my waist. Her face remained blissfully unaware of the situation. Unable to do much more in my new position, I reached an arm out to frantically pat against her back before she suffocated me. That finally did the trick. Her eyes slowly cracked open as her blue irises focused on me… and then trailed back to the arm I had inadvertently brought around her back. With a short chuckle she breathed out drowsily, “Oh, I did not think you would ever hold Bonolo like this…” I find it difficult to imagine what my face looked like in that moment, considering the cocktail of emotions that were fighting for control. 

	Doing my best to ignore what just happened, I finally managed to wiggle free from her loosened arms and hoarsely whisper, “Please this is serious!” Brushing the sleep off her face she finally pivoted her head around the room as she shakily got to her legs. “Where are we?” Seeing the same alarm raised in her that I had only recently suppressed, I attempted to gingerly approach the fact I was working off almost the same minuscule level information. “I’m not sure, but if we work together, we might figure something out.” Seeing the newly found panic still on her scarred face I tried to reassure her with an arm against her shoulder, “Look, we’ve still got our clothes, we’re not even tied up… we might be able to do something.” In response she relaxed slightly, just enough for a wry smile to bend the scar around her nose slightly. It wouldn’t get us out of here, but it was nice knowing I had accomplished something so far.

	I still feel like I owe something to these women, but Bon’s acceptance has helped me overcome that gnawing pit of guilt I’ve been living with for months now. It’s still there, and it might never wash away, but she’s helped me confront it. Bonolo was, is, my friend now, so I couldn’t let her down. Even under circumstances like this. While I was feeling a spark of hope from the freshly awoken source of support, I watched her expression sour after a glance to the floor.

“Why is the spotted one the only other of us here?”

 	Now bending down over the hyena, I tried to diffuse the inevitable situation before it began. Breaking through one of those metal walls barehanded would be an easier task. “I don’t know where anyone is, we’re lucky the three of us are even together.” Still not totally convinced, she leaned down to observe my efforts to wake Heba. “I am sure we can figure out an escape… maybe it will be easier to leave her like this, yes?” Offended, I looked back up at her, “We’ve been together this long, why would I leave her behind?” Bon pulled her ears back slightly before reproaching the subject, “Noooooo, I only mean we carry her out like this, she can be a bother after.” In a way only a cat could manage, she unintentionally presented her counterargument with an incredibly smug expression. I could only sigh in exasperation before I noticed movement happening where I was originally focusing my attention.

	As if summoned by the unchallenged comments, Heba brought her torso upwards like the undead. “Can you two shut up? Do both of you just like watching me sleep that much?” Her dry laughter that followed turned nervous as she looked behind us to see where we were. “Where the hell are we?” I imagine the memories of last night were starting to set in for her as I cut to the chase this time, “I think we’re in a vehicle of some kind, we haven’t really looked around yet.” Heba seemed stunned for a second before gesturing widely with her arms, “The both of you couldn’t look around this little cage? Were you too busy fooling around with each other to turn your heads?” Her trademark cackling was starting to wear thin.

	“I just wanted to get everyone up before we started…” I could practically feel Bon already conjuring another argument, so I tried to follow up with the only diversion I could think of, “and both of you should check for tranquilizer darts, I already pulled one out myself.” Thankfully that last comment served as enough of a distraction to delay the inevitable infighting. With both of them twisting around to look for the colorful needles, I began the incredibly small investigation of our mutual prison.

	The two longer walls to each side were flat and featureless. The only detail to note were the rough lines of sheet metal along the sides, something that looked like it was added on at some point rather than an original part of the design. The square wall to the back, the direction only a guess based on the movement underfoot, also looked uninteresting. I was in no rush however, it’s not like I had a lot of other options. Getting on my knees, I noticed a little metal handle, implying that this wall was more accurately a large door that pulled upwards. Disappointingly, whoever put us in here hadn’t forgotten to lock it. I pulled up as hard as I could, but the barrier remained firmly in place. My struggles did yield something though, as the odd angle I had hunched over allowed me to recognize something important. The door was segmented, kind of like a garage door, and it looked like one of the cracks was slightly wider than the rest. The others were razor thin, but this one looked warped a little bit. Maybe if I really pressed my face against it…

	Just like that I caught a glimpse of trees rushing by a road beneath us, the sunrise indicating early morning. Or late sunset. How long had I been out for? Following close behind us was a white van, almost like a bread truck with generic company logos on the side. It confirmed we were in some kind of vehicle at least. While our container was as featureless as a semi-truck trailer, it wasn’t nearly as huge. Maybe someone else could glean something more from this new view. I called back in a restrained tone, “Hey, I found something!” First to respond was Bon, holding at least three darts in her hand. She really must have been targeted more than I was. I gestured towards the crack, and she bent down to peer through it. “So we are in a vehicle of some kind…” she wondered out loud. Heba on the other hand was pulling out her fifth tranquilizer dart.

It was a miracle she was up and walking at all.

	I moved to the side as the little spot quickly became crowded with the latest arrival. After a short peek, Heba stepped back without a word. “See anything?” I asked, but Heba just kept backing up. “What are you doing?” I tried to ask her, unsure what she was getting up to. “You two can lie around like usual, I’m getting out of here.” Bon realized what she was planning before I did as she hissed, “We are moving too fast you fool!” I started to piece together why she ended up with more darts than anyone else here, because she charged shoulder-first straight into the door. She barely had the space to get a running start, and similarly both of us were hardly able to get out of the way as she smashed into the door with the resounding clang of metal. “HEBA!” I shouted, watching her futilely keep slamming the same spot, where not even a dent had formed. The way she was desperately beating at the door, it reminded me of the panic when we first started our escape. All those people fighting viciously to escape. In the midst of the clamoring, the sound of heavy metal sliding caught all of our attention. Only it didn’t come from the door, it came from the opposite end.

	A small rectangle casting a shaft of light had opened in the center of the other wall. “Quit screwing around back there!” a deep voice called out. Just as quickly the same sliding noise came and went, taking the light with it. My eyes were adjusted to the dark interior and failed to see anything through the partition before it shut. Bon rushed up to the closed portal as Heba shouted back, “You wanna make me?!” Bon appeared to be experimentally pressing her ear against the indent on the wall while I looked over Heba. She had actually managed to tear her jacket sleeve in her maniacal effort to break the door open. Looking closer, there was a growing red spot along her exposed shoulder. Something which she immediately covered up with her other arm when she noticed my interest. “Heba, why would you even try that? At least wait until we’ve stopped moving or something.” Frustration entered my voice as I tried to understand what had gotten into her, but she wasn’t interested. “And if we never stop? Huh? What do we do then? Sit on our asses until we’re dragged all the way back to THAT place?”

	The sudden shift between joking and her now frantic speech was worrying me more than her stunt. Her green eyes were frenzied, refusing to stay focused on one thing for too long. “Please, we’ve got to come up with a plan before anyone goes smashing into things.” I wasn’t getting anywhere as her tone escalated, “Maybe you wanna go back to the fuck factory and go back to smashing pelvises every night, but I’m not staying!” I had to clench my teeth at that one, holding my tongue was getting difficult. “I thought we’ve been over this, it wasn’t like that for me.” Heba was visibly shaking at this point, “What would you know about it you little shit, far as I remember your role back there wasn’t getting fucked over with a baby for nine months!” As she started to snarl, I tried to speak up, but the words failed to come out. Only my throat wasn’t just dry... She had grabbed my neck with her good arm, and she was holding tight.

	The shock of actually being grabbed like that, by someone who was playing childish pranks less than a few days ago, was just starting to dawn on me as another blur of movement occurred. Leaving her listening post, the other prisoner with us leapt at the hyena. Heba clearly wasn’t expecting it either as she was easily pulled to the ground, dragging me along with the both of them. I narrowly avoided slamming my head into the floor while the lioness roared out, “I have been waiting long for you to show your true self you isilima!” I inhaled sharply while Heba let go of me to hold Bonolo’s claws at bay, “Yeah, well same to you bitch!” she spat out.
Jesus Christ, I knew there was bad blood between the two, but I was stunned to see them go at each other like this.

	I could feel the individual drops of sweat run down my face while time seemed to slow to a crawl. Just in front of me in this confined space, they grappled with each other, forcefully shoving one another against the hard metal walls in a predatorial fury. I can’t recall every detail, because my mind was desperately trying to wrap itself around how the hell we could have ended up here. Maybe if I had said something different to Heba, maybe if I had tried to stop Bon’s retaliation, maybe she was just trying to intimidate, not start a fight… Maybe if I had simply done more, not just now but yesterday, days, weeks before now when they first started fighting… Seeing the two pregnant women violently struggle, I felt responsible for more than their physical conditions. I couldn’t even move, it was like I had been struck by tranquilizers again. What right did I have to step into this? It was my own damn fault this was happening in the first place. I’d only make things worse by involving myself, just like before.

	Frozen to the ground, I watched Bon sink a claw into Heba, prompting her to bite into the lion’s arm. Both were restraining howls of pain as they rocked with the movements of the floor underneath them. This was escalating further than I could have ever imagined, and they still weren’t done with each other. It was at that moment my blood began to boil instead of freeze.

Why wasn’t I doing something about this? 

	Even if I blamed myself, it was just as horrendous to let this happen. We were tearing each other to shreds over nothing, absolutely nothing. The more they hurt each other, the worse they would be at each other’s throats in the next couple seconds. I had to do something before one of these people I’ve trusted with my life while on the run went and killed each other.

	Without thinking, I threw myself between the two, trying to push them apart with the kind of force only adrenaline could provide. It hurt as Heba struck against my chest, even Bon in her frenzy slashed my back pretty good while I struggled to form a barrier between the two. I was too lost in the moment to feel anything while I screamed at the top of my lungs, “STOP. STOP ALREADY!” To my amazement this seemed to shake them from their mounting bloodlust for a moment. With their resistance weakened I managed to fully push them apart. Looking first to Heba I realized her eyes were watering as she swiftly looked down towards the ground, refusing to make eye contact. Bon on the other hand looked horrified, her eyes clearly focused on the tear in my shirt where she had accidentally struck me.

	 My mind raced for something to say while the lioness covered her mouth, “I di- I did not… Bonolo would never…” Heba was clearly crying now as she kept her head down and out of sight. Tears dripping towards the ground and reflecting the little light available. Even though it looked like the fight had been postponed, I had hardly resolved the situation. 

	Trying to hold a semblance of rationality I spoke as calmly as I could manage, “The last thing we need to do, is fight each other, okay?” Neither seemed to respond to this. 

	Bon was the first to speak, barely audible with her voice faltering. “Please, it was a mistake…” I tensed up when she touched my back, but her fur swept across delicately enough that my resistance faltered. With the loss of tension however, I began to feel the stinging cuts she was looking over.

	Heba spoke up bitterly between her silent sobs as I winced, “Now both of you … can just stay the hell away from me.” That statement caught my attention more than any crass joke she could have forced. Where the hell was this coming from? “What are you talking about?” I replied quickly. She raised her head to look at me this time, the fur below her eyes was soaked darker, like running mascara. “I’ve been through this before, I know what you all think behind my back.” In a nasally impression of my own voice she continued rambling, “What’s that bitch’s problem? Can’t she keep her mouth shut for one second? Maybe if we humor Heba, she’ll get the hint and go the fuck away.”

	I let what she said sink in for a moment before responding, trying to reflect the sincerity in my voice, “We’ve been together for a long time now, we don’t just tolerate you, we trust you!” For better or for worse Bon was too lost examining my back to say anything. I reached my arm out to Heba, but she weakly pushed it away. “Ever since YOU put this thing inside me, I can’t even trust myself. My mind has been a fucking mess lately… and if we’re already heading back to that fucking place, you can drop the friend act and stop putting up with my shit.”

	Even now as I write this, I’ve been mulling over what she said. It sounds like she was describing mood swings, something to be expected, but could it really explain everything? I didn’t think she was acting that odd a few days before, maybe a little more aggressive, but it seemed par for the course with her. She also said “this” had happened before, what exactly? People turning their backs on her? Or letting someone down? The more I think about it, the more obvious it becomes I have no idea what she’s been through… at least before our first unfortunate meeting.

	I can’t even know if she’s always felt like an outsider in our group, or if it’s a recent development. I thought her incessant need to crack jokes was just coping with the stress, but she might have been trying to push us away, unwilling to believe we were putting up with her. In that moment, my frustration turned to sympathy.

It wasn’t that long ago I felt just as separated from everyone else.

	I spoke to her with an unexpected passion rising in my voice, “Please, we can’t do anything about the past. I’ve learned that the hard way.” She only muttered under her breath, “Easy for you to say…” I continued immediately, “No, not easy! We’ve all been dragged through hell and back.” Seeing she wasn’t convinced, I tried to be just as transparent with her, “You think one kid is bad? I’ve probably got a hundred bastard children, and the way it’s looking, NONE of them will ever know who their father is! I think about it every day and every single night.” I was breathing deeply then, nervous sweat on my face. “I could have ran away from all of you, never to be reminded of it again, but I’ve stuck by. I don’t just push people away!”

	Looking back on it, I was ranting like someone between a lunatic and a psychologist, gesturing wildly for emphasis, but I couldn’t stop. I was lucky enough to have found bits and pieces of acceptance from the others at time went on. The fact Heba never really showed her sincerity probably left her thinking she didn’t have any genuine connections... My rapidly forming plan was to try and be that for her, crack her façade just a little. I continued in a lower voice, “If you can forgive me for my part in what happened back there, I can forget you tried choking me out a minute ago. If not for me, for the hope we can get out of here…” Slower this time, I reached out an arm. She didn’t answer me, but she didn’t push me away this time. It was a risky move, but I felt I had to do it. As soon as she let me put an arm on her shoulder, I pulled her into a hug.

	I expected her to look shocked, or maybe even bite into my neck, but instead she paused, let her shoulders fall, and started sobbing even harder. Crying without restraint. Even Bon behind me was tearing up as she whispered to me, “Bono-, I, had no idea you felt such a way…”

	And so, the next stretch of time went on quietly, all of us standing close to one another. It felt like a long time before Heba raised her head from my shoulder to sputter softly, “You really need a shower, you know that?”

Yep, she was back. And I wouldn’t have it any other way.

	As soon as I felt Heba pull away, I was already trapped in another hug, only this time from behind. Bon squeezed me delicately as she avoided pressing too hard against my back. She whispered into my ear, “My family would call you a fool for doing such a thing…” I could feel her tail coil around my waist before she continued, “But I could never resent you for showing kindness to another. It is the reason I am walking now.” I had to stop myself from melting in her arms, we were still had to try and get out of here. Mercifully Heba held her tongue despite the blatantly intimate looking act, the first time in a while she avoided taking such an easy target.

	Once I had been released, the tension in the room slowly unwound. However none of us were in the best condition, so I tore off a piece of my own sleeve, making a makeshift bandage for Heba’s arm. Then Bon’s. Bon followed suite and tore a pant leg off to wrap around my back. Even Heba used her destroyed sleeve to help Bon, something I was grateful to see. The first real sign of burying the hatchet. None of us talked during this time, huddled on the ground sitting cross-legged, but for once we were all looking at each other like equals. Our faces said more than words ever could have.

	As much I would have like to preserve that delicate silence, we still needed a plan. I eventually broke the comfortable hush with something I had nearly forgotten about. “Bon, why did you put your ear up against that sliding panel?” She cleared her throat before answering me, “I wanted to listen, to know if I could hear the one taking us away.” Curious I asked, “And did you hear anything?” She thought about it for a moment before answering, “…He kept talking into a machine afterwards, but no one else was with him. He spoke ‘The delivery is fine, how is the other?’” Thinking about it I ventured, “Anything else?” She only sighed before speaking up again, “It was then that I had turned around… to see…” She didn’t have to finish the sentence, I squeezed her arm to try and reassure her. “We’re good now, we’ve got bigger problems to figure out, like getting out of here.”

	In response Heba rose to her feet, speaking with her old confidence, “How about I do a little recon work?” I watched her approach the side with the sliding segment, before she began knocking furiously against the indentation. I’ll admit the thought, “Please god don’t tell me she’s going to try and break this one down too,” came to me, but I felt like she wouldn’t go that far this time, not now. And true to my suspicions, she never went further than her rapid knocking. After more than a minute of impatient banging I tried to stop her, “I don’t think th-” but as I spoke the sound of metal sliding came back once again.

	I couldn’t see anything past the hyena pressed against the glass, but I could hear the same deep voice. “It’s not my job to babysit all of you, now keep quiet! We’ve still got a lot further to go.” Just like last time, the separator slid back in place just as fast as it had opened. Before I could even ask, Heba professionally reported her findings, “Motherfucker in a deliveryman uniform just told me to shut up!” Deliveryman uniform? My mind raced as I considered the get-up, and the fact we were in a makeshift paddy wagon. Just as fast I recalled what Bon had said, something about another “delivery”. I moved to the crack in the back to confirm my suspicions. Even though the sun was much higher in the sky than the last time I looked, the same bread truck was following us on the open road.

	Bon asked with keen interest, “What? Have you found something?” I called back with a bit of restraint, “It’s definitely the FFI that took us… and I think they’re sneaking us around in fake delivery trucks of some kind…” Heba expressed her confusion, “Now why would this government agency be sneaking us around in shitty vans like this?” I didn’t have a perfect answer for her, but I followed up with what I had, “Well, it took them this long to grab us, maybe they’re under pressure to do it in secret. You saw that ambush, clearly they’ve had the means to do it, maybe they were just biding their time, or busy with something else.” She only shrugged her shoulders as I emphasized the main point I had discovered.

	“If there is another ‘delivery’ then I’m betting the other three were split off onto the same vehicle that’s been trailing us the whole time.” Rather than testing my theory Heba asked me something else, “You really do want to get your harem back together, don’t you?” I’m sure Bon would have been flying off the walls at that if Heba hadn’t restrained her own trademark laughter. Instead of fighting, the lioness decided to take the moral high ground as she squeezed both arms around me, “He is only trying to protect all his friends, like a good man.” Heba rolled her eyes before responding, “If he had a puffier jacket I’d mistake him for Elizabeth with the way he’s talking.”



	I’ve been writing for a long time now, best as I can tell. But I think I’ve roughly worked my way to where I am now. The rest of the day was spent between Bon listening in on the driver for anything useful, me making sure this tailing vehicle wasn’t a coincidence, and Heba throwing out different ideas as they came to her. We’re finally working as a team now, and in light of how bad things got there, I’m surprisingly content with where we ended up.

	We’ve actually cobbled together a plan over the course of the day. But I’ve learned my lesson. I’m not writing it down like most things. For all I know they could stop and search us at any time, and I’m not about to have our only chance at escape go up in smoke. So in case someone’s reading this now, I’ll get back to something less strategically important.

	Right now, we all agreed sleep would be the best for what we’re planning. I volunteered to take the first shift like always, promising to wake everyone up if something changes, but that was met with some resistance. I’ve had to make two promises to keep the position. Heba demands the second shift, saying “It’s the least I can do… especially if you fall asleep writing in your little diary.” The other one, the one I’ve been putting off more was Bon’s. She stresses, “for the best rest possible” we, should “share body heat” when my shift is over. Knowing her, I won’t even have to wake her up before she’ll be latched onto me.

	It’s probably for the best though, being nearly suffocated will take my mind off all the stuff I’ve been writing about. Our plan obviously isn’t perfect, and even if we succeed, it’s not like we can know for a fact everyone else is in that vehicle STILL following us. 

I’ve grown surprisingly tired untangling today’s events, so I’ll probably stop writing soon. I’ll leave the grand ponderings and huge realizations for another time. 

I just hope everyone else is fine in that other truck, it that’s even where they are.


SECOND REASSEMBLED ENTRY

It worked. Our little plan really worked!

	I’ve already ran today’s events through my head enough times, but I’ve got a little down time and it won’t hurt to go over it one more time. I’ll start from when I first woke up.

	Despite the circumstances, it was a deep, dreamless sleep. I had almost forgotten where I was, feeling like I had been surrounded in thick fluffy blankets like back home… only I had a foggy idea this wasn’t my home. The mattress beneath me was hard as stone, and the blankets were… moving? I cracked open my eyes to see Bonolo, deep asleep and holding onto me like I was a teddy bear. Something I might have enjoyed if it wasn’t paired with the recollection of how I got there, as well as the realization how sore I was. What I didn’t expect however, was the brownish bulk of fur pushing against me, driving me deeper into the lioness squeezing me. I could feel more than her swollen stomach pushing against me…

	Struggling against the pillowy snare, I bent my head enough to recognize the other sleeper beside me. “Heba?” I blurted out drowsily, louder than I intended. In reaction the figure lying beside me rolled around to face me with her hair matted into a mess. She squinted at me for a second before her eyes shot right open. “Oh shit!” she yelled as she jumped onto her feet. The noise started to wake up the living bed beside me as Heba tried to explain herself, “Look, I uh, just, didn’t mean to fall asleep…” Even bound in place I was able to shoot her a look. “I’m pregnant, give me a break!” Her nervous laughter followed her as she went to check the only crack into the outside world we had. “How long were you asleep? Are we still moving?” I asked, starting to realize this could have jeopardized our only plan. She was still hunched over the other wall when she answered me “It’s still night, and the roads still moving beneath us… can’t tell ya much more than that.” Not the best answer, but it was enough to keep my hopes up.

	 The cat behind me released me as she arched her back to stretch herself out, “Is it time? Are we doing it now?” I took a deep breath before answering her, “I don’t like the idea, but the sooner the better, right?” Heba gave a thumbs up from the other side. Just like that, we were already on phase one of our rough plan, the distraction.

	We had brainstormed one thing to get the driver’s attention. If we had any idea of what they wanted from us, it was the hybrids they had so painstakingly produced. So, with Bon being the furthest along, she volunteered to fake the medical emergency. Not a perfect plan, but because we all looked worse for wear with our makeshift bandages wrapped around us, we had some potential to explain it as a result of fighting, or possibly poor traveling conditions before we ended up here.

	In a couple minutes of rough discussion we were ready, and Bon started howling in pain. Immediately I imitated what Heba did earlier, and started banging against the partition. After a few moments of silence I started hitting harder while Bon dialed it up another notch. I don’t know how long it took, but after enough howling, the divider finally slid open. It was night now, so I couldn’t see much more than the sole silhouette of the driver through the opening. “What the hell’s happening back there?” he said disgruntled, the shape of his head turning back towards me. In a panicked voice, something easy to conjure in this situation, I explained, “Please, somethings wrong, I think it’s the baby!” I couldn’t read the driver’s expression, but he responded with only a hint of concern, “Look if it’s a medical emergency I can’t do anything about it. You’ll have to tough it out until we get there.” I could see him moving his arm to slide it back in place, I had to think of something quickly… As far as I knew, the one thing this guy was qualified to do was use a tranquilizer gun.

	“Please, she’s uh VIOLENT, the hyena’s attacking her!” I flailed my arm frantically behind me to get Heba’s attention. It was at that point I realized I might have hit a sensitive subject. It would make sense if she wouldn’t want to relive what happened last night… but my ears were met with a hamfisted scream from her, “Aaaaaagh, I’m going to kill you!” I made sure to block as much of the driver’s view as possible while Heba banged against the walls for the added noise. Bon, exceeding my expectations, managed to coordinate her screams with Heba’s random slams. The impromptu acting seemed to do the trick as the driver looked back between me and the road ahead of him. We needed him to pull over if we wanted to escape, so I pleaded with him, “Please, you have to do something, she’s dangerous!” Even if I couldn’t make out his face, I could sense the hesitation. I watched nervously as he let out a deep groan before hitting the turn signal while the headlights illuminated the gravel-filled shoulder of the road. He didn’t answer me as he slid the partition shut, but I could hear him plainly yelling into his receiver through the metal.

	It was something like, “…Yeah…Yeah, I KNOW, but apparently one of ‘em went mad, I gotta tranq ‘em… NO, no, orders are we move together, you’re coming back here and pulling over with me…” That was all I needed to hear, the vehicle wasn’t only going to stop, but we had gotten the other one to halt. I wanted to discuss strategy with my fellow inmates, but that was difficult when both of them were preoccupied screaming their heads off. So this bizarre scene lead us to phase 2, potentially the most poorly planned out one, jumping the driver.

	If we wanted to keep the act up we couldn’t stop faking a violent attack to calmly talk about it, but we did remember the basics we had discussed before. We wanted to lure him in, and jump him as soon as we could. Not much to work with, but we had to pull it off. I could hear the muffled click of the front door open as I watched Heba punch the wall randomly. It looks like I didn’t have to worry about hurting her feelings, seeing as Heba appeared to be enjoying the unusual charade we were pulling with a toothy grin. Maybe enjoying it a little too much. So while we were succeeding in sounding real, if the door opened that moment, I don’t think he’d be fooled long. Trying to keep quiet, I motioned to Heba to move towards Bon, hoping to make things look more convincing. Heba nodded before bending over the prone lion. 

	She gripped the lion’s arm before Bon stopped her screaming for a moment to wince. She whispered angrily, “Do not grab me so tight!” Heba moved her hand before replying, “Sorry.” Immediately followed up with an unnervingly enthusiastic, “Die bitch!” This didn’t enthuse the large cat underneath her, but she played along. I moved towards the door to prepare for his arrival, but I had one more idea so I risked a quick whisper, “Heba! Move over this way a little so he can’t see Bon as well.” Heba responded with a primal scream while gently scooting in the direct I mimed. I felt like I was directing a low-budget horror movie, but as much as our poor acting made it difficult to take the situation seriously, the clank of the door behind me unlocking brought me back to reality.

	As the heavy metal lifted I threw in a smack against the door to get his attention, “Please, I don’t know what’s gotten into her!” It was barely cracked before the man was already pointing his rifle through the opening. Assumedly it just fired tranquilizers, but that wasn’t very comforting with it pointed at my chest. “Alright, get to the back of the truck!” He yelled out as the fully opened door revealed the sole guard to me for the first time. He stood at an imposing stature, but I’ll admit the blue deliveryman outfit somewhat deflated the intimidation factor. It still worked though as I backed away without really thinking about it. Still, the show had to go on, so I tried to support my fellow amateur improv actors. “Please, she’s going to kill her!”

	As I said this I turned my head to survey the scene. Thank god we did this at night, because without the poor lighting I doubt Heba basically slapping the air in front of Bon was going to do much. The only good thing to come out of it was the fact those doubts made my worried demeanor more genuine. Luckily our captor didn’t show any signs of suspicion as he got to yelling over the fray inside the vehicle. “YOU TWO, SEPARATE OR FACE THE CONSEQUENCES!” Pointing his weapon towards Heba, I could sense her hesitation as her enthusiastic acting started to wane. We wanted to ambush him, but that was going to be difficult when he was standing outside like that. We had to goad him in here somehow. Fortunately, or maybe unfortunately, it turns out Heba had formed a plan of her own.

	Catching, I think everyone involved, by surprise, the Hyena lifted Bon like a human shield, jaws near her neck. Both me and Bon turned to her in confusion as Heba made a grand declaration, “Let me go, or I kill this woman!” She followed this with a mixture between her usual cackle and something more akin to a psychotic clown. I knew her well enough that it sounded ridiculous, but the uniformed man took it seriously. “Hey, hey, hey… I don’t negotiate with prisoners!” My mind was drawing a blank on how to proceed watching this spectacle, but I caught Heba’s eyes impatiently swaying between me and the guard. Did she want me to get closer?

	Unsure and unconfident, I inched towards the man, his barrel no longer aimed towards me. Heba then took things even further, “After I kill her, I’ll kill the little human you threw in here as well!” I caught onto what she was implying as I neared the man, “Get me away from her!” I shouted in desperation. With his rifle trained on the captive captor, I managed to get pretty close to him. I was near enough to hear him mumble under his breath, “They don’t pay me enough for this shit...” until his voice resumed the normal booming volume, “Okay you get beside me and out of my way, I’ll just tranq both of ‘em.” I took his advice and slid to the edge of the door as he crept up into the compartment. I was only inches away from him, it was now or never.

	While he took aim against the silhouettes in the corner, I went all in. With his attention away from me, I brought both my arms up and underneath his weapon as fast as I could in an attempt to send it flying. He had a hell of a grip on it, but the unusual angle sent it out of his hands and twirling into the ground. “What the FUCK are you doing?” He shouted, immediately turning to grab me by the torn collar.

	But for the second time, my personal bodyguard came to the rescue. Released from Heba’s grip, the lioness pounced right on top of him, sending me tumbling out the backdoor into the gravel and grass. I could have celebrated just from feeling the outside world once again, but my eyes focused on the abandoned tranquilizer rifle. With what looked like a drunken combat roll, I flopped my way to the weapon. When I looked up however, I saw both women wrestling the man to the metal floor. It looked they were struggling in a deadlock, but I figured I could tip the scales. Scrambling to my feet I yelled out “Hey!” mostly praying we could keep our hot streak of implicit teamwork going. It turns out the hot streak was good and alive, as both scrambled to keep him pinned while exposing his back.

	I hadn’t even fired an airsoft gun in years, but it really didn’t matter, I was nearly point blank with the damn thing. I pulled the trigger, and a bright red dart silently shot its way straight into his back. I immediately tried to fire again, but the dull click made me realize that I’d have to figure out how to reload the thing to use it again. Thankfully, whatever they had used on us was just as potent against him. He fell limp in seconds, ironically in the same place he had dragged us.

	Jumping into the cool night air Heba yelled, “Hell yeah!” while the big cat pounced on me to ambush me with a bear hug. “You did it, you have saved us!” she applauded me, generously inflating my role in everything. The enthusiasm was infectious though, as I started to feel the victory wash over me as I replied to her just as excitedly, “No, no it was you two, I bar-” but I was interrupted by the sound of a distant engine and a pair of lights on the horizon.

We had nearly forgotten there was another van on its way, hopefully with everyone else on board.

	Quickly scrambling back, I restrained my voice as I hopped into the vehicle, “Shit, hide, hide!” It turned out to ultimately be redundant as everyone had the same idea. Once we had packed back in, I pushed the unconscious man just enough to slam the door back down behind me.

	I guess after that we entered phase 3, trying to save everyone. Only, because we weren’t even sure we were going to get a chance like this, we had almost nothing preplanned to go on. The best we really had was to try and set up an ambush again. That being said, we probably had a minute before someone showed up, so I blurted out frantically, “Ideas?” 

	I listened to the muffled sounds of the other van pulling to a stop in front of us as Bon started eyeing the unconscious figure slumped nearby. She spoke up somewhat unconfidently, “You are also a man, could you dress like him to trick them?” My immediate response was unsure, “The guy probably weighs twice as much as I do, it won’t work!” Heba only snickered before adding quietly, “She’s calling you fat…” Bon bristled at the comment, “No, this is not what I meant to say!”

	Bickering aside, something I was almost impressed we managed to do even then, the idea was starting to make sense to me. It wouldn’t work as a disguise up close, but maybe from a distance, in the low light, I could probably pull it off. I started unbuttoning his blue jacket, prompting Bon to help me out. Heba couldn’t resist adding a remark before joining in, “I know it’s been a long time since you had your hands on a real man, but control yourself woman!” Bon simply snarled at Heba while keeping her hands at work. I could only smile nervously, hoping the peace would last. How did I end up here again?

	It took a couple minutes, but I had the uniform tossed over my clothes, a loose fit but somewhat passable. While the idea of using the dart gun like a sniper rifle and eliminating whoever was operating the second truck was a nice one, I doubted any of use could manage that. Besides, the outfit didn’t have any more darts inside. They were probably stored up in the front, somewhere we couldn’t reach without being seen right now.

	Dressed like a shrunken jackass, I had a moment to consider our approach, and I had one idea. Whatever happened, I wanted the odds to be in favor of the most of us escaping. “Heba,” I spoke up, already back to whispering. “Yeah? You got any touching last words for me?” She asked me with a smirk. It was difficult resisting the urge to roll my eyes as I continued, “No, this is serious…” The hyena let her smirk fade as she held silent for the moment, putting on a more sincere expression. “While I try to distract whoever is in control of the other truck, I want you to sneak around and get the others out. Try this guy’s keys, if not, bust it open, just, please make that your focus.” Her face tried to return to that same smirk, but it seemed to falter as she thought it over, “Don’t you need my muscles to take this guy by surprise?” The twinge of anxiety in her laughter failed to hide her reservations about this idea.
 
	“Please, the more of us that get away, the better.” After a second I added onto my statement while looking towards my other co-conspirator, “You should head out with her Bon, that way you can sneak out with everyone in case something goes wrong…” We had made it this far, I didn’t want to throw everyone’s chances away on a plan as rushed as this one. At least that way it might mean five of us escaped rather than none. The lioness besides me however, didn’t take too kindly to the idea. “What? And leave you alone to trick whoever comes?” The scar across her face twitched as she looked at me indignantly, “I hoped you would have learned better by now…” The scowl on her face softened as she moved to my side, “Bonolo has no plans of letting harm come to you, not in this moment now or ever again.”

	I didn’t have the time to argue as the unconscious man’s transceiver, now on my chest, sparked to life with an annoyed tone smothered in static, “Alright I’m here, did you put the damn troublemaker to sleep?” Heba looked to me quizzically before producing a hoarse whisper. “Answer it or something!” These guys had been talking to each other all night, no way I could fake his voice. “I can’t it’ll tip him off before he even sees us!” I replied through my clenched teeth. After a second of hesitation, she had an alternate idea. “Just try and hit the button rapidly, so he knows you’re there, but thinks it’s broken or something.” Without a better idea I did so while cracking the back door slightly. The red taillights produced an eerie glow around the open fields surrounding us, the environment ill-suited for hiding. With a deep breath I popped out the back before jamming my thumb into the button a few times.

	“What the hell are you doing?” The tinny voice responded. “Are you sitting on the damn thing again?” With a little bit of time bought, I turned to the hyena with eyes of glistening red in the truck’s shady interior. Keeping my volume down I finalized our impromptu plan, “Okay he’s parked a bit in front of us, I’ll go along the right side and try to bring him my way, you take the left side, and try to get the door open once he’s moved far enough that he can’t see back there.” Heba nodded while Bon quickly chimed in, “And what would you have me do?” I put my hand to my chin as I thought about it. If she was going to stick by me, we might as well still try to ambush him. “Can you follow me at a distance, making sure not to be seen?” She only had to think for a moment before responding with a determined look, “I will crawl beneath the truck, it will be hard to see me there, no?” Not what I was counting on, but it was better than anything I could think of. “Okay, but both of you wait a second so I can get his attention.”

	With a thumbs up from Heba, I prepared myself to walk around the corner of the truck as Bon wasted no time to slink underneath the wheels. I moved around the edge to see an identical delivery truck, bright white in the headlights blazing from the still running vehicle. I heard the speaker affixed to my shirt start up again as I stuck to the dark shadows cast by the light. “I’m coming out. You better not be screwing around, we’ve got a schedule to keep!” I heard the car door open with a pop as the latest deliveryman stepped out. While he was squinting against the bright light I had a clear look at him. He wasn’t as intimidating as our driver, but he still had a rifle strapped around his back.

	Sticking out just enough, just a little bit from the shadows, I waved my arm at him, trying to get his attention. He didn’t need to use his device this time as he simply shouted over to me, “What, do you need my help or something?” Good, that was probably the best response I could have hoped for. Still, I couldn’t speak for fear of giving myself away, so I switched from waving to a beckoning motion. He started to approach me as he kept talking, “You know Frank? I’d say you were making an excuse to stretch your legs if I didn’t know any better!” As he walked closer I moved forward slightly, now entirely veiled by the shadow with my arm down. Ideas on exactly how to ambush this guy flickered through my head as I glanced towards the darkness under the vehicle. Two reflective eyes swayed between the tires, something that wouldn’t have been comforting under any other circumstances.

	He must have gotten close enough to better make out my silhouette as he neared the driver side door. A faint thud behind me indicated Heba was off on her mission as I tipped the hat over my eyes. I had to try and keep him off-guard as long as I could. He entered the shadows while squinting his eyes as he came much closer to me, “Okay, now tell me what’s happening here already?” Refusing to speak, I made the best of the situation and turned myself around to point at the rear door, hopefully keeping him from seeing my face. It seemed to work as he walked up behind me, close enough to feel his breath. Far too close.

	“You’re not Frank, are you?” he breathed out as he grabbed my shoulder. Just as fast as he made his accusation, he screamed at the top of his lungs, “WHAT THE FUCK?” I turned around to see a yellow arm extended around his ankle. It looked like that was the best Bon could fit through the tires between them. He was still reeling in panic when I whipped around to take the dart gun right off his back. Only it wasn’t that easy, he was struggling like hell to keep upright and wrestle the weapon out of my hands. I pulled and pulled against his grip for who knows how long, but I do know one thing. The struggle ended just as quickly as it begun. With a loud smack he fell forward, right on top of me. While I pulled the man off of me I looked up to see a new silhouette in front of me.

A large shark with a chunk of metal in her hands.

	“Holy shit,” I muttered as Sandra brandished the car part in her hands. Heba approached behind her excitedly, “I watched her tear it right off the back!” My first thought was to bend down and check on the hidden ambush predator while I asked my returning prisoner, “Is everyone with you?” Down to business she answered me quickly, “Yeah, it’s me, Elizabeth, and Skylar that were in there.” I didn’t waste any time as I helped the now considerably grimy looking lion back to her feet. “Good, because we need to get the hell out of here.” I heard a familiar insect’s voice from behind weigh in, “Hey, that’s my line! I don’t want any of you fuzzers slowing us down.”

	With almost everyone standing in a circle around me, I looked down to see the puff of wool I had gotten so well acquainted with. “Are y-you okay? You three loo-look like you’ve been through more than us…” Heba and Bon exchanged nervous glances as I realized how plainly our makeshift bandages must have hinted at our unfortunate events recently. Heba only let out some forced laughter while I considered how to answer. “It was during the escape, it seems like they roughed us up a whole lot more dragging us back to the holding-cell on wheels.” The lioness chose to hold her tongue. Instead Sandra changed the subject to something more important.

	“We can tell stories later, right now we’ve got to get going. So does anyone have an idea where to go?” Clearly none of them had gotten better information where the hell we might have been. When no one had volunteered an idea, I threw in all I could think of. “Maybe you can use your hammerhead senses or whatever and pick a random direction.” Sandra gave me a glare before acknowledging my suggestion, “We’ve been through that before…” Her glare shifted to a jagged grin when she pulled a small glinting object from the jacket around her neck. Something I hadn’t even noticed until then. “But I’ve still got our shitty compass.”

	As we ran through the open field, with a nearly full moon illuminating our path, it was clear with even reduced volumes an ecstatic energy was moving between us. We were free again! Even if we had no idea where we were going, even if we didn’t have a single scrap of supplies, we were outside those damn metal walls. The night was cold, but the restrained whispers from our reunited group hardly wavered. This wasn’t like our first time running away. We weren’t strangers preparing for one another to betray someone at a moment’s notice. We were friends. Maybe even something more than that.

	Time moved swiftly after that as we trekked through the wide-open farm fields, now barren stretches of dying grass as the seasons shifted. I’d dwell more on what little conversations broke out during the escape, but instead I’d like to focus on the miracle that happened. As we rose over the gentle slope of a hill, we heard a roaring echo cut through the still of the night.

The call of a train chugging forward.

	At the top of the gentle incline we could recognize the twin beams of a railroad snaking it’s way through the land. Like the leader she had become Sandra gave her command, “We’re getting on that train and getting as far from here as we can!” None of us argued as the blaring horn grew closer, only picking up our pace to make the connection.

	Just like that, the lights of the train came and went as the great length of jangling cargo cars clattered down the track behind it. The winding length of multicolored cargo whizzing by. Sandra pointed a finger forward at rusty container on the horizon. “That one looks open! We’re going to jump for it!” Everyone crept closer to the track as all eyes were locked on the upcoming opening. It sure wasn’t a bullet train, but the idea of missing this opportunity kept me on edge. I looked to Elizabeth, who looked like she wanted to voice her concern, but with a faint “eep” she was hoisted up by the shark besides her. I nearly made the same noise when a fluffy hand wrapped around my own.

	I looked over to see Bon, standing besides me looking ready to pounce. It was another piece of evidence on this mounting pile that I wouldn’t be abandoned anytime soon. With newfound vigor I prepared myself while our target came closer. And then, we jumped.

	While I want to say we gracefully landed hand in hand, it turns out four people trying to jump through a moving doorway at once wasn’t the best plan. We all made it in well enough, but in a giant heap as most of us collided. Only Sandra, toting Elizabeth like a handbag, had the idea to run besides the train a little before hopping in, narrowly avoiding the awkward tangle I was trying to work my way out of. Before I could fully get to my feet underneath the groaning hyena that tumbled on top of me, I felt some movement on my head. An unusually stiff hand retracting quickly. I twisted my head around to see the culprit, a reddish ant clearly trying to avoid eye contact. Heba picked up on the awkward scene like a predator sniffing out blood.

	“Oooooh, I thought the little ant here hated hair, but I’m just a fuzzer, so what do I know?” The sarcasm was thick enough on her voice to be palpable. As Skylar got up, she glared at the hyena before starting her defense.  “And just what makes you think that? It’s not my fault all you warmbloods couldn’t make it in here without toppling me over!” And just like that, the two were at it, going back and forth with some colorful species related insults. Heba was teasing her like a middle schooler that found out who their friend’s crush was while I felt the familiar sensation of metal shaking underfoot.

	Only it wasn’t being trapped in the makeshift prison truck that came to mind. Being packed together like this to the tune of pointless bickering brought me back to riding in our rust bucket of a van. All we needed was a barely functioning radio. It wasn’t until that contrast dawned on me, I realized how much those times had actually grown on me. But I don’t think the van was really the important part of the equation. Looking around the corrugated container with only faint light filtering in though the open door, I noticed everyone standing around had at least a thin smile painted on their face. Even the two preoccupied in fighting with each other seemed to take joy in the argument. Maybe it didn’t matter where this train was heading. To steal an old phrase, “Home is where the heart is,” and I think I’m starting to understand that.

	Of course now as I write this, that argument has died down. Instead the current background noise is the one that’s inspired me to hunker down behind this wooden crate and write instead. Even as I write this Bon is still embellishing the heroic tale of how I single handedly saved her. The telling is accompanied by a commentary track from Heba, making sure to get Bon’s tail in a twist as both argue over minute details. The spectacle has even Sandra enraptured trying to decipher what really happened. I think I made the right decision not being dragged into this, considering I’d probably be made to arbitrate the whole affair. 

	Sandra, to my surprise, hasn’t called me out for writing again. There’s no way she hasn’t noticed me over here, so I have to assume she’s letting it slide right now. Oh, speaking of Sandra, she mentioned earlier that the compass seems to show this train is heading north by northwest. It’s hardly perfect when we have almost zero idea where we might be, but at least we’re roughly back on track. I guess in more ways than one. Maybe I can bother Heba with a shitty pun like that?

For now I’m content to sit back and listen in my little corner, but I probably should socialize a little more, everyone seems to be in a good mo-



	Alright, I guess this is the last thing I’ll write for a while. Just a few minutes ago Bon finished up her tale, and I was ready to creep out of my hiding spot when I had a surprise visitor. I got up without really looking, only to make it halfway up when I realized I was inches away from two green eyes. Heba had bent over the crate to see me for some reason. I was ready for some kind of terrible joke, but instead she kept her face close, a distinct lack of humor in her expression. In a low voice she told me, “Look, I uh… wanted to talk to you for a sec.” she finished her request by gently pushing me back to my previous position. I really wasn’t sure where she was going with this, but I sat back and watched her attempt to huddle into my little nook with me. 

	I was getting a little concerned by her uncharacteristically reserved approach, “What’s the problem?” She leaned in before asking me a question, “Are you writing again?” It seemed rhetorical considering I had the cheap notebook and pen right in my lap, but I still answered her, “Yeah?” Heba looked away for a second, like she was really trying to think this one out. “Are yo-, did you write about… last night?” Any pretense was lost as her demeanor became noticeably worried, tiny nervous laughter giving her away. I was so caught up in thinking about just what happened today, it actually took a second for me to remember the fight… I would have thought it was a bad dream if I didn’t still have the bandages to prove it.

	I responded to her gingerly, “Yeah… I guess I did.” I didn’t have to say anymore to get the message across. It was hard to read her expression as she looked to the ground for a moment. I was going to say something before she spoke up, face still to the ground, “Could you, maybe like, unwrite it?” She looked up at me now, whispering as quietly as she could manage, “I thought a lot about what you said that night… and if any of them really trust me, well I don’t think they will after finding out how I lost it like that… I’m just lucky Bon cut that part out of her little story tonight.” It was hard to tell with the vibrations from the train, but I think she was trembling a little as she finished speaking.

	It’s not like I planned on holding the information over her, and clearly it meant a lot to her, so the solution seemed obvious. I could destroy these papers next time I got the chance. I was about to relay this to her before the second intruder of the night leaned over the wooden crate. Glancing above us was Bon, the sight of which almost making the Hyena next to me nearly jump out of her skin. Clearly she was listening in on us, because she whispered her own opinion, “I have to agree with the spotted one, if we are to get along such… information… will prove to be a distraction.” With a toothy grin she added, “I know all too well how hard it is to like her.” Heba managed to channel her usual sardonic tone, “Gee, thanks for the support.”

	Practically surrounded in my little corner I finally got the opportunity to speak up, “Don’t worry about it, I can get rid of it at any time. And I’ve learned my lesson, I’ll tear this up later tonight.” Heba, regaining her confidence a bit put an arm on my shoulder, “I know how much your little diary means to you, can you just tear up the parts about me?” It was crass, but I didn’t expect any less from her. “I’ll do you one better, I’ll tear up everything from the past couple of days. I’m tired of leaving little clues, so believe me, I’d be happy to clear recent events out.” Bon retreated silently as Heba gave me an apologetic look. “Don’t tell anyone about this” she whispered, before lunging forward to bring her arms around me. “I know I’m shit at making it obvious, but this means a lot to me.”

	The intimate moment didn’t last long however, as apparently the commotion on this side of the room had caught someone’s attention. From the other side of the container Skylar hollered, “Oooooh, who’s got the crush on Anon now, huh?” Heba let go quickly, changing her demeanor just as fast. “Yeah? Well I bet you couldn’t even get a guy like Anon with a fat-ass abdomen like that!” And just like that the two were back at it, leaving me to think about what just happened.

	It used to drive me insane how long these girls could argue with one another. Now, I don’t know if I’d feel right without it. I’m hesitant to make the connection, but this sort of infighting makes me kind of think of us like a family… Just writing that down makes me feel like I’m coping for getting all five of these women pregnant, but fuck it, none of them have held it against me for a while now. I feel like I’ve made some kind of meaningful connection with most of them, we’re not just tortured souls forced together anymore. And that’s all the more reason I should be talking with everyone now, instead of writing about the past. I’ve spent more than enough time thinking about the past, it’s time to make the most of the present. I’m sure Sandra will get a kick out of watching the scraps of paper flutter away.






[ADDENDUM TO NEW INFORMATION ON FEDERAL FERTILITY INITIATIVE OPERATION #10028]

While I am pleased to say the reconstructed document contains useful information, I regret to inform you that the operation has been an inefficient use of manpower.

Once the delivery of the wanted subjects failed to report on time, an investigative team was immediately sent out. Finding two of our own agents unconscious warranted the use of our already strained resources. Once minute paper scraps blown by the wind were discovered nearly 40 miles away, forensic experts assured upper management they could be reconstructed within two weeks.

The report containing this fully reconstructed document however, took two months to produce.

What were once vital clues can only be considered minor hints now.

We will assign minimal resources to this case from now on. There are many more pressing matters with more assured results for the FFI, and we intend to seek those out instead.

If new evidence is discovered the case will be assigned appropriate personnel, until then, please shift your attention to more urgent assignments.