Revolution Ch. 01

~~~~~~~~~~~

Tyler watched the way Mar moved across the quarry. He was thin, like most of the inhabitants, but his bushy tail was long and beautiful. His ears turned at every little sound, and he stepped quickly and had very obvious foxlike movements. Everyone was terrified of the infected but Tyler couldn't see why. Even the larger ones weren't threatening. Most of them were completely kind and meek. It was a shame that most humans couldn't see the beauty in the hybrids. But Tyler was beginning to see.

"Faster!" One of the guards stuck the cattle prod in Mar's side. He screamed and fell to the ground. He picked himself up and began working faster than before, sweat clear on his brow. He chose to work without a shirt on, his fur was hot enough and it was a beautiful sight. His lower stomach was without fur but his back and all the way down to the waist of his pants from the top of his head was a thin red brown fur. There was a hole cut in the back of his pants to allow room for his tail.

Tyler had been thinking of what could have happened to the missing infected that night, when Mar walked up to him later in dining hall with determination in his step.

"What is it?" Tyler sat up, he had been expecting Mar but he looked very focused.

"Four more are missing." Mar said. Tyler sighed, two days and seven people gone. What the hell was going on.

"There's no mistake now, something is happening to them, they aren't escaping or on different shifts." Tyler rubbed the back of his neck.

"I have to find them, these people trust me to take care of them and I'm failing them all." Mar said.

"I understand-"

"But you don't understand!" Mar shouted, voice echoing through the empty dining room, "You have a powerful species. Your kind run the planet, you're just a single fleck in a big world. But my people are right here, right now, and every day I have to watch them being beaten and forced to fight because of a disease we couldn't stop." Mar said. "I made a promise to them, that I would protect them, from you and from your people. From everyone and everything that wants to hurt them. Which is just about everything but the kitchen sink in this place." Mar said.

"I'm sorry." Tyler frowned. Mar sighed and sat down.

"It's not your fault, I shouldn't have gone off on you like that." He rested his head in his hands.

"We will figure this out, Mar." Tyler promised. Mar looked up at him, doubtfully.

"Trust me, I have a plan." Tyler gave a crooked smile.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Four days later their plan was set. It was Saturday night and Tyler let Mar know who was going into the arena.

"It's that crocodile guy-"

"Rick." Mar said.

"Sure, Rick and that chick with the antlers."

"Rose? Rose is going in?" Mar shook his head.

"Yeah, why?"

"She's a friend of mine, I hate to see my friends fight." Mar frowned.

"Well you won't see this fight." Tyler said. "Theres a few more people chosen after them, point is that none of them are you. So we wait until everyone is in the arena then I sneak you out. I have keys to the front gate and that's when we make our escape, I have christmas vacation tonight so they won't expect me to be there, and no offense but none of the guards notice any of your people." Tyler said.

"None taken, but where exactly are we going?" Mar asked.

"The only place they could possible be taken." Tyler shrugged. Mar thought for a moment and his eyes lit up and his face became a mask of disgust.

"Alpha camp?" He said. Tyler nodded.

"Wait...it's Christmas?" Mar asked.

"Yeah why?"

"Nothing, you just lose track of time in here." Mar shrugged.

"It's Christmas in three days." Tyler smiled.

"Oh...well sounds like a good plan to me." Mar smiled.

"Good, I'll meet you tonight, just make sure you're the last one in line to enter the arena." Tyler said.

"I always am, I make sure everyone is out of there." Mar said, "And I have plenty of time to tell everyone what's going on." Mar stood up.

"Whoa whoa whoa, you can't tell anyone about this." Tyler put a hand on Mar's furred arm to stop him.

"I won't just abandon them, Captain." Mar put sarcastic emphasis on the title.

"If you tell them it just puts us in danger."

"I won't have them thinking that I've just up and disappeared. That would make them even more scared than they already are." Mar said. Tyler sighed and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Fine," He sighed, "But instead of telling them all, tell one of them and have them tell everyone else when we're gone and they start panicking." Tyler said.

"Why?"

"Because, the longer they know, the higher chance we'll be caught." He shrugged.

"Fine, I'll tell Rose, we can trust her." Mar said and walked off.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

That night, Mar was the last one in the line to the pit. He was about to walk through the guarded doors when Tyler pulled him to the side, without a word they walked to the gates.

"Wish us luck." Tyler whispered as they approached the guarded gates.

"What do you mean luck?" Mar snapped.

"Freeze, where are you going with that?" The guard raised a gun.

"Alpha camp." Tyler said, he seemed confident but Mar could feel him shaking.

"Unlock the gates." The guard called out and lowered his weapon. They were allowed to pass through the gate and climbed into Tylers truck.

"You didn't mention that part of the plan." Mar glared at him.

"I didn't want you to panic." Tyler shrugged and smiled.

"Ass."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They arrived at the Alpha camp in an hour. The car ride was silent and almost awkward. Mar held his tail in his lap, he had crushed it in the door when they had stopped at a gas station, and stroked it nervously as they climbed out of the truck at the Alpha camp. He looked at the bleak building and was surprised when he felt handcuffs around his wrists.

"What the hell?"

"I can't just walk in there like we're friends." Tyler said.

"Are we?"

"What?"

"Friends?" Silence passed between them and he heard the click of the handcuffs locking.

"Yeah, we are." Tyler smiled. Mar smiled back and their eyes met for a moment before Tyler roughly shoved him forward.

"Hey!" Mar growled, baring his tiny teeth. They walked, Mar stumbled, to the front gates where two guards waited.

"State your business."

"Business?" Tyler raised an eyebrow.

"What do you want?" The guard spat.

"I want.... I want to finally get this damned hybrid into the camp. I've been driving forever!" Tyler shouted. The guards stared at him and rolled their eyes, opening the gates. Tyler shoved him through and they walked through the hopeless camp.

"Somethings wrong, Tyler." Mar said.

"What?" Tyler asked.

"There's no one here." Mar said. His ears twitched furiously back and forth.

"So? There's not supposed to be infected running around the halls in any camp." Tyler said.

"I know that, and we stay out of the halls. But you can still hear us, crying usually." Mar said.

"I never hear anything."

"Do you have ears this big?" Mar raised an eyebrow, pointing to his twitching his ears.

"Touche." Tyler laughed quietly before asking, "Can I ask you something?"

"Is it about my paws?"

"Yeah."

"Then no." Mar smiled at him and they kept walking. Tyler rolled his eyes and stopped.

"Foxes are mammals, right?"

"Yeah, why?"

"I think this is our stop." He pointed to a door that said Mammals.

"Alright then... So what's the plan?" Mar asked.

"This." Tyler opened the door and, with Mar in front of him, stepped into the room.

"Oh my god..." Mar's mouth went dry. The room was one long hallway, much like a dog kennel. Cages lined the hallway. One row of cages on the bottom, one row above that. The cages were small, one 'mammal' was forced into each of the tiny cages. Some of them looked dead, they were lying on the floor of the cage unmoving and pale. Some of them wrapped their frail hands around the bars of the cage and followed Mar and Tyler with hollow eyes.

"Please..." Mar jumped as a furred hand was forced through the bars, reaching out for him. Mar stepped up to the cage and put the mans hand in his.

"I've heard about you..." He coughed. "You're Mar, aren't you?" He said, with a raspy voice.

"Yes, how do you know me?"

"Everyone knows you, you're a legend in this place, in every place really." The man gave a very weak smile.

"Why? Why me?"

"Why not you? You're a beacon of light in these dark times, Mar." A coughing fit interrupted him. "Rumors of your leadership spread like wildfire." The man said, "You're a great man." He smiled brighter.

"What's your name?" Mar asked.

"Mickey." The man smiled. "Mickey Pond." It was then that Mar realized the caged man, Mickey, had a Scottish accent.

"Well, Mickey Pond. I'll do my best not to let you all down." Mar promise. Mickey smiled and released Mar's hand, crawling to the back to his cage and beginning to fall asleep.

"Mar." Tyler drew his attention. Mar looked at him and he pointed at the end of the hall, where a door sat. He took his position as pretend prisoner and let Tyler march him to the doorway.

"Ah! This must be our new subject. The General told us he was sending in more." A man in a white lab coat said, as they stepped into the room.

"Yeah, I'm the new delivery boy, if you will." Tyler laughed.

"Ah, I'm supposed to fill you in on what goes on here then." The doctor put down a clipboard and moved away from a metal table with a young woman with rabbit ears.

"This is our testing facility. We test the different species of infected."

"What kind of tests?"

"Seeing what kind of traits they inherit from the animals, among other things." The doctor shrugged.

"Does it hurt them?" Tyler asked. The doctor turned to him and smiled.

"Of course." He shrugged and turned back to a computer. Mar and Tyler looked at each other and Tyler uncuffed him.

"Just leave it in that cage over there." The doctor gestured to a medium sized cage. Tyler walked Mar over to the cage.

"Don't worry, I'll be here and we'll get to the bottom of this with you on the inside with the infected, and me on the outside with the staff." Tyler promised.

"I trust you." Mar said, and he meant it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It had been three days.

Tyler had locked Mar in the steel cage three days ago, and hadn't seen him since. Worry was eating away at his gut. He had promised the fox that he would be watching out for him, but he didn't even know where he was. But what he did know, is what was going on in the camp. He had talked to many of the soldiers and doctors and found out what he needed to.

They were doing experimental testing on the hybrids. Using them to test drugs and surgeries that were still in the making. They had all the benefits of animal testing, even more benefits really, without PETA and all other animal rights groups on their back. No one cared about the infected, at least no one important. The hard part was that no one knew if it was legal or not. There were no laws around that sort of thing. It was undetermined if they get animal rights or human rights. Another thing that people didn't know, what surgeries and drug testing exactly. That's what Mar was supposed to be finding out, if Tyler could just find him.

"Hey, Mickey right?" Tyler said, getting close to the bars of the cage.

"Who are you?" Mickey said, facing the back of the cage.

"My name is Tyler, I'm friends with Mar." Tyler said, looking up and down the hall for any guards or doctors. Mickey turned in the small cage to face Tyler. His right eye had a thick bandage around it.

"What happened to you?" Tyler asked.

"They're testing a new kind of laser eye surgery...it didn't work." Mickey said.

"I am so sorry. I promise you, we'll get you help." Tyler said, reaching through the cage to put a hand on his shoulder.

"I believe you. Rumors of Mar have spread across the world. If you're a friend of his you're definitely a friend of ours." Mickey smiled. It was amazing to Tyler that someone who had been through so much could be so brave. The infected were truly amazing people.

"Speaking of Mar, have you seen him?" Tyler asked.

"No, not really." Mickey smiled.

"I didn't mean it like that, I-"

"It's alright," Mickey chuckled, "No, I haven't seen him since the day you two came in."

"Well thanks. If you see him, let me know." Tyler said, and walked down the hall to ask the other infected.

"I saw him." A small mousey woman said.

"You have?" Tyler ran up to the cage.

"Yes, we were both in the lab a day ago." She said.

"What's your name?" Tyler asked.

"Donna." The woman squeaked.

"Donna, do you know what's happened to him?"

"He was to be taken in for surgery. He's probably in recovery now." She said.

"Surgery? Shit! I was supposed to protect him!" Tyler spat.

"Where do the infected recover?" Tyler asked.

"Usually just in their cages." The woman said.

"But he isn't here!" Tyler had to stop himself from shouting.

"No, but there are different area's. Check the canine hall. Foxes are like dogs, right? He could have been mistaken." The woman suggested.

"Thank you, so much." Tyler said, kissing her paw and running off. He found the hall labeled Canine and entered, slamming the door making several of the caged people jump.

"Mar?" Tyler called out.

"Tyler?" Tyler saw a red furred hand stick out of one of the cages, limp. He ran to the cage and saw a half naked Mar staring back at him.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry! What did they do to you?" Tyler asked, using his skeleton key to open the cage.

"I'm okay." Mar said, though he sounded drugged.

"We need to get you out of here." Tyler grunted, dragging Mar out of the second row cage. Mar grunted as his feet hit the floor and he tried to stand, leaning on Tyler.

"Just hold on, we can take you..." Tyler didn't know where.

"I'm okay." Mar repeated.

"Yeah, not really believing that." Tyler said.

"But I am... I think... What?" Mar looked up at him. Tyler stopped dragging him down the hall and stared at him.

"Yeah, you are sooooo not okay." Tyler rolled his eyes and continued dragging him down the hall.

"God, aren't foxes supposed to be small?" Tyler grunted.

"Hey." Mar scowled at him. "It's the tail." Mar put his head on Tylers chest.

"You really aren't helping the situation." Tyler lifted him onto his back in a firemans carry. He checked the hall for guards before finding the chamber guards were allowed to use between shifts, to sleep.

"Just hold on, Mar." Tyler placed him on his bed.

"Ow." Mar mumbled, when Tyler set him on his tail.

"Sorry." Tyler grabbed his tail and moved it to the side.

"Not so hard, I'm not some cheap lay. You cant just tug it and expect me to roll over for you." Mar glared at him with glazed eyes.

"Uh huh, what did they give you exactly?" Tyler asked.

"I dunno!" Mar threw his hands up in the air, smacking Tyler in the face.

"Yeah, okay you just lay there in a moment." Tyler rolled his eyes.

"M'kay." Mar rolled his head from side to side.

"Do you know what kind of surgery they did?" Tyler asked. A blank look came over Mar's face as he thought.

"Uh..." Mar shook his head lazily.

"No, I suppose you wouldn't." Tyler placed his hand over the end of Mar's tail, the end of which was twitching up and down, like a sleeping cats. Tyler looked into his glazed over eyes and watched his ears and whiskers twitch.

"You remind me of Tod." Tyler said.

"Who's Tod? Are you cheating on me? You whore!" Mar gave him a very week slap.

"From The Fox and The Hound." Tyler said, ignoring the drugged infected.

"I seen that movie. Good thing you're not a dog. What was his name? Zinc?"

"Copper." Tyler laughed.

"Yeah that one!" Mar pointed at the ceiling.

"You are sooooooo out of it." Tyler laughed.

"False." Mar mumbled.

"Why is it a good thing I'm not a dog?" Tyler giggled.

"Because, then we couldn't be friends. Or more." Mar raised an eyebrow.

"More?" Tyler sat forward in the chair.

"Yeah, you're nice." Mar wiggled on the bed.

"Thank you, but what do you mean more?" Tyler asked, he knew he shouldn't be reading into things while Mar was like this.

"More everything." Mar opened his eyes and gave a small sideways smile.

"What did they do to you Mar?" Tyler asked, as Mar pawed at his pants.

"They used a needle." Mar smiled.

"A needle for what?"

"They said it was experimental hormones." Mar giggled.

"Mar, this isn't you." Tyler tried to talk some sense into the hormone crazed Mar.

"It is, just me enhanced." Mar chuckled and tried to unbutton Tyler's pants.

"Not enhanced." Tyler disagreed.

"I like you Tyler. Now it's just more obvious." Mar said, standing up and pressing his crotch against Tyler's leg. Tyler had to admit the small man was adorable with his pointed ears and swishing tail.

"Not like this, Mar. When you're hormones calm the hell down, then we can see if you still feel this way." Tyler said. Mar pouted and sat back down on the bed, with his bottom lip stuck out. It took all of Tyler's will power to keep from ravishing the fox.

"So here you go," Tyler handed him a bottle of lotion and tissues that sat on the nightstand. "And I'll leave you to it." He smiled and back out of the room. Mar starred after him with a smile on his face and leaned back on the bed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mar woke up the next day feeling much better. He still felt the dull hum of the strange hormones in his veins but he was under control now. He scratched the top of his head, leaving his hair sticking up.

"Morning." Tyler stepped into the room.

"Hey." Mar looked around the sun lit room.

"Feeling better?"

"Much, how out of it was I last night?" Mar asked.

"Pretty out of it..." Tyler blushed. Mar's eyes widened and the color of his cheeks matched his red fur as he recalled what had happened.

"Tyler I-"

"We have more important things to talk about, that can wait." Tyler sat down on the bed.

"You're right. I found out what they're doing to the infected."

"Me too, surgeries and drug testing right?" Tyler asked.

"Yeah, they're giving us insane stuff. They gave a rabbit mix a shit ton of coke just to see how he would react." Mar shook his head.

"We won't let them get away with this Mar, we can bring it to peoples attention and..."

"And what? No one cares about us, Tyler. They look at us and see dumb animals. Most people will probably be glad they're doing these expirements on us and not on normal animals." Mar rolled his eyes.

"People may think that, but what about when they see what's happening to you guys... have you seen Mickey?" Tyler asked.

"No, what's happened to him?" Mar asked, suddenly awake.

"They tested some sort of laser eye surgery on him. I think he lost an eye." Tyler said. Mar put his head in his hands and was silent for a moment. When he looked up his eyes were red and teary but they showed anger, not sadness.

"I won't let them do this to us anymore, I'll do whatever I can to stop it." Mar said.

"I'm with you all the way." Tyler promised.

"Are you sure? This could cost you your job or even your life." Mar said.

"I joined the military because I wanted to help people, I don't have any family or really any friends. This is the way I can help the most people." Tyler shrugged. They stared at each other for a long moment in respect, then Mar's left ear twitched.

"Someones coming." as he said it the door knob began to turn. He quickly hid on the side of the door that the door would hide.

"Captain, well rested I hope?" A deep voice said.

"Yes, thank you." Tyler smiled.

"Good, could you come with us, please?" Mar heard the man step aside. Tyler glanced at Mar as he followed the man out. The door was shut and Mar came out from behind it. He put one of his ears against the door and heard the men walking down the hall. He waited a moment before following them