Our House

Chapter 1
Over the Fence

Chapter Description: Star is looking for help. Not sure if she finds what she's looking for.

The female lynx sighed and rest her forehead on the steering wheel in a sign of resignation. This morning had started poorly for Anastasia Bryce, so she was stupid to assume the rest of the day would be going any better. She got out of the army issue jeep and kicked the wheel as if somehow putting her size 3 boot against the tyre would magically make the mud covered beast roar back into life. Of course it didn’t, but it did make her feel better.

Walking around the vehicle she clambered into the back looking for the toolbox. Her golden eyes searching the junk in the back of the jeep, moments later, brows furrowed in confusion, she jumped down out of the back of the jeep empty handed. Knowing that all jeeps came with a basic toolkit she felt like screaming to the sky. Which she did. Her voice echoing around the tree lined road in the middle of nowhere.

"FUCK IT ALL!"

She put another boot into the jeep this time the drivers door bore the brunt of her frustration, a new dent. Again her anger was satiated. Swinging round she walked to the front and popped the hood, one look at the engine and she knew it was game over. The head gasket had blown and whilst she was perfectly capable of fixing the problem if she had the right tools and parts, stuck here in the middle of no mans land meant she was exactly that. Stuck.

She crossed her arms blowing a strand of pink hair out of her face. She knew it was her fault. Knew she should have checked the jeep over before checking it out of the compound this morning, but other than the basic water, diesel and oil check she hadn’t gone into the back to see if the tool box was there. Why wouldn’t it be there. It was standard procedure. Of course it was also standard procedure to check a vehicle before logging it out. When she got back to base she would check the logs to see who had taken the vehicle last and make sure they were properly educated on how to treat army equipment.

She pulled her cellphone from her pocket and one look told her it was conspiring with the jeep. No signal. Still she was out in the middle of nowhere so she guessed it had been a little too much to hope for.

She sat in the car for three hours hoping to see another vehicle but nothing came her way. As afternoon merged into early evening she sighed. She was reluctant to leave the vehicle but was also concerned as to how long she would be stuck here. It was no good she would have to set off on foot and find help.

She threw her overcoat on and grabbed her rucksack out of the passenger seat throwing it onto her back and looking up at the now twilight sky. It would be pretty dark within an hour or so. She couldn’t remember seeing any house whilst driving so she guessed she would just continue forward and hope she came across something soon. She knew she had three days of rations in her pack and was fairly confident she should reach some form of civilian life before then if she followed the road.

She wrote a note explaining her situation and what direction she had set off in, and left it on the dashboard along with her phone number should anyone or the police find the vehicle. Hoping that if anyone did find the vehicle before she found help that by that point she would be somewhere with at least a little phone reception. She set off at a comfortable jog. Being used to exercises out in the field this was a cake walk in comparison.

She jogged along the main road for about an hour, the light had dimmed but her large cat eyes had adjusted accordingly and so the dim light didn’t hinder her too much. Thick conifer trees continued to line the road making the night feel darker and more oppressive. Cracks and crunches from the treeline occasionally made her jump having disturbed local wildlife from its nightly prowlings.

The lynx noticed the glow of what could potentially be a house further ahead and she picked the pace up a little aiming for that distant hopeful glow. Sure enough she came across a rather well presented stone built cottage. She shifted her backpack on her shoulders acutely aware that she was dressed in her full army regalia and she knew it would be unusual for a soldier to be knocking on a civilians door at, she looked at her watch, six o’clock in the evening.

Her sight traveled across the garden. It was well kept. Neat flower beds perfectly trimmed hedges and taking a few steps further along the fence she could see just parked around the corner a large old tractor. It looked worn. A few more steps allowed her to peer further around the corner and she saw that actually there were a number of farm vehicles around the corner, some looked more intact than others as if some had been cannibalized to provide parts for the more hopeful vehicles. The female lynx allowed herself a brief smile of potential victory. Clearly whomever lived here knew their way around machinery. This was just what she needed.

She returned to the front of the house and pushed open the pretty little wooden gate. Or she would have done but it appeared to be stuck. She checked the little latch on the gate. It was undone. Yet the gate refused to budge. Kneeling down she examined the gate further looking for signs of rust in the hinge. But the darkness muted her acute seeing ability and as far as she could tell there didn’t appear to be anything wrong with the hinge. She felt guilty for doing so but the female soldier effortlessly hopped over the gate landing in the perfect garden path.

A tingle went up her spine as if she had suddenly become statically charged and she shivered as the goosebumps ran the length of her body causing her fur to fluff out somewhat. It was getting cold so she was pretty thankful that she had discovered this house before the temperature had dropped much further.

She walked up to the front door, stood on the perfect little porch and rapped her knuckles against the wood. She stood there for a moment, her large lynx ears pricked forward listened for signs of life. A few of the windows were lit but that didnt necessarily mean anyone was home. She could hear light footfall approaching and she stood straight and alert waiting for the door to open.

When it did open it was a male wolf, Star estimated him to be around 12, 13 years of age. White fur with brown eyes which at first looked puzzled as he stared up at her and then seemed to reflect fear and panic. Before the lynx could introduce herself the boy took a step forward onto the porch and ever so carefully and silently but with a sense of urgency pulled the front door mostly closed behind him. He kept his voice low, barely above a whisper almost as if he were conspiring.

"Go away! Seriously go now. You really don’t want to be here ma’am"

Star was taken aback by the random warning but collected her composure quickly.

"Hey kid, is your mum or dad home. I’ve got a bit of a situ..."

The wolf boy took another step towards her, this time bringing his shoulders back and puffing his chest out to look more intimidating. Yet his voice remained hushed.

"Seriously get lost!" He hissed between bared teeth. "Whatever problem you have, it wont be a patch on anything you find beyond this door" His dark brown eyes sparkled with anger.

Star wasnt intimidated in the slightest but a little bit irked by the lad’s persistence and rudeness. She ruffled his hair causing his face to flush with either anger or embarrassment Star didnt know which, and neither did she care.

"Kid, your parents, I’d like to have a word. Are they in?"

It was like a feverish glint had suddenly sparked in the boys eyes.

"In? No they’re not. Sorry and i’m not allowed to let strangers in the h..."

A dog started barking from inside the house and after a few yaps a woman’s voice called from inside. "Zachary? Is someone at the door?"

The boy visibly slumped so much so that star was convinced she was going to have to catch him. He brought his head up slowly, his eyes locking with the female soldier stood in front of him. An almost apologetic look on his face and star was almost convinced he had mouthed the words ’I’m sorry’ before he straightened up and yelled back through the house.

"There’s a lady at the door Mother. She wants to speak to you!"

There was a pause and then "Well show her inside why don’t you, be a good lad!"

Sighing the wolf pushed open the door and beckoned for Star to step inside.