Animalia by Cristian Johnson (free novels to read txt) 📕

Roberts grabs his neck with both hands and slams him back to the ground. “You are making this look like a children’s fight on a playground..” Roberts says.

Isaac looks up at him panting, he can’t keep this up forever. “I know your strength, but with that I know your weakness as well Roberts….You can not stop animals from living here. You can not stop from animals finding answers to what you have don-“ Isaac tries to say as he is cut short by getting kicked on his ribs. He gasps for air and looks back at Roberts who kicks him again.

“Did you know, in a religion, they associated their leader with a lion, and then they killed him. It is quite a coincidence I am doing somewhat the same thing aren’t I right?” Roberts asks Isaac. Isaac does not respond but only gives out wheezes and turns over and tries to get back up. He struggles but shakes as he feels a sudden pain from his ribs.

“You……can’t….break……me….” Isaac says back to Roberts.

“I am tired of this, so let me put you out of your misery you old coot,” Roberts replies. With a final gambit in pain Isaac launches once more at Roberts but with ease Roberts grabs Isaac’s mane and tugs him back to the ground. With one hand he pushes his head down to the gourd and stands on his face with one foot. He looks at a mutant near him and pulls its arm off. With that he splatters the blood on him.

“Farewell….former friend” Roberts finishes off as he looks at the mutants drooling with an enticed and lustful look at Isaac. He snaps his fingers as the mutants now rush at Isaac and pile on him. They begin to eat him alive gorging on everything that is flesh and bone. Isaacs mane is being torn and his skin being ripped with ease as blood spurts with each hand ripping out chunks of flesh.

Isaac looks toward the sky and thinks to himself “I could not lead them…but I do know one thing…..that boy….he isn’t a monster…he will be the new leader of the pack….and shall regain our hope.” Isaac thinks to himself before he gives out his last breath and bleeds out.

The sounds of grumbles and flesh-tearing continue nonstop until the mutants are done with their gluttony fill. In the distance a lioness looks beyond and with her children and another male lion looks over.

“Your father….saved them…..” The lioness says to her children.

The male lion has no words as he looks back at the lioness. “Mother…..let’s go back to the nursery home, so my siblings won’t have to see any more of what has happened…”

With that they walked off, and the mutants have gone back into the shadows. This battle is done, and Roberts has won this, but will he win this war….

Ever since the battle Black Stone, as Reginald calls it. The group returned and saw that some animals had survived the landslide along with Luke but not without injuries both physically and mentally. Luke wasn’t responsive to any treatment at all. Chris feels responsible that Luke is in a coma now, and that Isaac is dead now. What will happen now of these gloom circumstances our friends are in.? Can Emma and Chris find a way to heal their fallen friend?

Chris is staring off into his friend's eyes as he looks deeply into the blank eyes of Luke. He has been watching him for a long while now, when he was carrying him back, Luke muttered crazy words that were not of English. Emma thought it was because he was hallucinating after getting hit so hard in the head, but Chris feels like something else is bothering him. It probably is that he was asleep for so long already and the fact he doesn’t need food to live but just rest. Chris is growing restless day after day looking at his friend with concern and thinks about Claudia. He feels that he should be searching for the Dino crew and hope Claudia can fix Luke as he can fix Emma. Everyone that survived the battle wants Luke to get well but there is nothing for them to do. Chris gets depressed from this, and the only other time he ever moves from that spot was only to grab food and then eat in front of him. He sleeps near him to keep him company. Reginald and Emma grow concerns for him and Luke.

“My boy is sick alright….but I do not know what it is. I wish there was some way I can help him…I am what’s left of his family…” Reginald says to himself as he takes a deep breath.

“I know I should be worrying about Luke but Chris is also concerning me from being isolated up there and not even talking to any of us. It’s like he lost part of his life when we brought him back here…” Emma said to herself.

At last Chris comes down looking at Emma and Chris giving their best warm-hearted smile to comfort him. It is no use for he just looks back at the savannah and walks away from the nursery. “Where do you think you’re going?” Reginald asks Chris.

“Nowhere..just out to the valleys over the savannah,” Chris replies.

“Oh…I see..hmm. Don’t you want some company while you are on the trail? I can tell you more stories about your father.” Reginald says to Chris in hopes of a small smile.

“Nah, it's alright Reggie I think I can do this one solo. I promise I’ll be back from lunch. Plus aren’t you the new leader?” Chris replies to Reginald.

“Oh yes…I keep forgetting I am the new council elder. I don’t know how to run one though. Isaac would have done a better job…” Reginald looks down to the floor. “Well take care Chris and make sure you’re back by sundown. I don’t want any mutants attacking you in the middle of the night.” Reginald says.

“Sure, the more mutants the merrier it will be for me,” Chris says as he walks off.

“WAIT!” Emma yells as she scampers off with Chris. “You're gonna leave me and not say goodbye? Wow you’re such a loser Chris.” Emma jabs at Chris as he gives a small smile. “I can’t go with you either sadly.” Chris’s small smile started to disappear again.

“Why not? You know you need me to keep you safe in the dark.” Emma says to Chris.

“Hmmm…..I do concur you two should go and take a stroll in the valley, a sunny day is sure brewing with no cloud in sight.” Reginald says to the both of them.

“Yeah Chris, you should let me come with you,” Emma asks again.

“Ok fine, just because you're here doesn’t mean you're here to bother me I have something important to do too you know,” Chris says to Emma. With that the two of them walk off from the nursery home and Emma jumps into the business.

“So we're going to find that weird squad of dinosaurs aren’t we,” Emma says with a smirk on her face.

“Wait…how did you know?”

“You may have been talking in your sleep for a while, surprised Reggie hasn’t found out about them yet. You think you're gonna tell him eventually who they are.” She asks.

“Yeah my sleep is pretty messed up at this point. Also about Reggie well….I don’t know, I can’t just tell him I found another group of people that are pretty much like me. Except Sam….which is weird in the way that he got with them in the first place.” He replies.

“What do you mean.” Emma tilts her head in confusion.

“Well. When I was with the Chief he was talking to me about how he found everyone. With

Sam it was a very weird case of finding him in the same sewer that we found your brothers…” Chris comments.

Emma has no reply to the comment he made.

“So, wanna talk about life?” Chris asks.

Emma looks at Chris with a frown. “Is that your best pick up line you got…” Emma says to Chris as he looks away with his scales changing red as a tomato.

“Hey, I’m just joking, jeez don’t get slushy on me,” She smiles at him.

“If you want to know about me, hmm oh yeah. I once lived in many places as a child but before the giant blast I lived in New York as well. We moved to the area just about two weeks ago. Everything was going to be great, new friends, a new school, and also a new location where I can start fresh. My younger brothers also were hyped about the fact we were moving from D.C.” Emma says to Chris.

“Wait, you were happy you moved from your home?” Chris asked.

“Well, it's that or act super depressed all the time. My brothers and I were foster kids….We couldn’t exactly choose our home growing up. Especially the fact we stuck together like glue, and that no one would take all three of us. So whenever a house got full, we got transferred to another area. Everything was fine despite the moving away from friends and having to start over again, but I've gotten used to it. My brothers kept me company and made me laugh constantly so friends weren’t much of an issue. I didn’t like the fact some of the adopters always looked down on us whenever they read our papers. It's like they were afraid of something, or just think we were a weird group of siblings.” Emma says.

“I like to say I don’t have parents either….My dad is missing from action, and my stepmom is just really invested in so many things and not much with me anymore. Good thing I had Luke as a friend since I usually sleepover at his place if my mom was at night school, and the bar afterwards. Some days she didn't even come back until the weekend. I don’t know how she kept her job while attending classes and …. the drinking. She would yell at me to get something for her but she promised one thing that she would never hit her children even if she was drunk, but I’m not too sure because she said that when she was drunk herself then proceeded to pass out,” Chris says to Emma.

“I can see why you care for Luke a lot…Even though I just met him recently, he does seem a good friend.”

“Yeah, Luke is the best….we used to have so much fun together, and as well he was almost my guardian angel in a sort of way. He always protected me from the bullying of Cole, sometimes even to the point of fighting him. He always wins against him and Cole backs off although whenever he gets hurt Luke and I get in trouble rather than him getting bullied.”

“Wait…lonestar idiot was your tormenter bully from middle school and up?” She asks angrily.

“Yeah he was. I just don’t understand him though, he wouldn’t just go and murder people, he said he has standards and would most likely push someone to the ground to