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

“Im..sorry…I can't stop talking about it if you want…” Chris says softly.

“Just promise me one thing Chris….Promise me you're going to kill that monster for me and my siblings alright? I’m serious… I lost to him the first time out of my blind hatred for him and my blind pride thinking I a stupid bunny rabbit, can take on a cunning predator like a panther.”

“Don’t hurt yourself like that Emma. You tried your hardest to give all you got and fight him. I lost to him too, but I rather see it as a reminder knowing I’ll have my chance again someday to take him on full force.” Chris looks up and sees they arrive at the valley. This was the same valley Chris and Reginald were training for a while but he didn’t have the chance to fully endorse the beauty of the entire area. The rolling hills had beautiful humps that made the grass look gorgeous over the willow trees that glisten in the sunlight. Down by the valley was a crystal clear stream of water, perfect for drinking and hunting fish. “Wow!!! It’s so much cooler than last time I was here.” Chris shouts.

“I call dibs on the flower patch!” Emma says as she runs off in a hurry.

“Wait! That's the softest part of the valley to sleep on!” Chris runs to catch up with Emma.

Chris looks down and sees how colorful the rainbow of flowers are growing on the bed. He says one foot as his eyes are filling with awe and comfort. “Gee it's like no one has even been here.” He continues to step gracefully on the flowers, he then lowers his legs and begins to sit down.

“Wow, you look so weird sitting down. It’s like you're a small puppy dog waiting for its owner.” Emma giggled as she nibbles on a single flower.

“Look at you Emma, you're eating just like Luke!” He laughs as she begins to choke on the flower.

“You know Reginald was right ...I did need that stroll plus I wasn't spending much time with you recently ever since that stroll in that sewer. I guess it's just me being super depressed and weird over Luke that I forget that I have others around me that are pretty awesome.”

“Oh...yeah no problem,” Emma says back to Chris as she hides a small blush. “So are we gonna find that giant sloth or not?” She sure does love flowers too, I bet if we wait here she would come here eventually.” Emma snickers.

“You got that right Claudia does love nature and some nice old flowers. I just hope her knowledge about medicine will help Luke in the end. It also would be nice if I saw the gang as well….Never really had a chance to get to know Chuck much or even with Monroe...and Sam..”

“Don’t worry about it, we’ll find them and we’ll fix Luke from his coma. For now let us just take a nap, or even actually just snack for a while, and then we keep on moving around this perimeter and hope for the best alright?”

“Yeah I'm gonna go fetch some fish in a minute,” Chris says as he runs down to the stream. As the afternoon passes on Emma continues eating the flowers around her and he begins fishing for his meal. They continue to talk about each other's life. Soon the sun sets over the horizon as they forget to be back at the Smoky Den by sundown. He walks over to Emma and slouches down.

“What a day it has been, even though we did absolutely nothing much at all,” Chris says looking at the amber sunset, with the shades of yellow-orange and pinkish-red going down on the horizon. A small chilly breeze comes through making Emma shiver for a bit. He looks down at Emma and wraps his tail around her against himself. She smiles at him as he smiles back with his scales near his face turning red and pink continuously. They look off to the sunset, as the moon and the night start to wake up. Out from the darkness the beauty of the land was now disrupted from a yell.

“WELL IF IT ISN'T THE TWO LOVEBIRDS HAHAHAHA!” Cole yells out coming out of nowhere in the darkness.

Chris and Emma are startled as they take their aggressive stance and look everywhere trying to find the fiend.

“WHERE ARE YOU COLE!” Chris yells.

“Oh you know, I’m actually in front of you, can’t you see oh wait I forgot I scratched your eye and won’t be able to find me so easily making you look so retarded! HAHAHA!!!” Cole says as he circles around them.

“HEY WATCH IT YOU FRICKEN JERK! COME OUT AND FIGHT, YOUR JUST SCARED LIKE A LITTLE BABY!” Emma yells out to Cole.

“A baby?.... I believe you're thinking that you're the baby in the situation dear. Coming from the bunny that is the size of one and can’t do anything to me.” Cole smiles as he gets closer pacing faster.

“Emma I think you should make a run for it...He can’t get the both of us, especially when you're fast and smart and I can shave a claw up his neck.” Chris whispers to Emma.

“No you can't do that Chris, I’m sorry but Reggie said to stay with you and not leave you so if you're fighting then I'm fighting too…” Emma says as she looks at him with a confident expression on her face.

“Oh so we are going to have around 2 I see...how fun it will be just wiping your body again with my paw at ease. I mean can you believe it Chris. The baby rabbit challenges me again even though she almost died the first time. Now i'll enjoy hurting you in front of him!” Cole smirks as he focuses his stance towards Emma.

“Hey Emma I think I got an idea, You’ll kick some dirt into his face as I counterattack with some stabbing action alright?”

She doesn't hear this and is already yelling and charging into the direction of Cole’s voice.

“Yeah...just do that I guess, totally not ruining our plan...women these days…” Chris says as he follows Emma into the dark. He struggles to see but hears the voice of Emma as she is fighting Cole. Cole circles around Emma and stares her down as Emma jumps on him and pushes off his face.

“You hit like a child!” Cole yells at Emma.

“I know...but he doesn’t,” Emma says to Cole

“What are you on about-” Cole is disrupted as Chris launches behind him by gripping onto his back.

Cole tries to shake him off but it's no use as Chris’s claws begin to latch onto his skin making this difficult for him to escape. Chris tries to concentrate and finally finishes off Cole once and for all. Although despite the best wishes of Chris and Emma Cole was not going to give up this easily. He looks and runs as fast as he can to a tree as he knocks Chris into it making him fall from his back. Chunks of skin are hanging from his back as he scrunches his face up trying to show no pain at all. He looks back as he hides into the darkness looking at Chris. He has been growing stronger and stronger and questions in his mind if he should even continue this fight.

Even though Cole may be smarter than him in the end, Chris had the capabilities of easily killing Cole but could not fully understand the power he has been given. He looks forth as Emma and Chris begin to feel as if he is gone. He then sees the mysterious crab-like creature behind him.

“So...are you here to help too?” Cole asks the mutant. No response is given but only the moving of its mandibles and clicking of its claw.

“You're not gonna talk eh...Sure I guess, I don’t know why you have to come here when I have this situation under control you hear.” Cole says to the mutant. The mutant grasps his stalky eyes as he grooms himself.

“Are you even listening Or are you really like one of those dumb pale things, they can’t talk nor think but just eat and crap everywhere,” Cole says to the mutant one more time. The crab mutant looks at Cole with curiosity as he clicks his claws again in rhymitic fashion.

“What are you doing, you're going to give us away. You don’t want to make Roberts upset with us right?” Cole asks the mutant. Cole is slowly getting angrier at the mutant and is losing patience to strike back again at Chris and Emma who are begging to go back to the Smoky Den.

“How about I just kill the rabbit and you go for the dinosaur alright?” Cole asks the mutant one more time.

“You do know he has been speaking with you for a while right?” Roberts appears out of the shadows scaring Cole.

“JESUS! Why do you always have to come out so late?” Cole says to Roberts.

Roberts only just gives a stare at Chris deeply. “I’ve met with that boy before, twice in fact… He has injured you I see…” He observes the injuries done on Cole’s back.

“Yeah, but it's just a scratch, he got lucky you know” Cole smirks looking at the scratches.

“Skill and Luck are two different things my apprentice. You just lack the skill to fully take him out when he was weak.”

“Well how come you don’t do it, you Roberts killed like 3 apex predators in one night with no problem at all. Chris would die easily.”.

“You question a lot for a male who suffers from a low IQ. I need Chris alive if we plan to work.”

“You sure don’t sound like you are a person who knows anything…”

Roberts grins. “Soon you will see in due time that what we are doing will change everything in the end,”

“So what are we supposed to do now, just wait until they wander to us again?”

“Cole we must wait until the mutants have finished consuming the corpses in the city. Once they reach the potential of the former organic animals, then they will be even more powerful than bears, lions, and even dinosaurs that this Chris...has.”

“You promised a lot of things...to me you know.” Cole asks Roberts. “

“Yes...yes, you will have your share of murdering Chris and Luke with the bountiful fear of a tyrant that you desire. Just know your place….I am the one who found you, and I am the one who can formulate a way for you to suffer or make it easier for you to live with ease. So don’t test me and stop questioning me this instant.” Roberts says in a serious tone to Cole.

Cole remembers a memory when Roberts found him. After he had killed Emma’s brothers he had been on the hunt for Chris but had lost the scent trail and had to find another way. When he was wandering through the night he noticed strange webbings along the city. Most of them were piles of silk that had numerous types of mammals in them. Cole fell into the trap that Chris and Luke made before as he started to inspect this as the crab mutant attacked. Unlike Luke, Cole was able to claw himself out quickly and leave.

His tracks were cut short as Roberts was dead at his tracks. “Well hello young man...What brings you here to this wretched part of town?” Roberts asks.

“Move out of the way you hag, I have to get going. Don’t make me get my fur to get stained with blood again.”

“Hmmm...daring are we, you do know that my friend yonder can end that stunt quite easily if I do say so myself,” Roberts smirks.

“OH, YEAH WATCH ME, OLD MAN!” Cole screams and pounces on Roberts,