The Anthro-Dogs pointed their weapons across the street at the gang of anthros. Another pair of Dog Cops pulled out some stun batons, before they started to push in towards the gang, and were ready to use them. They growled through their fangs; the pair of Dobermans gripped their batons tightly. The lead Anthro-Dog shouted out at the pack of hoodlums on the street corner.

“Drop the illegal drugs and get on the ground!” His gun was still trained on the gang of anthros on the corner.

I couldn’t help but notice the logos on the backs of the Dog Cops uniforms. Hogg industries, one of the many subsidiaries of one mega-rich asshole that plagued the known outer space. The same type of asshole that comes in to your community and promises to fix all the things gone bad by blaming the government and community leaders, only to take all the public’s goods and extracting any amount of wealth, leaving the shell of the husk of life that the city Carpetree had become. Drained, dwindling, and dead with no lack of despair and turmoil. It was a pity we still let these assholes run amok. The all needed to be atomized.

“Fuck you, Ass Sniffers!” One of the groups Anthro-Cat tossed a glass bottle towards the cops. It shattered across the street as the anthro flipped the Dog Cops the bird. “To the stars, bitches!”

“We ain’t done nothing wrong.” An Anthro-sheep steeped forward with his hands up, “We’ll just be going our separate ways.”

“Fuck you, sheep. You just littered. That’s another crime on your head. It’s to the cages you go.” The lead Dog Cop, a Bulldog, aimed his gun right at the sheep’s head, “Now get on the ground before I find you in contempt of the law.”

This was one of those instances I only saw on the news. To be watching it so closely right here in the streets of Carpetree was a sobering experience. I never wanted to see this again. Something at the back of my mind told me it was time to get out of here; maybe it was my instincts or just seeing this type of thing unfold time and time again on the net.

“Shit eaters!” Another Anthro-Cat stepped forward and began walking towards the cops, “You bend over and spread your cheeks for corporate bitches and then take it out on us.”

The Bulldog spoke into his radio, “We need backup on Litter Street. Possible violence and necessary cleanup.”

“To the stars, mother fuckers! This was our town, you can’t just…” It was the one spark in every situation that caused an explosion with a chain reaction. I needed to get Mama and get the hell out.

Boom! The Bulldog’s gun went off. I watched in slow motion as the bullet traveled through the skull of the Antrho-Cat and explode out the back, bone and metal shrapnel hit the Sheep behind him, slicing into his eye. The sheep screamed out in pain and bent over holding his eye. The two Dobermans rushed in and began to beat down the sheep down, as the Bulldog and his German Shepherd comrade began to fire into the small group.

I reflexively ducked into the alley and stuck my head out to see what was happening. I couldn’t take my eyes off of it.

The group scattered about, some getting tagged by the stun batons, electricity coursing through their bodies as they hit the cold, wet sidewalks below. Several of the anthros got hit with bullets as they ran off, leaving a trail of blood, but there was one anthro that stood out among the rest. An Anthro-Lion, far removed from his grace as king of the savannah, stepped forward pulling a small yellow vial. He held it up to his lips and smiled, a deep roll coursed from his throat.

“Fuck it, I’m not going down without a fight! TO THE STARS!” He pressed the button on the vial and inhaled the yellow mist. Something I haven’t seen before in my travels across the galaxy. Something I wasn’t prepared for.

The Bulldog shouted out with fear in his eyes, “He’s got Huff! Get the fuck away! Retreat!” The Dog Cops tried to run as the Lion roared ferociously, rocking the street with its sheer power. His eyes glowed with a yellow fire as he charged the cop car. The German Shepherd fired into the Lion, each bullet slamming home into the King’s chest, but it didn’t stop his primal charge. The Lion slammed into the cop car and flipped it with one swing of his arms. The German Shepherd was slammed backwards, landing on the wet street below.

I gazed in just as much fear as the car twirled in the air before slamming down and crushing the cop below. It was madness. Whatever this drug was, it wasn’t good for anyone around you. That’s for sure.

I saw Mama exit the bank; her head held down as she came out into the carnage and ducked her massive body against the wall. “Mama! Over here!” I waved for her as I saw the Lion rip a door from the cop car and sling it with his massive muscles bulging thick with veins. The door spun as it flew through the air, spinning right for the head of one of the Dobermans. The door connected with his neck, slicing clean through, and taking the head with it.

The last Doberman began to fire at the Lion without any progress in stopping him. The Lion strode up to the cop with confidence only known to royalty. The bullets lodged themselves into his chest, but something strange was happening. I zoomed into it with my HUD, and I could see the bullets were being pushed out and the wounds were healing up instantly. The metal clattered to the wet street below as the Lion reached out with his massive clawed hand and grabbed the Dobermans head.

“What the hecks going on out here?” Mama lumbered over to the alley with me, trying to hide her massive body without much luck.

“Police stops gone wrong. What else is new?” I looked around for Echo again. I wanted to make sure he was safe, but he was nowhere to be seen. “I lost Echo. Not sure where he went.”

“That’s not good, we gotta get out of here now…” Mama and I looked upon something neither of us had seen before, or wanted to see again.

The Lion squeezed the head of the Doberman so tight; the skull finally gave away and crunched down into a pulp with the last scream that the cop would ever give. Mama yelped out in horror and the Lion’s attention turned on us. His yellow, glowing eyes locked onto new prey and he began to stride over to us.

Something tapped my shoulder, and I jumped a bit. My hand shot to my pistol as I turned to see a yellow-hooded Anthro-Cat behind me.

“If you don’t want to share their same fate, then we need to get out of here.” The Cat pointed towards the Lion getting closer to our alley. “Come on!” Her voice was shaky and cracked under the fear of the situation. The Cat ran deeper into the alley and began to climb a pile of trash leaning up against a wooden barricade without hesitation.

Mama and I looked at each other and shrugged. I had no clue who this person was, but it was better than fighting an invincible Anthro-Lion. We began to run after the Cat while the Lion behind us gave out another roar. I turned to see him starting to charge us, just like he did the cop car and my heart began to beat wildly as my chest tightened. This was no good.

We ran up to the blockage in the alley. I whispered, “Heels,” and my feet whined out with a sharp click. I bent down to jump and my wedge heels compressed before letting loose and flinging me high into the air. I launched over the trash and wood, landing softly as my heels took the brunt of the landing. I turned to see Mama just crashing through the blockage, her massive body easily pushing aside any obstacle.

The yellow-hooded Cat was at the end of the alley, the back street cut left and right with a solid wall right in front of us. The Cat waved us over to the left, “Over here!” It took off and disappeared as we busted our asses after her as not to get mauled by a drug fueled monster.

“Watch out!” Mama shouted out from behind me as she shoved my ass over to the right. I slammed to the ground as a massive green trash can slammed into the wall in front of us, blasting concrete and a rubble cloud down around us. The Lion roared again and began to charge, his eyes locked on me, only now I was separated from Mama and the Cat by a trash can and an ever closing, carnage causing, cop killing anthro.

“Vixie!” I could see Mama trying to save me.

“Get out! I got this! Just meet up with Uwu!” I could see Mama wouldn’t let me go off on my own. I could tell she would jump in front of this Lion to save me, but I couldn’t let her jump in front of that monster for me, not after I saw her family and what they were going through.

“GO!” I shouted as loud and passionate as I could to get my message across.

I jumped to my feet and ran as fast as I could, not letting Mama think twice about saving me. I was a big girl, I could take care of myself, even though I was terrified and would love a 2-ton bear between me and this crazed lunatic. This was on me to get out alive. I was in worse situations before.

The Lion slammed into the wall, not even slowing down one bit as he turned and chased me down the right alley. I could see the street ahead with some traffic and pedestrians walking about. That was my only escape. The only problem was the monster behind me was faster and had a tinge of bloodlust.

With each step towards the street, he took 4. There was no way I could outrun him. I could feel his hot breath on my neck, his musclebound clawed arms reaching for me. I took a chance, acted on my instincts, “Heels,” I catapulted upwards, reaching out for anything I could grab, my lungs burned with fright. I grabbed onto an old fire escape, clinging to the rusty metal for my dear life.

I glanced below to see the Lion try and stop and turn his massive body so he could devour me, but his momentum carried him out into the street, his feet sliding on the slick, cold wet ground. The Lion lurched into traffic, I could see his eyes widen as a cop car smashed right into him, sending him flying out of sight. I could see more cops pull up, one car was a military pulse truck, with a large machine gun attached to the roof. Hogg industries was plastered on the side of it.

I pulled myself up and dusted off my skinsuit as I heard the deafening chugging of the machinegun going off. Not even a Lion hopped up on drugs could survive that gun. I climbed down the fire escape and trudged over to the left exit of the alley. Mama and the Cat were gone, but I still followed their trail out onto the street, away from the cops and their military hardware.

The last thing I wanted was to get arrested and questioned for something I had no clue about. They also wouldn’t like all the hardware I was packing myself. It was pretty suspicious to be draped with high-tech gadgets in a shit-hole city like this.

I walked down the street for a bit, passing people gossiping about what had happened down on Litter Street. I kept my head on a swivel, trying to find Echo or Mama in the foreign city. I sighed as I was lost in Carpetree. I couldn’t help but think the lion was just doing the only thing he could. He was just a product of this city and its turmoil. He was just trying to survive like the rest of us.

Now he was a puddle of goop on the street.

I looked up to the building next to me, defeat on my mind. A bright, red neon sign was giving me a message that I needed to come inside. ‘Holo Erotica’ was plastered right there. I pulled the business card the Anthro-Horse had given me. They were one in the same. Anthro girls were dancing in the windows nearby, calling me to enter.

I just had a stressful life or death situation. I might as well give in to a little stress relief. I think I had earned it, if not, I was still curious at what was to be found inside. I straightened my back and entered.