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Description
[Part Five]

Renn woke up in a small cage, he could barely sit up in it. Whimpering, Renn looked around, trying to find out where he was. He had little success. All he could figure out was that he was in a closet with almost no light and steel door. He'd definitely been captured by the scientists again. Renn curled up, conserving his energy. The room was cold, and he hadn't been left any food or water. It felt like he'd been there forever when the door was finally opened and a scientist came in. “you gave us quite a scare there subject seven. We'd thought we'd lost you. Good thing those hunters found subject one.” Renn's heart fell. “hunters?” he asked, grief making his voice a whisper. The scientist nodded. “yep. The damn drunk missed of course, but we figured out where they were. Haven't found him or his cursed sister yet, but it's only a matter of time.” Renn felt like crying. Garath and Zarra were close to capture. Garath had almost been killed. Renn buried his muzzle in his knees, sobbing quietly, and the scientist shoved a water bottle and a protein bar through the bars of the cage. “you have a test tomorrow.” he said, the turned to leave. A cloud of gas exploded into the room when he opened the door, making the scientist gag and cough, letting out a rasp of pain. Renn heard shouts, yells, and screams from outside, the gas coming towards him quickly. Renn took a deep breath, then the gas was all around him. His eyes started burning, and Renn tried to curl up tighter to avoid the pain. Still, the pain intensified, and Renn started whining in pain, his paws pushing at the door to his cage, not feeling his sprained ankle at all. Several minutes later, he heard someone enter the closet, their breathing accompanied by a rasping sound. Renn shifted, finding the newcomer to be a Wholf with a full gas mask. The Wholf opened Renn's cage, gently scooping him out. “Nirt here.” he said, pressing a button on the side of his gas mask. “I've found the child in one of the closets. He's gotten a nose-full of the gas.” he listened to something for a second, then nodded. “on my way.” he got a better grip on Renn. “don't worry little one, we'll take care of you.”

Nirt left the building where Renn had been trapped at a run, quickly blending into the woods. He was followed by about four other Wholfs. Renn whimpered as the pain from his ankle started making itself felt. Nirt Looked down at his younger charge, concerned. “hold in there a little longer.” he said, slowing down as he neared a dirt bike. Nirt slung a leg over his bike, arranging Renn so he wouldn't fall off. Nirt started the bike, taking off through the trees, which seemed to pop up out of nowhere to Renn. Then they burst onto a road, which was completely devoid of cars. Nirt slowed down slightly, glancing down at Renn. “sorry about that. Are you okay?” Renn shook his head. “my eyes hurt. And my ankle....” Nirt winced. “you got some of the tear gas. It should wear off in thirty minutes. We have medics that can see about your ankle when we get back the nest.”

it took about an hour and a half to get to the nest, which was a small cave that wound into a cliff face. Renn, recovered from his gas encounter, looked up at his rescuer curiously. “this is the nest?” he asked, disbelief in his voice. Nirt grinned. “don't judge it yet, it's more than meets the eye.” he scooped the younger Wholf up, making sure not to move the boy's ankle. Renn climbed onto Nirt's back, settling with his head on Nirt's shoulder. The two Wholfs made their way into the cave, bringing the bike with them. After a few turns, the came to an intersection of several other caves. Nirt paused and seemed to hum something, then turned down one of the paths. “So, what is your name little one?” Nirt asked, following the path deeper into the cave. “Renn.” Nirt nodded. “it's a nice name.” he looked up and noticed a faint light ahead. “we're almost there.” he said. Renn looked up as they entered a large cavern full of light. Renn's jaw dropped. There were Wholfs everywhere, of every age. Nirt chuckled. “welcome to the nest, population, about three thousand men, woman, and children.” Renn looked about, taking in the view. Nirt continued on after stashing his bike in a smaller side cave, entering one of many small ramshackle buildings. “Crona! I have a patient!” he yelled as he walked in. this got the attention of an aging Wholf, she was at least in her fifties. She stood up, cracking her neck and walking over to where Nirt and Renn were. “when will you youngsters learn that you don't need to shout around me? My hearing is going, but it's still better than a humans.” Nirt smiled. “sorry. Anyhow, this is Renn, he was just found tonight. It looks like he's got a sprained ankle.” the elderly Wholf looked at Renn quizzically. “hmm. Nice sprain you've done there. Give me a minute.” she walked off, rummaging around in the back room of her building. When she returned, sh was holding a roll of bandages and a pill bottle. “Nirt, make yourself useful and get Renn a cup of water.” she said, taking Renn from him and lowering the child onto a table. Nirt snapped a mock salute and did as he'd been asked while Crona started wrapping Renn's ankle. She finished just as Nirt came back with the water. Crona shook two pills out of the bottle and offered them to Renn with the water. “take these. They'll help with the pain.” Renn grimaced as he looked at the pills. “do I have to?” he asked, looking the the small white pills in his hand. He'd had several instances of the scientists forcing him to take pills, often with bad results. Crona sighed. “normally I'd say no, but with the sprain you have, you can either take the pills willingly, or I can force them down you. Your choice. Either way, the results are the same.” Renn nodded, fighting off apprehension, and swallowed the pills. Crona smiled, taking the cup from Renn and setting it on a nearby counter. “There we go.” she said, sitting down on a rolling chair that had seen better days. “The meds will kick In in about half an hour. Come and see me if you need anything else.” Renn nodded, and Nirt picked him up, taking him back out of the building. “So Renn, How did you get that sprain? It's not something you get in a cage. You've escaped before.” Renn nodded. “me and my family escaped when the van had an accident. The guards were knocked out, so we ran into the forest. But I got recaptured.” Nirt looked down at his charge in surprise. “Your family?” he asked. Renn shrugged. “that's how we thought of ourselves. None of us were actually related. Garath got hurt, and Zarra went to help him. Then the scientists came and caught me. Renn's ears drooped. “i wish I knew where they were.” he muttered. Nirt smiled. “we may be able to find them. Lets go see the ops manager, he might be able to see if we can find your family.” Renn's face lit up. “Really?!?!” he asked, eager. Nirt grinned. “yep. That's how I was was found.” Renn looked up in surprise. “you were a test subject too?” he asked. Nirt nodded. “most of the Wholfs here were. Except for the fossils like Crona and a few of the younger kids. Anyhow, the humans had us all in one lab. The older Wholfs did a bit of tampering with the lab's computers, then led us all out of there. This was all about five years back. So just about any Wholf under five that you see was born here.” Renn was amazed. He'd known there were other test subjects, but he'd never heard about any of them escaping. “wow, that's amazing.” Nirt chuckled. “yeah, it is.” he carried Renn deeper into the cave, entering a smaller cavern near the back of the main cave. There was a table in the middle of the space, surrounded by several older looking wholfs. One of them looked up, and nodded to Nirt, stepping toward them. “what is it?” he asked, his voice friendly. Nirt indicated Renn. ”this little one got seperated from his family. We were wondering if you could help him find them.” the older wholf nodded. “hmm, let me see your barcode, young one.” Ren nodded, hesitantly holding out his arm. Each wholf had a barcode tattooed onto their arms, along with a corrosponding alphanumeric code. The older wholf gentlt took the boy's arm, examining the code. “hmmm, that lab.. we don't have much info on it. Tell me how you escaped, with as much detail as you can remember.” Renn nodded, relating his story while the older wholf led them to another building, motioning for Nirt to take a seat. He finished listening to Renn and nodded thoughfully, pulling a rolled up map out of a hole in the wall. “let's see, your family is probably somewhere around..... here.” he said, tapping his claw on a cetian part of the map. “it's pretty far from everything, good choice for a camp. I'll send a small team out for them.” He looked up at Renn and smiled. “you should have you family back soon.” he said. “in the meantime, nirt will be in charge of your well being. Nirt nodded, standing. “Thanks Franz. I'l be at my place if you need me.” he turned and exited the building, heading towards the front of the cave. “well, good news.” he said, smiling at Renn. Renn nodded, testing his ankle. The medicine seemed to be having an effect, but he was really tired. “yeah..” he muttered, his eyelids and ears drooping. Soon he was fast asleep.

Description
[Part Five]

Renn woke up in a small cage, he could barely sit up in it. Whimpering, Renn looked around, trying to find out where he was. He had little success. All he could figure out was that he was in a closet with almost no light and steel door. He'd definitely been captured by the scientists again. Renn curled up, conserving his energy. The room was cold, and he hadn't been left any food or water. It felt like he'd been there forever when the door was finally opened and a scientist came in. “you gave us quite a scare there subject seven. We'd thought we'd lost you. Good thing those hunters found subject one.” Renn's heart fell. “hunters?” he asked, grief making his voice a whisper. The scientist nodded. “yep. The damn drunk missed of course, but we figured out where they were. Haven't found him or his cursed sister yet, but it's only a matter of time.” Renn felt like crying. Garath and Zarra were close to capture. Garath had almost been killed. Renn buried his muzzle in his knees, sobbing quietly, and the scientist shoved a water bottle and a protein bar through the bars of the cage. “you have a test tomorrow.” he said, the turned to leave. A cloud of gas exploded into the room when he opened the door, making the scientist gag and cough, letting out a rasp of pain. Renn heard shouts, yells, and screams from outside, the gas coming towards him quickly. Renn took a deep breath, then the gas was all around him. His eyes started burning, and Renn tried to curl up tighter to avoid the pain. Still, the pain intensified, and Renn started whining in pain, his paws pushing at the door to his cage, not feeling his sprained ankle at all. Several minutes later, he heard someone enter the closet, their breathing accompanied by a rasping sound. Renn shifted, finding the newcomer to be a Wholf with a full gas mask. The Wholf opened Renn's cage, gently scooping him out. “Nirt here.” he said, pressing a button on the side of his gas mask. “I've found the child in one of the closets. He's gotten a nose-full of the gas.” he listened to something for a second, then nodded. “on my way.” he got a better grip on Renn. “don't worry little one, we'll take care of you.”

Nirt left the building where Renn had been trapped at a run, quickly blending into the woods. He was followed by about four other Wholfs. Renn whimpered as the pain from his ankle started making itself felt. Nirt Looked down at his younger charge, concerned. “hold in there a little longer.” he said, slowing down as he neared a dirt bike. Nirt slung a leg over his bike, arranging Renn so he wouldn't fall off. Nirt started the bike, taking off through the trees, which seemed to pop up out of nowhere to Renn. Then they burst onto a road, which was completely devoid of cars. Nirt slowed down slightly, glancing down at Renn. “sorry about that. Are you okay?” Renn shook his head. “my eyes hurt. And my ankle....” Nirt winced. “you got some of the tear gas. It should wear off in thirty minutes. We have medics that can see about your ankle when we get back the nest.”

it took about an hour and a half to get to the nest, which was a small cave that wound into a cliff face. Renn, recovered from his gas encounter, looked up at his rescuer curiously. “this is the nest?” he asked, disbelief in his voice. Nirt grinned. “don't judge it yet, it's more than meets the eye.” he scooped the younger Wholf up, making sure not to move the boy's ankle. Renn climbed onto Nirt's back, settling with his head on Nirt's shoulder. The two Wholfs made their way into the cave, bringing the bike with them. After a few turns, the came to an intersection of several other caves. Nirt paused and seemed to hum something, then turned down one of the paths. “So, what is your name little one?” Nirt asked, following the path deeper into the cave. “Renn.” Nirt nodded. “it's a nice name.” he looked up and noticed a faint light ahead. “we're almost there.” he said. Renn looked up as they entered a large cavern full of light. Renn's jaw dropped. There were Wholfs everywhere, of every age. Nirt chuckled. “welcome to the nest, population, about three thousand men, woman, and children.” Renn looked about, taking in the view. Nirt continued on after stashing his bike in a smaller side cave, entering one of many small ramshackle buildings. “Crona! I have a patient!” he yelled as he walked in. this got the attention of an aging Wholf, she was at least in her fifties. She stood up, cracking her neck and walking over to where Nirt and Renn were. “when will you youngsters learn that you don't need to shout around me? My hearing is going, but it's still better than a humans.” Nirt smiled. “sorry. Anyhow, this is Renn, he was just found tonight. It looks like he's got a sprained ankle.” the elderly Wholf looked at Renn quizzically. “hmm. Nice sprain you've done there. Give me a minute.” she walked off, rummaging around in the back room of her building. When she returned, sh was holding a roll of bandages and a pill bottle. “Nirt, make yourself useful and get Renn a cup of water.” she said, taking Renn from him and lowering the child onto a table. Nirt snapped a mock salute and did as he'd been asked while Crona started wrapping Renn's ankle. She finished just as Nirt came back with the water. Crona shook two pills out of the bottle and offered them to Renn with the water. “take these. They'll help with the pain.” Renn grimaced as he looked at the pills. “do I have to?” he asked, looking the the small white pills in his hand. He'd had several instances of the scientists forcing him to take pills, often with bad results. Crona sighed. “normally I'd say no, but with the sprain you have, you can either take the pills willingly, or I can force them down you. Your choice. Either way, the results are the same.” Renn nodded, fighting off apprehension, and swallowed the pills. Crona smiled, taking the cup from Renn and setting it on a nearby counter. “There we go.” she said, sitting down on a rolling chair that had seen better days. “The meds will kick In in about half an hour. Come and see me if you need anything else.” Renn nodded, and Nirt picked him up, taking him back out of the building. “So Renn, How did you get that sprain? It's not something you get in a cage. You've escaped before.” Renn nodded. “me and my family escaped when the van had an accident. The guards were knocked out, so we ran into the forest. But I got recaptured.” Nirt looked down at his charge in surprise. “Your family?” he asked. Renn shrugged. “that's how we thought of ourselves. None of us were actually related. Garath got hurt, and Zarra went to help him. Then the scientists came and caught me. Renn's ears drooped. “i wish I knew where they were.” he muttered. Nirt smiled. “we may be able to find them. Lets go see the ops manager, he might be able to see if we can find your family.” Renn's face lit up. “Really?!?!” he asked, eager. Nirt grinned. “yep. That's how I was was found.” Renn looked up in surprise. “you were a test subject too?” he asked. Nirt nodded. “most of the Wholfs here were. Except for the fossils like Crona and a few of the younger kids. Anyhow, the humans had us all in one lab. The older Wholfs did a bit of tampering with the lab's computers, then led us all out of there. This was all about five years back. So just about any Wholf under five that you see was born here.” Renn was amazed. He'd known there were other test subjects, but he'd never heard about any of them escaping. “wow, that's amazing.” Nirt chuckled. “yeah, it is.” he carried Renn deeper into the cave, entering a smaller cavern near the back of the main cave. There was a table in the middle of the space, surrounded by several older looking wholfs. One of them looked up, and nodded to Nirt, stepping toward them. “what is it?” he asked, his voice friendly. Nirt indicated Renn. ”this little one got seperated from his family. We were wondering if you could help him find them.” the older wholf nodded. “hmm, let me see your barcode, young one.” Ren nodded, hesitantly holding out his arm. Each wholf had a barcode tattooed onto their arms, along with a corrosponding alphanumeric code. The older wholf gentlt took the boy's arm, examining the code. “hmmm, that lab.. we don't have much info on it. Tell me how you escaped, with as much detail as you can remember.” Renn nodded, relating his story while the older wholf led them to another building, motioning for Nirt to take a seat. He finished listening to Renn and nodded thoughfully, pulling a rolled up map out of a hole in the wall. “let's see, your family is probably somewhere around..... here.” he said, tapping his claw on a cetian part of the map. “it's pretty far from everything, good choice for a camp. I'll send a small team out for them.” He looked up at Renn and smiled. “you should have you family back soon.” he said. “in the meantime, nirt will be in charge of your well being. Nirt nodded, standing. “Thanks Franz. I'l be at my place if you need me.” he turned and exited the building, heading towards the front of the cave. “well, good news.” he said, smiling at Renn. Renn nodded, testing his ankle. The medicine seemed to be having an effect, but he was really tired. “yeah..” he muttered, his eyelids and ears drooping. Soon he was fast asleep.