It was night in the city of Neo Canis, the city of dogs, but it was hard to tell in a city like this. The city was always lit up with bright neon lights and signs, often showing adverts for clothes, perfumes, video games, cars, and insurance. All of these commercials only ever featured Faunari actors, never humans. The Faunari, anthropomorphic animals such as dogs, cats, among many other animals, never trusted humans enough to star in commercials. The humans were almost always stuck in the ghettos outside the cities, if they weren't registered with ID collars. If they weren't in the ghettos, humans were mostly seen on the streets, huddling near fires or hiding in alleyways since they couldn't afford rent, living under constant surveillance of cameras and drones, while the Faunari were enjoying themselves in their warm homes.
It was at this time that a young man was leaping from the rooftops, avoiding the cameras and drones below. He was heading to the outskirts of the city, looking for something. On the outskirts, just outside the Wastelands, the boy spotted what he was looking for.
A large, cat-like monster with purple fur and multiple eyes stomped around and let out a loud roar. Its many eyes shifted towards the human, who had a large grin on his face.
"Finally," he said smugly as he got into a fighting stance, "Show me what you got, big fella!" The large feline monster let out a loud roar, and the boy lept upwards as the monster swept at him, spun around and punched the monster's head. The force of the blow crushed the monster into the ground. The monster got to its feet, and roared at him. The human drew his hand back and threw a punch at the monster's forehead. A loud crunch sounded as blood spurted from its mouth.
The boy grinned as he took out a camera and snapped a picture. "Can't wait to take this guy back." He picked up one of the monsters and raced back towards the walled city, sneaking in through the sewers before climbing the side of a building on the various signs and wires. The sun was beginning to rise, shining on his bright red hair. The fair-skinned boy was wearing a red jacket over an orange shirt and yellow pants. His arms were prosthetic, made of rusty, but sturdy metal.
He kept on the rooftops, jumping from building to building, looking at all the Faunari on the streets below. There were a lot of soldiers from the PredaCore part of the Harmony State. They were presumably hunting for squatters, unregistered humans without ID collars. The boy just grinned. He wasn't worried. He had lived hidden in this city for years, and no one had ever found him. He jumped across the buildings until he came to an entrance to the subway. After making sure nobody was following him, he snuck inside and made his way into an abandoned subway car on an unused track.
"Hi Zack!"
The sound of children's voices echoed throughout the subway. The boy, Zack Krillin, was knocked over from all the kids jumping onto him. They were all asking him about the captured creature he had on his shoulders.
"Did you kill it?"
Zack nodded. "Sure did. Cracked its skull." He dropped the creature to the ground. One of the older children, around Zack's age, examined it.
"An adult Dinya-meow. Fractured skull. Fur is still intact. Meat is fresh."
Zack grinned. "We could bring it to the bounty center on the black market. We'd have enough food for a few weeks."
An older boy around Zack's age spoke up. "If the Overseers haven't shut it down, that is. You know what they do to humans in this kind of trade."
"Don't be so negative Stan. I know the vendor. She's crafty, been in the black market for years and never got caught."
Stan just grunted. "Whatever."
Zack took the bagged Dinya-meow and ran out of the Subway Car. He hopped up to the surface, and slid through the shadows until he reached the bounty center. As he went inside, Zack was greeted by a familiar face, a young lady with dyed green hair wearing a black ID collar. She waved at him.
"Hey Zack."
"Hey Ashura," Zack said as he slung the Dinya-meow onto her desk. "Fresh kill, as usual."
Ashura inspected the Dinya-meow. "Hmm… fractured shoulder, but still acceptable." She did some calculations. "Let's see…a living bounty can be traded for…three weeks' food rations." She handed Zack a large duffle bag filled with food. "This should be enough to feed everyone for a few weeks."
Zack took the bag and threw it over his shoulder. "Thanks."
"Remember to keep out of the streets. That's where the drones go," said Ashura."You can't let them see you. You don't have an ID collar."
Zack nodded. "Got it: Don't let the drones see me." He picked up the bags and gave Ashura a polite wave.
Ashura smiled and waved back. "Don't tell anyone about this. I like you, but if they find out about this black market, they'll kill me!"
Zack looked at her collar. "Don't those things track your movements? Won't they find out about this anyway?"
Ashura nodded. "A friend of mine tinkered with mine. It won't track this location."
Zack grinned. "Thank goodness for that." He took the food, gave one last wave, and left.
Zack kept to the rooftops, since the drones tended to fly low near the streets where humans were more likely to be. He jumped onto the top of a monorail, riding it back to his street. He looked down at the Faunari on the streets, all enjoying their lives. They were playing with their children, hugging their loved ones, or eating on the benches in parks.
He looked on with disgust. All these animals, living in absolute luxury, being able to afford clean clothes and fresh food like it was nothing.
And he hated them for it.
He looked on with envy at the Faunari children living in the luxury he never had. He looked in disgust at the Faunari citizens who looked down on the other humans like him. He looked in anger at the PredaCore officers mercilessly beating malnourished humans on the streets just for existing.
He hated the Faunari. He hated all of them.
Zack hopped onto another monorail heading towards his street. As he looked down, he saw a pair of children, a boy and a girl wearing tattered clothes, running away from two PredaCore officers: two muscular wolves, one gray and the other brown. They were firing at them with Mana Guns, laughing horribly. The two kids were crying.
Zack jumped down to get a better look.
The PredaCore officers had cornered the two crying children.
"Please," the girl sobbed, "We were so hungry!"
The boy was holding a loaf of bread. "We needed to eat!"
The gray wolf just snorted. "Then you two Skinners should have BOUGHT it like civilized citizens!"
"Humans," growled the brown wolf. "Nothing but thieves. Can't be bothered to spend their money."
"We don't HAVE any money," the boy cried. "We couldn't buy it!"
"Our daddy can't get a job!"
"ENOUGH EXCUSES!" The gray wolf reached down and grabbed the crying girl.
Zack didn't hesitate when he saw this. He knew he was supposed to stay hidden, but seeing a child about to be abducted made him act without thinking.
Zack charged forward, punching the gray wolf in the jaw. The wolf dropped the girl, and she quickly scurried back to her older brother. Blood flew from the gray wolf's jaw as the other wolf spun around to face him.
"If I were you two," Zack growled, "I'd show some manners!"
The brown wolf growled at him. "Assaulting an officer of the law. I should execute you now on the streets!" He eyed him for a moment before approaching him.
"Where's your collar?"
The gray wolf got up after hearing this. "His collar?"
The brown wolf pointed to his neck. "He's unregistered!" He took out his shock baton.
"Not wearing a collar is a violation of Article 17-C of the Unity Control bill! All humans are to be tagged with ID Collars to be registered as civilians! Failure to do so results in immediate execution."
Zack was in no mood to be lectured about the law.
The brown wolf charged at him with his shock baton, swinging it at his head. Zack ducked down, and sweeped his legs. The wolf fell over, and Zack finished with a heavy punch. His synthetic fist tore a hole in his side armor as he was launched into a nearby abandoned building, leaving a dent in the metal wall. The second wolf got down on all fours and barreled towards Zack. He got into a defensive stance.
Zack launched a well-timed left jab to the wolf's chin. When he stumbled back, Zack threw a wide, sweeping right into his ribs, knocking his breath out, and then spun around, striking the wolf's shoulder with an overhead hammerfist. Blood spurted from his mouth as he fell to the ground.
The brown wolf picked himself out of the rubble of the old building, and ran back to Zack. He threw a punch to his jaw. Zack tried to dodge, but wasn't fast enough. A sharp pain filled his face as the brown wolf knocked him back, stunning him. He fell to his feet, but before he could get up, the brown wolf had pounced on him, twisting his arms behind him. Zack struggled hard, but he couldn't move. The wolf's armd were synthetic too. He couldn't tell because these arms had artificial skin and fur covering them.
The gray wolf walked over, cracking his neck from the blow to his head.
"You're a tough kid," the wolf growled, getting close to his face. "Most Skinners give up quickly, but you managed to hurt me a little." He grabbed Zack's arm roughly and inspected it. "Cheap prosthetics at best. A bit rusty too. It's a shame you Skinners can't get prosthetics like us superior creatures."
"What should we do with this Skinner, Brother?"
The gray wolf gave a horrible smile. "Take him to Captain Carla. She'll decide how to execute him."
Zack struggled hard in the clutches of the brown wolf. He gnashed his teeth aggressively, but the wolf was too strong.
As the wolves dragged him away towards a hover-truck, Zack couldn't stop thinking. He was supposed to bring food back to the other kids, and now he was never coming home…