Chapter Text
"Why are you here? You had your chance. You escaped… and yet, here you are."
…
"I suppose it's as they say, that we all come back eventually. That we just keep going in circles."
…
"The tide is rising once again. Will you be able to keep your head above water… or will you drown like the rest?"
I ignore the nasty itch on the back of my head as we exit onto Route 65, towards Echo. The midday sun has been driving my scalp crazy as it bears down on me through the windshield. That said, I need to keep both paws on the wheel for this road as I swerve around potholes and uncomfortable dips in the asphalt. It's been three years since I set foot here last, and it doesn't look like it's changed at all. Well, that's not entirely true; it's definitely gotten worse. I remember the roads being shitty, but not this shitty. My eyes fall on a particularly large pothole, and I maneuver around it… only to rattle the suspension in a manner far too jarring for my liking as I slam into another one. I curse under my breath as the idea of how much that'll cost me floats to mind.
"Hey, eyes on the road," comes the stern and motherly voice of Jenna from the passenger seat. She looks up from her thick, psychology textbook to scowl at me.
"They are on the road…" I whine, "That one was just set up to fuck with you."
"Language…" TJ mutters from the back seat. The complaint is distant, as the lynx is lost in thought. He's sprawled out across all three back seats, his big, blue eyes reflecting the wispy clouds in the sky as he gazes out the window above his head. The position his neck is in looks uncomfortable, but him being a feline, I think he's flexible enough to find it cozy.
"Sorry Teej," I say back. He gives me an appreciative smile. Originally, it had been Jenna back there, as evidenced by some of her stuff sitting under TJ's legs, but just over an hour ago we had stopped at a rest stop because I needed to piss. The lynx had complained about his legs being stiff, as well as something about a "psycho attica" nerve, or whatever, and I suggested that he and Jenna switch spots for the reminder of the drive. Jenna was reluctant to give up her domain, but eventually relented when TJ pulled out the most pathetic kitten eyes I've seen from him in a long time. Even stoic Jenna was no match for those big, baby blues.
"You look out of it, Chase," Jenna comments.
I sigh. "Just… focusing on the road, s'all."
She hums in response. "You excited to see the boys again?" The fox glances over to gauge my reaction, her large ear swiveling slightly in my direction.
"Excited isn't the word I'd use," I mutter.
"You planned this whole reunion and you're not even excited for it?"
I scowl momentarily at the road in front of me. "I didn't plan this. It was Leo's doing - you know how he is. I mentioned I'm coming back to Echo for a school project and he insists on making a thing out of it."
"I think it's going to be fun," TJ chimes in from the back. "It'll be great to see him and Carl again."
Jenna and I exchange a brief look, noticing how he deliberately left out Flynn and Sydney. I can't exactly blame him - TJ is still kind of fucked up from what Sydney did to him over a decade ago, and Flynn hasn't been the most… supportive of TJ's anxieties. Then again, it's possible Flynn won't even show up. He doesn't like me and I'm well aware of that - he doesn't seem to like Jenna or Leo either. Really, the only people he gets along with are Carl and Sydney, but that's probably not enough to drag him out of his den. Some part of me wishes I could've patched things up with him before leaving for Pueblo, but there was a lot of other shit going on and it wasn't at the forefront of my mind. Hell, if I didn't have this stupid project to work on, maybe I could try again now? Without this project I wouldn't even be coming back though. Still, maybe I could find ti-
The sudden chirp of the GPS startles me and I swerve onto the turn at the very last second, even causing my car to off-road it a bit as I right myself. "Sorry! Sorry…" I say preemptively, immediately noticing how frazzled Jenna looks in the passenger seat. Her fur is puffed up and she's gripping onto the overhead handle hard.
"Chase! Now is not the time to-"
"I know!" I reply curtly, cutting her off. I take a deep breath. "I'm sorry, okay? We'll go a bit slower." I ease up on the gas so the needle hovers just above the speed limit. Normally, I like to go five-over, sometimes ten if I'm feeling particularly daring – everyone else goes that fast normally. Better to go with the flow of traffic than be a stickler for the rules… not like that excuse helped me with the ticket I got two weeks ago from that shitty highway patrolman. I momentarily squeeze my eyes shut and shake my head a bit; I need to focus. I've been in my head too much already.
It's hard not to be, however. The rest of the drive to the motel is quiet and kind of tense, especially as we pass the lake on the way in. Ever since that day, we… haven't gone back. After a few minutes, we finally park, and we each waste no time in getting out and stretching. I can even hear TJ's joints crack in a few places from the other side of the car as he stretches his arms above his head.
"Gosh, that drive took foreeeever!" he purrs.
Despite the obvious, teasing nature of his tone, I can't help but feel a little indignant. "Oh come on TJ, be grateful that Jenna and I went out of our way to grab you from CCU to begin with."
"I am, I am! Thank you Chaaaase."
I grunt in acknowledgement and move to the trunk of my car to grab a couple of the suitcases. "Glad you're on top of that," Jenna says, noticing me, "I'll go check us in. It's room 103."
TJ and I bring what stuff we've brought to the room door and wait for Jenna to come back with the room keys. I find myself sweating already from the couple of minutes it takes us – the afternoon sun is already attempting to kill me. I stand in the shade, fanning out my shirt, and rest my head back against the wall. There's a dull throb in the crown of my head that pulses gently against the warm concrete. The subtle movement would be nice were it not for the ache.
A couple moments pass and I hear a familiar scoff in front of me, "Don't tell me you're that tired from bringing our stuff from the car parked twenty feet away."
I open eyes to shoot a glare at Jenna, who stands with her paws on her hips, wallet and key cards in each. "Give me a break – I'm not made for this weather."
TJ looks over at me, his own eyes shining with worry. "Are you okay, Chase? Do you need water?"
"No, I'm fine."
Jenna unlocks the door to our side to let us in, and the moment I step through the door, I'm greeted by blissfully cool air. As I expected, however, it's tinged with the scents of must and mildew that makes my nose wrinkle. Wonderful aroma aside, the room isn't actually that bad. There are two double beds facing a wall-mounted television, two dressers on either side, and a closet. Nearest the wall to the door is a small table with two chairs that gives you a view out the window, and near the back I can spy the linoleum of what seems to be a decently-sized bathroom. The reminder of running water makes me lick my chops instinctively.
"Hey, this is pretty nice!" TJ exclaims, bringing his share of the bags inside. He does a small twirl and plops his fuzzy behind down on the bed furthest from the door after setting down his stuff.
"Figured I'd get one of the larger rooms since everything here is dirt cheap," Jenna replies.
"Surprised this dump is still in business," I say, closing the door behind me. I struggle a bit with the heavier bag as I try to set it off to the side, getting it caught on one of the chairs by the window. Jenna rolls her eyes as she comes to my aid and frees the bag in a single motion. My ears flush with heat as I mutter a thanks.
"Seems to be hanging on by a thread, much like everything else," Jenna replies. She grabs her suitcase and begins unpacking it into one of the dressers. "Any word from the boys?"
It takes me a moment to realize she's talking to me. I start from my position at the door, gawking at nothing like the idiot I am, and pull out my phone – nearly dropping it in the process. I risk a glance at TJ and see, much to my dismay, he was watching the entire dance. His eyes shine with equal parts embarrassment on my behalf and mild amusement at my buffoonery. I shoot him a glare that makes his ears fall back as he looks away.
"Chase?" Jenna asks, pausing her unpacking to turn back to me slightly.
"Um…" I look down at my phone to see a couple messages from Leo about where they are. "Should be here any minute."
As if on cue, there's a solid rap at the door that makes me jump. I hastily open the door and find myself greeted by an unlikely pair. Contrary to the gila's tall and imposing stature, Flynn stands a little behind Carl, his posture hunched and teal eyes cast to the side. He chews on a toothpick with an air of indifference, but the way he shifts upon seeing me tells me he's a little… apprehensive? The ram catches my attention before I can really think about it, however, throwing his large arms wide and grabbing me in a warm hug before I can protest. "Chaaaase!" he beams. I smile sheepishly after a small urk escapes my lungs as his bulk envelops me. He reeks of weed, as I expected, but I can tell he hasn't been a complete lazy ass; there's a sturdiness to him underneath the fat that leaves me with a blush in my cheeks.
"Hey, Carl," I smile. Of all the people I expected to see here, I was the least nervous about him. We reconnected a little before college, and even became roommates… before that fell apart because he dropped out. I never did ask why – I always thought his art classes were going well… until one day they weren't, I guess. I glance at Flynn who's eyeing me with a scowl, "And Flynn."
"Hunter," he grunts in acknowledgement. I suppose that's the best I'm going to get.
The two shuffle past me into the room, where they're greeted warmly by TJ and Jenna. Surprisingly, Flynn's gaze seems to soften when it falls on the lynx, and the cat seems almost relieved to see that as well. "Uh, where's-"
"Grabbing shit from the car," Flynn cuts me off.
"Language, Flynn," TJ chuckles. The gila looks down at him with a look of pure disdain as a horrible silence fills the room. "I, er, I mean-" he stammers.
"Bah, get your panties out of a twist, Teej, I'm fuckin' with ya."
TJ sputters as his ears flatten against his head. Jenna shoots Flynn a look, which he deftly ignores, and he lightly bops the cat on the head, earning a louder mewl of protest. I hazard a small smile, despite Jenna looking in my direction; some things don't seem to change.
"- don't bring it up around him, yeah?"
"Aye aye, papi."
"Oi, that's exactly what I-" the familiar voice trails off as the two step closer to the door. A large, russet wolf comes to a stop a few feet from the motel room, his burly arms wrapped around a red, plastic cooler. He blinks for a moment, his amber eyes shining in the afternoon sun, almost as if he's unsure what he's really seeing. After a tense moment, his tail begins to swish behind him and a huge grin spreads across his handsome face. "Chase!"
"Hey," I reply. I cringe inwardly – is that really all I have to say to him after these years?
The shorter man beside him snrks. "Congrats, Chase, you fulfilled his wet dreams of being in the presence of two otters simultaneously." Leo shoots Sydney a death glare, who pretends not to notice, and steps forward with a small stack of white Styrofoam boxes in his paws. "S'good to see you."
I give Sydney a small smile. Admittedly, I'm still caught off-guard by the fact I'm taller than him, even if only by a couple inches. Both of his parents were taller than my own, but I guess he didn't inherit that. What he lacks in height, however, he more than makes up for in bulk. The white button-up almost seems to strain itself around his chest, and the outline of his biceps can be seen through the sleeves. Even with his shirt half-untucked from his grey slacks I can see a bit of pudge around his belly. His legs are also surprisingly well-defined through his pants – he sure doesn't skip leg day.
"Dude, don't check me out," he says, raising an eyebrow, "That's gay."
My cheeks flush with embarrassment in getting caught staring. "I was not checking you out, I just-" My protest is cut off when I notice something odd about his appearance. "Where's your hat?"
Now it's his turn to be sheepish. He looks to the side as he lets out a huff. "Workplace dress code says no hats."
"Much to his dismay," Leo butts in, clearly getting fed up with being left out of the conversation so long, "Little nutria here is so rarely seen without it."
"Yeah, well, when yer a half-bald, ugly fucker like myself, you learn to cover up the more unsightly shit."
Leo's ears flatten against his head, "You know I didn't mean it like that."
Sydney flashes him a smug grin, but otherwise shrugs. "Gonna carry this shit inside. You two play nice, ya hear?" His thick tail makes an audible thump as he smacks it against Leo's legs.
I'm too preoccupied with my thoughts to really notice or care, though. After all, I am the reason he looks like that. I know we reconciled afterward and agreed it was an accident, but…
"Chase?"
I look up at Leo, who's regarding me with a mildly worried expression. I shake my head, "I'm fine. Just thinking about things, is all."
"Yeah? Like wha-"
"Leooooooo," comes Carl's morose cry from inside the room, "Where are the driiiiiinks?"
Leo scowls at past me and mutters a half-hearted swear in Salvadoran. "Whine any more about them and I'll make you drink from the toilet!" he snaps back as he makes his way inside. I follow quickly behind, relieved to get out of the oppressing heat outside again. The wolf sets the cooler on the table and opens it up to begin passing out drinks to everyone, at the same time as Sydney passes out the takeout boxes.
"Did you remember-"
"To substitute the bread for lettuce, yes I did, Teej," Leo interrupts.
"Yay!"
Jenna regards her box with mild curiosity. "When did the diner upgrade to Styrofoam?"
"These aren't from the diner, Jen," Sydney says, sitting down on the nearest bed. "They're courtesy of yours truly from his work in Payton."
"Oh, great," her neutral smile turns into a sour frown, "Applebee's."
"What's wrong with Applebee's?" TJ asks.
"Dude, what's right with Applebee's?" Carl answers. Despite this, he's still managing to shove half his veggie burger into his face all at once.
Flynn looks down at him with no small amount of disgust. "Since when do you complain about food, fatass?" he sneers.
"As a connoisseur of garbage, I know slop when I see it."
"You are what you eat," Sydney smirks, fry in paw as he lazily waves it about. As Jenna approaches the cooler, she snatches it from his fingers with a deftness only a fox can achieve. Sydney's mouth falls open in an exaggerated show of hurt as she happily chomps it down, "How dare you?"
She feigns ignorance, but can't hide the smirk tugging at her lips as she exchanges her soda for a canned lemonade and returns to where she and TJ are sitting.
"Foxes…" Sydney grumbles.
Leo sits down beside him and nods, "Tell me about it." The pair then look up at me. "Uh, Chase?" Leo asks, waving his paw towards my face.
I startle… again. "Yes?"
"You okay dude?" Sydney continues for Leo, who is now stuffing his own burger in his maw, "You're just kinda standin' there… starin'."
I shake my head and quickly sit down next to Leo on his other side. "Yeah, I'm fine." As I'm shifting into a more comfortable position away from Leo's bulk sinking into the mattress, I catch a glance at Flynn, who is regarding me with a look of guarded curiosity. When he sees that I notice him though, he quickly averts his attention to Carl and begins ribbing him like nothing happened.
"Thinkin' about somethin'?"
"No, not really," I tell the otter… which is a lie. I was trying to remember when the last time we were all together like this was. I know now: it was when we were all kids… that day at the lake. It's been eleven years since then and here we all are, bantering like old friends do, like nothing has happened. It feels almost too good to be true.
Leo's bulky arm being thrown around my neck abruptly yanks me from my ruminating, "This is nice, ey?" he smiles, "It's just… so nice to see you again." He smells nice – a familiar musk of faded cologne and car oil that finally puts me at ease. There's another scent there though, a new one, acrid and sharp. I can't quite place it.
"Leo, you see me like, every day," Sydney replies. I see he also was not spared from Leo's embrace.
"I meant Chase!" The other otter and I give him a look, our raised eyebrows mirroring each other, which causes Leo's ears to flatten in embarrassment, "A-And Jenna and TJ."
"We all know who you were really excited to see, Leo," Jenna says, rolling her eyes.
His ears pin back even further, "I-It's not like that!" he sputters, his accent growing heavier with his embarrassment.
"Give the big guy a break – he's allowed to miss his ex-boyfriend," Sydney says, coming to the wolf's defense. Neither Leo or I say anything as an odd silence falls over the room. It's been years since we've had a proper conversation, him and I, but hearing the "ex" before boyfriend just feels… wrong somehow. Sydney furrows his brow as he stares hard at Leo, "You are exes, aren't you?"
"Ey, ey, let's not ruin the good vibes, yeah?" He puts his paws up in defense.
"Yeah Syd, I didn't come here so I could sit through a fuckin' domestic," Flynn scoffs. The otter turns back to glare at him with a surprising amount of vitriol.
"Why are you here, Flynn?" Jenna asks, fixing her gaze on the gila as well.
"Cuz it's a free fuckin' country."
"That doesn't answer my question."
"So I should just leave then, huh?"
"Does it always have to be so defensive with you?" she rolls her eyes, "It was a simple enquiry."
"C'mon guys…" TJ objects quietly.
"Bullshit. I saw the way you fuckin' looked at me when I walked in, all of ya. Like I was the dirt underneath your feet - that's how it's always-"
"FLYNN." The gila jumps at the sudden shout from the otter beside me. "Outside. Now."
"You're not my fuckin'-"
"I wasn't asking." His voice lowers to a dangerous pitch, enough to even put me on edge. Carl looks off to the side, his face contorted like he's going to puke; meanwhile, TJ is ever-so-slightly tugging at his cheek tufts, his blue eyes wide as they dart between Flynn and Sydney. The rest of us sit in a tense silence as the otter drags his friend outside. The scene is scarily reminiscent of a teacher pulling a scorned child from the classroom for being disruptive – it would be kind of funny were it anyone else.
As much as I want to eavesdrop on what they talk about, I'm sure everyone else would reprimand me, so I sit on the bed, absentmindedly chewing on my fish sandwich while the door clicks shut behind them.
"Tch, nice going girly," Leo immediately quips.
"Don't start with me, Leo," she snaps back just as fast, "I was only asking why he wanted to be here in the first place. He doesn't seem to like us all that much."
Carl shifts in his seat, "That's… not really true." He mumbles it so quietly I'm sure I only heard it because I'm sitting the closest to him.
Jenna looks over at him, "What was that?"
"... Nothing," he sighs.
There's a pause as we all recede into our own thoughts. TJ breaks the silence first, surprisingly, "I hope Sydney isn't mad at him."
"Bah, don't worry about it gatito. He's probably just slappin' some sense into him," Leo replies.
"That's not very fair to Flynn, is it?" I think, "Jenna's question was pretty rude. You can't just ask people that and expect them to not take away any other meaning." … This is what I would say to her if I had any confidence behind it. Better to just let it slide – not bring attention to it.
After a few more minutes of awkward silence, Sydney trots back in, and expectedly, Flynn is not with him. I'm not surprised, but I'm still disappointed. "Sorry about that, guys. Tried to talk to him but you know how he is."
"Not really," Jenna replies.
"What?" Leo asks, looking over his shoulder.
She shrugs, "Leo, when was the last time we hung out with him? Eight, nine years? For some of us it's been even longer," her eyes flick to me as she says that, "People change quite a bit in that amount of time."
Sydney cuts off whatever Leo was going to say, "Well, Flynn hasn't. He's still the same cranky and defensive scalie y'all knew." He and Jenna catch each other's gaze, and he seems to read something in hers because he rolls his eyes and sighs. "I asked him to come. Thought, 'hell, we're all havin' a reunion, maybe we can all be pals for ol' time's sake.' Guess not."
"Did you really expect us to be able to do that?" I want to ask, but the air is sour enough as is. I don't want to add fuel to the fire. I look down at my paws, unsure what to do or say otherwise. I finished my food already, it seems, so there's nothing for me to do. Except, out of the corner of my vision, I spot my school camera bag. I guess it's a good as time as any to fiddle with it; I'm not super great at working it yet, so I could use the practice. While Sydney valiantly tries to save the mood by regaling us with the details of the latest wrestling match he watched, I pull out my camera and do what I do best: sit off to the side, silently, and watch as life happens around me.
The rest of the evening continues much like this. Carl and Leo get into Sydney's retelling, offering their own remarks and opinions, while Jenna and TJ have a quiet conversation between each other off to the side. After a while, the conversation shifts into movies and video games – general media everyone has been enjoying lately. Like old friends apart for years, they catch up and laugh like nothing is wrong. I guess, for them, nothing is wrong. It's a nice moment seeing everyone like this; it's a shame Flynn couldn't be here to enjoy it too.
As the night continues, the golden light of the setting sun pours in through the thin curtains on the window. While it's not yet dark enough to bother turning on the bedside lamps, it soon will be, but the photographer in me sees a perfect opportunity. By this point everyone has shifted together – Leo and Sydney moved to the other side of the bed they were on so they could face Carl, and Jenna and TJ had scooted closer to the three. I had taken up residence on the table to make fiddling with the camera easier. From back here I can see everyone in frame, so I sit… and wait. I wait for just the right moment when Sydney says one of his quippy one-liners and everyone laughs.
With a soft click that no one else hears, I get the shot of everyone smiling. Carl's is lazy, his red eyes still mildly glazed over but more alert than they were to start. TJ's smile is as bright as always. Jenna has her trademark grin, never showing teeth, but her contentment is easy to see, even through her rolled eyes. Sydney's mouth is wide open as he excitedly tells everyone what got them to laugh. And Leo's… dear Leo's, is almost that of a proud father's. I smile gently down at the camera screen, happy to have captured this moment.
That is… until that unbearable itch returns. "You can feel it."
I open up the stored gallery to go back through what other photos I have on this camera, if any. While it isn't technically "mine", everyone in class tends to choose the same camera.
"You don't belong here."
I mash the button a little harder than I mean to when going through past photos. They're not anything interesting: pictures of trees or flowers I thought were pretty, or random photos of Pueblo's campus from other students.
"You don't belong anywhere."
My paws… are shaking? I just ate, so it can't be anything to do with being hungry. Maybe it's because I didn't get enough sleep? I never do though.
"Except amongst the worms and refuse."
"Chase!"
I jump and drop the camera on my foot, yelping as its bulk crushes my pinky toe.
"Oh my gosh! Are you okay?" TJ rushes up to my side, picking up the camera and setting it on the table as he examines my foot.
There's nothing but a dull ache since nothing is broken, and my bruised ego hurts more than my toe. "Yes, TJ, I'm fine!" I swat at his paws to shoo him off. The lynx flinches, making me pause, but my half-hearted apology is cut off by Leo nearly shoving the cat to the side as he also kneels to dote on me.
"Are you sure, chula? That camera looks awfully heavy, it could do some dam-"
"Jesus Christ, yes!" I growl, standing up to push everyone away from me. "I'm going outside. Don't follow me!" Without looking back, I snatch up the camera and stalk outside, slamming the door behind me. I walk to the curb outside the motel's parking lot and sit down, taking care to not place my tail in any prickly weeds or bits of glass that may be strewn about. A deep sigh escapes my chest as I physically deflate. Not even twelve hours into this reunion and it's already going wrong; not that I expected it to go right – things rarely do for us – but I wasn't expecting it to be so soon. I open up the camera's memory again, where it, of course, goes to the most recent thing taken. This picture is perfect… Everyone was having a good time. How did I manage to ruin it so quickly?
I glance up at the barren landscape around me as a cloud of dust billows by in the evening breeze, and I'm immediately reminded of how: this God-forsaken wasteland we call home. Of course nothing goes right for us, we're from Echo. We're cursed. Mishaps and misery follow our little gang like flies to carrion. I wish I could say it was just us, that we're somehow special in this regard, but honestly, it seems like the entire town is just as miserable. Everyone here has some horror story to tell or tragic background – and more are just straight up criminals. If it was just me and my friends, it would feel manageable, like something can be done to fix it… but when the town itself seems to conspire against its occupants…
What is there to do?
I look down at the photo again. A sharp pang of hurt and anger flashes in my chest and I grip the camera so hard I can hear the plastic creak at the seams. I mash the delete button, but suddenly hesitate on the confirmation screen.
"Are you sure you want to delete this photo?"
… Am I?
"Are you done sulking?"
My soul momentarily leaves my body upon hearing his voice. "Christ almighty Sydney, what the fuck is wrong with you?!" I squeal in a horribly undignified manner.
The other otter pauses for a moment before a rolling laugh boils up from his gut. My ears burn in embarrassment as I have to listen to this for what feels like several minutes. "Y-You've been more skittish than Teej all day. The hell is up with that?" he manages to sputter out between chuckles. Sydney plops his sizeable frame onto the curb next to me. With a scowl, I turn away so I don't have to answer that. It should be obvious, shouldn't it? Out of the corner of my eye, I see his own bright blue ones catch the photo on the camera still open. "You're not gonna delete that, are ya?"
"No, I guess not," I mutter, pressing the cancel button. My throat tightens with what feels like a choked sob when I do so. I blink for a moment as I try to process this, but as quickly as it came on, the feeling disappears.
Sydney is still looking at the camera screen, and now with the confirmation pop-up out of the way, he can see it in its entirety. He smiles, "That's a cute picture you got of us."
"I thought I said not to follow me."
"Never been good at following orders," he smirks, stretching his arms behind his head. A moment of silence passes where I can tell he's waiting for me to say something. I stubbornly remain silent. He lets out an exasperated sigh, "What, did Leo say something?"
"No."
He clicks his tongue. "Are you… thinkin' about Flynn?"
"Ugh."
"Feel that. Dude may be my best friend but he's a lot to handle sometimes."
Why is he still here? Why is he still talking to me? Is my disinterested tone not enough to tip him off or is he really that much of a meathead? As he begins to ask another question, I cut him off, "Sydney, I'm not in the mood for this right now, okay?"
I see him raise his eyebrow as his mouth hangs slightly open. He seems to be debating if he wants to say something, and eventually decides he doesn't. We're all the better for it. We sit in silence for a while, listening to the ambience – the slow desert wind and rhythmic chirping of evening insects. It's nostalgic, almost. I had almost forgotten the sounds of the desert in my time at Pueblo.
"This place is a real dump, huh?" Sydney sighs.
"You're just realizing this?" I ask incredulously.
Sydney shoves my shoulder gently, causing me to fall over with another undignified squeak. "'Course not, smart-ass. It just… really sets in at times like these."
"Yeah… sure."
The otter slaps his thighs and stands up abruptly, "Welp! No use in sulkin' about it. C'mon." He extends his paw out to help me up.
"I'm not getting up," I complain.
"Up and at it, Hunter!" he chimes in a very drill-sergeant-esque voice.
"You're not my dad."
"No, but you can call me daddy if you'd like," he replies with a shit-eating grin.
"Ugh!" I gag. He laughs at his own terrible joke, ignoring the visible disgust on my face.
After a moment, he settles down and cocks an eyebrow at me, "You're really not gonna come back inside?"
Realizing I'm probably not going to be left alone, a groan leaves my mouth. "Fine! If you're going to be so insistent about it," I mutter. I stand – without his help – and brush off the dust from my pants and tail.
Sydney doesn't say anything, just walking back to the motel room with a shrug.
Almost immediately, I'm beset by Leo and – to a lesser extent – TJ as they rush to ask if I'm feeling okay. My irritation flares up quickly, only to be doused just as fast as Sydney steps in front of me. "Uh uh uh!" he tuts, putting his paw up to stop the two animals, "No fretting. He's fine."
"Oh… okay," TJ nods quietly.
Leo rolls his eyes, "He could tell me himself."
"And would you believe him?" Sydney counters.
The wolf scoffs, "Of course I would!" When he sees the unconvinced look that both I and the other otter give him, his ears flatten. "W-Whatever. What's done is done, yeah? He's fine, we're fine, we have a whole week ahead of us!"
"Remember he's here to work on his project first, Leo," Jenna comments, not looking up from her phone.
“Sí, sí! You’re worse than mi madre sometimes, girly…” he mutters, rolling his shoulders along with his eyes. I start to feel a little bad about the attitude he’s getting – after all, he did set this whole reunion thing up and it’s already going poorly, and getting barked at by his two favorite people surely isn’t helping. Despite that, he powers on and clasps his paws together. “Just to make sure we’re all on the same page for the coming week, let’s go over a rough schedule, yeah?”
“Sure thing, dad,” Carl moans, smirking to himself.
Sydney leans over to the ram, having moved over to where he was while Leo was talking, and whispers into his ear. The two snicker to each other, earning a dirty look from the wolf. “Tomorrow we’re going to Southwest Adventures, yeah? Be ready by nine. I’ll pick up the three stooges-“ he points to Carl and Sydney as he says that, which earns a concerned look from Jenna “- before swinging by here to get you three.”
“Um, Leo,” TJ meekly interjects.
The wolf loudly sighs, causing TJ’s ears to fall back a bit, “What, gatito?”
“There’s only two of them…”
“Flynn said he’d come,” Sydney replies with a shrug, “It was actually the only part of this reunion he agreed to initially but I managed to win him over for today.”
Jenna bounces her eyebrows, “And look at how well that went.”
The otter shoots her a nasty glare, which she deftly ignores. TJ nods and puts his paw down to show he has no further questions.
“After tomorrow,” Leo continues, “I have a little thing planned for Wednesday that I’ll need a couple of you’s help with.” Sydney rolls his eyes at that, making me wonder what Leo has planned. Clearly, he told the other otter about it… but not me. My brow inadvertently furrows. Why is Sydney privilege to information I’m not? My childish indignation is quickly swept aside when I remember that Sydney still lives here, and has for the three years that I haven’t. Leo makes a little hum sound, regaining my attention, and ends his little overview with, “The rest of the days we’ll play by ear.”
“I wanted to go hiking at some point,” TJ replies brightly. Upon seeing all of our reactions, though, his mood dampens like someone threw a wet blanket on him. “I-It’s okay if you don’t want to-“
“Chase, you’re coming right?” Jenna asks, startling me with the sudden question.
“Uh…” I hesitate, glancing between her and the lynx. He fixes his gaze on me and, despite saying how much he hates his kitten eyes because it feels “too manipulative”, he turns on the pathetic charm. His baby blue eyes sparkle a bit with a bit of dramatic mist and I feel my heart breaking at the mere thought of saying no to him. “S-Sure, TJ.”
“Yay!” he exclaims.
“No offense to you Teej, but I won’t be caught dead out in nature. Mostly because I will die if I step onto a hiking trail,” Carl lazily waves his paw over at the cat, who blows a soft puff of air out his nose.
“C’mon Carl, it could be good for you…” he replies.
“Nope. No way.”
“I’ll have to step out too, gatito,” Leo chimes in. “Dad still wants me in the shop for a bit this week, usually in the mornings.” I shoot Leo a look. He told me his schedule was cleared for the entire week. Leo meets my gaze and I can see a single, pleading word in his eyes: don’t.
With two people out of the question, TJ looks more dejected than ever. With one final act, however, he swivels his head to look at Sydney, less so out of pity and more out of genuine curiosity. He’s the only one unaccounted for.
The otter blinks in surprise. “Wh- Me? Seriously?”
“You don’t have to…”
Sydney swears under his breath. “No, I’ll-“ he glances at me, “I’ll come. Need a bit more cardio in my life, y'know? And... maybe two muskshits will get you to change your mind about exercising in this weather…” The confirmation of Sydney joining the hike seems to push aside the casual speciesm (is it still speciest if you’re also the subject in question?) and swear, and TJ beams, eliciting a forced smile from the other otter.
All this talk of plans does remind me of something though, and I feel my stomach drop at the thought. I need to get footage of Lake Emma for my stupid documentary; from what I’ve read so far, it has an extensive history with the town. Going back though, after over a decade, fills me with dread. How will Sydney react? How will everyone else react? I take a deep breath and approach Leo with a subtle nod to the side so he steps away from everyone else – or as much as he can in this room crammed with six animals. “I need some footage of the lake for my project,” I whisper. Leo’s ears pin back as he glances over at Sydney, who is, thankfully, engrossed with something on his phone. “You know what? Forget I asked. I can just, uh walk over and get it myself at-“
“Hey, hey, it’s okay,” Leo replies, placing a big paw on my shoulder. “I think… it could be a good idea to make a little event out of it. We could have a cookout or something.”
“Are you sure?”
The wolf once again glances back at the larger otter. This time, Sydney actually notices, his piercing blue gaze shooting up and making contact with our own. He raises an eyebrow as we turn away. “Positive. He’s, uh, not that phased by it anymore.”
I don’t believe that for a second, but if Leo says it’s fine, then… “Yeah, okay.”
He straightens his back and turns to address the room, “’Bout time we got outta here, yeah? S’gettin’ late and we have a relatively early day tomorrow!”
We all pitch in to help clean up the food trash and tidy the room a bit before the three not staying in the motel say their goodbyes. Carl is out the door first, having long since come down and feeling ready to get back to his place. Sydney is close behind, giving me a longer lookover than I thought was normal, but he says nothing about it. Finally, Leo is the last to go after giving me a monstrous bear hug that also lingered for far too long, but for a different reason. Oddly, after he releases me and shuts the door with a final goodbye, I’m left feeling a strange weight in my chest – a soft sense of loneliness despite the kit fox lounging in bed and the lynx prepping for his nightly bathroom ritual behind me.
I take a deep breath and shake it off. Everyone feels that way after their friends leave when you had a fun day with them, right?
Right.
I'm giggling like an idiot as I splash in the water. It's okay though, I'm having fun with my friends. We're all playing in the shallows, enjoying the last warm rays of sun before the summer's over. I can hear Jasmynn telling Leo about the rocks they're skipping - she's telling him about how flat a rock is isn't the only factor into how far it goes. Carl isn't playing in the water with the rest of us but that's okay. He has fun in his own way… that way being sleeping when you're hanging out with friends. Toby and Flynn are actually sitting in the shallows closest to Carl, idly building something in the sand. They had a partner at one point… but who?
Oh, right. I look down to the kid I'm drowning. Sydney. He stopped moving a while ago but I'm still holding him under, like I'm hiding him. His cold, blue eyes stare up at me from the water, unmoving and perfectly still. I watch their image dance underneath the waves.
Then, he blinks.
I blink in turn.
When my eyes open again, he's no longer under the water. I start and look around, realizing everyone else is gone too. The rocks Leo and Jenna were holding lay still on the sand. Carl's towel is empty. The sandcastle Toby, Flynn, and Sydney were building stands half finished. I look back to my paws and notice they're submerged in a deep, red liquid. It's warm and thick, like microwaved syrup. I realize then, as the metallic scent enters my nose, that it's blood.
A scream that makes no noise escapes my mouth as I try to scramble out of the lake, but something has wrapped itself around my paws and legs. I tug harder and harder until finally I feel it give and I pull one paw free. I choke on a gasp as something else comes with it:
An eye, wrapped around my wrist with its nerves and veins. As I sit, frozen in disgust and fear, it slowly swivels to look at me.
I watch in horror as more eyes bob to the surface of the now-red lake. I begin to recognize some of them: an eye of green with a bar-shaped pupil, a slitted pupil surrounded by a soft blue, and a large, round eye with an iris of amber.
In a single, sickening moment, they all turn to look at me as one.