Colors of the Spirit:
Shortie by: Lone Wolf
Starring: Ashley Williams

~Flying like a wounded dove~

Date: 2105 A.D

	I woke up again to the destroyed city around me. The shell of a 
building I chose for the night had done me well; I survived the night. I 
didn't know if it was a good thing or a bad thing. The first thing I did 
after I sat up was to check the wound on my arm. I had wrapped it in the 
cleanest bandage I could find two nights ago. The bandage came off too 
easily, revealing the nasty gash in my forearm. It wasn't festering, thank 
goodness. But how long that would be true was a big unknown at the moment. 
So was my survival for that matter. I wrapped it back up and got to my feet.

	I walked through the chaos of my former home. The brigand band had 
done a good job. To think, an idea from the age of chivalry was still 
thriving close to 2000 years later. The fates are a bitch, that's all I can 
say. I shook these thoughts off as I approched the "building" where I had 
lived before this horrible incident. I climbed over the rubble that blocked 
the enterance and went right for my parents' room.

	The room, despite the destruction around it, was in good shape. My 
parents had a big bed to one wall, where I had spent many a Saturday morning 
when I was younger. It was also the place where my parents were killed. They 
were still in the bed, wrapped up in each other's arms, a single bullet 
wound to both their heads. I nearly cried at the sight. "You died the way I 
hoped you would," I wispered to the corpses. "You died entwined in each 
other's arms, together for all eternity." Not being able to take this sight, 
I rushed over, kissed both their cheeks, and left. I was not going to be 
coming back.

	My stomach growled the second I got out the door. A sharp pain racked 
my body. I held my belly and groaned. The last time I had eaten was 20 
minutes before the incident. That was two days ago. I was slowly wasting 
away. I had gone over half the destruction searching for anything to eat. 
All I found was rubble and dead bodies. I will never resort to cannibalism, 
I told myself. But if I didn't find any food today, that was it for me. I 
was not going to survive the night. I took a deep, agonizing breath, and 
started down the road.

	It was about mid-day when it happened. I was near the governmental 
district of town, hoping that one of these govie fat cats had some sort of 
meal stored away, when the pain wracked my body again. I took a step forward 
and fell on my side. "This is it," I said aloud. "Momma, Papa, I'm coming to 
join you!" My words echoed through the canyon of burnt out buildings. The 
pain shot through my body again. I shut my eyes and curled up. My time, I 
thought, had come. I was going to go join my friends and family in the 
afterlife.

	Not yet.....

	"Hey," some voice shouted. "Someone's still alive in here." Great, I 
thought. Some brigands have come back and they're now gonna rape me and then 
kill me. Just what I need before I die. I tried to curl up tighter, but the 
pain was too strong to allow me to do that. All I could manage was rolling 
onto my back. Fuck, I thought. Now I'm more open. I clenched my teeth and 
waited for what I thought was going to happen.

	It never did.

	Someone took my head up in his arms. "She's breathing," he said. "But 
it sounds labored." He stroked my forehead. "Are you still awake?" All I 
could do was moan. My throat was parched from my last outburst. "You must be 
thirsty." He brought a straw to my lips. "Here, drink up." Painstakingly, I 
took it into my mouth and took a feeble sip. It was some sort of sugar 
water. The pains subsided a little.
	"Food," I forced out.
	"You're hungry?" He put me down and fumbled with something. He then 
sat me up and put some sort of cracker to my lips. I took a weak bite, 
chewed, and managed to swallow. "Go ahead. Take your time." I took another 
bite. The pit in my stomach was slowly shrinking. My strength was coming 
back. I finished the biscuit in an agonizing 5 minutes. As soon as it was 
done, he put the straw to my lips again. I took a healthier swig than the 
last time and opened my eyes. They met with a pair of black shades. The wolf 
behind them smiled at me. "Are you okay?"
	"Thank you," I whispered.
	"It's okay." He helped me to my feet. "What's your name?"
	"A-ashly Williams, sir."
	"I'm Michael D'Ketra. I am.....a Hunter." I let go of a weak cry. The 
Hunters were a group of people who were often hired to kill people of all 
sorts. What were they doing here? Were they sent by the brigands to finish 
off any survivors? I tried to back away, but I was too weak. "Don't worry, 
I'm not going to hurt you."
	"Hey Michael," a second, female voice called from down the street. 
"What are you doing?"
	"Tabitha," Michael responded. "Come here. We have a survivor." There 
was movement as a second person, a Hunter, I suspected, came closer. A 
negaskunkette - you know, the skunks with the reversed colored fur - looked 
over his shoulder. "Is she all right?"
	"I don't know. She took out one of my ration biscuits and half a pouch 
of emergency fluids. She seems to be fine."
	"I'll go get the jeep. We'll take her back to HQ and have her checked 
up there."
	"W-where are you taking me?" I cried, still fearful for my life.
	The negaskunkette caressed my cheek. "Don't worry hun. We were not 
sent here to harm you." She smiled and took off. I started to weep.
	"Don't cry," Michael said in an attempt to comfort me. "A beautiful 
face like yours shouldn't do that." Just then, the wound in my arm started 
to act up. I grabbed it and let out a wail. "What's wrong with your arm?" He 
laid me down and took the bandage off. He nodded and took out some sort of 
medical kit. He applied some sort of salve to my wound, which forced many 
screams out of me, and wrapped it up in a fresh bandage. "I'm sorry that 
hurt." I still wasn't strong enough to get up, so I rolled onto my side, my 
back to him. He placed a hand on my shoulder. "I just want to help."
	"Then kill me."
	"What?!"
	"My friends are dead. My parents are dead. I have nowhere else to go. 
Just shoot me now, end my suffering."
	"I can't do that...I won't."
	"Why not?"
	"Becuase..." He let go of me and didn't finish.
	"Why not?"
	"You don't deserve that." Just then, a vehicle rolled up. "Our ride is 
here." He picked me up and walked me to a black jeep. Tabitha was sitting at 
the wheel. She smiled and opened the back door. He brought me over and laid 
me down in the back seat. He covered me with a blanket and smiled. "You're 
still a little weak. Try getting some sleep." I nodded silently. He looked 
at Tabitha. "We got a pillow somewhere?"
	"Try the back. We've got some emergency bunking supplies back there." 
He nodded and went into the back, only to return with a pillow. "Hun, I'm 
gonna have to close the door. Pull your feet in." I did so and she shut the 
door. Michael went around to the other side and opened the door by my head.
	"Here," he said. "Lift your head up." I weakly lifted it up. He slid 
the pillow under my head and shut the door softly. He then climbed into the 
other front seat. My head hit the pillow and I quickly discovered it was a 
feather pillow. The engine started up and the jeep started to roll along. 
The soft bouncing put me to sleep in no time.

	I woke up at least a few hours later, not in the back of their jeep, 
but in a bed. An honest to god bed! I sat up slowly and held my head. I had 
been dressed in a soft, clean uniform of some sort. "Where am I?" I 
muttered.
	"You're at HQ," Tabitha's voice answered. "We brought you here, 
remember?"
	I looked. She was sitting at the foot of the bed, her chair turned 
around so the back was facing me. Her eyes watched my every move. 
"I...yeah...I do." I hugged my legs to my chest. "Why was I brought here?"
	"To make sure that you would survive."
	"What? I don't believe you."
	She sighed. "Our reputation seems to follow us around." She got up and 
came over to my side. "We are hired to kill people, I will admit fully to 
that. But that isn't the only thing we are hired to do."
	"What else do you do?"
	"We are just as often hired to recover items, important documents, and 
sometimes locate survivors of massacres." She held her hand out. "I'm here 
to help, Ashley. Don't be afraid."
	I looked at her hand. She seemed friendly enough. I didn't have much 
to fear. I took her hand and smiled. "Thank you, Miss Tabitha."
	She smiled. "Just Tabitha, hun. Now, let's get you out of that bed and 
down to the mess hall. One cannot live on ration biscuits alone, ya know 
what I mean?" She winked playfully at me. She was far too happy to be a 
Hunter.

	We had a quick, surprisingly delicious meal. She explained to me that, 
unlike the army, we didn't have rations 24/7. That was reassuring. After we 
finished, she decided to take me on a tour of the builidng. I strongly 
protested, saying that I wasn't sure that I was supposed to be seeing all of 
these things. She assured me that it was all right. The tour ended in an 
office. "And this," she explained. "Is where our commander works. He's a 
very caring man, so don't be scared."
	"Why would I be scared?" The big, black leather chair that had it's 
back to us spun around. Someone was listening to us the whole time. The old 
lynx looked at me and smiled.
	"Ashley Williams?" I nodded. He stood up. "I am Jeshua Eslovic. I lead 
the Hunters for this sector." He held out a hand. Hesitatnly, I took it. "I 
would like to offer my condolences for your loss."
	"Thank you, sir."
	He noticed the pained look in my eyes. "Please, sit down. I have much 
to discuss with you." I complied with his request. "Ashley, I don't know how 
to say this, but your life is in jeopardy."
	"Wh-what do you mean?"
	"We were tracking the brigand band that destroyed your home. They 
obviously knew you were alive and were just making a reverse in their 
course. We saw this and figured there was something of value that they left 
behind. Agents Michael and Tabitha found you. I'm kinda glad we did."
	"Why do you say that, sir?"
	"We don't like to see innocents murdered. These brigands have had 
bounties issued on their heads within the Hunters. We will most likely never 
see them again. However, that still doesn't mean they won't spead the word 
and try to have you killed. Unlike the brigands from the days or lore, they 
don't stop until there is nothing left but rubble and bodies."
	I nodded. "What should I do, sir?"
	"I suppose Tabitha has given you the tour of the base." I nodded. "I 
will make my offer simple: we would like you to join the Hunters." I was 
shocked. I got up with a start. "Please, don't strain yourself. You're still 
weak."
	"I...I don't know if I want to sir."
	He nodded. "I understand. We cannot let you out into society with the 
fear of those brigands. We will have to keep you here for some time."
	Tabitha stepped forward. "Sir, I wouldn't mind putting her up for that 
time."
	He nodded. "Understood Agent." He took a look at me. "I only offer 
this to you as a way to get revenge for your parents. Do you still want to 
turn it down, Ashley?"
	I looked skywards a little. The vision of my parents in bed, entwined 
in each other's grasp, came back to me. I couldn't help but see, this time, 
the smiles on their faces. They died, but they were happy. I couldn't let 
the shattering of their happiness go unanswered. I looked Jeshua dead in the 
eyes. "I accept your offer, sir."
	He smiled. "That's good. You will bunk with Agent Tabitha until your 
training is complete. Then you can decide if you wish to double up with her 
during your time here or if you will take your own quarters."
	I nodded. "Thank you sir."
	"You two may go. I have to get the paperwork ready."
	Tabitha smiled and hugged me. "Welcome to the family."
	I smiled and hugged back.

	The next day I noticed something new in the halls. It was a simple 
poster, with a picture and a profile. The picture was of a vixen, about 17 
years of age. Her soft, red fur was complimented by her emerald eyes and her
straight, brown hair. Her muzzle wasn't too big, and she had a smile on her 
face. The profile echoed this. She wasn't a weighty vixen; she was only 110 
lbs. At the very top of the poster, the headline decreed what I already 
knew:

"Ashley Williams: New Recruit"

	I smiled. I had found a place to exist.

	I couldn't wait to begin work.

End

Ashley Williams, Tabitha Evans, Michael D'Ketra, and Jeshua Eslovic is © 
Lone Wolf and <([ Lone Wolf Studios ])>

See you next story!
	-Ashley Williams