New Location
You fall to the ground on your hands and knees. Nearby is an empty street, with what looks like dead trees lining the other side of it, destruction lying beyond. On the side you are on, what appear to be damaged, abandoned brick buildings rise up about 3 stories above the ground.
There is a slight tear on the one knee of your jeans from your landing, but you don't seem to be injured. You brush the dust off of you as you get to your feet and look around.
The sky is overcast with dark clouds. Everything feels dry and dusty, the buildings appear to be coated with dust. The dust in the street also shows little traffic has been through here recently. Looking around, there seems to be nothing attractive to go to, so you start walking in the direction you are standing, down the street with the buildings on your right.
It's relatively cool out, you can tell that from the air you're breathing, but not cold, and definitely not too hot for you like it was before in the room. The dust smells a bit acrid, so you don't hurry. Maybe you should cover your nose with your shirt or something: with the dust in the air you wouldn't be able to smell anything even if you still have a fox's nose. But you do hear something around the corner of the next building.
Listening, it sounds like kids - teenagers probably. Not sure what they are saying but there are more than a few of them up ahead. Realizing you are no adult yourself in this body, you wonder if you should hide before they come around the corner.
Getting closer to the wall, you look for a place to hide. There's a doorway between you and the corner, five steps going up and what may have been a porch area underneath. You'll fit in there easily, and quickly move there to take a seat before they come out from around the corner.
Looking between two rusty garbage cans, you see the first ones come out. A mix of animal kids like you, only bigger. Tigers, dogs, a kangaroo, cats, an otter - you lose count after ten as they half run, half walk around the corner, jockeying a sad-looking soccer ball between them. A few of them are carrying bottles of something. They are all bigger than you. One of the dogs suddenly comes to a stop and looks around.
"What is it, Pill?" The kangaroo asks as he comes to a stop as well.
"Something different in the air. Not sure what."
"How can you smell anything around here with this dust?" one of the Tigers asks.
Pill takes another long sniff, then coughs. "Dad says we have come from a long line of good noses."
"Your Dad only smells what's at the bottom of his brew-jug" laughs one of the cats.
Pill looks at him sharply. "At least I know my Dad, Tom."
The cat jumps quickly at Pill, his claws out.
"Enough! the kangaroo shouts. "Fred, you know better than to make a drunk comment to Pill. And Pill," he turns to the dog, "you know better than to pull out a term like that for a fellow bricker. Now get back to what you were sniffin'."
Fred and Pill scowl at each other but Pill takes some short sniffs in the air.
"I don't know," he says. "Canine, but not."
"Wolf?" the other tiger asks, glancing around.
"No, he hasn't been by here since before dawn. Something ... cleaner."
"What the heck does that mean?" says one of the other dogs.
Now that all of the kids seem to be out, they are spreading around, looking at the buildings, peering at the windows, the roof, out into the desolation beyond the street. While most of them seem to be going away from you, one of the cats is coming nearer. He is barefoot, and you are surprised you can hear his claws hitting the sidewalk softly as he walks hesitantly, looking around, coming closer, closer. You don't move a muscle.
"Jack, come over here. Let's go to the warehouse." What looks like a bobcat is calling to the cat closest to you.
"Ok, ok. Just being point." Jack looks up at the building above the door, turns as he looks down to go back to the group when he stops and whips around to look right at you.
Written by Nom on 03 March 2016
