Chapter Text
In this world there are two kinds of humans. One fifth of earths population is known as shifters. Shifters are able to change between their human form and animal form. Pretty much all of them are pets or other smaller animals, the biggest most of the time some kind of bigger dog breed. It was pretty rare to be some kind of predetor like an eagle, wolf or snake. But even those were usually smaller than their non-human counterparts.
Fortunately, there was no anomosity or unequal rights between humans and shifters setting them to equal standing. Normal humans could be stronger, faster or more intelligent than shifters so there were no reasons to be wary of each other and therefore being able to live peacefully along each other. Naturally there was still a certain competition between the factions, most of them but teens trying to one-up another.
Keith was just 5 years old when his whole life took a new turn. He never really knew his mother because he was still too young to fully remember her. So as long as he remembered, it was only him and his dad together in their little house on the outskirt of a small town near the desert. As it was he was happy. His dad usually kept him in the house and rarely took him to the city, he also didn‘t really have any friends because he didn‘t go to school or kindergarden. But it was fine, cause his dad often rode in the desert with him on his hoverbike, looked at the stars during the night on their rooftop teaching him all about the constellations and taught him as much as he could himself.
So when he was five and men in suits knocked on their door and his dad told him to hide in the closets and not to come out no matter what, Keith didn‘t know what to expect.
So he ran upstairs and hid in the wooden wardrobe under some clothes hoping that he soon could come out again.
As soon as he settled and tried to listen to anything that was being said downstairs he recoiled when the door was kicked open with a loud THOMP as it crashed against the wall, soon followed by indistinguishable arguing. Keith tried to take a peek through the slightly left open doors of the closet but wasn‘t successful in seeing anything beyond the wall above the door and the staircase leading downstairs. He leaned back and waited for about 3 minuted before loud noises started downstairs. About 5 minutes later footsteps started to climb the stairs and Keith tried to be as still as possible because those were not the noises his dad would make everytime he walked the stairs. Slightly shivering Keith waited for those steps to leave downstairs again. But against all his wishes the steps came back after searching through the other rooms and stopped in front of the stairs.
Suddenly there was shouting again followed soon by a loud BANG, a cry of pain and finally a thump. Keith immediately recognized the cry as his dads and couldn‘t hold back a frightened whimper alerting the men still standing at the railing. The closet door were ripped open and Keith was being dragged out of his hiding spot by his arm. He was being pulled downstairs and thrown to his knees in front of one of the men in suits. When he opened his eyes again, having closed them when he left the closet, the first thing he saw wasn‘t the man in front of him but the lifeless eyes of his dad lying in a puddle of deep red liquid slowy growing paler and colder.
He was then ripped out of his trance when the man grabbed some of his hair and forced him to look him into the eye. The man started grinning when he saw the fear, sadness and confusion that were starring back at him. Soon the man started talking in a gravely voice, which send shivers down Keith‘s back.
”You, my dear boy, are coming with us. Do not struggle or we have to use not so nice methods to make you come willingly. Do you understand?“
Keith didn‘t realized what the man had said exactly, his gaze being on his dad again. Keith winced when the man grabbed his hair harder and shock his head.
”I said. Do. You. Understand!“
Keith now shaking nodded his head. The man threw him to the ground, retreated and told his men to take Keith with them. Before they could grab him however, he ducked under their arms and bolted towards the backdoor. In his panic he transformed in his animal form and ran as fast as he could into the desert. Not even hundred meters from the house his view was blocked by net that was thrown over him. Entangling his stubby legs with the net he fell down and rolled some more in the sand until finally coming to a halt having reverted back to his human form.
Still dizzy from the fall Keith didn‘t hear the footsteps approach until he was lifted up from the ground by two men. They brought him back to the house rounding it to the front towards a black van that was parked there.
With a last glance back he struggled some more before he was hurled into the back of the van.
Immediately leaping back up the van doors closed in front of his nose and shortly after the car started rumbling and driving away from the home he grew up the last 5 years.