After a less than filling breakfast of cereal and an energy drink, you packed your bags into the back of your small hatchback. It was a humid day in early June, sunny save for some far off storm clouds. You'd just finished up the last semester of your sophomore year of college, and this job will definitely help you fix up your car and invest in a new computer, and some presents for your partner.
Even though the flyer was suspicious (they can't seriously be offering you almost $75 an hour, RIGHT??), and they hired you almost on the spot, you were excited. A few days prior, Ondine had texted you coordinates. Strange there wasn't an address, but you could figure that out later. You also didn't recognize the number she'd texted from, but somehow you knew it was from her. Looking up the coordinates, you saw they were several states away, nestled in hills an uncomfortable distance from any sort of highway. The closest town didn't even have a chain general store, or a stop sign. What were you getting yourself into?
–
17 hours of perilous backroad driving later, and you found yourself facing a dead end dirt road. A handpainted sign threatening trespassers greeted you, along with a reminder that you were on private property, and presumably being filmed. Up the unpaved hill you could see what looked like a guard shack. Your little car could handle the gravel trail well enough, but the signs and the shack really put you off. You checked your phone, but you had no signal way out here. This had to be the place, you just knew.
As you squinted through the foliage to get some sort of idea of what to do next, someone came running up, brandishing something in their hand. You froze.
"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?" the person roared. They were entirely shrouded by the shadow of the canopy above, but you could tell they were huge. Inhumanly so. And you didn't think anyone could be that loud! You cowered a bit, before stammering out your name. You tried to start explaining why you were way out in the middle of nowhere with plates from two states away, but before you could get more than 3 words out someone else interrupted you.
"DO YOU KNOW ONDINE?" Another voice barked. You turned, seeing someone to your right brandishing an even larger weapon, though they were significantly smaller than their companion. The thought flashed through your head, wondering how many other people were hidden in these woods. Were you surrounded?
"Y-yes, yes! A-are y-" you said, your fear causing your voice to quiver. The smaller figure stepped out. She stood roughly your height, but you couldn't focus on that. Her silhouette had looked… odd, and as she stepped out of the shadows of the trees you finally understood why. She had… dog ears? What the fuck? SHE WAS A DOG PERSON?
You couldn't help but scream. "WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU?" you yelled, cowering behind your car.
She stepped closer. She was still glaring at you, ready to use her weapon in case you tried to attack. Her voice told an entirely different story than her demeanor, though.
"You don't know? Then why did Ondine…" Her voice was rough and dog-like, deeper than you would have anticipated for her size. She trailed off, puzzled. Chatter erupted among the guards. The dog-woman turned back, and they discussed among each other the strange newcomer. You sensed you were still being watched, and decided it was better not to try to escape under the threat of such heavy firepower.
As the dog-woman came back down the gravel road, you stood up from behind your car. "If Ondine sent you, you're allowed in, but I need proof."
You tried pulling up the text, but you didn't know if it'd work. It came from a random number, after all, and only contained the coordinates. You couldn't be sure they would think it was real.
The dog-woman's snout immediately snarled. She took your phone from your hands and began to analyze the message, grabbing data about it you didn't even know your phone stored. Suddenly she looked to the sky, enraged. "ONDINE AND HER GOD DAMNED BURNER PHONES!" she yelled. Apparently she had a thing for doing this, you thought. The dog-woman looked at you, still a bit angry.
"You're lucky she's not technologically savvy enough to turn off her location trackers, or we may have had to shoot you. Sorry about the greeting, Ondine just has issues with communication, and tends to keep us in the dark about newcomers. We don't take too kindly to apparent humans 'round here til we trust ya. Come on." She waved a hand-paw towards the gate. What did she say? Apparent humans?
"They're safe!" the dog-woman yelled to the guards, who opened the gate. As you slowly drove up to the shack, one of the other guards nervously apologized for the greeting, promising they were nicer inside. He was a raccoon boy, barely 18, and had a camo Trout Pro Shops ballcap on. You weren't sure you believed him, but he seemed nice enough, and you appreciated the flyer and the little paper map he gave you. A few of the guards waved behind you. This was going to be an interesting summer…