The air in the room felt thick, suffocating almost, like it was pressing down on everyone's shoulders. Alpha's omnipresent hum filled the vast, sterile chamber—a sound like metal grinding against an invisible force. The space was cold, harshly lit with blinding white light, bouncing off the walls that gleamed with a futuristic sheen. Every breath echoed like it didn't belong here. Ralph thought the place resembled a spaceship, except without the fun parts—no aliens, no adventure, and worst of all, no freedom.
And yet, there he was—Ralph, an American red wolf hybrid—standing alongside Nyx, the cold and ever-serious Asian cheetah hybrid. Both of them had just dared to whisper the unthinkable: running away.
It was a risky move. But Ralph didn't care.
For a moment, silence. The other species stared at them as if they'd just sprouted second heads. Tension hung in the air so thick you could cut it with a plasma blade.
Ralph shifted uncomfortably. "Well," he muttered under his breath, "so much for inspiring the masses. They're looking at us like we just insulted their great-grandmothers."
Then it happened.
A small figure emerged from the crowd—a red panda hybrid, barely waist-high to Ralph, with big, round eyes and fur fluffed up like a nervous kitten. She was cute enough to make even Nyx blink in surprise. The little panda hesitated for a moment, her paws fidgeting nervously.
"Y-you shouldn't say things like that!" she squeaked, her voice trembling as she tugged anxiously at Ralph's sleeve. "If Alpha finds out, you'll be… you'll be in so much trouble!"
Ralph blinked, then grinned broadly. "Trouble? Me?" He gestured toward himself with exaggerated innocence, placing a paw on his chest. "Oh no, dear Alpha loves me. Why, I'm practically her favorite red wolf—Subject 1348, prized rebel and all-around nuisance."
The red panda's wide eyes darted nervously toward the looming black dome above them where Alpha's sensors were known to watch everything. "You shouldn't joke like that! It's dangerous."
"Danger?" Ralph muttered with a chuckle. "Sweetheart, my whole life is dangerous."
Before the panda could scurry back into the crowd, a deep, rumbling laughter erupted—loud, mocking, and completely out of place. Everyone turned to see the towering figure of a black rhinoceros hybrid striding forward. He looked as big as a Sentinel, with rippling muscles that strained against the confines of his plain gray uniform. His horn gleamed menacingly under the lights.
"Did you hear these two clowns?" the rhinoceros jeered, pointing at Ralph and Nyx like they were the joke of the century. "Running away? Seriously? That's the dumbest thing I've heard since the last time Alpha tried telling a joke."
Ralph raised an eyebrow, turning to Nyx. "Alpha tells jokes? That's news to me. I thought her only talent was ruining lives."
Nyx, as usual, said nothing. She didn't even look at Ralph.
The rhino snorted. "Pathetic. What are you gonna do, huh? Dig under the walls with your little paws? Or maybe you'll flap your ears and fly out of here?"
That did it. Ralph turned to the rhino with a slow, exaggerated grin. Oh, buddy, you just opened the door for me.
"Flap my ears? Nah," Ralph said, eyes twinkling mischievously. "But I could use your giant horn as a wrecking ball. You know, since it's about as useful as a plastic fork in a sword fight."
The crowd gasped.
The black rhinoceros froze, nostrils flaring dangerously. His massive fists clenched, knuckles popping like firecrackers. "What did you just say?"
"Oh, I'm sorry, did I stutter?" Ralph tilted his head mockingly, then made a dramatic show of squinting up at the rhino. "Look at you, all huffing and puffing like a stormcloud. Careful, big guy—you might pop a blood vessel, and then who'll Alpha use to plow the fields?"
A ripple of stifled laughter spread through the crowd. Even Nyx's lips almost twitched.
The rhinoceros growled, taking a threatening step forward. "Say that again, I dare you."
"I would," Ralph said with a shrug, "but I don't think Alpha will approve of you flattening my handsome face in front of all these lovely endangered species." He turned dramatically toward the red panda. "Isn't that right, little lady? You wouldn't want to see me get squished, would you?"
The red panda squeaked and disappeared into the crowd.
Ralph grinned, but Alpha's voice interrupted his victory.
"Subject 1348," the robotic voice boomed, cold and emotionless, "you are becoming a disturbance to the peace. I suggest you desist immediately."
Ralph placed a paw over his heart and gasped in mock horror. "A disturbance? Moi? Why, Alpha, I'm just here to spread love and joy! If anything, I'm doing you a favor—keeping things lively."
Alpha didn't respond right away. The silence stretched, and Ralph's grin faltered slightly. Uh-oh. Did I finally cross the line?
Nyx's sharp gaze turned toward Ralph. Underneath her calm exterior, he caught a glint of calculation. When the crowd's attention turned elsewhere, she leaned closer to Ralph and whispered, "We'll use the next event. It's the only time we're all gathered together with minimal oversight."
Ralph blinked, surprised. "You want to run during another one of these meetings? Isn't that kind of predictable?"
"Predictable works when no one's looking," Nyx replied evenly. "We can't count on the others. It'll be just the two of us."
Ralph exhaled and cracked a lopsided smile. "Romantic. Just you, me, and a lot of angry Sentinels chasing us. Can't wait."
Then, to everyone's shock, Alpha's mechanical voice cut through the tension: "Sentinels."
The entire room froze.
Wait. Sentinels? Already?
For the first time, Ralph actually glanced at Nyx, whose expression remained calm but whose sharp gaze flicked toward him with the faintest hint of I-told-you-so.
"Oh great," Ralph muttered under his breath. "This is how I die—thrown into a recycling bin."
But as the doors hissed open and two Sentinels clanked into the room—massive, gleaming machines with glowing red visors—it became clear that something unexpected was happening.
Alpha's voice boomed again, colder than ever: "Number 303 of Zone 17: Black Rhinoceros hybrid. You have disturbed the flow of my surveillance. You are sentenced to immediate detention."
The black rhino gawked. "Wait, what? Me?"
"Yes," Alpha said flatly. "Your behavior has proven disruptive to my analysis. Sentinels, remove him."
Ralph blinked. No way.
The rhino roared in protest, stomping his feet and swatting at the Sentinels as they grabbed him by the arms. "You can't do this! I didn't do anything!"
Alpha ignored him. "Disobedience detected. Increased restraint authorized."
The crowd stared in stunned silence as the black rhino was dragged—kicking, roaring, and cursing—out of the chamber. The doors slammed shut behind him, leaving an eerie quiet in his wake.
Ralph turned to Nyx and whispered, "Well, that was…unexpected. I didn't even get to say goodbye."
Nyx shot him a look. "We're next if you don't shut up."
Alpha's voice interrupted them again. "The Endangered Species Gathering is now concluded. All zones will return to their respective habitats immediately."
"Great," Ralph muttered. "Back to my prison cell."
As the zones were called one by one, Ralph and the American red wolves trudged toward their exit, flanked by Sentinels. The other wolves glared daggers at him the whole way.
"Do you ever stop causing problems?" one of them snapped.
"Problems?" Ralph smirked. "I prefer to call them entertainment."
"Do you ever think before you open your mouth?" one wolf growled, his fur bristling with fury. "You're going to get us all thrown into detention!"
"You're like a magnet for punishment," another snapped. "Why can't you just behave like the rest of us?"
Ralph, unfazed, grinned. "Behave? I'm sorry, I must've missed the part where Alpha handed out spines to the rest of you."
"Enough!" another barked, his voice dripping with frustration. "We're tired of cleaning up after your messes, 1348. If you keep this up, we're done protecting you."
"Protecting me?" Ralph snorted. "From what—Alpha? Face it, he already hates us. At least I'm trying to do something instead of licking his boots like the rest of you."
The wolves bristled angrily, their fur standing on end. Before the argument could explode further, the Sentinel's cold, mechanical voice boomed from ahead. "Silence."
The wolves froze instantly, cowed by the threat of punishment. Ralph, however, kept walking, unbothered.
"Fine, fine," he muttered under his breath. "I'll just keep all my jokes to myself. You know, for safety."
No one laughed.
But as Ralph glanced toward the walls of their Zone, he thought to himself, Next time, I won't miss my shot. Just you wait, Alpha.