*BOOOMMMM!*
The back window of the Rustbucket disintegrated into a thousand jagged diamonds. A red laser bolt from the trailing drone scorched the edge of the curtains, sending a plume of acrid smoke into the cabin.
"BEN! DO IT NOW!" Gwen screamed. She was huddled on the floorboards, her fingers digging into the worn carpet.
Ben was scared of he was being honest. But, he couldn't let himself be frozen still by fear. He shoved his thumb onto the pink dial.
BAM.
A pink shockwave slammed into the interior walls of the RV, rattling the cabinets and sending a stack of paper plates flying into the air.
WHIRRR-CLICK.
A mass of orange fur and dark fabric materialized right on top of Ben. The weight of the creature was immense, pinning him against the passenger seat with a heavy THUD.
"OOF! GET OFF!" Ben wheezed. His lungs compressed under the pressure of her thighs straddling his waist. Ribs creaked from the force.
The creature was a Female Vulpimancer. She crouched on all fours over him, her muscular frame arched with her rear end raised high.
Thick orange fur bristled along her forearms, calves, and the wild mane framing her head.
Claws dug into the seat cushion on either side of his shoulders, tearing small rips in the fabric.
She wore a dark green and black form-fitting biological suit that hugged every curve of her hips and chest, the material stretched tight over her rounded buttocks and the swell of her breasts.
The suit gleamed under the pink glow of the watch, seams straining against the flex of her biceps and quads.
She had no eyes, only a massive maw split wide in a grin, filled with rows of translucent, needle-sharp teeth. Her long pink tongue lolled out, dripping saliva onto his shirt collar.
SNIFF. SNIFF.
Vix shoved her wet, black nose into the crook of Ben's neck. Her breath was hot and smelled of raw meat.
Nostrils flared wide as she inhaled deep, her chest expanding against his with each pull. Fur on her mane tickled his cheek, coarse strands scraping skin.
"HEY! QUIT SNIFFING ME!" Ben yelled, his face turning red.
SLURP.
Vix's long, muscular tongue swiped across Ben's cheek, leaving a trail of thick, sticky saliva. Ben felt a deep, rhythmic THROB in his chest. It wasn't a voice. it was an instinct.
PROTECT SIRE.
"EWW! BEN! YOUR DOG-GIRLFRIEND IS LICKING YOU! I'M ACTUALLY GOING TO BARF!" Gwen yelled, despite the red lasers still zipping through the cabin.
"SHUT UP, GWEN! VIX, GET THE DRONES!" Ben pointed toward the shattered back window.
Vix let out a guttural roar that sounded like a blender filled with scrap metal.
GRRRR-RAWR!
She pushed off Ben's chest, her powerful hind legs leaving deep gouges in the vinyl seat covers. She scrambled over the dinette table, her claws shredding the wood.
SCREEE.
She dove headfirst through the broken window.
WHOOSH.
"Is she crazy? We're going seventy!" Ben scrambled to the back, looking out into the dark forest.
Vix wasn't falling. She had used her claws to anchor herself to the exterior metal skin of the Rustbucket. She was perched on the back bumper like a gargoyle.
Her neck gills pulsed and WHIRRed as she localized the drones in the pitch-black air.
BZZZZT.
The lead drone fired a plasma bolt. Vix didn't open her eyes or move her hair from her line of sight to the surprise of Ben.
Instead she seemed have sensed the heat displacement and leaped upward, her body clearing the roof of the RV by five feet.
ZOOM.
She landed directly on the drone.
CLANG.
The machine dipped under her three hundred-pound weight. Vix didn't hesitate.
She plunged her obsidian claws into the drone's central processing unit.
CRUNCH. SPARK.
Blue sparks showered the road as she ripped the optical sensor clean out of its socket with her teeth.
SQUELCH.
She tossed the dead machine into the trees and leaped back onto the roof of the Rustbucket.
THUMP.
The entire RV sagged on its suspension. Max gripped the steering wheel, his knuckles white as he fought to keep the vehicle on the narrow dirt path.
"BEN! TELL HER TO WATCH THE WEIGHT! THE AXLE IS GONNA SNAP!" Max yelled.
"VIX! BE CAREFUL!" Ben shouted out the window.
Another instinctual pulse hit Ben's brain.
HUNT. MORE HUNTERS.
Five more red lights swarmed in from the sides. They weren't just shooting now. They were deploying metallic cables to snag the RV's wheels.
WHIP. CLINK.
A cable wrapped around the rear axle. The Rustbucket jerked violently to the right, the tires screaming against the gravel.
SCREEEEEECH!
"GOD DAMN IT!" Max cursed, slamming his palm against the dashboard.
Vix felt the tug. She raced to the edge of the roof, her orange fur bristling in the wind. She leaned over the side and bit down on the titanium cable.
SNAP.
Her jaws had enough force to shear through the alloy like it was wet pasta. She let out a series of rapid clicks and barks, signaling to Ben.
SIRE. TURN. LEFT.
"Grandpa! Turn left! Now!" Ben yelled.
"There's no road on the left, Ben!" Max shouted back.
"JUST DO IT! THE DOG SAYS TURN LEFT!"