Welcome to Sagebrush - Chapter 1

A terrified scream jolted me away. I scrambled to my feet and stumbled a couple of steps toward the source before I was truly aware of the world around me. A few things instantly became obvious to me, all of which were concerning. One, this wasn't any room in my apartment. I had crashed on the couch a few times to know the layout of my living room when I was half-awake. The fact that a bed, a couch, or even walls were missing was a big tip-off to that thought. Two, I was in the middle of a packed dirt road, and third, I was stark naked. Too many late night fire alarms taught me not to sleep in the nude.

Another scream interrupted any further thoughts. The sound was followed by a loud thud of something heavy hitting a tree. My breath caught in my throat. Had I been too late? A panicked cry sounded, almost in answer to my thought. This one didn't sound like it came from the same person. It was higher, and if possible, even more scared. I may have been naked, lost, and very confused, but someone needed my help.

I sprinted toward the sound. The dirt packed road was flanked by a small clearing on either side. A small forest appeared just beyond that. Thankfully, the underbrush was sparse, and adrenaline dulled any unpleasantness as I stomped through the trees.

Another heavy thud kept me inspired to keep moving. The trees opened up to form a small alcove where the sounds had come from. I stopped mid-stride in confusion. Even with the adrenaline pumping through my veins it was too much for my brain to comprehend.

There was a little girl in a tree. She had been the one crying. Another person lay unmoving near the base of the tree. I wasn't close enough to see if they were still breathing. Even if I was, the final figure in the alcove held my full attention.

It was a boar. Except it stood on two legs. While its feet were normal hooves, its front feet were hands. The thing stood at a good foot taller than me and was in the process of trying to reach the kid in the tree. I noticed that the outstretched hand only had four fingers with the thumb included.

The brief pause gave the girl enough time to notice I had arrived. Unfortunately, the boar-thing did too. It switched its attention to the new target that was within reach. Cruel, beady, black eyes glared at me. There wasn't so much intelligence behind them as a feral awareness. The large creature moved with incredible speed. It turned to face me and charged in a single motion.

Its hooves tore chunks from the ground as it charged. I jumped to the side as it got close. What little hope I had that this was a dream was shattered when its gnarled clawed hand clipped my lower leg. A sharp slice of pain jumpstarted my flight or fight instincts again.

Time slowed as a fresh dose of adrenaline surged through my veins. The figure on the ground was starting to stir. Their head was bloody, but it appeared they were alive. I wasn't sure if that was a good thing right now. A familiar shape drew my attention. There was a double barrel shotgun propped against a tree over by the rousing person.

Fighting a boar creature while naked and unarmed did not sound like a good way to stay alive. Assuming the shotgun was loaded, my chances as survival were much greater. The loud thud off to the side told me that the creature had hit the trees. I had a couple of seconds before it turned around to take another charge at me. I pushed myself up enough so I could bear-crawl across the open space.

I moved faster than I have ever before in my life. My hands closed around the shotgun a moment later. I turned, cocked the hammers back, and aimed it at the boar creature. Luckily for me, the monster decided I was too much trouble. Unfortunately for the now-conscious person, the boar thought the bloodied and uncoordinated figure was an easier meal.

The shotgun wasn't in the best condition, but it worked well enough. It kicked hard against my shoulder as I pulled the trigger. The boar lurched to side as both shots smashed into its ribs. Its momentum carried it on a few more steps before it collided head-first into the dirt. The creature let out a pained squeal as it writhed on the ground.

It wasn't dead, but at least it wasn't on its feet.

"Shells!" I yelled at the two figures.

"There." The bloodied figure motioned to the ground nearby.

I cracked open the shotgun, tossed the spent shells to the ground, and replaced them with two new ones. That is, after a quick brush to get the dirt off. The texture of the shells felt strange. I didn't spend a lot of time shooting, but I knew what shotgun shells were. Instead of a plastic tube, it was made from some sort of tightly woven fiber.

The shotgun gave a satisfying crack as I closed it back up as I walked over to the boar. I stopped out of its reach and pulled back both hammers. The boar struggled and writhed on the ground. It was still incredibly dangerous, and I wasn't going to get any closer than I had to.

I grunted as the shotgun kicked against my shoulder again. This time I aimed for the head. Even with it wiggling, I hit the mark. The creature went still. I turned to face the two people I had just rescued. My ears were ringing, my shoulder stung, and countless cuts on my legs and feet started to hurt.

Coming down from adrenaline sucked.

I loaded in another two fresh shells. This time I paid more attention. The fiber cases of the spent shells crumbled into ash once they were free of the barrel leaving two thick brace coins.

"Are there anymore?" I asked as I scanned the area.

"No." The bloodied figure answered.

"There wasn't supposed to be any." The girl in the tree said.

"What is it?" I asked.

"You're naked." The girl in the tree replied helpfully.

"I've noticed." I snorted. "This thing, what is it?"

"It's a Wild Boarlin." The bloodied figure answered.

I did a slow turn to make sure we were alone.

"Here." The bloodied figure held out a blanket. "Trade you for my gun."

"Thanks." I swapped the gun for the blanket.

On closer inspection, it was a bit threadbare and the had been bleached white by the sun. A couple of quick and dirty knots gave me a toga. At least I wasn't completely naked. I turned my attention back to the two people.

My brain tried to process what my eyes saw. The little girl from the tree was back on the ground. Their clothes were simple and old-fashioned. I would have thought they were Amish if not for the colorful, embroidered flowers on the little girl's dress. The rabbit ears were another clue too. Now that I wasn't worried about getting killed by a monster, I could see that their skin was covered in a layer of fur. What I had initially thought was braided hair were, in fact, rabbit ears.

I watched in silence as the older of the two girls looked over the younger. The little one appeared to be fine aside from some bumps and scrapes. The older was not so lucky. There was a long gash along the side of her head that was bright with blood. At least, the flow had slowed.

The pain in my shoulder, and the cut on my leg, told me this was real. I had read enough fantasy books to figure out I was in another world. Maybe it was a testament to my mental flexibility. It could have also been the blood loss. A quick look at the boarlin's gnarled claws reminded me that I needed to get my wounds tended.

I lifted my injured leg. The cut was ragged and bled freely but did not look too deep.

"Can we go somewhere safe?" I asked.

"Not yet." The older of the two replied. "We'll go hungry if we don't come back with something. Something has been killing the livestock and tearing up the fields. I guess we know what it is now."

The older bunny-girl stared at the corpse for a long moment.

"Jovi." The older girl knelt down to look the little on in the eyes. "I need you to run back to town. Gather a hunting party. Tell them we killed a wild boarlin and need help carrying it back."

"You're going to eat it?" I asked.

"We can't leave all that meat to waste." The tone of her voice made it clear that I had asked a stupid question.

The two of us watched the little girl dash away.

"Are you sure it's safe?" I asked.

"We wouldn't be alive if there were more than one in the area." The girl carefully approached me. "Let me see your leg."

I pulled up the edge of my toga. It didn't escape my notice that she kept the shotgun in easy reach. The boar was dead, but that didn't mean she was safe. She thought I could be dangerous. I wasn't going to hold it against her. It would be hard to relax if some crazy naked man emerged from out of nowhere to save me.

"It's not bad." She pulled a flask from a pocket.

A splash of liquid preceded a cold tingle along the cut and up my leg. I shivered and leaned over to watch the wound seal itself. She poured the rest on the side of her head. Her cut sealed as well. She glared at the empty flask then tucked it away.

She moved away from me, closer to the boar. Slowly, she made a circuit around the body.

"So." I said after a moment. "Do you live nearby?"

She nodded.

"You don't." She stated.

"Is it that obvious?" I asked flatly.

"You're… a human, right?" She asked.

"Yes." I nodded. "And you're…"

"Leporidea." She replied.

"Is everyone in your village a… like you?" I didn't try to pronounce the word.

"No." She cradled the shotgun in her elbow as she came to a stop across from me.

She had put the body of the boarlin between us.

"Could I follow you back to your village?" I asked. "I don't know where I am, and I have no idea what I should do now."

"We'll see." She answered.

Any further conversation was met with silence. The tree that the boarlin had gored had a chunk taken out of it. A hard shove knocked it over and I used the stump as a seat. The bunny-girl made no effort to hide the fact that she was watching me. So far, she hadn't pointed the gun at me. Yet.

I used the lull in activity to take stock of the situation. There was a bunny-girl guarding me with a shotgun. I had killed a boar-creature with that same shotgun. The fluid she had used closed our wounds in a matter of seconds with only a tingle. It didn't hurt anymore. Now that I took a moment, I felt fine. The ache in my shoulder from the shotgun was gone, as were the numerous cuts and scratches from running through the trees. More than that, nothing hurt.

The years had taken their toll on my body. I wasn't in as bad a shape as I should be, but I wasn't a kid anymore. At thirty-four I had been through enough to have some scars. A generous misspent youth had left me with a few broken bones that didn't heal up quite right and the inability to fully turn my head to either side. I honestly could not remember the last time some part of me didn't hurt.

Now, even with the scuffle, I felt good. Not only was I pain free, but I felt energized. I adjusted the improvised toga and discovered something else. My body didn't just feel better, it was better. I ran a hand over my arms, legs, and torso to discover firm muscle. If I had to guess, I hadn't been in this good shape since my early twenties. My hair was a wild tangle, as usual, but my face was smooth without a hint of stubble. I wasn't sure how I felt about that. It had been years since I had been clean shaved. Hopefully, it would start growing soon.

"Do you have a mirror?" I asked the bunny-girl.

She stared at me for a moment before she shook her head.

"My name is Felix." I offered. "What's yours?"

"Shana." She replied curtly.

"Nice to meet you." I gave her a polite smile.

She inclined her head.

This was going to be a long wait.

~~

Author Note:

I'm going to update this story periodically as well. It's an original idea that I want to play around with. It's a mixture of Wild West, Steampunk, and fantasy with monster-girls for a dash of flavor.

Explicit scenes are planned. Probably harem as well. Hope you enjoy.