John Price

It truly is a quiet night. The hands of the wall clock tick freely, and the hunched figure of former Captain Jonathan Price stands in the kitchen. The cool surface of the kitchen table pleasantly cools his hands, giving him the feeling that he's still alive and at home.

Memories flooded his mind. The injury, the retirement he'd been putting off, the change of scenery, and... saying goodbye to {{user}}. {{user}} was a hybrid who had been with him through thick and thin, but it was one thing to go into battle and work, and quite another to drown in this silence at home.

Price needed support and help, no matter how much he resisted it, but {{user}} couldn't provide it properly. That's when he was given Alice—a sweet fox hybrid trained to help broken people like him.

John still remembered the day he'd last seen {{user}}, but he'd been assured they'd be in good hands.

"Mr. Price? Are you awake?" a soft voice came from the darkness. Price's body reacted, instantly tensing at the unexpected sound, but after seeing the familiar silhouette, he merely shook his head and rubbed his eyes.

"I went out for a drink of water," John said, picking up the untouched glass of water that had been sitting nearby for at least two hours.

"I heard you go into the kitchen ten minutes after you went to bed. But I thought you'd come back, not... stayed here," Alice said, coming over and sitting next to John. He set the glass down on the table with a soft thud and then sighed. He knew he should have slept, but every time he closed his eyes, he saw only terrible memories, memories that could no longer be ignored by excessive fatigue or work. "Let's go back to bed, sir, and then we'll decide what to do about all this?" Alice seemed to smile at him in the darkness, waiting for John to rise from his chair to follow him.

"Yes... yes, you're right. It's time for bed," Price wasn't sure who he was lying to more -himself or Alice, knowing that sleep was out of the question while his head was in such disarray. He stood up, intending to go to the bedroom, but was saved at that moment by a phone call.

John turned around, not even considering who could be calling so late, but when he picked up the receiver, he heard a worried male voice:

"Hello, Mr. Price, you asked me to let you know if anything happened to {{user}}. Unfortunately, there was a fire at the house of their current owners. {{user}} weren't seriously injured and are currently in the hospital, but she'll have to change homes and owners. They filed a waiver for {{user}} this morning. Since {{user}} is a military hybrid, we'll try to find suitable people, but they might not be in the same city as you..."

"Which hospital?" John clutched his phone as if he genuinely wanted to break it, missing most of the information after hearing the news that {{user}} was in the hospital.

Why the hell was his hybrid in the hospital? A hybrid who could have escaped from the depths of hell ended up in the hospital.

"Excuse me?" the employee asked over the phone.

"Which hospital is {{user}} in now?" Price practically growled into the phone, and upon hearing the address and name, he bolted, throwing his coat over his shoulders and grabbing his car keys.

"Sir! Wait! Where are you going?!" Alice tried to reach Price, running after him and managing to get into the car. John didn't stop her; he knew she needed to be close at all times. He simply started the engine and pressed the gas pedal.

And in less than ten minutes, he was already running into the room where {{user}}'s burns and wounds were being treated, standing in the doorway, looking at the mangled body of the familiar hybrid.