[Author's Note: Hello! This is just an idea for a fanfic that came to me earlier tonight. I thought it would be fun to write. To anyone who has read my other fanfic, this one has nothing to do with that one. This is rated T for some violence. Please enjoy! :D]

The Twoleg van bumped and bounced over the marshy field, skidding awkwardly now that it wasn't driving on a road. A man in the passenger seat cursed and gripped the arm rest.

"Can you drive any worse?" He snapped at the driver.

"I'm working on it. This place is full of ditches and rocks." The woman driving growled as the van bumped over yet another hole in the ground. "How are our they doing?"

The man in the passenger seat peered into the top of an old cardboard box on his lap. "Still unconscious. The sedative should keep them out for at least another two hours."

"Good. The last thing we need is for them to wake up and freak out while I'm driving." The woman said, beginning to slow the van down. "Are you sure this will work?"

"It should. They've both been injected by the virus. It will take effect within weeks, and take full effect not long after that. It will completely wipe out the ferals, or at the very least it will greatly diminish their numbers." The man explained.

"Good. They've been causing problems with the town near here. People are scared. Apparently they've had pets attacked. And there's always the threat of rabies." The woman said, maneuvering the van around a fallen tree.

"Yes, and God-knows what other diseases they could have. You see, the good thing about this virus is that it's harmless to humans. But it will be deadly to the ferals." The man replied. "We'll just need to have the veterinarians give injections to the town pets to keep them immune, in case the disease spreads there."

"You know, I've always wondered, why did we need two of them?" The woman asked, glancing at the bundles in the box.

"In case one gets killed before the virus takes effect. Lots of dangers out here. Snakes, foxes, loose dogs, cars. It wouldn't surprise me if only one makes it out alive. Until the disease kills him, of course." The man explained. He glanced out the window. "Slow the van, we're almost there."

"You sure this is the place?" The woman asked skeptically, slowing the van down to a crawl. "This is the middle of nowhere."

"People reported seeing the most ferals around this one area, in a big mass of broken trees and brambles. We can drop them off there." The man said.

"How do we know they'll be accepted?" The woman asked.

"Because people have seen more ferals appearing in the colony, full-grown ones, that obviously weren't born there. So they must be taking in strays." The man replied.

"This is the place." The woman said, skidding the van to a halt. They opened the doors and climbed out, the man still hefting the box.

"Ugh, this place is disgusting." The woman remarked as her boots squished into the boggy ground.

"Well then let's hurry up before we sink." The man snapped, and began to walk towards an old fallen tree along the edge of the patch of debris.

"Keep quiet. We don't want the ferals knowing we're here." The woman reminded him, walking as quietly as she could in her heavy boots. "Leave it a ways away from the actual colony camp, we don't want to be spotted."

The man set the box down in the shade of a fallen tree, several hundred feet from the large jumble of branches and twigs that was their 'camp'.

"That should be good." He remarked. He waved at the box with a gloved hand. "Bye bye, little guys. Be good."

"Hurry up, we don't have time. We need to head into town now." The woman snapped, stepping from one foot to another.

"Right, coming." The man responded, walking back towards her.

The two climbed into the van and the vehicle sped off, leaving the cardboard box with the two sleeping bundles resting on the marshy ground.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

Back at camp, a long-haired red tomcat with a white chest was sleeping splayed across a tree stump, snoring loudly. He was technically on guard duty, but the night was silent and the air was warm and he had been on a hard patrol that day and...yeah.

But the sound of the retreating van's tires cracking over a branch snapped him awake instantly. He scrambled to his feet on the slimy tree stump, yellow eyes huge.

"Who's there?" He called out in a sleep-slurred voice. His night-vison eyes scanned the area. He frowned. "Hmmm."

He sniffed the air deeply, and picked up a whiff of something beyond the usual scents of the bog "Twolegs!" He hissed under his breath. He spotted something large and square sitting under a fallen tree.

He hopped off the trunk and began to ease forward slowly, hackles up. The box seemed to be the source of the scent. It reeked of Twoleg.

He knew he shouldn't head towards the box, he knew it was a stupid idea. It was a Twoleg...thing. Who knew it it would poison him, or explode in his face, or release some kind of creature that would kill him. But a kit-like curiosity in him kept him walking towards the object, claws unsheathed just in case.

He paused within a few feet of it, uncertain. It was twice his size, the object, and flat and sharp-cornered. Definatly not natural.

I should go back and get Darkstar. He thought. But the sound of a soft snort from inside the box made his ears prick. There was something inside the box, something living, probably trapped by Twolegs.

Curiosity bubbled in him again, and unable to resist, he stepped forward, reached up, and placed his paws on the edge of the box. He stretched his head up and peered over.

He sprang back in surprise and backed away a few steps, hackles raised.

"Darkstar!" He screamed, loud enough to wake the entire camp. "You need to see this!"

[Author's Note: Next chapter will be up soon. Please read and leave a review!]