Pepper was a black-backed jackal that lived in Africa. She lived there for about a year before being tranquilized and brought to America to live in a low-grade zoo. She developed a lot of anxiety from living in her small living space, but a hyena, Chess, in the cage over talked with her and helped her through. He gave her hope for the future and they mused on a way to escape.
Unfortunately, not long after, a nuclear meltdown happened, leading to the downfall of society and the death of many. The animals in the zoo were abandoned and forgotten, but a team of scientists ran out of human subjects to test on and attempted to capture the animals in the zoo for testing. Pepper ran off, accidently leaving Chess behind, but she got captured anyway. The scientists tested with genes and made her appearance change, and gave her hyperintellegence, a venomous bite and near-immortality. Inbetween testing, she broke out and ran away. She met Chess in the hallways, who also went through the genetic testing. He was furious from what happened, but the testing had wiped Pepper's memories and she couldn't remember who he was. Chess was devestated, and let her go, with the promise that she would never return.
Pepper, now doubting her own memories, wandered off on her own. She met up with Tatina, who she eventually remembered worked for the zoo and took care of her. The two started to connect as they talked more about what happened. Pepper convinced Tatina to help her let the animals at the testing facility free. She saw Chess again as the freed animals ran away, and she asked if he forgave her, which he didn't and ran away. She was heartbroken, but understood, and she is now ready to live out the rest of her life with Tatina, attempting to rebuild society with her.
