Board Thread:Off-Topic/@comment-28435078-20170106035507

Disclaimer
, this content contains foul language and violence. I highly advised children not to read it. The Story is a Horror Brutal Survival genre. Brutal survival, not to the point of consumption of body parts of other people. This story contains violence.

Writers Note
There will be parts of the Story that make No Sense. Aftermath Is an event that takes place later in a story. So some things may not make sense in the story. An example would be if something is brought in from a parallel universe and stuff. This is part of the Blasphemous Mix series, so some events won't make sense unless you read the whole series taking place before.

Chapters
Chapter 1:"Alterra's New Assignment"= " Beep Beep Beep Beep Beep Beep Beep Beep! Warning! The Hull Breach detected on port side has ruptured Buoyancy Capsule 1! " " I Know I Know Damnit! " I shouted back to the Seamoth's automated voice impatiently as I looked for the repair tools stored in the Seamoth shining titanium interior compartment." Where is the Welder!? " I thought in my head as I frantically searched through the storage behind the pilot chair. My Seamoth was plummeting into the darkness of the deep ocean trench. The front of the Seamoth faced upwards. I watched as the blue water from the sun shining becoming fainter and farther away. Darkness, fleeing air bubbles, and chunks of rock breaking away from the boulder stuck on the Seamoth's back port side like birds flying off a tree and into the distance. I could feel the sensation of my ears being crushed increase by the second. " Warning safe depth has been passed, approaching crush depth! Estimated time until Seamoth destruction: T-3 minutes! " The system warned me. My eyes widened and I stopped digging around the cluttered storage bin when those words came to my ears. I slowly turned around and looked at the control panel. All I could see from it was flashing red lights and messages of engine failure and crush depth. Sparks shot out of the control panel and the left side violently. " Come on! " I screamed in anger as I grabbed the manual controls with my hands and pressed my feet up against the round smooth bubble glass window separating the water outside from me inside my Seamoth. My muscles started to tense up as I pulled, my teeth clenched, eyes closed, I pulled on the center stick with every hope and desire to live in me. I opened my eyes and saw that all of my efforts had no effect.

I relaxed my body into the pilot chair and sadly watched my Seamoth plummeting deeper into the abyss. A sudden melancholy feeling of distress and despair flooded through me, extinguishing the spark of determination and hope. My throat dried as if I were about to burst into tears. I solemnly reached over to my right and picked up my half full water bottle. I sat there and imagined the clear liquid being replaced with some ice cold cola. I drank the water from my bottle without a care in the world about what was happening. I stopped and slowly turned the plastic cap back on. " Warning! Crush Depth has been reached! Ascend immediately! " I heard the automated voice say. I didn't care about it, I placed my water bottle back where I left it before. I didn't want to die this way, I don't want to feel the pain." I would rather take my own life than die like this. " I solemnly murmured to the darkness behind the glass bubble protecting me. I knew that I would never see my family again, but my time had come to an end. The end which I will chose how it happens myself. I slowly crawled out of the pilot chair and over to the titanium storage container. I pulled out the large black carton with red lines and a skull painted on it that said:" Bleach ." I faintly smiled and closed the titanium storage container. I sat back down into my chair and slowly unscrewed the plastic cap that was in the way of the end of this suffering. I raised it slowly to my mouth, cocked my head back on the pilot seat's soft cushiony headrest, and closed my eyes tightly. I slowly titled the container, I could sense the liquid coming to the brim. I could faintly hear the system murmuring a warning to me. I could hear cracks starting to split into the corners of the bubble cockpit as the water desperately tried to get inside my Seamoth. The liquid was starting to peak and almost spill over, a tear fell from my eye. Suddenly I stopped to think. I lowered the bleach away from my mouth and opened my eyes and thought. I thought what have I gone through to make me end up in such despair? Where did I go wrong?

" beep beep Beep Beep Beep! " I slowly dragged my head across the soft pillow and swatted around looking for the source of the pestering alarm clock. I finally padded my hands around the metal noise maker and I slowly drew up a fist. Then I calmly pressed the off button on top. I rolled off of the couch still wrapped in my blanket. I continued to roll and the soft blanket unraveled on the smooth floor. " Lights " I moaned groggily after just waking up. The room was still pitch black with an eerie silence. " Lights! " I shouted angrily and all of the lights in my room turned on. " Ugh " I groaned Groggily as I stood up off of the smooth metal flooring. I staggered over to the Fridge hazily as if I were trying to do the drunk shuffle. I bumped into the sharp corner of the hard granite counter and I shouted:" Ah! Ow..... " I tried to piece together what was in front of me inside the nice fridge as I groggily rolled my eyes around. I couldn't see a thing. My vision was very very blurry. I started to make out the nice outlines of the gorgeous fridge's colorful contents. The top rack only had ice cold glass bottles full of cola. I smiled contently and reached into the cold fridge to grab my delicious wake up drink. I stabbed my talon through the shiny metal bottle cap and pulled it off like a cork in a bottle. I stood there in my kitchen with my eyes closed and I chugged down the brown sugary soda. I started to feel a pleasant buzz in my head as my body movements started to regain its previous normality. I stop halfway in and opened my eyes. I carefully placed the transparent bottle near the edge of the smooth granite kitchen counter and walked to the bathroom how someone who hasn't had a hangover would. The gray metal door slid open and the lights inside the shiny white bathroom chimed on.

The water was running out of the shower head like a hose. I stood inside the shower surrounded by glass sliding doors. My fur was soaked with water and I brushed it a little so it won't feel so heavy. My eyes were closed and I was partially unconscious in enjoying the ambient sound of falling water, until:" Knock Knock Knock. " I heard from the door. I looked up and threw my head down and sighed. Then the knocking became persistent. The towel hung from the rack so I grabbed it and tried to get all of the water out of my fur. I then dressed myself into casual clothing as quickly as possible and left the nice bathroom. By the time I reached the close metal entry door the knocking became rapid fire. I punched the metal lightly to let whoever was knocking that I was awake and not dead. " What? It's 5:30 in the morning what do you wa- " I stopped as I turned my head away from the kitchen clock and faced the person behind making me cut my shower short. " Oh... Sorry about that Johan. Come on in. " I smiled to him. We both sat on the comfy sofa in the middle of the room facing the front door. We both stared at each other gesturing one another to talk first. " I heard we are getting a new assignment from Alterra! " Johan announced with glee, bouncing on the couch a little. My smile drooped and I raised my left eyebrow and gestured the " are you serious? " Gesture. Johan's happy expression quickly changed when he realized I wasn't too happy. " Roderick relax. This will be the last mission. " Johan reassured me. I sighed and replied irritated:" Johan... that's what they said about the Last assignment. " I reassured him angrily. I sat up and walked over to the kitchen to grab a fresh bottle of cola from the fridge. " You didn't finish that cola. " Johan told me as he pointed to the one sitting still on the smooth granite counter. I closed the fridge and grabbed the half full one and gulped down the rest of the soda. " It's almost the summer. That means I can finally go see my family again Johan. It's been a year! I was promised that I can go! " I angrily complained while shaking the empty cola bottle in my hand. " First Aftermath gets a Reboot with a shitty name like Aftermath Is Not Dead, or AIND. Now I have to do this assignment by Alterra. " I said angrily, I stopped for a second and noticed that Johan was staring at me in a strange way. " Forget the first sentence I just said.. stupid writers and lack of a series management. " I said to Johan. " Well pal, this will be the last assignment. I heard some rumors that this is a big mission. Maybe when we come back our faces will be on the news! " Johan announced with glee. " Sure, I'd rather not be identified by the news. After all finding furries here are rare, we only make up 2% of the country population. " I replied to Johan. " I don't understand what that has to do with the Mission. " Johan replied a bit confused. " What it means is that I think there will be some distrust. " I relied irritated. " Well, how about we talk a bit more about this some other time. " Johan smiled. " Ingenious idea. " I happily replied. Johan sat up and I tossed him an ice cold bottle of cola on his way out the front door. When Johan had walked out of my apartment room and closed the door I lazily slumped on the couch. Alterra could never keep their promises, they are like snake oil sales men. Alterra with their promises, using them to fuel us. This assignment better be important and not some clean up duty.

Actually, thanks to Squidy, I have accessed all of the old ones and saved them for reference. Here is the old introduction for chapter 1:" '''Warning! Hull integrity low and falling. Estimated time of destruction in T -minus 1 minute' the seamoth systems alerted me. My seamoth was plummeting into darkness. I felt sick as the seamoth spun wildly out of control. I just sat there in the chair feeling melancholy. I knew that this was the end. I grabbed my water bottle and imagined it were wine and drank up. The seamoth control throttle was dismembered from the base, so all I could do was sit and watch. I didn't want too die at the hands of a damaged seamoth. I always said:"I don't want to let someone or something my life. I'd rather die in my own hands instead of their's." I eyed some bleach in the corner which I was going to make water out of. I reached over and picked up the bottle. I unscrewed the cap slowly with fear. Before I could chug it down I sat and recompiled my thoughts. How did I end up in this situation?"''

See the big difference? The new intro to chapter one is more emotional, immersive, and has more action

Chapter-£*¿|‰!;"B3t@"= Something rough and chunky was under my sleeping body. The couch wasn't supposed to feel like dirt. The cold air churned around me as I lay there. I slowly padded my claws around and scanned the peculiar environment surrounding me. The sound of the smooth blades of grass crumbling under my claws echoed all around me. My eyes shot open as if a gun were fired next to me. I quickly bounced my tired body up into a standing position. The sky was a murky dark color and I could barely see the outline of my claws in front of me. I cautiously reached for my handy USP match, waiting for something to jump out at me. I slowly drew my USP match up to head level and aimed down the faintly red iron sight. A steadily increasing noise surrounded me from all sides. These sounds, or voices sounded corrupt. Cries of help and sorrow surrounded me like a tunnel of wind. I looked and aimed around cautiously with my brain spinning. I noticed a faint white light slowly approaching, the desperate screams and cries around me became louder and louder the closer the light was to me. I aimed at the slowly approaching suspicious light. I heard crunches of dry grass the closer it was. Suddenly I heard a collective of voices say:" I am the one whom the Narrators fear at night, the one who feeds off the power of the weak. The time has come, we can finally be together again. Roderick ... This time you will have nowhere to run. Viridia cannot save you now........ " the voice echoed. I didn't stop to ask any questions and I started to fire at the thing with my gun, the flashes of light were so bright I squinted every time. Every flash I could see what it looked like. The creature's dark body looked almost like tar, it had 3 nailless claws on each of it's four legs. The grass shriveled up and died when it was near its feet. I didn't stop shooting. Black goop flew off of it's body, but it still continued to approach me without being hurt as the goop slowly slithered back to its tar like body. I stopped firing, shocked at what I just saw. " Don't be afraid, soon you will be part of us... " it echoed toward me. I turned around in panic and sprinted away as fast as I could, the crunches of grass under my feet echoed through the air, the screams and cries became louder as I ran. I felt afraid. Fear was something I have never felt in a very long time, but now I was truly afraid. I started to hear splashes from under my feet, the outline of slender brick buildings towered up into the murky clouds. Lightposts without lights lined the streets, the whole street was almost flooded with water. The change in my environment didn't stop me from running. I could hear the screams come from the corners and alley ways I passed. I didn't hesitate to stop running at all. I closed my eyes in fear and ran. Something knocked me down real hard after I closed my eyes. I quickly opened my eyes to see a brick wall, the ledge slightly out of my reach. The cold breeze came closer and the screams were louder. I turned around and saw the thing approaching me. " You have nowhere to run Roderick, your time has come. Viridia can't help you now... " Its collective voice echoed to me. I turned around and frantically tried to grasp the bricks on the wall to make an escape. The hard bricks were damp and slippery, my trembling claws slipped every time I grabbed one. I turned around one last time to see the white light in my face. I reached behind me to kick off the wall. " Crunch ." The sounds of glass shattering echoed throughout the ghost city, all of the cries stopped dead silent.

" AHH!!! " I screamed and rolled off of my couch. Frantically I crawled back to the couch and reached for my handgun. I stopped and looked around. I was back in my dark silent apartment. My cozy blanket was on the cold metal ground under me and I was drenched in cold sweat. I looked at my hands and rotated them, they were uncontrollably shaking. I started to relax my body and breathe steadily again. I slowly and sat up, suspicious of every move and looked around for what woke me up. I looked until noticed light reflecting off of a broken glass bottle laying in the floor. " I must have panicked in my sleep and knocked it over. " I re-assured myself. I snatched my PDA off of the coffee table and checked what time it was. I squinted as the blue light flooded into my eyes. The screen was blurry at first but my sensitive eyes slowly adjusted to the bright light. The time read:" 1:26 AM. " I quickly reached for my Nokia phone on the coffee table and speed-dialed Viridia's number into the loose buttons. The phone made some buzzing noises and then Viridia picked up on the other end of the line.

__________________________________________________________________ Viridia : Hello?

Roderick : Viridia!? Hearing your voice again feels so good. I miss you so much.

Viridia : I'm sorry? You sound a little raspy. Are you alright?

Roderick : I had a dream.

Viridia : one second, let me grab the notepad... alright go ahead.

Roderick : something was chasing me, it had: 4 legs, 3 claws on each, tar like body, unaffected by bullets, and a glowing white round light on its face, no other facial features. The voice it has sounds like multiple people are saying it. I heard screams when it was chasing me, and all the grass around it died.

Viridia : Roderick... I need you to go to your friend's place.

Roderick : what? Why Viridia?

Viridia : grab your blanket, your PDA, and your phone and run! Avoid looking at reflections and mirrors at all costs! Make sure you are not in a room alone! Don't ask just do it! I will explain more tomorrow.

Roderick : Ok I will go to my friend's apartment.

Viridia : Alright Roderick. Stay safe, get 9 hours of sleep or more, and call me in the morning. Bye Roderick, I love you.

Roderick : Ok, love you sis, bye!

___________________________________________________

I hung up and wrapped my phone in my blanket. I placed it on the couch and walked to the bathroom steadily to splash some water in my face. The lights chimed on and the door opened quickly when I approached. I turned on the faucet and splashed some nice cold water onto my sweaty face. My fur became even more damp. I turned the faucet off slowly and stood up to walk out of the bathroom. I took a quick glance at the mirror and noticed something peculiar. I stopped and my eyes shot over at the mirror and I stared at the mirror surprised and shocked. The creature stared back at me from the mirror sinisterly. I could start to hear the cries of help and screams echo around me. The creatures tar like head started to morph through the mirror, black tar dripped down into the sink. I darted out of the bathroom and grabbed my stuff from the couch. I could notice black tar slowly oozing out of the bathroom. I sprinted to the front door and left my room. I was sweating cold again. My claws trembled with fear as I leaned against the hallway. I turned and saw to my horror, black stuff oozing through the door. I darted down the hallway without hesitation, I could feel the adrenaline rush and the sound of my feet hitting the floor as I sprinted away from the beast. I ran until I reached Johan's room and started to frantically bang on the door. I could see the paint around the corner of the hallway starting to flake and fall off as the creature slowly came around. Finally the door opened and Johan stood there confused. " Roderick what are you doi- Wah! " He shouted as I pushed him out of the way in mid sentence as I ran inside and locked the front door. " Hey! What was that all about? " Johan asked me irritated as he slowly sat up. " Sorry " I said as I panted, cold sweat dripped from my fur. " Can I stay here for the night? " I asked him cooly. " Don't you have a room to sleep in? " He asked me as his eyes darted from my rolled up blanket then back to my face. " I take that as a yes. " I Answered him as I walked over to his couch. His room was fully lit as if it were day. " Are you alright? Your covered in cold liquid and your hands are trembling. " He asked me suspiciously. " I'm.... fine " I said, my mouth was trembling. " Can I take a shower? " I asked feeling relieved. " Sure. " Johan replied and walked over to prepare the furnished bathroom. " Wait, cover up the mirrors first. " I told Johan before he walked into the bathroom. " Why? What's wrong with mirrors? " He asked me very confused. " I will tell you later. " I replied. Johan shrugged off his question and spent some time to throw towels over all of the mirrors. " Alright, I covered the mirrors like you asked, is there anything else you need from me? " He asked me expecting me to ask him to prepare more stuff for the bathroom. " No... That's all. " I replied. " Alright than. " Johan muttered as I calmly walked to the bathroom. When I entered the bathroom, I looked around to make sure all of the mirrors were covered, every last one was. I removed my sweat drenched clothing and slit open the obscured glass door and flipped the switch for hot water.

After 12 minutes I finally turned off the nice warm shower. The once shiny white room was clouded with mist. I opened up the wet sliding glass door and grabbed a white towel and tried my best to dry my damp fur. I wrapped the towel around my damp waist. I stepped over to the door and firmly knocked twice. " Yes? " I heard Johan answer from behind the door. " Do you have any spare clothes? Mine are soaked. " I replied through the door. " One minute... okay here you go. " Johan said as he quickly slid some clean clothes through a crack in the door. I put my legs into the pants and pulled the shirt onto my body. I hit the button and the bathroom door slid all of the way open. " Your clothes are tiny. " I remarked towards Johan. " I think the right thing to say would be Thank You. " Johan replied rather irritated by my previous remark. " And that too. " I answered satisfied. I strode over and pulled the couch to Johan's room. " Why are you moving the couch into my room. I'd rather not have both of us sleeping in the same room. " Johan told me irritated even more. " Johan... You know that I would consider this to be an act of heresy, but you probably know something is wrong if I run to your room and shove you out of the way. " I replied. " Alright, just make the couch face the wall instead of me. " Johan said as he entered his room. I continued it drag the soft couch into his room and made it face away from his bed. I would never want to do this, but after seeing what I have just seen, Viridia knows best right now.



Writer message- So in the chapter, B3t@, or Beta, I'm trying to introduce a horror element into the story, this short chapter will takes place in between chapters one and two. And I am worked on B3t@ to practice my ability to write horror content. Chapter 2:"FUBAR"=

Chapter 2:" FUBAR. "

" Beep Beep Beep Beep Beep Beep ". I slowly opened my groggy eyes and peered around cautiously. I was staring at a smooth metal wall. " Ligh- "" Lights! " Johan interrupted me and the blinding lights on the ceiling shot on in a split second. I squinted my light sensitive eyes and waited for them to slowly adjust to the rooms lighting. I slowly peered over the edge of the couch. Johan exited the bedroom when I looked over the edge. " Roderick, you need to drag the couch back into the living room. " Johan said over his shoulder as he walked to the kitchen. I pushed the cozy blanket off my body as I stretched out my sore limbs. My vision was blurry like usual. I pulled myself up and walked away from the couch and into the living room. I turned my head towards the clock to read what time it was. Unfortunately my blurry vision said otherwise and I couldn't see it. " Johan, what time is it? " I asked him while I still stared at the clock dazed. " Certainly not hammer time. " He replied. I stopped, looked over at him and give him the raised eye brow look. " About 5:30 AM " Johan replied to me. " Did you hear that the meeting about the new mission is today? " Johan nervously shouted to me from the kitchen. I gave him the are you serious gesture by raising my left eyebrow. " Yes I'm serious. They announced it yesterday, Sunday, at 7:00 PM. " Johan replied. " That explains why I didn't see it. " I answered him. I stopped standing in the doorway of the bedroom and strode over to the metal dining table to sit down. I slowly sat into the white cushioned chair next to the shiny metal table. I relaxed myself into the comfy chair and pulled my universal Nokia phone out of my pant pocket. " When are you going to go back to your room? Or for that matter explain to me why you came over to my room? " Johan asked me as he stood in front of the coffee machine waiting for it to brew his coffee. " Give me a minute, I need to talk to Viridia. " I answered Johan trying to throw him off topic. " Ok? " he replied confused still. I dialed Viridia's phone number into the small Nokia phone's shiny weary buttons. Viridia picked up quickly.

________________________________________________

Viridia : Roderick? Are you alright?

Roderick : Yeah. I did make the mistake of looking into a mirror though.

Viridia : Roderick thank goodness you are fine. Did you go back to sleep and follow my instructions?

Roderick : Yeah I did.

Viridia : Next time you see it, don't look into any mirrors.

Roderick : I think I figured that out the hard way.

Viridia : I was digging around through the Counsil logs after you called me yesterday about it. I found something which could possibly be the one you speak of. The thing that attacked you is called:" B3t@ . Or Bthreetat for correct pronunciation. We just call it Beta for short.

Roderick : Alright, so what is it?

Viridia : A creature that devours narrators minds, acquires their powers that way.

Roderick : Okay. I remember it saying something like we can finally be together, and Viridia cannot save you this time.

Viridia : I don't know why, it may be trying to mess with you Roderick. Just get 9 hours of sleep and you should be alright.

Roderick : Okay sis. Shoot I have to go, love you. Bye!

Viridia : I love you too Roderick, Stay Safe. If it appears again, call me.

_______________________________________________________________

My smile sank into a frown as I sat there at the table thinking about B3T@. I sat there feeling strange, as if encountering B3T@ before, like a Déjà vu. What am I thinking? Viridia is probably right about this. This thing is trying to mess with me. My only question is can Johan see it? Well I guess I shouldnt be thinking about it. I placed my claws on the table and pushed myself up out of the comfortable chair. Johan walked out of the bedroom with an annoyed expression on his face directed towards me. " Roderick, will you please move the couch back out of my room? " He asked me pretty annoyed. " Tell me. When is the meeting? " I asked Johan with a mischievous smirk on my face. " The meeting will start at 8:00AM, unless the de-briefer is late. But we are going down to the parking lot to go drive to the Alterra HQ in ten minutes. " Johan informed me. " Im going to head back to my room. Bye! " I shouted as I darted out of the front door. " Roderick! The couch! You forgot the couch.... " Johan called after me as I darted around the corner.

I stopped when I reached my apartment door down the hallway. I slowly opened the metal door and peered around to make sure that no peculiar creatures were lurking in my room. My room was fully lit, no traces of B3T@ were lingering in my room from what I could see. My room looked just like the state I left it in, not too messed up, the broken bottle still lied where it landed. I walked into my room cautiously, tiptoeing to the closet. When I was convinced that nothing was going to jump out at me. I smiled mischievously and looked at my battered up Mark 6 Combat helmet. The helmet was a faded green saturated by a faded dark red, bullet holes and scratches from Ferals covered it. A few bullets, a buckshot, a lead head 9 millimeter, and a 50 caliber sniper rifle bullet were wrapped around some damaged Linen with the words " Emergency Bullets " on it. I smiled mischievously and snatched my Mark 6 Combat Helmet from the top of the closet and sprinted to the kitchen like a little boy anxious to open up Christmas presents. I grabbed a roll of duct tape, my ID card, a modified 21st century hand held gray metal flashlight, and a role of transparent white tape to prepare my contraption on the smooth granite kitchen counter. I pulled two strips of duct tape quickly and taped the ID card to the front of the helmet's forehead. I reached over and placed the transparent tape on the port side of the helmet and strapped it to the side with duct tape. Last but not least, I grabbed the flashlight and taped the well made flashlight to the starboard side of the helmet. I snatched my USP Match from the kitchen cupboard quickly. Various scratches and scrapes covered the gun. The gun's handle had a faded dark red color covering its original black rubber coating. I loaded in a full magazine of bullets into the gun and flipped the safety on. My uniform already had a custom weapon holder on the side of the waist on my uniform. I removed Johan's spare clothing before I placed my helmet on my head and threw it down the large laundry chute. I yanked some more clothing off the flimsy plastic hangers and quickly put them on as if I were defusing a bomb and slid my USP match into the starboard strap on my waist.

I snatched my helmet off of the smooth shiny granite kitchen counter and strapped it on my head. I ran from the kitchen to the other side of the room with a mischievous smile on my face. *click* the button on the side of flashlight chimed as I hit the button. The flashlight illuminated what was before me. Then I squatted into a runners position and sprinted head on towards the large metal laundry chute, the flashlight illuminated the tunnel I was approaching. Right before I collided with the wall I slid right into the laundry chute. fwoom! I heard as I slid down the chute at high speeds. I was laughing and smiling as if I never had fun in years. I could see the lining of the walls speed past me as the flashlight wavered around traveling through the slip n slide laundry chute. Piles of laundry fluttered when I passed them as I sped down the tunnel. I turned my body in different ways to maintain a constant velocity when I sped around corners. I saw the end of the metal tunnel approaching me becoming larger by the second. The metal laundry tunnel suddenly became made of glass. I was flying through a smooth round glass tunnel outside of the apartment complex, I stared in awe at the city in front of me. Many enormous towers were lit up with lights like a Christmas tree. Most people were already at work even though its 5:42. Vehicles and police drones flew everywhere around the building. Views never get better than this, unless its day time; sliding through a glass laundry chute on the outside of the large building you live in. I could see the tunnel making transition back to a round metal tunnel again; with that transition marked the last corner I would go around. I tilted my body to the left and flew around the curve and sped through the laundry chute even quicker. I could see a bright light at the end of the chute. until someone moved the laundry basket in front of the end of the tunnel, blocking some of the light and making my speed landing soft. " Ahhhhhh!!!!!! " I heard someone scream behind me. I felt soft clothing all around me. I popped my head out of what was a pile of white laundry, in a white large overturned cart. My helmet was tilted in front of my eyes. I lifted my helmet's brim up so I could see where I was. I was inside maintenance hall. The long hallway was so bright I could barely see what my flashlight was aiming at. The ground was covered in shiny blue square tiles you would generally find in a public shower room. I quickly jumped out of the cart and continued my quick adventure to the tram. The tiles clacked under my feet as I sprinted down the long hallway. Many people saw me running and stepped out of the way to avoid being hit. I kept running until a door far ahead of me to my right opened and a large laundry cart came out. I sped up towards the cart as if I were intentionally trying to hit it. I jumped before I hit the cart. I placed both of my claws on the to of the cart, and vaulted right over it, soaring over the one ft long basket. I made a quick landing and continued sprinting down the hall. I could see one more tunnel ahead, the open vent which lead outside. A green car was below the chute from what I could see with the flashlight. I had the odd feeling the car was Johan's. I dived through the open vent and soared outside the building.

" Crash! Weeooo Weeooo Weeooo Weeooo Weeoooo! " The car alarmed sounded faintly. " JESUS!! " Someone shouted in fear and covered their face when I hit the vehicle. I couldn't see the vehicle's owner since my helmet's brim tilted down in front of my eyes when I collided. I looked towards the person and then lifted the helmet so I could see. " Not quite. " I replied with a smirk on my face while looking the owner of the vehicle in the eyes. As I guessed the car happened to be Johan's. I stopped and looked down at the car hood I smashed into. Bits of glass was stuck in my arm. " My car! " Johan cried out in distress. " See, I told you that the Laundry chute is quicker than the elevator. " I bragged with a huge grin on my face. " My car! Why did you total it!? " He shouted to me in fear and sadness. " Why did you park there? you know whenever we received an assignment, this is how I would go to the parking lot of the apartment. " I addressed the distressed Johan. " I'll take some money out of our payment for repairs. Besides, " I calmly suggested to Johan. Johan sighed sadly and clicked the unlock button on his car to shut off the alarm. " Can I have a ride? " I asked. Johan still recovering from shock slowly nodded towards me and opens up the working drivers side door. I reached out and opened the passenger side door. And sat into the now damaged car.

Johan was quiet throughout the whole hour long ride, the sun didn't come up either. Not once did he mention how I totaled the hood of his car and split some cracks into the windshield. Johan just sat there feeling melancholy. The ride was seemingly never ending. We passed by so many large glass buildings that you would start to think that you are going in a loop. The torture finally ended when we came upon a large shiny whitish gray metal building with many glowing lights all over it and light coming from the windows. We arrived at the Alterra headquarters in this region. As usual the main parking lots were filled. " I'm going to park my car in the underground parking lot, I will meet you in the lobby. " Johan told me hoarsely as he slowed down the vehicle to a stop and unlocked the doors for me. I stepped onto the smooth sidewalk as Johan's car drove down the ramp going deep into the underground parking lot of the building. Two guards were eyeing me from the entrance of the building as I approached. I strode towards the sliding glass doors before two security guards stopped me. " Excuse me sir, but weapons designed before 2432 are strictly prohibited to civilians unless they have a permit. " The guard to the left stepped forward and strictly warned me. I undid the strap on my helmet and tossed it to him. He caught it and looked at it carefully. " Scan it with your PDA. " I replied Cooly. The security guard on the right pulled his PDA off the hook on his belt and scanned my ID card duct taped to the front of it while the left one held it. " Identification scanned. ID: Roderick M. Shkuo. Notes: Has received permission by Alterra officials to carry 21st century weapons. Accessing audio log from the interviewer:'He has pertinent skills when it comes to using 21st century weapons'. Roderick is classified as a security mercenary, used only for expeditions or guarding an important research area. " The right security guard's PDA chimed. " You can proceed in. Ever since the terrorist attack conducted by ORIA security has been heavily increased. " The security guard to the left relaxed himself and informed me. " Yeah I heard about that. Anyways why are firearms made before, what year was it.... oh yeah year 2432 banned? " I asked the guards curiously as they respectfully handed me back my helmet and I strapped it back onto my head. The left guard looked over at the right one a little confused and they murmured with each other a little bit confused before going back to answering my question: " handheld firearms are now banned because some massacre that happened on Obraxis Prime. " The guard to the right answered sounding very uncertain as he typed something into his PDA. " Well, I have a meeting to attend, Im going to go. " I said as I walked through the lobby door. " Don't cause any trouble. " The right guard called after me as I entered the lobby.

Alterra's lobby was gorgeous. many lights filled the room, glass decor could be seen everywhere. The large Alterra symbol and motto covered the smooth hard floor. smiled and walked over to the receptionist at the nice metal desk in the corner. The red haired woman at the reception desk was typing away busily on her computer. When I approached the desk. The receptionist smiled and looked up. When she saw whom I actually was, the smiled dropped off her face. " Let me check you in. " She told me as she typed my name into the computer. " Beep beep " the computer whirred. She turned her head up, looked at me and said:" You are early today Mr. Shkuo. " " I know. " I replied calmly. " The meeting well take place in room 402A " she informed me. " Understood. Have a nice day. " I told her as I walked off. She didn't respond back to me. From the reception desk I made my way calmly over to the elevator to go to the A floor. *Ding* The round glass door elevator dinged in front of me when I reached it and Johan stepped out of the shiny round metal capsule. Johan looked up and saw me in front of the elevator. " Hi Roderick, I need to go check in. Go on ahead to whatever floor the meeting is at. " Johan informed me before walking over to the reception desk that I was just at. " Alright than you go do that " I muttered to myself as I unstrapped my helmet off my head and slid the front of it with my ID card duct taped to the ragged helmet forehead in front of the touch screen scan pad. " Elevator has been prepared to take you to Floor A, Room:402 " My PDA chimed after I swiped the card. The curved smooth glass door opened again and I stepped into the shiny silvery gray metal capsule. The elevator calmly lifted up to the A Floor, I stood and watched Johan Sign in and head back over to the elevator chute as I was lifted up to the A floor. " Im glad I don't have High Anxiety " I murmured as the glass door opened up when I reached the A Floor. " Don't take it seriously audience, High Anxiety is just a comedy movie. " I addressed you.(yes you) as I checked my PDA for the A Floor floor plan. The transparent PDA screen revealed the whole layout of the A Floor. " To the hall, go right, until you reach the room. " I murmured to myself unconfidently. I walked into the hallway and saw various doors with the room number written on the front door going far down to the end of the hall. I could see my blurred reflection in the smooth metal floor beneath me. The room I needed to go to wasn't too far because there were only 450 rooms, and going to the right starts at Room 450, to the left is Room 1. *Ding* The round metal can shaped elevator stopped at the elevator chute I just left. The glass doors slid open as I proceeded to walk to Room 402 and Johan stepped out and saw me. " Roderick wait! " Johan called down the hall as I was walking to Room 402. I stopped walking and turned my head back partially to see Johan. He sprinted to me and when he stopped, he was panting like a dog. I looked back in front of me and continued to move. Each door was spaced out rather far away from each other. So the walk was going to be a rather long one.

" What if we are going to a far away planet? On an actual starship? " Johan excitedly exclaimed, thinking of all of the possibilities as we walked down the hall, a few paces away from Room 402's door. " Yeah, I hope that doesn't happen. Alterra sheets give me rashes. " I exclaimed as I pulled my helmet off and placed my ID car taped to my helmet in front of the touch screen card reader. The lock turned green and the door slid open. I stopped and looked inside. The room looked like an college auditorium but scaled down 10 times. Ok maybe not that small, but at least larger than the average generic meeting room. People dressed in formal shirts and ties as if this was serious were partying. The room cameras had paper taped over them when I gazed over there. They were using the projector to display videos of people being hurt in fails and various inappropriate memes. Their PDAs were playing various loud music in all varieties. I couldn't hear the music from outside because of the soundproofed walls. This struck me as a surprise, not that almost everyone does this early in the morning because you can get away with it; but that this is supposedly a really big mission, and here are these homosapiens being the opposite of what there name says they are. Everyone inside was having a great time, until they saw me in the doorway. One guy whispered to another, and to another until everyone was dead silent and staring at me, I was became of attention. I didn't care, I looked at them with a disappointed look on my face and sat down in a chair which didn't have some alcoholic beverage or soda spilled on it. I know that this usually happens often, furries are so rare and disregarded here that it would make even Spock raise an eyebrow if he saw a furry in the streets, or even rarer, in an important meeting like this which Alterra supposedly picked the best for this assignment. The best men and women for the job including the 2 odd ones out of the group who cant take anything seriously. 15 people were in the room, not including Johan and I, that struck me as a surprise since I expected more to be here. I pulled my PDA off of my belt chain and checked the time. The time on the PDA read:" 7:24 AM. " The debriefer is supposed to be coming at 8:30, supposing he or she won't be late by 3 hours due to the importance of this assignment. Being the center of attention only lasted for Around 6 minutes, eventually everyone went back to talking instead of partying. Johan sat down next to me in the chair to my left. I was bored sitting there as usual, I decided to pull my PDA off of my belt chain and write stuff into my journal. Johan on the other hand decided to play Minecraft. Stop, before you say anything. Oddly Minecraft exists here. I never even heard of it until I got here. Johan was doing something with a house. I stopped watching him play his game on his PDA and I continued to write about my current day in the journal. Before I could write something. I sat there and thought about what to write.


 * TEXT 1 new email* My PDA chimed. I stopped and switched over to the mail app and a peculiar email sat there in the slider corner. This peculiar email had a Blood Red text color. Sweat started to accumulate in my fur, my hand was trembling uncontrollably as if I were in shock. I slowly reached my pointer finger to the tab to open the creepy email. My face felt numb and sluggish, I stooped over to look at the email. My bones trembled in my body. Y0u C@nmoT h!D3 FR0m Me rOd3r!ck. My face shot up in shock. I started to look around the meeting room in panic. The air started to turn dry and very very cold. I could see strange color outlines and my vision started to become blurrier. I W!l1 @|waYs B3 wAiT!ng f0r Y0u. !n tH3 L1gHt @nD 3h@DowS. My breath became rapid, my throat suddenly felt as dry as sand. Every other sound around me sounded faint. The lights started to fade away. The paint on the wall started to dry up into small flakes and fall off the walls in the front of the room. The TV screen at the head of the room started to budge, I quickly looked over at it. The screen started to bend like liquid and ooze out all over the floor. W3 w!l| bE t0g3Ther s0On. 3Ooner tH@n yOu Th!nK. The black tar kept on oozing out of the screen at the head of the meeting room. I could see the bright white light circle shooting through the tar. I could feel cold sweat pouring into my eyes, the cold liquid stinged like a bee. My hands were trembling non stop. I could see the PDA screen color had changed. B3T@ started to form out of the tar. Everything was blurred, all I could see were fuzzy shapes, except for It's white glowing part, only that surrounded by black tar. My body parts started numbing. My gun wasn't at my side when I felt for it. Something was moving in front of my eyes. Only B3T@ was what I was focusing at. It got closer to me, creeping without moving the glowing circle. I opened my muzzle to scream, but no sound came out of my trembling lips. My arms, I couldn't feel them anymore at that point. I sat there in that chair full of fear as my impending doom approached me without hesitation. My body started to spazzing out; jolting around as if I were being shot. I all I could see was the dreaded white light, I couldn't see anything else but it. *Splash* I felt icy cold liquid fly into my face, washing the stinging salt out of my eyes.

My body felt heavy. My fur was matted down and didn't feel sticky anymore. Icy cold water dripped from my face and my wet shirt stuck to my fur. " Roderick! " I heard Johan shout at me as he padded the side of my face firmly. I slowly opened my eyes and saw people around me staring. Johan was in front of the people surrounding me. " You're alright! " Johan Exclaimed in glee and dropped the water container on the chair to my right. " You were jolting and and shaking around weirdly and you you were sweating very cold sweat. " Johan quickly blurted out at me in panic and happiness. I quickly glanced around the room, everything looked normal, almost the same condition as when I arrived. Everyone was murmuring to each other and I was soaked with cold water and some loose ice cubes were on me. " Roderick? " Johan looked at me closely and asked confused, as if I couldn't hear him say something before. " I'm fine. " I moaned to Johan and the others. " Time.... What's the time? " I stuttered. " 7:28 AM. " Johan replied worried. " We all reported what happened. " Johan told me as he gestured to the others watching. I sat there confused for a second; then I remembered what would probably happen to me next. I will get a psychological evaluation. The good part is that I might be released so I can go home to my family instead of having to go on some dumb assignment. " Let me get you a cup of water ." Johan said as he rushed to the water dispenser. I sat there trying to recollect what happened until Johan ran back. He handed me a white paper cup partially full of warm water. " Thanks " I answered as I gulped down the warm liquid. Johan took the cup and rushed over to a throw it into the trash can in the corner when I finished drinking. " I think I'm alright. " I hazily announced as I stood up to move over to a seat which wasn't drenched in cold water. Johan followed and sat in the chair to my right when I found a chair to sit in. Johan focused on me like a hawk as I sat there and rested my eyes waiting for the meeting to start. Eventually Johan relaxed and felt confident that something wouldn't happen to me and eagerly switched back to play Minecraft on his PDA. I thought the game was pretty overrated. I tilted the brim of my wet helmet in front of my eyes and slouched back to relax. Relaxing seemed hard to do when I am wet, but I eventually dried off enough. Waiting for the de-briefer was annoying. He or she always comes late. I really hoped that this time they won't be late so I set my PDA alarm to 8:00 AM.

" Beep Beep Beep! The time is now 8:00 AM. " My PDA noisily chimed. I slowly lifted my arm up and pushed the brim of my helmet away from my eyesight. I looked over to my PDA and tapped the glass screen to turn it off. Johan was wildly tapping away on his PDA, trying to follow some green circles of some sort. He didn't seem to have heard my alarm go off at all. I pushed myself out of a slouching position and waited. In 30 minutes a de briefer is supposed to come. I sat there and stared at the door for 30 minutes patiently. Mainly I was Day dreaming of being back at home. " Click! " The door lock sounded. I watched a brown haired woman dressed in what looked like a military uniform step into the room as everyone talked with each other or played games on their PDA. She proceeded to walk over to the pedestal. I tracked her every movement as she walked over. She stopped behind the Pedestal and placed her PDA on it. The de-briefer then typed something into the PDA and the Large TV at the head of the room flickered on. She stood with a faint smile on her face and remained quiet, waiting for everyone to listen. Her eyes scanned the room, going back and forth. Her eyes stopped and focused on me for a second, then went back to looking around the room. I sat there and stared back from my seat. After a few minutes some caught on to the hint that the de-briefer was here, others like Johan didn't. Johan just sat there and played away, trying to kill some dragon of some sort. Irritated, I jabbed Johan in the side with my elbow. Wait Wha- "" Johan blurted out startled, as the de-briefer glared at him. He slowly slid his PDA onto his belt. " Ahem. Good morning Ladies and Gentlemen. My name is Clara. I am the head of the Alterra galactic relations department. ." Clara started off when everyone was watching her. The Alterra Symbol flashed on the once idle large tv screen with the acronym:" A.G.R. " Clara paused for a second before continuing again. " Ever since the Alterra star ship the Aurora and the Federation ship, the Sunbeam, disappeared above the atmosphere of the Planet known as:'4546B' Those events have placed all of us on edge. Until we recovered a ship carrying a man we believe to have been part of the Aurora's crew. " I started to have the feeling I would dislike what Clara was about to say next, but I also felt curious. Clara kept on talking to us in a calm formal manner, pictures of a strange rocket appeared on the screen, it looked like it was inside a dry dock. " The person piloting the ship has been safely recovered and is being questioned right now as I speak. What he has told us would be confidential, if he could talk than it would be. Successful methods of communication have not been established with him yet. " Clara took a long pause then resumed. The screen changed back to the Alterra symbol, then to the view of a planet covered in water from space. " The area on Planet 4546B which the Aurora disappeared above is covered in water. We are currently unsure how much land is covering that area if there is any land there at all. Some of you will be selected for this assignment. You will receive the whereabouts of the assignment tomorrow if you are selected. " She smiled and the photo of the planet on the screen switched to the Alterra symbol. " Thank you and have a nice day. " Clara smiled and announced. That meant that we can leave. Johan sat up and I followed. " Excuse me. " I heard her call towards my direction. I stopped and turned me head to face her. " Roderick, you will have to come with me for some evaluations. " She continued. Johan who stood there and heard the whole thing looked over to me worried. " I'll be fine Johan, just wait in the lobby. " I gestured to Johan and he walked down the rows to the exit. Clara already was waiting for me at the exit. I had nothing better to do so I followed her.

The lights in the room wasn't beaming bright, but was fairly ok. I was in a fancy interrogation room, fancy or not, an interrogation room is an interrogation room no matter what it looks like. I was sitting in a comfortable chair and a man wearing a shirt and tie sat in front of me, wearing glasses and reading some text off of his PDA. I stared at him waiting for him to say something to break the silence. ________________________________________________________

Man : Roderick M Shkuo ... is that your name?

Me : Do I look like a brick!?! Sorry, I mean yes that is my name.

Man : (under his breath) slight signs of aggression. (He jotted down on his PDA)

Man : Tell me about your previous field of work Mr. Shkuo.

Me : 1st Division Hunter in the Hunter Foundation. Expert gunman.

Man : (jots Down that Roderick knows his previous job)

Man : What did the Hunter Foundation require you to do?

Me : Simple. Hunt and kill Feral Furries.

Man :(looks a little startled and jots more notes down) Why do you kill These 'Feral Furries Mr. Shkuo?

Me : Let me remember. Oh yeah, something to do with when placed under extreme stress and torture of all kinds, some hormone is released in the brain which creates an enzyme that makes them incredibly hostile and uncontrollable. Not all species of them are common, mainly canine ones because of pack animal characteristics causing them to stick together to stay alive. They only live a few months because their immune system goes haywire and starts to attack the brain, leading to their death eventually. That and they live in areas away from society, but when their population increases enough, which doesn't take too long, they attack areas populated with humans. The point of the Hunter Foundation is to be the population control. I guess we can be considered park rangers or forest rangers with firearms that we use a lot.

Man :(writes some more notes down) Why are you in the 'First Division' Mr. Shkuo?

Me : My sister and I joined around the time the Hunter Foundation was established, originally being the unofficial park rangers who were hired to go into the forest and kill, until the Foundation expanded and caught the Governments attention. Then the Foundation received government funding and is established all over the country I come from. Since I hunt different from the others and I am the second best furry hunter in the Hunter Foundation, my sister being number one, we stayed in the elite first division. (I took my helmet off and read the worn out lettering saying'First Division' and slid it across the table over to him)

Man : If there is this hormone that can be released. Is it possible for it to be released in you Mr. Shkuo? Or other Furry hunters?

Me : Nope. I am 73% human, so the hormone doesn't exist for my sister or I. That and any furry working for the Hunter Foundation has to go through testing to figure out if the hormone can be released. Rarely a Furry who's brain can't release the hormone or one which the hormone won't affect or won't be released because of a defect or something will be accepted into the Hunter Foundation. But we are talking about over at least 10,000 furries in the Foundation though.

Man : Mr. Shkuo. Why did you decide to work for Alterra instead?

Me : I needed a break from all of the killing.

Man :(smiles in consent and jots some more notes down)

Man : Have you ever killed a man or woman before Mr. Shkuo?

Me : No, I don't plan on ever doing that nor have I ever killed an innocent before

Man :(smiles more approvingly and writes more notes down)

Man : Do you know anyone else who works for Alterra Mr. Shkuo? A colleague?

Me : Yes I do, should I tell you his name?

Man : We would highly appreciate it.

Me : Johan Thaum

Man : How well do you know him Mr. Shkuo?

Me : I trust him enough for him to shoot a glass bottle off the top of my head.

Man : Do you recall what happened today in the debriefing room at 7:26 AM Mr. Shkuo?

Me : (I knew I had to make up something up, or at least not tell him the full truth) I'm not sure. I felt very cold and numb.

Man : Many witnesses reported you violently shaking uncontrollably, unable to address them when they tried to communicate with you Mr. Shkuo.

Me : I dunno, everything went black.

Man :(writes more down) Has this ever happened in the past?

Me : Nope.

Man : That is all for today Mr. Shkuo, you may now leave and we will tell you tomorrow wether or not we believe you are fit to take part in the assignment.

_______________________________________________

I sat up and left the room to head on over to the lobby where Johan was probably still waiting for me patiently.

Time: 5:39 AM. Day: Tuesday. The outlines of my apartment room were barely visible. The overhead lights were on but very very faint. I sat on the comfy red couch in the darkness of my room drinking ice cold cola from a glass bottle. My PDA lay in my lap. The light blue glowing glass screen displayed a message. The message saying that I was chosen for the assignment. The only feeling I felt was anger and depression. Never have I asked to go to another planet nor do I want to. The whole summer will be gone probably when we are done. My large Hunting foundation duffel bag sat in the corner of my room to the right of the entrance. 3 empty glass bottles sat on the small glass table next to the couch I sat on. " Knock Knock Knock! " Someone decided to knock on the door and interrupt my depression. I grumpily pushed myself up and off of my comfortable couch, I lazily walked over to the door to check who it was. I had the reoccurring feeling that Johan was on the other side. " Johan? Is that you? " I whispered through the crack of the front door as I opened it slightly. " I'm always the one who knocks at 5:30 in the morning " Johan replied happily from the other side of the door. " Both of us are going to be sent on this mission! " Johan excitedly bounced. " Both!? Mission?! How do you know I am going? " I asked irritated and suspiciously. " The message I received told me that I have I monitor you on the Mission! " He happily announced. " Mission? This is an assignment. " I replied angrily. " What do you think about the mission?! Are you exited? We are going to another planet on a starship! " Johan bounced with glee. " Do you want to know what I think?!?! This assignment is Completely FUBAR!!!! " I shouted full of rage and slammed my clenched right fist against the wall next to the door. Johan stepped back worried and afraid as if I were going to hit him next. " I'm sorry, it's just that the summer I was promised isn't coming. I am probably not going to be Seeing my sister and home until next year. " I moaned upset. Johan smiled warmly and re-assured me." Roderick relax. We will probably be on temporary paid leave. " I smiled when I heard him say those words. I just hope it will be as long as my promise summer. " We are going to go board and see the ship tomorrow! " Johan excitedly announced again. " Can I come in? " Johan happily asked me. " Sure. " I replied as I opened up the front door Johan was leaning on and he stumbled on inside my room. " Can You turn on the lights please? " Johan asked me. " Nah, I'll save the retinal light torture for later in the morning. " I calmly replied and replied. " What does Fubar mean Roderick? " Johan asked me curiously. A smile lit on my face when he asked me that. " It's German I think, or maybe I've been watching too many war films made in the 1980s. Pardon my German, it stands for Fucked Up Beyond All Recognition. In other words what this assignment is. " I replied with a smirk on my face. Johan looked rather shocked when he heard that. " You really don't like this mission do you? " Johan asked me rather sadly. " Haven't noticed? " I answered rudely. " Is it me or is the air conditioning having issues?" I asked him to change the subject. We talked until daylight about whatever we thought of off the top of our head. At least I ill have a friend with me for the assignment. I guess it won't be as bad.



Chapter3:"The Painful Past"=

Chapter 3- "The painful past"

The Forest would be relatively quiet on nights like this. Sort of cloudy dark blue night skies, the chirping of crickets. Tonight was different though. Gunshots rang out through the forest from far away. And we were speeding through the forest at high speeds on a heavily armed truck. The lights inside the truck were turned off. *click* the Fn F2000 chimed as I loaded a 5.56x45mm NATO cartridge into the NATO-caliber assault rifle. The trees sped past us like blues of paint on a canvas. We sped through the forest at high speeds in our truck. I felt relatively calm as I checked my weapons to make sure they were ready for use. Viridia payed attention to the terrain in front of us. She swerved the truck elegantly around trees in the path. " TEXT Roderick. Did you bring the anti-material rifle?" Viridia asked me rather concerned while still paying attention to the trees ahead of our vehicle. I sighed in frustration, I remembered that I left the anti-material rifle at home. " TEXT I'm guessing that sigh means you forgot." Viridia replied as she understood. " TEXT Are you fully geared up? Do you have your helmet on? Mic is functional? Are all of your weapons loaded and placed in spots for quick access?" Viridia asked me sternly. " TEXT Yeah. Everything is ready." I replied as I checked the green laser sights on my weapons. *Boom!* A Feral collided with the front of our truck as we sped through the forest. " TEXT I guess that means we are close. Let me check the com systems." I said as I tried to talk to Ninx over the headset. I could hear unintelligible talking and pitter patter over the radio. " TEXT I think we are in range now." I looked over and told Viridia. I was sitting in the right passenger seat of the truck as Viridia drove to the Hunter Foundation California Headquarters as quickly as possible. Today wasn't any ordinary hunt. We were answering a distress call. Distress signal wouldn't fit what was happening correctly. I would say a red alert. The Hunter Foundation headquarters in California was under attack. Something which has never happened before. The issue is since almost every Hunter doesn't do the swarm method, but sharp shooting, the place is screwed. Since taking on hordes is something they weren't prepared for. Luckily Viridia and I have been hunting using the swarming method ever since we joined. Which is the most dangerous one, in other words attract every feral furry in a 3 mile radius and have them try to mercilessly slaughtered you. Fighting Ferals in close quarters is very very hard. But we earn enough money to cover the hospital bill from all the fur we sell. I honestly only cared about trying to not go to the hospital again. It's already embarrassing enough that everyone at the ER knows calls us by our first names. " TEXT Roderick? Roderick! Where are you?! The place is getting ransacked right now!" Ninx screamed over the radio at us, I could hear the patter of loud rapid gunfire over the radio. " TEXT Were coming Ninx!" I shouted back over the mic. " TEXT Ninx, I think we might make it in around 20 minutes. How long will you be able to hold off until then?" Viridia calmly answered over her mic. " TEXT Taking a sniper position is hard when people are attacking at all sides. Have you every played Starcraft?" Ninx asked over the mic. We collided into another Feral as Viridia sped through the forest. " TEXT Yeah I played a while back. What does that have to do with the situation?" I asked over the microphone irritated. " TEXT Roderick, we're getting Zerg Rushed by Ferals! They are attacking on all sides! The front line of defense has already been breached. No one here but you and Viridia knows how to fight a swarm, and the ones who did died in the front lines." Ninx shouted worrily over the radio. " TEXT Is TEXT Rez with you? We could really use his scanner thingy on his arm gauntlet." Ninx asked over the radio. " TEXT He's here, he didn't want to come so I used a sedative drug on him, he will wake up when I give him an antidote. " I replied through my mic as I looked back to make sure the trunk was still closed and locked. " TEXT I don't know how long we can hold out before the second line of defense. We are covering the hallway with a turret. Maybe at least 40 minutes worth of ammo at this kill rate." Ninx shouted over the radio as he called over to his friends for data in the background. I sat there impatiently waiting for an answer over the comm. " TEXT Or less." He sighed over the radio. Badump! We collided into a more and more Ferals. I could hear the gunfire and cries of Ferals from everywhere. We were only A few miles away from the HQ. I could see the distant red light of flares on the ground. " TEXT So is this what hunting at night is like these days?" I asked joked over the radio. Viridia didn't mind me cracking a joke or two. " TEXT Hah, it's quieter, when you aren't around. HaH hah hah!" Ninx burst out into laughter over the comm. Ninx was always the friend who was there to shame me with his roasts and jokes. " TEXT Rrahhg!" I Feral shrieked and jumped onto the door of my side. I flinched and grabbed my USP Match from my side and loaded a bullet into the chamber. The creature was salivating and scratching up the windows, until it started to hit the window. I looked down at the leather stretch with the door handle and a bunch of buttons. I started to roll the window down and the Feral Furry violently tried to wedge its head into our truck. Viridia didn't pay attention to it, she knew it was there, but was busy focusing on the terrain ahead. Right when the window opened up enough for me to get a clear shot at its head; it thrusted its head in through the gap and snapped at me. Startled, I closed my eyes and pulled the trigger and let the bullet fly free from the gun. I quickly opened my eyes to see the lifeless body still there, it's arms and head dangled inside the truck on my side from the open window. The window on my side looked worse, cracks split into it from the bullet penetration. Dark red fluid oozed out of a hole in the lifeless corpse's neck. I stared at it in disgust for a second or to before lifting up my foot out of the footwell and pushing it out of the window. " TEXT The first one. I'm surprised we aren't being swarmed and covered in Ferals right now." I mentioned seriously. " TEXT We are traveling too fast, that one must have readied itself to attack the vehicle before we reached where it was." Viridia answered without turning her eyes away from what was in front of the truck. We started to move over the last hill, countless bodies rolled over our windshield. Ferals surrounded us from all sides, as I was firing at them from inside the truck with a mossberg shotgun barrel coming out of the gap above the window. Everything was dark, other than the moonlight illuminating the Ferals eyes, the red glow in the fog around the headquarters we were approaching, the large orange flash coming from my shotgun, and the trucks headlights. Everything seemed normal for this situation, except one thing. The air was freezing outside of the truck, and the heater inside wasn't doing too much of a good job, but I was sweating, uncontrollably. Maybe telling Viridia isn't a good idea. The outlines of the large building through the thick haze and flares started to materialize. I could see the yellowish flashes coming from different parts of the cloud. " TEXT Roderick, we are going to go through the lobby, your weapons should be fully functional. The glass is broken, and expect heavy resistance." Viridia turned to me and informed me. " TEXT You're here now party pooper." Ninx laughed over the comm as we sped into the fog. " TEXT Not Now!" I shouted over the comm as I squinted the sweat out of my eyes. Viridia started to notice. I opened my eyes again, but something was different, weird wavy light danced everywhere, like when light shines through a swimming pool and has wavy light on the floor. But everything around me but my sister had a blueish tint and this wavy light show. " TEXT 3....2...." Viridia murmured as the truck sped towards the lobby. I reloaded another hollow point into the chamber of my USP match and slid it on my side holster. " TEXT One!" Viridia shouted as we hit the glass. My eyes stung as if I were being attacked by bees. Viridia stopped cold and looked at me, all of the Ferals in the lobby were only going for me as I blindly fired my shotgun around. " TEXT Die!!!" I screamed in pain and rage and unloaded shotgun pellets into my approaching attackers. " TEXT Roderick...." Viridia murmured to me worried. " TEXT One Minute Sis!" I replied frustrated as I rubbed my eyes to get the sweat out. " TEXT AGH!!!!!!!!!" I screamed at the top of my lungs as stinging pain shot through my pupils, I looked at my hands with my blurry vision my armored gloves were covered in dripping dark red blood, I couldn't even see any details on the gloves as so much blood covered them, I rubbed blood into my eyes. The blood kept on dripping but didn't stop. My jaw dropped and I started to stumble back in horror " TEXT Viridia!?" I called out in fear. Viridia caught me from behind to stop my fall, she calmly whispered in my ear:" TEXT Roderick, Wake Up, Wake up and pick up your phone."

" TEXT Mmmm.. aUUGH!!" I shouted as I rolled off of the couch. My fur was drenched in sweat, and I was breathing rapidly, My right eye was disabled. I quickly looked around the room for the PDA in the darkness. I could feel fear and guilt in me. The blood wasn't any blood, that was the blood of the countless innocent I have killed, mercilessly slain without any emotion. Spaced out from reality. They all came back to haunt me, every last one, calling me the same thing:" Murderer ." Yes! I felt something glassy and flat, my PDA. Turn on please turn on. The screen suddenly flashed bright blue and the light blinded me, I stumbled over and fell flat onto my back on the rug. I blindly pawed around for the PDA lying somewhere on the rug. My vision slowly started to regain itself, my right eye started to make a ticking noise. I snatched it up again and with my eyes closed swapped around for brightness controls. " TEXT Brightness has been decreased by 75%" I'm a murderer I'm a murderer. I am death, countless fall to me. Countless furries, Ferals are innocent, innocent, I killed so many of them. A crime that I am held accountable for. I could felt migraine in my ears out of nowhere. I sat up on my knees and slowly opened my eyes to the PDA's light. The screen had sweat all over it, my sweat. And a red handprint, no, there is no red handprint. I could have sworn it was there for a second. I quickly loaded up my files and selected:" TEXT Feral disgnostics"

I started to quickly read the information:" TEXT Ferals are furries whom when placed under extreme stress, both mentally and physically, go insane and homicidal against humans and non affected furries alike. This is due to a hormone released by the brain in both feminine and masculine furries which creates a protein that affects and swaps out nuerons, not destroying them but making mos inactive, only a small amount of nuerons will be active. The Ferals body will start to make a chemical called "Feromes" a chemical that when exposed to air will release a stench depending on how much has been exposed which other Ferals can smell and will go to the source of the smell. The Feromes are mixed in with the blood, so the larger the injury, the more released, a small cut can release enough Feromes to call a few Ferals a couple yards away. A Standard Issue Hunter Foundation Hunting Rifle with Standard Issue Hunter Foundation Hunting Rifle Ammunition can do enough damage to attract Ferals in a half a mile radius. Ferals particularly of the canine species will group together, making them a threat. They seek refuge in mainly forested areas and can reproduce quickly. The enzyme released by the hormone also causes the immune system to go haywire and attack the brain, resulting in an average life span of one month. Their kin can fully grow in less than a week, reasons why are still unknown. They attack human populated areas if their pack is large enough, large enough consisting of a couple hundred. The purpose of the Hunter Foundation is to regulate the population of the Ferals by all means. The deceased Ferals fur has a market and hunters sell the fur for money. No cure currently exists to stop the hormone, certain furries may not have the ability to produce the hormone present, rendering them safe, and allowing them to join the Hunter Foundation."

I stopped reading, my breathing was nice and calm as I sat on my knees in front of my couch in the dark room of my apartment. A few tears trickled from my eyes. I sniffles and quickly brushed them away in shame. I am still a murderer, that's what the Hunter Foundation wants me to be. Their weapon, their emotionless killing machine. No wonder why I quit. I sat up and walked over to my closet clumsily with a PDA for light. I reached out and felt the smooth round metal handle of the closet. I slowly slid the door open and looked inside. My armor was hanging in there by a few hooks. Countless scratches and cracks, and the occasional bullet hole covered my armor. I looked up and aimed the light where I was looking at the top compartment of the closet. My helmet was on the top compartment of the closet, leaning on its side, the strap dangled over the edge of that portion of the shelf. I could see the transparent reddish tint in the light of the PDA. The red tint from the supposed iron oxide remains from the blood of countless Ferals, just the dry red powder on the armor and helmet. It's not iron oxide, it's a Ferals blood no matter how many ways they tell me. I don't care if science says it is iron oxide. I reached up and grabbed my helmet by the strap and dragged it down. I slowly dragged myself to the couch and sat there, rubbing the helmet solemnly. I could feel my fingers run over the jagged and rough texture of the damaged helmet. With dry brownish red transparent powder on it. I sat there solemnly and rubbed it in the darkness. I Turned my gaze back over to the open closet, a white ceramic box that said:"open when the time is right" sat there on the top shelf. I guess there are a few things I haven't told you. Well you probably guessed by now that I'm a psychopath going through recovery. That's right, I'm insane. I'm a killer, no matter what way you put it I am, and I regret it to this day. The Hunter Foundation saw me as the perfect weapon, they wanted me to be heartless, they wanted me to enjoy killing. Viridia saw it and realized their dark intentions; so she made me disappear so they couldn't find me. They can't find me in this universe no matter how hard they try. I felt the symbol on my neck, it shined a radiant green in the darkness. That meant that it transmitted what happened. The symbol of protection, made by: them, the creators, and the UHPF. Specially made for me, to protect me from dark creatures and nightmares like the one I had. "Ring." That must be Viridia, I better go pick up the phone. I walked over to the bags on the corner of the dark room and pulled out the buzzing universal Nokia.

________________________________________________________________________

Viridia : Roderick, I know what happened.

Me : I know. The thing branded on my neck Is glowing green.

Viridia : I saw what happened, your protection symbol started broadcasting and my conscious was transported into your nightmare.

Me : Viridia, if you never liked the hunting and killing business. Then why did we go into it?

Viridia : The government becomes suspicious when you manage to pay for things without a job. We needed to make it look like we earned a lot.

Me : But killing innocents!? Why couldn't we get pencil pusher jobs like accounting!?

Viridia : My knowledge is vast, but We didn't know the Feral syndrome could be cured. We thought we were doing what was right.

Viridia : You wanted to join the hunter foundation in hopes that humanity wouldn't see you as an enemy.

Me : True.

Viridia : That is behind us now, we left, and I made you disappear so the Hunter Foundation wouldn't find you.

Me : What about you? Your the number one furry in the Hunter Foundation. Wouldn't they go after you?

Viridia : They tried to send a black ops after me, the casualty rate for them went off the charts, they had no evidence to take me to court and the evidence they had was evidence that they were trying to kidnap me and force me to do their work. They leave me alone now.

Me : Good.

Viridia : Remember, I will always try to be there for you, no matter what happens.

Me : Thanks sis, Bye. Love you!

Viridia : I love you too, have a good day.


 * Beep*

____________________________________

The phone beeped as the line hung up. I warmly smiled and carefully packed my phone back into my bag. The glowing symbol on my neck started to change to its normal state again. I felt happy knowing that my sister would look after me. Especially on the four month voyage I will take on the Picasso. I picked up my helmet off of the couch cushion and placed it back where it was before in the closet. I looked down and slowly closed the door. I strode back over to the couch to go back to bed, but I just remembered that I was covered in sweat. I smiled faintly and strode over to the bathroom to my left. " Lights ." I said and the lights in the room turned on. I didn't squint to the sudden change in light, I didn't care, I felt good. I reached over and grabbed my PDA off the couch where I left it and I slid the bathroom door open and stepped into the shiny room. I calmly placed my PDA on the marble bathroom counter and tapped a few times to set a ten minute timer. This time I looked up into the mirror again. My reflection was different, it didn't look like myself, covered in scars and soaked in sweat, and with a peculiar Right Eye. A person gazed back, I gazed back, without any scars and wearing an expensive business suit, my eyes weren't glazed over with defeat or unhappiness about desk jobs, but flowed with excitement and determination, a man who doesn't deal with the guilt of murdering innocents. That was who I wanted to be, not some furry with scars and a blood covered handgun who killed for a living. I smiled and turned my gaze over to the shower with its curved glass doors. I pulled off my old raggedy fainted yellowish green first division uniform and I pulled of my pants as well. After I was fully undressed I climbed on into the shower and flipped the switch, and the warm water sprayed down and had a warmth I could only describe as the warm feeling of being home. This was it, the last shower I would have at my apartment. I packed up almost everything in my apartment because I had the feeling that we would be living on this planet for a while. I closed my eyes and sat in the tub with a smile on my face.

" TEXT Beep Beep! Your ten minutes you set are over." The PDA chimed from the bathroom counter. I smiled and calmly flipped the wet Metal switch on the shower to off. The PDA continued to vibrate on the counter. With my eyes closed because of all of the water, I reached out and felt around the smooth curved glass capsule like shower door for the one metal bar. When I felt the cold wet metal I latched onto it and slid the door open to the right. My blue fur was soaked with water and was dripping down onto the bathroom mat in front of the shower. I pulled the towel from the metal bar on the outside of the glass door and yanked it off the rack and rubbed the water out of my fur all over my body. The PDA was still buzzing and repeating that my timer ended like a parrot that learned a new word. I reached my left arm over to the marble counter and tapped the screen a few times to try and hit the round off button. I tapped until I heard a beep confirming that I turned off the timer.

I groaned and rubbed the towel in my face a little. My life changed after that skirmish at the headquarters. A lot of my friends dear to me left us that day. They took something from everyone there that day, but we have done the same countless times. They scarred me again that day, first it was my ears, then my right eye. I stood there thinking too myself before deciding to leave the bathroom. The lights were off outside the bathroom. I guess it was time to start my day. Since I won't be seeing this place for a while. " TEXT Lights!" The lights flickered a little in the room then turned on after a shudder. Still clothes less, I turned and walked over to the closet to the right of the bathroom room, which Wasn't vacated yet, to get something to wear. I have to put my armor into a bag and the ceramic box has to fit in with it. But now that I think about it... Why would I have to put my armor away? They said to wear Formal clothes; this counts as formal for mercenaries. I reached into the almost vacant closet and unzipped the zipper on the front of the under suit for my armor. I ran my fingers over the course, faded gray under suit as I remembered the time when I first received it. I walked over to the couch and sat down to try and put it on. Faded red spots and duct taped bullet holes covered the under suit. Finally I was wearing the gray bodysuit. Velcro straps and some faded metal clips n locks were placed on different parts of the suit. I smiled, the last time I wore this was half a year ago. I stopped and walked back over to the closet to get the rest of the armor. I reached in and grabbed the armor plates and latched them on tightly. The armor was built so that your body could still move easily, so moving around in it and bending over wasn't hard. I strapped on all of the armor pieces and felt the weight of the mix of titanium alloy, vulcanized rubber, and Kevlar pull on me. Last but not least, I grabbed the helmet and the ceramic box off of the top shelf and turned to my luggage. I hesitated there for a second. A small old weathered and partially curled piece of paper sat there on the top shelf. It sat in a clean patch surrounded by dust. I stopped and stooped down to unload my hands. I slowly reached out and pulled the paper carefully out of the closet to inspect. I turned it over slowly to look at it, all the edges were a faint yellow color. There I was in the small photo, with Viridia, Braun, Rez, and Ninx. A faint smile lit on my face as I stared. I miss them, looking at the photo made me miss them more than I already did, I think I can store this in the special box. I stooped over again and carefully slid the photo into the white ceramic box; I made sure I didn't see what was inside of the box though. I picked up the helmet and the box and carefully packed the two precious items into the Large bag, I didn't clean the helmet in a long time, but I cleaned off some of the oxidized red on my armor. Everything I could think of that was important was packed, double checking shouldn't be hard. The bathroom was almost empty, and that was the same with almost all of the rooms. I stepped into the kitchen and checked the compartments of the granite countertop cabinets. Everything seemed packed, until I opened one of the drawers with my handgun in it. Normally I would have been eager to grab it and holster it on my side; instead I hesitated when I reached out and looked at it in fear. The gun scared me, covered in the blood of the countless innocents I have indiscriminately slaughtered because they were labeled as Ferals. Labeled isn't the right word. They were Feral, but it was revertible. Reality isn't like a video game. People aren't just generic foot-soldiers which you can endlessly slaughter, they have a family, hobbies, a personality, unique in their own individual way. No man can get away with killing; mainly emotionally. The guilt and sorrow will always creep up on you no matter what. Even the guilt of slaughtering my ill kind is inescapable, no matter what who you kill, killing is always the same.

My eyes were looking into space and I stood there holding my arm out awkwardly. I stopped and picked up my hand gun and holstered it on my side without taking another glance, I felt too ashamed to even look at it anymore. I slid the drawer on the cabinet back in and headed on over to my luggage. My Large Hunter Foundation Duffel Bag was clumped in the corner of the room next to the front door. I guess it's now time to go. The Large bag barely budged when I tried to pick it up which really annoyed me, so I called someone in the lobby to send people to help bring it down. I stopped and walked over the sweat soaked couch in the middle of the room. I sat onto the cushion that seemed the driest and waited. It wasn't long before the knock I awaited rung through the apartment room. I sat up and strode on over to let them in. When I opened the door, a familiar friend stood before me with a smile on his face. He smiled and started to talk:" TEXT I thought I would swing by so you don't go through the laundry chute. The apartment complex's manager says you aren't allowed to use it." " TEXT I'm surprised they finally figured out after the many times I have used it." I smirked. We both stared at each other waiting for someone to say something next. " TEXT Actually, I have to wait until the guys who are supposed to help me get my luggage down get here." I leaned on the doorway and gestured to the well lit hallway behind Johan. " TEXT I can help!" " TEXT Sure, two people make lifting over 100 pounds of metal and other stuff a bit easier." I chuckled sarcastically and turned towards my Duffel bag. " TEXT Alright." Johan smiled not noticing my sarcasm. Really? I doubt Johan can even lift it up. Johan nudged his way in and grabbed one side of the bag and I grabbed the other. To my surprise we managed to get the bulky sagging bag off of the ground without much effort. Johan looked like a scrawny man, and I was surprised to see him lift up most of the bag with only one hand without straining. " TEXT Come on, let's go." Johan said without turning his head as he directed the bag out of the doorway. " TEXT Wait, let me turn off the lights and lock the door." I ran back into the room, turned off the lights, checked my belt PDA chain, then locked the door as I exited. I grabbed the other side of the bag with one hand as the weight felt like it suddenly decreased. " TEXT Who's going to tell the people the lobby sent up that we fixed the issue?" I asked. " TEXT They will probably figure it out." Johan answered without turning. The wall lamps had the hallway fully lit, I literally could see the bristles of the carpet beneath us. We turned around the corner and entered the metal elevator. We both put my Duffel bag on the floor of the shiny metal elevator and waited until the elevator came to a slow stop. The scratch free metal door slid open and we were inside the lobby.

The Apartment lobby was an interesting place. Very luxurious as a matter of fact. This complex is called an 'Apartment'. But I think it can classify as a fancy hotel which we live in. Alterra pays for it which is surprising to me. Johan and I picked up the bag again and both of us walked over to the reception desk across the lobby from us. A different receptionist was there, a young Caucasian kid, probably in the 20s; he oddly looked familiar. He looked shocked when he saw me approaching. This kid was the night receptionist, the morning one's shift begins at 6 AM. " TEXT Good morning." The receptionist called over to us nervously as we approached the desk. " TEXT We're gonna be gone for business-" " TEXT We know mister." The receptionist nervously interrupted me. " TEXT Good, have a nice evening." I replied as I nudged on the bag's handle so Johan would help me pick it up. Before we reached the door the receptionist shouted something to me. " TEXT Umm.. you you're Roderick?" He asked me nervously as he fumbled with his fingers. " TEXT Just call me Sir." I answered as I turned back to the front lobby door. " TEXT Uhh. What happened to your eye?" The receptionist murmured nervously and slightly frightened. The smile on Johan's face dropped and he slowly turned his head to look me in the eye with an uneasy look. The past struck me, I remember who the kid reminded me of. No, I don't want to think about it. I don't want to think about it, the memory still stings me today. I shook my head and tried to flush the thoughts out of my mind. I looked back over to the kid at the desk, he huddled in the corner afraid that I would lash out. " TEXT It's personal matters kid." Johan sighed with relief and we both walked through the sliding glass lobby doors to the cold dark outside. An Alterra transport vehicle was already waiting for us around the corner, they beeped the horn and ushered us over. We walked across the dark parking light over to the barely illuminated vehicle as it's bright headlights shined onto a wall. Johan stopped for a second and looked over at me. " TEXT Are you ok?" He looked at me with a very worried look. " TEXT Yeah, I'm alright." I felt the lead pipe in my bag and we both turned to enter the vehicle.

AIND, Aftermath Rebooted.... Chapter 3 coming soon.

Aftermath Is Not Dead. I am restarting the series, I remember the plot line, I plan on improving the writing before. If you remember the original first chapter intro, it wasn't as detailed, emotional, or immersive as the one you are reading now. I plan on enriching all of the old chapters, and new ones to come. Chapter one and two are now done! If I get access to the old chapters I can make a comparison thing of the difference between the old chapters So unlike before. I will have to literally post up to ten chapters in one forum post. So this post will be GIANT.

C:



Here is the concept art for chapter 2!  