FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

The Weight of a World

By: Psycho Fox

Chapter 1: The White Room

A sleeping girl's eyes slowly open as she sat up from her small cot in the corner of a white room and rubbed her face. "That dream again," she said to herself as she looked at the time. It was six-thirty in the morning. With a groan, she threw the blankets off and walked into the bathroom. Flipping the light on, she looked around the small lavatory as her eyes adjusted to the brightness. Everything was white; the walls, floor, toilet, counter, faucets, towels and shower. Even the brush next to the sink was white.

A sleepy yawn jumped out as she looked into the mirror. A seemingly average human girl, around the age of seventeen or eighteen, with brown eyes and long brown hair stared back. She turned the knob on the faucet and let the cool, clear water flow over her hands. "Why do I keep having that dream?" she thought as she rubbed her soaked hands over her face. The people in her dream had no faces; their words merely incoherent mumbles. Suddenly there was a knock on her bedroom door. "Hold on!" she yelled as she quickly dried her face.

"Open up!" a deep voice boomed from beyond the door followed by more knocking.

The girl quickly tidied up her bed and opened the door, a wave of wind blowing her white gown. "What?" she said angerly. A large brown bear wearing a light blue nurse's suit and name tag stood before her.

"You're lucky I reserve your privacy. I don't have to knock you know," the bear said as he handed the girl a cup with pills in it, "Here's your medicine. And swallow it this time Sarah. I don't want to have to force it down your throat again."

"You know how much I love taking medicine Borris," Sarah said as she grabbed the cup and quickly popped the pills into her mouth. She opened her mouth and stuck her tongue out to show Borris that she swallowed the pills, making a bleh sound as she did it.

"Alright then. Now get ready for breakfast," Borris said as he walked off to the next room. Sarah shut her door then went back to the bathroom to brush her teeth.

When she finished brushing her teeth, she spat out the foamy toothpaste along with the pills. "Stupid bear," Sarah whispered as she watched them drop down the drain. She couldn't just spit them out, she had to hide it. In this place the walls have eyes. Sarah then washed out her mouth and looked into the mirror once again. "Ugh my hair is a mess," she said aloud as she grabbed the white hair brush next to the sink and began to brush the knots out.

Suddenly the TV in the corner of her room popped on with a man on the screen. "Good morning everyone!" the man said along with other greetings. Sarah quickly rushed out of the bathroom and stood next to her bed so that she can see what he was saying. "On today's agenda, for Block A there will be breakfast at seven, physical fitness from seven-thirty to nine-thirty, break from nine-thirty to ten, calculus from ten to twelve, lunch from twelve to one, physics from one to three, conditioning from three to six, and free time from six to nine. For Block B..."

Sarah walked back into the bathroom and began to brush the other side of her head. Her hair was unnaturally straight. Usually someone like her would have wavy or even curly hair. "I hate it here," she thought as she brushed her hair, "I feel so... caged. This place isn't right. There must be a world outside of this place... At least I hope there is." Sarah became lost in thought while brushing her hair, often brushing the same spot over and over without realizing it. Suddenly a bell rang from the intercom in her bedroom. "Huh? Oh it's time for breakfast," Sarah said as she woke up from her daydreaming. She placed the brush back onto the counter and walked back into her bedroom then out of the door and into the hallway. Sarah stood there for a bit as she watched several other people slowly emerge from their rooms. Big and small, fat and skinny, human and not; she suddenly felt so small and insignificant.

"Hey Sarah!" a voice called out. A small ocelot boy, around the same age as Sarah, came walking up. He was wearing the same clothing as her; white top, white pants, and white shoes.

"Oh hi Adan, what's up?" Sarah replied, placing a false smile upon her face. She didn't want her only friend to become worried.

"The tiled ceiling!" Adan said, laughing at his own joke, "Anyway, we better go get in line before it gets too long. They never give you enough time, you know?" He motioned for Sarah to follow him.

"Oh yeah, I was just thinking the same thing," Sarah replied as she walked next to him toward the cafeteria. "Do you ever wonder what life is like outside of this place?" Sarah asked. She didn't get a reply to her question though. The halls were packed with boisterous creatures, most of them far older and bigger than her or Adan.

The two successfully reached the line, and not too far away from the serving area either. Adan looked up at Sarah and smiled, she smiling back. "Looks like we aren't that far away today! Maybe we can finally enjoy our meal haha," Adan said with a laugh. Suddenly a larger canine walked up and pushed Adan. Nobody knew what breed he was, hell he didn't even know either. He was, in short, a mutt.

"Say Sarah. Why don't we skip out on breakfast and have a little fun of our own, aye?" the canine said, with a paw on the wall blocking Sarah's path.

"Hey what the hell?" Sarah replied as she helped Adan up. He was always getting picked on by the bigger guys.

"Forget the runt and come with me," the canine said as he grabbed Sarah's arm.

Sarah stood up and grabbed the dog by the throat. "Touch me again Mutt and I will rip your spine from your body," Sarah said in a bone-chilling tone. The canine snarled and threw a punch at her, his fist connecting with her cheek. Sarah fell back from the blow.

"You couldn't hurt a fly, you little bitch," the canine said, "And the name's Tom, not Mutt."

Sarah stood back up and glared at the dog standing before her. A crowd began to form around her. "I think Mutt is more befitting for a lowlife like you," Sarah replied through her teeth. Just then, two guards forced their way in and restrained the two.

"Back in line!" a deep commanding voice echoed throughout the hallway. Everyone rushed back to where they were. Adan went back to his spot in line feeling like this was all his fault. "Sarah... Starting in already? And I thought we weren't going to have any trouble today," Borris said as he appeared from the rushing creatures. It seems it was him who yelled.

"It wasn-" Sarah began to explain, but was rudely interrupted.

"She tried to kill me! I was just standing in line when she grabbed me by the throat!" Tom whimpered.

"What!? He! But!" Sarah tried to explain, but was dumbfounded by what was said.

"Tsk tsk tsk," Borris said shaking his head, "Take her to solitary. Maybe a day in there will change her attitude." The guards let Tom go and took Sarah away. Tom simply smiled evilly at her as he walked back in line. Sarah glared back with eyes sharper than a razor. There was nothing she could do now. Reasoning with Borris was like talking to rock. Once he made a command, he never changed it.

With a sad, almost crying, expression on his face, Adan whispered, "I'm sorry," as Sarah passed by.

"It's not your fault Adan. I'll see you tomorrow," Sarah said with a caring smile as she was taken away.

The guards dragged Sarah along down a lonely hall, her friend disappearing into the crowd. She figured if they were going to take her in, she wasn't going to help them. "So... What's it like in there?" she questioned the two.

Few trespassed this hall that didn't go to solitary, and this you could tell. The walls had scuff marks randomly placed about caused by some of the less willing participants. This was the first time Sarah was sent to solitary confinement, and from what she had heard, it wasn't a great place to be. Most of the people that came back usually had a zombie-like expression. Whether they were severely drugged or being alone traumatized them this badly, it was a place nobody wanted to go to.

One guard pulled a security key-card from his breast pocket and unlocked the door leading to the solitary cells. The cells themselves were poorly taken care of, and there was a horrid smell that floated through the place. It's either to scare the troublemakers even more, or the custodian was just lazy. The cells are sound proof; nothing could be heard, coming in or out. Despite those eerie things, the area itself was pretty well lit.

Upon entering, the group of three stopped at an empty cell. "Well here it is, a room just for you," a guard said as he motioned for the guard in the control room to open the cell door. Once the door was fully open, the guards shoved Sarah inside. With a slow, creaky closing of the heavy iron door, Sarah's fate was sealed.

"Well this isn't too bad," Sarah thought to herself as she did her best to find her way around. Despite how nicely lit the outside of the cell was, it was pitch black inside. The cell was damp, dark, and smelt of feces. "Despite the smell, it's rather nice. I don't have to put up with those dickheads for a while. I sure hope Adan is alright..."

*****

It was nearing six o' clock in the evening when a man dressed in a military uniform called in his faithful partner. "Borris," he said, "Bring me today's happenings. I would like to know what you did."

"I'll be right there with the log, Colonel," Borris' deep voice replied through the phone. The colonel hung up almost instantly.

"Hmm... I'm kind of thirsty," the Colonel said as he pressed a button on his desk. A little neko girl around the age of twelve or thirteen, dressed in a maid's uniform entered the office. "Bring me some tea with light sugar. God help you if there is too much or too little."

"Yes Mr. Tiffel," the little neko girl replied in a voice so faint and innocent.

"That's Colonel Tiffel!" the Colonel yelled back at the neko girl. She simply bowed and apologized repeatedly. "Stop apologizing and bring me my God damn tea!"

"Of course, I'm so sorry!" the little neko girl replied as she quickly turned around to run out the door. Unfortunately Borris was standing in the doorway and the two collided. The girl fell backwards while Borris was unscathed. "I-I-I'm sorry!" she stuttered as she got back up, bowed to Borris, and then ran off toward the kitchen.

"Who's that?" Borris questioned, an awkward look upon his face.

"What does she look like? She's a maid you big idiot. Now bring me the log," Colonel Tiffel said, irritation apparent in his voice.

"Oh, yes," Borris said as he walked up to the Colonel's desk and handed him the file, "Only one was sent to solitary today. Pretty go-" He was suddenly cut off.

"Who was it?" the colonel interrupted, while flipping through the pages.

"Huh?" Borris replied.

"Who did you put into solitary, Borris," Colonel Tiffel asked with a bit of annoyance in his tone. He stared at Borris over the top of the file.

"I-it was Sarah Clements," Borris replied, his hands weaved together in nervousness.

"What!?" Colonel Tiffel yelled back as he slammed the log onto his desk and leaned forward; a vain popping out of his neck from how angry he was. "Get her out of there now! How dare you put my prized experiment in there!"

"Y-y-yes! I'm sorry!" Borris replied as he quickly left the colonel's office.

"God! I'm stuck in a building filled with fucking idiots!" the colonel yelled, "What can a guy do to get decent workers around here!?" He pulled a small metal flask from the top drawer of his mahogany desk and twisted off the cap. "I only have three more days before the President sees my work. I cannot let anything ruin this chance!" Tiffel said as he took a swig.

*****

"Out of my way! Colonel's orders!" Borris yelled as he quickly walked through the corridors, pushing over the feline nurses. "Open the door! Hurry!" Borris yelled at the guard.

The guard quickly and nervously pulled the key card from his breast pocket, fumbling it in his hands. With a wide eyed expression, the card fell to the floor. "Ah!" he gasped as he quickly bent down to grab the key.

"You idiot!" Borris yelled at the guard and pushed him away, "I'll do it myself!" Borris grabbed the key card and swiped it through the lock. With a silent click, the door slid open. He rushed inside and moved to the cell that held Sarah. "Open it!" Borris commanded. The guard in the control room panicked a bit and unlocked the heavy iron door.

Inside lay Sarah in the fetal position, her back to the opening. Even though it had been only roughly thirteen hours, she was clearly in a state of shock. Borris grabbed Sarah by the arm, her body falling limp. "Shit!" Borris said under his breath as he pulled her out and heaved her over his shoulder. If the colonel knew about this, Borris would surely be dead. His prized experiment was now in a temporary traumatized coma.