FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

The Victoria Chronicles

By FoxViper

Prolog

We've all heard the stories. The lore, it you will.

About mysterious beasts and cryptids beyond the wild edges of what we call the civilized world. Lurking in the shadows, unseen, unheard, except in those rare situations where our paths cross.

But of course we all know that those creatures don't really exist. They are merely stories, told by adults to scare young children in the hopes that they will avoid the dangers of the woods and deep caves. Or in an effort to get them to behave and brush their teeth.

Take the Loch Ness monster for example. Is there really a large aquatic creature lurking in the cold and murky waters of Loch Ness? Surely such a large beast couldn't survive in an environment with comparatively little food source. And does she really refer to herself as Nessie? Maybe she's more of a Rachel?

And the large hairy beasts of the Pacific Northwest and Himalayas with the large feet. Do they like being called Bigfoot? A descriptive title isn't much of a name is it?

But we digress. The point is that they are all the same thing. Stories. Myths. Legends.

Told around campfires to gives us the chills and a scare, but in reality not there at all. Something the Tinfoil Hat crowd believes with no supporting evidence to support their pseudo-science.

But the thing is...sometimes...they get it right, but mostly for the wrong reasons.

Chapter 1

In the Beginning, There was Man

It was a pleasant night in an otherwise mundane wood.

Three friends were camping out so that for a while they could unwind and avoid the problems of the world.

"So Vic? How's the new job?" asked the solitary female of the group.

"Not so good Sarah."

"Oh? How so."

"They went out of business three days after they employed me." Vic said while tossing another log on the fire. "You'd think that would be something worth mentioning before hiring someone."

"They what?" Sarah said taken aback.

"So what now Vic?" the third member of their party asked.

"Not sure yet. But something will come along. It always does." Vic said plainly with a slight smile to his face.

"Hey, what happened to Jessica?" the other male asked. "I thought she was coming along too."

Victor looked down as he poked the fire with a stick. "She got called into work last minute."

"I'm so sorry to hear that." Sarah replied.

"Eh, it's just how her job works." Victor said getting up from his the log he was sitting on and turning toward the tree line Victor continued, "The fire woods getting low, I'm going to go collect some more."

And with that he disappeared into the shadows beyond the campfire's radius of light.

_ _

Sarah turned her head sharply, glaring at Ben. "Can you believe that? This trip was supposed to finally give them some alone time away from her work."

"I know." Ben said watching his friend disappear into the woods. "I hope it's not cause she didn't want to come or something. If we knew in advanced maybe we couild have planned accordingly."

As they talked Victor receded further into the trees.

Ten minutes later found Vic a good distance into the woods with a partial load of sticks under one arm as he looked for more dry fallen wood for the fire.

"Why does seem to happen every time we make plans?" he grumbled to the world at large. "I know we've only been dating for eight months, but we still never seem to spend hardly any time together. There always seems to be something that she has to do that's more important."

Picking up another stick he suddenly felt like he was being watched. Turning around he saw a fox sitting on a nearby log a few yards away watching him intently. It didn't show any signs of running off and seemed perfectly happy watching him.

After watching it for a minute or two Victor addressed the fox. "What do you think?"

The fox merely yawned and stretched out before lying down on the log, still watching him with interest. After watching each other for some time Vic returned to his task.

"Well, I'd hang around longer, but I should get this firewood back to my friends." He said before heading off back to the campsite. After walking for a little bit though he heard leaves rustle behind him softly. Looking over his shoulder he saw that the fox was following him at a respectable distance. Stopping and turning around looking at the fox the creature stopped and sat on its hunches, still watching him.

Victor watched for a bit, and when the fox did nothing more he reached into his pocket and pulled out a piece of jerky.

Vic knelt down and head out the piece of dried meat. "Here ya go little fella. This is all I've got on me at the moment."

Without fear the fox walked up and sniffed the offering. Then it out of character of a wild animal it gently closed its mouth on the tip of the meat and pulled it out of Victor's hand. Vic watched the fox for a little as it gnawed on the jerky before taking his leave.

"See ya around." He said as he turned to leave.

The fox gnawed on the jerky while watching him leave down the path. After he was out of earshot a voice only heard by the fox said.

[This one?] A male voice said. It had a slightly bass tone to it with undertones of being synthesized.

Yes. There's something different about this one. A female voice responded. It was a pleasant matriarchal tone, slightly of a caring mother.

When Victor got back to camp it was already dark. He dumped his load near the fire with the rest of the remaining firewood then headed to his tent.

"Hey Vic. Sorry about earlier. Want to talk about it?" Ben asked his friend.

"Not particularly. I'm turning in." He said adding some wood to the fire before heading to his tent.

"Umm, you seem to have brought a guest." Sarah said nodding her head towards the edge of camp.

Victor turned his head and looked to where Sarah had indicated. Sitting a short distance from the campsite was the fox Vic had met earlier. Just sitting, watching.

"I guess I made a friend." He said. To the fox he said, "Sorry, we don't have any leftovers left from dinner."

The fox just yawned before lying down and curling its tail around itself, leaving an eye watching the group.

Victor shrugged and headed to his tent.

"What do we do about your friend?" Ben asked.

"Nothing. It doesn't seem interested in anything at the moment." Vic said opening his tent. "And I'm too tired to worry about a little fox that wants to watch us."

Entering his tent and zipping up the flaps Victor called it a night. Soon after Sarah and Ben after watching the fox to see if it was going to do anything else, also called it a night and entered their own tent.

After everyone had gone to bed a voice only heard by the fox said,

[Are you sure about this Mistress Visalth?]

Yes Percii. I am quite sure. Visalth responded in a voice that sounded like a benevolent monarch.

[I have misgivings about this plan. We should leave.] Percii said. His voice was male, but with a slight twinge of synthesized tech.

No. I have been in this body for too long and far surpassed its lifetime. It is past time past for me to pass on to a new host. One with a higher evolved mind.

[Then why not do it now?] Percii asked.

Not yet. We must be sure. He would not yet understand, we must pick the right time. For now we watch and wait.

[Mistress Visalth, I'm sure you have noticed where they have placed their campsite? More importantly their fire? Should we need it the entrance is blocked]

I have. There is nothing that can be done about that for now. Visalth replied.

[That rogue agent has been sniffing around again.] Percii pointed out with some concern.

I know Percii. He won't find it. But he may be a problem later. Visalth said in a voice that conveyed that she understood the problem.

[What do we do about him?]

For now we do nothing. We wait.

[As you wish my lady.]

Just after midnight Vic woke up from a restless sleep. Feeling the call of nature he got up from his bedroll and quietly pulled the door zipper open. Slowly leaving the tent he looked up at a star filled sky. There was a half-moon up tonight, but he could see storm clouds on the horizon. In an hour the rain would probably be starting. By morning everything would be wet, but that was a problem for tomorrow. But for now the half-moon lit the landscape enough to walk to the trees without any need for artificial light.

Quietly making his way towards the tree line Vic decided to go deeper into the woods to be sure that he would not disturb his friends. He felt bad for being moody earlier that evening and vowed that he would make it up to his friends in the morning. Once he was far enough away he found a suitable tree.

As he was finishing he was interrupted by a soft noise behind him. Turning around and flicking on his flashlight he spun the beam to illuminate the fox from earlier.

"Oh. It's just you again." he said quietly and relaxing his stance. "You startled me."

The fox sat on its hunches and seemed to give a half shrug while watching him. In a strange way he felt as if it was trying to convey an apology.

"You have a habit of showing up unexpectedly little fella." He said.

Kneeling down he sat down cross legged and rummaged through his pockets, but turned up nothing edible.

"Sorry. No handouts this time."

The fox responded by standing up and confidently walking over and rubbing its head across his knee. Surprised, but not feeling he had anything to fear from this friendly fox Victor slowly reached out and rubbed the foxes read. The fox responded to this not by flinching back, but instead pressing into his hand further.

"Oh I don't know." Victor said scratching the foxes head. The fox responded by laying its head in his lap and purring. "What am I doing wrong?"

His murmurings were interrupted by loud commotions and yelling coming from the campsite in the distance.

"What the hell??" Victor said getting up. Started back towards the camp but was stopped by resistance from his leg. Looking down he saw that the fox had clamped its mouth around the cuff of his jeans, trying to prevent him from leaving.

"Let go!" Vic said trying to dislodge the fox. "My friend may be in trouble! I need to go!"

He jerked his leg around trying to dislodge the fox without hurting it. Finally the denim tore free and her sprinted back to camp.

The fox stood there forlornly with the torn denim still in its mouth.

No! Come back! It's too dangerous! Visalth cried silently.

[He still can't hear us Mistress. He's going to get himself killed and you know it.] Percii said flatly.

He can't! He's more important to this world than he knows!

The fox got up and started running after him.

The camp was in shambles. There were uniformed men everywhere tearing threw stuff and generally destroying the camp looking for something. Sarah and Ben were sitting on the ground with their hands bound behind their backs. A man in a dark suit was standing over them menacingly and berating them with questions.

"Where is it?!" he demanded yet again.

"I'm telling you! We don't know what you are talking about!" Sarah exclaimed.

"Then why are you camped here?!" The suit yelled at them.

"We're just camping! We just happened to camp here because it looked suitable." Ben said. "If we are trespassing we apologize and we'll leave if you let us."

"The hell with this! We're taking you back with us!" the man sneered. "Maybe then you'll start giving me proper answers!"

Just as his men were lifting Ben and Sarah to their feet a shout was heard from the edge of camp.

"Hey! You leave them alone!" Victor yelled from the edge of camp near the trees where the land dropped away sharply to a deep ravine below him.

"And who the hell are you!" the suit said, still maintaining his menacing tone.

"I'm their friend. And no matter what has happened here they do not deserve the treatment you are giving them!"

"Says who!?"

"Me! If I have anything to say about it!" Victor said balling his fists.

"Well, you don't!" the suit said as he pulled a pistol from his jacket and shot.

The first few shots hit Victor in the arm and shoulder. The next two though hit him square in the chest.

Nooo!! Visalth screamed in a voice only she and Percii could hear.

The fox from earlier bolted out of the woods just as Victor started to fall backwards over the edge. She jumped and hit Victor in the chest just before one last round was about to hit him. As the two fell into the ravine an unheard conversation was briefly had.

Start the process Percii! Quickly! Visalth commanded.

[It's not ready yet. If I start it now there may be... irregularities.] Percii replied with concern.

No time! Do it now, or we will both die!!

Victor heard none of this as he fell into the abyss, blacking out from shock and heart arrest.

"Go check and make sure he won't be any more trouble!" the man in the dark suit barked at a nearby agent. The underling walked over to the edge and looked down into the gloom.

"I can't see him." He said, "He must have fallen to the bottom. Shall we climb down and check the body?"

The suit walked to the edge and looked for himself. "No. if he isn't already dead from being shot and the fall he soon will be." He said without sympathy. "Let the scavengers deal with the remains." I've wasted enough time here. Load the trucks!"

He walked back to where Ben and Sarah were being loaded into the back of a Humvee just as the incoming storm began to rain. Shortly thereafter all that was left was a ravaged campsite and a wrecked Jeep.

To be continued.