FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Authers Note: Think of this as a polished first draft, not quite done yet in terms of editing, but getting close. Edit: For some reason, almost all formatting was lost when I coppy pasted it, including indentation.

_ Widdershins_

_ _ ------------------------------------------------------

** Chapter 01**

** ** Cold Start

I can't hear anything. I can't see anything. The only thing that I know is that I am alive. I don't know how I know, and I don't care how I know this.

I drag my body into a standing position, my legs don't just yell in protest, they scream at me, almost begging me to not to force movement upon them. I attempt to open my eyes, even just for a moment, to get a glimpse of my surroundings. I eventually succeed, and take in the area around me.

The walls are made of steel plating, not the usual sheetrock one would expect. The only lighting, in what I assume to be the remains of some building, comes through were the ceiling has caved in.

Debris of various sizes and shape clutter the floor, making unobscured observation of the area rather difficult. I start padding forward, concrete pebbles crunch beneath my bare footpaws as I walk; I constantly need to lean on the larger chunks of what I think used to be the ceiling, just to keep my balance.

As I moved about more, my motor skills slowly return to normalcy. Well, as normal as you can be when you wake up, not knowing who you are, where you are, or even what you are.

I soon realized that whatever caused the destruction around me, it had to be rather big, some type of explosion or fire, judging by the fact that some of the rubble was scorched almost beyond recognition.

An odd sound catches my ear; I can only describe it as the sound of faint shuffling footsteps from heavy boots, overlapping on themselves. I write it off as a side effect of the assumed blast and continue on.

Out of the corner of my eye a catch a brief glimpse of a figure, bathed in the odd shadows cast by the partially torn open ceiling. The figure exists only for a moment then vanishes. I decide that I should take my senses with a grain of salt, at least for now.

After several minutes of wondering, I come to a three way intersection, the path to my left leads up a slight incline, to my right, down a flight of stairs, and finally, the corridor ahead continues strait on. With no signs to guide me to the exit, I pause for a moment weighing my options. Before I could decide, I hear a soft thud from behind me. Turning around, my blood runs cold.

At least three anthro wolves limp forward from the shadows, a cacophony of snarls and grunts release from their muzzles; their clothes nothing more than tatters of cloth here and there. They all take several more limping steps forward, I take a step back.

Something seems terribly wrong with these wolves, they don't smell right, (Like a mix between the stench of death, and something unrecognizable) they doesn't act right, hell, they can't even walk right. I decide to make a break for it, and spin rapidly and taking off up the incline to my left.

I hear the wolves behind me give off an ear-drum threading howl; I chance a glance backwards and see them get down on all fours and give chase. I force myself to pick up the pace, despite being barely able to keep myself upright.

The sound of my beating heart is practically the only thing I hear as I tear down the hallway. Following its few twists and turns, I come to a 'T' intersection with a door at the top of the 'T'

I nearly trip through the doorframe, slamming the door behind me as I go, praying to god that the deadbolt I threw as well will hold. I hear the wolf pack charge down an adjacent hallway, and breathe a sigh of relief.

I decide to take a moment to search the room I am in, for anything from clues as to where I am, to weapons.

I spot a name plate on the desk "Derek Terrain: Department of Health and Human Services" I wonder briefly, why someone who works for the DHHS would have an office here, as this place seems to be built more like a military base. But my attention is pulled away by something on the desk. Lying close to the edge is an AR-15 and a .357 magnum revolver. I check the chamber of the AR first, pulling back the charging handle to find nothing inside; I slide the sling of the AR over my shoulder and pick up the .357. I open the cylinder and find it to be full. I take out one of the cartages to examine it, and find out that it's loaded with hollow-points. I smile to myself and put the round back in the cylinder.

Luckily enough, I find a holster for the .357 lying on the same desk. I take a quick glance across the walls looking for a mirror so I can center the holster on my hip. Finding one on the opposite wall, I walk over and get my first glance at myself.

Green eyes stare at me through the mirror; my short, tan and grey fur is barely noticeable with the dim lighting of the room. Beneath my bedraggled T-shirt and jeans I notice my muscles are quite nicely defined. Not like a bodybuilder, but akin to a well-trained athlete. A realization comes to me; I look like I am fourteen, sixteen at the latest, yet I feel so much older. The other thing that I notice, it that I am a fennec fox, I could tell by the length of my ears. I have no idea where the idea came from, it just seems right. I shake my head and move on to secure the holster.

I spot a pair of army green boots, and with a little more searching, found a pair of black socks that mostly fit.

I walk back to the table and slide the .357 into place, and secure the thumb strap over the hammer. Now armed, I feel a bit better about exploring this building. I put my ear to the door in an attempt to foresee (forehear?) any danger if I open it. Hearing nothing, I open to the door to find an empty intersection, just like I left it. I exit the room and close the door behind me.

I stroll down the hall, the walk seems so much shorter now that I am not being chased, then back down the incline, and end up right where I started to be chased. Thankfully, the aggressors are nowhere to be seen, so I can sit in somewhat safety, for now.

I decide to take the stairs to my right, figuring that my choice of direction last time was a bad one, and thinking that this one couldn't be much worse.

A short walk through a rather large set of ruined cubicles and crushed offices finds me at another door; this one's a bit different though, a block of wood at least six inches thick, and eight inches wide stretch across metal hooks that were hastily welded into the wall. Obviously, someone tried (and rather successfully) to barricade the door.

"Probably to try and keep those things out." I say to myself.

It takes me a bit to lift up the enormous wood block, but I finally do manage, and open the door. I almost don't believe the carnage that is lain out before me.

I stagger out the door, dumbfounded by the combination of the stench of rotting flesh, death, and the sheer volume of corpses lying about. I start to back pedal, shaking my head in disbelief as I do so.

From about ten meters behind me, I hear another howl, just like the one from earlier. I whip around, draw and level my .357, and squeeze off three rounds without even thinking. The body of my assailant dropped to the floor like a sack of grain.

Another wolf pops her head around the corner, grunting menacingly with her hackles raised. So I put two shots through her neck to quiet her down. The wolf below me gives off a growl; I quickly walk over and turn his head to paste with the heel of my booted footpaw.

As I start to come down from the adrenalin induced high, I start to analyze what just happened. In the span of less than five seconds, I took out two of these, things. I did it efficiently as well; all of my rounds would have caused mortal wounds, if not instantaneous death, I don't remember ever having training with weapons though. I file it in my brain as something to focus on later.

I turn around and carefully walk back out the door, keeping my revolver at a low ready position. Mindful, of the fact that only one round remains in the cylinder.

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