Widdershins

Story by Tarnthelos on SoFurry

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#2 of Widdershins Series

Coping with amnesia has never been easy. Coping with amnesia just after an apocalypse has to be one of the hardest things to do. Join this fur as he discovers who he was, and who he is now.


Author's note: Well, after much editing and fafing about, this is finially complete! Widdershins is the first in a planned series, with the next one already underway. If you spot any typos, or have any suggestions, please let me know! Feedback is always welcome.

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 hind-paws 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 and cognitive skills slowly return to normalcy. Well, as normal as they 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, had to have been some immense 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 I catch a 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 dull thud resonate 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, spinning 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 anyone that would listen 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 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 revolver. 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 .357 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 back 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 cargo pants I notice my muscles are 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. And yet I feel so much older. The other thing that I notice is that I am a fennec fox. I can 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 in a corner. 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 ascertain 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 seeming so much shorter now that I am not being chased. Then back down the incline and end up right where I started out. Thankfully, the aggressors are nowhere to be seen so I can sit in somewhat safety, for now at least.

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 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 at that, to barricade the door.

"Probably to try and keep those things out. I can see that their plan worked flawlessly." I say to myself with a wry smile painting my features.

It takes me a bit to lift up the enormous wood block, but I finally do manage, and open the door. My mouth drops open as I take in the carnage in front of me.

I stagger out the door, dumbfounded by the combination of the stench of rotting flesh, and death. 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 drops to the floor like a sack of grain.

Another wolf pops her head around the corner, staring menacingly with her hackles raised, her eyes lock with mine. I put two shots through her neck to quiet her down. The wolf below me gives off a growl; I walk over and turn his head to paste with the heel of my booted hind-paw.

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 any 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.

****

After several hours of wondering the streets of, wherever this is, I come across a building that almost makes me jump for joy. I rush to the doors of the grocery store, only to find them locked and barred with long pieces of wood. I think for a moment, deciding how likely it was that I would get hurt if I broke in. But my heart falls as I took a look through the empty space between the slats of the boarded-up sliding door. All the shelves are completely barren, not a single box or can is left. I give a heavy sigh, only the feelings of defeat and hunger remains, all joy disappears from my mind. I trudged on through the unmarked and desolate streets.

The rest of the day passes by in a blur; the only highlight of the day was finding a military fur lying slumped against a wall. It took a bit to convince myself, but I eventually decided to search his body. The only thing that I found on the feline were two full mags for my AR. Hurray, I can now die of starvation, instead of being eaten alive.

I breathe another sigh, (something I find myself doing more and more often as the day goes on) and find a secluded alleyway to sleep in for the night. I had an internal debate with myself earlier about whether or not to find a decent place to rest, like a hotel. But shot that idea down rather quick at the thought of the crowds that were likely to be there.

The strap of the AR is really starting to bite into my shoulder; I set it down on the ground and clear a spot next to it, near the wall. I lay down on the now cleared ground, the stench of garbage and other filth still plainly present however. Somehow, the presence of the AR makes me a bit more comfortable, almost safe even. The cold metal and hard ground are my only companions as I drift off to sleep.

****

I startle awake, and while jumping up to my hind-paws I smack the back of my head into the wall of the alleyway. I grumble and look around for potential threats, and whatever woke me up.

I pick up the AR and sling it over the opposite shoulder it was on yesterday. I take a moment to rearrange the garbage to the way it was last night, only when I was done did I wonder why. I set off again, in search of the three things I need most: water, food, and ammo.

****

As I continue to wonder from street to street, I start to notice that the body count is going down, so I begin to only go down streets with a low amount of corpses. I finally turn the corner of another unnamed street and come across a sleuth of five bears. Their clothes in tatters, their heads loped to the sides in what looks like a rather uncomfortable position. Their backs however, were turned so that they could not see me.

I step back around the corner and holster the .357. I take the strap of the AR off my neck and grab a mag from my belt and slide it into place, pulling back on the charging handle far enough to let the first round pop up. I then slowly let the charging handle come into battery, as not to make myself know to the bears.

I step around the corning, jam my thumb against the bolt assist, align the sights, and give the trigger a smooth squeeze.

"Click"

That sound makes my heart plummet through my chest. I quickly work to clear whatever stopped the AR from firing, but due to my haste, I let the bolt slap closed, causing the sleuth of bears to look my way and start to charge at me.

Rather than fiddling with my weapon even more, I decided running would be a better option. Picking a direction at random, I start out at a dead run, the sleuth close behind.

I continuously hear the sleuth grunting close by as continue to run down street after street, slowly losing what little strength I have left in my legs.

__________________________________________________________________

Chapter 02

** ** On the run

With my legs about to give out on me, and the sleuth still close by I decide to chance it by fighting it out.

I whip around and draw my .357, firing the last round and tossing the weapon away. One bear falls from a shot to the throat, the rest continue on, unfazed by the death of their mate.

I grab the charging handle of the AR and yank it back, forcing one round out, and another one in. I flick off the safety with my thumb and bring the weapon to 'bear' against the group. The two closest bears fall within the first second, while the other two manage to get to me before I can switch to them. I toss the AR to the side and swing my legs under the closest bear, in an attempt to drop him to the ground. He doges and retaliates with two swift punches, I get out of the first, but the second catches the right side of my jaw, sending my head back and causing blood to trickle from my gums.

The second bear tries to grab me from behind, but I easily slip between his legs and deliver sever punches to his lower back and kidneys; he keels over in pain as I reach out and snap his neck.

I feel the hot breath of the last bear behind me as he bites into my left arm. Blood flows down my arm and pours out the wound, making him go mad. After several blows to the head I manage to get the bear off my arm, and deliver kick to his knees. He falls to the ground, giving me an opportunity to run to where I dropped the AR. I pick it up and fire off several rounds into the bear, not particularly aiming for anything on him, just trying to end this fight as fast as I can. After what seems like an eternity, the bear stops moving and I stop firing.

I lower the AR and sling it over my shoulder again, smiling softly to myself at how well I dispatched those things. Deciding not to search the group, I spin on my heel and start to walk forward. However, the hulking form of another bear about a meter in front of me blocks my path.

My mind starts racing, immediately searching for escape routes, knowing that I will not last long against another opponent after the injuries I have received. I don't come up with a route quick enough though, the bear catches me off guard as I was deep in thought and swipes my chest with his claws. The AR slaps to the ground and bounces slightly, making me cringe, both from the pain across my chest, and from worrying that a part of the AR could break, rendering the weapon inoperable.

I don't even think as I step forward and deliver a front ball kick to the bear, sending him reeling backwards. He recovers quickly however, and attacks again; trying to take a bite out of my neck. He misses by an inch as I dive to the ground, and stick my leg out in an attempt to trip him up. I don't succeed, and instead the bear bends down and grabs both my legs together and tosses me through a nearby shop window. Glass shards pierce my flesh and cut off fur as I fly through the front window and land hard against the top of a hard wooden counter. A grunt of pain escapes my muzzle as I try and stand up, pieces of glass still sticking inside me. The bear's leering gaze and malicious smile makes me hasten my attempts at standing.

The bear starts to briskly pad over to me, snarling as he does so. I don't stand in time. The bear picks me up by my collar and punches me several times in the stomach and head, finishing with dropping me onto his knee and picking me up again. Stars explode across my vision and everything goes dark for a split second, a coppery taste makes its way into my mouth. When my vision comes back everything is blurry. The bear gets ready to punch again, aiming for my head. I try to spit in his face but end up coughing up blood and feel a broken rib shift in my chest.

A smirk crosses my lips, seeing the bear real his arm back so far give me enough time to I kick him in the chest, putting out as much force as my legs and abs can muster. He instantly drops me and flies a good three meters back and smacks the ground with a bone crunching snap. I pick myself up off the ground, moaning a little from the pain and slowly pad over to the bear. I look him right in the eye, as I drop me heel on his knee. His howl of pain brings a sadistic smile to lips. I then move to his other knee and repeat the process, again the bear writhes in agony as I end the chance he will ever walk again. I bring my right paw to be level with his chest, and with a single though of killing him, a thick red beam of fire explodes from the center of my paw pad and melts through the bear's chest, scorching the ground and turning the tile floor into glass. Looking on at the oozing remains of the bear's chest, I give a yelp of surprise and jump backwards, my fur standing on end.

The first thought that entered my head as I walked out of the shop, is "What the fuck was that?"

It was a valid question; I however, have no answer for my inquiring mind. I walk back my AR in a sort of trance, and as I bend over to pick it up, my legs give out and I fall over, smashing my head against the hard asphalt.

****

My head pounds as my eyes slowly slide open to reveal the room I am in. The first word to come to mind to describe it is 'Spartan'. The only adornment of the entire room is a small, bare light bulb in the middle of the ceiling, the walls and the floor all remain barren, save for whatever I am lying on.

"At least it's not blurry anymore" I tell myself.

I attempt to get myself into a seated position, but my arms and legs feel akin to led weights, they are also strapped to the table I am lying on with Velcro straps. My movement, it seems, also sets off an alarm in another part of the building. Within seconds three other furs are inside the room forming a semi-circle, all pointing various weapons at me.

The one that takes the center position is a rather large, imposing looking dragon. He has green eyes like mine, and his predominant body color is red, but it fades to black at the shoulder. Both he and his companions are wearing matching outfits, a dark green shirt with digital urban camo pants, with the words 'MDF' drawn in black letters on the front of the shirt. I didn't even bother to look at the other two every much, I just recognized that one was a German shepherd and the other was a tabby cat from what I seem from the edge of my eye.

"Speak!" the one in the center demands. Sarcastically, I respond with "Yerf!"

"Oh ha, we have a joker here, kill him" the one in the center says. (I start to assume he is the leader.)

I quickly yelp out "Don't kill me; I haven't done anything wrong! Well, at least I don't think so."

It was probably a poor choice of words, but what is said is said, and I don't have extra holes in me, so I am happy.

"What do mean by that kit?" The Dragon says. His eyes narrowing as he looks down his snout at me.

I instinctively try and shrink backwards as the looming form of the dragon stands over me, but I am still unable to, as the restrains are still doing their job.

"Look, can you guys let me out of these things please? They aren't very comfy, and I promise I will answer any of your questions to the best of my ability." I look up at the trio and with pleading eyes, wiggling around as much as I can as I talk.

The tabby's face softens a bit, by the other two look like they barely noticed.

"Like hell we will. Let's get something strait, we are going to ask some questions, we don't like the answers we get, we are going to have a problem. Now, where did you come from?

I answer back timidly: "I don't remember anything about myself actually. I just remember when I woke up yesterday, anything before that and there is just an empty void."

"Oh, then we have a problem." I don't see his clawed hand as it comes down and smacks across my muzzle, leaving a set of red streaks that smart soon after.

"Now why don't you tell me what you were doing in that shop? We found the window broken and you lying on the floor looking like you just got the shit beat out of you." The dragon asks.

"Like I said, I don't remember" I reply my voice rising as I get annoyed with all the questions and the dragons tone.

"I am only going to ask these questions one more time nicely. What, is, your, name." the dragon's voice slows down and asks the last part very slowly.

A voice that I don't even recognize as my own answers in a deep and gravely tone "Your worse fucking nightmare"

The dragon moves to rend me again, but the world seems to slow down, and I seem to take a mental step back, and simply observe my own actions, not even in control anymore. I tense against the Velcro straps and this time they break like tissue paper. I spring up out of the bed, landing on my paw pads with a slight bend in my knees. I catch a glimpse of myself in the reflection of the dragon's scales and see that my eyes have completely darkened over, and become completely black pits. I smile widely and look up at the dragon.

"What is your name?" I ask my tone rather light with an almost whimsical quality.

"Why the hell should I tell you?" The dragon asks, obviously trying to keep his cool, but stepping back a bit, his eyes shining in fright. His comrades already shrank into the back corner and were cowering in fear.

I raise my paw, pad forward, and point it at the dragon's compatriots.

I am only going to ask one more time nicely. What, Is, Your, Name." I say, mimicking the dragon's tone and voice perfectly from earlier.

"Do what you want, I don't care." The dragon sneers still attempting an air of confidence, but failing.

I smile and shrug, sending a bolt of fire from my paw, melting the skin off of his friends, setting their clothes on fire and cooking their insides. I look back at the dragon, and simply say.

"Wrong answer"

I then knee him in the stomach. He keels over and I bring my hind-paw down on the back of his head, cracking his skull and sending him into the floor, using his face to break through the floorboards.

"What I mess." I saw nonchalantly as I walk out of the room, when I hit street level after a short stroll down a flight of stairs, I snap my fingers, creating a mixture of a kinetic wave, and a fire in the middle of the room I was in, simulating an explosion and incinerating anything in that area.

From all around me, albeit very far away, I hear a series of howls, roars, and snorts. I smile again, and think to myself

"This could prove very entertaining, hopefully whoever else out there proves to be more of a challenge then the wimps I have faced so far."

****

It was only about a ten second wait before the first group barrels around the corner, comprised of wolves and bears. I bring both paws up to chest level and close them. As soon as my fingers touch my paw pad, a knee high line of flame appears in front of their legs, cutting the appendages off. The line of heat seams to grow a mind of its own, and wrap and writhe over the bodies, only ashes are left by the time I am done.

Several more jump from the roof of a nearby building, two of them manage to knock me off my hind-paws. Both of them start to claw and scratch at me, ripping strait through my clothes, tearing most of it off in the first few seconds. I punch one in the eye, cracking the socket, the other I force off me with a focused kinetic wave; she flies back a good 6 meters and slams into the ground with enough force to snap her spine and shatter the back of her skull, killing her instantly. I quickly stand up to face more attackers

Three more (two wolves and an otter) of them charge at me, knocking me to the ground again and resume the others efforts at shredding me to pieces. The wolf near my legs I give a swift kick in the kneecap, crushing the bone and forcing a yowl of pain from him, I finish the wolf off with a flurry of kinetic waves in the shape of darts to the heart, ripping the muscle and wetting the ground with copious amounts of blood. The other two still continue to claw at me, leaving deep gouges in my skin, blood pours from open wounds and the world starts to get fuzzy.

"That's it, everyone dies!" I scream. I put my paws to the chests of my attackers, and a red light glows from where my paws make contact. And when I remove my paws, the light disappears. Taking most of the chest cavity of the wolf and otter as well as causing my paws to blister and burn from the heat. Both of them fall on top of me, their blood joining with mine as it runs in rivers down my body.

The lifeless bodies of many furs litter the ground as I lay there, blood seeping out of my countless slashes and gouges. My body starts to fell unusually heavy, starting from my extremities, and moving in slowly, my vision suffers a similar fate and starts to tunnel. I begin to wonder if this is what death is like.

__________________________________________________________________

Chapter 03

_ Making Friends_

My mind begins to awaken to the sound of soft talking, it's barely audible but I can pick out enough to get some context. From what I can tell, it sounds like they are discussing my injuries, the list of which is rather lengthy. My head still pounds too much to take in the details of the room. Physical sensation begins to return and the first thing that I notice is that I am lying naked on my right side on a bed. The soft sheets feel warm and comforting against my fur. The other thing that I notice is that all the cuts, gouges, and scraps have disappeared from my body. I still feel the occasional ache in my chest, arms, legs, and head though.

I have a mental laugh at the thought of how many times I seem to passing out and waking up in a new location. Hopefully this will turn out better then the last time.

Two figures enter the room, the one on the left is a female poodle, she stands at about 5'4 and has short brown fur, and the one on the right is a male golden retriever, standing a good five inches taller than the poodle, he has a longer yellow cote with tufts of gray in his ears. Both of them were white lab coats that open in the middle. My eyes haven't gotten good enough yet to notice what they have for pants or shirt.

As they got close to my bed, I feign sleep, hoping they would resume their conversation rather than rouse me.

"We can tell you are awake kit, you can't fake that with us."

I let out a sigh and turn my head up to look at them, noting that even that small movement makes my whole body ache.

"How are you feeling?" The poodle asks a motherly tone of concern in her voice.

"Like a truck has run me over, then backed up and run me over again, about twelve times." I answer flatly.

"Oh, umm, can you tell us your name?"

"I don't remember my name."

"Is there anything you do remember kit?" The retriever asks.

"Only till about, a day or two ago, everything before that is just a gaping hole of memory.

"That sounds terrifying!" the poodle gasps.

"It is a bit scary to think about at times. I have no idea who I was, where I lived, what kind of life I had. By the way, what are your names?"

"I am Arden. Arden Caldwell Page" The retriever says, putting in a British accent to add a hilariously formal tone to his voice.

"And I am Maura Tanisha Best, pleased to meet you!" The poodle says excitedly.

"Well, is great to meet both of you! Umm, I have another question. Earlier, I had a 'conversation' with three other people, I think they were part of some group called 'MDF', any idea who they are?"

"Yes, I unfortunately do." Arden answered. "MDF is an acronym for 'Main Defense Force,' the group was formed shortly after the outbreak. They help to keep the peace, and to contain the outbreak. Overall, they have done an OK job at best, but they leave much to be desired

My head tilts a bit as I ask "Outbreak?"

"Surely you have run into those, things." Maura said.

I shudder a bit and respond. "Well, now that you mention it, I have run into some overly aggressive furs."

"That was definitely them" says Arden.

"Wait, isn't there some military that could have contained these things?" I ask, rather confused.

"Well, there would be, save for the fact that these creatures aren't what you think they are. And I would rather leave it at that. This, come to think of it, brings me to my next question. When we found you, there were quite a few dead infected around you, what happened?" Arden says, seeming both curious, and happy to change the subject.

I begin to recount my entire memory of the past few days, trying to dance around the more odd happenings. After all, I barely know these people. They seem nice, but it could just be an act. After I finished, they both sit there a moment; a look of contemplation painted plainly on their faces.

Arden was the first to break the silence, saying. "So, you must be a mage then."

"A what?!?" I yelp.

"A mage, it's the only logical explanation." Arden responds.

"If that's the 'logical' explanation, then I don't want to know the illogical ones." I say

"The thing that doesn't add though is why you passed out. I saw firsthand the damage that your spells you caused, some of them were a bit scary honestly. If you can cast magic of that magnitude, then why would you pass out? You should have been able to control your magic flow so you wouldn't burn out, and know when you were reaching your limit." Arden questioned.

"Don't look at me; I wasn't even on control most of the time." I respond.

"That's another other odd thing; mages always know what is going on around them at all times. In fact, it is said that the most powerful of mages have to consciously focus on not seeing everything within a several hundred meter radius."

"Yet again, don't ask me, I wouldn't know." I say, getting a bit irritated at all the questions he has.

"Well, looks like this is just another mystery about you to solve" Arden says, smiling.

"We should let you get some sleep though; we have kept you up for far too long." Maura cuts in.

"Right, Good night kit, see you tomorrow!" Arden tells me as he starts to walk out of the room.

"If you need anything, anything at all please don't hesitate to ask either of us." Maura added.

"Goodnight, and, thank you, both of you, for everything." A small tear slips out my eye as I turn over in bed, putting my back to them as they exit. I feel myself start to drift off soon afterward.

****

When I awake, I, yet again, seem to be in another location. This time, judging by the various posters and other little things, in a stereotypical teenage male's room. Most of the furniture is on the wall to my left, along with the only window. The carpets are a lush green in color, and look quite fluffy.

I sat up, and put my hind-paws on the floor, noticing the soft creak of the floorboards as I stand. I quickly catch the scent of cooking meat, and restrain the urge to burst through the door and take off in the direction of the smell. I am just about to go through the door, until I realize that I don't have any clothes on. I shake my head and walk over to the five drawer dresser.

I open the top drawer only to find it empty. Continuing down though; the draw below it is filled with shirts of almost any style imaginable. I select a light blue shirt and toss it onto the bed. I continue in a similar fashion for the rest of my clothes, ending up with a pair of dark blue jeans that goes nicely with the shirt, and a pair of white boxer-briefs underneath. I spot an amazingly intricate fob watch sitting on the bed side table. I decide to put it on, slipping the attachment piece onto my pants edge. A light pink rubber 'stretch bracelet' sits next to where the fob watch was. I have an odd urge to pick it up and put it on; I decide to follow the urge.

Now clothed, I go back to the door and open it, studding the new area carefully and committing it to memory as I pad down the unadorned hallway. Very quickly the scent of cocked meat really starts to get to me, urging me to go faster.

I get to the edge of a staircase, and take them two at a time going down, almost tripping on the last few. Finally nearing the source of the heavenly smell, I nearly burst through the semi-open door and am rather surprised as to what I find beyond.

I instantly stop short as I come through the door, the ghostly visages of the pair of furs in front of me sends chills down my spine. The one on the left was bathed in an entirely white light, while the other seems to suck the light from where it sits, its fur a black deeper then I had ever seen. Both of their bodies were featureless, with no discernable eyes, and only a vague notion of a nose at the end of a muzzle; they are more like a vague outline of a body than anything else.

The white one speaks first "Greetings Schat, erm, never mind that I said that. It's been quite a while. Please, have a seat and eat." It pulls out a chair at the table they are sitting at and gestures for me to sit down. I tentatively begin to comply.

"Please, do not be frightened, we mean you no harm. I am sure you have many questions, but let's eat something first hmm?"

He, I think it's a 'he' anyway, then gets up and walks over to the stove, and pulled open the oven. Inside, was three stakes on a plate to keep them warm, all cooked to what looked like medium rare. Juices overflow from them and spill onto the plate they are on. And they looked tender enough that a stern glare would make them fall apart. My mouth waters just from seeing them, not to mention, the smell is so strong it would not surprise me if it's all I would be able smell for days.

"Drohung, can you get the silverware please?" The black one stands up from his place and walks over silently to the counter, and picks up three sets of silverware, wrapped up in napkins.

I look over to the white one and ask. "Umm, this may be a stupid question, but why does the other one not speak?'

"I thought it would be best not to scare you soon after your arrival, his voice his tad, disturbing. And his name is Drohung, by the way." Drohung smiles an impossibly wide toothy grin and stares at me intensely.

"His stare is creepy enough; I hate to think what his voice sounds like. Oh, come to think of it, what did you call me earlier? And what is your name?"

"I figured you would have questions. My name is Spur, and what I called you earlier is not important, just a slip of the tongue. Please, have some steak while we try to explain more about you.

Spur puts on an oven mitt and grabs the plate of steak out of the oven, then sets it down in the center of the table. Drohung and I both reach for a piece at the same time and quickly dig in.

My hands treble a bit as I bring the food up to my lips, finally, I will get some decent food! The chicken passes over my lips and I nearly melt right there. I thought it smelled really good, but here is no competition for the better, the taste is possibly the most wonderfully thing I can remember. Then again, that isn't saying much since my memory only stretches back two or so days. But even then, I still feel like this is the best food I have ever tasted, call it gut instinct.

"This is absolutely delicious!" I exclaim. "If you don't mind me asking, who made it?"

"That would be me." The voice (Belonging to Drohung,) nearly made me jump out of my chair, it seems to come from everywhere at once, and it has such a deep quality, that it makes Darth Vader sound like a chipmunk. My ears quickly flatten to the sides of my head.

"Has anyone ever told you that you are possibly the creepiest person they have ever met?" I ask.

"No, most don't live long enough after meeting me." He responds.

I shiver a bit and look back a Spur "You were going to explain a few things to me?"

"Yes, first off, please hold off any questions until the end. It gives me a chance to try and explain everything before your probable torrent of questions. But, where to begin..." Spur seems lost in thought for a few moments before continuing.

"First, I would like to inform you that you are not actually here. You are dreaming. We are part of your subconscious, we can however, take control of you in times of need. We try not to, but occasionally it is necessary. I will not explain any farther than this, as I am sure none of us want to be here discussing the intricacies of subconscious to conscious connections and control. Second, I think it would be beneficial to learn more of your past, both Drohung and I are quite curios as to how we came to be. Third, for your own good, you cannot tell anyone that you were here, or that you communicated with us. Understood?"

I nodded my head without saying anything.

"Any questions so far?

"Yes actually, umm, is there anything at all you can tell me about myself? Or, at the very least, tell me where to begin searching?" I ask timidly.

"I am afraid I can off you no help there, we know only know a bit more then you do. Anything else?"

"Last two questions." I say "Recently met two rather nice furs, what do I do with them? They don't seem to be dangerous, and they have gotten me back to full strength."

"Escape them, and if they try to stop you. Kill them. Leave no trace of them" Spur replies coldly.

I dismiss his answer with a nod of my head, hoping it never comes to that. "And finally, what was with the insistence on the steak. I mean, it was great to eat some real food, but why the strong insistence?"

"I am afraid I have not been entirely truthful with you, and have not told you everything, but know that it is for your own good. You should be waking up from this dream, right about now."

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Chapter 04

Not So Smooth Running's

I gasp as my eyelids fly open, revealing the now dark room that I fell asleep in. A soft light streams through the gaps in the window shades on the far side of the room. I lay in bed for a time, pondering whether or not I had simply imagined it all.

Soon though the call of nature made itself known to me. I pull back the covers and look down at my tan furred, lithe, nude form. I smirk and move to stand up, my legs getting shaky as they begin to take my full weight.

I softly pad over to the door and crack it open, peering into the empty hallway. I open the door the rest of the way and begin my search for the restroom, carefully peering into the gaps that I open in the frames of the doors.

Finally, about halfway down the hallway, about four doors away from where I started, I finally found my goal. I open the door fully and step through, closing it silently behind me.

Directly next to the door is the toilet, and a shower sits a few meters in front of me. I move over to the toilet and do my business. After I finish I wash my paws at the sink and slip back out the door.

As I am sneaking back to 'my' room, when I hear voices coming from farther down the hallway. Curiosity gets the best of me, and I switch directions and focus my hearing on the sound.

From what I could tell, there were at least three people talking, all in hushed, but frantic tones, two males, and one female. Two of the voices are familiar.

"Oh shit, that's Arden and Maura!" I think to myself "But who is the other guy?"

I edge closer to the door, starting to pick out words now, unable to place names to the voices though.

"He killed three MDF officers, his actions are inexcusable!"

"What will you do to him?"

"That will be up to the big wigs in charge, if I had to guess though, probably imprisonment, or death."

"Oh fuck"

For a moment, that's all I can think "the MDF is here for me, I need to get out of here!"

I almost make it back down the hallway, when the door behind me opens, and Arden walks out.

"Kit? What are you doing out of bed?" he asks, slowly stepping closer as I edge back more.

"Oh, me? Nothing, just using the restroom and not being taken away by large scary three letter acronym government organizations. How about you?" The words come crashing from my mouth before I can stop them.

"Shit, how much did you hear?" Arden asks.

"Umm, enough to know that I need to be gone. Now." I respond.

"Sorry kit, but I can't let you go."

"You actually think you can stop me!?" I yell at him without realizing "I can shred furs with a single flick of the wrist, don't think I won't do the same to you."

The surprise radiates off Arden's face as I turn and burst through the door behind me, blowing out the window with a sharp kinetic blast and jumping through. I begin to cry softly as I run down the street. Feeling very shocked and surprised at my actions. And quite embarrassed, when after only a few minutes of running I come across a somewhat busy intersection.

The furs in the passing cars stare at me as they go by; I see a small group of three or four start to walk over to me from the other side of the street so I quickly duck onto a quieter offshoot of the road. Between two houses and a ways back across an open field, lies the outer edge of a forest, I head over there and lean against one of them.

When I reach the tree line, I just break down. The thought of begin on the run for the rest of my life never being able to actually live normally. The idea of always looking over my shoulder, always being on guard, never able to relax. Even for a moment, forces me to the ground in sorrow. Curling up in a ball and just sobbing uncontrollably, my chest heaving in my cries. Eventually my cries taper off into whimpers, and finally into barely audible sniffles.

After what has to have been at least an hour I finely look around and see a group of uniformed officers coming my way, I feel myself start to take a mental step back, and the world starts to slow down.

Resisting is not easy, but I try and force myself back to a normal state, as I begin running in the direction of the least amount of people

I push my paw towards them and send a kinetic blast outward, tripping them up and sending them flying. I see one of them draw their weapon after screaming "He's a bloody mage!"

I manage to make it across the small field and into another line of buildings. I sigh in relief as I get to the end of the buildings, seeing that this place is completely deserted.

I sit down for a moment, trying to calm down. My mind in an absolute jumble; hundreds of emotions tumble through me all at once, making my head spin and my stomach do flip flops.

"Calm down would you!" I tell myself "Just relax and go over what's happened. Starting from the beginning, I mentally go over what's been happening in an attempt to both calm myself, and hopefully put some clarity on this situation.

Before I can really get to it though, I see a hint of motion off to my right. I pull myself off the ground, suddenly curious as to what that movement was.

Slowly I make way toward the edge of building, carefully putting one paw in front of the other as I am unsure of who else might be lurking in the shadows.

I make it to the back of one of the building with ease; I carefully peak around the corner to find an empty alleyway. I speedily walk down it and look around the next corner. I see a younger fur huddled around a well made (but small) fire. Flames lick out of the top of the small metal trash can that contains it. Shadows dance eerily across the walls, as the light of the fire dims and brightens with the slightest change of the wind.

The fur and his fire are nestled in a square area, with the side that I am close to open, with exits to my left and right, the rest of the area closed off by a single building that looks to be like some kind of factory. With smoke stacks that reach high into the sky, but almost fade into the night with the sheer amount of soot buildup on their sides.

With such little light nearby, an uncountable number of stars twinkle in the night sky, making it seem like there is a soft nightlight somewhere up there.

Toward the back left corner lies a pile of cans and bottles, most looking quite old but other don't seem nearly as deteriorated.

"Well well well, seems like I got myself a visite' ove' 'ear! "

While I had been gawking at my surroundings, I failed to notice that the fur had spotted me. I try to think up something witty to say, but all that comes out is

"Umm, hi?"

"Come on ove', no need to be a strang'e!" He replies, his thick accent difficult for me to decipher

"Ah, ok..." I say, more than a little embarrassed at my current attire (or lack thereof).

"So what's ya name? Mines Quinton."

"I, err, can't remember my name. Or anything else for that matter, save for the last few days."

"Ah don't worry about' it, I'm sure it'll return in time." Quinton consoled.

"Thanks, its, actually kinda nice to hear that." I say, looking away and blushing, my tail wagging behind me.

****

Time flies by as Quinton and I continue to talk. The air becomes chilly, and the wind bites against my fully exposed fur.

I must be shivering, because Quinton gestures off to the side and holds out his paw. We abandon the dying fire and head over to the wall, he sits down first, and I follow closely behind. I don't notice it at first, but I unconsciously scoot closer to him and eventually put my head on his shoulder. I feel him tense for a moment, but relax soon after. I let his paw explore all of my body, gasping and squeaking when he spends extra time on certain places. I simply melt into him, feeling safe and warm for the very first time since I can remember. We sit like this for quite a long time; both of us slowly slip into sleep, cuddling together for warmth. The fact that we had just met never crossing our minds.

__________________________________________________________________

Chapter 05

_ _ Alone Again

The first rays of morning light breach the roofline and shine on my face, illuminating me in a warm golden glow, and rousing me softly from my slumber.

"Good morning Quinton, how'd you sleep?" I ask without even opening my eyes.

When after a few moments I don't hear an answer, I open my eyes to find myself alone with no signs of there even being anyone else here. The fire barrel that had adorned the center of the area has now disappeared.

I stand up and stretch my sore muscles, as well as pick a few specs of concrete out of my fur, noting that most of the cuts that I had before are now healed.

I try not to think about what happened last night as I leave that square block of concrete. Images of Quinton and everything that happened between us over the night flash through my mind as I turn the corner and walk past a sign, barely even registering the words;

"WARNING: area is under a quarantine enforced by the MDF, do not pass this point."

A few tears drop and run over my nose as I try again in vain to expel the memory of last night. In an attempt to occupy myself, I try and figure out a solution to my 'little' wardrobe problem. I search high and low through the streets of this city, but everything looks like it was either already picked clean by others that are still trying to live here, or were taken by the MDF when they evacuated everyone. Or so I assume, as I don't really have any idea what really happened.

An idea strikes me like a bucket of bricks, I am a mage, and I can conjure things, why not just conjure myself some clothes? I smirk and try to do the magic, but nothing happens. I try and think the clothing into existence, but I find that I can't get a clear picture in my head of what I want them to look like. Only when I really stop and focus am I able to actually work the spell right. At least, I hope it's right. I feel a warm tightness embrace my whole body; I look myself over, and am a bit surprised. Rather than the simple shirt and cargo pants that I had thought about, a matching set of black pants and shirt cover my body. The shirt feels to be almost silken in texture, and is amazingly comfortable. The pants also have a silken feel to them, but only on the inside, the outside feels rugged and rough, but seems strong.

I blush a bit as I begin to walk around, the silken insides of the pants rubs against my sheath, my pink tip peeks from its fuzzy home as I try and ignore it and keep walking, but I eventually resign myself to the fact that I will just have to live with bring constantly stimulated like this. Not that I really mind it that much, just that it could get a little annoying after a while to be half hard most of the time.

"Well, good to see that you finally figured out your clothing predicament, although I have to say that I am little disappointed that I can't stare at your cute ass anymore." The voice belongs to Spur, who appears about three meters in front of me, leaning casually on the side of one of the buildings.

I roll my eyes and sarcastically respond:

"Yea and you totally couldn't have helped me, after all, it just so much fun to run around a city completely naked with at least one government organization tracking me, just waiting for me to be vulnerable."

"Ya done yet?" Spur replies, a smirk threatening to show on his features.

"I guess. What do you want?" I reply, not the least bit thrilled that we are even having this conversation.

"Just thought I would pop in, you know, see how thing are going with you." Spur says.

"Fan-fucking-tastic, how about you?" If looks could kill, Spur would probably be dead right now.

"Oh not too bad, nice weather we're having, isn't it?"

"God damnit! Whatever you want to tell me just spit it out already!" I yell. No less than a few centemeters from the end of Spur's muzzle, the world starts to get dark, and the edges of my vision blur and fade in.

"That's the spirit! Hate me! I am being quite the bitch aren't I?" Spur laughs, taking a small step back but never breaking eye contact.

I sort of, snap. I lunge at Spur, putting all the force I can muster into a right hook aimed for his jaw. I want nothing more than to see him on the ground, crying. That smug grin wiped off of him for good.

But as my clenched paw is supposed to hit him, it simply goes right through, as if he isn't there at all. His mocking laughter makes me take another swing at him. This one however, puts me off balance, and I fall flat on my arm, crushing it into the hard ground with my own body weight.

"Did you honestly think that would work?" Spur looks down at me, still mocking me with his tone.

"I am a manifestation of a subset of your subconscious, I am not really here. If you want me gone, will it to be." Spur says simply.

I mentally try to push him away, to create a sort of barrier between us. But he still stands there, like a statue, waiting for me to succeed or fail. I seem to be doing mostly the latter.

"Is that really the best that you can do? That was pathetic." Spur taunts.

Again, I try to put a block between us, his image flickers for a moment, but that's all.

"Oh, I actually felt that. Try a little harder; you might actually make me work at it."

I concentrate completely on an imaginary brick wall between us, blocking out any distractions, the only thing I think of is building this wall and keeping it there. I close my eyes, and see the wall being formed; me standing on one side, and Spur on the other. Brick by brick I continue to build up the wall, and just after the barrier reaches above my head, I open my eyes. Spur is gone, and standing in his place is a very confused and worried looking Quinton.

"Hey, um, are you ok?" asks a quite concerned looking Quinton.

"I am actually, never felt better. Wait, did your voice change? I could have sworn when I met you last night you had a thick accent."

"My accent wasn't the thing that you were complaining was thick last night..."

Blushing, I know that he is just trying to dodge the question, but I let it slide for now.

"So, um, where have you been? I got kinda worried when I woke up and you were gone." I ask, still blushing like mad.

"Sorry about that, I got, ah, scared; so I ran off. It wasn't the best thing to do, but I can't exactly change the past." Quinton says apologetically.

"Don't worry about it; just try to let me know before you decide to run off again. I missed you." That last part flew out of my mouth before I could stop it.

Quinton grinned and opened his arms in a 'come here and hug me' gesture. I accepted with gusto, and jumped up to run into him, almost knocking him off his hind-paws. He wraps his arms around me, bringing me in closer to him, his hands slide up my sides slowly; I involuntarily let out a sigh of pleasure.

He and I eventually separate, both of us a bit awkward all of a sudden, not really having anything else to say, and no idea what to do. I see him look past me for a moment, his face turns a few shades whiter, and I ask what's wrong. Quinton responds by simply telling me to run, I take a quick look behind me, and lo and behold, several squads of MDF troops are closing in, they haven't quite spotted us yet though.

"Go, now, I will try and stall them." Quinton says coolly.

"Wait, what? Why!?" I implore, afraid of what the troops might do to him.

"No time to explain, just please go! I will be fine, I promise to meet up with you later."

Giving an exasperated grunt, I turn the other direction and begin to run, searching for a good place to hide, or at the very least, a good defensive location. I chance another look back and see Quinton's tail whip out of sight around a corner, the squads of troops following close behind.

From a few meters to my left, I hear a growl. Turning, I see one of the infected.

"Ah shit." I mumble to myself as the creature charges.

I doge the first clumsy attack from the wolves' claws, and parry the second by grabbing her right arm, I then twist the arm, continuing until a hear a sickening 'pop' as the arm is dislocated from its joint. The wolf sneers and makes another swipe, seemingly unaffected by what must be crippling amounts of pain.

I try a different tactic, and lash my leg out, trying to kick out the wolves' knees. She merely doges my slow attempts and pushes me over while I am still off balance from my last kick.

I land on the ground hard, and the wolf is quickly on top of me, drawing her paw back, claws glistening in the sun, about to maul me to death, when I see a flaw in her plan. Her own paw is backed up a ways, so I steel myself and punch her in the stomach as hard as I can. Apparently, I need to learn my own strength, as my paw goes right through the mostly soft tissue and comes out the other side. Her last meal, digestive juices, and blood drool down my arm in a frothy mixture as I watch the life drains from the wolves' eyes.

I yank my hand back in shock and shove the corpse off of me, doing my best to clean off the blood and other fluids before it dries into my fur.

****

By the time I have myself cleaned up; the sun has started its descent below the horizon. I decide to look around for useful items. I search high and low, checking the street as well as the building on the sides, but find nothing of notable interest.

As I am about to leave though, I spot a fur standing a good distance away. He wears a robe that looks like it's made out of the same material as mine. It's even the same color! The hood of the robe masks the fur's face, but I can tell that he is staring at me from the angle the opening of the hood is pointing.

We continue to stare for while, the only motion that I have seen so far, is the fur tilted its head up a bit, a pair of pinpoint, glowing red orbs seem to be where its eyes should be. Something seems oddly familiar about this figure.

"Didn't your mother ever teach you not to stare?!" I yell over to the creature, hoping for some reaction.

I got my wish, in a way. The fur turns quickly and steps away, never breaking posture, their pawsteps almost making an echo where there certainly shouldn't be. A bright flash of light forces me to cover my eyes for an instant, and when I look again the fur is gone. I soon hear the faint sound of laughing, but no one is near. I feel spooked by the odd happenings, and quickly take my leave.

__________________________________________________________________

Chapter 06

The Shadows Figure

I stand watching, my target, the fennec fox, is about twenty five meters away. So close, yet I still can't complete the assignment. Not yet anyway, wouldn't be very sporting. What with his little bout of amnesia and all that. Though he does seem to still be as strong as he was before, if not a little stronger. My employer was still very specific though, I have to wait for his memory to come back. Probably broke some rule, letting him see me. Oh good, he is just staring at me like an idiot, how nice. And now he is calling me out, hmm, decisions, decisions. To confront him would most likely break some clause or another. But I can't exactly stay here for much longer. Perhaps it would be best if I return at a later date. Yes, that seems reasonable.

I turn around and step into the shadows, warping them and teleporting myself a few hundred meters away. I accidently landing right next to one of the cursed. 'Must not have been paying attention' I think to myself. I dispatch it by warping behind it and snapping its neck, incinerating its body as it hits the ground. Why did I have to go and overreact like that? I could have just simply crushed its windpipe with a quick punch. No need to waste my energy like that. Now I need a lie down.

****

I feel an odd shift in the wind, the impulsive part of my mind writs it off immediately as just a part of having heightened senses, but the analytical part of me starts working. Thankfully, I work through it fast enough, and am able to dodge the sleeping dart. Good thing it hadn't been a bullet, those I can't doge.

I whip around to 'see' my assailant, he is far out of the sight of my eyes, but I detect his presence from the energy fluctuations their body makes as it moves. It funny, no one realizes it, but everyone body has an 'energy signature' sort of like a magical ID card, which can be track by those who know how, but only if you have been in contact with the person before. You can still detect their presence though, you just can't track them, something that I have been attempting to remedy, though no luck as of yet.

My assailant seems to be freaking out; it is wildly dashing about the room it's in. I should pay it a visit.

A quick warp later allows me the pleasure of seeing my attacker with my own eyes. A look of fear plagues the feline's features, as it should be.

"This is going to be a rather boring question. Who are you and who do you work for?" I ask, masking my voice, making it seem much deeper than it truly is.

"I'm not anyone important! And I don't work for anyone!" The feline replies, quite obviously fibbing in attempt to save its own fur. Bad decision.

"I know your lying, and I don't like liars." I tell him coldly, advancing on him slowly, delighting in its look of utter horror and despair.

"Oh god, please don't kill me!" it cries, falling back and flailing around on the ground as I near.

"I am not going to kill you. I am going to extract your bones while you beg me to stop. So get to begging."

"Please, I will do anything just don't hurt me." I doubt it has anything to offer me, but I am willing to play along for now.

"Really, now what could something like you give me."

"Anything! If you want information it's yours, if you money it's yours! Just please don't hurt me." It replies, its shrill cries beginning to grate at my already frayed nerves.

"You already lied once, why should I trust you now?" I inquire.

"You have to believe me! I'll do anything!" it wines again.

By now I am fed up with dealing with the wretched creature, and end its miserable life with a kick to the jaw. Breaking off the bone and sending its head reeling back; almost snapping its neck clean off.

I warp back to where I was before and continue my journey back to my hideout.

****

I turn away from the now dead and decaying wolf and walk out onto the street. My attention is pulled away by my stomach, who reminds me that I have not eaten for far too long. I look back at the wolf, shaking my head. 'There's no way I could do it.' I tell myself. But the prospect of actually getting a meal starts to win out. I wrack my brain for other options, but the only others that I could think of, are steal food, and find a dumpster. The second of the three ideas wins the debate, only due to the fact that it would be less gross. Though, I may have to weigh the other options a bit more if I can't find my way back.

I take a second to think back, trying to remember the exact path that I took to get here. Memories play out like scenes from a movie as I work back through time, until I find where I need to go. The image of the alleyway that I had darted into to escape from the police seems so real, almost like I am looking at it now.

A sudden rush of air shoves me off my hind-paws, and keeps me down for while the gale continues. When the wind clears, my jaw drops as my eyes open to find myself exactly where my mind's eye had envisioned me. I give myself a check over, and pinch myself, just to make sure I am not dreaming or anything of the sort. But I really am here. I have just transported myself at least a few hundred meters.

My legs feel like limp led bricks; the likelihood of me moving in the next few minutes plummets even further as I realize really the only thing I can move are my eyes, and arms; though I can only just barely move the latter of the two. I am able to stand after a time of just sitting there; thankfully no one came by to ask questions.

I immediately walk to the edge of the town, the grove of trees to my right, and the route I just came through ahead and to the right of me. My hind-paws are silent when I reach the other side of the buildings. Thankfully its night time, so no one is really up and about anyway. I continue down the street looking around at all the surrounding buildings. Eying each one, trying to find a balance of an easy entry, and the likelihood of finding a decent meal.

A specific one catches my interest, it a very short, dilapidated looking grocery store. Grey sheetrock covers the boring façade, with only darker grey window trimmings on the very lonely looking window near the top. It should be easy enough to scale, only looking to be about two or three stories high; should be enough room to maneuver without there being too many people inside.

The late night air grows cooler as I near one of the back entrances, only a simple padlock stands guard between me and food. I grin and grasp the lock, yanking it free from its housing, nearly taking the entire door with it. Cracks appear in the door as I swing it open, coming into what looks like a backroom storehouse. Unfortunately for me, it seems to be that most of the incoming products aren't sorted here, so I will have to find another room if I want to not spend a half hour of just opening crates of fruit and the like.

I see a doorway across the room and stroll to it, walking through to find not exactly what I was looking for, but close enough. Boxes, everywhere here are filled to the brim with all sorts of goodies, from poultry to potatoes, and from steak to any vegetable I can think of. Some of the food is dehydrated (mostly the meats) but off in a corner I see a pallet of five liter water jugs. I spend probably far more time than needed to gather the food I want, ending up with some chicken packets, a baggy of mashed potatoes, and a can of green beans. All of which seeming fit into my pants pockets with ease, 'Must be the whole magic thing that makes them bigger on the inside.' I say to myself. On my way out, I grab one of the containers of water, carrying it on my shoulder as I push open the abused back door.

An incredibly bright light shines in my eyes, blinding me. A gruff voice calls out curtly.

"Put your paws in air, one wrong move and you're a smear on the pavement."

The light now moves down to shine on my body, allowing me to see at least four uniformed police officers training their handguns on me, with a fifth slowly approaching me.

"Get on the ground, dirt bag!" the advancing cop yells.

I comply, muttering under my breath.

"You have got to be fucking kidding me."

Fin

For now anyway =^.^=