FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Rift (Part 3)

I crouched in a shadowed corner, looking across the lit street. In the distance, the lights of the hospital still shone. An Enforcer in the traditional black combat armor strode with brisk steps under the street lights to the hospital. He held a device I wasn't familiar with, but he was looking at it as he walked. I didn't care about any law in this world any longer, but I preferred to keep out of trouble for now.

I braced myself against the right hand wall of the alley, my heels raised and my muscles twitching in anticipation for my dash across to the other side of the street. My gun-arm was itchy. My heart leapt to my mouth when a voice sounded behind me.

"Eswin?" I whipped around, my gun in my hands, poised and ready. Justin and four other armed members of his gang had materialized there out of the darkness. Justin scoffed at me, or possibly my outfit.

"Justin?!" I nearly forgot to keep my voice down. "What are-"

"What are you doing on our streets again? I thought you had really learned your lesson this time..." He seemed to just notice the gun leveled to his head. "What's with the new gear? Must have cost you a fortune. Too bad you're too much of a fagot to pull a trigger. You wouldn't like prison, Eswin..." My grip stiffened on the handle.

"What do you want? I have my own business to attend to right now. I'm actually leaving the city of a while..." I wasn't sure how much I wanted to tell them. I just wanted to get away, but the Enforcer would hear if I shot him. Did it matter? Justin's eyebrows rose.

"You can't leave the city... They won't let you... how-"

"I have a way out, guaranteed. Just let me go, no one gets shot, and you can kiss me goodbye for good." Justin looked deep in thought for several seconds. I kept my gun trained on him, but his cronies did the same for me.

"I don't believe it!" Justin shouted. I winced. "You little liar. You cheat! You're bluffing me. If you've got a way out, then you'll take us with you." Justin looked back at his squad. "What do you say, boys? Want to see how much truth there is to this, and possibly get out of the city?"

"Yeah. Sure thing." They muttered in agreement. I dared not take my eyes off Justin to check to see if the Enforcer had heard us. Justin turned back to me.

"There you have it. Take us to your exit, Eswin. We'll even help with any resistance we encounter... Just know, if you're bluffing, I'll kill you. No second thoughts. Got it?" I gave him a nod. I didn't care at this point. I didn't have time to care. My mind was reeling from the possibilities. I turned back to the street, trusting Justin without my gun on him. The Enforcer had gone into the hospital. The blood rushed to my core and my limbs grew cold. I pointed with my gun in one hand up to the hospital.

"In the hospital first then. I have a contact waiting for me there. We will need his help." I took off across the street to the next dark corner. They all followed close behind. I felt silly leading Justin like this. There was another feeling that crept up on me as I took cover in the shadows once again. A suppressed a smile. I had dreamt of a chance like this for years. I just hoped I could pull it off.

"Why not walk in?" Justin said behind me. "You scared to be caught in that suit?" I gave him a nod.

"Don't worry. We'll take the front entrance. We'll be running though. Keep up with me." I pointed to a shadowed corner next to the stairs up to the entrance. "Let's take cover there, then dash for the door. Once inside, just stay with me." Justin grunted in agreement. I counted down from three and broke for the stairs, my leather boots hitting the ground in rapid pumps. Just before I hit the darkness, I tucked and rolled into it. My Tech-Blade made a soft scraping noise on the metal and asphalt. The rest followed soon after. I moved up to the edge of the stairs and held up three fingers. I counted down from three on them while the excitement rose in my chest. I was really going for it. It didn't even matter now that the anomaly was there for me.

With a last spasm of nervous energy, I closed the last finger into a fist and took off up the stairs for the glass doors. They opened for me and I sprinted at the lady at the counter. Her goggles where still on. I took a shot at her and hit her dead in the face. She screamed as the goggles buzzed with power against her skin, and fell behind her desk. I didn't slow down. I was headed for Rorick's room. I heard Justin yell for me from behind, but I didn't care about him anymore. I found the door to the stairs up, and wrenched it open. After throwing myself inside, I shut it again and took the stairs three at a time. I stopped on the landing of the second floor and aimed my gun down for the first door. Justin entered first.

"Eswin! Get back here!" I took three shots. Two hit: one in the brain, one in the back. His skull exploded and his nearly headless corpse collapsed on the stairs. I took exactly two seconds to enjoy the view before sprinting up to the third floor landing, a giddy laugh in my heart. I'd killed two people... Well, one. The lady at the front desk would likely live. It made me laugh so hard... I couldn't hold it in anymore. I stopped at the door to the third floor and leaned on the heavy metal handle, laughing. I heard the other four climbing the stairs after me, already morning their dead with rage. I pulled myself together with deep breaths, and reached up to my pack. My hand clasped around one of the two Blood-Smog grenades. I held it in front of my face and pulled the pin out with a satisfying click. The four members of Justin's gang rounded the second floor landing, shouting at me. I didn't even hear what they were saying, but the two in front backed away when they saw what I had in my hand.

"Back off, boys!" I muttered almost to myself as I gave the roughly cylindrical piece of metal a haphazard, underhanded toss. I didn't wait to see the after effects this time. I didn't want to cry blood out of my blind eyes for the rest of my life.

As I shut the third floor stairway door behind me, I heard their screams only vaguely, accompanied by the sound of their feet stampeding back down the stairs. It seemed at least two managed to escape the smog. I didn't care beyond that, so long as I was allowed enough time to exchange a few words with Rorick before I flung myself into the anomaly.

As my blank gaze once again focused down the hall, I noticed the door to Rorick's room was ajar. My mind flew back to the Enforcer on the street. I hadn't run into him on the stairway. I prayed that he had gone anywhere but here as I readied my gun and marched toward the opening. If there was anyone, and I meant anyone in that room besides Rorick, they were in my way, and deserve to die.

With hurried steps, crossed the distance and put my back to the wall beside the door. My heart leapt and an insatiable anger swept over me when I heard a voice from inside. It was a deep voice, and certainly not Rorick's. That was all I wanted to know.

"Why not in the bathroom, boy? You should know better than to hide things from the Enforcers. So I'm going to take a peak in if it's okay with you or not, understood civilian?" I whipped my body around the door-frame and leveled my gun on the first thing I saw. The Enforcer from outside had his hand on the handle of the bathroom door. Luckily for me, his ballistic mask visor was up. The round patch of the white skin of his face against the black of his armor was a perfect target. I filled it with two fist-sized holes that ruined his face beyond recognition. Rorick screamed and cringed away from the shots. The Enforcers brains and blood spilled out from his helmet. I was surprised he remained standing for a full second afterwards. But he did hit the tile floor with a clatter of metal, his shock baton rolling away from his limp hand.

I stood there, breathing heavily with the rush of death. Rorick straightened up from his position behind his bed and gave me a look like I had just killed someone.

"Eswin... You just..." His green eyes were wide. I lowered my gun with a trembling hand. I looked back briefly to close the door, then approached him.

"I had to, Rorick. Besides, he was barley a person. He sold his soul to the Council a long time ago. Don't pity him." I could see I wasn't making him feel any better. His right foot stepped back at my advance. His head shook from side to side.

"What have you done? What are you going to do now? How do you expect me to keep this a secret?! What was your plan?! Was it worth this?!" The barrage of questions was valid. I took a deep breath to calm my rushing blood.

"If everything works out the way I think it will... It will all be worth it. In fact, this would be a small price..." I walked back and put a hand on the bathroom door handle. "I don't expect you to understand now, but you will. I hope you will thank me for this someday very soon..." Rorick looked even more confused and distraught than ever I had seen him. This wasn't fair to him at all. I would take him with me in a heartbeat if his disease wasn't so bad.

"What are you doing...?" He said as I pulled the door open, letting the whine of the portal fill my ears. I looked back at him with sad eyes.

"I'm going through it... I can't stay here any longer, Rorick. Don't follow me. You know you will die without treatment." Rorick made his way as quickly as his equipment would allow over to me.

"No. You can't go through it, Eswin! You don't know what it does!" I put one arm around his waist.

"Don't be angry at me. You don't have to keep it a secret any longer. Tell the next person that comes in if you want. I just don't want you to get in trouble because of me." There were tears in both our eyes now. He gave me a nod, and I let out a sigh of relief.

"Alright...I'm going to trust you... But I can't keep it hidden any more. Not after this..." He gave the corpse another look.

"Then can I at least get a kiss goodbye?" I asked, giving his thigh a squeeze. He sighed and reached up to take my face in his hands.

"Fine." Our lips pressed together hard. I forced my head forward, and so did he, pushing and rubbing against each other as I licked his mouth. We both blew jets of warm air from our noses, sighing with emotion. I broke away suddenly, stepping into the bathroom. He shuddered from my sudden absence, and stared at me with pleading eyes.

"Goodbye." I whispered to him. "Stay well, and I'll come back someday." Rorick took a step forward, and I held the gun to his head.

"Eswin..." I kept the gun on him as I moved closer to the anomaly. I could feel its gravity pulling me now.

"Don't try to follow me. You know you'll die. Don't worry about anything. We'll both be fine... See you..." I spun on the spot and took a running jump for where the branch meets the trunk of the fir tree. I heard Rorick yell my name one more time.

The gravity slung me forward and I hit the trunk of the tree hard. I managed to catch myself on the branch and look back towards the portal. The disk of light was still there, and I could see the tiles of the bathroom though it's shimmer. Behind it was a night sky full of more stars than I had seen in my entire life. A part of the swath of light was obscured by higher branches than the one I hung from. I tore my eyes away from the spectacle above me to concentrate on holstering my gun so I could climb down properly. Now with two free hands, I found a foot hold on a lower branch. My nose was struck with how clean the air was. There was nothing but the forest breeze and the waft of pine pitch and drying leaves. I looked down to see how high I was above the ground. I was surprised to see that I was nowhere near the bottom of the great tree. The branches stopped only a few feet below me. I swallowed the rush of adrenaline that shot in my mouth and moved down to the next branch.

It was rather dark. Only the light of a large half-moon lit the forest floor below. Many crickets chirped in the undergrowth, making the night feel alive. I almost wanted to stop right here and listen for a while. I pressed downward; making sure each foothold was secure before continuing. My progress was eventually halted by an absence of stable branches. I put my boot on a dead limb, only to have it snap under my weight. My gloved hands clutched at their current branch to keep me from falling. With no more footholds, I was forced to wrap my arms around the tree, linking my hands together, and try to repel down the trunk. My toes scraped precariously on the rough bark. Sharp tingles went up my feet in anticipation of falling. I was past any usable branches. If I fell, there would be nothing to hang on to.

I risked a look upwards and saw the portal suspended against the stars. At least if Rorick couldn't keep it a secret, it would be hard for someone to follow me down this Godforsaken tree. I wondered if there was any way to chop this tree down so they would have to fall the whole way to follow. That would certainly deter most from attempting it.

I gasped as both my feet slipped off the bark. I tightened my hands on the trunk as my torso fell hard against it. My arms scraped down and caught a dead limb, slowing my decent. I hung there, the toes of my boots kicking at the trunk, trying in vain to find purchase. Without warning, my hands slipped as well. I felt the natural gravity of the planet take me down. It was like floating at first, but shortly after, it felt like I was being pulled down by a cord with many tons on the end of it.

Before I knew it, the ground hit me. The wind was knocked painfully out of my lungs, and a shot of pain went up my ankles. I didn't want to move. I just let the sensations fade, very slowly while listening to the crickets and the wind. I coughed several times, trying to regain my breath. Rolling over, I clutched my side with my eyes shut tight.

"Ohhh... Damn..." I said to myself, splaying out on the ground. A sudden smile crossed my face and humored a giggle. "I did it... I'm here..." I whispered into the clean air.

The undergrowth of large, exotic-looking plants shifted with a rustle of broad leaves. Something creaked softly like a bending of a branch. I suddenly realized I knew nothing about this world, what it was, what time it was, where it was, or even what physical laws applied beyond fairly normal gravity and the existence of fir trees.

My hand rested on the handle of my gun, but I didn't take it out just yet. I was caught in a primal state of fear, my eyes locked onto the shadowed cluster of plant life. My hair was spilling into my face, but I dared not brush it out of the way for fear that movement might provoke any beast that might lurk beyond the dark.

A snapping sound was followed by a thud directly next to my ear. The shaft of an arrow stuck from the moss. I rolled over and stood, reaching up to my pack and taking hold of a Flash-Bang. Whatever shot that arrow would not be able to aim with damaged retinas. I pulled its pin and lobed it, without looking, over my shoulder. The undergrowth crashed behind me and I was shocked to hear a voice speaking in an unearthly accent, and in my language.

"Stand! You won't be-" The male voice was cut off by the burst of the Flash-Bang. He seemed to growl like some sort of dog. I didn't look back. I jumped over a similar plant on the other side of this clearing and took cover, taking out my gun and knelling low.

"Erg... A sorcerer, eh? Your spell of blinding was well placed, but unnecessary! Please. I have no wish to harm you if you submit!" The voice said. I heard the creak of his bow once more. Was he bluffing? I couldn't see the clearing very well through the plant, but could make out movement in the dark.

My heart skipped a beat when I realized the thing was a foot from my position. He pounced through the plant and barreled into me with strong arms. I was knocked over and my gun was thrown out of my hands after it fired a shot.

"Stop your spells! Submit, and you won't be harmed!" The man was on top of me, pinning my arms down to either side. It felt like he was wearing a bit of leather as well as smooth fabric. He bent down closer to my face, brushing more of his body against me. He must have been wearing furs as well. I couldn't see his face in the dark, but he wore a hood. I stopped struggling. His breath and mine came in pants. He didn't seem to want me dead, or he would have done it already. Both his arms where being used to pin me down, unless he had another arm, which was a possibility given my limited knowledge. I wondered why he was leaning so close as his hood nearly filled my vision. I could feel his breath on my face as he spoke again.

"I can't see you clearly due to your blinding spell... But you look rather peculiar... Do you submit?" I took a second to gather my reeling thoughts before answering.

"Yes... I won't fight. Do what you will." He took one hand off my arm and touched my head with it. It felt odd, like he was wearing a lightly furred glove with leather on the underside.

"The fur on your head is so long... Never have I seen it's like before... From where do you hail, Sorcerer?" The pressure on my chest was lessened as he leaned back, taking his other hand off my arm.

"Erm... I..." The pressure was replaced as he leaned in closer than before. Both his hands rested on my chest. My eyes were getting used to the darkness, and I caught the outline of his face. He had yellow eyes and a large nose.

"Your blinding spell was effective... I can't see you very well but... I could swear you look like a..." Something cold and wet touched my cheek as he put his face right into mine. I dared not move. I wanted to learn more about him, and stay on his good side. The wet thing moved a little as he sniffed. I looked up into his eyes and froze. They were indeed yellow, surrounded by fur and flanking a thin canine snout.

He jerked up. I heard a blade being drawn. Soon after, cold metal was applied to my throat.

"You're a human?! From whence did you come!? Speak quickly!" He shook me with a firm grip on my left shoulder. "I don't need an excuse to kill you, so saying anything is in your best interest right now!" My mind spun. He knew about humans. He wasn't a human. He was some sort of canine creature. He was going to kill me if I didn't say something. He might kill me even if I did. He asked me where I came from. I supposed I could simply tell the truth. He assumed I was a Sorcerer before. Perhaps my story won't be so implausible to him.

"I'm... Yes, I'm a human... I came into this dimension through some sort of anomaly. I don't know why it appeared or how it works exactly, but it connects my world and yours... I really don't know much else, I swear... I just got here only a few moments ago. I've done no harm. I don't intend to. I'll do anything you ask..." I let myself trail off, hoping I said something to make him think twice about killing me. There was a pause, the metal still pressing into my throat.

"I..." The pressure was relieved and he leaned back again. "I'm going to hold you to that... I'm going to trust that not all of your species is the same. Don't disappoint me... I admit I'm curious about your world. I'm sure we can learn from each other." He took me by one arm and stood. "Get up. We're moving." He pulled me up and I stood.

"Umm... I dropped something when you knocked me over..." I turned and knelt down, running my hands along the leaves and moss.

"Do you need it? What is it?" The thing asked me. My hand touched the heavy metal of my gun and I picked it up.

"Oh, it's just a... device of mine." I holstered it and turned back to look at him. He was silhouetted against the moonlight. His hood flowed down into a cloak, his hands on his hips. He had a thin, humanoid build. It looked like he wore bracers or gauntlets of some kind. A bow and quiver was slung over his shoulders.

"Very well. Got it now?" I took a step towards him.

"Yes."

"Then follow me. We have a ways to travel, and I haven't decided exactly what to do with you. Stay close and keep up." His silhouette moved back into the clearing. I followed close behind, catching a flash of a tail behind him. It was large and fluffy, swishing back and forth as he walked briskly across the moss. I my mind couldn't help but fly back to the novels I had read about the animal people as I struggled to keep up with his pace. I found myself wishing the darkness to lift so I could get a better look at...

"I can hardly wait for the sun to rise so I can get a better look at you..." He said over his shoulder, brushing away more large plants. "We haven't seen a human since before the House-Wars. That was before my time, but my grandfather told me stories about how the great destroyer played the houses against each other for his own gain. He dominated any battlefield with his magic weapons from his home world..." I listened with rapt attention. I soaked up every scrap of knowege I could. I wanted to know more.

"I still find it difficult to trust you..." He went on. "But I'm prepared to give your race another chance. You don't seem to be like the mad lunatic that conquered our land... What is your name?" I was struck dumb. I didn't want to hear myself talk. I wanted to listen to his voice.

"My... Name is Eswin... Eswin Ritter." I stammered, stepping over a large root.

"That is not even similar to the name of the destroyer... This is good... I am Prince Rilen Estovar of house Estovar... You must have a lot to learn of our world, am I of yours. We can rest at sunrise. Then, we can talk in depth. We learned little but hate from your predecessor I'm afraid. Don't think all of us will be as kind as I am being now. You are not welcome here. I'm going to try and help you, but we must learn of each other first. Is this agreed?" I was in absolute awe. My blood pounded. This was about the best thing I could have hoped for.

"Yes. I'd like that very much." He gave a chuckle.

"You're so polite... I'm looking forward to a long conversation with you, Eswin Ritter." I could no longer stand to speak. I followed faithfully in the tree dappled light of the setting moon. Once or twice, Rilen stopped and listened to the woods, but continued on afterwards.

I only saw his back during the entire time we walked through the densely packed plant life. The light was growing behind us. I could make out the color of his fur. His tail was a dark orange with a black tip. It resembled pictures I'd seen of Foxes.

Soon we came upon another clearing. Rilen sat cross-legged in the moss and laid his bow beside him. I walked around him and sat opposite him. After situating myself on the rough forest floor, I looked up to his face again. Under the hood was a vaguely humanoid shaped Foxes head. His ears flat under the fabric. His fur was a pure dark orange without a single marking save for a white patch starting under his chin. This moved down his neck into the collar of his shirt. His shirt was held tight to his body with a leather jerkin, making his toned, yet slender physique noticeable.

Both our eyes lit to see each other's forms clearly for the first time. We looked each other up and down several times before he spoke.

"I have been taught to hate humans but... I'll admit I always thought of them as a mythological creature more than a demon... What is your experience?" I blinked in surprise.

"Ah... We have books... Fantasy books about humanoid animals... You resemble them..." Rilen laughed.

"This word you use... Humanoid... Quite a selfish term don't you find? Why should I not call you a Foxoid?" I smiled, but was more interested than ever to get more information. I found my heart was pounding.

"Ha. So you call yourselves Foxes?" Rilen nodded.

"We do... So we are... Animals in your world? Do you have Foxes there too? We have no humans here." I played with a piece of moss in my hands out of nervousness.

"We have small creatures that walk on four legs... Other than that, they are almost the same as you. That's why we call you humanoids... Because you're an animal that has human features..." Rilen tilted his head in thought.

"I... Never thought of it that way... That's funny!" He laughed again, this time louder. I joined him, although he seemed to actually think it was funny. I just laughed because he did. His voice didn't carry far in the damp of the morning mist and dew. In fact, it would have been a rather lonely scene if not for him, rocking back and throwing his muzzle to the sky. After a few seconds, he calmed himself and continued.

"I imagine then, since your only experience with us has been as characters in fantasy, that this must be sublime for you... It is for me as well, except in a different way... I feel almost like I'm playing a game with death to even speak to you... I'm quickly learning that you are not a threat however... If I may, how did you cast that blinding spell? If you were a destroyer, would you not have used the Everfire spell? Or perhaps a Piercing Wand?" His eyes darted to the gun on my hip and his mouth dropped open. I moved my hands away from it, holding them up defensively.

"I can explain." I said, trying to calm him.

"Th... That's it... It's a Piercing Wand...You seemed like such a nice fellow... Why have you brought magic weapons to our world yet again?" He got up to one knee, his hand on a dagger at his belt.

"Really..." I said, feeling sorry for him more than anything else. "Is our trust so easily thrown away? I didn't know the anomaly would even take me anywhere, let alone a wonderful place like this." Rilen's paw shifted away from the dagger as his body language calmed. "I brought weapons because I didn't know what I would be dealing with. Would you not do the same?" His eyes went off to one side.

"I suppose but... To bring such powerful ones... I would never risk it..."

"These are normal weapons in my world. In fact, we have much better ones." He pointed at me.

"So... You are in favor of a light display of force then? Is that why you have that sword on your back?" I had forgotten about my Tech-Blade.

"Yes... Although, this sword does a little more than just act as a sharp piece of metal... you could call it enchanted, but there is no real magic in it or my "Piercing Wand" as you say. They are products of science." Rilen settled back down into his cross-legged position.

"Curious... I will forgive your armed state. I would ask that you hand me your Wand however. You may keep your sword." His paw extended towards me. After a moment's hesitation, I unclipped my gun and put it in his paw.

"There... I don't need it now that you're guiding me. I hope you come to trust me in time." He gave a curt nod.

"Thank you." He put the gun in a small pack under his cloak. "Now that that is taken care of, we can relax." He closed his eyes and took a deep breath through his nose and let it out though his mouth. He repeated this several times without a word.

"Umm..." I interjected. His eyes popped open.

"Yes?"

"Are you meditating? How long are you going to do that?" He gave me a look of slight disbelief.

"You don't meditate? I thought with your magic weaponry, you must have to channel your magic sometime... It can build up and cause you pain if you don't... Does it not? Do humans just build their magic up limitlessly? That would make sense considering your power..." I gasped.

"You don't mean...? You're channeling magic energy? Through meditation?" He nodded.

"Indeed. I'm a novice user... Never really caught on to the advanced techniques, but since I have some power, I must keep it in check, and harmonize it with my body." He gave me another distrustful or disgusted look. "You have so much magic that you can command it at a whim, and the capacity to let it fill you without destroying yourself? No wonder it only took one of you to conquer us..."

I was absolutely blown away by the prospect. I was going to learn all I could. I would do anything in my power to gain the trust of these people. I found I was quickly forgetting the human world. It didn't matter anymore. I let it slip my mind for the time being. It could wait. I could live here for three or four lifetimes without ever wondering what was going on back home. I started laughing a similar laugh to the one that escaped me on the hospital stairs. Rilen narrowed his eyes.

"Is something wrong?" I stopped.

"No... Everything's wonderful..."