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_My name is Auren Drakeson. _

_A week ago, my friends and I were attending college on the island of Seascape. Life was normal; go to class, hand out around the island, return to our dorm for the night. At first, our parents were skeptical about all of us applying for this high-end college on the man-made island just off of California's coast, but we couldn't pass up the opportunity. The world was changing rapidly as we entered the 21st century, which meant if we wanted a place in this new world, we needed the best we could get. That's what Seascape was; the newest and best. _

Built on a large man-made island, Seascape became home to some of the rising stars of the new century. Biotechnology corporations, modern civilian tech, and even a military base where some of the newest hardware was being tested and issued. The people who decided to live here wanted to be at the forefront of the new world as we came into it. That was why the nanite injections happened.

_According to BioTech (yeah....original name, right?), these state-of-the-art nanotech were the pinnacle of modern medicine. Supposedly, they bolstered the natural immune system more than twice its normal potency, as well as granting the subject a longer lifespan due to increased bodily functions such as metabolism, nerve pathway maintenance, and a bunch of other medical jargon. The vote was held for every citizen on Seascape, with only 4% against injections. So, a little over a month ago, the entire population was given their dosage. _

I have to admit, they seemed to work as advertised. Never before have I felt so....good. My energy level increased, and I felt great every day. I even managed to pack on ten pounds of muscle in three weeks thanks to this new drive.

But, like all good things...it has its dark sides. And this one was a doozy.

One day, the world just turned upside down. No warning. No explanation. One minute we're in biology class, the next, its like a scene out of a bad horror movie. Creatures left and right. People screaming. Chaos. Terror. Those of us that survived the first few days wondered how we managed to do so. But it wasn't luck, for now, we had to try and continue to survive in the new world that had been created.

We called it.....E-Day.

-May 16th. (E-Day+7)

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There was a sharp hiss, followed by the groan of metal as the heavy bunker door slid open ever so slowly. A pair of eyes peered out from the small seam of the door, looking around the area for any indications of movement. After a few moments, the door swung open even more and revealed the bunker's inhabitants.

Auren and his friends looked around warily at the small basement cellar where the bunker was. The door leading to the stairs leaned against the wall, half off its hinges, a large crack in its surface. Whatever made the door nearly break from its mounts was probably the same thing that carved the gouges int the cement floor....gouges that looked like claw marks.

At the head of the group was Auren, a medium build young man with dirty blonde hair. His electric blue eyes scanned the stairs leading up and out, almost expecting something to come tearing down at them. With his jeans, jean jacket and simple t-shirt, he looked like your average 20-year old college student. 5' 11' and built like an athlete, he was neither lanky or overly muscular, a fact he took pride in. Gently kicking away some fallen pipe with his hiking boot, he turned back to the bunker. "Nate? We got everything?"

Rising from his crouched position near the bunker's door, the second figure that was Nate finished zipping up the last duffel bag. "Hope so. I highly doubt we'll get the chance to come back for anything else." At 6' 1", Nathaniel 'Nate' Weese looked nothing like the Native Americans he claimed to be descended from. His skin was as white as Auren's - a full-blooded Californian - and was slightly less muscular than his friend. His dark hair and serious brown eyes gave him the look of someone always examining that which he was looking at, which he usually was. He handed a laden duffel bag to each of his friends, their contents being all they could salvage from the small bunker.

Taking one of the proffered bags, another boy gave a sly smirk. "You didn't stick me with all the heavy stuff, didja?" Riku joked, shouldering the military-style duffel. The same height as Nate, Riku was always first to crack a joke to lighten any situation. Despite not being involved in any sports, he was still fairly well toned, matching Nate for his build. His blond-streaked brown hair was evidence of his playfully personality, as was his loudly decorated t-shirt advertising some anime manga he was into.

"I still don't know how you can be so cheery," the last member of their little group grumbled. "Willingly going into the fire when the frying pan was nice and safe." At 5' 9", Brandon may have been the shortest and least muscular of the group, but his was the voice they all listened to when it came down to the logic end of things. Almost always found with his nose in a book of some kind, Brandon often wondered how he managed to befriend a trio of outgoing, active guys like he had. Auren had been his best friend ever since they were little, even though people questioned how they could have bonded. Auren liked sports, Brandon preferred reading. Brandon loved to stay home and play video games, while Auren was most often out exploring whatever he could find. They say friendship works in mysterious ways....so you could say those two were living proof.

"Oh, come on, B," Auren sighed. "We've been over this. If a rescue was coming, we would have heard something by now." The denim-clad youth folded his arms over his chest, making the bag slug across his back sway gently. "That military radio has been dead since day one. Supplies are dwindling, and if we don't find out what the hell is going on, we're gonna probably die in that little box. It's time we took our chances and tried to get out of here."

Putting a comforting hand on his shoulder, Nate tried to offer Brandon and encouraging smile. "As long as we stick together, things will work out. Isn't that what we always say?" Brandon sighed and said nothing, but shouldered his pack along with everyone else. With Auren taking the lead, the four of them crept up the stairs from the basement to emerge once again in the familiar halls of the Seascape College.

The place looked nothing like it had been before E-Day. Doors were laying on the floor, windows were smashed, and great gouges ran across the walls and floor alike. The smell that hit their noses make each of them cringe. It was like the guys locker room in the gym, only about five times more potent. Glancing down as they moved along the hall, Auren grimaced at a large puddle of fluid as they passed, the smell being something he was all to familiar with. Riku stopped as they passed it, bending down as if he were studying it. "What do you guys think? Wolf? Bear? Had to be something with big balls..."

"Yeah, why don't you taste it and tell us," Nate snorted, rolling his eyes. Riku simply flashed him his trademark grin and rejoined them as they moved through the halls. It was no secret that Riku was happily bi, having hooked up with a few male classmates already this year, as well as nonchalantly flirting with his friends. It had no bearing on their friendship, seeing as how Auren and the others had grown accustomed to Riku's flirty and playful demeanor. He claimed he had even almost convinced Auren and Nate to give the guy-side a whirl, despite their arguments to the contrary.

Auren froze and held up his hand as a skittering noise reached his ears, and immediately, all four of them flattened against the wall. The sound got closer and closer, until a few dozen yards down the hall, a furry figure emerged from a side corridor. It looked almost like a squirrel, except it was the size of a person, and clearly humanoid in shape. The large, bushy tail twitched excitedly as the creature sniffed around the pile of clothes and such it had found, looking for food. Then, going rigid, it sat up and looked straight down the hall at the four boys frozen against the wall there. Brandon let out a small breath that sounded like a groan, but other than that, it was deadly silent as they waited for something to happen. Auren's hand slowly slid to his belt, reaching for something, when another figure raced out of a room ahead, roaring and making them jump.

What looked like a large feline-type humanoid shot after the squirrel creature, chasing the smaller rodent down the hall and off into the distance around a corner. The four boys waited for a few heartbeats, before letting out their collective breaths and resuming their slow pace down the hall. "That was close," Nate muttered, stepping around another large puddle of slimy white gunk.

"Eyes and ears peeled," Auren grunted. "That will hardly be the only one we see." Internally, he winced at how authoritative he sounded, blaming his father for his behavoir. Being the son of a decorated Marine - the youngest Drakeson in a long line of a proud military family - Auren often found himself leading his little group of friends without meaning to. He didn't want to make it sound like he was taking charge of the situation by acting like a leader, but things just happened that way. Still, given the circumstances, he was starting to feel more and more grateful for all the things his father put him through growing up.

Making their way to the main hall, the group saw what remained of their campus. Discarded belongings lay everywhere, usually accompanied by various puddles and other signs of the invasion by the numerous creatures that attacked the campus. The looks of despair or revulsion crossed each of their faces as they came across pieces of clothing they recognized, once belonging to someone they had known. "Hey," Nate called out, stopping. "Auren.....wasn't this Reston's?" The group turned to look at their friend, who was holding up what was left of a tattered lab coat. A small dragon pin was still attached to the pocket, the same one their professor had always worn.

Auren knelt down by the remains of the coat, and pulled the little pin off, remorse clear on his face. The four boys held a small moment of silence for their favorite professor, and Auren attached the little pin to his shirt, as a memento. Just then, all four of their heads shot up as noises reached their ears, the sounds coming from further down the hall. Keeping quiet, Nate motioned for them to quietly sneak towards the main door that lead out onto the campus proper. With slow, careful steps, the four boys inched towards the door, their eyes peeled down the hallway for what may come.

With a loud bang, one of the few remaining upright doors slammed open, and another of the felinoid creatures sauntered into the hall. Right away, its acute sensed locked onto the four figures near the entrance, and it snarled, flashing its pearly white fangs. For a moment, no one moved, each party waiting to see what the other would do. Then, with a loud yowl, the felinoid charged.

"MOVE!" Auren shouted, and all four of them bolted for the door. Not two steps were taken before Riku yelped and pitched forward into the floor. Nate and Brandon kept going through the door as Auren whirled around to help his friend. Riku had slipped on, and fallen partially into one of the various puddles that lined the halls. Picking himself up, the boy felt himself tugged back to his feet by his friend as Auren unceremoniously dragged him through the front door. As soon as their feet were through, Brandon and Nate pushed the heavy main doors shut once again, the charging felinoid mere yards away. The shorter youth stooped and grabbed a heavy piece of scaffolding that had fallen, and wedged it up against the door. With a thud, the creature on their heels hit the large door, yowling and clawing at it trying to get to its intended prey.

Thankfully, the door and the scaffolding held, and the four boys were able to breathe a small breath of relief. Riku was hastily trying to wipe himself clean of the fluid he had fallen into, giving Auren a grateful smile. The blonde-haired boy simply stooped to catch his breath, before straightening back up with a growl. "Okay, we need to get off this damn campus."

"What about the Library?" Brandon asked, pointing down the road back towards the main part of the city. "Its not too far, and kinda off by itself. Right on the edge of the residential district before it opens up into downtown. We might be able to hole up there for a while."

"Not a bad idea....was a pretty sturdy building," Nate agreed. "Plus, it has a basement too. Might be a little more secure."

"Alright...Library it is," Auren nodded, and the four of them made their way up the campus drive towards the road, keeping an eye out for any more hungry predators.

---

Grunting and heaving, Auren and Nate finally managed to push the heavy metal bookshelf into position, its frame creaking as it rested against the window. The two boys bumped fists, before accepting the proffered water canteen from Brandon.

They had made it to the Library several hours ago, and caught their first break in a while. Not only was the building empty and devoid of any intruders, but as Auren walked around, his father's military influence started speaking to him, telling him this was a very defensible position. It wasn't an overly large Library, which meant it would be easier to seal up. The large, heavy oak doors of the Library were still intact, despite the evidence of claw marks on the outside, showing that the big doors would probably hold up for some time. With its heavy oak bar across the back, it made for a very secure entrance.

The windows were still mainly intact, placed higher up on the walls to give the patrons better quality of natural light. To the boys, this meant it would be highly unlikely that something on the ground would be able to get through something twelve feet off the ground. With the heavy bookshelves leaned against some fallen sheets of metal, the impromptu barricades would hold up nicely, while still providing light in through the topmost two feet of glass.

The biggest problem though, was Riku. After an hour or so of walking, he had started to complain of a slight headache, and an upset stomach. Auren guessed that he might have hit his head when he fell back at the College, but as time went on, their friend only started to look worse. His skin became pale and clammy, and his headache only turned into a full-body ache. Nate had given him some meds from one of the medkits they had scavenged from the College bunker, and had told him to lie down in the back while they worked.

Now that the building was as secure as they could make it, the three remaining boys set about clearing the floor of any remaining debris or furniture, either adding it to the window barricades or piling it at the other entrances. They had managed to designate themselves a few areas with which to settle into, including a bunk area in the basement where the had found some cots, no doubt left over from the Cub Scouts or something. The basement wasn't anything special, but it was large and comfortable enough to use as the 'living space', while the main floor of the Library above could be used for other things when the time came. They had put it to a vote, with all four of them agreeing to use this as their main camp. They would still go out and scavenge for supplies and whatnot in the city, but for now, the Library would be home.

The sun had started to sink towards the horizon an hour ago, and now, the beginnings of night were upon the island. Shutting the metal door to the basement, Auren locked it and retreated down to their bunk area. Brandon and Nate were sorting out their supplies again, and making a 'wish list' of what they would need when they went out scavenging. Auren crept over to Riku's bunk, wanting to check in on his friend. After seeing the effects plaguing him after falling into the puddle, Auren had started to worry.

"Riku," he whispered, leaning over the form covered by the blanket. "Hey, Riku. How are you feeling?" A small, growl-like noise came from the prone form, and Auren wrinkled his brow. That doesn't sound right.. he thought to himself, and reached up to gently pull back the blankets near Riku's head.

Auren's breath caught in his chest, and his throat tightened up, unable to even gasp in shock as he saw what was beneath the blankets. Instead of the blonde-streaked hair he was used to, he saw a furry head covered in rich orange fur, complete with two pointed ears atop it. "R-Riku?" he stammered, as the form stirred and rolled over.

The fox-morph beneath the blankets blinked groggily. When it saw who was looking over it, its eyes snapped into sharp focus, and its muzzle parted in a toothy grin.

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Hmm...guess that wasn't a random puddle he fell into :p

Question is, will he be a nice foxy? Or are their troubles just beginning?

Find out next time!