FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

CH 8

Plans and Rescues

"Think it will go 'way?" the snow leopard asked as he peeked over the ridge edge at the chimera wandering about the meadow.

"Not likely, chimeras were created for hunt and kill missions. They were basically brainwashed in their infant state by watching a continuous loop of how to kill something" Sylvia said looking over the side with Steven.

"So what you are saying is we are stuck here until that gräuel leaves" Marcus said looking through the binoculars on night vision.

Desert team had been stuck up in the cave since the Chimera had entered the area. It had been at least four hours, and in that time they had taken inventory of all their gear, provisions, and ammo from their own supply and the late Jungle team's. Aeddan traded out his M1895 for the M21 with 3-9x zoom scope mounted on it. It was a rather nice rifle, a little scratched up from its previous owners abuse, but nothing seemed to be wrong with it as far as Aeddan could tell. Miia took bow, believing she couldn't do much damage with it. Jamie took the 1895 gladly, stating that she 'had one like it back home'. That unfortunately meant that now Johnny had a weapon, all the worse it was a machete.

The team had wondered if it was such a good idea to let Johnny carry anything as dangerous as a knife. Aeddan however surprised the team by going through the weapons and handing the machete to him personally. So far Johnny hadn't tried anything, and the team wasn't exactly willing to find out if he would suddenly snap on them and attack. Aeddan didn't seem to look worried though, he just kept tapping away on the IWMD; he was determined to figure out how the eyepiece worked and what it was. So for now Marcus had taken command of the team until Aeddan was ready lead again. So far Marcus had made it a point to keep everything organized and in that process he had found a pair of high tech binoculars with both a heat and night vision setting in addition to the normal binocular part.

"Yeesh, that is one ugly looking beast. All scales, claws, and teeth" Marcus said as he scanned the chimera.

Marcus still doesn't know if the chimera heard him or not but the chimera turned to look right at him. It snarled at him through the binoculars once. Gave the inside perimeter one more walk around before it left through the giant hole in the wall. It was unsettling to Marcus to say the least. To just suddenly have a giant beast of death stare at your hiding spot and snarl at you as if to say: 'I see you too ass hole'.

"So next time, let's not insult the giant hunter slash killing machine with obvious super hearing ok?" the snow leopard said haughtily with a grumpy face.

"Not to speak against a commanding officer, but he's right. They were genetically engineered to be able to hunt prey in a number of ways, including using scent and their hearing to discern where the prey is" Sylvia hissed in agreement with the snow leopard.

"You sure seem to know quite a lot about chimeras. Who did you say you were?" Marcus asked his curiosity growing.

"I...would rather keep that to myself" Sylvia said uneasily as she shifted from foot to foot.

"Really? Well I think I would have to disagree with you on that" Marcus said cracking the knuckles in his claws and popping his thick, muscular neck.

"And I would have to disagree with you then Marcus" Aeddan said suddenly appearing behind Marcus like a ghost. Miia was behind Aeddan, paws planted on swayed hips.

"But everyone else has told us their names. Why should she have special treatment?" Marcus said turning towards Aeddan.

"Because everyone deserves their privacy and to keep certain parts of their past to themselves. No matter how terrible it is" Aeddan said getting up close and personal in Marcus's face.

For a few minutes, the two of them stood there. It was the same situation Aeddan had been in with Johnny. Only now it was with Marcus and Aeddan had such a serious frown he looked like he was trying to drill a hole in Marcus. The two of them stared at each other for a good five minutes before Marcus cracked a smile and laughed.

"Ha ha ha ha ha ha, I can't do it, staring you down is too hard if you make that face" Marcus said putting Aeddan in a friendly head lock and giving him a noogy.

"Ok ok, enough. I do understand the whole trust thing though. Just don't push the issue so much" Aeddan said extracting himself from Marcus's arm with a chuckle of his own.

"But in all seriousness, it's hard to trust someone when they won't tell you everything and how they know certain things" Marcus said pointedly looking in Sylvia's direction.

"Well I am sure if Sylvia wants to say why she will. We shouldn't make her tell us anything, otherwise we are no better than the people who put us in here" Aeddan said putting the eye piece back on.

"Hmmm, I see your point. Did you figure that out yet?" Marcus asked, nodding at the eye piece Aeddan was now wearing.

"Oh, I figured out how it works about an hour ago. I just didn't say anything because I didn't want to alert the chimera to our presence up here. But you seemed to not have a problem doing that yourself huh Marcus?" Aeddan said poking some fun at Marcus's expense.

"Yeah yeah, so how does it work?" Marcus said trying to change the subject.

"Well, turns out you need the IWMD to get it to work in the first place. The hard part was figuring out how to connect the HUD to the IWMD. After that the rest is easy because you can set the HUD to voice command or IWMD command" Aeddan explained as he tapped on the IWMD.

"Ok, but how did you figure out how to get past the name and rank thing?" Marcus asked waving his claws together in a circular motion like he was saying 'and?'.

"Well, turns out I'm a captain now. Otherwise I wouldn't have be able to turn this on" Aeddan replied giving the HUD a tap with one of his nails.

"Oh hoho, does this mean we all have to start calling you Captain Aeddan now?" Marcus asked in a sarcastic tone.

"If you want to. But you should know that any more technology we find will need to be activated by me now that the IWMD believes me to be a captain" Aeddan said sarcastically right back with a smile.

"You are making it really hard to stay serious here" Marcus said trying and failing to hide a smile.

"That's the point, everyone has been so serious and depressed since we were dumped here. It's not good if we stay like this. That's how problems with trust and anger management starts...at least that's what I read in a book called What Every Body is Saying" Aeddan said walking over to the edge of the ridge.

"You like to read books don't you" Marcus said coming to stand behind Aeddan.

"There wasn't much for me to do where I come from. I had no friends, no family, I was smarter than the teachers in school so I spent my time in the library working my way through the school's entire collection. After that I got special permission to not go to school except for once a week and spent the rest of the week at the public archives. I was grabbed on the one day I had to go to school" Aeddan said tapping the IWMD a couple times.

"That must have been a bad day for you then. And now you have to deal us and this whole crazy survivalist situation" Marcus said putting a claw on Aeddan's shoulder.

"Well, going to school is something that almost every kid our age loathes to do, I hated school. Everyone wants to be your friend, as long as you gave something in return for that friendship. In my case it was answers to the homework or test. Once I stopped giving them that they stopped being my friends. After that, school day became locker day because I was stuffed in one whenever I showed up to school" Aeddan explained patting Marcus's claw briefly before going back to tapping away on the IWMD.

"So...what are you working on anyways?" Marcus asked as he peered over Aeddan's shoulder and what looked like a series of numbers and words.

"I'm compiling a list of all our supplies and gear on this so we have a more accurate way of keeping track of it all" Aeddan replied, tapping in some more information.

"What else can that thing do? Bend time? Spy on someone from a long distance? Or can it magically unlock any door?" Marcus asked sarcastically.

"No, yes but at a shorter distance, and yes if it's an electronic lock. It came with a couple training programs on it already" Aeddan answered back totally serious.

"Well, we should start drawing straws to see who has guard duty" Marcus said starting to head back in to the cave.

"Not necessary, I have a couple things I need to work on for a bit longer so I'll take first watch" Aeddan volunteered, about to sit down at the cave mouth. He would have done so if it weren't for the sudden feeling of being hoisted up by the collar of his shirt.

"Nope, you took watch duty the last two times. You are not taking watch tonight, I am. You need your rest if you are going to lead us and be a captain" Marcus said walking Aeddan to a dry corner of the cave and setting him down.

"But I have things I need to do. Inventory to check, gun maintenance, tech diagnostics, I can't sleep right now" Aeddan protested.

"Hey, it's your down time. Do what you want, but you took watch when we were sleeping earlier today, you were on watch in the desert and the only time you had any real rest was when you were passed out. Let's not have a repeat of that ok?" Marcus said crossing his big, muscular and scaled arms.

"Fine, but we really need a different way of figuring out who has watch in what order and what time" Aeddan said before he sat down, legs stretched out in front him spread eagle, and went back to working on his list.

It wasn't long until Aeddan finished the inventory list and he had moved on to something else. Only problem was, he didn't have anything to do next. He had already done gun maintenance, he had run a diagnostic scan with the HUD eye piece on all the tech they had found, the inventory list was the last thing he had to do. Now there was nothing left for him to do.

"Maybe I should take a rest like Marcus said I should. I wouldn't want to have another day or night like I did in the desert, especially with that chimera wandering about...then again I should probably go check on the watch" Aeddan thought to himself as he stood up, brushed himself off and quietly made his way to the cave entrance.

"Oh no, you go back to resting. As your physician and counselor I cannot allow you to be here right now. Miia, please escort the captain back to his spot and make sure stays there" Jamie said blocking Aeddan's path.

"Y-yes, ok, r-right away" Miia stuttered as she pulled Aeddan back to a dry spot where she sat.

"You know, for a lioness, you don't exactly seem very sure of yourself" Aeddan said sitting back down next to her.

"We-well, it doesn't help that you are my su-superior now. Not to mention what happened last time we were together was really embarrassing for me, since it was my first time kissing a canine. And so I jus-mph" Miia didn't get to finish what she was saying because Aeddan didn't let her.

Aeddan had leaned over and kissed her. Hard, with tongue. The kiss lasted almost a minute before Aeddan released her. It left Miia looking confused, dazed, and wanting more. Aeddan barely had a second for a breath before Miia kissed him back. Their tongues, one rough and one smooth, touched and mixed each other's saliva with one another. Soon Miia was on top of Aeddan and removing his jacket, his shirt came next after that.

"Well now that's not very fair" Aeddan said removing Miia's shirt to reveal a simple white bra, about the size of a "C" cup, with a little yellow bow on the strip between the cups.

Miia removed this herself, her rather perky breasts jiggling and bouncing with every movement she made. Miia pressed herself against Aeddan, locking lips with him once again. Aeddan unsure of what to do next, hesitantly grabbed Miia's left breast and gave it a gentle squeeze.

"Ah!" Miia exclaimed as she pulled back from Aeddan and crossed her arms across her breasts.

"Miia, I'm sorry, I don't... I didn't mean to...I...sorry" Aeddan said looking away embarrassed as he sat up trying to apologize.

"No, it's not just you, it's me. This would be the first time I was realy intimate with a male. Let alone a male that is considered taboo by my people" Miia explained.

"You know, we don't have to go fast. We can just sleep together" Aeddan said simply.

This made Miia blush. So much so that you could see the redness spread from her face down to her neck. Then down her body, clear down to the claws on her paws and her toes.

"Wha-wha-wha-wha...Wha?" was all Miia could say as she thought of sex between her and Aeddan.

"No no, you misunderstand me. I mean just sleep, you lay down next to me and keep me company. We sleep together sharing body heat with one another. If you want to go slower we can... I will admit I have been with another female recently but it wasn't exactly really intimate. So I'm just as experienced as you are" Aeddan explained his embarrassment increasing at how he had phrased the proposal.

"O-oh, well if it's like that then. I guess I could do that" Miia said sitting next to Aeddan.

Miia leaned in towards Aeddan, her soft but perky bare breasts brushing against Aeddan. This sent a small chill up his spine. It wasn't unpleasant, but it was new to him. like before he didn't know what he should next so he followed his instincts. He wrap an arm around Miia and pulled her closer. Her breathing became slower and rhythmic, a slow in and out, and soon she was asleep. It was a little comforting for Aeddan, feeling Miia's chest rise and fall next to him as she lay there in his arms, he suddenly felt rather protective of her. Soon, Aeddan's eyes began to droop, and he too succumbed to sleep's gentle and loving embrace.

Aeddan awoke the next morning to the sound voices. They sounded heated and strained.

"No, we will not. There is no way that is happening"

"That's Marcus, glad he's awake to ride heard" Aeddan thought, still half asleep.

"But if we don't, we will be major trouble when the chimera returns. They always return to a hunting ground if they think they missed something"

"That's Sylvia...I wonder what's got her worried" Aeddan thought picking out her voice.

"Well that my offer, take or leave. But think, would rather live another day with less gear or die not having able to use gear to help fight?"

"Wait...who the hell is that? He sounds...Russian?" Aeddan thought, confused at the new voice.

"I don't know, it's a pretty steep price" Marcus replied.

"But think of it Marcus. No chimera means we can move through the jungle freely without a chance of running in to it" Sylvia said, obviously trying to sway Marcus's judgment.

"I've heard enough. Marcus doesn't have that kind of deciding power" Aeddan thought, starting to feel a little angry.

Aeddan opened his eyes to find Miia wrapped around him. Her arms embracing him like a lover would after one just made love to each other. Even Miia's tail was wrapped around Aeddan's, and as much as Aeddan wanted to stay there with her, he could not let this unwelcome "Russian" bully his team. So he found his coat and laid it over Miia to keep her warm after he extracted himself from her embrace. Picking up his gun from where he left it last night, he made his way to the front of the cave.

What he saw was Marcus and Sylvia standing just inside the cave mouth speaking to a large bear. This bear wore only a pair of combat cargo pants, a knife belt, and a pair of winter wear combat boots. He stood at a seven or eight feet tall and carried a M249 SAW across his back like it was just another assault rifle.

"Hey, who are you and what do want?" Aeddan said putting on a tough guy frown, trying to look intimidating.

"Ah, and who is little (fool)? Subordinate?" the bear asked with a heavy Russian accent.

"First of all, I don't appreciate being called a fool. And second, I'm the CO here. So if you want to make any deals it's with me you (asshole)" Aeddan said trying to throw the bear off.

Aeddan didn't like bullies, but he never had a reason to really stand up to them. Until now...

"AH HA HA HA, is funny. You cannot be CO, you too (tiny) to be him. Dragon here is biggest, he obviously in charge. Go away and let big boys talk" the bear said giving Aeddan a little push.

Aeddan had never fought back against a bully, but he had studied martial arts from instruction books on techniques and different combat styles. He never had a chance to use this information, but this bear was really making him want to.

"Push me again and I will flip you on to your back" Aeddan growled.

"Oh really, like this you mean?" the bear asked pushing Aeddan harder this time.

Only this time Aeddan was ready for him. In one deft move Aeddan grabbed ahold of the bears paw and, using the bear's own weight and momentum, pulled him down and flipped him on to his back. The silence that followed was almost defining. Not only had Aeddan been true to his word, but he had just knocked over someone almost three times bigger than him; It felt good.

"Aeddan, remind me to never get in a fight with you" Marcus said going to stand beside the bear.

"Attacking a superior officer usually ends in a court martial" Aeddan said reciting knowledge he had attained from a book.

"Yeah, ok. Hey Conrad, you alive?" Marcus asked addressing the bear as Conrad.

"Yes, for most part. Who is little wolf? He very strong for size" Conrad said sitting up, shaking himself as he did so.

"That would be our captain and CO. Aeddan... Aeddan, what's your last name?" Marcus asked trying to recall if he had been told or not yet.

"Smith, my last name is Smith. So...I guess that makes me captain Smith. And I'm a Folf I'll have you know" Aeddan said coming to stand next to Marcus.

"Right, this is Aeddan Smith, we voted him in as our CO by majority rules and he has more survival knowledge and it would seem more combat skills than the rest of us here" Marcus said like it was a fact.

"And I didn't use any strength to get you down here. That was all you" Aeddan said offering his paw.

Conrad took it. With some effort between Aeddan and Marcus, the two of them had Conrad back on his feet.

"So now why don't you tell me what this deal is about. I am assuming it has to do with you offering your services and your team to rid us of that chimera?" Aeddan asked as he thought back to what he had heard while waking up.

"Smart you are. Yes, mine team have experience fighting beasts. Chimera is ultimate test, but not worth no compensation. We rid you of chimera, we get armor car" Conrad said pointing with his thumb down at the carrier Desert team had just recently found out they had.

"No deal" Aeddan said crossing his arms.

"Aeddan, are you crazy? They are Russian bears , one of the only few countries that train their children at birth to fight beasts like the chimera and have a better chance of winning" Sylvia hissed at Aeddan like he was out of his mind.

"I never said I wouldn't accept their help. But I have a counter proposal. We join forces to take down this chimera, and if we survive the ordeal for the most part, you may have the carrier. But , only if you let us fight with you so we can learn to fight these things on our own. Think of it as you and your team receiving the carrier as payment for teaching us" Aeddan said holding out his paw to shake.

"No deal! We do not teach (incompetents) like you. You take deal or you die" Conrad said glaring at Aeddan.

"Then I guess we have come to an impasse. Good luck trying to steal the carrier without the keys" Aeddan said taking the keys he had found amongst the inventory last night out of his front pants pocket and jingled them before putting them back in his pocket.

"YOU...you...ha ha haaa. YOU, you have how you say the guts. I see why you lead and not dragon. He is like putty and would agree to original deal. Fine, I take your deal. When chimera dead you give comrade Conrad keys to car" Conrad said sticking out his massive paw for Aeddan to shake.

"Glad we could come to an agreement so quickly comrade. You are welcome to stay here with us where it is safe from the chimera if you so wish" Aeddan said taking the paw and gesturing in to the cave with his other one.

"Tempting it is, but cave reminder of home and the long sleep. It is winter months in Russia and cave makes bear sleep. No, we stay in tree fort one click west. We come get you in evening for hunt" Conrad said releasing Aeddan's paw before he jumped off the ridge in to the pool below creating a large splash, which sloshed most of the dirty water out of pool's basin.

Conrad took off at a sprint for the trees through the opening in the wall. He then headed due west once inside the trees. Aeddan watched him and the area around Conrad for any stirring of underbrush or moving of low branches. Aeddan didn't trust the bear and suspected that Conrad wasn't alone. But as far as he could tell, Conrad was alone and he had come alone.

"Pretty gutsy of him to do that with a killing machine on the loose out there...I wonder if-" Aeddan thought before he was interrupted by Sylvia.

"Are you crazy? We won't survive an hunt, let alone a collaboration mission involving another team against a chimera. We should have taken his deal! Not him taking your deal. We are doomed to die, doomed I say!" Sylvia bubbled loudly.

What happened next would forever change the team's view of Aeddan. Aeddan spun around, a snarl on his muzzle, anger in his eyes. He swung and slapped her with back of his pawed. It was hard enough that you could hear the smack but soft enough that it was only meant to be a disciplinary action.

"If you ever try to sway a decision in favor of an enemy's again it will be harder. I did not enjoy that, but you've become hysterical and irrational over this whole chimera problem" Aeddan snarled at her.

It had been the first time in a while since Aeddan had been angry. He usually was very logical and calm about pressing issues. But all the events leading up to this one new problem had worn his stress tolerance thin, and Sylvia's hysterics was the final straw.

"Aeddan, calm down. If anything I should be punished for this predicament. I should have come to get you as soon as that bear showed up on our doorstep" Marcus said placing one of his clawed hands on Aeddan's shoulder.

"You should both be punished. I will reprimand you later Marcus, but you Sylvia. I think it's high time you told us who you really are and why you know and fear the chimeras so much" Aeddan said shrugging of Marcus, his snarl disappearing only to be replaced by a rather angry frown.

"I suppose I should, shouldn't I" Sylvia hissed with a sigh of small bubbles.

Soon, after Aeddan had calmed down a bit more, the rest of Desert team was awakened. They cleaned themselves in the now clear spring fed pool below the ridge, washing away all the grime and mud they had accumulated over the past few days. It was hard for Aeddan to believe they had been in their current situation now for almost a week. The thought was almost depressing, but nerve racking at the same time.

The team ate a little of the fruit they had found amongst the supplies. The fruit itself was odd tasting, but delicious just the same after having to eat dried trail food and MREs for the last few days. Many of the fruits were multi colored and looked rather dangerous to eat. These were set aside until they could be examined closer. The ones Aeddan was pretty sure on their safety, were rationed out amongst the team.

"Sylvia, now that we have eaten and gathered together, it's time you told us who you are" Aeddan said after finishing off the last piece of his rationed fruit.

"Can't I just tell you?" Sylvia pleaded.

"No, I'm afraid not. As part of your additional disciplinary punishment, you have to tell us who you are and how you came to know so much about the chimeras" Aeddan said crossing both arms as he leaned back against a large stone, settling in for the story.

"Please? If I tell all of you, you may not like me anymore" Sylvia pleaded again.

"No, you are on thin ice as it is. I let it slide the first time when Marcus asked. I believed you would tell us soon enough. But knowing that only bears from Russia, who have had training since birth to be beast killers, are the only ones who can survive against or kill a chimera. That means you have pertinent knowledge that could save this team. So now you will tell us willingly, or we can force you" Aeddan said delivering an ultimatum.

"Fine! My full name is Sylvia du Von'Gretch. I am the only daughter of the Von'Gretch family and it was my parents who discovered how to create the chimeras. Happy now?!" Sylvia asked as angry tears started to form on the under edge of her eyes.

You see, like fish, sharks do not have eye lids. Not something one needs if they spend their entire life in the water and nowhere else. The same cannot be said for dolphins because they are mammals and need air to breath, so they have eyelids to close to keep waves from smashing in to them; ever been sprayed in the face with water? Sharks do breathe air, or rather oxygen. But they filter it out of the water they take in through their gills. Hence why Sylvia's breather his water in it not air, and why she can walk around on land without returning to a main water source. But the main reason the tears form on the underside of her eye and not at the corners is because shark eyes are completely round and there are no "corners" of the eye for tears to form.

"And let me guess, they took you for many a ride along because they couldn't trust a baby sitter to look after you so you learned about the chimeras. You learned their strengths, weaknesses and how they were made. Am I right?" Aeddan said making an educated guess.

"Well...yes actually. You are taking this information rather well. I was afraid you would yell at me or throw a rock and tell me to get lost seeing as how much pain my family has caused" Sylvia said looking down a little ashamed.

"I don't care what your family did. What your parents did is on them, the fact that you sided with another team and not your own is why I got angry and have taken disciplinary action against you" Aeddan explained giving her a little frown as he tapped his left arm with the pointer digit of his right paw while they were crossed.

"You don't? None of you care?" Sylvia asked looking at the rest of the team.

She was met with a series of shrugs, head shakes, and "not really" from the rest of Desert team. Desert team was either still out of it from being dumped in an extreme training facility, or they just didn't care about anything anymore.

"Well, ahm a little concerned. But then my daddy an' your daddy were ratha' close seein' as how they went ta the same school an' did business tagetha'. So I guess I don' really have a problem wit' you bein' who's ya are" Johnny said, a thoughtful frown across his brow.

"I think, at a later date, we need to go around and give an introduction of who we all are so we don't have something like this happen again. Now unless Sylvia has anything more to say, I have made a list of things I think need to get done before we face that... beast tonight" Aeddan said not waiting for Sylvia's answer and already bringing up a list he had drafted yesterday.

"Uh, what kind of things? Like chores?" the snow leopard asked, his tail twitching nervously.

"Well yes and no, just things that would be expected for people to get done if we were on a wilderness trip. Jamie, if you wouldn't mind helping Melody with the organization of all non-weapon and command gear; that does not include explosives and ammo. I need an exact count on how many rounds and clips we have for each gun. And I don't want any one wandering about without at least a knife or machete. There could be more than the chimera out there" Aeddan said looking out at the trees before continuing on.

"Johnny, I know you won't take an order from me, so I will ask you instead. Would you please do a check up on the carrier? I need to know if anything is wrong with it mechanically, electrically, and anything else you might spot" Aeddan said listing off what needed to be done for the carrier.

"An' why should ah do tha'? What do ah git out of it?" Johnny retorted, crossing his arms.

"You don't get a broken nose is what you "git out of it"" Marcus said threateningly.

"Marcus! Don't make it any worse for yourself. Johnny, what you get out of it is a promotion to an important position that is perfect for your knowledge and skill" Aeddan said raising an eyebrow like he was silently asking Johnny how that sounded.

"Go on"

"You will be promoted to Sgt. and head mechanic/driver. That means when we are in the carrier, you have seniority and will have command; Other than myself of course because I would still outrank you. How does that sound?" Aeddan asked trying to play on Johnny's insecurities.

"Sounds good...and do I get a gun?" Johnny asked stroking his chin, obviously intrigued.

"If everything goes according to plan, you can choose an appropriate gun for your new position and rank" Aeddan replied, stroking Johnny's ego a little.

"...No hand guns?"

"If you want a rifle, you can have a rifle"

"You gots yourself a new sergeant. I'll be getting' to work on that carrier" Johnny said giving a crisp salute before heading down the ridge.

"Marcus, your punishment is to help Johnny and do what he says as his assistant. Take your gun and this tool box" Aeddan said handing Marcus a small, green tool box that rattled like it had a lot of tools in it.

"You think I'll need my gun?" Marcus said looking at Aeddan inquisitively before accepting the tool box.

" I don't trust that Conrad was out here alone. Russian Spetsnaz, especially the bear units, always move in groups of 6 and never scout an area without back up close at hand. So yes, you will need your gun. At least to show we don't take crap and are ready for an attack at least" Aeddan explained before scrolling down the list to the next assignments.

"Miia, you and Sylvia take the bow and an empty pack, in addition to your knife and machete, and go do a sweep of the area inside of the wall. I want to make sure we didn't miss anything useful out there" Aeddan said gesturing at the inside area with a jerk of his thumb.

"Aye Captain, we won't let you down" Sylvia said, saluting just as Johnny had done before she started out of the cave with Miia in tow.

"And Sylvia" Aeddan said stopping her as she started to pass him.

"Y-yes sir?" Sylvia asked like she was expecting something bad.

"I'm sorry for what happened earlier. Just try to stay calmer ok?" Aeddan asked quietly releasing her.

"Sir!" Sylvia said, saluting crisply again before hurrying after Miia down the ridge.

"Frank, you and...I'm sorry, but I don't think I caught your name there. Who are you again?" Aeddan asked addressing the snow leopard.

"It's Conner, Conner Blackhawk. And yes, I am related to the Mr. George Blackhawk of Blackhawk fire arms. I'm his nephew and one of his heirs. Anything else you would like to ask me?" Conner said like he had said it before a hundred times and was tired of it.

"Ok...whatever. For that little chip on your shoulder, you and Frank get guard duty with Steven who is now your superior since I'm promoting him sergeant and hand-to-hand combat specialist. That means until further notice when he says jump, you ask him how high" Aeddan retorted putting a stop to Conner's disrespectful attitude.

"Uh, not out of disrespect. But what will you be doing Aed-uh captain?" Steven asked, catching himself again.

"Me? Well, I get the job of figuring out what the hell happened to Jungle team and how they seemed to have been better supplied and better armed when we only had three knives and one gun about a week ago" Aeddan replied halfheartedly with mock joy.

As the team went about its assigned jobs, Aeddan left the cave to examine the bodies up close. The first one he looked over for previous wounds on a hunch he had. Unfortunately, the body of this Jungle team member was too mangled and chewed up to tell if there had been any wounds before the attack. The next three bodies he examined were also too mangled to tell. He was however able to salvage a few items from a cross on a leather thong to a combat utility belt. He left the items in full view for Miia and Sylvia on the bodies so they could be gathered and inventoried.

Next body he examined wasn't mangled but looked like it had been mauled by something other than the chimera. It was odd because there were only a few animals that could do something like this. It was a mystery that Aeddan wasn't willing to follow to the end just yet. He did file it away in his mind for later thought though. The sixth body he examined was in much better shape. It was a rabbit, a desert hare to be exact. It didn't have much in the way of injury. Except for a bone that was sticking out of its chest. The bone looked like it had broken then somehow pierced the hare's chest from the inside out. Aeddan could only surmise that the hare had been hit so hard that the bone had broken and he had ended up this way and bled out.

Aeddan searched the hare for anything useful like he had the others. He found amongst the items he pulled out of the pockets a picture of a female beagle posing with the hare at, what Aeddan assumed, was prom. A carrot shaped charm, a box of strike anywhere matches, and a small, clear, case with a what looked like a memory chip mounted by plastic clips inside it.

"Aha! I think I just struck gold here. Let's see if I am right" Aeddan thought, taking everything but the matches with him back up to the cave.

"COMRADES! ARE YOU READY FOR HUNT?" Conrad shouted up to Desert team.

It was dusk and true to Conrad's word, he and his team were waiting below the cave at the bottom of the ridge. They had come a little early however, and Desert team was not ready. They hurried to gather the supplies they would need to fight. Each of them received one grenade and a blade of some kind. Only the ones Aeddan knew that could handle a gun or ranged weapon got to use one. Aeddan, loaded a twenty round clip in to his M21 sniper rifle. Marcus followed suite with his .45 cal Tommy gun; As did Jamie with the M1895, Melody with the STEN machine gun, and Steven with the bow.

The bow was a 150 pounder. Bows are made from 10 lb toy bows to 150 lb hunting bows. These bows are usually made as re-curves or single arch. There are bows that are over 150 lbs but they usually require a pulley compound system to bend and they are rather expensive to have to replace a part on. So a single curve or re-curve bow is a good idea to have because the parts can be easily replaced and they usually last longer than a compound bow. Mind you they require more skill to use but are rather effective and can take down an armored man at 100 yards. And I'm talking about knights in steel armor, that weighs at least 200+ lbs, on horseback.

"Now remember the plan. Steven, you and Johnny leave after we are out of sight. The rest of us will try to "learn" what we can form them. Alright, go" Aeddan said starting out of the cave M21 slung across his back.

"Where other two? Afraid to fight yes?" Conrad asked with a chuckle.

"If that's how you wish to look at it then sure. Come on, let's go die" Aeddan said brushing the question off with bravado for the situation at hand.

"This way, this way. We kill chimera, eat well, then how you say split" Conrad said rubbing his huge paws together in excitement.

As both teams left the compound, Aeddan paused to take one last look up at the cave and the area inside the wall. A feeling of dread filled Aeddan right then, like he felt he wasn't going to see it, or any of Desert team again. He felt a comforting paw on his right shoulder. He turned to look find Miia standing there. She gave his shoulder a quick little squeeze before she followed after the group. Aeddan followed after her, feeling a little better about the current situation. Soon Aeddan was enveloped by the jungle's underbrush and he could no longer see the compound and cave.

"Are they gone? Can we start movin' now?" Johnny said a little impatiently, testing the edge of his machete on his thumb digit.

"Yeah, they're gone. And I don't see anyone out there watching us. So we should be good" Steven replied as he looked through the binoculars.

"Good, I'll go first ta check the entrance. Cova me" Johnny said sheathing his machete before he leapt off the ridge landing on both feet to slide down the ridge like he was snowboarding down the slope.

"Well that was stupid...but a little cool actually now that I think about it" Steven thought as he watched Johnny reach the bottom and, without even a pause, dash to the entrance of the compound wall.

Once Johnny reached the entrance he looked about. Satisfied with what he saw, he waved Steven down. Steven didn't take the flamboyant approach and took the path down the ridge. Soon he was crouched next to Johnny, arrow knocked and ready. The two left the compound and headed west looking for the tree fort that was mentioned by Conrad earlier today.

"Tell me Comrade, how you get to lead when Dragon much stronger than you?" Conrad asked as the two of them sat hidden behind a log.

"I don't know exactly, I think it had something to do with not trying to impose my will over everyone else's. But now that I think back about it, I think I was just brutally honest with everyone" Aeddan said whittling a thick stick in to a stake.

"And team just followed you like that?" Conrad asked a troubled frown upon his brow.

"Well, not exactly at first but they came around eventually. Actually it just became official about a couple days ago" Aeddan admitted with a shrug.

"We hold test of strength to find good leader. Strong leader is strong team. I win test, I lead team" Conrad said pounding his chest with his fist.

"Eh, even if we had held a contest and I had lost, I'm sure the team would still come around" Aeddan said rolling his eyes at Conrad's enthusiasm.

Aeddan watched the light in the dome dim and soon become night. The sounds of the jungle becoming louder with the dimming. The crickets seemed to become louder, and the cicadas more abundant. Aeddan heard sounds of smaller animals moving through the underbrush followed by bigger ones hunting the smaller. Aeddan made a mental note of this, hoping everything went according to plan so he could follow through with his note.

The two teams watched, and waited. They kept waiting for the chimera to show. But it never came, and Aeddan's suspicions were beginning to grow with every passing minute. Soon, night turned to day again. The chimera never showed, not even a hint, not a sound.

"Well, you give car to me now. We hold up end of bargain now you" Conrad said motioning with his paw.

"Yeah yeah, here you go...hold on. The chimera never showed, none of learned how to fight the chimera or anything from your team. So I think I'll just keep these" Aeddan said putting the carrier keys back in his front pocket with a smile.

"You, you...you are bad leader. You go back on deal. You promise to give car if we help!" Conrad exclaimed indignantly.

"No, you are a bad leader. You assume because you want something you will get it. But I have news for you, you will not get the carrier until the deal we had is fulfilled. Come back and see us when you have killed it" Aeddan said standing up and motioning for the rest of Desert team, who were hidden, to follow.

Desert team left Conrad's team and made their way back to the compound. They had set out to kill the chimera with Conrad's team but left when nothing happened. Aeddan hadn't planned on giving Conrad the carrier anyways. This was merely a diversion from the real mission. And, Aeddan hoped, had gone exactly as planned.

"The only way to find out is to get back to the compound alive" Aeddan thought as Desert team made its way through the jungle.

Desert team did make it back to the compound without incident. No surprise attacks from Conrad's team, no sudden appearances from the chimera. It was un-eventful as Aeddan's life before all this happened. Soon they had reached the compound and were met by Steven at the entrance. Only now he held a Winchester M12 12 gage shotgun in his paws instead of the bow.

"You were right, everything went according to plan. We found their base of operations and few useful items and intel as you see" Steven said gesturing with the shotgun.

"And? Did you recover what we were looking for?" Aeddan asked, an eyebrow cocked in question.

"Yes and more, we...maybe you should go see for yourself...captain" Steven added at the end.

"Alright, Marcus, join Steven in guard duty. I have a feeling we might need the extra pair of eyes for what's coming and I would rather not be caught with our pants around our ankles" Aeddan said gesturing to the other side of the hole before continuing in to the compound behind the rest of Desert team.

Aeddan climbed up the path to the cave knowing exactly what to expect. The rest of Desert team however, had not been briefed on Aeddan's plan and rather surprised by what they saw. For inside the cave was Johnny polishing his new M1918 Browning Automatic rifle with a duffle at his feet that had a few more barrels sticking out of them. But that wasn't what Aeddan was interested in at the moment. He was more interested in the female collie, male gecko, and female falcon anthros sitting cross legged in the center of the cave. They were rather worn out looking like they had been beaten, tortured, and abused for a long time. All three of them had been blind folded.

"So I can keep this right?" Johnny asked sighting down the machine gun's barrel.

"We had a deal right? Everything went according to plan? Nothing went wrong?" Aeddan asked shifting his own riffle strap on his shoulder.

"None, we's done jus' like you's said an' we came away with more'n just them" Johnny answered.

"Then yes, you can. Now, let's see what our new friends have to say" Aeddan said crouching down in front of the female collie and removing the blindfold.

Well, here it is after about 2-2 ½ weeks of work. Chapter 8 is finally up and I hope you guys liked it. I realize there isn't much action in this chapter; action, raunchiness, or otherwise. It's kind of just one of those filler chapters you need to read for a story to make sense. I have also changed my ruler settings realizing I had been typing in newspaper article format. Now it's in default so this chapter is much longer than my others...I'm up to about a total of 121 pages...yay! Well, I guess I should start on the next chapter huh? Remember, if you like the story, watch, fave, subscribe. And if you want to leave me a comment or question you can do so in the section bellow. If you want to give me a shout you can do that too. I have been reminded that there is nothing to fear but fear itself. Also, remember to keep those paws moving. Ciao furies.

ps: the words in "( )" are said in russian. i could not for the life of me get the SF system to accept russian words.