{"sf1_id":797245,"sf2_id":null,"title":"Chapter 1: A new beginning","author":"Shark_Anthro","words":2739,"posted_at":"2014-12-18T17:36:00.000Z","tags":["Medical Procedures","Sci-Fi","Shark","Techno","gun"],"url":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/797245-chapter-1-a-new-beginning","original_url":"https://sofurry.com/view/797245","image_url":"https://www.sofurryfiles.com/std/thumb?page=797245\u0026ext=.jpg","description":"I claim NO COPYRIGHT OF THIS IMAGE. IT'S NOT MINE! But, he's hot. Isn't it?","content":" 'Uuuh...Where am I?' I opened my eyes.        Wait...this\nbed feels so comfortable-like my bed at home.        Was\nthat just a dream?But, I'm\nstill wearing my uniform. I don't wear uniform at home. I looked to my side and\nsaw my cracked helmet, my M9, a few packets of rations, a pile of military\nequipment and a cup of hot cocoa. It's still hot and steaming which means that\nit had just been prepared by SOMEONE. My entire sensory organ turned on as I\nswiftly reached for my combat knife and start scanning my surrounding. \n      \"Whoa...\" my jaw nearly drops. I craned my neck\nto look at my surrounding. The wood-trunk-beamed ceiling was two storeys high,\nheld up by carved wooden wall. An assortment of hunting equipment and weapons\ndecorated the shelves at the walls. A timber made deck ringed the room, all\nlooking out to the ocean and the sandy beach. There's a fireplace beside me, a\ncradle -made from a net- at a corner and two symmetrically aligned window on\neach side of the house that display a breathtaking view of the sea-with a small\nyacht- and a river. It's so amazing, so awesome and cool. Am I dreaming? \n      \"So, you're awake?\"My combat\ninstincts kicked in. Before I knew what was happening, I'd re-chambered my gun\nand aimed at his head -actually, his chest. He's about eight feet tall [maybe a\nbit higher], muscular, wearing a full-face reflective futureristic looking\nhelmet and metallic looking full-body suit [I wonder if it's bulletproof or not]\nwith a net wrapped around his body with seaweed, palm leaves, twigs, branches,\ngrass and vines -it's a ghillie suit. He had a variety of hunting equipment, a\nbow, spears, machete and lots of other stuff on the floor around him. And he's\nwet.\n\"Who\nare you?\" I demanded. \"You must be 'The Mother' minions right? Or maybe a\nsearch and hunt any survivor party? Looking after my crash site, digging\ninformation, taking me as a HOSTAGE.\" I took a shot in the dark -a blind\nguess.\"Hey, I'm\nnot a threat.\" He raised his arms and put his weapons aside. \"Just a civilian.\nNot a minion, enemy or what-so-ever.\" His words made me lowered my gun. I'm probably\ninside his house anyway.\"Sorry...I-I-I\ndidn't' mean it. I'm just protecting m-\"he held my arm in his huge palms.\"It's okay.\nTake it easy. I don't mind... Well, if I were you, I would probably 'shoot\nfirst, talk later'. Don't worry, I won't blame you.\" he replied.  I recognized\nhis hand. \"Thanks for saving me\" I said with a smile.\" You remember?\"\"Well,\nI remembered about a hand punching through my cockpit and based on the size,\nyour knuckles and....Wait, that cockpit is bulletproof. How do you punch a\nbulletproof glass with just one punch?\"\"Here, let\nme check something\" he flashed a flashlight towards my eye and observed\nclosely. I could see a clear reflection of my shrinking pupil on his visor. \"Good.\nNo signs of concussion.'' he tried to change the topic by making a diagnosis on\nme. I saw something moving at his back. And he tried to HIDE it behind the\nshelves.\"What's\nthat?\" I pointed towards his back.\"N-n-Nothing\"\nhe stammered as he scratched his neck and turned away from my gaze. Obviously,\nhe's lying through his teeth.\"Don't\nhide anything from me. It's good to get something off your chest. You know that\nyou can't hide something forever. Whatever the thing behind your back is...\nwell, it's just a matter of time before I figured it out myself.\"\"Okay,\nokay. Just don't... And don't freak out. You asked for this.\" he said as\nhe undone his ghllie suit and turn his back on me to put his equipment on the\nwall.I'm stunned.\n\"Y-y-You have a t-TAIL? I managed.\"Yup!\"\nhe replied while moving his tail side by side as he walks. A one and a half\nmeter long grey and shiny looking shark's tail, right there attached to his\nback -to be precise at the end of his spine. I gave him a 'What the hell is\nthat?' look.\"No.\nNo. No. That can't be a real tail. You're an actor aren't you? Or a stunt\ndouble... This must be some sort of prank, a TV show or a film... that must be\nprosthetic right?\" I laughed. \"I'm fully awake now. You can't fool\nme.\"\"Prosthetic...!\"\nHe sounds amused as his helmet automatically retracted itself. My heart skipped\na beat...or two because he has a head of a SHARK. No kidding, the whole head. I\ncan't find the line between reality and imagination. Maybe I'm just hallucinating\nor drugged or maybe he's wearing a High Definition Mask like the one used in\nmovies.Although,\nwell... shark faced, he's drop-dead gorgeous. It's hard to accurately describe\n'shark face', imagine staring at a wood axe from the front. That's it. Except\nfor, it's a bit wider, decorated with a friendly simile [NOT a smile of a\nKILLER] and warm emerald green eyes. Somehow, that shark face makes him looks\ncute, friendly and like an awesome big guy. His green eyes combined with his\nhandsome shark face and greyish, muscular body gives him the image of a\nmythical god. If he ever holds a trident or carved with ancient symbols, I'm\npretty sure that I'm never gonna look at Poseidon or Anubis the same way again.\nI mean, those gods are supposed to look old or have weird animal head. But,\nthis guy in front of me shows no signs of going wrinkly and he's really\nhandsome -not weird. I stared at him for the whole 30 seconds and luckily, I\nmanaged not to drool and well...be cool. Yeah, be cool.\n\"No.\nNo. NO! That can't be real. It must be plastic. You're wearing a costume.\"\nI managed as my mind raced with possibilities. There's must be a logical\nexplanation (to that face and other awesome features).His eyes\nwiden with surprise. Maybe he's surprised why I didn't bolt for the nearest\nexit (the window).\"You\nthink this is a costume?\" He fixed his gaze straight at me. \"Tell me,\nwhat kind of actor that would stay wet in his costume in the storm.\" He said\nas he reached for a towel nearby.\"Well,\nmaybe the storm begins quite suddenly...\" My brain raced to find an idea.\n\"And you don't have time to change your costume.\"He chuckled.\n\"If this is costume, I would have changed to something more 'normal' when\nI hear even the first thunder.\"\"Anyway,\nif you still didn't believe me. You could check this 'costume' by\nyourself\" he said as he moved closer to me. Did he raise one of his eyebrows?\nIt's hard to tell with shark. \"It's okay. I don't bite.\" he said as he\nkneeled in front of me. \"Imagine someone saying your skin is plastic\" he\nmuttered under his breath.I begin to\ntouch his skin. It felt surprisingly warm. I start bringing his face closer to\nme and saw the fine details on his skin. He's still quite tall so, I need to\nstand. From this point of view, he looks very real and alive. \"Well, you look\nquite alive.\" I said as I turn his face from side to side and trying to find\nthe signs of makeup or holographic display or synthetic skin. I begin to touch\nhis gills. They seem alive, moist and functional. It must be a high\ntechnological mask. I begin to scratch the lower part of his neck to find the\nedge of his mask but ended up tickling him instead.\"Hey, stop\nit... It tickles *laugh*. Its real skin, okay\" he tried to hold his laugh \"So, what\nare you actually? Where do you come from? If you are a fish, how do you breathe?\nWhy did you-\"\"Shh...\nCould you ask me those questions one by one? You're really a verbal freight\ntrain aren't you?\"I grinned. I\nknow it's wrong to storm him with questions but he's really interesting. Just\ncan't help it. Being in the military and with the whole unknown flying object\nconflict makes you miss the moment where you could sit around and chat -without\na Kevlar still strapped to your chest.\"Sorry...\" I\ncleared my throat. \"Just can't help it. You're very interesting.\"\"Any more\ncompliment?\"\"No. You\nsilly.\"\"Okay, first\nquestion. What-I mean-who are you? \"A kinda failed experiment. Long...story. I'll\ntell you tomorrow, I promise. Before this, I'm a human too.\" He grinned as he\npaced towards the window, looking at the stars.\"So, if\nyou're a human, what is your name?\"\"Hmm...\nActually I didn't really remember my name but... I remember one word. BANE.\"\"So, Bane, How\ndo you breathe? I mean on land. I didn't see your chest movement\"\"Bane? I like\nthat. Just never thought it as a name before.\" he smiled. \"I got gills and... a\npair of lungs. The gills still work on land cause it's moist.\"I traced my\nhand down to his neck. His skin feels smooth when you're going from head to\ntail but feels like sandpaper when you're going the other way around. \"Careful,\nthose could cut\" he said to me. I make a mental note: If you want to pet a\nshark, make sure you go from head to tail. I noticed a sharp edge running from his wrist to\nhis elbow -leftover of uhh...a pair of pectoral fin. \"Are these sharp as a\nknife?\" I asked. \"Yup, I've use it as an axe to make this house\" he grinned.\n\"And... don't touch my tail. It's quite sensitive.'' He chuckled. \"My fifth\nlimb.\"\"Tell me\nmore about yourself.\" he asked as he roasts some kind of birds at the\nfireplace. \"All I know is that your name is Alex.\"How do you\nknow about my name?\"\"Duh. It's\non your uniform... and I used that radio over there to listen and pick your\nlast coordinates.\" He pointed to a table near the window.\"Bane\"\"Hmm\"\"Do you know\nwhat happened to my squad after I... well, you know.\" I made a mushroom cloud\ngesture with my hand. I felt a sudden tug of responsibility and care.\"Well...\nthey couldn't find the signals from your plane, obviously didn't hear your last\ncoordinate, thought you were dead and flew away.\" He paused. \"Then, I decided\nto check your crash site.\"'Every cloud\nhas a silver linings' my mom voice echoed inside my head. Being considered dead\nhave its perk. No more work, no hectic daily routine and a free vacation on an\nisland with this dude at my side. God, he's such a hunk. Wait...why I'm\nfantasying about him again. I tried to put those annoying thought aside by\nfinishing my drink. \"Wow, you\nmust be a good runner, Bane.\"I tried to break the silence.\"Actually, I\nswim. You're about 1000 meters away. I arrived in about a minute. So, I must be\naround 60 kilometers per hour.\" he said while proudly wagging his hail.\"You are\nsuch a show offer, aren't you?\" I smirked.\"Said the\none who's 'good' at evasion and then...Boom!\" he mumbled.\"I HEARD\nTHAT, BANE\" I snapped.\"Anyway, thank you for being there when I need you. I\nmean it. I owe you my life. So, could I help you out with dinner?\"\"Sure! But\nfirst, I need you to wash that cup at the sink. Make sure you pump up the water\nfirst. Then, you could help me with dinner. These roasted birds are almost\ndone. How about porridge.\" He suggested.\"That's\ngood. But, I think it'll be easier if you use this ration\" I tossed him a\npacket of MRE (Meals Ready to Eat). \"You know that... you sound like my mom\" I\nchuckled.\"You have a\nfamily?\" he sounds excited as he stared at me. I'm surprised.\"Yeah. Of\ncourse I have one. Why?\" His face rippled with joy.\"Can I meet\nthem one day?! I've forgot how it feels like to have a family again.\"\"Sure. Actually,\nI do plan to get you out of this lonely island. Maybe, we could go to my house\nin Waikiki.\" He gave me a smile. I've never see him so at ease, so pleased. I\nended up telling him about my life, my two big bro, my little sister how I\nbecame a pilot (It starts from my dad).            The rain has stopped when I start to\ncook the MRE -its spaghetti and meatballs inside [Yum]. Then, I saw something\nstrange outside, a cylindrical object stuck on one of the huge branches of this\ntree house. It has huge parachutes jutting out from it that is used to make the\nroof of this house.\n\"What's\nthat?\" I asked Bane. Apparently, he had appeared beside me wearing an urban\ncameo tank top and a pair of blue jeans that fit him perfectly. Except for his\nheight, tail and face... I almost forgot that he's not completely human.\"That's a\ndropshot. Umm... how do I explain? Basically an ejection pod. I told you that I\ncame from a lab.\"\"A dropshot?\nDrop from where? Space?\" I laughed.His eyes\nwidened. \"That's true. How do you-\"\"What! So,\nyou came from a lab in SPACE? But, that's impossible.\"\"Not really.\nIt's called low orbit... I'll tell you tomorrow. It's a very long story.\"\"Where's\nyour silvery suit.\"\"I leave it\nto dry. It's a nanosuit. I use it while hunting because it covers my traces of\nheat and smell. You know that it's hard to hunt, even a pigeon, when you're\nthree meter tall. Anyway, those wild bird are ready.\" He points to the\nfireplace.\"Okay. Let's\nhave dinner. I guess the spaghetti is well cooked. You want some?\"\"No. Thanks.\"\nWe sat down on a table and had our dinner. Based on the food he ate, I\nconcluded that Bane is a meat lover. He ate a bit of vegetables though because\nhe's partially human. Well, having dinner with a humanoid shark really sounds\nweird but he's a very polite gentleman -or a 'gentle shark', I guess.\"I am very\nsurprised to your reactions when you saw my face. I mean, I bet that most\npeople would have run away.\" He begins. \"I thought that you're gonna bolt for\nthe nearest exit but... why didn't you do that?\"\"Hmm...\" I\ncleared my throat trying not to blush and say that he gorgeous or hot or\nsomething and I had started to have feelings for him. I know it sounds weird\nbut, I have no luck with girls anyway. \"Pick your reasons. Maybe I just wanna\nsay thanks.\" \"So, thank you.\" I smiled and waved my hand at him. \"Or maybe\nbecause you're not really scary or... do you know that I'm a very brave\nperson?\"He laughed.\nI always love his laugh that seems to echo throughout the room.We shared\nour jokes and chat at the table ignoring the flow of time as we emptied our\nplates. It's the best dinner that I had ever had. After that, I went to the\nsink to wash my wooden bowl. \"You know that this house, its furniture, water\nsystem, electricity and everything... is just great. I wonder how you built all\nthis. I wish I have free electricity and no water cuts at home.\"\"Well, I'm a\nnatural engineer. Back when I was still human I've build a backup generator for\nmy home and rebuild my basement so that it became a military grade bunker. I\nguess I've watched too many zombie movies.\" He chuckled. \"The water came from a\nnearby stream. Oh, I love that stream -refreshing water, lots of fishes. The\nelectricity came from that dropshot. It has solar panel, a backup battery and a\nradioisotope thermoelectric generator.\"\nHe points to the dropshot outside.\"So...where\ndo you gonna sleep tonight? On the bed, the couch or maybe on the floor?\"\"I'll take\nthe couch. I love the view of the sea.\"I replied.\"Hmm...\nOkay. I'll take the net.\" He said as he climbed onto 'the net' - it's a\nmakeshift net/cradle hanging at the corner of the room. \"I can't sleep on a bed\nbecause of 'fin-at- the back' issue.I went to\nthe couch and sat on it. It felt comfortable. With a cool breeze, the smell of\nthe sea and the moonlight it's perfect. I took a look at Bane. He looks very\nfunny when he sleeps -with his tail dangling on the floor and his fin sprouting\nfrom the net not to mention his opened mouth. I giggled. I hope he didn't\nsnore. I waited for a while. He didn't. Good.\"Good night,\nBane.\"I lied down onto my new bed and closed my eyes as tiredness washed over me. One hell of a day...!","next":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/804020-bane-chapter-2-a-stroll-through-time.json"}