{"sf1_id":877054,"sf2_id":null,"title":"Victernus - Chapter 3","author":"Nazca","words":1145,"posted_at":"2015-06-23T11:22:00.000Z","tags":["Cybernetics","Mind uploading","Science","War","Wolf","corruption","dystopia","implants"],"url":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/877054-victernus-chapter-3","original_url":"https://sofurry.com/view/877054","image_url":"https://www.sofurryfiles.com/std/thumb?page=877054\u0026ext=.jpg","description":"","content":"\n            Namara woke up to the sound of heavy\nknocking. Someone was at the front door, demanding to come inside. There was a\ndim light still on in the kitchen doing little to brighten things up. He\nglanced over at the microwave on one of the racks - it was only four in the\nmorning. The curtains were drawn, keeping him from seeing who was behind the\ndoor. He stood up and moved away from the sofa he was sleeping next to in the\ncase that he had to run.\n            Looking up, he saw Hector make his\nway down the stairs carefully. Still dressed in grey and blue pajamas, he\npeered through the peephole to find out who was trying to break down his door\nat such an early hour.\n            They knocked hoarsely again while\nshouting, \"This is the FBI, open up or we'll enter by force!\"   \n            Hector shouted back, \"What do you\nwant?!\"\n            \"We have reason to believe that you\nare harboring a fugitive. We have a search warrant. This is the last time: open\nup or we'll break down this door!\"\n            He glanced to where Namara had been\nsleeping, but a puzzled expression ensued. Namara watched him with amusement,\ninvisible to his eyes.\n            Hector cracked open the door,\n\"What?\"\n            \"Step aside, sir.\"\n            He opened the door wide and took a\nposition on the stairs while the agents entered his house. Namara saw three men\nin dark uniforms enter the living room with guns, ready to shoot. They searched\nthe area while Namara skirted around them, making his way to the door. When he\nwas close enough, he walked out. Again...\n            A light rain was falling outside,\ngiving the air a fresh smell. It energized Namara as he breathed it in, but he\nrealized that the raindrops were falling against him instead of through him. He\nlooked back at Hector and sighed, hoping that the agents wouldn't look outside.\nHector was scratching his head, seemingly unaware of what actually happened.\n            Turning, Namara ran off and hid\nbehind one of the trees next to the driveway to have cover from the rain. It\nwas not long before one of the agents stopped beside the doorway and\ninterrogated Hector violently, abusing him. He lowered his ears in shame. This always happens! Everyone gets hurt\nbecause of me... Memories of the struggles he had dealt with flooded his mind.\nThere were many years of debating on whether he should chase this phantom he\nfound or not. Some days he found it selfish. Others, like it was the most\nimportant thing in the world. Many times, he felt like he was just a disruption\nto other people's lives and that he shouldn't do it because of the trouble it\nmight cause. Few of his friends stayed with him long because of his focus. The\nones that did, he still felt unsure about. The phantom haunted him, and it tore\nup his life. But, there was a point where he had to decide, for sure, what he\nwould do - and he decided to chase it.\n            Snapping out of his thoughts, Namara\nrealized that a bit of time had passed. The agents were pulling out of the\ndriveway in a black hovercar and Hector was sitting down on the front porch,\nbewildered. When the agents were nowhere in sight, Namara stepped forward into\nthe yard and uncloaked himself. He approached Hector with caution, trying to\nascertain what had transpired.\n            Hector saw him and a smile spread\nacross his face. He opened his arms and beckoned for him to come. \"There you\nare!\"\nAs Namara drew closer, he noticed a nasty bruise on\nhis cheek. Stopping, his head drooped along with his ears and his tail. No...\nBefore he could react, he felt Hector's bulky arms\naround his body. Is he... hugging me? He\nwhined more.\n\"Don't worry about it, kid. Let's get going. We can\nget a ride on one of the pressure trains.\" He stood up and went back into the\nhouse. \"I just need to get a couple of things and get dressed. Meet me by the\ntruck!\"\nStill sulking, regardless of his assurance, Namara\ntrudged down to the truck through the wet grass. The rain stopped above, but\nthe rain within him continued to fall. He brushed up against the truck's silver\nbumper and then stopped next to the door. After shaking himself off, he reached\nup and pulled on the handle with his paws. He fell backwards in an effort to\nyank the door open, but it shut before he could get up again. He sighed.\n            Namara stepped back when Hector came\nout to open the door for him. He jumped in and sat in the passenger seat when\nthe opening was large enough. Inside, he saw that the truck was a little bit\nmessy, with a few papers on the floor and the dashboard, but it wasn't bad.\nThe door shut behind him and he saw Hector walking\naround to the other side. Looking to his right, he saw the seatbelt hanging\nbeside him. He bit it with his mouth and tried pulling it down to the slot, but\nto no avail.\nHector entered the truck and took over so that he\nwouldn't get tangled up in the band. He ruffled Namara's fur again and started\nthe car, saying, \"You're not used to being that way yet, are you?\"\nHe shook his head. Not exactly in the way you might think...\n            While they were driving down the\npath, Namara felt Hector's hand rubbing his back gently. Another feeling\nsparked within him, and he gazed out his window. Is some of it... here?\n            The truck jolted to a stop,\nlaunching Namara forward a few inches. A caravan of military vehicles passed in\nfront of them on the road. They were driving towards the facility. Namara\nrolled his eyes and tapped his band, rendering himself invisible.\n            Hector saw him disappear in the\ncorner of his eye. He turned his head to see him gone, but the seatbelt was\nstill in place. \"...Namara?\"      \n            Namara looked to him and then\npressed the band twice more to show him.\n            Hector trained his eyes back to the\nroad. \"Wow... I see.\"\n            When the caravan ended, he turned\nthe opposite direction to get onto one of the main highways. \"You can stop that\nnow... They're gone.\"\n            Namara\nsensed that Hector felt a little bit uncomfortable about his technology, so he uncloaked\nand then laid himself across the interior. Resting on his belly and propping\nhis head up on Hector's leg, he let out a deep sigh and closed his eyes. Almost\nexpected, he felt one of Hector's rough hands on his back and shoulders again.\nSmiling, he drifted off to sleep.","previous":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/877052-victernus-chapter-2.json"}