Prologue
#1 of Tales of the Lower Levels
I wanted to try something a little different, so I decided to pick up after the end of R&D2: The Lower Levels and elaborate on the fates of each of the four remaining souls left behind in the dungeon with a few short stories. Meant to get it uploaded sooner, but what can I say, I'm easily distracted. This is just a short prologue to set the stage for the rest. Anyway, enjoy!
Standard boiler plate: This is fantasy, not real. Simple rule of thumb, do not do things to people without their consent in real life. That is bad. No more to say there than that.
______________________
Belle was standing by the locked metal door, nervously waiting for some backup to arrive. The drafty gray stone dungeon wasn't doing anything to help her nerves, she thought, shivering where she stood. Dr. Crane had just left giving the all clear, but the chubby beagle didn't want to take any unnecessary risks after the day she had. She jumped slightly at the door opening, though settled when she saw it was only the doctor's pet ram, Karl, apparently heading back home. As he passed by he had his usual vacant grin and didn't bother to acknowledge her presence. She rushed to close the door again while noticing the moist, matted fur on the ram's rump as he sauntered away. It wasn't too hard to figure out just how Dr. Crane subdued the escapee from there. Well, whatever works.
Soon after the ram left, Belle heard a flurry of footsteps coming down the staircase. As she watched, five uniformed trainers and a couple orderlies from the clinic emerged from the doorway and headed to her position.
The lead trainer, a short coyote, looked up at her and handed over a stack of papers from under his arm. "So I heard there was some trouble again?" he asked as the beagle read through the papers
"There was a bit of a breakout, Red, but Dr. Crane took care of it," she responded, briefly looking up from the paperwork.
"Of course." The coyote snorted before turning to chat with the other trainers, waiting for her to finish and let them get to work.
After a few minutes, Belle cleared her throat to get their attention, promptly silencing the conversation. "Alright, everything looks good. You have your assignments, go ahead in and pick up your trainee. Fair warning, Red," she added, directly to the coyote, "The doctor was in there with that ram of his, so chances are your horse will be going through pheromone withdrawal for a while."
"Noted. Won't be the first time, I've learned to use it to my advantage, actually."
"Great! He's a big one so I'll help you move him. The others should be fine on their own."
"Thanks."
Belle turned around and opened the door, letting everyone into the cluttered waiting room one by one. The room was still a mess, clutter strewn about the ground making them need to be careful. As she checked the wall, she could see that the crocodile, wolves, and fox were still gagged, nude, and hanging from shackles around their arms. It seemed her assumption was correct, as the horse was in no condition to fight back, bound and gagged on the floor, drooling and moaning in a daze. The workers he knocked out were still unconscious, strewn about the room.
The orderlies rushed past her to aid the injured workers, wasting no time in picking them up and taking them to receive care.
Belle and Red each grabbed one of the hulking horse's arms, slowly dragging him out to begin his training.
The remaining trainers walked up to their respective charges hanging on the wall.
A tall ferret walked up to the struggling male crocodile, who had a look of panicked rage in his eyes. A flailing kick was easily dodged by the lithe ferret as he placed a shock collar around his neck. A quick burst of electricity lit up the dour dungeon and the croc fell slack in his bonds. With a look of utter indifference, the ferret took him off the wall and slowly dragged him out to begin his training.
A somewhat average looking white cat approached the male gray wolf, who having seen what happened to the croc had gone wide-eyed and limp. He didn't fight back as a collar was placed around his neck, simply accepting it as he was removed from the wall and dragged away.
The other gray wolf, this one female, was less accepting of her fate, wildly snarling and kicking at the massive ox waiting off to her side. Growing bored at the display, he caught her leg and retaliated with a quick punch to her gut. As she coughed and gasped for air, another collar was clipped around her neck. Before she had a chance to recover, she was quickly hefted off the wall and out of her shackles, thrown over his shoulder, and carried from the room.
Lastly, the remaining fox on the wall had completely surrendered, keeping his eyes shut tight and remaining perfectly still. The tall, fit female hyena gave an ominous laugh while locking his collar on, pulling him off the wall, removing his shackles, and cradling him in her arms as she walked out the door.
Sensing that the dungeon was now empty, the lights turned themselves off, once again leaving it in complete darkness.