Victernus - Chapter 15

Story by Baumarius on SoFurry

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            Athius picked up a long, thick stick

and then charged at a creature that was boring a hole in Namara's leg. It used

the sharp ridge on its forehead to tear at him. The animal looked like some

sort of cross between a bat and a lizard, with its thick skin and folded legs.

He whacked it on the head and it jumped away, skittering off into the trees.

But, as he bent down and grabbed Namara's legs to pull him out into the road,

he saw five more latched onto the trees around him. Each one blended extremely

well with the trees, but their slight movements allowed Athius to see that they

were ready to tear him apart.

            Readying the stick, he pulled Namara

out slowly. None of the creatures budged. He tried to make sure that little

noise was made by dragging the werewolf from his resting place. Once he got

Namara out into the road completely, three of them launched from their

respective trees and zoomed towards Athius. He swung his stick in an arc, missing

each one magnificently. But, to his surprise, they all scattered and ran away.

The two that were still on the trees before him had disappeared.

            Looking down the road to the

facility, he saw a bright light approaching them. Darn it, they sent out a Sweeper! He lowered himself again and

grabbed Namara's legs, pulling him to the other side of the road to hide. The

light grew brighter and a low-pitched humming reached his ears. Shaking his

head as something tried to infiltrate his mind, he ran backwards and then

plugged his ears when they were hidden among the trees.

A large, winged hovercraft with a gigantic light

fitted to the front floated towards them. It was going very slowly and seemed

to be scanning the area for something. The humming became stronger and Athius

felt as if the very bones in his skull were vibrating. His fingers lost their

grip and seemed as if they were coated with a warm, wet substance. Pulling them

from his ears, he saw that they were covered in blood.

Namara opened his eyes, still half-awake. He mumbled

something, but his voice sounded distorted and robotic. Two markings that

glowed blue surfaced on the left side of his face and in the center of his

chest. His eyes changed from yellow to that same blue, and they were filled

with thin, mechanical rings.

            Athius held his head as the

vibrating worsened. When the hovercraft passed them, it turned around and flew

back faster than it came. The humming stopped and they were left in silence for

mere moments before the screeching of their attackers was heard again. Blinking

his eyes, he tried to regain his focus. He glanced beside him and saw that his

counterpart seemed more conscious than he was earlier. "Hey, can you get up?"

            Namara sat up slowly and nodded

after examining his leg, "Sure. My leg's not too bad."

            He stood up and held out his hand, "Wow...

What's your name? I'm Athius."

            Namara took it and then got to his

feet clumsily, still seeming a bit dazed from the tranquilizer. Using a tree as

leverage, he tested, "Would you kill me if I told you?"

            Athius shook his head and then

headed out into the street, "No. I just saved your life..."

            He sighed and followed, stepping

through the grass. "Right... My name's Namara. Where am I, exactly?"

            Athius continued, "We're in the forest

just outside of New Selania." He pointed, "Down the road is a research

facility. I can't go there myself, but I can show you the city if you'd like."

            Namara stared at him with surprise,

"You don't think the people would be... afraid?"

            He smiled assuredly, "I'm not. The

people there are used to seeing new things - we are a society dedicated to science,

after all. Though I must say, I was a bit surprised to find you lying out here."

            Namara shifted his eyes back to the

ground and walked along the edge of the road to the city as if he had forgotten

who he was talking to. Athius followed, unsure of how to respond to the

behavior. He figured that the tranquilizer had something to do with it, but he

was still unprepared. He watched the trees to make sure none of the creatures would come back.

The notion of intelligent life outside of the city

was a hard one for Athius to accept, and the thought that it would come here

was an even harder one. In the School, they were always taught that it was

impossible for life to exist outside of their cavern because of a nuclear war

that took place over a century before. With the arrival of the beast walking

beside him, he couldn't begin to imagine what it would mean - especially since

he was probably going to fail his studies.

            It wasn't long before they were out

of the dim forest light and walking in the open. The road wound down into a

rocky valley that was home to the main city. Flying lights shaped like rings

littered the air above the roads, spaced apart evenly. They never really turned

off, although they did get dimmer during the night. Athius still didn't

understand what powered them, but he was always forced to put those thoughts

aside. They would never be resolved.

            Namara

seemed to come out of his daze when he questioned, "I heard of some 'great

demonstrator' person... Who are they?"

            Athius shrugged as they crossed the

metal bridge that led into the city, "I've never seen him, but I know that he

oversees everything. We're told that he knows best for us in school."

            "I see..."

            He stopped by a streetlight just

before the main archway and then returned, "You know, I've been meaning to ask...

Why are you here in the first place? Where are you even from?"

            Namara smiled and gazed towards the

city. "I'm searching for some people. I don't know if they'll be here, but if

they are..." He sighed before continuing, watching the cavern and the city in

awe, "My goodness, I haven't even been awake for a day!"

            "I'm sorry?"

            He laughed, "Sorry... I was from a

place that was far away from this one. You wouldn't know about it. I led a sort

of... research team... that was trying to find the answer - the answer to humanity

itself. Or rather, we were trying to decode it. I was given the answer when I

was young, and I was told to safeguard it as best I could. I became part wolf

to express myself more openly, for the most part."

            Athius rested his back on the

archway and asked simply, "What is it?"

            Namara grimaced, "I can barely begin

to tell you. It's so complex... It is sort of like... a base desire that every

person starts out with. What everyone wants is their interpretation of it

unless they've been warped by greed."

He nodded, "I understand."

"By making it known, people could finally be in

harmony with each other while staying unique." Namara paced forward

reflectively, "It's kind of funny... You see, the time that I was from - I was

put into some kind of stasis thing about a hundred and sixty years ago -

everyone had their own views about how the world worked." Putting his hands up

expressively, he emphasized, "So many people were waiting for heaven to come to

them and welcome them in, without making things right first. They expected a

free ticket without any effort on their part. But no... in order to find any sort

of peace, they had to bring 'heaven' here first. Nobody saw that." He nodded

and clenched his fist, assuring himself, "Yes... I have come to find the friends

I left behind and then make this known to your society. Science alone won't get

you there. Not in a million years. An unrestrained focus on science will turn

humanity into a mindless collective. By what you've said, I have a feeling

something has already gone sour here."

            Athius agreed and walked to the

other end of the gate, peering into the city. Two streets branched out before

them and the corner of a tall grey building pointed towards them. "That's true.

I've had that feeling for a long time, and I'm about to become a victim of it."

            Namara joined him at his side, "I'll

be leaving if they don't listen. I've spent too much time waiting. I must

accomplish it myself, or else I'll always

be waiting for everyone else to do it. You're welcome to come if you like."

            He sighed and looked up at his new

friend. "I might have no other choice. But, if I do go, is there anyone I can

bring?"

            Namara smiled, "Bring whoever thinks

that this will work."

            Athius returned his smile and then

began to walk into the city. He turned back to Namara and said, "Well, do

whatever you need to. I need to go home... I really

don't want to be home late. I'd show you around, but I'd probably get in

trouble. I would like to hear more about that thing though..."

            He nodded back and gestured for him

to go, "That's fine, we can talk some other time. I need to find my friends.

Just, if you ever come across someone named Mahalia, tell her that I'm alive."

            Athius acknowledged him and then

turned to leave. He walked on the empty sidewalk and headed to his house,

ignoring his surroundings to think about what Namara had told him. He wasn't

sure if his family would agree, but he had never felt something so powerful in

his entire existence.

Victernus - Chapter 16

            Namara trod on the sidewalk of the street to the left, opposite from Athius. The dark, sterile metal felt cold under his paws. Because he couldn't feel any wind, his tail felt very out of place - even though he was moving. In order to keep...

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Victernus - Chapter 14

            Namara woke up in a hospital bed with several IVs attached to his arms. The room he was in was small and white - monitoring equipment, a door, and a metal rolling table stood to his left and a window and chair were on his right. He sat up...

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Victernus - Chapter 13

            New Selania was mankind's latest attempt at society. It was located deep beneath the ruins of Washington D.C., the city that once held the seat of all of the world's power. The entire world barely managed to unite into a new civilization,...

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