FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Day 0: Prey

Ver. 1.2

The wails of alarms rose and fell, as shafts of red and amber swept through the smoky gloom of the corridor. The sharp, acrid, stench of ozone, scorched metal, and fried electronics, stung my nostrils. Overhead lights flickered uncertainly. To my right, a length of cable swung from the ceiling, sputtering and sparking, like an angry, electric snake. Cowering against the bulkhead, I brushed my sweat-drenched dark brown hair from my eyes, then gripped the snub-nosed pistol in both hands. My heart thumped, as I took a deep breath, fearing the end was near.

The Elysium's Pride was an XJ-37 class heavy freighter, where I was a passenger. I was a grad student, heading to Torresia II for a fieldwork assignment, as part of my doctorate program. Now, I had to learn to be a soldier, with no training, whatsoever. One of my fellow passengers told me that it was Zephs who were attacking. The thought of these alien wolves made my blood run cold.

A hum-whine rose above the alarms. I spun around, to my left, while holding the pistol in a death-grip with both hands. Ten meters ahead, a spindle of blue-green light formed, reaching almost to the ceiling. It spread into a hazy, sparkling, cylinder, just over two meters wide. Scrambling to my feet, I rushed away from the glow, knowing it was a Zephenidian boarding party, teleporting aboard. Diving headlong toward the intersection, I narrowly avoided being electrocuted on the dangling cable. Glancing back, I watched as bands of light spread from the middle of the field, toward the floor, and ceiling. as three humanoid shapes swirled and coalesced into being. I turned and fled down the corridor, to the right, hoping that the materializing aliens hadn't spotted me.

I stopped to catch my breach, while pussing my back against the wall to present as small of a target as possible. So far, there was no sign of pursuit, but this was not something I could count on, for long. I raised the weapon, this time, using one hand, while trying to figure out what to do with my left hand. The weapon was a short, squat pistol, with an inclined stock which was slightly longer than its barrel. The trigger was a metal pad on the leading edge of the stock, with a long wide trigger guard. On the butt of the weapon was a number of inactive indicator lights, and a slider for setting how powerful, and how much battery, I wanted each shot to use. The corridor appeared deserted, though I continued to grip the weapon, as I slowly moved it from side to side, watching, and waiting.

I hoped that the end would be quick and neat, but knew that quick neat deaths were not what the Zephenidians intended. They were here to kill, loot, and feast, with human meat being on the menu. Pirates, after the ship's cargo, would have been far preferable. Though the Zephenidians would gladly take the cargo, any human crew and passengers would be their true prize. Human prey would be captured, alive if possible, toyed with, tortured, and then slaughtered, like animals. They thought this made the meat taste better. To them, humans were merely non-sapient, non-sentient, prey. Communicating with them was difficult, since they would kill any human wearing a translator, on sight. Being hung upside-down and butchered, like livestock, was not a fate I was going to allow. I had to kill as many of them as I could, so they would see me as a threat, and kill me immediately. Sadly, I lacked a Mindlink translator, which would guarantee they'd kill me, rather than capture me.

A man, with ginger hair, wearing a gray button-down shirt, and black slacks, rushed toward me. On his shirt, below the neckline, was a eagle Star Merchant emblem. On his left arm, near the shoulder, was his rank insignia, indicating he was the chief officer. “Don, Donald McFerran?"

“Harvey! It's just Don. What's going on!" I asked, urgently. “Is it true that the Zephs took out the bridge?"

“Bridge and engineering!" he shouted above the alarm. “We're fucked! We've lost almost everyone. I tried to get to the transporter to turn on the goddamn teleport dampener, but the ship's already overrun." Harvey sighed. “We may be the only ones left." He suddenly turned in the direction he came, and reached for his holster. A blue-hot bolt of plasma flashed from my right, with an sharp snap, striking the man's shoulder. A spray of flame, aerosolized blood, and bits of seared meat, erupted from the impact. He spun and fell, with his arm flopping uselessly. Instinctively, I returned fire, sending several bolts of searing plasma, at a shaggy humanoid form, which darted through a doorway. Harvey was screaming. His shoulder was a mass of charred uniform and burnt meat. He winced, and yelled, “Get out of here!" He fought to grab his gun with his left hand. “Go! Go!"

Where do I go? Ahead, was the Zephenidian I had just shot at. Behind me, was where that group had teleported to, earlier. Since it was unlikely the Zephs had stuck around, after teleportintg in, I turned and ran back the way I came. I felt horrible leaving Harvey to die. There was nothing I could do. He would probably die, anyways, without mediate medial help, due to the severe plasma burns.

As I reached the intersection, the alarms cut off. A distant series of electric pops made it clear that others were still alive, and fighting. I continued straight, looking for a place to hide or to defend myself. The passenger cabin doors were all open, with the wall-panels burnt through from point-blank weapons fire. The Zephenidians were obviously being very thorough. It became very clear that the gunfire might have merely been Zephenidians destroying doors as they ransacked the ship.

A blue-hot bolt zipped past me. A second flash tore into a nearby bulkhead with a sizzling pop, showering me with a stinging spray of sparks. Wheeling around, I leveled my gun, but couldn't see anything in the murky gloom. My heart pounded, and cramps wracked my insides. A loud, wet squelch, and the sudden, viscous spread of warmth, around my thighs, alerted me to the small cesspool which had formed in my underpants. The attacker was still nowhere to be seen. Worse, I was now broadcasting on all frequencies, now that I smelled like a baby badly in need of a change.

I knew I had to fight on, despite the odds. It was simple survival instinct, and I hoped it would serve me. I slowly edged toward a blue door, on the left wall, marked “Maintenance." As I reached for the door, it slid aside, revealing a dark utility closet. A stack of crates was in the corner, along with a large, flat, flying saucer-shaped, automated floor buffer. Shelves along the back wall of the closer, were stocked with bottles of bleach, other cleansers, rolls of paper towels, rolls of toilet paper, and various other supplies. Slowly. I backed inside the closet, but kept the door obstructed so it wouldn't close while holding my weapon, ready.

From my right darted a large bipedal wolf-like creature. I instinctively placed the weapon's barrel to its head. As the creature pivoted on its toes to face me, I squeezed the trigger pad. There was a pop, and a sizzling kerthunk, as one of its eyes vanished, and the socket became a void into charrged nothingness. I fired another shot into the creature's face, blinding me momentarily. As my vision cleared, I gazed down at the twitching form at my feet. From its shoulders down, it resembled a bipedal dog, or wolf, with short thick, silvery, fur covering its body. Along its arms, the fur hung long, resembling a cloak. Several small medallions hung from chains, clipped to the arm fur, likely denoting rank and job. Though similar to a wolf, it lacked a tail. Its head was a smoking ruin, with an intermittent flame flickering from its charred fur. Its face was obliterated in a way that only a few point blank hits from a plasma weapon could do. One eye, along with the entire side of its face, was gone, the other was caramelized, with charred exposed bone. The flesh sizzled and smoked, smelling like a barbecue gone horribly wrong, causing me to sputter and cough.

This was the first time I had ever been in a real fight, and it demonstrated just how ill-suited I was. My diarrhea was starting to leak down the legs of my jeans, into my sneakers, making my legs feel tacky and irritated. Though I succeeded in killing my target, I felt it was not as clean of a kill as I had hoped. The Zeph did die instantly, but the close quarters combat was a no-no. I was lucky the Zephenidian didn't disarm me, or bite my face off. Cautiously, I emerged from the maintenance closet, and glanced down the corridor, to determine if it was safe.

Ahead, was a three-way intersectionm where I could only go right or left. Being that this was likely an exterior corridor, there would almost certainly be an escape pod berth, nearby. I had always doubted the usefulness of escape pods, especially this far out. These small lifeboats didn't have enough supplies to last more than a couple of days, maybe a week at most. The Zephenidians would likely teleport the contents of any pod which was launched. An improvised explosive would make a great surprise for the Zephenidians, if I could load one up in an escape pod. Unfortunately, I lacked the time, knowhow, and materials to pull this off. Zephenidians would certainly scan any pods for life form readings, so that idea was out. Some newer escape pods were equipped with a borderjumper, a miniature hyperdrive which would allow for rapid acceleration to near light speed, or even low FTL speeds. Those could be useful, but they were rare and expensive, not something this ship would likely have. They were also limited to short hops, meant to put distance between it and the distressed ship, which meant the Zephs could still collect it, especially once the distress beacon was activated.

A lupine figure dashed from the intersection, then stopped abruptly. As the creature turned to face me, I took aim. The Zephenidian glared at me with its amber eyes, bared its fangs, and drew its pointed ears back. Its hand darted for its holster, which was slung across its chest. I tapped my finger against the trigger pad, loosing several blazing pulses of death. The creature dove into the right-hand passage as one of the blasts struck its side. The Zephenidian's fur sparked, and flamed, as the creature disappeared into the corridor. A tiny red light began to blink rapidly, on the stock of the weapon, indicating that the weapon had low power. Without spare power cells, a few more shots was all I had. Glancing behind me, I felt confident that this creature didn't have company. Brandishing my weapon, I closed in for the kill.

The shape darted back into view, and fired two more blasts, which tore into a nearby bulkhead, showering my back with sparks. I answered with another couple of shots. One bolt struck the creature's right leg, which erupted in flames, sending the creature flailing to the floor. The alien wolf screamed and whimpered, as it clawed at its smoldering leg, before dragging itself into the adjoining passage. As I gripped my depleted weapon, I hurried to the intersection, hoping I had one more shot, to finish the creature off. One more shot, and I'd score the creature's gun, and I'd be back in business.

The corridor to my right was dark, lit only by an intermittent sparking, as a damaged wall panel flapped against the wall. A shower of sparks blasted across the corridor, sending the wall panel's cover clattering against the opposite wall. My heart pounded as I wheeled around, trying to make sure I was alone with my quarry. A shadowy figure was slumped against the bulkhead, a gray werewolf of an alien. The creature was frantically spraying medication over an area of charred flesh on its right leg. As I leveled mt weapon to finish the creature off, I felt a sudden presence behind me. I spun around to confront the new threat. There was a bright flash and loud snap. Pain surged through every inch of my body, giving way to the sensation of billions of tiny, insanely hungry, insects, crawling over my entire being. Every muscle became limp and unresponsive. As I crumpled into a numb heap, I fought to stay conscious, as darkness closed around me. Rolling onto my back, I stared into the feral eyes of the alien wolf, who had ambushed me with a stunner. I screamed inside my head, as my mind tumbled into an abyss.

Darkness slowly gave way to a pale blur, as the smell of blood, feces, and wet dog, filled my nostrils. I shivered from the chill air, and the even colder, bare metal, floor, beneath me. Rubbing my eyes, I sat up, which was a mistake, as every inch of my being felt like pins and needles. A wave of nausea swept over me, and I heaved, spraying yellow bile over my bare legs. My clothing was missing, leaving me naked, to shiver in the cold. Shapes began to come into focus, as my vision began to clear. A strange humming whine directed my attention to a free-standing console, on a pedestal, A wolf-like Zephenidian worked the controls. Spreading bars of light moved along a hazy, cylindrical, energy field, on a three-meter, glassy disk, in an alcove. Two humanoid shapes swirled and sparkled into being, with three human bodies forming as well. The bands reached the top and bottom of the field, then faded, as the forms solidified. The energy field faded, along with the hum. The two wolf-aliens dragged the bodies toward me, then set them down. One body was a woman, appearing intact, but unconscious. There were two men, one appearing to be more or less intact, though he, too was unconscious. The other man's right shoulder was destroyed from a plasma weapon blast. I recognized him as Harvey, who I had met a few minutes earlier. He moaned in pain, then weakly tried to sit up, but failed.

The room was a good forty meters long, over twenty meters wide, with stacks of crates, canisters, and other cargo strewn about. One wall, on the far end of the room, was heavy, and had vertical ribs, suggesting a vast door which could be opened to space. The back wall had two open doorways on either side, with the teleport alcove in the center. Two meters from the alcove, was the free-standing console, where an alien wolf worked the controls. Along both sides, were several large cargo containers, which might have been freezers. On the port wall, between two of the freezers, was a heavy, coiled, beige hose, which was probably used for fire suppression. The floor and walls were all bare, dull gray metal. The ceiling was crisscrossed with cables and conduits, with small light panels providing illumination. Streaks of rust, or was it blood, covered almost every exposed metal surface.

Human bodies were strewn about, between the various crates and other cargo. Some appeared intact, others showed signs of injuries, from minor to grave. About half of the bodies had been stripped of clothing. Two people began to stir.

Two wolf-aliens, wearing nothing but their fur, stepped around the cargo containers. One of them knelt by one of the bodies. The man woke up with a start, and tried to struggle to his feet, wailing in terror. The other Zephenidian pushed him onto his back and straddled him, using his weight to restrain him. The first wolf drew a knife. The man shrieked, and thrashed about, as the Zephenidian sliced his abdomen open. The scream became inhuman and deafening, as the alien wolf pushed his hand through the incision and pulled out a ropy mass of entrails and flung them onto the deck.

“I'm going to die," I mumbled to myself. Anything I did, would merely delay the inevitable. Maybe I could get lucky, like that one kid, back in the 20th century did, when he was abducted by Zephenidians. Unfortunately, there were too many Zephs around, and no place for me to hide.

The wolf, at the teleporter console, adjusted a few settings, than hit a button. The green column of light formed in the alcove, then widened into a hazy cylinder. A bright band of cyan-white formed, around the cylinder, then split, with one moving toward the floor, the other toward the ceiling. A wildly spinning, shimmering, form, took shape within the field. Tumbling end over end, it impacted the inside of the field, with a dull, hollow, electric thunk, causing a flash, and waves to spread over the energy field. The form rebounded, bounced around, then settled onto the floor, as the bands reached the top and bottom of the cylindrical field. The field faded, along with the sound. The Zephenidian stepped over to the disk, grabbed the body, and flung it off of the pad. The corpse landed on the man with the destroyed shoulder, then rolled, coming to rest next to me.

The body was a female with short, light brown hair, streaked with gray. The right side of her face was gone. Her uniform was in tatters, over her right side, with deep gashes on her skin. A fine rime of frost covered her ashen skin, with frozen blood filling her nostrils. Her eyes were cloudy and partially frozen. The Captain's insignia, on the arm, left no doubt. This was the body of Captain Jean McKinley. The wolves were being quite thorough, going as far as recovering the bodies which were ejected into space. This gave me a faint bit of hope, since teleporters used the hyperdrive system. Unless this ship had a secondary drive, it could be stranded for hours, until the hyperdrive recharged.

Deciding to try to find anything which might give me an advantage, I slowly crawled away from the carnage to find a place to hide. The half-dozen wolves seemed to have their hands full, with all the humans to butcher. As I slowly crept toward the exterior door, while trying to stay behind various crates, I heard, and felt, something in my head.

“Give me one of those chuthnu creatures! I want to pull out its noodles and see how long I can make it live!" Though the voice was in my head, due to the translator it wore, it felt real, and audible. The voice was harsh and guttural. Peering from behind a canister, near the cargo bay door, I watched a slender creature with gray-brown fur, and a long bushy tail, pacing past a large, dark, bipedal wolf. “Or maybe let me just rape it!"

“I'm sorry," said the Zephenidian. This Zephenidian had dark, black fur. The long fur which hung from its arms had a slight silvery sheen. Along with the medals it wore, affixed to its arm fur, it also wore an assortment of jewelry. A thick mane of fur hung from its head, half way down its back, a feature which was rare among Zephenidians. It was obviously a male, due to its prominent penile sheath, with its scrotum hanging below. “The last chuthnu I gave you, you force-fed it its own bowels, fouling the meat with shit. The Establishment almost fined us for selling them contaminated meat. If you want one of those apes, you need to pay for it, with your own mone—" The Zephenidian stopped in mid word, sniffed the air, and turned to face me. He yelped, “Get your translator off, chuthnu brain toxin!" The wolf tore the headband off its head in one swift motion, then spoke, which sounded like a dog fight.

The alien mongoose, which I recognized as a Cortrian, was completely unfazed. “You know that's all ukhach crap, spread by your Establishment! The V'Nari T'shar overrules your law, and you know it! Your government only spreads that shit so you don't feel guilty about killing sentient creatures. Look at me! I'd happily eat you, if I could get away with it!" The strange mongoose stomped toward me, than spoke, “Hey ape! You're going to have a lot of fun, here. Pity I'm not being allowed to help extend it." He growled, baring his fangs, then made a chuckling sound, that the translator translated into a cackling laugh. The Cortrian loped off in a huff, toward the exit, at the far end of the cargo hold.

The screams were growing louder and more desperate. Looking back, there was two humans, ankles bound in rope, hanging upside-down from hooks on on either side of the teleport alcove. One of them was already slit open,, with his entrails hanging over his face, and onto the floor. As I turned back, the black maned Zephenidian was looming over me. The creature grabbed a fistful of my hair, with a large, strong, clawed hand, than bulled me towards the carnage. Screaming from the pain of being dragged by my hair, I fought to free myself, but it was futile. The creature grabbed my my right arm with his other hand, and continued to drag me. The Captain's body was gone, probably being butchered. Harvey was clawing at his bloody face. with his left hand, as he shrieked in agony. A Zephenidian with stripes on his chest, held an eyeball, that it had torn from Harvey's face. As I was dragged past, the Zephenidian popped the eye into its mouth, and ate it.

In the corner, near one of the exists, a male human, who was still wearing his crew uniform, was surrounded by three Zephenidians, who taunted him as they circled. He tried to fight, as they poked at him. One of them lunged at him, biting his face, tearing part of his lip open. The man screamed as he became more desperate.

Blackmane dragged me to the wall, near the teleport chamber, then pulled me to my feet. He shoved me, hard, against the bulkhead, as another Zephenidian handed him a long pole tipped with a curved blade. As I struggled, Blackmane brought the point of the blade against my neck, then leaned his face close to mine. His hot breath smelled of blood, as I stared into the wolf's emerald eyes. There was nothing human there, just pure feral animal. He was the hunter, and I was the prey. I was defeated, vanquished, waiting for the hunter to fully claim me as his prize. The alien wolf opened his jaws, then licked his lips. I didn't know whether Blackmane was going to eat my face, or start gutting me like a fish. The tip of the blade began to dig into the base of my neck, and I gulped. It was my turn to go. Do I fight him, merely prolonging my death, or do I just await my fate?

A furred hand grasped Blackmane's right shoulder, and a wolfish muzzle leaned in. It whispered something into his ear. Blackmane turned to the other wolf, the striped one who had eaten Harvey's eyeball, and barked something, then released me. I sagged to the deck, unsure what was going on. Looking back at the far corner, the man, who was being assaulted by the three wolves, was cowering in the corner, whimpering. His face, and arms were covered in deep, bloody bites. The three wolves were still assaulting him, growling, as one grabbed his arm with its hand, and pulled the poor man onto his back.

The two Zephenidians continued their conversation, sounding much like a pair of huskies trying to speak German. Noticing that they were occupied with each other, I slowly edged away, to my right. I bumped into a body which swung by its feet, with is organs dragging along the floor, from its open belly. As I tried to move around the dangling corpse, a large hand grasped my arm, and pulled me back, causing me to almost slip in a large pool of blood. Two other Zephenidians were piling the bodies near a bank of freezers for slaughter. There were no more screams, other than the man who was being torn apart by the three Zephenidians, near the exit. Two of the three Zephenidians were playing a game of tug-a-war with him, each with an arm gripped tightly in its jaws. He was, likely, the only one from the freighter who was still alive, besides myself, and soon I would be the last. The third Zephenidian leaped onto him and began chewing his face apart. The screams grew weak, and were soon snuffed out.

Everything was quiet, except the snatches of Zephenidian conversation, mostly from Blackmane and Stripy. They were undoubtedly discussing my fate. I was still alive, and they were talking, which likely mean they were planning something special. The very thought made my blood nearly freeze inside me. Not only would this be my final day, but my death would be long, drawn out, and extremely horrible. They were probably going to rape me, or give me to the Cortrian, or worse.

Stripy grabbed my arm, in his hand, and dragged me toward the door, in the far corner. I fought to free myself from his grip, but he grabbed my other arm as well, to restrain me. As I neared the exit, I glanced to my right, to see that the man, who the Zephenidians had toyed with, was now being butchered. The wolves were carving meat from his bones and placing it upon a nearby crate, in long, bloody, strips. Near the large exterior door, a lone Zephenidian grabbed the nozzle of the thick fire hose from its cradle. The creature opened a heavy valve, sending a torrent of water from the nozzle, which turned to red foam as it mixed with the vast quantity of blood.

Through the doorway, was a dimly lit corridor, with rust-streaked walls, and floor. The corridor was only about ten meters long, with a single door on either side. It ended at a ladder and an open lift.

Stripy dragged me to the lift, then stopped. He pressed a panel on a pillar next to the lift. A rail, consisting of three curved rods, slid aside. Stripy dragged me onto the disk-shaped elevator. Blackmane rushed in to join him. The rail scraped as it closed, then the lift began to descend. It shuddered and groaned, as it moved. When the lift descended three decks, it came to an abrupt halt, then the rails groaned open. This corridor was brighter than the previous one. Light panels on the ceiling provided diffuse illumination, though many were dark, and one flickered. Across the corridor, was the ladder, likely necessary, due to the poor state of the elevator. Heavy metal doors lined the walls, at regular intervals, each with a touch pad. Stripy grabbed my arm and pulled me along the corridor, to the left of the elevator, with his friend, trailing We came to a four-way intersection. Stripy turned right and continued to a three-way intersection, where he took a left, while dragging me along. After about ten meters, he stopped. Stripy touched a pad. The door slid open, revealing a dark room, which illuminated a few seconds later. The creature dragged me into the room, followed by his friend.

The room was a small crew quarters. Much of the room was occupied by a bunk, resembling shelves. On either side of the bunk, were two small windows, which looked out into the black, starry void of space. A low, metal, squat-toilet sat against the left wall, with no privacy stall. A metal sink, a small set of drawers, and a wall-mounted storage bin, rounded out the room's amenities.

Stripy pushed me toward Blackmane, who grabbed my arm, while he opened a drawer. He retrieved a harness, then approached me. He placed the collar over my head, and around my neck, then made a few adjustments to refine the fit. He pulled the straps under my arms, and across my chest, then secured it with a small metal key. Stripy returned to the drawer, and retrieved a length of chain, and secured it to a loop on my back. He led me to the corner, next to the toilet, and pulled the leash through a metal rung, on the wall, than clipped the chain to itself. Stripy and Blackmane left through the door, and closed it behind them. I was alone, terrified at what these creatures planned for me.

Though the harness was secured with a lock, the leash was attached with a simple clip. I could detach it, and leave. Unfortunately there would be no place to go. The crew would either return me here, or kill me. There was also the Cortrian, who would call dibs if I ran into him. I knew enough about Cortrians to fear them more than the Zephenidians. Despite their bestial nature, Cortrians were extremely intelligent, and insanely cunning. Even if Blackmane and Stripy had no intention to give me to the Cortrian, I had to be on my guard, in case the Cortrian decided to come after me, while the two Zephenidians were away.

I slumped to my knees, and lowered my head into my hands. Not having died yet, felt like a cruel joke. I was in a nightmare like no other. I couldn't wake from this. I could try to go to sleep, and if successful, maybe I would be in a different nightmare. Pounding the deck with my fist, I screamed and wailed. “I want it to end! Make it end! Fucking end!"

The door slid aside, as the two Zephenidians stepped into the room, both carrying burlap bags. Stripy reached into his bag, and pulled out a long, bloody bone, with meat hanging from it, and pushed it toward me. I took the slimy bone in my hand and stared at it. Stripy and Blackmane sat on the lower bunk. Each pulled a rib from their bags, and began gnawing the bits of meat from it. Blackmane began crunching his bone, then licked at the bloody marrow.

Horror welled up in me, as I realized the bone was human, I screamed, dropping it to the floor. “Fuck!" I was shaking, screaming, and nearly sobbing.

Stripy got to his feet, picked the bone off the floor and returned it to his bag. He stepped to a bin, near the bed, and opened it. He removed a chunk of dried meat, and brought it to me, thrusting it into my hands.

I took the chunk of jerky, and stared at it, worried it was human. It was a fair amount of meat, with no bone, which meant that it would likely be too expensive for a couple of mere crew members to afford. Realizing that the meat was ukhach, a large herbivore common on the Zephenidian homeworld. I took a bite. The meat was tough and leathery. It was a lot of effort to chew. I carefully worked at it with my teeth, which I managed, despite how poorly suited I was, at chewing this stuff. There was some blood streaks, from when Stripy handled it to me, but despite the fact the blood was human, I decided to not let that bother me. I was being fed, which meant I was not going to be immediately killed. Why I was being kept, still eluded me, but at least it was better than the alternative, for now.