FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

The sharp sensation of electricity dancing through his body hit Chris again as he was shocked by the drone. It blared at him, wanting the human to go faster. He hissed in pain as he stumbled ahead before finally tumbling into his cell.

The ethereal light blocked the door frame once again, sealing him inside. He sighed sadly as he gazed from wall to wall. Nothing changed. He willed himself to a corner and slumped against it, letting gravity seat him.

He was dead quiet. So silent that he could hear the barely audible hum of the blue force caging him in. He started to shift his feet as he reflected upon the day's events. He couldn't even formulate what a day was. There was no time set for him. He would just wake up, participate in a round, come back to his cell and wait to fall asleep before starting the whole process over again. Chris couldn't really complain that it was starting to get tedious. Today more than likely will be his last night.

“I don't even know if that's a bad thing anymore" Chris commented to himself.

He sighed. Again he was talking to himself. He rarely does so, only in times of strife or desolation does he talk to himself; he used to do it all the time as a kid because of the latter reason. The task went away as he went through high school and his first semester of college.

He looked down at his clothes and noticed the dried, maroon-colored blood holes in his shoulders. His injuries were fixed when he landed back onto the ship where those alien doctors were waiting for him, although they couldn't really do anything about his clothing.

“No. Wait…" Chris said to himself. Chris remember a peculiar pattern: every time he would return from a round, his clothes were tattered and worn. The following day, his clothes were clean and as good as new. Chris was stumped. He should've realized it sooner. On top of that, he never felt hungry. Chris had to have guessed it has been at least 4 or 5 full days. So why didn't he feel parched as well? What was going on?

“It's probably some alien-science thing." Chris mumbled.

“Does it even matter at this point?" Chris said, his voice wavered as a surge of emotions flooded him. Why was Chris even trying at this point? Kagoro was right, he wasn't strong. Chris was only able to get through all the rounds so far was because of Eone and the other contestants. He should have died sooner...what chance did he have against a killer bug from outer space.

Chris chuckled a bit as the thought of a killer bug from outer space brought back some happier memories about sci-fi movies. Chris sighed as he rubbed his forehead lightly. He intensified his rubbing after a brief couple of seconds before smacking it with his palm.

“Why are you thinking of movies at a time like this?" He wailed.

His sorrow was stunted as the doorframe whirred loudly before a falling pitch sounded quickly, following that the head of Sor-dnaal appeared on the blue light. Even after all of the torture he suffered, Chris couldn't help but be amazed by the technological feat Sor-dnaal was able to accomplish.

“Hello my final two champions. You have survived, as the colloquialism states, 'thick and thin' to make it to the final round. I assure you, this will be unlike the rounds you faced before. However, before we reach the pinnacle of the tournament, I believe a reward in necessary, as a mark of appreciation and commemoration of your strength and wit. Based on initial observation of your respective planets and cross-relay of the dopamine levels of your species, I took the liberty of retrieving a personal token from each of your worlds that will surely give you pleasure and happiness. Enjoy my gift to you, for you will need all the strength and focus for the next round." Sor-dnaal's head explained before it fizzled into nothing. After his head phased out of existence, the force field disappeared and an F-57 drone hovered forward. It was aiming straight towards Chris, causing the scared human to back up in terror. Chris sunk to the ground as he was out of room to flee. He prayed that this wasn't some type of sick gift from Sor-dnaal. The drone was about two feet away from him, lowered near his level before he heard the sound of metal shifting as it dispensed a dull grey sphere at his feet. A loud clunk resonated in the room as the device made contact with the floor. The F-57 rose back to its imposing height before hovering away. The whirring of its jets fading away before the quiet hum of the force field replaced it.

Chris stared at the force field a bit longer, hoping that the drone wouldn't come back and stun him...or something far worse. He looked down at the device. It was smooth and a bit small in his hand, a bit bigger than a full-sized cantaloupe. Chris felt it in both his hands, rolling it around. He figured that it had to open...but how to open it? After a couple of minutes of frustration, Chris sighed as he tossed his gift onto the bed.

“Why won't this thing open?" Chris groaned loudly.

Immediately after those words flew out of his mouth did the sphere make a series of clicks before the top half of the sphere collapsed subtly and open up, revealing its cargo. “Really? It's voice activated?" Chris said half shocked, half annoyed. Chris leaned forward a bit to see what it was and dropped his jaw slightly at the sight before him.

Resting within the sphere was an iPod! Not just any iPod, it was his own that he used to store all of his music on...wait, how could it be his exact iPod? Chris scrunched his eyes and yep...the small curved scratch was still near the top, left side. He ran his fingers against his palm anxiously before grabbing it. It felt like his iPod. It looked like his iPod. So it had to be his iPod. He clicked the button on the top right side of the device and it flashed to life. The time in the middle of the screen read “10:42PM".

Chris chuckled sadly. “I would be listening to you right now if I was back on Earth cramming for a test the next day."

Chris slid his finger across the screen and punched in his 4 digit code. It revealed the many other features and home screen of his device. No tricks or gimmicks of the sort. It was his iPod! It even had his ethereal, purplish-blue background of the starry night. Chris reflected how ironic that picture was to him now. He was so fascinated with space and aliens, he didn't even know how close would get to transforming his simple daydream into reality.

He slid to the right and the lone music app “ZynMusix" was there. He was a music junkie. He loved it. Ever since he listened to his first pop song on the radio when he was a boy, he became ensnared with it. As he matured his musical tastes broadened into a wide spectrum of musical genres. He would have studied it at his college but felt he wouldn't get much out of a music degree besides being a low-paid teacher, so he settled for a science degree. However, music would forever remain a passion in his heart.That app was the only one on there so that he could have as much room on his iPod to store as many songs as his gigabytes would allow. While he appreciated and was awestruck by the wide variety of music in his world, he of course had his favorites. Chris' face lit up when he scrolled down his library to a particular song he used to listen to.

The heavy tone flowed out of the speaker as “Wombass" by Tiesto and Oliver Heldens started. Soon the beat kicked in, starting off a bit hazy before shifting into the rhythmic groove of the piece. Little embellishes here and there were added progressively as the song developed. A electric 'kat' of the snare, followed the 'tsst' of the hi-hat, built up the song before it would. The hypnotic melody danced upon the air as it filled the enclosed cell with its alluring groove. Then everything seemed to shift upwards as the next section was about to drop. The song took on a new dynamic as the main motif sounded, which as Chris analyzed, was just the initial melody but at a lower octave and sounded a bit more rigid. Then again, that's what distinguished most EDM music. While Chris realized how superficial and stale modern music can be, he couldn't deny that it was catchy and when played over and over during the strobing lights of a party it took ahold of him. It was a guilty pleasure of his.

It was too soft. Chris raised the volume up. It got louder. “Still too soft." Another 3 levels and it was there. “Not yet." Max volume. Of course with the speaker capacities of a simple iPod, he couldn't have wanted it as loud as it would be if it was synced to a loudspeaker but it was still clearly and punctually audible. He probably wouldn't be able to hear another person clearly, but he wouldn't have the chance.

“Not for a long time anyways."

Chris realized it was quiet again. The song ended as he yearned for the silence to be broken again. 4 seconds later, the next track came up. An upbeat pattern filled the air, followed by a snarky piano. Then a fluid voice sang the lyrics to “Le Bump" by Yolanda be Cool. Then the iconic beat filled the air as the sax played its riff.

Chris spent over an hour on his device, enraptured with relief. Grateful that he had one little thing to prevent him from going mad. It may have just been an iPod, but to Chris it was more than that. The music gave him relief. It allowed him to channel his emotions to the tune that best fit the current emotion. It helped him pass time. He sighed as he went through a majority of his songs. Some he skipped while others he played on repeat. He glanced at the top right corner and noticed that his battery was already halfway drained.

His chuckle turned into a sigh. He realized he needed to stop listening to it if he wanted to conserve battery life. But…why did that matter? Why was he concerned with saving battery life if tonight would be the last night he would use it? As silly as it sounded, Chris figured he didn't need to selfishly drain the device's life more than he needed to. If anything, he could at least save one more life before he perished. He paused “Papaoutai" by Stromae which had been playing the chorus. He laid down on his flat bed, placing the iPod near his head, adjacent to the wall. And as he lay there, without haste to let sleep consume his mind, he realized something. Maybe dying tomorrow wouldn't be such a bad thing

***

Chris walked the desolate hallway, escorted by the F-57 drones. His appearance was a bit disheveled. He didn't shave throughout that week, revealing budding facial hair. He never liked facial hair, but it's not like he could do something about it at a time like this. He had bigger things to focus on. His iPod was left there on his bed, the medium that provide Chris an escape back to reality, seemingly forgotten and his surroundings being a slight blur to him

He approached the hanger all too soon, the appearance dulling a bit. He figured it was because he continued returning again and again, that now the view of the hanger seemed almost normal to him.

He looked back and noticed that Kagoro wasn't anywhere to be seen. He couldn't find him in the hanger or as he got seated inside the ship. As the doors closed shut on him, he realized that his fate was being sealed. The last ferry ride that would carry him to his death.

“You can't give up...do it for her " His mind tried to argue, thinking of his gone partner

“Well Emily is dead!" Chris hissed back. “What will fighting in her honor do? It won't bring her back? Nothing could bring her back…" Chris said solemnly.

Quicker than he expected he heard the engines of the ship die down, signaling their approach. The cascade of sound that followed, typical of the landing procedure was almost soothing, it distracted Chris temporarily of the round to come.

The doors groaned as the slid open, revealing the surface of the planet…

It was...oddly similar.

It was like he was at home, somewhat. Chris could only describe it as an abstract urban, concrete jungle. It was filled with pipes and off-putting buildings. The architecture of said buildings were similar to the ones back home, except they looked more 'roundish'. The archways and edges of each building had an intricate pattern engraved on them. Chris could also see that a lot of pipes and spires of sort were jutting out of the structures, making the environment look compact.

He was on a ledge that marked one of the edges of the industrial compound. The sky was a bluish green and a distant moon could be seen in the aqua sky. Contrastingly, the ground he was standing on was grey. To Chris, this place seemed eerie. Creepy as there was no other signs of life here.

The spacecraft roared to life and in a couple of moments flew away. Chris watched it shrink to a dot in the sky before disappearing completely. He looked down quietly before walking to the entrance of the compound. Suddenly he was encompassed with the bluish dome he's come to known.

Sor-dnaal phased onto the surface, bearing his signature smug grin.

“Welcome, Kagoro and Chris, the last two contestants of Battle of the Universe! You two have fought through and overcame every obstacle that you faced. You have each utilized and pushed your body to its absolute limits, determined to survive. From the unstable plains of Grall Prime you had to cleverness to determine how to maneuver around the unstable terrain and outsmart the sentries; to the frozen, blizzard-striken planet of Wroxstyl, enduring the subzero temperatures and surviving the harsh climate; to working and striving as a team on Ozard-N3 to outsmart the Phain; to overcoming the hallucinogenic air of Agnizab and your mental barriers; and pushing your physical limits and will power in the maze of D572-Xangre. "

A smaller screen adjacent to the projection of Sor-dnaal appeared and showed what Chris could only describe as replays of the rounds. He saw his fellow contestants jumping and dodging and fighting for their lives. It struck a blow to his gut, how this alien could just replay their moments of life and death like they were nothing but highlights of a sports game...it sent a wave of anger throughout Chris. He clenched his fist, releasing he was powerless at the moment. The replays flashed through everything that had happened over the course of the tournament. Chris' heart sank when he saw his friends-if he could even call them that-die before his eyes. When the scene flashed to Eone getting his neck torn out...Chris had to turn away.

“Now that we have come to the last battle, it is time for you to know what you are up against...this planet used to be a thriving city just like the previous planets, although an error occurred here. Scientists on Ialir tried to come up with cures to extend the life spans of the organisms here to preserve the multiple species found here and prevent extinction, however their synthesized agent lead to a significant mutation which altered the metabolism and chemical balance of the affected species. It rendered them into savage beasts with an insatiable hunger for flesh. The virus quickly spread and evolved over time. The whole populace of the planet was decimated within a hundred years or so. My scanners indicated that there are no present heat signatures here except for you and your opponent, although my motion tracker is detecting numerous signatures. Your goal is simple, be the last contestant alive. You are both at the edges of a urban center and once the force field drops, the inhabitants will be aware of your presence. Now do what you both do best: survive!"

The blue shield dropped and all went silent. Chris looked around and didn't understand how barren it was here until silence greeted him like an old friend. A soft wind danced across the center and lightly caressed Chris's exposed skin. Chris licked his lips softly to prevent them from drying up as he took his first few steps into the urban center. He was cautious as he took a couple more and passed a building. He was apprehensive, passing a building with a run down entrance leading to a black abyss deep within the store. He figured something was going to jump out at him at any moment, but exhaled greatly as he passed the building.

Another breeze flowed through the center. Chris gulped, not liking how desolate he was. He passed another vacant building and turned right. A couple of steps in and a distant “clank" was heard. Chris stopped immediately and tensed, craning his neck to the source of the noise. He looked all around and dead silence permeated the air. Chris didn't know if being by himself right now was a good thing. He wanted to cough but forced himself to stay quiet, or risk getting discovered by one of those creatures Sor-dnaal described. He tiptoed onwards after looking around and waiting a few moments.

He rounded another corner and headed down that road when he heard a ghastly noise. It almost sounded like half a scream, mixed in with a guttural, low moan. Whatever it was, it made the hair on the back of Chris' neck stand tall. His mind was racing. Had they found him? Chris made sure he was quiet! It sounded closer than the “clank" he heard a few minutes ago.

He briskly yet softly walked through the abandoned area. He couldn't tell if he heard more noise, or if his brain was playing tricks on him. All he knew for certain was his breathing increased heavily. His heartbeat was hammering in his chest. His stress, alongside his suspension, was increasing with each passing second.

That chilling noise was heard again. This time very close to him. He froze suddenly as he registered where the sound came from. He turned to the left and saw out of the corner of his eye, the shambled entrance to another building. He could only see a few feet into the building as the rest was obscured in darkness. Chris cursed as he stayed still, urging his body to go forward. Alas, his fear got the best of him and he remained painfully silent. He was shaking a bit as his brain was trying to process the unknown.

Chris' eyes bulged out a bit as he heard a brief shuffling, followed by the same noise again. This time the noise was right around the corner of that entrance. Chris didn't have time to see what it was. His mind told him to flee and that's exactly what he did. He high-tailed it swiftly around another corner adjacent to him. He pressed himself against the wall and gulped weakly as he tried to calm himself down. Closing his eyes as he tried to collect himself, yet slowing his racing heartbeat and ragged breathing was a different story.

The unearthly sound came again. Chris stopped breathing and his eyes shot open. The noise was right next to him. He slowly turned his head to the left and his mouth dropped a bit in horror.

Standing in front of him was this...thing. It was anthropomorphic to say the least with grey-greenish skin. It had thin, sickly legs which looked rotten. The torso looked malnourished and Chris could see some parts oozed a blackish liquid. Its contorted arms were thin like its legs and adorned with ribbon-like cuts leading to its face. Chris was mortified at the face. The mouth was vertical instead of horizontal and was torn. It's red eyes weren't uniform and one was slightly lower than the other. It didn't appear to have any ears. When Chris locked eyes with him, the creature screeched louder and began limping toward him.

“Holy fuck!" Chris shouted as he made a mad dash in the opposite direction, quickly losing sight of the creature.

“Zombies….fucking zombies! It could have...been anything...else...but no...it had to be...zombies!" Chris panted, panicking.

Another moan cut him off and he snapped his head to the right, seeing another undead creature awkwardly approaching him. Chris cursed and darted away.

He ran along another road and slowed down, seeing two more undead coming from the right side. He sprinted to the left and looked back, seeing the other two from before plus one more approaching from the rear.

Chris' eyes flashed around and jogged down another route, turning around entering a narrow passageway. He immediately regretted it as it ended in a dead end. He stopped and whipped around only to be cornered by three zombies.

They cried their ghastly noise and moved in on him. Chris pressed himself to the wall and looked up, trying to find a way out to no avail. He looked back down and tensed as they were halfway towards him. Chris looked at the ground, realizing he needed a weapon to defend himself. He quickly spotted a large, jagged rock a few feet away from him. He knew he needed that rock if he was going to survive. Chris reached out and grabbed it, getting a firm, strong grip on it as the first zombie was within a few feet of him.

Chris shouted as he kicked the undead creature hard in the gut, causing it to double over momentarily. Using the vulnerable opportunity, Chris heaved and brought the rock straight down onto its skull. The rock connected with the zombie's head with a thick smack and sent the creature slamming into the ground, an open, black cavity visible on the back of the zombie's head. Chris saw out of the corner of his eye as the next one approached his side dangerously close. He grunted as he used his strength to bring up the rock quickly, upper cutting the creature dead center in its jaw. Black ooze sprayed upwards as the zombie fell back. The third zombie came quick, rushing at Chris once he was close and knocking him on his side. Chris dropped the rock and grabbed the zombie by its wrists as it aimed for his face.

“Oh fuck!" Chris yelled.

Chris turned his head sideways and visibly winced, as the zombie was inches away from his face, snapping its teeth at him. Chris tried to force the zombie back by its wrists but sadly didn't have enough leverage. Chris whined, his eyes were darting around until they landed on a rebar of sort laying on the ground a few feet away from him. More rebars were jutting out of the building next to it.

Facing his attacker once more, Chris maneuvered his legs under the zombie's chest and pushed outward forcefully, sending the zombie careening over his head. Chris immediately scrambled on his hands and knees towards the rebar and within a second grabbed it. No sooner had the zombie grabbed his foot and dragged him back. Chris yelped and turned around, holding the steel bar to the right before whipping it across the creature's face, sending the zombie to its side. Chris got onto his knees and grunted through his teeth as he slammed the rebar repeatedly onto the creature's face and neck.

Chris couldn't think clearly. All he knew was that he stopped after the zombie couldn't move and its face wasn't recognizable, not like it was beforehand. Chris huffed as he caught his breath. He looked around, assessing the situation. He saw the three dead bodies lying around him. He turned as he heard some more noises coming from the alleyway. He got up and scurried to the end of the alleyway, back into the open road. He was shocked at what he saw

A swarm of about 20 zombies were standing in the road. One of them saw him, screeched, alerting the others of his presence. The rest turned towards Chris, shrieking as they all advanced towards him. Fear prompted him to run away, high tailing it out of there, down the street.

He couldn't grasp it. He was running from a horde of zombies. Chris was breathing deeply, frantically as his eyes darted around madly for a place to hide. He had no choice. He could barely fight three as it was. Six times that amount, he would indefinitely be slaughtered. He whimpered, trying to figure out what to do.

Rounding another corner, he faced a desolate runway, with ruined buildings lining the sides. He saw a large broken window and made his way towards it, seeing as how that was the only opening there. He hastily placed his hands on the edged and cried out in pain, pulling back and seeing his hands covered in cuts. Blood started to ooze from his hands; he was in such a rush he didn't see the little shards of glass lining the frame.

A distant moan caught his attention. Not wanting to turn back he gritted his teeth and placed a leg onto the frame, his shoe protecting him from the shards as he used the sides to hoisted himself up, over, and into the barren room.

He immediately gazed upon an oblong door, reaching for it as he had no other choice. The room on the other side was dark and brim, with light sifting through the seams. He closed the door behind him and held his Breath, waiting and listening for any noises.

He heard faint scuffling. He tensed, the only thing audible was the rhythmic beating of his heart. He gulped and squeezed his eyes shut, praying he wouldn't be found.

After two minutes, all was silent.

Three more quiet minutes passed…

Chris was on edge, fretting at the smallest of sounds.

He seemed to be waiting forever before finally and reluctantly, steeling himself over.

He opened the door slowly, wincing at the creaking noise emanating from the frame.

“Yeah that would happen…" Chris cursed to himself.

He tiptoed to the wall, shimmying along it before peeking around the broken window.

Nothing.

Not a single zombie was present among the streets. He breathed a sigh of relief. He carefully climbed out the window and hopped into the street, looking around cautiously. That was his mistake.

He heard a quick scuttling before a heavy weight crashed down on him. Chris let out a yelp of pain as he was squashed. The mass above him shifted and a sharp pain jolted up his body from his left leg. He look back and his faced with horror. It was Kagoro, biting a chunk out of his leg.

Chris thrashed, slamming his fists against the dense shell of his opponent to no avail. He screamed loudly as he felt a searing pain flourish within his calf as muscle and skin were ripped from his body. Chris grabbed one of Kagoro's exposed antennas, twisting it roughly while his other hand swatted his face, jamming his thumb nail into one of the insect's eyes.

Kagoro screeched in pain before releasing his bite, roughly head butting Chris a few yards away. Chris gave a small cry as pain exploded through him as he made contact with the ground, rolling to a stop. He looked up to see Kagoro shaking his head vigorously, standing up a bit and revealing some nasty bite marks.

Chris felt something in his hand and realized it was his antennae.

A low chittering sound caught his attention, his eyes gazed a few inches higher and met Kagoro's. Three out of his four eyes glared back at him with the fourth caved in and bleeding a sick greenish color. A shallow hole protruding from his head confirmed he had torn off the appendage residing in his grasp.

“I'm going to enjoy watching you as they slowly eat you alive. I can't wait to hear the agonizing screams as they rip apart your hot flesh and feast on your innards!" Kagoro growled.

Not long after, the horrible noises were back again. Both contestants turned toward the end of the street and saw a large mob of the undead ambling towards them. Some more noises prompted them to turn the other way, where coming from up the street was another hoard screeching a chilling cacophony.

Kagoro's sight fell back on him and he chuckled “I would say this is pitiful, but it is not. You will be forgotten. Your lineage erased, your memory will fade and everyone will forget about you. You came so close, yet so far. You are weak, just like that human female, and your reptilian friend. All weak."

The zombies were almost halfway towards them.

“I will send my regards to your planet, telling them how you failed before they get smothered into oblivion." Kagoro said with finality as he scurried away, although he kept swaying as he left him there. It was as if he was disoriented, following a curvy path as he shimmied up a wall slowly and watched from a safe distance.

The horde closed in on him. Chris looked around frantically and whimpered. Whipping his head backwards, his eyes scanned for some viable escape route. His heart sank as he was blocked in from all sides. The one thing he saw was a low-hanging shelf. The only way was up, but he couldn't stand; It was too painful to try. He could only crawl. The zombies were slowly and dreadfully closing in on him.

“Fuck!" Chris shouted. He flipped on his front, gritting his teeth as he moved his damaged leg and slowly dragged himself towards the low ledge, out of options; he hoped he could squeeze under.

The undead were a couple yards away. Chris huffed, frantically crawling towards his salvation. His damaged leg leaking a trail of red behind him. Meanwhile, the shrieks and moans were drowning out all the noise.

Within a few moments, he touched the ledge. It was high enough off the ground that he could squeeze under it, about one and a half feet high. To Chris it was like trying to crawl under a car. He hastily pulled himself under and had two-thirds of his body covered when he felt a cold hand grab his good leg.

All blood ran cold for him as he screamed loudly, panic lacing up his frame as he shook his leg violently. He felt the hand tighten and pull him back. Chris was mortified. He was going to die. Not like this!

With a rush of energy he used his bad leg and kicked back hard like a mule. He struck something solid and felt it move back. As soon as he did so, the hand released him, prompting him to pull the rest of his body in under the ledge.

He did so just in the nick of time as the rest of the horde arrived. Chris looked all around and was surrounded by the nasty and rotten feet of the undead. He saw a few hands trying to pry the shelf open but to no avail.

Eyes shifting frantically, palms sweaty, breathing abnormally fast. The chilling moans of the undead crescendoed steadily. The hands clawing and swiping through the crevice trying to grab at him. It was too much. He began sniffling quietly, tears flowing down his dirty cheeks.

“I-I… I lost." Chris choked out.

He sobbed a bit louder.

“I lost! I can't...can't do it anymore."

He felt a hand grab his foot. Chris jerked away, kicking the appendage back as he curled himself up tighter under his confined space, in a fetal position. He scrunched his eyelids shut, trying to avoid the inevitable.

“I tried...so hard…"

Chris' eyes blinked open subtly. The tears stung a bit, his bleary vision not helping either. He tried? He knew that was a lie.

Chris knew he didn't try. He didn't fight like a warrior. He didn't act brave or strong. He was neither of those. He was just a human. He was an average human. All he never knew was school and his family and friends. He wasn't special. He wasn't the smartest in his class nor the strongest or fastest. He knew there would always be someone better than him, no matter what.

The biggest reason why he was one of the finalists was because he piggybacked off of his dead friend Eone. The other reasons was due to his teammates and circumstances. He didn't do it alone. He couldn't do it alone for he was weak and he knew it. He was always being saved.

He was just a human.

“What's...the point?" Chris said dejectedly.

“I should just let them consume me."

It wouldn't matter. Even if he did try to fight back, he would fail. He couldn't fight that many undead. He failed.

He not only failed himself, but he failed Emily. He failed his human friend. He failed his draconic friend Eone. Not only that, but he failed the billions of people on Earth who had no idea in a few minutes, they were going to die because of his incompetence.

Chris could already picture it: the disappointed faces of his dead friends and fellow Earthlings.

He scooted back close to the wall, clinging to the improbable fact that the further away he was, the less of a chance the horde could get him.

He was trapped with no way out.

He was trapped...yet he scooted back farther than he should have.

Since he was parallel to the wall, he looked above and below him and noticed that he passed the edges of where the wall would have been and that the zombies were further away.

“What the…"

Chris wiggled around, turning the other way and was mesmerized by the sight.

It was an opening of sorts. Specifically, a shallow opening to a dark, unknown room.

He turned his head back to where he entered and saw that some of the zombies were beginning to squeeze under the shelf, prompting Chris to squirm away and into the dark room.

Crawling backwards, he was surprised that his feet gave way and began to hang. He slowly lowered his body until his chest remained within the narrow opening before letting go and dropping to the ground.

He grunted as he fell a short distance into some liquid. Standing up shakily, he surveyed his surroundings and realized he was in a cylindrical chamber, with superficial liquid pooling along the bottom of the chamber.

Chris gazed down at the water then back up at the thin passage he squeezed out of. He gasped softly as it all clicked in his head.

“I'm in a sewer." Chris deducted, “...and what I crawled through was...a storm drain?"

Chris breathes heavily as he tried to process it. Unfortunately he was cut short as he heard the signature noises of the zombies echoing above him from the storm drain. He limped down the sewer, his eyes working harder in the dark to try and find a way back to the surface. Luckily he found a ladder of sorts with jagged rungs ascending to what appeared to be a man hole cover.

He didn't even question whether this would take him to safety or right in the middle of the horde. He didn't think, climbing painfully to the top before grunting with exertion as he pushed open the hatch.

He pulled himself up and over before rolling back onto solid ground, gritting his teeth as he closed the hatch before finally huffing and puffing.

Chris' mind was blank as he tried to wrap his head around the fact that he escaped. The pain in his leg was still agonizing but not as bad as it used to be. He didn't realize how much energy he used.

“I...I survived." Chris said lightly.

He sat up as his relief began to change.

“...only because of that storm drain...man, even drains are saving my life now!" Chris sighed. He rested against his arms, clenching his fists until his knuckles were white.

“You can't do this on your own. You just got lucky, nothing else." Chris' conscious murmured to himself.

“But maybe I have been given a chance...a chance to redeem myself." Chris fired back in his head.

“There's nothing to redeem, you can't win on your own." His conscious responded

For the first time in a long while, his eyes lit up. He had a plan, and he was going to give it his all. Nothing else mattered at this point. He had to try. Chris had no other choice but to try. What else did he have to lose?

***

Kagoro's eyes darted left and right, scanning the hoard for that human. He waited awhile before his patience ran out. He growled, wondering why he didn't hear the pain-induced cries of the tiny male.

“Where is that pitiful human?!" Kagoro seethed under his breath

Kagoro chittered as he felt a small object bounce of his armored back. He turned around, almost falling over and glowered as he saw the human standing on the roof of the building adjacent to him.

“Awww what's the matter? Miss me?" Chris snickered, “I don't go down that easy you fucking bug!" Chris shouted.

Kagoro clacked violently before scurrying towards Chris, stumbling half the time.

Chris limped backwards, heading towards the other side. He stopped once he reached the edge, looking down and seeing the lifeless bodies of the undead approaching from below. Turning back to Kagoro, he saw the insect lurching ever so closer to him. Chris picked up some pieces of debris near him and chucked them at him, some of them hitting Kagoro.

The Qezznar growled as he swatted away the debris, but could not stop as a jagged piece of metal scratched his face as it made contact, prompting him to wobble a bit before proceeding forward

“You think little scraps of debris will stop me from ripping your throat out!" Kagoro snarled as he closed the distance between them.

“I don't think that at all. I think you were stupid enough to follow me here." Chris answered as the insect was dangerously close to him, slowly placing his hand behind his back. On the inside, Chris was freaking out. He had one shot at this or else Kagoro would end him.

Kagoro could only click his mandibles threateningly as he reared up slowly, shaking slightly before lunging down at Chris.

The human immediately sidestepped, grabbing the shard of glass protruding from his waistband and sliced upward into Kagoro's midsection.

Hearing the insect's painful squall and seeing the green blood spill out a bit confirmed his assumption: Kagoro's underbelly was soft. Unfortunately Chris was too wrapped up in his affirmation to react as Kagoro slammed against him, sending Chris tumbling sideways.

“You are very annoying!" Kagoro shouted as he kicked Chris in the chest, sending him flying a few feet.

“You are just a weak, pathetic excuse of a sentient being. You have no strengths, no attributes, nothing to deem you fit to fight." Kagoro berated as he slammed, kicked and tossed Chris around like a rag doll.

“You. Are. NOTHING!" Kagoro said with finality as he flung Chris by his feet, sending him skidding across the roof, rolling close towards the edge.

Chris coughed up blood as he tried to catch his breath. The bruises and cuts dotting Chris' body with purple and red. His vision was blurry, his energy fading.

“Just a bit...longer." Chris said to himself.

Kagoro slammed three of his legs onto Chris' leg wound, sending bolts of pain throughout the human's body. He bared his teeth as he grabbed Chris by his shirt and hoisted him up slowly to eye level: three eyes staring back into two.

“I will tell you once and I will remind you again: you cannot beat me. I am stronger, and faster than you. You a weak and nothing more. In a mere moment, I will slowly gouge out your throat and feast on your blood." Kagoro hissed.

Chris could only cough as he dangled slightly over the edge. His eyes dropped down to the crowd of zombies below him, before locking eyes with the bug before him.

“You're right...I am a weak human. I-I am not stronger or faster than you. However I do know one thing that makes me better than you." Chris smiled wearily.

“And what would that be human?" Kagoro scowled menacingly.

“Humans...are clever. And this human, remembers from his en-ent..ento-...entomology class t-that bugs...lose m-most of their senses when they're missing their antennae."

As soon as he finished his statement Chris reached up and grabbed the remaining antennae on Kagoro's head, twisting it roughly with his left hand. Kagoro winced sharply as his extremity was yanked. Chris grabbed it with his other hand and pulled it with the remaining strength he had left, tugging and yelling until with a wet rip the remaining antennae was torn from Kagoro's head.

The insect screeched loudly, dropping Chris as he fell to the floor as he too fell to the floor, writhing in random directions. With the last of his energy pumping through his veins Chris pressed his feet up against Kagoro's armored back, pushing with all his might as he flipped Kagoro over the edge.

Chris peered over as he watched Kagoro plummet to his death, crashing into the sea of the undead. A dozen hands reached and grabbed at the Quezznar. Kagoro tried to flip over onto his front, some of the grabbing hands unable to rip at his armored back. However, due to his stunned state, he was flipped back onto his back easily, the undead hands able to sink and rip at his soft, exposed underbelly, Kagoro gave one last shout of agony before the hoard slowly tore him apart and devoured him.

“I...I did it."

He won.

Chris had won.

Chris chuckled deliriously, not believing that he, the human, had won the Tournament. His chuckle turned into a coughing fit–still spewing up blood–but it didn't matter to him, he won. It didn't matter that his head was throbbing and his body was laced with pain, he was overcome with joy and relief.

“I...I won." Chris said in disbelief.

“I won." He said a bit louder.

“I won."

Chris started to sob. He couldn't contain his tears as the flowed down his messy cheeks. He did it. He beat Kagoro. He avenged Emily and Eone. More importantly, he saved his planet.

A blue light shined all around him, wrapping him in its familiar glow. Chris heaved himself up onto his knees as he stared up into his salvation. The wind whirred around him, preparing to take him.

Chris never thought he would be happy to see that light again. He was done. As he floated up towards the ship he closed his eyes, knowing it was all over.

...or was it?