FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Chapter 3

Descent

The journey down was taking ages, so Naraki used the time to pick the burrs from his fur. Inari just stood, his back tight to the wall, taking shallow breaths, like he was afraid of using up all of their air. Naraki, on the other hand had no such worries. He once again put his trust in the human engineering prowess. A moment later, the smooth metal wall began to be periodically replaced by fleeting views of the other floors, and from what he saw; Naraki noticed that this place had escaped most, if not all, of the damage that ravaged all of the other human structures. The elevator continued its downward descent, passing dozens more floors before slowing to a halt at, what seemed to be, the bottom.

The doors slid open silently and Naraki stepped into a large hallway. The walls were of the same metal as everything else. At the end of the hallway was a large, reinforced door. Next to it was another paw-panel and a pad with rows of buttons numbered one through nine. Naraki guessed that this room was meant to be extremely resistant against unwanted visitors. Although, the effect was ruined by the door hanging slightly open, like someone was in a rush and forgot to latch the door properly. Throughout this whole ordeal, Inari had been walking behind him, occasionally hazarding glances over Naraki's shoulder. Naraki could tell he was nervous, but curiosity finally won him over. He walked over to the door and wrapped his digits around the inside of the door and attempted to heave it open. The door moved slowly, it weighed a ton. Inari saw this and rushed to help him. He got behind to door and helped Naraki push the door the rest of the way open, so that it rested snugly against the wall.

They were both breathing a little harder as they turned to survey what was behind the door they had just opened. The room beyond the door was pitch-black; the only light came from hallway in which they stood. Naraki inched forward, not quite sure what he would find. The only sounds were his and Inari's paw pads whispering on the cool metal floor. The first thing he noticed as he stepped into the room was the floor. Instead if the smooth, cool metal, it was warm and textured. The next thing he noticed was the smell; like ash, but stronger and more acrid. He took another tentative step into the room. When nothing happened, he motioned for Inari to follow. As soon as the other wolf stepped into the room, the door swung shut with a dull thud, cutting off all of their light. Inari had dived forward to avoid the slamming door and was now lying in a heap on the floor. Naraki walked over helped Inari to his feet; they were both shaking quite badly at this point. He waited for his eyes to adjust and then he looked around the room, but even then there wasn't much to see. The darkness was too complete, the only thing to be seen was a miniscule light in the middle of the room; it pulsed slowly in and out of existence.

`Seeing this as his only option he grabbed Inari's paw and led him to the light. The light, it seemed, was set into the center of a large pedestal that came up to his waist. All around the circumference were several small pills. In the intervals before the light faded he could see a small plaque next to each small slot. It read as follows.

In the event of catastrophic power failure, take one pill orally. Effects last 3-5 hours and vary from individual to individual.

_ _ Naraki made his decision. He picked up the small pill between his claws and popped it into his mouth before Inari could even utter any protest.

"What do you think you're doing?!" Inari shouted, "That could be dangerous, you idiot!"

"Well, I'm not dead yet, so I'm assuming that I'll be fine." Naraki said defiantly. But before he could say more the room flared into focus. The darkness was dispelled as if somebody had opened a window and let the sun shine into the room. He jaw dropped and he let out a gasp. The room was much bigger than he had originally guessed. For hundreds of feet on either side of the path through room, were row upon rows of tables, all filled with half-finished paper work, mugs of coffee, and various scientific tools. Inari looked a Naraki, clearly confused. Naraki said nothing, he just picked up another pill and deposited into Inari's paw. Inari looked skeptical, but in the end, he decided to go for it, so he swallowed the pill.

"What's it supposed to--. " He never finished his sentence. His eyed widened as he turned slowly, taking in the details of the room, just as Naraki had done. What drew both of their eyes though, was the mangled door at the other end of the room. The metal was blackened and twisted all around the door and its frame. It was evident that there had been an explosion; the desks closest to the door ranged from slightly broken to a collection of splintered wood, glass, and bits of charred paper. Along with the soot blackened floors a dried liquid that looked suspiciously like blood covered most of the surfaces that immediately surrounded the door.

"I think we should go back." Inari said nervously, "This can't possibly be safe." Naraki just scoffed.

"Go back now?" He asked, sounding disappointed. "We're almost to something important, I can feel it." He gave Inari a pleading look executed his best puppy dog eyes. Inari gave a loud groan and his shoulders slumped in defeat.

"Fine," He grumbled, "But if something happens, let me be the first to tell you I told you so." Naraki's tail wagged furiously at this, and he gave Inari a large smile that way exhibited too much excitement given to current situation. Inari resigned himself to the fact that he was probably going to follow Naraki to his premature demise. Naraki walked slowly towards the wreckage of the doors, his nose held high, scanning for anything unusual. Smelling nothing out of the ordinary, Naraki walked right up to the door.

Cold air poured in through the ruined door, ruffling his fur. The room was, in a sense, a giant freezer. A single, undamaged display registered the temperature at thirty-nine degrees Fahrenheit. It flashed "WARNING!" several times in five second intervals as he watched. Naraki surveyed the room. There were no signs of any damage from the explosion, which greatly confused him. The room didn't even have the same smell as the area just outside. The walls were a soft white and were covered in many blank, black screens. The wall just left of the mangled door contained one large screen with a large letter 'H' making slow, lazy turns. As he approached the large screen, the rotating letter disappeared, only to be replaced by a large of text.

Sent: February 4, 2063

Subject: Manipulation of the body's energy

We've made a rather large breakthrough today. We've managed to achieve the desired results while maintaining the safety of the test subjects. The problem was that, when their 'powers', were being used, too much energy was being consumed, causing all major organs to shut down. We've limited the amount of energy that can be used to 12% to avoid this in the future.

We've also established that the effects vary greatly in how the energy use manifests itself. Subject 43003 was able to use it to move small objects with extreme concentration, something akin to telekinesis, but something more interesting happened a couple of days ago. We've determined that some subjects are even able to redirect the power the body usually loses back into their bodies, resulting in increased strength and stamina. Although, this effect cannot be maintained for more than a couple of minutes at a time the information has proved vital to our research.

Further testing is needed to identify all manifestations of the augmentation, but everything is progressing smoothly. Expect another email from me within the next week with more updates.

Naraki finished reading it first, so he waited for Inari to finish. When he did the look of confusion on his face was unmistakable.

"Umm, I don't suppose you could clarify?" Inari asked. "I can honestly say, most of that made no sense." Naraki ran his hand through head-fur, thinking deeply about what he had just read.

"Well," he started to stay, "from what I've gathered, they were doing some sort of testing here, probably on other humans. It involved doing something to their bodies so you can do things you usually can't. I'd be lying if I said I completely understood what I just read though, so I'm not even sure if I have it right myself."

"Well, I'm not sure it even matters. We shouldn't stay her much here, something bad could happen. Let's go." Inari said nervously. "This place gives me the creeps." But Naraki wasn't listening. He had approached the screen, causing a large chair to emerge from within a hidden panel on the floor. At the same time a large, flat plastic box filled with the letters of the alphabet printed on its many buttons sprouted from the wall.. He also saw some symbols he didn't recognize, but he didn't think it would matter much. He sat down in the chair facing the screen that had now changed again.

User change detected. Automatic logout.

...

...

Login [ ]

Password [ ]

Not knowing what to do, Naraki examined the lettered box more closely. He found a small slot on the left edge, and, taking a chance; he pulled his ID card from his pocket and pushed it into the slot. A rapid succession of beeps and clicks issued from the keyboard, and then it fell silent. He looked up to find that the screen in front of him had changed yet again.

Proud of his progress, he hazarded a glance a Inari, who was watching the screen with renewed interest.

"Welcome." Said the cool, female voice again, "I see this is your first time using Utility Internationals new computer technology. Would you like a demonstration?" The voice seemed to be waiting for a response, so Naraki obliged.

"Umm, yeah, that would be great." Immediately the screen went dark.

"Please raise your dominant hand straight out and parallel to your body." The screen reflected what she said by showing an example of a man raisin his arm. Naraki mimicked the example, holding his paw, pads outward. The screen changed again.

Do not move your hand while the scan is in progress.

... Scanning... Scanning... Scanning...

Scan complete, you may now lower your hand.

"Thank you for your cooperation." The computer said. "Please be prepared to follow the onscreen instructions."

The following training exercises are designed to familiarize you with the system and all of its functions. Please follow the instructions to complete the tasks as they are given.

The screen turned blue and a single 'X' appeared in the center.

A series of dots will appear on the screen. Please drag the 'X' onto the dots in the order that they appear. You can achieve this by aiming your hand at the 'X' and closing your hand around it as if trying to grasp it in your hand. By moving your hand with your fingers help shut, you should be able to move it around. This is the way to interact with most onscreen objects.

When you would like to proceed, just say "proceed".

Naraki was becoming overwhelmed. He had to reread the direction two more times before finally attempting to continue.

"Proceed, I guess." Naraki said, still not quite sure of himself. As soon as he had said it a dot appeared in the top left corner of the screen. Naraki lifted his hand and closed his digits around the 'X'. He moved his paw up and to the left and let out a gasp as the 'X' moved with it. The dots began to appear slightly faster with every one that he successfully completed. Soon Naraki fell into a rhythm, not missing a beat as the dots appeared one after the other. He let out a laugh as the screen went blank and then projected 'CONGRATULATIONS' in large bold letters.

"This is fun." Naraki said happily. "The humans have the best tech." The screen displayed methods for opening files and using voice commands. Eventually, he was using the computer like a pro.

"Maybe we should search for something else Naraki." Inari said cautiously. Naraki looked over at Inari and felt a pang of guilt. While Naraki had been having his fun, Inari had slumped down against the wall out of boredom, his sense of cautiousness having been overridden by the skull crushing boredom of the situation. Naraki pulled his watch from his pocket and tripped the mechanism, causing it to spring open, revealing a plain watch face with Roman Numerals lining the edge. The watch read 1:07, confirming the fact that they had been here for over four hours. Most of which was wasted on this piece of human tech.

"All right, we can go." He said morosely, "But we have to come back later to explore more, okay?" Inari agreed, and Naraki, to show off his new knowledge, turned to the computer and said, "Initiate logout," before pulling his card from the machine and walking from the room, giving the now blank screen one last glance before walking from the room.

He and Inari stepped over the remains of the ruined door and reentered the large room. He looked around and noticed something that he hadn't before. On one of the desks sat a watch, not unlike his own. He jogged over to investigate further. While the watch was indeed the twin of his own, the one on the desk was destroyed. The mechanism was shattered, causing it to sit open on the desk revealing the glass covering the hands and numbers to be severely cracked, preventing them from being properly viewed. He removed his watch from his pocket, but he dropped it in his haste. The chain unclipped from his pocket, causing the watch, chain and all, to drop to the ground and roll under the desk. Naraki cursed and went for it, dropping to his knees and reaching his paw underneath. He groped around for a few seconds before closing his digits on the prize. He stood up, clutching the watch in his paw, grinning triumphantly. That's when noticed how dark it had gotten.

Inari had noticed the looming darkness too, and was trying to get Naraki's attention, but he had been too focused on the watch to notice. They both looked simultaneously towards the metal pedestal only to find it gone, replaced by textured metal floor. Naraki fought down his panic and sprinted towards the closed door at the opposite end of the room. Using the last bit of light he had left, he searched the wall for anything useful. He let out a cry of glee as he found a keycard slot. He fumbled around in his pocket for a moment, searching for his card. His paw emerged from his pocket with the card before jamming it hurriedly into the slot. A small screen lit up with the words Improper Clearance Level. His heart sank, and his body went limp.

They were going to be stuck there forever.

That was the only thought running through his head. He turned to Inari to voice this fear, only to see him several feet away rummaging through the drawers of his nearest desk.

"Aha!" Inari yelled, causing Naraki's ears to twitch. Naraki stood dumbfounded as Inari ran up to the door and inserted a card into the slot, causing the screen to flash from Improper Clearance Level to Access Granted. The door hissed, clanked, and silently glided open, flooding the darkening room with artificial light. They ran from the room and watched the door shut behind them with a dull thud.

They both heaved sighs of relief and started towards the elevator in silence. Halfway there, Naraki slapped his paw to his forehead and groaned.

"I forgot to check what happened to the door. That's going to bother me forever." He lamented. "One thing, one lousy thing, and I forgot." His grief flashed to anger.

Don't beat yourself up. I forgot too. It wasn't really that big a deal anyway." He patted Naraki's shoulder trying to console him. "Just forget it. It's not worth worrying about the past." Inari draped his arm around Naraki's shoulder and they walked the rest of the way back to the elevator.