FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

The Mercenary is the first arc of The Underground series

Chapter 21 of 32

Refuge

Alias slowly turned the doorknob and pushed the door open. Head pressed to the door, he scanned the darkness for anything. After a night like tonight, he wasn't about to go barging into anything. Especially shady motels that rented rooms by the hour. However, after hours of driving directionless, as Alias forcibly removed the GPS from the SUV for fear of being tracked, he was not going to be picky. It was about six in the morning and they both were extremely tired.

As Alias did a quick room check, he noted that even though this may be a low class place, no-tell motels kept things secret. A black and blue fox shouldn't have any trouble finding refuge without worry.

Alias had noticed the dog (literally) who had rented the room to them had been eyeing Jenna. Not that he necessarily blamed the canine, but Alias could tell that Jenna had been a little uncomfortable. All in the same, they were safer here than they were on the road at this point. As he laid the horse's gun down on the bathroom counter, Alias realized he had absolutely no plan right now.

Jenna was pulling back the blankets to the solo bed in the room, inspecting its cleanliness. Alias shook his head, she wasn't going to like what he knew she'd find. Seeing her however, made him think. Laughing slightly at the irony, the fox turned and leaned against the press wood countertop. Alias always had a plan, he always knew what would come next, and he knew what to do next. Now, he was clueless.

But he wouldn't think about that right now.

Right now, his neck was on fire, his back was bruised, and he surely didn't smell too great. Alias turned around to the large mirror behind the sink to assess the damage to his neck. Straining his head to look behind him and using his left paw to pull the neck of his shirt down, he could see that the damage wasn't so much on his neck, but between his shoulders. One of the hot coals from the apartment must have made a home down there and really got him good. His black fur wasn't entirely burned away, but from what he could see, it wasn't pretty. He could see his livid, seared flesh that burned with a vengeance when he tried to examine it further.

"Oh my God..."

Alias turned to see Jenna looking into the mirror at his burn.

"Jesus, Alias. That looks horrible!"

Alias let go of his shirt and shrugged, feeling a surge of pain between his shoulders. "It's not that bad." He squeaked out.

"Are you kidding me?" Jenna replied walking over to him and grabbed a washcloth off the rack. "Looks like your floor boards got the last laugh." She said, turning on the sink and holding the rag under the stream.

"No, really." Alias protested. "I'm fine. It's just a little tender."

"That's because you have a third degree burn on your back." Jenna retorted as she shut off the sink and squeezed the excess water from the cloth.

"Here," Jenna handed him the cold wet rag, "put that to your back. If nothing else it might make it feel better."

Alias accepted the washcloth and reached around behind him. He quickly realized that he fell short of the injury and switched paws. Again, he found he fell short and didn't quite reach it. He switched again, and went over his shoulder, however, he was off a little bit and it was annoying having his elbow in his face.

Jenna watched his antics, arms crossed. "You need any help there?"

Alias raised an eyebrow; annoyed at the situation. "No, I'm good."

"I mean it just looks like you're having a little trouble."

"No really." Alias moved positions again. "All set."

"Hand me the cloth." Jenna extended her paw.

Alias was about to protest, but the cloth had dripped some of its cool water down his back and he found the cooling sensation on his burn felt really good. It was so late, and he was so tired, all Alias wanted was relief from the pain in his neck. It hurt so bad, he just wanted it to stop. Swallowing his pride he handed Jenna the washcloth.

Alias sat down on the closest bed and turned so Jenna could easily access his wound. Jenna moved behind him, and pulled his shirt down slightly. Alias could have died right then and there, as Jenna pressed the ice-cold cloth to his back. The pain didn't subside completely, but it felt a lot better than it had before.

As he sat there, through fatigue, injury, and mental exhaustion, he let his eyes close. All he could feel was the coolness of the cloth pressed to his wound and the heat from Jenna's body. He sat there for what seemed like hours, letting everything in his mind empty and focused only on what he was feeling.

"I've never seen a black fox before." Alias's eyes opened at Jenna's words.

"There aren't that many..." He replied sleepily. "I'm the only one I know... Not too many blue vixens either...."

Jenna laughed slightly. "I'm the only one I know too." Eyes shut again, Alias could feel Jenna sit down on the bed behind him. She moved in closer to him than she ever had before. She was close enough to him now that he could simply lay back and rest on her. One paw held the cloth in place, while her free paw moved and gently ran her fingers through his hair. Alias' first reaction was to ask her what the hell she was doing, but for some reason he didn't. He truthfully didn't mind what she was doing. It was so soothing he was on the verge of simply passing out where he sat. Letting himself go, he fell back into her. Alias absorbed the feeling of Jenna's velvety fur next to his.

"My grandmother came from the Painted Desert." Jenna whispered in Alias's ear. "Out there, you'd run into any number of oddly colored furs."

"Yeah..." Alias replied, almost inaudibly. "I knew a pink mouse who came from there...nice girl."

"I used to hate it, my fur color."

"Why..."

Jenna shrugged. "I remember my mom had this lush red coat." She reminisced. "Even as she aged, males were still taken by her beauty. I always envied her so much. But with my luck, I got the hidden trait from my grandmother, which was as opposite from my mother as possible."

"Well..." Alias replied. "I think it's your mother's turn to envy someone..."

Jenna removed the rag and let his shirt collar go back to normal. Instead, Alias felt her soft paw going up from the bottom of his shirt, and back to his burn.

"Why me, Alias?" Jenna asked.

Alias sighed. "Don't take it personally." He explained. "You were just drawn from a hat, if it hadn't been you it would have been some other poor sap who had-"

"No," Jenna interjected, "I meant why did you choose me?"

Alias kept his eyes shut, knowing she was looking straight down at him. Taking in a deep breath and exhaling slowly, Alias thought. "I could try, although I don't think you'd believe me," Alias explained, "to describe what I've seen happen. Some of the things I've been forced to witness, no one should ever see. I've seen things that make villains from movies look like peace prize winners." Alias let his eyes open to see the blue vixen looking down at him. "Even though I never had a part in those things, being associated with them takes a toll. Hell on the old nervous system. Disastrous on any life you may have.

"I knew what they were going to do to you, Jenna." Alias told her. "I've seen it before. All sides have done it. I guess the short answer is I don't know why I intervened. Maybe I just wanted a reason to stop doing this..." he paused, "or maybe I'm trying to make up for all the times I didn't do what I should have."

"Who are you really?" Jenna asked, her voice was soft and non judgmental. "The flipside of Alias?"

"That," Alias sighed, "gets a little hazy sometimes. What I did was never who I was. Being a mercenary was just something I did to get paid. Plain and simple, it's a job. I don't get off on it and when it's over, I try not to think about it."

"The ultimate out of sight out of mind, right?"

Alias scoffed. "If only it were that easy..." He paused, falling back into his trance of fatigue. "...do you have any idea what it's like waking up not knowing who you are?" He asked, voice fading. "To look in the mirror and only see a stranger looking back at you? It's the normal things...signing a check...introducing yourself...knowing where you're going...heh...hell, why am I telling you this..."

Jenna continued to run her fingers through his hair, in soft rhythmic motions mimicking the natural world's motions. "Would it make a difference if I told you it mattered to me?" Jenna posed, whispering soft in his ear.

Alias remained very still, only his chest rising and falling. "Wha..." Alias jerked slightly. "...sorry, what'd you say?"

However, Jenna didn't bother to repeat her question. She knew Alias was already gone. For the first time ever, she did not see the destructive angry young fox as she had. All his aggression, hatred, malice, and contempt for society drained from him into the floor. For the first time, Alias seemed to be at peace. For the first time, he didn't have a pistol clutched in his paw, ready. For the first time, he looked positively serene.

The young vixen smiled to herself. To think that only a washcloth in a shady motel did it.