FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Arthur

I had a hard time keeping my stomach from turning inside out.

Why was I feeling sick about this? I had to kill people a lot of time and it didn't bother me on the battlefield, so why was I getting sick about seeing a lady shoot and fall of the edge of a building that had to be half the size of the Empire State Building? I shouldn't feel sick about this, but I was and I feeling pretty weird about it.

Could it be because Jupiter was there and probably orchestrated the entire fiasco? I saw him get shot, triggering an alarm that we could hear from a few miles away while we dove into the thick jungle once more. We made sure to stay close to the darker parts of the jungle while the clouds circled us overhead, only signaling that the storm was getting closer and closer to being on top of us. Great, we were running out of time and we had to worry about the soldiers in the compound being on greater alert now.

Typical Jupiter making my life a living hell without even knowing I'm there.

Zoey joined me up front while our troops followed, exercising caution tenfold now. When turned around to check on them, they looked a little uneasy, some looking more jumpy than when they started the mission. These guys were older than me by a couple of years, but I could see they were frightened to be out here. With the storm just about over us, I grew more unsettled with them. There was no way we could find Carlos and his team and get them out before those guys down at the river came back.

I took a knee and halted, forcing them to stop, and then leaned to Zoey. "We can't make it back in time. Either we call off the search for the night or head back to the boats. We barely have half an hour left."

She nodded. "Yeah, I was thinking the same. Maybe we all don't have to turn back."

I gave her a questioning look. "You got an idea?"

"When those men come back, we have a few soldiers waiting for them to keep them ready for when we return. We can't just call off the search now. We've covered too much ground to go back."

I smirked. "Send some troops back and keep them waiting? That sounds much better than just tracking back."

"I knew you'd agree," she smiled.

We stopped for a few minutes and ordered around three of our men back into the jungle. Luckily, we had been tracing our own path so all they had to do was follow their way back without getting themselves into trouble. They saluted then turned around and headed back to the drop off.

Once they were a good distance away, we began to march forward again. The eerie sounds around us only caused me to grow a little more nervous by the second. I could hear chirping, hissing, growling, and the musky sound of our feet going through the mud. I shuddered. This was not a place I would want to die if I died today. I shuddered again just thinking about it.

We had to have been over the two hour mark by the time we reached the hill. I had to make sure we had time. We still about fifteen minutes to get in and get out without so much of a scratch. The group stayed as close to the shadows as they could, covering behind trees and thick bushes while I took point with Zoey and scoped the place out.

I could see half a dozen guards patrolling the area outside of the compound, each carrying primed assault rifles ready to kill on a minute's notice. There appeared to be more inside the compound, and I could clearly see the snipers in the tower making slow rounds.

The only advantage we had was that there were long lines of bushes, trees, and crates scattered around the property. Jeez, whoever designed this property obviously wanted it to look beautiful from the outside. If the crates weren't there, I'm sure it would be a nice jewel for anyone who actually came out in this mess to look at it.

Whatever the case was, we used it to our advantage. Further observation showed that this place wasn't fully built yet. It was nice looking so far, but I could still see construction on a new wing and the rest of the wall going on. There were a few construction workers still going at it trying to bring new parts of the wall up while others worked on the new wing of the building. The soldiers paid them no mind, and the workers looked too entangled in their work to notice a few cloaked soldiers sneak inside.

Carefully, I crouched my way through the thick bushes to meet up with Zoey. "We might have to take out a few guards before we can get inside, and I think that wall is our best bet."

"What's the plan then?" she asked.

I looked through the yard and at the wall. "Take down half the guards down in the front. Looks like they make long, slow rounds, so I can make it through while you guys keep them distracted long enough for me to get through the workers."

"And how do you plan to get through them?"

I smirked, and pulled out my taser. "They're not a threat to me, so I'm not going to be one to them."

She gave me a look. "Are you sure about that? They could be dangerous."

I looked at the workers again and shook my head. "I'll bet they're innocent, and besides, when's the last time you've heard of a worker carrying a gun?"

She let out a sigh. "Fine, get to it. We'll give you some elbow room but make it quick."

We both nodded to each other. I set on foot, crouching while I made myself to the nearest crate I could see. I took cover and looked over the side and saw a soldier making his rounds with his back faced right at me. I gave my soldiers the mark and in no time, he fell, giving me the chance to drag his body away.

I felt the first raindrop fall. Just when I thought things were about to get easy. Knowing the workers were about to call it quits due to rain, I knew I had to get in quick or else I was not getting in.

Making haste, I pushed forward and hid behind one of the other supply crates. This was stock piled with metal beams, allowing me better cover. I looked over and saw another soldier making his way towards me. This one I could handle without the need for my troops. As he neared my corner, I sprang from the shadows and wrapped my arm around his mouth, using my free hand to drive my knife right into his neck. In no time at all, he went limp, allowing me to quickly hide his body under the large amount of beams.

Once I was sure he couldn't be seen by the other guards, I took a quick glance over the corner to make sure nothing seemed out of the ordinary. None of the other guards seemed to notice their missing friends which gave me the perfect opportunity to move forward once more. I was only able to move a couple more feet once I remembered the snipers then hit the ground close to the thick bushes, watching as one of them looked out into the courtyard. My heart pounded against my chest just as I saw him keep his position longer than I expected.

I tapped my communicator. "I need the snipers in the tower taken out."

They didn't reply at first, which made me feel a little uneasy, but I looked up back at the snipers and watched them both fall back in the tower where no one could even tell they were gone. No one noticed the two shots, so I moved forward as far as I could.

I was able to make it to the wall before I had to duck behind a few more stone crates. Crouching, I lingered forward until I was close to the crane, seeing only three men that stood between me and the other side. With another quick look behind me, I saw no soldiers coming this way and proceeded forward. The crane was my first target, seeing as it was the main source of all the work. I could hear them talk as well, saying that they were about to call it a night seeing as the rain was slowly settling in.

This was where I needed to sheathe my gun. They looked like regular workers who were oblivious to the actual truth behind the world and society. They didn't deserve to die. The men back there were different. If they saw me, they'd have gunned me down without a second thought. A simple shock to the neck should be enough to knock them out and would allow me to get in without being seen.

I carefully crouched my way until I was behind the crane then climbed up the tall, thick tires. I then climbed onto the ladder to my right and brought myself further up. Immediately, I grabbed onto the pole and hauled myself up, finding only one man handling the crane. He didn't even notice I was there which only made this part of the job easier. Before I decided to knock him out, I looked at the wall and only saw three men about to pack up and call it a night.

This was going to have to be quick.

Swiftly, I pulled the taser on the man handling the crane and pressed it right against his neck. His body went into a spasm before I took it away. Waiting until he collapsed forward, I brought him back upright, pulling his hat down and his hands in his lap. If anyone noticed, this guy just fell asleep on the job. Once he looked good enough, I climbed out from the crane then hopped back down to the ground, almost crawling to the wall where I saw a dual set of ladders waiting for me.

I made sure I was slow and careful moving up, making sure I didn't make too loud of a sound. The prongs rattled slightly as I moved up, so I picked up my pace enough to make it to the leveled part of the wall. To my luck, they had their backs turned to me while they were inspecting a set of blocked needed to complete the wall.

With caution, I crouched towards the nearest one on my right and cupped his mouth, pressing my taser against his neck, waiting until he went limp in my grasp. The other seemed to hear the shocking and turned around, yet by that time I dropped the man and turned around, firing my second taser right into his chest. The man shook violently before collapsing onto the ground with a loud thud.

I went over to him and removed the two projectiles, soon dragging the two unconscious men to a darker and secluded area, where no one could see them, before moving on. I could only hope they stayed hidden for the rest of the mission, otherwise I would be in big trouble if I was any further inside.

The courtyard inside the base had to be the most difficult part to get through undetected, yet the rain finally settled in just as I scoped the area out. The droplets fell softly for the moment, but I could feel them growing heavier by the minute. Deciding this was as good of a cover as I was gonna get, I tapped a few buttons on my communicator and activated my transparent camouflage, taking a nice look at my see-through body before jumping down into the yard.

From what I could see, there were only about four men on patrol, which meant things were much easier than I previously thought. Two were standing in the doorway while the other two were standing out in the yard keeping close vigil on any disturbances. If I was going to get in, they were all going to have to die.

Just as I hid behind one of the bushes, I looked at their uniforms closely. They were all very similar as far as I could see with the differences being only the badges they wore along their chest, serving as the only sign I could see of their current rank.

The one that had the highest rank out of all of them was the one on the right guarding the door, and he happened to be a fox just like me. "Time to pull some tricky-vic stuff." I told myself, pulling the mask from my throat up to my mouth.

With the darkness on my side, I crouched as close as I could to the nearest soldier, who just so happened to be one of the ones in the yard. I kept my position for a few seconds as he made his round close to me. Right as he passed me, I jumped from behind him and, with the flash of lightning, dug my knife into his neck and sent him tumbling to the ground. Once I knew he was dead, I dragged him behind the row of shrubs and waiting for my next window.

It appeared I wasn't as sleuthy as I was thinking. The one on the far end of the yard noticed his friend's disappearance and called the other two guarding the door. They quickly rushed over to see what was going on. I quickly went with the shadows, taking cover on the other side of the shrubs until they reached their dead friend.

Once they were crouched over his corpse, I made my way behind them and pounced. I dug my knife into one of them and, with my free hand, pulled out my gun and fired a suppressed pistol right into the eye of the other. The third noticed me and pulled his gun from his holster, yet I was much quicker and ducked as he shot a single bullet, somehow timing it perfectly with the strike of lightning. I jumped forward and pushed the gun away, jerking his grip as he shot into the sky. He was about to yell for cover before I slammed my fist against his face, forcing him onto his knees in a split second before I kicked the weapon from his grasp.

As he tried to regain focus while on his knees, I slammed his face right against my knee and sent him right into the realm of sleep. He would have one hell of a headache later.

I dragged his body away from the site of his comrades, pulling his uniform off piece by piece until he remained in nothing but his boxers. It was a sight I didn't need to see, but I had a crazy idea that could work.

Taking cover behind one of the large trees spread out against the wall, I stripped out of my uniform and donned his instead. I couldn't say I liked doing something like this, but I needed to find a more simple way in than just going in guns blazing and get caught. My active camouflage wouldn't keep me protected forever seeing as I had a time limit with it.

I pulled the belt and tightened it around my waist, completing the attire with the hate he wore before heading right for the doors. The outfit felt like blasphemy to me. I felt as though I was betraying my own people just by wearing this thing, yet I knew it was entirely necessary in order to move without much suspicion placed upon me.

Before walking through the doors, I tapped my communicator. "This is Arthur, does anyone copy?"

I received a quick reply from Zoey. "Zoey here, Arthur. Did you make it inside?"

"Yeah, I had to put a soldier's uniform on, but I think I can get inside," I replied.

She huffed. "You honestly think you can get inside without being noticed?"

"It's not about being noticed, its about blending in, Zoey. If I look like them, I can probably make it through the base without arousing suspicion"

She hesitated before responding. "Are you sure about this?"

Unfortunately, I hesitated. "Yeah, I can do this. I'll be in and out in no time. Arthur out."

I didn't have time to wait for her to respond, and so I uneasily walked through the doors. The interior looked to be made out of a mixture of stone and metal from what I could see, and the ground had to be made out of smooth granite. Guards passed by me while sweeping the perimeter up and down the halls, yet they didn't really throw any uneasy looks my way, besides a quick glance over the shoulder, but that was it. I could see cameras hanging limply from their positions near the corners of the halls. Why were they down? Maintenance? Malfunction? Whatever the reason, it worked in my favor.

So far as good. As long as they didn't expect me, I could walk right past them and they wouldn't know a thing. This was still a gamble by all means, but I took it without a look back. I didn't mind the uniform after making it to the elevator, seeing as I had no other option but to forget it entirely, putting it in the back of my mind while I searched the buttons for anything that could help.

Only a select few had the buttons labeled. I could see the first up to the eleventh level were mainly for research and experiments, twelfth floor up to nineteen was strict for medical wards and housing chambers, the twentieth going up to the top floor housed emergency weapons and supplies. I couldn't just take a gamble and press a button I was unsure of, knowing that the wrong one could cause me to be in a place I didn't want to go. I had to be for certain

"Something wrong, sir?" a voice asked from behind me.

I nearly jumped, yet refrained, instead allowing the hairs on the back of my neck to stand up. "Yes, actually." I responded in as deep as a tone as I could muster. "I've been sent by...Mister Thaulm to interrogate the prisoners."

The man behind me smiled, revealing himself to be a lizard. "Then you'll be heading to the eighteenth floor for that, sir."

"Thank you, my good man," I replied, pressing the button, then waited for the elevator to arrive.

He stood there for the time being. "Sir Thalum himself went to them about an hour or two ago, actually."

"Do you know why?" I asked, obviously intrigued.

The lizard shrugged. "His own form of interrogation, I guess. Even after taking a bullet, the man still walks as if nothing happened to him. Heh, I suppose Adrianne's aim was pretty off to miss that bad."

"Adrianne?"

He threw a puzzled look my way, nearly forcing me to bite my tongue. Crap. That was probably a question I should've already known about, but I was just a spy, not an actual soldier for them.

"Yes, Adrianne, you know, the woman who owns this...well, owned this place before she committed suicide."

"Wait, she committed suicide? Why would she do that if she owns the property?"

He waved his hand aside, sighing. "No one knows honestly. Some suspect it was intentional suicide considering all the stress she had, but there are others who think it was more of a foul play move by someone else. Dunno who would be crazy enough to actually do that, but, the way things are in the world today, I guess I'm ready for anything."

"Huh," I turned away, losing my interest for good reason.

It wasn't intentional suicide, as far as I saw. Or maybe it was, and I was being one of those nonbelievers who were just plain wrong about the situation. There was a possibility that she really just couldn't handle the pressure anymore and decided to end her own life. Still, wasn't retiring an option? She had to be wealthy enough to own her own laboratory/home in the middle of the Amazon, the place where no one wants to venture willingly.

There was no doubt that I couldn't consider foul play an option either. Jupiter was there with her when she died, and I had the luxury of witnessing it. I knew, for a prime fact, that if he was involved in something dastardly, he was suspect enough to me. Shame he worked for the Overlord and was pretty my untouchable, on all accounts. Though I couldn't, in my right mind, tell him I saw her fall, otherwise I would be a great suspect to the crime, thus, blowing my cover. I couldn't risk that, so I kept my mouth shut about it.

Finally, the doors opened, and I rushed inside before anymore of the awkward silence between man and I grew worse. The doors were quick to shut, pulling me upwards to the level I needed to go to.

It hit me like a brick. "Shit."

Even if I broke them out, how in the hell was I going to get myself and probably half a dozen others out the compound without being seen? Sure, if it was just me, I'd have no trouble getting in and out without much detection. Now, considering I was tagging on a few others, my chances of suspicion were bound to go up, not to mention my chances of getting out also diminished considerably.

I tapped into my comm. "Zoey, Arthur here, and I need your help."

"Please tell me you didn't get caught," I heard her groan on the other end.

"No, I need a distraction for when I find Carlos and his men," I replied quickly, watching as the floors ticked by. "I'll tell them where to go, but I need you to distract the men outside so we don't get caught."

I heard her chuckle on the other end. "And here I thought you were gonna get all the fun! One distraction coming up! You got five minutes."

_ _ "That's all I need," I replied, tapping out of my comm as I finally reached my destination.

As the doors slid apart, I quickly rushed out and fast-walked down the corridor, passing dozens of doors, each open for me to see. I slowed down at a select few to see what the commotion was, and I had to find a way to forget the memories afterwards.

There were people, not scientists, strapped to tables who were muzzled and covered with bandages on certain parts of their body. I stood by and watched as one of them were brought forth a scientist and were injected with a clear liquid, only seconds later I saw them spasm and writhe against their restraints, letting out very high pitched whines of pain, before being subdued by a group of guards.

I had half a mind to barge in and take them away from him, but I couldn't risk blowing my cover. My body stood there as if my legs were made of lead, my eyes forcing me to look away from the sight. I couldn't bear to look at it anymore and turned away, feeling my own body trembling.

"That could've been me," I whispered, feeling the blood in my body turn cold.

I could be there, probably strapped to one of those tables, and be forced to go through gruesome tests without rest or care if anything happened to me, because all I would be was a replaceable resource for them. The only reason I would be there is for their tests and experiments, that's it. No regard for my own self-care or anything.

Knowing I was running low on time, I had no choice but to move on and leave the patient there to suffer. My heart ached moments after I rushed down the hall, and I could tell it wasn't going to subside until this entire laboratory was completely in ruin. It hurt greatly, but there was no time to watch and watch and see if I could do anything about it. I felt powerless for the first time in a long time, and I was not happy about it.

The next few rooms were a blur. I walked by as quickly as I could, feeling I was getting closer to finding my lost friend. There was one more room that caught my attention, but I wished I didn't look inside. There was a scientist and three patients, each in a similar state from the man I saw before. The only difference was that the scientist held a syringe with a green fluid. I didn't recognize it at all, but, then again, what could I recognize here? By no means was I one of them, but I had a bad feeling about that stuff. It didn't agree with me.

He injected each of them with a third of the liquid, using three different needles for each patient. They each reacted similarly to the man I saw before, writhing and spasming against their metal restraints for a few minutes, but they eventually grew stiff and gave the man a very emotionless stare, one that had the hairs on my neck stand up again.

They were freed, yet they didn't look like they were excited about it. Actually, now that I gave them extra looks, I could see an ounce of emotion from them at all! They looked stolid, void of the stuff, and completely monotone. It was like each of them had lost their humanity or something, or like they didn't have anything worth left of emotion.

They scared me.

I forced myself to leave the scene before I got nightmares, which no doubt I would have, and continued to make way down the hall. Where the hell was this room? I didn't see any room that belonged to prisoners or anything, and I was running out of time. Zoey was about to start the diversion, I hadn't found the men, and we still had no idea if our rides out were waiting for us.

Out of nowhere, a Hail Mary. At the end of the hall I saw two soldiers guarding a fairly large door. No other door I saw previously had guards outside keeping vigil. If they were guarding something, they were guarding something that they had to keep secret. There was only one way to find out.

I walked up to the pair, keeping a good distance between me and them in case I needed to try something drastic. They looked strong and athletic, backing it up with their stone-cold expressions that made me shudder.

"I need to see the prisoners," I told them.

The one on the left turned to me. "Orders from Jupiter?"

I thought about it. "Yes."

"Why isn't he here with you then?" the other asked.

I didn't have time for an explanation at this point. Taking a step back, I quickly pulled both tasers from my back holsters and shot them right into the pairs' chests, watching as they let out pained grunts before they crumpled to the floor out cold.

"And goodnight," I smirked, turning my attention to the card swipe on the door. I knelt down and searched both of their bodies, quickly finding the card I needed to open the door.

With a quick swipe, I tapped the code on the card and watched as the door opened quickly. I rushed inside and stood in the middle of a room filled with beaten, sweaty, broken, and abused men. Every one of them were chained by their wrists to the wall, wearing little close to nothing. I could see blood stains on the floor, and the red light overhead only made the room look even more disturbing.

From my sweep, I counted ten of them. There were probably more in this squad, and I guessed they probably died before these were captured and brought here for torture. They looked tired and weak, but once they saw me, I saw the spirit return to their eyes. They smiled and rejoiced, lifting their heads to meet my gaze before tugging at their restraints again.

I quickly freed two men and handed them the set of keys. "Get to freeing the rest."

The man at the far end caught my eyes. My heart beat against my chest, so I recognized him immediately. I bolted over to him and cupped his cheeks on my hands. "Carlos?"

The husky lifted his head with a weak smile. "I knew you'd come, Arthur."

I threw my arms around him and nearly cried, feeling the tears form in my eyes. In only a few seconds, I was crying. I could still hear the clinking and moving of chains and clicking of the locks while I relished in my reunion with Carlos. Once the others were free, I took the keys and freed him, only to watch him fall to the floor on his hands and knees.

He groaned while I helped him onto his feet. He looked the worst out of the others. I could see plenty of cuts on his body, not to mention the bruises I could feel on his shoulders and neck. There was no doubt he had plenty more, but I couldn't check every aspect about him. After a few seconds, he was able to walk, even with a little stumble.

He rubbed his wrists then turned to me. "Can't tell you how glad I am to see you here, Arthur."

I tried hard no to smile, to no avail. "Well, you know, couldn't just let you die out here. We still have a war to win after all."

He gave me that warm smile I remembered very well. "Yeah, I think its time to give them some hell, don't you think?"

Just after he said that, tremors shook the building violently. I could hear the crack of what I thought was lightning, but it turned out to be even more explosions. Shortly after, a siren blazed all throughout the compound and, underneath it all, was the sound of gunfire.

I looked at him. "You have no idea."